• Life Adventures

    Here’s to 5 More Years

    Tweet A few weeks ago, my husband and I were driving when I mentioned I want to draft up a 5 year plan for our family. I am very Type A and I like to have things mapped out. Plus we had been looking at making some big changes and I just wanted to talk about what we wanted for our future. My husband laughed and mentioned how crazy the last four years had been-how could we plan 5 years down the road?!? I didn’t immediately want to give up the idea, but it did get me thinking about the last four years of our married life. Which is the…

  • Uncategorized

    First Kicks

    Tweet The other night we were sitting on the couch and it happened… there was an undeniable kick.  In fact, I could actually see my stomach move.  I thought I had felt the baby move in the few days prior, but this time there was no other way to explain it. The  baby was kicking me.  I may or may not have cried.   Four months ago, if you had told me feeling the tiny kick of the little baby inside of me would move me tears, I would have laughed in your face. I am not typically super sentimental and I had no intentions of becoming a mom right…

  • Uncategorized

    O’ Christmas Tree!

    Tweet Some of my fondest memories as a child are from Christmas. Specifically the weekend we would bundle up, load up, and head out to the nearest Christmas tree farm to pick out our very own Christmas tree.  We would walk up and down the rows to find the most perfect one and then my dad would spend a lot of time making sure it was trimmed and ready for us to decorate with ornaments. Finally, I always got to set up the Nativity scene and we would watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  (ok, we probably didn’t do that all in one day… but those are my memories) About…

  • Faith,  Uncategorized

    Life…Interrupted

    Tweet If I could go to coffee with anyone right now, it would be Jen Hatmaker.  Her books and blogs and absolutely ridiculous Facebook posts make me laugh, cry, and challenge me to think bigger and beyond right now.  I mean, my friend Whitney and I regularly have texting conversations about her. Which may be a little weird considering we don’t actually know her..oh well.  Given my huge respect for her, when she sent out an e-mail enlisting bloggers to be her launch team for her newly re-released copy of  Interrupted,  I immediately jumped on the opportunity.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to the chance to read a book for…

  • Uncategorized

    I Quit

    Tweet Tonight I told my husband I needed to become less likable and less dependable.  I was dead serious.   He responded, “You just need to learn to say no.”   Thing is, I had not even told him the reason for my desire to be disliked. He already knew.  I knew too.  But as a person who has felt left out and less than most of her life, saying no when asked to do something is a really, really hard thing for me.  I feel as though if I say no, people will forget about me, they will move on, and I will be left unnoticed and alone.  …

  • Uncategorized

    Lead Me Where my Trust is Without Borders

    Tweet Saturday morning I spent a long time with a dear friend dreaming and planning for next steps surrounding a big vision.  As we put things down on paper and we starting talking about connections, people, resources, details, and trips, it was a bit overwhelming.  I knew when I stepped into this path, it would not be easy. I perhaps failed to account for how big this was and how God would show up and bring exactly who I need across my path.  As I looked at our list of people, resources, and ideas, I felt very small.  The thought crept into my mind.. why me?   I  attempted to…

  • Uncategorized

    The Threads of Our Lives Part 1

    Tweet In my Bible study, we have been reading Restless by Jennie Allen. I HIGHLY recommend the book.  Right now, we are walking through different areas of our lives looking for the threads tying them all together.  I know some of you are big picture type of people who can connect the dots between each experience and God’s plan, but I am a little dense.  I often can’t see the forest for the trees.  I get lost in the details and the immediate, and in the process, I forget about the eternal.   This book has been life changing in many ways, but the idea of looking at the moments…

  • Community,  Uncategorized

    New Year, New Name, New Goals

    Tweet  Resolute: admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering. Normally I am not a fan of resolutions. We make them only to forget them a few weeks later thus cementing the fact that we were never very resolute in the first place.  However, since 2014 brings a year full of changes and free time I haven’t had in two years (not to mention a marriage and a new name), I decided to make just a few to guide the next year of my life.   1. Read my Bible every day. I go through spurts and while I would argue you always need to do this, I am 100% convinced if I don’t…

  • Faith,  Uncategorized

    Are You Available?

    Tweet Not for date. Not for a job. Not for an event. But for a friend who is struggling. Or the stranger behind the Starbucks counter. Or the employee at the grocery store.   Are you available?   One thing that I go back to over and over as I study Christ’s life is how available He was.  No matter what he was doing,  he was watching out for the needs of those around him. Whether it was feeding them, paying attention to the touch of his cloak, listening to them, or stopping to look up in a tree, Jesus made time for others. He did it every day in whatever He…

  • Life lessons

    An Injured Runner

    Tweet Is no longer a runner, but a sad shell of a runner.   I can attest to this because I am currently injured.  And as a person who operates under considerable stress, running was my drug. I know, I know, most of you hate to run. You cannot imagine why I would torture myself with running mile after mile in the heat or cold or at 4:30am. I, on the other hand,  cannot imagine life without running. But as I was complaining about my inability to run to someone the other day, they so aptly responded, well, maybe there is a lesson to be learned in this. Oh the voice…