another year gone.

So I recently had a birthday. Yes, I am finally 27 (for real this time! If you didn't hear I went like 3 months telling people I was 27 getting ready to turn 28, I guess I have already began to lose it...). Birthdays are funny how they make you reflect, make you nervous about the future, and how they seem to pass now with hardly any real thought towards them. They are just another year gone.

I have been thinking about the things that I have learned over the past year. The good, the bad, the unforeseen. If you can take a few minutes to sit in the quiet of your own mind, ask yourself this question, "What have I learned this past year that has impacted me?"

Here's how I answered...

Probably the biggest thing I have learned this year is that God is faithful when we are faithless. I do not know know when it happened, or how, but I actually feel like one of those people that can sincerely say 24 hours in a day is not enough! I'm not saying I walked away from God this year because I was busy, but its funny how I could look at the calendar and realize I hadn't read my Bible in a couple of weeks... Or maybe really sat down and had real one on one quiet time with Him. During those weeks I never once felt like God walked away, I always felt Him when I prayed... He was faithful. I always find myself asking, "Why?" No human would remain faithful in a relationship where there was no effort for a few weeks! I'm just being honest here. We now have 5 services on Sunday. I usually attend 2-3 back to back. That's a lot of church, BUT that's not a lot of "relationship". Your relationship shouldn't be based on a Sunday, that's the easy day, it should be based on the other 6 days of the week. So I'm working on being better on my half of the relationship...

I also learned what a, "courtesy flush" is, thanks to my friend Irene. If you don't know what it is, send me a message and I'll explain it. Thank you Irene!

I told you, it's the good, the bad, and the UNFORESEEN. That one would definitely fall into that category.

I've learned that these two people make me laugh and keep a smile on my face more than anyone in the world...

I am pretty nervous about her becoming a teenager... Wow. Maybe even actually dreading it, we definitely need a boy to even out some of the drama! If you could only hear the conversations that go on in this house or how she already has little crushes on some of the boys at her school... You'd be worried too!

Let's see... On that note, I realized over this past year I hate awkward questions like, "So when are you going to have another one?" But yet those same questions come spilling out of my mouth too! I hate it! "So when are you thinking about getting married?" "When are you going to try to have a baby?" "When is the next baby going to be here?" Ughhh... I'm trying to delete these phrases from my brain, but they've been burnt into it from years of hearing them!

The last thing that I've learned over this past year is that I'm a horrible blogger! I want to be dedicated. I want to blog at least weekly, if not more. I would like to tell you, "I'm going to do it more, I promise!" But that would be setting myself up for failure and we all know it! Right now, I'm just going to be okay with being a quarterly blogger :) Haha...

Happy Birthday to all of my blogger friends out there! Just in case I don't get to tell you..

See you soon! (fingers crossed!)

GET TO KNOW ME...

So I was on a blog trail the other day, you know when you visit one of your favorite blogs and then from there jump to link on that blog, and then to another, and so on. I finally ended up at this blog called MannLand5, and she does this great thing on Sunday's called, "Get to know me" where she posts several questions for all the bloggers out there to answer so their readers can get to know them a little better, which I loved right away. Her questions are also really fun.

So here we go, get to know me a little better...

1. what inspires you?

Wow. Ummm, where to even begin! I love fabric shopping, that right away can get me in the creative process, but probably right now going through Pinterest. If you haven't checked this sight out, its so addicting! I love looking through all the millions of great inspiration boards on there! I also visit several blogs daily that always inspire me to cook something new, photograph something differently, or find something to buy on Etsy!

2. what was the last thing you bought yourself?

A plain white t-shirt :) Haha, how boring! But you know how there are days where you'd like to throw on a perfect white tee and jeans? Well I never had a good white tee for that, but now I do!

3. would you rather watch a movie in a theater or from the comfort of your own home?

Home. Sweats, on the couch with a blanket and pillow, and then free refills on everything (usually popcorn and M&M's).

4. household chore you don't mind doing?

Wiping down the kitchen counters. I don't know what it is, but there is some glitch in my brain that says if my kitchen is clean, then the rest of the house "feels" clean too!

5. coffee or tea?

I will always be a huge coffee fan (hazelnut coffee, coconut creamer, 1 sweet-n-low), but right now its tea all the way! I'm addicted to Teavana! Our coffee cabinet is now stocked with all kinds of great loose leaf teas. My favorite right now is to combine Almond Biscotti and Honeybush Vanilla, lightly sweetened. Mmmm...

6. what could you eat every day and not get sick of??

Hands down, Mexican food.

7. what's the last book you read?

"I will carry you" by Angie Smith.

8. do you think you look you "look" your age?

Sure, if I can actually remember how old I am. I just went like 4 months telling people I was 27, when I'm only 26!

Well that's it for this time! Hope you know a little more about me and I haven't scared you off yet!

photo by Live.Laugh.Photograph

Talk to you soon,

IN THE DESERT

This song is called, "Desert Song" by Hillsong. It has been playing over and over in my head the last few days. I have so many people that I am close to that seem to be going through such trials right now, and it seems if it could go wrong then it will! And let's not even begin to talk about what's going on around the world... earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, unrest...

As I was reading a devotional this morning, the verse of the day was Joshua 6:16:

"The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army,‘Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!"

If you look up given in the dictionary it states:

giv·en

 [giv-uhn]

–verb

1.

past participle of give.

–noun

8.

an established fact, condition, factor, etc.

God had already provided what was ahead, given is past tense. They marched around the city in faithfulness, but God was already faithful on the other side of those walls. What situation do you find yourself in today that you need to be reminded that God has already given you the answer and miracle if you just won't give up on him and keep marching around the wall? Is in your relationships? Finances? Or is it because when it rains it pours, and you can't see past the storm?

The part I love most about this song is the bridge at the very end. It says, "In all of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing... I have a reason to worship."

No matter what season you are in this morning give God the worship. As Pastor Bryan said a few Sundays ago, you might be marching around the wall on the sixth day today and what would happen if you gave up today and tomorrow your miracle was right there on day seven! Keep praying, keep worshiping, and keep seeking after God...

I don't think the Israelites went marching around those walls grumbling and complaining, I think they did it worshiping and rejoicing. Sometimes our worship is the only thing that can bring praise to a dark and dim situation.

Or if you're on the other side of the situation this morning and you find yourself after all the walls have came down, you've found your answer and everything is going well, don't forget to give God worship in that season too. Sometimes we only pray and seek God when things are at their worst, but I encourage you to praise Him this morning for this season as well.

I hope all of you have an incredible day, and as Rodney Atkins says, "If you're going through hell just keep on moving..." Haha, had to get that in there somewhere! Seriously though, don't give up, you're miracle and answer is coming, its already been given!

with love,

THINGS I LOVE...

Hello Thursday! We are in the great state of Oklahoma for a few days and so I thought I would get back on the horse and start blogging again!

My biggest problem with blogging right now is that I want every blog to be life changing :) BUT I know that's not possible and so I stare at the screen trying to come up with something monumental to type and when that doesn't happen I just quit.

So today, I'm trying something new, the things I love right now. Now remember, these are just opinions so don't go all crazy on me if you don't agree!

First off, I love my new Nikon D3100... it is absolutely aaaaamaazing! Not only does it capture incredibly crisp pictures, it records video in HD! I love when a device is a 2-in-1 combination and cuts down on the things you have to carry around. I'm still learning all of the functions and options that this camera offers, but once I've got it down I'll be posting a lot of pictures!

Secondly, I'm really loving my new Little Peacock Hats. Makes me want to have a new little baby just to be able to use one of these little pretties... I should have the rest of these posted on my Etsy site by this weekend.

Thirdly, Virgil's Cream Soda. Wow. I love Cream Soda (in our house they're referred to as "cold ones," it just makes them a little more dangerous. haha) but this brand is far superior to any brand I have ever drank. I can't find it in Dallas yet, so I like to stock up when I'm home. Maddy and I just made a "cold one" run earlier this morning. You can look them up here at Virgil's

Fourthly (that looks so funny), small groups. We just started our fourth semester of small groups at Northplace Church. I look forward to it every week! We have been so blessed with such amazing groups and this semester raises the bar even more. We come together to eat, fellowship, eat more, enjoy our new arbor and fire pit, eat some more, and then pray. What more could you ask for? If you've never experienced a small group, you really should. I have built so many new friendships and memories that wouldn't have been possible without this environment.

Lastly, I'm really enjoying this little lady right now. She just turned 3 at the end of January, and it is so much fun to watch her grow up every day (a little depressing too...). She wakes up every morning pretty much right around 8 a.m. and asks for chocolate milk and a show, then the rest of a day she is on the go. We are becoming quite the best friends too. We like to say, "I love you" to each other at least 100 times a day!

She's really into riding her scooter, catching bugs with her butterfly net, and anything imaginary. She tells me about her sister Addi coming over daily, and as we drive down the road she likes to point out where her friends live. Her imagination is so big, makes me miss being a kid again. I love to catch her playing pretend or talking to her little dolls, it's just so cute.

She is so loving, animated, free spirited, and loves to sing more than anything (wonder where she got that? Definitely not me!).

But right now she would give anything for a puppy. We hear the pleas for one at least a couple times a day. I asked her if she would rather have a little brother/sister or a puppy and she replied, "I reeeeally want two puppies!" It's still a big "no" from both Bear and I though. There are days where we start to consider it, and then we come back to reality and realize how insane our schedules are!

Her daddy and I are more than in love with her. She completes us in a way we never knew were possible. We are enjoying being parents more than ever. Maddy keeps us highly entertained, on our toes, and humbled to have the opportunity to help mold this precious little girl into what she'll be one day...

That's about it for now. Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday! I'm off to play babies with a demanding 3 year old who has had enough of me sitting here typing.

Talk to you very soon (finger's crossed),

DRUMROLL PLEASE

Welcome to the new, bold, and beautiful blog! I'm so excited to have it revamped and ready to go for Presley Lane. I'd had severe writers block these last few weeks and just stare at my screen trying to find something monumental and life changing to type. I still have not found it, but I thought maybe the best way to break this vicious screen staring cycle was to just type...

It's still not working, but I really wanted to share my new fabulous blog, thanks to Designer Blogs.

The funny thing is, I even paid the extra money to have the blog finished in a week instead of the normal wait time (5-8 weeks), guess with my non-functioning writing skills I could of saved a chunk of money and just waited :)

Hope all of you have a wonderful day and I look forward to writing very soon...

Isn't it funny...

First of all, I know that I said in June that I would not take 2 months to blog again, instead I took 6! That's just how life goes sometimes and the things we really want to do seem to take a back seat to the "busy" things of life. Summer is hard to find time because I spend every sunny day except for Sunday at the pool with my little minnow, Miss Maddy.

Then the fall kicked off and it was just as busy! I finally really got started on my little side business, Presley Lane, which I am in love with. I will update you in another blog on Presley Lane, its a story of its own. That fall followed up with a Northplace Staff Retreat, the Texas State Fair (the first time we had been since we've lived here), and Halloween!

All of the Staff at Grimaldi's Pizza (Minus Pastor Bryan who was preaching at TBN)

My favorite Pastor's Wives in the entire world!

Trick-or-Treating!

Texas State Fair 2010

Now its Winter... Thanksgiving and Christmas have both come and gone, my Presley Lane Open House has happened and we are standing in the present! You are pretty much up to date, not really but lets just pretend for a little while that you know all of the funny stories that I will try to update you on later and pictures to go along with them.

As I was praying this morning, I thought, "Isn't it funny how our lives change drastically from the pictures that we perfectly paint in our heads?"

In college I had this mural of my life painted in my head, it was so vivid and detailed. I knew every part and and corner of it. I knew what it would look like from year to year, season to season... Isn't it funny how that mural has been smeared, and bumped, and maybe even torn here and there, BUT the end result is even more perfect than I could have ever painted by myself in the first place?

If you would have asked me in high school or my freshman year of college to tell you what my life would have looked like at age 26 I probably would have answered something like, "I want to be an executive or director at a creative business firm, own my event design business, or I'm still thinking about being a lawyer from day to day, just don't tell my dad." I knew I wanted to be married and have children, but didn't think much about the when or what it would look like and I also had dreams of living in New York in a beautiful loft apartment.

Looking at my life today, I would not change one thing. Now, it has taken pulling, tugging, and releasing old dreams to pick up new desires that were probably buried deep down all along, I just didn't know they were there.

I struggled for a long time with staying home with Maddy, feeling like I had given up a piece of who I was, the "business woman". I know its so silly to write and hear, I'm actually laughing at myself as I type... Anyways. God is such an amazing painter. He knew all along, and here I was doubting, whining, and complaining about my little ole life and poor me (Thankfully I had an understanding husband who listened and prayed with me during this very trying time too!). When here He had this wonderful new mural painted for me. It might not look like the one I had painted, He might have added a few brushed strokes, and life might have added some new colors, but its incredible.

Chris Tomlin has a song called, "I will rise" and it says:

"There's a peace I've come to know

Though my heart and flesh my fail

There's an anchor for my soul

I can say, It is well..."

As I write this morning, I love my life and the complete peace I have in it. I'm thankful that I do not have to be in complete control or have every season planned out. I'm thankful for the opportunities that God is opening every day for me and know that they are only from Him. I am so glad that I GET to stay home with Maddy and watch her grow into the beautiful little girl that she is... She is not a baby any more, and pretty soon she won't be a little girl, so I am beyond grateful for these times.

I never thought I would lay in bed at night dreaming of headbands, hats, and beautiful flower designs with feathers and rhinestones, but for now thats my life! Designing for Presley Lane while playing doctor and secret spies with my almost 3 year old, and then recording receipts and doing taxes after bedtime. Its perfect.

So today, wherever you are, don't stare at your mural thinking you need to start completely over. Start where you are, but let God have the paint brush.

You don't be in control, it will be alright, because He is.

it's a love-hate relationship...

Wow. First of all, I cannot believe that I haven't blogged since the beginning of April. Summer hit and chaos began. Maddy and I have been to the pool everyday, she has began potty training, and I don't know if we have had a free night since April! Bear and I did manage to squeeze in an unbelievable, relaxing, all-inclusive 5 day vacation to Mexico at the end of April, but I truly feel that I already need another one! Our lives are the exact definition of crazy right now, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Now that I have filled you in on the last 2 months, let me dive right in and tell you about a love-hate relationship I have formed... I am talking about my relationship with our summer youth camp that we do every year. Many of you (well the 5 of you that follow my blog, haha) are probably thinking, "Hate? You LOOOOVE camp." And yes, your right, I LOOOOVE camp. This year was a very nostalgic year for me at camp, daily I had flash backs of my years at camp and how much they meant to me. This was my eighteenth year at COGAF camps, and it is a very large part of who I am. I was also given the privilege of being head dorm leader over 70 girls this year, something I used to dream about every year I attended camp growing up.

But this year, something was different... As we ended Wednesday night's service, I leaned over to Bear and said, "I have a love-hate relationship with camp." Its an emotional relationship. The very first time I came back to be a group leader, I was 19, and by the last night at camp I heard one of the girls complain about how I wouldn't let them do something and I lost it! I mean I couldn't even control the tears. It was one of those moments where you are sitting in service trying to hold it together and the more you do the worse it gets! I've grown since then, but the realization of what life is like for the campers we are there for is so much real for me now.

Let me explain this relationship a little deeper.

I love the food at camp. It is by far the best camp food I have ever eaten, and being married to Bear I have attended a lot of different camps. BUT I hate the 3 pounds I gained because the food is so good.

Its a love-hate relationship... Lets go a little deeper.

I love getting to be involved in activities. I love every activity we have, no matter what team I get put on, I love to play hard, sweat and stink, and be absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. I love to yell and cheer as much as possible. I love to make my team laugh and I don't mind looking like a complete idiot trying to throw the dodge-ball as hard as the guys, I know its not possible but its okay to try... BUT I hate how sore I am when I come home. My body is covered in bruises and I hate being reminded that I am not 16 anymore, nor can I play like I am 16 anymore.

I love that as head dorm leader I was allowed to let the girls have a wrestling night for the first time. I hate that I took a beaten and have the bruises to prove it.

I love spending the entire week with some of my closest friends. I hate leaving "camp world" on Friday.

I love that there are no distractions at camp. No cell phone service, no internet, no tv, nothing. I hate that I can't keep it that way when I get home.

My realization of my love-hate relationship came from this though--I love getting to know the campers and becoming a part of their life. I HATE knowing ultimately what they are getting ready to go back to.

This year at camp, we quickly realized that campers with a two parent, normal home life were the minority. I don't even think we can comprehend what most of these campers go through on a day to day basis.

I met Camper D (we'll leave out names to protect the campers) on Sunday night. Camper D had never been to camp before and didn't bring clothes for the night services. As head norm leader I had to get Camper D the right clothes for the week and got to know them a little better in the process. Camper D's mom is a meth addict. She doesn't really know where she is or how she is doing. She has been in and out of foster care until her older sister was old enough to take custody of her and her siblings. Camper D's dad was in prison and tried to escape last month and was shot climbing over the wall.

I also met Camper A this year, it was not their first time at camp, but the first time that I had time to really get to know them. Camper A lives in a town that is oppressed and full of poverty. Camper A might not be the coolest camper there, but Wednesday as I prayed with her I found myself praying, "Lord, make me more like Camper A." She had the most amazing spirit about her. She could care less about what you thought of her. She was the biggest fan on our team, she screamed, cheered, and jumped no matter how bad we were losing. She sat on the front row every night, took notes like there wasn't enough paper, never seemed disinterested, and had faith to move mountains. She came from a home where she was told she couldn't have the Holy Spirit and from a church background where lifting your hands was looked down on, but this week she worshiped like it was nobody's business. Camper A was my inspiration this week.

On Wednesday night the boys went down to the dorms for another night of "King of Kings, Champions of Champions" which means sumo wrestling, pillow fights, and a new running in place competition. Soon the night turned a full blown service as boys wept and shared their broken lives with each other. Testimonies of abuse, suicidal thoughts, thoughts of murder, etc... This service down in the dorms lasted until 3 in the morning.

Thursday night I watched as one girl cried underneath the Gathering Place during our nightly dismissal. I approached her afterward to make sure she was okay and she said, "I just don't want to go home tomorrow..."

How have we gotten here? When I was a camper these stories were the minority, but now they are the majority. It broke my heart, and I hate this part of camp, but I love that we give them a chance to take a break from that life for a week to instill hope, love, joy, and the tools to equip them to get through a life like this.

I love that camp changes lives. It provides an environment that is only at those campgrounds. You can't recreate what happens there any where else.

It is sacred.

I love camp because young people are called into the ministry and could potentially be the next Billy Graham that this generation needs.

I love that no matter how different camp seems from year to year, God still remains the same there, and His presence remains the same there.

I am forever grateful for the impact these campgrounds have had on my life. The workers that took vacation time to put up with me! I'm sure I drove them crazy! The speakers that spoke directly into my life year after year. The leadership of the campground that work year round and then give up their lives for an entire month to give all they have for these students.

Most of all, I love that in this love-hate relationship, the love out weighs the hate.

Talk to you soon, I promise not to wait 2 months to blog again...