September 24, 2012

wow...

September 24, 2012/ sarah

these girls.
these beautiful girls.

These two light up my days in a way I still can't believe.

I am in awe of them, seriously.

I remain thankful for their life, for their hearts, for their love for me, and for their love for Jesus

which I believe He is already cultivating in them.

We are so blessed by their beauty, inside and out.

I love you, Sweet Bug and Little Goose.

September 23, 2012

Cucumber Parsley Salad

September 23, 2012/ sarah

Hope y'all have had a great weekend!

Ours was great, and included "Daddy's scrambled eggs"

(we enjoy our non-rushed breakfasts together on the weekends),

a trip to the pumpkin patch, a visit to the local museum that Abigail loves,

some college football (Whoop Aggies!),

dinner at the newly opened Chuy's Mexican restaurant.

(if you are from Dallas or Austin, you KNOW how excited we are to have Chuy's here in OK now!)

and some family worship time.

I'm feeling very blessed!

It has been a little bit since I shared some Whole30 or Paleo stuff so I thought I'd share with y'all
a super simple veggie snack (or side dish) that we have made a lot at our house...

Cucumber Parsley Salad

What you need:

2 cucumbers

8 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar

garlic salt

onion powder

pepper

parsley

2 packs sweet n low

*I realize you are not supposed to have this on Paleo, but sometimes we just gotta. :)

But I'm sure this would still taste good if you did not use it!

**you could just use 1 cucumber for a single serving*

peel and slice your cucumbers,

add the apple cider vinegar

coat well

Add all the spices.

I honestly just add them to taste, I don't measure (sorry!)

so just some shakes of garlic salt, onion powder, pepper, the sweet n low,

and then add a BUNCH of parsley...prob like 3 TBSPs ish.

mix it all together!

serve cold and enjoy.

that's it folks!

This is such a refreshing and healthy veggie snack!

I feel like I am always hunting for more ways to get in my veggies without just eating carrot sticks or counting on the veggies cooked into a meal...so we love this easy dish!

Have a great Sunday evening!

September 21, 2012

a huge bloggy dream come true...

September 21, 2012/ sarah

Dreaming with some blog friends over Twitter one day,

we chatted about how fun it would be if we could all hang out and have a slumber party.

Well, guess what?

We are making it happen.

(thanks to Danielle's planning)

Two weeks from today, I will be getting on a plane to spend 5 days with some AMAZING women who have become dear friends!!!!!

(pinch me please)

And no, I have never met any of them in "real life".

You may think it's crazy, but if you do...then you don't understand the bond that this blogging community can provide.

It's real, y'all.

Over the last several months, these girls have become a huge encouragement in my life,

as we started planning this trip and getting to know each other even better.

We have become prayer warriors for each other, and I think we all also get our daily fill of

sass and humor through our crazy group texts.

These ladies are amazing.

Do you know them?

PLEASE go know them. :)

Heather blogs at We Are The Holdens.

Danielle blogs at Take Heart.

Kara blogs at Sunrise & Sunset.

Jami blogs at Call Me Blessed.

Stephanie blogs at The Honey Pot.

Hannah blogs at Happy Days.

Carina blogs at Lovely Little Whimsey.

Esther blogs at Lovingly Thrown Together.

We will be spending 5 glorious days together in Lake Placid, NY.

We have rented a cabin tucked away in the mountains, in the desire that this be a trip where we can all just "get away", relax, laugh, cry, not change any diapers, not hear any tantrums, watch a girly movie in the middle of the day, ACTUALLY share coffee together, (and not just have a virtual coffee date), not be on any schedule. and sleep, Of course, sleep.

(if you are a Mommy of littles you can understand why we are all jumping up and down about 4 nights of uninterrupted sleep.)

again, pinch me.

Oklahoma, California, New York, Washington, South Carolina, North Dakota, Mississippi,

& New Jersey will all be represented in this cozy mountain house.

I am already laughing inside about the dynamic of accents we will have! haha!

amazing women.

a house in the mountains.

with a wrap-around porch.

and a hot tub that looks into the mountains.

no little ones.

(though we will miss them, don't get me wrong)

sleep. lots of sleep.

Pinterest recipes galore.

cool weather.

New York Fall foliage.

no schedules.

no time-outs.

girly movies.

laughing.

praying.

crying.

lots of eating. lots.

more laughing.

more sleep.

amazing bonds being built.

lifetime memories.

I'm sure you will be seeing lots of pics from all of us...

because don't worry, one of our requirements for the place we rented was that it must have WiFi.

Duh. We ARE bloggers. :)

I am FILLED with joy and excitement, and am amazed at the blessing of friendship

God has given me through this group of women.

I cannot believe it.

I love you ladies and cannot wait to hug your necks!!!!

so thankful.

September 20, 2012

HE Speaks: Esther's story

September 20, 2012/ sarah

Esther is a precious friend that I have gotten to know in the last several months!

I am so so thankful she shared her heart with me so I could share it with you.

I LOVED reading it myself and know you will too.

I pray that her heart will be encouraging to you today, and will be a reminder that God loves to be in conversation with you, and He loves to bring you into a place of peace with Him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hello! I'm so happy
to be here to give Sarah some time to enjoy her family.

I love Sarah. Her
heart is beautiful. She's beautiful. Her daughters are beautiful. Seriously.

My name is Esther and
I blog over at Lovingly
Thrown Together.

When Sarah asked me and
some other friends to guest post, I, of course, said an enthusiastic
"yes!"

She asked if we could
share about this question:

How does God speak to
me?

I've been sitting on
this for days and I really wish I had a concrete answer by now

but, nonetheless, here is what I came up with after some reflection.

source | via

In my every day life,
I think my heart hears God before my brain does.

Sometimes my brain
never even processes God's words... but my heart does.

My life, in the
world's eyes, might be pretty mundane.

I wake up, I drink
coffee, I make breakfast lunch and dinner,

I change diapers, I
go grocery shopping, I clean, etc. etc.

Nothing extraordinary
here.

But I'm a wife and a
mother

and I think those are
two of the most meaningful things one can be

and I know my God
thinks so too.

Those roles can take
over sometimes... okay all the time...

and as much as I wish
I could sit down and contemplate before Him waiting to hear audible words,

I can't and it's hard
to hear Him when a toddler is pleading (whining) for your attention

and your brain is
making a mental note of the pantry items you ran out of

while simultaneously
adding to the day's to-do list.

I am a believer
that God loves you in whatever phase of life you are in.

Often I have to
remind myself that He put me here in this life, in this very instance.

Today is no mistake.

But I can’t take that
love for granted.

A relationship with God, like a relationship with a person,
is a two-way street

and I have to give Him something in return for what He
gives me… which is everything.

I try to get up
before my son in the morning to greet the Lord in prayer time,

even if it's only for
ten minutes,

that short period of
time starts a establishes a conversation that expands throughout the day.

In that conversation
I praise Him, give Him thanks, and then I start to ask for graces.

I ask Him for graces
for the day because I know He will supply them.

He always always
always tells my heart when it's time to start my day.

He speaks to my heart.

He tells me,
"Thanks for these ten minutes, daughter. I will be with you today and
always"

and off I go with a
sense of peace that I know only comes from Him.

Our God is so
understanding. Isn’t he?

During the day when I
cry out to him in frustration, sadness, exhaustion, hunger, happiness, and joy

He's there. Speaking
to my heart. Telling me what needs to be heard.

Supplying me the graces
I need.

Giving me peace.

It's not like I actually
hear a thing but my conversations with God are based on a sixth sense of sorts.

When my heart is
peaceful, I know God and I are in sync.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks friend. I am so thankful for your beautiful heart!

Esther blogs here, tweets here, and facebooks here

September 19, 2012

HE Speaks: Joy's story

September 19, 2012/ sarah

As you may have noticed, I am taking a little hiatus for a few days this week to get a million things done around the house, and just set aside the computer for a bit.

I am thankful for the awesome girls that have offered to step in in the next week or two and share their hearts about hearing God!

so...

Today, meet Joy.

Absolutely love her heart and how she shares about God truly showing up and speaking

about very personal and impactful things in her life.

He does that you know. He is so good.

Thanks Joy for sharing!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I can tell you exactly where I was sitting when I heard Him. His voice. And while it probably wasn't the first time, it was the time that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Him.

Three years ago we were sorting through debt and clearing our path to financial peace when our son Riley's right eye hemorrhaged. Months of searching for the right answer and praying for healing brought me to the second row pew in which I sat that day. In a matter of months our savings had been wiped out and the progress we had made in paying down debt had been replaced ten fold in medical bills. We still had no answers and clearly a long, expensive road ahead. Riley could not see through the massive amount of debris in his right eye.

Sitting in the pew that day I clearly heard God say in a firm, strong voice "Quit your job." I could feel the weight of His hand on my chest and I knew that this was His calling. I knew it would require more faith than I had ever known and that He would be faithful.

Riley was later diagnosed with an eye disease (in both eyes) called Pars Planitis that leads to blindness. He endured four surgeries on his right eye in the last three years: all of which God has been faithful to provide for.

Two years ago God began to whisper to me about one of the greatest desires of my heart: adoption. Through a series of weeks in Spring 2010 God awakened me in the night to pray for a baby a did not know. In Summer 2010 he spoke to my husband's heart and from there we were led into foster care. In November 2010 our girl was born and just a few days later she was delivered to our doorstep.

Foster care is not foreign to us as we have served in this venue before, but this particular journey in foster care has caused me to be still a listen to Him. To wait on His timing. To trust in His plan.

Our girl will celebrate her second birthday soon. She is still in foster care. There's yet a long road ahead. Daily God reminds me "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23. His word is living and comes to my mind throughout the day. The very word that I need at just the right time.

Hearing God's voice through whispers, through His Word and through the voice of others is what has sustained us over the past three years. It has been through the comfort of His voice and the firm guidance of His hand that we have learned so many things about leaning on Him even when it seems crazy.