His Great Name

The Lord has had this song on my mind and heart this week. It seems so fitting, considering the overabundance of blessings Mike and I have felt recently. 


But as the words have rolled around in and out of my brain throughout the week, I have been reminded of the truths expressed in the song. Right now, the words are easy to sing because I feel blessed and things are good. But my prayer this week has been that I can sing these words just as easily and with as much conviction when I feel tired, discouraged, alone.


Because the fact of the matter is that only one name- the name of Jesus- evokes such incredible peace, love, grace, healing, strength, POWER. And this fact is true regardless of where we are and what's going on. And it's an incredible thing that we can know the One with such power. And that the One with such power wants to know us.


I encourage you to read through the words and let them sink in. Let the Lord remind you of His goodness and His power. His name is GREAT.




Lost are saved find their way, at the sound of Your great name
All condemned feel no shame, at the sound of Your great name
Every fear has no place, at the sound of Your great name
The enemy he has to leave, at the sound of Your great name

Chorus:
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us
Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up
That all the world will praise Your great name

All the weak find their strength, at the sound of Your great name
Hungry souls receive grace, at the sound of Your great name
The fatherless they find their rest, at the sound of Your great name
Sick are healed and the dead are raised, at the sound of Your great name

Chorus:
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us
Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up
That all the world will praise Your great name

Redeemer, My Healer, Almighty
My Savior, Defender, You are My King

Chorus:
Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us 
Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up
That all the world will praise Your great name

Administrative Professionals Day

So today was Administrative Professionals Day. I didn't know it until my bosses gave me and the other executive assistant a sweet gift! I got a gift card to North Park (a mall in Dallas) and a sweet note. Kind of a fun surprise :)

So, Happy Administrative Professionals Day! :)

Happy Birthday Mom(s)!

This week I have the joy of celebrating 2 important birthdays: both of my moms! Yesterday was my precious mother-in-law’s birthday and we got to celebrate her by taking her out for some Mexican food at Uncle Julio’s.

It has been such a blessing to have Susan in my life; having another mom is kinda fun :) It’s hard sometimes to not have my mom here, so it has been a sweet blessing to have my mother-in-law close by. She is a super talented event planner, so we have really had the opportunity to connect on that creative level together. I have even had a chance to help her with a few events, and I really enjoy this time I have with her. It has been fun getting to know her and to hear her stories about Mike! ;) 

And today is my beautiful mom’s birthday! I am sad that I don’t get to celebrate with her in person this year, but I am hoping that this blog post, our phone calls, and our fun surprises serve as a tiny way of showing her how much she is loved and appreciated. Because she is. Very much.

To sum it up: my mom is the best. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. Simply, the best. My mom and I are opposites in every way; I am a Type A, OCD perfectionist who sees the glass half empty, who is incredibly impatient, and who struggles with empathy and mercy. My mom on the other hand is a Type B, easy-going non-perfectionist who sees the glass half full (always), who is incredibly patient, and who exudes empathy and mercy. She is exactly who I need to keep me in line ;) She is my confidant, my encourager, my prayer warrior. She is the voice inside of my head, prompting me to seek Jesus, and she is  the woman of God I desperately want to be.

Moms, I hope you both know how much you are loved and cherished. Happy Birthday!! :)

Full Weekend

This weekend was FULL. It wasn't quite the weekend of rest I had planned/hoped for, but it was filled with beautiful weather, wedding fun, laundry, sweet friends, and precious family. 

Friday night, Mike and I enjoyed a walk to downtown McKinney to use a gift card that a sweet co-worker had given us. The weather was gorgeous, and it was fun to walk through our neighborhood. We just talked and caught up on the week, admired the historic homes, and just enjoyed our time together. We really love our neighborhood and the fact that we are so close to downtown. When we arrived at Spoon’s, we were pleasantly surprised to find our friends the Kuykendall’s there. We joined them for the tail end of their dinner, which was fun. We walked back home, rented a movie, and relaxed the rest of the weekend.


Saturday was filled with laundry, budgeting, and wedding planning for my friend Daisy…3 things that I haven’t done in awhile. We also got a chance to see our friends the Rays, as I finally dropped off the baby hat and blanket I made for Addie. We also got to spend the evening having dinner with the Rains. We made grilled chicken and spinach quesadillas and just enjoyed some sweet fellowship and a time of prayer with our dear friends. The Rains are the only people we knew when we moved out to McKinney, so we so cherish their friendship, in countless ways.

Sunday was filled with wedding shower prep for my sister-in-law Lindsay. I wasn’t able to make it to her shower last weekend, so I was glad to get to celebrate with her this weekend!

And of course, we had our home church group as well. We are excited about some things the Lord is doing in our group and building some of the ground work for a church plant. Through some relationships we have built, and through the Lord’s sovereign handiwork, we may have the opportunity to connect with a church here in McKinney as we look ahead to what our next steps will be. We have already had initial discussions with leadership and elders, and we are now focusing on some action items and really just committing the whole process to prayer over the coming months. We would definitely appreciate your prayers! Whether we end up connecting with them or not, (and/or depending on what degree we connect with them), it has been encouraging to us both to connect relationally and to share a heart and vision for reaching McKinney for Jesus.

Catch Up, Part 2

I caught you up on the big important things in my last post. But aside from transitioning into my new job, getting more plugged in with our home church, and continuing to enjoy married life, my "free" time has been spent in a number of different ways...


Showers, Weddings, and Babies!
It is officially wedding season, so we are celebrating with several friends as they enter the joy of marriage. I am helping a friend from the 20s group plan her wedding, so I am spending a lot of time working on those details. Her wedding is around the corner (May 12!) so I will be sure to post some pics of what we have worked on for so many months!

My beautiful sister-in-law is getting married in June and I am a bridesmaid in that wedding. It has been exciting to walk through the wedding fun with her, since she recently walked through it with me! Can I just say...it's really fun to have a sister :) Lindsay pretty much has everything under control, but my bridesmaid duties are calling as showers begin and we look at pulling together last minute details. I found my bridesmaid dress and I am really excited to wear it!

And it also seems to officially be baby season, so we are also watching several (different) friends enter in the joy of parenthood. Some sweet friends from our home church just had their first baby, so I have been working on a crochet project for them. I started with this adorable Newborn Cluster Hat. Since sweet baby Adelaide's room is painted purple, I decided to make this hat in soft lilac. The actual size is probably not much bigger than the photo haha. Baby stuff is so tiny and well, adorable.

**A note: I actually made this hat too small the first time around, so I had to adjust the pattern to make it where baby Addie could actually wear it. Guess I'm learning as I go!


Materials: 1 skein of Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly yarn in Soft Lilac
Tools: Crochet Hook Size H, yarn needle
Total Project Cost: $3.00 ($6.00 if you count the fact I made it twice haha)


I also decided to make a blanket and ended up using this Lazy Daisy Blanket pattern from Red Heart. I loved this pattern, and it was SO easy to do. It just took a little longer than expected, but I am so happy with how it turned out!

Materials: 4 skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn in Crisp White, 2 skeins of Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly yarn in Soft Lilac (not quite a full 2 skeins, because I used the leftover yarn from the hat above)
Tools: Crochet Hook Size G, yarn needle
Total Project Cost: $20.00 (I used those 40% off Michael's coupons!)


My dear friend Austen also had a baby shower for her second this past weekend. I didn't have as much time to pull together a crochet project for her, but it was fun to see her and catch up. It amazed me how someone so incredibly tiny (girl hasn't gained an ounce outside of the baby bump) could be so incredibly pregnant. And so incredibly adorable. I wish I had pictures...but alas, I forgot to take them. Again.

iPhone Rewind
In other news, I looked back through my iPhone to see what random photos I took over the past month...

I caved and actually read the book. In one night. Because I was going to see the movie the next day. Props to the author for writing a good story and for the film makers for making a decently entertaining movie. Too bad I just didn't love the premise.

I snapped this photo on the cover of the Dallas Morning News simply because it made me smile :) This has been a really exciting year to be a bear! The Lady Bears went on to become the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball National Champions. I have always been proud to be a bear; but the victory just makes it that much sweeter ;)

Hehe. This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. My brother, ladies and gentlemen. He didn't lose a bet, but he was trying to "out-stache" a guy on grounds crew. This is what I met when I went to have lunch with him one Saturday. Gotta love him.

I finally made the cupcakes Mike had bought me for my birthday. It was a way to bribe encourage people to come to Bible study that week ;) They were SUPER yummy! And I love how the little sugar dots matched my cupcake stand exactly.

I have been drinking A LOT of Starbucks. I most definitely enjoy the perks of my husband's job! :) It's fun to enjoy these drinks for free or at a deep discount. My new favorite is an iced chai latte. And yesterday I discovered mocha coconut. Not the most healthy. But it sure tastes awesome!

Aww...brotherly competition. Michael joined us for Easter this year, which was really fun to have him come to our home church. We were bummed because we had planned to have an Easter service out at the park, but had to move things indoors due to the weather. So we made the best of things and enjoyed grilling hot dogs and a few rounds of Guitar Hero and Telephone Pictionary. Hopefully we will be able to head to the park for a service soon.

I think that pretty much covers all of the catch up from the past month...at least some of the highlights. Hopefully I can get into a better routine and get back to blogging regularly. I am definitely going to try to be better. :)