Wednesday, August 31, 2011

dinner for friends

several weeks ago
we were blessed to have a quickie visit 
from two awesome ladies!
that became real life friends.
i love that girl
& feel like each time we're able to chat
which is rare & usually only for a few minutes
it's like no time has even passed.

my girls love her too.
she swings through atlanta every once in a while
& fortunately
we usually are able to hook up.

amelia & i met at ashley's home a couple years ago.
she is super cute & super funny.
she has the best laugh.
i love spending time with her!

we whipped up a quick & simple dinner
& spent the rest of the evening
chatting and laughing and talking about clothes & shoes
& jewelry and decorating
and boys and exercise and other awesome things.


my girls think i'm pretty cool
since i have such cool , fun, hysterical & YOUNG
friends like ashley & amelia.

i told them while i'd give anything to have them as real life neighbors,
i'll be more than happy to visit with them when ever i can get it!

crunchy italian bread
caesar salad & my own personal giada made home made croutons.

i can't remember if we served desert
& if we did, what it was.
but i do remember a special evening
with wonderful friends
and all my family together
(even trevor dropped by to meet the legendary ashley)
sitting around a my kitchen table 
that was painted white & looked awful
& counting my blessings
that i call these two women my friends.

















 I thank my God every time I remember you. 
philippians 1.3




Monday, August 29, 2011

step two: a grateful heart

when my girls were younger, i placed two small journals on our kitchen table.
a thankfulness journal & a prayer request journal.
they were nothing special as far as books go
but my hope was that these little guys would pack a powerful reminder to each of us
to find something each day in which we were grateful
&
a physical reminder to pray for others.




i'll be honest
every page isn't full in those books
but i do have a keepsake of sweet prayers
& sweet reminders of things their hearts were grateful for.




i wrote last week about some things i need to do 
in order to get my time and my priorities in line.

the first and obvious step for me personally 
is spending quality time each morning reading scripture.
the second step
is cultivating a heart of gratitude.

i saw this little gratitude journal at one of my favorite stores in Seaside
but you can grab it here 

Gratitude: A Journal




i've placed this journal
once again,
beside our kitchen table.
my prayer is that each of us will take a moment to reflect on something
each day
that we are thankful for.
something each day
to remind us to look for the good
to look for miracle in the simple every day
to be wowed by the things that might otherwise be taken for granted.


i think many of us have been blown away
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

let me share a few of Ann's thoughts~~

"when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me." 

"Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle."

& possibly my favorite~ 

"Being in a hurry. 
Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me.
I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing.... 
Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. 
It turns out I was throwing it away."
ann voskamp
~

my hope for you today
is no matter where you are,
whether your personal gratitude journal
(whatever that may be)
is overflowing with blessings
or your gratitude is truly a sacrifice of praise
lifted up when your day is painful or your heart is dry,
that we each take the time
& enter what truly is in front of us
&
find that for which we are grateful.
i'm betting the length of that list would
blow us away

xo

Saturday, August 27, 2011

sponsors & books

i frequently read blogs through my google reader. 
when i do so, i miss out on many of the fun links or advertisements
that are usually listed on the side margins.
so,
at the risk of looking like a giant commercial
i wanted to just give a quick update on a couple of my sponsors
(listed in the side margins)
and some of their current specials.

Life to the Full Kitchen Collection by DaySpring

first of all i wanted to let you know
that the Life to the Full line over at Dayspring
is currently 50% off.
( clicking on images will direct you to the correct sites)

also, they have a great line of back to school items too.
i love this one~




while i'm way behind in the actual book club,
(featured in the early part of summer)
i highly recommend
 kelly minter's latest book,
The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ

you can start here & watch the videos if you so desire.
between angie, jess & kelly
i can't think of a better way to spent book club time!

The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ


i'm really tickled to share with you
Grace for the Good Girl
releasing in September.
my review will follow in a couple of weeks....
but it's good ya'll.
really good!!

grace for the good girl by emily p. freeman

Easy Canvas Prints are offering 20% offfree shipping
a free 8x10 for all orders over $60!


i have a list of a few i need to order myself!

alrighty
thanks for allowing me to interupt my regular scheduled entries.
have a great weekend!

Friday, August 26, 2011

introducing josh & the joy of red TOMS

i ran over to athens earlier this week to take savannah a little
"congrats on your new sorority" gift, also know as red TOMS.
move in day was totally hectic & the girls hadn't finished decorating their dorm
so
i had reason #2 for a visit.

of course as soon as i got there i realized i had left my wide angle lens at home,
hence the choppy photos.














 savannah & i have talked a few times
about how fortunate and blessed she is
to start off her college life on such a good foot.
she is seeking out others that love the Lord
& finding so many on the same page as she.

her roommate Mckinley is a major answer to prayer.
they have such a great connection already
& seem as if they've known each other for years.
she wasn't able to visit with us that day...
she had classes.
imagine that.


i also got to meet josh.
josh is trevor's roommate.
i've heard big things about josh~
"josh is so cute"
"josh is charming"
"josh is such a great guy"
(sources will go unnamed)
he was indeed!

these four are going to be life long friends.
they already seem like a hilarious sitcom.

to all the moms & dads out there
who've raised the Josh's and the Trevor's and the Mckinley's...
what an honor & blessing it is to see such great young adults
who i'm certain 
bless those that they are around
encourage each other
will change their world.

i can't wait to watch it happen!


Thursday, August 25, 2011

step one


yesterday i woke up with an awful headache.
went in & snuggled with caroline as i woke her up
wishing we didn't have to go to school and could stay in bed all day.
wrote my balance post.
ate yogurt & some yummy homemade granola
after finding out my cholesterol is high.

moments after pushing the publish button, received a call from a precious friend.
we shamefully admitted to each other
that we both haven't picked up our bibles in a while
& really spent time with the lord.
we cried about sending first borns off
& how our babies aren't really babies any more.
we shared about how thankful we are for loving & loyal hubby's.
how as mama's we long to have our families together
& whether its for good & happy things or not
it's just plain hard when one is gone.
we talked about the power of prayer
& having accountability.
my headache got worse
the computer was blurry 
and it was entirely too bright outside.
i climbed back in bed.
for hours.
spent most of the day there
& then climbed back in again after dinner.

i feel much better today
no more gosh awful headache.
but the truth is,
one of the main reasons i feel so off
i'm certain
is because i haven't been in the word.
i'm so ashamed to even admit that.


while my bible is laying right beside my computer
it's much easier for me to open my laptop
than to open the scriptures.
it apparantly is more important to see what others have to say to me
than what He does.
the other day, caroline picked up my 364 bible.
it's a great little paperback version that takes you through the scriptures
in chronological order in a year.
she said "mama, you left your book mark in april. want me to move it over to august for you?"
she was being totally sincere.


i'm an open book here on my blog
but i really want to be more intentional
about journaling with paper and pen.
there have been so many specific answers to prayer in the last several days
that if i don't write them down, i fear i'll forget them.
so
first step in operation find balance
is the obvious.
it was my new years goal months ago.

& apparantly, changing my diet
to fish, chicken and oatmeal
is step two.
wink.

ya'll have a great day!
~

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

balance

i need some balance.

not only do i need balance,
i need to figure out exactly what's out of balance.
i assume it's balance that i need
because whenever something feels out of whack
physically, mentally or spiritually
something's out of balance right?
hence my conclusion.


i'm not feeling very creative
& maybe not even very motivated.


maybe it's just post summer weirdness.
sometimes i feel i'm not very intentional with how i spend my time in the summer
so maybe that's left me in a place that feels out of focus.


maybe it's the fact that i'm in the process of adjusting to our new family dynamics
after sending savannah off to college.
i vascillate daily between joy for all that's awesome in her life right now
and the fantastic orchestration of so many good & perfect details
and
honestly just how very strange it is to have a child leave the nest.


i'm ok.
really i am.
just feeling sort of in a weird place
&
figured i could come here and share that with you.
& speaking of you,
(i want to end this downer of a post on a good note)
i want to thank ya'll.
i continue to be so blessed and encouraged by those of you
who leave sweet comments or send me notes and emails
of encouragement.
YOU
are a blessing that i don't ever want to take for granted.
thank you
&
as for me,
hopefully i'll feel all straightened out soon.
i'll keep you posted!
~
 

James 1:17
 Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 
who does not change like shifting shadows.