It's been awhile since I first {SAW} you

My goodness folks! It's been about 1.5 months since I've even logged into this place and I'm blown away by the sheer fact that it's June already. As in summertime. As in OMG IT'S BEACH WEATHER. And we have plenty of beautiful beaches in the Panhandle of my home state.

 

Enough ramblings... What in the hay have ya'll been up to??

 

Life sort of took over in mine and Hunter's world. God has really been stretching and growing us (it's been painful, not gonna lie), we've experienced firsts and lasts, had our hearts broken and on the rebound, and just really have endured some of our wildest days yet.

 

we clean up pretty good...

Let's catch up...

 

- Hunter got a new job! He's still doing the same line of work {forestry} but he's now with the State so that means a little bit more normal hours. Hunter is currently working hard to become certified to fight wildfires (yes, it makes me nervous, but I'm super proud of him) so he'll be one of those guys that will be deployed when wildfires break out. Be sure to hug a forester today!
 

I seriously swoon over him every.dang.day (And this is during a burn)

 

- I survived sessions here in the Florida Legislature and I honestly learn something new every day. Hunter and I are very fortunate and thankful to have our careers and the ability to have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and a little extra spending money. We live simply but wouldn't have it any other way.

 

- Hunter and I have also been veeerrrrryyyy busy with Young Life in Tallahassee.  Don't know what Young Life is? CHECK IT OUT. I seriously wish I was a teenager or college student again JUST so I could do Young Life and the summer camps. We're actually in our down time right now since school is out but we're super excited for everything to kick back up come Fall. God has some really big plans with Young Life and we're excited to see where it grows to (we're looking at you Quincy, Florida).

 

- We've been dealing with some family illnesses in the last few months. This is where faith comes into play, people. Not knowing what is going to happen, not really understanding why someone you love so much has to get so sick, and not being able to heal them has really forced us to trust solely in God and His purpose. Yes, we don't understand things that happen but HE DOES. And His ways are always good (even when it totally sucks). Faith is having that hope and belief that everything is going to be okay regardless of the outcome.
 

My FIL is literally the best.

For you non-southerners... Sug (n): a term of endearment (pronounced "shoog")

 

- We recently had to put one of our pups down. I won't go into reasons and I'm not quite ready to dive into that topic {and probably won't on the interwebs}, but I can honestly say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done (Hunter will agree with me). I would not wish that decision on my worst enemy. Our hearts are still healing but we know we made the right decision. As bad as that hurt, we survived it and are learning from it. Don't want a pity party, just ask that ya'll continue to pray for us.

- My baby sister graduated high school!! I officially feel old as dirt, thank you very much. Fun fact for all you local folks - she's a photographer. And a dadgum good one at that. Feel free to check out her page on FB and contact her should you want any pictures done.
 

 

All in all, I feel like we've lived a lot of life in the last 6 months. We've rejoiced and jumped around wildly; other days, we've hit our knees begging God to take the pain away. But that's life and we wouldn't have it any other way. It's beautiful, ugly, wild, calm, and above all, it's ours to live. No matter what our circumstances are in that moment, we thank God and give Him all the glory for allowing us to experience those moments.

First day of SPRING

I do believe today is the first official day of Spring... And I could not be more excited! Spring signifies such a beautiful time for me - it's the time where things come back to life, out of hibernation, and bring forth such beauty. I love the memories that are associated with Spring. It was the time of year where Hunter and I rededicated our lives to Christ years back. It was the time when we got engaged.

 

circa 4.20.2014

 

I spent yesterday at the beach with my MIL and it was such a beautiful day on our Gulf Coast. As we were driving back home (we literally only live about 1.5 hours from the coast), we commented on how lucky we are to be able to live close to such a pretty place. Not many folks can say that they live within a days' drive to white, sandy beaches. We're truly fortunate!

 

this does not have a filter... it's just that pretty!

 

I truly hope this Spring season brings each of you a sense of renewed life and beautiful days that are to be cherished. Regardless of where you are in life, the events that are happening in your life, just take each day as it comes. There are many times where Hunter and I literally take each minute as it comes, each second as it comes.

 

Lastly, I want to dedicate this post to my father-in-law. He faithfully reads my blog and shares with me his thoughts - and I LOVE it! Ros, here's to praying that on this first official day of Spring, God will continue to bring healing to your body. His ways are always good and I'm so thankful for His mercies. Love you bunches!

Losing Control

photo courtesy of my sister

 

I'm not sure if I've said it before but 2016 and 2017, hands down, take the gold in life lesson teachings. Between last year and the last couple of months, we've really been forced to reconcile with the cards that have been dealt to us and our families. We've also been forced to surrender all of our control to the One that controls everything.

 

Can I just admit for a quick second how painful this has been?

 

Over the last several months, God has slowly but surely chiseled away at everything that I held high above Him. And a lot of that was because of the control issues I had. I fully believed that I could control many situations; I may not have said it out loud, but I certainly told God to take a back seat because I'm driving. What a joke.

 

God has so lovingly held me (and us, for that matter) through this process as He has chipped away our hard, exterior selves and this in turn has forced us to willingly surrender everything we have to Him. I'm talking about the wants and idols we had placed above and before Him. For me (let's be honest for a minute here), I had placed before Him my idolatry of wanting things done on my time, my way. I had placed Him behind those things because I felt that I could control those very things on my own.

 

If you can just imagine the wake up call that He gave me, times it by about 100. God showed me very quickly, and lovingly, how I had decided to take those reins back from Him and drive that buggy. I was in control of the very train that was wrecking my life. Comparison stole my joy, and the devil laughed at his accomplishment. The beauty of all of that though? God never left me. He never quit on me. He stood with me when I realized with utter embarrassment that I had allowed myself to become another pawn for the devil to undermine all of His work.

 

And that was when I lost control, giving it all over to Him. The weight of the world I was carrying left my shoulders in an instant and I could breathe deeper. Now I'm no fool and I know those temptations to regain control will creep back in (and it's already happening), but I also know my God is stronger than that. He will have His way with me, and my life, however He sees fit for His glory.

 

I've lost control. And I don't want it back.

Home {SWEET} Home

Hunter and I realized the other day that we've been in our new (to us) home for about 6 months now and we just couldn't help but thank God for His timing and mercies. Our home is small, quaint, but full of so much love. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else than where we are now.

 

The mornings are my most favorite time to watch the woods around us come to life. The fresh morning dew across the pasture, how the sunlight filtrates itself through the pine trees, and the birds chirping as loudly as they can. It kind of gives me a glimpse into what heaven will be like. I love the stillness that surrounds our home, the escape it provides to us after a long day.

We've always thrived on making our home available to any and all who need a place to come and rest. Whether it's to rest in the friendship we have over a good meal, or to literally rest in our guest room for a weekend - we just want to be available to whoever may need a place to just be.

The irony doesn't pass me that our home has become a sanctuary these last several weeks. We've had some joyous moments where celebrations were had and memories were made but we've also shed several tears in the last several weeks in our home. Through it all, God has stood by us, wrapped His arms around us, and held us close. God is reminding us each day of His goodness, His faithfulness, His love no matter what the circumstances may be.

In this home, our knees have hit the ground as we cry out in prayer. In this home, the floor has been danced on as we karaoke'd in the kitchen. In this home, we've loved deeply and disagreed lovingly over things in life. In this home, our marriage has endured some of the hardest days and some of our best days.

In this home, God has been glorified.

Disciple NOW 2017 - {RENEW}

photo courtesy of fb

 

Goodness. Have you ever walked away from a weekend with your body so amazingly tired, but your spirit so full of life?? We spent this past weekend with several teenagers, adults, staffers, God-loving folks through our Disciple Now event that was held at our church. And it was EPIC.

 

For those who don't know, Hunter and I absolutely love teenagers. I know, weird. But we do and we love that God has called us to that ministry to be able to love on them, do life with them, and hopefully pass on some valuable life lessons. It's easy for folks to disregard teenagers as the "problem with our society" but I can honestly tell you from years of being around teenagers (and being one myself at one time), they are not the problem. Teenagers go through so many hormones, emotions, feelings, things... It's crazy.

 

Anywho, the weekend's focus was RENEWing your heart, mind, soul, strength and to surrender everything to God for His glory. There were so many Gospel-driven points discussed throughout the weekend but the one thing that stood out to me the most and I want to share with this bloggity blog was this:

 

This life is NOT about you. PERIOD.

 

I'm guilty of forgetting why I'm here day in and day out because let's be honest, life gets BUSY. Life gets hard sometimes and there are days where I'm like, "Let me just get through this day." But that's not how we should look at each day. I really would have to do several posts about all that was talked about this past weekend but I want to leave you with this.... Where is your heart with God right now? Is it even with God?

 

If you have any questions or need prayers, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm one of those awkward people that will grab you and pray with you in the midst of everything going on around you. 

Each day is a {NEW} page

I love that each day comes without any real, concrete proof as for how that day will go. Sure, you can make plans to see a friend for dinner or vow that you will vacuum the house when you get home from work. Those moments can be planned, sometimes they come unexpectedly, but either way it can make for a great day.

 

There are those days where the unexpected, unplanned things come about. Maybe you run out of gas (knock on wood, I've never ran out of gas) or your hair goes flat in the Florida humidity. Sometimes a day ends with unwanted news that impacts your life in bigger ways. Those things can kind of make a day pretty crummy.

 

Regardless, each day is a new page in your chapter book of life. And how glorious is that??

 

For the last several weeks, my sweet boy has been working tirelessly to reach a goal he had set out before him. He took the necessary steps of paperwork, testing, questioning department heads, etc. and all to the come to a head just this past Monday. Monday came as a planned day to hopefully complete the final step in obtaining his goal... And he succeeded!

 

photo courtesy of the hubby

 

My husband hangs out in the woods all day for his job. Part of his hanging out includes conducting prescribed burns and he was finally able to obtain his certification to add to his resume. So many long days with physically exhausting demands on his body has allowed him to reach this goal with such certainty. I honestly could not be more proud of him and all the hard work he has put in to provide for our little family.

 

Hunter, this past Monday was a new page in your exciting book of life. I'm humbled to be married to you and excited to experience many more new pages turned in our lives together.

Angels {AMONGST} Us

via

 

This past weekend was one of those weekends where you wake up on Monday morning thinking, "Where did that weekend go?? Did we even have a weekend??" I usually take that as a good sign that the time was well spent and not a minute was wasted.

 

I woke up this morning in a particularly good mood (with it being a Monday and all) as I reminisced on this past weekend, thanking God for His angels that He brings into our lives. Hunter and I have some of the most genuine, kind, loving, realest friends I think anybody could ever have. Their generosity towards us is beyond humbling and reminds us so much of Jesus' love for us.

 

When I think of all of our dear friends and as I thank God for them, my mind always goes to the story of when Jesus washed His disciples' feet. That selfless, simple act has so much weight tied to it and some major life application lessons that can be applied by each and every one of us. I love how Jesus just taught a life lesson, in the middle of a bunch of dudes (who were arguing about their level of placement in heaven, mind you), without even batting an eye. At least that's how I picture the scenario. Total drop mic moment.

 

Hunter and I strive to be like Jesus every day by "washing the feet" of our friends. We strive to be kind, loving, servant-leaders, placing others before us, etc. So when a friend (or friends) do the very same thing in return to us, it always just sweeps us away. Kindness can be hard to come by in a world this dark, angry, and overran by sin. When you experience kindness, it reminds you of the love God showed His people through sending His only son, Jesus.

 

Thank you, God, for placing people in our lives that have shown Hunter, myself, and our family so much love. Thank you, God, for placing angels amongst us.