Mustard Seeds

If you live in East Tennessee, you know it has rained A LOT these last few weeks.  I think it rained almost every day in the month of February.  March is off to a wet start as well. Last week, we finally started getting a little bit of a break from the rain. As I was driving to work one day, I noticed the most beautiful sunrise.  The next morning I saw another stunning sunrise. It's not that I haven't seen sunrises before.  They are actually some of the most beautiful parts of God's creation in my opinion. Here are my two pictures: They aren't the best by any means.  And pictures almost never do the real thing justice.  But after so many days of rain, it was like seeing it all anew. As I was driving, I started thinking about the work "sunrise".  I thought about how close it is to "Son Rise", which is what Jesus did the third day after He died on the cross. God sends us such a beautiful reminder of what His Son did for us all...

Last week, after a very  emotional week and learning to give some grace to myself (something I really lack most days), we got our application in to the adoption consultant that we had prayed and chosen to go with Friday morning.   I immediately got the "automatic reply" email saying that it would take up to 14 days to hear back from them as to whether they accept us as client.  They take that time to pray over the applications before responding.  I love that!  I was so excited to potentially work with a company that actually prays over whether to accept you as clients.  It means that they actually CARE about each of their clients.  What a business practice, huh? Yesterday, I was having an absolute CRAZY day at work.  In the middle of doing a couple other things (including trying to get in touch with my husband to meet the refrigerator repair guy), I noticed that I had an email.  I'm not sure what made me decide to check it ...

This afternoon, Matt and I had the pleasure of watching my twin nieces for a couple hours.  What a blessing! I picked them up when I got off work, and we made a quick run through Sonic for some $0.50 corn dogs (Matt and the girls love them!)  Easy dinner for the win! As we came to the house, we sat down around our table and enjoyed a meal together.  I didn't even have to get onto the girls that much, which was a nice change of pace. After dinner, the girls colored at the table as Matt and I caught up on our day. We then spent some time reading to the girls some of the children's books that we have stashed away for our little ones in the future.  We even have an entire collection of books from Matt's childhood! The part of the evening that gives me the most hope is this: I watched my husband sit on the couch with two curly-headed four year olds and read them stories. I saw a glimpse of the daddy that he is going to get to be someday. And I loved every ...

My best friend and I have been using this new bible study method recently to dig into God's Word.  It's called Project 89.  You can read more about it  here .   Basically, you read a chapter a day from the four gospels.  We are currently still in Matthew.  Today, I read Matthew 16 and wrote down several thoughts/observations. I am thankful that my friend brought this to my attention and asked me to try it with her.  I have been purposefully carving out extra time to just spend in God's Word these last few weeks.   I love that I have carved out this extra time because I am being intentional about prayer, worship, and study together, without the distractions that come so easily.   It is nice to focus just on God's Word and not on reading what other people have learned from it (by using commentaries and the like).   I'm not saying that these things are bad.  They can be very helpful and very insightful.  But I wanted to dig ...

So a few months ago I posted a blog about the Kissing Tree.  You can read it here . My husband, Matt, and I have been trying to have a child for two and half years.  Back last summer/fall, we decided to wait until the first of the year and start seriously looking into/pursuing adoption.   When we made the decision to wait, I thought, "January is months away.  We've got time." November came.  I thought, "Well, we still have a couple of months." December came.  I thought, "Okay. Wow.  That was fast, but it's not January yet." Today is January 21st (as I'm writing this).  January is here.  It's time. We announced at church last week our intentions to adopt.  We have done some research in the last week.   We started researching, and let me tell you.  What I found absolutely terrifies me.   It's one thing to get pregnant, right?  That's your child.  Yeah, having a child is expensive.   But then ...

Yesterday was my Wednesday night to teach the ladies at church.  It is always such a blessing to come before the ladies with the lesson that I feel God is laying on my heart.  Due to the holidays, it has been several months since I've gotten to teach.  That has given God a while longer to work this lesson into my heart.  I am going to try to adapt it to a blog, but if something seems weird, that's probably why.  I hope God speaks to you through this.  (All scripture, unless otherwise quoted comes from the English Standard Version.) Hannah’s Story 1 Samuel 1:1-28 ·       In verse one, we are introduced to Elkanah.    We are given his lineage here. ·       Verse two introduces us to our main character and her nemesis, if this were an action movie. ·       Elkanah had two wives.    Hannah is listed first.    She is our focus tonight.  ...

This post came together from a lesson I taught this past week at our women's night at church.  God really used this to speak to me, and I pray that He does the same for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you guys ever noticed that the world rushes through things and rarely gives you the whole picture?  I think this is very evident in our news these days.  They shout out catchy headlines but rarely back them up with complete (and true) stories.  Most of what we see are really just that, stories.  Stories that have been filled with fluff. Listen to what God said to Isaiah in chapter 46:8-13 (ESV):  “Remember this and stand firm,      recall it to mind,   you transgressors, 9       remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other;      I am God, and ther...