Diving Deeper - Genesis 2

I absolutely loved today’s diving deeper in Genesis today! Genesis 2 reminded me the simplicity of who He is. We tend to be overwhelmed with the idea of who God is, and where I love that feeling also because He is a big God that overwhelms us with His divine love, He is also peaceful and simple. Genesis 2 reminded me of that today.

“Nothing was growing into the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land.” Genesis 2:5 – Growth can’t happen without the rain. Our pains in life bring immaculate growth if we allow Him to work in that pain. Genesis 2:5 reminds me that we need those growing pains in order to flourish. “Then the Lord planted a garden.” Genesis 2:8

“He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7 reminds me that we literally have His breath in us. He created us with His very breath. I love that thought. It also reminds me that others have His breath of life in them too. When I think about that, it brings me to a place of so much love for others. We are all walking and breathing HIS breath! Love it!

These two things remind me that we need the rain from pain AND His breath for those beautiful gardens in our lives to happen. It is vital for growth to happen in us and for us!

In the middle of the garden is a tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. We always have a choice. We all know the story of Eve choosing poorly and that just reminds me that we, too, have choices in life. What choices will you make today?

Then my favorite scripture in Genesis 2, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for Him.” Genesis 2:18. This scripture reminds me that God is most definitely relational. Hello, women were made for the purpose of bringing relationship and community into Adam’s life! He believes in commitment, relationship and marriage!

I hope this blesses you today and brings some simple, yet profound, reminders into your life today!

Be blessed.

Secret Santa By Juliana Haygert - 4 out of 5 Stars

I wasn't sure what to expect as this was my first Christmas Fiction book to read, besides the Christmas classics, and I must say that I LOVED it!  It was a short read but very entertaining.  Natasha is a young lady who has had to endure a lot of pain and loss since she was a child.  These traumas led to her making mistakes that bothered her.  Shame, loneliness and pain were all she ever received for Christmas.  Until she met Jason.....

I love that this story teaches us to not judge a book by it's cover....or reputation.  We never know what somebody has endured so we should always take the time to get to know a person's heart and who they really are.  Actions are sometimes reflections of our pain.

I enjoyed this book and happy to now be a Christmas fiction story reader!!!!  Juliana had me hanging on every word waiting for the next thing to happen. Loved it!

You can get a digital copy of Secret Santa for free on Amazon!!!!!

Summer Visit From Grandpa

Visits in the summer are LIFE!!! We were so blessed to have a visit from grandpa last week!  It was a blast!  Since my job is a little bit more flexible, I was able to spend extra time with him!  We enjoyed time at Stauvie Island, had lunch by the water and even found a tavern in the middle of the forest one day!

We were also able to visit my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their sweet kiddos out at Whisbey Island! It was so nice to spend some much needed time with family!  Living far away from our Texas family has been tough so getting a chance to be with family was such a blessing!  Here are some precious moments from that visit!

Grandpa stayed there and spent some time with his other son and hubby and I took the ferry back from the island and oh how fun that was!!  The ocean is certainly my happy place!

I Still Remember By Priya Prithviraj - Four Stars

What a sweet story that really captures the feeling of "the one that got away" and then getting another chance to fight for that love again. Will Ji-Woo choose love or her dreams of writing? You must read to find out! This is a short read yet is a full and emotional story of love, rejection and choices! You can feel Ji-Woo's heart as you read each page!

Priya did a great job of bringing deep rooted emotions to life in this story. It was easy to fall in love with Ji-Woo! I found myself invested in her choices and more importantly, in her heart! If you are looking for a short and sweet read, this is the book for you!!

Saturday Six - Bed Rest, Anniversaries, Businesses and Love

Saturday Six Number One:

Bed rest! BLAH! I keep telling myself it will all be worth it (more on that later). I'm thankful for a husband who serves and cares for me. I couldn't get through this without a heated blanket, fuzzy socks and every snack that my little heart desires!

Saturday Six Number Two:

While I'm on bed rest, I've been watching one of my old favorites! (Don't judge.....)

Saturday Six Number Three:

Darin and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary this past Monday. I'm so thankful for this beautiful marriage. My whole life I have heard how hard marriage is but with Darin, it's so easy. It's so easy to love him completely and so easy to let him love me. Thank you Jesus for answering my every prayer for my husband. I'm thankful!

Saturday Six Number Four:

I've been working so hard on my coaching business. I've been learning more from other coaches and getting ready to launch my first program! Lots of prayers please!!!! I'm excited for this adventure!

Saturday Six Number Five:

Speaking of businesses..... I also picked up photography again. I'm not sure how serious I will be with it but we live in such a beautiful area again so why NOT pick it up again and maybe make a few extra dollars doing something that I love!? I'm excited about it!

Saturday Six Number Six:

Another Anniversary we celebrated this week was the day I met my sweet Daisy! March 3, 2011 she became mine and I have enjoyed every single second of her in my life!!!

Poke Art Date

So today hubby and I participated in Poke Art Drop and had so much fun! Local artists would hide pieces of art at Poke Stops and would post clues then people would have to search for them. After five hours, we finally found one!  

A Week Of Beauty

This week has been a stepping stone for me.  Where I still felt a pain in my heart, I was able to function better.  Monday was my hardest day.  I was in the office by myself most of the day and kept feeling pain overwhelm me throughout the day.  On the drive home, I felt so much sadness that I didn't think I could bear it any longer.  I got home and ran into my husband's arms and he comforted me.  His embrace reminded me that God has us and all is well in His plan.  We decided to go on a date to the movies.  I was able to experience joy again in our marriage.  We laughed and talked and I had fun with my husband again for the first time in weeks.  Thank You Jesus!

My sister came into town Tuesday and what a blessing her visit was.  We talked and spent good quality time together.  We laughed, cried, and shared private feelings that we have only shared with God and our husbands.  The time together was beautiful and I'm so thankful for her obedience.  God nudged her to come visit us and she obeyed.  He knew I needed the love of my big sister.  Thursday afternoon her and my Mom came over with pink and blue balloons.  I wrote messages on them and released them to the heavens.  I am confident that those messages made it to their rightful home.  

The days are getting easier and my moments of sorrow are getting fewer.  I'm not yet ready to try for baby #2 but I am prayerfully expecting God will tell me when it's time.  I'm thankful for His love and support.  I'm thankful for His grace and mercy with each passing day.  He makes all things beautiful and I will rest in that fact!  I am able to see so much of His beauty through this loss and I cannot thank Him enough for that.  

Weekend Shenanigans - Church Retreat and Weekend Get Away

Normally the hubby and I have very boring weekends.  This past weekend was full of adventures and fun!

Thursday afternoon we headed off to Ruidoso, NM for a leadership retreat for my work.  Hubby got to go with me, so that made it much sweeter!  The weekend was filled with fellowship and quality time with my baby!

Thursday evening after our first session, we had dinner with some of my co-workers and their spouses.  I learned more about my brothers and sisters and enjoyed fellowship.

Friday after the morning session, Darin and I spent some good quality time together!  We haven't had a chance to take any time away together since we got married, so we took advantage.  We did our favorite, antique shopping.  I scored me this cute little Christmas book.

Then we drove an hour and half to visit White Sands National Monument and it was breathtaking!

Then we had the evening sessions back in Ruidoso.  Spending time with co-workers and friends was amazing!  I am growing to love many of them and they are becoming more than just co-workers but they are becoming my family!

We then headed back to the lodge and watched a movie in front of the fire and relaxed!

The next morning before leaving Ruidoso, hubby stopped and got me a bag of apples.  I kept saying I was craving an apple, so he stopped and grabbed me a bag full of apples!  Marriage is so sweet with the right one!

We had planned on heading to El Paso as that is where hubby is from but an emergency back home happened and we had to quickly turn around and come back home.  Everything is good now, so no worries but the rest of the weekend was a little hectic and not as relaxing as we had hoped.  Thank goodness I have a couple of days off for some rest and me time.

What weekend Shenanigans did YOU get into!?

Summer Catch Up

I'm super excited for my periodic catch up!

It has been an awesome past few months of newly wed bliss, friendship, Church, Ministry, writing, and family!

My girlfriends and I have been able to spend lots of time together over the past few months and that's amazing in itself.  We went through a season of business and ALL of us gals were always super busy, so it's been nice to enjoy time and fellowship with one another this summer.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

Ministry has been so much fun since my promotion!  It is a lot different from my position as Generation's assistant. It has been so much fun learning and growing!  I have truly enjoyed working at the Church in both admin assistant position and now in my Life Group Coordinator position.  God has truly blessed me!!!

National Pink day was in June and of course, I participated!!!  Everybody knows how much I LOVE LOVE pink!!!!

It's no secret that summer is not generally my favorite season; however, I have to admit that summer nights with family and friends are always awesome!

Bowling night with the fam happened only once this summer but that's ok....it was a great night!

Family visits in the summer are always a blast!!!

And of course who can forget lazy cat days!

Summer is also a season of fun holidays!

I celebrated my first Father's Day with my new father-in-law.  It was really neat to plan a father's day lunch with my new family!  We also meshed up with my dad and took him to his favorite thing to do in the world, GOLF!

and YES, that is my adorable sweet nephew above!  CUTENESS! 

4th Of July is one of my other favorite summer holidays!  This year Darin and I hosted at our tiny apartment and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!  We had family and friends over and meshed families!  Talk about fun!

And who can forget summer weddings??  My Mom's best friend from her younger days got married to the love of her life this summer and it was such a beautiful day!

Summer loving is always so much fun and so are dates to the library with the hubby!

To conclude our awesome first summer as a married couple, we moved into our beautiful new home!!!  We have had so much fun unpacking and shopping for new furniture and just starting our lives together in a spacious beautiful home!  I cannot wait to dress our home up in FALL AND WINTER ( MY FAVORITE SEASONS) WOOHOO!

Needless to say, marriage has been so good to me!  I have had so much fun as a newly wed and I have the most amazing husband, I have no idea what I did to deserve Darin!  I'm so excited for fall and all of our fall and winter adventures!!!