Valerie Valentine Blog

Tyler and I had a great weekend together! We left Friday after work to go to Ohio for a church conference over the weekend. Just the two of us! Although it's not the beach and palm trees, it's always great to go on a mini adventure! I think there is SO much value in getting away from your day to day life with your spouse - even if it's only an hour or so away! Just time to be away and together . For some reason there is something stuck in a lot of our heads that in order for it to be a "get away" it's going to cost a lot of money, use up vacation time at work, and be planned out in advance. If this were true, we would only go on trips once a year... if that! haha. I don't know about you, but I love staying in a hotel that I don't have to clean and eating out every night, not having to cook and clean up dinner! When I'm at home I feel guilty for watching too much t.v. when there is a sink full of dishes and laundry to do. So having the weekend to ...

As some of you may already know, I'm the high school youth pastor at the Vineyard. Tyler and I  started as volunteers for both Middle and High school back in 2014. This is something that I had never really pictured myself doing. I thought it may be a good thing since youth group was such a big part of my own life when I was in school. Fast forward to 2019 where I have been running high school youth every Sunday night. I honestly feel so unworthy to be in this position. Sometimes it's hard. I don't have all the answers (I wish I did). I'm not this crazy super pastor that does everything with confidence. But what I am confident in is that God has put me in this position that I never thought of doing for a reason. It brings me so much joy! Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing my students worship Jesus, praying for one another, and truly showing love to others around them. Something that I feel like the Lord has been putting on my heart is for me to introduce the stud...

While I love Christmas just as much as the next person, I'm not ready! Mentally or financially! lol. -Anyone else feel like as soon as Halloween was over everyone on social media seems to think it's now Christmas?! I want every holiday to have it's glory. So I dedicated this first official blog post on Thanksgiving! May seem a little silly, but I absolutely love Thanksgiving! Mainly because there is no real obligation but to enjoy my pie and be with my family! I'm also a lover of tradition. Every year, my husband, my parents, and I go down to my Grandma's house where it's home made EVERYTHING! It's amazing! She reminds me that she's getting older and she doesn't know how much longer she will be able to put on her Thanksgiving dinner, so each year I cherish it more and more. After a full belly of food and relaxing with the fam, my mom and I do our annual Black Friday shopping trip! No one can shop like me and my mom! We literally shop until we drop at...