Jehovah Jirah

I just have to give the Lord the praise and glory He deserves.

A little backstory...

This year will be filled with all sorts of big expenses--some of which we were expecting, some of which we weren't. Some days I do better than others when it comes to surrounding my worries to Him and trusting His word when He says:

"So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do no worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." 

(Matthew 6:31-34)

These past few days, my mind has been filled with thoughts of how all of these upcoming expenses will be paid for. And God has been so patient with me, pointing out time after time where He has taken care of us in the past. 

Isn't that so silly? I see His constant provision in the past, yet I still sometimes question and doubt how He will take care of in the future! So silly. I know better. 

This morning, Chris received some amazing news from his employer. He's asked me to spare the details, but after my initial shock, my eyes welled with tears as I knew this was God speaking.

Jehovah Jirah. The Lord provides.  

I'm certain that this news will not cover everything coming at us this year, but to me, it is such a clear sign of God saying,

"I've got you guys under the shadow of my wing. Please trust me."

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Lord of Lords - Hillsong ft. Brooke Fraser

Beholding Your beauty
Is all that I long for
To worship You Jesus
Is my sole desire
For this very heart
You have shaped for Your pleasure
Purposed to lift Your Name higher

Here in surrender
In pure adoration
I enter Your courts
With an offering of praise
I am Your servant
Come to bring You glory
As is fit for the work of Your hands

Now unto the Lamb
Who sits on the throne
Be glory and honour and praise
All of creation resounds with the song
Worship and praise Him
The Lord of lords

Spirit now living
And dwelling within me
Keep my eyes fixed
Ever on Jesus' face
Let not the things of this world
Ever sway me
I'll run 'til I finish the race

Now unto the Lamb
Who sits on the throne
Be glory and honour and praise
All of eternity echoes the song
Worship and praise Him
The Lord of lords

Holy Lord
You are holy
Jesus Christ
Is the Lord

Now unto the Lamb
Who sits on the throne
Be glory and honour and praise
Call all the saints to join in the song
Worship and praise Him
The Lord of lords

One gigantic CHRISTMAS post.

Because, ya know, it's been a while. And New Years seemed like the perfect day to recap Christmas. :) 
This post is going to be long and picture-heavy...just a fair warning!

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Setting up the tree together was SO fun this year. Molly loved putting up the ornaments. 
Here she is right before putting the tree up:

We decided to get our kids a new ornament each year when we put up the tree so that when they leave our house, they have a box full of ornaments for their own tree someday! 
This year I got Molly a baby, because she looooves babies so much. Safe to say she was pretty excited about it. :)

I finally have a mantel to decorate! So fun!

We went to see the zoo lights on a beautiful night...see, we didn't even wear coats! We thought it wouldn't be that crowded, being a weeknight. Everyone else in Columbus thought so too. :)

Chris's work had a Christmas party one Saturday this month, which had a ton of fun activities. Molly was pretty unsure of the idea of getting her face painted, so I went first. Here are our matching bows:

And this was Molly's face when she first saw Santa. She immediately exclaimed, "I don't like Santa Claus!" haha

And yes, we got the classic picture of a screaming child on Santa's lap. 

Cooper, on the other hand, was infatuated with Santa. Especially his nose and his glasses.

Molly and I making Christmas cookies together:

We travelled to North Carolina to spend some time with my family before Christmas. It was nothing short of amazing. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves each other and gets along so well. :)

My mom bought a bounce house! Yes, a bounce house! Haha. It was so cool, and the kids loved it!

We came home from our trip to a flooded laundry room. Just two days before Christmas. It was terrible timing, to say the least. Monday was such a discouraging day for me, as I was trying to keep my joy amidst all the crazy of the laundry room situation, our cars having issues, and just the madness that IS two days before Christmas. 

Then this happened. A sweet, sweet friend from church delivered this beautiful plate of goodies. It just couldn't have come at a more perfect time! God knows best! Thank you SO much, Mikayla and Whitney! 

The kiddies before Christmas eve service. You can see how much she adores her little brother.

Also, let it be known that Molly wore the same dress two Christmases in a row. My tiny, petite little girl. (last year on the left, this year on the right)

Molly at Grandma Dorothy's with the big giant Christmas bear:
(I'm not sure why there's snow on this picture, but it's kinda cool, right?) 

Christmas morning was the four of us at our house. It was so relaxing and full of joy. 

The annual stocking picture:

Chris had this incredibly old pair of shorts that used to be his dads that were getting super worn out. He literally could not take one step without them falling down (the elastic was so stretched out!) I was finally able to convince him to get rid of them, but without him knowing, I fashioned them into a pair of pants for Cooper.

I figure my sister-in-law is making babies to carry on to a third generation....I'll make a pair of pants to do the same! ;)

Hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas. 
Here's to a wonderful 2014!!!

the BEST kind.

Tonight as I sit here, exhausted from a day's work and waiting for my dear hubby to get home from our house, I read Nie's encouraging words, and this stuck out to me:

Family is hard work, but it is the best hard work that ever existed.

That's the truth, and it is echoing in my head tonight. 

Thank you, Lord, for my precious, beautiful family.

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Handmade/Local Week: Payne's Restaurant

In honor of the craft show this weekend 

(read more about that here), 

I thought I'd highlight some of my favorite handmade shops and local shops this week. 

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Payne's Restaurant, though locally owned, is very unfortunately not local to me. However, we were in the area (Marion-ish, Indiana) this past weekend and had lunch here. And let me tell you, we were NOT disappointed! In fact, it probably ranks in Chris and I's top five eats of all times. 

Woo too for discovering a diamond in the rough!

The restaurant's website here.

Review on urban spoon here.

Their menus were in the middle of these old books. So fun!

My amazing sandwich. Apples, apple butter, walnuts, and brie cheese. And lots of spinach! :)

The waitress brought us our bill in this old recipe box.

Many thanks to my adventurous hubby for finding Payne's Restaurant. I love that he loves to explore fun, new places!

A few things you should know about.

This is the post where I get a little linky on y'all because there's just a few things out there in the internet world that I want to share with you. :)

The Flourish Retreat.

here.

Daily uplifting blog posts that are simple, sweet, and encouraging. Seriously awesome, my friends.

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She Reads Truth.

here.

A daily Bible reading plan. I know you can get apps and emails and what not, but I still go to the site everyday to see what the reading is. Can you say old school? Haha.

Anyway, it's a great start for diving into the Word, and I encourage you to check it out!

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Embrace the Camera

I've done this before, but it has come to mean so much to me that I feel the need to share it again. 

Basically, we as women are so hard on ourselves, specifically regarding our appearance. We have a million reasons to stay out of a picture--I don't have make-up on, my hair isn't done, I still have a few pounds to lose, and my outfit isn't all that fashionable. 

But the point is, we need to get in the picture with our kids. In 20 years when they look back, they won't see your make-up-less face or the extra pounds. They will see you. 
And you will be beautiful to them because you are their mother.

You can read more about how Emily explains it here.

(And check out her blog and precious family while you're there!)

Ok, ok, how could I talk about that and not include a few of ME embracing the camera with my kiddos on Easter morning.

And one of us, because we don't have nearly enough of these anymore.

Happy Wednesday, friends!