I have been MIA on the blog for a couple of weeks because we had the pleasure of going on vacation last week! It is such a tremendous blessing to get away and we don't take it for granted. Josh and I both talked about how blessed we are that the Lord allows us time to rest and gives us innumerable gifts we don't deserve. When we think about our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering in ways we can't even imagine, it is even more humbling to think of the blessed life the Lord has given us.
We went to the mountains of North Carolina and the leaves were at their peak! It was absolutely beautiful. Most days we had clear blue skies and beautiful fall colors surrounding us. Thankfully, we were able to find a cabin to rent, although I learned my lesson to begin looking for a place more than 3 weeks before we want to go! The cabin was on a mountain and our first trip up there was a little harrowing, but Josh figured out exactly how to navigate and the rest of our trips were smooth. We were able to do some fun things with the boys as well and they had a great time. Thomas' Missions Friends teacher told me that he couldn't stop talking about how he went to the mountains tonight.
I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple of days. I have been so busy trying to get back in the routine of life, that I haven't even taken pictures off of the camera. In the meantime, I wanted to tell all my blog readers who aren't Facebook friends, that my husband's sermons can be found online if you are interested in hearing him preach. You can listen to two different ways:
1. Go to http://www.npbcfamily.org/ and click on "Resources" and then "Sermons" and they are all right there.
2. You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes. Just search for "New Prospect Baptist Church."
I long to honor my God by making my home a place of joy and rest for my family.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Blog I Follow
There are a couple of blogs I read on a regular basis, but aren't on my sidebar and I wanted to highlight them for any of my readers who might be interested.
1. They Are All Ours - This blog is written by a sweet couple who served at a church I attended during my Junior & Senior years of high school. He was my youth minister and she was his sweet, godly wife who had three children (all fifteen months apart) at the time. They were both such an encouragement to me to continue to fight the good fight and I was thrilled when I found them on Facebook a little over a year ago. I was even more excited when they finally started a blog a couple of months ago. Mostly, Joy writes out of her triumphs and failures of a being a pastor's wife and mom of eight children. Since I just began this journey of being a wife and mother, I find her blog very real and encouraging. Joy is one of those women who I wished could be a Titus 2 woman in my life. I would love if she lived right down the road from me, so I could come over and just observe and learn from her as she cares for her family. I encourage you to check out her blog - you will be blessed!
2. Elizabeth Esther - I found this blog through another blog. Anyone else ever do that? Someone that I enjoy reading (and who is a believer) recommended her blog and I decided to take a look. Elizabeth Esther is a woman with a large family as well (5 children), but she comes from a very harsh and abusive fundamentalist background. There are MANY things on her blog that I disagree with, but I read it because I need to read things I disagree with as well. I remember my OT professor in seminary, Dr. Daniel Block, telling us, "For everything you read you agree with, you need to read at least two things you disagree with." The comments in Elizabeth's blog are always lively and she intentionally brings up subjects that are tough. She is Catholic now, but really wrestles with her past. One of the other reasons I enjoy reading her blog is because she is an excellent writer. Check it out if you want to read something you are likely to disagree with!
1. They Are All Ours - This blog is written by a sweet couple who served at a church I attended during my Junior & Senior years of high school. He was my youth minister and she was his sweet, godly wife who had three children (all fifteen months apart) at the time. They were both such an encouragement to me to continue to fight the good fight and I was thrilled when I found them on Facebook a little over a year ago. I was even more excited when they finally started a blog a couple of months ago. Mostly, Joy writes out of her triumphs and failures of a being a pastor's wife and mom of eight children. Since I just began this journey of being a wife and mother, I find her blog very real and encouraging. Joy is one of those women who I wished could be a Titus 2 woman in my life. I would love if she lived right down the road from me, so I could come over and just observe and learn from her as she cares for her family. I encourage you to check out her blog - you will be blessed!
2. Elizabeth Esther - I found this blog through another blog. Anyone else ever do that? Someone that I enjoy reading (and who is a believer) recommended her blog and I decided to take a look. Elizabeth Esther is a woman with a large family as well (5 children), but she comes from a very harsh and abusive fundamentalist background. There are MANY things on her blog that I disagree with, but I read it because I need to read things I disagree with as well. I remember my OT professor in seminary, Dr. Daniel Block, telling us, "For everything you read you agree with, you need to read at least two things you disagree with." The comments in Elizabeth's blog are always lively and she intentionally brings up subjects that are tough. She is Catholic now, but really wrestles with her past. One of the other reasons I enjoy reading her blog is because she is an excellent writer. Check it out if you want to read something you are likely to disagree with!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
4 Years
Josh and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last Thursday, September 30th. We decided since we didn't have a newborn and we weren't on a family vacation (both of things have happened for at least 2 of our previous anniversaries) to take an overnight trip. My parents were kind enough to come from Georgia and watch the kids for us (we certainly didn't have to beg them to come!). I was able to get my hair cut and fixed on Thursday afternoon before we left. I don't know if you are like me, but the hair stylist always makes my hair look better than I can. She curled it really cute and sprayed half a can of hairspray on it, but Josh loved it and so did I.
We didn't go too far for our overnight trip. Thankfully, we have a beautiful city with a great downtown not too far away and decided to go there for the night. I have always wanted to stay in the Westin Poinsett on Main Street because it is a gorgeous hotel. We checked in around 6pm and then went to dinner at a great restaurant right across the street. It was so nice just to have time alone without any interruptions. If you have/had small children then you know interruptions are the norm, so it was especially lovely for us to talk and even hold hands! I forgot how much I miss holding hands, but with two small boys we never have a hand free. After dinner we walked down Main Street and ended up in a nice toy store where we gathered some ideas for Christmas (can you believe it is less than 3 months away?).
The only downer to our trip was our room at the Westin. We had turned on the air to 73 degrees when we got there around 6pm and when we came back around 9pm, it was at 75. Josh turned it down to 66, but two hours later it was still on 75. After calling the front desk a couple of times, we asked to move to another room because we weren't going to stay in a nice hotel and burn up. Unfortunately, they didn't have another room available with a king bed, so we were moved to a room with two double beds. We both were really looking forward to sleeping in a king bed (we have a full size at home). Thankfully, they willingly reduced our cost.
We are so thankful for the chance to get away. It really is great for our marriage to have time just to be alone. It feels like we are dating or newlyweds again (especially considering Thomas was born a month shy of our first anniversary). Most of all, I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. God gave me more than I had even prayed for in Josh and I'm honored to be his bride.
We didn't go too far for our overnight trip. Thankfully, we have a beautiful city with a great downtown not too far away and decided to go there for the night. I have always wanted to stay in the Westin Poinsett on Main Street because it is a gorgeous hotel. We checked in around 6pm and then went to dinner at a great restaurant right across the street. It was so nice just to have time alone without any interruptions. If you have/had small children then you know interruptions are the norm, so it was especially lovely for us to talk and even hold hands! I forgot how much I miss holding hands, but with two small boys we never have a hand free. After dinner we walked down Main Street and ended up in a nice toy store where we gathered some ideas for Christmas (can you believe it is less than 3 months away?). The only downer to our trip was our room at the Westin. We had turned on the air to 73 degrees when we got there around 6pm and when we came back around 9pm, it was at 75. Josh turned it down to 66, but two hours later it was still on 75. After calling the front desk a couple of times, we asked to move to another room because we weren't going to stay in a nice hotel and burn up. Unfortunately, they didn't have another room available with a king bed, so we were moved to a room with two double beds. We both were really looking forward to sleeping in a king bed (we have a full size at home). Thankfully, they willingly reduced our cost.
We are so thankful for the chance to get away. It really is great for our marriage to have time just to be alone. It feels like we are dating or newlyweds again (especially considering Thomas was born a month shy of our first anniversary). Most of all, I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. God gave me more than I had even prayed for in Josh and I'm honored to be his bride.
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