Chris is Home!

I am excited to say that my husband is officially back in town! It thrills me to no end to have him home. He has been gone all week! While it was fun to hang out with friends, watch girly movies, and eat Chick-fil-a, I certainly missed him like crazy. Tonight, to celebrate his coming home, we went to dinner and tried a new little shop called Yogurtland. Oh. my. goodness! It was delicious!!! They only charged $.30 an ounce and you could choose from many flavors and put any topping imaginable on it!

Here I am enjoying my frozen yogurt...soooo good! (Sorry for the bad photo quality! We took it from Chris' blackberry!)

And here is Chris'...yummo! I still can't get over how cheap it is. It cost us $3.15...which is nothing. We usually go to a similar frozen yogurt place near our house and spend $8 or $9!

Well, we are headed into a relaxing weekend. No big plans but just enjoying life and having fun! Have a great weekend!

Little Miss Kenlee

On our way to San Antonio, we made a little detour and spent some time with our precious new niece Kenlee! She is adorable and couldn't be a more content and precious baby. I have to say it gave Chris and I a little baby fever (for a couple of hours at least ;)

Look at that little beauty! Chris did a great job feeding and holding her. He will make a great Daddy one day and Miss little Kenlee certainly loved her uncle!

Here I am with the sistas - Becky (Kenlee's mommy) and Chelsea! I LOVE these girls!

After our Deer Park stop we spent the rest of the time with my family. I know yesterday, I said my favorite thing was the Japanese gardens...but...I lied. My absolute favorite thing was getting to see my Grandad. He has struggled the last few months and been in the hospital the majority of the time. There were several times we weren't sure he was going to pull through, but he is one stubborn Grandad :) I couldn't have been happier to spend some time with him in his home! I was so glad he was able to go home a few weeks ago, and you can tell he feels just as glad to be back in familiar territory!

I love how my dad is in the background with paper towels...every single time we went over there he was picking up and cleaning up :) He is such a servant!

And finally here we are on Fourth of July (I am clearly the only one who didn't think about wearing the correct patriotic colors...hah)

We loved spending time with my family and it was just the break we needed!

Japanese Flower Gardens

So...a few weeks ago, Chris and I headed down to San Antonio to visit my parents in their new town. We had a great time, but my favorite things was the Japanese flower Gardens! They were BEAUTIFUL! In fact, if I had lived in San Antonio when we were engaged I sooo would've gotten married there! So without further delay and for your viewing pleasure...the Japanese Flower garden (sorry there are so many)!

Dad, Mom, Chris and I

Me and my momma-cita!!

My love and I!

So, if you are ever in San Antonio, don't just hit the riverwalk and Alamo! Make sure to stop by the Japanese Gardens...they are breathtaking!

Waiting...

We are currently faced with new job options…but not just job options…but life options! Not simply a paycheck or a place to spend the hours of our weekday from 8 to 5 or even a title to call our own. We have life options which will affect where we live, what we do, who our friends are, and where our kids are born. While these affected areas are important they do not even come close to the areas which are more deeply, more substantially impacted. The areas I am more concerned about in relation to our life options are core, heart issues…

At which place will God be most glorified in our lives and through our ministry? At which place will I be able to grow in love toward my Father and in love with His Word? At which place will I more deeply develop the mind of Christ? At which place will the kingdom be most advanced and eternity most impacted? At which place will we be able to better hear God’s leading…be it a gentle whisper or a loud voice?

I sit and ponder, because we have several doors which seem to be good, even great, options for our lives. I am unsure as to which option is the best, but I know I must maintain my resolute decision to hold out for God’s best for our lives and His kingdom. I only live once…I cannot relive yesterday, last week, last month, last year or the year before that. As a result, I have to lean wholly on the One who knows it all, holds it all, and is all. Trust is more difficult to actually live out than it is to talk about. I am daily in the process of learning how to trust in Him! Depending completely on the Father can feel like one of the most vulnerable places in the world, but in reality it is the most secure! He is my constant, my rock, and my compass!

Psalm 130:5 – “ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits; and in His Word I put my hope.”

Let Mercy Fall on Me...

Yesterday during worship, our church sang the song “Mighty to Save” by Hillsong Australia. Do you ever have those moments in worship where you are so completely struck by the words and meaning of the song that you can’t even sing? It’s almost as if singing the words aloud would disrupt them from sinking deep into your heart…I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. But yesterday, I definitely had one of those moments. I love it when surroundings fade away and it’s just my heart to God’s heart, communicating quietly. What struck me most significantly yesterday, was the first verse, I couldn’t get past it through the whole song. The lyrics state…

“Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.”

The phrase, “Let mercy fall on me” has been running through my head over and over. Yesterday, during that song, I asked the Lord to implant his mercy into my thoughts, my heart, my motives and my actions. I want to see people how Jesus did when he died for all mankind. I want to love ALL people like Jesus did when he gravitated toward the outcasts, the poor, and the disowned.

I know saying we want Christ’s mercy is one thing, but living it day in and day out is another complete. That is my prayer…that His mercy would fall and rest on me. That it would transfer to everything I do, say and think. That it would be the filter for how I live my life!

Tonight we are enjoying a wonderful slow rain! I love staying in and enjoying the rain. We needed a good soak for our roses, so it is a blessing to spend the evening with summer rain.

"Cakies"

I LOVE Sunday's! I always enjoy worshipping at church and spending a leisurely day with Chris...and today was no different. We had a great morning service and then went to a fish fry put on by our church youth group to raise money for camp. It was soooo good! There is not much better than fish and chips, and knowing it helps our youth go to camp was even better! We spent a leisurely afternoon napping and hanging around the house. Chris is programmed to take a nap every Sunday afternoon so he was out shortly after we got home. And of course, I couldn't let him out-do me so I took one too!

On another note, I offered to make cookies for Chris tonight while we were watching the Yankie game. Secretly, I wanted cookies for myself as well ;) I usually make the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Cookie Recipe and this time I decided to half it, so we didn't have four dozen cookies sitting in the kitchen...hello weight gain!!! Anyway, I accidently put in the two eggs instead of one and didn't realize it until they were in the oven. So, I warned Chris that these cookies may not be normal...well, they weren't normal but Chris LOVED them. He declared them the best cookies he had ever had...ha! They were more like a cake consistency so we deemed them "Cakies" instead of cookies :) Here are our cakies which do not look too appetizing but actually were really, really good! I have now been requested to make all of my cookies like this...we'll see!

A Jonas, Baggetts and Putt Putt

What a week...we have been running for the last several days! Our friends, Travis and Danielle, came to visit Tuesday through Thursday. We had a blast with them even though the time was short.

Here we are...with Chris being a dork :)

The highlight would have to be a visit to the Cheesecake Factory....yum! This was soooo good! And guess who we sat behind...Kevin Jonas from the Jonas Brothers. That was fun! Chris snapped a picture of him on his phone as proof...not the best quality but proof none the less!

Chris was so sweet and brought a beautiful bouquet of roses and daisy's on Wednesday for our 3rd anniversary! I LOVE them!!! It was so fun to have them at my desk all week and think about the last three years of our marriage! Here is a picture of them today (sorry they are slightly wilted...that's what I get for waiting to take a picture until today!)

Today, we slept in which was the best! After waking up we messed around the house and then went and stuffed ourselves at Abuelos. This is probably my favorite mexican food ever! Chris and I reverted back to childhood and decided to play a game of Putt Putt. It was fun despite the high-90's Texas heat! I am pretty sure he won although I came pretty close! I think I did pretty good since I never golf, and he golfs all the time :)

Our score card....and Chris' not-so-good penmanship!

Chris showing his great golfing skills

Well, hope everyone has a great weekend! Church tomorrow, fish fry for lunch, and hopefully Toy Story 3 in the afternoon!

Terrific Tuesday!

Hello Friends! I hope your week has started off as good as mine! Chris and I are pedaling along in our plans for church planting. I think each day gets more exciting and scary all at the same time. We have set up our PO Box for the church and begun to order some supplies we will need to start raising funds and beginning ministry! Chris and I have also found the absolute perfect place to live. We are praying the Lord will work it out for us to be able to move in there sometime in the fall. Pray for us as we build our core group and start the first steps of planting the church. Pray for wisdom, provision, and most of all that God would be glorified in our lives and ministry!

In other news, Chris and I are celebrating our last day of the second year of our marriage, because tomorrow is our THIRD ANNIVERSARY! I cannot believe it has flown by so fast. I can truly say I am more in love with my man today than even when we first were married (if that is even possible J). I have the best husband on the planet and thank God for each and every day we have had together!

As I write this, my sweet friend Courtney is arriving at the airport to fly out for a mission trip to India. I had the privilege of anointing her with prayer last night, and I know God will do great things in and through her life as she serves Him for several weeks in India. Pray for her safety, boldness, and faith as she seeks to minister to hurting people! She is an amazing young women and I am so excited for this journey she is going on!
Y’all have a great Tuesday and stay cool in this hot, hot weather!

Surviving vs. Thriving

I have thought much lately over a response I heard from an everyday question. Sitting at my desk at work, I recently heard someone ask a fellow believer “How are you?” Now I know this question is asked and responded to hundreds of times a day, but it was the response that I heard that got me thinking. The response this particular day was “Surviving!” I thought hmmm…that is interesting, and I wondered if maybe that individual was going through a trying time. But come to find out, that is this person’s typical response day in and day out.

This constant response of “Surviving” has really made me sit back and think about how I want to live my life. Do I just want to survive each and every day and walk around just glad to have made it through? Not really, while surviving is a good thing (I certainly would not want the opposite), I hope that my life reflects more than simply surviving…I want to be thriving. I believe Jesus wants the same thing for each of His followers. In fact in John 10:10 Jesus says,

“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly!”

It is clearly God’s intent for His children to walk victoriously, but perhaps we work to defeat ourselves by our words, thoughts, and attitudes so that our actions follow suit. My question today is, “Am I walking abundantly in victory or allowing the enemy to destroy my day to the point of just surviving?”

I know, there are periods of life and situations where surviving is the only thing that one can do. BUT day-to-day a follower of Christ can do much more than survive. He or she can walk victoriously through the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you, but I want an abundant life…a life that testifies to his greatness and power. May He receive ALL glory, and honor and praise for every moment of every day of my life!

SNOW Day!!!

Well...today has started out to be a wonderful day because we are having a SNOW day! I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland (at least as much of one as Fort Worth can expect)! I had almost completely gotten ready for work, when the thought crossed my mind that the Seminary may be closed...sure enough, I checked online and we are closed! Blessed day! God knew I needed a day off to rest and rejuvenate, as well as catch up on Hebrew! So, I plan on spending my day puttering around the house. I've got my school books laid out, a cup of warm green tee, and my favorite candle burning so I should be set!

On another note, I really want to get to Kroger today! They are having an awesome deal on laundry detergent. This week Purex is on sale for $2.49 a bottle, but when you buy two in the same transaction you will get a $4 catalina to use on your next transaction! (Note: the Purex is a part of the Daytona 500 Deal. So if you buy ten participating products you get an extra $3 dollars off. I didn't want any of the other items participating so I am just focusing on the Purex.)

That makes each bottle .49 cents each after the catalina. Even better, the catalina "rolls", meaning you can use the catalina from the first purchase of two Purex bottles to purchase another two. You will then pay $1 out of pocket and get another $4 catalina back! This makes a 32 load bottle around 1.5 cents a load! Definately, a deal that fits in with my frugal nature. You better believe I will be getting several bottles to stock up!

Well, y'all have a great day, and I am off to studying and enjoying my day off! Stay warm!

The weekend is coming...

It’s Thursday…and that means I am one day away from visiting my parents! I am so excited and anxious for tomorrow! My sweet husband bought me a plane ticket to go visit them for a long weekend! If you know me, you know that I am SUPER close to my mom and my dad. It will be a blessing to be home with them! They have also been doing some remodeling at their house, so it will be fun to see the changes in my childhood home!

On another note, grad school started today at Southwestern! I can’t believe Winter Break is over and another semester has begun. I feel like I have been in school for forever, and every semester I have at least one moment where I don’t think I can finish it. Yet, I always come back and find myself excited about a new semester. This will be a heavy semester for me, but it is my last Spring semester and I can hardly believe it…a little bittersweet! A year from now I will have graduated and Chris and I will be in the middle of church planting. I can’t wait to see how God unfolds everything before us!

I’m off for now…y’all have a great night!

Living Beyond Myself

I have recently thought a lot of living beyond myself. In a world which constantly screams to look out for “number one” and to take care of yourself first, no matter the needs of those around you, I have to sit and wonder what implications this mindset has on our world. Think for a second…if everyone were to look out for only themselves, to be so self-consumed that their priority and motivation was for their own well-being we would live in a very cold and hard society.

Even more thought provoking, what if God (who ultimately is concerned about receiving glory unto Himself) had been so concerned with himself, that he had no desire to send His Son, so that we might receive grace. God’s love was so far extended that He sacrificed His Son unto death, and yet I can’t put another before myself. As I write this, my heart squeezes, “ouch”. Too often I have lived for myself rather than beyond myself.

My prayer is that God would transform me so that my every action would be beyond myself. I want to be a blessing to my husband, my neighbor, my boss, the store clerk, the woman behind me in line…everyone I come into contact with. Of course, this mindset and life change cannot occur without intentionality. It is easy to be self-centered, but it takes surrendering to the Holy Spirit to live a life beyond myself.

Ponder on this, Philippians 2:1-5, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (NIV).