He Really Does Hear You

He really does hear you. He really does care. He really is faithful.

Since my last post on making big decisions, I've been overwhelmed with answers from the Lord. I'm not ready to share quite yet mainly because it's just too soon, I don't know all the details, and I'm still seeking His will, but I have an incredible peace in all situations right now. And this comes only a few days after the uneasiness I felt about everything. But I kept praying, I kept asking, I kept seeking his will for my life. And most importantly I kept trusting that He would answer me. And He has. I consistently stand in awe of my Lord. I'll never fully understand, in this life, the magnitude of how much he cares for me, but he does, and so I will stand on that and thank him for it - over and over and over again.

And he cares the same way for YOU. So don't be afraid to ask him for help, for an answer, no matter how small it may seem. And in time, he will respond. I pray His overwhelming peace for any situation or decision you are facing right now friends.

Trying to Stay in God's Will

I love those times in life when you know you are living God's will for your life. Life may not be easy but you KNOW you are where you are supposed to be. Decisions have been made and you have a complete peace about them. For a while, things are peaceful even though they may not be easy. You aren't in the middle of huge decisions. You are just living and moving right along in this life.

And then you find yourself in a place where big decisions have to be made again. Or possibly the decision isn't even yours to make yet but you find yourself constantly thinking about your future plans. You don't want to step out of God's will. You need the right answer! You need clarity in that decision.

Well I'm finding myself in one of those places right now.

I'm in a new season...pregnancy...and man are there a ton of decisions to make and many to make in the near future. I want what God's plan for my life is. I need his wisdom and I need clarity moving forward. I need to know whether I'm supposed to stay at home with our child or go back to work. And if I go back to work, should I try to go back to work full time or part time. What is it going to look like Lord?

Proverbs 19:20-21

Listen to advice and accept discipline and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. 

I want his purpose. I want his desires to become my desires. I'm in a place where I don't even know what my heart is telling me right now. And so I wait, I wait patiently on the Lord. He hears me, he knows my heart. I wait for his perfect timing. He will lead me in peace.  

It's also that time of year again where I would usually start scheduling games and holding interest meetings for Woodlawn soccer. But right now I can't get in touch with anyone at the school. I feel disconnected. The teacher contact I've had for the last 2 years no longer works at the school. I'm at a loss. I'm reaching out to people trying to figure out the person I need to talk to. And yes, I'm impatient. But only because this time last year I already had games scheduled and right now I have nothing happening at all. But I can't force anything. I don't want to force anything. I want the plan the Lord has. If it's coaching Woodlawn in the spring, then he will make a way as I reach out to others. If it's not, then I'll submit to that plan as well - as heart-crushing as it may seem. I'm pretty sure I'm putting worries in my mind though that will all work themselves out.

But I'm in this place right now. I'm trusting and praying and listening to Jesus. I'm waiting. I'm thanking him for this season. I'm so excited about everything going on and what's to come. And I'm trying to not let these decisions become worries.

Philippians 4:6 

Starting to Show

Don't get too excited. It's definitely not much of a "bump" yet :) But I figured, what the heck, I'll go ahead and post some pics, especially since family and friends that don't live here have no idea of the changes as they slowly start to happen.

Week 8 - nothing at all, but it's a good pre-bump picture that I'm sure will be fun to look back on later...

Week 11 - still nothing really...

Week 15 - it's not much but it's a bump! Our baby right here is around the size of a navel orange :) 

And then wow, this past weekend, I really just popped out...

Totally kidding! It's not real. We went maternity clothes shopping and the dressing room had a 7 month belly you could try on with your clothes. It was neat to feel that pregnant though!

A Rockin Women's Conference

Holy moly, time is flying. I seriously can't keep up right now. And it's obviously apparent through my lack of blogging as well. Sorry!!


Quick run-down of the weekend (even though it's Tuesday) is that my church put on an amazing Women's Conference and I was so refreshed by the Lord through it. The key-note speaker rocked my face off - I literally found my jaw wide open just listening to her in awe. I could've skipped lunch to keep listening to her and that's saying a lot from a preggo girl, ha ha. Her name is Christine Caine. She's on the leadership team at Hillsong Church in Australia but her and her husband also founded and lead the A21 Campaign which is helping abolish human/sex trafficking across the world. I HIGHLY encourage you to go listen to her if she is ever close to you or I'm sure you can find some stuff online. She will no doubt FIRE you up.


Here's a link to the campaign website: http://www.thea21campaign.org/
And here's a link to a video she showed us - it's short (4 min) so check it out - http://youtu.be/stxmmQqKL0E


Christine talked about the A21 Campaign but she talked about so much more too. She talked about being light in the dark places. You can't see light in light places. You don't notice it. She talked about how life is risky no matter what and to not be afraid to be light in the dark places. She said that somehow we've equated the blessed life with the safe life. I think in most circumstances she's right (in that we do equate it that way) but that's not truth. The Lord gave me such a peace through her words about where we are living right now. It's ok to step out of your cookie-cutter safe life and be light in potentially some dark or darker places. The Lord needs and wants us there. She also talked about what compassion really is. Compassion compels you - it causes you to GO, to do something. If you just watch a video or hear a story and your heart hurts for what is going on, that's just emotion. It's not compassion. Compassion is inconvenient. It interrupts your religious schedule. WOW, that hit me hard. God stirs our hearts for different things but the important thing is to make sure we are going into those dark places, wherever they are or whatever they look like. I don't think God is stirring me to do something with human trafficking right now but he is re-igniting my flame for Woodlawn. And if not there for the rest of my life, I just want to make sure I'm shining in some dark place. I can't not shine and I can't shine among light all the time. 


So yes, it was an amazing conference. I am so grateful for my church. And I thank the Lord for refreshing me and speaking to me this past weekend in such a vivid way. 


And speaking again of time flying by, we go back to the doctor this Thursday for my 15 week check-up! I'll definitely start posting some bump pics soon as I'm slowly starting to show so stay tuned...