Our Garden

Our little garden is just getting started. Ken planted everything last week. We buy plants from our neighbor who is a serious master-gardener and then plant them ourselves. The only thing we didn't buy as a plant were the green beans...Ken planted each bean. Its fun to go out there every day and water each plant in hopes of a full harvest over the summer. :) In June, we'll be planting pumpkins!!! And, in the fall, we'll plant lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic, and potatoes. I'm thankful to have the land to be able to plant our own garden...full of the things we eat the most! Here is what we have planted so far:

Cayenne Peppers: "Bob's" Peppers (One of our neighbors visits his family in Texas quite often. One year, he brought back this really hot pepper. He gave it to our neighbor that gardens to see if he could grow some here. The Oklahoma weather is great for it and we were given one to grow this year): Bell Peppers: Squash/Zucchini (We had one of each, but lost one with some of the strong winds we've had. We didn't label either one, so we don't know which plant we lost. I'm hoping we lost the squash b/c I LOVE zucchini!!!): Tomatoes: Cucumbers: Basil: Rosemary: Sweet Corn: Asparagus: And...we're waiting to get our Blackberry plants. I think we'll have them in a few weeks! :)

Hope you are all having a blessed Spring so far! We've had incredibly beautiful weather!!! Most days are warm with really cool nights. The kind of nights where you can leave your windows open when you sleep...but the days are warm enough for tank-tops and flip-flops. We've had a couple days that were in the 30's and a few that were in the 90's. Right now we are just in serious need of rain! I'm loving Spring and enjoying every minute before swimming-weather gets here. :)

Stay tuned for more garden and vegetable pictures!!!

Doubt

John 20:11-31
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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Why do we doubt God?

Mary knew He was going to rise on the 3rd day! She believed He was the Messiah! Why did she doubt? Why was she so overcome with grief that she didn't know Christ was right in front of her? (My heart jumps everytime I read this part. I can't wait to hear Jesus say my name!).

Thomas followed Christ. He believed that Jesus was the Messiah! Why would he doubt?

We know God. We know what His Word says about Him. We've studied His character. We've seen what He does in our life. We have the Holy Spirit, God, living in us! Why do we doubt?

Doubt seems to come when we aren't getting our expectations met. We are disappointed in life. We wonder if God somehow forgot about us. We seem to forget everything we know about Him and question His love for us. We question if He's listening to our prayers.

I'm thankful that even when we doubt (like Mary and Thomas), He still makes Himself known to us. No matter what life brings...whether doubt creeps in b/c you are hurting or just b/c something is "too good to be true", I pray that we all continue to hold to who God truly is. Not the human characteristics we try to attribute Him....but who He REALLY is! Hold to the truth! He's given us the most beautiful gift in allowing us to have His Word...to live in a place where we still have the freedom to seek Him openly. I pray we each take that freedom and live it out to the fullest!

The Guards

Matthew 28:11-15
"While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day."

Pride. Its usually the root of our sin. We want to do what we want to do no matter what the cost. Pride is what caused the chief priests and elders to lie. They didn't want anyone to know they were wrong. They didn't want people to see that they were trying to do everything they could to prove that Jesus wasn't the Son of God. They didn't want people to see that Jesus truly was the Messiah. This couldn't be what they were waiting for....a servant? A carpenter's son? Born in a manger? They were waiting for their Messiah to be a king. Born into money. Someone who would fall in line with everything they said. Pride was their fall. They didn't want people to follow this Man. He was too ordinary.

Can you imagine the humility they must have felt when they heard that Jesus had truly risen? That the soldiers had seen an angel? The panic they must have felt! The chief priests were so scared and needed to fix the issue, so they chose to cover it up.

What they realized in that moment was that Jesus truly was the Messiah they had been waiting on for years! Anyone can claim to be the Messiah, but only God can rise from the dead! Christ alone paid for sin and conquered death so that we can have eternal life with Him!

How many times have we been "caught" in our sin? How many times have we quickly reacted to something only to continue in sin b/c we are scared or want to "save face"? How many times have we tried to cover up the truth?

Christ paid for all sin. By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone can we come before the Father and have a relationship with Him. Praise God that my sins are washed away.

HE'S ALIVE!!!!!

Matthew 28: 1-7, 11-15

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Praise the Lord!!! He's alive!!!!

"Sin has lost its power! Death has lost its sting!" AMEN!!!!

The Guard At The Tomb

Matthew 27:62-66

"The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."

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I'm so thankful that Pilate, the chief priests and the Pharisees thought to do this! They only made the case for the resurrection so much stronger! The tomb was SEALED! A guard was posted! No one could steal his body.

Sunday's Coming.....

Good Friday

Isaiah 53:5 "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our sin; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."

Happy Good Friday!

I praise His name for His grace!!! Thank you, Lord God, for sending your Son to take my place...that I may spend eternity with You!



Lyrics | Sara Evans, Brad Paisley - New Again lyrics

Time Again

Its that time of year again.... Spring time brings the annual shave! :) Lexis loves it!!!! However, this day, temperatures dropped to the 30's...she got a little cold and decided to snuggle up on the couch (she's NEVER gotten on our couch) with Ruger's fleece blanket! haha! And, he was willing to share. Ruger was at the other end snuggled up in another blanket too. :) Its so nice to look out the door and see GREEN! Sadly, when you walk across the grass, all you can hear is "crunch". We need rain so very badly! I love seeing the change in seasons. This Spring has brought beautiful days and cool nights...but also 30 degree weather one day and 90 degree weather two days later. I appreciate that we are still having some beautiful 70 degree days with cool nights. I will keep Spring as long as God allows it. A new thing I have added to my "favorites" list since I've been married is gardening!!! Our neighbor has a FABULOUS garden!!! He has 20 acres that he gardens at his home...he also has 2 green houses and a bee-hive for honey. Its incredible! He's a retired PhD professor and still has interns help with the gardening. Its very impressive! Anyway...when I see him out on the 10 acres that backs up to our house getting things ready, I know its that time of year again!!!! We buy plants from him and plant them. Last year was our first little garden....this year, its gonna grow!!! I'm super excited to start planting!!! We are going to do some now, again in June and again in the fall. If you know me at all, you know that I am NOT a gardening girl! This is the first time I've ever been excited about it. Last year, Ken did all the work to get the garden together, but I fell in love with it as I watched the harvest. It was such a joy to go to the garden everyday and gather the cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and basil. This year, not only did I get excited about the garden, I was finally ready to try my hand at flowers!!!! My mom about fell over! haha! Its just never been an interest to me....but I really wanted something pretty on my porches and the flower bed right outside our front door. I set out to find something pretty. I learned from my mom and a high school friend (that now lives across the street from my best friend) that each plant has little "tags" that show what kind of sunlight they need and any other info you need to know. I looked for plants that would do well on our east facing porch...and one for the west facing porch. I still have no idea what one of the plants is called. My mom has told me numerous times, but still can't remember. I have lilies on the west side. I only bought one plant, but I'm going to get another one so that it will be symetrical.Here is my other plant. I think they look like mini-hydrangeas, but that is not what they are. I love this plant and bought it at our local farmers market. I would LOVE to get another one of these too. I bought a new pot and re-potted it so it had room to grow. Thankfully, my neighbor came over b/c I would have potted it incorrectly. She even gave me a bag of miracle-grow. So far, I haven't killed either one. Love seeing all the new growth and color!!! What does Spring look like at your house???

Cinnamon Rolls

Here is the cinnamon roll recipe I used for Jude's "Sip 'n' See". I wanted to post it b/c its super easy and they were good! The only thing I would do that is different, is cover them after the alloted cook time if you need to cook them longer. Mine weren't quite finished in the middle, so I put them back in (and my mom warned me to cover them, but I didn't listen...typical child!) and they burned a little on top. Ugh...not so pretty, but they were good. "Easy Cinnamon Rolls" (I think I got this recipe from my high school friend) 1 pkg Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 stsick butter 1 c. vanilla ice cream 1/2 c. chopped pecans Place frozen rolls in a 9x13 pan. Mix all other ingredients in a medium sauce pan andbring to a boil. Pour mixture over rolls and place in cold oven overnight. Next morning turn oven to 325 and bake for 30 minutes. Drizzle Rhodes topping over rolls.

Sip 'n' See

I had the privalege of hosting a "Sip 'n' See" for my best friend and her new baby, Jude. We decided to have it at Michelle's so she didn't have to get out of the house with Jude...plus it would was more laid-back and home-y to be at her house. "Sip 'n' See" showers are really nice b/c the decorations are kept simple so that all the attention is on the baby. It was a fun way for all her friends to get together and fellowship and visit Jude. A color scheme was chosen and I set out to do some simple table centerpieces, yummy food and little favors. We brought the basinette downstairs and I got a small balloon bouquet to bring more attention to it. Sweet Jude before the party! My mom and I came the night before and were able to spend time with the C. Family. It was wonderful!!! We played with Finley, held Jude, made food, decorated, ate too many cupcakes, and visited with Michelle and Devin. Jude is so sweet!!! I just love seeing him become more alert. He's adorable!!!Here is what I decided for decorations: For the food table, I found some blue placemats that would work beautifully to bring color to each table. I also got vases for each table and put some color-coordinating scrapbook paper to show through. I was hoping to find red carnations since they are more full than roses, but no such luck. The roses turned out to be just as good though. I made the cupcake-liner-pomanders to sit on top of glass vases. The final touch were framed pictures of Jude. That's one of the best things about this kind of shower b/c we got to use new-born pictures!!! The drink table had similar centerpiece...just different vases. We served water, coffee, sparkling grape juice, and this amazing flavor club soda that we got from Target. It was super-good! I also placed the favors on this table. The final table (which we decided to use the kitchen-island for), was the dessert table! I kept it pretty simple with just pictures, a small bouquet of flowers, and the homemade Tiramisu. I went through every cupcake and cake idea possible, but ended up asking Michelle what her favorite dessert was...she LOVES Tiramisu!!! She said she never gets it b/c she usually doesn't order dessert at restaurants...and it looks hard to make. I went to the trusty-Pioneer Woman-recipes. This one was simple and it was good! Its not one of my favorite desserts, but thought it turned out really well!The kitchen was finally set up and ready. As you can see the decorations were very simple, but the colors really popped! For favors, I wanted to incorporate the "Sip 'n' See" theme. So, I chose small servings of coffee with a biscotti for the "sip"; And, a picture of Jude for the "see". Michelle and I talked about what part of the day we thought would be best. She didn't want me to do a lot of work (but, seriously....this comes from the girl that is always doing AMAZING things for me...so "a lot of work" is not a problem), so her first thought was in the middle of the day. I asked if we could do it in the morning. I know that we all have busy schedules and I wanted her friends to come and have the rest of their day. And...I love to cook, so I wanted to serve brunch. I decided to make "Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche" and "Cinnamon Rolls". There was also a potato casserole that was yummy too. :) I so enjoyed celebrating my friend and her sweet new baby! We had a great time...and honestly, the best part was getting to meet her friends! Michelle and I talk pretty much every day. I hear about these girls that touch her life all the time. I loved getting to see and meet them and talk to them too! I am blessed to have my mom there with me. She helped out so much! I know she came just to meet Jude and celebrate with Michelle, but she was so good to help me cook and decorate and run errands. I'm sure she enjoyed all the girl-talk and cupcake eating too! And, of course, I got to see Finley! I just love getting any opportunity to love on her! She's fantastic!!!!! :) We played and laughed and talked. My favorite part of the weekend was being able to get her up in the morning. While she and I were sitting in her bed talking, Michelle came in to tell her that she could "go get daddy out of bed". She got really excited and jumped up yelling, "Com'on Aunt Beth!!!!!" hahaha!!! I told her she had to do that on her own. ;) She's so sweet with Jude!!!! She loves him so much and constantly makes sure we all know that he is "my jude".Here is Jude's room. Its adorable and perfect! The sweet family! This was at the end of the shower. Devin and Finley had a Daddy-Daughter date that morning for breakfast while all us girls were at the house. They came back in time to see everyone and get a few pictures.

Rings

How many of you still stare at your engagement/wedding ring? Is it b/c I’m still considered a “newlywed” that I still admire it? Or is it just b/c I have an addiction to constantly doing something with my hands? I mess with my ring all day long. I turn it around and around. I take it off and put it back on my finger. Some days, as I’m playing with them, I leave just the wedding band on for a minute to see what it looks like…and then I put just the engagement ring on to see what it looks like. The funny thing is they look weird without each other. It seems like something is missing to just have my engagement ring on by itself, even though I wore it that way for almost 6 months! I know it’s all in my mind, but it got me thinking. My engagement ring represents a promise. My wedding band represents the commitment. They go together. Two years ago today, my best friend got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was a day that I honestly questioned would ever happen (before I met Ken). I spent countless hours praying that God would send me "the one", but always wondered if that was His plan for me. I never could have imagined what He had in store for me.I'm thankful for the memory of that day. It was a Wednesday. We bought a swing for our yard. We drove to see my family and tell them all in person. I remember driving ALL over Tulsa making sure I could show off my ring and get hugs and finally celebrate with my family the new addition that God graciously provided. As much fun as that day was, as much fun as it was to plan the wedding and live out the wedding day, I am so thankful that it’s over and I am his wife. Its truly a joy and a blessing that I get to come home to my best friend everyday.

I thank you, Lord, that you gave me such an amazing gift. I am completely humbled by Your timing and your plan that I get to walk every day with my best friend. I thank you that our marriage is a "picture" of the relationship between You and the Church (all believers). A "picture" of my relationship with You. If this is just a glimpse of that, I can't even begin to imagine how great it will be to be in your presence! Thank you for my marriage! Thank you for allowing me to be Ken's wife. Amen.

K & S Engaged!

I had the privilege of taking pictures for my friend and her fiance this last weekend. It was great to see her b/c she's moved to Dallas and I loved getting to spend more time with her fiance! They are so cute and funny! We had a lot of fun!!! Looking forward to the wedding in November!!!!