why

It's strange how in one instant life can change.
The decisions we make,
those made by others,
can turn a life completely upside down.

Why did he decide to drive the wrong way down that road?
Why is a precious baby girl in the hospital over Christmas?
Why are my sweet friends caught in a web of paperwork, waiting anxiously for their son?
Why do babies die and marriages break?

Why? Why? Why?

Why gets in your head, in your heart.
Why can mess with the very foundation you've always stood on.
Why creates some very sticky situations.

The answers aren't always easy to come by.
Sometimes they hurt.
Sometimes you can do nothing but fall on your face before the One Who holds every "why" in His eternal hands.

I used to be scared of WHY.
I thought God didn't like me to question His way.
Then through studying the scriptures I have seen many heroes of the faith who asked why.
Jacob wrestled.
David asked.
Jesus wept.

And I've learned by these examples-
He's big enough.
He's not scared of the "whys".
All He asks is that we trust Him.
Rest in Him.
Believe that He is good.
Surrender to His plan.

"not my will, but Yours be done."
luke 22:42

sleepy boy

This is John Mark, all snuggled in with his stuffed animals he sleeps with-

Froggie (aka baby Jesus)

Kung Fu Panda

Nemo

Eeyore

Monkey

Cocoa (aka Cuckoo)

silly boy

Tonight I was cleaning up the kitchen and I could hear John Mark talking to someone in the living room. Knowing we were the only ones home, I went to investigate. What I found was the funniest, sweetest thing in the world. He had his stuffed frog wrapped in a red snowman dishtowel and was singing to the frog.

Upon further listening I could hear him saying "it's okay, baby Jesus. don't cry."

Man, I love this kid!

what the heck is TWITTER?

My eyes have recently been opened to a whole new world of technology... It's this totally awesome thing called TWITTER. What is this, you may ask? Well, technically speaking Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. In everyday terms- it's a really fun way to stay connected with those around you.

It really isn't complicated- all you have to do is sign up for a free twitter account, choose some people to follow and start updating! The super fun part is that you can update from your phone (via text) and also receive updates from all your friends.

All that being said, you should twitter.
And you should probably follow me.
So I can follow you.

You can follow me by clicking here.

everything worth keeping

"everything worth keeping
comes through dying"
--derek webb

"so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

teach me to fix my eyes on You-
on the things that truly matter.
help me die to myself.
that i may gain that which i cannot lose.

2008 Top Fives

Books Read in 2008:
1.) Twilight Series
2.) Chronicles of the King series
3.) Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide
4.) Shepherding the Child's Heart
5.) The Chronological Bible (well, I'll finish that on December 31, hopefully!)

Songs Listened to:
1.) Ain't No Reason- Brett Dennen
2.) Bleeding Love- Leona Lewis
3.) Come Home- OneRepublic
4.) Grace- Addison Road
5.) What If You- Joshua Radin

People I’ve Received Personal E-mails From:
1.) Kim
2.) Sara
3.) Kelly
4.) Lesley
5.) Micah

People I’ve Spent Time With:
1.) Micah & John Mark
2.) Lesley
3.) Kelly
4.) MS Students
5.) Beth

Places I’ve Spent My Time(excluding friends’ houses):
1.) Target
2.) Tao Cafe
3.) Starbucks
4.) HHBC
5.) Transformation Fitness

Places to Eat:
1.) Tao Cafe
2.) Zorba's
3.) Chipotle
4.) Bagel Cafe
5.) Spicy Pickle

First Christmas Party

I love Christmas.
Love it, love it, love it.
The lights, the parties, the food...
every single bit of it is great!

I kicked off the holiday party season today with our office ladies Christmas party. We had awesome food and played dirty Santa. Here's some of the best pictures!

mine & Lesley's plates of food

don't worry, they were happy plates when all was said and done

Me & my sweet friend Sara

This is our precious receptionist, Cathy.
She is hiding under the table so her gift won't be stolen...

Unfortunately, she wasn't successful.

Lesley with HER stack of tissue paper.
This is mostly due to the fact that I stole all 4
(yes FOUR) blankets that she opened,
only to have them stolen from me...

Us girls, showing off our fabulous gifts
And yes, Kelly IS holding the new Britney CD
and yes, she DID bring that as her gift to the party

You are the One that we praise
You are the One we adore
You give the healing and grace
Our hearts always hunger for
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne
Oh, we're falling before Your throne
--wonderful, merciful savior

just call me "aunt stephie"

Welcome, Elliana Brooke Townley!
Born November 28, 2008 @ 12:12 PM
7 pounds, 20.5 inches
Dark curly hair.
Beautiful.

TWILIGHT!

As some of you may have heard, a new movie came out this weekend- TWILIGHT! Now, being beyond obsessed with the books, of course I went to the midnight premiere with my good friends Lesley, Jamie and Lindsey. You might notice in these pictures that we are characters from the book. That's right, we are just THAT cool. :o)

just some pictures

give thanks

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

I work in the children's ministry for my church, and this is our verse for the month. I have spent several weeks putting this verse on all sorts of fun things- a coloring sheet, a word find... memory cards, I even made a bunch of grapes with these words on them! But this morning I was struck with the realization that for all my effort in helping these kids learn the concept of gratitude, I could really stand to be a little more grateful myself.

It's so easy to focus on the things in your life that aren't playing out the way you had hoped or dreamed, to forget about all that you have been given. I have found myself in the midst of a pity party for the past few days and I realized on Sunday that it stinks. My sweet friend Beth told me that self-pity is an okay place to be for a little while because you realize how good you really have it.

Well, folks- today I am aware of all my blessings. Here are just a few of them:

*I have a sweet husband who loves me in spite of all my ridiculousness
*I have a happy, healthy baby boy- who lets me hear "i love you momma" everyday, sings "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of his lungs and makes me laugh
*I have a family who raised me up in the faith and has taught me what unconditional love truly is *I have precious friends who are willing to get up early with me, give up dr. pepper, have ridiculous nicknames, and so much more
*I have a boss who truly wants my priority to be my family and understands "mommy things"
*I have Jamie who selflessly watches John Mark 3 days a week so I can work and not put him in childcare
*I have a church that challenges me to grow in my faith and genuinely worship my Savior
*I get to watch middle school students be excited about their Savior and be challenged to follow Him more closely
*I have a mentor who speaks the truth to me in love and helps me become a better wife, mother, friend and believer
*I have a home that, although there might constantly be cheerio's and goldfish in the carpet, is clean, warm and a place I love to be
*I have a space heater at my desk that keeps me warm when the heater is broken

And most importantly...
*I have a Maker, Savior, Redeemer- and He knows my name, has lifted me from the pit and set me free. And if all those other things passed away, I would STILL have Him, and He would be enough.

What are you thankful for?

I hope we sit together
when Jesus serves the wine
So I can look into your eyes
when I taste it the first time
--waterdeep

work friends

These girls are my life 32 hours a week!! Love them!

election day

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
Psalm 20:7

Today, O Lord, we put our trust in You.
We know that you are sovereign,
and nothing happens that You have not ordained.

"You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are
For there is no one like our God"
--Chris Tomlin

trick or treat

What a fun night we had!
We dressed our monkey up and headed to some friends houses to get candy. Here is John Mark at Chris & Kelly's, then with Whitney & Lesley. He was so cute- he did it exactly right. Each time they opened the door he said "trick or treat" and then walked right on into the house and started looking for candy. My kind of kid! :o)


After stopping at a couple other houses, we went to a fall festival at Waterloo Road. John Mark had a ton of fun bouncing in the moon bounce. My brother-in-law was working at that spot and every time we tried to do any other fun thing, John Mark just said "i jump with jeremy" so we ended up there for most of the night. When we were done with that, we went to my friend Sara's house. She had made cookies for John Mark, which he promptly ate!
We dropped John Mark off at his grandparents, then headed to some friends house for a Halloween party. Kelly, Lesley, and I were the 3 men in the tub- the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker! You'll also notice creepy batman lurking in the background... that's cherish!

It was a fabulous night spent with the people we love, doing what we love- spending time together and eating!! Here are a few more random pics.

Happy Halloween

new offices

We moved our offices to the church campus,
which is fabulous for so many reasons.
One of the greatest things is that I now have an office,
complete with walls where I can hang things!
Here is my cute new office.

i heart fall

Fall is great for so many reasons.

Here's a few of my favorites:

my momma's birthday!

Evan's birthday!!

GREEK festival with les

carving pumpkins with my girls!

fuzzy boots

foodie friday

In honor of the holidays and all the fabulous food that I plan on eating, I have decided to dedicate Fridays to my favorite recipes. Please feel free to add your favorite recipes in a comment or on your blog. If there's one thing this girl loves, it's FOOD!! :o)

I am starting with my new favorite food in the whole entire world:
Pumpkin Crunch (or pump dump, if you are lesley)

1 can pumpkin
1 lg can evaporated milk
2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t salt
4 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup crushed pecans
2 sticks butter

In a bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Top with the cake mix, then pecans. Thinly slice the butter and lay across the cake mix/pecan mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until golden and crunchy. Top with cool whip! Enjoy!

It's basically a dump cake with pumpkin pie in the bottom. Oh my word, I can eat the entire pan of this!!!

family photos

My sweet friend, Emily, took family photos of us last night. They turned out SO good!

I love...

*hearing "i love you, mommy"
*sonic raspberry lemonade
*early morning workouts with kelly
*putting my cold toes on micah's warm legs
*laughter
*monday nights with whitney & lesley
*office giggles with sara
*hillsong
*anything pumpkin
*middle school students
*lunch with beth
*john mark & caroline together
*wendy, amy, callie & kristin
*blog friends
*chronicles of the king
*emails from kellie
*facebook
*Sunny's blog
*VS sweatpants
*pictures
*cold pillow cases
*lazy saturdays
*road trips

In my life, be lifted high
In my world, be lifted high
In my love, be lifted high
--hillsong

blog party gift

I have to give a shout out to sweet Natalie for her awesome blog party gift! She made this adorable halloween sign and some precious fall cards of John Mark for us to send out. Thanks, Nat! This was such a fun idea! I hope we continue the tradition for Christmas!

more pictures

Saturday morning we decided to take a little hike down a nature trail we had found. It was beautiful, and hearing Micah explain things in nature to John Mark... well, let's just say that even I learned things. :o)

our hiking trail... i'm kind of obsessed with this picture

I think this is quite possibly the sweetest look

fun with the self timer

Micah's artsy picture of John Mark and me walking

again with the self-timer

he was asking us if he could jump

tired, needing a break for the walk home

you might be a mommy if your ipod has episodes of mickey mouse clubhouse on it...