I can't believe Friday is already here! This week flew by, but it's definitely been a good one. I don't usually sing the praises of my Monday-Fridays but this one was a good one. I also know that this week is usually about my non-work life - but I wanted to share the great work week I had as well....
Sunday was spent catching up from the fun weekend and then spending some much needed down time with B since I kicked him out of the house all weekend for girls time. He was such a good sport. :) We headed to church later that afternoon and then joined some friends for a Superbowl Party and indulged in some junk food. My Superbowl highlights were the Usher cameo during the Black Eyed Peas halftime show and watching the hilarious commericals.
Monday was a busy work day after having multiple distractions the week prior due the power outages and snow. It felt good to check a lot off my to do list. That night I made tasty dinner and we enjoyed a glass of wine too and just had some one on one time to catch up. Our sweet friend, Tina, joined us later too. SO glad she came over!
Tuesday morning I headed out early to a team meeting in San Antonio. We stayed at Hotel Valencia on the Riverwalk. A really productive meeting filled with good brainstorming sessions, team building and goal setting. I love feeling motivated and energized to go be my best after meetings like that. That evening, we went to the San Antonio rodeo to see Reba and eat tons of fair food. I think I gained 20 pounds this week between the Rodeo and the Superbowl! The best thing we ate was a fried PB&J. YUM!
Wednesday we wrapped up our meeting session and then I drove back to Austin. Blake and I had a nice dinner at home and then he headed off for his small group. I had some awesome time with the Lord. It's amazing how just being alone will quiet my heart and allow me to focus on Jesus. I sipped on some decaf coffee and read cozied up under a blanket. Just what I needed. Why don't I do it more and more and more and more? God's working on me in discipline and consistency. Thank you Lord for grace.
Thursday evening was my night for small group. We met for the first time last week, but had the full group this time around. I am so blessed by the honesty, vulnerability and love of this group. It's going to be a good one. I know it. A couple weeks back I wrote about craving the intimacy of the girls group I had in AZ. Look what the Lord has now abundantly blessed me with! He. Is. Good.
And today, Friday, we both decided to take the day off to head to Shiner, Texas for a pre-birthday celebration for B. I know we will be enjoying some BBQ and Beer and most of all eachother. I love our roadtrips! Can't wait to tell you about it when we get back! Pre-Valentines dinner tonight too. I can't wait to try this place....I've wanted to go there for years! Yay for celebrations!
Here's to a great week and the start of a great weekend!
Recent Posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
2.11.2011
1.29.2011
Loosening My Grip
These verses calm my heart.....I'm so grateful for the Word and the way God uses it to change my heart, help me understand who He is, allow me to loosen the controlling grip I try to have on my life and surrender to Him. His Word reaches deep into my soul.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29: 11- 13)
“But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)
“For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7)
Thank you sweet Jesus.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29: 11- 13)
“But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)
“For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:4,7)
Thank you sweet Jesus.
1.19.2011
In Honor of the Wednesdays....
It seemed fitting to write about the "Wednesdays" on Wednesday. These lovely ladies (several are missing from this pic) were some of my closest friends while we lived in Arizona. Weekly, they brought truth, joy, laughter, comfort, celebration and true friendship into my life. I miss this group for the tight knit community of women and the aspects of life we experienced together. I think it's truly remarkable that such a large group of girls would meet together and do life together week after week together - especially at our age!
It's been so fun to see so many of these ladies have such exciting things in life happen to them in the past several years that i've know them. Engagements, new jobs, weddings, decisions to go back to school, graduations, moving back home, etc. I loved knowing their stories.
So many of us have now moved away from Arizona. We never quiet understood what God was doing as he gave and took away so many of these girls. It was so hard to let go - but He was faithful in always providing more women to bless us. These ladies were never replaced, God was just growing our circle. Wednesdays always seemed to be a constant. Even on the days I was tired and dragged my feet to get there, I was always glad I went in the end.
Kathy was a our fearless leader. Weekly she poured hours of effort into teaching us the Word and bringing the text to life in a meaningful and applicable way. She desired us to be intwined intimately and really be real with one another. I love her love for Jesus, for us and her servant-hearted leadership that pointed us toward Christ.
I'm continuing to pray for a community of women like this to surface in my life here in Texas. I've certainly been blessed by a few here and there, but continue to pray for unity and community to grow more richly in our lives!
I love and miss you Wednesdays!
12.29.2010
Our First (Married) Christmas
Blake and I have spent quite a few other Christmases together as a dating couple, but this year was our first time to have our first official married Christmas together! It was a really special holiday season celebrating the birth of Christ. One of my favorite traditions that we experienced this year was Advent at church. It was such a great time reflecting on anticipation and hope of God sending His son to earth in the form of a man. It truly prepared my heart for the season and what it is truly about.
We have had a tradition during the last couple of years to have a "Holidate" together. This year, my sweet husband, took me to see the Nutcracker after a nice dinner at La Condessa, a restaurant we have been wanting to try. Blake had never been to the Nutcracker before. My favorite post ballet comment was, "Those guys have an easy job; how hard is it to life a 90 pound girl? The hardest thing those guys have to do is wear those tights!" He's a funny one. I enjoyed the show and it certainly got me in the spirit of the holidays. La Condessa was delish! If you go - I highly recommend their ceviche.
We also enjoyed a few holiday parties, including a progressive dinner block party, a white elephant gift exchange with our Gospel Community Group and each had a company party to enjoy. No wonder December flew by! We also had fun decorating our home together. It was fun to combine some of the decorations that we have each been passed down from our families. One of our generous neighbors loaned us their Christmas tree and with some help from my mom we pulled together some decorations for a woodland inspired tree. I'm still enjoying how it turned out and how festive it looks around here. B also did a wonderful job decorating the outside of the house with luminarias and big bulb white lights. Watching Elf while we decorated makes any task more fun!
We headed home to our parents' a few days before Christmas with wrapped presents and several batches of cookies in tow. It was a relaxing few days spent taking walks, prepping for the holiday meals, heading to the movies, playing with cousins and wrapping a few more gifts. Our families bless us in such a big way since they make it so easy on us to get from one house to another during the holidays without missing out on too much.
For Christmas eve we had dinner with my aunt and uncle and Tommy joined our family too. We had fabulous BBQ Shrimp. I hope this becomes our new tradition! Afterwards, the Parrish, Moseley and Erwin families came over for desserts, coffee and Brandy Alexanders. YUM! It was so nice to have everyone together. We made it all the way to 11pm (after a few cups of coffee) for church at KUMC, then headed to bed with Sugar Plums dancing in our heads!
Christmas morning might have been one of my favorite memories of our trip home. Dad woke us up with the traditional Winter Wonderland medley. He handed us each a spoon and we danced around the house. Blake was a bit overwhelmed, but he caught on fast :). We dug into our stockings and had traditional breakfast casserole and Blake's family's Cream Cheese Bread as we unwrapped gifts.
We quickly cleaned up and then headed to the Parrish's. We were excited to not miss Paul and Whit before they had to leave and we all opened our gifts together. It was so sweet of them to wait so I could enjoy watching them open their gifts (that's my favorite part!). Another treat was the fact that the Brown family joined us for Christmas Dinner. I've never had the chance to celebrate with a friend before and it was so great to catch up! We had an incredible meal and spent a relaxing afternoon sitting around the table chatting.
Next we headed to Don and Jill's house for my family's dinner. The kids were going crazy over their new toys and loving playing with their cousins. Too cute. I missed my cousins and it was great to have a chance to chat and hear what's been going on with them. The Parrishes came over (grandparents too!) afterwards to taste test our cookies and watch some football while some of the boys sat by the fire.
We were exhausted by the time 9pm rolled around and headed home to relax and go to bed. It was such a nice day overall. I will cherish our very first Christmas together!
We have had a tradition during the last couple of years to have a "Holidate" together. This year, my sweet husband, took me to see the Nutcracker after a nice dinner at La Condessa, a restaurant we have been wanting to try. Blake had never been to the Nutcracker before. My favorite post ballet comment was, "Those guys have an easy job; how hard is it to life a 90 pound girl? The hardest thing those guys have to do is wear those tights!" He's a funny one. I enjoyed the show and it certainly got me in the spirit of the holidays. La Condessa was delish! If you go - I highly recommend their ceviche.
We also enjoyed a few holiday parties, including a progressive dinner block party, a white elephant gift exchange with our Gospel Community Group and each had a company party to enjoy. No wonder December flew by! We also had fun decorating our home together. It was fun to combine some of the decorations that we have each been passed down from our families. One of our generous neighbors loaned us their Christmas tree and with some help from my mom we pulled together some decorations for a woodland inspired tree. I'm still enjoying how it turned out and how festive it looks around here. B also did a wonderful job decorating the outside of the house with luminarias and big bulb white lights. Watching Elf while we decorated makes any task more fun!
We headed home to our parents' a few days before Christmas with wrapped presents and several batches of cookies in tow. It was a relaxing few days spent taking walks, prepping for the holiday meals, heading to the movies, playing with cousins and wrapping a few more gifts. Our families bless us in such a big way since they make it so easy on us to get from one house to another during the holidays without missing out on too much.
For Christmas eve we had dinner with my aunt and uncle and Tommy joined our family too. We had fabulous BBQ Shrimp. I hope this becomes our new tradition! Afterwards, the Parrish, Moseley and Erwin families came over for desserts, coffee and Brandy Alexanders. YUM! It was so nice to have everyone together. We made it all the way to 11pm (after a few cups of coffee) for church at KUMC, then headed to bed with Sugar Plums dancing in our heads!
Christmas morning might have been one of my favorite memories of our trip home. Dad woke us up with the traditional Winter Wonderland medley. He handed us each a spoon and we danced around the house. Blake was a bit overwhelmed, but he caught on fast :). We dug into our stockings and had traditional breakfast casserole and Blake's family's Cream Cheese Bread as we unwrapped gifts.
We quickly cleaned up and then headed to the Parrish's. We were excited to not miss Paul and Whit before they had to leave and we all opened our gifts together. It was so sweet of them to wait so I could enjoy watching them open their gifts (that's my favorite part!). Another treat was the fact that the Brown family joined us for Christmas Dinner. I've never had the chance to celebrate with a friend before and it was so great to catch up! We had an incredible meal and spent a relaxing afternoon sitting around the table chatting.
Next we headed to Don and Jill's house for my family's dinner. The kids were going crazy over their new toys and loving playing with their cousins. Too cute. I missed my cousins and it was great to have a chance to chat and hear what's been going on with them. The Parrishes came over (grandparents too!) afterwards to taste test our cookies and watch some football while some of the boys sat by the fire.
We were exhausted by the time 9pm rolled around and headed home to relax and go to bed. It was such a nice day overall. I will cherish our very first Christmas together!
