Good morning, ladies!

We’re posting our Siesta Scholarship Ticket Giveaway a day early because, as most of you know, tomorrow is SSMT. So, before we got to that, we wanted to make y’all aware that thanks to our fund, we have 20 tickets to give away for this weekend’s LPL in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Just a friendly reminder that these tickets are for those of you that desire to go, but financially just can’t pull it off right now. We’d love nothing more than to send you!

If this is you, or if you know of somebody and you live around that area, you can call us at 281-257-3344 or call toll free at 888.700.1999. Please ask for Kimberly and she will hook you up! If you happen to call during the lunch hour, or we miss you for some other reason, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

We love y’all! Happy Wednesday!

Hey y’all! (I almost said ladies instead of y’all, but I’ve been up north all weekend and just needed to get back to my roots. Grin.) I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve talked, so I thought I’d pop in, say hello and share a little bit about my weekend, if that’s okay with you. Grin. Last week was busy to say the least, leading up to a very fast and furious trip to Colorado this past weekend. There are pros and cons to extended family living thousands of miles from you. While my brothers and I didn’t grow up with any of my grandparents or cousins within a short distance of us, the beauty is that we get to visit Colorado fairly often. (When I say our entire extended family lives in Colorado, I mean every last one of them. Both my mom and dad’s side.) Of course, we don’t get to go as often as we used to when we were younger (thanks to getting older and becoming responsible adults), but if I am “forced” to visit anywhere, Colorado isn’t too shabby. Especially when the weather is a bit unusual in July leaving us with 60-degree temps in the evenings, with highs reaching only the mid-seventies during the day. It was glorious.

And now I sound like a weatherman. Laughing.

The reason for this particular weekend trip was to celebrate my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary! Can we all just have a moment of silence? 60 years! That deserves more than a few exclamation marks! I think we can all agree that 60 years is a rare reality for most couples. Of course, my grandpa being the hopeless romantic that he is (do you sense my snarkiness?), after I asked him what the secret to being married for 60 years to the same woman was, said, “Well, for starters, from the beginning I let her be the boss.” This was especially rich coming from him because my grandma might be the least bossy person I know, but there you have it. True love. He’s a funny man.

We ended up cramming in so much throughout the weekend that I’m pretty sure I came home needing a vacation, but we had the most fun, hilarious time. Maybe one of my favorite visits.

Besides sitting on my grandparent’s back porch for breakfast each morning (I’m drooling thinking about it right now), I’ll share a few highlights from, what I have labeled as, the fastest Colorado trip ever.

Estes Park:

We flew in really late Thursday night due to a delay, but that didn’t keep us from hitting the ground running Friday morning to make it up to Estes Park for the day. I’m convinced not one inch of Colorado is ugly, but there’s something majestic about being surrounded by the mountains on every side of you. Estes Park lends itself to that kind of view. We ended up on the lake this go around after renting a paddle boat and pontoon boat and it was so much fun! I literally laughed the entire time. Who knew that paddle boating was such a workout? Of course, the minute we got on the lake it started raining, but I’m not sure it would have been as fun had it not have rained. Afternoon rain showers in the mountains are nearly unavoidable. But there went my straight hair!

Our view while paddle boating. Rough, right? Also, the rest of our family is on that pontoon boat. Who in the family is smarter? Laughing.

After that we walked around downtown Estes for a bit before driving home. It was such a fun day!

The Celebration:

When my Grandma and Grandpa celebrated their 50th anniversary, we threw a big party for them! It was like a second reception. However, neither of them are really keen on parties, so for this anniversary, we just had a small family “linner”. You know, Grandpa can’t eat too late lest it mess up his stomach. We are rarely ALL together as an extended family, so this was a treat. We had a private room at a neat steakhouse there in town and we all left stuffed to the brim. I’ve said this at least a thousand times, but I’m truly so blessed to have been able to witness their marriage up until now. Far from perfect or easy, but they’ve been so faithful to each other. They have loved so well, the best they humanly can.

Lovebirds for 60 years!

Thing One and Thing Two:

If you’re familiar with Dr. Seuss, then you might get that reference, but if not, I am betting right now you are terribly confused. Allow me to explain: We (the grandchildren) had some funny shirts made that numbered our birth order. (Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3, etc.) These “Things” in the Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat, are apparently the cause of much mischief. We figured this was appropriate since we’ve brought much mischief to their life as grandchildren. This also helps them keep us in order. It may be incredibly cheesy, but we got a good laugh out of it, as did Grandma and Grandpa. Take a look for yourself:

You would think with as many pictures as we took we’d have a least ONE where we’re all smiling and our eyes are open. Nope. Not one. It’s so unfortunate. This is the best I could do. But you get the point.

Also, you might find it humorous that while we desperately wanted a picture with Grandpa and Grandma, Grandpa was actually sacked out in his chair while we were being photographed. But it’s his party and he can sleep if he wants to!

Cousins!

My brothers. 🙂

Fort Fun:

Because what else do you do in Fort Collins? Grin. Saturday evening after all of our celebration festivities, the cousins loaded up for a bit of fun at Fort Fun. It threw me back to 8th grade when my friends and I used to frequent Mountasia. It’s just a fun little place where you can ride go-karts, play laser tag, putt putt golf along with all the arcade games in the world. We ended up just playing putt putt in which we confirmed that I am the world’s worst putt putt golfer. It’s a sad reality, really. That, or I just need some more putt putt practice. We also rode a giant slide that also brought out the inner ten-year old in me. Fun times.

I mean, y’all. My sweet cousin may have been terrified. I just laughed the entire way down. Also, right before we took off she grabbed my hand. I obliged!

The static!

By the end she was laughing. And this picture pretty much sums up my trip. Fast, furious, blurry and hilarious!

Fort fun ended our weekend adventure, because sadly, yesterday afternoon I hopped on plane with my big brother and we headed back to Houston where we were greeted by the lovely Houston humidity the minute I stepped on the jetway. Lovely.
I’m so thankful for a small weekend getaway and all it meant. I will treasure this weekend forever!

Anything exciting happen on your end? You know, like putt putt golf?

About three weeks ago I hosted “Girls Weeked” for three of my best friends. Now, before you correct me on spelling “weeked” wrong, I want to assure you I spelled it correctly. You see, the very first year we kicked off our annual girls weekend happened to be a special weekend where one of my best friends, Joanna, was getting engaged. Clearly, as her best friends, we became great deceivers and lied to her the entire weekend until the actual proposal, which was so much fun, yet incredibly hard. Anyway, in my excitement the night before she was to become betrothed, I felt the need to bake us a cake to kick off the weekend. I’m incredibly classy, to say the least, so I baked us none other than a funfetti cake. Fist pump for funfetti, y’all. You know you love it, too. Of course, baking and decorating go hand in hand, so in my attempt at decorating, I wrote “Girls Weeked 2006” and excitedly presented it to the girls when all was said and done. I was SO proud of myself! They nearly all died of hyperventilating right there on the spot when they realized I spelled it completely wrong. I tend to do that when I get excited about such things. From then on, Girls Weeked stuck.

That story is completely irrelevant to the post, but it was fun to re-live.

Moving on.

We actually missed a few years of intentionally planning our girls weekends, but that’s what happens when weddings and babies and moving across the country takes over!

So, needless to say, we were all a tad excited to be together again, and in our home city. Originally we had all planned to attend our ten year reunion together, but when all was said and done, we ended up not going. Don’t hate us. We had our own, and albeit, more exciting reunion. However, since I knew I’d be hosting them this time, my apartment needed a little tidying. Ironically, the week before they came I got into this purging mode and nearly threw or gave away every belonging I owned, and it felt good. That really helped when it came to cleaning. But, having a full time job and something social nearly every evening also put me in a bind, which means I found myself dusting, and um, vacuuming a little after midnight one night.

I’m pretty sure I scrubbed my entire bathroom as well.

BUT I WAS ON A ROLL. You know when you get in those modes and you feel invincible? That’s how I felt. Even my roommate thought I was crazy, but man, our apartment has never looked better.

However, as I was being crazy lady and on my rampage, I thought to myself, I’m never more like my mother than when I’m cleaning at midnight.

It’s true. My mother is the QUEEN of late night shenanigans. Vacuuming. Packing. Cleaning. You name it, she’s most likely been found practicing her craft at midnight. Although it’s not become a true habit of mine yet (we won’t discuss waiting until the last minute to pack), I definitely inherited the get it done at midnight trait from her.

We’ve all experienced something like that when we’re in the middle of accomplishing something and we immediately think of who we’re mimicking, which means, of course, I want to hear yours.

I’m never more like my daughter than when…

I’m never more like my mother than when…

I’m never more like my husband than when…

I’m never more like my grandma than when…

I’m never more like my teacher than when…

You get the point. This could be so funny. Or maybe not. But it’s worth a shot.

Oh, and for the record, the one thing I did NOT do for my friends this year was bake them a misspelled cake. But, to make up for my lack of baking skills, I took them to Tiny Boxwood’s and bought them a cookie. I’m certain they’ve never loved me more. And lest you think that’s lame, don’t judge until you’ve had their cookies. They’re change your life good.

And because we like pictures, here I am with my girls. You might be interested to know that I’ve known these girls since the womb. They’re truly the sister I never had. Only the Lord could weave such a sweet, strong friendship together. Only He could sustain that. I don’t take it for granted and am truly forever grateful!

Good morning, ladies! Since we had SSMT on Monday, we couldn’t get the Providence recap posted for you as quickly as we typically do.

Something you  might appreciate is that on Saturday, our dear photog, Rich, tweeted a picture he had taken of our Siesta Mama. It was fabulous. It goes without saying that I both replied and favorited the tweet to which he responded that it was now time to work on the recap video, which feels like cramming for a final. Oh, the pressure. THAT is just a little taste of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. We so appreciate the entire LPL team. They work and serve tirelessly, to the great glory of God and it does not go unnoticed, and we don’t want it to. So, thank you to the entire team for doing what you do with excellence. To you we say well done good and faithful servant.

Also, you wouldn’t waste a prayer on Beth as she hops on a plane this afternoon to go speak at the Awaken NOW Conference, hosted by LIFE Outreach International, in celebration of their 50 years of ministry. LIFE Outreach International produces Life Today and I’m sure many of you could testify to the blessing that that program is to you, so we send her off in blessings and prayer. Asking for focused thoughts, boldness, faith and energy, Lord! I know Beth, her family, and LPM are so grateful for your petitions on their behalf. Where would we be without the ability to intercede for ourselves and others? Thank you so, so much.

Without further delay, here is the recap video!

Living Proof Live | Providence from LifeWay Women on Vimeo.

Happy (rainy) Wednesday to you all!

P.S. Just this. Just for fun. Grin.

For those of you who are well acquainted with social media, the term “tbt” or “throw back Thursday” is nothing new to you. In fact, if you’re anything like me, on occasion it can be a bit overkill. Not that I don’t love watching people walk down memory lane and seeing old photos, because I absolutely do, but I can only take so many throw backs before I start to confuse present day with current day people. It is, however, endearing on occasion. And I might be saying that as a disclaimer since I’m about to throw us all back. Grin.

Recently I was at my parent’s house and my eyes came across an old photo that is framed on my dad’s dresser and could easily be labeled as one of my favorite pictures ever. I actually happened to spot it just after our small group from church had gone around and shared how long we’d been impacted by music and how we initially came to love it. That picture reminded me that truly, I’d been immersed in it since the beginning of time.

I dearly love my immediate family. And despite all of our differences, quirks and challenges, one common theme that flows through all five of us is music. At any given moment when we’re all together, not a minute goes by that we’re not discussing artists (old and new), harmonies, bass lines, records and well, I’m sure you get the idea. From the beginning of time my mom has either been a music teacher or, for the better part of 23 years of my life, a piano teacher. Countless students from ages five to 18 are constantly flowing in and out of our home. Needless to say, while living there, you hear the good, the bad and the ugly. I say that endearingly since I’ve watched student after student come in with zero knowledge of anything musical, at the beginner level, and graduate as a high school student knocking out pieces that leave you speechless. (For reference, look up David Lanz. Beautiful.) We all have to start somewhere. And practice really does make perfect.

You might be wondering if my mom taught each of us to play the piano. And what might make you laugh is that, because we are her stubborn children, she taught each of us as much as she could before World War 3 broke out. You know, because when Mom is teaching you something, clearly you’re right and she’s wrong. Our lessons were short lived. But thankfully, the Lord graced us and we all play a little. Actually my older brother plays the most out of all of us, as he went on to do a little bit more with music in college, while I only took one measly piano class after graduating. But still not a time goes by that we don’t walk in her house and either sit down or tap at the piano ourselves. It’s our first instinct.

On top of that, I literally cannot remember a time that both of my parents have not served on the worship team at their church. I’ve lost count of how many years my mom has played the piano while my dad has simultaneously played the guitar or bass. And it goes without saying that we were all involved in the choir and or praise team, you know, when choirs became less cool. Laughing.

Needless to say, music runs through our blood. And I imagine it always will.

My dream would be that, although I’m no music or piano teacher, the love and appreciation of music would be carried onto my children, and their children, and so on and so forth. I’m not sure much more would make my parents happier either, besides the obvious of growing up to love Jesus. I’m almost certain that when I was 16, my dream of marrying a man with any musical talent was a deal breaker. Meaning, if he was musically challenged, it would be absurd to even consider liking him. I’m laughing now. And while that would still make me so happy, to marry a man with similar gifts and passions, I’m letting the Lord work that one out. It’s no longer a deal breaker, but it would be a bonus.

I’ll never forget my freshman year of college when all five of us did the “special music” at our Christmas Eve service. Yes, you can just call us the Von Trapp family. We might as well have become a traveling band. Talk about a throwback, every time I hear “Light of the Stable” by Emmylou Harris, I immediately think of Christmas 2003.

I recently came across this quote by an actor I’m not well acquainted with but it summed up my family perfectly, “I’ve always thought people would find a lot more pleasure in their routines if they burst into song at significant moments.”

And all the people said amen. Those that have been around our family know we don’t just do this at significant moments, but really at any given moment a song that would be appropriate for that occasion pops in our head. In fact, I should apologize in advance to anyone that, in the future, might spend any amount of time with us.

Music calms. Music is universal. Music speaks where words fail. Music ministers. Music is simply a part of us. Music, after all, was created first and foremost by God. He put that gift in us.

Nearly every time I drive up to my parent’s house for a visit, and they live only 20 minutes from me, without fail my mom is found playing the piano. When we were little and all living there, people used to ask me if the constant sound of the piano, and people coming and in and out for lessons was annoying. I can truly say that not for one minute did it annoy me. As time went on, I found it very comforting. It was normal. I can’t speak for some of her students who may have been annoyed however when I, on occasion, would be yelling at my brother from the top of stairs, at the top of my lungs, mind you, because he was picking on me, but that’s another story for another day. Big brothers are both a blessing and a curse. Some of you may understand.

This entire post sums up my love for this “throw back Thursday” picture. For the love of all things music.

My mom and I sitting at the piano. Where all is right in the world. She always has and always will by my favorite piano player, and for once, I think it’s okay to be biased.

And those glasses? Well, they speak for themselves. Love you, Mom.

Hey girls! Just popping in real quick to let you know that we have 20 tickets for the Providence LPL this weekend, thanks to the Siesta Scholarship Fund. Yay! If you really have the desire to attend, but just can’t afford a ticket, then we’d love to bless you in this way.

A fun little fact is that this weekend’s event is held in the Dunkin Donuts Center. Um, yum. Grin.

As usual, if you would please please call the office and ask for Kimberly, she’ll get you all ready to go. You can call 281-257-3344 or call toll free at 888.700.1999. If you happen to call and we miss you for some reason, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

We love y’all so much. And I KNOW without a doubt your prayers for Beth, the LPL team, and her family would be much appreciated! Oh, and let us know if you’re gonna make it this weekend!

Hi Sisters! Way to hang in there with Bible study for the summer! As usual, I’m putting the bare bones of instruction for your gathering here in writing for those of you who aren’t able to watch the video. If you do watch it, you may quickly note evidences of a ample technical difficulties, all of which were caused by yours truly. For instance, at one point, I got out of my chair to grab my car keys on a side table for an illustration and nearly tore my mic off and my shirt with it. That is why it will appear that I have done a magic trick. Other technical difficulties arose when, suddenly, the cold that I’d caught from my darling Annabeth lapsed me into certain phrases that sounded exactly like I was holding my nose. Only on words with the letter “b” was it most apparent which made the words “Bible” and “humble” particularly intriguing. We are a slick group of filmmakers around here. You’re a patient group and I love you! I am so honored to serve you guys and I know that God is really speaking to you through this study journey. Let’s persevere to the last page for the joy set before us!

The following interactives are based on Weeks 3 and 4 of your Gideon homework:

1. We can get no further than p.70 to stumble on something we could talk about all day. My small group and I loved the whole portion on weakness being a key. Glance at the bottom of the page and talk about the effect that your weakness tends to have on you when you focus on it.

2. Turn to p.75 and discuss the first paragraph and your answers to the second question: How have you seen misdirected credit lead to misplaced trust or unhealthy desires for you or someone else?

3. Turn to p.97 and share which answer you chose in response to the following question and explain why you tend to lean that direction: If you are in a season of life in which you feel insecure or doubtful about God, His Word, or His calling on your life, how do you honestly feel God is responding?

4. I so loved the teaching on p.101! How did the 4 Steps in Giving Our Gifts to God resonate with you or open your eyes? Conclude with the quote Priscilla gave us in the middle of p.107 – “honest doubt in which faith lives.” Give an example of honest doubt that you have had at a time when you were still full of faith. A time when those two things were not at odds but part of that same stretch of journey.

OK, Sisters! Finish your last 2 weeks of homework for our final gathering on July 23rd! You guys are fabulous! Thank you so much for participating. You are dearly loved here at LPM.

Siesta Summer Gideon Study – Week 3 from LPV on Vimeo.

*Update: Hey girls! Because I promised it and because a few have asked, here is the link to the podcast from last Sunday, “Kingdom Come”. Be blessed!

Girls, would someone explain to me how it is already July 8th? We are now into the second half of the year. Is it just me, or does it feel like 2013 just started? I always feel like I’m just starting to get a hold of a year when it slips through unnoticed and wham, another year has come and gone. In fact, July 4th always tries to throw me into a tailspin, because I know I have as much time from now until the end of the year, as I did from then to the beginning of the year. Does that even make sense? Sheesh. Basically, I’m either depressed or elated depending on how the year is going thus far based on what I thought it would look like, or what I wanted it to look like. Seriously, are you following? I think I’ve confused myself.

Which is what brings me to this post.

Do you remember at the beginning of the year when I tried, not so gracefully, to recap Passion 2013? If you don’t, here’s the post. (Listen, I realize it’s been six months since that post and it’s something I can barely even remember.) Anyway, what I haven’t forgotten that I think of nearly everyday is what Louie Giglio challenged us with the last day of Passion, and then a few days later, what my pastor Curtis challenged us with the first Sunday of the year.

Would you allow me to remind us all? (I’m not a fan of the bullet-point in a blog post, but I will use if necessary. Grin.)

1) Louie asked us, after throwing the Word down on Isaiah 61, “If THIS is the year of the Lord’s favor, what would you like? What would you ask for?”

2) Then Curtis Jones, my pastor, that following Sunday after boldly proclaiming Ephesians 3:20 challenged us that “2013 was the year of getting things done. Why? Because He is able, you are able according to the Spirit and after all, God gets the glory.”

Both to which I so boldly exclaimed, “Amen!” and went along with my day. However, my amen wasn’t a light one, as I knew exactly what it was I needed to get done this year. I knew exactly what I would ask the Lord’s favor over. But after all,  knowing and actually doing are two completely different things. One takes intention, the other takes boldness and action.

I’m not saying I’ve excelled in this, but I can tell you I’ve made progress, and I hope I know some people who could testify to that. I mean, let’s be honest, one simple thing was getting my wisdom teeth removed after putting it off for FOREVER, and boom, just like that, they’re gone. And I survived. I realize that’s a really silly example, but I’m so proud of myself for not letting fear take over again! Of course, there are some other action items and conversations I’ve had, but that’s another post for another day.

So why am I even bringing this up?

Because all last week I was reminded that if this was the year of getting things done, I had six months left to do the work. At least the work for 2013.

And then I went to church. And boom. Curtis, our beloved pastor, nailed it. I think I told him once before that it’s one thing to hear a message on Sunday, feel a little conviction from the Spirit and go on with your day. But it’s another thing when you leave church and know what you need to do, without a Spirit of condemnation, but one of grace. That’s a beautiful thing. To me, that’s what yesterday felt like. Convicting enough without condemnation to do the thing.

Why? Because, “Intention isn’t valued in the Kingdom of God. Obedience is.”

“Intention is not the same as faithfulness.”

Thank you, Curtis Jones, for those nuggets. (If you’re curious where this comes from, read about the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28 – 32. And I promise that when the podcast is up, I’ll link it here so you can take a listen if you so desire. I think I have permission to do that, but I’ll ask. For goodness sake, you might as well hear it from him instead of me giving you just some nuggets.I might as well go ahead and thank him for this post, too. After all, I feel like he wrote it. Laughing.)

As the old saying goes, we can talk the talk, but are we walking the walk?

Can we all just be honest and admit that we have a lot of good intentions? We intend to do a lot of good things. Even since January, we’ve all had a lot of good intentions about getting things done. But have we done them? I’m not saying obedience and boldness is easy, quite the contrary, actually. But in 100 years, our fruit will be the only thing that matters. So let’s bear a little fruit, y’all.

We have six months to do the thing. Time isn’t out yet. And praise God our God is a God of patience, compassion, slow to anger, rich in mercy and abounding in steadfast love. But let’s just ask ourselves what we’ve put off thus far? Your God is able, Sister. Let’s turn our intention into action. The longer we all delay, I promise you, the harder is gets!

I love y’all. I’m on this road WITH you.

Remember, it’s going to be a GOOD year. Grin.

“You crown the year with Your goodness; Your ways overflow with plenty.” Psalm 65:11 (HCSB)