Turkey, toppings, and Thanksgiving

1) thankful for my wonderful and amazing husband

2) thankful for a God who loves me, and loves me enough to care for my babies (for me) who left this life far too early.

3) thankful for my family 

4) thankful for my friends (let's be honest, they're really more like my family)

5) thankful and quite blessed to live a life rich in favor from God, a beautiful home, a feast on the table, a warm bed, and far too many accessories to count. 

My husband. Words cannot even begin the debt I owe to him. There are no words to use that are even close to describing my gratitude for this man. Through the feast and the famine, through sorrow and through joy, he has been a solid rock. A wonderful example of a leader and a strong man capable of caring for my heart and tending to my soul. I am, and always will be, thankful for him. God has surely gifted him and blessed him. I am so proud to know him, let alone getting the honor of being his wife! I am so thankful to have your presence in my life. Thank you for being like Jesus, and being a rock! I love you CB.

Although I am compelled to be more outwardly thankful today, it's important as a follower of Jesus that I operate in thankfulness each moment of my life. Thankfulness is what free's me. Thankfulness is what establishes and grows roots in my relationship with The Almighty who made me. 

The most important reason why I am thankful is because I am a sinner set free by the blood of Jesus shed purposefully for me. If I couldn't find any other reason, especially in those difficult seasons, this right here is reason enough to be thankful in any circumstance! To have the opportunity to live a life where I can be certain to spend eternity with my Creator is more than enough for me. His grace, mercy, and kindness have been poured out on me and my husband all because he loves us, not because we deserved it. We simply do not deserve an ounce of it. 

Enjoy the feast, remember why you're thankful, live it out EVER SINGLE DAY. 

You, my friends, are loved dearly.

Xox

Morgan

Monday Memories!

Although I am not typically a Monday fan, this Monday, I kinda like it.  It's a three day work week, then a feast on thursday, and possibly a day off on Friday. This monday feels especially kind. 

I have always dreamt of the days when I would be a wife and eagerly await those "firsts". And, although some of my 'firsts' didn't happen the way I expected, some of the 'firsts' we are experiencing are breath taking. Here are just a few of the 'firsts' that I am extremely thankful for:

-First kiss as husband and wife.  

- First load of laundry with his and hers all smooshed together.

- First disagreement on where to place canned goods in the home.

- First babies, and first losses. 

My favorites so far:

- The purchase of a first christmas tree and few decorations that might soon come to be a tradition.

- First time shutting off all the lights and sitting in complete contentment gazing at a tree that resembles what our little family is/was/or will be like. 

- This cutie (below) is the first to leave tiny little handprints and kissy faces on our window. 

I could go on and on with the firsts we have had, and all the firsts that are to come. However, I am even more grateful that the firsts will never fade. That as we grow and walk in the direction the Lord leads us, it will all be firsts. It will be fun, and exciting, and at times I am certain it will be scary. 

Psalm 62: 8

Trust in Him at all times, O people; 

pour out your heart before him; 

God is a refuge for us.

The more I process and press into my relationship with Jesus the more aware I become of the honor it is to have the opportunity to trust in Him. I am also made more aware of what a blessing it is that He is allowing me the excitement to eagerly look forward to many "firsts". With out Him, I am not sure any of this stuff would be as great as it is. With out Him, I am certain that I would have nothing to look forward to as well. Only He is the one who breathes life into my dreams and desires. Without it, they are nothing.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things THROUGH Christ 

who strengthens me. 

If I am not in Christ, I have no strength. This is been made very clear to me lately as I have been refined by fire. If I have no strength, I cannot do the things that were planned for me well before I was even born. Without Him, my plans, my ambitions, my hopes and dreams are dead. They may be well thought and precisely planned, but I cannot accomplish a thing without the life breathing, dream fulfiller Father that I so desperately need. Because I have Him in me, and have hope that His plans for me are good, I can look forward to all these things. I know that because I am in Him, that my dreams won't return as void. I know that because I am in Him, He will give me the joy and the hope to eagerly anticipate the things to come to be, and the things that come to pass.

I am so thankful to have Him in me, and so thankful I am able to hide myself in Him. I am so thankful that I am His and belong to Him alone.

Thankful

1. Pleased and relieved.

2. Expressing gratitude and relief.

I find it rather amusing that the word Relieved is used in the definition of thankful. But, to me it makes perfect sense. I am so relieved that I do not have to carry the burdens of this world, and that I have a savior who loves me soo much He chose to carry it for me. I am relieved that He is in control and sovereign. Living a life of thankfulness, gratitude and relievement is a beautiful expression of worship. An act of worship that I plan to invest in. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 100

Shout for Joy to the Lord, all the earth. 

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 

Know that the Lord is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His.

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and 

His courts with praise; 

give thanks to Him and praise His name. 

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, 

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Amen

xox- 

Morgan

Catching Up

Well, this blog has proven to me, once again, to have it's difficulties. Not only have I ditched my scheduled times and days for blogging (certainly not on purpose), my Blogger App has successfully erased all my drafts of projects I was working on. I am very thankful all but one was recovered when on an actual computer.

I feel as though I have much to say, so forgive me for a lengthy post.

The past few weeks have been of great adventure, memories, lessons and cleansing, in a sense. 

About 3 weeks ago I ditched caffeine, waved good bye to wine and said farewell to sugar. The next item I am going to bid farewell is... Salt. I love me some salt. Chips, crackers, treats. I am a firm believer of "everything in moderation", however, this girl knows no moderation when it comes to Sea Salt and Vinegar Kettle Chips, or salty pretzels. I knew that once I cut out some of my favorite treats my salty-ness would kick in! Mmm, chips. Don't mind if I do....

So why you ask? Why am I so compelled to rid myself of these simple pleasures? Well, first of all, I am wanting to eat more and more healthy as times goes on. I only have this one body and I may as well find my happy and healthy medium now instead of one or two clogged arteries later. Also, after doing my little test run of caffeine, sugar, and wine, I feel amazing. I never really OVER indulged in those things (well maybe with Chocolate, on occasion), but I figured those were a safe start to my test run. I haven't regret it yet. My body is thanking me in more ways than one!  

My Hubby and I started juicing every morning as a nice replacement and refreshment! It is by far the best thing we have done, diet wise. Not only does it taste great, it has done wonders for me! Even if I sleep terribly, I feel refreshed after drinking this. I absolutely LOVE it. Another reason for all these diet changes is simply, fertility. I know there will be my cheat days, and junk food days. But, with the healthy diet we already ingest, I know that some subtle changes can dramatically effect your reproductive health. Now, I know that some of my personal contributing factors regarding fertility simply cannot change, but I know that if I am kind to my body, it will be kind to my potential babies. God's plan is already written, and those little ones will come or not come when He chooses and I want to do my part in creating a sustainable living space for a peanut to grow, hopefully someday! I have done quite a bit of research and I know that, for me personally, eliminating some of these items from the majority of my diet will benefit me greatly. Don't get me wrong though- I won't cut out the necessary sugars like fruit, or the natural salts in random items. These salty and sweets will be treats on rare and special occasions. We'll see how I cope come turkey day, or when I get the urge to bake my holiday snacks!

This month my Husband and I celebrated a date in time when he happened to ask me a question that changed my life, for the better, forever.

On November 17, 2012 my man asked if I would be his wife. 6.5 short months later we were wed! November 17th was a pivitol moment in my life. I always wanted to be a bride, but I didn't know the first thing about being a bride. I knew that I had a perfect example in my life of what that looked like. Jesus and My Lord.

Here's a glimpse of what my beautiful experience looked like:

" Lord let our eyes be fully open, our hearts yielding to you first.

 Remind us to die daily to ourselves so we may seek and serve you."

There were countless early mornings- and late night talks with God about prepping me to be a wife. I learned a lot of lessons. Most of which are not yet fully refined. My first big preparation was obedience. 

2 John 1:5-5

I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and He has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. 

I knew that I would need to have a firm foundation in obedience to The Lord before He could instill in me obedience in marriage. It was an amazing transformation.

This was all in a short few months after our engagement. As things progressed my Father walked me through seasons of refinement in repentance, purity, patience, faith, and communication.  I realized that these were all things that may never be perfected but, in light of marriage, they all were areas that needed fine tuning. Things that God felt I needed to visit before saying "I do". I am so thankful for each season I walked through. Now, I am so thankful to be walking through them all over again, but as a wife. 

I am so blessed to have a man like him in my life. I thank God every day for him. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life saying yes to this man. Thank you, Jesus!

"June 12, 2013 

I love being married. I am a wife. I have a husband.

God has richly blessed me. I am honored."

Now- as far as the last few weeks- I'm not sure I have many pictures to share..... But here goes: 

I'm 110% thankful for this sweet girl! She cheers me up on the darkest of days! Missing her like crazy!

A sweet sweet memory of a text from my man a few days post proposal. That surely made my day!

Our dinner date on Saturday took place in a booth or two away from the spot where he popped the question! That was a fun date. I'll never forget those sweet moments.

Church Family bowling night wouldn't be complete without a selfie with my favorite Peanut. LOVE this girl with all the fibers of my being! 

There you go gang! My life in a nut shell. Gods got some more work to do, I know for certain there's a post in making that's all about Him! 

Xox 

-Morgan

Accepting vs. Thankfulness

Whoa! Ok, ok, so it's been a little longer than I would have liked. I felt so "uninspired" or like I have writers block... Maybe I just wasn't sure exactly what The Lord wanted me to share. Or maybe a week of silence was what I needed for Him to truly work in me. 

Sunday proved to be an emotional type of day. Even before stepping out the door I was unable to control the faucets from my eyes. Feeling rather embarrassed and wanting to constantly dismiss and apologize for my tears, I slid in the front seat and my (amazingly patient) hubby drove us to church. Surprisingly I was able to gather up some control and socialize while waiting for worship to start. My favorite part, singing my guts out to the One who deserves it all! Then that oddly familiar feeling of a lump starts to form in my throat. Awesome.

So I fight the tears and then slowly try and embrace the internal struggle. Obviously The Lord wanted to soften my heart for a purpose today. I so desperately wanted to know what it was the He decided I needed today. Apparently I needed many walls to crumble for Him to be heard loud and clear.

"Morgan, you have accepted your circumstances; But, you aren't yet thankful for them. "

Ouch.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.

All right. Que the ugly tears! How do I thank God for these circumstances I'm not so thankful for?

Well, I do believe that my spiritual journey had taught me to continually surrender things that are out of my control. By no means have I perfected this act. However, I firmly believe for me, this choice of surrender brought me to the softness I needed to recieve this word and apply it to my life. I would have continued on believing full well I was doing the right thing and accepting my circumstances. But, acceptance wasn't enough for my personal journey. 

Lord forgive me for not being thankful for the opportunity to be thankful and thank you for giving me the choice to be thankful in ALL circumstances.

It was said well on Sunday by our Pastor: 

"Thankfulness keeps the spiritual heart pumping"

It was no wonder I found myself struggling to see Gods hand in this. It was no wonder I felt cut off for so long. I was so concerned enough about myself I wasn't allowing God to do what he does best. God is concerned about me enough that I need not worry about myself. 

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to choose thankfulness, joy, and Jesus. If I based everything off my emotions, I would surely crumble. My feelings are so unreliable. That is why I have a Savoir who paid it all to give me the freedom to choose, to choose Him in ALL circumstances. 

I find it fitting that in the month of November The Lord has brought thankfulness to my attention. Perhaps I've become too complacent. Perhaps, in my flesh, I've become too wrapped up in what needs to be done or what I want done, instead of what's already been finished. 

I'm not suggesting Sunday was the all powerful pivotal moment, but it surely brought something to my immediate attention that I need to work out with The Lord. Something that desperately needs ao much attention, and something, when I'm willing and open, He will mold me into thankfulness. He is certainly defining His sufficency more clearly for me and bringing me closer to Him. His graciousness for restoration in my life is an amazing journey and when allowed to be stripped of everything, His promises are even more clear! I just love the way He works. 

So- here is a short list of events that today, I certainly am thankful for!

These two. I can't begin to say how thankful I am for this little peanut, the momma, and the other little peanut growing in her! SO thankful.

Incredibly thankful for the opportunity to go to Disney on Ice with these girls! Incredibly thankful for each one of these girls, they melt my heart, like a lot.

Very thankful for the laughs and smiles this boy provides. And, that hair!!! Oh my gosh, how stinkin' cute!

And this little one.... She holds an extra special place in my heart. Words aren't enough to describe how thankful I am for her. 

I am one lucky auntie to have so many wonderful nieces and nephews and friends and family. Super thankful.

I hope to hear what YOU are thankful for!

Ahh, the weekend!

The weekend typically mean just one thing for me and my husband. Sweat pants and football. I may not be footballs #1 fan, but I do know that I love my sweat pants! I welcome Saturday with open arms!

This last week has been fairly busy, but full of moments I don't ever want to forget. Moments that include plenty of family time, moments at the church getting to know the youth and falling more in love with what Jesus does. Watching little ones count their candy in princess dresses and monster suits is by far my fav. 

These two just melt my heart! 

So do these two. What studs! 

This week also came with some Heart to Heart moments with Jesus. He is just so good to me. 

I just loved reading this mid morning while at work. What a beautiful reminder.

What preceded this page was a verse that stuck out to me and profoundly impacted me. I am certain it's one of those verses that I have heard and read a million times but that one particular day is when God happened to speak even more loudly through it. 

Philippians 4:19

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

As Thursday, Halloween, came and countless cuties in costume pranced their way around the neighborhood, my desire for a family significantly increased. As I became more and more determined, the next day, to make my plans and tell The Lord exactly how it was going to happen I was gently reminded of His promises. I was feeling so discouraged that perhaps my chances at a family were stripped from me. I was feeling like we were robbed of our opportunities for little dinosaur costumes. I was neglecting to remind myself of His great plans and how He is my supply in times of great need. He has planned His glorious riches for me and my husband long ago. And they are (sooo) Good. So, I spiritually trotted my way back to resting in Him. I am in awe and so thankful of His truth and grace that always nudges me back to surrender. My deepest desires are still there, and I am certain they are good and God given desires. Some days tend to be harder than others to relinquish my agenda or fight the feelings of discouragement, but I am constantly reminded of His perfect love. His perfect plan. Moving forward in a life I'm not sure I recognize is totally different than I expected, but far greater than I could ever imagine. I count myself as incredibly blessed right where I am, and I wait in anticipation as our story unfolds, because I know He cares for us.

What a beautiful week! What a FUN week! God is soo good! 

Oh....! The MOST exciting news is for one of our favs- Tan-man! Way to go, we are proud and so über excited for the next season God is bringing you to. Love the BOTH of you so much!

Xox

M