Blog-o-Holl*ic: February 2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

Gooduns

I've read a few FANTASTIC blogs here in the last few days (I believe E calls them "gems") and I just couldn't help but pass them along to you. I hope you take a few moments to check them out!

Your Calling isn't Meant to be Easy
Such encouraging words here. And lets not lose sight of the fact that sometimes our "calling" isn't serving in a church or living among the aboriginals. One of my dearest friends is confident that the Lord has called her to raise her daughters to be Godly women - a noble, challenging, and life-long journey.

"When we do great things in the name of God, we can be sure that while His ways will always be the best, they definitely won’t be the easiest."

Reminds me of the great C.S. Lewis, "'Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion' 'Ooh' said Susan. 'I'd thought he was a man. Is he -quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.' ... 'Safe?' said Mr Beaver... 'Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't save. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you.'" (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)

Just A Nurse by my ridiculously awesome little sister
I can relate to this blog on about 1,000 different levels. It's a great little candid telling of the inner workings of a nurse's brain.

"Nurses are intelligent. We may not have had as much schooling as other professionals, but I remember studying harder than I ever had before and not everyone makes the cut. By the time a doctor completes school and is ready to start practicing, even as a resident, a nurse the same age has had several years of experience in the field, dealing with complex problems on a daily basis. We have developed keen assessment skills and a killer gut instinct to go along with it. We often take part in courses to specialize in our chosen field, spending countless more hours becoming experts at what we do."

Amen Sister.

When Church Hurts by Whitney @ Elm Street Life
Oh, my heart. This whole post just made sense all the way to my toes.

"But whether or not the other person is in the wrong, we are held responsible when we refuse to forgive... to heal... to seek reconciliation and show mercy. We miss out on so much of how Jesus taught us to live together and love one another, as ugly and judgmental and hateful as we all can be.

The change had to start with me, and had to start with my own understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ. The fact that even when I was His enemy, He loved me enough to die for me, just astounds me. And it's the only reason I can have any love for the person who hurts me."

Oh girl, this is so spot on.

What great blogs have you read recently??

I hope you enjoy!!!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

ohmygosh Recap!

So life has flown by the last 2 weeks and sadly, the blog is now the last thing on my list of to-do's each day. Hence, no updates for like for-ev-er.

In so few words: God has been great to us recently. (Now you can just skip the rest of this post if you'd like!)

Two weekends ago, we took a group of students to the Student Life Conference up in north Houston/The Woodlands area. This was also the first time I've let Isaac spend the night with someone other than Jordan or myself! Since Meme and Pa live in south Houston, I dropped Isaac off on the way to the conference and he stayed with them overnight. Surprisingly, he and I both did really well with the whole set up. He was happy as a clam to spend time with his grandparents, and I wasn't consumed with worry being apart from him. It was a win-win, and a good set up for the next weekend.

It was really great for me to spend a weekend with our students again. And of course, it's always a treat for me to worship with great leaders like Bellarive and Brett Younker, and sit under the teaching of David Nasser. The fruit for me as a leader during these conference/camp type situations is getting to watch God work in the students' hearts. Watching them worship, seeing them learn and hunger for God's Word-- it's the ultimate encouragement. SO, this weekend was doubly uplifting for me.

Morning worship with Brett Younker

Then, in the middle of last week, Isaac and I drove to Austin to visit some sweet friends. It was a last minute kinda trip, but I am so incredibly thankful that we were able to go! My dearest friend recently moved from just a few hours away to a few states away and I miss her dearly! She and her husband and kiddos needed to come back to Texas for a few days, so we arranged a meet up at our shared friend Carey's house.

Spending time with these ladies was exactly what my heart needed. It was encouraging. It was uplifting. We laughed together. We cried together. I did my best to soak in every moment of quality girl time.... while fielding 6 kiddos! Ha! Carey has three sweet girls (check out her blog!), Catherine has a boy and a girl, and my Isaac rounded out the bunch at a grand total of 6 chirrins. It was wild and chaotic and fun all at the same time. By the end of our days together, I felt like I had been extended a heaping helping of grace. As Catherine put it, my love tank was full!

Twins!

Lastly, this past weekend, we took another group of students to Passion 2014, which was in Houston this year. It was another weekend for Isaac at Meme & Pa's house, although this time, I stayed the nights with them also and drove back/forth to the Toyota center with our group during the day. Just like Passions of the past, this year did not disappoint. It was especially great considering we didn't have to drive 16 hours to Atlanta -- 3 hours to Houston was a breeze! Only downside was the length... I'm used to a 4 day event, so 1 day plus 1 evening was just a teaser!

Despite the shortness of it all, I certainly wasn't disappointed. Worshipping with some of the greatest leaders and musicians and sitting under the teaching of some great men and women... it just continued to rejuvenate and recharge my spirit. Francis Chan is typically always my very favorite speaker and this year he did not disappoint. I look forward to listening to him again in the future when the podcasts are released. Oh, and we took some AWESOME college students/high school seniors! It's always a real treat to spend time with these guys and girls- they never fail to impress me with their maturity in Christ.

Oh, and in the middle of all that, was Valentine's day. And apparently, my wink,nudge post wasn't a total waste of my time/blog space... because my hubby treated me to TWO of the items I mentioned! A Stitch Fix gift card (my first Fix is scheduled for March 19 and I'm SO SO SO excited to see what I get!) and some fabulously lovely smelling new perfume!

Phew. After all that, I think I can speak for the entire family when I say that we are exhausted. Thankfully we've got a few weeks of downtime before the next big event. It's time to take a nap!