29 December 2016

He gives and gives and gives


  • hearing johnson's testimony 
  • good news about elizabeth phillips' surgery
  • waffles and clue and AUNT AMY on a friday morning


  • "you are my lovely star" mug from nick 
  • tatyana's milk soaked cinnamon sugar bread
  • fun christmas eve morning at the beach


  • emma's charade game
  • the hardwork of the galley and dining room teams
  • Christmas brunch = best meal of the year! 


  • tasty treats and sweet gifts in our shoes
  • how peaceful and easy it was to have the barki kids with us
  • delicious pizza on the 3rd floor of dody's


  • unicorn pajamas (and the smiles they bring)
  • seeing the mcmichaels gathered
  • the way nick cares for our kids...and especially for the girls' hearts


  • open cabins
  • laughing at miranda (the tv show) 
  • red beans & rice, pecan pie, sweet tea...and delightful friends that shared it


  • going back to sleep/morning naps
  • tasty pretzels
  • kj's willingness to take me and amy to ouidah
  • being at ouidah with amy - one who cares deeply for justice and human rights and LOVE
  • "take time to be still in My presence so that I can strengthen you." - jesus calling
  • the way the "joy to the world" creation was used in the dining room decorations
  • the hand/ring in the above picture...i am so very thankful for his dedication to our marriage
  • reading by dock light
  • 8:33 bedtime 

22 December 2016

He gives me presents all year round.

  • parking lot full of cars on a thursday night
  • hearing nick sing/lead worship
  • carols by candlelight on the dock. 


  • the beauty of santa lucia
  • suzanne's willingness to teach the girls a dance
  • the way kj captured emma's worship


  • the variety of cultures and nationalities that lead the community gathering (south african, nigerian, australian, american, malagasy, dutch)
  • thinking about the question "is there room?"
  • emma & adalynn's friendship 


  •  the wall family's faithful service on the AFM the past 4 1/2 years.
  • amy's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • finding eli's words on a bulletin board


  • gluesticks.  they're so helpful.
  • so many wonderful Christmas activities
  • another successful trip to the fabric market

15 December 2016

treats and delights.


  • computer issues cleared up (i think)
  • plenty of time with shea
  • shea's friendship and all around awesomeness...and especially in the realm of teaching!


  • LAUGHTER (especially when MWS songs are involved)
  • unexpected time to get things done
  • AFM Christmas cookie making


  • unity cup soccer
  • nick's phone calls with keith
  • sugar cakes place!! (and the friends that introduced us)


  • baby #5 in the making for the whites
  • package from cathy
  • boost bites.  wowzahs.  good stuff.


  • unexpected thursday morning firedrill means no afternoon firedrill (and there's shade in the morning!!)
  • relevant podcast entertainment and sprints in a thursday morning run
  • emma!  celebrating her 7th birthday


  • holly's willingness to take (and mail!) all of our christmas packages for us
  • amy will be here in 4 days!!!
  • powerful quotes full of Truth:

  • remembering that missing people is a reminder of the mutual investments made
  • overhead announcements successfully made
  • spontaneous christmas caroling (and a beautiful problem solver)

08 December 2016

thank to the ful(l)


  • friendship with the barrs that will last long beyond their days on the ship
  • coffee and doughnuts
  • time with the wall family before they depart
  • decking the decks...6th grade boys happily decorating.  a 1st grader and a 9th grader playing in a cardboard box. chicken fingers & fries as an extra incentive.  


  • carly's time here
  • pointless (not out of date) magazines to enjoy 
  • listening to patricia share her stories of when God spoke to her
  • when people joyfully serve behind the scenes and make so many special moments happen.


  • cheesesticks for takeaway (how many times are cheesesticks going to make one of my lists?!)
  • ipod that allows for emailing when the computer isn't cooperating
  • how Molly lives her life - glorifying God every day - not perfectly (cause that's never what's expected) but beautifully, faithfully, consistently
  • our amazing malagasy crew...their beautiful voices...their incredible hearts...their powerful stories...their determination


  • listening to eli and a friend play and being reminded that 11 year olds can still be little boys
  • listening as God was saying "go downstairs"...and then finding a friend who encouraged and prayed for me
  • brave and courageous decisions (and the friend who made one this week)
  • emma's last night of being 6.

01 December 2016

such randomness when you really look at it...but boy am i thankful.

  • christmas plays in the blom's bedroom
  • the creativity of charlotte and emma
  • dr. pepper christmas gift
  • cheesesticks 2 nights in a row (both graciously paid for by others!)
  • dining room and galley devos
  • sweet goodbyes to sweet friends who came as 2 and left as 1.
  • loaf of delicious bread bought for a good cause
  • accents. love hearing them all across the ship. 
  • ghost breath/fairy floss/candy floss/cotton candy from a lovely friend.
  • chocolate seashells from my favorite dutchie (no offense to any other dutchie)
  • christmas quotes and solomon's happiness to cut and laminate them for me
  • sitting with a friend in the pain. (but oh how wish i knew what to do when hugs and prayers don't seem like enough)

24 November 2016

thanksgiving...everybody's doing it.

  • meeting/listening to dr. benjamin
  • fun.peaceful.sort of productive shift in reception
  • treats & gifts galore all throughout the shift
  • ornaments for the crew that are very nearly complete


  • fun fun fun frisbee (wish it was as much fun to lose as it is to win)(still working on that)
  • jo ann/s kindness in the dining room...her thoughfulness to save fruit for families, the way she happily serves, her willingness to go above and beyond with my honey bottle request...
  • "love over hate...i'm here for dat.  real over fake...i'm here for dat." - song from the relevant podcast
  •  podcast listening runs and a perfectly framed sunrise to enjoy


  • the shutterfly album i had poured hours into is not actually missing (the website was just not working properly due to the high traffic that the amazing sale brought to it)
  • shutterfly order is done!!  (including free shipping thanks to a code that i guessed at)
  • favorite favorite playlist
  • epic nerf battle on the dock 


  • purple needle tip pen .7 
  • seeing the pictures of the hall family together in korea
  • day crew david's thoughtfulness to bring us "that thing you do"
  • josh and katie...and time with them

  • tastes of gelato.  just enough. 
  • thanksgiving.  love the thought of so many intentionally giving thanks (though this is the hardest thursday of the year to post my blog...almost seems too cliche)
  • sweet treat to start my wednesday (cake for breakfast is always a good life choice)
  • dinner and worship/dancing on the dock.  so refreshing. 


  •  40+ minutes of skyping with molly
  • laughing about "let 'em hear"
  • successful cooking making (and eating)
  • time with this precious girl and her mama

  • meaningful conversations - especially spur of the moment ones
  • a principal who is willing to ask for questions
  • figuring out solutions
  • working on the world with nick


17 November 2016

keep on counting the gifts.


  • nap on the dock at babs
  • "mi casa es su casa" shirt (and praying for the adoption of a family that i don't even know)
  • good reminders


  • successful trip to the fabric market for emma to pick out her birthday dress fabric
  • box cutters that make projects so much easier
  • working as a team on ornaments for our crew (big work in progress)


  • peace in the midst of heartache
  • continuing to learn how to best communicate and care for nick
  • free dental care (with Carly -a girl from Columbus!- assisting)


  • cheese naan, butter chicken and rice to celebrate josh
  • meeting/sharing dinner with/listening to dr. benjamin
  • emma's sweet friendship with aaron (i love it when she wears the jersey he gave her)


11 November 2016

5 minutes on the word of the week: passion

The Marvelous Molly gave me two word options well over a month ago: passion or regret.  I didn't know what I would write about either (which is kind of the point of this little writing exercise....don't think, just write.  Or as Andy Dwyer says "don't think.  just stupid.")  So then I just didn't write. #regret  But this morning I have the time and space to write...so I'm gonna go with.....
Passion
Justine snapped this picture Tuesday night:
It may not look like a picture full of passion...it's a whole lot more parking lot than passion....but it's actually got passion written all over it.  This is us...heading out for a date.  Nothing fancy.  Nothing earth shattering or remarkable - except that it is remarkable.  I love the man I'm married to.  And, while I'm not sure that should actually be categorized as remarkable, I think it IS remarkable.  

We love our marriage...and date night has been a constant part of our marriage - even before we had kids.  We need date night.  I'd even go so far as to say we are passionate about date night.  The time to connect - and reconnect - with one another is essential in our friendship and in our passion.

Need more passion in your marriage?  Go on a date.

So much more could (and should!) be said on this subject...but my 5 minutes is long gone.

10 November 2016

psalm 138:1 "Lord, with all my heart i thank You."

  • so.much. birthday love
  • realizing that my "birthday wish/hope/prayer" from last year came true!
  • morning after birthday cake
  • fresh perspective (from reading "I Will Always Write Back")
  • a life lived (even at the cost of an unkept -at times- cabin)

  • looking up words and finding that unkept and unkempt are pretty much the same thing
  • caroline's pancake making skillz
  • watching "that thing you do"
  • seeing the fruit of obedience (why oh why am i not quicker to obey?!)
  • this recipe:


  • that moment when you realize that you didn't get credit for something and it's really ok
  • bookcase sharing
  • knowing an amazing retreat has been planned for the JHHS students
  • "who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting." - brene brown, daring greatly
  • a friend who walks in with a tiny cup and says "trust me...drink this."  (and who gives me the remainder of the bottle)

  • "give me a heart that doesn't want anything more than to worship you."  psalm 86:11(b)
  • "as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me."
  • worship/extended worship 
  • speakers who stick to their allotted time
  • popcorn making success (no burns or pots of popcorn on the floor...which was a very real possibility a number of times in the process)
  • the wells have made it to bulgaria

03 November 2016

thankful for more than just food.

  • regular phone calls with beth
  • a room full of ladies worshiping
  • priscilla shirer's teaching
  • "dad jokes" (puns)
  • brownies!!!!!


  • the retreat all came together
  • chicken fingers & fries
  • 125+ women gathered together to hear from God
  • hearing how one lady heard God's voice for the first time
  • scones...hot, fresh, delicious scones (in a wire basket to boot!)


  • sunday runs with alison (and guest runners for the last part)
  • 10 minute end of retreat clean up (many hands really do make lite work!)
  • shea's tea - small gesture that was really really special and impactful
  • no washers overflowed in my laundry experience tuesday (though one totally did in my experience today...but bubbles aren't so hard to clean up after all)
  • the way nick and the kids had the cabin so neat and straight at the end of saturday
  • delightful monday night dinner and mini-driving lesson with a treasured friend


  • getting to share monday during mom's community group
  • lunch time movie (and nap)
  • the other kids' boxes from yaya and grandaddy arrived
  • the best pain au chocolat yet 
  • caroline's thoughts and writing

27 October 2016

few more for the list.

  • gilmore girls with shea
  • "bible in a minute" song
  • finding just the right blend of syrups, shots, milk and mug 
  • package from yaya and grandaddy and the smiles (real and silly) that followed


  • container boxes!!!!
  • alfred's courage and authenticity
  • knowing it's all going to be ok and come together just right
  •  time in the library


  • "you are called to...continual dependence on Me." - jesus calling
  • cheesesticks that did NOT disappoint
  • easy teeth cleanings in the clinic downstairs
  • sweet saturday spent at sakate

  • codebar rooftop conversation with my favorite person on the planet
  • ridiculous song lyrics that make me smile ("i love who you are, i love who you ain't....)
  • messenging and talking and having coffee with KJ....
  • powerful moment of hearing a spoken word piece during our worship gathering


  • peaceful productivity
  • being thought of in the boutique
  • card from the winsteads
  • list of ladies planning to attend the on-ship women's retreat this weekend