Rambling

shane and i finally came back from our vegas vacation late last night. we had an absolute blast. this trip we did vegas a little differently. we stayed at a hilton club resort instead of a casino hotel and it was like an amazing oasis. it was beautiful and quiet and exactly what we needed to recharge. in fact we liked it so much we joined their travel club. we bought a package of points that we can either use at the hilton club in las vegas or we can use them to spend a week at any of the hilton clubs anywhere in the world. also, if for some reason we don't go to a club one year and spend all our points, we can have them transferred to our hilton honors membership at 25 to 1 and they are there for life! this allows us to stay at any hilton hotel in the world! since i am such a travelholic, i am very, very excited about it. did i mention that for signing up that day they gave us a free trip?? we're thinking scotland!

on a different note, today was our first of three home visits with our adoption case worker renee. i have really been impressed by renee. not only is she incredibly helpful and keeps us organized, she is a beautiful combination of honesty and Godly compassion. i am very thankful the Lord has led us to her and that she will be the one aiding us through this journey. we spent about four hours this afternoon talking about our lives, our relationship and our experiences with her. i realize the point was for her to get a better understanding of what we are really about, but in some ways it was really great to get to talk about my life with shane. it was great to tell our love story, including the difficult parts. while i try not to ever take our relationship for granted, today really reaffirmed to me how truly special my marriage is. i am so blessed and i am so grateful to the Father for this relationship.

every time we meet with renee and every time shane and i have a discussion regarding the adoption, i become more and more excited about the child we are going to raise. other than being saved, i can not recall a time in which the Lord has called me to something, but He seems to be calling shane and i to this. i feel it so strongly. shane and i will continue to diligently pray for and about the birth mother, the child, the adoption and our role in all of it and we have faith that the Lord will bring His perfect will to fruition. i will also be praying that our hearts will be open to whatever, whomever and wherever the Lord may lead us.

peace and love.

I Can Take A Hint

Titus is haunting me. seriously. it seems like that book in the bible has come up in so many conversations, blogs i've read, and videos i've watched lately. in order to avoid a rather large neon sign that reads Titus falling on my car, last night i finally took the hint and sat down to read the scriptures again. for such a short book, Titus really packs a punch and receiving a gut punch i did.

according to Titus teaching sound doctrine is the order of the day, but teaching sound doctrine means that i need to actually live sound doctrine. yeah...about that.. in verses 2: 7-8 paul states, "show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us." i cannot even come up with all the ways i have failed at that today, much less this past week or this entire year in fact.

the Lord really exposed a major part of my life that is lacking. although i would consider myself to be a person of integrity who sees the grave importance of maintaining dignity and sound speech, more and more i realize that the "little" compromises i make here and there can begin to unravel my character and are causing me to be sinful and instead i look more like a person of this culture. this is especially damaging because i am a teacher in a public school full of lost students and students who believe they are christians but are misguided due to unbiblical principles and the lies the secular world tries to sell us. living sound doctrine is not only essential for my life, but also the lives of my students, co-workers, friends and family.

a friend of mine was talking about a friend she has who is a non-believer. my friend mentioned that it is scary that the outside world would probably not see much difference between her and this non-believer. we as christians should be living in such a way that others are desperate for what it is that seems to give us so much joy and peace and that allows us to love others in a way nothing else could. this is why understanding and living sound doctrine is so important.

just as i was about to begin to look up how to flog myself i continued to read the verses and was uplifted. "for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." 2:11-14. that is what is truly beautiful about the bible. first, you find out how truly wretched you are, and then the Lord reminds you how perfect and powerful He is, and that through Him living in sound doctrine is possible but that He still loves us when we fail. that is truly beautiful. i'm glad i took the hint.

here's to waltzing my way to sound doctrine.

peace and love.

Day of Days

tomorrow is going to be a tough day all around. courteney is going to have her surgery and i have cheerleading tryouts all on the same day. of course with what courteney is about to face, high school cheerleading seems so incredibly trite and insignificant, but in some ways it has taken on a new meaning to me. i have been given an opportunity by the Father to be a light and a witness to these girls on a daily basis...and on a daily basis i completely blow it. granted there are so many things about life that are so much more important than cheerleading, at the same time, it's really not about the cheerleading, it's about the opportunity to further Christ's kingdom. In James God warns that not many people should enter into the teaching profession, and now i understand why. we are on the front lines everyday and the opportunity we have to present Christ to these kids is amazing. therefore, i am trying to see this tryout time as an opportunity to do the Lord's work. let's hope i can maintain these ideals as i'm sitting in the principal's office on monday!!

on a separate note, please pray for courteney tonight. pray for the wisdom of the doctor's, for a peace to fall over the family and courteney, and that no matter what the Lord's will is, that He will use this situation to His glory. i want to thank you so much for the prayers and the love and support you have already bestowed upon us. shane and i are so blessed with such wonderful family and friends. i love you all!!

peace and love.

Winter Wonderland

as shocking as it is it seems, the weather man finally got one right as we watched snow fall on birmingham this morning. when i woke up around 6:30 this morning, as my "precious" puppy began to lovingly demand to go out, i found that it was heavily snowing. much to shane's shagrin i woke him up so he could enjoy the moment as well. surprisingly it continued to snow until about noon.

we let milly outside to enjoy the snow and she began eating it as if it was the best treat she'd ever had! later we took a family walk around the neighborhood to really take it all in. it was truly a great day and a memory that i'm thankful to have.

i guess we can look forward to more snow like this in about another 9 years! enjoy the pics and the video (possibly...if i can get it to upload).

peace and love.