Colton Dixon - "You Are" (Official Lyric Video)

Just thought I would post about my new favorite worship song! Here's the lyric video if you want to check it out before buying it on iTunes. Click here to purchase >>  http://smarturl.it/YouAre

The Gift of Giving

It is about that time of year when all the stores have put out their holiday decorations and the anxious thoughts of what to buy everyone for Christmas begin. I was decluttering the office this evening and found a church bulletin from around Christmas time last year. Dave Stone, Senior Pastor at Southeast Christian Church (in Louisville where I grew up), preached on Jesus being the ultimate Christmas gift to us. He also presented a list of questions that we should consider when thinking about our gift-giving. I'll share the list of questions we should all try to ask ourselves at some point! 

- Is it meaningful?

- Does it strike a personal chord?

- Does it enhance the relationship?

- Does it require sacrifice?

I am going to try to incorporate meaning into my gifts this year, rather than focusing on a certain dollar amount. We'll see what I end up with! 

Second Chances

So I have to be honest. Sometimes I just can't stand the things that I do. I do them and then I quickly reprimand myself for doing something so stupid. I sound like Paul right now! Has this ever happened to you? Well, I am about to be honest and share what happened to me on Thursday. It makes me sad that I even have to write this, but hopefully it will serve as a lesson learned. Learn from my mistakes.

"I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." Romans 7:15 (NLV)

On Thursday, I was substitute teaching at a public middle school and I had 90 minutes of a planning period, which for substitute teachers means getting paid to sit there and do nothing. After the first couple times of substitute teaching and forgetting to bring a book or something to do during that time, I have finally been bringing my Bible and Bible study workbook from my Monday night ladies group. Now I've never grown up in public school but I know all about separation of church and state within the public school system, etc. So I am reading my Bible and doing my workbook pages during planning when all of a sudden some guy walks into the classroom to cut through to another classroom directly behind mine. Why I did it, I don't even know, but as soon as he walked in, I instinctively covered up my Bible with my workbook so that he wasn't able to see what I was reading. Talk about giving yourself an immediate guilt trip! Since when has it become illegal to read the Bible on your planning period at school? It isn't! But was that why I covered my Bible? Was it because I thought I would get in trouble or because I was ashamed to admit what I was doing? I wasn't doing anything wrong... well up until the point that God convicted my heart. Perhaps it could have been a conversation starter. Where was the boldness that I have around my "Christian friends?" I begged God for a second chance.

I resumed my post when a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. A delivery guy walked in to deliver some books and musical instruments (I was the band teacher!) and after polite introductions, asked me if I was studying for one of my college courses. Here was my second chance. :) I explained to him that I was reading my Bible and doing a study on Monday nights with some ladies at my church. Do you know what he said?

He said, "That's awesome! I go to church with the lady that you are subbing for! What are you studying?"

And the conversation began. Thank God for second chances. This post would have been much more depressing to write had I confessed the guilt I felt and left it at that. God is a God of second chances. Peter denied Jesus three times but when Jesus arose from the dead, he met with Peter and gave him three chances to tell him how he really felt about him. How beautiful is that?

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him,“Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep." John 21:15-17 (ESV)

Thank You, Lord {Day 3}

Lord,
Today I want to thank you that your word is timeless. It amazes me how a verse or passage of Scripture can apply to my life and someone else's life in very different ways. Your words are meant for everyone, no matter what situation they may be facing in life. Thank you for using the Bible to teach me, instruct me and mold me into the person you created me to be. Help me to study it carefully and use it as the guideline for living my life. Amen. 

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged swort, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Thank you, Lord {Day 2}

Lord,
Thank you for the concept of families. Thank you for adopting us as your sons and daughters and loving us unconditionally. Thank you for MY family: my parents, my sister, my brother, my husband, my sister-in-law, my in-laws, my cousins, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, etc. Thank you for the memories we have made together and the future memories we will make. Thank you for our future daughter and her parents. Thank you for understanding that we wouldn't thrive or succeed alone in life but need others around us to support us and be there for us. Thank you for placing me in a loving family and help me to provide a loving family for anyone you would have join ours. My family is yours. Amen. 

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named..." Ephesians 3:14-15 (ESV)

We're Adopting! Some FAQ...

Many of our closest friends and family members already know, but Alex and I are currently in the process of adopting a little girl! This post is kind of challenging for me to write because I am going to try to answer questions that I have never felt the need to ask anyone myself. The questions we most often get are: 

Why do you want to adopt your FIRST child?
Why are you adopting internationally? 
Isn't adoption expensive? 
How do you go about adopting a child? 
Why not adopt a child from the United States? 
When will you have kids of your own? 

While these are valid questions, they are just questions I've never considered asking an adoptive parent. For Alex and I, we individually wanted to adopt before we ever met one another. Alex has family members who have adopted and been adopted, and I have never thought twice about adopting a child into my family. We know more than a dozen children who have been adopted from all around the world. Adoption is very common within our social circles and families. When I get asked WHY we are adopting, I have to remind myself that other people have different family backgrounds and adoption might not be a common occurrence to them. While it is common for us, we are not adopting because it is the thing to do. Throughout our marriage, we have always asked God to lead us in the direction that He would have us take, in any situation. He has been faithful in placing certain desires in our hearts and even when the desires might not be there, He patiently reminds us that obedience to Him is what He requires. Thankfully, this desire to adopt has been growing in our hearts for years and years and years, and He has shown us that this is the right season in our lives for pursuing this avenue and trusting that He will provide all we need.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

"Besides, God is able to make every blessing of yours overflow for you, so that in every situation you will always have all you need for any good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

Choosing to adopt internationally rather than domestically I can't really explain any better than saying that God has laid this specific plan on our hearts right now. Perhaps we will adopt domestically someday... I just can't pretend to know what God will call us to when those future moments come. We are focusing on here and now. (Well... here & there and now) :)

In regards to adoption being expensive, YES it is! But we have seen God provide for our families time and time again and are confident that He will provide. We aren't putting Him to the test, but rather, we are allowing Him to show the faithfulness that He has promised to us once more. The Lord is faithful, and of that we are confident. 

We are also confident that the Lord will bless us with {hopefully} many biological children someday. If anyone knows me well, they know that I have been known to always have a plan. And a Plan B. And a Plan C. I'm the type of person that knows if you want something, you have to go get it. Things are not going to just fall in your lap. You have to be active in achieving what you want. The only bad thing about always having a plan is realizing how much time you wasted planning the moment God interrupts it. That is why ever since Alex and I got married, I ditched having the plan. I have honestly not had a plan, and while I thought it would be so limiting in achieving what I wanted, it has been the most freeing 2+ years. I feel like a completely different person, and the best part is that I get to live in the MOMENT. There is so much to enjoy and appreciate when you live in the moment. When we were engaged/married and people started asking us about when we would be having kids, I really didn't have any answer! My typical response has been: "If it happens now, we're so excited about it, but if it's 5+ years than that is awesome too!" It's hard when everyone wants the estimated time of baby's arrival, but we've enjoyed living in the moment and enjoying each other and this beautiful gift of marriage. It truly is a gift. 

My biggest piece of advice to engaged couples/newlyweds is to live in the moment and enjoy the NOW. There will always be the friend who is planning a wedding, buying a house, having a baby, getting a puppy, having another baby, starting a career, going on vacation, adopting a child, moving across the country. The possibilities are endless. There will always be someone doing something else. Forget THEIR life and enjoy your own. We constantly compare ourselves to what everyone else is doing, like God made a template for how we should live life. The only template that He gave us was to love Him and be faithful to Him. Period. Talk about freedom. Freedom from dullness, freedom from comparison, freedom from unmet expectations. God's ultimate desire is to give us a full life. Take His word for it!

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

So yes, I really don't have a plan. It's gone... out the window. I also know that if you're reading this, you probably want more details. What country? How old? I promise that that information will come. But for now we are waiting to share that information. If this post was more confusing than helpful, I apologize. But please stay tuned as we will be posting regular updates. We are so excited to become parents to this little girl who we somehow love in our hearts, even though we've never seen her face. I don't know if this journey will take 9 months or 3 years, but I trust God will see it to completion if we remain faithful. Please pray for us on this journey. 

Thank You, Lord {Day 1}

I'm not really big on blog trends but the 30 Days of Thanks is one that I am going to participate in this month. Now I will admit that I am really bad at doing one thing every single day, so I might miss a couple days here and there but I will do my best. I do want to make it clear that the thanks that I give goes to one person and that is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." James 1:17 (NLT)

Lord,
Today I thank you for your creativity. As I meet different people, I can't help but notice the different personalities, different interests and different passions that you've given them. These differences make each day special and unique. We are all different, yet we are all the same at our very core. Somehow we come together and make up this thing we call the human race. Even though we are not perfect, thank you for your creativity. Thank you for even thinking about making us different from one another. You are the Master Artist. Help me to be creative as you are. When I am tempted to fall into predictable pattern, help me to use the creativity you've generously given me to glorify your name. Amen.