To love Him more...

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes; so you can see." Revelation 3:15-18

"Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a 'Christian' without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd... God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love." Crazy Love

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast, it is not proud or rude. It does not insist on it own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all thing, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends... faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:4-8,13

In the book, Crazy Love, Francis Chan ask to insert your name for the word Love in this passage. As I started to do this little exercise I felt like a liar. Is this really true?? Ashley is patient... yeah right?!? Ashley is kind... not always.

I am very aware of God's grace and mercy in my life, but I have also been made aware lately that I have been making Christ part of my life, rather than my WHOLE life!

Reading Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, has really started to rock my world! What am I living for? Where do I place my energies? "But we need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes toward, and where will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him. How could we think even for a second that something on this puny little earth compares to the Creator and Sustainer and Savior of it all?" Crazy Love

Oh that my life would be lived out of LOVE FOR GOD, rather than checklists, what other are doing, guilt, fear, obligation, etc. Why do I get up and read His Word in the morning... BECAUSE I LOVE HIM! Why do I reach out to my neighbor? BECAUSE I LOVE HIM! Why do I strive to honor and love my husband and son? BECAUSE I LOVE HIM! I am realizing more and more that all that matters in this life is if I have loved God and His people. What could be more rewarding....

More love to Thee, O Lord,
More love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make
On bended knee;
This is my earnest plea:
More love, O Lord, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved,
Sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek,
Give what is best;
This all my prayer shall be:
More love, O Lord, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love, O Lord, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath
Whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry
My heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be:
More love, O Lord, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/368#ixzz1BVohOXCo

lost

May these words from 1 Chronicles 16:23-27 ring in your heart as you watch.

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

LOST (click here)

Into the New Year we gOOO...

With a little snow...

into the New Year we go!

So far our days having been filled with spending time as family, nights hanging out with Ray's family, watching Barrett investigate everything around him.. and then put it into his mouth, working long days as a mommy & daddy... and a nurse & a salesman, learning new healthy recipes, hanging with friends, enjoying out home, and just taking it one day at a time!

"I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it."
— Elisabeth Elliot (Through Gates of Splendor)

December Days

The Last few days of December have been full of friends, family, and lots of fun! Here's a few pics of what we have been up to...

My besties came! It was AMAZING!

We are going to try to start a tradition for a once a year reunion!

I cannot tell you how good it was to catch up with my best friends...

I am so thankful for how honest, encouraging, loyal, and godly these girls are...

So so thankful that even in the distance, our hearts have remained close~

Christmas Eve Service at SGC...

dressed all adorable in his Christmas pj's

and a new hand-made hat from Mrs. Mimi!

All tucked in bed Christmas eve...

See you in the morning sleepy boy!

Ray has continued the tradition that my family had of

reading the Christmas story before we open presents.

It was cute to read it to Barrett... he even helped his daddy hold the Bible!

After our Christmas we headed over to Barrett's GiGi

for Christmas with them! Barrett was taking it all in!!

Uncle Caleb was sweet to help Barrett open his gifts!

Caleb got Barrett a new little football!

Us on Christmas!

Barrett playing with one of the two gifts he got from mommy & daddy!

He loves things that make noise!!

And then we got a HUGE snow the day after Christmas!!

It was beautiful!

And a quick, but wonderful visit from my family!

Aunt Betsy just couldn't get enough of her nephew!! :)

We have also done alot of...

Cuddling with mommy!

Eating his first pancake! LOVED it!

Waiting for daddy to come home from work...

It is adorable to see the big grin that Barrett gets as his dad walks up he

driveway!

Staying in our Pj's all day! :)

And driving his new car around the living room!!

December 2010 proved to be an amazing month! We packed it full of memories and fun thats for sure! I must say that this was probably my favorite Christmas yet! It was so special to be a family this year!! Even though Barrett didn't understand much, my heart was so so happy to have him here with us! The love in our hearts for our son seems to grow with each day...

In all the trials and hard times, we are blessed and our lives are truly full because of all that we have in Christ! He is our life... and I pray that we know that even more through 2011!

Taking a deep breath....

And jumping head first into 2011~

As good as it has been... I know that it can only get better...

With hearts full of faith and excitement for what the Lord has in store for us this year...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bestie ReUniOn 2010!! :)

So excited that my 3 best friends from college are on their way to my little house right now!! I am SO excited! For 2 days we are going to pretend to be college girls again!!! (with a few breaks for nursing my son, changing him, and of coarse lovin' on him!!) I cannot imagine my life without these 3 amazing girls! Can't wait to pack this weekend full of sweet memories!!! Whoohooo!!

My room-mate for 4 years, Sarah!

(and thats sayin alot)

My dear friend Julia, better known as Hules!

And my fellow nursing friend, Kristi!

We shared many memories right from the start of

freshman year... Sarah, Julia, & I lived on the same

hall together! It was totally the Lord that brought us together!

We had some VERY silly times freshman year!

And then, sophomore year came our little Kristi!

Love you girls! Can't wait for you to get here!!!!

Soaking up the Sweetness...

Sitting here with my latest yummy night time snack... peppermint icecream (Edy's brand is the best!)... working out schedules, packing the diaper bag for Barrett's day with Sharay tomorrow, organizing, preparing, and intermittently running up the stairs to put Barrett's pacifier back in his mouth since he keeps popping it out! Life is sweet tonight... and I am gonna soak it up...

I had a sweet lady, that normally cleans Sharay's house, come to help clean and organize my house yesterday! It was amazing to finally see the finished product last night. There is still much to do, but we definitely got a jump start. I was telling Ray last week that I just felt like I could never get ahead. The feeling of always trying to catch up has become overwhelming lately. Balancing baby, hubby, work, house, bills, family, friends, dinner, laundry... yikes!! So, Ray called the "cleaning lady" and I am feeling much better about life! :) I finally feel like I can actually sit and address my Christmas cards, play on the floor with Barrett, or just sit and talk to Ray after dinner without the dirty house calling my name!

I can not believe that Christmas is just 2 weeks away! All the anticipation seems to have just flown by this year in all the busyness! I have had so many moments just sitting and thinking about where I was this time last year. Sometimes I wonder if I have even grown at all... and then I remember... I remember where I was this time last year and my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord.

I was filling out my new 2011 calendar... which happens to be one of my all time favorite things to do!! Filling out the next years calendar brings a feeling of a fresh start. I was putting the important dates to remember in the calendar when I came up to May 29... wow... that will be my son's first birthday. How quickly time has passed... I thought I would be pregnant forever, and now Barrett is 6 1/2 months old! Again... Gratefulness!

So... here's to another week... full of new trials, fresh laughs, and of coarse more memories awaiting us!!!

"Just as an artist who paints pictures and portraits exercises great care in his work, so each of you, mothers and fathers, must be attentive to these wonderful images [your children]. Each day, a painter adds what is necessary to the picture. Sculptors do the same, removing excess stone and adding what is lacking. You should do the same: as makers of images, devote all your time to the task of fashioning wonderful images for God. Remove the excess; add what is lacking. Each day, examine the images closely. Cultivate the natural excellence that each one has, removing what is by nature inferior....teach them to be sober, vigilant, watchful in prayer, and to place everything that is said and done under the sign of the cross."

--John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), On Vainglory and the Education of Children, 22:

enjoying the season

So... Its been a while :)

We had a wonderful time with my family for Thanksgiving!

Barrett's latest tricks...

Scooting on his back where ever he would like to go! :)

And... sitting up all by himself!

Finally got the Christmas tree and decorations up!

I hate that the month of December always seems to just fly by! But we are totally soaking up every moment! I mean, hey, its Barrett's first Christmas! He has no clue what's going on.. haha! But we're making memories and loving being together as a family!!!

Enjoy the Season!