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!?

What I'm Loving Wednesday - Fall And Life

I'm loving that work is slowing down and that I can get caught up on things!

I'm loving that fall is here and I have a new home to dress up for fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!!

I'm loving where I am in life!  Marriage is awesome, work is great, and family life is amazing!  Things are really at an awesome place!

I'm loving that one of my volunteers is one of my best friends, Mary, so I get to see her every Sunday and Wednesday!  It's what I look forward to on Wednesdays now!

Walking In The Forest

Being lost in guilt and shame is like being lost in a forest at night; overwhelming, dark, and scary.  You have no idea what enemies lurk or that they are ready to attack during this vulnerable moment.  Guilt and shame are not of God and we must learn to immediately withdraw from moments of guilt and shame before the enemy attacks during this vulnerable moment.

Conviction is of God and requires a heart ready and willing to turn from sin and to allow God to cleanse you.  Conviction is the light helping you see in the dark.  Repentance is finding the right path to take.  Cleansing is finding your way out of that dark forest you were lost in.

When guilt and shame creep in, tell the devil what he can do with his lies!  YOU are a child of God!

Tangled - Prize 31 Post

Check out my blog post on Prize31

http://prize31.com/tangled-by-cryssie-addis/

Quote For The Day

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. -Lucille Ball

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!!!

Thought Of The Day

Pain is instructional, purifying, motivational, and an atmosphere in which God can do a great deal in your life. Respond to God when you are hurting, not the world.

Thought Of The Day

God will bring down people's pride; we have a choice to bring it down before He does. When we choose to be free from a prideful spirit and repent and reject it, we bring Him Honor but if we wait for Him to bring it down FOR us we bring shame to both ourselves and Him. Honor and shame are the results of pride being brought down. We have the power to chose how it is brought down because it WILL be brought down so choose wisely. 

Thought Of The Day

If you feel alone in your faith, doubted, criticized or left out, be encouraged. Jesus sees you, and He wants you to see Him. Really see Him. Look to Him to encourage your faith and give you spiritual vision for what He is doing in and through you.

Prayer: Father, I want to see You. I want to see what You are doing in my life. I want to see others the way that You see them. Help me to sense what my eyes cannot see, that You are with me, that You are for me, and that You have a plan for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

From First5.org

Step Away From The Comfort Zone

The past few months have been months of personal growth and change.  There have been lots of changes in life and in those changes, I have grown so much!  

February brought marriage and the change of the single role to the wifey role.  I love being a wife and I love marriage and I still have so much to learn!   I plan on growing daily into the best wife possible!  My husband deserves that and my Father deserves to see His children in a healthy and loving marriage!  

June brought a new position!  I was promoted from administrative assistant to Life Group Coordinator at Trinity Church and it has been an adjustment, an awesome adjustment but nevertheless....an adjustment!  I LOVED my role as an administrative assistant when I was at Wal-Mart Corporate and at the Church.  My new role is very different from the role I was in for 7 years of my life and learning this new role has been exciting and amazing!

July brought a new home for my husband and I.  During this move, I started to have terrible pains and I knew instantly I had a kidney stone.  After going to the doctor and getting some tests ran, I found out that I had TWO kidney stones.  I still haven't passed them and sadly looking at another surgery for this.  During this time, I have at times been frustrated and sad.  I haven't been able to enjoy my new home or unpack or practice my cooking in my new spacious and beautiful kitchen.  However, this time down has also been beautiful.  

The one thing I have learned is that how we speak to one another, the words we say, and our intentions mean EVERYTHING!  I have always been told how sweet I am and I never really put much thought into that because, I was just always being me.  Over the past few weeks, I have felt my character and my personality challenged.  Not because of anything in particular but mainly from the stressors of all the change going on in life.  Granite, they are all wonderful changes but still change and change can be an exhausting thing no matter how exciting or positive it is.  

We don't recognize our character flaws until our flaws are put in unfamiliar situations and I am very thankful for this.  I didn't realize I had some character flaws that clearly needed a good look at.  I needed a shift in my heart and I didn't even realize it!  I started to notice that I had a critical spirit buried deep down in me and it never really came out until I was placed in many new and unfamiliar situations.  Being comfortable and in safe zones all of the time caused me to.....well be comfortable and I didn't have a hard time being that sweet girl.  

God amazes me so much how He answers prayers.  I asked before Darin and I got married for Him to please purge out any impurities I might have deep down in the core of my heart.  My desire is to have a great marriage and a great life and I knew deep down that any impurities buried deep down would one day jeopardize this desire of mine.  It has only been a few months since that prayer was whispered in my Father's ear and here He is, answering it.  At first I didn't like these things being brought to light, I was learning stuff about myself that was ugly and embarrassing.  It was only when I got sick with kidney stones that I was able to be quiet and in my prayer time really listen to Him and really embrace what was going on in the spiritual realm of stuff.

"but answer in a gentle way and with respect. Keep a clear conscience so that those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed." 1 Peter 3:16

Being critical of others can cause so much damage than what we realize.  I am so thankful God brought this character flaw of mine to the forefront so that I can seek Him for a change in my spirit and in my heart.  When we are critical of others it causes us to stop listening to them, stop respecting them, and it puts a halt on building a healthy relationship with them.  Yes, we must hold one another accountable but lovingly holding somebody accountable is totally different from being critical and judging them!  I'm far from done with this battle but it is a battle I am aware of now and it is a battle that God will fight with me!  It is up to me to open my heart up, repent, and EXPECT change!!!  So, next time you are put in uncomfortable situations, don't get discouraged.  Ask God what He wants to reveal to you in that moment and embrace what He says to you!