Just Be

Around this time of year I am flooded with memories of my childhood.  Christmas was my favorite time of year.  We celebrated in a huge way every year.  We were all together and there were more presents than I could count.  I loved it!!  After I got married I thought ALL Christmas's will be that way, especially after we had kids.  I wanted Christmas to continue being my favorite time of year and that changed drastically. I think back to our first Christmas as a married couple.  We got married in January and pregnant in March, meaning we were going to have a Christmas baby.  Caleb was born and Christmas was a week away and we were BROKE!!  Like really broke.  David knew how much Christmas meant to me so he went to Walmart and bought the biggest tree for our teeny tiny apartment and the last of what was left of the ornaments (so you can imagine what those looked like haha) and brought it home to put up.  As I laid on the couch holdin...

When starting this journey the Father said "Share the story."  I knew doing this would be challenging at times and really raw.  I had to take some time to really be OK with letting you all in on such a personal season.  I wasn't sure what sharing the story would look like.  I knew it would consist of facing a lot of fears like writing and at some point speaking in front of people even though I have done it before it's a scary thing for me.  So I began to face one fear by writing it all down and letting you all in.  This next topic is hard but so necessary.  It's not a piece of me that is completely healed but we are working on it for sure.  I feel that so many of us women are struggling in this area and it's time to let you know you are not alone.  So here we go... Saying "I Do" to the man of my dreams was the most incredible moment in my entire life.  I dreamed of marrying him since I was a little girl.  I hoped and prayed and wi...

Hebrews 10:23 Let us seize (forcibly) and hold (bearing down) tightly (securely) the confession (acknowledgment) of our hope without wavering (trembling), for He who promised (guaranteed) is reliable (dependable) and trustworthy (honorable) and faithful (consistent) [to His word]; I was trying to think of the best way to talk about what it means to "Hold Fast."  I have many stories of how we have held onto Him on this journey but honestly I didn't want to share them because they are so raw.  But "That Lord" showed me that is what it's all about.  I started this journey of writing not to make my name great or for people give praise to me or us but for it all to get turned back to Him.  My desire is to show you the goodness and faithfulness of the Father as we have experienced Him here.   In being obedient to the call of the Father and going, like I said before we sold all that we had, left jobs and friends and family.  We arrived in Trussville Alabama ...

Exodus 17: 8-13 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.  Moses commanded Joshua, "Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us.  Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand."  So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek.  Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.  As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage.  But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.  Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.  So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on.  Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding us his hands.  So his hands held steady until sunset.  As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. I read this passage and realized this is a great picture of what it means to suffer...

Philippians 3:12-16 (Msg) I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made.  But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.  Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward -to Jesus.  I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.  So let's keep focus on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.  If any of you have something else in mind, something else less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision -you'll see it yet!  Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. I want to live by this verse.  It seems so easy and so invigorating.  I read it and I think YES!  That's exactly what I want to do!  Run the race, staying on track... Or the word He gave me "Stay the course." Not as simple as it may sound.... Befo...

Growing up I remember watching all kinds of movies.  Some of my very favorites were Pretty in Pink, Footloose and Dirty Dancing.  I LOVED movies and still do.  I remember picking my favorite character and envisioning myself as her.  I wanted to look like her, dress like her, talk like her... I wanted to act exactly like she did.  I think most of us little girls reacted the same way.  We dreamed of being princesses, teachers, super hero's, doctors, whatever movie we watched we wanted to play it out in real life. I found myself as I got older doing the same with models or even other really pretty and popular girls in school.  I wanted to take on the role of their life.  If it meant liking sports I liked sports.  If it meant liking shopping I liked shopping.  If she was into this type of boy I was into a boy similar to him.  I played the role of whoever "she" was.  I created a lifestyle based on acting. In the process of being...

Abide: To remain, to stay Growing up we are taught you have to work hard to get what you want and to achieve your goals.  I want to first state, I don't think this statement is completely false.  We are taught that if we want to, "Beat the best we have to be the best."  In order to achieve such goals we push ourselves to the extreme at times.  We practiced day and night, and we drank multiple cups of coffee, so we could stay awake to study.  We attended every club, party and social group, in order to prove we were worthy of friendship.  Everything was based around what we were doing so we could get what we wanted. I had a conversation with my husband not to long ago and really felt men fell subject to this "doing" mentality. They are taught at a very young age, "You want it, work for it." They are taught that if you don't work, then you are lazy or are not a man.  Again, they are taught early on, what you DO gets you what you want. They are tau...

When my husband and I first got married we would lay in bed at night writing out our dreams for our life.  We talked about ministry, kids, houses, you name it we talked about it.  I even remember laying in bed, and David would draw up floor plans of what type of house he would build for us one day.  Life moved on from there and I remember mid-marriage saying, "you know what would be SO exciting?"  I'm sure in his mind he wondered, "Oh no, here she goes!" I would continue to tell him about how exciting it would be to sell everything we have, move to a different state, and follow the Lord on a journey.  Well..... watch what you wish for!!  Little did I know July 27th 2015 at 7:00am that dream would be our reality. We accepted the call to Trussville Alabama to start a NEW journey.  We opened up our house and sold everything in it but a few things we asked the Lord to please let us keep, sold our second vehicle and waved "see ya later" to Texas.   ...