drum roll, please....

okay, so you don't have to wait a whole month to find out why i was so excited...

I'M ENGAGED!! yes, that's right, joel proposed this afternoon. we had an incredible day...we spent some time together just driving around and talking this morning (which is something we both really love to do) and then had a picnic at daniel stowe botanical garden. after our lunch, we walked through the orchid conservatory and he proposed at the gazebo which overlooks a reflecting/wishing pond. i could go on and on and on but i'll stop here. if you ever want to hear more, let me know and i'll be happy to share.

i can truly say that i've prayed for my future husband for at least 15 years and can say without a doubt that the Lord heard my prayers above and beyond anything i could have ever prayed for or asked for. joel is an amazing, godly man whose integrity inspires me and his spiritual walk challenges me. he is truly a gift from the Lord and i am honored to have the privilege to walk through this journey of life with him!

very excited

all i have to say is that i'm very excited about the recent events that have been happening in my life.

very...
very...
very...
excited!!!!!!!

that's all i'm saying about it right now. just know, i'm very excited ;).

keep checking in with me...i might have more updates in a month or so. :)

Jesus...

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. but He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." ~isaiah 53:3-6

"you see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. very rarely will anyone die for an unrighteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him! for if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." ~romans 3:6-11

"for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ~1corinthians 1:18

"...but the fruit of the Spirit is...patience..."

i have to confess that i've never thought of myself as being an impatient person; i mean, i've never claimed to have the patience of job or anything but i've never thought that patience was really one of my "problem areas" in my life. sure, i've had moments in life when it's been difficult to wait on something and i know that i've never really enjoyed having to wait but it's never been a struggle for me...until now.

i've thought a lot about patience this morning and specifically, my lack of patience. i had one of those moments where i finally realized that the Lord might be trying to teach me something and i'm just now cluing in on the lesson. i'm a quick one, i tell you :). i heard Him speak to my heart this morning as i was praying. in the middle of my whining (you know, "Lord, why does it have to be so complicated, why am i having to wait on an answer, why aren't they just doing things MY WAY?") i heard Him speak to my heart and encourage me to learn from the time i'm going to spend waiting. instead of freaking out that i'm not "in control" of a situation perhaps i should learn to fully trust and rest in the One who is in control.

in a couple weeks, i have the privilege of teaching a lesson on the fruit of the Spirit to women at my friend, cari's church. this morning i also heard Him say that perhaps patience was a fruit that needed some cultivating in my own life. because, remember, i thought that i had that down. struggle with patience? not me. uh huh...i have so much to learn.

(and by the way, i can completely testify to the fact that when you wait on His timing and His plan, instead of forcing your own...it works out so much better.)

His yoke is easy...

"take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for My yoke is easy and My burden is light." ~matthew 11:29-30

one of my favorite things about my job and about ministry in general is the people. i love to talk, i love to lisen, i love to connect with people and am (obviously) a very relational person. however, with people comes real life, real problems, and sometimes heartache. over the last couple weeks i've had some people share with me the junk, the hurt, and the problems that they are working through in their lives and to be honest, it breaks my heart.

i am so thankful, though, that we do not serve a God who is distant or uninterested in the details and struggles and challenges of our lives here in this broken and fallen world. the one thing i have thought about over the last couple weeks is that life is hard. (you're thinking, no joke, right?) yes, it is hard but praise Him, oh praise Him that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He will give weary souls rest. thinking about the goodness, kindness, and gentleness of our Heavenly Father just makes me want to fall on my face in worship. the more i walk through this journey called the Christian life, the more and more i fall in love with my Savior. He is so good and i am often amazed that He cares for me.

"...cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." ~1peter 5:7

the madness has begun...

march madness officially has begun. amen. the first round of games tip off this thursday at noon and i am excited...dare i say that i am pumped ;). i think it's gonna be a good year for the men in carolina blue. :)

hmm...perhaps i will keep you posted on how my bracket is doing...or, if i haven't been a successful "bracketologist" this year maybe i will just pretend none of my brackets exist. denial, it is a beautiful thing.

either way, i'm excited for another great march chock full-o-madness!

all my aliases (is that a word?)

This is funny...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): heidi camry
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): java chip madden (steve madden shoes are a fav)
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): pink dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): elizabeth shelby
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): graam
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): blue (diet) sundrop
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): ben elmer
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Berry Buffalo
9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Fall Daisy
10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing rightnow): Strawberry Jeans
11. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Water Dogwood

love me some texas

i'm sure you're fainting if you're reading this and seeing that i've written not one but TWO posts in one day. i just wanted to take a second and blog about something that i'm super excited about AND that makes me very happy...visiting texas (and more specifically, visiting my friends in texas).

you see, i lived in the dfw (dallas/fort worth) area for four years while i was in seminary and while i was there, i had the opportunity to make some of the most important friendships in my life! (not to mention the whole seminary thing and working at a phenominal church which totally shaped who i am as a children's minister...that stuff was important, too. ;) anyway, in four short weeks, i have the opportunity to travel back to dallas to spend some time with friends AND i get the incredible honor of ministering alongside my awesome friend, cari, at her church's women's retreat.

so, i thought i'd take a minute and mention some of the things i can't wait to see, do, visit, and experience when i'm back in the lone star state (i do admit that if you've never been to dallas...this may not be as exciting for you as it is for me but this is my blog............so, i'm sorry you are probably bored. i don't do this often. check back with me later and maybe i'll have a more thrilling post. ;)

• visiting sam moon...i mean, come on now. it doesn't get any better than sam moon (click on the name to see their website. although, i will admit that the website does not do the store justice. you have to go and EXPERIENCE it for yourself. just trust me.). sam moon has been the reason i have had to ship my luggage back home...i didn't have room for everything i bought :) and it's CHEAP, too!
• an afternoon in highland park with andrea...complete with a trip to chuy's....
• stonebriar mall in frisco...my favorite mall when i lived there. hands down.
• laughing my head off with cari; it would be great if we could have another great girl's afternoon picnic...minus the goose poop.
• walking around the galleria.
• shopping with stephanie and cpk and playing with tucker.
• visiting the container store...it is such sadness that the container store does not exist in north carolina.
• driving in downtown dallas...getting lost in deep ellum, then getting lost on martin luther king, jr. blvd, and finally somehow finding my way out of marcellas street.
• the whole time i lived there, i never got to visit the dallas world aquarium. maybe THIS time i'll get to go!
• driving to see blue bonnets (cari--are you reading my blog? will they be in bloom when i'm there?)
• visiting prestonwood on sunday morning and getting to hug my kids that were kindergarteners but are now 4th graders...is that right? oh my word. i'm old.

that's just a small list of the things i really love to do when i go back to visit. most of all, i love spending quality time with the people who were my second family while i lived there. the Lord blessed me with some amazing relationships and i'm so thankful that our friendships are still growing and changing.

grace...

i've thought a lot about that word lately...grace...and how absolutely thankful i am that it is a reality in my life. there is no way to adequately to describe the overwhelming knowledge that God has provided grace so that i can walk in a right relationship with Him through Jesus; i mean, come on now, there is nothing, absolutely nothing more amazing than that. (perhaps that is why there is a song called, "amazing grace." just a thought there. ;)

not only am i overwhelmed and flat out amazed by the grace God has extended to me but i am also thankful that my close friends and family who walk with Jesus also extend grace at times when i'm sure i don't deserve it. can i just be honest with all you faceless people out there in the world wide web? this has been one of those weeks in my life (and it's only wednesday...what does THAT say about my week?) where i have been in serious need of grace and thank the Lord, the people in my life who walk with Jesus have been more than willing to extend grace to me even in moments when i flat out didn't deserve it. nothing huge or majorly traumatic has happened but i've just had one of those weeks where i've been constantly aware of the battle with my flesh and to be honest, there have been a few times the flesh won (hence, the need for grace).

so, for those of you who have walked with me this week...thank you for the grace you've extended. it was desperately needed but even more desperately appreciated. the Lord has worked in my life this week because of you.

"…God is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only god man has ever heard of who loves sinners. false gods—the gods of human manufacturing—despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. through no merit of ours, but by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved Son. This is the Good News...the gospel of grace." ~brennan manning

"the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. but for that very reason i was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life. now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." ~1 timothy 1:14-17