Schools Out

Yay for extreme winter weather in Alabama!

School's out, Jordan's off work, there's tons of snow outside, and we stayed up late playing in it. 

Yesterday we prepared for power outages by heading to the grocery store and stocking up with food that doesn't have to be cooked. Can you believe they were completely out of bread?! We also borrowed a gas heater (we are all electric) should the power go out.

It didn't!

The snow fell fast, and within a few hours there were 4 1/2 inches on the ground. That's pretty huge for Alabama. We got our bikes out and rode slid in the snow! I haven't seen that much snow in Alabama since '93!!

After fun in the snow, we decided to make snow cream. It's so easy!

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tbs. vanilla (some say 2, but I don't like too much vanilla)

8 cups SNOW!

stir! hurry before the snow melts!

Enjoy! :)

Here's what we're going to do on our day off:

1. Play in the snow! Our neighbors are pulling people around on knee boards with a four wheeler. We're going to get in on some of that!

2. Watch our football rival alma mater play for a National Championship against the Oregon Ducks.

photo: bcsfootball.org

3. Begin 21 Days of Prayer! Remember? We aren't eating out for 21 days, starting now! Doesn't look like we could drive anywhere if we wanted to anyways! Thanks to a friend, I'm also looking into joining e-mealz. They make eating at home easier by compiling a grocery list, totaling the price of your list (depending on where you shop), and providing easy, quick and yummy recipes (they better be yummy)!

4. Jordan's having fun on the iMac making videos. Here's his first one:

5. Relax, cuddle and drink hot cocoa!! 

Song of the Day

More like song of the year.
Have you ever listened to a song a million times and never think anything of it... then months later you hear it and it feels like it was written just for you?

This is one of those times. 

This song is beautiful. 

This is What it Feels Like (To be Led) by FFH

Click here to to listen. 

So this is what it feels like to walk the wilderness
and this is what it feels like to come undone
So this is what it feels like to loose my confidence
unsure of anything or anyone
So this is what it feels like to walk the desert sand
and this is what it feels like to hear my name
and to be scared to death cause I'm all alone
but feel love and peace just the same
And this may not be the road I would choose for me
but it still feels right somehow
And I have never felt you as close to me as I do right now
So this is what it feels like to be led
So this is what it feels like to have it fall apart
to be totally unglued
and find out it I accept my brokenness
I get more of me, I get all of you
So this is what it feels like to be on shaky ground
Careful of every step I take
Realizing as I stop to look around
I look around and see everything a different way
and this may not be the road I would choose for me
but it still feels right somehow
cause I have never felt you as close to me as I do right now
So this is what it feels like to be led
and this is what it feels like to be led
So this is what if feels like to just walk away
from everything I thought kept me safe
to depend just on you for every meal
and find it's better this way
oh it's better this way
And this may not be the road I would choose for me
but it still feels right somehow
And I have never felt you as close to me as I do right now
like I do right now
And this may not be the road I would choose for me
but it still feels right somehow
And I have never felt you as close to me as I do right now
And this is what it feels like to be led
And this is what it feels like to be led
And this is what it feels like

This song is so relevant to my life right now, and I hope it encourages and blesses someone else who might need it. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart 
   and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Lots of love,

Resolutions.

Every year I make them... and every year I forget what they were by February. 

Not this year.

This year I'm not only going to make resolutions, I'm going to set forth with a plan to ensure I go through with, at least attempting, my resolutions. 

And my readers get volunteered to be my accountability partners, along with my husband, close friends and family! Yay for you! :)

So here goes:

1. Be a stronger spiritual being; therefore, walking closer with my God. In my opinion, this one should be a the top of everyone's list, every year. As pastor Chris would put it,

 "We are not physical beings having temporary spiritual experiences, we are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience."

What else could be more important?

If I make this my main focus, I have a feeling that the rest of my resolutions will follow suit. 

Here's how I'm going to work at it this year:

• Every January, our church sets aside a time for prayer and fasting to become closer to God, called 21 Days of Prayer.We believe that fasting isn't about starving yourself just to prove how much you love God. It's about taking distractions out of your life and devoting that time to hearing God. We have decided to stop doing one of our favorite things, eating out, for 21 days. We will cook all of our meals at home, even on weekends (that's going to be a tough one)! This will take a lot of discipline on our part, but in the end will give us more time to focus on our relationship with Christ. It will also be a huge money saver!
• Reading a little bit of God's living word every day in the One Year Bible. (Our church website has a great version that's also a phone app now).
• By joining the 2011 Beth Moore siesta scripture memory team! Thanks to a new blogger friend, Megan, (who  totally wrote about this days ago and has inspired me to do it as well)! The scripture memory team is a commitment to memorize 2 scripture verses a month. A small commitment that, I believe, can make a huge impact on a life.  Who wants to join?!

2. Become a better wife. Another very important resolution that I think all wives should strive for every year. To do this, I am going to make more of an effort to speak in Jordan's "love language" (I talk about it here) and show acts of service. I think I can do this by trying to make the bed in the mornings, making sure the laundry is caught up and there are no dirty dishes in the sink. Try is the key word here, but he deserves it! 

We will also make an effort to attend at least 1 or 2 marriages conferences this year. Those are fun! :)

3. To  use my gifts to serve others. 

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace"

1 Peter 4:10

I want to take this scripture to heart this year and serve others. I will be looking for opportunities to volunteer and give. I hope to inspire at least one person this year. 

4. Focus on my hobbies. Photography and blogging have become such incredible hobbies for me. I hope to learn more about my camera, different lenses and editing softwares. In order to do this I am going to take pictures every chance I get and keep my blog updated as much as possible!

Annnnd, that's it...in a nutshell!

 Sure, there are about a million other things I'd like to accomplish this year, but I'm not organized enough to keep up with more than 4 (on this blog anyways). And that's less "keeping up" for my accountability partners too! :)

dancing in the minefields

To the one I love..

Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson

 (If you haven't heard this amazing song, Click Here, to watch the music video!)

Well I was 19  20 you were 21

The year we got engaged

Everyone said we were much to young

But we did it anyway

We got the rings for 40 a lot each from a pawnshop  Grier's Jewelers down the road

We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years  1 year ago

Well ‘I do’ are the two most famous last words

The beginning of the end

But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin

Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down

And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found

So when I lose my way, find me

When I lose loves chains, bind me

At the end of all my faith

to the end of all my days

when I forget my name, remind me

Cause we bear the light of the son of man

So there’s nothing left to fear

So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands

Till the shadows disappear

Cause he promised not to leave us

And his promises are true

So in the face of all this chaos baby

I can dance with you

So lets go dancing in the minefields

Lets go sailing in the storms

Oh lets go dancing in the minefields

And kicking down the doors

Oh lets go dancing in the minefields

And sailing in the storms

Oh this is harder than we dreamed

But I believe that’s what the promise is for

That’s what the promise is for

(Sorry if that was too cheesy for some of you, but in light of our 1 year anniversary I believe I have the right to post cheesy things!! )

Waiting...

I have been told before that I am not the most patient person in the world. I do not enjoy relying on someone else to do something for me because I can't stand waiting, why not do it myself? God has been teaching me a whole lot about myself recently. Isn't it funny how a relationship with God is all about relying on Him and His timing? I mean, I'm fine with relying on Him for salvation that He so freely gives, I was fine with relying on Him to bring me that one person that I am meant to spend the rest of my life with, and I am fine with relying on him to "supply all my needs according to His riches and glory " (Philippians 4:19), but I just want to know how and when He will supply my needs!  I'm just struggling with patience and relying on His timing. Why am I so impatient?

Jordan and I have been so blessed in this past year. We've graduated from college, gotten married, shared a wonderful honeymoon, bought a beautiful house, spent time with friends and family; the list could go on and on and on...We know that the Lord is going to continue to bless us and use us to further His kingdom; however, we are in a waiting stage.Waiting for the Lord to show us what it is that He wants us to do; our purpose. We can sense that He is going to do something big with our lives, we just have no clue what that is going to be yet. For the time being, we've been searching high and low . We are coming to the realization that he wants us to wait, not search or try to make things happen ourselves, but rely on His timing.

So this is my prayer:

"Lord, Thank you for blessing us so abundantly!  You have gone so far just to show us that your love is unconditional and we are in awe of You! We hold on to your promises Lord, promises to give us a hope and a future, plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). You have promised good things to those who love you and keep your commandments ( Deuteronomy 5:10). We know that we may not understand everything in this world, but we will acknowledge You in everything, because we want You to direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Show us where to go, Lord, and we will go. Give us a peace that surpasses all understanding as we wait upon you Lord (Philippians 4:7). Help us to have patience because we know that Your timing is perfect. Everything you have given to us has been in perfect timing. We know that everything You have in store for us is good, even if it is nothing like what we have planned for ourselves. Not our will, Lord, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42). 

Amen

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wing's as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

So right now, I'm waiting on the Lord.