Picture Time!

I realize that I've been slacking in the area of pictures lately, or so my family has told me. Here are some semi-recent ones to hold them over until I can upload a few more from my camera:


My beautiful shower cake, courtesy Sweet Memories


Brittney, Mom and Me at the shower


Me and Allen at the pool (a rare moment without kids)


The kids playing with play-doh (Beckett sneaking a playdoh snack, no doubt)


The Duty girls


As far as an update on the kids, here are some funny tidbits:

Taylor Joy has become quite the prayer warrior. Her prayers go on for several minutes and during that time you would likely hear a sweet little girl just talking to God, like so:

"And God I just like to play with my Leapster and sometimes I take pictures with my camera phone and sometimes I just don't feel like it..."

"And God please please God please just help Beckett to not wake up"

"And help me and Beckett to play sweet together"

"Thank you for a wonderful day"

God must be delighted to hear such pure, simple prayers.

The other day Allen asked Taylor Joy what she had been doing and she didn't know. He prompted her with asking if she had been playing with Beckett and she responded, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" As if she does much else during the day.

We were in the car yesterday and she informed me that "Me and Beckett are going to get married. But first Beckett has to go to work. And I have to go to work too. He works in McKinney and I work in Dallas." Oh really...

As far as Beckett is concerned, he has been up to quite a bit himself. He jabbers constantly and has begun stringing up to 4 words together at a time. He ALWAYS knows what he's saying and we FREQUENTLY are puzzled by the jibberish that flows from his mouth. He sings "Holy Holy Holy" (just those words) and the B-I-B-L-E song as well. He is growing up to be quite a big boy, yet still a cuddly little guy. I'm so thankful the Lord granted me a cuddler. There's nothing like it!

The new baby in my tummy is doing great as well. Nothing much to report except that I have 3 weeks left, according to my due date and we will just have to see if that really comes to pass with the many contractions I am already having. This baby needs to stay put at least another week and a half. I'm going to post a poll soon to see who everyone thinks is in my tummy!

Stay tuned!

Disciplined by Grace

Yes, I am back to hammering my favorite book, Discipline of Grace. Such an amazing read that I will have to read it every year, for sure, if not more often.

Here are some notes that I have:

God administers discipline in the realm of grace

• in love
• for our spiritual welfare
• never angry, though grieved
• no condemnation
• no counting sins
• on basis of unmerited favor
  

He uses the illustration of scissors as demonstrate the "put on, put off" that Paul talks about in Ephesians. Two blades are necessary because they work in conjunction with each other. A single bladed pair of scissors would simply be useless, just as putting something off without putting something in its' place is ineffective as well.

"We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone"

-As the unbelieving world becomes increasingly hostile to true Christianity, it will be even more eager to find inconsistencies in our lives so it can ridicule God and His Word.

This hits home because its so true. People will notice when we mess up way more often than when we do everything perfectly. Why not humbly accept responsibility for your behavior, knowing we all fall short, and give thanks to God that you don't have to sink into despair? Allen hit on this a little at church the other day about being an example to unbelievers because they already know we aren't perfect. Instead of taking responsibility for the inconsistencies in our lives, we pretend they don't know or we turn the other way and then they are given the opportunity to slander us and the God that we serve. Own up, ask for forgiveness and point them to the lovingkindness of our Savior.

Check out my hubby's latest sermons from our Malachi (Genuine) series:

Genuine

Food for Thought

Recently Allen and I were having a conversation about a book that he is reading, which reviewed the way that we as people had changed over the past century. It noted that we cannot read. Inundated with all sources of the media around us, pictures, blogs, catalogs, advertisements, magazines and even some books have come to be filled with many more pictures and many less words than they used to or they are a new form of media altogether that focuses less on reading and more on skimming, or glancing at pictures.

I admit that I skim blogs with the best of them. I look at your pictures, scan the words and then click "Mark All As Read" so that I can keep caught up with everyone on my Google Reader.

Maybe this shouldn't be so.

Perhaps, in effort to guard my time and choose not what is "okay" for me to do but what is MOST beneficial, I should choose just a couple blogs and internet resources that are an encouragement, challenge and exhortation to me, and certainly only visit those blogs after I have given time to the Lord, my children and it happens to be nap time when I don't actually need one.

I'm not saying this has to be everyone's strategy, but being in the season of life that I am in with small children, this will be most beneficial to me. But, regardless of the season of life you are in, spending unprofitable time on the internet is not being careful with our time, which should be shaped by biblical priorities.

I guess the question we should ask ourselves is, "Does this hinder me? or Is this keeping me from valuable reading/study or meeting with people?" and take it from there.

Now, the whole point of this blog post, an exceptionally good reason to carve 15 minutes out of your day:

Do you READ?

Why or why not?

If the answer is no or not as much as I would like, check this out (courtesy of John Piper):

Suppose you read about 250 words a minute and that you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious theological reading to deepen your grasp of Biblical truth. In one year (356 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year we get 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, fifteen minutes a day you could read about 20 average sized books a year!

You will not be the same person next year at this time. Your mind will be stretched, your heart enlarged, your zeal more fervent. Above all you will have grown in wisdom. And it may not be long until someone says of you: "the words of his mouth are as deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing spring" (Proverbs 18:4).

Now, if you are a member of New Life, I just want to encourage you to read along with us in Total Church. It's an amazing book and it is serving to get the entire body of believers on the "same page" regarding the goals of the church and ministry together. New Life's blog is also following along through the chapters, so make sure to check that out.

I hope this challenges you that even if you aren't a self-proclaimed reader, you can do this. Anyone can. And how much more worthwhile to say at the end of the year that you read 10 books than to say that you saw some cool websites or blogs during the year.

If you need ideas of what to read, please checkout my book list on the right sidebar of this blog. These are books that Allen and I wholeheartedly endorse.

One last challenge: share what you are learning with someone else. Don't keep it to yourself!

Blessings!

Discipline of Grace

I absolutely MUST recommend this book. It is by far and away one of the most helpful, comprehensive books on the Gospel that a Christian will ever read and understand.

As Christians I know we think and you must be thinking, "I know the Gospel, why would I read a book about it?"

One of the things I have been learning the past 4 or so years of my life is that the Gospel is a daily thing. I read the Cross-Centered Life when we were becoming members of a Sovereign Grace church in NC about 4 years ago and it enlightened me to the concepts that a Christian should be familiar with.

Preaching the Gospel to yourself..."continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith in His shed blood and righteous life"

• AGREE with our conscience about our guilt and then remind ourselves that our guilt has already been borne by Christ
• REMEMBER that God himself devised a way for His wrath against sin to be fully executed apart from our actually experiencing His wrath

"It is not our contrition or sorrow for our sin, it is not our repentance, it is not even the passing of a certain number of hours during which we feel we are on some kind of probation that cleanses us. It is the blood of Christ...that cleanses our consciences and gives us a renewed sense of peace."

Since having kids and feeling like I am continually falling short by my lack of patience, frustration and even anger toward them at times, it has become an easier realization (and my goal) to go to the Lord in those times of struggle as I realize how sinful I am and how much I actually need him. It's so easy to feel like we can handle things on our own UNTIL we fall incredibly short and realize our need for a Savior. Why not just admit this BEFORE we fall short? Why not preach the Gospel to ourselves BEFORE we fail? Not to say that this will prevent us from failing, but it may help, comfort and challenge us to pursue a life of holiness through Christ and help us to succeed in our daily struggles, whether it be in thought or action.

Bridges uses the analogy of having a "good" and "bad" day spiritually to portray our thoughts toward God based on our performance mentality.

On a bad day spiritually, we fall short, we know it and then we feel guilty. Here are some scriptures to combat those feelings:

• Christ bore our sins in his own body...1 Peter 2:24
• By faith we appropriate the blood of Christ to cleanse our conscience...Hebrews 9:14
• He justifies the wicked (sins are merely the expression of my sinful heart)...Romans 4:5
• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...Romans 8:1

On a good day spiritually, we have read our Bibles, prayed and are feeling pretty good about ourselves. Here are some scriptures to combat those feelings of pride, like we can do anything to earn our standing before God:

• Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect...Matthew 5:48
• Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at one point is guilty of breaking all of it...James 2:10

We are ALWAYS dependent on God's grace.

"God never intended that we relate to Him directly. Our own performance is never good enough to be acceptable to Him. The only way we can relate to God is through the blood and righteousness of Christ."

As those who are dependent on God's grace, a deep sense of gratitude and of Christ's love for us is what motivates us toward a life of committed discipleship, not duty or guilt. A heart that doesn't trust in Christ won't be able to be committed because it may be out of obligation or guilt, or perhaps even a desire to change but without the power to do so.

I plan to blog some more on this book. This post just scratches the surface of the goodness and truth that is contained in it.

I hope this challenges you to live differently, to think differently.

Don't just read this and move on. As a matter of fact, many of you probably just skimmed over this blog post. I understand, I do the same thing sometimes. But I challenge you to take a moment and consider how you can preach the Gospel to yourself this coming week and then actually do it. See if it doesn't change your perspective on God, on your day...

Blessings!

Preggo Update

It seems crazy to me that (potentially) the 5th member of our family will be arriving in 6 weeks! Is it possible that I have already been pregnant for 7 1/2 months? Moms of multiple kids told me it would be hard to keep up with how "far along" I was and I completely concur. When someone asks me that question, I turn to the closest woman to me, (who is due in July, of course) ask her how far along she is and then figure out mine based on hers.

So far so good with regards to the pregnancy. I am becoming less and less active the bigger I get, but I am still feeling good and somewhat lively. Although, the chasing the kids around the house and piggybacking them has really slowed down. Taylor Joy understands, Beckett...not so much.

This weekend a lovely baby shower was thrown for me and it was such a sweet blessing. Being surrounded with many friends and family was a blessing, receiving thoughtful gifts that will bless our little one and being prayed over specifically for me, the baby and our family was something I will treasure always.

Having friends and family who love me pray over specific requests in regard to the rest of my pregnancy, the delivery, the recovery, the baby, my family's adapting to the new baby, this baby's life and spiritual development is one thing that really blesses my socks off. After praying with these women, I always feel a deep sense of gratitude for the care and concern they have for my family, a thankfulness for the Lord's hand in everything and excitement/readiness for this baby's arrival!

I completely recommend taking part in this at the next shower that you host. It will bless your guest of honor beyond words. In case you don't even know where to start, I'm going to put the prayer points we prayed for my baby to get you started.

- to make nursing uncomplicated and enjoyable
- to give Mom extra energy and a swift recovery
- for baby's disposition to be easy and good-natured
- for siblings to adjust quickly to baby
- for Mom to have special time with older siblings now and once baby arrives
- for grace to siblings so that they still feel connected to Mom and don't become jealous and disobedient
- to give Dad wisdom in how he serves Mom and that the Lord will direct him in how to minister to her
- for Mom to continue to seek the Lord when things are running smoothly and not so smoothly
- wisdom and grace for Mom and Dad as they shepherd their children
- the body of Christ to come alongside Mom and Dad and take active role in pointing them to Christ
- that baby will trust Christ as Savior at a young age and will treasure his/her inheritance as a Son/Daughter of God
- that baby would grow in faith and obedience and in love for God, not love the world or the things of the world and that baby would love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and fear the Lord
- that baby would hate sin and love godliness, appreciate discipline and instruction, be quick to repent and not be stubborn before the Lord
- for baby's protection against Satan and evil, a firm stance during persecution, patience in affliction that looks to God and trusts in His faithfulness
- that baby would grow to treasure God's Word and stand up for truth and be free from deception and the lies of the evil one as well as having a great understanding of the Word
- that baby would grow to be responsible and loving in their relationships with others, walk in humility and look to the needs of others
- that baby would choose godly influences, be led to good friends and way from bad ones, and to marry a godly mate
- that baby would grow to desire inner beauty and godly character as they grow more Christ-like daily, that they and their future mates would be kept pure both before and after marriage
- that baby would grow to be fully devoted to Jesus Christ and joyfully invested in the cause of the kingdom


This obviously isn't an exhaustive list, but may help some of you with a starting point.

And, if you'd like to continue to pray these things for me and my family, I certainly wouldn't mind...

Picture Update

We've been keeping busy with VBS this week, but I wanted to post some pictures I've taken recently of the kids. We went to the splashpad last week and it was Beckett's first time to truly experience it and he had a blast!

Check out the pictures from the splashpad and other cutie patootie pictures!

A pregnancy update is coming soon...the belly is extra huge so a picture is in order!

Feed Your Brain

This wonderful program starts tomorrow. The kids participated in this program from Half Price Books last year and it was such a blessing! We read to our kids (as per usual) and we got free books just for doing what we normally do!

Taylor Joy thought it was great fun to be able to pick out a new book every week and now Beckett will be able to as well.

I highly recommend doing this with your kids this summer.

You can download the reading chart from the website and print it off and then just bring it in weekly to redeem your $3 towards a book (MANY are $3 and under).

Have fun investing in your kids as you read together! It is such a privilege and honor to teach these children and finding great books is half the fun.

http://www.halfpricebooks.com/feed_your_brain.html

Fabric Bulletin Board

For awhile now I had been wanting to make one of these, but just couldn't justify spending $30 on a frame to put it in. And THEN, on one glorious day, I found this wooden frame (unpainted) at Hobby Lobby for $2 on clearance. I was ecstatic!

It makes a wonderful practical addition in our hallway and I just LOVE practical when it matches my decor.

Here are the steps if you want to craft one of these of your own:

1. Purchase a frame in the size that you want. Paint the frame if you'd like. You could make a mini bulletin board for your kids' rooms or for wherever really. It would be a cute gift too.

2. Purchase a plain corkboard (no frame) from Hobby Lobby and use your 40 % off coupons, ladies. Never forget about those. Mine ended up around $8.

3. Use one piece of beautiful fabric to cover the board or sew up a little patchwork piece like I did if you would like to incorporate more than one fabric. These were fabrics I had on hand.

4. Get a nice big brush and brush Modge Podge or some other kind of liquid glue onto the corkboard and slowly (as in small segments of a time) press the fabric to the corkboard and ensure that there are no wrinkles. You'll do this to make sure the fabric doesn't get bubbly and lays flat. If you fail to do this step your fabric may look a little sloppy if you don't staple it tight enough in the next step.

5. Have hubby staple gun the cork board with the fabric covering it taut to the frame all the way around.

All in all, mine cost around $10 total because I already had some materials on hand.

Voila! A beautiful, practical, cheap way to display artwork, pictures, chore charts, daily agenda or whatever your heart desires!

5 Incredible Years

5 years ago we were preparing for a wedding and a marriage and we had no idea what that would entail.

I can tell you right now it’s been more amazing, more joyous and more maturing than I could have ever imagined. I’m so thankful for every year with Allen…I’m so thankful for everyday with Allen.

I love you, baby!

Make a Smilebox photobook

A Guy's Guide to Marrying Well

Allen came across this wonderful resource yesterday and we read through it last night.

It was AWESOME!

We were thrilled to see a resource like this that goes through so many of the struggles that guys have with friendship, courtship and dating that lead to marriage.

It's a series of articles about specific topics and is attributed to writers such as Al Mohler, Joshua Harris, and Gary Thomas, among others. It's around 50 pages but you can skim some articles and delve into others, it's such an easy read.

Some of my favorite articles were: Don't Stay Stuck in a Friendship, Don't Wait for a Burning Bush and Should You Settle? I think all of them are ever-so-helpful especially in our church culture where guys want specific instructions regarding how to pursue girls and quite honestly, need help because the biblical way of going about it is far different than the world's way.

I hope you find this resource as helpful as we did. We can't wait to pass it on to the single guys in our life.


http://www.boundless.org/guys/flash2.html

Taylor Joy's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time at her pool party...what a sweet girl with such sweet friends.

Here are the pictures:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Vacation/Anniversary Trip

These past 2 weeks have been ah-mazing.

We normally take a summer vacation in July and we won't be able to this year since baby #3 will be due that month, so we decided to take it this month in conjunction with our 5 year anniversary.

We stopped through Dallas so that we could drop the kids off with the grandparents (they switched off) and we headed straight for Charlotte, NC with our frequent flier miles. Woo hoo for those!

I haven't been away from both of my children ever and certainly not for a week, but it happened to be THE magical summer when I wasn't nursing a child so we took the grandparents up on their offer and headed out for some refreshment in the mountains.

Once we got to NC, our dear friends Will and Janette Bridenstine picked us up and we headed out on a road trip to the mountains in northern GA. I don't think we could go 12 months without seeing these precious people. We try to see them as often as we can but it is usually about once a year.

We arrived at our beautiful lodge and began the most relaxing, wonderful week I could have asked for.

We slept in. Yes, you read that right. Me and Allen. The two of us.

WE SLEPT IN.

We didn't have to listen for cries.

We weren't in fear of little ones waking up.

We got up at our leisure. We read, we prayed, we sat on the patio and looked at the beautiful surroundings, we sipped coffee, we journalled (oh how I miss this lost art in my life!), we listened to and watched the hummingbirds, we spent sweet fellowship together and pretty much did whatever we wanted.

Now that's what I call a vacation.

No plans. No schedule. (can you believe it? If you know my husband, I know you are having a hard time)

The second day we went on a hike to Ravencraft waterfalls that was a 5 mile round trip. It was beautiful and well worth it, but perhaps not the greatest decision I have ever made at 7 months pregnant. My doctor would probably keel over if she knew I did that. I had sore ankles and calves the rest of the week. But, like I said, it was worth it. Such a beautiful hike.

The next day we went to a little German town by the name of Helen. It was a cute little area and we ate lunch by the river and had a great time with our eccentric waiter, Johnny C. It was providential in that Allen was able to share with him the Gospel and answer some questions he had about the Trinity. Praise the Lord for random opportunities that He has planned!

We also stopped in at Babyland Hospital which was the birthplace of the Cabbage Patch Kids. Now, I must stop and say, we knew it would be cheesy. We knew it would be hokey. I still wanted to go. I had a Cabbage Patch doll named Joyce growing up and I absolutely loved her! I wanted to get some for the kids, especially for when the new baby comes. I think they will love them.
But, back to the story...this place was a bit odd. Walking through the place was a little bit cute with all the dolls doing their thing...in cribs, at school, on the playground...but then there was the funny part.

A baby was going to be born while we were there! How exciting! We were to gather around the "Crystal Tree" to see it being born. Okay...out came a nurse and she checked the cabbage's leaves. Yep, dilated to 10 leaves. The baby was about to be born. And out came a healthy little cabbage patch boy FROM the cabbage leaves. A pale white baby boy I might add. So when she held up the boy and asked the diverse audience what the boy should be named, someone yelled out "CARLOS!" The nurse very calmly said, "Okay, Carlos. What will his middle name be?" After what seemed like minutes of silence a young boy yelled out, "DELEON!"

So this little white baby boy from the cabbage patch will be called Carlos Deleon. Will and Allen had to leave they were laughing so hard.

We headed over to the gift shop to purchase our babies and when we checked out the man was sure to let us know that in a hushed tone that we could go online and change the names of our babies, which were Dean and Maryam. Such a funny experience.

The next day we headed out on a canoeing trip down the river. At first I was a bit leery since my husband ran me right into the bank after we had been in the water for a whole 2 minutes and I was SURE that we were going to tip over before our trip ended. And it didn't help that the guide had mentioned that there were lots of snakes in the water. (shiver. gag.) It also didn't help that the other guide had asked me what trimester I was in and then when I told him 3rd, he said, "Great! You just made it!" Like, I had made the cut and 2nd trimester ladies weren't allowed to take this trip. I laughed because it was funny but then I pondered it in my heart. Hmmm...

Well, once I loosened up and let Allen take us through the tiny rapids instead of around them, I started to have fun. It was such a nice day and I felt like I was in that scene from the Notebook. It did rain a little on us, but not much. Just sprinkles. And I wasn't wearing a dress and pearls, so we were good. ;)

After that we headed out to the outlet malls for some shopping and the next few days were history. We went to a little church on Sunday, grilled out, enjoyed the nothingness that the day afforded and began to miss my little ones.

On Monday we went back to Charlotte and went to the Billy Graham museum because Allen had to get some history in there somewhere. It was really neat! Such a nice facility and they had transported the house that he grew up in to that property. It was really neat to see. Allen thoroughly enjoyed it.

We got back to Dallas late Tuesday night and went in and woke up Taylor Joy because we missed her so much. It was such a sweet reunion with that little girl and then with Beckett the next morning. Sometimes I feel like a better mom when I've been away from my kids for awhile. All I wanted to do was play with them, hug them, kiss them and tell them how much they meant to me. They had plenty of fun stories of their own. Staying with the grandparents was a far greater vacation than they could ever ask for! Thank you so much, Mom, Dad, B, Mima, Lizzie and Cathy for taking care of our precious ones. We love you so much!

If you made it this far, here is the slideshow! Enjoy!



Make a Smilebox slideshow

Birthday Girl

Today is my darling Taylor Joy's 3rd birthday.

Have I mentioned lately how precious she is?

I mean, everyone who knows her already knows this, but for those of you who don't know her, she's adorable in every way.

The things that she says leave us in stitches of laughter.

The way that she says everything in that raspy voice is beyond cute.

The enthusiasm with which everything is said makes life so exciting...even the smallest tasks or toys are brought to life by her excitement.

That big smile and precious dimples light up the room wherever she goes.

That sweet red hair and blue eyes have people talking everywhere we go.

The way that she helps me around the house and with Beckett really blesses my socks off. I couldn't do it without her. Her spiritual gift is definitely to be a helper.


And for 3 short years this little blessing has been a part of our lives. I can barely remember life before her.

Here are some shots of the birthday girl (a post later to come on the actual birthday party!):


The day we brought Taylor Joy home from the hospital



1st Birthday



2nd Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday, Princess!
We love you!

Our Little Phrase-Maker

Lately Beckett has surprised us by stringing words together. At my parent's house the phrases just started spewing out...

Until now, he's said few words in general, so to hear them strung together was just about the cutest thing ever.

Here are some examples:

Git da bah! (get the ball)
Git da phone! (get the phone)
Bounce da bah! (bounce the ball)
Want da bah, mama! (Want the ball, mama)
It's da bubba! (it's the bubbles)
I did it!

At 17 months (today actually, Happy 17 Months, Buddy!), he has no idea that he is about to be a big brother. He's completely oblivious and I am quite sure it's going to rock his world. He loves his mama but he and Sissy (Taylor Joy) have been playing together wonderfully and I am encouraged by that.

It's so funny that I have gotten all kinds of different stories...some women say the transition from 2 to 3 is the hardest and others say the transition from 1 to 2 was harder. Since the transition from 1 to 2 children took me about 8 months, I'm praying this will be a bit easier and quicker for me. Since Taylor Joy and Beckett can keep each other entertained, it may be a bit easier in that aspect, but I can see going ANYWHERE out of the house to be a complete campaign to get out the door. In that aspect, it MUST be harder.

We have 11 more weeks and I am looking forward to each and every one of them. I know first time moms think I'm crazy...I need all the time I can get to prep around this house, cook and freeze meals, spend lots of quality time with my kids and just be ready emotionally for another newborn.

Until then, if have any tips for this soon to be momma of three, pass them along my way!

Funny...

We have been laughing with this video all week. Especially since we've been flying and been in airports for several days.

Snap it SHUT! That's my favorite part.

Enjoy!

HOPE group fun

Last week we did a Mission Night to help our dear Rivers and send her off to Africa with some fun stuff for the kids she will be ministering to.

We made t-shirts, painted crosses and crafted a few cards as well as buying supplies for her to take. We had so much fun. Who knew these people could get so crafty? Check out the pics!


The t-shirt crew...



The baby-holding crew...



The painting crew...



What an attractive hope group we have! We'll miss ya'll this summer! Love you!

Swimsuit Season

Much to my dismay, swimsuit season is upon us. I walked through Target the other day and saw racks and racks of bikinis on display. Anything modest in the bunch? Nope.

Sad to say, it is difficult to find a swimsuit that covers adequately if you are a girl. I even have a hard time finding one piece swimsuits for Taylor. Crazy how young you can be and have our culture permeate your clothing choices. It's not even easy to find a shirt for Taylor Joy that isn't spaghetti straps these days.

There's an awesome link on the right side of this blog, called Modesty Survey under "Promote Modesty" in the Things I Do. It's a project of the REBELution, which was started by Brett and Alex Harris (Josh Harris' brothers...of Sovereign Grace...what an amazing family!). Anyway, this is a study that surveyed 1600+ guys about modesty and specific articles of clothing that women wear, including comments about those articles of clothing.

I went there before I purchased my swimsuit and browsed through what these men had to say about swimsuits in particular. I highly recommend reading the results of these before you head out to purchase your new swimsuit so that we can be mindful of the opposite sex this summer. They will appreciate our thoughtfulness too!

In case you are having a hard time finding a modest swimsuit like I was, check out these websites:

Lime Ricki
Shade Clothing
Academy (has lots of skirts you can wear as bottoms. I think the one I bought is actually a tennis skirt. I would recommend going there.)

Also, here's a series of great articles by C.J. Mahaney about modesty and what it says about the attitude of our hearts. I highly recommend reading these articles or listening to this sermon.

Anyway, I thought it might be a nice reminder to some of you to consider our brothers when we are making our summer clothing choices, especially swimsuits. Happy shopping and swimming! We are so excited about heading out to the pool!

Girly Lapdesks

I made these sweet little lapdesks for Taylor Joy and one of her friends. They were completely simple and easy to make.

1. First, Michael's carries these and often puts them on sale. I think I got these for $5 each.

2. Then, grab some cute coordinating scrapbook paper and stickers that are flat (no 3D) and some Sharpies.

3. Get creative writing the name and placing all your decorations on the lapdesk.

4. Go to town with Modge Podge. I used matte and sponged it on so it wouldn't get that streaky look to it.

Makes a great gift for someone else or for your own children. Taylor loves to use it around the house and it keeps her from having to sit at the table to color or use her markers. Beckett is actually past the point of eating crayons and is beginning to enjoy coloring so I may have to make one for him next.

Having your kids decorate their own isn't a bad idea if they are older. Then, they can take pride in what they have made and get to creating more fun stuff on it!

Preggo Update

It's been awhile and this little baby has decided to have a growth spurt and to become wildly active. Just at 26 weeks and I am enjoying the pregnancy and have been for the past few weeks.

A little more energy, a possibility that I won't have to take a nap is a wonderful thing. I've been crafting, redecorating, painting and thinking of all sorts of home improvement and decor projects that I want to undertake. Maybe this extra energy splurge is a nesting instinct that has taken over my body. I don't know.

I have also been thinking about stocking my freezer with meals like the Money-Saving Mom once I get a little closer to my due date. I'm hoping that I will only have to go to the store every 2 weeks after the baby is born. I can always send Allen if we need bananas (a staple in our home) or milk in between.

So, here's a question: Do you have an amazing meal that translates well in the freezer? If so, please let me know! Post a comment or email it to me. I want to make sure it will freeze and cook well.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Picture Update

Here are lots of pictures from the past few weeks that I have been meaning to post, including: a circus outing, hanging with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Cate when they came into town, Easter festivities, among others like bath time.

Taylor Joy has become quite the photographer these days and she LOVES doing it. She took all the pictures in the Ryan/Cate segment. It's actually nice that she can take them for us! Anyway, enjoy! I'm working on a preggo update as well.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Easter Reflections/Ideas

I know this is late coming and it's because Easter caught me a bit off guard this year. Just as we took the month of December to do our Advent activities and reflected on the birth of Jesus and what His coming into the world means for us, I wanted to spend a good part of this week reflecting on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us as believers.

I have recommended it before, but will do so again, Noel Piper's Treasuring God in Our Traditions has some great ideas for making Easter meaningful for both you and your children. For the past two years we have used her idea for the Easter Mountain and Taylor seemed to understand it more this year.

I wasn't able to implement this idea this year, but will definitely do it next year...Lent candles. It is the same idea that's behind the Advent candles but you snuff out a candle each week during Lent. Since we have very young children I would probably condense the time period and make it shorter. On Easter Sunday, all the candles are lit to represent the resurrection of our Lord, the Light of the world! I think this is a great idea as well.

Tomorrow we will be making the traditional Resurrection Buns. This will be a first for me, so I hope they turn out. Taylor Joy and I will be making them in the morning with me explaining each step to her and how it symbolizes the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then we get to eat the yummy goodness! So fun!

Also, though we've never really participated in Easter egg hunts, a few families from our church decided to do one this year that would be particularly meaningful. In addition to hiding candy-filled eggs, Resurrection Eggs will also be hidden. After the hunt is over, we will go through each egg in order and explain the real story of Easter to our children. We plan to paint crosses and have a picnic lunch as well. I am excited to share the day with other precious families in our body. I just pray it doesn't rain!

I'll leave you with a meditation from my hubby:


In preparation for this weekend’s worship service, I would encourage you to consider the gravity of the event we remember today and the significance it holds for you and me. Listen to Matthew’s description:

“Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up…So, when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Matt. 27:15-18, 24-26).

What a beautiful, terrible, irony. The sinless Son of God traded for the sinful Barabbas, accused of rebellion and murder. Instead of desiring justice for a known criminal, the crowd persuaded Pilate to cater to their rebellion against God and murder Jesus.

This event takes on further signifance when you understand that in Hebrew, “Barabbas” means, “son of daddy.” On Good Friday, Jesus, the sinless Son of God was crucified instead of you and me - sinful sons and daughters of sinful daddies. Truly did Isaiah prophesy: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:5-6).

Consider the Great Exchange tonight and praise God for sending his Son to assume your guilt and your punishment.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

This is too funny...

Oh, Beckett...

Oh, do I have a story to tell. For those who are mothers of boys this kind of stuff probably happens everyday, and although I have had many incidents, this was probably the most frightening. It opened my eyes to the kinds of things that may be happening in my life for the next 17 years or so.

As I was driving to H-E-B to do some grocery shopping, ironically, I was talking to my friend Janette (who lives in NC) and giving her all the necessary updates on my life, including our dear Beckett and what he has been up to. I told her that he has changed from this sweet, cuddly, content baby into a WILD man lately. He is as curious as ever, loud, angry if he doesn't get what he wants, he babbles constantly, he never sits still...and I thought he would be my easy child! He is still VERY sweet and may even cuddle you, but you would have to catch him sitting still, which is rare.

Anyway, we get off the phone and I go in to do my shopping, with both kids in tow. I am pretty much done with no major breakdowns and I head for the checkout. I begin to unload my items, pleased with the how pleasant this trip has been...no one needed to potty right in the middle of shopping, no one threw a fit when there weren't any tortillas for sampling and the chips didn't even get crushed by one of my kids. Success! Right? Wrong!

I turn around to grab some more items and I see Beckett with the Jet-Dry tipped back as he is busy "sampling" it. I pretty much freaked out. I don't know if I made any loud noises but if I did it was one of absolute horror. I grabbed the bottle from him, after which he began licking his lips to get the last of it, I suppose. I quickly turned it over and it said to drink water if ingested.

Coaching myself to begin thinking clearly, I walked straight over to the aisle where there were some sippy cups and grabbed one and then back to the register where there were cold drinks and grabbed a bottle of water. I poured the water into the sippy cup and intently watched as my little boy drank it. He seemed okay. I breathed. The lady behind the counter breathed.

My sister called at the very moment all this was happening and I told her (probably very frantically) to look up Cascade Clean Rinse and see what I need to do. She called back right after that and said I did the right thing. If he was nauseated to take him to the doctor.

Hours later I was still watching him and he was fine. He was laughing, playing, fussing, getting into everything just like normal.

So...the moral of this story is: Boys are dangerous. Beckett is one of these. I CANNOT take my eyes off this baby because he is into EVERYTHING. And that Cascade needs to get protective seals for their products. So not cool.

First Service

March 29th, 2009 || Posted by Allen Duty

We had our very first worship service last night, and it was an amazing time. I’m so thankful for the way that God has brought such a diverse and committed group of people together to achieve his own purposes. As I stood back and watched everyone working to get the building ready for worship, I was grateful for all the different passions and talents that were represented in our group. New Life has everything from great cooks to great administrators, and I’m thankful to God for bringing each person to our church.

I was also blessed by the support we received from those who are members of Living Hope and Living Hope - Bryan. Some came last night just to encourage and bless us, such as our longtime friends, the VandeVanters. It meant so much to me to be able to look out and see people who are praying for us and who want to see God do great things.

Ladies, I certainly hope you were both challenged and encouraged by the message last night. I have gotten to know so many of you during my years in College Station, and Kendra and I have benefitted tremendously from knowing you. I pray that God would continue to teach you to cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit, and that you would renew your commitment to being an amazing example to your husband (if you are married) and the younger women around you. Men, encourage your wives and the younger women around you by considering them in view of God’s standards. Praise the “imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” instead of only praising external beauty, and help us raise the standard to biblical womanhood.

Next week, we’ll consider 1 Peter 3:7. Men, let’s be ready to hear how God would speak to us about living with our wives in an understanding way.

Launching New Life

March 24th, 2009 || Posted by Allen Duty

After months of praying, fasting, hoping, and planning, New Life will have its first worship service Saturday night at 5 p.m. For those who have been a part of the core group for some time now, excitement is mixed with reservation.

Did we make the right decisions? Did we hear clearly from God? Are we prepared to faithfully care for those God brings to us?

To all those questions, I would simply answer that God has proven, once again, that he is sovereign and that he is faithful. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps,” and Psalm 100:5 declares, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

It is greatly encouraging to know we serve a God whose plans we cannot spoil and who is faithful to his perfect will. New Life would have looked entirely different if it would have been planted in August or September or December. But God has determined to use those he has brought and those he will bring this March, along with all of our different callings, gifts, and passions, to shape New Life into the local church he desires.

Are we ready for Saturday? Of course not. We are still in the process of determining how God desires us to be the tangible expression of his body in College Station, Texas. What we do know is that God has made it clear through what he has done that he desires to do great things in and through New Life. We hope that God will move in your heart to join him and us where he is at work.

*Check out our new website: New Life* (more functionality to follow...)

Submission to Masters

Allen's second part of submission in 1 Peter. This part is about submission to masters, such as a boss or a professor, depending on what stage of life you're in. Next week, wives! Submission to our husbands!

Listen here.

1 Peter 2:18-25

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV)

Spring Break

Ahhh...in some senses that is relief that it's over. In some senses that is disappointment that it's over.

It was a wonderful week. It is incredibly wonderful to be reunited with my husband.

He went to Beaumont to do Hurricane Ike relief building projects and I went to Dallas to have fun with family.

He rebuilt a lady's house. I went shopping.

He spend hours everyday working. I went to see Disney on Ice.

You can see how this is going.

Anyhow, all that to say, I am SO glad to have my husband back. I'm so glad to be back in my house.

I am SO SO THANKFUL for the wonderful people who worked on our house while we were gone. They dry-walled, taped, floated and textured the new addition to our home while we were gone! Crazy thoughtful and sweet of them. It looks wonderful. And that actually made it sound like I know what I'm talking about, didn't it?

All I know is that now it's time to go pick out some paint colors! Yippee! The thought of decorating and choosing colors and fabrics just excites me to no end.

Well, on that note, I have much to do. I'll leave you with some pictures from the week:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Submission to Government

Check out Allen's newest sermon in our series (at LHBC) Practical Grace, going through the book of 1 Peter.

The passage he covered was 1 Peter 2:13-17. I was thoroughly captivated by what the Lord spoke through Allen and highly recommend listening to his sermon.

You can find it here.

New Life starts next weekend! Please join us! I'll post more info as we get it. The website should be up soon!

Taylor Joyisms

These are some Taylor Joyisms from awhile ago to quite recently. It's hard to keep track of all the funny things she says, they are pretty much a constant thing around here. I'm not kidding when I say that she is THE funniest person I know. Alright, here we go:

Mommy, you're amazing!

(random, unprompted while we were both working in our respective kitchens).

Mommy, you look like a treasure.

I often tell her that she is a treasure to me. I guess that's where she got that from. Sweet sweet girl. They do pick up EVERYTHING. A good and bad thing (for some people or if you don't watch it!)

Mommy, I feel sick.

(takes my hand and puts it on her forehead).

Can you tell me if my feelings are hurt?

Taylor Joy: Daddy, I don't want to go to the dentist.
Allen: Well, most people don't like the dentist, Taylor Joy.
TJ: I don't like the dentist. And Jesus doesn't like the dentist either.


TJ: My bottom hurts.
A: What's the matter with your bottom?
TJ: Oh, it's just a alligator in my pants. (very nonchalant)


TJ: Mommy, is the new baby in your tummy?
Mommy: Yes.
TJ: I don't want the new baby to be in there. I want the new baby OUT OUT OUT! I want to hold her and tickle her.
(yes, "her"...we still don't know the gender but Taylor and I both tend to say "she" and "her")

I'm going to eat you up like a Mommy taco!

(sometimes we roll her up in a blanket and pretend we're eating a Taylor taco...)


We were praying one day and she said,

"and I pray that they come to the potty. No not the potty! The party!"

Today we walked outside and I said, "ooh it's foggy out here." When we got back into the car from the gym she said, "Mommy, is it still froggy?"

She's a hoot.

So True...

I ripped this from GirlTalk, an awesome blog I follow...

The woman who wrote to the Washington Post advice columnist, Carolyn Hax, wanted to know why her friend, a new mom, no longer had time for her. Ms. Hax's response--though not too gracious--was dead-on-accurate in its portrayal of the life of a mom with young kids:

“When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

Or, as Ms. Hax puts it, “It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.”

I couldn't word it any better than that. I always aim to be in the car 30 minutes before we would actually need to leave to get somewhere and "somehow" we always end up in the car right on time. Gee, could it be those shoes that got lost though she JUST had them in her hand or that poopy diaper I had to change last minute, or the diaper bag that needs constant refilling...

Hmmm...what will my world look like with 3 children who are 3 and under?

Changes

Where do I even begin?

Lots of changes are occurring around here.

New baby coming in July.

New car...I need to post a picture of my hot mama minivan for those who have been asking.

New addition to our home (for baby's room now)...and later for us (a small study).

And now...a new job for Allen = NEW season of life for us!

Earlier this year, Allen was nominated to become the teaching elder (aka Pastor) of New Life. And now, several months after the whole interviewing process, it's official.

I can't tell you what relief it feels...It's relief that we are now part of a group of people who we have been praying for and who our hearts have been with for a long time now. We are excited and looking forward to this new stage in our lives.

We invite you to join us at New Life Baptist Church. The first church service is at 5 pm on Saturday, March 28th at Living Hope. The fellowship meal will be immediately following. It would be our pleasure to have you join our body of believers and see what living in community is all about.

Until then, please pray for Allen. With the triple role of Youth Pastor, College Pastor and Teaching Pastor, his life, and consequently our lives, may be a little crazy for the next few months. But we are up for the challenge! Thanks for those of you who have been praying for us. I just thought it might be time to update the rest of you on all the changes occurring around the Duty home. We are blessed to be going through these changes with many of you!

Sew Fun!

We had a little sewing party with some precious girls on Friday and it was truly SEW fun!

I thought I would be showing these girls how to make blankets, but much to my surprise, they had their acts together and knew much of what to do already! One girl even made a cute little Bible holder!

We all decided that there would be no more buying baby gifts when making them was this easy! So, those of you with babies due, sorry if you see these pictures and then aren't surprised when these blankets are gifted to you, but I have to post these pictures and show off our cute blankets!



Whitney hard at work...


Jessica hard at work...


Katherine's cute Winnie the Pooh blanket


Here is Jessica with her cute girly blanket!


Whitney and her fancy appliqued blanket

What a fun day!