Every morning my sleeping beauty wakes from her slumber and cries out for me. This is one of my favorite parts of the day.  I go and stick my head over her crib and that face lights up and she squeals with delight to see her mama.  I scoop her up in my arms and snuggle her.  She is so happy to see me and can’t wait to spend some quality time with me.

Seek the face of your heavenly father today.  Squeal with delight when HE leans in to take you in His arms.  It’ll be the best part of your day…and His.

I’ll admit it. I can be lazy. Sometimes I take the short cuts just to make life a little bit easier. Jessi loves her swing. Loves it. That girl would live in the thing if I’d let her. We are in the process of trying to get on a good sleep schedule hoping it helps with some fussiness if she’s napping well throughout the day. So a lot of times I feed her and stick her in the swing and let it rock her to sleep. Why…so I can lay on the couch eating bon bons and watching CSI reruns?? Hello lazy me!! It hit me that the only time I rock her to sleep and put her down is at bedtime. Ok…go ahead and judge. But sometimes this process takes a while and CSI is calling!!

This made me think…how lazy do we get as Christians? We let someone else do the hard work for us. I’m so guilty of this. I read blogs and learn through others experiences instead of rolling up my sleeves and doing it myself. L-A-Z-Y!!

As a mommy, I’m going to take the extra time to rock my baby to sleep…just to spend that precious time with her. As a Christ follower I want to do the same. Sit in that rocking chair and make the change myself instead of relying on someone or something else to do it. It’s not always a quick and easy change. Jessi hasn’t been a fan of napping in her crib and it will take a while for us to get there, but we will. Sometimes you have to walk through some difficult times before you can make a good change and impact. In the end, all the rocking will be worth it.

Do you need to step it up and make a change in some area of your life? Stop relying on a crutch and go for it!!

At Catalyst a couple weeks ago, we were encouraged by one of the speakers to have a “what if” meeting with our families.  He said that he would bring in a white board and the family would gather around and write a bunch of “what if’s” on the board.

What if we got a dog?

What if we cleaned the kitchen?

What if we read the bible together?

What if we went on a cruise?

What if we took a yoga class?

What if we went on a mission trip as a family?

What if… What if… What if?

and so on.  He said to come up with about 15-20 random what if’s.  They can be serious, ridiculous, funny…whatever.  Just whatever comes to mind. Eventually one or two of those what if’s might begin to surface.  It might start to turn into something you as a family really consider.  Maybe it is time to take a trip together, or maybe it just just time to clean the kitchen.

Brook and I asked ourselves a couple of “what if’s” that week.  One really kinda surprised us both, but seems to be something God has really laid on our hearts as a couple.  I have no idea what God will do with this what if, and what it means at this point but it’s exciting to allow your hearts to be opened to the possibilities of God’s full potential for your life.

I encourage you to ask some “what if’s”.  Ask anything.  And pray.  See what God puts on your heart and what you can’t get out of your mind.  Maybe it’s time to act.

It was around this time 5 years ago. I walked into youth on a Wednesday night to begin serving for the first time at my church and the band was practicing. I remember thinking how good the worship leader was. He was wearing a red shirt. He approached me afterward to introduce himself to me, obviously thinking I was super sexy. Sucka. That’s all I remember. I don’t remember the exact date, because at the time I didn’t realize how life altering that day would be. How meeting this boy would set into motion the rest of my life and amazing road ahead. Because I didn’t realize he was my soul mate. My husband.

Time sure flies by. We’ve been through a lot in 5 years. And now we are ridiculously crazy in love, married for 2 years and have the most amazing baby girl. She is 6 weeks old today. Did I mention how time flies by??

Last night I caught myself wishing away her infancy to get through some hard stuff I’m going through post-partum. I quickly caught myself. I want to savor each moment. Even when I’m sick. Even when I weigh more than I’d like to and my body is unrecognizable to me.

Because time flies.

And before I know it, another 5 years will have passed and I’ll be checking her into Kindergarten. And I’d rather not think about that at the moment!

I encourage you to cherish each moment, even the difficult ones. They are the moments that God has given us and He sure knows what He is doing!

It’s still a little hard to believe that I’m a mom. Even as I sit here in the middle of the night rocking my precious girl to sleep, it all seems a little surreal. I just stare at her in awe of the fact that she is mine and God has chosen me to lead & guide her throughout her life. I am overwhelmed with that fact. I don’t feel worthy, yet He chose me.

I can begin to see a tiny glimpse at how much God loves us – his children. He must sit for hours just watching us. He loves us no matter what because we are His. Even when my Jessi Girl is up half the night crying or leaves a very nasty surprise for me in her diaper…I still can’t get enough. It is all so wonderful and perfect – because she is mine. I’m so thankful that God gives us these gifts to better see and understand His love for us.

I certainly don’t have it all figured out after 6 days, and I have a long way to go. But all I know is I love this child with all my heart, and even if I’m not able to give her anything else that is all she needs.

Oh…and she’s real cute too.

Integrity comes from the Greek words ‘integritas’ and ‘integra’ meaning whole. It’s a belief system without faltering no matter how dangerous, how unpopular the person makes themselves to others. It includes things such as: sincerity, keeping one’s word, honesty, truthfulness, ethics, fairness and justice, punctuality and never faltering for what you believe in.

Dictionary.com says that integrity means “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”

How often do Christians not live in a state of integrity?

We assume that because we’re Christians, people will let things “slide” in a business sense.  We assume that people know we’re Christians, so we can get away with being unfair. We play our “God Card” and think that will automatically get us in the clear.  Integrity is a foundation that we build on, we can’t just keep assuming. We all know what assuming does

As Christians, we should set the standard, not fall under the world’s standard. I believe that living a life of integrity is one of the greatest ways we can set ourselves apart and stand out in a positive way. Integrity is something that I always strive for, but not sure I always uphold.  It’s the times when I find myself forsaking what I believe in just for the sake of not wanting to stand out. I should want to stand out!

I encourage you live a life of integrity. Of honesty. Above reproach.  Different.

God has given each of us unique gifts. Sometimes I worry that I’m not using mine to the best of my ability. Do I sink into what is “easy” for me, and not step up and use what He’s given me? The great thing is, He gives everyone different types of gifts to use in different ways.  Thankfully we don’t all have the gift of teaching (ok…at least I don’t!). Thankfully we don’t all have the gift of serving or prophecy.  I think it would get a little crazy if we did!

I’ve been thinking about how my life is about to drastically change and how my role is about to change. I’m praying that God will continue to use my strengths He’s given me and open doors for me to use those gifts. As well as being a great mom and focusing on my family. Not always an easy task in our busy world, but I figure it’s what HE has called me to do and put in me and it would be a waste to ignore that!!

My top 3 Spiritual Gifts: Mercy, Serving & Administration

I encourage you to pray about what your gift are and seek God on how you can use them. Or you can go here and take a quick test to figure out what they are!

I’d love to hear your feedback.

• What are your spiritual gifts, and what are some ways you are currently use them or would like to use them better?
• If you’re a busy mom/pastor’s wife, how do you find ways to still use the gifts God has given you and focus on your family?

Why don’t we get more excited about Worshipping our God?

I can’t stop watching this video. It’s so cool to see how thousands of people can come together and get so excited about something! Wouldn’t it be great if the church looked more like a Black Eyed Peas concert?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9CmZXSSYmc]

Let’s get excited about what our God is doing!!!!!!!!

I’ve found it difficult to blog lately. Yes, I’ve been busy.  But it’s more than that.  When I start to write, I’ve been finding myself staring at a blank screen and struggling to put words on it. I wasn’t sure I’d come to a point in my life where I would be speechless, but I think I’m there.

I am so taken back by how much I am loved by a God who created the universe.  He has so many things and people to care for, and still loves me so personally.  That’s a hard fact to grasp.

We have a lot of exciting and wonderful things happening in our lives and so much to look forward to.  We are thankful that God provides for us, cares for us and has wonderful plans for us!!

I wish I had more to say, but there are no words.  I am loved.  I am blessed.  And for that, I am thankful.

How is God blessing you today?