to my best friend

These past six years have been fun and awesome! We have two beautiful children and every time I look at them, I am reminded of how much I absolutely love you! I fall more and more in love with you each and every day.

I don’t know how to put into words how much you mean to me. This past year especially has been one that I don’t think I’d have been able to make through without you. I don’t know how it is that you are able to be so patient with me and understanding through all my trials, but you continually support me and do your best to understand what I’m going through. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you stand by me when things get tough. I know things have been tough on you as well and I am so thankful that you are committed to fighting my battles with me.

You complete me. You’re my better half. You’re my best friend. You’re my main and only squeeze. You’re my everything. Aw yeah.

For taking care of our family…
For listening to me when I need an ear…
For being there when I need a shoulder to cry on…
For making me laugh till my stomach aches…
For challenging me to be a better person…
For loving our children…
For loving me…
… Unconditionally!
For inspiring me and encouraging me…
For taking the trash out…
For folding laundry…
For cleaning up dishes…
For helping pick up around the house…
For running errands…
For taking time out of your day for all of us…
For enduring my craziness…
For standing by me…
For holding me up…
For listening…
For your godly example…
For making me feel loved…
And for so, so many more things…

Thank you.

I just love being married to you.

And when I see you, I still hear trumpets.

{Click here: This is for you.}

Love.

1 Corinthians 16:14:

{via pinterest}

 

Growing up, my brother and I were blessed with two godly, caring parents who taught us to the best of their abilities about what it meant to be a follower of Christ and how important it was to put God first in our lives. There is one thing that has always stuck with me that my dad said over and over, at home and in classes that he has taught. It’s something that will stay with me forever and it’s something that I pray I will be able to impress on Benjamin as he grows up the same way my dad impressed on me…

In everything that you do, if love isn’t your motivation,
then you’re doing it wrong.

Did you know that the word “love” appears in 184 verses, a total of 213 times in all, in the New Testament alone? I’m sure we all can agree that it isn’t an accident, and it definitely isn’t an accident that Jesus Christ himself implored us to be loving toward each other {your enemies, your neighbors, yourself, the Lord your God… that’s pretty much everyone, don’t you think!?}.

My mom and I were talking a couple days ago about how it’s sometimes hard to understand and be patient with people when you’re taking the gospel to them. It’s hard, isn’t it? Especially now when a lot of people just don’t care, don’t want to care, etc. It’s hard to be loving when doors are constantly being shut in your face. It’s hard to be patient with people who just don’t want to see it or hear about it. Isn’t it so hard to “love your neighbor as yourself” when you feel like they just don’t care?

I have seen people out there who have said some really ugly things about others in public places, like on Facebook, and while they probably won’t be seen by the subject of the ugly statements, everyone else on the friends’ list can… and sometimes it isn’t surprising why there are so many people who want nothing to do with Christianity, because Christians can’t seem to emulate the love that Christ tried so hard to instill in us.

My husband told me recently about Christian - a preacher - who had a status up on Facebook, making a joke about wishing he could kill some Muslims. Shocking, right? But probably not as uncommon as you think. A lot of Christians feel like they don’t have to be loving when it comes to things like Politics. Nobody really bats an eye when a Christian posts slanderous, ugly things about the candidate that they don’t like, do they? All I see is a bunch of ‘likes’. But Jesus told us to love our enemies {Matthew 5:44}, not to post hateful, ugly things about them {some which aren’t even true in the least}.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
{1Cor 13:4-7}

Take a look at that, and then take a look at your Facebook feed after some sort of political rally has happened and see how much actually falls into those categories, and which ones fall under the opposite.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have your viewpoints or even share them, but when it comes down to it, nobody is exempt from acting in a loving manner, even when it’s election year. Or when you’re trying to get through to someone about the gospel. Or when that three year old is blasting the car horn in the middle of the night {sorry, neighbors!}. Or when you see someone else’s kid screaming in Wal-Mart. Or when someone cuts you off while driving, or doesn’t use their blinker {ow, my toes}. Or when someone says something that offends you. Or when it’s time to correct a brother or sister in Christ.

Kristen is patient and kind; Kristen does not envy or boast; she is not arrogant or rude. She does not insist on her own way; she is not irritable or resentful; she does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Kristen bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Think about it…

Share the Love

Sometimes I wonder how in the world I will have enough room in my heart for another baby. Has any other mommy ever felt that way? Not to say that I plan on not loving this baby like I love Benjamin, but I just can’t imagine how it will be to have two little precious faces to love!

Sweet Benjamin… who today gave me ten kisses just because, who loves to cuddle and prays nearly every night that I will feel better. I am so thankful for a little boy like him and it makes me wonder how I’ll be able to share this love.

But I;m sure that’s just something you find out when you have the second baby.

Morning Glories : The Greatest of These

“And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

This is a well-known verse, I’m sure we all know it. In fact 1 Corinthians 13 is famous itself. I love how the Bible stresses our love for one another, for our neighbors and even enemies, and most importantly God. Love is important. It’s vital. Without love, what are we doing here, as Christians?

There is an exercise that I am sure many people know of, that we picked up while Carl was at preaching school. Take 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4-7, and where it says “charity” or “love”, plug your name in there and see how it reads.

Kristen is longsuffering, and is kind; Kristen envieth not; Kristen vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Does it fit? sometimes my name doesn’t fit in there right but I sure do try to make sure it does.

Today as you go on your way, try to make your name fit in that verse as well as you can.

Have a beautiful day!

LOVE day.

I hope you all had a beautiful LOVE day yesterday!
We had a special day of showing kindness to others.
Benjamin took roses to the Elders' Wives, the Widows,

and a friend. It was very special and Benjamin really
enjoyed it! I hope that by doing things like this, we can
really teach Benjamin about kindness and doing things to
brighten others' days. 

What did you do on LOVE day?

Morning Glories : The Ultimate Valentine

"For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you something that I found on Pinterest. 

Beautiful, right? 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

All My Mistakes

We may not all have a whole lot in common with each other, as in interests and things like that. But there is at least one thing that we all inevitably have in common with one another and that is that we are all human, and we all as humans make mistakes. Even those of us {meaning, myself included} who hate to admit that we make mistakes … I am saying right now that we, I, do. I know you are thinking, duh. We all know that. There is probably not one person who honestly believes that they are never, ever at fault for anything, ever. The Bible even says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” {1 John 1:8}

I’m thinking about me here. You’ll have to excuse me for a moment. But I mean … I have made a lot of mistakes. I mean a lot. I am not proud of any of them, and I have hopefully learned from them {although sometimes the lesson needs to be heard more than once … but like I said, I’m human}. And what … I don’t know  if this is the right word, but what baffles me is how patient God is with me. With me. I’m a mother of a nearly 3-year-old {don’t go gettin' teary-eyed on me, now, Kristen!} and I have a new puppy who pushes my buttons and things get ‘hairy’ around here {especially lately with my brand-new Achilles tendinitis, YAY D:} … and I admit that patience is not always my strong point … okay, hardly ever. But God… God is so patient with me, even when I make the same mistakes over and over and over. Do you know what some of my favorite verses are?

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:6-8

While WE {you, me, everyone!} were yet sinners, Christ DIED {not only died, but faced the most excruciatingly painful death known to man!!} for US {the UNGODLY!}. Why? Because He LOVES us.

I feel like you could knock me down with a feather every time I read that passage.

I am soooo not perfect, but because of verses like these, I want to try my hardest. It’s only right, right?

Thank God for second chances!! And third, and fourth, and fifth…

But with that we also have to remember that some day there may not be another chance… “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27; “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14

 

I was reminded about this tonight as we watched two very dear friends get remarried – to each other. And I was thinking how powerful forgiveness is, and love, and the desire to reconcile with each other even when the most unthinkable have come between two people. But think about it. Doesn’t God do that every time we sin and then come back to Him in repentance? Amazing.

It just … wow. Amazing.

-----------------------------------------------

And I just wanted, while I have your attention {that is, if} to say that I was featured over at Marli’s blog and I am so humbled by being featured over there! You should definitely check out her blog – she is such a sweet young woman! We don’t know each other very well but I love her dearly and her sweet sister Memory too.

Morning Glories : The Greatest of These

“And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

This is a well-known verse, I’m sure we all know it. In fact 1 Corinthians 13 is famous itself. I love how the Bible stresses our love for one another, for our neighbors and even enemies, and most importantly God. Love is important. It’s vital. Without love, what are we doing here, as Christians?

There is an exercise that I am sure many people know of, that we picked up while Carl was at preaching school. Take 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4-7, and where it says “charity” or “love”, plug your name in there and see how it reads.

Kristen is longsuffering, and is kind; Kristen envieth not; Kristen vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Does it fit? sometimes my name doesn’t fit in there right but I sure do try to make sure it does.

Today as you go on your way, try to make your name fit in that verse as well as you can.

Have a beautiful day!

Conditions on Love

Something  has been on my mind lately and I hope you don’t mind my fleshing it out here. Stick around if you’d like and if not, no worries. It’s been on my mind since it was mentioned in passing at a Ladies’ Breakfast we had here and it has just been on my mind and I can’t get it off. It’s the subject of love, which personally I think we need more of. More love. Stronger love. Love that brings about obedience and love that causes you to want to bring others to Christ and make sure that they are right with God in all areas of their life. We need more love.

But sometimes we tend to put conditions on our love. How come we do this? We are only willing to love someone if they happen  to fulfill some of your needs, or perhaps if they make you feel good, or they like the same things as you do, or they hold the same opinions. In marriages, we love our spouse as long as they take the trash out when we ask them to or keep the house clean or make the dinner or fill other needs. We place conditions on ourselves and on others concerning their appearance or how they react to the way we function.

We are told many times in the Bible that the greatest commandment is love: loving the Lord our God, loving our neighbors as ourselves {and that means that we need to love ourselves in the first place too}, and we’re to love our enemies. Love is stressed so many times in the Bible and yet we find so many reasons why we shouldn’t love.

Does God place conditions on His love? Some might think that unless you’re a Christian, God doesn’t truly love you. This isn’t true. God doesn’t put conditions on His love. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8; God showed us how He loved us while we were yet sinners! Humanity had rebelled against God, disobeying His commandments and turning against Him in every which way. And yet while man did this, God still loved us all enough to send His Son to die for us on the cross to shed His blood – the blood that washes away our sins when we come to Him in obedience {Romans 10:17; Matthew 16:16; Acts 17:30,31; Romans 10:8-10; Acts 2:38}! There are no conditions to God’s love – He loves us regardless of what we have done! {That isn’t to say that there is no condition to salvation – that is proved within the verses listed above.}

So if God, who gave His Son to die for those who rebelled against Him and continue to rebel against Him can show us unconditional love and desire the best for us {that is, to be saved – 1 Timothy 2:4}, how come we can’t show the same unconditional love toward each other. Instead of holding grudges against each other for the smallest slights, or being way to sensitive so that every little thing sets us against each other… why can’t we just say, “We are all human, we all make mistakes, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are to love one another.”

I just don’t understand why we always insist on placing conditions on our love. And that isn’t to say that I don’t do this. I certainly do. And it is something I certainly need to work on. Let’s all love each other.

To GOD Be The Glory

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
great is Thy faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in Him."
Lamentations 3:22-24



I have been blessed beyond comprehension! I was just thinking today that all I ever wanted for my life once I realized where my priorities were was to be a godly wife and a godly mother - and I am living my dream! I'm attempting to at least! I am so blessed, so entirely happy! My life isn't perfect and it isn't without it's troubles. There are things that I wish we had or could do but we are just waiting for God's good timing - because His way is always the perfect way. How relieving it is to know that I'm not in control! God is my pilot!

To GOD be the glory, great things HE has done! I have been blessed with a wonderful, loving family and I couldn't be happier tonight! God is so good!

I love, and the world is mine!

I saw this Valentine's Survey on Kelly's blog and thought I might fill it out as well! Thanks for sharing, Kelly!

1. When was your "engagement" anniversary: December 22, 2006

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: August 11, 2007

3. How long have you known your spouse: 4 1/2 years

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: 2 months just about

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: Myspace. Yes, it's true! We had a mutual friend and he was up at Preaching school where some of my friends had gone. We officially met at my friend Brandyn's house.

6. What is your spouses name: Carl

7. Do you have any children yet: Benjamin

8. How many: One, for now ;)

9. Do you have any house pets: We used to have a rabbit but he went to live on a farm. Really. He's a breeding rabbit now.

10. Do you own a house or rent: Rent

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: town/city

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: going on walks with our son

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: I guess we really like going to Memphis for the Lectureship, but that's not really vacation...

14. How many siblings (including in-laws): 3

15. What church do you attend: FV Church of Christ

16. Is this the church you were married in: No

17. What is your favorite restaurant to eat at together: I suppose we really like Cheddars... but I don't know if that's our favorite. We also like Sonny's and Longhorn.

18. Do you work or stay at home: I stay at home and work as a mother and housekeeper (both of which I feel I am getting better at!)

19. Where did you honeymoon: Chattanooga, Tn

20. Leave a piece of marriage advice: Always put your spouse first. Serve each other and you will be happy!


Our first picture together! We were babies! I had just turned 18, and Carl was 19.


In New Orleans, the French Quarter. This was the week of Carl's 21st birthday, and we were there campaigning for the DeGualle Drive church of Christ.


Our growing family!


Brand new baby about to go to his first Bible Class.


Christmas 2009.

I Love You, Babe!