{iPhone Rewind} :: June

We kicked off June with Laura's Lingerie Shower; it was so fun to decorate and prepare for it!

We had our annual employee appreciation event for our region out at Rock Creek Ranch. We had yummy BBQ from Hutchin's, heard some encouraging words from our Chairman, and received a lot of fun gifts and prizes!

We also enjoyed the dance/vocal talents of Vocal Trash. It was a really fun evening! I certainly feel appreciated :)

I was excited to start the new Exodus study for our women's Bible study group...I have studied Exodus before, so it's nice to have some extra refresher notes.

And speaking of studying...I love to watch my husband study {and I mean that in the least creepy way I can}. He is also walking through the entire Bible {with a more intense format} and he has been diligently taking notes.

It was subtle, but I definitely wore black and silver to work for Game Day 6. Even though they ended up losing in Game 7 {so. sad.} I still LOVE my Spurs!!

There are 2 massive sunflower fields in Allen just off the highway. They are absolutely gorgeous, and so random! Mike had the fun idea of taking some photos in the field for a date night, so we enlisted his sister's help to take the pics.

Mike had the opportunity to lead worship at a church around the corner from our house. We are thankful for our relationship with this sweet Baptist church, and we are hoping the Lord continues to knit us together for His purposes in our neighborhood. {And yes. I snuck a picture in church.}

And since apparently I was a creeper this month, snapping random photos of my hubby...here is one of Mike leading up our first in a series of Faith & Culture discussions at Coffee Squared in downtown McKinney. We had a great turnout, and we are excited about the rest of the series this summer!

  

High Five for Friday!

It has been kind of a long week...I am so glad it's Friday!!

 

{one} Mike started a new job this week, so he has been busy training and getting his feet wet with his new responsibilities. You can be praying for him, as he learns the job and tries to balance his schedule between working and church planting.

 

{two} Wednesday night we headed to Denton to have dinner with a couple from Acts 29. Ross was one of the people to conduct our assessment in Houston, and he is one of our board members. It was great to meet his wife Heather, and we are so thankful for them. It was encouraging to hear their stories and just be able to sit across the table from a couple who "gets it." They understand the struggles and the joys of church planting, and we are looking forward to having them as a resource, as well as fellow laborers in this crazy church planting adventure.

 

{three} Thursday night we had dinner with a couple in our church. Sami has been a part of our group from the beginning, and she has been such an encouragement to me in our women's Bible study. It has been exciting to see her grow in her faith over the past year! We prayed for a long time for her boyfriend to join us, and while it took him awhile and was a little rough going at first, he eventually joined and has been committed as well. They recently got engaged, and we are excited to see how God continues to grow them through their engagement.

 

{four} Thursday was also Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Although I am SUPER bummed that they lost {especially to the Heat...}, I still LOVE my Spurs!!

 

{five} I am looking forward to date night tonight with my husband, a haircut and then some hang hang out time with Laura tomorrow :)

 

Happy Birthday Sasha!

Today is Sasha's 6th Birthday. My sweet puppy is growing up so fast! She might be finally starting to calm down a bit...though it's certainly relative :)

My sweet baby girl :)

 

To her {and Mike's training} credit, she has grown up SO much in the past 2 years. She is definitely more behaved than those first few chaotic fun years. But she is still as loving and loyal as she has ever been. She still LOVES people and never meets a stranger. She still thinks she is a 15 pound lap dog {even though she's nearly 80 pounds} and LOVES snuggling more than anything in the world. Except maybe peanut butter. That's a close tie.

 

She waits SO patiently to eat her treat...she hates every second of it {as if we're torturing her}, but she does it :)

Mom, seriously...enough with the pictures. You're interrupting my nap.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Today my baby brother is 26. 26! I can hardly believe it. They grow up so fast...  :)

 

I am so thankful for my brother. We have a really close relationship, and it has been fun to become friends as adults. I love having him in the DFW area, so I get to see him a little more often than I get to see my parents. We love having him come stay the weekend in McKinney, and I am so thankful that he and Mike have such a good relationship as well.

 

Me and my brother on my wedding day...he's so cute :)



 

My brother is truly a big teddy bear; definitely all heart. He truly would give you his right arm {and even offer his left, just in case} if you needed it. Love him so much!

 

Happy Birthday sweet brother- hope it's a good one!!

Happy Father's Day!

Earlier this week, I came across this quote from Mark Driscoll:

 

 

It reminded me of how thankful I am to have grown up in a house with a dad who valued the study of God's Word. I definitely get that discipline from my dad. Mike and I often share my parents' story of how they found Jesus through reading the Bible; we use it to encourage people of the importance of the Word- because we personally know people who's lives were changed by it!

 

Me and my dad on my wedding day ~ 2011

 

We didn't get to see my dad on Father's Day this year, but we did get to Skype {love technology!}

 

My dad is truly an example of steadfast faith and devotion to the God we serve. He is the humble and gracious picture of my Heavenly Father. My dad has taught me how to work hard, but to work as though working for the Lord. He has taught me the meaning of generosity and sacrifice. I know he loves me unconditionally, and he has shown me what a man of God should look like.

 

Dad, I love you very much, and I am so thankful for you! Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world :)



Rough Riders

Saturday night we headed out to the Dr Pepper Ballpark for an evening of hot dogs, drinks, and baseball! We grabbed some group tickets and it was our first official outing as Redeemer Church :) 

It was pretty warm and humid at first, but thankfully some clouds blew over and provided a cooler second half of the game. It was fun just to hang out as a group; Sam and Adrian even got to compete in a fan game on the field! The Rough Riders won the game, which made for a great end to a fun evening with friends.

Driveway BBQ

We have talked forever about having a BBQ with our sweet neighbors, so we finally put a date on the calendar! Our next door neighbors opened their driveway, our neighbors across the street supplied the fajitas, and we camped out for an evening of food and fellowship!

Grill Master Mingo

We are so thankful for these sweet neighbors. Landon was the first person we met- he showed up when we were moving in! We soon met his mom and older brother, and this sweet family is such a blessing. We have shared meals, helped paint their porch, and we love having them down the street. 

We rarely see Landon without his bike :)

We met Mingo and Stephanie when we moved in {actually, we met their son Keishawn first, since he showed up at our door often!} We have enjoyed getting to know them, and it's nice to have trustworthy neighbors who you know will be looking out for you. Mingo has brought me countless bundt cakes from work {he started bringing them over frequently after I got sick and lost weight- how sweet is that??}, and life on Leland would not be the same without Keishawn knocking on our door all the time :)

We met Lauren and Ray when they started building their house next door. They have been such an incredible blessing to us, and I absolutely LOVE having Lauren in our women's Bible study. She has been such an encouragement to me! It is fun that Mike and Ray go on "man dates," and their little boy Micah adores Mike, always asking if he can go "next doe".

We had a great evening, despite the temperature, and we have already started talking about our next driveway BBQ! :)

Acts 29 Candidates

As I mentioned before, Mike and I completed the final assessment for the application process with Acts 29 last month. We were so encouraged by the time with our assessors, which made us that much more excited about connecting with them in this church planting journey. We received the official word last Friday that we have been accepted into their candidacy phase of the program!

So what is the candidacy phase? It basically means that we can begin connecting relationally with other church planters in the network, including a coaching relationship with an experienced planter. It means that we will now have the support, guidance, oversight, and wisdom of being connected in a network of churches and church plants who have the same heart and vision for Jesus. During this phase, we will gather our core group, develop of our strategy, assemble our budget, and determine our needs. We have several objectives we will have to work toward as planters, and as Redeemer Church, before we can be an official Acts 29 member, but they will walk beside us and help us as we seek to launch a church here in McKinney.

This is such an encouragement to us, and we are so thankful for the relationships the Lord has already provided within the network. It's comforting to labor beside like-minded people who want to help us make our church the healthiest and most successful it can be for the sake of the gospel.

Laura's Family Shower

I got to celebrate with Laura again this weekend for another wedding shower- this time with her family! It was a sweet time of celebrating her, and I was so thankful to be a part of the fun.

David's mom passing on the family name in an apron :)

Opening lots of fun gifts!

This was such a cute idea- it's a cookie jar!

This one's for you Nicki- LOVE it (a Baylor alumni cookbook)!

With the beautiful Miller sisters :)

David stopped by, and they got to open a sweet handmade gift together.

With her lovely hostesses :)

I got so busy and forgot to get a picture with the bride, but I know we have a lot more celebrating to do over the next 6 weeks ;)

High Five for Friday!

It has been awhile since I have done a High Five for Friday! :)

{one} Things have been crazy busy at work. Since going public, things have naturally picked up, but one of my bosses was out of the country on a mission trip for 2 weeks, so it has been crazy having him back and trying to help him get caught up. Definitely makes for some long and full days, but I am thankful for the work and the busyness.

{two} I have been feeling well lately. My flare-ups seem to be fewer and farther between {praise Jesus!}, and most often seem related to what I am eating now. So as long as I stay on top of that and eat well, I do pretty well! Since Humira is a TNF blocker {and therefore works to reduce the inflammation caused by Crohn's}, it can lower my immune system's ability to fight infections. It has been nothing short of a miracle that I have not been sick more often, but  I have started experiencing some of the effects of being more prone to infection. I would certainly covet your continued prayers of protection.

{three} Yesterday after work, I met Mike at a Chamber of Commerce event, a "New Members" showcase. We decided that Mike {as lead pastor of Redeemer Church} should join the Chamber as a way to network and meet people in the community. It was a great public way to start getting our name out there! We're trying to find ways to engage people in the community and share our heart and vision {more on this to come this summer!}, because we want to be available to serve and pray for the people we meet. And speaking of Redeemer Church...this week, we mailed off our certificate of formation for our church as a non-profit. The Lord has graciously provided godly men to step up as board members, and it's a big step toward becoming an officially recognized church in the state of Texas!

{four} Can I get a shout out for the SPURS?!?! Lovd this article about their win last night..."If you’re a Heat fan you might be a little worried- the Spurs just beat you in your style of game. In your building."  :) This is our year {again}. I can feel it. Go Spurs Go!

{five} Tonight I am heading to dinner with the sweet girls from the Bible study I led in the 20s group at Woodcreek- we're having a reunion! I am so excited to see these sweet girls and catch up with them :)



Laura's Lingerie Shower

I was doubly blessed yesterday to get to celebrate my sister-in-law's baby shower, and then my best friend's lingerie shower! I got to host it at our house, and it was a fun evening with sweet friends.

Some pictures of the decor...

Super adorable cupcakes, courtesy of my sister-in-law!

We had a great time, enjoying yummy food and hanging out with friends...

...and playing games...

It was so fun planning this shower for Laura. It's crazy to think that she was planning mine just a couple of years ago, and I love that I got to help plan hers now! :)

All the bridesmaids!

With the bride-to-be! 

Love you, friend! Hope you had a great time and have a fun memory :)