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thrive // giving your first fruits
This is Kelli. ^^^ Isn’t she cute? This photo was taken in the summer of 2010 when she and I were roommates and interns for Global Effect in Moshi, TZ.
This is me, Kelli, and Brandon while on safari in Tanzania. This photo was taken the day after Brandon talked with me about our relationship and told me that he was praying for me and thought I was going to be his wife. This was a great day.
This is Bran, me and Promise with Kelli’s brand new, 2012 Toyota Camry.
Why am I showing you these photos?
Because when you see these pictures of Kelli and of Kelli’s car, what you are really seeing is an image of Jesus. Well, that’s the way I see it.
When Brandon and I returned to the states in May, we had emailed our prayer supporters, asking them to pray about us finding a car to drive while we were stateside. We came to CA with nothing, really. Brandon didn’t have a job. We didn’t have a car. We were temporarily living with my mom and stepdad in their guest room. But we were clinging to the Lord, knowing that He is for us.
We got a call one day from Kelli, explaining to us that she was going to be buying a new car and wanted us to drive it while she continued to drive her old car.
(( Yeah, just let that sink in for a minute. ))
She bought a new car and wanted us to drive it. And she continued driving her old car.
And so for the last 6 months, we have had the incredible privilege of driving Kelli’s brand new car. And when I say brand new, I mean BRAND NEW. As in it is a 2012, right off the lot, had practically no mileage on it, and had that yummy “new car smell” welcoming us every time we opened the doors.
What an incredible experience to see our sister in Christ give. And not her old car (which we would have been so grateful for and happy with), but her new one. The one she had saved up for for a long time, the one that she spent hours researching its features and deciding it was the best fit for her…. And yet she freely gave of her first fruits, and I can say without a doubt that God is honored and blessed. And, I know for sure that He will bless her time and time again for her heart that loves well and her life that is marked with obedience.
What an honor to be entrusted with her offerings to God—to be stewards of her generosity and love for the Lord. When I think of Kelli, I think of Jesus. Can others say the same of you?
(( What are the first fruits that God is asking you to give? Your car? Your home? Your job? Your time? Your savings account? )) God is honored when we choose to be a people marked with generosity. What a beautiful thing to behold!
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Mother's Day Giveaway // Lisa Leonard Designs
Do you know Lisa Leonard? I am an avid follower of her blog and I love her jewelry. I used to be in her college-girl’s small group for a few months before I moved away to college and I can attest that she is as genuine in person as she is on her blog.
She’s having a giveaway on her blog today, and if anything could cheer me up from this nasty bug that I have somehow caught, winning these goodies and a giftcard to her shop would totally do the trick! Swing on over to her shop and check out her new Mother’s Day collection. The Always a Mother necklace is one of my faves, but so is this one and this one too. Oh Lisa Leonard, you sure do know how to make a mama (who’s going to be celebrating her 1st Mother’s Day) swoon! ;)
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Does Monday got you down? What about that tricky Daylight Savings Time? Well, this will make it all better.
You’re welcome. :)
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tough choices
^^^picture from last weekend’s North Campus church cleanup day, which Brandon and I helped host and organize^^^ (for more pictures I took from that day, click HERE)
This morning, I’m doing my usual routine: listening to the Josh Garrels station on Pandora, drinking coffee (praise God for COFFEE!!), listening to Promise make pterodactyl-esque noises, and watching Brandon dance around the house, thus causing Promise to sound like a prehistoric creature (a cute prehistoric creature, though).
I’m not gonna lie, I sorta want to crawl back in bed. It’s the perfect conditions for staying curled up all day: it’s cold, cloudy and rainy outside, there are dishes in the sink that I really wish to avoid, and Promise and I are still in our PJ’s. Now if only I had my Pride and Prejudice DVD, the day would truly be complete.
Well, it’s decided….
So, if you need me, you’ll know where to find me: cuddled up in bed with the cutest baby dinosaur to ever roll around on this earth.
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High Res
“Every dad should buy their daughter dresses. Pretty, pretty dresses.” -Brandon. Promise has a photo shoot today for a catalog and Brandon wanted to buy his Little Miss a new dress for it. Love this man. Love his Daddy heart. Love that he wants to give his daughter good gifts.
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this morning
So last night was a little rough. Promise kept waking up (poor thing) to nurse and wasn’t going straight to sleep like she normally does. She has been teething much more lately and I think that last night her gums were hurtin. It left me really tired and sorta haggered (and maybe a tad bit grumpy too). But my sweet husband took Promise this morning so I could keep sleeping. Than he did the laundry. Then he and Promise hung out in the bathroom for awhile while he folded the clothes. (You can hear everything in our loft, so the bathroom is the only room in our house that actually buffers sound….That sound being Promise talking and making noises.) And currently he is babywearing Promise while unloading the dishwasher so that I could eat breakfast and continue becoming more awake (it’s a long process, especially after a hard nights sleep). If there is one thing that I will gladly boast in, it would be how the Lord has blessed me with this husband of mine.
Bran, thanks for taking care of our family and letting me get an extra REM cycle this morning. You are the best.
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i’d like to thank the academy
We don’t own a TV.
Shocker, right? In fact, since Brandon and I have been married, we have never owned one. And you know what? I sorta love it. The internet is already so much of a time suck, if we had a TV too, I know it would be a struggle to just spend quality time with one another. Don’t get me wrong though, we are still up with culture and stuff. Like, we actually knew the Academy Awards were on last night. So we were checking wikipedia throughout the night to check in on who had won what. We even You Tubed some of the acceptance speeches (yeah, the acceptance speeches that someone had filmed their TV screen and then posted it on the internet. Jankity, I know.)
But it got me thinking. What would I say in accepting an award in front of a crowded room of beautiful people, wearing incredible, expensive clothing and jewelry, with the best hair and makeup on, and millions of people watching from their living rooms,… filming their TV screens and posting it on the internet for others to watch who don’t own TV’s.
If I won an award I would of course thank all those who made that achievement possible: the other actors/actresses, the Academy, yada yada yada… But then I think I would truly make it a point to thank those that truly mater in my life. I would obviously thank my family and my friends, those who mean so much to me and who have encouraged me throughout my life. But then I would try to say something like this:
“Brandon. You are my blessing. You balance me, you complement me, you are my better half. I cannot even imagine life without you. God has allowed our lives to become so beautifully woven together, that if you weren’t near I would unravel without His Grace to sustain me. You mean the world to me. Thank you for supporting me and having such a beautiful, godly view of marriage. You are my favorite, and always will be. I like you and I love you.
“Promise. You are my joy. It’s hard to even remember what life was like before you entered the world. You give me a whole new reason to live. You teach me daily how to be intentional and to treasure every moment. You are my greatest work of art and I love you forever, chicky-girl.
“Lord. I am nothing without you. Life is meaningless apart from you. You have blessed me beyond all measures. Thank you for never giving up on me, forever being in covenant with my life. Thank you for this opportunity to give you glory and speak your praises in front of all these people. This award is nice and feels good to be recognized, but may you forever be my reward.”
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High Res
Last night while I was up nursing Promise at 3am, I kept thinking of the Merrick’s, praying for them and the day to come. Hoping they were getting rest and that God would speak through them in today’s service. I awoke this morning praying for them again, that many would be amazed by God through Daisy’s memorial service and would come to know Him. Pray for the Merrick’s as they face one of the most difficult days of their lives today.
Daisy’s Memorial Info
Date: Saturday, February 23
Place: Reality Santa Barbara (At the Santa Barbara City College Sports Pavilion)
Time: 3 pm PST
Attire: See words below from Kate
Webcast: Daisy had many friends and supporters around the world for which we are so thankful. In order to honor these relationships we will be streaming her memorial live. Tune in at prayfordaisy.com to watch it.
A few words from Kate:
Dear Friends…
Early Saturday morning we had the privilege of witnessing Daisy’s departure from earth to a place outside of time and space where her joy is complete; heaven.
Our darling girl gave us kisses at midnight, with lips dry from thirst and hot with fever. Tiny and sweet, the words “that’s awesome” came from her tired body after letting us know she was having good dreams. She is safely home… Finally well.
I have refrained from giving details of her suffering over the last few weeks, as it was immense. Out of respect for her dignity and loveliness we have been keeping these painful moments sacred.
Thank you for your partnership in loving our girl. Please know we are broken hearted for ourselves but so happy for Daisy, who is with Jesus in paradise able to run and eat and play with abandon. We believe that wholeheartedly, and as they say in Narnia, she is going further up! And further in! She left the Shadowlands for a place more real in every sense.
Please join us as we celebrate the strong, kind, brave, goofy, thoughtful, amazing girl we call Daisy Love. Please wear what you feel best in; sandy feet and boardshorts, tutu and snorkel mask, or the prettiest dress in your closet. Wear black only if you must, but I’m wearing what Daisy would like most. On her last night on earth, she requested we watch “The Hobbit” (70’s version) and dress like hobbits. If ever there was a girl confident in her own skin, it was her. Among her favorite ensembles are animal ears of all kinds, astronaut, flightsuit, monster, pirate, dinosaur, Indian, mermaid, bear, cowgirl, fireman and explorer.
Feel free to laugh and cry and hug. There is no single way to grieve. And while we miss her on earth, we will pick up where we left off when I have the privilege of going to where she is, in the presence of God where there is fullness of joy.
My final request to all who read this blog: love. Love your babies, your husbands, mothers, sisters. Love each day like it’s your last. All you mamas out there, you have been entrusted with the precious gift of a human life who depends on you. Enjoy your gift. Breathe in the scent of your child’s hair, breath. Let them cook with you and make a mess of the kitchen. Play hide and seek with them, build sand castles with them, take them on picnics, read to them! Listen to them, value and respect them, never shame them. Your words they will carry with them their whole life and you have the power to give them wings or stunt their growth. Motherhood can be tough but it’s worth it. It can be exhausting, boring, tedious, but never for long. You blink and they’re grown. It has been my honor and privilege to love Daisy these last 8 years. I’m thankful for every minute; the joyful and the terrible alike.
“I know The Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalm 16:8-11 NLT)
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over the weekend // impromptu photo shoot
While my sisters were up over the 3-day weekend, we had the chance to go for a walk at the Elfin Forest in Los Osos. It was beautiful but windy and a little cold, therefore many photos were taken of hair being tousled in our faces. But still, it was nice to get out with the family (our poor stepdad was sick that weekend and wasn’t able to come along).
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Taylor, Candace’s roommate, also came up for the weekend. (Remember, she’s the one who took those beautiful photos at my baby shower in Santa Barbara.) She’s a great photographer and I eagerly gave her my camera to snap a few shots of our family. It was such a treat to have her take some impromptu photos of just the three of us, since most times either me or Brandon are the one’s behind the camera.
Make sure to check out Taylor’s work HERE. Thanks again Taylor!!
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milestones // promise eats food
I shared on Facebook yesterday that I was making homemade baby food and Promise would be eating it on her 5 month birthday (which is today by the way, and I’m sorta freaking out that she is no longer a little new born baby….Anyways…). Shortly after updating that status, we actually gave her the food. (I know, totally impatient) The next set of photos are probably some of my favorites of Promise thus far. I love that little ones have no filter about how they feel about things. It’s either good or bad, gross or yummy… no faking it. I hope this makes you as happy as it did us. :)
^^^ “Hey there mom, whatcha got there?” ^^^
PART I:
^^^ “Eww. Eww. Eww.” ^^^
^^^ “That is NOT breast milk.” ^^^
PART II:
^^^ “Ok, ok, I’ll try it again. This time, dad you give it to me.” ^^^
^^^ “It’s still NOT breast milk!” ^^^
^^^ “Yeaaahh, I don’t like this.” ^^^
PART III:
^^^ “Oh, you’re going to make airplane noises?? Okay, I’ll try it.” ^^^
^^^ “What are you doing to me?!” ^^^
^^^ “Gah! What is that?” ^^^
^^^ “I surrender, no more!” ^^^
PART IV:
^^^ “Really? Again?” ^^^
^^^ “STOP! Please, just stop!” ^^^
^^^ “No. NOPE. No more.” ^^^
^^^ “Get that stuff away from me before I kick you!” ^^^
I hope you laughed as much as we did.
Sorry Promise, broccoli is sort of an acquired taste. Hopefully you’ll like carrots a little more instead. ;)
