The Bible in One Year

At the end of each year, I try to look forward to the year ahead and find one thing I'd like to improve on for myself. I try not to see it as a New Year's resolution (who ever has any luck with those anyway?) but more of a goal of how I'd want to find myself at the end of that next year. Last year I decided I wanted to be able to read through the entire Bible in 2015. Over the past several years, learning and growing and knowing what Christ is to me, I've understood the importance of spending time in His word. It was easy for me to consider Sunday mornings, Bible studies, mom groups and all the other opportunities in church, my "time with God". But I knew I needed something more, something different. For a long time I've wanted to establish a consistent "quite time". I'd tried in the past, but it seemed with having babies still waking in the middle of the night, a routine never was able to get established. Well, 2015 was the year. I was ready and focused on making it work.

I knew that the time of day that would prove most successful for me would be early in the morning, before my family was awake. It wasn't always pretty. There were mornings I'd find my eyes heavy as I stare at my screen reading the same line over and over. But it didn't take long for me to realize that this, this 5:30 am wake up call with a fresh cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, quiet house and the word of God was the best part of my day. I can say that confidently, because the mornings I slept through my alarm and had to fit in and hurry through my reading, I wasn't at my best. I wasn't at my best as a wife, as a mom, as a woman. When I started my days early, quiet and slow, it helped to me prepare and absorb my day and what I would encounter throughout it.

If you've been wanting to create a quiet space to read, meditate, pray, just be with God, I'd encourage you give this a shot. I signed up for my daily Bible reading and commentary through The Bible in One Year. First decide what environment you'd need to create to have the best chance at making this happen. For me that was early in the morning. The best chance of getting me out of bed was knowing that a fresh pot of coffee was prepped and ready for me to enjoy it. Also, maybe even more important, know that the enemy will do anything to keep you from spending time with God. For me that meant, on those mornings when my alarm would go off and the first thing to pop into my head was an excuse to why I shouldn't need to get up, I knew that was the enemy. I allowed my God to be stronger than the enemy simply by getting my feet on the floor.

I also realized early in the year that really, this wouldn't be something that I would get to today, December 31, 2015, and be able to just close the book. I want this to continue to be part of my daily life and I will continue to look forward to my early, quiet mornings. If you think this is something you want to try, or maybe there is something else you have in mind, shoot me a message. I'd love to pray for and encourage you as you look forward to the year ahead!

From the commentary of Nicky Gumble at www.thebibleinoneyear.org,  

"The Bible is one long invitation to come to Jesus. In him, you find the meaning and purpose of your life. Part of that purpose is to invite others to come, so that they too will find refreshment and fulfillment in the water of life that Jesus pours out on all who come to him."

"Lord, thank you that one day I will drink the water of life to my hearts’ content. Thank you that I will see you face to face and I will reign with you forever and ever. Come, Lord Jesus."

10 Years

Today's a good day to dust off this here blog. Tomorrow marks 10 years of having a husband. 10 years of being a wife. Whew. What a ride. What an incredible blessing.

I also turned 30 this past year so it dawned on me that each time my age changes to the next decade, I will also celebrate another decade of marriage. So as I get older, which who knows, may not settle as easy, I can smile at the fact that with that also brings more years to celebrate the life I've made with this man by my side.

It was 105 degrees that day, 10 years ago. I remember a couple of my bridesmaids came to the rescue when I realized I'd forgotten to buy the flower for my hair that I'd wanted instead of a veil. It was important to me that Justin not see me until I was walking toward him down the aisle, so many of my favorite photos from that day he's actually blindfolded. (The first photo above he's closing his eyes really tight.) That photo takes on a new meaning when you realize that. Gosh, it was just such a wonderful day. I messed up the words in one of the worship songs we led together. We wrote our own vows to one another. We had cupcakes. An iPod was our DJ. So many family and friends there to support us. My dad changed out of his tux immediately following the ceremony so our father/daughter dance photos are him in jeans and a polo. In the end, everything was perfect. I'm thankful for the random things that I remember about that day.

A lot will happen in 10 years. Justin and I, with only the strength of God, didn't live together or share a bed until we were married. We honeymooned in Colorado, it was beautiful, but unfortunately for me, I was only 20, so I could not partake in the brewery tours we thought would be a good idea to go to. We road tripped through Colorado with Sufjan Stevens, Better Than Ezra and Coldplay as the soundtracks to our first adventure together as a married couple. Then we came home. I cried after one of the first homemade dinners I made for us. One of the first lessons I learned as a wife, Justin does not do casseroles. Maybe Justin would say one of the first lessons he learned as a husband was how to make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

That first year was wonderful and interesting and challenging. I was still in school. Justin was a worship pastor. It's so good to remember back to those days and know that God lead you through every day. I can only imagine Him smiling down on us now saying, "Way to go. Keep trusting in me."

The next few years would bring new jobs and first time home ownership. More responsibilities. More decisions. One of the things I most remember about that time was going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University which changed the trajectory of how we handled our finances and has stayed with us since. I'm confident to say that this is one of the main reasons our marriage is so successful. From early on, finances have never been an issue. Praise the Lord.

The next stage brought our eagerness to start a family. Happy and exciting days. With that first positive pregnancy test and complete and utter joy, soon after came gut-wrenching sadness of pregnancy loss. Tears fill my eyes as I think back to that difficult time in our lives but thankful it was not difficult on our marriage. To be at the top of the world only to fall down as far as you came. But thankful to have had someone there to hold you while you fell together. Thankful to have come out of that season scarred but not broken.

At almost six years of marriage, our joy overflowed with the birth of Eloise Margaret. Experiencing pregnancy with Justin by my side will always be one of my favorite memories. He loved it. He love caring for me. Feeling my belly and the baby moving inside. Planning, always planning with me. Putting up with my never ending check lists. Putting furniture and baby gear together. Going to classes with me. Supporting me in my decision to breastfeed. Cloth diapering. Gosh, he was just amazing. And he was a swaddling master. Seeing him become a Daddy. What a ride. What a blessing.

The forever season of parenting since Eloise has come along has obviously brought a whole new aspect to this marriage thing. So thankful and happy (most days) of course, but sheesh, being a parent takes up a lot of your energy and time that you were previously devoting to yourself and your husband. More work changes came. Working part-time at my job has been a life changer and I can't imagine what I would have missed if we hadn't trusted God with that and with our finances. Justin supported his family and never once expected anything less from himself.

First birthday party and a year of parenting under our belts. Always thinking of the future and what's next. Again, so thankful we have a God who we give our lives to to lead the way. Knowing we'd want more children someday we sold our house, moved into a small apartment, bought a house that wasn't built yet and got pregnant with our second child. Whoa. That was quite I year, now that I think about it...

Year eight brought a beautiful new home and a new way of living. Thankfully the new home part came 13 days before we were blessed with the birth of Mirabel Olive. My husband, a father of two daughters. And thankful for it. So many times we'd be out getting groceries and the checker would comment to him, "Uh, oh. Two girls! You're gonna be out numbered!" He always knew he'd been blessed by his girls.

More birthdays to celebrate. Job promotions to celebrate. Family to celebrate. So many memories.

Now, here we are. 10 years. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. So much has happened. Good, great, terrible, messy. Justin, you are everything to me. There is no one I'd rather have as my partner in life. You've shown God's love and grace time and time again to me. My thankfulness overflows as I think back over the years of this marriage. I love you so, so much and maybe one of the best things about being married to you for 10 years, is knowing that there will be 10 more. And 10 more after that. And as for as long as God has you and I on this earth, we will be together. You are my number one. I'm so, so excited to get to spend a week with you. We will miss our girls so, so much, but we'll be missing them together. Love you always.

Christmas with Grandma and Papa - 2014

This has been the first Christmas that Eloise has been impatient about opening gifts. I just love the excitement that she gets and also seeing Mirabel try to react the same way as we tear open the wrapping paper to see what is inside! I've always loved finding and giving that perfect gift more than opening gifts myself. I love to see what the recipient thinks of it. It's a whole new ball game finding perfect gifts for your children and seeing how much they love it.

This weekend Eloise opened up a Hello Kitty stuffed toy from Grandma and it's become her new love. She's insisted on having it by her side every minute! It's nice to be able to spread the love over several days of celebrations. There is more to come! Mirabel too, got a new pair of pajamas for one of her baby dolls and she's just turned into a little mommy all the more. Toting her around, wrapping her in a blankie and taking her on a walk. My heart just bursts to see their excitement.

We've done a lot of activities throughout the month, again following our Advent calendar this year. I'm so thankful for this tradition becoming more real as the girls get older and are able to understand just a little bit more of the Christmas story. Eloise just can't wait till the 25th when it's time to add baby Jesus to the nativity scene. It's also been fun to introduce new Christmas songs for her to sing.

I just love this season. I have my eye open year round for the perfect gifts for everyone on my list. I love the decorations around the house to get the spirit flowing. I love Christmas music playing in the back ground every evening. I enjoy wrapping all the gifts and putting them under the tree. Baking is not my thing, so I'm thankful for local bakeries who do that for me. I love sharing time with family and I so much enjoy the traditions that have begun forming with our family of four. I love how easy it is to share the love of Christ this time of year. O come, let us adore Him!

The extent of my "baking". 

Well, ok, so I did bake some pre-made cookie dough. ;)

The girls' new favorite movie. 

And Eloise learning a new song.

Grandma rocking a baby, rocking a baby. 

The girls with Grandma and Papa Holgate.

Branson Vacation

This summer marked 10 years since Justin and I took a full week-long vacation. Granted, with two kiddos now along for that ride, "vacation" looks a little different for us now. We had a blast with the girls and with Justin's awesome family! (Thanks, Bryan and Chris for welcoming us to join you!) The weather in Branson was beautiful. Thanks to a couple sets of wonderful grandparents, the girls got to play "musical carseats" and trade of vehicles to ride in. The trip there and back actually went pretty smooth. Except for a bee-sting on Eloise's foot, we all had an amazing time. At the pool almost every day, a ride on a real train and Eloise's first roller coaster ride at Silver Dollar City. We made some fun memories on our very first family vacation. 

 

Getting measured to see if she was big enough to ride the kiddy roller coaster!
(She made the cut and the video of her first ride is at the end of this post.)

Checking out the observation deck on the big train!

One this is certain, vacationing wore these babies out.

Family Photos - Summer 2014

We have a talented friend who has captured many of our girls' special days. Here are some fun shots of Mirabel, age 1 and Eloise, age 3. Precious moments fill these days...