Saying yes to the Ms Dots in your life

There is a hashtag going around on Instagram called #thestoriesofourhouses. My wise friend Lori (environmentsofgrace) started it to encourage us to share the memories attached to our houses, furniture and special pieces in our homes.  That is right up my alley because  pretty much all my stuff comes with a story.  The one I wanted to share about today was  apparently three sentences too long for Instagram  and there was nothing in the story I wanted to cut out so here I am.... forced to blog. lol.

Anyways, thank you for taking the time to pop over here to read it.  I pray it blesses you.  

Years ago when Nick was called to his first church, there was a sweet lady who lived in the community named Ms Dot. She and her husband were very active at a church in town where they had been members  for many years. I would stop by to visit them from time to time to check on them and was so drawn to Ms Dot's demeanor. She had a quiet spirit, the most inviting smile and always had a twinkle in her eye.

She would call me often to invite me to the ladies bible study that her church had each week and always mentioned it when I stopped to visit. But as a brand new pastor's wife with young children and demands of our own church activities, I would always decline her invitation. Ms Dot never gave up though and one day she caught me in a "weak" moment and I said yes.  Mad at myself for adding yet another thing to my over committed schedule, I begrudgingly kept my promise out of my respect for Ms Dot and went with her. 

 Well, that bible study turned out to be a game changer for my entire life. It was the first in-depth bible study I had ever done and God used it to ignite a flame and passion for His word that I had never experienced before. This became the foundation for all that I am and all that I am still becoming in Christ today!  I am forever grateful for Ms Dot's quiet tenacity and persistence to not give up on the young new preachers wife down the road.  

Now how do these peacocks fit into this story??  Well, a few years later Ms Dot's husband passed away and she decided to move into town to be closer to her church family. Our church bought her house and  it became our new parsonage. When we moved in, I found these little beauties in a box out in the shed that Ms Dot had made years ago.  They became instant treasures of mine...reminding me of Titus 2 & the role we as women of God, have to mentor and invest into the next generation whose coming behind us. 

"Tell older women to live their lives in a way that shows they are dedicated to God.  Tell then not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of virtue.  In this way they will teach young women to show love to their husbands and children, to use good judgment, and to be morally pure, Also, tell them to teach young women to be homemakers, to be kind, and to place themselves under their husbands' authority.  Then no one can speak evil of God's word." Titus 2:3-5

Maybe you have a Ms Dot in your life that you have been putting off because life is just too busy to add one more thing. Girl, when you have a woman whose willing to make time to pour into you what God has taught her through the years from His Word along with her life experience, she is worth her weight in gold!  Make the time. You won't regret it.

 And maybe some of us are supposed to BE a Ms Dot to a young woman in our lives. Not only is that a privilege, it's a command for us in God's word. It's how we help make the Body of Christ beautiful and  powerful  and functioning the way God designed.  

Make the time.

#sayyestoyourMsDottoday #beaMsDot

Becoming | The Unfolding of You

I've had the pleasure of meeting some pretty incredible women in my life.  And when the Lord placed Jeanne Oliver in my small group last year at Hope Spoken, I had no idea of the sweet friendship that He had just birthed in my heart.

I admire Jeanne for so many reasons.  But what encourages and inspires me most is her love to equip and encourage people to be more.  To become more.  To dream big and then take the steps to make it happen.  I am so blessed to call her my friend and to have her believe in the things the Lord is at work doing in my life and in the life of my family.

When she asked me to be a part of her new video series she would be offering I was so humbled and honored.  She has gathered a vast variety of women all in different stages of life, all with different stories to share about what we are becoming in Christ....The Unfolding of You.

You can check out Jeanne's blog post here that tells all about the course and how it came about.

Here are the incredible women I am joining as we share our hearts with honesty and transparency, as we continue to grow in grace in the journeys the Lord has us all on.

Now, the one thing I am NOT becoming yet is efficient when it comes to time management!  I am such a horrible procrastinator.  Like terrible.   I should have already shared this with y'all forever and ago.  Please forgive me. The course has already begun but it is one you can jump in at any time and watch the videos at your own convenience.  SO... I hope you take advantage of this incredible opportunity.  Jeanne is offering this entire course FREE!  There has been so much work that has gone into it.  I know it will be a blessing to you.  As of right now there are over 5,000 ladies signed up for this series!  WHAT??  God is doing big things and spreading His truth in ways we could have never imagined.  I hope you join us!

AND.....today is the day that my video airs.  Gulp.  I ain't gonna lie.  I'm a little nervous to go watch it myself.  Long story short, and I share a little bit about this in the video, I had a nice polished version of what I was gonna share.  Nick worked the camera.  I looked adorable...as in my hair was washed and I had on fresh makeup.  It all looked great.  But I didn't have a peace about what I shared.  The Lord just wouldn't let it go.  So what y'all will get to see is the raw version right after my morning quiet time with the Lord when I decided to record it all over again and throw my notes out the window and just share my heart.  I fluffed up the front of my hair,  touched up  yesterday's make up, threw on a shirt and sat there in my pajama bottoms all by myself and let it flow.   It's not polished. It's not perfect.  It's certainly not professional. But it's honest and its real and it's where the Lord is using me right now in this season of my life.  

The creative video was just gonna be me and Lydia singing together while Marcus played  his guitar for us but it kind of evolved and I ended up giving y'all a glimpse into Porterville Night.   I wasn't planning on that.  We were gonna be shooting basically just in the living room but ended up in the kitchen....which was a mess.  I still had dishes on the counter and pots on the stove from the day before and here I am in there shooting a video that over 5,000 will potentially be watching.   I should be mortified about that but I'm really not.  It's me.  It's who I am.  More than likely if you pop in to visit, your'e gonna find dishes in the sink and projects sitting on the counter.  

For those of you who are fans of Lydia and Marcus sharing their 15 second teasers of them singing on instagram, I have them singing an entire song!  I kinda feel like a caught a unicorn or something.  You might want to sign up just to watch that.

SO.  I hope you join me.  I pray the Lord uses something that is said over this 8 week course to encourage and equip you on your own journey.  The body of Christ is such a gift and I'm thankful foe these ladies opening up their lives to us.

Here's all the info you need to sign up and get started.

Directions to register:

To join this free study you just need to be registered at jeanneoliver.ning.com(registering is free).

Once you are on the site you will find this study, free videos (business and art), my Creativity Takes Courage series and new online courses along the left hand side of the page.

You will find all of our courses/videos under the COURSES heading.

To register for Becoming | The Unfolding of You

1) Go to COURSES along the left hand side of the page

2) Go to the bottom of the course and click “view all” to find Becoming | The Unfolding of You

4) Click on Becoming | The Unfolding of You

3) Click the +join button on the upper right hand side

4) All of the details are on the page and you are all set for the study to begin on January 6, 2015

It's good to remember

Please tell me y'all have the app called Time Hop.  It is by far my favorite.  It "goes back in time" and shows you anything you posted on social media in the past seven years on that exact day.  There is seldom a day that goes by where me or one of my girls does not group text each other a link or pic from our Time Hop.  It is so fun and such a great reminder of God's faithfulness.  I even find myself checking it to help me remember stuff. (Like birthdays!) And did I mention it's free?...you just can't go wrong.

Anyways, when today's Time Hop goodness popped up it put a really big smile on my face.  It showed a link to a blog post that I had posted three years ago today.

The post was prompted by a text that was sent to me on that exact day one year earlier. (Four years ago today)

Ha!  This is how we found out about our little Nate Dog. In a text. lol.  Excuse the poor grammar in my response back to her.  I was kinda in shock....in a-oh my gosh-I'm so excited- this can't be real kind of way.  At the time she sent that text, Rosalyn was 2 yrs old and Julia Rose was 6 months old.

Here is the link to that post.  You really MUST read it in order for the rest of what I'm about to say to make sense.  It's short and sweet...I  promise.  But for those who won't go click over, here's an excerpt from the post...

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.2 Corinthians 9:8

 First off, God is able. Stop right there. That truth alone is enough. period.But there's more!  God's grace IS sufficient for ALL things....The big stuff of life, the little everyday things of life and everything in-between.And it's not only sufficient.. It's abundantly sufficient! His grace at work in our lives produces an abundance of whatever is needed for the task at hand. 

Elizabeth needed patience. She needed to be able to trust what God was doing with her family.She needed to let go of control and let God have control.
And He has done that in and through her.Sure, she still has moments of being worn out physically and emotionally.

But, I witnessed the Lord graciously equip her with what she needs for this season of her life."

Wow.  So much has happened since I wrote those words.  Chris resigned as a youth pastor to enroll full time in seminary.  They moved 10 hours away from all their family.   Chris's laundry business has also expanded which keeps him super busy.  Rosalyn has started Kindergarten.  Julia Rose has broken her leg and arm three times. Elizabeth has turned her love for essential oils into her own home business and Chris went on staff as an intern at their church while he still takes seminary classes online. And they've moved two more times in the midst of all of this.

And then there is this... a text I got earlier this year from Elizabeth when she and I were planning a surprise birthday party for my mom, Lydia and Julia Rose who are all the middle children.  "Middles"

Yes, I found out about two of my grandchildren through a text message.  lol.  I love it. Of course this was followed by a loud squeal from me, then me telling her daddy, then him praising Jesus, and then a phone call to hear her voice.  And then lots of excited giggling from me and lots of weary sighs from Elizabeth.

You see, among lots of other surprises that has taken place in the last three years, Nate didn't turn out as "laid back" as we thought he was.  lol.  He is a hand full at times. And loves to "test the boundaries" his parents have established for him.  To say he keeps them busy is an understatement.

As I write this, Elizabeth is nearing the end of her pregnancy.  She only has about 4 more weeks, give or take and she is feeling it.  She stays tired but oh my goodness, she is beautiful.

These kids are so pumped up to meet their little sister.  I can't wait to watch them take on this new adventure as the new family dynamics change upon her arrival.  (Getting Rosalyn to school across town on time with a new baby is gonna be fun for sure. Especially when that first born likes to be ON TIME no matter what.)

Yep there has been a lot of things that have changed since I wrote that first blog post.  Lots of unexpected challenges for sure.

But this Truth remains.  It never changes.

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

It was true then and it is true now. 

I know Chris and Elizabeth have lots of things they will face that will seem impossible as they enter into being a family of six.  I know they at times have questioned what God is up to with entrusting them with four children to raise and nurture.  I know at times they are scared to death they are just messing them up.... I know this because it's the same fears that every parent has had at one time or another. 

But what I also know, and God has proven to me in my own life, and I've watched Him prove it to Chris and Elizabeth in theirs,  is that God is able.  And His grace is sufficient.

I'm praying these two walk and live in this promise in the days and months and years ahead...

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

I absolutely cannot wait to meet the next little human that these two have made together.

God is so great! 

Making memories

As a parent, I always thought life would get simpler once the girls were all married.  And it has in some ways for sure.  Cooking supper and grocery shopping is simpler.  Getting dressed for church and having the bathroom all to myself is definitely simpler. 

But the part about being concerned for them and worrying about your kids is no different. Definitely not simpler.  Now I think about all kinds of other stuff. Where they live.  Where they go to church.  Are they getting groceries.  Do the grand kids have all they need for school.  I could go on and on.

I'm not a worrier by nature.  I'm really not.  My family can testify to that.  I'm pretty laid back about stuff and just go with it.  I'm finding that is easier when it's  just me and Nick involved or when the girls were still under our roof.  Now that they are gone, it's harder to watch them struggle with things and not want to step in and try to fix it.  I never thought of myself as a fixer.  But I'm morphing into one.

I say all that to say this… A couple of weeks ago, it seems like all three of the girls and their families had needs all at the same time.  Stuff that was out of my hands.  I couldn't fix them.  That day at lunch, as Nick thanked God for our food, he prayed for our girls and their families as he always does, asking God to provide for them and to use them for His glory in every circumstance and he then said something I've heard him say a thousand times through the years…

"Lord, You love our girls even more than we do."

Those words were like a slap in the face and a big warm hug all rolled up in one.

As much as I love my girls and their husbands and my grandchildren, it doesn't even compare to how He loves them.  And whatever He is allowing in their life..good and bad… it's for a divine purpose.

I found so much comfort in that prayer that day that I've heard their daddy say so many times.

Our God is a loving Father who wants to load us down with good things.

He wants us to experience life to the fullest with much joy.

He goes the extra mile for us always and spares no expense when it comes to His love.

Such a great reminder.  Such a great example for us as a parent.

I try to go the extra mile to make my girls feel loved and special.

I can't fix things all the time for them.  I'm not supposed to.

But I do want to live a life making memories.

And that's what we did for Lauren's birthday last week.

It was her first birthday away from family.  If you've followed us long enough, you know we whoop it up for birthdays. (here, here and here are just a few examples. Oh..and this.)

I love to celebrate their lives and do it up grand.  

So Lauren was a little bummed none of us would be joining her on her actual birthday.

Lydia had to work so were planning to come the next day and stay the weekend.  But it just so happens that Lydia was able to take off ….so we took off.

And surprised the birthday girl.  

Strap in and grab a cup of coffee…I'm about to bombard you with pictures.

But this is my little place to document our families adventures. 

Sadly, I don't do photo albums like the good old days. 

Feel free to scroll to the bottom now if you want.

It won't hurt my feelings.  I promise.  ;)

 The Birthday Girl

 This pic was part of a fun photo shoot by our friends and incredible photographers, April and Paul.

 On our way there we passed a cotton field right at the golden hour.  I mean…come on. We had to stop.

Apparently Lydia has never seen cotton up close which I'm still not sure about the accuracy of that.
But nonetheless, she was mesmerized and possibly might have picked a puff.

Blake had taken her to eat for her birthday and then to "get coffee" afterwards where Lydia and I were waiting.  hee hee. She walked right passed us.  We sat there watching her for what seemed like 10 minutes.

 She finally saw us (or heard us laughing) and was pretty excited.

But this is where she got really excited.
She plopped down. Stuck a pose.  And was like "bring on the presents".

 We did not disappoint.

One of my favorites.  This is so Lauren.

The next day we had a little morning fun with the self timer.

And my personal favorite.

These rad shirts are from my friend, Tiffini.  She has awesome stuff at her shop House of Belonging.

Then we went thrifting. But first Startbucks.  It was buy one get one free the entire time we were there so that worked out great.  I also discovered you can get half the syrup so it's not as sweet!  Holla!  This was life changing! I also learned big buns were not made for the backseat of Lauren's car.

After spending all day riding in the back seat, this is my "I'm really carsick but I'll smile if I have to" face.  Note to self:  A venti Caramel Chestnut Latte on an empty stomach in the back seat does not work for you.

Blakey Poo met us for supper.  Cutie pies.

 Our first full day there was a blast.

This pretty much was the theme of Day 2.

It was all about the food.

Kicking it off at The Tin Cow. If you are ever in Pensacola, and you like burgers, go there. You won't be disappointed.  The pic is a little blurry but you mark what you want and give it to the waitress.  You can choose from all kinds of burgers…venison, bison, Angus, Kobe, Chicken….and the toppings are endless. Stay away from the truffle infused ketchup though…blegh! But by all means, get the house bacon mayo!

This is us feeling  happy about our selections.  ;)

After stuffing our faces at the Tin Cow, we walked a few feet down the sidewalk to this little bakery.  We had us a groupon.  $11 for $20 worth of food. We were like "I'll take one of these and one of these…"  The sky was the limit.  Or so we thought.  Apparently $20 doesn't go very far at Adonna's.  We might have had to pay a little extra.  Hashtag oops.

After all that we had to walk it off some.  And stop and take pics in front of pretty walls.

Then we had to stop for a little street entertainment…

The girls were ready to head home and put on PJ's after this public display.

On day three we got to go worship with Blake and Lauren at their new church.  That was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  Getting to meet their pastor and his wife was a blessing.  He preached the Word with sound doctrine, full of passion.  It blesses me to know they are being fed and shepherded. 

 One of my greatest prayers is that my kids are part of a church family, growing and serving wherever the Lords sends them.  That they will seek a church that teaches truth with a pastor that makes the Word the most important thing.  Blake and Lauren won't be able to be a part of this very  long before they will have to move,  but I'm thankful for this season the Lord does have them there.

After church we went to the Mellow Mushroom for lunch.  This was my first time.  I liked it.

That's my baby pizza on the bottom loaded down with vegetables.  It was super good.  Kind of pricey…like, I'd probably only go back if I had a coupon but I'm cheap like that so don't mind me.

Then these two tortured us with this as we waited in line at Starbucks. 

 (But it was last day for the buy one get one free…so we kinda had to)

We came home and put on our PJ's and never left the couch until the next morning.

Except to answer the door for the delivery guy when he brought our Chinese food for supper.

And even then… we made Blake get up and do it.

Our last day started with a big dog pile on top of Lydia.

Then we did a little shopping.  And for all those who thought this was Elizabeth's pregnant belly when I posted it on instagram….come on y'all.  She would have to be pregnant with a small elephant if it was.   But I get y'alls excited hearts that made you jump to a rash conclusion…you was hoping it was her because that meant she would have been there too.  Sweet.

Big bun probs again.  And I totally made Lydia sit in the back seat and I wasn't  the least bit sad.

 We somehow ended up at Steak and Shake during their half price shakes happy hour.

Then it was time to head home.  It was a great birthday weekend for Lauren. The only thing missing was Elizabeth.  I don't think any of us will ever fully get used to not being able to all be together all the time.  But God gives us the grace to embrace it.  I'm already looking forward to next month's visit to see Elizabeth and her crew!

The next day I spent a good portion of the morning catching up with my favorite person in the world. I'm so thankful for him and his willingness to always bless me and our girls with time together.  He totally gets our girl needs. And our constant  schemes and dreams and plans we come up with for our adventures.

He is the best example of a good father.

He's an incredible example of a lover of my soul.

I learn so much about the Lord through the way he lives his life before me and the sacrifices he makes for me.  

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."  James 1:17