Worship Wednesday (on a Thursday)

  I know its Thursday. Busy week ok? Tuesday night we went to Hillsong with a huge group from our church and what a night it was. To say it was an awesome incredible night of worship would be an understatement. I loved every song as I knew it was because we sing so many and I have all of their albums so knew every word by heart. Today's song I have heard before but it didn't quite affect me the same as seeing it live on Tuesday. What a beautiful, awe-inspiring, chills, goosebumps moment. I pray that you can experience the same listening to it today. There aren't many words but simple, real and beautiful.

 

You gave me hope

You made me whole

At the cross

 

You took my place

You showed me grace

At the cross where you died for me

 

And His glory appears

Like the light from the sun

And age to age He shines

 

Look to the skies

Hear the angels cry

Singing Holy is the Lord

 

A letter to my 16 year old self

Some of you may know that I lead a small group of Senior Girls on Sunday nights. I look forward to these nights all week long. I'm so proud of each and everyone of those girls and can't wait to see the ways the Lord works in their lives as they venture into college and beyond. Well as with most people when you spend a lot of time around teenage girls it gets you thinking about your days as a teenager. I started wondering what I wish I had done differently, or wish I had known, or wish I had done that I didn't do. You've seen a lot of these around this thing we call the internet but here is my own version...

Dear "16 year old me",

You're a pretty girl and you don't need to lose weight. Trust me, you're the smallest now you will probably ever be.

 

Try to stay out of catty girl drama. The more you involve yourself, the more your words will probably get twisted.

 

Wherever you want to go to college, go there! Don't focus on where your friends are going!

 

At this point, don't let boyfriends/crushes bring you down. Enjoy this time with friends and only give boys time who treat you great in public and in private.

 

Remember your values, hold on to things sacred.

 

You're never too cool for any church event. If you want to know the people who will really care about you- you will find them there!

 

Be sweet to your parents, you will regret it if you don't. It's better for everyone in the long run if you just stay respectful.

 

Go on and start trying to overcome your circumstances. Beat the odds. Don't blame mistakes on the hand you were dealt.

 

Trust God. He loves you. SO. MUCH.

 

Don't worry if other people have nicer clothes/cars/jewelry than you. Nobody will remember and you will probably be making fun of the clothes you used to wear one day.

 

Whatever you do, do it with everything you have! Take ownership of who you are and be proud of that!

 

Keep in touch with those people who want to invest in your life. They really do care, and you really will want them involved later on.

 

Try new things. You never know where your gifts may lie.

 

The truth about being busy...

 I'm going to be uber honest for a minute. I get a little frustrated when people tell me how busy they are. I know I know- people have things going on, life is CRAZY! I'm telling you ~ drives me nutso. Then I remember that I'm about to delve into a blogpost about how busy I am. Ooops, forgive me please.

 

This is our life...

~We both work full time~

~We don't pass up on play time with our little buddy~

~We wash 5 bottles a day~

~We cut our own grass, do our own laundry, clean our own house, wash our own cars~

~We rarely turn down an invite to enjoy a meal with friends~

~We both spend about 10-15 hours a week at church~

~We both have hobbies we wish we had more time to explore~

~We try not to pass up the opportunity for weekends with friends, family, and even work commitments~

 

I say all of this not to tell you how busy we are or for you to respond and tell me how impressed you are that we keep it all running. I write this to tell you the truth about our "busyness."

 

~Yes there are days when we just want to stay curled up in bed~

~Yes there are plenty of days I wish I worked part-time~

~Yes there are times I feel like a complete failure that I have this sewing machine and embroidery machine and can't carve out the time to use them~

~Yes I waste too much time trying to measure up to other females and moms with different circumstances~

 

But...

 

 ~We wouldn't trade it for anything~

~Even when we're tired and exhausted, the time with friends and family is worth every minute it takes away from chores or sleep~

~Doing our own chores around the house and yard is fulfilling and we're always pleased with the result~

~Spending those hours at the church listening to sermons, fellowshipping in small group, worshipping, leading small groups is our privilege and honor~

 

And this I know

~It is impossible to stay so busy and stay rested without relying on God to help us through it~

The Future

Lately Chris and I have been thinking about a lot of family decisions. What do we want for our family? What do we want for Hutton? How do we want to raise Hutton? What are the most important things to us? How do we want to spend our money? Where do we want to travel?

We've done a lot of future thinking. 5 year plan type thinking. Side note: I think it is great to have a 5 year plan and suggest it. But also be flexible and understand that God may have something else.

 

In all this thinking and planning I've been wondering about my future. I will always be a Christ follower, Chris' wife, and Hutton's mommy. But what will my life look like outside of those things in 5 years. Right now, I honestly don't know the answer and I think thats okay. Here is what I do know...

 

~I love going through life with people~

~I have a passion for youth and college aged girls~

~I love friendships~

~I love sharing~

~I love creating~

~I love giving gifts~

~I love to read~

~I love to be with my family~

~I love being busy~

~I loev planning parties~

 

I get to do a lot of that now and pray that I continue to have the opportunity to do these things in the future!

Worship Wednesday

This song doesn't have a lot of words to remember. The lyrics are pretty simple. Simple but powerful. Pray that wherever you are you can listen to these words and feel His presence and soak in the fact that in that moment, His presence truly is all you need.   

 

Your presence is all I need
It's all I want, all I seek
Without it, without it there's no meaning
Your presence is the air I breath
The song I sing, the love I need
Without it, without it I'm not living

I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
There is no one like You God
I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
No other name be lifted high

 

Your presence is all I need
It's all I want, all I seek
Without it, without it there's no meaning
Your presence is the air I breath
The song I sing, the love I need
Without it, without it I'm not living

 

I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
There is no one like You God
I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
No other name be lifted high

There will be no one like You
And no one beside You
You alone are worthy of all praise
There will be no one like You
And no one beside You
You alone are worthy of all praise

 

Much needed girl time

 I've been saying for months how I needed a good girl's weekend. My life has been majorly slacking on girl time lately. I've had 2 friends move away, 1 has been super swamped with just life in general, 1 is in another country, and then everyone has their busy lives! So last Saturday I got up early to head to Nashville for my sweet friend Melissa's Bachelorette Party. Melissa is marrying her fiance Clay on September 22nd and so we went off for her last bash beforehand.

I must say, I was a little nervous going into it. I only knew 1 other person besides Melissa the bride. Another girl named Melissa who I had only met because I bought a candle from her. So I was venturing into a weekend knowing two Melissa's and a handful of introductions ahead of me.

Let me tell you- it was just what I needed.

Rest ~ Late night talks ~ Eye makeup lessons ~ Delicious Food ~ Pajama Sunday ~ Snacking ~ Outlet mall shopping ~ Bachelorette Scattegories ~ Father of the Bride ~ Bachelorette Gift Giving ~ Lots of Laughs ~ Dancing ~ Did I mention eating?

 

This all rejuvenated me and while I missed my 3 boys immensely while I was gone it made me all the more excited to get home and see them!

Looking forward to seeing all my new friends at the McWedding Festivities in 2 weeks!

10 things on Thursdays

Today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday! Woohoo! I thought today I would list the 10 things I'm the most looking forward to this weekend!

They are in no particular order!

10- The My Kids Attic Consignment Sale! My sweet friend Melissa got me a preview pass so I get in tomorrow at 4! Woop woop!

9- Auburn Game watching and eating with my friends Adam and Amanda. I haven't seen either of them in SOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo long so I can't wait to catch up. I know that laughing will be in store because Adam is hysterical.

8- My husband comes home!!!! We have only been together 5 hours (they were all sleeping hours) in the last week and we've never been away from eachother that long.

7- I'm teaching Middle School Sunday School this week. Now sometimes you have to pull words out of those middle schoolers to get them to talk but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

6- Youth Small Groups start back! I'm rocking my third year with the same group of girls. They are Seniors this year and I cannot express how much I love them and how proud of them I am. Love you Bailey, Caroline, Kathryn, Emily, Becca, Taylor, Alex, Kelsey, Carlie and Morgan!

5- Dinner with my Mom tomorrow night! I haven't seen her much lately so I'm very much looking forward to a free dinner and catching up.

4- Delicious family dinner Saturday night in honor of my husband's return! I'm not even sure what I'm cooking yet but I think I'm going to pick up some shrimp at the store and go from there. Any suggestions?

3- Sitting through a sermon at St. James with Chris. Between sicknesses, vacations, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties and more we haven't sat through a sermon together in over a month.

2- My dog not barking in the middle of the night. Anytime Chris is out of town Jacks goes on high alert. This means that any noise from the hours of 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. he barks at OUT OF CONTROL! For me it means, no sleep, dark circles, puffy eyes, tired employee!

1- Family walk! I have to admit, I am not a huge walker. I should be I know. But, Jacks loves them, Hutton loves them, Chris loves them so I'm determined to learn to love them. Plus- I love being with all of my boys so if they all want to walk- then I'm up for it!

Six Months Joy

  Hutton turned 6 months old on August 16th. We are only two and a half weeks past that and it has been amazing. Every month has been incredible and I love him more with everyday that goes by but this month has been by far the most fun. We have had a great time being a family and spending time together and watching Hutton as he discovers more things around him and more things about himself. He wakes up everyday with a smile, does something new everyday, gets more hair everytime I look at him, has baby chunky rolls and has brought me an immeasurable amount of joy. I'm so blessed and so thankful to God for this gift He gave Chris and me. Enjoy the pictures of my munchkin!!!

 

P.S.- for my own personal joke: It's pretty tough having the cutest baby ever but I think I'm up to the task :) I now understand how you truly believe that your child is the most handsome, smartest, wonderful child there ever was!