I was praying, except I didn't realize it. Whispered heart cries spilled out from the deep places in my heart, or maybe my soul. I truly believe that the Spirit intercedes on our behalf when words fail us.
How long I'd been praying I don't know. And what I'd been praying for I can't say. I surprised myself when I heard these words come out of my mouth: "Lord, just please don't let this wandering be in vain. I want to wander with intention." And I remembered the poem by J.R.R. Tolkien that states, not Read more [...] Not all those who wander are lost
June 20, 2013 By 1 Comment
I was praying, except I didn't realize it. Whispered heart cries spilled out from the deep places in my heart, or maybe my soul. I truly believe that the Spirit intercedes on our behalf when words fail us.
How long I'd been praying I don't know. And what I'd been praying for I can't say. I surprised myself when I heard these words come out of my mouth: "Lord, just please don't let this wandering be in vain. I want to wander with intention." And I remembered the poem by J.R.R. Tolkien that states, not Read more [...] Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge
June 19, 2013 By 3 Comments
Yesterday we spent our anniversary on an all day adventure. Most of our day was spent at Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge. Oh my goodness we had a wonderful time.
Tiger Creek is a forty acre wildlife refuge 90 miles south of Dallas. Most of their efforts go into rescuing, rehabilitating, and providing a safe haven for large cats. The non profit currently houses twenty-five tigers, five lions, three pumas, two leopards and two bobcats.
The long story is that it took us nine years to make it to Read more [...] Eight
June 18, 2013 By 9 Comments
Today we celebrate eight years of marriage.
Eight years of learning what makes each other tick, learning how to love, learning how to forgive, learning to receive grace.
Inspired by my sweet friend Stephanie at Red Letter Paper Co., I want to offer you a look at our lives with a "marriage by the numbers" countdown.
8.
Years of marriage.
7.
Animals that make their home on our little farm.
2 dogs + 3 cats + 2 cows
6.
Different employers.
Twice in our marriage we were employed by the Read more [...]
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
June 17, 2013 By 13 Comments
The battlefield is quiet, abandoned. Remnants of a war-torn soul are the only evidence of the spirit-battle that for so long waged inside of me. For years my fiercely strong, yet fractured and imperfect will has waged a brutal battle against His unseen, life-wrecking and somehow life-giving will.
And He crushed me.
I knew that He would be victorious. His power is unmatched, His justice is incomparable, and His love is exquisitely victorious.
Yet I wrestled, my mortal flesh and fragile soul wrestled Read more [...] Desire to Inspire #38: What He Sees
June 13, 2013 By 8 Comments
I asked my sweet friend, Mackenzie from Life of a Pint Sized Mama to share a little bit of her heart. Mackenzie and I met last year at the Influence Conference. I admire her so much, her vulnerability, her authenticity, and her ability to engage and inspire women.
Connect with Mackenzie: blog | facebook | twitter | instagram
Most days I am scared about the dreams that God has put on my heart.
Most days I don't think I'm capable.
Most days I'm sure that I am too feeble and too insecure to live Read more [...]
The Face of Bravery
June 12, 2013 By 2 Comments
After sharing about our sweet glory baby many of you (once again) mentioned how brave I am. Allow me to remind you that for me, bravery and obedience go hand-in-hand. They are so intertwined that one cannot exist without the other.
I want to tell you about someone who really is brave.
The Professor's Aunt Ramona is brave. She's mark-skydiving-off-the-bucket-list kind of brave.
I don't even like to look out the windows on the top floor of a tall building, so I'm pretty sure I'm never going Read more [...] Honoring our Glory Baby
June 11, 2013 By 20 Comments
I am speechless. One of our greatest fears is that our baby’s brief life will go unnoticed. Forgotten. I fear that because his or her precious life was so short-lived it will be viewed by some as insignificant or of little value. Our glory baby’s life was full of purpose, deeply significant, and of the highest value. And yesterday our friends and family and readers and strangers honored our baby. You read our heart-felt, but painful words. You watched our video. You spoke prayers, offered kind Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Our Glory Baby
June 10, 2013 By 59 Comments
Sometimes dreams come true. And sometimes dreams turn into nightmares. As we continue to struggle through our journey of infertility, we are so appreciative of the support we receive from our friends and family, and for the prayers that are spoken on our behalf. Many of you have offered countless prayers, encouraging words, and tokens of love as we’ve journeyed this road of infertility. Recently that struggle became much more difficult. In April we had another intra-uterine insemination. It was Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Weekend Recap + Steals and Deals
June 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Off the Blog: Busy. I had a lot of appointments this week: doctors, chiropractor, massage therapist. I’m hoping next week is a bit slower. I started training with Pollinate Media. I’m helping with a campaign that launches on Monday – so exciting! We had my parents and younger brother and his wife over on Monday night. My brother left yesterday for Norway. Here’s hoping it’s not another two years before we see them again! We’re enjoying lots of fresh fruit. As much as I am not a hot weather Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Ten Years Ago
June 7, 2013 By 18 Comments
Ten years ago I hadn’t met him. Oh, I knew he was out there, at least I hoped he was. If I’m really being honest I’d have to say that I was beginning to wonder. My college suite mates were both getting married, and I graduated college with no prospects in sight. And I wondered if I would ever fall in love. Ten years ago I was headed to nursing school four hours away from home. After attending a junior college close to home I was finally taking the jump and learning to fly on my own. I was Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Desire to Inspire #37: Pain and Peace
June 6, 2013 By 12 Comments
I look back through my journal, broken words I’ve written in a feeble attempt to chronicle my wrestling with God, and I barely recognize the words that I penned with my own hands more than a year ago. Flipping through that tear-stained journal is painful. I see the heartache and recount the anger and resentment. I remember the despair and agony, and on some level I suppose I was so bitter with God that I was unwilling to allow His comfort and peace to fill me. And now I stand on a battlefield Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Jesus Calling
June 5, 2013 By 9 Comments
I generally avoid devotionals. I think it’s because I crave the weighty, hard questions that have defined my faith, and oftentimes devotionals are devoid of those deeper issues. I’d much rather check out a few commentaries from our local library and dive deep into a passage of Scripture, discovering the cultural and historical background, researching the original meaning behind some of the words, and praying that God will allow His Spirit to teach me. Earlier this year I had this odd feeling that Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}An Opportunity
June 4, 2013 By 12 Comments
Sometimes opportunities land in your lap – you know the kind to which I’m referring: the don’t-you-dare-pass-it-up kind of opportunity. Maybe even a God-sized opportunity. It’s been in the works for a little while, and I’m excited to finally be able to share with you that I am the newest team member of Pollinate Media! I’ll be working behind the scenes as a project manager, answering blogger questions, and helping the Pollinate community members as they work to incorporate natural and authentic Read more [...]
{Continue reading…}Adoption Awareness #WaitNoMore
June 3, 2013 By 4 Comments
We spent the weekend with some of our best friends. Mama T and Daddy J are foster parents in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and they invited us to attend Focus on the Family’s Wait No More conference. I know you guys are going to ask, so let me answer your question now: no, at this time The Professor and I are not actively pursuing foster-to-adopt, and we don’t yet know if adoption is in our future. But we do know this, we are called to be a support to, and an advocate for, our foster/adoptive Read more [...]
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