Thankful Monday! =)

Well, it's been a great Monday, so I decided to commemorate it with a thankfulness post. =)

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Mom and Dad coming all the way to Jenks to see me for lunch today, (bringing with them my new computer and some new clothes and boots and jewelry Mom bought for me)!! ❤
2.  Mom also brought these magnets she had made for me - I love it!! 

3. An upcoming case that I was dreading is likely to waive jury trial - huzzah!

4. I'm on week 3 of my Fit Body Boot Camp challenge, and the workouts have been really good and kinda fun!  (The weigh-ins and measurements, not so much. It just messes with my head in a way that's not good, but my coach agreed to let me do that half as often.)
5.  I finished my #30daysofhope posts on Facebook today. I'm thankful for how God used that in my own life and hopefully in others!

6. A fun brunch this Saturday with these friends... we talked about what God has been teaching us lately, and as usual, I loved hearing what everyone had to say! =)

7. I had a relaxing night (after the boot camp workout) watching Fuller House and You've Got Mail, where I remembered how much I for reals love this song and decided I had to download it!  

Hooray for a random Flipagram of 2017 moments:
DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE BY VIGO VIDEO. =(

Playing the Photographer =)

I love to write, and I've written long enough and put enough of myself into it that when others refer to me as a "writer," I actually accept it as something that feels true. When people call me a "photographer," however, I don't receive that the same way. I always make sure to say, "Oh, I just like taking pictures; I don't do it professionally or anything!" 

There is so much I don't know about the technical side of photography, and to be honest, I don't really care to learn it at the moment. I took an online class a few years ago, and the technical stuff bored me the way that math classes used to bore me.  I want taking pictures to be fun and lighthearted and exciting! I'm thankful to have the DSLR camera that takes better quality pictures, but I don't want to wait to decide between 40 different camera settings and miss the moment I was trying to capture. And I don't want to be crazy analytical and judgmental about the aperture and shutter speed and such on my pictures - I want to see the heart of it - to see the people and places I love and cherish the memories, not throw them out because of a minor shadow in the wrong spot. I just want to set it on Auto and take tons of pictures, then weed through and edit them later. Granted, it doesn't always work out perfectly, but Mom and I have gotten several great pictures that way (great to us), and I'm sticking with it! lol

Having said all that in preface, my friend, Lindsay, asked if I would come over and be the photographer for the 1st birthday party of her son, Phoenix!  I was excited to get to be there for it, but a little nervous about being the main one in charge of documenting everything. They did a Cookie Monster theme, and she went ALL OUT with the decor and everything!!  Having been to a couple showers she's hosted, I would have expected nothing less from her! =)

This = several pics I took of the people - it was Lindsay's side of the family that night! I was glad to get several great pics of Phoenix smiling or laughing! =)  Yay, happy babies!! ❤

A closer one of the table. Lindsay is super creative and trendy and is always such a great hostess - I mean, this was for a family-only party! She's also one of the strongest and funniest people I know!!

This = my favorite picture I took that night... Lindsay's Mom and Phoenix share the exact same birthday (9/22), which is awesome!  And Lindsay's daughter, Aspyn Jane, was born on 9/25. Aspyn died exactly one month after she was born on 10/25/2015. Their faith in the midst of that heartbreaking loss was and still is inspiring. First off, I love that the banner has all three names. And I love that Aspyn's picture on the wall is above and behind them... it's perfect, in spite of any picture quality imperfections. 💛

This canvas was a little gift I got for Lindsay. (Aspyn on the left and Phoenix on the right, the day they were born and a few weeks after.) 💗

I'm thankful I got to be there for the party!  Lindsay said a couple times, "You must be bored out of your mind and so ready to go home," but that wasn't the case at all. I'm a quiet observer sometimes, but it rarely means I am bored.  I love the comfort level at family celebrations and the emotions and inside jokes and love and laughter there.  I often think of the scene in While You Were Sleeping when Lucy watches the Callaghan family opening their Christmas gifts, and she's quiet and somewhat in the background but genuinely happy to be there. I get that. =) ❤

Photo Friday!

Miss Kyndal went to her very first Dance class last night (a free trial run to see if you want to sign up).  She loved wearing the little leotard thing - I love it when you can tell she's proud of herself in pictures! ❤

The Jaceman's class got to learn about the ambulance yesterday. =)  I love that him and his friend, Ryer, are the only guys in the middle of all the girls (his class = 13 girls and 5 boys... craziness!)

It brightens my work days to hear and see what my niece and nephews are up to during the week! =)

In other news, I'm excited about these new personalized cards I ordered from Erin Condren! Cuteness!!

Finally, for your Friday entertainment, here is a Flipagram of Kyndal Faith putting on a lil' concert and dance! ❤ She was singing to a song called "Princesses Just Wanna Have Fun" while watching the music video and trying to imitate it. I was gonna put a Frozen song as the background music, but when I tried this for fun, I was cracking up that her moves went so perfectly with it...  So despite it being kinda trashy, Despacito for the win! lol
(DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE BY VIGO VIDEO.) =(

Be Still

My favorite hymn = Be Still My Soul.

Every line speaks some truth that helps to quiet our souls with peace and hope...  

Jesus is on your side - He is for you and His love is always there. We can bear terrible grief and pain when we trust that God will be faithful to order our lives and provide for our needs in every season. The path we're on now may be thorny and difficult, but there is a joyful end in sight because our God brings partial redemption here and will fully set things right in the coming kingdom. We can have unshakable confidence and hope knowing that someday, we will understand everything that is murky and unclear now, and we will see Jesus face to face (all now mysterious shall be bright at last). Jesus is sovereign over nature itself and the waves and winds still know His voice and obey His command. When loved ones leave us and life feels dark and sad, the God of all comfort draws near to the brokenhearted and soothes us. Our Jesus can repay from His own fullness all He takes away - I love that line. (That and "the waves and winds still know..." lines are my favorites.)  Believers can have hope through whatever we face here because our earthly life is short, and we know we will spend eternity with the Lord, where we will feel pure JOY that is not threatened or held back by our fears, disappointments, sorrows, or grief. (No shadow of death!)  The last line sums it up well - that our souls can rest when our ultimate hope is in Jesus, and in the end, we shall meet at last!

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side.
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Optimus & Belle (and Other Weekend Adventures)!

Jace and Kyndal have chosen their Halloween costumes for this year - Optimus Prime (J is obsessed with Transformers lately!) and Princess Belle, a solid choice by the beautiful Miss K (they only had one size of the dress and it's a bit too big for her, but still adorable)!

So precious with her Princess dress and top-knot bun and big earrings! 

The Jaceman told me all about the days of creation...

There was pictures and things they had cut out to help him remember the story:  "Then God created the sky and the clouds..."

"And then... there was a heart!" LOLOL  He said it with confidence, too. =)

Cracker soup dinner on the back patio! =)

The Miss trying on my boots!  LOVE.

I love it that he curls up in a little ball then "transforms" into a fierce giant! So much cuteness!  ...He laughed really hard talking about how he would wear that on Halloween, "Then everyone will think that Optimus Prime is real!!" lol  I love kids' imaginations!

Trying on Mamaw and Bampa's reading glasses. =)

I love this pic!! She was looking everywhere to try to find a yellow bracelet to go with her dress. Dad came back (playing the mean bear game) and growled and said, "Who's looking in my drawers!?" She got so cracked up!  ...What a preshface. ❤

New bench for Kyndal's room (a/k/a my room at Mom and Dad's) built by me, Mom, and Dad after lunch yesterday! =)

On Saturday, Mom helped me "practice" making the broccoli and rice casserole she makes for the fam!  It'll be featured in a Friday dinner sometime soon. =)

Charlene joined us for dinner and a movie last night! =)

This is jumping back to Friday - we had pizza, salad, and rice krispie treats!  It was Jeff and Kelly, Kyle, Tiffany, Angie, Laura, and me. Everyone had great answers on the high school question, and I learned new things about each person's backstory, which is always a treat!! =) We went from smallest graduating class to largest, so it was Kyle, Kelly, me, Laura, Angie, Tiffany, then JEM. Most people left a bit early, but Tiffany and Laura stayed and we watched New Girl and talked about our high school crushes and how things have changed since then! Entertaining... and it makes you thankful that certain things didn't work out back in the day. lol

And now I wish I had more fruity pebble rice krispie treats!!

Memory Monday - SF!

Part of my weekend at home with the fam was going to Dad's State Farm office yesterday! =)

I found this little gem in his office (along with many other old school pics of me and Rach). lol

Dad at his work desk, surrounded by OSU stuff, family pics, attitude quotes and verses, and SF awards! =)  ...That door in the back leads to the break room, which makes me think of bags of candy and warm Otis Spunkmeyer cookies!  Ahh, memories. lol  (He and all his secretaries keep a candy bowl on their desk with an assorted mix of candies. And he would make those cookies to take to different realtors - not sure if they still do that or not, but it was nice when he would bring some home.) =)

Please note the lovely mis-matched patriotic dresses Rach and I were sporting in 1992. lol  #rockinit #starsandstripes

I took a few pics all around his office just for fun! That bottle of M&Ms by my pic was a baby announcement gift we made when Jace Michael was born, with his baby pic and "It's a boy!" on it! =)

J&K being precious OSU fans. Me and Rach glamour shotting it up! lol  And Mom told me he's had those two verses on the wall since he started with SF over 30 years ago. =)

I found old school pics and old school calligraphy. I probably did that "All that is necessary..." quote in 1995 or 1996. Presh fifth grade calligraphy that's fading out now. The attitude quote is a bit more recent. =)

Never thought I'd see the day when Dad's office would have a "Like us on Facebook" sign!  State Farm strongly encouraged their agents to be on social media, so Dad finally caved sometime in 2015 and got a facebook for himself and his office... and to everyone's surprise, he seems to really enjoy it now! =)

I will never see those railroad ties out front without flashing back to Rach and I playing "Little House on the Prairie" running back and forth on them (the whole setup was very different back then, but it's the same railroad ties. *Memories*)

I also remember coming up there several times to fold birthday letters with Rach - we would fill them with coupons, fold them into thirds, then stuff and seal the envelopes!  We sat down the entire time, chatting and listening to Christian radio, and Dad paid us $10 an hour, but we still complained about having to do it. lol #spoiledandclueless It's a good memory now, though. 

I haven't spent nearly as much time here as Rach (she worked there for several years), but it holds lots of good memories for me, too. Memories of folding those birthday letters and helping decorate for Christmas and restocking the candy bowls, the memory of Teresa and I planting popcorn seeds then her putting fresh popcorn over that spot when I was little, playing games outside with Rach, chatting with Aunt Charlene and Aunt Georgia and Teresa and Angela (all of them work there), the many many emails Rach would send me during her time working there, and the very brief time when I worked there and quickly learned that I'm not cut out for jobs that involve a lot of dealing with the public and making small talk!! lol

Anyway, it was a good and productive visit (putting Dad's points to good use once again).  Happy Memory Monday!!

Photo Friday!

I love this verse!  =)  And I love that youversion (now just called the Bible app) lets you create images for your favorite verses.  I texted this to Tiffany the morning of her interview!

She was interviewing to become a Creek County Courthouse Court Clerk - CCCCC!  We learned fairly quickly that it went well when Amanda called her back in 10 minutes later to offer her the job - hoorah and huzzah!!  (She'll start in October.)  Anyway, last week's Friday dinner turned into a pizza, wine, and ice cream girls night + encouraging Sarah as Steve is gone to help with the hurricane + celebrating Tiffany's new job + watching Wonder Woman!  Fun times!!  

The huge wine bottles made me laugh, so I had to document them, and I always love cheers-ing pics, even if I don't so much love the wine itself. I was happy to finally get to use my corkscrew and lovely wine glasses I bought over a year ago!  Between me and Sarah, we had 3 different kinds of ice cream (Blue Bell Cookie Two-Step + Braum's Caramel Cookie Dough and Chocolate Marshmallow), so we all sampled each of them before making a final selection! lol ❤

Today, Laura and I met her Mom and Brett for a tasty, fun lunch at Miss Scarlett's Tea Room! =)

Tonight, our Friday Night Dinner question = What were you like in high school, and if you could give your high school self one piece of advice, what would it be??

(I'm of the INFJ-style mindset that all that has happened in my life was supposed to happen as it did, so I'm still working out my answer for that one.)  But here are some happy pics from my high school days - Freshman and Sophomore years on the left, Junior and Senior on the right. =)

We didn't take quite as many pictures back in the day, but our high school years were still well documented. (With non-digital scrapbooks where we actually had to crop and border the pictures by hand! Whaaat!? lol So many glue sticks, cropping scissors, tape runners, and colorful background paper. Thanks to google's PhotoScan app, you can see two of them HERE and HERE.) =)

ALL THINGS NEW

Favorite author meets favorite subject. ❤

I knew I would love this book. I got so much out of the Hope in the Coming Kingdom CDs, and I remember wishing back in 2013 that John Eldredge might write a book about that someday.  Now he has. =)  (I was thankful to be part of the early launch team, getting a free copy to read and review. I will buy more of them soon as gifts for others. The book releases on September 26th, and you can preorder it HERE.)

This book covers a lot of ground, and it stirs up a lot of wonderful HOPE for Christ followers. It reminds us of the restoration of all things... that Christ will rule as King, that evil will be overthrown and destroyed, that nothing we love will truly be lost... that our favorite places and animals and memories and people will be a part of our lives there, forever. There will be great music and food and joy and love and a completely trustworthy, strong community where we are all both family and friends!  There will be no racism, hatred, terrorism, death, shadow of death, sorrow, sin, etc. We will be completely free from bondage to death and decay, forever young and vibrant and healthy and whole!  We will finally understand what God was doing in our darkest moments and see His plan throughout history. There will be so much to do and learn and explore and discover! This beautiful future is promised and it is coming for all who know Christ as Lord, yet most Christians spend very little time thinking about it...

Our kingdom hope is meant to be the "anchor for our souls."  John talks about God being our first love -- that when we get that right, it rescues us from so much heartache and pain. (I can attest to that on both sides!)  Similarly, the coming Kingdom of Christ is supposed to be our ultimate hope, and when we place our highest hope there, it rescues us from so much -- from the enemy's attacks and from being devastated over the many things that fall short of our hopes and expectations here on earth.  When our first love or our ultimate hope are placed elsewhere, we will suffer painful letdowns and often struggle to recover.  I wish I could convey how much THIS MATTERS.  Having this firm and secure hope in Christ helps to ground us through the ups and downs of earthly life, and this book awakens and strengthens that hope.  We will live forever and reign with Christ. No eye has seen and no ear has heard all that God has planned for us who love Him, but we can trust that we will not be bored or disappointed in it!!  So I would encourage you to press into this hope, to let your heart go there, and of course, to buy and read this book. ❤

Now we see things imperfectly,

Like puzzling reflections in a mirror,

But then we will see everything with perfect clarity.

All that I know now is partial and incomplete,
But then I will know everything completely,
just as God now knows me completely.

-1 Corinthians 13:12

Favorite quotes from the book:
"Far too often Christians experience the death of a loved one as devastation... I am not making light of grief nor loss. I am very familiar with them. But we must, we must keep before us the reality that our dear ones are not dead at all. They are more alive now than they have ever been."

"When I speak of hope, I mean the confident anticipation that goodness is coming. A rock-solid expectation, something we can build our lives on. Not the delicate and fragile hopes most people are trying to get by with... An unbreakable, unquenchable hope."

"God has given you a heart for His kingdom - not the wispy vagaries of a cloudy heaven, but the sharp reality of the world made new. This is one of the most important things you can know about yourself... That is the only hope strong enough, brilliant enough, glorious enough to overcome the heartache of this world... So let us chase it now with all of our being."

"Pause and let this be true: evil is judged and utterly destroyed. Forever and ever. Not just in the fairy tale, but here in reality... Oh, the hope that begins to rise at the thought of a world where the enemy no longer gets to do what he does. To see our loved ones released from their lifelong battles. To be released from our own lifelong battles, knowing with utter surety that the kingdom of death and darkness is forever destroyed... You look to your right and left, and you only see people you can trust completely." 

"See, I will create new heavens and a new earth...

Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create,

For I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

And its people a joy."

-Isaiah 65:17-18

"If you will begin to choose the kingdom - "seek ye first" - if you consciously and deliberately give your heart to the renewal of all things, you will notice the effects immediately . So much pressure will be lifted off your current hopes; when things don't go well, you'll find yourself less angry, less dejected... you'll find yourself freer to risk, especially love." 

"Justice cannot be justice if God were to simply ignore those who persist in hating Him till the end... Not everyone wants the joys of heaven-on-earth for the simple reason that they do not want Jesus to be King."

"Salvation is found in no one else,

For there is no other name under heaven

Given to mankind by which we must be saved."

~Acts 4:12

"Jesus is our defender. And, friends, Jesus will come to our defense. Your story needs to be told rightly... There are so many stories that need to be brought out into the light and so much vindication that needs to take place if justice is real and healing true."

"God does not merely scrap creation and our intended roles along with it. He restores everything!"  
~John Eldredge, All Things New

Finally, this was unexpected and fun - I got to be on the radio this past weekend!! I prefer writing to speaking, but I did okay for short notice (Annie messaged me on Thursday asking if I would be willing to meet her at the studio on Saturday.) You can listen to the podcast below! =)) I'm very thankful that I got to share about Jesus and the coming Kingdom and promote the All Things New book! ❤

It Changes Everything!

(From John Eldredge's Hope in the Coming Kingdom CDs:)

"If you honestly thought that your life was going to be utterly restored, you would be okay.  Really.  If you believe that life is about to get gloriously good, then you don't have to work so hard trying to make life happen now.  You're actually free to love.  You're free to fight for others!  If you know that every dream you've ever had is about to come true, you're free.  The enemy can't touch you!  ...And meanwhile, you can bring the Kingdom - you can help rescue people!"  ~John Eldredge

The coming of the Kingdom is "the renewal of all things."  (Mt. 19:28)

And, friends, that Kingdom is coming.  IT IS COMING.

If this hope we are talking about is the anchor for our souls, then of course it will be attacked!  Of course the enemy will come against it.  But the Kingdom of Christ is coming, and with it, the life that you are longing for!

* * * * * * *

What are the first three things you want to do when you enter the Kingdom?

* * * * * * *

"This isn't poetry.  This isn't metaphor.  Do you believe the Kingdom is coming or not!?  And if you do believe it, it changes everything!  It's not harps and halos; we are not going to sing forever... that is a wretched hell lie.  Yes, of course there will be worship!  But there will be a lot of other things too...

We have some time on our hands coming to us.  This is why I hate the concept of a bucket list.  People say, "Oh, I just hope before I die that I get to see Rome."  And I'm thinking, why?  You can go there... literally, you can ask Paul to show you around!  Do you think I'm joking?  But that's the crazy thing about this bucket list idea.  Do you think this life is your only life?  This life is a moment, it's a wisp.  It's nothing compared to the life in the Kingdom.

This is the only reason that Paul can say the audacious things he says like, "our momentary, light afflictions are obtaining for us a weight of glory..."  I want to go, time out - it doesn't feel momentary, and they sure as hell don't feel light.  
But it is... by comparison.

You don't have to pine away for those things now - you don't need a bucket list.  You could make a heaven list, a Kingdom list, dreams that you can start now and go on and on!

It frees you to live with the partial.  The goals and things you dream of... the friendships you long for... these things are coming.   It's not like it's over.  There is no 'over.'  When Jesus said "eternal life," you are given a life that has no end.  It's not singing forever, it's not religious, but it is LIFE, fully restored!!

Continue to reflect on this, to press into this and allow your heart to go there."
~John Eldredge

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." 

~Revelation 22:12-13

"No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you."

~Jesus, John 14:18

"You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord's coming is near."  

~James 5:8