Summer Catch-Up

Well, it has been a typical June around here, maybe even a little crazier!  I don't even have time to make this real long (luck you) so I'll just pass along the highlights of the last month...

*We canNOT keep up with the garden... cucumbers, squash, tomatoes (I do a pretty good job of eating these up), green beans...

*I gained a sister!

*I turned 30! WHAT!? ~ I'll never again be in my 20's ///

*I have spent one week at church camp and Brett is on week 3!

*We have our final walk-thru visit for Foster parenting next week!!! (prayers please)

*We have new puppies!!!

Check out more at MorrisFarmyard.com

*We found Miss Kitty's babies!

*We have less than 10 weeks before Baby Morris arrives!!!

As you can see summer 2016 came in hot! (I mean that in every sense of the word)  

How has your summer been!?

Stop Following Your Dreams

It's graduation season!

Aisles are filled with cards that read "Congratulations,"  "You Did It," and "Follow Your Dreams."

and I'm wondering, is this really what we should be telling them!?

not just our graduates, but anybody striving for success in this thing we call life!

If I think back at the "dreams" I had at the end of high school, and the end of college, it is there that I discover is the start of what creeps in as a feeling of failure.

Better yet, maybe what we need to ask is how are we defining failure, and/or success?

Over the course of conversations, I realize that a feeling of "unsuccessful'ness," even if not considered failure, comes from comparing our current situation with the expectations we once had.

This is not an recommendation to throw out all desires, goals, and aspirations...

But maybe we should redefine success...

King David, left his son Solomon with this...

"keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn" - 1 Kings 2:3

Can we agree that "prospering in all you do" sounds like success?  Scripture says to achieve this follow the Lord and His teachings. That's it, no minimum salary, house size or car payment, no maximum number of failed attempts, plans, or re-dos; just following what the Lord has for us, however different that may be than the person next to us.

Solomon later reflected on that life lesson in these words...

“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” - Proverbs 3:1-4

The first step in following God's plan for our lives is accepting His gift of eternal life through His son, only then can true living begin.  A life lived in Jesus is not without trials, but rather with hope.  As our lives are transformed by the spirit of God, we begin to be filled with fruits such as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  It is through the growth of these fruits that we live by the two greatest commandments, 

 "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." - Mark 12:30-31

We do not become immune to trouble and hard times, but rather push through them with God's grace, wisdom, and peace.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" Romans 8:18

When we push and strive for what the world defines as success, we can begin to loose sight of eternity.  I have been in circumstances where following God's plan seemed crazy,  when choosing His path looked like the opposite of success to the world.  Sometimes I walked with Him anyways, other times I took the wide path, only to find out that is was eventually dissatisfying and often heartbreaking.  

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? - Matthew 16: 24-26

We must stop following our dreams, but rather invest all our aspirations and desires in God's perfect plan for us!

Trust in the LORD and do good;
         Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD;
         And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
         And your judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him

Psalm 37:3-7

This feeling can't be wrong...

So yesterday was a pretty rough day.  I had to say goodbye to my best friend of 10 years, my sweet Dixie... and hold it all together at work.

Then last night, it continued.  After just less than 2 hours of sleep I woke up with a toothache, and remained in the awakened - not resting state - until the alarm went off to come to work.  

Today...did not look to be any better! 12 hours to go, with only a few hours of sleep...

At lunch, I had to go pick up a prescription and when I walked outside I was greeted by the most beautiful day.  It is actually bringing tears to my eyes to think back on how much I needed that warm embrace from the Father.

Shortly after I pulled out of the parking lot, a song came on that I have not heard in awhile...and it was meant just for me...

"And oh there's something 'bout the way
Your sun shines on my face
It's a love so true I can never get enough of You
This feeling can't be wrong I'm about to get my worship on
Take me away
It's a beautiful day,
It's a beautiful day"

He never fails... when my heart starts to sink in the crashing waves, He always grabs my hand and brings me back to His embrace.

He is so good, and so faithful...my eyes are filled with a different kind of emotion today.  The warmth of His arms wrapped around my heart.  So glad I know who holds my tomorrow when my "today" is falling apart.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure will miss this sweet girl.

Song: Jaime Grace -"Beautiful Day" 

Happy 2 years Brett {& our wedding story! (with pictures)}

April 30th, we have been married for 2 years!!!

I realized I haven't officially shared any details from our "wedding!"  So 2 years later, welcome to our wedding story!

I was on month 4 in Central America when I began to feel like God had something a little different for me planned.  Read that part of the story here!   and here!

So the plan was made, we would get married the day after I returned to the states.  Once the "when" was decided, the how & where, had to be lined out.  My team was traveling through Los Angeles, CA on their way to Asia.  Since that's where I would part from them, Brett decided that he would meet me there.

Some details took some creative thinking, after all, I had been living out of a backpack for 4 months, not exactly the "wedding preparation" we generally think of!  However, I was never picky about wedding details and had always assumed I wouldn't have a very extravagant one (if one at all) anyways!

-My wedding band was taken care of b/c it came as a set when he bought the engagement ring.

-His wedding band I had to get creative, after all I was in Costa Rica with little to no resources.  We visited a artisans market where a "vendor" had some handmade rings made from coconuts.

-I found a dress online that he picked up for me (yes girls, he went and bought my "wedding" dress.)  It was a simple lace summer dress from Maurices.

-Brett reached out to some LA local pastors through our association and lined all that out.


So, Brett had to pack a wedding day bag for him and myself (first lesson in trust right!?) and got on a plane to LA!

After a trip to target for some last minute wardrobe essentials, we headed to Pasadena.  One of the biggest details our families get a kick out of was the bouquet.  We stopped along side the road and picked wildflowers.  There was a landscape crew cleaning up a flowerbed that allowed us to go through their trimmings!  This is an entertaining detail that I will never forget about that day!

Brett has a cousin who lived in the area.  We met them for lunch then headed to a local park to meet the preacher.  His cousin and her husband were our photographers and witnesses!  Do you see how God had all this planned!?

Do you see the clues that I had arrived back in the country less than 24 hours before?...
1.  Terrible manicure (or lack thereof), the hair (enough said).
2.  The drastic difference in "shine" between the band and the engagement ring (which had been collecting central american dirt for over a month)
3.  The peeking watch tan line that had been developing over the last 4 months
4. Brett's band, made from Costa Rican coconut!
5. At least I covered up the tan lines!!!

After we got married we spent about a week driving back to Arkansas.  I had never been across the southwest states before.   We made stops at the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and other small parks along the way.

A few weeks after we got home, our families held a reception for us.  They did an amazing job and I loved the decorations...

My mom painted an old coffee table with chalkboard paint and all the kids signed it as a guest book!

Our families gave us really nice journaling bible, which our guests signed and highlighted verses for us in!

On of my favorites is this bouquet my mom made.  It included pins, broaches, and other jewelry from all the women in both Brett and I's families.  It was so neat to see how each piece had a meaning. Some of the pieces included was a necklace Brett's grandma had worn to his high school graduation, & a bible locket that I received the first time I attended Sunday School as a young girl.

I loved writing this and remembering all these special details of our beginning!  I couldn't be more excited for what God has in store for us!

Still small voice (& kicks in the bladder)

"behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him..." 

1 King 19:11-13

So often we only expect God to be present in big dramatic ways, and I'm afraid this causes us to miss out on so many opportunities to hear that still small voice.  For me anyways, I find myself not seeking Him often enough.  More like just waiting on Him to show up in an earthquake like moment.

The most recent reminder of this came when I was beginning to get anxious/worried/upset when I was nearing 20 weeks and still had not felt the baby move.  When we went for our ultrasound, and we could see little Squishy kicking those feet around, I realized that I HAD been feeling movement for the last couple weeks, I just wasn't aware of what it was.  And in the following weeks in the few moments that I was completely still, I was much more in tune to the movement of those little feet.

I have also been the same way with God, He gently shows me His presence everyday, but unfortunately, all too often it takes a much bigger moment for me to "see" Him move, then I realize He has been right here all along, I just haven't been quiet and still enough to notice Him!

As busy as life is, I believe that it still holds far more quiet moments than it does "obvious" ones.  I pray that I can become much more aware of His voice and grow all the more closer to Him.

Flashback Friday...

Flashback to one of my first posts on this blog

What Inspires Me?

The original post can be found here

What Inspires you?

I shall call him my squishy...

This week we reached the half way point in the wait to meet our little miracle.  We had to go for a level 2 ultrasound due to some health history, however little M looked as healthy as can be. 

However, already taking after daddy, getting pictures was a little difficult.  We are choosing to wait on knowing the gender.  We are praying for a healthy baby above all!!! (but we both think its a boy)

Some think we are just keeping it from everyone else, #1 because I usually call it "he,"  I just can't bring myself to call it "It."

However, I have occasionally called him "Squishy."  The story behind that is that when a friend of mine first found out we were pregnant again following the miscarriage  she would always say "just keep swimming" to the baby when I saw her.

This is the best profile she was able to get!  Like daddy much!?

We you join us is praying for a healthy baby!?