Summer Lovin'

Summer Lovin' had me a blast... Summer Lovin' happened so fast...

So, summer time has flown by this year. I feel so much more productive and have really enjoyed all my time this summer since we have been settled here in our new home of Tyler. I've done a lot of resting, praying, and reevaluating my heart. I am so grateful for it.

Met a boy cute as can be....

Well, really I have the same boy, but we celebrated our 2 year anniversary and rejoiced in the faithfulness of the Lord in our marriage. He is continually making our marriage more sweet.

Summer days drifting away, but oh the summer nights....

Tell me more tell me more?

Okay okay, you don't have to ask me twice...

I decided to start my own little greeting card company, just for fun. Art, paper, and crafting is so stress relieving for me. We have the Rose Festival coming up in October and I'm planning trying to sell a few there. I've started an unfinished blog : www.spreadyourwordsav.blogspot.com- if ya want to check it out.

I took a summer class... Botany. Learned about all the neat things that grow.

We attended several weddings.

We saw the Broadway musical "Wicked"

I did a lot of reading... a total of 9 books.

Celebrated my 23rd birthday with friends and a water balloon fight.


Did you get very far?

I got as far as Tulsa! haha. This summer has been fun because I have been able to go out of town a lot. I went to Dallas for a week while Patrick was out of town. I got to spend time with my sister and we hung out by the pool and did lots of fun things. I went to Tulsa to spend time with Pat's grammy. She had back surgery and I spent some time with her. I traveled to the fabulous city of San Antonio to spend time with my Gram and finished up with Tulsa again.

It turned colder thats where it ends...

So, now its back to school. I am taking 18hrs, BUT I graduate in May 2011, Lord willing. I am so blessed to be able to finish school. Hope all is well with you my friends. HAPPY FALL!

Grammy V.

Last week I went to Tulsa to spend some time with Patrick's Grammy. I love her. From the moment Patrick brought me home, Grammy has always made me feel loved, special, and part of the family. We've always had a special connection, so it was my pleasure to go spend time with her, while Patrick's mom was out of town.

Grammy fell a couple months back and broke a spot in her back, so two weeks ago she had surgery and I was there to help her and make sure that she didn't do too much. We had a great time. She finished reading Redeeming Love, I got to read quite a bit, we watched movies, went out to eat, I cooked for her, she took me shopping, and we got to talk a bit about her past. . I was so blessed by her genuine desire to love me and make me part of her life. Well. a few days ago she fell again and broke her arm, wrist, and hurt her leg. It makes me so sad to know she is in so much pain, but much more grieved that she doesn't know Jesus intimately and personally.

See Grammy isn't a believer and we are praying for her healing, but more so for healing and wholeness of her heart. So, if you would, just as your reading this say a pray for her- healing and that the Lord would open her heart to Him and break down the walls of religion and fear. We believe He is able to change the human heart and are trusting Him to do so.

Character to Hope

I have had a great couple of weeks and will write a blog about all my fun happenings, but first I wanted to share a little nugget that the Lord challenged and encouraged me with yesterday. Lately, I have been aware of the battle I face with my daily sin tendencies-like impatience, selfishness, pride...to name a few! I find my heart continually suffering within me, about all sorts of things that aren't Jesus in me and what is supposed to overflow from my heart, and I fail daily.

As I was reading through Romans 5 (1-11) yesterday this is what the Lord reminded me of and put a fresh hope inside of me...

Through faith we gain access to God's grace and we rejoice in the hope of His glory, but even more we rejoice in our "sufferings", whatever that looks like- for me right now, it is battling my mind and emotions, my struggle against the wickedness inside of me, and desire to be like Christ. For some it may be physical suffering- sickness, pain, disease, poverty, death, emotional turmoil, but through our suffering comes endurance. I'm persevering toward the Lord, toward the truth of His word, and running to His presence in repentance, which slowly produces character, as the Lord's truth reveals wrong thinking, ideas, and heart motives. His grace covers me and He is working those things out, making me like Him. And as I see God's constant faithfulness to change and make new, the renewed character gives way to hope, a expectation that will not fail...why? Because my expectation is found in His love, His love that died for me while I was a sinner, not when I was perfect. My hope is in a grace that I do not deserve, but that I have.

So, I press on, knowing and trusting that the Lord is changing me, I'm growing to know Him more, and my prayer is that He is getting ALL the glory.

HAPPY MONDAY!