BEWARE..... very long post ahead! 

Where have I been? It has seriously been forever.  There have been many times in the last 3 months that I have thought "Man I really need to blog" but honestly I haven't had the words.  To sum up my life from March until now would be impossible, but I can say this... The Lord has been at work and I am thankful.  There are times in each of our lives that the Lord has to take our normal, our plan, our best and mold us, make us and show us His best.  Although these times may not feel the best I am thankful that the Lord loves me enough to refine me into what He wants me to be.  These times also make me extremely glad for the times that seem to be normal, and focused, what some would describe as the "mountain top".  Enjoying these times make the times of pruning easier to handle knowing that it will pass, and that it is only for a season.  

Something I have really been focusing on has been my time with the Lord.  There are many days when I convince myself that I am too busy or have too much to do.  But I can say that I am really making it a priority, and it has been amazing to see the change in my life.  Jason and I have a new word that we are trying to live by- "intentional".  Being intentional about our time with the Lord, with our time in the word, our time with each other, in talking about what the Lord has been doing in our time with Him, and in continuing to date each other while we are married.  There are many more examples, but that is all I can think of right now.  Something that our pastor Matt Chandler shared with us last week made me realize how important being intentional with our time and setting priorities is, and really how much it can benefit us.  

Matt said, "Suppose you read about 250 words a minute and that you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious theological reading to deepen your grasp of biblical truth. In one year (365 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year, we get 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, 15 minutes a day, you could read about 20 average sized books a year!"

 I hope this encourages you too!  

 Although many people do not see the need or importance in blogging, but I originally started blogging when Jason and I got engaged.  Having families many miles away from each other this was the one way that I could keep everyone in the loop.  Since then, I have been blogging to document our lives so that one day I can look back on the first years of our marriage and be thankful for the road that we have traveled.  Regardless if anyone reads, or anyone gets anything out of it I will be thankful to have it! With this being said I am going to be more intentional about blogging and documenting our lives.  I am especially grateful for those around us that continue to encourage us and pray for us.  You will never know how much you mean to us! 

I promise to have fun and picture filled blogs ahead.  I mean we can only have so many serious blogs right?! Happy summer from the blazing hot state of Texas! 

More on our journey next time,