it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

35 years

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! What an example of hardwork, dedication and teamwork. 

I love you both.

the morning after the iron bowl

november 19th 2000

I was eighteen years old. A freshman at the University of Alabama. We hosted Auburn for the very first time (in 99 years) in our stadium, and cheered our hearts out despite our loss...and the freezing rain. My roommate, Ashley and I woke up exhausted. I had a call from Trai, a friend we met while visiting our dorm neighbors' hometown. He asked if I might meet him for lunch...and most importantly if I might bring Ashley.  Not the first lunch date for this "wingman girl". I rolled out of bed with a bad attitude, threw on a t-shirt and baseball hat without knowing that I was on my way to meet my husband. 

I met the man of my dreams at McAlister's. Maybe it was the wooden bead necklace, maybe the gelled hair but whatever it was I was hooked! ...and ten years later I'm still hooked. I can not remember who wanted to take this picture, or if we just stopped someone in the Tutwiler parking lot and asked them to take a picture of the four of us after meeting just hours before, but I am thankful for this picture. A tangible look at day ONE. We had no idea that was the beginning. The very beginning...of this love story I'm living.

I am thankful for the details God orchestrated that day. Again, thankful for a god who specializes in details. 

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns"

-George Eliot

"above ALL else, guard your heart"

Bob Flayhart is Senior Pastor of Oak Mountain Church, and author of The Bobosphere. If you have never read his blog, I encourage you to do just that. I am not a biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but I was encouraged by his post and wanted to share.


Last week, his post was on the following verse:

Proverbs 4:23-"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

This is a verse that I "know", but I have not taken the time to really meditate on its truths. I must admit, this is one of those verses that I filed away in one of my life's little "chapters" and honestly have not thought much else about it. "Guard your heart" takes me back to the days of dating and Campus Crusade. The quiet times of "some day my prince will come". Not to make light of that time in my life, I do think it is important to guard your heart in the aspect of relationships, but I simply had not given it much thought beyond just that. I love the way Bob broke down this passage to share thoughts on the depth of each word.

Have you ever really thought about what your heart is? I haven't. How much more weight does this verse have in the context of your heart as the TOTALITY of your being?

Excerpts from his post:

"guard your heart"--I have to ask: what is my heart? My heart is the totality of my being, the very core of who I am. My heart is my intellect, my emotions, my will, my motivations, my joys, my priorities, the openness of my life to God and His truth and much, much more! I have a lot to guard...


"guard your heart"--hmmm, that must mean my heart is under attack! Constantly! I need to guard my heart from the lies of the enemy. I need to guard my heart from the mentality of the world. I need to guard my heart from the fallen pull of my own flesh. I need to guard my heart from living out of the pain of past woundedness. I need to guard my heart against living out of self-protection, self-preservation or self-indulgence.

Guard your heart from the mentality of the world. Wow. Well said. But even deeper, guard my heart from the fallen pull of my own flesh. Honestly, I've never thought about guarding my heart from the flesh, guarding my heart from myself, my own sinful nature that desires to live out of self-protection, self-preservation and self-indulgence. What a concept. A life changing, true concept.

"it is the wellspring of life"--I have been created by God and re-created in Christ to be a source, a wellspring, a fountain of life, to all those I come into contact with throughout the day. The life I am able to offer is directly proportional to the life in my own heart...life received from Christ, and His Word and His community. My heart is to be a wellspring of life for others and I need others to refresh my own heart as well."

Lord, let my heart be a wellspring of life.

twenty nine

Today the man of my dreams turns the BIG 2-9!

Yep, the charming, lovable, Johnny Good times is turning to the very last page in this chapter of life... 

Happy Birthday John!

I have loved every year of this twenty-something chapter with you, may 29 be the best one yet!

Loxleypalooza...part 2

...I bet you thought she was done, didn't you!?

Mo LOVED the beach!! AND we ALL loved watching him love it!

 

He would run, run, run as fast as he could... 

laughing the whole way

 

and crash in to the "waves"!

  

after he mastered that, he was ready to graduate to the boogie board

or at least toss some seashells

and build some sand castles with Mama J

at dinner he cheered on a game of beach volleyball

What a fun memories and a fun weekend!