Milestone 25

It's official. Well, it will be in about half an hour anyway. I'm a quarter of a century old today. It really isn't that old, but because I still feel 18, 25 just sounds strange coming from my lips. Nonetheless, I dug up a few pictures from the last few years of myself and my partner in crime. What I've gleaned from doing this is that Thomas and I both need to change our hairstyles. In the last four years I've gained a college degree, a husband, a daughter, a few laugh lines, and a little wisdom too. I really couldn't ask for anything else.

2008


2009


2010


2011

Books I Read in 2010

Someone once said that "Who you will be in the next five years depends on three things: the books you read; the people you meet; and the choices you make." I decided to keep track of the books I read in 2010 (since I can't exactly keep track of the people I meet or the decisions I make.) Below is a list, and at the bottom with corresponding numbers I have written a brief opinion review for those interested. I would love to hear what good (or bad) books you have come across this year!

1. Bible- The New Testament.
2. Fear Fighters
3. Believing God
4. Traveling Light
5. The Makers Diet
6. Baby Proofing Basics
7. Blink
8. The Irresistible Revolution
9. Six Hours one Friday
10. A Framework for Understanding Poverty
11. Making Judgements without being Judgemental
12. Falling for God; Saying Yes to His Extravagant Proposal
13. Disciplines of the Holy Spirit

1. It took me all year to get through reading only the new testament. I'm amazed by people who read the whole bible in a year or less! All I can say is God is wonderful in so many ways...and that small statement in no way does Him justice.
2.An excellent book by Jentezen Franklin for anyone who worries too much. As a worrier, I found it very helpful. I also plan to read Fearless by Max Lucado in
2011; a book written on the same premise by one of my favorite authors.
3. A book about the ways that God is still working in our everyday lives, all we have to do is choose to believe in him! I LOVE the author, Beth Moore. This was the second time I've read this book and it was just as good the second time around.
4.Also the second time reading this one. A book by one of my favorite authors Max Lucado about how to get rid of old baggage. His writing style is so down to earth and easy to read. If you have never read this book I strongly recommend it.
5.I don't believe in diets, but that is not really what 'The Makers Diet' is about. It does include a diet plan toward the back of the book, but I didn't read that part. What I really enjoyed reading was the author's (Dr. Jordin Ruben) personal story of triumph over tragedy and the extremely interesting nutrition information he provides from a medical stance.
6. A short and practical read by Vicki Lanski that is a must for parents of babies and/or toddlers. There are lots of dangers I never would have even thought of!
7. The first half of this book by Malcolm Gladwell is INCREDIBLY interesting. I lost interest about half way through because it seemed highly repetitive. It's a book of stories and scientific information regarding how our body processes things automatically and how we should trust our instincts (most of the time).
8.About half funny and half extremely deep, this read by Shane Claiborne is an eye opener to say the least. I recommend this book for every one. Shane is quite radical and while I don't agree with everything he says, I admire his heart and appreciate that he made me ask myself some of the hard questions in life that need to be asked. I also learned quite a bit about other countries AND the good ol' USA that I was very unaware of.
9.Another Max Lucado read. Max breaks down Christ's crucifixion and puts it into a fresh new perspective. Very insightful.
10.I can't ask enough people to get their hands on this book by Ruby Payne. If you have ever had a desire to help the poor, you MUST read this book! The most interesting part to me was the information about the hidden class rules that exist within our society.
11. I read this book by Terry Cooper for school. The first three chapters successfully communicated what the book's main point was (self explanatory by title) which was incredibly USEFUL information, especially for a counselor. However, the rest of the book was made up of opinionated and repetitious "fluff".
12. Gary Moon wrote this book in attempt to inform christians how to really live for God in every way. I liked the book, but didn't love the book.
13. Although a bit dry in places, this book by Tann and Gregg is full of good stories and EXCELLENT information for any Christian. Some of the practices I read about in this book were things I have never even heard of, and I have been a Christian for 8 years.



Of course I read text books as well for different classes throughout the year, but as interesting as those were I won't recommend them for the general public...unless you just have a strong desire to learn about ethics in the counseling field, diversity, or the history and systems of psychotherapy!

How to Change your Daughter's Life

I have not posted from a psychological stance in a while and I have an excellent topic to share today. For those of us who have daughters, or are just around little girls frequently, this is an important message.

In our culture today the value of women is placed more on what we look like than on any other deciding factor. Appearance becomes the driving force for the behavior of many young and older women alike. Why do we care so much about how we look? Because our society tells us we are not valuable unless we are physically beautiful. Many men have even been socialized to desire a physically beautiful life partner over a partner who is perhaps kind, compassionate, responsible, or loving. This behavior of "beauty seeking" is so internalized for most of the population that it seems impossible to make a change; so what can we do about it?

Like throwing a pebble into an ocean, there are some small changes we can make that will have a huge impact not only on our daughters, but in the future of our culture as well. What we need to do as parents and role models is to start teaching little girls that their value does NOT depend on their physical attractiveness. When friends have a new baby girl, the thing we often say first of all is "Oh, she's beautiful!" Of course we say this, because this is how we communicate to our friends just how special their new little girl is. It continues on for most of us who have daughters. My husband and I have discussed recently how often we say things to Brooke like, "Hey pretty girl....Hi beautiful....You are just so gorgeous..." etc. It's easy to express our love in this manner, but it is also dangerous. If we continue to teach our little girl that she should identify herself only as "beautiful, pretty, and gorgeous", she begins to find her worth in those adjectives. Before we know it, we will have a fourteen year old girl whose world is shattered when she discovers that perhaps, the boy she liked at school has asked another girl to the dance. Suddenly, she is just not pretty enough anymore.

So how do we teach our innocent young minds to find worth beyond physical attributes? The answer is easier than we might think. The first step, if you are like my husband and I, is to pay attention to how many times a day you compliment your daughter's appearance. Then, as you begin to catch yourself telling your daughter about her looks, simply switch out how you are describing her. Begin using words and phrases such as "precious, unique, gifted, sweet, funny, and one of a kind" to express your love to your little princess. It is not that we should never tell our daughters they are beautiful; indeed women do desire to feel beautiful.Please, do tell your daughter how beautiful she is. Just make sure to balance it out with compliments on attributes that are more than physical. The important thing here is that little girls do not define their worth by their looks. They need to know they are valuable for many reasons, and not just because they have a pretty face.

Now go raise some confident women!

No Matter What

Life does not turn out for most of us exactly as we would have planned it. Honestly, I would have imagined some things differently with my own life, had it been my way. As Christians we know God's holy will for our lives is the absolute best, but that does not mean we do not struggle with grieving as we let go of the life we once planned for ourselves. I love the song "No Matter What" by Kerrie Roberts for so many reasons, not the least of which is that I identify on a very personal level. I hope you will too. I definitely suggest you listen to it and watch an amazing music video (click here) if you have a spare moment! Here are the beautifully raw lyrics.

Lyrics:

I’m running back to your promises one more time,
Lord that’s all I can hold on to.
I gotta say this has taken me by surprise,
but nothing surprises you.
Before a heartache can ever touch my life,
it has to go through your hands,
and even though I, I keep asking why, I keep asking why,

No matter what, I’m gonna love you,
no matter what I’m gonna need you,
I know that you can find a way to keep me from the pain
but if not, if not, I’ll trust you...no matter what, no matter what.

When I’m stuck in this nothing-ness by myself,
I’m just sitting in silence.
There’s no way I can make it without your help,
I wont even try it.
I know you have your reasons for everything,
so I will keep believing.
Whatever I might be feeling,
God you are my hope, and you'll be my strength.

Anything I don’t have you can give it to me,
but it’s ok if You don’t.
I’m not here for those things,
the touch of your love is enough on its own,
no matter what I still love you and I’m gonna need you.

Halloween Weekend

Saturday we did not get a single thing done we wanted to get done. Thomas planned to power wash the house, but we couldn't get the power washer to work. I planned to paint the living room, but I spilled a whole gallon of paint in the passenger seat of my car instead. (True story). Thomas was very silent as he was cleaning up my spill. I said, "Is the reason you are not yelling at me because things can be replaced and I cannot?" He smiled and said, "you're not getting a new car!" I am very lucky to have such a sweet husband who puts up with my messes. So, as fate would have it, Thomas spent the majority of the day Saturday cleaning paint out of my car and making fun of me. Sunday we did get to go a few fun places with Brooke, my sweet little lamb. Thanks to the Allen's for throwing such an awesome Halloween bash! Despite getting nothing done, it was a wonderful weekend, owed only to my amazing family and wonderful friends. I hope you all had a happy Halloween!

One Day, Two Ways

Version 1

Today was a typical Monday. I woke up and made the bed, changed a diaper, and made Brooke breakfast. There was hardly any food in the house except for some cookies Thomas brought home against my will and because I was starving, I ate them for breakfast and then felt guilty for eating such an unhealthy breakfast. I played with Brooke for a couple of hours until it was time for her nap. While she was napping I spent my time relaxing on the phone with an insurance agent so I could figure out which network our new policy is with. After half an hour the only information I gained was that I needed to call somewhere else because she didn't have the information I needed. While Brooke finished up her napping, I emailed a professor about an assignment I had done wrong and made a grocery list. Later in the afternoon we made our way to Dillon's and the lady at the deli counter gave me the wrong kind of turkey. I asked her about it and she informed me that the kind she had cut for me was better than the kind I had asked for, which in her opinion, was a bit rubbery. When I knew it was about 6pm I looked at the clock and saw in actuality that it was only 3pm. Lucky me, I still had time to make some bread, wash the sheets, clean the kitchen, and change several hundred more diapers! As I began to get my school things together I realized that I did not have class after all because of fall break, so Thomas and I went on an evening run instead. For 31 minutes it seemed there were thousands of rusty knives twisting through my ribs, then we were home. I finished off the night on the couch with about two hours worth of homework. Gotta love Mondays!


Version 2

I woke up to the cheerful sound of Brooke's morning voice "hi" in her crib, repeatedly, which is her new way of waking me up. She greeted me with a smile as I made her favorite breakfast, egg and cheese on toast. I had not gotten groceries on the weekend like usual but luckily there was one egg left for my pretty little lady! We played blocks and watched the morning news together. When she got tired, I read her a story and she went right to sleep. I called the insurance company to find out which network our new policy covers. I'm so excited that we finally have an insurance policy that will actually cover some of our health care costs! Did I mention how blessed we are to have health insurance? According to keithhennessy.com, 1 in 6 Americans do not have health insurance! I had time while Brooke was sleeping to read a devotional and spend some time thanking my heavenly father for yet another day, among many other things. When Brooke woke up it was grocery time. Did I mention we actually own a car that got us to the store to buy readily available groceries? Only 8% of the world population owns a car! (ecofuture.org) It was quite a productive afternoon. I was able to make bread for Brooke (homemade bread = less preservatives), wash our sheets and clean the kitchen. I was so excited when I remembered I did not have my usual three hour Monday night class due to fall break. Thomas and I took Brooke for a run when he got home from work and my legs carried me 3.1 miles! When we got back home I showered with FRESH, HOT water (only 62% of the world has access to sanitary water. water.org)and then kissed my baby girl good night. After a couple of hours reading some fascinating Psychology material, I logged on to be connected to the world all while sitting in my own home office. When I really think about it, I know I do not deserve all of the blessings I have, but God loves me enough to give them to me anyway. He is so good!


What kind of Monday did you have, version 1 or version 2? :)

Thankful Thursday

Disclaimer: I stole the idea of a "Thankful Thursday" post from my fellow blogger and friend Lyndsie. Thanks for the great idea Lynds! With that being said, today is Thursday and I have so many things in my life to be thankful for! Here are just a few of them.

I am thankful that my back yard presents a beautiful portrait of fall every time I look out the window.





I am thankful for an amazing accountability partner that I can confess my shortcomings to over and over again and always be met with grace and prayer. Thanks Elizabeth for being such a blessing!



I am thankful that my best friend Sarah and her husband finally finished remodeling their house and have now just put it on the market! Way to go Sarah, I know you and your family put so much work into this house and it definitely paid off!



I am thankful that the roses we planted in August are STILL ALIVE! (I usually kill flowers).



I am thankful that my husband is such an awesome, hands-on dad. Brooke has the best daddy ever!



I am thankful for my beautiful family.




There are so many more things I am thankful for, but I will stop there today. Indeed, my cup runneth over with blessings. I am thankful most of all for the amazing King we serve. What are you thankful for today?

How to be Miserable

E. Stanley Jones writes:

The most miserable people in this world are the people who are self-centered, who don't do anything for anyone except themselves. They are centers of misery with no exception...on the contrary, the happiest people are those that deliberately take on sorrows and troubles of others. Their hearts sing with a strange, wild joy, automatically and with no exceptions. (Disciplines of the Holy Spirit)

Shane Claiborne writes:

There are times I have been very frustrated with wealthy folks for hoarding their stuff. But now I know enough rich folks to know the loneliness that is all too familiar to many of them. I read a study comparing the health of a society with its economics, and one of the things it revealed is that wealthy countries like ours have the highest rates of depression, suicide, and loneliness. We are the richest and most miserable people in the world. (The Irresistible Revolution)


From what I understand, the easiest way to become miserable is to make as much money as possible, and then spend it on no one but yourself. Also, think only about yourself whenever possible. If you start to think about someone else, push the thought away. They can take care of themselves. The only person you really need to think of is yourself.

Okay okay, enough with the sarcasm. But seriously, I'm am so thankful that God has given me the wisdom to realize that money and selfishness will never lead to happiness. Now I just have to figure out how to stop being selfish.

If Walls Could Talk

I had a wonderful meeting tonight with a dear friend. We had coffee. It was refreshing, and I don't just mean the coffee.

Lots of things are said over coffee. If Starbucks' walls could talk I bet they would have a lot to say. Actually, I bet the walls of coffee houses across America keep hidden more wisdom than we could imagine. They sit in silence as many shadowey secrets are whispered across tables. They soak in stories full of truth. I'm sure many lies have slithered across their surfaces too. Thankfully they listen like a faithful friend, and then never make a peep so that we can safely return time and again. Cheers to the walls of coffee houses and to friends who truly know us.

Jesus Wrecked My Life

I've been reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne with my small group recently. It is one of those books I really wish every one would read.
It talks a lot about materialism, the true meaning of life, and what it means to really love each other. It's probably the most challenging book that I have ever read- not at the comprehension level (it is an easy read) but in the way it challenges me in my faith. Although I do not necessarily agree with every single thing the author says, a lot of what he says brings clarity and grants perspective to what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be an American as well. I want to share a passage from the book that really made me start asking questions about my own life. Hopefully it will bring a new perspective to you too.


Jesus Wrecked My Life
(Claiborne)
I know there are people out there who say "My life was such a mess. I was partying, drinking, sleeping around...and then I met Jesus and my whole life came together." God bless those people. But me, I had it together. And then I met Jesus and he wrecked my life. The more I read the gospel, the more it messed me up, turning everything I believed in, valued, and hoped for upside-down. I am still recovering from my conversion. I know it's hard to believe, but in high school I was prom king. I was in the in-crowd, popular, ready to make lots of money and buy lots of stuff, on the upward track to success. I had been planning to go to med school. Like a lot of folks, I wanted to find a job where I could do as little work as possible for as much money as possible....Then I could buy lots of stuff I didn't need. Mmm...the American dream. But as I pursued that dream of upward mobility preparing for college, things just didn't fit together. As I read scriptures about how the last will be first, I started wondering why I was working so hard to be first...

Happy Birthday Brooke!

A year ago today I was very pregnant. I woke up dreading the thought of facing another day of customers at work saying comments like, "You still haven't had that baby yet?" and "Wow, are there two or three in there!?" (People say wonderful things to you when you are pregnant and the pregnancy hormones don't help.)

I felt extra tired and a little "off" when I woke up that morning so I went back to bed for a while. I woke up again a few hours later and decided I was going to go to the hospital and get checked just for the heck of it so I could at least get a break from work for the day. After all, I was two days past due and was wondering when this baby was going to make her grand entrance anyway. (I promise I usually have a good work ethic, just not when I'm nine plus months pregnant).

You can imagine my surprise when I got to the hospital and they told me I was in active labor! The next few hours were a blur as Thomas came to be by my side and doctors and nurses flowed steadily in and out of the room. Seven hours after I arrived at the hospital, my life changed forever.

At 7:56pm Brooke Evangelina was born. Immediately I knew my life would never, ever again be the same. My heart grew ten times that day.




The past year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs as I've adjusted to my new role as a mama. One thing is for sure, I've never loved anyone more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE!

What a big God we serve...

This is a simple post. I just want to say that I'm humbled to be serving such a big God...such a loving and wonderful God. He is so good. I see Him do amazing things every day...things that could only be from God. He showers me with His blessings. I will praise Him in the good times and in the bad. His truth brings joy beyond anything that the world could ever offer. I cannot imagine living life without Him!

My Gamma Alpha Lambda Girls

I got saved when I was 16 by God's sweet grace. After I was introduced to God's love, I knew I wanted to give up my life to follow Him, whatever that meant. My junior and senior high school years were tough because I really felt like this new me did not fit in. It was a difficult journey discovering who this new me was as opposed to who I had been and it was a lot for a 16 year old girl to sort through, especially in the face of the pressures of high school.

When I went to college and moved into the dorms I met the most amazing group of women. I know without a doubt these women were placed in my life by God. The women were part of a Christian founded sorority named Gamma Alpha Lambda. These women were beautiful and were on fire for God. They had their values in the right place and were smart and funny too. I rushed and joined Gamma Alpha Lambda in Fall of 2004. I became very involved in this sorority holding the philanthropy chair one year and the Vice President of Public Relations position the next. Although I was in an executive position, my sisters in the sorority taught me more than I could have ever taught them.

I am currently a GAL alum and sit on the Board of Directors for Gamma Alpha Lambda. This past weekend we held a leadership conference in Springfield. The executive members from GAL chapters all over Missouri came into town for training on leadership. I had such a wonderful time with these beautiful young ladies. I also got reunited with some fellow GAL alums. We are all grown up now and many of us have started families, but we still share a strong foundation of friendship in our Lord. The weekend was a blast and it gave me such great joy to see what God is still doing through this sorority. I would hate to see where I would be today without the support and relationships I formed in this sorority.

GAL Leadership Conference; Summer, 2010


Alum members Leah Gronewold, Kathleen Sharp, Laura Fenton, Lindsey Batson, Brooke Bayer and Kristen Clasquin.

Lost at Sea

I write hundreds of poems that are too personal to ever see the light of day, but I felt like sharing this one. I am certainly no poet, but the significance of this poem is the story of my life.

As I soak up the day's yellow lace, I contemplate...
Navigate the ship of my past.
Differentiate between the right turns I made
and the rocky waters I sailed due to getting off course.

I spectate it wasn't just the wind
that caused the ship to be lost at sea.

The ship sails, lonely, in the dark...
battered by the wind and waves.
A map saves. A map saves.
A map can show the ship the way
back to land and grass at last.
No longer lost at sea.

Mom's Room Makeover

Guess what? It's time my mom got a room makeover! My sweet mom works incredibly hard and always puts everyone else's needs above her own.




This is why for her birthday I really wanted to give her something special. I decided a room makeover would be a gift that could help her relax long term, and so, I went to work. I did not get any before pictures, but here is what the room looks like after:

Here we have the room entrance view. White curtains and a new furniture arrangement to take advantage of the floor plan make the room seem larger and more airy.
(Sorry, the lighting in this picture isn't the best)



The bed now has an island-y feel. Lamps on each side give balance. I think it looks kind of "Hamptons".


I pulled off of the warm wood tones to add more natural elements into the room.


I snatched a few pictures from her wedding album and had them blown up and refigured to sephia. (Yay Walgreens!) I found four affordable picture frames at Gordman's and hung them in a grouping to add a personalized touch to the room.


It was SO rewarding to do this room for my mom. She deserves it more than anyone I know. I was so happy that she liked it!

God's Plans

I just had coffee with a beautiful friend of mine, Lindsey Sorenson. Lindsey is an inspiration. She is incredibly smart and an amazing woman of God as well. She is a Registered Dietitian with a Bachelors in Nutrition. She worked very hard to have those credentials, and yet she has been humbled by God and discovered working as a dietitian wasn’t what God had in mind for her, at least not for the current time being. Instead of using her degree at the expense of not fulfilling God’s calling, she has decided to sacrifice her four years of schooling to fulfill what God was calling her to do for this season of her life. She is currently working in missions. The job is not glamorous and she has had to sacrifice much of what the world would say is the “good life”, but her life with God is much better than anything the world could ever offer. Lindsey never saw herself as a pioneer of a mission’s school, but God had other plans for her.



Similarly, my ten year plan included being a high paid Psychotherapist, but currently God is speaking to me to enjoy my current lot in life of being a mom. I’m not saying I won’t one day be a Psychotherapist and I am still pursuing my Masters in Psychotherapy. What I am saying is that I’ve chosen to block out the social pressure that screams “hurry up and finish your degree so you can make more money.”

My current priority and God’s calling for my life is to be the best mom I can be. I don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but I have to enjoy what I’ve been given right here and now and stop living for the future. It is difficult trying to explain to the world that I have a view that is counter cultural- indeed our culture is constantly pushing us to work, work, work so we can have more money, bigger houses, and nicer cars, but at what expense? We sacrifice time with our family and even our health to have all these THINGS that we cannot take with us. The more money we make, the more we spend. So why not just step back and ask ourselves who we are doing it for?

God is speaking to me and He says “Slow down. Enjoy what I’ve given you in this moment. Quit trying to plan out your entire life. Just live one day at a time and leave the planning to me.” For me that is more difficult than I ever would have known. I am such a planner! But trusting God to plan my future instead of planning it myself is oh so worth it. That’s why I don’t understand how anyone could say life with God is boring, because it’s anything but. You never know where he will take you from one day to the next. You just have to hold on and enjoy the ride.

Master Bedroom Redo

I knew a little something needed to happen in the bedroom before I could love the space, but it turns out a lot of something happened and I ended up completely redoing it. Good thing I was on a break from classes. Through selling ALL old furniture, accessories, and bedding and shopping at flea markets and on craigslist, I was able to redo the entire room for practically nothing but man hours.

BEFORE



AFTER








In order to lighten the room we repainted the brown accent wall to match the other three walls, light aqua. We still had the paint so that was free. New drapery was added, bedding was changed out, and of course I exchanged my black furniture for this light cedar set, which I love. All that was left after that was accessories. Since I believe a room does NOT have to be done in all one style of decor, I married traditional accessories (antique mirror over dresser-repainted black, traditional furniture, traditional damask bedding pattern, candle sticks) with contemporary peices and colors (black and creme, zebra rug, a splash of aqua on the bed, hot pink candle sticks, and brush nickel finishes). I hope you like the room as much as we do now!

Another special thanks to my sweet Tom for all of his hard work. I sure coudn't do all of this without your help! Thanks for putting up with your design-crazy wife.

Life as Mom

Have you ever met a woman who's only goal in life was to become a stay at home mom? Maybe you yourself are one of those women. Well I have a confession; I use to think those kind of women were crazy. I certainly didn't understand their aspirations. Me? Sure, I wanted to have a family some day, but my dreams were lined out by degrees. You know the ones...Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate.

My thoughts didn't even shift drastically while I was pregnant. I planned out how I would stay home for three months and then find a good daycare and return to work and school promptly. I was on a schedule, you know. I knew I would love my little one, I just didn't really understand what that meant.

When I met Brooke everything changed. Did I still want to be a therapist? Yes, but my top priority became being a mom. Now don't shoot me, but I must admit that the prior me would often wince when hearing of a friend or colleague who was putting her career "on hold" to be a mom. There was (sadly) a quiet voice inside of me that would proclaim, "what a shame" when a situation like that would arise. The true shame, of course, was in me not understanding the beauty of motherhood.

I never imagined myself as a stay at home mom or as someone who would arrange my job and whole life around a baby, but that's who I am now and I LOVE IT. I wouldn't want my life any other way. I can honestly say, after completing a Bachelors and being half way through a Masters, those accomplishments pale in comparison to both the challenges and rewards of being a mom. God willing, I will one day complete my Masters and even Doctorate, but only if I can also raise healthy and happy children. It's not the most glamorous career to be cleaning up spit up and changing diapers multiple times a day, but one intoxicating smile from the light of my life and I'm motivated to do whatever it takes to keep those smiles coming.

Father's Day Weekend

I would say the weekend was an A, possibly an A+. On Sunday not only did Thomas get to celebrate his first official Father's Day, but Brooke also hit the 10 month marker. I can't believe how fast time is flying! We celebrated with a trip to DQ so Brooke could hang out with her Grandpas. I had the most amazing blizzard- French Silk in chocolate soft serve. I tried to retain some dignity by ordering a small but fate caught up with me when the lady accidentally made me a medium. I knew I would not be able to stop until the whole thing was gone, and I was right. 1330 calories later I was full of ice cream and happy to be enjoying the day with my wonderful family.

A Simple Prayer

Dear Father,

Help me to understand the strength of your love. Help me to relay the message of your relevance and truth to others. Help me to be as patient with others as you are with me. Help me read your word every single day. Help me to not see only what I don't have when I look at others, but to be thankful for all that I've been given instead. Help me to not take a single moment I have with my family for granted.

Don't let me get caught up in wanting a nice house or designer jeans. Keep me safe from calorie counting and obsessive work outs. Keep my eyes focused solely on heaven. Bind my wandering heart to you. Keep what is really important in the forefront of my mind. Forgive the sin in my life that has driven nails into your son's hands. Help me to love like you love. use me as a tool for you while I am here on this earth.

Amen

More Than We Can See

Why do you suppose writers write books about made up lands and far away things? Why do producers make movies about other worlds and impossible possibilities? What's more, why do the rest of us read these books and see these movies time and time again?

Some theorists say we use these forms of entertainment as an escape, a way out of the every day grind. I have a different idea. I think we imagine, write about, watch, and dream of things outside of our visual realm because deep down we know there is more out there than just what meets the eye.

Our minds may not be aware of it, but our hearts know there is more. That's why we cannot get away from questions about the afterlife, about God, about things that seem unreal. In our heart of hearts, we know they are real. We know there is more than we can see on this plane of reality.

Just because we don't understand something does not mean it doesn't exist. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too far out there, but then my heart reminds me that there is no such thing.

Kitchen Makeover

I'm on a summer break for the next month from classes and I conveniently got decorating fever. I wanted to change some things in the house but didn't have much of a budget to work with. Luckily I'm super thrifty and a little creative, so I was able to take on landscaping, makeover the kitchen and the office, and add a few small touches to the bedroom.

First came my desire to turn the kitchen into a beach. Don't worry, I know it's not really a beach but I did get my inspiration for the decor from summer time. The result is a kitchen with a cottage/summer/beachy feel.

The before; a dark and drab kitchen.





The after; much brighter!






I got this table and 4 chairs on craigslist for 45$. I sanded and painted the table white and put a sealant on it and voila...perfect beach theme table! I also found these place mats at a flea market and paid 3$ for the set...don't worry. I washed them before putting them on the table.




We already had this light but I thought it went with the theme well.



Other small beachy touches.






Shout out to my Tom Tom whom I could not have done all this without. He is such a hard worker!Check back for pictures of the office makeover and our bedroom updates.
Hope you like our beachy kitchen!

My Opinion of Avatar

I did not really think I would be a fan of Avatar, but I watched it with my husband earlier this evening anyway. I had read several places that it was almost satanic in it's ritualistic worship scenes. Honestly, after watching it, I did not get that from it at all.

I rather took from it an enforcement of my belief that life is about more than we see. Our bodies are only mortal while our souls are eternal. Further more, we are all connected through life...through Christ. I really liked when the natives would say to each other, "I see you". When they said this, they were speaking about looking into each other, seeing each other's souls. I think if we did this more often in our lives, compassion would be more common.


In the movie the humans get to have their own Avatars, and for the main character his Avatar body works better than his human body. This makes me think of Philippians 3: 21 "By His power to rule all things, He (Christ) will change our humble bodies and make them like His own glorious body." Our heavenly bodies will be much better than our earthly ones.

I would love to hear some more thoughts on this movie....any one?

Interior Design Fever

I've got the fever. I don't even have cable so this time I can't blame it on HGTV. I just absolutely love being able to enjoy my surroundings. In my opinion there is a great sense of peaceful relaxation that living somewhere esthetically pleasing provides. It does not have to be expensive decor or a large house, in fact I'm getting ready to transform my kitchen into a beach for under 50$! In the meantime, here are pictures of the nursery that we decorated for our sweet girl last spring and some other pictures of great rooms that I nabbed from HGTV.com just for fun. Stay tuned for pictures of the kitchen makeover!

My baby girl's room:






Adorable beachy fireplace that was made over for 82$!



Super cute office!



Contemporary entryway.(I'm guessing this was not done on a budget, but it is beautiful).


High style living room, yes please!


And finally, a Cottage Kitchen and the inspiration for my current kitchen makeover.


I should have warned you at the beginning of this post that interior design fever is contagious. ;)