Summers End

If you are reading my blog for the first time you will not have missed much as of late, however if you are a returning "blogger" you will notice that this is the first blog in much to long! In short: My adventure with God has been indescribable! So this will be effort to show what the last 2 months have been like...by pictures and short stories! Hip-hip horray!

I went home to Lynden July 13-16 and went to Chad and Trina's wedding...


Christian Renewel Center- One of the most dear places to my heart! I ended up being there a lot more than i had planned, but it was much fun! God always does amazing, prophetic, challenging things in my when i am at CRC.. and this time was no different! My dear friends Jon and Ann Dunagan where the speakers... they are also my extended family in Hood River Oregon... more on that later!
My amazing sisters and myself.... yes we look like triplets!

Lindsey and me... getting ready to jump from behind a waterfall! yahoo!

I didn't take this picture, but it was on my camera... Uriah and Tim diving in!

Next I had the amazing blessing of being able to spend an evening with my "Indian-African" Family. When i was in Africa in 2005 i became very close to my host family. Sam and Vicky grew up in the slums of south India and God brought them to himself and together and they have an amazing heart for the Wolof people of West Africa. When i returned to the USA i soon realized it would be very unlikely that i would see Sam, Vicky, Jeshu and Debbie on this earth again! Much to my heart's delight I spent the evening on Aug 3rd with them!

Debbie Joy was just barely 1 when we were in Africa and now she is all grown up and very sweet!

August 4 2007~ Caleb Wilson and Sarah Nelson
Caleb and Sarah were on my YWAM DTS and we could never have guessed the They would be married 3 years later!!! But we are all so glad they are!



August 5-7~ Lost Lake Campout! Covenant Christian Hood River has become my second church family!!! I LOVE them so much!!! The church campout was a great end to a fabulous weekend!




I was only back in Bend for 5 days before i went back to Hood River for 3 days to help with VBS... well 3 days turned into a week!!!!
VBS was great i had a little team of ten 1-3th grade boys! They were soooo much fun!



On Tuesday August 14th, my life changed... forever. I went cliff jumping... well at least that was the plan. I had heard about The Pocket a lot from the Dunagans and heard it is SO much fun. Totally safe and SO much fun! I've been cliff jumping before, so i was up for anything. But no matter how many times your have jumped before it is always a little nerve wracking to stand with toes on the edge....looking down 30 feet into the green, cold water! Sure enough my case of nervousness almost cost me my life. When i went to jump it seemed as though my feet wanted to stay where they were, thus sending me straight down, instead of jumping out! I remember thinking, "wow i'm going to hit rock!" and "What's going to happen?" Nest thing i know i am trying to breath and all i get is big gulps of water! My whole body wast screaming in pain, but nothing would come out of my mouth. My contacts were moving around on my open eyes, and the water was dark and cold. when i surfaced i knew Patrick had jumped in to pull me out, but i could barely gasp for air before going under again... this time i felt him grab my arm and pull me out... i was trying to breath and understand what just happened... The other guys who were they thuoght for sure i was broken everywhere... but only my left leg was bleeding and bruised! When they asked me what hurt... i said "EVERYTHING!" but amazingly when i stood up and started moving, only my ledt foot hurt!!! nothing else.... i knew my muscles would be sore the next day or two, but my foot only hurt if i put pressure on it...It was swelling right away! I was convinced it wasn't broken...and after the guys graciously prayed for me and took me home to the Dunagans i went about the rest of my afternoon and evening. It wasn't until the next day that i was conviced to go to the ER and get x-rayed. Turns out my foot was broken.... but a very small "easy to fix" type of break! yay! i recieved a small-not-so-fashionable blue "shoe" to wear for the next 3-6 weeks! It was very scary, and I know God has a plan for my life!!! Patrick and Daniel Dunagan thought i was going to be hurt MUCH MUCH worse than i was, so we are all praising the Lord that i am not! here's the pics....
This is my leg and bruises about a week later:

This is my little diagram of the cliff... yes i went back 4 weeks to the day after the fall of my life!


I stayed in Hood River for week because i could not work, and then took me, my broken foot, and crutches to Cour De Alene Lake in Idaho to celebrate my parents 25th wedding anniversary!
Yup, i have put 12,000 miles on my car since Feb. 14th!!!!!

Josiah loved riding in the boat!

Lindsey skied for me, since i could do much of anything except lay in the sun... bummer i know!

The view from the deck!


After Cour De Alene... i still wasn't supposed to work...so Lynden got to see me again. I enjoyed Woods Coffee everyday at leadt once a day, and got to chill with my older brother Gregg who was on vacation from Iraq! YAY for our American Hero! Once i was back in Bend i got right at it and went back to life at Red Robin! Not as crazy as before, but i got a few new nick-names including,but not limited to; Hobbles, Hop-a-long, Gimpy, Gimpster...you get the idea!
The glorious RR outfit!


After a week and a half i thought i needed a break =P so i went up to Puyallup and DID the Puyallup Fair with most of my family and then just got to love on them and some close friends for a couple days... and then back to Hood River i went to celebrate my 22nd birthday!!!! That's right i am 22 years young, and loving every moment of it!





And that my friend brings us up to date on the details of cassie's July, August and begining of September 2007! It was most definatly one of the most amazing summers of my life!!! I feel like i lived in the "greenhouse" affect of growth!!! God has taught me so much, i have laughed, cried, prayed and smiled at this adventure i am on. I am so thankful for all the prayers and encoraging words. Thanks! here is the quote of the moment;

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every moment you believe to be the will of God." -- Jim Elliot

and that's that.
Laugh out loud. Smile for real. Enjoy the moment. Live Passionatly. Listen to the Music loud. Love More. Dance. Sing. Clap. Whatever you do be all there! I have a friend who says this, "have the best Life of your life." and that's the truth. Make today great, pursue God's Best...

Life is Happening...God is good.

Hmm... It seems that it has been a while since i last wrote... very interesting.

Life in Bend is wonderful... let's assume that unless i post with tears and gnashing of teeth that Cassie is LOVING life in Bend Oregon and is so enjoying this adventure with God... putting the puzzle of life together! Way awesome...that's all i have to say on that note!

Work is going great. I am loving "The Dirty Bird" more and more. =) I work with a great group of fun upbeat people, and lots that go to my church! woot-woot! If you are an eater who treats your tastebuds to Red Robin, but sometimes get in a rut and only order "that one thing that I always get"... let me challenge you to eat outside the box next time you treat your tastebuds to RR... the menu really is full of wonder and awe... and silly side comments about the menu items...so check it out and be amazed!

Happy Birthday America!!! I realized that i didn't ever mention that i had an AMAZING 4th of July in Hood River Oregon with some family friends who let me be apart of their family fun! I was in a parade( yay Hood River), went to a GREAT church BBQ and outreach, heard some amazing music(www.rescueministries.com), worshiped the LORD AND of course watched the fireworks! Enjoy the pics!






I had a vacation!!! gasp and rejoice-- that's what i did! I went "home" to Lynden for a few days! Things that make the Diacogiannis home AMAZING:
-Papa D's waffles...with strawberries!
-snuggling with the next avalible little D brother or sister!
-sleeping in until you smell the waffles...
-playing every card game invented;
~BLINK ~ Uno ~ War ~ Go Fish ~ Nertz ~ Hand and Foot
-laughing so hard you cry... at the dinner table...
-having the most RANDOM disscussions at the dinner table =)
-taking walks around Lynden
-EXPERIANCING THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN A FAMILY WHO NO MATTER WHAT LOVES YOU... even if we get in "fights" which actually doesn't happen too much!

I also went to a wedding, went to Woods Coffee 900 times, visited my old church (yay NCCTK phase #1 done!), and got to catch up with lots of amazing friends!


This is me and Hosanna(lil sis) Dancing to "Fly Me to the Moon" at our friends wedding!

Welp, that about recaps my life in July so far.... blessings as you seek HIS will for your life!

African Siblings!

These are the 4 precious children that God has placed in our lives! My parents are AMAZING and are in the process of adopting Victor(12), Lydia(10), Rachel(10) and Sarah(6 ?) from West Africa! WE are all thrilled and so excited to see how this all happens! Our prayer is that our new brother and sisters will be here by Thanksgiving! Please be in prayer that the process is not drawn out longer than it should. Victor, Rachel and Sarah are siblings and Lydia is getting 13 in one package deal! how awesome is that?!?!?!? Yes my parents already have birthed and are raising 10 AMAZING children for the Lord, but these precious ones would be a gift from the Lord for our family. We don't divide Love at our house we multiply it!

i'll keep you all updated on how things are going! Life here in Bend is wonderful! Hot, but wonderful! God's never ending kindness is incredible!

i Love my Brother!

Hey hey hey!
last week i got to spend all day in Portland with my "little" brother Jeremiah! He is an amazing dude...and i'm so lucky to have him as a brother and best friend.... Portland was an adventure to be had for sure! We walked from Pioneer Park to The Old Spaghetti Factory... it's only about 2.5 miles, but there are a few freeways between the two....yes, we walked on the freeway, but only for .2 miles so it wasn't that bad, except that i was wearing a skirt and flip-flops...and the "sidewalk" is not on Portland's City Works Dept. "to do" list.... so therefore i got a few scraps from the bushes that were trying to force us onto the freeway into the path of speeding cars.... it was crazy! But oh so much fun!!! and i got my phone fixed, so i can have longer than 5 minute phone conversations! yay for Verizon!

enjoy some pics of me and my crazy brother....we wanted to take pictures of us walking on the freeway, but thought that might be dangerous =)

Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is a decision I make to obey God and walk as a lifestyle in the higher realm, by not allowing someone’s actions or attitudes to dictate what I do. Releasing them to God, while not requiring them to be accountable to me to make it right. Having the wiliness to walk in the opposite spirit making sure I am willing to be an unrestricted channel of God’s love for that person!" -Doug Easterday

Forgiveness is hard. It's part of the not easy road we walk as Christ-followers. Not because the concept is hard but actually walkng out what it means to forgive is really hard. I love this definition of forgiveness. I have heard Doug preach the message behind his definition quite a few times, and every time i learn something new and meaningful.

Today it's this "Releasing them to God, while not requiring them to be accountable to me to make it right..." It stinks when I have to give forgiveness, but intantly in my head i want them to make it right, to "fix" the situation. I want people to un-do what was done, to make my life easier.... but that's not what this says. If we think about how Christ forgave us, this definition makes a lot of sense and is really real. He doesn't require us to "make it right" to fix the problem we created.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;"
Psalms 103:11-13

This is amazing to me. No questions asked, long before i was a glimmer in me mama's eye MY sins were forgiven! Yes, i still have to keep repenting and asking, but not for the sake of forgiveness, for the sake of relationship. Keeping in perspective that HE is the LORD, the just ONE; yet he choose me for a special purpose and calling...AND he forgives me, over and over and over again. Why should i not take after his example? Why should i not choose to forgive in the hard moments of my life? When it hurts? When it's easier to be mad, and not forgive. If i choose to forgive i also must do this "be an unrestricted channel of God’s love for that person!" That means see them as God sees them, like Jesus: Perfect, Pure and Spotless.

So today i choose to forgive. I choose to not see people as mean, spotted creatures, but i choose to see them as my King sees me: Pure and beautiful, created for a purpose, and meaningful in this crazy thing we call life!

What are you going to do?

Just Smiles Blog

So the title tells all. I started a blog for my business... Just Smiles photography...check it out...

justsmilesphotography.blogspot.com

enjoy some of my favorite pics....only a few for now, but i have a hard time picking...i only have 6,000+ pictures on my computer to choose from....anyways...i'm going to use this blog to "advertise" my skills in Bend....so spread the word. Cassie LOVES taking pictures, and would love to take yours!

be blessed. be a blessing. Love Jesus. Love People.

so funny

ok my most recent post was so serious i think i will lighten up the mood...check out this link.... i hope it works...

http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=4365172474487M000000N&product_id=

let me know if it doesn't....

blessings to each of you in Christ Jesu our Lord.

what is the will of God?

What is the will of God?

1 John 2:17 "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

Let's be honest, at some point in our lives we all struggle with this question; What is the will of God in my life? Sometimes we think about it more because of our situation, or perhaps it's because of a choice we have to make...or maybe we are envisioning our future and we hope we are seeing the same thing that our Papa in Heaven is.

I've heard it said like this: "In order to know the will of God you must first know who he is. Who he is is Holy(set apart). So if we are walking in STEPS of Holiness, being set apart for righteousness in every situation than we are doing His will."

That sounds AWESOME!!! YAY i have an answer?!!?? not so fast. Putting this is practical everyday terms makes this so easy to say and so hard to walk out. Being set apart. What is that? What's it all about. Well I better have something i am set apart for... The will of God? Well then we are back to the beginning. Let's look it up....

Jeremiah 29:11-13
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

This is every other persons favorite verse? Why is that??? because it talks about a life of prosperity? no harm? I don't really think so. I think it's because to some extent it answers our question, not directly, but to some extent. "plans to give you a hope and a future." WOW that's good stuff. HOPE. That's what this world needs. A future. We all want tomorrow to come, and even if we are not sure what that future holds, because we have the HOPE first, we know it will be good. No matter if we live a life of prosperity by the worlds standards or not, we know we will prosper because of the HOPE to that which he has called us. He has given us the Hope that there is tomorrow. If tomorrow is working at a restaurant, or painting a mural at the park, if tomorrow is reading a book to a child or preaching THE WORD to 200 junior high students. NO matter what tomorrow holds if we have the HOPE of Jesus Christ living in us we have a future. If the future is Heaven, boy will we be in for an AWESOME surprise, but if the future is now, and now is where i am... then i my hope is that i live my now with passion, with fire, with something no one can take from me... my hope.

What is the will of God in my life? I don't know. I have absolutely no idea what things he has planned for me. I have a faint picture. I have a few prophetic words that i will hold on too... but let me say that they are not my hope. They are not what i hold on to. Oh no, I hold on to Jesus. He is my only ONE. He is my I AM. The one I hold on to in my moment of sorrow, of quietness, my moment when no one in the world seems to know that i am screaming out for LOVE and attention, when I am so lonely my own heart beat is more scary than an assurance of life. When the sound of the keys i am typing is a comfort. HE IS MY EVERYTHING. JESUS paid it all...Just so i could have Him all. He is my LOVE and my LIFE. He is the one i live and breathe to serve. MY hope is built on nothing less than HIM. HE IS MY HOPE.

This is how i know the will of God. When i hear Him whisper in my ear; "Well done good and faithful servant. Wait on me. Fall into my arms. let me carry the burden, you just hold my hand."

I heard this today and my heart cried out. My eyes let the tears fall, because so often i get caught up in WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD ??? I forget to just be in it! The silence is deafening, and the cry of my heart pierces the night, but when i choose to quiet these things and let my PAPA, my ABBA God love me...my heart melts. and then i know: to be in the arms of the ONE who created all things satisfies my soul more than knowing all the plans of all my days ever could. This is the will of God: to know HIM.

the Bend Adventure Continues!

Unfortuatly for all you faithful blog checkers...i have been a slaker and have not posted for a while. but here i am today, making up for it =)

Let's see what's happened since my last post....hmm: SO Much! I'm keeping busy at Red Robin, which is good when the bills come flying in =) and my goal is to be the most joyful expo the Bend Red Robin has every seen, no mater what...everytime!!! It's going pretty good. I continually reminding my self it's about Jesus...and i need to be like him as much as possible.

Church. Where to start with how amazing it is?!?!?! I don't know! I love it so much. Emerge is such a blessing, that i hope i don't take for granted. A couple weeks ago we had close to 200 young adults on a thursday night, and that blows my mind! The worship is humbling, the messages inspiring and the leadership powerful! I pray that every church in America will be blessed with a young adult community like we have a Westside... I am burdened with the fact that my generation is "falling off the map" when we leave High School...We have the power to change our generation and the ones to follow, but we need leaders who will shepherd us to a world changing, Holy Spirit Powered movement!

Last weekend I had "the guys" here... smile you who came, cry those who missed it! It was so much fun showing them around Bend!! WE played football in the park, walked around downtown, tasted Bellatazza, hung out at Westside, and took an AMAZING hike out at Smith Rocks!!! Here are pics....
Me and my brother Jeremiah, who i hadn't seen since December! yay for Amazing siblings...


Me and the incredible creation God gave central Oregon!!!



The Central Oregon Night Snake we had the privalage of watching...do a lot of nothing...well it crawled aroung a little/ I did my research they are kinda rare so we are kinda special! oh and it was about 3 feet long!!!


A very cool picture I took from inside a rock!


Matt, Tim and Jeremiah...holding on for dear life as they peer over the edge!


that about sums it up. God is amazing, I Love where He has me: in the palm of His Hand. He won't let go, He never changes!

I hope you all are enjoying the beginings of Summer. I know i am!! yesterday it was 85* and it's been up to 92* this weekend so far!!! I miss all your smilin faces, and can't wait to see you when i do!!!

Life in Bend Oregon... Part 2!

Hey Hey...
Here I am again writing on my blog. I must say i am getting good at keeping things updated! yay me! So let's recap since last time i wrote:

ATF-Aquire The Fire was AMAZING! It successfully broke my heart more for the youth of america, specifically the Northwest. My heart sank when i only saw about 3,500 young people in the Tacoma Dome, and when the ATF staff said it was the smallest conference of the 2007 Tour(west or east coast) I wanted to drive around Tacoma and pick up random youth off the street and bring them in to experiance a God who loves them and has amazing plans for them!!! My heart longs to see thousands of young people passionatly holding on to the Word of God and really walking out their faith, not because it is a fad, not because Chirstians Bands are cool, or because their friends are doing it....but simply and purely because they BELIEVE in a life of purpose and a life of more... more passion, more love, more grace... let's just throw John 10:10 out there!


After ATF, i got back and down to business... Red Robin Bend will never be the same!!! (insert "evil" laugh) There are so many hurting and lost souls at that Bird place!!! Both that work there and that frequant RR way to often! I am determained! To overflow the love of Jesus, on everyone there... no matter how many times a server "yells" at me that some thing is messed up and it's my fault...no matter how bad tips are...no matter what NASTY comments people make that make me want to duct tape their mouth shut... I AM DETERMINED TO LET THE LOVE OF JESUS LOOSE IN THAT CRAZY PLACE!!!!! I will say this: i love working there and there are amazing people who LOVE LOVE LOVE Jesus who work there so props to them!

Westside Church is still rockin my world. I am attending emerge on thursday nights...it's like the young adult community of Westside, and it's really SWEEET! I had the amazing oppertunity to go to the emerge Spring Retreat at Breakaway Lodge on the Oregon Coast last weekend!!!! PRAISE THE LORD FOR RETREATS!!! I really was able to put faces to names and feel more connected to the Jesus lovin' Young adults. And my oh my did God show up!!! WoW!!! Basically here is what sums up the messages : If you want to know WHO YOU ARE, then find out WHO HE IS, and who HE is...is HOLY(aka set apart)!!! We also had amazing times of "singing worship" that lasted late into the night.... oh oh and ULTIMATE FRISBEE on the beach!!! here are a couple pics to make you smile and think about what a great time i had =) me and my camera took about 200 pics in 2 days!

So this is Chase and Fabi...um yea...neither caught it =)


And this is one of the AMAZING, INCEDIBLE, BEAUTIFUL, AWE_INSPIRING Sunsets that we got to witness. I like to say the God painted me a picture...and when i think of it like that I think of how much he loves me. and that blows my mind! His love is amazing, it changes me and makes me want to love like him!

Welp folks; thanks for reading! I'd really love to hear what God is doing in your life, no matter where you are, who you are, what color socks you where, and if you like the color purple! The Word of our testimony will change things. Let God use your life to change things! Be a blessing. Shine your Light. kiss the feet of Jesus in thanksgiving!

Life in Bend...

God is so good....somebody say amen!

I am thrilled to report that the Lord's faithfulness extends to Bend Oregon and beyond!!!! =)
I am loving life here and enjoying my adventure with my Abba. I don't know how many times i have said this week: "God is so good!!" His kindness is incredible!

Training at Red Robin is finished. I am offically an "expo" so basically i get all the food from the kitchen make sure it is perfect and then tell the servers that they better feed their people! It's so different from full time ministry, but i know God has an amazing plan for it all! And the free food for a few days was a rad perk! If you don't know the definition of a Red Robin Smiling Burger... i can also tell you that! it's very cool! ;)

Westside church is already like home to my heart! I love it so much! I've been there everyday this week...just so my heart can be happy!....well kinda. The teaching is great, people are friendly and the Holy Spirit is alive and well! I am signed up to be a member and have been attending 2 weeks! i'm serving in Zone 45 (kinda like The Edge for you NCCTKers) and soaking up the presence of God in that place. Tuesday night i experianced a 180 Sr. High serivice and that was definatly encouraging! I love few things more than seeing young people in America praise the Lord and live passionately. Can i just tell you there are some stinkin' passionate youth at Westside church! woot-woot! Wednesday night i went to Big church and worship with the moms and dads of Westside, also amazing! And tonight i experianced the young adult scene in emerge. It was very uplifting to be in a place with people my age who are lovin' Jesus and desiring to walk in the way of the Lord and experiance more of whatever God has for them!!! I have always been a lover of singing time worship, but this week pretty much proved to me that it's basically my favorite. I know i say that about everything, but I LOVE the presence of the Lord. I Love to see the Spirit of the Lord move over a room and convict souls, change lives, and bring unexplanable joy to people! What an AWESOME GOD WE SERVE! If your planning a visit to Bend, make sure you take a pit stop at Westside and just soak in the Holy Spirit and be with people who LOVE Jesus and live passionate lives. This church has been the balm to the ache inside that misses home and NCCTK. I'm so thankful for it!

well i am off to Aquire the Fire bright and early tomorrow morning, so i better go pack! yikes! be in the Word. Seek Wisdom and Choose Joy. Let your knowledge catch Fire *Ephesians 1:17-19*

I Live in Bend, Oregon!!!

I know it's hard to believe but it's true... I live in Bend Oregon! I'm so happy it's crazy! There are few feelings that compair to the joy and peace that one feels when they are confidently walking in what the Lord has for them! WoW that's about how to explain it! Here are some pictures of my new home.....

The outside...Kinda plain, but it's home sweet home!


"My Space"... I love it! It's so huge and roomy and i love my computer by the Window....not that the view is extravagant, but i do love it!












So that's the house! It's just right for me! and i'm so thankful for it. I'm a 10 minute drive from work at Red Robin, and about 10 minutes from Westside Church as well! and the sun rises and sunsets are absolutely amazing!!! Today i took a walk to Costco(about 1.5 miles) and the sun was shinning, the butterflys where springing through the air, and i just wanted to jump for joy! God is so good!

My first day of training at Red Robin was diffinatly an adventure. A very fun filled adventure! It is going to be a great place to work and the people i've met so far are a blast!

Well that's about it for tonight. If you are at home in Lynden(whatcom county or Washington) i've thought of you while writing this...hoping it will ease the miles between us, and give you a glimse of life in Bend. I praise the Lord for all your prayers and support. May your blessings be abundant and pain be few!

Give HIm the glory!

Bend, Oregon

So i just got back from another wonderful long weekend in Bend!!! The dates are set, the polls are closed: I'm Moving to Bend the weekend of April 21!!!!

It's been so amazing to watch God work all this out. I'm so overwhelmed with praise and thanksgiving it's crazy. My favorite part is that i can't take credit for anything that happened this weekend. It's all by his love and kindness! I'm in awe. What an awesome God we serve! His plans are good and perfect! I will be working at Red Robin and volunteering at Westside Church in Children's Ministry as much as my schedual allows! And living at the Base of Pilot Butte... so come over and we'll go for a hike!

The picture was taken at sunset in Drake Park... if you come visit i promise to take you there!!! It's my favorite place in Bend. So much of God's creation! I went everyday except yesterday before driving home.

The Amazing God I serve

God of glory You have made all things, all things
Who am I that You would think of me, of me
For You made the earth, You made the stars
Yet You know my name; You know my heart
You're always there; You're never far away

So amazing as You paint the sky
So amazing, makes me wonder why
You love me like You do
You love me like You do
That You love me like You do
So amazing, so amazing

I see the birds ride on the winds, they fly so high
Mountain peaks so tall they seem to touch the sky
Creation calls Your name above
Yet in Your mercy and Your love
You came to give Your life that I might live

No other words could discribe how i feel right now.... I Love the amazing-ness of my God, my Love, my Life, my very breath i breathe. He alone is the reason i live and breathe.... it's so amazing. His Love for me and the WAY he loves me.... i can't even put it into words!

Honored Guest

Give God the Best.....Here's a little look at what i love to do... make videos! This is for a series on tithing in Kid's Place.. aka my place of ministry....

Cassie News...

Let's see it seems like so much is going on i don't know where to start....

New Car
Yupee! I'm LOVING my "new" car! It's a 1999 Honda Passport (suv) and it's like brand new! It's wonderful and i love driving it around... hosanna says i look like a mom in it =) and everyone else says it's "SO COOL"... i think so too!



Moving
Moving?!?!? Did someone say MOVING! for real. Cassie is actually moving out... and away! Where? oh that would be a great tid-bit of info... Bend Oregon!!!! Why? well the simple answer is that I know that is where God wants me and it's not an option not to go! It's actually been 6 months in the works... the moving part. Bend became the place in November when i went down and fell in love with the city, and a church. Westside church (www.westsidechurch.org) is a foursquare church of about 3,000 in attendance. I have actaully heard about Westside for the last 5 years and when i finally got to visit i knew it was going to be a part of my life! When? oh yea when! June 2007 is the approx. month... probably not sooner, but it's possible.... i'll let you know sometime after March 21st.... when i get back from being there again....I'm very excited for this new adventure Jesus is taking me on. It will be delightful, amazing, hard and CRAZY. But i know the Lord is leading me there and his reason will become evident i'm sure. I would love all your prayers, as this is a new kind of adventure for me, and my family.

Lessons from the Horse barn...
Ok here's the story. I am house sitting for some people with 3 horses... which means i am cleaning out stalls and all that jazz. Well yesterday i was scooping poop.... realized i had left it undone for 2 days... which doesn't seem like very long, but three horses in a barn.... yikes! It was quite the job.... time consuming, smelly, heavy, hard, and just plain not the most enjoyable thing in the world. As i was scooping away i was wishing i had done it earlier...like the past two days! Instead of putting it off.... which is so easy to do, and it was like the Lrod totally used that thought to remind me that sin in my life is like poop in the barn. If i continue to put off making things right in my life i will become, smelly, heavy and hard hearted.... and not fun to be around. We as Christians need to continually clean out our heart. Taking care of the Sin in our lives so that we don't become smelly. If we put it off.. freedom will be harder to be had.

there you have it... that's the cassie news for February 16th....choose Joy and Seek Wisdom!

I luv my little sister

I Love my sista Hosanna Joy! She is such a special chic! I can't imagine life without her, and wouldn't trade her for the stars! she is a little firecracker... and i'm so blessed that she is in my life to keep me humble, girly, and goofy! She's even a september baby....which makes her extra special....cause when i turned 11 it was the best gift God could give me.... a little sis.... a roomate... a friend. I love her to the birds and back a million times over. She is so funny. I wish everyone could know her and experiance the Joy of the Lord in this amazing 10 year old! I pray God's protection and blessings on her always.
"here's to looking at you.....(hosanna joy)"

*smooch*

Patience

Ecclesiastes 7:8
"Finishing is better than starting.Patience is better than pride."

Colossians 1:11
"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,"

Galatians 5:22
"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"

What do these all have in common? Patience! I'm learning it again... and agian.... but i wish it would hurry up and perfect its self in me..... ha ha just kidding. I am learning patience right now. It's such an interesting thought... waiting.... for God's perfect timing. I'm so glad He knows all and has a plan! that's amazing. It's what i hold on to.

Romans 5:5
"And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

If i were a butterfly

If I were a butterfly... i'd tell everyone of the amazing God who transformed me from a silly, wiggley caterpillar into an amazing, beautiful, fly-able, smiley butterfly.

That was my random thought for the moment! yahoo for random thoughts.

This weekend was so crazy and strange! let's start at thursday night since that is when my weekend starts.... I went to Bible study at the Loys, like i normally do on thursday nights... but on this very cold January night something strange happened on my way there. I was driving along approaching North Shore Drive and all of a sudden my radio starts freaking out! It was turning off and on and off and on... and then all my lights went dim.....NOT off, just barely on! I, being the car savey person i am(yea right!) figured something must be wrong! =) I decided that after Bible Study i would have my friend matt check it out and see what was up. So there i am starting my car after a wonderful message about listening to God, and my car seems to run fine... oh and did i mention that the whole wat there it was making a noise.... weird! well no noise. very weird. so matt and i drive it around and determine he better look under the hood. So we go back to the Loy's road and turn off the car... bad idea... after determining nothing seemed to be wrong with the battery, it wouldn't start! Matt did decide to make a guess that it was the altornator.... now i'm not exactly sure what that does, but it sounds important... and being that my car wasn't starting... yea....

so matt ends up driving me to Lynden and we figure i'll call the tow truck tomorrow... LONG story short... after 2 trips out to the car (45 minutes from home) and back, one lost tow truck driver, a "non existant" road... and waiting and waiting... i was pooped! all in all it was a 6 hour ordeal i was not planning for my day off! i ended up in bed at 2 am after a very interesting, character building evening... BTW: the Lord hears your voice no matter how loud you yell... .the yelling does in fact help you sometimes hear yourself! God in His awesomeness loved me through it and showed me waht i needed to learn... and to Him be the glory for loving me enough to not leave me where he found me.... but always bringing me more wisdom and understanding....even when it doesn't make a lot of sense!

Saturday made up for it all! I spent the morning shopping with my amazing "sister" Jen Ren. and then had lunch, and spent the next 3 hours making a quilt. That's right a quilt. The thing old grammas make... i'm not an old gramma.... it's just something i enjoy! it's a really neato quilt, and i'll post a pic as soon as i take one of it!

But for now... that's a butterfly, and a glimse into the random... and sometimes not so random mind of miss cassie.
be filled with Jesus Joy...it's really cool!

More New Orleans Pics and Stories!

The Diacogiannis Family... minus mom and dad!

Bryson plays with Hosanna's Hair

Extremem Musical Chairs

Cafe Du Monde


The Diacogiannis Family Photo 2006- Ok minus mom and dad, but all 10 kids in one place! That’s pretty awesome….. and WAY to much fun. I so enjoyed my time with my brothers who have migrated to the east coast! Here are Names and ages from left to right and back across… Jeremiah 20, Lindsey 17, Carissa 17, Hosanna Joy 10(on ladder), ME! 21, Elijah 4, Gregg 22, Josiah 6, Joshua 16, Ben 13! Yea for amazing families blessed by God… I could ask for a better “life” gift than my family!

Bryson Plays with Hosanna’s Hair! – this is defiantly one of my favorite moments of the children’s ministry we did! I actually didn’t even know it had happened until I saw the picture! No matter where Hosanna was sitting, Bryson would move behind her and play with her hair. It was apparently so cute!

Extreme Musical chairs- On the first day I broke out the extreme musical chair tournament…. Each team played against themselves and then when there were only two people left they all played against each other. It made for a lot of laughs and rock, paper, scissors as the tiebreaker. Overall the children’s ministry was amazing. I had a great time with those kids, and was so blessed when 22 decided to pray and receive Christ as their Savior! PaRtY in Heaven! It was also great to know we didn’t leave those kids in the dark, they had a church right there with open arms to invite them in….

Café du Monde- Was the coffee place I visited 6 times in 13 days! It was great! They serve Black coffee, with steamed milk and a “herb” called chickaree(sp?). It was amazing! And the Beignets (French donuts) were also amazing… completely not healthy, but very tasty! So this is my artsy photo of the Coffee and Beignets!

New Orleans Pics and Stories!

So i thought i would add some pics from New Orleans on here and give the little stories behind each one. We had an amazing time overall. 22 Kids accepted Christ on the first day of our Kid's Ministry! It was amazing! Definatly my highlight was praying with them and watching them be so eager to learn about Jesus! God gets all the glory here, i'm just so blessed to be used by him. so here are the pic stories....

The one of the Mustang in the Living Room was in one of the worst places Katrina hit.... i took the pic from the "door way" where we think the car broke through and ended where it sits..... that house hadn't really been touched in a year and a half.... gross! it stunk really bad.

and the Noah's Arc one, was on like day3 it was raining in N.O. harder than it has since Katrina..... causeing TONS of flooding..... so we went out driving.... "Noah's Arc" however has been in that yard since the 25 foot wall of water brought it there a year and a half ago! yikes..... here's the analogy we got about how fast the water was moving after the levys broke: in comparision to a sandcastle being destoyed by water from a fire hose!!! yikes again!

The one of the mail box was just really strange.... so mangled and the house was vacant... every house had a story and i wish walls could talk... It would be so interesting to hear all the stories.

ok well there's a little look at some of the great stuff we saw... more to come later.....for now it's back to real life for me.... my current project is organizing my photography business..... i'll let ya know how it goes....

Merry Christmas from New Orleans!

hey y'all!
I'm in the south here in new Orleans LA... so i thought I'd start off with a little southern drawl! he he! the Diacogiannis fam is all here in N. O for Christmas outreach 2006! We are having a blast so far! Staying at the House of Prayer church on Canal street in mid-city. It's fabulous! Pastor Jon and Elizabeth are wonderful people with Big hearts and believing god for good things in this city so full of destruction and sin! We have been here nearly a week and seen so much! We are working to finish the re-model of the 50 year old church building... it was almost finished before Katrina hit and then it went back to the beginning because of the storm. So painting, putting in ceiling tiles, cleaning bathrooms, kitchens and general up keep things have kept us busy this week. We hosted a ladies tea last Tuesday night and 27 women showed up for that! Praise the Lord. This coming Thursday and Friday we are hosting a Kid's Ministry Christmas Party... It's kinda like a mini VBS, but WAY BETTER and more fun! We are going to be giving away at least 10 bikes to some of the kid's that come plus tons of toys and stuffed animals! I'm praying for at least 50 kids each day.... so if ya Read this join the prayers! I'm excited to see what God is going to do! I can hardly believe it is 2 days from Christmas! I love LOVE LOVE this year! I think everyone should experience a Christmas like this! it's simply amazing to be able to give from my heart and not expect anything in return!!! I'm so blessed! and to be able to be a blessing to those in need is one of the best feelings of all times! God is good... i will bless his name forever and EVER!
Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!

Christmas Cheer!

Christmas. Celebrate Christ. Why isn't everyday titled Christmas? I think there should be a calendar that everyday it says Christmas.....Because shouldn't we celebrate him all day everyday anyway? Just a thought. Well last week i went to three Christmas Parties in 2 days! Craziness. One had a white-elephant gift exchange.....i got pink earmuffs, a blue bouncy ball, and a Large tshirt that is baby blue with the Nerds Candy on the front!!! it's pretty sweet.....oh yea and it came with Jello! It was pretty fabulous! One of the parties was a Church Staff Banquet complete with prime rib and cheesecake! Yea! It was so much fun reviewing all the things God has done in and through North County Christ the King this year. The pic is at the Christmas party for all the Small Group leaders at NCCTK. It was also very fun to see the Small group ministry growing and the leaders actaully catching the vision of NCCTK. I love my church.....it will always be the platform for where the Lord takes me. No matter how far away that is.....Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

a bloggers life span....

What defines a good blogger? Someone who writes everyday? that would be CRAZY in my estimation, but then of course i do only blog about once a semester! I feel the need to be a better blogger. Why? I'm not sure! Perhaps it is because i read other people's blogs and they sound so put together about blogging(whatever that means). Or maybe i need an outlet for the random, and sometimes not so random thoughts that go around and around in my head! It's crazy really, because i am not even so sure ANYONE has ever read one of my blogs.....that is a strange thought....who reads them anyway? and how in the world would i go about "adveritising" a blog? Send out a mass email to all on emailing friends and tell them to read my blog? that would sound a bit like i had an ego or at least something to say. It's like i either need a fan club or i need to do something exciting in order to tell people to read about me......hmmm. Perhaps one day when i move, i will be a more faithful blogger...and then people might actually want to read my blog, because i won't be able to just "de-brief" about life in person with all the people who live and breath in the area where i do that currently. So what is a bloggers life span? What makes a good blogger? What makes a blog worth reading? and WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES "BLOG" even mean?????? i have no idea to any of these answers....so if you whoever may be reading this has a thought about any of this....drop me a comment....leave me an email and above all LOVE God with your WHOLE stinkin' life....regardless of if you blog or not!

Patience is hard! I sometimes wish i could just learn it and get it over with...it's so hard. Especially on those days when you know there is something better out there, but you also know that the Lord is trying to build character in you. That was my day today! I know God is working and preparing things for me to do, but today at work i just wanted to quit and get on with life! BUT praise the Lord for people who can speak into my life and remind how much God is doing in my life! I'm so excited to see how God is going to get me where he is taking me! In the mean time i will enjoy the character building process of learning patience and pouring myself into the "now" of my life.