Superwoman...

So... this picture is not me. SURPRISE! 

I am not Superwoman.

I know this. Everyone around me surely knows it. But it's not fun being reminded of it. 

I want to have everything together. I want to always be a good wife. teacher. friend. daughter. church member. employee. mentor. future mom. dog caretaker. But... I'm not always good. I can't do everything. And... when I think I am convinced that I can be superwomen... I am reminded that NOTHING in me is good apart from Christ.  That stings a bit.  I wish I could have just learned this the first go around... but of course... I have to make it a bit more difficult.  I do not have everything together. I am a mess at times... and that's okay. 

Many times when I feel inadequate compared to this imaginary superwoman... I automatically want to guard myself more... to protect myself... to hide my insecurities... to pretend... to conceal... to shield.  I don't like exposure of me... my junk... my struggles... my crap.  I teach it all the time... you have to get your 'crap on the floor' for God to work in it. Well... I don't like it when it's my crap.  I just want to tuck it all in the dark spots of my heart and pretend it's not there and it don't stink.  But I'm learning...

I'm learning to be a raw woman of God. What does that mean? Well, I'm not sure exactly.  I want to be shielded to a certain extent. I want to be covered in TRUTH so that I am not easily swayed by LIES. BUT... I want to live in freedom. I don't want to live with walls up... not letting people in.  I am very good and listening and getting involved in others' lives... but it's hard for me to let them into mine... like really let them in.  I don't believe (and never will) that I need to air all my dirty laundry to everyone... I  think that invites too much of the enemy's work, but... building thick walls to hide my junk is not the answer. To be a raw woman of God is to be okay letting people in... with exposing my insecurities to them... and to be a little crazy sometimes.  To talk to people, especially my husband, about the deep parts of my heart. Wifeys, if you are not honest and transparent with your husband... I mean raw to the core with him... your marriage will forever be stuck at good and mediocre.  BUT when you have rawness and complete openness... you marriage can become extraordinary, FREEING, and can really reflect our relationship with Christ. 

Please note... I have not done something horrible or whatever... I am just talking about things that I try to fix myself... struggles that need to be placed in the light. I just didn't want you to think I had this huge secret thing I was about to announce to the world! haha. Just me... fighting me.

So... in conclusion...
I am NOT Superwoman... but I serve the awesome God of the Universe. He knows my heart-the deep, dark parts... my worries... my fears... my future... my desires... my thoughts... my past... and everything in between.  HE IS ABLE. GOOD. LOVE. GRACE. RESTORER.  

I'm thankful. 

#toosnow #toofun #toofroze

Oh life... it's so crazy and fun. I like it a lot. Sometime I get a little overwhelmed because I seemed to have lost the pause button on my life remote... but it's just a good life.

Before I start with the explosion of pictures... THE DOSSIER (last set of paperwork for adoption) IS ON ITS WAY TO BELIZE!!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!! Now we get to wait on that to be process and for the profiles for our boys to be sent to us!! THAT MEANS PICTURES!! HALLELUJAH!!! 

We just got back from a ski retreat with our youth! We went to Banner Elk, NC and skied at Ski Beech! It was amazing... and SO SO SO COLD! We were in the Presidents' Day Winter Storm. Fun, huh? Yea... I don't drive in that... freaked me out for sure! haha! Anywho... I know you want to see pics... so here you are:

It was super cold... I mean I have never been outside for an extended period of time in that coldness before. My face panicked at the frozen wind... and I had to buy this legit ski face mask so I wouldn't die! I look cool, don't I?

Here's our group. I know... no one has faces... it was cold I tell ya! 

But we are cute and we had a blast! On Sunday... it was seriously 2 (TWO) DEGREES at the bottom of the mountain... that's cold right there! 

Here's the view from the top of the mountain. BEAUTIFUL! 

All the slopes were open. There was real snow (because we were in a winter storm). It was fabulous.

Me and the hubs. Aren't we cute? haha! I love ski/snow pictures! 

The kiddos... pumped for skiing! Aren't that adorable? I love them! 

Stephanie, Hunter, me, and Jacob 

SO SO THANKFUL for these 2 people! I love them dearly. I get teary-eyed thinking about how awesome they are... so I'm gonna stop. We love y'all! 

Me and Steph hitting the slopes. This picture is so funny! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE these girls!  

My poor car was NOT used to this. Thankful Hunter wanted to/could drive in that icy-ness while we were there!  

AND...

Please give a warm welcome to JUBILEE MORGAN!!! The newest member of the Morgan family! You can call her Jubi if you want!  

Ya know... we thought since we were getting two kiddos.. we needed to train with 2 doggies!!! 

She's precious!!! Walter met her last night! He just wants her to play!!!! I think he'll like her... but he doesn't understand why she just lays there...  

AND Last but not least... we did a Harlem Shake video with the youth last night... HILARIOUS!!!!! 

I think it's so good to shout to the world that Jesus is fun! He is exciting and Christians live exciting lives!!!! The youth loved it! Laughing... craziness... funny costumes... togetherness!!! Good stuff!!! CHECK IT OUT:

N.E.W.S. - Eric & 'Ziggy'

N.E.W.S.

Fun things have been happening lately! 

So much fun things I'm having a difficult time keeping my eyes open... I'm pooped.  No rest for the weary.  As I always say... I'll sleep when I'm dead! YOLO! haha! 

Anywho...

First... my momma's birthday was this week!!! :) She's 29... again.  I'm catching up to her... but it's all good! She's wonderful! Anyone who knows her... knows that. She loves the Lord and everyone she meets... especially children.  She makes friends in every restaurant we eat at! 

Thankful for my momma.

NEXT UP...

This is my Valentine! :) Surprise surprise.

But... WE ARE GOING ON A DATE!!!! Isn't that so dandy! 

To japanese food and the movies tonight! 

I am one excited girl! 

I do have to admit I am NOT a good Valentine this year. I didn't get a single thing for him... and he knows it! How awful. These past 2 weeks have been so crazy busy... I haven't had time to even go to Walmart! I don't even have milk and cereal... and I LIVE on milk and cereal! So... he'll just have to accept my love as his gift! Lucky guy, huh? 

I did get him Chick-fil-a this morning though. That counts for something, right?

NEXT HEADLINE... drum roll please....

WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO ADOPT TWO (2) CHILDREN FROM BELIZE!!!! 

AHHH!!! I know... more craziness! I am so excited! But think about it... why would you go through ALL this paperwork, raise ALL this money, know you will adopt more in the future... and just get one child when you can bring TWO into the Morgan fam!!!!! Well, after praying and just living on faith... we filled out paperwork to get 2 and... that's what is gonna happen! We received official approval just recently! Eric Forever, our heart and reason for adopting from Belize, will be a big brother. 

Funny - So, I was tired of talking with our friends/fam about the potential 2 boys (yes, we want another boy... we think) and calling them "Eric and... the other..." So, I told Jacob we needed to come up with a nickname/love name for the 2nd one.  He had just got done watching the Grammy's and some guy named Ziggy Marley had performed.  So, in true Jacob fashion and in his love for music... he came up with a name... and we will be adopting Eric and 'Ziggy.'  HAHA!! Poor kid... he will be so confused when everyone he meets around here calls him Ziggy! But... at least it's a cool name. 

So... PLEASE be praying for us as God prepares us to parent, not only ONE... but TWO! 

COMIC RELIEF? 

I think not.  This is not a funny cartoon to me... it hit me right between the eyes! Ready?

I think this is so true. Jesus does not care about big names or how many follows people have on Twitter... He looks at the heart.  I'm sure his favorite singer is a lady in a little village.... a lady who understands trusting in Him and falling in love with Him and clinging to Him like I can't even imagine. 

So many times I get caught up with 'being someone.' For someone to like my teaching, my writing, my thoughts, my ideas. I want to be noticed... and perhaps asked to speak or teach somewhere. THAT IS NOT THE POINT. The point is to LOVE Him. To do it all for His glory. With a right heart. To love and teach and invest in and laugh with and cherish whoever is in front of us.  To sing and worship and study and dive in and learn and share and BE... FOR Him... not us. 

Just thought it might strike a cord with someone else out there. It wasn't funny to me. Not funny...

cOsTa RiCa PICS!!!

So... I explained what we were doing in Costa Rica when we go March 9-16 HERE, but I wanted to share some photos our team lead sent to us from the village!!! 

GET PUMPED!! 

Here's part of the 2-hour hike! I think we better practice hiking as one of our team meetings! 

This is the church where the gals will be slumbering.

This is the school where the boys will be snoozing.

LOOK AT THIS VIEW!!! 

We have been told that each night all the villagers will get together and watch the sunset... that's part of their daily routine. HOW AWESOME IS THAT! I think our world would be a happier and more peaceful place if we all took time to take this in!!!! 

Our possible roommates for the week...

And the best picture...

faces that we get to love! Are these not the most precious little girls you have EVER seen!!!! They have stolen my heart already! 

Please be in pray for our team and this tribe will be ministering to!!! I am so excited! 

#MERGE2013

MERGE WEEKEND 2013!!! 

Get ready for PICTURE OVERLOAD! 

(I got to be the photographer for the weekend with our new camera! I was like the paparazzi on a mission!)

Merge weekend = 7 churches, 3 denominations, 1 God

People coming together for the glory of God and the discipleship of youth in Troy, AL! YAHOO! 

30 students rededicated their commitment to Christ

6 students SAVED FOR heaven and from hell

Amen. 

The youth pastors who unified to plan this event (minus one pastor). They met weekly, prayed daily, and were in constant communication so that their kiddos could come together to praise the ONE God! That is what the Church is about! They had a vision... and man, it was a good one! God is faithful and He blessed their work! 

MERGE was held in the high school cafeteria! Isn't that awesome! The same place they worshipped all weekend... is the same place they will eat lunch with their lost friends. Hopefully it will give them confidence that Jesus is present and worship is not confined to a building with a steeple on the top of it!

SANGIN'

We like to sing around here!! 

Casey Darnell (CHECK HIM OUT!) was the worship leader for the weekend! He did an amazing job! He brought TRUTH in His songs and in His speech each and every session! He also got it CRUNK in there Saturday night!!!! I was moshin' with some middle school boys like a champ! haha! 

All for Jesus... 

YES! I love when students are able to let go and just enJOY worship!! This picture is PRICELESS!!!! 

Isn't this awesome! Look at those smiles!!! LOVE IT! 

Our speaker for the weekend... Matt Piland... BROUGHT IT! 

So much TRUTH was spoken over and to the students over the weekend! 

Bible study around the campus of the high school! LOVE IT! 

CUTIES! :)

SERVING

On Saturday afternoon, the high school groups had the opportunity to serve some people in our community! Raking leaves, picking up sticking, bagging leaves, etc.... to show the love of Christ! This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend! Jacob, myself, and another youth pastor got to go to some of the houses our students were working at and take pictures.  It was awesome to meet the people they were serving and to see our students selflessly working! 

Senior girls! 

9th grade boys! 

Junior & Senior Boys! 

10th grade girls! 

While the high schoolers worked, the middle school played! :) 

They played volleyball and dodgeball! HILARIOUS! 

No Disciple Now weekend is complete without an embarrassing moment! 

Leaders, youth pastors, and students performing Gangnam Style!! Doesn't get better than that! 

We ate a lot of food! 

LEADERS

We had close to 100 leaders over the weekend... pouring into our students!!! They were warriors for the hearts and lives of those youth! Blessed my heart to watch them love the kiddos! 

ADOPTION

One of themes of the weekend was ADOPTION. The youth pastors agreed that highlighting the cause of orphans and the ministry of adoption was important... because it's important to Jesus. Several videos were showed throughout the weekend and on Sunday morning Jacob and I were given the amazing opportunity to share God's story of our adoption.

We were interviewed by 2 of the youth pastors. We were able to share Eric's story, God's faithfulness, and say thank you to people that have blessed us beyond anything we could have imagined! 

I'm just thankful... 

Jacob met a new friend... Jay. I think he almost peed in his pants laughing every time they had a conversation! 

So thankful to stand beside this man everyday. 

So thankful for the youth pastors in our community.

So thankful to be a part of what God is doing in Troy.

So humbled that God can use us Morgans...

Praying that Merge 2013 wasn't just an event, but a catalyst for...

UNITY

INTIMACY with the Lord

REVIVAL

BOLDNESS

IMITATION of Christ

LOVE

CRAZY followers of Jesus! 

cOsTa RiCa!!!!!

Can I just say... 

I AM PUMPED ABOUT COSTA RICA!!!! 

We leave in one month and 2 days! That's nuts! I haven't talked about it much... because... honestly... I've been a little afraid of the trip. I have been fearful that we wouldn't raise the money, that I had no purpose in the trip, and that it wouldn't work out.  Gosh... I should learn the things I teach. In my head I knew God had it all under control... no problem for Him... but my heart had issues. 

BUT (isn't that a great word when you are talking about God working)... we had a meeting last night with the team... and OH WOW... God is so good. 

First... the money is coming in! We only have about $1,000 left to raise! That's it! That's huge considering at the beginning of January we were short about... $20,000! 

Second, my purpose issue... God totally slapped me in the face. We were talking about the schedule for the days we would be in the village (I'll explain in a bit), and guess what we get to do each morning! BIBLE STUDY WITH THE WOMEN!!! Yep! That is my heart and God is allowing us to do that first thing each morning! God knows me and He loves me and He knows exactly how to confirm that we are in the right place in personal ways.

Now... let me tell you where we are going and what we are doing.

We are going to a village on a mountain... Here's some info to give you some perspective:

*We have to hike 2 hours up a mountain in the rainforest after a 2 hour drive to the trail to even reach the village. We'll get to see toucans and monkeys on the path!!!! ...And we 'get to' carry backpacks up the mountain with all our junk in it... hmmm...
*The first time this tribe of people was reached with the Gospel was 2 years ago by a Swiss missionary.
*They do not truly know the concept of marriage - many of them just 'pair up' when they are 13-14 years old. 
*Many of the families have one man and many wives. The woman in the village feel very unloved and insignificant because of this.  Get this - God is going to use us to tell them and hopefully show them HOW MUCH they are loved by the King and Romancer of the universe!!! Yahoo! 
*The men work in the fields all day everyday and return back to the village each night.
*We have the privilege of leading youth Bible studies in the afternoons! This is exciting! We have the opportunity to talk with them about families - here on earth and the family of God! We get to speak truth into the next generation of leaders in the village!!! 
*There is a school in the village... aka a big enough building to fit all the children. 
*There is a church in the village.
*They have electricity and WIFI - I know we are just as surprised as you!
*We'll be sleeping in hammocks! We will wake up with chickens and horses staring at us.
*We get to play with beautiful kids in the afternoon!!!!!
*We MIGHT or might NOT get a shower. I'll be fine with my Baby Wipes! 

Now that you kind of know what we are going to be experiencing... HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!? 

It's pretty hilarious because none of us really knew what we were signing up for... we just wanted to be used... so we said YES! 
We got to see some pictures of the village yesterday (our team leader went down last week to set up our trip and sent us some pics). It's beautiful and heart breaking. We are all so excited about going... and nervous because we have know idea what we are doing! 

PLEASE be in prayer for us.  There's so much to pray. Just pray for God to take over in every way. That lives are changed. That we are humble servants. That we love each other and the villagers well. I know our parents and family would want us to pray for safety... and please do... but pray most of all that God is gloried... whatever that means.  

I love our team... absolutely love them! God is so smart when He puts mission teams together! Check us out (I know they'll appreciate the great pics): 

Our Amazing Team: 

my hubs and leader man... Jacob

Matt

Haley & Hunter

Kirsten

Stephanie & Presley

Will

Me & Caitlin 

Andrew

Austin

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God..
2 Corinthians 5:13