Amy Chow, Arduous Duties, & Apostolic Awakenings

4 weeks. And one day. Have you missed me? YOU DID?!  That's cute. I missed you, too!

We knew we lived close to the ice skating rink, but we didn't know exactly how close until we pulled and could still see our house from the parking lot.
Fun friday night with the gal pals though. You know those pictures that are popular on Facebook right now--- what it is, what I see, what they see??  Yah, well, in my eyes, Amy Chow. In their eyes, Daffy Duck on speed. Other than sliding across the rink, not too many embarrassing stories during those 68 minutes of skating.

Purple snow. Just kidding. It's just my cool editing feature. Got ya though, right? I just have to give props to my parents for getting me those awesome gloves -- you're still able to use your touch phone while you have them on! Nifty, eh? Already gotten plenty use out of them! :o)

AH!

or...

HA!

I finally got to play in the snow.
It was as fun, if not, more fun, than I thought it would be. Too fluffy for a snowball though.. I think the roomie was very thankful for that. In the words of my good Korean friend, Pastor Song, "Nexst time, nexst time.."

Here it is, folks.

This pie is a partial derivative of the blog's name. You see, I make about 4.5 things. This peanut butter pie is one of those things. You might be wondering why it's upside down. You probably think I'm lazy for not rotating it. You know what. You're right. I just got done unloading the dishwasher and that takes a lot out of me. Oh, and gold stars to those who figure out that acronym.

Look! It's Jon Barlar's wife!!!
So cracy to think that JB hasn't made it to the blog yet. I think I'm secretly bitter that he hasn't taken me hunting to kill small, helpless creatures. Maybe then..
Hah, that reminds me of that one comedian's sketch where they're talking about seeing deer on the wall with party hats on. So, so sad. Obviously they were out there having a great time partying when they died. Hah. Off topic. Sharenda's inspiration was, well, inspiring. Which, actually, is another taboo topic.

Pastor Yonts is so cute. I just want to put him in my pocket. I have a fear he'd eat my candy if that happened. He's fantastic though. Crazy --- he came and preached at TtF a few years ago, and guess who was his Armor Bearer??? Three guesses.. go!
1. Yep. Me. :)
I knew you'd get it. You're so bright. :)
Only the Lord knows all of the lives that this man and his wife have touched. They have dedicated their entire life to serving the Lord, investing in people, and preaching the gospel. I can't think of a better way to live or trend to set.

Incredible move of God during the leaderhip meeting at Layna & Anthony LoCascio's home. For 2 hours, Rev. Robinette, a missionary to Germany and other parts of Europe, ministered, encouraged, prophesied to each person in that home. The whole night was just anointed and ordained of God - from the worship service at the beginning till the time of prayer and prophesy at the end.

"While we are waiting for confirmation to placate our fears, thousands are lost and God looks to someone else."


"When you get eaten up with a need, logistics gets thrown out the window."


"The will of God begins when the need surfaces."

Click here to support and learn more about the Robinette's ministry.

How beautiful it is to see children respond to God!
Isaac prayed so fervently and deeply last Sunday. When Pastor Vito asked the congregation at the end if anyone would like to be baptized, Isaac quickly raised his hand.

Under the prayer covering of his parents, Pastor Yonts, and The Orchard, Isaac went down into the water in Jesus' name on Sunday, January 31.

I don't really know why I'm squatting down.. it's not like Isaac is little anymore, or ever really was.
How cute does this freshly baptized little boy look!
Too cute - right before his baptismal ceremony, we were all in the Fellowship Hall eating, and Isaac was just too excited to eat! So thankful for this sweet boy.

On Tuesday night it was OUR turn to have Rev Robinette. Following is series of pictures and comments of one of the most remarkable nights I have EVER experienced.
Never have I felt more apostolic!

About 35 of us in the LoCascio living room.
Worship service prepared the atmosphere. The tears just flowed.
I would love to share the secret of what happened... some special prayer or preaching technique. No secret. No special technique. Just faith and expectation.

He asked who had not yet been filled with the Spirit of God. Surprisingly (to me, at least!), no one was shy about it.
Ten people raised their hand.
"Well, those of you don't have it, who wants it?"
All ten hand stayed up. Even after he explained the craziness of it all - stammering lips, speaking in a different language, etc. Not unusual for people to back out at the point, saying they're good with just their belief in God. Not this group. I just found it so wonderfully odd that everyone there was so ready to receive the Holy Spirit. And receive, they did.

The first person to receive the Spirit was Bill - a teacher at Wheaton Christian Grammar School. He was so excited about it. He started praying for the other nine to receive it, too. By the end of the night ALL TEN received the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in a different language JUST LIKE they did in the book of Acts.

Honestly, if you have no idea of what I'm talking about right now, I STRONGLY encourage you to go read Acts 2. You can either read just that chapter or read the entire book of Acts. Not only will it change your life, if you let it, but then you'll toooootallly understand what it is I'm talking about. So try to make it a point to read Acts 2 and then go back and read this particular post.

Best quotes of the night:

Channing (.091 seconds after praying): "Can I have a cookie now???"

Lauren (after Rev Rob explained that the evidence of the Holy Spirit was speaking in a different language):
"Yah, my tongue just won't do that."

Those were the last words she spoke in English.
Lauren got the Holy Ghost!

Let's talk about the Superbowl. And Valentines Day. Why? Because they both are tied to Jon Barlar - a dear friend and big brother. You probably don't recognize him. And for that, I apologize. I don't know how he's managed to remain faceless on this blog. Ash and I have both come to the conclusion that Jon could be CIA. We went down the list of people that could possible be CIA, and Jon was at the top of that list. Well, I hope no bad guys chasing him see him on TSROPP. This COULD be the last pic...
Oh, back on topic. In the loosest sense of the word, I hosted my first Superbowl party. Jon was there. And that's all I'll say about that. Valentine's Day. JB brought coffee to me at work. Sweet, eh? His wife has him trained well. I don't really know why I said that. John wasn't trained. He's just nice like that. I guess I felt like I had to say something about his wife so everyone would know that he's a married man, and this is NOT my subtle way of introducing my new love interest on the blog.

Speaking of the Superbowl.  It was tough, I admit, to pick a team this year. I'm not particularly fond of the North East. Also, their uniforms were wayyy to similar to factor that into my decision. Last year was easy. Packer uniforms are classy green. This year. Blue. Yawn. So. Came down to the QB. I actually think that Manning kid is cuter than Brady. So. Giants it was. And Giants it is. My team won. :)

 Yes, that is latte froth all over our mouth.
The best part of this picture? We were in the middle of an oceanic deep conversation about...  jello, or something.. when we took this froth pic.
Just one of the many things I love about my froomship.

My brother got an iPhone 4. I've already showed him that you can Tango in the car. He didn't like that. I'm SOOO excited that he can video chat now! I just LOVE him! He had a birthday last month. January 24th, to be exact. Which so happens to be the most depressing day of the year. Not opinion. That's legit info. Google it, baby. Formulas and smart people stuff will pop up. Uh, Zac's birthday, yes. Stillll haven't sent him that birthday card yet.  It's okay though. He gets me. I'm sure I'll get my birthday gift from him in May when I come visit. That's the way we non-firstborns roll. :o)

Aaaaaand Ritabadita! This screenshot really captures our friendship and personality. She's all dimples, smiles and as loud as Gabe's trumpet. And I miss her.
:(    <---- that's my sad, "I-miss-Rita-so-much" face.









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Oh, I'm now taking 7-character license plate number suggestions.
Hit me up here or email: han.billingsley@gmail.com. I'm not just being cute by asking for suggestions. I really am down to the wire. I need help, people! Don't think you know me well enough? That's just stupid.. my life for  last 8 months is plastered all over this blog. So, hit me up - stat!
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I still love the cold. Snow is still magical. And Chicagoans are still whiney.
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Two words: Downton Abbey. *sigh*

I'm obsessed with their wardrobe and valets and maids. I need someone to do all of those arduous duties like starting the dishwasher and cleaning out the French Press! Oh, to have a maid. Those were the good days. Unless you were the maid.
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Till next time! Cheers!  :o)