Photo Friday

I got to spend a quick day with my little buds while we were in Dayton for some meetings. They love playing with the camera on my phone because it can flip around to look like a mirror. Giggles were had by all!

So Much More

As staff with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), we have the opportunity to venture to Colorado every other summer for the US Staff Conference. We have been there twice and have been so thankful to be able to take the 1.5ish weeks to be refreshed and renewed.

Keynote plays an exciting part at the US Staff Conference, too! Many of our staff are deeply involved in planning and running the conference. Also, Keynote staff provide the music! [Fitting, right? :)] Tony and I look forward to serving at many future conferences!

Below, enjoy the song, "So Much More," by Seth Irby, performed by Keynote at the 2011 US Staff Conference in Fort Collins, CO.

So Much For Love

Take a peek inside of one of Keynote's bands! Below, you can watch "So Much For Love," by The Gap Theory, performed at the 2011 RUSH Festival in Hyderabad, India. This large event was in partnership with the Billy Graham Association. We are excited to have worked with the Billy Graham Association and hope to build on that relationship in the near future!

Thankful.

Thankful - for our team of supporters speaking encouragement, truth, and wisdom to us...both when the waiting is good and when the waiting is rough.

Thankful - for access to the Word. "...hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God." (Psalm 43:5)

Thankful - that my happiness is not dependent on my circumstances. I have a deep contentment that is in the Lord alone. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)

Thankful - for the amazing sunshine today and the ability to take my dog on an afternoon walk in the sun.

Thankful - for an abundance of great church families in the area and our ability to choose where to connect and grow.

Thankful. 

What are you thankful for today?

Photo Friday

Welcome to the world, Devyn Vaughn.

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting this little guy and helping my sister and her hubbs out for a few days. His due date was this coming Sunday, but he decided to make his appearance a week early. No body seemed to mind, though. Devyn and I had two mini photo shoots while his parents were napping. Although we got some great shots, I don't think he was too fond of being my little model. He let me know by pooping all over me. End of shoot. Immediately. Clean up, aisle 1.

Photo Friday

Yep. Those are my keys. The picture wouldn't be as grand if the car wasn't locked. It just makes for a better picture, right?

Even better, I am up in northern Indiana (Amish country) with the lovely Keynote ladies for a women's retreat...three hours from home. :)

Praise Jesus for AAA.

Photo Friday

Yesterday, we had the chance to meet Baby Jacob. We were so excited to meet this handsome little guy - and surprise his momma & daddy with our visit too! We are so thankful that Dayton is just two hours away from Indianapolis so we can do things like this! The Ellers are very good friends of ours and we just had to see their newest edition to the family!

Meet Our Friends: Rhymz Suhreal

When we moved to Indianapolis in December, we had this mindset of "instant community" by living so close to our Keynote friends. We were deep within community in Dayton with our friends from Apex, Covenant Creek, and Passage. What we didn't anticipate was the timing of our move, as so many of our friends left town for Christmas with families and working at various Christmas Conferences [see our previous post on Christmas Conference]. It worked out well, though, because we had our hands full with unpacking, organizing, and settling into our new home. Thankfully, God had a special bonus for us....new friends!

Zak and Becky and their three kiddos actually moved into the area about the same time as us. They are new staff, too! We seemed to be the only two families in town for awhile! We were blessed by hanging out with them and looking for church homes together.

We wanted to introduce you to them and what they're doing with Keynote. Zak and Becky are hip-hop artists for Keynote! Their band's name is Rhymz Suhreal. In August, they traveled to Kenya for two weeks, to minister to children. They delivered Bibles, taught them Bible lessons, and co-wrote a song with them.

You can learn more about and/or keep up with Rhymz Suhreal from their website.

Enjoy a quick glimpse of their time in Kenya:


Rhymz Suhreal @ Soweto Academy (Kibera, Kenya) from Rhymz Suhreal on Vimeo.

Photo Friday

A little more official. Name badges!

Lord, we trust You for our provision of what we need. We know this journey is in Your hands, and You know what we need. We're ready to work from the office now. A few years ago, we weren't ready. Please bring in that last bit of support soon!

"Tewbowing" - a way to start spiritual conversations!

One part of Keynote that we are excited to help out with is with the yearly Christmas Conferences. College students from all over the US go to different regional conferences between Christmas and New Year's. We both were able to attend our regional Christmas Conference in Indianapolis [Indy CC] several times throughout college.

Indy CC was where I [Jonelle] fell in love with the city of Indianapolis. There was just something special about the city that drew me in. Little did I know that it would be my home someday! Also, Indy CC was where Tony and I really started our friendship [albeit a little ironic, as we both went to the same university]. Little did I know that this guy would be my husband someday!

We are very excited to be able to work at the conferences next year, since they were a big impact on our lives! These conferences also can have a big impact on Keynote, because we use these conferences as a time to share with students about opportunities with Keynote, either on Summer Project, with an internship, or with full-time staff. [This is where we first learned about Keynote!]

This winter, some of our staff helped out at the Denver Christmas Conference, where over 1,000 students from various schools attended. At this conference, students packed thousands of meals to send to Haiti and heard from great speakers during the sessions...but what was interesting to hear was that they did a “Tebowing” flash mob in downtown Denver as a way to start spiritual conversations!

Check out the Denver newscast featuring these students "Tebowing" downtown!