Love Is....

Ok, so I admit...so far I have totally bombed on the blogging thing. But in my defense life has been ALITTLE busy lately. (I have been slowly working a blog to update life lately, but it is hard with a newborn to get that accomplished). But today is a new day...it started off great because I got 7 hours of interrupted sleep...which is a pretty big deal in my life right now. So big props to my hubby! Since I got so much sleep, I popped right up out of bed ready for my morning. I will admit my devotion time has been suffering alittle (ok, A LOT) lately. Again, it is hard to do it all somedays with a newborn. But this morning was different.

I am reading about "LOVE" right now. But not just sappy, romantic, emotional love. TRUE LOVE. True love is not defined by an emotion or a feeling but actions. So the assignment today was to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and replace the words "love" and "it" with my name.

⁴ Sarah is patient and kind. Sarah is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. Sarah does not demand her own way. Sarah is not irritable, and she keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ Sarah does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Sarah never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Wow...so sitting here in the quiet of my morning, I was blown away by this. Am I all things??? Most days, Nope. I can be moody and grumpy and impatient and many many more things. But what if I wasn't?? Would I be a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, Christian? If God loves us first and commands us to love others, then how do we do that and what does that mean?

These verses and this assignment have been rolling around in my head all morning and I wanted to share them with you. I hope that today you can think about YOUR name being in these verses and the LOVE that you have to share because it was first shared with you.

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day this year has taken on a new meaning for me. With HFG coming in the next few months, it really has made me think about what kind of Mother I want to be to my daughter and about all the women in my life who have loved me, encouraged me and made me who I am today. There are so many women that have affected my life...my favorite teacher who was my biggest cheerleader for years (Mrs. Houston!), my Bible study leader from junior high and high school who put up with a bunch of crazy girls (Nesha!!), and all my sisters from high school, college and beyond. I could go on and on about all the women that have supported me, loved me, laughed with me, been honest with me and stood beside me. But I thought I would take a minute to talk about 3 that are truly blessings from God in my life.

The first is my Mother-in-Law Karen. My Mom always told me that you marry more than a just a husband. You marry an entire family. She was so true! I am fortunate to have married into a wonderful family in the Goldens. From day one, my MIL welcomed me with open arms in her life and her family. She has always been there to support Barrett and I in all the ups and downs we have had. She loves her family and would give the shirt off her back if it helped someone. And she is the epitome of a hostess when you are in her home. She would cook you a 4 course meal at 10 p.m. if you asked her to. She is one of the most genuinely loving women I have ever known. I am thankful HFG will have her as a woman in her life.

The next woman I am thankful for is my dear grandmother, Mimi. I could write a book on her alone. She was a faithful, loving wife over 50 years to a Yankee who she met at a soda fountain in Memphis during WWII. They had 5 children and have an abundance of grandchildren, great grandchildren and even a great great grandson now. She has been widowed for many years now, but has continued to live her life with passion and to serve her God with faithfulness. She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman. I only hope that one day I can live up to the wonderful legacy that she has set for all of us. I feel so very very blessed to have her in my life and am so thankful for the example she set.

And finally my own dear Mother, Robbie. She says that HFG is going to call her Robbie, not Grandma or Mamaw or Nana...and for those that know my mother you will agree. She is Robbie. She marches to her her drum beat and has always loved each of us and encouraged us to march to our own drum beat. She has always let us be ourselves and loved us for no matter what that was. I know that I get my independent streak from her. She reminds of a mother bird. She was always there to nurture us and "feed us." But when it was time for us to "go," she was the first one pushing me out of the nest and encouraging me to fly on my own. I remember the day my parents took me to Move In Day at the W. I was 18 and was so scared and excited to be going to college away from home. She buzzed around my dorm room unpacking and making my bed and being helpful. And when they left, she gave me a big hug and smile. (She being a W girl also knew the adventure I was in for). And then they left! My Dad did tell me later she cried in the car on the way home, but she was nothing but smiles for me that day. She has always just wanted me to be happy and to find my way in the world. I am eternally grateful and blessed for the independence and freedom she gave me. I hope that I am strong enough to give HFG the same push when she needs it.

How we got to today....

So I guess the beginning is the best place to start, right? Here I sit on a Sunday afternoon starting a blog to try and capture the moments of our life that are flying by us at record speed. I guess the beginning I need to go back to is July of 2009.


Barrett, ever the over-achiever and workaholic, decided to check out this Air Force training thing called WIC (Weapons Instructor Course). I won't inundate you with all the details of that, but leave it as it was some of the hardest and most rewarding months we have ever experienced. He was gone for most of 6 months, getting his butt kicked day in and day out in the attempts to become a better USAF Officer and C-130J Pilot. Before he started this course, we had prayed as a couple and with our church group that we would just give this experience over to God for his purpose and his glory. We also were praying as a couple through this training, that whatever came out of it for our lives, we would be open to God's plan. It is funny looking back at those prayers and our conversations and how as usual God's plan is better than ours.





So fast forward to December 10, 2009 at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. Barrett is finishing up training and I am hanging out in his room at the Nellis Inn (complete with orange and avocado bathroom and orange carpet) waiting on family and friends to arrive and begin our fun Graduation weekend in Vegas. I just knew "something" wasn't right and I wasn't feeling like myself. A trip to the BX later and some crying in that orange and avocado bathroom, I figured out what was going on. Barrett was off meeting with some Generals or something, so he got to find out via text that I was pregnant. It was a whirlwind weekend for both of us and one I know we will NEVER forget.

That brings us to today. Barrett and I are expecting our first child, daughter named Harper Faith on August 9th. While we were busy praying for God to open up the right career doors for us all those months ago, He was busying preparing something bigger and better for us. It isn't that we didn't want kids, we just had gotten around to that yet. I guess we were stuck in our comfort zones in a lot of ways.

That is where the "Faith" in her middle name comes from. I truly believe that we have lived in faith these past few months and God has exceedingly and abundantly blessed us in all areas of our life and I know He will continue to do so. (Harper comes from my need to make her know her deep roots in Alabama and the South).

Through this entire faith journey, God keeps reiterating to me over and over and over that His plans are bigger and better than mine. Hebrews 11:40 has become written on heart. "God had planned something BETTER for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." God has such BETTER plans for each of us, but we have to do our part also. We have to seek Him and be patient sometimes and obediant always. When we do that we truly allow God to roll up His sleeves and get busy with that BETTER plan for us.

So this is where we are today...living in faith and confidently expecting God to reveal his plan for our family of 3 in His time. It has been an amazing revelation to get to this point. When you realize that God has that plan and purpose for you, it is true freedom. I don't have to stress and worry and be overwhelmed wondering how everything will work out. I just have to live in FAITH.