October, already?

I feel like the ride of life has taken up way too much of my writing time lately. My journal and blog have been put on the back burner and luckily I've had some time in the last two days to catch them up.

So, an update on me and what's going on...

Well first, I want you to meet someone...

Meet Marigrace Elizabeth Sublett.

My sister, Hannah, gave birth to this beautiful baby girl last Wednesday and life's been a bit crazy since. There were a few complications at her birth, so she's spent the last week in the NICU at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. She has definitely had some prayer warriors and only beacuse of the Lord, she'll be going home sometime this weekend! 

I can't believe Hannah and Chris have a baby, but she is already bringning so much joy into this world and I can't wait to get to know her. And spoil her rotten. I am already in love with those cheeks.

On another exciting note, my dear Army brother, Matt, will be returning home for good today. Long story short, he got injured and has been sent home. I have a lot of emotions swirling around concerning him. I can only trust the Lord with him and pray for him. I am happy he brought my little brother home, though. It's been a long two months, and I can't tell you how excited I am to see him. He even sent me this picture this morning to say I actually got to see him in his camo's.

How weird is this.

Oh well, he's still my brother no matter what. 

The last letter I got from him while he was gone told me about how my writing inspired him to write. He had enclosed another letter of his writings about his experiences in the Army and what he's learned and come away with. I'll publish it later with his permission, but I'm not the Henley who can write. 

 With all the family situations going on, I've been thankful for my friends and for being able to spend time with them fairly often. Life is just crazy, but I've learned that it's important to be thankful and important to be still. It's amazing what sitting in front of my computer can do for my sanity. All in all, God is sovereign and he reminds me of that often.

Time to catch up.

More coming soon.

Lacy's Day

Once in a lifetime, you have a friend like Lacy Rowe.

My friend, I am so glad you were born.

I love our morning coffees,
our late night chats,
and every moment we spend together.

Happy birthday, Lacy!
I hope we get to spend many more together.

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!