epic

i think i've mentioned once or seventeen times

that we are blessed to have the opportunity

to worship at not one but two amazing churches.

Passion City Church 

is the brick & mortar church

that spun out of Passion Conferences.

to be taught by Louie Giglio

& worship with Chris Tomlin & Christy Nockels ( just to name a few)

is life changing.

every. single. time.

this week Savannah was able to attend a few days of the conferences

along with 22,000 others!

can you imagine?

seriously. the worship in that place of 22,000 kids on fire for their lord.

she was able to hear Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Andy Stanley & of course Louie

in their words

" taking a step in a journey that is all about finding true meaning

as we take our places in a story that is so much bigger

than ourselves.

it's about trading small dreams

for a roll in a grand epic that is shaping history

& has no end!"

i love how Beth Moore describes the Passion conferences..."If you’re not familiar with the Passion movement (Louie and Shelley Giglio, founders), I will never do justice to it here in this brief explanation so please google it and behold a mighty work of God. In a nutshell, however, it is perhaps the most powerful thing God is doing among college-age men and women across the globe."

amazing? 

oh yes!

Savannah came each day totally fired up for the lord.

for her part  in the "bigger picture"

& how that will look in her future!

one of the most amazing things that occurred over those 4 days

is the generous hearts of this next generation.

those 'poor' college kids raised

ONE MILLION dollars

oh yes they did

to go towards various ministries.

$30 a month to support a child in south Africa.

from their budget

is a major sacrifice.

well

they supported over 2,000 kids!

oh how those kids inspire me.

the dynamic, creative, powerful tools Passion used to give the kids a glimpse into the ministries they would be supporting was truly an amazing site to behold

(all of these images i'm sharing today were from friends of Savannah's or sites she found)

 

the little white cards represented young girls that were bought out of a life of sex trafficking .

which if you are clueless

is an enormous industry here in America.

they gave money

so that34 homes will be built in Haiti

these cylinders represented wells.

each time the kids gave money they were

able to pour in water to signify the clean water given

 

water bottles again signifying purchasing clean water for villages

because i wasn't there & have left out many or given you incorrect numbers

because there were so many ministries

because they gave a million dollars

& because i would love for you to hear

& if you are still with me

 here's an awesome new song for you

time to bring my A game

 

there was a time

when i ran 10k races frequently. 

at least monthly, & often times more than that.

gregg ran college track

but became a distance runner in his 20's.

he ran marathons

while i trained for half marathons.

i love running.

always have.

i am fired up excited...

what do you get when you combine my favorite place

& my favorite hobby?

well i'll tell ya...

The Seaside Half Marathon

(for some reason the hyperlink won't highlight in color, but you can click to open the link)

  

the last time i ran one of these

i was much much younger 

& much thinner

pre 30's, pre 40's, pre FOUR children.

oh my word.

the other day i headed out for my long run of the week.

i found myself completely mentally defeated.

'who do you think you are'

' you can't do this'

'you're only running 5 today...in 8 weeks- 13?.  doubt it'

'you'll be the oldest one there'

'you'll finish last'

seriously

i think the physical challenge will equal the mental challenge ahead of me.

i will, however, tell you a couple things that i think are honestly just little gifts from the Lord.

first of all, i was holding off on the pricey registration fee

until after Christmas.

each day i'd pull up the facebook page & check updates

only to find one day, that  it had filled up!

several days later i received an email from one of the event planners

-there were a few extra numbers available from sponsors not running.

score!!

then came booking a place for the night.

seaside is not a budget destination,

well not in our checkbook.

almost all the smaller sites were already booked

for the race.

my new bff at the  cottage rental agency 

emailed yesterday

& offered us a sweet deal

(less than half the normal fee)

at Inn by the Sea!!

( dan & i stayed there on our honeymoon!-it was josephine's back then)

score again! 

i might feel a tad old

& a tad intimidated

( i have visions of being lapped by super slender blond 26 year olds. multiple times)

but

i can NOT wait to run by the ocean

even if it is for 13.1 miles!

i'm hoping that same somewhat miracle 

that occurred giving me both a great place to stay 

& a number for the race

will translate into a new can-do attitude.

i'll keep you posted!

(found)

for my friend edie

when tragedy occurs in the life of another

it leaves us in a place of not knowing what to do, how to respond, or even how to help.

our daily conversations

are taken to a depth that is both uncomfortable & frightening.

uncomfortable because

we don't know what to do

we don't know how to help

we don't know what to say

we can't even imagine their pain much less verbalize our thoughts.

frightening because

we're in an emotional place that is dark

that threatens to rob our normalcy.

the normalcy in which we find comfort and security

we want to take their pain away

we wish the tragedy had never occurred

i remember after gregg died

one of the challenges for me was to let things go that people either said

or the things that were actually never said

things like..."its meant for your good"

the "well at least you have..."

but maybe even the more painful to me

was seeing a friend who said nothing

who never even acknowledged our loss. my pain.

who obviously felt that not bringing up the obvious would somehow bring me comfort.

while i didn't want to dwell in the sad place, i needed affirmation.

just a simple "i'm sorry....i'm praying"

i time i began to realize that people many times just don't know what to say

& that some feel saying nothing will help be a distraction to the tragedy.

i've probably done the same to someone else. & for that i am deeply sorry.

probably besides the obvious overwhelming single parenting issue i faced,

the biggest fear that stared me down was the fear that the sadness i felt during his illness & death

would stay with me forever.

  i feared the sadness would seep into every fiber of my being 

and take over. 

it would rob my cheerful disposition.

it would be a part of me daily, leaving me to view the life around me in a blur, void of color.

my friend edie lost her home 

& her worldly possessions 

in a house fire two weeks ago.

edie expressed that same fear. 

while i can't comprehend the magnitue of her loss,

i can understand that emotion.

today is edie's birthday & we are celebrating her today

edie is one of the most amazing women i've ever "not met" in  real life.

in my dream cul de sac, she would totally be my neighbor.

if she taught bible study at my church, i'd be in her class.

if she were still practicing medicine, she would be my doctor.

she has endured a loss i can not comprehend.

i feel far away & helpless.

i don't know what to say

but i don't want to say nothing

edie my prayer for you today is that you grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

that you have peace that surpasses all of our own understanding.

that you know in the depth of your soul that He will comfort all who mourn,

 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor.

 They will rebuild the ancient ruins

several weeks ago i had the honor of edie guest posting for me. she blew me away.  the love for her family, the sacrifices that she has made & the way the Lord radiates in her life inspires me. daily.

 while her brick & mortar home is no longer standing. i know she will rise.

i know this current sadness will NOT take up permanent residence.

if you have not read edie's blog, i highly encourage you to spend some time with her.

i think you'll be just as smitten as i.

may you truly have a happy birthday sweet edie

we love you!!

The Evans family

i wanted to share another family shoot i did a few weeks before Christmas.

three years ago i posted about jack & luke

30 week premies 

precious little ones 

i photographed them hours after they were born
& then again , last month, all healthy & strong

brave little fellas who are now almost 3 1/2 years old!

you must go back & pull up the link & see how tiny these little guys were

& now look at them!

i asked their mama what her goal was...

one photo with all four of them...

one issue though...

the twins are not fans of cameras.

so we nabbed the above photo within the first 2 minutes

& spent the next hour sneaking around with my camera.

it was a bitter cold morning

but they were troopers.

i was able to get some sweet ones

& feel blessed to know this precious family

for the love of trader joes

 the other day i was unloading all my yummies from trader joes

only to realize my counter top was full of lovely food!

 not only delicious but in great packaging too.

so i did what any other strange camera obsessed person would do.

i photographed a few items 

& thought i'd share a few of my favorites things with you!

trader joes blueberry preserves

out of this world!

personally, i have yet to try this

little bit was not a fan

but dan gives it a thumbs up

i'll be honest

i bought these purely for the packaging.

no lie.

i've only eaten one.

it was, however, quite yummy

buttery caramels with sea salt.

gone.

every last one.

candy cane joe-joes

please tell me you know all about these.

fabulous

& usually sold out before christmas

 my favorite spaghetti sauce.

i usually make mine from scratch 

& then throw in a jar of store bought to the pot.

i feel they all basically taste quite similar

but this one is wonderful 

& i bet i could pick it out of a taste test, blindfolded

 

frozen steel cut oatmeal

these are awesome!

comes in pack of two

throw one in the microwave, add agave nectar

& you have the perfect winter breakfast

 

introducing our new favorite green veggie

brussel sprouts

who knew bobby flay was throwing down

with pioneer woman

roasted brussel sprouts

the exact same night they made their debut at the knudsen home.

it's a sign

i have a future in cool foodie circles.

i can feel it now.

seriously

pull 'em off their stalk

rinse

cut the little ends

mix with evoo

& sea salt

roast for 20sh minutes at 400

perfect greens!

i love their flowers

i love their salad...the one with dried fruit & blue cheese. power something or other. yummy

i love their flour & sugar packaging

i love their ginormous bottle of evoo. 

but possibly my most favorite tj's item is their frozen orange chicken.

now

if only tj's would open a little closer to our home...

what are your fave's from tj's
do tell