Pour Out Your Hearts

Trust in Him at all times, o people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. – Psalm 62:8

I love that throughout scripture I see examples of God hearing and answering His people.  He longs for them to cry out to Him and to come to Him.  He asks them to cast their cares on Him.  He binds up their broken hearts.  He knows their sitting and their rising.  He does not act like an indifferent bystander.  He’s working for us and for our good.  So, today, in light of writing that, I’m going to share some of the things that are tucked into my heart and just plain make me happy (besides, Fridays are for happy things!).

1. That husband of mine who does life with me.  He is such a gift.  Such a rock and such an encouragement. The road has been rocky and full of adversity, but I’m grateful that I chose him and am still choosing him…and grateful that he chooses me still.
2. Baby oh baby.  Mr. Asher is pretty much the happiest baby and my goodness I am so blessed and privileged to be able to be his mom.
3. My Lindo. He’s the one I miss and the one who taught me to love little boys so much.  I’m so glad I got to know him and for all the ways he cracked open my heart.  He taught me much and he is part of one of my absolute favorite God stories.
4. My Africa. My heart still beats for this place and for this country.  This is such a both and of happy and the heart wrenching grief of not being there.  This is where I pour out my heart waiting for God to weave this piece back into my life in a bigger way.
5. That crazy Boaz.  He pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me on a path toward more joy, laughter, and lots more snuggling than I could have guessed when I brought him home.
6. Church.  I couldn’t have guessed all the ways being on staff at my church would challenge, encourage, change, and ground me.  There’s so much goodness in being planted in a local church.
7. Community/Friends/People.  The world is so full of so many good, good people and I am so glad I’ve gotten to know and do life with a lot of them!

I think (maybe?) sometimes part of knowing you are the beloved of God is remembering, taking note, and being grateful for the things He has put in your life.  He is good to us.

What has He put in your life that makes you happy?

Weekend Highlights

This past weekend we had such a fun time since we are finally feeling better!  

We started Friday off by going to a birthday party for some awesome people from church.  I’m always curious to see how these things will go now that we’ve got a baby in tow.  He did great though and was pretty content the whole time!  Plus, I’ve realized that I just love seeing other people love him.  Our pastor’s daughter and our worship leader got to hold him quite a bit and he loved it!  I am so incredibly thankful for all these awesome people in his life and for how they bless our family.  I totally need to get more pictures of him with other people though!  Too often I don’t get my camera out.

Saturday was a day that turned out different than the first plan, but it worked!  We had wanted to go to the Farmer’s Market and go to their community breakfast, but then we saw it was raining and we had been slow at getting ready anyway.  So, that plan went out the window and we went instead to eat breakfast in town.  Then we ran some errands and I did some work at church before getting home to my much needed nap!  The longer stretches Asher sleeps at night makes it harder for me to go right back to bed sometimes.  Though, I am NOT complaining about him sleeping longer!  I will take my 6 and a half hours of sleep in a row whenever he will give it to me!  

 

(these are from a couple of weeks ago, but he’s just so cute and funny when he sleeps!)

Sunday meant getting ready for church and getting there in time for worship practice.  After church we hung around a bit and then Ryan’s aunt came over with a present for Asher.  Visiting time, nap time, and then family walk time all before our fun bedtime routine.  For bedtime, we’ve started giving Asher a bath and sometimes reading a little.  It’s pretty much my favorite. 

(blurry but I just love how he rests his hand on the stroller strap!)

All in all, a perfectly good weekend and now we’re back into the Monday routine with the husband off at work…but at least I got to go out to lunch with Asher, the husband, and my mom today!  And eat the most delicious greek grain salad and tomato bisque soup…mmmm. 

How was your weekend?

25 Things

I snagged this from my favorite Vizsla loving blogger because it looked so fun!

1. I’m happiest when…. 1) I’m hanging out with my favorite people (my boys! the husband, my little man, and Boaz) 2) when I’m outside. 3) eating delicious food

2. …Especially if it… 1) involves mountains, the beach, or some kind of adventure!

3. I’ve always wanted to….move back overseas.

4. My family and I…love going on walks!

5. I was a terrible…er let’s say I have a terrible time noticing things that need to be cleaned.

6. My first job was….babysitting!

7. I could probably eat ice cream and cake every day!

8. I stole…I’ve got nothing on this one…hm.

9. I was born on the same day as….Brad Pitt

10. My all time favorite film is…I do love the Narnia movies and there are a few others too!

11. I do a pretty mean…forehand while playing tennis.

12. I’m still mad…I didn’t take advantage of post-secondary options.

13. I met my husband…at church!

14. I always knew I wanted…enough books to fill a room/library in my house.

15. I’m not afraid to…climb mountains and jump off cliffs!  Well, I may be afraid at times, but I do it anyway!

16. I make the best…desserts!

17. I have almost no…flexibility.  Sit and reach always messed up my physical fitness awards in school.

18. I always cry when…I’m done using anger as a cover up for being hurt.

19. I’m a Minnesotan with who still calls Africa home.

20. I spent 1 year living in South Africa.

21. I wish my folks…the best 🙂

22. As a child, I was deeply in love with…making up stories

23. I believe if everyone had a better sense of their worth and how loved they are the world would be a better place.

24. I can’t stand…the smell of black licorice.

25. Whenever Amazing Race is on I’ll watch it.  Mainly I love seeing all the amazing places they go!

Your turn!  I’d love to hear your answers to any of these 🙂 

3 months and counting

3 super happy months of being married! woot! in celebration, I went through our wedding pictures and honeymoon pictures to finally post them on facebook.  if we’re friends, you can look at them here. made me totally want to do the whole day over again and to run off to the mountains and the beach like now. but instead, i’ll make a list of all the fun things i love about life right where i’m at! in no particular order here are 12 things for the 12th.

1. being married

2. my awesome husband

3. my adorable dog Boaz who loves me

4. my church family.

5. a wonderful place to live that is warm even though it’s still cold outside

6. traveling to look forward to in the future

7. friends’ super cute babies

8. being able to e-mail and text best friends

9. being able to cook all sorts of deliciousness

10.  pinterest boards of lovely things

11. books to read and time to read them

12. mornings spent with god reading the bible and doing the breaking free bible study

What are you loving about your life right now?

Sri Lanka!?

Hi friends!

I’ve been quiet on here…pondering things away in my heart like Mary did.  But, I wanted to let you in on this door that God swung open and kept pulling on my heart about.  So, I bit my tongue and said, “Yes.” Wide eyed and doing it afraid, I jumped.  To say I’m still gun shy and working through all that’s related to missions is accurate, but there’s beauty in the ashes.  As you’ll read below, my heart still beats Africa, but God’s ways are not my ways.  I keep wrestling toward this truth and tension.  He is good. His plan is GOOD.  I’m hedging my bets on that. I’m all in.  Stumbling clumsily into His arms of grace and letting go of my plans to follow His.  So without further ado, check out the exciting news below for my upcoming mission trip with my awesome church to Sri Lanka in April.  Did I mention that I’m going in April!?

I’d love for you to partner with me and invest in this opportunity that God has set before me.  Prayers!? Yes, please!  Specific prayer points are included below!  You can also invest in me and in the people I’ll impact through donations.  The deadline for raising funds is April 2nd–just around the corner!  I would so appreciate any amount that you give to help raise the $2000 needed for the trip.  To give directly to me, you can hit the cute little button to donate through PayPal to my e-mail or you can e-mail me at kigkat@gmail.com for more information on a tax deductible donation or read the letter below for the full story!

I’m so looking forward to sharing on this blog about all that God does leading up to and following this trip!

Here goes….

Download PDF: Sri Lanka Missions Trip

(*PayPal donations are not tax deductible–for information on giving a tax deductible donation please e-mail me at kigkat@gmail.com or see the letter below!)

put off my rags and clothed me with gladness

1446. walking and talking

1454. softball hits!

1458. changing the station to christian music

1470. hearing the birds in the morning while watching the sunrise

1480. worship at a wedding

1484. watching the storm roll in and even seeing some hail

1488. the smell of rosemary on biscuits

1489. lovely sunday with my church family

1491. a surprise present(the africa picture frame!) at church that made my heart soar

1492. little girls running up to give me hugs

1495. getting lost in worship

1500. hitting send

I’m still counting it all joy and thanking God….where have you seen or found joy?

Exciting or Scary?

“If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with “rights”—I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by sheer grace—then there’s nothing he cannot ask of me.” -Timothy Keller

Some of the best conversations happen in the kitchen.  The food, the table, sitting on the counters, the coffee, and just the atmosphere holds me close.  I feel a little more me, a little more safe.  I love that at my church (yes, it’s “home” now and I possessively put that “my” on it) many bible studies happen in the kitchen.  Last week, that quote stuck to the bottom of my rain boots and came home to be turned over in my head.

We briefly shared our thoughts on the quote and most of them came across to me as “wow, that’s scary/ a lot to ask.”  I don’t know if I happened to be extra positive and upbeat, but this quote made me…

EXCITED

The idea that God can ask me whatever coupled with the truth that nothing is impossible with God causes my eyes to go wide in wonder.  I’m no longer bound to a heavy book full of my plans dragging me down.  I no longer need to be constricted or feel the weight of “I have to.”  No! This tangible grace frees me.  I am free to do ANYTHING that He asks me moment by moment. I surrender, I let go. I fling myself with reckless, joyful abandonment…into whatever He asks even if there are a few tumbles along the way…

Do I Believe You?

“You keep no record of my sin. You don’t remember all my shame.”

While listening to this song in church, I penned a big question down in my journal:

See, I don’t just want to believe IN Him, but I want to believe Him.

I want to LET Him love me.  I don’t want to shy away from His loving embrace.

“Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.⁵It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].⁶It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.⁷Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].⁸Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith–conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope–joyful and confident expectation of external salvation; love–true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three, but the the greatest of these is love.

Do you believe Him?

Unique Churches

Fun.  I totally would like to visit a church like this! What do you like most about your church and have you ever been to a unique church like this?

The Year Through Pictures

So…I’m a copy cat.  Annie had this awesome post and so I wanted to do the same:

January: Ringing in the New Year–ready for a fresh start

February: A little salsa dancing fun before “real life” aka full-time job-ness sets in.

March: No homework means time to make fun recipes like Cheesecake pops, read lots of books, take a ceramics course, and work out 🙂

April: ” 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

May: I said hello to love at first sight

June: Summer nights with friends and  enjoying our sweet deck

July: There were a few crashes along the way this year.  A few rough spots, but in the end the plastic pops right out and the head lights are millimeters away from being smashed.

August: Spent some time with family.  Said “Look at the bull ship,” which was interpreted as “Look at all this bull shi*” (say that 3 times fast and your family will think you are NOT having fun when really you are)

September: Life may be a little messy, but at the end of the day I can always turn to my “church family” for anything I need.  I’m going to miss them…

October: “Ransomed” God, theology, podcasts, blogging, life, and everything in between could always be found in our conversations.  I miss her already!

November: “But if the bright lights don’t receive you, you should turn yourself around and come on home.”

December: Stay warm with a puppy, lots of blankets and hot chocolate while looking forward to a New Year. 

Good-bye 2008. Hello 2009.