Pray for Mayberry

Today I come to you both brokenhearted and hopeful. As some of you may know, Mia's brother was involved in a terrible accident on September 1, 2013 that has left him fighting for his life ever since. It has been a roller coaster ride of deep valleys and hopeful highs. However, the circumstances around the accident are frustrating, to say the least.

Yesterday, the Nancy Grace show released a story about Christian and the family with an attempt to draw attention to their situation in the hopes of finding Christian the treatment he needs, while bringing justice to him and the family. This leads you to my broken, yet hopeful heart.

The attention of the Nancy Grace story brings the hope that somebody, somewhere will hear his story and know of a place where Christian can receive the rehabilitation he needs. But it also reveals haters who are waiting and ready to pounce on the family and tear them to shreds over things they know nothing about and assumptions they've made that are completely untrue!

The latter fires me up bad. Knowing Mia and her family in the intimate way I do absolutely breaks me heart as I watch them reel from the effects of mean, hateful words spoken to them and about them in this darkest of times.

What I'm asking you is to please read and share the story and help us get the word out about Christian and the help he needs right now;and in the end, bring justice to Christian.

And please, please use your words to speak life to Mia and her family. The haters are loud and their words sting deep, but we have to power to bring life and hope to the Mayberry family. Let's be loud!!

 

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Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!! I'm skipping my normal recipe post this week because I just didn't have anything too exciting to share with y'all. And I definitely don't want to share a "so-so" recipe. :) So, I thought it would be fun to recap our weekend!

Yes, Emma is wearing two pairs of sunglasses :)

Robert played in a basketball tournament all day on Saturday, so we didn't see him until about 6:00 that night. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous so the kids and I parked it at the pool all.day.long. I feel I should tell you, I'm a huge weeny when it comes to the water temperature and me actually getting in to swim. Therefore, up until Saturday, I hadn't made it in past my calves. Sad, I know. BUT, per the request of my kiddos, I jumped in with them {over and over and over} and splashed the day away. It was so.much.fun to play in the pool with them!

Later that afternoon, one of my besties, Ang, her hubby and baby Robert (!) came over to enjoy the sunshine and splash in the water with us. We had a great time chatting and enjoying the pool. Robert made it home just as we were getting out of the water. Oops! :)

We made our way inside and got dressed and talked a little about dinner. I had some chicken in the crock pot with plans to make BBQ Chicken & Corn Burritos that night, so I invited them to stay for dinner. But what's a party without the whole crew together?! So, we called up Mia and Dustin and they joined us for dinner too! Dinner turned out delicious and nobody left hungry, thankfully. :)

After dinner, we set out on our first Geo-Caching adventure. Have y'all heard of this before? We just learned about it this week and decided to go look for some treasures. It was a lot of fun and we found one, with lots of plans to geo-cache some more.

THIS. This weekend is exactly what I hope(d) our summer would look like. This is exactly what I was talking about when I coined this the summer to savor. We thoroughly enjoyed time with friends, making memories together and just enjoying one another's company! I'm looking forward to many more weekends laughing and splashing with the kids in the pool and impromptu dinner and adventures with our friends and family!

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Birthday Fun and a 30 by 30 bucket list

My 29th birthday was this past Sunday and I had a wonderful day! Actually, I was celebrating the next day, too! Thank you for all the birthday love y'all sent my way!! The emails, tweets, texts, IG comments were so appreciated!!

Sunday morning brought a fun trip to a local bakery, Queenies, with my sweet little family of 4. We enjoyed walking around Utica Square, followed by a delicious breakfast. After breakfast, we made our way to Woodward Park to take in the beautiful colors of Spring.

Later that evening, we celebrated with some of our best friends, Mia and Dustin. {Missed you Ang and Andrew!} I was so excited to go to Cheddars and enjoy a Cookie Monster! Have y'all had one before? You need to, they're amazing! I wasn't able to get a picture because the kids and I {though mostly the kids} inhaled it! Mmm, so good!

The next day, my mom made a delicious Cinco de Mayo dinner and we celebrated with my family. {Thanks, Mom!} I don't know what I was thinking because I completely forgot to take pictures. {I guess I was subconsciously going Hands Free :)}.

I was completely spoiled and received nearly everything on my wishlist and then some! These babies are mine and I am so grateful! I'm excited to put my Mamarazzi skills to use with my new lens! :)

So, the idea of turning 30 hasn't bothered me too much and I haven't really given a '30 by 30 bucket list' any thought. Until now... I think it might be fun to put together a list of big and little things I'd like to accomplish before I turn 30. However, I'm hoping y'all might have some fun suggestions. 30 things is a lot!

I've come up with a few ideas, but I'm wondering, what do you think I should add to my 30 by 30 list?!

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Women's Study Bible

I recently had the chance to check out a new Study Bible for women (thank you B&H Publishing!)...and give two of my girlfriends their own copy!

I love that there are Bible apps available that enable us to carry the Bible with us anywhere, but there is something so intimate about sitting down with the Word of God actually in your hands, with pages to turn. I will never, ever give up my Bible in lieu of an app. (That being said, I do frequently use my Bible app. I'm not anti Bible apps.:))

A good study Bible is crucial for me when I sit down to study His Word. I enjoy digging deeper into the Word and love the ability to cross reference Scripture. I wanted to share with you some of the things I really enjoyed about the new Study Bible for Women, in case you're wanting to purchase a study Bible.

The Bible itself was beautiful, with a rich sky blue & burgundy leather on the outside.

Once you open the pages, you find it full of great study tools, written by women, for women!

One thing I love to learn about is the context of when a book was written, who wrote the book, the time period it was written in, etc. I love the way this Bible displays a timeline at the introduction of each book. It also provides answers to great introduction questions and an outline of the book.

While you don't have to have a study Bible to dig deeper into the Word, I have found it to be incredibly beneficial in my walk with the Lord. If you are on the hunt for a good study Bible, I think this could be the perfect fit for you!

Thank you B&H Publishing for allowing me to bless two of my girlfriends with their own copy of The Study Bible for Women!

*I was given two copies of the new Study Bible for Women to review and giveaway. However, my opinions of the Bible are my own.

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Miracle for Mayberry

On September 1, 2012, Mia's brother, Christian, was involved in a terrible ATV accident. He has been in the hospital ever since, fighting for his life, and recovering. It's been a very long, difficult road, but Mia and her family have been walking it with such amazing grace and faith in the True Physician.

I come to you today and ask you to please pray with us for a miracle for Christian, a miracle for Mayberry. We are praying for complete healing and restoration of his body. We are also praying for a rehab facility to open up to him within the next two days. They have learned that, as of this coming Monday, they will be leaving the hospital and do not yet have a place to go. They need a miracle(s)!!

Will you pray, with us, for Christian's complete healing? Will you pray, with us, for the right rehab facility to miraculously open up for him? You can follow his progress here on Facebook,

 

 

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." I John 5:14, 15

We love Neighbor!

I am reminded quite often what wonderful friends the Lord has blessed me with and it's not something I take lightly. I certainly believe we walk through seasons and sometimes friends are brought into our lives for a season, but other times they are brought in our lives forever. I've been blessed to make several of those lifetime friendships and I am so very grateful.

Today, I want to brag on highlight one of the sweetest people I know. Her name is Amanda and we met the first day we were at college...moving day. Now, I was very excited to be at a college and setting up my dorm room, but I was also terrified nervous! I didn't know anybody at school and making friends can be very intimidating. However, the Lord knew just what I needed when he made Amanda my neighbor! She lived across the hall from me and when we met that day, I'm pretty sure our conversation went something like this:

A: Hi, I'm Amanda!
K: Hi, I'm Kristal! So, do you know anybody here at school?
A: No, I don't. Do you?
K: No, I don't either. Wanna be friends?
A: Yes! Let's be friends!

I kid you not, we literally talked about and decided to be friends right then and there. How many people can you do that with and it actually work out?! But it worked out so very good. We like to reminisce about how we were each other's first friend's at college. As the school year continued, we were pretty much inseparable. We'd leave our doors open while we were in our rooms and just continually talk. Pretty quickly we started calling one another "Neighbor" and it has stuck. We very rarely call each other by name and when we do it almost sounds weird. Haha. Our friends even know us as Neighbor.

Our friendship has stood the test of time very well. Just last month was our 10 year friend anniversary. :) We have been through highs and lows together and I couldn't ask for a better friend. She is loving, kind, selfless, funny, giving, thoughtful, caring and so many more things! I absolutely adore the way she loves my kids and how they love her back. They affectionately call her Auntie Neighbor and we love it!

Although we do not live in the same state and sometimes go months without talking and catching up, every single time we reconnect, we pick up right where we left off and carry on. We just get each other and it is so very nice to just be real and genuine with one another, unafraid to be ourselves. Actually, she's one of those people that push me to be a better person and friend and I love it.

Life circumstances lately have reminded me how important it is to tell those we love, that we love them. And to not waste our time together. So, I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank Neighbor for sticking with me all these years. For loving me unconditionally. For loving my family. For loving my kids. For being her! Love you, Neighbor!!!

 



Please continue to pray for Mia's brother! You can read about his story here. #prayformayberry!

Until next time,
Kristal

No Sew Curtains!

Ok, I'm clearly behind the times on this front, but I just discovered how to make "no sew" curtains. And I love them!! One of my girlfriends just bought her first house, I'm so happy for her, and has been having a great time decorating and getting all settled into her new home. One of the things she did was make some adorable curtains for her kitchen. I was asking her all about it so I could try my hand at this, too.

So, off to Hobby Lobby I went to find some material and the tools I needed to make my own curtains. Since our fellas are roughing it in Alaska, and having a great time I might add, Mia and I have been having a great time hanging out together. She came over for dinner this weekend and we decided to knock these curtains out. :) Although they are really easy to do, it was a really good thing we were doing it together...two brains are definitely better than one. :)

This was the magic ticket in making these curtains happen...

 

 

I had my damp cloth (I promise it's clean!) and iron and we were off!

Iron, iron, iron

Check it out, I made a hem!

And here's the finished product! :) And, a really cool thing that I didn't even notice until after it was hung, is that the fabric matches so nicely with the curtain in the den!! I'll have to show you around our house sometime and all the work we've done since we moved it. That'll be some fun posts.

 

 

Until next time,

Kristal

Walking through life together (Tulsa metro)

I missed linking up on Tuesday, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to brag on God and thank Him for the precious group of ladies He's placed in my life.

Back in 2012, I approached my friend, and neighbor at the time, about starting a Bible study just her and I. I was so nervous to ask her, not knowing what her response would be. We had grown a friendship through our mutual love of Scentsy, we're both on the same team, and I was excited about growing our friendship beyond that, specifically in the Word. So, one morning I invited her over for muffins and coffee, because really what's better than blueberry muffins and coffee with a dear friend?!, and I asked her...after our time together was almost over. Again I say, I was so nervous. But, once I finally asked her, I was so relieved and excited by her excitement to start a study! Not only did she say Yes!, but she asked if another friend could join us!! I was thrilled, albeit super nervous about leading a group (even if it was only 3 of us) in Bible study. Was I equipped to do this?! What if I stumbled over my words?! What if I didn't know an answer to a question!? What if....

What if God showed up! What if He was the one actually in charge of this study! What if our friendships grew like we never could have imagined! What if...

To say I am grateful I obeyed His call on my life to start a Bible study with my (old) neighbor, is a vast understatement!! God has so richly blessed our lives through our time, once a week, studying His word together! That neighbor of mine has become one of my very best friends!! I cannot imagine doing life without her. And we have added some lovely ladies to our group. And friendships have grown and blossomed together that I never could have been put together apart from Him. He is so good and knows just what we need, exactly when we need it!

Our Bible study group has been meeting almost every week since January 2012 and it truly is a highlight of my week. Growing with these ladies has been such a blessing to me. They have forced me to dig deeper in the Word as I attempt to lead/facilitate our study. And sure, I stumble over my words. I don't always have the answer to questions. But, He gives me grace and they give me grace. And it's beautiful!

If you aren't involved in some kind of community/life group, especially with just women, I encourage you to find one in your area....or even start one! It is a blessing to do life together with other women striving to live a God honoring life.

Until next time,
Kristal

Grace through hurt

How do you handle hurt? I'm talking about hurt in your heart from somebody very close to you? Over the past couple of months, I have been dealing with hurt like this. And it hasn't been easy.

It's almost unchartered territory for this friendship. Sure, in the past I have experienced hurt and broken friendships, but it's different when it happens from an unlikely source. As I've been praying through the situation, I've concluded that there are two different paths I can take when dealing with this hurt and moving forward: 1) I can dwell on it or 2) I can use it to become a better friend to others. I think option 2 sounds better, although, up to this point, I've been living option 1.

Like I talked about in this post, grace is so important to any relationship. God has lavishly poured grace out on me, and continues to pour it out on me daily. Therefore, the best way I can show God's love to others is to bestow that grace on others-even, and especially, when it's hard. Because really, if I haven't needed that grace yet, I certainly will in the future.

This doesn't mean the hurt I'm feeling is void or shouldn't be addressed. It absolutely should be addressed. But, it does mean that I need to remember that we all make mistakes and cause hurt, whether intentional or unintentional.

What are some of your favorite/best ways to deal with hurt and disappointment in your relationships?

Until next time,
Kristal

Five on Friday

It's Friday!!! And this is a very special Friday because...

1. Today is my hubby's birthday!! I'm a big fan of birthdays. I mean, what's better than celebrating those you love?! And this man, I adore! He's a wonderful husband and father and I thank God every day for the blessing he is in my life. I cannot imagine going through life without him!! Happy birthday, Babe!! I love you!!

2. Last night a few of my girlfriends, including this beauty,  and I started our study through Acts. We've been meeting (almost) every week for Bible study since 2012 and I adore our group. Our members change a bit each study, but there are a few of us who have remained constant and I cherish those ladies. There is just nothing like getting together on a weekly basis, studying the Word together and doing life together. So sweet!

3. My bestie from college came over for the day on Wednesday and it was so great to see her. She lives about a hour and a half away and we try to see each other every few months. It's crazy how fast time goes by and how we can go for months at a time without talking, but when we are reunited, we pick right back up as though we were never a part. Those friendships are so sweet and rare and I'm thankful for her!

4. Our home and the way the Lord is already using it. I need to share our story about how the Lord lead us to our house sometime, but I received a really neat call from a friend this week asking if they could use our pool to baptize their little boy who recently accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior! How cool is that?!?

5. And finally, this is just fun. I was at Target, by myself, buying the hubby some birthday cards. I had to wait in line, just like everybody else, but received a fun surprise as I was paying. The cashier told me he was going to give me a $3.00 discount just because I had to wait in line. Haha! I was only buying two cards, shocking I know that I only left with what I came for at Target, and that basically paid for one of the cards. How fun :)

Until next time,
Kristal

Family as friends

As Collin and Emma get older, I find myself adoring the friendship they have together. And even more so, praying they will always be friends. For some reason, it is sometimes difficult to view our family as friends. There is always that one person, or two or three, that just drive us nuts! (Tell me I'm not alone here...you have that person in your family too, right?!) But the older I get, the more I value my family and see the huge importance God places on family. And not just the family as a unit, but each individual, unique person within that family.

Psalm 127:1a,3-5 says " Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

To me, this passage clearly shows that God places people within families. For one reason or another, He determines that each person, with their unique personality, gifts and talents, will work best with the other people in the family. And each person is a treasure. A unique gift that carries infinite value to God and those within the family (and outside of the family, too, but I'm focusing on family right now).

Our family's can, and should be, our biggest allies. That means we need to value our brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents as more than just family, but as friends, too. People we can grow with, experience life with, pray with, cry with, laugh with, etc. I fully recognize that not everybody has a good home life or family, but we can all pray for our families. That's the best way we can love our family, as brothers and friends.

So, let's put the value back in our family....as friends and brothers. Let's love them like Christ loves us. Let's pray for them always. Let's be there for our family. Let's grow with our family. Let's laugh and cry with our family. Let's be family.

Until next time,
Kristal

4th of July

We had the best time this 4th of July! It was our first pool party/BBQ to host at our new house and we had the best time. I'm so thankful that our friends not only love us, but also love our kids. God has blessed us with some amazing friends!  We had some yummy food, good conversation and, of course, competitions from the guys. Our first BBQ party was a success and we can't wait to have another one!

 

 

 

Even Maxi boy got good lovin'. :)

 

 

Until next time,

Kristal