If "The View" Can Do It, So Can I!

As I flipped through the channels this morning, I came across the show "The View." Seriously, why would anyone willingly watch this show? All these women are all talking/shouting at one another voicing their "view." I couldn't even decide what they were debating! So annoying. So, I have decided that if these women can voice their views, so can I!

Okay, so is anyone else annoyed that Obama was on TV discussing his March Madness Bracket? In my own opinion, his butt should be in his office spending his time as president doing something that serves our country better than a little bracketology. He was also on Jay Leno. Seriously? Is that the best way to reach the American public these days? Was going on Jay Leno so that the American people could see him as just another average-American? I don't know about you, but I don't want to see our president as just some average-American! I want to see our president as our Commander In Chief. I want the presidency to be a higher calling. I want our president to take his job, our economic issues, and a every other detail of our country seriously. And not with Jay Leno. Seriously. Obama you are not an average Joe. You are the president of the United States of America. Act like it.

As a side note and reminder, we can not put our faith in people. Our faith belongs to God. He is the only one who will keep his promises. Period.

Have a great week!

Wow...

This is what Luke ate for dinner tonight...

12 pizza rolls

1 whole apple

1whole peeled carrot

1 chicken and cheese burrito

~8 oz. of milk

...and he said he was still hungry. Eating me out of house and home. Seriously.

I Might Be A Morning Person

Anyone who really knows me is going to be shocked by the title of this post because I LOVE sleep. I will tell anyone that asks me that I think I am still sleep deprived from when Luke was born...and I am only half joking. He didn't sleep at all (just screamed his tiny little head off) for 4 straight months. I probably averaged anywhere from 2-4 nonconsecutive hours of sleep in a 24 hour period for those 4 months. I will cut him some slack though...he was a preemie with some health issues so it wasn't his true disposition...anyone who knows him can attest to this. Anyway, I digress...

For about the past month I have been faithfully getting up at 6:45 to read my Bible, pray, and have coffee in peace. Can I just say that it has been amazingly fruitful and has restored my soul in so many ways. I wanted to blog about this for a while, but I feel like God is just now releasing me to be public about our morning date because there is a back story to it.

In hoping to be transparent but not overly blunt, I will briefly tell you about the back story. About 2 years ago, I was a Preschool Ministry Director for a church. It was the hardest job in the world. The church that I served decided to let me go as an employee, and I was devastated. I felt like a close family member died when this happened, and I felt betrayed by the pastor at the church where I served for a number of reasons. We ultimately left the church and now go to Fellowship of Frisco.

Over the past 2 years I have been seriously struggling spiritually. I struggled in my daily walk, with trusting church authority, and with trusting God. Most of all, I have struggled with forgiving the leadership of the church that I previously served. I have literally walked the last 2 years with bitterness, hurt, and unforgiveness in my heart. For 2 years I thought I was okay, but I am not. God pushed all of my struggles to the surface about 6 weeks ago and forced me to start the forgiving process. It's been hard because I tend to hold onto things, but God has shown me that hanging on to the things of the past just keep me prisoner to the very things that I have left behind.

Each morning I wake up, turn the coffee on, and open my Bible. I read for about an hour every morning and then spend time in prayer. Through the last month God has done miraculous things in my heart. I have been able to forgive what has been holding me captive for the past two years and find God in a more personal way than ever. So, I think I might be a morning person because my date with God is BY FAR my favorite part of the day. I literally wake up and can't wait to get out of bed. When I pray, I feel like God is literally sitting next to me instead of feeling like my prayers hit the ceiling of my house and bouncing back down to me. My life is so much richer and sweeter than it was 6 weeks ago. Praise God for sanctification! Praise God for being faithful to his word. Praise God for loving me enough to push me through this painful process that I am still going through. Praise God for getting my lazy bum out of bed every morning to be in his presence.

I would urge you (if you're still reading this gargantuan post) to allow God to push all your junk to the surface to be dealt with. He will walk with you through every second of it. He will not leave you, and he will make all things right. He is the only one who can make everything right. I pray that if you have things hidden in your heart that God would make them known to you so that you can deal with your junk and experience him and see him more clearly. It's worth every second of sleep I am missing, and I used to really love sleep. I can promise you that.

Holy Cow People...I Tried On A Bathing Suit!

I was in Target today, and I decided to try on a bathing suit. BIG. MISTAKE. It started out harmless enough. I need a new bathing suit for a weekend that I am spending with all my best girlfriends in April. Target has a ton of cute suits. Mine from last year is WAY too big because I was 3 months postpartum when I bought last year's suit. So, needless to say, I need a new suit.

First of all can I just say that dressing room light could be the least flattering in the entire universe. I turned around in the dressing room and just about passed out. Any good friend would have told me to go directly to the plastic surgeon and spare no expense on a total body remodel. I was absolutely horrified.

I may never wear another suit again. Ever. Unless they make turtle neck bathing suits that have knee length skirts attached to them.

The Dallas Arboretum

The kids and I went to the Dallas Arboretum today. I took some pictures and here are a few that I got. A couple of our friends met us up there, and we all had a great time.

Some of these pictures are fully edited and others are still works in process, so don't judge! ;-)

How Great Is Our God?

In the past few months I have not been the most faithful of bloggers. As a matter of fact, I haven't been that faithful of an anything. It's pretty indicative of my insane apathy for the God who created everything and everyone and has delivered me from the evil person I am and the world we live in. Can I just say one thing? That. Is. Really. Really. Sad.

I've been a Believer a long time. I can barely remember not knowing Jesus, and the sad part is that I KNOW Jesus and still get swept up in my life, my worries, my kids, my husband, my blah blah blah. Get the point? I have been so focused on MY world that I have forgotten who this world (and my life) actually belongs to. Trading the Creator for the created. Isn't that pretty much man's recurring sin? I'm pretty sure you spell that I-D-O-L. I, long time Believer and lover of Jesus Christ, am guilty of idolatry. God forgive me. Please.

It's easy to get caught up in the day to day things of life and forget about the God who saved us from it. I say these things and confess my idolatry because I think we need to be reminded, as I remind my kids, that this life is not about us. It's about God. It's about being obedient and experiencing the joy and freedom that comes only from knowing and experiencing God. Chasing the things of this world never got anyone very far when it comes to eternity.

My only hope is that God is going to finish this work that he started in me. I know He has his work cut out for him, and He is the only one who can finish this task. I pray that I will be sanctified and bring Him glory. He is the only one who deserves it. May I be reminded of that daily.

Phillipians 1:6 (NASB):
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. "

Turkey Bacon Is NOT Suitable for Human Consumption.

Tyron and I have really been trying to eat healthier. We're not 20 anymore, ya know. Tyron and I have a tradition where one night a week I fix breakfast for the two of us after we put the kids to bed. I usually make biscuits, bacon, sometimes gravy, and eggs.

I tried to make our dinner-breakfast healthier by substituting turkey bacon for the real stuff. I actually really like turkey products like sausage, lunch meat, etc, but I can not even begin to tell you how disgusted I was from the get go with the turkey bacon. Words truly can't express my disgust with this so-called "bacon." My sense of smell was so offended that I just about tossed my cookies right then and there, but in the name of health I forged on.

I cooked 6 slices of turkey bacon, and I gagged the entire time it was cooking. It totally reminded me of being pregnant, which I'm not by the way. Unless God has so MAJOR plans, procreation is permanantly no longer an option for the Lee Family. I digress...

This thought actually crossed my mind: "Maybe it's just the smell...maybe it actually tastes good." Man, was I ever wrong! I took one bite of the turkey bacon and just about walked away from the dinner table for the night. The stuff actually tasted worse than it smelled! Blah! My entire dinner experience was tainted from that one little taste.

I am back on the real bacon wagon. Never again will I try tukey bacon. I just can't do it. So, I apologize to my future clogged arteries and bid my turkey bacon experience good-bye. Hello pork! I'm sure you've never tasted so good!

Pictures of Hannah at the Party

Here are a few highlights from the party. We had a great time! Thanks to everyone who came. I will post more party pictures later!