just a glimpse of my heart

I met my goal this month and actually read two books! Yay me! 

  
The Jesus- Hearted Woman is a book that I have had for four years now. I have started it a few times over the years, but just never been completely drawn in. I like those books that you can’t put down…. The ones where you find yourself reading way more than your daily goal without even realizing it. Now don’t get me wrong, this was a great book. It made wonderful points and encouraging statements. It just wasn’t my easiest read. I’m sure that it is one that I will go back and read my journaled notes on and will continually be blessed throughout the different seasons of life. It’s worth checking out… Even if it wasn’t life altering for me at this point in time.

The Best Yes was an eye opening book. I am so guilty of trying to be a people pleaser and trying to do what everyone wants/expects of me all the time. This book taught the point that just because something is right and good, doesn’t mean that it is always right and good for you. Sometimes that truth can be a difficult one for us to not only accept, but to apply in our lives. I don’t want to give key concepts away, but this is absolutely a book that I would encourage anyone in ministry to read!!

Check out either one of these great books on Amazon or the next time you’re at the bookstore!!

Happy reading!!

One of the Christmas gifts that we gave our kids this year was a trip to Legoland. Our kids are both very much into Legos at the moment. VERY. MUCH. On some of the Lego set boxes, there is a code printed to give you a free child’s admission with a paid adult admission. This deal is what sparked the whole thought to begin with. We printed out a page that had the colorful logo on it, folded it up, and then tucked it into one of the mini stockings that we have hanging on our tree. We waited until all of the gifts were opened and the stockings had been gone through. The kids thought that they had received all of their gifts and were very happy & excited. I called Gary over to me and just whispered in his ear that there was still one more surprise. I told him to go look in the stocking that I was pointing to. Allie was about to burst to find out what I was whispering to him and pointing at. When he pulled a piece of paper out, she was hovering over his shoulder waiting to see what was inside. When he unfolded it and they could see that logo, it was pure excitement. They were both ecstatic Gary was smiling so big and Allie kept asking us if we were for real. We knew that to have it count as a Christmas gift, we wanted to have it happen sometime in January. We went this past weekend.

We were set to go into the park on Friday. We saw the weather was calling for rain …I’m talking like 100% for most of the day. We prayed. We didn’t want them to miss out and especially for Gary… we did not want him to be disappointed in only getting a half day or less. We woke up that morning and it was pouring.We were so blessed that when we called Legoland to switch out tickets to Saturday, they did not make us pay the $20 per ticket rebooking fee. We had already received some rainy day suggestions from some friends, and were trying to decide what to do. Legoland was the main attraction of this trip, and so we did not want to spend a whole lot of money before even going to the park. So, we were basically looking for something fun, indoors, and cheap. We had already visited Disney Springs on Thursday in between our arrival time and check in time, and that is usually our go-to for any free time in Orlando.
We ended up having the best day. Given the fact that it poured down rain until almost 1PM, we had an excellent day. We drove to Magic Kingdom Parking and parked our car there. We boarded the monorail and rode the loop that took us through Epcot and when everyone else got off to go into the park, we just stayed on and rode it back.

 Then we hopped out and went to the next track over. We rode the next track and saw some of the resorts.

 Once we arrived back, we took the ferry over to Magic Kingdom for a glimpse at the castle (which made this Disney-loving girl’s heart happy).

 Next we jumped on the Disney bus and rode over to the boardwalk (this area connects to Epcot). We had never actually been here before.

 It was a cute little area with shops and restaurants. It was designed to resemble a “1930’s Atlantic Seaside Resort”. The weather was beautiful and sunny by the time we got here. It was nice to take in and explore a completely new area.

 We ate lunch at the ESPN cafe while we were there.

  We even spotted a couple that had just been married heading in to their reception.

 All of this exploring had taken up the majority of the day. We  took the bus and then the ferry to get back to our car,and we made on more stop before going back to our hotel and relaxing for about an hour and a half.

 We drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and spent about an hour looking around the lobby and viewing the animals outside.

 This is a place that I have always wanted to stay, so I was excited to get to finally check it out. We were also lucky that the animals were so active. We were able to basically stand in one spot and see the zebras, giraffes, and a couple others.

  We had a full day of fun for the $20 parking fee. You can’t beat that!
We had already had this planned for the evening of our free day, but it worked out perfectly given our Disney themed day! 🙂 We drove over to Fort Wilderness  to be at the Chip and Dale Campfire Sing-a-long. It was great!

 There was a fire going and a guy leading the crowd in campfire songs. Families were roasting marshmallows around the fire. Chip and Dale made their way around the crowd for pictures in between singing and dancing. After they left, they showed Inside Out on a big screen. The kids loved it.

The perfect ending was that we became a little turned around when we were leaving, because of some road work. We ended up basically driving right under the huge fireworks! Thank you Disney magic for not disappointing even though we didn’t even have a ticket!!

The day started out pretty blah and ended being kind of perfect.

The first full week of the year was set aside by the Assemblies of God as a week of prayer. Our church already has Monday Night and Tuesday Morning prayer. During this week, they also had prayer time during the lunch hour of each day along with a service Friday Night. The Wednesday Night and Sunday morning Service had a special emphasis on prayer as well. It has been powerful. I did not go to as many of the meetings as I would’ve liked. Of course, Otis was present at all of them. The kids and I joined him for the Friday afternoon prayer time. This Sunday was the service that had the most people in attendance. There were prayer cards available for everyone to take, fill out, and then return to the table that was in the front of the sanctuary. The next part of the service included everyone coming back up to the table and getting a card to pray over. There were no names on the cards, just requests/visions/dreams/goals. After spending a few moments praying over the card that you had picked up, you once again returned it to the table. The last portion of the service was that everyone came up and gathered around the table and prayed over the stack of cards. People were praying as a whole over the needs and visions of our church as we enter this new year.

God can really speak to you through prayer. It’s amazing what a difference just devoting a little extra time to your prayer life can make. Taking time to pray and listen for the voice of God can make a life-altering difference in your home, family, and ministry. The past couple of years, prayer has really become a bigger part of my life. I have been in church my entire life, so praying is quite normal. Unfortunately, it can sometimes almost become routine. Something has been different the past couple of years though. Our prayer life as a family has gone to a different level. It is more than just praying daily. I mean really making it a priority. Our kids are now so accustom to prayers before bed ( not ‘now i lay me down to sleep’, but real prayers with needs prayed over) that they will not go to sleep without having prayer time. Our six year old has been asleep in the car on the way home from somewhere and barely stumbled into his room to climb into bed, and then you hear “daddy, we didn’t pray yet” or “we need to pray before I got to sleep”. No matter how tired you are, you cannot help but smile at that. That is more than creating a habit- that is building faith and character. Prayer is vital

So back to Sunday Morning as we are all gathered around that table prayer over the pile of cards, I felt like God was whispering to me that faith is not a spectator sport. We have to be in the game. It is easy to complain and judge and have an opinion…. real easy. It is easy to talk and dwell on what is not being done or how you think things should be handled differently. I was standing there surrounded by people thinking “ok, God. Why are you telling me this? We do so much already…” My memory went back to previous times this year when I had grumbled. It has been a hard year for our city- we faced the tragic Emmanuel Church Shooting, we were hit by tornadoes, and there was the record breaking flooding. I remember complaining to my husband that I didn’t feel like we had done enough as a church during these times. But God was asking me what had I done. Had I started the conversation about organizing something or attempted to help start anything? nope. I saw the need and waited for someone else to do something and when they did not, then I had an opinion about it.

We need to do better. I need to do better.

Seeing the need does not mean that you have to do it alone. We are the body of Christ- everyone has a purpose. Everyone has their own giftings and talents.

My goal is to go into this new year with eyes and ears wide open. There are opportunities for ministry all around us. Don’t overlook the small ways to make an impact– sometimes they bring forth the best results. They may not be the same ways that we have ministered in the past. Today is a new day, and God is up to something fresh and new. Be open to His voice…even if and especially if it takes you out of your comfort zone. The end results will be worth it.

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT

Ok, ok…so I haven’t exactly stuck to the goal of reading two books per month.

I’m not beating myself up over it though.

At least I have some books that were completed by the end of the year!!  

 That puts me at about one book per month. I’ll take that. Especially since I had work, school, plus the holidays in the mix with everything else. 

Any one of these books would be great if you are looking for something to read next. I loved Live, Love, Lead. I love the ministry that is Hillsong and thought this book was phenomenal. 

The Pastor’s Kid was a book that I had originally purchased to read as a preview and possibly pass on to Allie. I ended up reading it and passing it on to Otis. It had some great points in it, but I don’t necessarily think that Allie needs it at this point in her life.

The Bush Always Burns was the first book that I read out of these three and it took me the longest. It also had a great points and encouragement. I did find it not as easy to read- but I’m sure that is just a reflection of my personal style and preferences. 

If you are like me and you keep a steady flow of books in your Amazon cart, go ahead and check out one or all of these titles if they peak your interest. 

It’s Christmas Eve!!
   
    
 

  
We were able to spend a few hours this morning just relaxing. We watched Christmas cartoons and had breakfast together. Even Jasper lounged around.

 
  We went and celebrated with one group of our family already.

Then we attended Candlelight Christmas Eve Communion.

We came home and baked cookies to leave out for Santa.

  
One of the traditions in our family is that everyone gets new pajamas on Christmas Eve. The kids look forward to this every year. My confession is that we started this with a selfish motive. I just know how many photos will be taken on Christmas morning and it is nice to have everyone in pajama sets instead of just random t-shirts and sweats/shorts. 
 

The kids are in bed and will hopefully be falling asleep soon! Everyone is excited for morning to come! Kids at Christmas are the very best!! 

Praying for all of our family and friends to have a blessed Christmas season!!
“At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:1-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays…second only to Christmas. Maybe the only reason it is my second is because it officially kicks off the Christmas season for our family!?! Thanksgiving is a special holiday for us, because it is ours. We celebrate at our house. We are those  people that spent our holidays running around to make appearances at up to six different homes. That is crazy!!(and exhausting!) That craziness makes us even more grateful to spend the holiday in our own home!

You might think that since it is just us and we stay home that I skimp out on tradition– heck no! If you know me, then you know I love to go all out. If I would add little things to make it extra special for others, then why wouldn’t I put the same effort in for my own family!

A few weeks ago when I was still trying to establish our set menu, I made the mistake of sending Otis an email with a list of side options asking him to help me narrow things down. He responded by asking me to just make it all! Haha! I told him that I would, but I was not cooking after that for at least one week– not because I wouldn’t feel like cooking, but because I didn’t want all that food wasted!

So, we ended up with the turkey, an appetizer dip, nine sides, and two desserts! Wowzers!

Our actual thanksgiving day was just the way it always is– pretty leisurely! Otis wakes up and goes to buy me a newspaper so that I can check out all of those Black Friday ads! We watch the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade as a family and then we eat around 12:30.  After that, the kids play, Otis watched football and I nap (since I have to go to work that night).

I can’t help but think of all the movies and scenarios that show the crazy and stressed out women bustling around the kitchen trying to get the food prep done and not being able to enjoy the day. I did get off the couch during commercials to put things in the oven or switch out the casseroles. For the most part, we were set because of my prep work the day before.

We had an absolutely wonderful day! My brother came over and celebrated with us.

When planning for my table, I started out going for a navy and gold theme. I kept eyeing gold silverware. I compared prices on amazon, target, and walmart. I settled with using what I already had….but the reason was purely selfish. I knew that the more money that was spent on our thanksgiving day was less that I could spend shopping on black Friday! 🙂  I think it turned out fine with our usual everyday silverware, but as a sidenote I have asked Otis to buy me a set of the gold silverware for Christmas so that I can have it for future occasions!!

And this guy was tuckered out before we even sat down to eat! I guess it was all of the excitement and aromas that got to him!!

(and yes, this is how he sleeps!)

This past Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), Otis was off and there was no church service that night because of the holiday. Wednesday is my normal night off, so we had an entire day open. This never happens.

So what would you do with an entire free day?

My first instinct is of course– sleep! Then comes the guilt of a wasted day! We had a fabulous, unscripted day. The only thing that we had planned was to meet some friends of ours for breakfast. They had come into town to fly out of our airport on their way to NYC for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I am not ashamed to say that I was/am still totally jealous!

We met them at Chick-fil-A and had  breakfast with them. We had just seen them two weeks ago at youth convention, but when there are teenagers that you are responsible for and organizing…it does not leave a lot of time for catching up. So, it was nice to chat with them. The other bonus perk was that since we met them for breakfast… it got us all up, ready, and out of the house first thing.

I knew that regardless of having an wide open day, I still needed to spend some time in the kitchen prepping for our Thanksgiving Feast the next day. We stopped on the way home and picked up our Christmas tree. Our tradition is to decorate the day after Thanksgiving and we wanted to give our real tree a day or so to ‘fall’. Now, don’t judge us– we always buy our tree from Food Lion. We have always gotten beautiful trees for $30! Some of the tree lots around town want $120-$150 for the same tree.

We went home and let the kids jump on the trampoline, while taking Jasper outside. I spent about 3 hours just doing some prep work- some chopping, boiling, mixing, etc. After that, we loaded up and went downtown to the Aquarium.

We are members of our aquarium and go down there quite a bit, especially since we started homechooling. They have homeschool days with different themes that our kids always enjoy. The fee for a family membership pays for itself within two visits, and so we try to take full advantage of the investment. Our kids never get tired of the exhibits. The Aquarium has  a couple of touch tanks and usually have educational stations set up.

Everyone had fun. They also have a theatre where they show 4-d movies. We have access to that through the membership. They are showing polar express ( well, a 15 minute version) and the kids loved that with the snow blowing around the theatre and everything 🙂

We left the aquarium and of course the kids are “STARVING”….more specifically, Gary who is always starving, wants to know where we are going to eat! haha! We drove around and tossed some ideas back and forth. We ended up going to a place that we had never been to before and enjoyed a delish dinner. I may not be very daring as far as trying bizarre foods, but I do enjoy trying new places!

We made it back home after dark and I spent a few more hours getting these organized for Thanksgiving. Allie started out helping me and then she faded into the living room and ended up beside her daddy like this….

It was a fabulous day!!!!