The Warren's

Reading....and my heart

2011-02-23T11:02:00.002-06:00

(First...sorry no pics. John left for Sudan today, with his computer & all the recent pics. If I get really bored I might just get the pics off our camera & put them on my computer also. However, my iphoto is a disaster so I doubt it. :) Sorry)

I have read several good articles/blogs lately. Some simple, some made me really think, and some I had to look words up in the dictionary to understand what I was reading. ha.

An interesting on article on Sarah Palin & stay at home moms (surprising article) here

A great read/idea on celebrating Easter/Lent here. Celebrating Easter in a more meaningful way , besides with an Easter egg hunt & only talking about it for one day-maybe 3 if you celebrate Good Friday-is something that John and I both feel very strongly about. I am still reading into how, and what we want our family to learn through this event. Both John and know that Christ's death & resurrection is the only reason we have life, real free, hopeful, sanctifying life. Why wouldn't we want to celebrate this season & talk about it all the time. We are so thankful for BOTH the cross and that empty tomb! I get excited just writing about it! ( I might even practice Lent this year, I'll keep you posted)

Lastly, a short read on perspective here, particularly focused on Mom's. Its beautiful, especially the perspective on tantrums.

Enjoy these reads.

I hope to blog soon about a study on the book of Ruth that I am finishing up. And I hope to blog about my pregnancy as well soon! I better get busy. :)

Last post was in September?? WHAT!?

2011-02-18T20:34:00.004-06:00

I am seriously only updating because A. I am tired of that cheesy cloth diaper post. (sorry for that, it was my attempt to win some more cloth diapers) and B. That post was in September. WHAT!?

So, this will be an update post, maybe it will encourage me to blog more. I have actually had things on my heart that I would like to write about or share. SO, no promises, but we'll see.

Update:
1. I am pregnant- 20 weeks in a few days. Due July 12th and we are not sure if we are going to find out this time. John says "let's not" and i say "I think I want to". We'll see.

2. John leaves for Southern Sudan on Wednesday through March 6th- please be praying for his trip & team. You can read about it here:

3. Olivia turned 1! We had a small birthday party for her. I had so much fun making the decorations and the cupcakes! I will post some pics asap.

4. John & I went to Chicago without Olivia for 4 days in January. It was just a few days after her 1st birthday. John's mom flew in and kept her for us. It was a great trip, we really like that city! It helped that Intelligentsia (one place JOhn orders his coffee from) was about 4 minutes from our hotel. This was the first time we had left Liv overnight and it went great! She did great and we realize it will be much harder to get away once we have the 2nd baby, at least for several years.

I need to get on John's computer to get some pics up so I will try very soon!

The Sense {or scents} in Cloth Diapering

2010-09-12T19:54:00.007-05:00

Get it...diapers have a "scent"..typically bad, but there is so much more "sense" in choosing cloth when it comes to your baby's bum!

We found the most sense for cloth diapering in Bum Genuis!

I LOVE using cloth diapers on Olivia and recently that love increased. I just spend almost a month in Portland with John's family so we decided to just use paper diapers. We decided that when the plan was to stay for 1 1/2 weeks. I changed my flight and stayed for 2 more weeks which meant I had to spend more of our precious- one income family money- on things I was going to throw away! ugh!

My life is split into 2 spheres of people...Denton people and the rest of you. ha! ;) Anyone in Denton gets why I use cloth diapers and most of my Denton friends use cloth as well. The rest of you just think us Dentonites are crazy, and that is ok. But I do want to run down the list of "scents {or sense}" of cloth diapering. I'm going to give you the good "scents" first , because well, baby poop always smells better in the beginning when they are young. It gets worse as they get older so I'll keep the "smelly scents {or sense}" for later.

The Sense in choosing cloth: {These are the top reasons we chose cloth}
1. Cloth diapered babies typically potty train quicker & sooner. The research says that Babies who are put in cloth potty train, on average, 6 months sooner than babies not raised in cloth diapers-those 6 months could save you $600, not to mention the thousands you can save for all the years you choose cloth. Babies in cloth can feel the wetness/dirtiness more/sooner therefore become more uncomfortable & aware of their actions.

2. Cloth diapering saves thousands of dollars! You could have a vacation for that amount of money! The average family spends $2000-$3000 on diapers for one child until they are potty trained. The average cloth diapers family can spend from $300-$1000 (depending on your preferences) but this is can last through all your children! If you have 3 children that is $5000 at the very least!

3.Cloth diapering is being a good steward our Earth. God has created an amazing creation for us to enjoy. Now I understand the Earth isn't perfect & me choosing cloth diapers doesnt "save the Earth" or preserve it back to the Garden of Eden but I do believe that in choosing cloth diapers I am helping to take care of the Earth and its resourses. Please don't hear me say that if you don't choose cloth that you are not being a good steward. This is just one of the ways the Lord has weighed on my heart to take care of the Earth. The US uses 27.4 Billion diapers each year, which will amount to about 3.7 million TONS of landfill waste....which could take between 250-500 years to decompose.

Ok, now for the scents {notice the change from "sense"...scent=smelly=the down side to cloth}:
Yes, there is a bad side to everything in life, although the "sense" definitely out weighs the scents... so choose Bum Genius people. ;)
1. Sometimes they do leak. This is usually because I don't have them adjusted properly, possibly due to a recent growth spurt or if I have left it on her too long. ( and to set our record straight- Olivia has never blown out of a cloth diaper but has blown out of several paper!)

2. Forgetting about a cloth diaper in the car or diaper bag....this is worse than if its a paper because you can just throw it away, you have to wash it.

A few Myths I heard:
1. Your baby's poop/pee will be all over the couch or anywhere they are. I was seriously told this. This is not true, cloth diapers are made so different and much better than when our parents were diapering us as babies.

2.It causes more chemicals to go into the ground in the washing process...nope not true. You use clean detergents on diapers as to not ruin their fibers or ruin your little baby's bum!

3."Don't you have to use those big safety pins?" Nope. Again, cloth diapering has come a long way, IF you use a type of cloth system that requires fastening like that you would use a snappy from Cotton Babies.

We use Bum Genius diapers and another brand, that I will leave nameless because we are very sad that we don't have all Bum Genius diapers. We bought the other brand first but I am SO much happier with Bum Genius!!

For more statistics on cloth diapering Click here.

Compassion

2010-09-11T08:11:00.003-05:00

Ann Voskamp visited Guatemala City with Compassion International recently and blogged about it here. My heart breaks, my heart is convicted. How i just live my life with my new kitchen sink, my front loading washer & dryer but they don't even have running water. Their worry for the day is if the rain will wash their home away or if gangs will convince their boys of a life no one sees as good.
Compassion is about Jesus, they are motivated by how Jesus would take care of these families. They help clothe,feed and educate children.
Whether you are a christian or not, believe in Jesus or not, I would challenge you to find a reason not to support a child through compassion. They are an amazing group of people saving the lives of others. Please read Ann Voskamp's blog (linked in the first paragraph) and also consider sponsoring a child from Compassion here.

Update on us..by "us", I mean Olivia

2010-07-08T14:19:00.028-05:00

I am really not wanting to Blog lately. Ugh! I have been thinking a lot lately about the whole, facebook,twitter,blog world and what I want it to look like for me. Because, yea, I could post lots of funny things or cute pics of Liv (which I do) or cool things that i may be eating or doing but really....do I want to spend my time doing those things. I don't think any of these things are bad & I am not judging you if you do them. I love them, maybe a little too much and that is why I am trying to draw some lines for myself otherwise I would sit on my computer all day & not get anything done! I have been updating fb and tweeting lately but I may just drop it all one day. We'll see.

For now, here is a quick update.

We flew to Oregon a couple weeks ago (this was Liv's 2nd plane ride). Spent 3 days in Portland and then"surprised" John's mom for her 60th birthday by driving to Sunriver (where she was at the time). We spent a long weekend in Sunriver with the whole family. It was a great time with great conversations, biking, swimming, trips to Goodies (yum!!), and a few intense games of Monopoly. ha!

We are back in Denton. Olivia is still a little off kilter since we have been back though. She had to get back on CST , has been teething and is learning to crawl. Yep, that is what I said. Our 5 month old is already army crawling. She started getting on her hand/knees while we were in Sunriver which just shocked John and I. She is now getting around by scooting and army crawling pretty good. It scares me a bit! ;)

Olivia is just so much fun though, here are some things she loves:

To chew on anything made of fabric (or anything else for that matter)

Tags

Stewart (this is a new found interest-she lights up and reaches for him. He has been really patient so far!)

Other babies

To grab my hair with both hand and pull my face to hers (and then suck on my face) ;)
To scream (its just what she does, not a cry/scream)
To play on the floor alone (too much people time & she's done...sound like her Daddy???)
To watch us eat (her interest in food is peaking)
Looking in the mirror
To be naked
Outside

Olivia does not love:

The carseat ( I think our 5 hour drive to Lubbock ruined it for her)
Her last late afternoon nap...we don't even really try for it anymore unless really needed
The time (seconds) in between sides while nursing (I think its hilarious though)

She is a great baby. She sleeps great and is very content most of the time, plus she has been a great on the planes. Olivia hasn't had any trouble going to other people or staying in the nursery at church. We are so proud of what a happy, healthy & well behaved baby she is. The Lord was gracious to us!

Here are some recent picture of us- well-mostly her. ;)

Some of the Family: (mostly from march)

Liv- asleep on Grandma (March

John, Liv & I (March)

This was at John's Dads' 60th Birthday Party (March)

The girls (minus Sarah & I) by the pool

Olivia has many faces:

These are 2 of our favorites!

Hope you are all enjoying this summer!

It's Official

2010-06-05T08:28:00.003-05:00

Today is my first day back as a full time wife and Mommy! I am so excited to be done with school. To be able to love and take care of my daughter the way I can do best. To take care of our home. To serve my husband and this community. I don't want to take for granted the reality that I do get to stay at home and I pray that this is a reality in our life for a very long time. I am excited for what I will learn and what the Lord has in store to teach me...probably more than I am ready for. I think there will probably be more sacrifice than I am ready for. More things I can't buy, more places we won't be able to go and I will probably struggle with laziness, entitlement or who knows what else. The very things I just listed is so telling of where my heart is. I don't want that anymore. I want the Lord to strip those things away. I want a heart that the Lord sees as beautiful, that is full of service and love and joy and peace and encouragement. He is going to do a good work and I am so excited to see what and how. I know he is always at work in me but I am especially excited about this new season and all that will come with it.

{Sorry I have been gone for so long, I have been working the last 2 1/2 months-finishing out the school year for the last time...so here is hoping to being back in blogworld}

Olivia Brooke Warren

2010-01-28T22:25:00.009-06:00

It's a Girl!
7lb. 4 oz
20 1/2 in.

9:22 pm

Many of you have been asking to hear about my birth, so here you are. Please be cautioned that I had a pretty quick labor so don't hate me. I already had one friend tell me that we aren't friends anymore because of this- she was only kidding of course. (Love you friend!)
I had 2 due dates- Jan.7th and Jan.16th. I was confident it was really the 7th and we had a Dr. appointment that day. I had also been diagnosed with this thing called INTRAHEPATIC CHOLESTASIS OF PREGNANCY (ICP) or "Baby Itch". Less than 1 % of women get it and it causes your body to itch all over. This can be a real alarm and can even cause your baby to be still born. Praise the Lord that my levels were not super threatening but we did want to get labor started just to prevent anything from getting worse. SO, on the 7th, at my appointment I was already dilated to a 2 and 90% effaced. My midwife swept my membranes and we thought we would have a baby that weekend.

Monday came, the next weekend came....and NO baby. John's parents had even flown down for the whole week, just waiting on her to come. My mom was also here waiting for our little baby to come. Through that week I had progressed to a 4 but pretty much stayed there until the day of delivery. There was a lot of frustration and stress that week through which the Lord began showing me that life just isn't all about me anymore...as if it should have been before this but that is a whole separate blog.

Several trips to the midwife, lots of walking and pumping and some crazy ligament pains later we had an appointment on the 21st. We went in at 9am and I was a 5- yay! Jean, the midwife, didn't really give me a choice...she said "go home, pump for 30 minutes and walk for an hour. Do this until 4pm. Call me if you have any signs of contractions." We went home and did that. Before all the regiments began I had to do a heart check. John and I prayed together in the car when we pulled in the driveway. This was not how I wanted my labor to start. I wanted it to just come naturally, surprisingly. I didn't want to have to work for it. On top of that, pumping was painful and this is not what I wanted to do to my body! It was my body afterall. Again, this was the Lord showing me that it just isn't all about me anymore. Not even my body is just for me anymore. I was thankful that I really felt the Lord speaking these things to me and knew that it was Him working through this childbirth. Difficult, yes and I didn't have the best attitude most of the time but I knew deep down that the Lord was going to purify my heart and show me new glimpses of who He is.
Around 1pm, I called Jean because I was having very light contractions. I wasn't sure though, because they just felt like cramps. Jean told me to come back up to the birthing center at 2; she checked me and I was dilated to a 5 and she was very sure I would have the baby that day (which, I did). She told me to go back home and pump/walk more and call her by 7pm. She also said that she expected to hear from me sooner because she thought my water would break before then.

Around 4pm John left the house to go to an event at church. Literally, 3 minutes after he left my water broke. I called Jean and John, John came back home and we went back to the birthing center. (yes, for the 3rd time that day-ha!) By this point I still wasn't having any major contractions, they still just felt like cramps. I believe I was still a 5 when she checked me this time. She sent us back home to get something to eat, get our things, etc and instructed us to come back at 7pm.

When we got home (we live less than 5 minutes away) I was on the floor, literally, within minutes. My contractions had finally hit! They were less than 5 minutes apart and lasting around 1 minute. John loaded the car, and we went straight back to the center.
We got to the Center around 5:45. My contractions were pretty intense and I labored for about an hour in the room where I would deliver. Jean would come in periodically and check the baby's heart rate and see how I was but for the most part she left us to ourselves unless we called for her. Soon I told John to ask Jean if I could get in the tub. To be honest I didn't feel like getting in there but I knew that would help the pain to lessen. Jean wanted to check me before I got in because being in the tub can actually slow your labor down (she didn't tell me that at the time though ;-)- I probably wouldn't have gotten in.) I was dilated to a 7 at this point so she said I could get in. The tub relieved quite a bit of pain during my contractions so I stayed in for about an hour when I started to feel the urge to push. I sent John to tell Jean. Jean came to check me and I was a 9!! She suggested I get out of the tub and onto the bed. At this point I could push whenever I was ready. My good friend and prayer warrior, Kimberly came up to the center and just prayed in another room for the entire time that I spent pushing. That was a huge blessing!!
I pushed for about an hour and mostly because Olivia came out with her hand in a fist on her face. Jean said that if her hand would have been down I wouldn't have pushed for so long! I remember looking down as soon as I knew the baby was out and just blurted out " Its a girl!" I loved that I was the first one to say it and really saw it along with everyone else. That is a moment I have a picture of in my head and don't think I will ever forget!

A few other moments and pictures that I won't forget:
* John starting to cry at my first push. (little did he know there would be lots more pushes!)
* Knowing that Kimberly was in the next room praying for me and Olivia.
* John sitting beside me, encouraging me on.
* Jean and Charity encouraging me and seeing their smiles after every push, they knew how close Olivia was.
*Imagining my Mom speeding across west Texas to try and make it for the delivery. (she was only 1 hour late)
*Being so sure the Lord would be my strength and rock while pushing
* Praying out loud during my last couple pushes
*Having our dear friends Scott & Lyn, Beau & Kimbo come up to the center right when we had Olivia
* Being home by 12:30 am, that same night (or next morning- however you see it)!!
* John making me eggs when we got home, I was starving!
* Our little babe sleeping with us those first 2 nights. (then to her crib she went on the 3rd night)
* Scott asking if he could touch my empty and squishy belly, yes, he did... ha!
* Being so sure of God's faithfulness to His people as I experienced that night

In a later blog I will share with you why I chose to do a natural childbirth and how the Lord proved to be faithful through it.

But after many requests, here are pictures!

I never understood why people put such terrible pics of themselves in public but now I get it, you just don't care because you have this amazing prize to show for the reason why you look terrible. ;-)

Charity (birth asst.), Jean (midwife), Olivia, Me, John: in the room where I birthed

John and Olivia cuddling

Look how sweet she sleeps!

She is giving that cute little sleep smile here!

On Dad's lap

We are arranging their marriage now
Haddon and Olivia Hughes....haha!

Getting some cuddle time & laughing bc the first 2 pics I had a huge double chin!

More pics coming soon! I promise!

2009-12-27T15:37:00.005-06:00

Christmas 2009

John and I, sitting down to a delicious dinner. John and my mom were super helpful in getting dinner on the table. I had some contractions that afternoon, which when were over, made me need a little nap.

Mom and Jerry- they also brought my neice, Asheley (below)- it was fun being the one who got to entertain and host people this year. We loved having them!

We loved getting to have Beau and Kimbo & Haddon over for Christmas! It was so special having the people we do everyday life with join us in celebrating our Savior's birth! We also began telling Haddon about the little one inside my belly that he will soon be best friends with. ;-) They are getting more comforatble with each other everyday. ha!

Hopefully this isn't what Haddon thought about his soon to come playmate!

And lastly: a terrible picture of me, but I thought you all deserved a picture of this huge belly of mine...also needed to make sure we got one in case this baby came.

Now, don't forget to vote for if you think the baby is a boy or girl! :) We will find out soon!

Belly pics!

2009-11-01T21:02:00.004-06:00

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted these sooner, I have cleary had them since I am now 30 weeks! I can't believe how fast pregnancy flying by!

25 Weeks

29-30 Weeks

Only 10 weeks left! I am still feeling great, besides the fact that my body is tired a lot more often than normal. The baby moves a lot and I just can't get enough of it. John, on the other hand, thinks I am crazy and wonders when I will get tired of staring at my belly.
I have not been keeping my house quite like I would like but not only has John been helping out lately but I am also just trying to surrender that to the Lord. After a talk with John Henderson I realized what an idol my house, I mean a clean house is to me. I was quite surprised by this realization just because I never thought that would be me. It was good to see and I think it is in part, prep for what the spring will ne like when I go back to finish out the year.

In other updates:
* John and I start birthing class this week.
* John's team won the Krappu Bowl at The annual Village Staff Retreat
* Stewart and Lilly definitely know that a baby is coming- its so wierd
* We are headed to Portland for Thanksgiving- yay for cold weather and really good coffee.
(which by the way I am starting to enjoy, I've always appreciated it and understand all of it, just didn't like it. My husband is very excited about my new found like, not sure if it will be love just yet...)

Best Question of the week!

2009-09-20T08:23:00.003-05:00

Question from a Kindergartner (in the hallway):

"Why is your belly so big?"

I told her that a baby is growing in there. She just non-chalantly said "oh" and walked away. So random and hilarious! Also, probably more funny if you knew this child. I don't even teach Kindergarten but know about this little girl!

My thoughtful husband!

2009-09-20T08:11:00.005-05:00

A week or so ago my sweet husband came home with this:

My very first Le Creuset! I love it! It looks so pretty sitting out on my stove! He also bought me 2 new stainless steel skillets and a stainless steel sauce pan. I think it was a early baby gift of sorts...He said something about "I just know you want nice stuff to cook with when you stay at home". It was so cute.

All in a Day's Work

2009-09-06T14:11:00.013-05:00

First Things first...that picture I promised many of you:
21 WeeksI have been feeling great. I feel so fortunate to have had such a great pregnancy so far. I have been feeling the baby move since week 17, and it is moving more and more everyday. Today I put the remote control on my belly and it totally bounced everytime s/he kicked! The baby is REALLY low, so that was the first time I had even felt him move anywhere near my belly button. John felt the baby for the first time this week, which was fun. He got excited and starting talking to the baby at that point! :)
So far, no cravings really and I've gained 10 pounds so far. My midwife , Jean, says that is perfect for me. She only wants me to gain 20-25 pounds to help ensure that I don't make a baby that is too big for my body. We should start birthing classes soon. Jean holds them at her house and we need to get them done before the holidays are here.
I did have a baby shower in Portland and got lots of great things. I will post about that more once I get it all arranged in the baby's room.

And on to what we did Saturday:
Somebody asked me the other day if I had started "nesting", my response was "not really" but later I realized that I feel like I am always "nesting". It's kind of my nature.
So..nesting or not, We have had our pantry on that infamous list of things to do around the house and we tackled it yesterday.

Here is the before

...minus the food and a few shelves(my sweet, hard-working husband doesn't think about before pics like I do):

The shelves were tragic, sort of painted but very scratch up and dirty looking despite my attemps with bleach!
And the After:
(it looks really skinny because of the way I edited it on here)
We adjusted the shelves that I can actually utilize all the space and walk into the pantry!

Another thing on the list was to swap the bedrooms. That entailed taking the twin bed down and out of the front bedroom and moving the back bedroom into the front one. Did you follow that? So now our back bedroom is empty, just waiting for a crib.

The new guest bedroom.

I will show you more once I get it finished. I still want to paint or re-stain the headboard and unfortunately the treadmill will also go in here, it has to go somewhere. I also need to find a cute bed skirt to match.

The new (but empty) Baby room!

We do have a cute dresser in there that has been in John's family, if it's a boy that dresser will stay in there. If it's a girl we will swap it with the dresser from the guest room. That dress was in my room when I was a little girl!

What rules my heart?

2009-08-30T09:31:00.003-05:00

A quick update that I am now 6 months preggo! WHOA! I can't believe it and I will try to get a couple belly pics up here soon. I must also make a disclaimer that none of the below may make sense to you, I hope it does but my mind/heart was mixing these very seeemingly different ideas. It made sense to me but may have come out all jumbled, so sorry if that is the way it seems!

Last Sunday, John Henderson taught at church and he said one of those statements that just sits on you and doesn't go away: "What rules your heart, rules your life". The next night at our home group, of course John Wright calls us out on it and asks us to think about that this week and be ready to tell everyone what rules our life, which means what rules our heart.
I've been haunted by that question all week because I know what rules my heart is definitely not always my Lord and Savior. I am not sure what it is exactly. I know the answer is there, i just need to find it, and that is hard when you don't stop very often to sit and listen to the Lord or think about what is in your heart. I get so busy with the everyday, with what I need right now, with what I feel like doing, with John, the house, with teaching, the list goes on because there is always something to lure me away from sitting quietly before the Lord...
I got up early this morning to clean the house before church. I got ready and had my keys in hand when I just felt a need to stay. Do I start planning my lessons for the week, dust & vacuum, OR sit and listen to the Lord, read & pray?
I ended up opening my computer and went to the first Blog on my list of blogs I like: " A Holy Experience". This woman has a way of writing that just makes me start to think and really causes me to think about the Lord and my heart towards him.
I read her blog from Friday (pause and go read it) and it just pointed out my sin, my lack of consistency that is driven by my selfishness (or pride that causes me to think I deserve whatever it is I want). I choose not to have daily "ceremonies" or rituals because I am weak, I want to choose what I want. I choose not to spend time quietly before the Lord because i want to do something else, that seems more exciting. She is right, the word is true- my flesh is weak, and if I want what, deep down I really want, which is HIM I have to depend on and ask for his strength.
So....maybe what rules my heart is my pride by way of my emotions and feelings...
Do we need to embrace rituals and "ceremony" just like the Lord does everyday when he calls the Sun up and the tide in? Do we need to plead with the Father just like the Lord does on our behalf?

The Village Worship Blog

2009-06-06T12:34:00.002-05:00

John and the 2 other worship Pastors, Michael Bleecker and Isaac Wimberly have started a worship blog called Sound Doctorine. It is on the churches website. They have posted some great stuff; I would encourage you to go read. John just did a great 2 part post on how we should be worshipping. It was very encouraging! Check it out here.

Sin Boulders

2009-05-24T18:23:00.003-05:00

ok, I hope I am not starting a habit. This is only the 2nd "re-post" I have linked of this ladies blog but I am often moved deeply by the way she writes and more importantly the content of it.
Beau spoke this morning of feeling the weight of "The Fall" and our personal sin. Something I have been working through lately. I love the picture she gives us here and think it is amazing that she lives in the reality of that world. Sometimes I wish that we lived like her family because life seems slower and less full of stuff. Anyhow, click here to read!! Enjoy - and add her to your blogroll!

Do you want to be your idols?

2009-05-12T22:19:00.002-05:00

I really felt prompted to open my Bible and read all of Psalm 115 after Matt referred to it last night. He was just referring to verse 1,

"Not to us, Oh Lord, Not to us, but to your name give glory; for the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness"

Sounds encouraging, right. I always want to give glory to his name, right? In theory I do. But in my day to day actions do I? I think that is why I love that scripture and song so much because I am trying to convince myself that I do, my mind is recognizing that I really do want to but it also sees the discrepancy between my heart's desires and what my flesh acts out on. Keep reading...

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
⁵They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
⁶They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
⁷They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
⁸ Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

Wow! I will become like my idols! If I keep making idols of myself, my husband, perfectionism, family, home, etc I will become like them- no voice to speak, no eyes to see miracles, to see the spirit work, no ears to hear the spirit, no way to 'feel' or walk out the freedoms I have in the Lord, no ears to hear wisdom and learn, no "sound" to sing and give praises to the Lord. That weight hit me last night. I don't want to be dead, I want life, freedom- not to be lifeless!

This was a beautiful weight for me because for so long I have had a hard time really knowing what my sin was therefore I couldn't recognize the daily grace that the Lord generously gives to me, nor was I accepting it when I did know that I needed it.

Several months ago, maybe a year, I began asking the Lord to show me my sin**, because I didn't see it but knew it was there. He opened my eyes and my heart and I felt like last night was just a culmination of this. I read the Psalms and just felt heavy. Then we sang "Grace Greater than Our Sin". The two go hand in hand. I have to have His grace because I am up a creek with out it (to put it lightly). That song just brought me to tears. It is His grace that He is showing me my sin, and it is His grace that forgives that same sin. It's His grace that separates me from my sin, he literally removes my sin from me. John taught me about expiation a few months ago and it was enlightening! Not only did the cross provide propitiation which is where the wrath that I deserve it put on someone else (Jesus) but the cross also provided expiation, where my sin is taken away from me, removed forever! Thank you, our Great God!

** I grew up where sin was some big moral failure, some big easy to see struggle or sin- so it has taken so many years to really see my sin, day to day, maybe not what the world would see as sin but things that the Lord constantly calls out- pride,selfishness, dishonor, disprespect,etc...

The Seedbed

2009-04-27T22:45:00.005-05:00

I was given the link to this blog for another reason but when I went I found this post. I am not a huge poetry person but this was incredibly moving and challenging to me. For some reason the Lord has given me a heart for the family unit and each part within that unit. I feel that our society has diminished the weight and importance of parenting.
I think she has given us a glimpse of what it should, what the Lord intends it to be and puts some meaning back into it. It is a huge job and holds way more weight than this society allows it. Click here to read! Take your time and even re-read it- I just loved it.

learning new things

2009-04-25T21:54:00.003-05:00

So tonight has been a night of learning for me...which is giving my husband a lot of entertainment! Two things I learned tonight:

1. Wrestling isn't real, its all choreographed. Who knew?
2. The White House isn't the Capitol Building. (I am a little embarrassed that I didn't know this)
I feel like I might fail one of those Jay Leno "Jay Walking" segments.

Please comment and let me know if you knew these things.

We are going to D.C. in August with some friends so hopefully I will come away much smarter, I am teaching 2nd graders after all.

Is God Green? and Earth Hour

2009-03-25T21:22:00.003-05:00

Is God Green?

This Friday is an event that our church (my hubby) has been working on for awhile and I am very excited about it. It is called "Is God Green" and we will be hearing from Dr. Timothy Pierce about how to think Christianly about the environment.

Earth Hour

Also, to make the weekend even more green, I am looking forward to participating in Earth Hour on Saturday night in which everyone turns their lights out at 8:30 local time. For those of you who are teachers there are also some worksheets available online.

Hope you all will join me in both events!!

Spring Break is over

2009-03-22T11:25:00.003-05:00

random photo I took awhile back.

Well, I don't really even know what to post about but really wanted a new post on the blog. Maybe I should ask John to start posting...
Well, spring break is over. Sad day! Technically, I guess I don't go back to work until tomorrow but reality proves that I go back to work today. Yes, I do my lesson plans on Sundays. So, I just settled in at Jupiter House with my latte ( that I am not supposed to be drinking) and I need to start my lesson planning for the week.
This was my first spring break as a teacher and I really feel like it is such a tease! Maybe its that the weather has been so beautiful but it feels like summer. So, like I told someone this morning and I was half joking, spring break just leaves me angry. I am so ready for summer but I have 2 months of teaching left. And maybe me just saying all that reveals alot about my heart and the state of its contentment, or lack of! I saw on itunes that Josh Patterson recently preached on contentment, I really need to listen to it!
In other news, we are going to paint the laundry room soon! We were set to do it yesterday but John was starting to get sick, he didn't though- thanks to Influenza, a natural medicine! So hopefully we will get to that next weekend and I will post pics.
We also have bought several plants lately. I have decided that I love plants. They are so beautiful and add so much to a room! My latest purchase was 3 different succulents, I love succulents! I will post pics of them soon- they look so good!

Hopeful Doctrines- Take 2...

2009-02-23T20:09:00.005-06:00

You may have noticed that I have deleted part of this post. I decided to edit it because I may have said too much in the previous post. I am so sorry if I made anyone feel betrayed or hurt by what I said.
I do still want to share The following which was found on John Pipers blog recently, I found it very encouraging especially when I find myself doubting!

J. Gresham Machen, one of the great proclaimers and defenders of the Christian faith in the early 20th century, went through a season of fearful doubt on his way to solid confidence. Remarkably, it was his mother who spoke one of the decisive words of rescue. He tells the story:

The question is not merely whether we can rest in our faith, but whether we can rest in the doubt that is the necessary alternative of faith. We pass sometimes through periods of very low spiritual vitality. The wonderful gospel which formerly seemed to be so glorious comes to seem almost like an idle tale. Hosts of objections arise in our minds; the whole unseen world recedes in the dim distance, and we think for the moment that we have relinquished the Christian hope....

My mother [spoke to me] in those dark hours when the lamp burned dim, when I thought that faith was gone and shipwreck had been made of my soul. “Christ,” she used to say, “keeps firmer hold on us than we keep on him.”

My mother’s word meant...that salvation by faith does not mean that we are saved because we keep ourselves at every moment in an ideally perfect attitude of confidence in Christ. No, we are saved because having once been united to Christ by faith, we are his forever. Calvinism is a very comforting doctrine indeed. Without its comfort, I think I should have perished long ago in the castle of Giant Despair. (J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, 561)

Culture and Theology

2009-02-01T19:54:00.002-06:00

Friday night we attended The Village's Culture and Theology Event: Jesus and Politics. It was amazing. The open question time created great dialogue and it was often a little tense. I so appreciate that our church is willing to talk about where we are in this world and the issues that we face. Dr. Darrell Bock was the speaker, check out his blog here.

A first...

2009-01-10T18:32:00.002-06:00

So, quick story:
John and I went to Costco today to do some grocery shopping. There was a guy there selling those "Little Giant" ladders, you know Costco always has companies in there selling their own product. Well, John and I walk by and the guy looks at me and asks "Are you grown?" I responded: "Yes." What else do I say. He just laughed after I answered. I was so taken back, mostly because I had never been asked that question before but partly because that is kind of a rude question to ask. Don't you think? Did he think I was a dwarf, or did he think I was young? It was just a weird question! Now, I got over what I thought to be a tiny bit rude but for the rest of the afternoon was just plain shocked that someone would ask someone that. I wish now, that I would have told him that I was 9 or something. I don't know what he would have thought then but...it might have been funnier for us to answer that way.

Update

2009-01-05T07:16:00.002-06:00

Well, I am going to make a quick update...mainly so I don't have to see that same last post everytime I click out blog.
*John and I spent the last week and 1/2 in Portland. It was cold and snowy but we had a great time with little things scheduled. We hung out with a few friends but mostly relaxed, celebrated Johns birthday and saw family!
*John turned 30! We had a big party for him at the house Saturday night- thanks to Kimbo, Lyn, Diane and Emily it was a success!
*My brother had their second baby- Madison Grace. I heard she is adorable!
* I head back to school today- I am seriously struggling with this, I loved not working over the break and so I probably should go spend some time with the Lord and pray about being content where He has me...
This should be an exciting semester, it should go by really fast and I think that I will be working less than last semester- yay! ( which hopefully means more blogging!)

"How come she isn't pregnant?"

2008-10-30T19:03:00.003-05:00

Coversation in my classroom today:

Scene: John came to school because he bought me a hot water dispenser. I introduce him to the kids and give them permission to ask him questions...

Briawna: "Do you have dogs?"
Dakotah: "You got a hair cut, I know it." ( he met John once after school)

There were more but I can't remember due to the next hilarious question:

Dakotah: "So, if you are married to Mrs. Warren why isn't she pregnant?"

Entire class (including John and I): erupting laughter!

Sweet notes and amazing kids

2008-10-10T15:47:00.002-05:00

I got a very cute note from a student today that I just had to share! Here is what it says

To: Mrs. Warren

I love you! You are COOL! a nice techer and asome! I know you are trying to be nice but I don't blame you for being a little mean. I don't care you are still fun!

from:Hannah

Doesn't this just crack you up...it does me! I have an amazing, sweet class but they like to talk- ALOT! This is why I have to be "mean". Somedays I want to never teach again and then I get notes like this or have a day like today when the kids listen and they really get what you are teaching them!

Yesterday and today I taught them about systems for science, and they were getting it and really using their higher level skills taking the process deeper than I thought they could! YAY!

Procrastination Blog

2008-09-28T19:54:00.002-05:00

Well I am basically blogging for two reasons. The first is that I feel like I should because I haven't in a couple months! The second is because I am procrastinating grading papers!
I really want to post some pictures of my classroom as it is mostly put together now! I have been doing all I can to keep my head above water these last 6 or so weeks. I knew that teaching would be busy and that I "wouldn't have a life" as they say but I had no idea what that really meant! I didn't know it would mean working until at least 6pm every night (or later some nights) and 6 hours on Sunday. Thankfully I am beginning to catch up and not feel so stressed but I don't think the hours will lesson any time soon. John and I have been doing a lot of talking about how to make this work for us because as he puts it he "wants his wife back". I don't blame him and do miss being at home more. I don't think it is "right" that this is the way it is but it just is with first year teachers. I am not the only one at the school during these crazy hours! Its all the newbies! I have hope that it will get better and I will get the hang of it though!
I am wrapping up my first six weeks which means lots more work, like averaging grades, sending out report cards and parent/teacher conferences. Amidst the madness and blurr of my day I do love what I am doing. It has felt very natural and I have not one doubt that this is where I should be! There is so much peace in that! I love my students, even the ones that drive me crazy- they all have their own personalities and abilities that just make you love them.
Soon, I will post a couple of letters that I received a couple of weeks ago, during a very bad week. The students were picking up on the fact that their behavior was wearing me out and a couple sensitive kiddos wrote me letters- you will love them!
In the mean time, we have our house completely furnished now, thanks to JOhn's parents who recently moved and had some furniture to get rid of- we benefitted! I'll try and post pics of that also!
BARGAIN of the century: regularly $120 Organic Duvet cover from PotteryBarn ( queen)
on sale for $23!!! It looks great in our spare bedroom! Pics soon!

Until I have some blogging (or procrastinating) to do...

What is to come

2008-08-17T19:31:00.002-05:00

I feel like I am trying to be some sort of a creative writer because I tried to think of a creative title...I know, all you writer are saying "really?" If I wasn't trying to be cooler than I am I would have just titled it "I'm so excited".
Anyhow, I really am just so excited right now.
I start in-service tomorrow. For those of you who don't know what that is ( someone asked me earlier today), it is what teachers had when you had the day off...you know, when you didn't have school but your teachers were still working. We have a week of in-service before our students come next week!
My classroom is basically non existent because up until this weekend I didn't even have all 4 walls, several rooms in the school have been under construction. I heard that I have all 4 as of today ( but no paint yet) so hopefully I will be able to post some pics of my room soon, meaning that I am able to get in there and decorate.
I am ready to get started because I feel like i'v been preparing for this for awhile! I say that I am mentally ready, because honestly I am not pratically ready. Clearly, no room, no lesson plans written, lots of things to create still but hey, I am mentally ready. I am ready to invest in these kids, care about them, get to know their families, love on them, show them joy, and hope. I know that many days will be a disaster and I am ready for that. I'm just ready to mess up and keep going because I know that will happen. Maybe I am so ready because it is so clear to me that this is what the Lord has called me to for now.

Over the last few weeks the Lord has been stirring my heart more and more for children and families. I have always had a heart for them but lately I have been very sensitive to this demographic, a few examples:
(and can I clarify that my heart is for hurting children and families, I don't know why but it just is)

*last week I found out that my brothers daughter ( she doesn't live with him) has had CPS at her house twice recently, what do I do with that? I won't go into the details but it just broke my heart that any child has to feel that hurt and that shame. That she has to feel worthless or maybe that she has to earn love. It makes my heart weighty, that the Lord allows this to happen. It reminds me that our world is broken, that people are selfish and not loving not with pure love anyway. But the truth it does remind me of is that God is faithful, that God is soveriegn, that God is our protector and also that God longs to see His glory. I know in the depths of me that my Great God can use any event or circumstance, any dysfunctional upbringing to bring glory and honor to Himself, which in turn bring me hope and peace.
*We watched the movie "Swing Vote" ( if you haven't seen this you may want to skip this one, I don't really give anything away but...),
and for some reason this was very heavy for me. From the beginning of this movie my heart just broke for this little girl. The whole mother scene was awful for me, I was just bawling. Maybe after hearing about my neice this was touchy for me. The fact for me was that this movie is reality for way to many children and their story doesn't always turn out so picture perfect.
* Driving to school a couple weeks ago I was listening to a Tim Hughes cd when his song "God of Justice" came on and just hit my heart. I don't know what but it was like the only line I heard was"stand beside the broken". I am still trying to figure out what to do with this because I definitely feel it was the Lord speaking to me, which I love that He does! I'll keep yall posted...

So, I hope some of that made sense and wasn't me throwing up in the blog world all of my thoughts for the day. I'm not even going to go back and edit ( which I always do, maybe not for grammar but for sanity).

oh, here are the lyrics to that Tim Hughes song:
God of Justice, Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

To act justly everyday
Loving mercy in everyway
Walking humbly before You God

You have shown us, what You require
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out Lord

M.I.A.

2008-08-11T20:56:00.003-05:00

I wish I haven't been so bad about blogging lately. After a more than 2 week vacation to Portland, including a 3 day drive back home, I started teacher training last week! Between the house, teacher training and adjusting back to work schedule I am a bit overwhelmed, to say the least!

So far this has been a very difficult transition for me partially because I tend to like this "just so" and partially because I feel like I've had to say no to a lot of things lately and that I hate!
Amongst all the busyness, I am trying to find the line between not doing things in order to keep my sanity and not doing things because I am selfish. Where is the line!!!???

And to brag on my sweet husband...he has been so patient and such a servant! You see, what happens when I get so overwhelmed is that i basically become paralyzed. I have no idea where to begin. I also don't always respond in the sweetest way, I'm sure none of you can imagine that but well, its true! Today I became paralyzed, there is so much to do around the house ( I still haven't figured out how all our stuff fits/works in this house) and soooo much to do at school that I didn't even know where to begin. All my sweet husband starting doing was working, he just saw things that needed to be done and did them! AMAZING! It kind of helps me get started! Thank you sugar!!!

I'm definitely feeling the Lord stretch me in new ways and I know i need to look for Him through this very stressful time. I feel torn in so many ways and I just pray that the Lord brings clarity to me and who I am supposed to be in HIM!

Sorry about all the rambling, welcome to my world! :)

I will post some pics of my classroom as soon as I can-( my room is currently under construction)

Love,
Mrs. Warren

An Update in Pictures

2008-07-17T12:07:00.009-05:00

Birthday Celebrations
Sam and Katie took John and out for diner to celebrate my bday! I love these girls and we have so much fun! I don't think there is ever a time we get together without taking a pic full of laughter!

Cute picture - the one I force him to look "normal" in ;-)

Typical John picture ;-)- check out the look on his face- ha!

The Lookout Point Inn- B&B
Hot Springs, AR

John surprised me with a night here on our way back from Family Camp! It was beautiful and a wonderful night away with John. It was our 4 year anniversary celebration ( a few weeks early).

More Birthday Celebrating...
Emily, Nat and Kimbo took me to breakfast for my birthday and Emily made me this adorable bag! I love it and can't wait to use it!

PINK Flamingoes....
A few weeks ago our house got "flamingoed"...is that a word?
In case you don't know ( Oregonians) when your yard gets "flamingoed" you have to pay to get them out. It is a very creative fundraiser...

Sorry for the random post and disorganization of the pics. But at least they are up, right?
John and I are headed to Portland next week for 10 days! We can't wait to see our family! I've been missing the nieces and nephews so much lately! So here we come Knakals!!

I hope all of you are enjoying the summer , love from the Warren's!

Our Conquering Lion

2008-06-11T22:15:00.004-05:00

The Conquering Lion
Shall break every chain
He will wipe every tear away
He will take all my hurt and pain
Conquering Lion
Shall break every chain
He will wipe every tear away
He will take all my hurt and pain
He will lead me to springs of living water
He will lead me to springs of living water
He will lead me to springs of living water

I wrote about this song in this post a long time ago, the day Olivia died. I have been thinking about her daily lately. I'm not sure why. My heart misses her and I get overwhelmed with thoughts of her and the pain of not having her here to call, spend a weekend with, laugh with, shop with, dream with, pray with and share my heart with. I visited her myspace page tonight searching for anything new I could find, something I didn't know. I want to know something knew about her. Maybe its that I wish she could share new pictures or blogs, if I could find something new, I would still have her here. I don't think any of this makes any logical sense but inside me it does. I want to read something new or see somthing new about her so I can hang on, not loose my thoughts and memories of her! I decided to listen to this song again, Conquering Lion by Grace Faulkner ( itunes it), nervous because I knew it would bring tears. I immediately go back to that late Saturday night in Olivia's room the week before she died. Marisa, Shana, Samantha and i were in her dark room, praying for Liv, begging the Lord for her life on this earth to last longer. This song came on and we just sang it to her. It was such a sweet time and I just want to transport back to that place, sit a little longer, laugh with Liv a little more and enjoy the sweetness of friends holding each other up. I am so thankful for the gift of friendship, what an amazing gift from God! As I listened to this song tonight I was reminded of my own brokeness, I don't have cancer and I am physically healthy, but my heart is sinful, its broken. Jesus has taken that, he has died so that I can live. He has willingly taken on the burden of my sin, my pride, jealousy and bitterness so that I can choose to walk free, no more bondage. I have the choice to walk in the freedom that His brutal death on the cross provides me.
The Lord is teaching me a lot about the condition of my own heart and its tough, I'll be honest, it makes me angry. I have to deal with the reality that I am sinful, its how I was born. There is no room to blame anyone for my feelings, actions, etc; I must take responsibility.
Its this process He is taking me on that will allow me to lay down these dirty, sinful actions and feeling of mine, He's taking me to springs of living water. Its a daily process, not a quick say one prayer event! I mean I know that years ago when I decided to believe in Jesus, I became His, saved but knowing Him, becoming like Him and walking in a way which is glorifying to Him is a process!
I hope you find encouragement in knowing that He is the ultimate Conquering Lion, He will break every chain and wipe all your tears away and take all your hurt and pain! He will be lead us to springs of living water...but it will be a journey! He is so faithful! Thank you Jesus!

Update

2008-06-10T14:07:00.002-05:00

Mostly I just felt the need to update so...here goes:
*John has been wearing an arm brace since last week. The Dr. wanted to put him in a full blown cast but John refused...I know, totally not like John- ha! ;-). His thumb has been hurting for several months and he finally went in to get it checked out. Its either tendonitis or the gout...?? He has been very humbled through wearing the brace as it is an extremely minor annoyance. Let me explain: On Sunday we met a girl who was only supposed to live until October and she has probably the most extreme prognosis I have ever heard of. I don't want to give to many details because I do not have her permission to write about it but it definitely put lots of things into perspective in our life that day! It also reminded me of Olivia! This girl is 22, younger than Liv but just as joyful and ready to serve as Olivia and she seemed determined to not let this awful illness get in the way of letting Christ use her. Jesus has obviously worked in her life in transforming ways!
*I am taking care of 4 children this summer, it should be lots of fun and lots of practice ;-)
*We have also invited a girl to live with us for a few months. She is getting married this fall to a guy on staff. She will be moving in at the end of this month and I think it will be a great few months. She can get a peek into marriage life- ha!
*I had an interview with a Denton school yesterday and should know by the end of the week who they picked...Its actually been fairly easy to trust the Lord with this because I know there is nothing I can do!

I think that covers it, no silly dog mishaps to share this time.

Who really runs our house??

2008-05-30T16:27:00.004-05:00

So part of me is embarrassed about the photos below....but clearly not enough to keep them to myself. ;-) I came out from getting ready this morning, calling for Lilly because I thought she might need to go outside....I walked into the living room to see this:
Now, as far as I know this has never happened and I totally should have yelled at her and made her get down the minute I saw her but all I could do was slowly walk to the camera and hope she didn't move. Obviously she didn't move, in fact she just stayed there and starred at me...it just cracked me up! I kinda feel like one of those moms who can't help but crack up laughing at something their children say and shouldn't!
And I promise I cleaned my coffee table! :)

Summer fun and summer salad!

2008-05-29T22:22:00.006-05:00

Nat Drew, Emily Rozell(and Rev) and I went down to the square tonight for the Twilight Tunes, or something like that...basically Denton has live music on the courthouse lawn every Thursday in may and June! Its quite the event, everyone bring food or grabs pizza and wine from the shops on the square and we just hang out! There is a bounce house for the kids and people dance....we decided that they had to have been drinking! ;-)
Anyhow, we went and found The Chandlers ( Steven and Janet , I mean) and the Burkes...what a great time we had just chatting on the lawn for a couple of hours! I'm a sucker for silly nights like these. I love the Summer and cheap thrills like the Twilight Tunes in Denton!
Plus, I get to make delicious salads like this one: ( my mother in law always gives me the best recipes, this is one of those! Thanks Linda!!!)

Potato, Tomato, Corn and Basil Salad

Prep: 15min
Cook:20 min
Servings: 6-8 (maybe a few more)

1 lb baby red potatoes
4-5 med ears of corn
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (halved lengthwise)
1 small red onion thinly sliced ( 1/2-3/4 C)
1 large bunch of basil leaves-rinse, dry and tear in 1/2 if you want)
1/4 C olive oil
2 large lemons, juiced
1 t kosher salt
about 15 grinds fresh ground pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until just fork tender ( about 15 min)
Spoon out potatoes and place directly into a bowl of ice cold water to stop them from cooking.
Shuck the corn and break each ear in 1/2. Cook in the same water for 5-7 min. You want them tender but not soft!
Remove the cooled potatoes to a dish cloth to drain/dry
Immerse the corn in the same ice bath until cool.
Cut potatoes into quarters and place in large bowl.
Remove corn from water and let drain.dry.
Cut the kernels from each ear and add to the bowl.
Add tomatoes, onion and basil leaves. Add olive oil and lemon juice, S&P and gently toss! Serve at room temp or cool.

Enjoy!

Homemade Bug Repellent

2008-05-26T12:56:00.004-05:00

We didn't have any insect repellent so I googled to see if I could just make something at home and here is what I found, plus it smells good! 4 hours out in the humid day and no bug bites!!!

Mix 1 T vanilla extract with 1 C water and spray on.

Invitations

2008-05-25T16:15:00.005-05:00

Here they are...I said I would show pics when I was done so, here you go. This turned out to be quite the prpject because I didn't know that the scalloped paper would be too small to print on but the white ended up looking great as a layer to the whole invite!
I will be making some personalized notecards soon so be on the lookout for those soon!
(I blurred the address and phone number so no creepy un-invited guests show up)

**If you or anyone you know would like invitations or announcements made I would love to work with you to design a product that fits for you and your occasion. I am very reasonable and excited to help!

Surrender

2008-05-23T08:19:00.005-05:00

Humble yourselves, therefore,under the might hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6

A few weeks ago the Lord really humbled me, told me once more that He does love me and He does care for me, I forget that all too often! In fact it is that very truth that brought me to the Lord. I hate that I loose sight of that truth because it is when I don't really believe that that I begin to lean on myself, plan my own life and believe in my own capabilities, I try to live completely on my own abilities. And please don't hear me say that I can't do anything or that I think I am incapable. But the truth is that just like people in my life I will fail myself, we are not a perfect people. I don't know what is best for me and I am so bent to sin that I will mess it up. When I believe that the Lord loves me , cares for me and is my provider- that is when I trust Him and believe in His plan for my life. So a couple weeks ago the Lord graciously provided a very safe place for me to lay my heart at his feet, I let him have it back and He was so faithful. He used several people to remind me of truths in scripture saying that He will protect me, that He cares for me and that He won't give me too much.

Behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will giver her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope...And in that day, declares the Lord you will call me "My Husband", and no longer will you call me "My Master". Hosea 2: 14-16

He is so good and full of grace that he continues to come after me, to pursue me. Hosea has always kind of been my book of the bible. That is where I came to really know the Lord, his love for me and his desire to see me pure. And its interesting to me that even though I may not be turning to the same exact things as I did 8 years ago, I still really am. I am still looking to relationships - just different kinds, I am still looking to myself- just in a different way, I am still worrying about tomorrow- just for a different reason...but its all the same. The Lord longs for me to look to Him, to lean on Him and trust Him.

The Lord and I had a little heart to heart yesterday. There has been something that I have been holding on to in my life, something that I really want and I want it now (gosh that sounds awful) but the Lord has given me something else for now and who am I to try and change something I know without a doubt the Lord provided for me? I told Him yesterday that I will wait on His timing and that I will trust him, and not only just wait but be joyful and content with where He has me! It seems so simple, He is the God of the Universe, He knows what tomorrow will bring, He created the sun and stars and ocean, yet I have a hard time trusting Him...Oh Lord help me to trust you and believe you! Increase my love and joy for you, change my heart Lord, work in me!

My new fav!

2008-05-10T22:50:00.003-05:00

So this blog is partly out of obligation..I've been trying to think of something I can blog about and it hit me as I was falling in love with this new company I found yesterday!
It all started because I am creating lingerie shower invitations for one of my bf's...I knew that I wanted to use this paper that I always bought at a store in Portland SOOO...after calling that store, and then the paper company I was told about their parent company- Paper Source....

Paper Source is wonderful! I love it! ( and very reasonably priced!)You can buy online, which I love and Dallas is getting one at the end of the summer! YAY! I will post the invitations that I make once they are done, I still have to order the paper so it may be a week or so...

Go check out all the fun paper and gifts!! Hope you like it as much as me!

P.S. I typically buy the plain card and envelopes under the "envelopes and cards" tab, you can mix and match and layer all styles/sizes of cards..oohh so fun!

Delicious new recipe!

2008-05-01T19:30:00.002-05:00

We sat down at the table, prayed and then took the first bite of our chicken kebab, and I literally got excited- I loved it!
Here is the recipe, please try it, its delicious!

Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

1/2 C low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 C orange juice
2 T rice wine vinegar (I just used rice vinegar)
2 T honey
1 1/2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t minced ginger ( I forgot fresh ginger so used ginger power, probably not as good but...)
2 t toasted sesame oil
1/4 C chopped scallions
1 1/4 pound boneless chicken cut into cubes
2 large red bell peppers cut into cubes ( i used one orange and 1 red)
*I added fresh pineapple to the kebabs!

In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, oil, sesame seeds, and scallions. Add the chicken and marinade for 20 min.
Prepare grill or broiler to medium-high heat
Remove chicken from marinade.
Pour marinade into a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until sauce thickens -5 min (I did longer)
Thread the chicken and bell peppers (and pineapple) alternately onto the skewers. Place on the grill or broiler pan and cook, turning occasionally, unitl cooked, about 7 minutes.
Brush with sauce throughout and when done cooking.

Enjoy!

Where would you go?

2008-04-26T21:23:00.004-05:00

So I wanted to do a survey instead of this post...couldn't figure out how though! go figure! ;-)
John and I are starting to think about our 5 year anniversary, it is August 1,2009- I can't believe it will be 5 years, crazy how time flies!
We were thinking an all- inclusive, adults only, beach ( similar to the typical honeymoon experience) BUT as I was sitting here tonight I remembered New England. I have never been to that area and I REALLY want to visit there! I have never been to the east coast but I just love it, so I think!
So here is the big question... First, would you choose the beach or New England? Second, tell me where, more specifically. We need some ideas! Think romantic, no kids, beautiful...you get it!
I expect some good responses! ;-)

Up until 1:30 last night!

2008-04-22T13:24:00.003-05:00

I don't know it was the fact that my body is still on Hawaii time and so it was really only 8:30 when I went to bed or the book that I literally couldn't put down. When I started reading at around 11pm last night I thought for sure it would help me get tired and fall asleep as reading usually does for me. The book had another idea. I started on page 117 and didn't stop until I got to the end, page 23?..it was a lot of pages, you get the idea.
Those that know me well or have heard me say it, I'm not a reader, so I didn't think. I have decided that I love to read, it is just rare that I find books I like to read! This book was amazing and I think the fact that I stayed awake reading that long, at those hours says so! Same Kind of Different as Me was so moving and even challenging for me spiritually!
The story is basically about a modern day slave from Lousiana, a wealthy art dealer from Texas and how their lives came together!
I would reccomend anyone to go out and buy this book!

P.S. don't look at the website too much (or at all until your finish the book), it will give away the story- I am one of those who doesn't want to know anything about the story though.( in books and movies)

Final post from Hawaii

2008-04-19T00:27:00.005-05:00

So, it took some convincing today, but Natalee and I took off to the windward side of the island and rented a sea kayak. I know what you are thinking...I've done that and it was lame and frustrating, etc., etc. Well, that's because you didn't know what you were doing, or maybe because you didn't have anywhere to go. I agree, sea kayaking down the coast doesn't make any sense and probably isn't any fun. But, Nat and I went out about 2 miles to a bird sanctuary island called the Mokulas. We walked around, snorkeled (we saw a sea turtle), and ate lunch staring at the beautiful island of Oahu. Then we headed back in and Natalee almost dumped the boat over trying to jump in. All in all, we didn't have any mishaps and it was a great day. Then we came back and played in the pool for a couple hours. Tomorrow morning we are going to get up early and head to Pear Harbor. Apparently Natalee's grandpa was in the Air Force and she said she'll feel like a bad American if she doesn't go, so we're going. Then we will fly out and get back in to DFW at 5am...then we'll try to stay up all day so we can go to sleep at a normal hour. I'm so, so, so glad I'm taking off Monday as well. See y'all soon.

Here's the view from our island to Oahu

Me and Natalee on the way back to the leeward side
The view right before we went into the tunnel
she's adorable!!!

Jealous???
Ironically enough, there was lots of birds on the bird sanctuary island...

Pineapples

2008-04-18T13:49:00.008-05:00

As you can see, we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I was feeling kind of sick, mostly just a sore throat, so I was a bit of a "grumpy tuna" but we did have fun. There was a cool lady there selling local, fresh produce and I threw down half a papaya, it was amazing.

so they have pineapple ice cream...who knew...

here are a couple "nature" shots...from Natalee and I

And now, let the awesome begin....

kids and catamarans

2008-04-18T13:35:00.002-05:00

Here is Natalee and I on the Ko Olina Cat a catamaran that we got a free ride on because we sat through the time share presentation. It was brutal and long, 1 1/2 hours, and I hated to say no but who the heck can afford 40 grand for a week??? But we did get this boat ride and it was fun, someone did throw up though, I'm not telling who...

This is me playing with the nieces and nephews...

Fia Fia

2008-04-16T13:10:00.003-05:00

Here are pics from Fia Fia, the Lua we went to...

From yesterday...

2008-04-16T12:58:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went with Sarah, Greg, the kids, and Stephanie up to the North Shore to look at surfers, jump the rock, etc. It was a great time except that Hudson got really bummed out when his swimsuit got wet, go figure... Greg, Stephanie, Natalee and I all jumped off the rock again, it was brilliant.

This is from the Mai Tai reception, which was actually pretty neat. They gave us some drinks and put on a little show.

Speaking of the show...guys in trees...
Us at the North Shore
The kiddos...Nat took this picture, it's awesome.
Coming in from jumping the rock.

Photos from today...

2008-04-14T22:05:00.005-05:00

These are pictures from our day up at the North Shore. It really was pretty amazing. The waves were huge and the surfers were everywhere. We had lunch at Cholo's, some Mexican place that actually was really, really good. I had fish tacos and a Pina Colada, Nat had a quesadilla and a coke. Here are the pictures. Hopefully we'll go back up there.

Still to come...

Pictures from the Mai Tai party tonight...

Pictures from our canoe excursion...

and pics from our trip aboard the Ko Olina Cat for snorkeling and lunch...stay tuned...

we love and miss y'all...

Yep...that's me!!! Natalee jumped off to, believe it or not!

She is amazing!!!

This really cool place next to a snorkeling spot called Sharks Cove...
The man who sold us our roadside pineapple, cut it up for us...
I think some would beg to differ, I, on the other hand, think it's awesome!!!
Apparently this place is famous. There was a line out the door and they had directions on how to order, kind of like the soup nazi, but for Shave Ice. Natalee is eating Coconut Cream, and it's pink...I don't know either.

Photos So Far...

2008-04-13T12:46:00.005-05:00

Here was our view at breakfast on Friday morning...

My nephew, Hudson, just being awesome...
My other nephew, Harris, trying to save his sister, Hannah, from the scary waves...
My sister, Sarah and her husband, Greg...
Us...(oh, John is the one blogging)
Our rental car...come on now, you know you're jealous of the Chevy Cobalt!!!
On Friday, Natalee and I went to Hanauma Bay and went snorkeling, it was cool...

The front yard of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
That's my sweet wife, and Greg, Sarah, Hannah, Hailey, Hudson and Harris Knakal

2008-04-09T19:16:00.004-05:00

We are off tomorrow morning for Hawaii!
I will try and post some pics as we go otherwise it will be so hard to choose once I get back...we will see if that happens!
Love you guys!

Remember Sunday Lunch!?

2008-04-06T17:19:00.004-05:00

Who remembers lunch at the Roberson's??

Well, today, John and I began our our own tradition of Sunday lunch! We had so much fun! It actually reminded of those lunches every Sunday at the Roberson's. We are not quite up to par with Debbie and Loy but maybe when our kids are in college...we'll see.

A little History:
In college we would go over to the Roberson's every Sunday after church. Debbie always had something delicious cooked up, it was always perfect and her and Loy were always so warm and welcoming! Great friendships and lots of memories were made in that house! I miss those times!

We ended up with 17 people at our house for lunch! I am no Debbie Roberson, by ANY means and my home is not as nice or as "crowd friendly" as theirs, in fact, we don't even have enough furniture for our house yet! As I was preparing yesterday and today thoughts of incompetence ran through my head often. "But I don't have a appetizer", "Our house isn't decorated yet", "John couldn't mow the lawn this weekend", " I don't have that awesome family room with the extra fridge and ice maker like the Roberson's" etc...you know, those thoughts that make you doubt what you are doing. But then had to remember that the Lord hasn't asked us to be in community and to be family only if our house is perfect or if we can make everything look put together. The bible talks about eating together and sharing things often. So I just trust and ask that the Lord use these lunches ( that we will be having monthly) for his glory, to build our community and bring some light to our neighbors! That really is my hope and prayer!
If you were here today, I hope you felt welcome and loved! We love you!

P.S. For those of you from those lunches at The Roberson's, I made Debbie's famous Chicken Spaghetti- delicious!

Thanks Debbie, for EVERYTHING!

Aloha!!!

2008-04-05T11:01:00.003-05:00

Only 5 more days until we leave for a 10 day vacation!! To Oahu! The paper chain links above are our reminder of how many days left! Our neices and nephews made a link for themselves and also mailed one to us! They live in Portland ( you've seen me write about them!) and they are coming to Hawaii also! We have been so blessed to have John's parents give us each a week in their timeshare. We are staying in separate rooms but we will spend lots of time with them! We can't wait! I'll post some pics when we get back or maybe even through the trip!

P.S. I passed my teacher certification test! YAY!!! I have had one interview for a teaching job and it went great ( think I have the job)! I am hoping to talk to a Denton school soon!

Random Pictures~

2008-04-05T10:31:00.008-05:00

Well, there have been a lot of random things to post about but seriously very random! I thought I would post a few picks from around our house the last month or so!

We bought this little planter with grass seeds a few weeks ago and it sits on my kitchen window. It has been so fun to watch the grass grow everyday! I also have some basil in a small vase there on the window. We had a bunch extra from a recipe and I love the way it smells!

Lilly has discovered that sometime her parents miss the trash can ( its under the sink) so she will literally nudge her way in the cabinet and disapear for awhile. We found her under the sink the other day. Who knows how long she was in there or what she got out of the trash!
But she just looks so cute!

I also painted my front door about a month ago! Finally!!! It was basically the same color as the house ( yellowish) .
Before:

After:

The Business of Being Born

2008-03-18T14:08:00.006-05:00

*Disclaimer: I am not pregnant, John and I are not trying....we just want to be educated before we start- I know how all of you think! ;-)

Hi friends, I just got the movie "The Business of Being Born" via Netflix today! If you haven't heard of this movie it is a {controversial} documentary about maternity care in today's hospitals. I haven't seen the movie yet so I am not promoting it or condemning but I am very excited to see it and I think I will probably agree with most of it! Click here to watch the trailer and read reviews of the film. If you are interested in watching it leave a blog comment and let me know, I want to have some people over to watch it together!

If you are interested in this topic I also recently read a book Called "Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born". I really enjoyed it, kind of freaky at times but very informative. The book is basically the evolution of births over the centuries and if you can get past the chapter on human evolution you'll love it! I think that is chapter 1 or 2, and I don't believe in the type of human evuolution she is talking about so I almost just tossed the whole book but I am glad I stayed with it!

True life

2008-03-13T21:14:00.004-05:00

(This started as an email to my best friend but I decided to post it in hopes of maybe encouraging some of you as it did me)

So I just checked my myspace page ( which I never do) and clicked on Olivia...not sure completely why, I think I just missed her. I wanted to see her and feel like I know her again. Does that even make sense? I was just searching for something to remember her by. I read a few comments from friends that miss her like we do and then I read some of her blogs. It was, on one hand, very sad because she had so much hope and joy. She wanted to be healed and she wanted to live. "but wait, she has all those thing and more" I thought to myself as I tears ran down my face. She does have joy, the fullness of joy! She is now blessed beyond our imagination and her body is fully healed, she has life!!
While it can be extremely sad for me and can almost make me angry I remember where she is, I remember who she is with and I remember what is waiting for me someday and that brings me joy. It doesn't make the sadness go away but it does make it okay. I feel like the joy is an umbrella to a rain of sadness and confusion. ( I know that sounds REALLY cheesy-I almost erased it and i'm actually sure that Olivia would be laughing with me) :)

Teaching and Fear

2008-03-05T16:10:00.003-06:00

So I subbed on Tuesday, for a 2nd grade class. It had been a few years since I had done any sub work...it was a challenge for me! It was challenging in part because I love calm , organized rooms and this wasn't. I work best when things are organized and this teacher, who I know is amazing, just isn't or didn't seem organized to me. I mean she had all her lesson plans pretty organized but not her room and that will be a must for my classroom.
I think the most challenging thing for me was and still is all the thoughts going on in my head. The first thing when I started reading the lesson plans was " crap, when I'm a teacher I will have to create and get all this ready". That scares me, I don't know why and I don't want it to! I struggle with a lot of fear and since college I have battled this fear of "what if I can't cut it as a teacher"- they have so much responsibility and there really is a lot of work. And I 'll be honest, I am a procrastinator, some of you know that. I know that I will have to have extra discipline to not be like this when I teach or I will go nuts. Its funny that I am such a procrastinator, both with work/projects and my time ( i'm that person who is always 5-10 min late), yet it stresses me out when I am like this. I do feel like I am making improvement in this area though!

I left school yesterday going " ok, I can finish getting my certification but maybe I can just convince John to let us start trying to have babies now"...I'm sure you all can guess how that conversation went...ha! Not great for me. Despite John turning my idea down he was very encouraging. He knows my fears and he is great at helping me to stop beleiving the lies of the enemy that say I can't be a good teacher. He prayed with me this morning and I just have to remember how all of this unfolded and the reason I am getting my teacher certification is because the Lord literally pushed me into it! I am so glad I am so confident that HE has provided this road, otherwise I am sure I would have taken a turn by now.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:11

I feel like this verse is very common but a path is the best way I can describe what the Lord has put me on to get my teacher certification. I mean HE literally put this in my lap, and couldn't' have made it easier! I know He will provide me with everything I need to do well including His grace and His joy!
That being said I will throw off this fear, which the enemy is trying to hold me captive with, and keep running , I will not be afraid and I will keep on this path that the Lord has made for me.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

Thanks for reading this mess of a blog and feel free to call me out if after tomorrow I am ready to convince John to make babies immediately again.

Hope you all have a great day! Lots of love!

P.S. I was going to write the explicit quote of one of my 2nd graders but just deleted it thinking it was too inappropriate for even this! ;-)

Emily Tagged me...

2008-03-03T13:29:00.005-06:00

Emily Rozell tagged me and I kept forgetting so here goes:

10 Years ago I was:
A sophomore in High School and was entering the "devil woman" phase of my life ( as my friends and I like to call it)

On my To-do list today is:
I have a week to-do list:
Find a teacher to volunteer under
Make cookies
Invite our neighbors for dinner
Costco with Kimbo
Make veggie tray for Rayzor Elem.
Pick up books from Mardel
Get paint for this weekend!

If I became a billionaire I would:
Tithe
Re-do my kitchen, then sell the house and buy a big older home and re-do it!
Help out each of my and John's family members in some way, even if its buying them something they want but could never afford
Pay off our car and my student loans!
Go to the local schools and see how I could help some families
Invest!
Get laser hair removal, never shave again- yes please!
Buy a timeshare
I don't know what else...lots I'm sure

3 of my bad habits:
starting too many projects at once
forgetting to turn my ringer back on after having been somewhere when it needs to be off
forgetting at least one thing from the house everytime I leave

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Waitress at Outback Steakhouse
2. worked at a garden/nursery - Little Red Riding Hood Nursery in Lubbock
3. toddler teach at Nike World Headquarters in Portland
4. Teacher Aide in an elementary classroom for 2 years
5. different types of admin work at a business and life coaching company- Building Champions in Portland

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I used to be wild- "those devil woman days"
2.I went skydiving in college
3. I love going to Lowes and Home Depot
4. I want to be a full time wife and mommy..in a couple years
5. I loved living in Oregon!

I am tagging...no one! Pretty sure I won't have bad luck for the rest of the year either! ;-)

Fake or Real

2008-02-29T23:45:00.003-06:00

This post is dedicated to Shana...and that trip to Ruidoso long ago!

So I found this quiz on the "How About Orange blog"- very fun/random site- link to the right...you judge wether a person's smile is fake or real. I got 16 out of 20 right...I thought that was pretty good- its an 80%!

Click here to take the quiz! Happy guessing!

AAAHHH! Blogs....

2008-02-17T21:41:00.004-06:00

So I was trying to make my blog cuter because it is so drab! Well, I don't want to pay $ 20 for a template so I tried to make my own....YIKES! Clearly it is not working very well, as you can see! I love this font, the font that our name is written in- its called "bleeding cowboy" and its from a website that has tons of free fonts if you are using for personal use only. http://www.dafont.com/- love it!
So I am leaving my title like this for now because I have been trying for some time now to make it look good. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know!

Rainy Days, chili and some

2008-02-16T19:09:00.003-06:00

Well its been a cold and dreary day here in Denton, I feel like I am back in Portland and its funny how everyday was cold and wet in Portland yet I rarely felt like being lazy or not going out in it...but one day of rain here keeps me in all day! It was nice. John was working this weekend with the Home Group Leaders Retreat so I was left at home with the dogs to protect me last night and I slept in until 11am!!! I couldn't believe it. John would have definitely had us out of bed long before 11. I actually woke up at 9am but just laid in bed for 2 hours. I love bed, in case you couldn't figure that out by that little story.
Sleeping in that late made my day pretty short:

I had some oatmeal and yogurt- yes I ate breakfast at 11am!
*I am very excited about my yogurt because I had The Cupboard order me "Nancy's", delicious yogurt made in Oregon! It came in yesterday and I was eager to eat some

I did some laundry

My favorite part of the day was when I made a fire and starting reading Humility by Andrew Murray with a cup of tea and cupcake in hand. It had been a long time since I had done that- it was so great and I realized that I should make more time to get away like that , especially while I have no job and no babies!

I also managed to start studying for my EC-4 Teacher Certification test!

A couple other favorites from the weekend so far:

*Worshiping our God with my husband leading, not only is he is incredibly talented but as Josh P. put it last night he is amazing at "disappearing" while he leads so that we can see the face of Christ! I love when he leads us!

*Meeting one of Olivia's friends, hard but sweet!

* Taking cupcakes to the Rozell's and leaving them on the doorstep- I just love leaving little surprises!

*Getting to pray for friends!

*Chili- here is a great recipe ( beware, its pretty meaty!)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb sausage
1 onion
2-15oz cans dices tomatoes ( with or without spices)
1 - 10oz can Rotel
1- 15oz can ranch style beans
1- 15 oz can kidney beans
1-2 T chili poweder
1 T Cumin
1 t minced garlic
salt to taste

1.Ground your meat
2. Add Onions,seasonings and all tomatoes ( I ususally sautee the onions first then add)
3.Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour
4. Add beans and simmer for 1/2 hour more

Its really easy! Enjoy!

Hope you and your families are all doing well!
Love from the Warren's

Ordination and more

2008-02-11T12:22:00.000-06:00

Last Friday night was John's Ordination Service. It was so meaningful and just humbling. Mostly humbling because of the fact the Our Great God and King has chosen us! And I don't necessarily mean that He has chose us ( John) to be a pastor and "in the ministry" but just the sheer fact that He has chosen us. Over the last week, from the Ordination to today I am seeing more and more the way His choosing us changes my life. He has Chosen us to be in His Kingdom, to follow Him, to get to walk in His grace and mercy. Chosen us to live in freedom, to not be under the law, He has chosen us to be free from sin ( not that I don't sin anymore- ha, I wish- just that I don't have to be held captive from it) and walk boldly in who He has created us to be.
The few years we were in Portland were mostly very dark for me spiritually and really since we have moved here I have been hearing the Lord more and really feel like I have just been living more- not even sure if that makes sense but I have shared some of this with some of you. Yesterday, I felt like the Lord just really spoke some truth to me and it was refreshing because I had been believing a lot of lies. I grew up in what I would consider a legalistic church...But I think I still struggle with actually believing that I can run to the Lord whether I have it all together or not. I just get caught up in what I haven't done. What if I didn't spend time with him everyday...that is the big grip that holds me and every so often I realize that that grip has a hold on me again. I felt so much freedom yesterday realizing yet again that it doesn't matter. I mean, He wants me even though I failed. He doesn't measure us on our duties alone. I am so thankful and so glad that He has chosen me, that he will not leave me or forsake me- ever! He loves the brokenhearted and contrite spirit. During worship yesterday I just kept thinking " I am broken, I need you" and that is the truth- we are all broken and need Him. This is what He has come to do:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound

Now some pics from the last weekend with
John's family (mine came also but just for Friday night). We went to the JFK museum and he Dallas Arboretum and they even liked playing the Wii!

Steph, Mo and Nat

Steph and Mo (One of John's sisters and her boyfriend)- we are so glad they made it down!

John and I

We love Magnolia Trees!

Just a cool Iron gate

I don't know either...

Classic!
The 3 ladies

Pray for Kenya!

2008-01-25T12:07:00.001-06:00

I received this email from my friend Shana who has done some mission work in Kenya, but the content is from one of her friends- either way, lets pray for Kenya!

As most of you have seen in the news, Kenya has been a scene of war this past month. The leader of the mission trip i went on 2 summers ago, Loise, sent me this email. Please take some time to pray for these gentle, loving people. They were so welcoming of us when we went to serve and i can't imagine how their lives have changed with this violence. Pray that the Lord will have a healing hand over their country. Grace and peace,

JANUARY 25th 2008 DAY OF PRAYER FOR KENYA

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, I will hear from heaven, I will hear and I will come and HEAL THEIR LAND." God, 2 Chronicles 7:14

On January 25th 2008 , we are asking Every Kenyan, Every Friend of Kenyans, Everywhere to take time to make a concerted prayer for Kenya . We want EVERY Kenyan and Every Friend of Kenyans in EVERY CONTINENT on the face of the earth to be praying together on this one day on behalf of our country.

What to pray for: -

PEACE, PEACE, PEACE -

Whatever else you feel in your heart to pray for concerning Kenya

'Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me show love; when there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.'

St Francis 1915

Pictures from Portland

2008-01-24T08:47:00.000-06:00

So I know I'm a little behind, but I wanted to share some of our pics from our time in Portland! We spent the first part of our trip staying in the "Knakal Studio"...well okay, we converted the Den to John and I's room. Since I didn't have to work I spent my days with Sarah. I loved getting to do everyday things with the kids and Sarah like taking them to school and running errands. John and I also got to see good friends, like the Oranen's, Shana and Greg, Brooke, The Baileys, everyone at Building Champions, The Halvorsen's and the lots of Riverwest friends. We went to the Building Champions Christmas Party which was very fun and very emotional! (sad knowing that I won't be a part of everyday life with those amazing people). John played in Jaime and Dave's wedding which was beautiful!
Around Christmas we stayed at John's parents house with his other sister Stephanie and her boyfriend Mo. She lives in San Francisco so it was great to see them!
The last part of our trip we all went to Sunriver in Central Oregon - which is where the real snow is! It was relaxing and enjoyable- playing with the kids, baking, reading, trips to Goody's ( the candy store) and sledding were all great memories!

This is Johns sister and brother in law- I can't say enough about them - so I'll just say that we love and miss them soooo much!

Sarah and I

Papa ( Johns dad) playing with Hudson and Hailey

The Knakals- before the snowball fight! :)

The In-laws (Greg and I) with our party hats on

Delicious!

The kids chose a dinosaur theme for John's birthday party- so fun!

Yes...Uncle John and the boys are ALWAYS wrestling! That's what uncles are for, right?

Christmas Day:

I mean, how can you not just love that astronaut...

It snowed on Christmas day! This is at John's parents house

Who remembers this from their childhood...I do! I do! One of the kids got this for Christmas!

The Army guy! ( the boys are very into dressing up in different "guy" costumes- army guy, fire guy, football guy, etc)

Where did Uncle John go?

So that is some of our family! We miss them so much and had a blast spending 3 weeks with everyone! I wish I had pics of everything we did: sledding, reading together, going to Hannah's bball games, eating, lots of laughing- we just have a perfect time with them!!!

Lots of Thoughts

2008-01-15T08:30:00.000-06:00

So, I must apologize for my disappearance from "blog world". I was out of town for nearly an entire month over Christmas! Now that I have been back I have thought about blogging several times as there has been a lot to share but I never knew where to start...so I'm just starting.

Tomorrow is Olivia's birthday. I have been thinking about her a lot lately, for lots of silly reasons and for a couple real ones. A handsome black guy was my checker at a store a couple days ago and that just made me laugh a little inside because Olivia was always attracted to black guys and he was a cute one so naturally I thought of her, right... The same day a lady named Olivia was my checker at another store- whats with the checkers? I had a total nurse question, and Olivia was always game for any medical questions! There were more but I can't remember, not more checker, just more reasons why I thought of her! I have also been praying about discipling a girl and that is what Olivia did for me....so I just wish I could call her and ask questions, learn more from her. Since Liv and I didn't live in the same town for the past 6 or so years the reality of her not being here has hit a little slower. I didn't see her everyday so that has not been the hard part. Its been the time I need to call her, when I need her encouragment or her advice, when I want to tell her that I am praying for her and that I was thinking about her. I remember last year for her birthday we flew to Phoenix and spent the weekend with her, it was the big 30 so we had to celebrate with her! We were in a mode of making everything count with her because we knew she might not be here that much longer. I am so glad we made those moments and memories but I still didn't think it would really ever come, I didn't think her time would really come so soon.
I have to continually remind myself that she is with God, Jesus Christ...worshipping. I can't imagine, and selfishly I think " how can she be enjoying that more that going through life with us?" And then the truth that I know kicks in, "are you kidding?" I am so selfish and I promote my own desires most of the time.

For the wicked^(E) boasts of the desires of his soul
Psalm 10:3

I read Psalm 10 a couple days ago and this just stuck out to me. When I first read it I immediately thought of literally wicked people, and then as I read " boast of the desires of his soul", I thought " i do that". It just hit me that I am wicked. Why would I be selfish in my marriage, why would I want to rob Liv of her time in eternity with our God in exchange for this insane life on earth, why do I do these things? Then on Sunday Matt talked about how we are innately sinful, its just in us. I don't just do sinful things, I am sinful. I sort of knew this but not really, and I really never let it sink in like it did this weekend!
As I continued to read and pray on Sunday I realized that by me not believing that I am just plain sinful, I continue to believe lies that somehow I can't go before the Lord, I can't pray, I can't...until I clean myself up and start spending time with Him everyday and start being a perfect wife and start...
Those things are not true, if that was the case I really could never go to Him and if I thought I could it would be because I thought I had it together. Which really I have nothing together and I won't ever have it together. The reason I can go to Him and be a daughter of our great King is because he sent His son, by Jesus dying on the cross I have been given grace. Just like I inherited sin and death from Adam, I have inherited grace & redemption by having a relationship with our God who' s son took my sins to death on a cross. The power and freedom that flow from that truth is so amazing.
I am so thankful that through that I have freedom that stirs my desire for spending time with our Lord and time in His word, it stirs me to live how he has called me to live regardless of those people or things around me!

Finally...pictures!

2007-12-29T00:43:00.000-06:00

Finally, here are the pics from the Christmas Sweater party! I have been taking lots of pics of our time in Oregon. We are now in Sunriver, where there is a couple of feet of snow on the ground. We have had so much fun so far sledding, making snow ice cream and watching movies by the fire...I hope to post more about that when we get back to Texas!
We miss all you Texans!

Josh Drew and John had a cupcake eating contest!

Love the womens turtleneck Adam!
The bowman's!
And the winners of the night...Nat Drew and my husband!

Christmas Sweaters...need I say more?

2007-12-18T22:23:00.000-06:00

Well John won the ugly Christmas Sweater contest at our home group on Monday! I will post pics as soon as I get them!!! I haven't even seen it myself, looking forward to it!

Make it a great day everyone!

Loving our new neighbors

2007-12-12T07:24:00.001-06:00

Sunday I baked Zucchini Bread all afternoon, 8 baby loaves! I wrapped them, tied red ribbon and a green note on them and then John and I bundled up to deliver all the treats to our neighbors! I think it is the highlight of the season for me! It was cold, the house smelled like delicious bread, I had it in a cute basket(I love baskets)...and I absolutely loved watching peoples reactions as we met them and gave them a very unexpected gift! It was so interesting because mostly people were shocked at first , that a neighbor would do this, and then they were very grateful! I loved every minute of it! I am going to make it a Christmas tradition! I'm sure it will be even more fun when we do it with kids! NO..we are not pregnant- I know how all of you are! ;-)
I am headed to Portland today! I will be gone until January 1st and I am so looking forward to hanging out with my in laws..most of you are probably thinking I am joking but I really do love all my inlaws ( parents and siblings) so I am very excited!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas; I pray that you find time to think about our God and the most amazing gift He has given us, Jesus!

Zucchini Bread Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350
3 eggs 1/4 t baking powder
1 C oil 1 t baking soda
2 C sugar 3 t cinnamon
2 C grated zucchini 1 t salt
3 C flour 1 t vanilla

Beat eggs, add flour & next ingredients and mix.
Pour into 2 greased loaf pans- bake for 1 hour. ( check with toothpick, you want a very thin coating on the toothpick so the bread isn't too dry)

Enjoy- you really can't mess this one up!

Pictures for your enjoyment

2007-12-03T23:14:00.000-06:00

This is our week in pictures...( ok, and a few words)

John thinks it is dumb to take pictures of ourselves,clearly, he is humoring me! ( but he is right it never goes well..check out the double chin)

Emily Rozell and I at the Denton Wasaill Festival on The Square, last Thursday! I did have a silly face but then I just started laughing! We had a great time!

There is a better pic of them on their blog, The Roz el l's.

This is for the Knakal's- they had a Fire Truck for kids to tour...OR for adults to be silly!

John and his new toy- a lead blower/vac. We bought this yesterday because John raked 6 huge bags of leaves on Friday and on Saturday you couldn't even tell! :( .We have SOOOO many leaves. According to the box of this new toy we could just blow all the leaves in a pile and suck them up...well he ended up having to rake most of them up AND now he is sick....hmm was that a well spent $100? Just kidding, it really did help save time!

Lastly , when John came back from lunch he said it smelled in the house...yes, it is what it may actually NOT look like anymore. I left a sweet potato in the oven, YIKES! I couldn't even break it! It was so light weight but hard as a rock!
I hope everyone has a great week!

Poor Dog!

2007-11-27T19:50:00.000-06:00

So I had to get on today because John informed me that there were several grammatical errors in my last post...I told him it was because it was 11pm when I was posting last night and I was tired..anyhow, errors corrected! :)

I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you the before and after pictures of our dog, Stewart's, hair cut...Get Ready!

Before: ( doesn't he look just pissed)

After: ( I have a treat in my hand hence the tongue sticking out of his mouth)

Go ahead and laugh...we know, he looks like a dork! We like him with long hair,even though the before pic is a little extreme! :) I think he freezes all day now! Poor guy!

Now- Since 6 pm I have swept and mopped the floors, vacuumed, cleaned out my fridge from Thanksgiving, done all my dishes , blogged of course and I am going to go enjoy the HUGE fire that John just built- YAY!

My first Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T22:21:00.000-06:00

Does anyone know how to make this pic stand the right way?

Well, John and I hosted our very first Thanksgiving! Thankfully it was a small one. My mom and her husband Jerry came down and we had a great time! It was great practice for me and I hope to host more Thanksgivings in the future! :) I baked my first turkey, which is actually pretty easy and my first Buttermilk Chess pie! YUM!! You should definitely make one if you have never had one! There were lots more dishes and my mom helped as did John, we all made a great team!
We had a fire going from Thursday until Sunday- I loved it! Now we just need to clean out our fireplace so we can keep having fires throughout the winter!

So now I have 2 1/2 weeks until I leave for Portland for the rest of the year! Can you believe it! I will be working some and spending time with friends and family that I miss very much! My planning lead to an email to Kourtney to ask her to dog-sit while we are gone...this was a risky email considering her first ( and only) experience dog-sitting for us just a couple of weeks ago...She had quite a time! First of all, we only gave her maybe 2 hours notice. ( I didn't know I was going on the college retreat with John)...When we came back Kourtney began to tell me two hilarious stories..I was laughing so hard that I cried- and I don't laugh that hard very often! To sum it up Kourtney had to tear off a window screen from a very muddy lawn ( with only socks on!-and pj's) and one night she woke up at 5am thinking Stewart was dead, so doing what anyone one do she picked him and started shaking him! That was when I was laughing so hard I cried! You should ask her to tell you the story! Surprisingly she agreed to watch our dogs again after I listed the reasons why this time would be better! We still have to find someone to fill in for when she goes home for Christmas but I'm sure we'll find someone- let me know if you'll be in Denton over Christmas day! I promise our dogs are not that out of control!

For a house update, we finally got our bed up!!! YAY! We are not sleeping on the floor anymore! We also got the room painted- green! I really like it and I can't wait to get the master bath painted as well!
In the formal living room John brought in his comfy chair, a table and lamp so that has become his reading/studying room- he enjoys it in there..drinks coffee and reads!

I have a new discipline that I am starting as well. I told John that I want to start waking up when he does...I want to make his coffee and get him off to work. I know, I know sounds like the Cleaver's or something! This is hard for me because I am not a morning person and since I work from home I can easily roll out of bed and go straight to work...I want to change my ways- wake up, get John's coffee, my tea and have some time praying and then get to work. You can ask me about this discipline! Please do! I am starting tomorrow!

Things are slowing down a tiny bit at least for 2 weeks so I will post a little more often, I feel like you all have missed out because I've been a slacker! ;-)

Texas is so weird

2007-11-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

How does it drop 40 degrees in 2 days?

Mon 80°F 61°F
Tue 83°F 60°F
Wed 62°F 36°F
Thu 47°F 32°F

In the 80's today and tomorrow BUT the 40's on Thursday....random!
Oh, well I am ready for the cooler weather!

This is for Molly!

2007-11-10T23:28:00.001-06:00

Molly, meet our other dog, Lilly:

And now, Stewart and Lilly:

So Molly, yes we would love for you to invite your self over...our house is always open to anyone, you just have to love our dogs! Except for Kimbo, she doesn't love our dogs and we still love for her to come over! :)

I hope everyone is doing well. John and I are good. We worked on the house non-stop yesterday and today. We got lots of painting done which is exciting. I will post pictures soon. We painted our dining room blue, which I am typically not a blue person but I love it. Funny thing, when I told my Mom that I painted it blue she said " Blue ???" in a very disgusted voice..just wait Mom, you'll love it!

We also went to a Shane and Shane concert tonight and it was amazing. Got to meet little Olive Everett- adorable!!! I also was reminded of Olivia tonight, I think I will be reminded of her everytime I worship. Its hard because when I sing I can just picture the Lord in Heaven being glorified and I just picture Him so grateful and pleased, smiling...and then I remember that Liv is with Him- its bittersweet.

We've been busy!

2007-11-07T22:22:00.001-06:00

So I know its been awhile since I posted...we have been very busy... why is it that life seems to always be that way- busy!
Here is some of what we have been up to:

John went to his first Village Staff retreat! Josh and Anne Lincoln were two of his flag football teamates!

John's grass...he planted grass in the dog run because we were getting tired of washing the dogs paws everytime they went outside! We already have some baby grass!

The Yard work begins...we have lots of trees so that means lots of leaves and lots of branches that need pruning! I did the raking while John worked on the big branches! Stewart stands by making sure everything is ok.

John and I also went to Olivia's funeral last weekend. I can't beleive it was just last weekend. The service was beautiful, John ended up doing more than just leading the worship, he also read some scripture, talked about Olivia and read a couple journal entries from her. It was a very hard time,lots of tears, and good hugs but good in that we know she is worshipping and I can't help but think that she was so happy that the Lord used her life to touch so many of us. And it won't stop. The Lord's impact through her will continue to touch people as we strive to let the Lord live through us in similar ways! That is our prayer! Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for us and Liv's family, the Lord has been faithful and we appreciate your support!

Sweet Olivia

2007-10-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

Well its been a weird day! I slept in and when I say that I really mean it. I didn't wake up until 11am!!! That is not normal but I took a benedryl last night and those just knock me out! I even fell asleep on the couch ( ok so that part is normal) but when John asked if I was ready to go to bed apparently I told him that I wanted to sleep there. Now John is making fun of me for my use of exclamation marks...which for some reason I tend to use instead of periods quite often! See!
Anyhow, I've been writing about our dear sweet friend Olivia this past week and this afternoon we got a call telling us that she had just passed. She just stopped breathing. My first thought was "I wonder what she is doing right now?" Half of me is so happy for her, she is with our Lord right now. . The other half of me is a mixture of emotions. I am confused, sad, fearful, the list goes on... The reason I am happy for her is because not only is she no longer in pain but she is worshipping and spending time with our Great God!! I just have this picture of Liv dancing in a waterfall, singing to the Lord. I know it may sound weird but I was listening to a song called "Conquering Lion" by Grace Faulkner ( get this song, its incredible!!). This is one of Liv's favorite songs and it talks about the Lord taking away our pain and being our living water. How amazing that she is experiencing that right now even as I type this! Of course I am very sad and will absolutely miss going through life with my friend and mentor but I can tell you that I felt peace this afternoon more than anytime this pastweek. My friend is no longer suffering, she infact has been brought to perfection!

Rest

2007-10-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

I have found myself very anxious today and having trouble doing anything! My mind is elsewhere. I thought about Olivia much of the day! I thought a lot about how I said goodbye but that she is still alive. I have had lots of talks with the Lord today about how my desire is for him to heal Olivia. It really is my hope and desire!
I also found that I am tired, spritually and mentally! I feel like I have nothing to give. That is hard for me! Its also interesting ( or sovereign) that John is out of town this week. I feel like I need him so bad right now but I believe with all my heart that the Lord is just using this time to draw me to himself. While it is not bad for me to want my husband to comfort me and to be here to hold me I also believe that the Lord is so much more satisfying and He longs for me more than my husband. Jesus is just waiting for me to ask him to hold me and comfort me! I am reminded of Genesis 3:16 where it says my desire will be for my husband ( this is a part of the curse from eating the apple) and I think it is saying that we as women will desire our husbands over our Creator. This is a curse because our Creator will NEVER fail us, he will always comfort us and lead us to himself! Our husbands, even when they are perfect they will not fill us like the Lord can! Why would we choose them over God?
As I am tired and have nothing to give I will find encouragement in this

5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my
hope is from him.6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not
be shaken.7On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is
God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:5-8

Saying goodbye

2007-10-23T02:25:00.000-05:00

I am sitting on a plane writing this right now. I just left Phoenix. I had to say bye to Olivia earlier today. I actually said “see you soon” because I really will see her soon. I will see her in heaven. I can’t wait! This was quite possibly the hardest day and ½ in my life. I have never had to say goodbye to someone. I have never seen someone close to me dying and in so much pain. I am so glad that Sam, Marisa and Shana and I were together. We supported each other, cried together, laughed together, prayed and sang together. We are still praying for our Creator to heal Liv! We know that he can do it! We believe that he can! The question I asked myself as we were on our way to see her on Sunday was “do I believe that he will?” I know that he can and would but will he? I don’t know. And I don’t know if I am supposed to know that. Our God has such bigger, deeper, richer thoughts and knowledge than I! His way of healing her may be taking her home. I also reminded myself that she is not ours to keep. She belongs to HIM! Praise that Lord that she does belong to HIM. That doesn’t make this process any easier or less confusing though. Ruth, Olivia’s mom, was talking to us and told us something that Liv had said years ago. She said “Just because I am crying doesn’t mean I am not trusting the Lord” and that is how I feel. I trust the Lord and I do believe him but I sure do still mourn for the friend that I am losing, that we are losing!
I wish everyone could meet liv!!! Those of you that know her know what I mean. She has this way of loving you for you and making the newest person she has meets feel a part. She has this smile that just grabs you and brings joy. Even as she was laying in bed and didn’t have the energy to smile, I could see it! I could see that smile and it made me smile right back at her!

I will never forget this past day and half! 4 friends sitting in a room with a friend in tremendous pain yet tremendous excitement to go home, real home, and see her maker, her father, her lover. She was ready. I don’t know when she will go, or who knows, God can still heal her! He can! We had so much fun just sitting in her room while she lay in bed. She couldn’t move and couldn’t eat, she couldn’t even talk very well but when she did it was so great! She was her usual self, just a bit “dryer” but she was making jokes and making us laugh like usual!
This is all very tough and confusing but I know that that I can find my hope in the fact that our God is good and faithful! We will see His glory through this!

What a week!

2007-10-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

The lord is definitely stretching John and I this week! I am learning ( well trying to learn) to take the small stuff lightly and the important stuff seriously. That sounds very cliche. Let me tell you what I mean...

This week I found out that one of my best friends is not doing very well. Her name is Olivia, some of you know her or of her. She is part of the reason I am who I am today, and part of the reason that I try and be like Jesus. Olivia is a lover of Jesus Christ and has found that He is better than life!

She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 and beat it! We all beleived she was healed, and she was for awhile. Last November, 2006, Dr.'s found the cancer again and now in her lungs and liver as well. Dr.'s gave her 9 months to live if she didn't do any treatment and Liv did not want treatment. She had already done it once and it was painful, time consuming, tiring and just not a way to live. So she had some naturpathic treatment done that helped and she went on living her life, thankful and joyful! We found out in July that the cancer had spread to her brain! That was difficult to handle. We all knew it was getting worse. We all prayed so hard for her!!

We got a call on Wednesday that said we need to come see her this weekend! A core group of us had tickets for next weekend so we could tell this was urgent. We will leave Sunday and return on Monday...a short trip. I have lots of feeling right now: but mostly anxiety. I don't know what to expect or how to act or anything. I feel like a alien in this world. We will see but for now I just pray that Liv will not have pain and that she will have the energy to spend time with us!

Now you wonder how this ties into my "what a week' title and not worrying about the small stuff. Well, we heard all this news on Wednesday and on Thursday we had at lease 3 different repair men or service men at the house for numerous reasons, got a quote for our ceiling texture: $4000!!!, found that our shower is leaking water into the living room carpet.... and there was more beleive it or not. I found myself being so calm and even writing this my heart is not stressing about all the money we may be shelling out here very soon- and you know me- I usually stress over these things. But when you have a dear friend who is dying, all things step aside, they become less important,perspective is gained! Maybe that is how my life always should be. I should never worry about what the earth thinks is a big deal and be more consumed with Him who loves me and longs for me to be with him all the time! He is better than anything on this earth, even good things like making my house a home ( I know it sounds cheesy) and being a wife.
I will let you know how my time with Liv goes!

Still Getting settled...in our new house!!

2007-10-17T14:20:00.000-05:00

John and I have been in Denton for almost 2 months now! I can't beleive it has been that long! For those of you who don't know ( well , anyone reading this should know but...) we just moved to Denton ,TX from the Northwest- Portland ,Or.

We just bought and moved into a house! For the past 2 months we were bouncing between several homes that were graciously opened to us! We areso thankful that the Lord provided for us and we did not have to get a hotel or rent! The dogs, John and I are extrememly thrilled to have our own space- our new home!

This home is quite a bit different from our house in Portland as it is 27 years old ;compared to our Portland house that was only 4 years old and needed virtually no work..this house...well it needs lots of work and more than that, lots of updating! Updating will take time but we are exciting about this new adventure together!

We started with tearing the popcorn and we are currently living with no texture or paint on the cielings! We are having texture done as soon as possible!

Overall we are just thrilled to be in our own house! Even the dogs know that we are "home" and we hardly have anything unpacked. They are getting back to their usual selves!