NEW YORK CITY

if there's one major thing that sonny and i have in common, it's that we are terrible at keeping secrets. the worst i know actually. next to my little sister and i who for every year we lived together, spilled the beans about what we were getting for christmas.
the best was the year she knew she was getting a cell phone but "santa" left it in the at&t bag...priceless. also a story for another time.

about a month ago i started thinking about how incredible my husband is and how much he does for our {little} family. he works really hard. i also got to thinking that the only really out-of-state vacation we've ever taken was to hawaii on our honeymoon. and holy moly that was four years ago.

new york at christmas time has been a dream of mine since i was little. the closets i ever get is the macy's thanksgiving day parade. and i cry when i see the rocketts, the macy's sign and yes. the big man in red.

so i got to thinking.
yolo.
we're going to new york this christmas.

a week from today actually.
so naturally. we needed a list of things to do.

A TO-DO LIST FOR NEW YORK CITY

-rockefeller plaza. the big, beautiful tree. it's going to be the most amazing sight.
-bryant park. ice skating maybe?
-times square. because hello. it's new york.
-the MET. "it's the mets, and they suck. we lie the yankees". if you don't know that quote, i'm not sure we can be friends.
-empire state building. the view.
-ground zero. i think it's going to be one of those moments i'll remember for the rest of my life.
-radio city music hall. if nothing else, a picture of the sign.
-macy's. because i have waited 25 years to see it in person and not just on tv during the parade.
-the blue coffee. in movies, all i see is people in new york with a cup of blue coffee. 27 dresses. seen it? the coffee. where it comes from, i have no idea. but i'll let you know.
-central park. and take a carriage ride. which may have been sonnys idea. i know, he's literally the best.
-5th ave. here i'll perfect my window shopping.
-little italy. p a s t a. in my belly.
-grand central station. maybe they'll be a dance breakout.


is there more? you bet. any suggestions are so welcome!

new york, i can't wait to see you.

christmas playlist

it's the most wonderful time of the year.

stockings, trees, lights, candles burn bright.

everything about this time of year makes me feel like a kid again.

decorating is one of my favorite parts of this season. my mother, is the mrs clause of the south. because i think in a battle with the two of them, it would be a tie on who has the best decorated house. seriously. it's like, martha who.
so when i got married i couldn't wait to start making my house look a fraction as good has hers.
but. no decorating day is complete without christmas music.

which is why i created my favorite christmas songs on a spotify play list to enjoy while you deck those halls.

merry christmas, friends! 

intentionally, creatively, perfectly

"everyone who is called by My name,

whom I created for My glory,

whom I formed and made" 

isaiah 43:7

can we all just take a huge sigh of relief on this one together.
ready?
breathe in
and out.

because listen, if you didn't catch the magnitude of that verse. go read it again.

we're called. created for HIS glory, and formed by the same Creator who made the solar system.
hello. that's amazing.

as i was reading, the "created for My glory" really caught my attention. because i got to thinking, about a life where i was focused on just myself. a life, without Jesus. how much time would i spend pumping myself up?

i don't know about you.
but i don't really walk around telling myself how awesome i am. and no, that isn't because i don't think i'm awesome and have self esteem issues. it's because i walk around telling myself i was created by THE most awesome God. i tell myself that yea, "i am woman, hear me roar" because I have God who's "roaring like a lion" in me (ok truth time. i hate that song but it's what came to mind).

God didn't create humans with the intention that we'd end up...well, kind of like how we are now. selfish, completely self absorbed, so worried about what the rest of the world thinks we're doing (or not doing), and always giving ourselves the high five instead of Him.

we were created for His glory. to live lives that point to Him, and not ourselves. to wake up every morning with the intention of doing His will, and not our own.

but somewhere along the lines. things got a bit lost and fuzzy.

and don't get me wrong here. i'm all for girl power and all that jazz. but i just think it's Who we first sing those praises about that's the point.

i was reading a she reads truth plan from a while ago the other day and came upon this:

so good, right?

i think the most important thing, is to live out how we were created.
intentionally.
creatively.
perfectly.

and no. i'm not talking about the perfect 1950's house wife. or the straight a's kid.

i'm talking about living out the perfect love that we were created with, and that lives in us.
living with such intention that every day counts. every day we've spoke the name of Jesus over someone, every day we've taken the time to pray for friends and family. we've looked for opportunities to really be Jesus to others.
creatively. and i'm not just talking about painting a picture or taking a picture. i'm talking about living a life full of color. because grey isn't that flattering of a color anyways.

so what if, we threw out the "me, me me" mentality?
what if we really focused on His glory and not our own?

i think things might be a little different.

november goals

#1. read three books

i found out our library will deliver books to the house. a game changer

#2. book a wedding

always on my goal list

#3. "thankful for" every day

it's thanksgiving month. this one was a no brainer

#4. learn 5 new things about photography

because you can't ever think you know it all

#5. yoga every day

truthfully, it's already nov 2 and no yoga yet. maybe tomorrow

missing something

"but you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." acts 1:8

i grew up methodist which meant you were baptized as a baby and that was it.
there's wasn't a lot of talk about being "born again".
so you can assume my thoughts when i met sonny and he started asking if i had been water baptized.
of course i had. the nice man when i was a baby poured water on my head and that was that.

wrong. 

there was so much more.

after sonny and i had started dating my family and i started going to a nondenominational church. you know, the crazies with their hands in the air during worship. the "amen"ers during a sermon. the head nodders. the clappers. it was like someone had picked us up and dropped us off on another planet.
but then things started to click.
we got that there was so much more.

i got water baptized in april of 2010.

"whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" mark 16:16

this was also the day sonny asked my parents to marry me. big day in the steiner house. 

i finally understood that Jesus said i was to believe and then be baptized. 

there was an order there, and for a reason. we don't understand grace and the love Jesus poured out for us as babies. heck, we can't even eat on our own.

but as an adult, or a child, you can understand that grace and love. 

it was a huge decision for me. one i had to make all on my own, one that i spent a lot of time in prayer about. God called and i answered. 

so things were great. amazing in fact. 

i was slowly moving away from the church i had grown up in that seemed full of rules, to understanding that God loves me. and that it is that simple. 

my relationship with God grew and grew. 

but i wanted and needed more. 

i sat listening to people preach, as well as my own husband talk about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. i'd sit and nod my head (a wife thing). acting like i understood. 

but i didn't. 

last week sonny and i talked about it. and i finally told him that i had never been baptized in the Holy Spirit. we talked for a while about it. and he just said, "if you pray for it, God will give it to you".

so i did. 

then.

this past weekend i went with my mom to tampa to see joyce meyers. 

and don't you know that a preacher man came out and started talking about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

have you ever had one of those moments where you just have to laugh with God. because He's that good?

the preacher man explained that when we're born again, and baptized by water God has more for us. that until we were baptized in the Holy Spirit, we weren't living in the fullness of His power. 

sometimes when people talked about the power of God in me, i'd get all weird. it was strange to think that the God of the universe's power could be in me. 

"for john baptized with water, but not many days from now you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit" acts 1:5 

but then. 

i got it. 

the preacher man prayed with us and baptized us in the Holy Spirit. 

and HOLY COW. can i just tell you how awesome life is. 

there really, really, reallllly is more. 

"...suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting...and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." acts 2:2,4

i gatta tell ya that life is good. 

"God never meant for us to live weak, powerless lives-always running on fumes, and barely getting by. His will for us is to be "more than conquerors" (romans 8:37). He wants to provide us with the strength and ability we need to succeed in life and be powerful witnesses for Him." - joyce meyer

it's little things like all the stress i had about certain things before is gone. i've really given it up to God. and then it's big things like really feeling His presence in my prayer time. it's soaking up the Word like i've never read it before. 

there is power, friends. in the name of Jesus. 

i haven't spoken in tongues yet (i get asked that a lot). to be honest that used to be one of those things that weirded me out. but now i know it's real. i'm praying for it, and know that God will make it happen when He plans on it. 

i didn't think my faith in God could get any better but it is. 

if you've been water baptized and haven't been baptized by the Holy Spirit, i'm praying for you! and go talk to your pastor! 

"as we stay filled with the Spirit, we will live above our circumstances and have His joy, peace, hope and resurrection life. we will live our daily lives with a new energy and become powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ." - joyce meyer

life lately.

hi friends!
ok so yes. i've done a terrible job at the #write31. at first i was all worked up about it. because honestly, i wasn't into it. i thought the whole football thing would be awesome. but every time i sat down to write after the first day it felt like a chore.
so i stopped.

and now i'm giving my self some grace and saying it's ok.
because it really is.

life has been a roller coaster lately.
turns out, i pulled a huge muscle in my back and have to get physical therapy for it. so i've been moving around like a 90 year old woman lately. i have been thanking Jesus for giving me the husband He did because i have no idea what i would be doing without him. thanks hubby.
i've had some serious stuff go down with my business lately that has wrecked me. i've felt the enemy knocking on my door with a hammer lately. getting louder and louder every day.

but God.

but God has so much planned for me.
but God has me in His arms.
but God has heard my prayers.
but God is bigger and greater than any of my circumstances.

this past weekend, despite this back pain, i hopped in the car and drove to tampa to join my mom for a joyce meyers conference. who, if you've never seen i highly recommend. she's awesome. and so funny.

anyways. it filled me up. God met me right where i was. met me and even took me further. He met me and wrapped me up in His arms and told me over and over again that everything is going to be ok. because it really is going to be.

God is good, ya'll.
really, really good.

i'm not sure if you've been having a rough couple of weeks like i have. but rest in the fact that God is working. really hard in our lives. for our good.

even when we can't feel it or see it.
God is working.

"[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [a]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure andsatisfaction and [b]delight."

Philippians 2:13 AMP

day nine: three penalties to know

ok. so penalties.
there are a lot of them in football.
i mean, a lot a lot. here's a list of them all.

every thursday we'll be going over five penalties to know. and no, we won't cover them all. not even half.

we'll start with the most basic/ the one's you see most often.

#1. offsides

when someone on the defense tries to cross the line of scrimmage before the offense has snapped the ball

(the blue line is the line of scrimmage) 

#2. false start

when a player on the offensive side moves before the ball is snapped

#3. safety

when the offensive carrier of the ball is tackled behind their own goal line

and i couldn't find a great video for this one. 

also. you're welcome for duke.