93.

small talk with P.
in purity and holiness
I can have a healthy conversation
and be encouraged and uplifted,
challenged, really.
rather than drowning in weakness,
clinging, longing
for something that is not my own.
thankful that God is gracious
and He is full of second chances
and shows me what a healthy
affection can look like
and He trusts me that I am capable of having them
as He holds me in His hand.

92

a great day with e.
the sweet gentleness and innocent delight
that children find
in everything.

91.

the neighbors next door.
how cherished they are
and how blessed our family is
by theirs.
shared meals,
little boy squeezes
from the roofer, the shepherd, the preacher.
Delicious chicken marsala
served by the wife, the missionary,
the finnish woman who ran away from home.
thankful for the wisdom of the aged
what a rich marriage looks like
soft spoken words
encouragement
the Lord truly blessed us with these mentors.
these friends, these dear ones.

90.

sometimes its good for me
to be reminded that old friends
don't mean outdated friends.
Old friends mean
shared history, shared memories,
loyalty constant,
the depth gap grows
and I am thankful
for N's living room floor
and popcorn cooked in coconut oil
and quinoa in a tea cup
and easy talk, both deep
and light
and I am reminded
to not skim over them so quickly
but to stop and appreciate
that group of women that I only
see on wednesday evenings.

89.

I unscrewed the hinges off the closet door,
and heaved it all by myself;
moved both mattresses to the other side of the room.
Vacuuming, rearranging,
putting together the puzzle
that is our bedroom
and enjoying every minute of it.
i welcome change every once in awhile,
I love how the change opened up my room
to a whole lot of more light
and it has been emptied 
of all debris, piles of dust and useless knicknacks.
thankful that this tangible picture
is showing me how Jesus cleans out 
my heart.

88

girl time in the kitchen
late at night
with ice cream, peanut butter, and waffles
and little ones strewn about the house in various sleep positions.
and the truth, spoken in love.

87.

for the intercessory prayer of friends.
the warriors that seek His face on my behalf
and they are heard.
and answered immediately.

86.

it's raining outside,
dark, and overcast,
but inside my home 
Sonshine dwells.
He has renewed my spirit,
polished my armor for me
and I am ready.
I am thankful that He moves in
this lowly soul
and I am back in his arms
that i somewhow crawled out of.
I am thankful for the healthy smoothie
i made this morning
and how that made me want to clean too.
so funny how good choices point
to more good choices.
A cloud of dark and evil has been lifted off me
and I am praising Jesus
for His mercy and His convicting spirit.
I love Him so much.

85

hills.
such potential for curiousity
photography
activity.
i love running downhill.

84

overcast.
cool.
breezy.

83

purple irises
all over campus
now also in my home
[don't tell.]

82.

that God still moves
in even the lowliest of times.
my body is falling apart it seems
and Jesus has drawn me back to himself.
I was not seeking him like i should
and he uses physical pain
to refocus my life and mind to
pursue Him.
I need Him
and that's where I always want to be.

81.

the prayers and super absorbent heart my son has.

his prayers all his own, heartfelt, sincere.

his memory and mind, I am thankful

we are beginning to see more fruit.

80

crossroads college group. family. a place to study the Bible and be challenged to read it. worship. equipping. teaching. singing. prayer. meals. coffee. hot chocolate. real. welcome. fridays. discipleship. safe place. joy. rest. home. so thankful.

79

a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks.

78

i should have posted this days ago. the ability to move, to run. completing my first ever 10k. all the training that went into preparing for the race. seeing God heal my hurt foot the week of the race when i really didn't think i'd be able to run. running on race day with no pain. setting goals and following through with them despite obstacles. quality time with God while running. the peace and quietness for my soul in those early morning hours.

77

the things kids say..."see my baby? her name's ella...all my babies are named ella."

76

snuggly little girl who
aftet sleeping in the car
couldn't quite wake up without an hour of quality time.

75

rod.
gifted teacher
but even more (in my opinion): encourager.
speaks truth with grace and genuine love.
a conduit of empowerment directly from the Father.
thank you, Father, for the men of blessing in this community.

74

overstimulation.
unprompted giggles and smiles.
exaggeration. today it was "my dad weighs 5000 pounds. or just a lot of pounds." in reference to his ability to use the pool rafts.

the innocence of children.

73

quiet. and all is right with the world.

72

i love instagram world ten times better than facebook. clean. simple.

71.

71.
worship music blasting while I hold the paintbrush between my two fingers and mix colors and create. something God has created me to do.

70.

late last night Nathan and I 
broke out 
our instruments,
a Taylor guitar, and a humble ukulele.
We spread out the sheet music
and just started playing.
We were surprised
by the easy worship
and that Jesus joined us on the bed
in singing.
His soft, gentle, voice,
floated in and out of ours
and unspeakable joy filled my heart.
No discord. 
No thought of self.
no competing and comparing.
Just beautiful worship 
to a King who was and is worthy.
We were encouraged 
to see He could use even
the lowly
to uplift His name.

69.

the peace he gave me when i
took the test and failed.
I was hopeful
and took the test
2 times before
without thinking to seek Him first.
this time,
 I stopped to acknowledge
the Father, the Author and Giver of Life
and placed my trust and hope
in His hands.
I still failed the test,
but He was with me
and I was relieved to have Him near.
I trust His timing
more
than
ever.

68

that constant white noise of flowing water that drifts in through the living room window
with a crisp accompanyment of a  fresh breeze

67

authors.
writers.
with such natural effort
able to take me by the hand,
walk alongside me
through questions, disappointment,
confident all the way that there really is a light at the end if the tunnel.

66

1 Samuel 12:22 NIV

For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.

65

the full depth of honesty and vulnerability
and a God who can handle it.

64

elise's prayer for me tonight

63

shane and shane.

a song from the brand new album, bring your nothing:
though you slay me

62

day 7.
rest.
contemplation.
self-examination.
and the necessary end result: humility.

61

order.
not chaos.
that our God is organized,
and that we are designed in His likeness.

60

wise voices who have gone before us.
encouragement, inspiration.

59

dependence.

fifty eight

58. a new desire for plants. it is so excited to watch things grow as I turn the soil and plan the seeds and watch green things begin to sprout.

fifty-seven

the grand river. the stillness of the water this morning. the pear trees and cherry trees in full bloom in the park along the river. an impromptu staff meeting across the river in the park. a walk across the sixth street bridge together. taking time to notice God's creation right here at work.

56

the hard days.
when we receive our best training
for lives of godliness,
when our emotions don't determine what we're living for.

55

pinery park.
the community,
the families that walk the loop night after night.
the opportunity to learn so much about healthy families,
sweet kids, attentive parents.

54

the smell of fresh cut grass.

53.

getting back up on the bandwagon.
working out.
choose water over juice or pop.
take vitamins.
small choices,
but effect my day more positively
and i am thankful
He has given me the strength to do so.
prayer and devotions next:)

52.

tiny v neck tees on my
3 year old son,
in the brightest of colors.

51.

His assurance
His affirmation.
His faithfulness.
His quiet understanding.
The way He draws my eyes back to
Himself.

fifty

planting flowers in the yard with my 4 year old. having conversations about worms. she says that worms are her favorite animal, except when they poop on her.

49

chelsea & max.
best friends
with crazy dreams.
illustrating God's promise that He knows what He is doing
because He knows what we need.

48

what parents can pass on to their children.
my mom's certainty that God is only always good.
she's stood firmly on this
and it is a part of the reason that i trust Him
with every day.

47

Carole.
beautiful servant-hearted woman of God.
lunch next thursday will be a delight to my soul.

46

connection.
the ability to meet someone once and share freely the things that God is doing.

45.

precious friendships.
such a gift
and I am not entitled to them.
when i allow love freely
and just the same apply it,
there is such freedom and rest
in the love given.
I am so thankful for the friends that remain
faithful, the ones that are loyal
amidst change
and the ones that comfort
in weakness.
Praise God for this reflection of His love
in these humble, yet full friendships.
you know who you are.
I am so thankful.

44

this corner.
these past 8 months have seen
many heart-to-hearts,
late nights, sleepovers, laughs,
stories, tears, prayers.
God Himself sat here,
present with us,
sharing in our weaknesses,
proving to be, Himself, our strength.
i'll miss this safe haven.
a & n, enjoy.

43

favor.
that God would place His favor on us, ordinary children who make constant errors in our journey to become more like Him.
He proves Himself powerful enough to satisfy our deepest longings,
our forever, constant, truth-speaking, peace-giving Father, companion, friend.

i invite you to head to the photographer's blog, [he also happens to be my soul mate]
where he captured our trip to California well.
I know you heard my side, with all the joyful gifts given,
I thought you might like to see the trip through his eyes,
and glimpse the words in memorable images..

http://nathanpenglish.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/california-kids-family-vacation-desitnation/

42

kristian,
my sister-in-law,
my brother's absolute best friend in the whole world.
carrying my niece for 8 more weeks...or maybe nephew...

41

in bed with a good book.
at 10pm.

40

jana's blog comments.
always encouraging.
always coming.
i have so much more to learn from her...

39

bright colors,
bold tastes,
no additives or preservatives. 
freshness in my refrigerator.

38

this warm, breezy, partly cloudy afternoon,
birds communicating their needs and plans,
a bit of rain on its way,
with so much quietness.
peace.
contentment.

37

a 10-month-old,
content on a ride in the stroller, then
paralyzed with happiness to see mom's and dad's faces as they get home after work.
a tiny picture, perhaps, of what awaits around every corner of heaven.

36.

such a gift is found

when someone you respect and honor

among men

takes the time to 

affirm you

in even the smallest way.

words can be worth the weight of 

gold

sometimes.

35

the bible app.
i used to be able to get up and pull my bible off the stack first thing each morning.
but people change.
i still long to start each day with God`s word but picking up my physical bible poses some new sort of challenge.
so the bible app is a gift.
it reads to me
each morning.

34

crazy kids playing and yelling outside my bedroom window at 8am.
awake since 650 it was high time that I snap to it and begin my day.
they teach us such a simple and innocent delight.

33

dr. sam.
words of blessing from a man whose wisdom i value so greatly.