{on becoming a pastor's wife}

I used to smoke pot in 8th grade. And if you had asked me then if I thought one day I would be a pastor's wife, I would have blown that joint right in your face. 

But by God's grace, a pastor's wife is exactly what I am. I mentioned in one of my last posts that 2012 was a big year for our family. Patrick became the pastor of our church in August 2012, which meant that Iris was only a few weeks old. I can remember several people asking how I was going to handle that with a new baby, three other kids and Patrick still working as a real estate broker on top of everything else.

Iris at 2 weeks

I can honestly say that God gave me an extra measure of grace during those first couple of months. Iris is a wonderfully calm baby and when she isn't hungry or tired, she is so happy. This was, and still is, such a gift from God. I was also genuinely excited to see what God was going to do in our church and in our family. I trusted that He had called Patrick and the Lord has proven to be faithful to that calling. My faith has been strengthened by the way God has moved in Patrick's life and I am reminded of God's perfect plan and perfect timing. A year ago, I would've grasped and clawed for Patrick the busier he got, demanding that he be home to help me - I mean I just had a fourth baby for cryin out loud - I would have been justified, right? But thankfully, I didn't feel that way and although it was hard at times in those early months, I had a peace in my heart, knowing that this was God's plan and I could rest in His goodness. 
And this journey that we are on has been so good. Our church is in the candidacy phase to become part of the Acts 29 network, and that has been such a blessing. It is an amazing church planting network that supports pastors in their call to shepherd their churches. I am so thankful to be a part of it, especially as I meander this new role of a 'pastor's wife.' I never felt any pressure from our church to be someone that I am not and I am so thankful for that. But I am becoming keenly aware that like anything else, if I am not resting in who Christ has made me, then I will put the pressure on myself. I am a people pleaser by nature, and have to be careful to not fall into that trap. But on the other hand, I want to be willing to give of myself and not hunker down under the guise of protecting my family. It is a fine line between those two and I need the Lord to direct my steps and keep my heart in check. 

Our church is considered a re-plant by Acts 29, since Patrick is now the pastor and the church is under new leadership, and so I am a "church-planting pastor's wife" (sounds complicated). I was pretty stoked to win this book in a random drawing that I stumbled upon the other day over at Kendra's blog. The book I won is The Church Planting Wife: Help and Hope for Her Heart, by Christine Hoover. She blogs at grace covers me and it has been such a source of encouragement to me.

I am looking forward to reading it. I desperately want to glorify God and be a helpmate to Patrick and the good Lord knows that I could use some guidance in this area as it is so new to me. I didn't think that my life would change that much, because I am still me. But my life is different and at times I can't put my finger on exactly why. I am praying that I will glean some wisdom from the other women that have gone before me. 

{on ovens, teapots, cleaning and God's light}

We got a new oven this past week, because our old oven was a causality of my last pregnancy. Let me explain. Since I can't drink coffee when I am pregnant (not because I like to avoid caffeine, but because I like to avoid puke), I drink A LOT of tea. I turn into a Brit the minute I conceive. So when I was pregnant with Iris, I boiled water on the stove every morning. I used a whistling teapot that was a wedding gift many moons ago. It was yellow. A happy bold yellow. Since it whistled, I would turn it on and walk away, because you know, that's what moms do - multi task - and come back when I heard it whistle. Well one day, I walked back into the kitchen and I could smell this awful charring smell. I yelled for Patrick because I thought something was about to explode in the oven. And then I realized that my teapot was what was getting charred. Me and my baby brain forgot to put water in the teapot! And I saw that my yellow teapot was melted to the glass top of my stove. Yeah. Awesome. And in the process of prying it off, the entire top cracked. Patrick was so kind about it and we have laughed about it on more that one occasion. I am thankful that he doesn't love things more than me. 
In preparation for the new stove, we had to pull out the old one. And I knew what that would entail. Cleaning. I was not looking forward to seeing what was behind the oven. When I got the mop out and started to clean, I saw a whole lot more that needed cleaning - the baseboards and the cabinets were atrocious. I don't notice them anymore since I don't have a crawler - who knows the last time that I gave it a good scrubbing. Have you ever not wanted to turn a light on because you didn't want to see the dirt that is lurking in the corners? When the light streams through my windows, it reveals so much grossness that sometimes I honestly just shut the blinds so that I don't have to see it. So I don't have to stop and deal with it. And as I was mopping, I started thinking about how much my life resembles that. I oftentimes don't want the light of Christ to shine on the yuckiness in my heart, to reveal the gross sin that is lurking in the corners. In BSF last week, we studied Genesis 4, about Cain and Abel. ^"The Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it'” (Genesis 4:6-7). God mercifully warned Cain that he was blind to the sin that was crouching and lurking in the shadows. He warned him that it wanted to rule over him. I have been thinking all week about what sins are crouching at the door and want to rule me? They aren't the "big" sins, but the less discernible ones in my life, that lurk in the shadows of my heart. Impatience, selfishness, self-righteousness... these are what I am tempted to give into. I am constantly teaching my kids that Love is patient and kind, it's not rude. And every time I say it, I am reminded of my own rude and impatient heart. While cleaning, I was reminded of this truth:

"...for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Ephesians 5:8-14

What a wonderful promise. Expose the dark places of my heart to the light of Christ and darkness no longer reigns there. This is because when sin is exposed, when it becomes visible, it is in the light. I may still struggle with it, but I am no longer blind to it. It is there for me to deal with instead of ignoring it, it is there for me to confess and allow the Holy Spirit to clean it out. I want His light to reveal the places in my life that don't bring him honor and that hurt the people around me. Because that's what sin does, it hurts those around you whether you like it or not. Instead I want to love with the love of Christ and not give in to the sin that is crouching in the darkness, I want to be the light. I don't want to be blind or comfortable with the sin in the dark places of my heart. I don't want the sin in my life to hinder me from authentic relationships. So I am opening the windows and letting the light of His Word expose my sin.

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:5-9

This promise in scripture is both challenging and comforting. I am going to take hold of His faithfulness and allowing the light of His Word to expose the sin I don't want to deal with, the dirt in the corners. I am relying on his forgiveness to wash and make me clean. And I am praising Him for the times in my life that I am forced to clean and deal with the yuckiness in my life, in the corners of my heart.

Blessings to you this Monday!

 


 

Road Trip, Part 2

via pinterest

I knew that when I wrote at the end of part 1 that there would be a part 2 of our anniversary road trip story, I was possibly over committing myself. I tend to not finish things and although it took me awhile to get motivated to actually write it, I finally did it. So here's to me actually finishing something!

When I left off in Part 1, we had just entered this place. . .

After I went to the bathroom, I walked past the groceries and into the warehouse. Immediately my mouth wanted to drop to the floor. But I had to keep it cool. I had to keep on my poker face, you know. I couldn't give anything away. If you watch American Pickers, Mike and Frank always talk about "breaking the ice," getting that first price agreed on as being crucial to the rest of the pick. So Patrick asked about the first thing he knew I would want:

7ft tall metal lockers.

 

I have wanted something like this for our kitchen since we moved into our house 5 years ago. Patrick knew I would want to buy them and that I would pay a pretty heavy price for them. New lockers like this can be about $500. So, Patrick said to him, "How much do want for the lockers?" And the owner replied, "$20." Are.you.kidding.me???? I knew right then that we were going to be taking a lot with us back to Texas. When the owner turned his back to me, I looked at Patrick and gave him that look. You know the one that says, "We hit the mother load." And I just went crazy. Pretty much everything I pointed at, my mouth wanted to drop. Old shutters - $.50 each/ Vintage Blue Ball mason jar - $4/ Wooden school desk & chairs - $4 each/ Wooden choir chairs - $3 each / 15 old windows - $10.

 

We ended up buying this small trailer on our trip as well. I know, right?! We're nuts. We looked up trailers on Craigslist when we were in Asheville and found this one for a terrific price. Patrick had been wanting to buy one for the past 6 months, so it made sense. 

 

 

We drove through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Gorgeous. Seriously. I have been to a lot of mountain ranges, but these are so pretty and so different. Plus the leaves were starting to change, so that was a bonus.

And this is what our truck looked like when we got home. Patrick has his work cut our for him, no?  ;)

 

We had a wonderful time and it's been over a month since we got home. It feels like it's already been a year and we're due for another one. Ha! I'm only kidding, grandparents. We'll at least wait until 2012, before we hit you up for another week of fun!

 

 

the best banana bread {hands down}

The reason I say it's the best banana bread, is because all three of my kids request it. With or without chocolate chips. That is huge, people. I'm no Pioneer Woman, but I always feel like I found a gem of a recipe if my entire family will eat it. Oh, I forgot to mention that P-Daddy likes it too. He has particular things he likes to eat, and is not the type to eat everything I bake (which is good and bad), but this banana bread is one he'll help us finish.
 

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 egg

*1 tbsp flax meal as an egg substitute (this is my secret ingredient)

3 very ripe bananas

1 c whole wheat flour

1 c white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 c mini chocolate chips (optional)

1 c walnuts (optional)

*1 tbsp ground flax meal mixed with 3 tbsp of water, let soak for 2 minutes

Mix all ingredients in one bowl, one at a time. So easy. Makes for easy clean-up.

**The mini chocolate chips are important as they will remain even throughout the entire loaf, whereas the regular size ones will sink to the bottom.**

Spray a 9 x 4 loaf pan with cooking spray. Cook in a 375 degree oven for about 55 min-1 hour. Let cool, slice and enjoy. 

Wrap it with this handy little wrapper that I found at joy ever after and take it to a neighbor.

If you make this, I would love to hear about it! Let me know in the comments what you thought.

Linking up with Kristen at We are THAT Family.

 

10 years and still having fun

We packed up, I took Saige to school and told her good-bye, my mom came over to the house, we told all of them good-bye and we left. Just like that. It was so strange to drive away from the house knowing I wouldn't see them for a week. But it was also so exhilarating. The open road with nothing but XM satellite (mainly NPR), coffee and an iPad to direct our path. I was absolutely giddy. 

My husband and I love road trips. When we were first married we took a road trip (big or small) every 4 months. And on our last one we went to California when I was 2 months pregnant with Saige. So when we started talking about our anniversary trip, we started dreaming about the open road. And thankfully Patrick likes to drive. I like it, but I get what I call carcilepsy. Literally. Whether I am driving or not, I will get so drowsy, that I can't shake it. It's not all the time, just usually in the afternoons but I obviously can't drive for very long.

Here is a run down of our trip.

Drove to Pensacola, Florida, stayed the night in a hotel on Priceline for $45. Got up the next morning, found some coffee and drove to Savannah, GA. 

And oh my, Savannah is gorgeous. And so interesting. To me it had a small town feel, with some really great old buildings and lots of yummy food. I mean, Paula Dean's The Lady and Sons restaurant is there, so you know it's good. Although we didn't eat there, we ended up eating at the Olde Pink House, which was our most luxurious evening out of the whole trip.  It was built in 1771 and apparently it's pink because the red brick bled over time and dyed the white plaster that covers it. Pretty interesting, huh?

 

After Savannah, we headed to Charleston. When we got there we took a walking tour of the city. I love history. I minored in it college, so this city was

VERY interesting to me. And we couldn't have had a better tour guide in terms of getting a feel for the city where bloodlines are so important. She was such a character and actually reminded me a lot of Hilly from The Help. Strong, Southern, extremely proud of her town and her heritage, and honestly a bit racist. She was very defensive of anyone painting Charleston in a bad light and I almost got the sense that the rest of America owes Charleston for their efforts in business, culture of course the Civil War. It was an interesting tour to say the least.

From there we headed to Folly Beach, SC. And what a gem. A laid back surfing town with great food and a great atmosphere. I wish we would have planned to stay there longer, honestly. Below is our picture from our hotel room. We also found a great restaurant called Taco Boy, which was like Californian Mexican food. Fish style tacos but with like 10 different spins on it. I got a tempura shrimp taco with remoulade sauce and oh wow, was it good! Folly Beach is somewhere I would definitely visit again.

In the morning, our goal was to get near Asheville, NC. But this was the day we set aside for picking. You know, antique picking. We are total nerds. Our new favorite shows are American Pickers and Picker Sisters. Have you seen either of these shows? American Pickers is just fun, but I am totally inspired by Picker Sisters.

Well, Patrick thought it would be a good idea to take back roads to Greenville in the off chance that we would see something. I am not exactly sure what we were looking for. Treasures along the side of the road that said, FREE, maybe? I kept thinking that we needed to go up to a door and knock and ask if we could look in their sheds and barns. Patrick said, "Sure, if you want to get shot." So we just kept driving. 

And as I was literally laying my seat back, getting ready to take a nap, carcilepsy strikes again, I saw a huge building with the word Auction on the side. I yelled for Patrick to stop and pull in. 

 

He said he didn't even notice it and just thought it was a convenience store. Well he was partly right. They did have grocery store items, but they also had a warehouse with things for sale. Come to find out later, they hadn't been having auctions due to the heat and were more than willing to move stuff out. So we asked if we could take a look. After I got out of the restroom, Patrick told me that I was going to die when I walked in. And he was just about right...

And with that, I am going to end this post and finish it up with a Part 2.

I'll leave you with one gem that we acquired though . . .

1920's choir chairs

Stay tuned for part 2...

Happy Monday, y'all!

Hutch CPR

This old hutch has been in my family for a long time. It was my grandmother's and then my mother's and I acquired it about 5 years ago. When my grandmother passed away, I crammed all of her tea cups in it and on it, because I just couldn't part with any of them.

 With that being said, I have never liked the color and always toyed around with the idea of painting it. But felt like I would be ruining a family heirloom and defacing a piece of history. So it stayed in its sad shape for awhile. 

 

 When Patrick went to Seattle to climb Mt. Ranier, my in-laws kept the kids for a couple of nights. So this gave me the perfect opportunity to take on a big project. I impulsively decided to redo the old hutch and bring it back to life.

 

I am not usually the type to do these things on my own, because when I run into a problem, I always ask Patrick for help. But this time, I had to turn to google. I was stripping the old screws, making it difficult to get them out. But I found the solution.

source

  I ended up using a combination of the rubber band and needle nose pliers. And I was so proud of myself. I did it without needing someone else's help.

Here are the after shots. They are not the best photos in the world, but they'll do. And please note my desire to keep all of Granny's things. One day, I will clear it off and make it simplier, but I am just not sure what I want to get rid of yet. So, until then, this is their home.

 

Hope you were inspired to do something pinteresting. Have you done anything any projects lately? I would love to see them.

Happy Friday!

back in the saddle

Over two weeks. I do believe this has been the longest hiatus I have taken from the blog in almost a year. I am not sure why I haven't wanted to blog, maybe it's because I have had a hard time knowing where to begin. 

But first things first, Happy Columbus Day. Here's a card from me to you.

The big 10 year anniversary Road Trip was perfect in every way, and I have wanted to write about that, but feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect. We saw a lot, we did a lot and meant some really interesting people. I have some funny stories that I want to share, so I am slowing getting it in writing. The trip ended up being a pickers trip as well and I can't wait to share with you some of the fantastic pieces we found.

I am reading several good books and am wanting to blog through one in particular, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With the Love of Jesus. I had it in my Amazon shopping cart to buy, when I got an email from my friend Kara over at The Chuppies, that I had actually won it in a giveaway. I was stoked and so thankful for the timing! It has been so good and so challenging and I am reading through it slowly because I want the truth of what they say to sink in down deep. 

I have Reed's second birthday party pics still to put on here because goodness knows they're not going in a scrapbook anytime soon... or ever. Here is one of him and I before the festivities began.

I kept Saige out of school when we got back on Monday and we took a trip to a farm with some friends and celebrated Fall the right way - feeding cows, riding ponies, jumping in bails of hay and coming home with sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes. Oh, the joys of hay and the fall season. The cooler weather has made it bearable

And lastly, it rained yesterday. Big buckets of God's blessing poured down from the sky and soaked our parched, dry, pathetic Texas land. It was glorious! And the girls enjoyed it to the fullest. We still had church to go that evening, but it was definitely worth celebrating. Amen?

I am glad to be home. Home with the ones I love. And as cliche as it sounds I think I'm back in the saddle again.

Happy Monday!