Thanksgiving Picture EXPLOSION!!!!

Last week was GREAT and as promised... a picture EXPLOSION right here for you. Are you ready??? Here it goes!!! 

The First ever Connection Thanksgiving dinner

It was wonderful and made my heart so full!!! 

It was very humbling at the same time. I went to each table and asked what they were thankful for this year. I had asked my Bible study girls this same question a week before and got answers like: phone, car, clothes, family, friends, etc.  - the typical teenage girl answer.  The answers that my friends at Connection gave me were quite different.  Every table answered the same: "I'm just thankful to be alive!"  WOW!! How often do I take that for granted!! I am so thankful for my friends that come every month to eat dinner with us.  I am truly thankful to be alive and trust in a LIVING Savior! 

FAMILY THANKSGIVING!! YUM!!! 

Here's me and my hotty totty hubby!!! :) We are thankful for each other!! He's the only boy that could EVER understand me!!! :)

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's house (the 2nd from the right). Her house is AWESOME and has a table that can sit 14!!! It was SO awesome to eat lunch ALMOST all together!!! The picture above is a picture of my mommy and her lovely sisters!!!! They are a hoot!! Funny story about the turkey - mom had to go pick it up from my cousin's restaurant.  The guy told her to heat it for 3 hours in the oven and it would be good to go.  So mom, being a good person, followed the instructions. Well, when we arrived at Sue's house to reveal the yummy turkey. Sue unwrapped the foil, stood starring for a moment, and then said "Kay... did you not take the plastic off?"  Ha! :) Mom cooked the turkey, lovingly named Tom, in the plastic!! It was still yummy... just look at him! 

Here's the famous mac!!! It was SOO GOOD!!!!!! I want more now! 

Here's my precious grandparents!!! I love them! Nanny and PawPaw! 

Here's us with Nanny and PawPaw!!! Please note... I am turning into my Nanny - I hope I'm as cute as her when I'm 80!! Jacob has a lot of entertaining coming with me! 

Me and my mommy!! :)

Please notice the cute little one in the pic... he wanted to be in every picture... so of course we let him.  His name is ClayTON.  He's my cuzzy's son! 

Here's ClayTON - PRESH!! 

Here's the Morgans and the Wombles!! My cuzzy and his cute wifey, Ashley!! Love them! 

On to the Morgan Family Dinner: 

Walt was forced to watch the festivities from the backyard. He was heart-broken, but o so cute! :)

Me and lil' Johanna!!She was so cute in her gobble gobble outfit!!! :) 

The Morgan brothers!!! :) 

Father and son!! 

I'm upset we didn't get a big family picture at the Morgans.  Jacob's Nanny takes a TON of pictures at every event, but I don't have a copy of them. 

NASHVILLE and ISAAC HENRY!!!! 

I MET HIM!!! He's perfect!!! He's soo tiny and lanky and I LOVE HIM!!!! 

Me and my BESTIE Em! :) I love her a lot! 

Some of my FAVORITEST people in the whole world!!! It was so good to see them, love on them, hear about life, and enjoy a new cutie!! Lindsey Jo and Bryant are SUCH good parents. It warmed my heart to see them love on their son... love love love my time with them!! 

This is my favorite picture from the visit!!! Isaac Henry SCREAMING and Em laughing!!! That's usually how our life is!!! I LOVE IT! 

I want you all to know that I am a closet expert diaper changer!!!! Ask Em or LJ or my mom!! They'll tell ya!! I impressed myself! 

Saturday, me and Em went out with the moms shopping!! It was a joyous time and I thought we should remember it with this lovely picture of us and the HUGE ornaments!!!! 

I am so thankful for my Thanksgiving break!!!! 

This week!

This week is THANKSGIVING!!!! Here are the things I'm gonna do this week... I'm PUMPED!!!!

THIS WEEK, I PLAN TO:

• NOT work Wednesday-Sunday!! Woot woot!  I love my job... but I need a break!!! Can I get an AMEN?

• Have a Thanksgiving dinner with my church tonight!!! I am so thankful for my church family!!! So very thankful!! I have often taken them for granted and forgotten to love them - BUT I AM SO THANKFUL!!! I am thankful for growth, pain, love, fellowship, prayer, friends. I will put some pictures up soon of me and the beautiful older more experienced ladies of the church. They are precious!! 

• Wednesday is the CONNECTION THANKSGIVING DINNER!! I am so excited.  The idea and passion for the community bloomed from a simple thought of feeding the community on Thanksgiving.  It is finally happening and my heart is so stinking excited!!! Pictures of that will be up here ASAP!! Be in prayer! 

• Wednesday after the meal... me and my honey are HEADING HOME! Can't wait to be home with the fam! 

• Thursday is TURKEY DAY = lots of food. lots of laughs. lots of family!!! i love and am SO thankful for my family! For lunch we are going to my mommy's family at my aunt's new house! I can't wait to see all is swanki-ness!  For dinner we are going to Jacob's fam! We are gonna look like puffer fish with all the food we are gonna gobble down!! YUM! I'm pumped MOST for my aunt's mac and cheese!! it's the best!! It has like 7,000 different kinds of cheese and it's baked.  Ya know... I'm not much of a cook so I don't know the specifics I just know it's GOOOOOOD!

• Friday when most of you crazies are out shopping, I'M GOING TO NASHVILLE TO MEET THIS CUTIE: 

I finally get to meet IH!!! I'm so excited! Not to mention... I'm pretty jealous of the birthday shout out Em got!! Why can't my bday be AFTER IH's??? Ugh...

I know we are gonna laugh and coo and cuddle and be best friends.  Don't worry... we will talk to IH too!! haha!! I KNOW pics will be put up of this man too!

Needless to say... I'm pretty thankful for Thanksgiving week.  

Here's some other things I'm thankful for this year:

Girls that i LOVE and are hungry for Jesus like I'm hungry for mac and cheese!!! 

Girls who LOVE Jesus and ASL and are willing to dance and praise in front of a congregation!!! 

My mommy!!!! :) Thankful for time together at the Chris Tomlin/Christy Nockels concert, lots of shopping, and good food!!! 

Thankful for a wonderful hubby and a precious niece!!! :) 

Thankful... most of the times... for a CRAZY dog! He looks insane right here... he kind of is, but he brings laughs all day long except when he poops in THE FLOOR - he's done it twice this week!!! AHHH! We still love him... we just want him to control his bowels! ha! 

Can I have MORE of you GOD?!?!?

Jacob went to a pastors' conference Sunday-Monday this week in Mobile.  I was left to protect the house and be entertained by Walter. 


God has really been working on my heart A LOT lately... about A LOT of things - obedience, listening, prayer, passion, resting, reading, teaching, and more. God had really been laying on my heart the power and importance of prayer, intentional/since prayer, and the fact that we don't do it. We don't stop and pray for people when we feel the nudge to do so.  Seriously... sometimes I would feel so strongly that I was suppose to STOP and PRAY over someone with my hands all over them (don't think like that) and just PRAY... but I just stand there awkwardly hoping that God will stop talking.  How dreadful. We don't seek God on our friend's behalf. We just do the expected, mediocre prayers for a service, a meal, a sick person - we don't SEEK and PLEAD with God.  






Sometimes I feel like we (Jacob and I) get so tired and worn out doing our daily routines and jobs, by the time we get home we just want to BE - God calls us BE MORE.  He has invited us to seek Him together. Now don't get me wrong - we do seek Him together, we minister together, we love people together, but we don't have intentional family worship times at home.  My heart has been longing for it.  I knew Jacob was going to be gone for a few days and I committed to praying for him - that God would shape his heart and my heart to the same desires for our marriage and our ministry as a couple.  He did... the first day! It was crazy. Jacob called and said he was learning a lot about PRAYER - WHAT?!? I was SO pumped. I love when I see God clearly and bluntly answer my prayers and He shows His power. He shows that I am asking in His will and that He is delighting in me. What a great thing... complete satisfaction.


I couldn't wait for him to get home to share. And share he did - with the youth group and the college group. WOW! 


He spoke from his heart, spoke truth to us as his students, and he led intentional prayer.  I am a proud and thankful wife.  


We learned about the importance of personal and corporate prayer.  And... as the Word says in James:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
We had a time of confession and prayer. Some of the youth were open and honest and it was so beautiful. It was so awesome to hear them pray for each other and for schools, church, and families. I think there's more, I think God wants to pull more out of his sons and daughters in confession.  It will come - I am hopeful.


Now... what happened last night in a small room in Troy, AL with 20ish college students from Troy University was incredible. I have mentioned this amazing group of people before - the immediate closeness, transparency, and community that just happened in the group. But the true intimacy, LOVE, compassion, honesty... I saw last night has been unmatched in all of my life. It was breathtaking.  My husband started the night of confession of after praying for the University and The Church.  He shared one thing in his life that has brought so much struggle, strongholds, tears, anger, closeness, confusion, and prayer. One thing that has weighed on my heart and mind for so long. One thing that I have spent countless days on my knees for. He shared it. He was so brave, bold, courageous. I was broken. I am thankful.  I am proud. The rest of the night was just as honest, broken, joyful, true, and beautiful. Chains were broken. Weight was lifted. Prayer warriors were invited into others' crap (as I prefer to call it). If you want the churchy version - into our struggles. We shared and prayed and shared and cried and prayed.... When we looked at the time again it was MIDNIGHT!!! What a wonderful night just wallowing and crying out in HIS PRESENCE!!! It just makes me wanna scream and do a victory dance! 


IT WAS THE CHURCH. As my husband has learned the truth that the early church was built and founded on PRAYER... we must do the same. Our lives must revolve around prayer. Chains will be broken. Lives will be healed. God's power and Word will be revealed. Freedom will reign!!! It takes us getting over ourselves, accepting Christ's proposal to continuously commune with Him. He listens. He loves. He pursues.  He makes BEAUTY from ashes.  I rested in Him last night.  I felt the presence of Jesus DELIGHTING in our group. In our worship. In our offering to Him. 


REVIVAL IS COMING. IT IS STARTING IN TROY, AL. I AM HOPEFUL. HE IS FAITHFUL. 


My heart is so full. Just resting in my Daddy's big 'ol hands.

It's my bestie's birthday!

happy burfday emily!!! A poem for you, about you, in return:


I have a precious friend who is so nice,
Once a awful, puny camper gave her lice.
Since we became besties she has brought me so much glee.
I love her dearly... her name is Emily.


When I first saw her platinum blonde hair,
I knew we could never be friends fore'er.
But... after making lingerie crafts for a partay,
We feel in love and were inseparable from that day. 


Emily, you are wonderful and mean the world to me,
You loved me through Jamaica, Africa, and being my roomie!
We've screamed out for Wayne and screamed out in prayer, 
I know for FUN or Jesus stuff... you are always there.


We have so many hilarious memories - fosters farms to name one,
I just don't know how to explain how much i love ya - a ton!! 
I hate growing up and moving away - so far away... 
But love seeing Jesus use us crazily... it makes it okay.


Our friendship is so CRAZY - one of a kind,
Without you in my life - I would have lost my mind! 

i love you lots - every bit of you! 

We'll be best friend forever - together forever - stuck like glue! 

You are great and you make me smile,

I can't wait to see you - I'll be more excited by the mile! 

I hope your birthday is grand,

I don't know how to end this... so just know you are my best friend forever and I hope your day is special!!!  haha! 

He is my Yahweh-nissi

I haven't written because I've been consumed with planning a workshop... also, I haven't known what to write.  I feel like I'm learning SO much, being stretched so thin, having no time, and being transformed in so many ways.... it makes it hard to figure out how to put everything into words.

I guess the thing that I am delighting in MOST right now is the Names of God!!! They are so powerful and I can't wait to dive into knowing more about them and teaching what He's revealing to me to others. The name that is what I am calling out to my Dad now is Jehovah-Nissi!! I literally means "The Lord is my banner!" The Lord is my victory!!!!! AHH!! I love it! He invites and encourages me to look, to see, and to do a victory dance!!!!

Here's the  passage it came from:
 ⁸ While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. ⁹ Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

 ¹⁰ So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. ¹² Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. ¹³ As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

 ¹⁴ After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). ¹⁶ He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now^[a] the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Exodus 17:8-16 

This is so awesome. The Israelites were attacked (as Satan so often attacks the followers of Christ). Moses was commanded to hold up the staff of God to achieve VICTORY!!! So... VICTORY comes in OBEDIENCE. Often times, we expect God to save us from our sins, to destroy all our temptation, to defeat our enemies, etc. just when we ask... HE CAN... but most of the time He wants our hearts and our lives to be surrendered in obedience so that He can bring victory to us and glory to Himself through our dependence and desperate need for HIM!  

Also, Moses didn't/couldn't do what was commanded alone.  He became tired. Worn out. Exhausted. Discouraged. He needed support. He needs others. He needed accountability and love.  We do too. In our obedience... we need each other. We need the church. I need people. Even when it's messy and the sins are not the easy ones to share. He beckons us to deep transparency and open-ness so that He can use He bride to bring VICTORY.  

THEN... because of obedience and community VICTORY is given and glory is God's!!! He tells Israel that the Amalekites have been defeated UTTERLY!!!!! They will be FORGOTTEN!!! Then... he calls them to REMEMBER - to not forget what he's done and the victory they experienced!

We need to do the same! We need to claim VICTORY in HIM!!! He can do it! He will do it!! He can defeat any sin, attitude, enemy, doubt! HE WILL! And He has!!!! He invited me to remember and be joyful. To trust and pray. To know that He is for me, not against me.  He wants my life, my marriage, our church, our community, and our world to experience VICTORY in Him!!!! How AWESOME!!!

I am messy, but I have a Savior how invites me and my messiness to VICTORY in Him.

HOW GREAT!!

I will praise my Yahweh-Nissi!!! 

Hellur again.

It's been a while. I know. I'll explain.

Lately, I have felt like this poor little egg:

Cracked. Exhausted. I don't know how the other eggs play into it, but I have felt pulled by 100 different people in 1,000 different ways. My spirit, body, mind, soul, eyes, EVERYTHING was frustrated, tired, and overwhelmed. I get this way at times... I wish I didn't.  I get worn out. 

In my life, I have had amazing JOY from Christ. Crazy, dancing joy.  The past 2 weeks, one of the few times in my life, I've had to FIGHT FOR JOY. I've had to be a warrior... a honest, bold, focused warrior for my JOY and my heart's attention.  I've had to remind myself that this world is so temporary. I have FOUGHT for joy.

And HE has won my heart again. He has shown me where my JOY is - in Him. He is revealing and strengthening, and giving me more victory. I am so grateful. 

I was feeling pitiful and tired because of all the things we had planned within the past 2 weeks:

• Fall Festival
• Fundraisers
• Disciple Now
• Interpreting workshop
• Secret Church
• Working with joy even when I would rather be ANYWHERE else
• Orphan Sunday
• Visiting friends and family

and the list goes on... 

Then, God showed me His glory in EACH of them. He really did. It would take me 10 pages to explain all that he's showed me... but, believe me. IT'S GOOD! I am so thankful he uses worn out, pitiful, prideful, and moody women for His glory in His purpose!! It's good.

Here's just a few pictures of reasons I have JOY through Him. I am gaining new reasons each day because He has opened my spiritual eyes to see past this world's stress!!! 

EXPECTANCY - knowing and believing God will
show up and reveal His glory! 

Friends - based on Christ. Seeing God continue to work and
transform lives in amazing ways. Turning us into BEAUTY!

My leader and best friend. Fighting for JOY with me.
Willing to wage war with Satan with me. 

Servant hearts - willing to love and play and laugh and run
for His glory and His Gospel!  

Sins and struggles laid down and the yearning for ROOTS
to GROW DEEP in Christ ALONE!!!
WORSHIP!!!!!!!!
ABANDONMENT!!!!!
PRAISE!!

Lives changed at a weekend where we ENCOUNTERED Jesus!!