If you're a bird, I'm a bird

I'm going to be real, which is what I typically try to be. Our happy family photos on facebook are leggit. Let's be honest, not every moment is pretty smiles though. Typically society filters and guards what we put out there for people to know and see.  Our family felt called to "go out the box" for Christmas this year. We sacrificed time with our extended family to go bless people we didn't know. Instead of buying gifts for people, we rented a hotel room and went to Greenville, SC for family-time and ministry. Our friend, Stephen Jeffrey, told us about Miracle Hill Ministries so we made that our mission for Christmas.  As we were driving up to the Marriott that we found on Hotwire.com for $70/night, there was a Walgreens on the corner. I said, "I like when I see a drug store close by."  Joseph thought I was joking, but I was serious. Little did I know how frequently we would be visiting it.   Our gift wrapping opportunity  at Greenville...

As I get older I'm noticing I do not anticipate Christmas quite like I did as a child, or even a few years ago.  In my opinion, that's not necessarily a bad thing. To me there are so many other priorities that trump decorating the house and sending out Christmas cards. Those things seem trivial compared to salvation and eternity. My mind is thinking about my Chinese friends that are still living in oppression on the other side of the world.   I'm thinking about family members that grew up in the church and know about Jesus, but do not really  know  Him. ...by their fruit you will recognize them.  Matthew 7:20 My heart is filled with compassion for the 18 girls in my class and their families. Praying that I can be "a witness in the silences when words aren't enough".    I'm thinking about the Christians who go to church every week, but go just to see people or chat in the foyer. The people that walk in and out each week witho...

On my way to school this morning I noticed a decal on the car's window in front of me. It caught my attention. I like arrows.  There is pallet art hanging in our hallway bathroom. We were recently given some arrow art from Joseph's friends, David and Stephen. Joseph and I both have arrow tattoos on our arms. Joseph got his arrows first after he told me what he wanted and the backstory behind them.  His arrows are identical in design, but one arrow is drawn further down his forearm than the other.   For my 37th birthday (2016), I made an appointment to get a tattoo after I took off a half day. I didn't even tell Joseph about it. I showed him when we went to bed that night. There were so many arrow images I liked so I chose two different ones- one masculine and one feminine.  “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Bl...

When I feel like I need to write something, I have to get it out of my head.  You may have noticed me being more vocal about my faith and spirituality. "Geez, what has gotten into her?" you may have thought. You've noticed all the scripture memes and worship songs and church promotionals. I'm aware that I've been more up-in-your-face about the Great Commission and missions too.   I've read my Bible several times a day consistently for 25 days in a row. I have reading plans on my You Version app that I am committed to reading daily. I'm actually excited about them and it's typically the first thing I open on my phone when I wake up. Oh, I'm devouring every scripture I can read. I'm ravenously meditating on them. I have another teacher devotional, Morning Meetings with Jesus, that I read when I get to school. Sometimes I share scriptures with others in hopes they will be encouraged by God's words as well.  As for prayer, sometimes...

"Covet" according to Webster is to want something (that you do not have) very much. While my husband and I were in the mountains this past weekend, Joe asked if I thought looking at Pinterest was like coveting. The 10th Ten Commandment comes to mind as quoted from Deuteronomy 5:21: 21  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Coveting is wanting something that we do not have. When we look through Pinterest, we find a lot that we like (and want), right? Pinterest is like a filing cabinet of home decorations, party planning, craft projects, recipes, etc. I have 20 something boards of ideas I am collecting myself. Is coveting the socially acceptable sin? R