joshua m. dilley

Last week, Matthew Paul Turner (aka @jesusneedsnewpr), started a new blog post series called "Friday's Person You Should Know."  The idea was to create a positive series to celebrate the people in our lives. I thought this sounded like a great idea, so it's my new thing for Friday's!

Please meet my husband, Joshua M. Dilley:

Josh and I met my senior year of high school in photography class and became fast friends.  There are many things that attracted me to him back then - he's cute, intelligent, and funny - that still attract me now.  But there is much MUCH more to Josh than that.  He's loyal to a fault.  Even when friends take advantage of him, he sticks by them.  He's generous and giving to those in need.  He loves, honors, and respects his parents, and would do anything for family.  He loves Jesus and prays continuously!  He has supported me in all my endeavors even when they've taken me away from him for long periods of time.  He stays with me through all the good and especially the bad, lifting me up, and sometimes putting me in my place when needed.  And he loves me - unconditionally and without question. 

I thank God for creating Josh and bringing him into my life!!! 

Who do you thank God for bringing into your life?

friday's person you should know

Matthew Paul Turner, aka @JesusNeedsNewPR, began a new blog series today titled "Friday's Person You Should Know."  The idea behind this new series is to create a positive series to celebrate the people in our lives.  I thought this sounded like a great idea, so it's going to be my new thing for Fridays.  Since I just found out about it today, I'll wait to start this series until next Friday!

What person in your life do you want to celebrate?

homeless in ohio

My hometown is pretty small and homelessness isn't something we come across every day.  Occasionally there will be an old guy holding up a "will work for food" sign by the exit ramp or at one of the shopping centers.  But we don't see them sleeping on the side of the street or on a park bench.  Just because we don't see them, however, doesn't mean they're not there.  Even in the small city of Chillicothe, homelessness exists.  It is real.

According to statistics, there are about 12,000 homeless men, women, and children in the state of Ohio.  On any given day, 1500 of those go unsheltered.  Some of those who go unsheltered are living under bridges, down by the river, in cars, anywhere they can find a place to lay their head. 

The question is, what are we doing to help?  I came across a blog today written by a lady named Sandy.  She is using her creative talents to help the homeless in her Ohio hometown by knitting scarves, hats, mittens, and socks.  Read about her efforts to help the homeless here. 

In Chillicothe, one of the ways in which we can help the homeless is through a ministry called Homes of Hope.  In the near future, I will have more details to share on how to be more involved in serving this wonderful ministry.  But, in the meantime, please watch this video and share it with your family and friends.  Together we can make a difference and impact the homeless community where we live!



How are you reaching out to the homeless community in your hometown?

random blogs

This afternoon has been a lazy day, which is a rare occurrence in my life these days.  Most of the afternoon I spent online clicking one random blog link to another.  Here are a few I'd like to share with you:

Joshua Dilley - my wonderful husband now has a blog (but he hasn't written anything yet!) 
Kate McRae - a 5 year old little girl battling brain cancer
Beauty Unveiled - written by a mom with an autistic child
Footprints...My Walk
The Church of No People
The Sex Cafe - an article about sex trafficking in Moldova

care & clean

This morning myself and several others participated in a community outreach event called Care & Clean.  The purpose behind this outreach was to join together as the church to help the city of Chillicothe with a few projects it couldn't afford to complete on its own.  For example, painting benches throughout the downtown area and in the parks, picking up debris and trash in the alleyways, and painting over graffiti throughout the city.

In the three short hours that our small group spent in the city, I realized a couple of things.  First, small things done with great love really can change the world.  Ok, we might not have changed the world, but we changed our small part of the world.  Our group cleaned the alleys, removed debris from University Drive, and painted over some graffiti on a family's garage.  Our efforts made an impact, and the people we came into contact with today noticed. 

Second, it's easier to "talk the talk" than "walk the walk."  For myself, it was hard to get out of bed this morning.  I've been battling health issues and really didn't feel like getting up this morning.  Despite my selfish desires to stay in bed, I got out of bed and went to work.  You're probably thinking to yourself, "you love doing this kinda stuff....I'm sure it wasn't that hard for you."  But really it was.  I waited til the very last possible minute to get out of bed to go.  In the end, however, I'm SO glad that my selfish nature didn't win the battle because it was so much fun working together to clean the city! 

Finally, our job as the church isn't finished in this community.  There's a lot of work yet to do in Chillicothe, physically and otherwise.  My hope that this summer the church of Chillicothe will rise up and work together to make a change in our city!

What small things are you doing with great love to change your world?

summer reading list

Instead of doing research for the paper that's due at the end of the week, I've been thinking about what I'm going to read this summer.  For those of you who love to read, is there anything not on my list that you suggest I read?  I love trying new authors and genres, so no suggestion is too wild or crazy!  Also, if any of you out there have these books and would like to loan them to me, please let me know!!  Here's my list so far:

summer dreams

A couple of days ago I began to dream about things I was going to do after I graduate in 2 weeks. Those dreams include reading anything and everything that peaks my interest, watching movies that I haven't had time to watch, as well as do a little traveling (I hope!). Another dream is to actually keep up on my blog. If you haven't noticed, I only posted once during the month of April. What's the point of having a blog if you're only going to post once a month?!

So, in 2 weeks this blog of mine is going to be updated more frequently! It's going to contain posts about books, movies, and music. It's also going to include posts about apologetics and theology. I love to "argue" about the tough stuff of the Christian faith, like God and the problem of evil. Last, but definitely not least, I want to blog about perhaps my biggest passion in life - serving the local and global community. The summer will be full of wonderful opportunities for me to serve, and I can't wait to share my experiences with all of you!

What are your dreams for the summer?