January Books

Well, I'm super disappointed to be listing only two books for the month of January. I started out really excited and made a book list and was off. Off to the library!!!! I have only been there once and it was so long ago that I don't even remember what I went there for!!!

However, I fell back into an old habit. I was reading....but I was reading 8 books at one time. I finished three. I'm still in the first half of the other 6!!! And...I bought 4 new books. And...I have a bookshelf full of books I want to read. So, new plan. Pick one book. Finish it. Pick the next book. This is going to be SO hard for me, but I have to do it or I will never finish anything!!!!! Here are the three I did finish.

Becoming Fearless This was my favorite book this month! Incredible story!!! I am a big fan of "The Biggest Loser", but I didn't see the season that Michelle won. However, it really didn't matter. Her story is one for any person! Not only is the book an easy read, its encourages you to not give up, work hard, and trust the Lord (not yourself or other people). Definitely recommend.

The Chimes "The Chimes" was the second story/book in this book of 5 Christmas books. I loved "A Christmas Carol" so I just continued on to the next one. I was kind of disappointed in this one. It was still a little hard to read because of the old-style language. It had my attention at the beginning, but in the 3rd chapter, I kind of got bored. It seemed to have a little of the same "visiting the past" just as the "A Christmas Carol", but it was less entertaining. The main character is poor, but doesn't have a mean/greedy spirit like Scrooge, however, he went into the future to times when he wasn't alive anymore...and he wasn't missed by anyone. It was kind of sad. (If you have read this and completely missed the point, please fill me in!!! I'm not too prideful to admit I might need another perspective).

The Year of Fog This was actually the first book I read and finished this year. My mother-in-law sent it to me with all our Christmas presents. She was reading it when she came to visit in October and told me she would send it to me when she was finished. I was actually surprised b/c most people forget to pass books along! It was a very interesting read. I liked that the chapters were so short and in the beginning I felt like I was getting through the book so quickly. This book really takes place over a year's time. A little girl goes missing and its a woman's perspective on the search for her. It started moving really slow toward the middle and I was just wanting to find out what happened. The climax of the book wasn't until very close to the end and expected there to more of the story, but it ended pretty quickly. It was interesting to see the emotion and determination of this woman throughout the book and especially the end. Not my favorite, but its an interesting read.

One book I did check out at the library was "Pop Goes the Weasel" by James Patterson. However, After reading the first 5-6 pages, I stopped. I could already tell he was a fantastic writer, but I know myself well enough to know that books like that were going to create sleep problems for me later. I have this issue with movies too. Once I read or see something, it doesn't leave my mind. When its scary, it likes to come and taunt me in the middle of the night. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't watch scary movies anymore, and now I'm taking that same stand for books. I'm a little disappointed b/c I love a good mystery!!!! However, I did get some hand-me-down books from a sweet friend of ours and they are along the same line, but don't deal with graphic murders. I'll share more on that next month. :)

Lately

I've been pretty quiet on the blog the last week. We've been busy with a good old fashion revival! Well, maybe not so "old fashion". I've been CRAVING the Word lately. Craving to grow like I have in the past. For years, I've thought about how much I loved those revivals in our Southern Baptist churches. I loved having guest pastors come to my church and teach for a week. It was always so encouraging and motivated my walk.

This revival fell in our laps! It was a complete God-thing! A friend of mine had just finished reading Steven Furtick's book, "Sun Stand Still". From there, she started listening to his pod-casts and watching his sermons online. This is where she came across the "Code Orange Revival". She and her husband decided to open their homes for 12 nights!!!! TWELVE!!! What a blessing they are to clear their schedules so that we can meet in the name of the Lord! We've all laughed b/c this is actually their busiest season. God completely cleared their calendar knowing this was going to move people and be life-changing.

We just finished night 7. I'm so sad that we only have 5 nights left. The teaching has been incredible! The Holy Spirit moving has been life-changing! The worship has been awesome! The fellowship has been like water to our soul! The encouragement in our spiritual growth has left me speechless! God is so good!

I'm not quite sure what next week is going to be like. Ha! I know its probably going to be a little bit of a "downer". The fellowship with friends every single night has been so fun! We've all even chipped in and cooked different nights. However, having some incredible teaching every single night is a huge blessing!!!!

Let's go back to the "old fashion" part. This is not your typical revival! Its been amped up!!! The worship is current and amazing! There's hymns, some praise and worship music from about 10 years ago, and lots of contemporary music as well. Night 6 was an entire night of just worshiping THE true God! Israel Houghton was there and rocked the house! AWESOME! The preaching? Oh my word!!! Its off the charts! Seriously!!! There has been a different pastor every single night! Incredible the passion and love for people they have...the love for the Lord...and their desire to see people come to the foot of the cross! Come to know their Savior!

My plan is to blog a little about each night and what we've been learning. There's so much, but its so good that I just have to share.

With all of that said, I just want to sign off with a picture. I was told that I could post a picture on the blog, but I was not allowed to make a big deal about this. So, I'm not making a big deal...but I'm super PROUD! Enjoy your week!!!!

Read More

One of my resolutions is to "read more". I thought I would post the books that I read in 2011. Get ready...you "readers" are going to laugh b/c I think I can count them on one hand. :)

1. "I Do. Now What?" by Guilliana and Bill Rancic I really loved this book! I already watch their show and think they are down-to-earth. There are a lot of similarities between them and and Ken and I. Yes, he watches the show too. If it was too "girly" there's no way he would. This book gave an insight into how they do marriage. It was funny and an easy read. Something "light" that I could read before going to sleep. It has some great advice and gave me some things to think about.

2. "Inconceiveable" by Carolyn and Sean Savage This book was incredibly thought-provoking! I'm pretty sure my hubs was glad when I had finished it. It was all I could talk about. It was heartbreaking, joyful, selfless, selfish, and controversial. I could go on and on. Incredible story! I saw the Savages on "The Talk" and couldn't believe their story and knew I had to read the book. Definitely recommend!!!

3. "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace This was pretty good. I used it as my quiet time book for a few months. A lot of it I already knew, but it definitely had some good information.

4. Four out of the five books in the "Firstborn" series by Karen Kingsbury: "Fame", "Forgiven", "Found" and "Family" I LOVE Karen Kingsbury. However, this was not my favorite series of hers. I absolutely LOVE the Redemptions Series and recommend it every chance I get!!! I need to just go ahead and read the 5th book in the "Firstborn" series just to finish it out. I had a hard time getting through the first 4 b/c they seemed pretty "wordy". I felt like she could have really shortened the series. It took FOREVER for the big events to happen...you knew they were coming, but it was usually in the last chapter. Ugh! I still think she's great...but the Redemption Series cannot be topped!

5. "90 Minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper Loved it! This isn't something I would usually read. There are some things biblically that I question about these stories. However, I had a friend that encouraged me to read this one. It was so good! I couldn't put it down. He didn't focus on what he saw or heard in heaven beyond the first 2-3 chapters. The story's main focus was on his recovery, his attitude and his pride. It was incredible!

6. "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens Ken and I went to this fantastic, quaint little book store over the holidays. They had so many Christmas books on display and I'm a sucker for the classics. I've never read the TRUE "A Christmas Carol". I've only seen the movies and TV shows that mimic the story. I figured what better time to read it than at Christmas time. :) Dickens style of writing was a little difficult to follow at times, but since I knew the story already, it made it much easier to follow what he was saying. Definitely a keeper and will probably read it again next Christmas!

WOW! I'm impressed that its more than 5!!!! haha! I really don't read a lot anymore. I used to read quite a bit during the summers, but I've gotten in a really bad habit of making TV a priority.

I've already finished two books this month and have 2 chapters left on my 3rd book. Plus, I've started 2 more...so I'm off to a good start! :)

I'd LOVE to hear your favorites and recommendations! I've got a book list going and I am trusting my avid readers.

Happy Reading!

***all pictures were taken from amazon.com***

Christmas 2011

I'm a little behind, so here is our Christmas...in pictures.

There was family: Presents: Birthday cake: The things that aren't listed that made this year were the night the hubs and I went to look at Christmas lights, Christmas Eve service with my brother and his family, taking my grandmothers to look at Christmas lights, shopping, and dinner and a movie with long-time friends.

After we left Tulsa, I got to spend the day with my friend Caitlin, who know lives in Texas. Ken and I also took advantage of the time I had off and made our way to the OKC area to see some friends. And, another day to Ponca City for a dinner date night with another couple. We were all over the place! So, our New Years plans were to stay home in our pj's and just relax and enjoy some quiet, lazy time before heading back to work.

Its such a blessing to have time off at Christmas and being able to fellowship with so many people we love! Great way to close out the year!

A Two-Week Blessing

I had the honor of taking pictures of our sweet friends. They are little newly-weds of a year and a half. Her husband left for his first deployment to fight for our freedom just months before their first anniversary. He has been home for almost 2 weeks and will be heading back to his station very soon. We are so blessed to call them friends! They are so precious and I'm thankful for the time we were able to spend with them!

Finn Is Home

Sweet Finn is finally HOME! I had the awesome privilege of going to take some pictures of him on his first day! :) This family has an incredible story and you can read more about Finn here.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2012! So far, it been a pretty good year. I know we're only 3 days in, but my Alma Mater won the Fiesta Bowl and I'm super excited about it!!! I've made two resolutions for this year. For the last few years, I've tried to keep my resolutions simple. At least, simple in words...and not more than 2 resolutions. On top of the simple resolutions, I've tried the "101 in 1001" or something like that and the lists of things to keep up with and measure every month. But, I've found that if I can keep it simple with only two things to focus on, then I really work on the goals I've set.

It all started in 2003. It was by "accident". I had broken up with my college boyfriend a few months before Christmas and I was utterly heartbroken. The goal I set for for 2004 was to "get through one day at a time". I knew if I could just get through each day of that year, then I would have gotten through all the "firsts" without him. I cried a lot that year, so my resolution for 2005 was to "cry less". I broke out of my shell that year. There were a lot of things I realized about myself. I had fun, but I was still hurting and tried to "fix" things in my life to work out how I wanted them to in the moment. Of course, they still didn't work out how I expected, and, thankfully, God was working outside of me trying to do HIS job. For 2006, my resolution was "less drama". :) While that year had less "drama", it was full of great memories. Serving in the college ministry, seeing my best friend get married, and I bought a house! Actually, as I think about that year, it had a little drama. There was someone in my life that was constantly telling me what I could and couldn't do, who I could and couldn't be friends with, and that I was too "old" to be friends with college students (I was only 28)...and I let him. I allowed someone to dictate my life for a whole year! So my resolution for 2007 was to "have fun". And, fun I had!!! I did exactly what I wanted to do and didn't really care about the consequences. There were times I lost my witness because of it, but I was tired of being "good". By the end of the year, I started realizing that I wasn't living the life that I truly wanted to. I wasn't being a fully-devoted follower of Christ. I was ready for a serious change! My resolution for 2008 was to "ACT OUT a godly adult-life and make godly decisions" and I wanted to "be a good steward of what God had given me". I made some tough decisions that year, but knew I was making the godly decisions I needed to make. Single life wasn't easy, but it was better than settling for whoever walked into my life. I'm so thankful for the wait because God allowed me to meet my sweet husband! Up to this point, I was really proud of how well I'd kept my resolutions.

Enter 2009. I went away from my "simple" plan and, as a result, didn't do my best. I thought I was keeping it simple by saying the resolution was "live healthy", but I had a list to follow: workout more, eat less, more bible study, and keep a clean house. I did well with the workouts and bible studies, but my life didn't change in the food and cleaning house departments. I made it too difficult. When I try to do too much, I end up not focusing on all areas.

In 2010, I thought I would try something different. I picked a verse to meditate on for the year. I had good intentions of memorizing the passage and really using it throughout the year. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I did learn to seek the Lord in my fears of the unknown, but I had a hard year spiritually. God used that year to grow me in ways that I wasn't expecting and I was definitely ready for the year to end.

I was SO glad to see 2011!!! And, I went back to my simple resolution! "Eat less". This was my year to break my stronghold of food! I'm proud to say that I am in a totally different place today than I was last year at this time! Praise the Lord! He has brought me here. I still have bad habits I battle, lies I have to conquer with TRUTH, and I'm still learning that its hard work to break this addiction. Its not an easy, overnight fix, but last year allowed me to focus on my relationship with the Lord and defeating this stronghold!

Now for 2012. My resolution for this year is "to extend more grace" and "read more". I've realized in the last couple years, I've become very cynical with people. We live in a world where it seems that every day breeds more and more entitlement. Its ugly! I find myself getting frustrated with people that walk around with only themselves on their mind. Is their behavior okay? No. However, my goal this year is to extend grace to people that I think don't deserve it. None of us deserve the grace that God freely gives us! I don't deserve it! You don't deserve it. So, who am I to not extend grace to others? My prayer is that I will find ways to show people God's love through grace. This will be tough for me...but I look at it as an attitude adjustment. Looking at people through God's eyes and not my own.

And, finally to read more. I stick myself in front of the TV way too often. Its time for a change! I'm not looking to read meaningless riff-raff, but things that will make me think and allow me to grow. I'm not saying there won't be some "girly" books thrown in every once in awhile, but I really want to read things that I won't feel are "time wasters" like TV has become.

So, there you have it! Resolutions for the year! Simple. Doable. Life-changing. Christ-representing!

Happy New Year!