Birds

I love birds and pretty skies and there was plenty of that going on last night.

S'mores Pie

Brownies, Caramel, and Marshmallows!  Try out a new recipe!  Click here for the recipe

Christmas!

Christmas was full of so many great things this year!!

Angel Tree

Awaited!

Christmas Cookie Decorating

Christmas Eve Service at Crossroads!

I so loved this we started with one candle lit and watched the light of Jesus spread through the room while singing Silent Night.  Heart.  Full.

Present time!

Christmas wouldn't be complete without torturing a kitty cat with a costume :)

family

This is my momma and I, she's the best.

Searching for God Knows What

I'm normally not a 'read two books at once' type of girl, but since Purpose Driven Life is one small chapter a day I needed a book to read on my morning commute I've added a second book to the mix.  I love Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years so I am excited to get into this book!  

Here's a little excerpt from the first chapter that I read this morning.  Miller was explaining how a relationship with God is not about taking certain steps, or checking things off a list.  God is not a genie in that you can clap your hands 3 times turn around rub a jar and He grants you a wish, he's much more than that...

"The truth is there are a million steps, and we don’t even know what the steps are, and worse, at any given moment we may not be willing or even able to take them; and worse, they are different for you and me and they are always changing,  I have come to believe the sooner we find this truth beautiful, the sooner we will fall in love with the God who keeps shaking things up, keeps changing the path, keeps rocking the boat to test our faith in Him, teaching us to not rely on easy answers, bullet points, magic mantras, or genies in lamps, but rather in His guidance, His existence, His mercy, and His love." - Donald Miller

I'm finding how true and beautiful these words are.

Purpose Driven Life

My sister and I started reading Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren yesterday.  It's a 40 day challenge that promises to change you're life and I'm up for something life changing.  I have several friends who have read it and love it.  One day in and I'm excited for what the next 39 days will have in store.  It looks like everyday there is a 40-60 minute sermon to listen to and then a chapter to read, at the end of it there is sort of a 'thought of the day' a bible verse to memorize and a question to wrestle with.  Hopefully I'll be able to share some A-Ha moments in the days to come!

Favorite Verses

Prayer Experience

Today Jenna and I went to check out the Prayer Experience at the City Link Center in Cincinnati. The Prayer Experience is put together by Crossroads as a part of the Kingdom Come Journey. Usually it’s at Crossroads Oakley but this year they had it in a central location since there are over 65 churches joining us in this year’s journey. I also think it’s a great idea because City Link’s purpose is to bring people out of poverty and into wholeness, and this prayer experience is such a great thing for the clients of this center to go through.


I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never been to one, but I had heard nothing but great things about them. I arrived a little bit earlier than Jenna so I had some time to look around, in the waiting area they had several kingdom stories that had been shared throughout the journey, but one I hadn’t remembered hearing stuck out the most to me, here is part of it:

I can relate because I had a moment like this. It’s weird because a year ago I would have thought this was not fully real or over dramatized. It’s still a little crazy to know how real it is. To feel the power of God so fully and so intensely that the only thing you can do is fall to your knees.

Anyway, the prayer experience, so you start it and they give you this headset and connected is a device that looks a little like a phone with numbers on it. You press 1 and play and go into room one. There are 8 rooms and 8 different tracks to listen to for each room. Sometimes you just sat and listened to the track and other times there were things you were to do in each room. I really loved this experience. We had the chance to write our burdens on the wall, pray for someone specific, for our families and or cities. I highly recommend this to anyone in the area

For more information click here.

Thankful in November Day 6

Red cups are back!

Thankful in November Day 5

Today I am thankful for this little handsome man!  He is getting bigger and bigger everytime I see him!  What a blessing he is to our family!  Love love love little sweet Wesson!

Thankful in November Day 4

Today I am thankful to have had such a loving and resilient father.  In a lot of ways where his journey ended mine began.  I’m thankful to God, that he is able to turn a shattered heart and a million years into a true testimony.

Thankful in November Day 3

Today I'm thankful for the men who participate in No-Shave November.  One, because I love a man with a beard.  Two, because it's done in support of a good cause.

"The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free.  Donate the money you usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle."

Thankful in November Day 2

 Today I went out to celebrate my friend Kimberly's birthday.  We went out to eat at Keystone Bar & Grill in Clifton and it was the first time that I had been to that area since they completely redid it.  I used to be in Clifton every Friday and Saturday night with my best friend.  Vertigo was our spot and we actually shed tears the day that it closed down.  It was a little bit of a traumatic moment when I drove by and saw that it was completely gutted.  So many great memories there.

Anyway the area seems to be really nice now.  It's still kind of in the middle of the ghetto but it's a cute little college town. lol.  Either way today I'm thankful for great times with such good friends.  I hadn't seen Lisa in a long time and it was great to catch up with her.  She's such a sweet friend and has been through so much and it's wonderful to see her smile and laugh. I love any excuse to see the people who have been by my side for so many years.  Happy Birthday Kimberly!

Of course Lisa is the only one that didn't have a drink, but still the goofiest!

Don't judge me and my selfie.  I never get dressed up to go out anymore :)

Thankful in November Day 1

Today I’m thankful that I got to run around on the Bengals field like a little kid and make snow angels on the B!!

Who knew that Nuge was so dreamy *drool

Perfect Freedom- Timothy Keller

Timothy Keller- Perfect Freedom

"When we come to Christ, we come with unbelievably small ambitions we want inner peace. We want a little reorientation, we want a little pick up, we want to feel like our life matters. We want some inspiration. But boy oh boy there’s a lot more to it than that:


'Imagine yourself as a living house yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.  If we let him, He well make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less.' -C.S. Lewis

Get rid of your low goals. Stop saying, If I become a Christian will I have to stop doing this or that? Will I still be able to do this? Anticipate that you will not be able to anticipate the magnitude of the changes that when they begin to come you’ll be so grateful for but they’re way beyond anything you could ever dare ask or think. Nor when are you getting started is your mind open enough and alive enough and frankly spiritually smart enough to know what it is you need. " -Timothy Keller

That last paragraph put into words what I could not.  Everyday I'm blown away.

Kingdom Come Journey - Receive

This week was really great for me.  I feel like I had a pretty major a-ha moment.  Something I really wanted to let go of that I was able to this week.  God works in some really crazy ways.  You just have to be patient and wait in his timing.

I love this CD.  This week we were to listen to this CD, soak it in, and journal about it. I listened to the CD like 56 times and it's in my car right now.  Here is a link to the CD: Receive CD.

This week's message: Receive | Enter the Kingdom

Kingdom Come Journey- Share the Love

The Kingdom Come journey has begun!  I've been so excited for this to begin, consider my spiritual dry patch over!  I have group with my family on Tuesdays and my small group on Thursdays and I love it!

"Jesus replied, 'The kingdom of God does not come with you careful observation, nor will people say, 'here it is,' or 'there it is' because the kingdom of God is within you."  Luke 17: 20-21

Week one is all about love and putting Christ's love into action.  We defined love as ascribing worth to another person, often at a cost to yourself.  We were given challenge cards and had to complete them through the week.  I had two challenges which were to pay someone a compliment and to write a love letter.  I felt like I paid compliments to people pretty regularly so actually being given that as a challenge really only ended up making me over think giving compliments because then I thought it wasn't genuine and I was only doing it because I had a card that said I should.  If only every challenge card available came that naturally.  

So for my second challenge card I decided to write a letter to my mom.  It's something that I've thought about doing for a really long time.  When I went to New Orleans they had encouraged us to write a letter to someone that encouraged us or helped us get to New Orleans.  I thought about doing it then but never did.  It seems impossible to put on paper what my mom means to me.  How much I appreciate her, but I did my best.  Loved this challenge!

These acts seem really small but imagine if all of us found little ways to bless others everyday, or if we thought of something new we could do to ascribe worth to one person each week.  That sounds a little like God's kingdom on Earth.

Link to message Love | Two Kingdoms

Craft Time!

Success!  Spray paint and things from the dollar store can make something pretty and functional.  Click here for details.

It's coming...

So excited about this church wide journey starting this Sunday at Crossroads.  I've hit a bit of a dry patch spiritually.  Become a bit lazy and I cannot wait to dive into this journey.  Excited to see what it has in store!  More to come...

Back On-line!

I hated using this site on my iPad, but I've refurbished an old crappy laptop to use only for a few things I have to start doing on-line.  Blogging again might just be one of those things I have to start doing again :)

LIVE ACTION

Great way to return to work

Found out who was eating the cat food, LIVE ACTION

Been struggling lately, so I cracked open my bible and started reading Romans.  Then I skimmed through to look at the things that I had highlighted in the past.  This one is needed right now.

Birthday Cat

she has to put her paw on my hand, love it

Birthday girl having some catnip

Being tested.

Reality Gram

Sweet card I received from my team at Crossroads!

Loved this message today.  Click here to see it.

I thought about what Chuck said at church today and I know my biggest struggle is pride.  I'm not overly prideful but I love to hear praise.  I do things, charitable things, because I love to because it is where my heart is but I think I like the praise that comes along with it a little too much.  I love what other people begin to think about me because of it.  That is one of my biggest weaknesses, because instead of enjoying the fruits of that I begin to feel guilt.  Guilt for the pride of the things that God has done in my life.  I have to constantly remind myself to stay humble.  Sometimes I wonder, is this just me being too critical of myself, or is it self correction that is needed.  Either way it's my reality gram for the day.

Birthday!

Today I spent the afternoon decorating for my best friend's wedding at her dad's farm.  I am so excited for next weekend!!!

Love this beautiful birthday gift from Jenna.

Family time is my favorite.  Birthday BBQ

Baby Wesson loves his uncle Butch!

Fire, sweatshirts and s'mores.  Perfect.

One of my favorite gifts ever.