a little picnic.

Today I was in a difficult mood. I try not to get that way a lot because who enjoys that? But sometimes it happens, right? Where you just feel out of whack and it's everything you can do to not crawl back into bed and just start over? Those days where your hair looks AWESOME but you feel terrible? Not sickly but just ... moody blah. You know what I mean? That was my day today. And I hate moping. I hate brooding and being a Debbie Downer. So today Benjamin and I went outside while the sun wasn't fully up and the shade was still in our yard, and we had a "picnic" snack {low-fat cinnamon graham crackers are uh-mazing... and I'm getting used to drinking lemon water now}. 

I think we spent about an hour in the lovely cool of the day {um 75 degrees is perfection}, just laying on the quilt, eating graham crackers and singing a few songs together {Benjamin is learning how to sing "The Lord is my Shepherd" since that has been his latest memory verse - oh, a cute little side note. We had a devo at a friend's house on Sunday night and the song 'Jesus Loves Me' was suggested to sing at the bonfire, and while the adults were talking about who should lead it, sweet Benjamin steps forward and starts us all off. I am one proud mama!}. Benjamin got up and played with Zoe some and started picking the pomegranate buds off of the low branches of our tree {meh, it's okay... it doesn't really produce good fruit anyway} and feeding them to Zoe. It was just really nice.

And even though I felt my moody self swing back later on in the day, at least I took some time to go outside with Benjamin and get some fresh air and make some memories with him. That's the way I see it, anyway! I am ever aware {and reminded} that I am not a perfect person... but I am trying to do what I can at any rate. The rest of this week is about to get busy with packing for the Lectures. Oh boy! 

Breezin' On By

I am pretty sure we can officially say that Spring is here, for real. No, really. But, who am I to say? It's been so flip-floppy... I almost wonder if we're just going to skip Spring all together and dive right into Summer... whatever the case may be, we are enjoying the sunshine and we're enjoying some extra time outside.

So this Spring I'm going to try my hand at gardening ... again. Last year? Well, just didn't do too well. I'm not the best gardener, but I'm gonna give it another shot this year and hopefully do somewhat better than last year. 

And after all of this, at the end of the month, we're heading off to Lectureship again! I can't believe it is almost that time again... this year is just flying by - just like last year. It blows my mind y'all! 

We're all just breezin' on by! Bring it on! 

it's just a fact.

sometimes

you just gotta

make some

silly faces.

Morning Glories : My Savior Cares!

"In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God."
Psalm 62:7

I have always loved this verse and love to pass it along to friends or family who are going through a hard time. It is a verse that is filled with comfort. You can see here that God is our solace. He is the harbor in the tempest, the calm in the storm. God is immovable and never changing and that makes Him dependable in all situations.

Sometimes we go through life and we may feel lost, but God is the beacon of light guiding us safely to the harbor. But we have to look for Him. We know in Matthew 6 Jesus tells us that we don’t have to worry about the things of this life if we seek after God first and foremost in our lives. When we are dealing with the pain of loss or suffering, God is our rock of strength and He is our refuge.

The greatest way to seek that refuge is within the Holy Scriptures and to come to God in prayer. Let Him speak to you through the Word, and then speak to Him humbly in prayer.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

In your time of trial, God cares for you. Don’t forget that!

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Have a blessed day! If you need prayers, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I would be honored to pray for you.

Peacemakers.

There is a quote that I'm sure a lot of you have heard before "Lord, put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth." - It's humorous, but at the same time, I feel like I have really been needing that lately. There are certain times in your life where you just feel it coming from all sides and it's hard to bare. When people you love are hurtful even when they don't mean to be, and what you really want to do is tell them what's what. It's nice to look back and see that maybe a year ago you would have said something without a thought but now you know better. I've been studying the Fruit of the Spirit lately because I'm going to be teaching that to my class starting in March and I don't think that my studies could have come at a better time. Seriously.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-Control.

If I want to live a life that's pleasing to God, that means I have to make sure I'm bearing the Fruit of the Spirit even in times when you really feel things like patience or peace being tested. I've got to keep my mouth shut before I make a bigger mess of things. Growth, y'all. I've never been very patient, but I've got to practice. And when these situations arise, it sure is a blessing to know I can always pray about it, hand it over to God, and ultimately calm myself down. I know how I need to act, I just need to do it.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" Matthew 5:9


I'm reminded of what my Mimi always told us, "Be a peacemaker." (and consequently what my cousin once said in response, "I don't wanna be a peacemaker!!")

Be a peacemaker.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-Control.


I can do this.

I am far from perfect. Believe me. It has taken a long time to get to where I am, and even where I am, I know it's not the end.

But, I can do this.

I can do all things...

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!

Morning Glories : Renew Your Strength!

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

I have always thought this passage to be such an empowering passage. Don’t you think so? It’s a comforting passage in times of trial because we know that no matter what, when we are waiting upon the Lord, we are going to be renewed and strengthened! When we wait upon the Lord, we can soar to greater heights!

And sometimes this renewing doesn’t happen physically. But we can know that spiritually we can be nourished and enriched and strengthened when we do go to God and lean on Him, and give Him our cares! I have had times in my life where I have felt as though I were in the “depths of despair” (to quote Anne of Green Gables), and I admit that sometimes I would let myself get so far gone before remembering that God is always there for me. Sometimes it is hard to remember this when you’re going through so much! It really hasn’t been long since I have learned this lesson – honestly not even a year ago, when I felt like my world was crashing down all around us and there was nobody for us to turn to.

Until I realized that there was! God is always right where He’s always been, and it is up to us to seek Him!

And when we do seek Him… burdens are lifted; our spirits soar! What a blessing! God is so good to us!

I hope your day is beautiful and blessed!