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Weekend Recap: Busy Edition

 Happy Monday, friends! We have had a super busy weekend here on the homestead. We spent the latter part of the week running around and preparing for Carlie's baby shower. Makena had a vision, but no time because she was busy preparing for her "Coffee with the Curator" segment at the museum on Thursday night, and she also works on Saturdays. That left my mom and I running around gathering decorations as well as food and gifts for the shower. We also cleaned the fellowship hall at church, before we could even decorate. It was definitely a labor of love. Thankfully it did finally rain, so Carl was off to help us. She did an amazing job on the top of what the Grand Pairie is. Here are the pictures I got at the shower: Weekends like this one leave me with tired feet and a full heart. Between the laughter, the conversations, and celebrating Carlie and sweet baby Wesley, it was one of those weekends that felt busy in the best kind of way. Life has a funny way of packing so much...
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When The Pastor Has Favorites

Let's talk about something that happens in almost every church at some point--the feeling that the pastor has favorite members. Maybe it's the people who always seem to be in the inner circle--the ones who get the most praise, the ones whose opinion carry the most weight. If you've been in church long enough, you've probably noticed it. The truth is that pastors are human. They naturally connect with certain personalities just like the rest of us do. Sometimes it comes from years of serving together, similar life stages, or simply working alongside each other in ministry. While that always means intentional favoritism, it can still leave others feeling overlooked or frustrated.  So what do we do when we find ourselves in this position? First, guard your heart. It's easy for hurt feelings to turn into bitterness, and bitterness spreads quickly in a church family. Scripture reminds us to keep our hearts soft and our attitudes humble. The goal is not to win a popularit...
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Weekend Rewind: Catch Up Edition

Hey good friends! Hope you've had a great weekend. We didn't get a whole lot accomplished here. That has been a big problem lately. I have been very unmotivated lately. Just kind of in a funk. I do post a little more frequently on Instagram, but even that has slowed down. Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend. On Friday evening Carl and I went to the farm. We were just checking out the rice they just planted and talking about that if it didn't rain soon, they would have to flush the rice so it would grow. I'm not extremely familiar with this process because it isn't something that happens all that often. In the thirty years Carl has worked on the farm, he has only done it 3 times. We just really need some rain! We took the Ranger around to the reservoir to see how it looked. I am ready to go fishing!   It looks perfect!  A little dirt road therapy Saturday was the laziest day we have had since winter. Carl was off. It was cloudy and dark-ish. The perfect day for just...
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Weekend Recap: Builder Edition

Happy Monday, friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. Our weekend project involved building a wrap-around walkway/porch on our houseboat. You know, just a quick little project. Carl has way more patience than I do when it comes to building things. He measures...and measures...and measures some more before deciding what to do. We make a pretty good team though. I'm always eager to help, even if it is when he says, "hold this while I figure this out." We started around 1 and finished around 5. We were thankful for a nice day. Usually when he gets off early, it is due to rain when you really can't do much.  Here are the before and after pictures: Notice how there is no walkway next to the porch. This is the part that took the longest.  Lots of measuring and cutting! We love it! It will give us lots more room to tie up and hang out! The back end. Makena and I have plans to tan back here while Carl and Trey fish out front! We did all of this on Saturday. I personally th...
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Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, Friends! Today I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  for another Friday Favorites. What a week it has been! Having picnics with Wrenley and Makena were pretty high up on my favorites list. She wanted a lunchable (big surprise there!) while Makena and I had tuna salad. Playing outside is a must with Wrenley! And she loves making sure the bird bath has plenty of water! Another thing on my favorites list is listening to Trey play the guitar. This smile is also my favorite! We had a celebration for my son-in-law, Caleb this week. He is a pretty great guy and we are thankful that he is "ours" now :)  He is my favorite son-in-law! As I was studying for my Gospel Project lesson earlier this week I realized we only have 3 more lessons! That means that summer break is just 3 weeks away (for our Wednesday night program)! Although I will still have to prepare lessons for Sunday School and VBS.  Summer is my favorite! This summer will be extra sp...
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God Doesn't Need Your Fingerprints on His Blueprints

 I was scrolling through TikTok the other night when I came across a preacher who said, "God doesn't need our fingerprints on His blueprints." And that stuck with me.  There's something in us that really likes to help God out. We pray about a situation, ask Him to move, and then-- almost immediately-- start sketching out our own version of how it should happen. We draft the timeline, the method, the outcome, and sometimes even the backup plan. It's just as if we're saying, "Lord, I trust You...but just in case, here's what I think the blueprint should look like." But God doesn't need our fingerprints on His blueprints. His plans were complete long before we started making suggestions. Scripture reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."       ...
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Whispers in the Kitchen: When Family Gossip is the Main Dish

 Every family has that one thing they are known for. Maybe it's Grammy's favorite coconut pie, Uncle Joe's questionable grilling skills, or the annual holiday game night that somehow ends in mild chaos and someone storming out over Monopoly. And then there are families where the main course isn't food-- it's gossip. You know the kind. The kind where conversations are less "How have you been?" and more "Did you hear about what she said about them last week?" The kind where you can feel the tension in the room like humidity in July; thick, unavoidable, and just a little suffocating.  It usually starts innocently enough. You're in the kitchen, helping set out food, when someone leans in just a little too close and lowers their voice like they're about to share national secrets. "Now don't repeat this, but..." And just like that, you've been drafted. Suddenly you hear about :  Who isn't pulling their weight Who can't...
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