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Monday, December 15, 2014

happy birthday Carter-bug!

Today is my little Carter-bug’s fifth birthday… I can’t believe it’s [already] been five years with my “favorite little boy.”

I remember waiting in the hospital room that day after my sister’s water had been broken, thinking he would be here so quickly. [Little did I know he wouldn’t arrive until the next day…] Being in that room was the most miraculous and magical experience: only God could create something so terrifying and beautiful. I remember thinking that day, I want to do that. Me. When all my life I had told my family and friends that whatever little girls have inside them that makes them know from such a young age that they want to be moms, mine was broken. That is, until Carter. He made me see things differently and want things I’d never wanted before.  He captured my heart from the very beginning…



I remember the first time he said Nana and knew he was talking about me…
That his first word was ball. [And he said it about anything that even kind of resembled a circle…]
He thought a cat said, “Ooooow.”
And he called his uncle Nate “Nate Drew Miff.”
He’ll tell you all about his favorite team, “KENTUCKY!”
[And if you ask him about his uncle Nate’s favorite team, he’ll say, “Loo, Loo, Loo – Loosiers!” I taught him that, thank you very much…]
He’ll tell you his favorite place in the whole world is Rupp Arena [because of the inside fireworks…]
He’ll tell you he doesn't need to take karate classes because he already knows karate. [Duh…]
I remember Karissa telling me in his siblings class, when all the other little kids were saying their favorite songs were things like Old McDonald Had a Farm, Carter said his was Yeah, by Usher.
I remember convincing him to do push-ups in the middle of Casa Brava and laughing until I cried.
I remember him walking in this past Thanksgiving, looking so sad and telling me it was because he missed me (even though I see him and little Adalyne at least once a week…)
And I remember that same day he leaned over and kissed my hand during prayer.

I love that sweet, thoughtful, incredibly kind and funny little boy and I am SO thankful God chose my sister and our family…



Father God, Jesus, thank You. Thank You a million times over for our little Carter. Thank You for his kind and compassionate spirit. Thank You for all the times he made me laugh until I cried. Thank You for his tender heart. Thank You that he is such a protective son and big brother. Father, I pray You would mold his little life, that he would grow to love You and serve You, that he would be a man after Your heart. I pray he would always look out for his sister and his precious momma. Father, thank You that he changed me – that he changed us all. Thank You for this one. He means so very much to us. But then, You knew that. You did it on purpose. I love You so much. Amen.



Saturday, November 1, 2014

goals with grace - november edition



In Indiana, there are few things more beautiful than September, October and November. And November is quickly becoming one of my favorites! Sweaters, scarves, family and food - it just doesn't get any better than that! And with a new month come some new (and some not-so-new) goals...

Goals For November

Finish our fireplace room remodel! We love LOVE our charming little home, but we knew when we bought it that it would require some updates to make it feel like ours (good-bye wood-paneling, hello dry-wall). Our fireplace room is the first room to receive a down-to-the-studs make over – and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re kicking it into high gear. My hubby has done a GREAT job and we’re in the home-stretch. We just have to finish laying the floor and buy and install the trim and we’ll be ready to host the 2nd annual Smith Family Thanksgiving!

Start a Bible study! My sweet little country church has but one ladies Bible study, and while I love those ladies dearly and cherish our time together, I just cannot get there in time this year. (Silly work…) I was so sad Wednesday morning when I realized they’d meet that evening without me, and I felt God whisper: You could start your own... What better way to love on your community than by inviting women into your home and investing in their lives… I love people, but I’m a natural introvert, so this would be a stretch for me. But who am I to say no to God?

Write! As a new blogger, it can be hard to 1. set aside the time and 2. actually use that time to write something. I love to write. Love. It. But it can be so intimidating! My goal for the month is to write once a week. My sweet friend Bethany and I have been meeting on Saturday mornings which has been such a blessing to my heart. Sometimes you just need a little accountability, ya know? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13 (Does anyone else sing that verse Steve-Green style? I can’t be the only one who listened to those songs when I was little!)

Finish reading The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst. When I have the time, I can just fly through a book. But the key is having the time. I’ve been making a little time each night before bed, but it’s slow going. So this month, I will finish!

Decorate for Christmas! I promise to wait until after Thanksgiving, but it I want it to be done by Dec 1 so I can celebrate Jesus and enjoy everything Christmas all December long!

What are you up to this month? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy every minute of this beautiful time of the year!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

I have to start somewhere

Today I listened to Jen Hatmaker speak to a group of women (I may have watched almost every YouTube video she’s ever been in...) and she said to them that the comparison game is detrimental to the Kingdom. I immediately had to stop what I was doing to write that down. Because YES! Yes, yes, YES! Ten thousand times YES! (There aren’t enough capital letters and exclamation marks in the world to express my whole-hearted agreement!)


I have all these dreams and ideas in my heart that I truly believe God has given me. I want to be a representative of Jesus to my community. And by my community, I mean anyone I interact with. I want everyone who knows me to know that my heart truly and completely belongs to Jesus. And that doesn’t mean I’m perfect or that I never get it wrong, because I often do. And by often, I mean several times daily. And that’s ok, because I’m human. But that doesn’t mean I should stop trying. And it doesn’t mean that I can’t love Jesus in the midst of all that. I can be a representative of Jesus by being real in those moments and times of struggle. And I want to write about it. I love using words to express feeling and passion and sincerity and authenticity. But, bless my heart, I try to get some thoughts out on paper and it just falls flat. Every time I read back on what I said and I feel like it just misses the mark a little bit. And you know why that is? Because I’m reading what other women are writing and they’re better at it. And that may or may not be true, but it’s my opinion. And that just stops me in my tracks. I can’t put what I’ve written out there because compared to what everyone else is saying, it’s just not good enough. Or maybe it isn’t clear enough and could be misconstrued. I don’t know enough about the Bible to presume to be able to write something that would point people to Jesus. I just don’t know him well enough. But let me just tell you, I’ve known Jesus my whole life, and if I wait until I know Him “well enough” then I’ll never write anything at all. I’ll be dead before I’ll ever be there. Literally, only when I’m dead and can really talk to Him about the mess in my heart and all the things I don’t understand will I “know enough”. I cannot let that stop me. I can’t look at other women of the faith and use their knowledge, and by comparison, my lack of knowledge, and let that stop me. Because you know what I can do? I can study. I am hungry for Jesus. I want to soak Him in. And so I will learn more over time. And you know what else I can do? I can write anyway. Because maybe my punctuation isn’t always (or even often) right, and maybe I don’t use the best words, and maybe I’ll misspell stuff, (and maybe I start too many sentences with the word “and”) but whatever. First of all, I don’t really think that’s what God cares about. And secondly, I’ll get better at that too. Or maybe I won’t, but again, that’s not really what’s important here. Maybe people will read it, and maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll identify and maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll love it and maybe they won’t. But I’m not accountable for any of that. I am accountable for my obedience in His calling on my life.


What it all boils down to is this: God has put these things in my heart, and I can’t wait to be perfect at them to get started because that’s not how it works. I’ll never be perfect, even after years and years and years of practice. I HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE! Because if I don’t, I’ll get to the end of my life without doing what God has asked of me. And I just cannot have that. I love him desperately and will do whatever He’s asked of me. And for now, this is it: I will love my community and write about it.


Praise God for using just one sentence spoken by someone to someone else (not even to me) to give me a moment of understanding. I just love Him for that.