my favorite day

our weekly mommy/barrett day is becoming my favorite day!

we visited the dallas arboretum.

the amazing pumpkin village was a perfect start to fall!

i LOVE this

mommy, go get those balls... swim... get them! haha

"to the moon, best friends, forever"
and then B usually adds an "Amen!" :)

yes, he asked the man for a football...

this face... SMOOCH!

helping mommy cook and clean!
learning to be a servant!!

we get free bananas every week... and banana bread has become one of our favorite lately!
ray said it was a 10... that NEVER happens!! :)

fall = chili

the leaves aren't changing here,

and the temperature is still at 95,

but we are loving life in dallas...

meeting new friends,

trying new things,

experiencing God is new and amazing ways!

i will cherish these memories forever...

Treasures in Texas

So I changed the name of my blog...
It is now OUR blog, about our life, as a family, here in Texas.
We want to remember and document the things that God teaches us here at CFNI.

"Passion should drive you, but wisdom should hold the reigns."

We believe that God has brought us to this place in Texas for a time of hiding... a time of saturation... a season of preparation... a time of God marking us for what is to come. There are treasures hidden here for us, but we must seek HIS HEART with all our hearts. Surrender. Lay aside the sins that so easily entangle. Remove distractions. Get on our faces.

God has been asking us... Are you seeking my presence? Are you addicted to Me? Obsessed with Me? Do you know My heart? Do you love My presence? I know it sounds weird... but when we taste and see that the Lord is good, we will NEVER turn back! The things that break His heart, will not only break our hearts, but will move us to intercede, to fight.

"The only thing worse than being blind, is being blind without vision."

helen keller

So lately, I have been asking God for His heart for me... His vision for our family. None of us can change the whole world and all the horrible things that happen daily... no child should die of cancer, no little girl should be sold as a sex slave, no unborn child should be murdered, no woman should be raped, no children should be without a father... this world is far from Christ... but Christ is not far from this world. What is the cause of Christ that grips your heart most? What causes you to lay in bed at night and weep? These causes deserve our heart, because they break the Fathers. We cannot change all of these things, but we can make a difference in the lives of the broken... even if its just one! We have the HOPE that the world needs... How can we as Christian be silent any longer? How can we shrug off the questions?

Oh God, Help us not to turn a blind eye to the hurting. Help us to stay flexible and pliable to the work of your Holy Spirit in our lives! Help us to learn to listen and to wait! Pry open our eyes to the hurting ones... not for our glory... not so that we think we are doing good... but because you see and you heal! You LONG to deliver, to save, to heal, to restore...

What is the cause that you will refuse to shrug off any longer? What is the passion of your heart? What are the dreams that your Father placed in your heart long ago? Maybe you don't know exactly what it is right now... I am still asking the Father for His heart for me... BUT don't stop asking, don't stop seeking; linger in His presence just a few moments longer...

What moves you with compassion?

turning up the heat

Well its H-O-T here today in Dallas, Texas... and we are without AC!  We noticed on Friday evening that our house was feeling a bit warmer than usual, then we started to sweat... then we realized no AC.  After notifying the after hours maintenance here on campus, we were informed that there is no one on call this weekend to fix the AC... they will be back on Tuesday.  Tuesday?!?!  That is almost 5 days of, what we feel, is excruciating heat.  We were able to sleep in another empty apartment last night... which felt AMAZING!  But sadly, we have pretty much been complaining on and off for the past 3 days... "its too hot! 5 days?!? this is just not right!  we have a toddler!  we have to keep walking back and forth to get our stuff from one apartment to the next!!"  Oh, just typing all this complaining makes my heart sad.  But God is always faithful to direct His children back to His Word...

As I was doing dishes in our burning hot house, sweat dripping off of me, I heard the Lord's kind, gentle voice say (not audibly, but in my heart), "Are you content in all circumstances?  Have you learned to love me, to love your family, to love others, even when you feel uncomfortable?"  I shared this with Ray... we both felt conviction in our hearts.  We refocused our eyes and saw that this trial, and yes this is a trial in our lives, is testing our faith in our Father.  We know that these things that we are going through right now are only working in out lives to prepare us for whatever the Lord calls us to in the future.

We are now feeling nice and cool, sitting in our friends apartment.  We are learning what it means to be content in ALL circumstances... Our faithful Father is turning up the HEAT just a little to remind us where our hope and trust lie.

this is not todays actual weather, but it is what we have been seeing the past few days... whew!