{iPhone Rewind} :: September

We spent Labor Day weekend with my parents in San Antonio. We learned a new card game called "Golf" and really enjoyed playing several rounds!

Mike packed us dinner and we headed out to the park. We decided to take Sasha with us, and she wasn't too sure about the swans...she seemed interested in them, but was really more concerned with the fact that Mike was feeding chips to them and not her :)

One of my sweet co-workers recently got married and is moving to Ft. Worth. We had a going away lunch for her, which was bittersweet. On our way out of the restaurant, they wanted to snap a photo; this is what happens when the accounting department is on the loose!

My sweet husband told me he had a surprise for me that he had made himself. He went to Michael's, bought supplies, and then made this adorable date night jar :) I love his creativity and how he spent the time to think of date nights for us. I'm excited to see all of the dates he planned!

My boss gets cooler mail than your boss! ;) Seriously, what the heck? It came with assembly instructions and the promise of more pieces to come...haha. I guess it worked because it got my attendtion, for sure.

The sweet lady in our church is still working on that project for work, so we offered to take her kids for the afternoon. It was also her birthday, so the kids spent the day making her a cake and sweet posters/cards!

Kroger had this creamer on display right as you walked in the door...and it was on sale...and I totally bought some...and I'm totally addicted. It tastes like fall {if fall had a taste}  :)

We got to baby-sit our sweet neighbors' little boy. He thinks "Pathtor Mike" is the coolest person ever {and let's be honest, he is}. He had a grand time using Mike's face as a race track for his cars :)

Mike had an opportunity to preach at our McKinney Chick-Fil-A! The owner hosts a quarterly worship service for his employees and asked if Mike would come preach on community. It was fun to be in a Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday! Sadly, there was no chicken, but we did get sweet tea :)

Plano Balloon Festival

Our sweet friend Morgan has been training for her first half marathon. She picked the Plano Balloon Festival race, and we were excited to go support her!

A little nervous, but definitely excited before the race

While we waited for her to run her race, we got to see the balloons launch. Hot air balloons are just fun! And it was a much better show than when Laura and I attended the balloon festival a few years ago :)

The moon was still out!

Waiting with Mr. Mike for her mama to finish her race

Michelle was VERY excited to see the balloons :)

Team Morgan!!

Finishing strong

 Congrats Morgan! We are so proud of you!! :)

DIY: Date Night Jar (courtesy of my husband!!)

My sweet husband gave me a surprise this week. He presented me with this lovely jar:

How adorable is that? He spent time thinking of fun ideas for us that I get to pick out of the jar when we have a planned date night. I love it!! So not only will it help us be more intentional about having date night, it will also be nice to have ready-made ideas. I'm excited to see what he came up with!

He said he saw the idea on Pinterest {via someone's Facebook post...but props to him for taking interest in my love for Pinterest ideas} and set to work. Can we just take a minute and appreciate the fact that he went shopping at Michael's {one of his least favorite places} and made this himself? He even purposely chose the color from our wedding {teal}. Best. Husband. Ever. :)

Materials: Mason jar, acrylic paint (or according to my husband- magical love paint haha), tongue depressors, paint pen

Total Project Cost: Priceless :) Ok- he spent $10.

We had our first Date Night Jar {DNJ} date last night: going out to eat and a movie. We have been holding on to a couple of gift cards to the Cheesecake Factory, so we decided to go ahead and use them {hey. if you can get away with date night on the cheap, I say go for it!}

We went to see Elysium. It was bad. Seriously, skip it. But it was still fun to have a date night with my love!!

DIY: Fall Burlap Wreath

I wanted to add a little extra to our fall decor from last year. Since my pumpkin and scarecrow didn't last on the front porch {and were subsequently moved indoors}, I decided that a fall wreath would be a nice welcoming touch.

Materials: 18" wire frame, 2 rolls Burlap Garland (20 ft each), 2 rolls wired ribbon, tan chenille stems (pipe cleaners), monogram letter, acrylic paint

Tools: Scissors, foam brushes, daubers

Total Project Cost: $25 (could have been cheaper if I was patient and bought more items with a coupon...)

If I had more money in my budget, I would have used more burlap and ribbon to make it a little fuller. Or maybe a 12" wire frame would work {they were out}. But I still like how this one turned out and think it works just fine! :)

High Five for Friday!

{one} Things at work have been BUSY. With the transitions and changes, I am now assisting 4 executives, so there is no lack of things to do! Most days it's fairly manageable {they are being kind to me, I am sure}. But there is that 6-8 day span of time surrounding the monthly board meeting that everything in the office is just nuts. As crazy as it gets and as tired as I am sometimes, I really am thankful for my job and truly enjoy it.

{two} Oh my goodness...THIS has arrived in Dallas. My most favorite cupcakes now come in ICE CREAM FORM??? I must. Go. Here. Soon.   :)

{three} One of my favorite bloggers shared this post from Susan Black: In Her Shoes- Those Who are Hurting. I really needed to hear her words this week {apparently the Lord was trying to speak to me via the blogosphere haha}.

"...our prayers are often no more than a personal wish list for God, and that what we’re actually praying is this: “Please God, take away my trials so that I don’t have to need You or grow up...the sufferings of Jesus show us that pain comes to us not as punishment, but rather as a testing ground for faith that transcends pain. In truth, pain redeemed impresses me more than pain removed."

Guilty. I consistently ask the Lord to take away trials, not stopping to realize that they are the very tools He is using to teach me His lessons of grace. Can anyone say conviction?

{four} My sweet husband sent this link to me on Facebook. I'm sure you have seen it, as it has been circulating the interwebs. He sent it to me with this message: "My thoughts on you - exactly (minus one "colorful" word in there - warning). I'm just glad you weren't in the room when he woke up or he would have been disappointed you weren't his." Aww...love him! Enjoy the video, because it's pretty awesome and really sweet.

{five} Tomorrow I will be attending an event for Acts 29 wives in the DFW area. I am VERY much looking forward to this event, as I have wanted to connect with other church planting wives. Confession: it's still a little strange to me that I am a pastor's wife :) I will also get to have dinner with the sweet girls from my old Bible study at Woodcreek. I missed the last "reunion" because I ended up sick, so I am really looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Redeemer Baptisms

Last night we had our first baptism service at Redeemer. Two of the women in our group wanted to be baptized, and of course we were more than willing to oblige!

Sami has been a part of our group from the beginning. Before we were even officially a church plant, she was faithful in attending our home group Bible study. 

From the beginning, she has been one of our biggest cheerleaders, constantly inviting people to our group. She was a part of our original women's Bible study group, and I have seen her grow so much in the past 2 years. It was such a joy to see her take that next step of faith in proclaiming Jesus in her life.

Yay Sami!

Dannie joined our group in the summer of 2012. She came from an irreligious, Buddhist background but difficult life circumstances caused her to seek answers from God. 

When she joined our group, she was learning about Jesus for the first time, and it has been such a privilege to watch her grow in her faith. I am excited about the new life she has confessed in Jesus and cannot wait to see how He uses her story to minister to others!

Yay Dannie!

We had the baptism service at a neighborhood pool, which made it an easy spot to then have a celebration party afterward. 

It was certainly an exciting day for Redeemer, and we praise God for all He has done in the lives of our church family!

1000 Gifts #367-459

367. A place to call home.

368. Time reflecting on all the Lord has done for us.

369. Catching up with my newly married friend after her honeymoon.

370. Good results back from my bloodwork.

371. Impromptu lunch with my love.

372. The gift of the weekend.

373. Phone conversations with old friends.

374. The gift of seeing old friends.

375. Going to sleep early.

376. Sitting in our core team meeting, excited about what God has for us.

377. Sitting at dinner with new friends.

378. Sitting on the couch with the one you love.

379. The warm temperatures outside.

380. The cooler temperatures inside.

381. Thankful that we live close to work and can share one car when the other is being repaired.

382. Iced water on a hot summer day.

383. Clean water for showers, laundry, and washing dishes.

384. Coffee and conversations about life and Jesus with a friend.

385. "Keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you."{Proverbs 7:1}

386. "There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." {Luke 15:10}

387. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." {Psalm 23:1}

388. A summer painting sesson to celebrate a sweet co-worker getting married.

389. Being reminded of how seasons change in life.

390. Enjoying the last drops of summer.

391. Double date night with sweet friends.

392. Time to rest and recoup from the crazy week.

393. Our home filled with friends and fellowship.

394. Being reminded of our true hope.

395. The joy of serving our community alongside the body of Christ.

396. Thankful for a sweet time of hanging out with women, talking life and working on craft projects.

397. The blessing of returning to our home church for Mike to preach.

398. The support and love we receive from our friends and family at Woodcreek.

399. Comfort and peace from the Father that surpassing all understanding.

400. The blessing of celebrating my dad's birthday.

401. New mercies every morning.

402. Seeing God's provision and trusting His promises when we can't see the provision yet.

403. New faces at Bible study.

404. Women who are growing in the Word, willing to step outside their comfort zones.

405. Oreos waiting at home for me, a thoughtful gift from my husband.

406. My wedding ring, which is a constant reminder of God's grace to me in Mike.

407. God's provision in my Humira costs.

408. A GI doctor and nurse who are willing to fight insurance companies/pharmacies on my behalf.

409. My raise took effect today!

410. A great turnout for our last Faith & Culture night of the summer.

411. Thankful for favor with my bosses.

412. Having dinner with our sweet neighbors, thankful for their friendship.

413. Thankful for Fridays and the blessing of a restful weekend.

414. A sweet gift from my mom, just because.

415. Waking up without an alarm.

416. Breakfast with my best friend.

417. Saturday. No work, and a day at home to catch up on things.

418. Spending time with my brother.

419. Catching up on my Bible study lesson.

420. Writing a letter to my sweet boy in India.

421. Mercies that are new every morning.

422. Coming home to my husband making dinner.

423. Saying goodbye to summer with snow cones with my love.

424. Access to medicine and doctors.

425. Working at a Top 100 Place to Work in DFW.

426. New visitors to Bible study.

427. Knowing that God never changes.

428. Knowing that God is always faithful.

429. Knowing that God is near.

430. Getting to wake up when it's light outside.

431. Lunch with a sweet friend.

432. Reminding ourselves of all the Lord has done through sharing stories of our church.

433. The weekend. Always thankful for the weekend.

434. Catching up with old friends.

435. Looking through old photos and fun memories.

436. Getting to see family.

437. Sharing ministry experience with others.

438. Seeing the passion the Lord places on people's hearts.

439. Gentle and encouraging words from my husband.

440. Grocery shopping at an off time.

441. Dinner with sweet friends.

442. Good relationships with co-workers.

443. A sweet husband who takes care of me.

444. A good night's sleep.

445. Waking up feeling better.

446. Snuggles with my puppy.

447. Thankful for a sweet husband who takes care of me even when he has had a bad day.

448. Thankful for not vomiting on my boss {because it almost happened}.

449. Thankful for understanding bosses when I am sick.

450. Thankful for sick days.

451. One amazing husband.

452. Two sweet friends to hang out with.

453. Three day weekends.

454. Extra vacation days to make it a four day weekend!

455. Road trips with Mike and Michael :)

456. Thankful for the "no's" that protect us from less than God's best.

457. Time spent with family over a long weekend.

458. Time away to rest and recharge.

459. Time off from work.