17 years and counting





Any idea what you were doing January 29, 1994?  For most everyone reading this blog it was just another ordinary day that meshed in with all the rest.  Not me.  That was the day I had dreamed about since I was a little girl.  The day I had imagined in my mind over and over for years...even before I knew who would fill the role of the groom!  It was a dream come true in every way imaginable. (especially the groom!)  Tomorrow marks 17 years since I became the wife of my best friend in the world....and the crazy part is, the dream is still going strong.

We went to school together since 6th grade, but didn't really know each other well until our Junior year in highschool.  Our first date?  A double date with other people...yep, Kenny was with my good friend and I was with one of his football friends.  I never could figure out why that guy never asked me out again.  I felt sure he would and I hate to admit I waited by the phone a number of nights wondering if he would call.  I didn't find out until a year or two later that Kenny had told him I wasn't interested, & that's why I never received anymore calls from that fella...and the rest is history! 4 1/2 years later our wedding day finally came, and sometimes I still can't believe how good I've got it.  I certainly don't mean life is easy and we have it all figured out., but we are genuinely more in love with each other today than we ever were years ago.  Some say that's just the way it's supposed to be, but the truth is, we all know that's not how it usually is in this day and time. I can't really explain it, but all I know is that the privilege of walking through this journey of life with this man at my side is more than I deserve.  He is confident, yet amazingly humble.  He is wise beyond his years, yet can hang out and talk with even the "least of these" and do so in such a way that makes others just enjoy hanging out with him. He's a hard worker, a servant, a leader.  He's passionate about life and about everything he puts his hand to.  He is always talking to those he teaches, coaches, as well as our own children, about making the most of every opportunity and beginning with the end in mind.  In other words, if we fast forward our lives to our deathbed, what things really matter in that moment...REALLY.  If you let yourself linger there a while it's actually quite overwhelming.  The only thing that matters is your relationship with God, and behind that is your relationship with your family and the impact your life had on others.  If those are the only things that really matter at the end of this life, then why do we all live in pursuit of so many other things that have no real meaning? Kenny is certainly human, but it is inspiring to watch someone live their life on a day to day basis who genuinely lives like there's no tomorrow.

He loves me and our children with a love that is not of this world.  Just watching him be the daddy he is to our children makes me fall in love with him more and more. He's competitive and crazy with them and laughs a lot, but knows when to be firm and make the most of those teachable moments life just brings about every day. He has loved me through the good times and the hard times and been there for me through everything on my lovliest days and my not so lovely days!  I know our children are getting to go through life seeing a Mama and Daddy who love each other so much, love Jesus, and laugh together, hang out together, and enjoy them together.  He is the absolute best friend I could ever ask for. In some ways it seems like we should still be 16 years old hanging out in History class, but somehow I blinked and here we are 21 plus years later just loving each other and figuring out this journey together.

I feel led to close with this final thought. Ladies who may be waiting on that special guy to come into your life, if I could say anything to you about your future I would say this.  Don't you dare settle.  Don't miss out on what God has for you...His best.  I've heard it said that "good is the enemy of great"  Don't settle for "good" when God has something around the corner for you that is so great, so divine, it could only come from Him.

Here are a few pictures of our journey together so far!



In highschool working on a project at my house





Junior prom 1990







Senior prom-1991





 



College days (Union University) 





Wedding reception 1994



Wedding day January 29, 1994



Married housing (our first home...a.k.a. our little concrete box!)

We thought it was the most beautiful little place in the world!

Heading home from the hospital with our first baby...Jake

September, 1997

Here after with Jake (3 years old) and Caleb (6 months)

Kenny & me in Maui! (went as chaperones with TCA's senior trip)

LOVED it there!!!  Spring, 2001

In September, 2002 the twins were added to our bunch of boys!

This photo taken fall, 2004

Family picture...one of my all time favorites

(morethanasnapshot photography-thanks to my friend, Kaka)

In July, 2007 we added our first girl to the bunch

...and our first little red-headed boy, Z in March, 2009 (this was fall, 09)



Ken & me 2009



Christmas 2009










Dallas Family Summer, 2010

Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference

I know there's a lot of stuff out there to watch, but I beg you to take a few minutes today and watch this from beginning to end. He's speaking my heart...we MUST do something with this.

Use Me or Kill Me

Happy New Year, friends!  The Christmas decor is all put away and back to the old routine, right?  Sometimes the beginning of the year can feel a little more like just plain "relief" because all the running and gunning of the holidays is over, but isn't there supposed to be more?  Deep down somewhere, don't we all WANT there to be more?  It's a brand new year...2011.  Never will there be a 2010 again.  I think we all desire for there to be more to it, hope this will be a great year, but we never DO much of anything differently to make that happen.  I once heard a pastor say that the true definition of insanity is "doing the same thing you've always done and expecting a different result." How true is that?!  God is a God who is sovereign and absolutely in control, but he does REQUIRE something of us.  I was reminded last night as I listened to Beth Moore speak via webstream (Passion 2011 conference) that God DOES have a plan for us, but we are deceived if we don't believe Satan has his own plan for our lives,too.  He will do anything and everything he can to defeat us in our walk with Christ.  There is a battle raging for our hearts that will exist until we meet Jesus face to face, and it is a dangerous place for a soldier to be to not realize he has an enemy.  "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:8. 
     We must also realize, though, who we are in Christ...what about that plan HE has for our lives?  Let me say something here that I frequently tell my children and must often remind myself of...Satan is our enemy, but he is scared to death of who you will become.  Listen to that again. Satan is scared to death of who YOU will become in the kingdom of God.  Why else would he seek to devour us and destroy those plans our Lord has for us?  Satan knows exactly how dangerous we can be and how much damage, through Christ, we can do to his earthly kingdom. 
     My prayer this year for myself, my family, and any of you reading these words is that we will be used to the fullest this year for the kingdom of God...not some of the time, but EVERY day in the little things and the big.  That we stay focused and declutter our lives of the things that are meaningless and not eternal, but this won't happen if we just do things the same way we've always done them.  The Lord has given me renewed vision about who He uses to do His work.  One of the verses that has shaken up Kenny and myself over the past year or two is Acts 4:13 where it says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  God's still in the business of using regular old people like you and me turn this world upside down.  (see Acts 17)  We aren't guaranteed another hour on this earth...none of us. This year...TODAY, let's get outside of ourselves, outside the norm, and do something that matters.  Yes, it has to start right where you are.  If you're flippin' burgers, mothering your children, working at the office, whatever it is...God has something bigger for you (and me) than we could have ever imagined in our own minds.  Don't miss it this year.  Let 2011 be the year we will always remember that we took it to the next level. Let's mark it down, set our focus, and not lose sight.  We must pursue HIM. 
     A dear former pastor and mentor to our family, Dr. John Avant, once said that he finally came to a point in his life where he SO wanted to be living his life to the fullest for the kingdom that he began each day praying, "Lord, use me or kill me!"  I remember being a bit shocked to hear such a strong statement (maybe our pulpits are full of too many men NOT saying enough strong statements, but that's another post, right?!) Regardless, it struck me so hard to hear this man say those words...and mean them.  That was almost 10 years ago, and I'd like to say I left the building praying that for myself, but I was scared to death!  I can say, by the grace of God and the way He's moved in my life, I can pray that daily myself now.  Please don't hear me wrong.  I'm not asking you to test God or say some bold statement that you don't mean just for the sake of saying it.  What I do pray is that you and I choose to pursue God this year daily in such a way that we come to a place where we SO desire to be used for the purposes the Lord has for us that we CAN pray this way...that our heart's desire is to KNOW Him and truly be used by Him to the fullest...and only then we can live the "life that is truly life" focused on Him and sharing His truth with the world around us.