What Do I Know of Holy

I think everyone has a song that can always speak to their heart no matter what is going on in their life.  I have a few but the one that always tugs at my heart is by Addison Road.  The song is called "What Do I Know of Holy"  A few years ago I played it for my girls group during a time of prayer, I just love the message it speaks.  It came on my Pandora station this morning and just felt lead to share it.

I made You promises a thousand times

I tried to hear from Heaven

But I talked the whole time

I think I made You too small

I never feared You at all No

If You touched my face would I know You?

Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were mighty to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave life "its" name?

What do I know of Holy?

Of the One who the angels praise?

All creation knows Your name

On earth and heaven above

What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?

Pictures

It has been a busy few weeks and I have started writing about 3 blog posts only to get busy and forget to post them.  I thought I would update with pictures in a quick post cause pictures are really more fun than words right? ;)

Kyle won Rangers tickets, little did we know it was "Bark in the Park" day and we were in a section filled with barking dogs.  As if that wasn't distracting enough there was a shirtless drunk man sitting in front of us.  Thankfully we found a nice usher in a section by 3rd base who let us move seats and enjoy the game without all the distractions.

My birthday was two weekends ago and Kyle went all out to celebrate.  He made breakfast, we went to Spiral diner for lunch, and he grilled out steaks for dinner.  It was a perfect day!  Plus I got a raised garden kit so we are going to start our own vegetable garden which I am so excited about!

This was another one of my birthday gifts, stepping stones from our back door to the garage door.  It was something I've wanted since we moved in and Kyle & Andrew made it happen!  They worked very hard to get each one level and straight and I think they look awesome!

Most of my days have been spent with these two books.  I take the GRE test a week from today and I am still not feeling completely ready.  The good thing is I have already started school and don't need GRE scores to continue at this school.  However, I already signed up and paid the fee (not cheap!) and want to do good so I'm still studying.

My parents bought me this espresso machine for my birthday.  I love it!  I really don't miss going to work at 4:30 in the morning, or working 8 hour shifts day after day, but I did miss the delicious espresso that I would drink every day.  This machine is easy to use, makes a delicious shot of espresso and I think it looks pretty!  My parents are amazing and I'm so thankful for all they do for us!

There was also a really fun trip to Dave & Busters with my family for me & my mama's birthdays that I didn't capture.  I'm trying to be better about taking pictures, but sometimes I just forget.  It's been a fun couple of weeks!

An update

Thought I would update you on this journey...

My last shift at Starbucks was two Sunday's ago and let me just say that was one of craziest day I've ever worked.  It was Mother's day and everyone wanted to take drinks to their mom/wife and no one knew what they wanted!  Nothing like going out with a bang!

The day before I left Kyle & I found out we had been approved for our new insurance.  This was something I had been worried about and was another way God showed me I just had to let go and trust him.

The day after I left work I found out my application to BH Carroll had been accepted!  I wasn't expecting to hear back until July but found out I was approved in time to start this summer!  So starting June 7th I'll be taking an online orientation class and learning all about this new amazing school.

I have been able to get some much needed rest and refocus on God and His plan.  I'm so excited for this journey and wanted to let you guys know all the amazing things happening already

Maker of it all
You provide it all
In You we live
In You we move
In You we have our being
You're glorious
You're holding us together all together 
Gungor "Brother Moon"

Sunday nights

Growing up I would always have a hard time falling asleep on Sunday nights, I guess I would get anxious about the week ahead.  I would usually end up coming back downstairs and hanging out with my dad for awhile on Sunday nights, even throughout high school.  I am a planner which is the nice way of saying I know how to worry, and I'm good at it.  I would lay in bed on Sunday nights and think of all the things I have to do that week or the tests or the homework I didn't finish. 

Working, and especially opening shifts, brought back my sleepless Sunday nights.  Especially once I became a shift manager.  I would lay in bed and think about where I would position everyone in the morning, all the things I had to get done, then I would think if I fall asleep now I'll get 4 hours of sleep, etc.  There were many Sunday nights in the past few months where I only got an hour or so of sleep and felt it for the rest of the week.  I have countless pictures on my phone of scratches of paper like this where I have written down how I will run the shift that day. 

 

Today was my last shift at Starbucks and so for the first time in a long time Sunday night doesn't mean an early bed time filled with planning and anxiety.  Like I said I know how to worry and I'm good at it, I'm working on learning to fully and completely rely on God especially during this new journey.  It's incredible to see how He's working out the little details for us--like finding out yesterday that our health insurance is approved!  I'm thankful for this new journey and new season in life--one with more sleep and learning to fully trust God.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

No Sugar. No Flour.

I know this sounds crazy but I'm going on two weeks with no (or very little) sugar and white flour.  I decided I needed to make a healthy change and had been reading about side effects from sugar consumption and decided this would be a good way to go.  I had been having trouble sleeping, probably averaging only 4 hours a night, had lots of headaches, and very sluggish. 

The first few days were really rough, I was grumpy and exhausted.  I was really surprised that I had any symptoms cause I didn't think I ate that much sugar but I soon found out that I did!  The third day was the hardest, I was having a hard time comprehending things at work and moving very slow.  Once I got through that day it's been much easier.  I have slept so good the past week and a half and have zero headaches.

I'm not saying no sugar is the way to go for everyone, it is an interesting subject to research though.  The amount of sugar our body needs to function is very little and the excess sugar slows our body down. 

Kyle has been such a good sport these past few weeks, he put up with my crabbiness and has been flexible about what we eat.  I have found delicious recipes including a Greek dip that I could live off of--I've made it twice in the past two weeks.  I eat it with some multi-grain chips, but you really could eat it with a fork. 

I will say work is the hardest place to avoid sugar, we have so many pastries & drinks that are delicious (and full of sugar) but I've been doing good.  I have my iced double espresso in the morning & bring two breakfast cookies.

Anyone else ever tried the no sugar way? 

Baked Chicken Nuggets

I'm not much of a fast food girl, but I love Chick-fil-a especially the chicken nuggets with Chick-fil-a sauce. It's my weakness.

Since we are trying to eat at home more, I decided to attempt to make baked chicken nuggets. And while they were in the oven, I whipped up my own version of Chick-fil-a sauce. They both turned out really good so I thought I would share the recipes:

Baked Chicken Nuggets
2 large chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Salt & pepper
2 tsp olive oil
6 Tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp Panko
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (the stuff in the green shaker worked great)

450 degree oven
Spray baking sheet

Put olive oil in one bowl and breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan in another bowl

Season chicken with salt & pepper, put in olive oil, then doing a few pieces at a time put in breadcrumb mixture. Make sure each piece gets fully coated.

Place on baking sheet, lightly spray the top with some non-stick spray

Bake 8-10 minutes then turn over and bake for 4 more minutes

Maddie & Kyle sauce
1/2 c honey mustard
1 tsp barbeque sauce
a squirt of regular mustard
Hope you enjoy!

A new journey

Over the past few months I've felt a tug at my heart to take a leap of faith and trust God with my future. I wasn't really sure what this meant and just kept going through my regular routine. I felt run down, exhausted and unhappy when I got home from work which I had never felt before. I realized it was time for me to move on to what God had planned for me. Kyle and I sat down and talked about what this meant for our lives, and I decided to go back to school.

So here's the big news--I'm going to go back to school and get my Master's degree in Counseling! I have a lot of work to get there, applications, GRE test, essays, etc. but I am so excited to be on this journey. I have given my notice at work and I will be leaving in the middle of May. I want to be able to focus on this new journey and have energy to spend on the talents and passions God has given me.

God continues to show me that this is the right path for me and I am so blessed to have people in my life to encourage me and lift me up in prayer. I would love to know all the details ahead of time--I'm a huge planner--but that's not how trusting God works. I only know a tiny bit of this journey, I know the first step was giving my notice and starting applications and I have taken that step. I am learning to trust God and take it one step at a time, relying on Him and not my own strength.

⁶ You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials ⁷ so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6-9