naming God-gifts

• reading one thousand gifts (it's about time, right?!)
• He kept me awake when i needed to be awake...
• mail from carey!

• unplanned time to catch up on the kids' journals
• how the hard and the good are so often intertwined
• fun fall carnival

• sunday afternoon naps
• God is with us.
• mr. nick and miss suzanne...what sweet and wonderful people!

• three sweet sisters from three different nations praying together on deck 7 in the early morning hours
• speaking went well

a few of my favorite things...

Do you know the song "A Few of My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music?  (go ahead...get it in your head...)

Thanks to a request by the lovely Lauren Marquez, here's my version of the song.  (it's a bit of a stretch...). Enjoy! 

Cherry coke & crushed ice

And napping and reading
Spending time with Nick
And following God's leading

Encouragement & excitement that getting mail brings

These are a few of my favorite things

When the doubts fly
When the lies come
When I'm feeling sad

 I'll simply remember my favorite things and then I won't feel so bad.

Chocolate & gummi bears
And chatting with friends
Sunrise and sunset
And not keeping up with trends

My marriage & children - and worship songs to sing
These are a few of my favorite things

When I'm lonely

When I'm broken
When I'm just plain mad

I'll simply remember by favorite things and then I won't feel so bad.

I dare you to write your own....it's fun. 

thursdays come around quickly...

• nick is home safe and sound
• the fun gifts he brought back (some for now, some for later)
• grandaddy's beef jerky (it may not look like much...but MAN it's good)

• picture of emma/words from 'chelle
• poppyseed chicken success
• nick is home safe and sound
• tuesday talking time with molly and boys

• "God who made you has something to say to you...God wants to help you."  Isaiah 44:1 (or 2? msg)
• "i will pour out My Spirit into your descendants and My blessing on your children." Isaiah 44:3-4 (msg)
• nick is home safe and sound
• the chute (and its delicious contents)

• jess's amazing story time reading skillz
• night swimming
• nick is home safe and sound

it's a good day to be thankful.

• clean curtains (thanks to the hospitality team!)
• kirstie's laugh (giggle)
• the cash cabin version of "happy fall y'all"

• shared waffles
• smores: the snack of the week

• stories of God's faithfulness
• suzanne's presence at lunch (she kept me calm and kind)
• painting bread

• cafe time with krissy
• God's perfect timing with His song choice..."God, I look to you...I won't be overwhelmed."
• deck 7 dinner with the bullocks
• eli's thoughtfulness

• phone call with the whites
• fun time at the horse place on saturday

• $1s from yaya (and the trip to the ship shop that followed)
• hours on deck 8
• erin's willingness to keep the kids to make the hours on deck 8 possible
• we've officially achieved all of our goals on the ship (just kidding)

• watching the movie 42...i admire and appreciate jackie robinson more than ever before
• catharine's willingness to keep our kids week after week AND wash/put away dishes

no need to recreate the wheel. serving in the cafe.

i am a firm believer in not recreating the wheel (especially when the wheel was excellently created by someone else).   thus...a link to another blog instead of a rewritten post of my own.

i thought you might be interested in seeing what a couple of hours of my Sunday mornings have been looking like lately.....sunday morning cafe time...brought to you by my friend and partner in coffee making crime blessing, krissy close.

i am very thankful for this friend...very thankful for the chance to serve in the cafe...very thankful to know how to make caramel machiattos.  come to the ship.  i'll make you one.  

thankful words.

• dancing on the dock with emma
• mama marsha's willingness to watch the kids so i could go play ultimate
• easy to find and order new UGA hat for nick
• life lessons from starbucks
• eli's unprompted help cleaning up tonite
• matt & denise's invitation to go get lunch (it didn't work out...but the invitation was a gift!)
• the cookies they brought back as a consolation prize
• blue fingernails
• the way mirabelle greets emma at school
• the pictures God shares
• God's impeccable timing
• mercy.
• deborah hodges is fully as God intended her to be - whole in heaven
• caroline's help in the library
• getting to talk to nick
• shooting basketball on the dock
• "thank Me & rest in My Sovereignty." - jesus calling
• redemption -- how one thing can redeem so much
• the reminder that there are 2 sides to every story
• "no yelling" blog
• God's prompting to do something i almost forgot about doing (and He provided the window of time to do it)
• 2 jumpdrives full of IHOP music and talks
• encouraging words & helpful blog recommendations from "my molly"
• the quietness of the ships as they come through the day and night....(it might make for some miserable nights if they were loud and rowdy).  

Sovereign

This song was part of God's reply to the post I wrote about my heart breaking....so grateful that we can trust Him NO MATTER WHAT.  He is sovereign...He is with us...we are held by Him -- all of the pieces of our lives are held by Him. i am so grateful. 

Sovereign - by Chris Tomlin

Sovereign in the mountain air

Sovereign on the ocean floor

With me in the calm

With me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy

Sovereign In my deepest cry

With me in the dark

With me at the dawn

In your everlasting arm

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God, whatever comes my way

I will trust you

All my hopes

All I need

Held in your hands

All my life

All of me

Held in your hands

All my fears

All my dreams

Held in your hands

God, whatever comes my way

I will trust you

it's thursday once again

fun note: a few of my thankful items this week are "sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone" things...

• having a toilet in our cabin (it was easy to recognize the convenience of it when it wasn't available and going to the bathroom required walking to the other end of the ship....)(and doing that multiple times with emma)
• the pizzas erin made us for lunch
• october!
• big bowl of chili lime popcorn from josh and steph

• the way nick sets our sheets right every night and covers me up
• dinner at the team house for stephanie's birthday
• laaaazy sunday
• "mama, can you take us to the pool?"
• cute cup from gretchen

• dr. pepper!
• prayer doodles
• mark's willingness to be "on call" so that running on the dock is possible while nick is away
• 3 weeks won't last forever
• "what are you going to say to God when all you do is pray to God to take the thorn away and all you hear Him say is 'My grace....My grace is sufficient....'" --shane and shane song lyrics
• emma's cuteness and eli's attempt to photo bomb

• made a phone call on the first try...no "invalid pin, invalid #" messages
• 'chelle brought just what i had been out getting -- coke & ice (in a very familiar cup)
• time with mae...it's always a blessing
• little bit of a "self-made care package" for me and the kiddos (spent way too much in the ship shop....but that's ok).  good grief at the junk.  it's going to be so good!