The Body

Today has been a busy Saturday. It's usually my Sabbath, but today I've been working on a couple paintings that are gifts for a special bride (post coming soon).

I've been listening to my iTunes and painting my heart away and just talking to the Lord about things on my heart. I was completely out of touch when a song started playing and the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks...

"...But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way..."

The song kept playing, If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns, and I just asked myself, "Am I the body?"

If we are the body of Christ then we should be reaching out to those in need. We should be healing with our time, finances, etc. We should be boldly speaking the Word of God and sharing it to no end. We should be moving and be on mission. It really made me think about the things I am doing in my life and if I really am a part of the body of Christ. And if I am, what am I doing to make Christ known?

So, I must ask you...

Are you working to grow the body?

Apple & Cousins

Photo booth + cousins = a little laughing chaos.

...and Garrett into a girl with long hair.

Perspective

How many of us wake up in the morning, grab our coffee and head out to work or school, and don't think twice about what we are doing. We take for granted our time, our money, our family and our circumstances...even the very breath we have within us. Not until we actually encounter a trial or hard time, is it when we actually think and realize how truly ungrateful we are, and in turn are thankful.

I had a perspective thrown in to my face today. I was going through my news feed just like normal when I came across a post where a friend has written on another friend's wall wishing him a speedy recovery. I immediately clicked over to his page to see what was going on and as I read over post after post I soon learned that he had been in a bad wreck, and was ejected from his car. My stomach felt like it was in my throat and a tightness came over my chest. I wrote to him of how I was praying for him and hoping that he was alright. The thought of something happening to him hurt to even think about. I sat and just prayed healing, peace and comfort over him.

Thankfully about two hours later he updated everyone and thankful to the good Lord above, he was alright. I felt the tightness ease and myself relax. I continued to pray for him and for the others involved who aren't doing as well as he is.

I sat back and wrote in my journal, and just realized that in that moment of worry and fear it was all put in perspective for me. All too often we take life for granted. How often do you wish you could go back and change something, or talk to someone? We have got to understand that our life is like a vapor. We are only here for a very short time and we have got to be intentional about what we say, do and the way we live our life.

Life is too short to take anything for granted. So be thankful and grateful, and never look back and wish you'd done something different. Just do it now.

Sil Time.

I've written about my dear friend, Amber, many times in my blog. She's one of those friends that you just adore with all your heart. It warms my soul when I am with her and when I look back on what we've been through together.

The past few months we've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time together. We've done everything from dinner, to pool days, to shopping for her big day. Recently we got together to assemble some invitations. This is how most of the evening was spent:

 Stacks and stacks of envelopes...

with a table full of supplies.

We spent a good while working on them, and in the middle of learning how to tie pretty ribbons and making glue dots stick, Amber said some of the sweetest words. We were having a conversation about my "if-I-ever" wedding and I said something that started with, "If I ever get married....." She looked at me and got a little grin and her words that followed were so kind. She told me that she learned a long time ago that in waiting comes God's plan. She told me of how before she met Jason, her fiance, she swore that she would never get married and quit looking for a man. She said that once she got to that point, she met Jason and found the man God had for her. I just smiled as her words put me at ease. 

She also assured me that there is in fact a man out there for me, and that my time will come and when it does, she will be there for me, through every step of the way.

Thank you, Lord, for the sweet s-i-l of mine.

And pretty invitations. 

Hannah's Shower

This past weekend we got to share in the excitement of showering my sweet sister, Hannah, with blessings, gifts and prayer for the soon-to-come, Marigrace. I can't tell you how excited I am to meet her. I bet she'll be tiny and petite like her Mom. And I can't wait to hear 'aunt Abbey.' We had the best time celebrating this baby to come...

Can't wait to meet my Marigrace!

This Kid

He turns 18 in 10 days.

That makes me feel old.

Shouldn't we still be fighting like little kids?

Investments

Where do you invest your time? Your money?

People these days are investing in everything from stocks, bonds, and the money market. It's all about investing your time and money in what's going to benefit you. However, the gospel speaks to the exact opposite. We are called to invest our time, money and talents into others and sharing the love of Christ to others around us and in this world. 

Lately I've been trying to figure out a way to make a Bible study work that I want to offer to my small group girls. I've been hit with some challenges, and nothing has worked out yet. I've found myself annoyed and frustrated and almost upset with God for not working it out in a timely manner. He quickly got that emotion calmed down and I found myself just asking for him to show me how to stay invested with those girls in practical ways. 

He showed me that little things like investing my time, my money and my talents into their lives and making it known to them that I care about what's going on with them can have a greater effect than a lot of things that happen in a building or amongst a study.

I didn't really realize the impact that these things would have on me or these girls, but what God is doing is so amazing. Take today for example. I saw my calendar as I was getting ready, but I didn't realize what all was going on until I got into the rhythm of the day.

Date number one was lunch. I've planned to spend at least one lunch per week with one of my girls. I don't have everything organized yet, but I hit the ground running with this. Today was Abby's day. I headed off to her school and met up with her for lunch...what I didn't know is that a few girls who I hadn't gotten to talk to yet also have lunch at the same time, so my one-girl lunch quickly turned into this...

I think the Lord just took it into his own hands and it's blown up into something I can't even take credit for. We had an absolutely wonderful time. I swear there's nothing better.

Once work was over, I headed to pick up date number two: Tiffany. She is such a sweet girl. I work with both of her parents and they've been sharing some concerns about her and her relationship with God and asked if I would mind just talking to her. I was more than happy to talk, so I went and picked her up and took her to dinner. 

We had a great conversation about God, what heaven will  be like, and even if animals will be in heaven. While we were leaving a man came up to us and told us how great it was to hear us talking about such spiritual things and told us he would pray for us. God definitely showed up there. 

And to end this day, I left church with a cool high schooler, Morgan. She and I have been talking about boys, friends and the trials of being a Christ follower in high school. We had some great conversation late into the evening and it was great to hear her claim the name of God as a fifteen year old girl. I didn't think to get a picture because we were so deep into conversation. 

As I am sitting here writing this, I am in awe of how much I loved this day. I spent time investing in these girls lives...my time, my money and my talents are being sacrificed for others, and is completely giving God all the glory. It's absolutely amazing and I am humbled that he would use me in such a big way.

Investing is huge, and a big decision. So, I must ask...where or what are you investing? 

September smiles

I can't believe that it's already September. Months go by and I find myself wondering where the days have gone. My world has been full of lots of change and a roller coaster of emotion, but there's been a lot that has left me smiling and enjoying little things I am thankful for....like...

Lunch dates with sweet girls...

letters from my brother...

gorgeous sunsets...

breakfast with my Dad...

my cute brother...

and drawings of my army brother by cousins. 

We've all got a lot to be thankful for...

you've just got to take the time to look around at what's in front of you.