Struggle with patience...

This week I have been really struggling about trusting God's timing. Why is it so hard for us as "Christians" who proclaim to believe in a loving Savior who saved us by grace to trust that he will protect and deliver us from the trials we worry about? I do not know the answer to that question but I do know I honestly worry about so many different things more than I EVER should. 

Today I find myself worrying about things of the future. I am wanting to start Jacksonville's RN to BSN 3 semester online program in the fall and will have to take out a huge student loan to do that. My plan is to start (slowly) working on a Masters Degree after the program because I honestly like school and desire a Master's degree....but here lately I am struggling with even continuing because of the financial burden. I have taken all the classes I need the past two years by paying for it myself, but now the loans come in. I want God to tell me it is worth it and to do it. I have prayed over this topic for several months and feel like I have gotten zero answers. The program starts in less than 2 months, so I find myself wondering why God hasn't spoken to me. I want a loud audible answer. That's where I struggle with God's timing. It's as honest as that. 

My prayer today was going to be that I will go throughout this week with my burdens light, but guess what. I think what my prayer should be is for me to realize that my burdens are already lifted! They were lifted when he died for us all on the cross, but sometimes I get so clouded that I forget that. We are walking on this Earth not to die with a Master's Degree and a beautiful home, but to get to Heaven and see the others we have led to Christ. 

Spring is here.. let's catch up on winter pics!

Spring is here... finally! Kyle and I both have found ourselves so much more cheerful when springtime approaches. I have officially hung my ferns on my porch and planted a few petunia pots on the porch last week. Even thought our front porch isn't just the largest, I could swing and breathe in the fresh air all afternoon. 

This summer is going to bring a few changes to my life. First of all, my brother Andrew will be going to Indonesia for most of the summer on a mission trip. This will be different for me because I think I have always been within an hour distance from my brother for our whole lives. I know that mom, dad and I are proud of him and are anxious for him to experience a new culture and spread the love of Christ. I am also taking my last class and getting ready to (hopefully) start Jacksonville's online RN to BSN program online this fall. So many changes always warrant worry, so I am trying hard to let God take control of these constant worries flooding my mind. 

Here a few pictures from the last few months.... just now synced my Nikon to my Mac and I know these snow pictures of my precious fur babies are past season but were just too cute not to post! 

Thankful that both of my biological grandmothers are alive and healthy. They are such a hoot when they are together. 

Everyone, meet Sasha Maybelle Page. She is our one year old boxer baby girl who single handedly tries to tear apart our beautiful back yard and constantly is keeping us on our toes. But Kyle and I  I still love her! 

And I can't forget about my sweet Bruce! 

We went to the Huntsville Havoc Weenie Dog Race for the second year in a row, except this time we brought Katie and Lucas and their sweet weenies, Baylor and Ally. Needless to say, this event is so much fun. :)

Maybe my next blog post will actually have pictures from the same season that I am posting. Happy Spring!

Love God!

Just wanted to write a quick little post to proclaim how awesome my Lord and Savior is. I suppose this can be like someone testifying in church, just on a blog. God has been so good to me and I would be crazy not to let everyone know how good and faithful he is tonight. Nothing specific has happened to provoke this post, but while reading tonight, I just felt the spirit of the Lord in my room and wanted to praise Him for who he is! Thankful that not only did he sit here and listen to me and my prayers tonight, but to millions of other Christians who he loves equally. In the words of Kristian Stanfill,"Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!"

Going to bed with a peaceful heart. Goodnight!

Worry, worry, worry.

As I sit down this morning to write on my blog, I carry a burden on my shoulders that many people carry daily, probably even go to bed at night sleeping with. The burden of worry. 

We worry about so many different things throughout the day, from the smallest aspects of our day to the largest. Will I be able to catch up on laundry today? I hope the electric bill isn't due this week. Is my body really ready for swimsuit season in two months? We can't splurge and go out to eat this week. I just know that today at work is going to be so awful. And after that I have to come home and do laundry, dishes, and maybe I will have time to rest. I hope we can make it on time to church this morning. And if you are like me, I am constantly wondering about futuristic things as well. Are we waiting too late to have a baby? What if we wait too late? Should I even go back to school and put us through student loans? Are we even going to get to go on vacation this year? 

While driving this weekend and noticing how gorgeous the weather was, I caught myself going through these things in my head and realized that I was driving myself to the point of insanity running these thoughts through my head! How am I even getting through my day worrying this much? The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning of how God has everything in control of my life. Even these silly little aspects that I tend to worry about daily. 

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 

And to be honest here, I have found these trivial things that I am worrying about resolving themselves right in front of my own eyes. Bills are still being paid on time, swimsuit season isn't THAT important, because I am married it doesn't matter to anyone but my husband what my "bikini body" looks like, that extra time to read the Bible is provided to me as we speak, and God has reminded me that he does, in fact hold my future! Those are just some of the reminders that He has shown me today. Just wanted to share the easy and simple reminder that we all forget from time to time. When I get caught up in my day to day life so much that I am worrying more than I am praying, stopping and re-evalutating my faith always makes my day better! 


P.S. Thought I would share some of our one year pics from January! Taken by Kayla Cobb of KC photography!

December/January Recap

Just wanted to share a little December/January re-cap from our life! We celebrated one year of marriage on December 1st, so we cruised from Tampa to the Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. We spent five nights on the Carnival Paradise and it was definitely an experience, to say the least! Kyle enjoyed Cozumel so much and we hated that we only had 8 hours on the island! We have pretty much came to the conclusion that we are more of the fly to a resort and stay a week type of people, but this trip was fun too and the memories were great! 

We got home from our trip and the next night we went to a "National Lampoons/Tacky Christmas" Church Christmas party at Rachel & Josh's, which was a complete blast! I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people we have met at Gilliam Springs this past year! God chose to bless us with many new friends in 2013. 

Although Kyle isn't a fan of pictures, he did decide to pose with me one night before we went to a Christmas play that our family was a part of. This was our second Christmas together. 

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love our dachshund Libby. So we thought it would be fun and crazy to have a blow-up weenie in our yard. Kyle was pretty proud of this one! 

And of course... Kyle is super excited about his two favorite things, Christmas shopping and pictures! 

I ended January by attending the Passion Conference in Atlanta with the college group and some of my girlfriends. To say it was amazing would be an understatement. We got to hear from Christine Cain, Francis Chan, Louie Giglio, and John Piper. My favorite part was Hillsong United, of course. I am so glad I got to spend a little more time with some of the Gilliam Springs girls and got to know them better! This was a highlight of 2014 for me already!

The best pictures are of this precious little baby boy who joined our family in January! John Barry Bailey is the sweet little son of James Paul and Emily, my cousins. This little bundle of joy has been much anticipated by many, so as you can tell, mom and I were thrilled to visit with Emily and my Aunt Jill and to meet him. 

We did our one year anniversary session with the amazing Kayla Cobb in January as well. The day did not start out as planned as the weather changed from a sunny sixty degrees to a windy fifty degrees within the hour of pictures. We did get a few great shots, and we got to bring Libby which was fun! I haven't got around to buying a  CD insert for my Macbook Air yet, so here is a little preview! Hoping that February turns out to be as great as the past couple of months. :)