sheer gift

new year.  two words.  

sheer gift.

sheer-
adjective
1. nothing other than;  unmitigated.
synonyms: utter complete, absolute, total, pure, downright, out-and-out, thorough.

gift-
noun
1. a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.
synonyms: present handout donation, offering, bestowal, bonus, award, endownment

2. a natural ability or talent
synonyms: talent, flair, apitude, facility, knack, bent, ability, expertise, capacity, capability


i divorced new year resolutions last year.  new year's resolutions reek of should's and would's and i'd rather live a life free of that flavor of things.  i replaced resolutions with a theme...last year's theme added so much life to me i couldn't help but come up with another.  It took me awhile to alight upon an idea i wanted to carry with me for such a long journey through spring and summer and fall and back to winter again.  and then i read romans 4 and i knew.

romans 4

 If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.

wow. 

i love gifts!  i want to look at life this year, good days and bad, as a sheer gift.  on winter mornings (even in florida), you can see your breath. something normally invisible is temporarily frozen and able to be viewed.  

i want to see each breath this year...and i want learn to view it as a gift.  

the truth is, 
i don't deserve another minute.  
i'm not entitled to another year.  

this year i want to imagine all the moments wrapped up in paper and string...just for me.  i want to unwrap the exciting packages and the dull ones and be grateful for both...  i want to look for and find sheer gifts all over my life--hidden in unexpected places and holding surprising contents.  i want to live this next year with open hands, awaiting and expecting anything and everything He sends my way.  i want to look at 2014 like a child on christmas morning...with awe and wonder in my eyes...

I want to drag this concept into every area of my life...even the spiritual.  this year, i want to live in the sheer gift of His grace.  i want to make sure i am not attempting to add to His gift by "trying harder".  i want to make sure i realize that this job is too big for me.  when someone gives an amazing gift, it's very human to want to pay them back in some way...and i often make that mistake in how i relate to the God who spoke the mountains into existence.  how prideful.  how insulting.  i want to approach my Father this year with a heart of humility and gratefulness...ever aware of the gifts He gives and how i can never deserve them.  i want to practice living in this sheer gift ALL. YEAR. LONG.

the word gift has two meanings--it can refer to a present or an ability.  in years past, i've been guilty of never using the gifts God has given to me.  in fact i've hidden them--to keep them safe from harm, i've put them up on a high and dusty shelf...so nothing can be broken.  this year i want to unwrap my gifts and atually use them.

i want to make.  
i want to write.  
i want to draw.  
i want to create.

i want to drag these unused gifts out of my soul's attic.  i don't want to be the daughter that buried her talents.  

i've lived too long in shame for the ways i'm made.  
i've lived too long in fear.  
i've lived way too long without flying from my open cage.  

doing the things i love scares me.  it feels so intimate and exhilarating.  it's...terrifying to put it all out there.  but this year? i want to dust off my brushes and paint on my life's canvas.  i want to use up all the blank paper in my house to write and sketch and create.  i want to put my ideas to work. i'm tired of comparing my gifts or asking Him for an exchange.  i'm tired of valuing His creation in this world but devaluing it in myself. this year i'm going to be kind to myself as i make my way through this unknown terrain.  i'm not going to demand perfection of me.  i'm going to be brave with my gifts and graceful with myself along the way. 

along with learning to use my gifts, in 2014 i want to be a giver.  

no reasons.  
no paybacks.  
no credit taken.  
no strings attached.  

i want to be a giver this year.  i have been given so much i want to take this year to give of my time, my resources and talents. i want to be intentional about looking for these opportunities wherever i go.  i want this year to be marked by a extreme generosity. i want to offer my best giving to God this year.  i want to mirror the Great Giver with a little giving of my own. i want to be on the hunt this year for opportunities to share.

i want to spend 2014 admiring the sheer gift of life,

basking in the sheer gift of grace, 

daring to use the gifts given to me, 

and 

last of all,

mirroring the Giver of every good thing. 

new year.  two words.

sheer gift.

1. 
   

seeds, magic, roots & blooms

lately, it's the littlest things that catch my attention.  

things overlooked.  things forgotten.  

things like seeds. 

if you stop just a second to think about it, seeds are such a wild & wonderful way to begin a thing!  even the simplest description sounds so other worldly--

first you cover this tiny gray ball with some dirt.  make sure it sees the sun. just add water and then stand back--who knows what it will be.

inside every 

little seed 

is 

pure magic. 

  
seeds don't typically look like magic.  it's impossible to know just by looking, that something wonderful is beginning.  even if you know the sort, you never know if the seed you hold in your hand will grow up and become:

houses or boats,
driftwood or pencils,
chrysanthemums or raspberries,
books or tree houses, 
baby beds or wildflowers,
shade or shelter.  

(because, if you look at it just right, all of these things must begin with a seed.) 

every seed is 

a secret.

a promise.

a mystery.

a miracle.

it seems logical to me that of all the seeds, the dandelion and milkweed seeds would grow the most magical things of all...they seem so full of fluff and whimsy...and yet...once they are properly sunned and watered, they are only pretty weeds.

the start of a thing rarely tips you off to what is to come.  i constantly try to guess at what God is planting as it goes into the soft soil of my heart but really--it's quite hard to judge endings from their beginnings.  and there is so much beginning...

so much in my life is changing, churning.  the soil under my feet is being tilled and turned. everywhere i look God is growing something new.  beginnings are being planted everywhere. i am both thrilled and terrified with the slightly chaotic turn my life is taking...

*my husband just started a new job (in the office next to mine). he will work from home & for something he believes in.  it's kind of his dream job...in one miraculously strategic move God has answered so many prayers...and turned our routine on it's very head. i'm so excited for eric and for our family as we venture into this untamed territory.  so excited to see just what grows out of this change.

*today i stand bewildered at the beginning of a long journey to wellness.  my battle with lyme disease continues to alter everything.  every day is different.  some days wonderful.  some (like last saturday) are from my nightmares.  God is doing lots of weeding and planting in this area of my life.  He's planting seeds of empathy and compassion in me where self-centeredness has always grown.  He's folding seeds of quiet and contentment into loud and lusty, me.  He's cultivating helplessness and gratitude and those other tricky things inside my heart.  i can feel these foreign things taking root deep down inside. from the outside i'm sure i look much the same but these invisible roots promise visible blooms someday soon. all these sweet seedlings are slowly growing and taking over places where my thorny words used to be.  i've never in my life been so happy to watch, follow & listen.  i would have never guessed this is what would begin to grow from illness.  

*i am beginning some new creative projects in this starting season.  projects unlike i've ever attempted.  God has planted some seeds of truth in my life that are growing quite steadily into action.  it's exciting and risky and ... i can't wait to see what pops up out of this ground.

i am enthralled with life this january!  there are new beginnings in all directions.  it's an expectant season where much is being planted.  i'm intoxicated with the hope that all this seed magic will explode into something wonderful come spring.  i can't wait for these seeds to show me what it means to bloom.

still learning...

lately i feel i've been traveling through foreign land.  everything is different.  food, language, ritual, habit, street signs and landscape.  it's all very confusing.  and frustrating.  i'm sure there are some wonderful things i'm missing out my window, but i'm consumed with my survival in this strange land and so far have failed to see any landmarks that might make this journey a little less traumatic.

rhett & i were recently diagnosed with lyme disease.  we were bitten by ticks this summer while picnicking under our favorite old tree.  we didn't get a distinct rash (only about 35%-60% of lyme's patients got the "bull's eye rash").  we were a little tired...but it was summer and we were flying through all our favorite things.  

soon enough school started.  i was editing photos in front of my computer every day...but sore at the end of day...and so tired at night you would have thought i was running marathons in between photo sessions.  but i couldn't sleep...and then i started having chest pain.  and that sent me straight to the dr.  one night i thought i was dying.  crushing chest pain, heart flutters, pain in my left arm...and yet...i'm such a non-medical kinda girl...it took all this to get me to my local urgent care.  they did an EKG and said there was nothing wrong.  i said,

oh, yes.  there is something wrong all right.  i know it.  run every test.  diabetes, heart disease, lyme disease, I DON'T CARE.  

and i must have been pretty scary in that moment because, without another question, 

he did.  

Lyme's came back positive.  i was devastated   i have seen with my own two eyes how terrible this disease could be...i could hardly believe it was lurking in MY body.  my strong and young and capable body.  i got rhett tested the same day(because he was bit by two ticks the same day i was). he tested positive.  my momma's heart withered.

 we both started treatment in september.

if getting diagnosed with a potentially debilitating disease was not enough.

there is some very bad news about lyme's disease.  i'm learning more every day.  here is the information i've gathered thus far (in my own simple words),

if you don't get proper treatment for lyme's in the beginning stages, you could have it for the rest of your life.

+

it's very hard to get proper treatment

BECAUSE...

people think it's not here or it's not there or it's only in the northeast (including my urgent care dr and the florida health department).  

+

 it's a VERY politically clouded disease that the government doesn't like to talk about or acknowledge.  

+

insurances don't like to pay for the expensive treatments.  

+

 the CDC doesn't stand to benefit from lyme's research and they don't know enough about the disease to properly treat it.  

+

dr's get shut down for treating lyme's any way but by CDC guidelines (a few days or weeks of antibiotics).  they are getting their licences taken away for doing anything more.   naturally, there are very few dr's willing to take this risk.

all of this =

a very scary and unfamiliar journey for me and my little wonderboy.

luckily (for us) we have some friends here in florida that have been down a similar road.  they pointed us to some lyme literate medical doctors in the area (l.l.m.d.) right away and have eased the entrance into this strange land by their familiarity with all the things we are currently wading through.  while this is amazing and graceful...this journey has still been dark...for me.

lyme disease if not treated is thought to be linked to some very scary diseases like parkinson's, arthritis, lupis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromialgia, and alzheimer's.  in my limited understanding it can lead to heart damage, organ damage and even death.  all from one little tick at a pretty picnic.

this is all so unfamiliar to me.  like a different world than i knew just several months ago.  my body feels like someone else's some days.  i hurt.  i ache.  i feel like my mouth won't make the right words and that's if my brain can find them.  every day is different.  it rarely looks the same.  it's confusing to me so i can't imagine what it looks like in my little boy's head.  

as a strong woman...i am frustrated. as a momma...i am enraged. as a daughter of a big God...i am learning.

i'm learning (once again) i am small.  i'm learning lots from this out of control feeling.  i am learning that i never really trusted Him to begin with.  i am learning alot about how to live today and let tomorrow worry about itself.  i am learning to wait and i am learning that He can do more in my waiting that i can ever do in my doing.  i'm learning the value of good health.  i'm learning about the art of taking care of others (as others care for me).  i'm learning that a call or text or pot of soup or apple pie really can mean HOPE to someone.  this whole thing has been a lesson in patience and humility and self control and joy. and i'm still learning...

come what may

as a child i hated roller coasters.  but i tried my best.  i nodded every time my mom asked if i wanted to ride.  i put my brave face on and envied my baby sisters as they strolled out the chicken exit.  but not me...<gulp> i rode every ride.  as i buckled myself into the ride fear bubbled in my stomach--not the excited kinda fear but the terrified.  i'd close my eyes and stomp my feet on the floor every loop and hill.  i hated every second.  i wanted so badly to like it.  i'd have to remind myself  itwillbeoversoon, itwillbeoversoon in order to make it through.  but if ever i was brave enough to open my eyes, i could see for miles!  hills and trees and houses and people...the view was beautiful!  i hardly knew because i spent most of my time with my eyes squeezed tight.  there is something about that free falling feeling i just can't take.

life feels a bit like a roller coaster right now.  God is the parent that buckled me in and promises me i'll be alright. He makes it clear that it's Him and not me that is in control.  i'd like so much to make Him proud so i put my brave face on and envy the others that take the chicken exit.  i buckle in and try my best.  at the loops and hills i close my eyes and stomp my feet and try to remember all my Father tells me about being afraid.  i don't like this ride.  some days i have to remind myself itwillbeoversoon, itwillbeoversoon in order to make it through.  if i dare open my eyes long enough...some parts of this ride are breathtaking--like nothing i could ever see from anywhere else.   the landscape is painted in shades of forgiveness and redemption, humility and kindness--the view is beautiful!  all beauty aside, there is something in this free falling feeling that i just can't take.  

but for Him?  

anything...

even this falling feeling.

faith?

trust?

whatever it is, i don't like this ride. but i'm buckled in and leaning towards Him--

come what may.

{adventure awaits}

i don't know about you but life keeps happening faster and faster for me.  days feel like minutes and weeks resemble hours and all the sudden i haven't updated my blog or given my kids a bath in wayyyy too long!  while a quick sniff can remind me that those little stinkers of mine are due for a rinse...my blog sits here waiting patiently for my words and photos while time gets away from me...

i was editing a session today when a photo jumped off the screen and made my heart flutter.  this one image brought truth and tears. i had to write.

the picture was of a bride and groom.  dana & ryan, the couple in the photo, have a captivating love story.   their tale is of a whirlwind summer romance that looks different and feels exciting, like nothing you've seen on pinterest.  last minute, they scrapped the stressful wedding day (which was really more for everyone else anyway) and they went to the courthouse and made promises to each other and God, just the two of them.  they decided that a lifetime was too short to fill it full of things that don't matter...and all they wanted to do was sign up for forever, so they skipped all the ordinary fuss.  they decided to do it all a little simpler...and with more personal meaning.  i loved hearing their love story and spending a golden morning capturing them embarking on their new and beautiful adventure.

their love story is truly inspiring, but there was poetry & gospel in this image that made me cry...  

*the way the groom is looking back and offering his hand for his lovely bride to take.  
*the way he is one step in front of her... anxious for them to get on their way up that pretty hillside, where all the wildflowers live.  
*the way her hands are full of white dress and blue baggage...
*the way she is making her way a little more slowly, choosing her steps carefully and minding her dress.  

the imagery took my breath.  

God refers to His church (me & you) as His bride and as i looked at this picture, all the sudden, dana and ryan faded to the background and all i could see was the truth hiding underneath.

the way the groom is looking back--stretching out his arm towards his love--reminds me of the God who claimed me as His own and wrote a beautiful story for me--packed with passion & adventure.  Daily He asks me to drop it all and place my free hand in His...and daily i deny His hand and make really good excuses as to why i have other things to do.  

like this groom, God has adventure on his mind.  He stretches his hand out for me to grab...but so very often my hands are full.  He's one step in front of me, anxious to show me the beauty that lies ahead...but my hands are busy...with silly frills and personal baggage.  i can't move at His pace because i have alot of practical things to carry.  there are things i must tend to.  and i want to watch where i'm going, so i don't trip and fall.  

because realistically, the bride in the photo will trip if she throws it all to the wind and tries to run in that dress.  if she doesn't fall on her face she'll get all dirty running along that dirt path.  not to mention that she probably really needs all that stuff in that suitcase.  these excuses ring with worldly truth and practicality and that's what makes it so hard to put it all down.  God asks me to travel lightly...and i keep thinking i am, i am.  but am i? really? or are my arms still too full of trifles (that look significant) to let Him lead the way?   

most days i turn away from His wild call--my house needs cleaned, bills need paid, work needs done, kids need bathed and these things really are important!  i don't think i can just let them go and ask Him what He wants me to do with my time, talents, love and money...  

it's all so very wild and free and extreme.  when He asks me to love Him and love others it sounds so simple but it lives hard.

i want throw it all to the wind.  i want to be the bride that runs in her wedding dress.  i want to be swept away by Him.  i want to step into my love story.  i want to grab His hand with both of mine and hang on!  i want to trust Him enough to take His hand and let go of everything else. 

i want to...but dare i?

funny how one picture can change your morning and your mind.  in the light of the truth hidden in this photograph, everything that usually fills my hands and looks important seems so very small.  in this moment, i can see His outstretched arm so clearly and know... 

adventure awaits...

{tree & sky: a love story}

the ever-green sings
to sky-blue, 

every moment 

of e v e r y day.  

they belong together. 

the evergreen was sculpted

sturdy 

and grounded--

the perfect match 

for wild sky

(who knows no bounds).

  

evergreen knows

no other way to be

than a lover 

of the sky. 

everyday

he lifts his arms--

everyday growing closer...

invadingthespace 

she craves.

he must be nearer still....

nearer still.

he loves her too much

to hesitate.

and unlike the other trees...

the seasons

don't make his leaves waver. 

his constant gaze

surpasses

the yellow ways of oak. 

the evergreen's love for sky... 

is resolute.

  

steadfast.  

unswerving. 

she's not always easy to love...

some days 

he must dig his feet in earth

and lean in.  

the couple couldn't compliment 

if they didn't also conflict.

sky loves him back...

in her way, 

with wind and sun.

  

she is vast 

and untethered...

surprising him everyday. 

her breezes make him quiver; 

her blue eyes wink from behind low slung clouds. 

she flirts in starlight--

when everyone else is asleep. 

although she is passionate and ever changing...

she is somehow 

always there.

  

her moods change by the moment, 

but she apologies...

in sunrise and sunset.  

when it's gray

it's her that pushes off

and withholds all hue...

it's ok.

evergreen understands "always"...

and knows that it is always sky 

that brings the rain.  

he has come to depend on it.

they belong together. 

though sometimes he is

*prickly* 

and his earthbound ways are dull.

she forgives because she knows 

she can be 

fickle

and cold.

for them,

forever is no question--

too much depends on tree & sky.

they belong together.

theirs is not the kind of love

that causes a great stir--

like sand and surf.  

they don't have people lining up. 

most times you walk right underneath 

and miss 

the constant conversation.  

but if you ever bother... 

to look up 

and in 

on this everyday love...

                           it's enough to take your breath.

God's plan for my tastebuds

as i was stirring my little red pot of chicken for burritos this afternoon, i was graced with a flash back of about 7 years ago.

i caught a glimpse of me in my kitchen trying to decide between spaghetti, something frozen or eating out (again).

i couldn't hide my smile at the memory.  i couldn't fight the joy that overwhelmed me.  i couldn't help but thank God for just how far He's brought me and that He even had a plan for my tastebuds.

see, when God says He gives LIFE...and life ABUNDANTLY...He means it.  not just in the ways you expect--but in ways you couldn't imagine.  i knew i was signing up for Him to change my heart.  i had no idea He wanted to reimagine the food i put in my mouth too.  the wildness and mystery of our God is what i love most about Him.  i can't even guess at what He's gonna do next...i'm just learning to hold on tight...it's gonna be amazing.

growing up, we didn't eat out much.  we mostly ate at home.  my mom cooked the same 5 meals in rotation...spaghetti, tuna casserole, fish sticks, chicken with rice and pizza. i didn't have any complaints about these meals.  in fact...i loved em.  but i had no idea what i was missing...

<enter eric.>  eric eats everything.  eric likes everything (except for cooked cabbage).  i was so lucky to meet the love of my life at 12...(crazy, i know) but he loved me through my awkward years so i had to hang on:)  eric (and his family) took me out to eat more times than i'd ever been in my entire life.  we went for mexican, we went for italian, we went for burgers and we went for pizza.  everywhere we went...i ordered chicken fingers and fries.  he'd try to talk me out of it.  he'd beg me to try a bite of his mannicotti or his white pizza or his fajitas or his burger with an egg on top.  but i loved my chicken fingers and i was loyal to those little guys.  i didn't think i was missing out at all...

truth is, i grew up in a pretty fearful family....and that fear transferred over even to food.  my mom was a picky eater and only cooked what she liked and warned us about all that other nasty food.  and so...i bought in.  my culinary world was small and safe.

when i was about 15 i started to wear down a bit...eric convinced me to try some different things...and i did. including chinese food....i'd never had it before.  now i can't imagine living without that wonderful flavored MSG!  those crab rangoon...that fried rice and spicy chicken!  i didn't love it at first but i warmed up to it...and then i couldn't get enough.  slowly, slowly i started trying things...but nothing too crazy.  to this day eric laughs at my adventurous eating (and takes full credit for it).

when eric and i got married and had kiddos...cooking was a "thing".  i was the tomboy of the family and had never been taught to cook much of anything but spaghetti.  i also had an aversion to cooking for a man.  it felt a bit primitive to me.  i hated the societal expectation, i hated the loneliness of the kitchen and vulnerability of making something for someone....all of that aside...i didn't have the foggiest idea of how to actually cook.  what do people even eat?  i knew i'd had my fill of tuna casserole and fish sticks but...what else do you make?

eric was super sensitive to my craziness about meal preparation and he never expected me to cook.  in fact,  (i'm ashamed to admit this but)  i wouldn't even let him leave me in the kitchen alone...for real.  he either helped me cook or sat and talked to me as i stirred my something frozen or strained my spaghetti noodles.  i can't say enough about his patience with me in this area.  i was sensitive to feeling like someones servant...he thanked me and made me feel like a queen for making simple pasta with red sauce out of the jar (and still does).

life took some crazy turns about that time in our lives and our whole world kinda turned upside down.  (that's the tidy short story)  God, so mercifully, caught us and set us upright again....and somewhere in there awakened my taste for all His world had to offer.  somewhere in the upheaval i found freedom...fear no longer had a place in my decision making.  oddly, even my food choices.  there is freedom in facing your worst fears...and walking through them....because if you can make it through that...what else do you have to fear?  certainly not shrimp scampi, salad with fruit in it, burgers with guacamole on them and  yucca fries dipped in coconut sauce!

somehow, i became a culinary adventurer.  i tried everything set in front of me.  some i liked.  some i didn't.  some i LOVED!  but the fear was gone.  food was just exciting.  food began to be an experience for me.  trying new restaurants with friends and discovering new favorites was like my new hobby!  i fell in love with foods i had never before tasted.  i was amazed at all i had missed out on for so long.

one problem...i still couldn't cook.

somewhere in the crazy shuffle of life i figured out some of the issues i had with cooking.  cooking for someone was alot like...love.  and the problem was, lexi didn't love well.  there was something about offering something to someone that seemed raw to me.  it all seemed unguarded and risky.  well...my new life was one big risk and God's love fed me and maybe...just maybe...cooking something...offering up myself, was possible if He was by my side.  the idea of giving away just a taste of the love He had lavished upon me was a step into grace.  so...i started cooking.

baking came more naturally to me.  desserts are easy to please....no one is counting on you and i'm pretty good at making things pretty.  so i startedwith desserts.  muffins, pies, cakes, fried cinnamon tortilla chips. i called my friends for their favorite recipes and...

i know it might sound silly but God really used 3 of my good friends to teach me how to cook.

lyndsey taught me what it looked like to feed your family every night.   night after night she cooks and cooks and cooks...rarely the same meal.  she meal plans each week and tries new and scary things all the time...some times it is wonderful and sometimes her family agrees it's nothing they want to make again...and either way...it's okay.  i know that's simple but...for me it was big.  i still call lynz with cooking questions.  there are a few of her meals i make that i literally call her every time i make them...for the temperature...or an ingredient ..or just to tell her how excited i am to make her recipe!  her kitchen is the most wonderful place to be.  i love to sit on her counters and chat.  oh, another thing?  you haven't had thanksgiving dinner until you've had lyndsey's.

courtney also taught me how to cook.  she is my healthy friend.  she taught me about agave nectar and other sugar substitutes.  she taught me about balanced meal planning and to shop around the outside of the grocery store for the fresh stuff and skip the middle as much as you can.  she graduated me from cooking out of boxes to breaking out a cutting board and making my own.  i don't buy canned anything because of her.  because of her i know that the best produce is fresh or frozen.  she taught me how to read a label and any time i need to know the very BEST recipe for something simple...i ask court because i know she has made it 5 different ways and has settled on the winner.

my last cooking hero is sara. her food belongs in magazines.  she is one of the most creative cooks EVER!  we joke that i think in colors and she dreams in scent and taste.  she's in love with produce.  seriously...i think she talks to it as it ripens on her counter:)  all my favorite recipes are hers.  she creates crazy food combinations and blows me away consistently   she cooks everything from scratch...her seafood lasagna, pink and yellow muffins and margarita cookies are 3 of my very favorite things i've ever tasted.  every night her husband has the joys of tasting 5 star food...sara just started an amazing blog called a patchwork picnic here.  make her food.  it will never disappoint.  http://apatchworkpicnic.blogspot.com/

today...i meal plan and scan pinterest for new and fun things to try.  i have bulging recipe folders filled with all my favorites, some of sara's and lynz' and court's.  i make dinner by myself most nights...which is big for me:)  and i like it.  sometimes i love it.  i like making colorful things...i like making things from scratch.  i like making eric's favorites and what i like most...is having people over and feeding them.  it's crazy just how far He's brought me!!!

anymore, eric and i love looking for interesting and local places to eat.  most nights we can't help but try the craziest thing on the menu:)  it makes me laugh at just how little that looks like the old "me"!!!  i can't tell you how long it's been since i had chicken fingers!

there is a reason psalm says, taste and see that the Lord is good.

He's so good....He even has a plan for your tastebuds!

at least He did for mine...isn't that just crazy?!?