Beaming

I can't stop smiling. 

I am just over the moon excited for Mary Claire and Grant!

He popped the question yesterday and we have another wedding coming in the Jussely family!

All day Friday I was so nervous. I literally had butterflies all. day. long.
I couldn't even take a nap after school. It was something serious! I blame it on the fact that Melissa and I were the ones hiding taking the proposal pictures. If you've never done that, just wait until you feel the weight of that task!

I couldn't have been happier to do it though for these two :)

 They were out at Twin Lakes, the camp where they met and have worked at for the past 3 summers. Also, where Grant works now! A very special place for them.

 When Mary Claire and Grant came back to the house all of their friends and family were there to surprise her!

Checking out the newest addition

They were literally beaming. It was wonderful.

 A few of Mary Claire's friends from Ole Miss being there were a pretty big surprise for her!

 The beautiful, beautiful ring!

 I have been waiting for this day since the first time I met Grant! I couldn't be happier for y'all and you couldn't have found a better man. I am so thankful for our friendship and bond and can't wait for this new experience we get to share together. I love you!

 My best friends

 My love :)

One of Mary Claire's best friends that just got engaged last weekend! So exciting they get to share this season of life together.

 Taking care of business

 Best friends since 6th grade

 Toasting the newly engaged couple!

 The soon-to-be Lyons! My favorite picture.

 Our family just keeps growing!

 Daddy's girl

 Grant's family--it was so nice meeting all of them

 Talking to Aaron--missing him!

My people

It has been so sweet seeing Mary Claire fall in love. This is something I have prayed for for years and it's here! We couldn't have asked for someone better suited for Mary Claire. 

I was taking to her this morning and she said that James 1:17 kept running through her mind all of last night: "Every good and perfect gift is from above..." and  I couldn't agree more! It's so humbling knowing that The Lord finds joy in us when we gather together in His name. When we unite in marriage together in His name. 

I can't wait to begin this journey and share this sweet time with these two love birds.

Zesty Quinoa Salad

Y'all this is good.

Really, really good. 

As in...I wanted to eat the full 6 servings in one sitting good. 

(Don't worry, I didn't)

It was super easy too. 

The original comes from this site.

What you need:

1 cup quinoa 

2 cups water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 limes, juiced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (we quartered ours)

1 (15 ounce) can black beans (organic if you can) drained and rinsed

5 green onions, finely chopped (or however many you want, I'm not a huge fan)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

salt and black pepper to taste

What you do: 

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed

Takes about 10-15 minutes

Set aside to cool 

While cooling, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cumin, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl

Once cooled, combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions together (I did this in the container I was going to store it in the refrigerator with)

Pour dressing over quinoa mixture; toss to coat

Stir in chopped cilantro

Season with salt and black pepper to taste

Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator

(I like it better chilled)

It's amazing. 

Just because...

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:5

"A Laughable Salvation"

A month ago, we had a guest preacher at church and I have to share his sermon. 

I've been meaning to...for a month now and I'm finally getting to take the time this Saturday morning to share a little biblical insight with you all from the mouth of Brian Sorgenfri. I've posted a few things from him before. He is a super talented preacher. The thing I love and loved (he was my RUF minister during college) about Brian's preaching is how he takes passages from the bible that you've probably heard multiple times and brings this new aspect to it. It almost never fails that I see he's doing a passage that I've read/heard before--then I always walk away thinking, "I've never heard it like THAT before though". I love it. It's this fresh lens to see God's word through and it's a privilege to hear this man share the gospel. 

Without further ado...

"A Laughable Salvation" from Judges 3:12-30

(picture from here)

"There are many passages in Judges that are "crazy" and you wonder why they are in the bible. Well, that's us.  We are messy and we are crazy and the only thing that's more relentless than our sin is Jesus's love and want for us. 

I. A laughable oppression:

"And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  He gathered himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel.  And they took possession of the city of palms.  And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years." (vs. 12-14)

It's interesting who God uses in this passage. 

It's laughable because they use the King of Moab. Moab was a weak foe in Israel's past. Eglon, the name of the king, literally means "fattened calf" and this man help them captive for 18 years. 

Moab was the first foe that Israel shouldn't have had to worry about--this is what make it all so laughable. 

The most dangerous stuff in our lives is the things people see as laughable--like good looks, good grade, success, our children, our marriages, money--it's the sin and idolatry that we don't see that will kill us. It's the stuff that's hidden under the good stuff. 

II. Laughable salvation:

"Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.  The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab.  Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.  But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secrecy message for you, O king." And he commanded "silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.  And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.  

When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, "Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber." And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.  (vs. 15-25)

In comes Ehud, the man God chose to save Israel, was a Benjaminite (which means 'son of my right hand') and he was left handed--it's to be believed that his right hand was probably deformed or useless and HE is who God uses. 

He seemed so weak that the guards of Eglon just leave him with the king, unattended because they weren't expecting him able to do anything. 

God seeks, saves, and uses the nobodies and the shameful and He makes them heroes. 

God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the strong. 

God uses what is laughable to save the world and bring people to Him--and when that happens, there is no other explanation other than that God and God alone did that. He saved that person, He loved that person, He used that person. 

Ehud escapes from the king's palace by going under Eglon's toilet and the guards wait so long that they are embarrassed--Ehud gets away so easily, with absolutely no struggle. 

So not only was the person chosen to save Israel laughable, but so was the way that he actually accomplished it. 

The way of salvation just seems laughable, it seems too easy--all we have to do is give up ourselves, realize that we aren't good enough, and only need Jesus.

Bring my sin and He will bring salvation and joy. 

The way we are saved is by the humiliation of Jesus Himself.  The laughing stock of the world because just that for MY salvation.  It seems laughable, but it's incredibly beautiful. 

III. Laughable Result 

Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.  When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim.  Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. And he said to them, "Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.  And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years." (vs. 26-30)

We are like the Israelites in this story. 

The end is secure, Jesus wins. The rest is just "mop up work"

Because we follow Jesus who didn't take power, but gave it away through humility--then it will continue through us with our weakness and humiliation. 

God uses the ordinary to save and convert people--you won't save people by being morally awesome--you will save people by repenting and loving them. 

What we do as Christians all seems laughable.  

We love unlovable people, we give away our money, we sit under the teachings of an ancient book, and that's laughable.

As Christians, we have to be laughable and be able to laugh.  

It's laughable when we reveal our greatest sins and Jesus STILL pursues us and loves us and is glad with us.  It's funny the kind of people He loves. 

When it "just makes sense" to us--we should worry. We should laugh in joy about what He's done. We should laugh with rejoicing. 

Ellie Holcomb

Saying that this past Sunday evening was one for the books would be the understatement of the year. 

If you're wondering what went on Sunday night--then you missed something pretty phenomenal. 

It was Ellie Holcomb, in concert, at our church and it. was. amazing. 

I knew I loved her music & her voice. 

But, there's something about hearing a singer/songwriter tell about their songs that makes them mean so much more. To know where a person's heart is while writing is such an intimate thing, and she shared that with us all. It was sweet. I had chills the entire night, tears in my eyes a few times, a big goofy smile plastered across my face the rest of the time. Like I said, it was amazing!

If you don't know who Ellie Holcomb is, I've got you covered. 

Here's a quick tid bit about this lovely lady--who happens to love Jesus, a lot--and also happens to be mega-talented and pretty hilarious. 

 I was going to share some of my videos from the night, but I'm having some technical difficulties for some reason! This will just have to do:

This one is my favorite & her explanation of it made me love it even more so. I know I'll mess up what she said exactly, so I will just try to summarize. No matter what, no matter how bad, you can always end your day knowing that tomorrow, the sun will rise. And as her song says: "As sure as the sun will rise, and chase away the night, His mercy will not end. His mercy will not end". It's a promise. It's something we can cling to and hope for, always. 

Thank you Jesus. 

So here we've got this mega-talented, God loving woman, who sings like no other---and to top it all off, she is so nice. I know, I know, we've heard it all before--but she really was. We all had the best night getting to meet her, talk to her, and fellowship with her. You know I was having a good time because this teacher here, who's usually in bed by 9:00, didn't even get home until about 10:00!

 As a music lover, I am so thankful for these musicians who use their God-given talents to glorify Him in their lives. I was blown away by the fact that every bit of her music is either scripture based or to her husband, who she is happily married to--which is one of the most precious ways to show God's love to another person here on this earth. 

May The Lord continue to bless her as she keeps praising, thanking, and relying on Him with her music and may she know what a true gift it is to those she shares it with. 

(On a side note, I stumbled upon a blog that she does that actually has some of the song meanings posted on there--check that out here)

Aaron & Blair's Engagement Party 8-9-14

This past weekend, we got to celebrate Aaron and Blair's engagement!

It was the nicest party! Beautiful decorations, delicious food, so many friends that I haven't seen in years--all these made for a pretty good night!

 Y'all. This cake was divine. It was in fact strawberry on the inside. 

 The couple of the evening! 

 The families

 This spread was so beautiful and everything tasted just as good as it looks!

 This handsome man of mine! My forever date to all things good!

 Our soon-to-be sister (who's been in the family for years now but we're making it official!)

 The best friends a girl could ever ask for. 

 These two make life fun. Thank you Jesus for siblings!

 These guys always have a good time.

 I love this picture. Aaron always working a crowd!

 Sweet Mother-Son picture

It's so fun celebrating life's big events when they are within the family. 

As I've said many times before, there are few things that are better in this life than seeing your sibling so happy and so loved. It makes my heart sing!

Over The Moon

The time is here! 

We just had our third, full day of school for this year. 

I am such a nerd. A teacher nerd to be exact. 

I love this time of year. 

I love meeting my new students!

I love meeting their parents. 

I love seeing all of my co-workers. 

I love getting new supplies. 

I love decorating my room.

I love it all!!

 My fun fabric that my mom so graciously turned into curtains for my windows this year

The theme for our hall this year was "Out of this world" and the space theme is SO FUN. I love it. 

Each year I like to move things around, try new arrangements and I feel like this one is my favorite yet! My room looks so open and spacious. It's awesome. 

 I love doing a growth chart with my kids. It's amazing to me how much they grow from 2nd to 3rd grade. I typically get my student's 2 years in a row. 

We love the homey look our curtains added. Thanks Mom :)

Pray with me over my class, over my three (yes, only three) precious kiddos I have this year, over their parents and all their surrounds. Pray with me for all the employees at our school who help make Northside the wonderful place it is. Pray with me for our administrators and all they will encounter throughout this school year. It's going to be an amazing year and I am so excited!