slacking.

So I haven't posted since April...whoops. A 9 month old spitting up on your keyboard will do that. :] But I've been getting inspired, and I have big plans for making time to blog...so we'll see how that works out.

this is incredible.

Read the girl's story behind this ministry. I can't imagine letting Shiloh do something like this...but what if God has called her to really Love like He does? What if we could raise her to be better than us, to trust God more than us, to be truly selfless and whole-heartedly pursue Christ, no matter what the cost? It scares me to think of letting her go to do something so radical. I wonder how much it tore apart Mary to watch Jesus live out His calling?

It helps me remember my life is not my own. But I have a harder time thinking that about my little girl. :]

cloth diapers&DIY goodness.

For reasons of frugality and trying to be "green", we are trying out cloth diapers at home. I randomly found one pack of 12 cloth diapers [looks like a burp cloth] at Wal Mart for 5 dollars. I haven't seen them since! I then got two diaper covers off Ebay. You can support stay at home moms and save money over going to some boutique. They usually run from about $14 to $30, and I got mine for $3 and $5. We just don't have the money to drop $100 on the startup kits and all the little extras, so with some creativity and bargain hunting I'm making it work for under $20. If we decide to switch to cloth completely, I'll have to find more covers and maybe more inserts, but I can just find some more deals online. Shiloh likes them, and looks pretty darn cute in them, so the switch may be in our near future.

Then I solved my lack of pillows problem with Matthew's old t-shirts and quilt pieces my grandma put together:And turned my utensil caddy [which took up too much space on the counter] into my crafts caddy:
And made an old cashew can into the new utensil holder:

I'm pretty excited about getting stuff done. I've had a surge of energy and creativity the last month or so! Expect more pictures and DIY stuff soon, regarding my garden and our move coming up!

halfway there.

Shiloh is officially 6 months old, and it sort of breaks my heart. I know that too soon she'll be walking and talking and outgrowing me. I feel like I just can't get enough of her!

So, here it is:

Shiloh, at 6 months,

You can sit up on your own [until you see something you want!]

You can roll across the living room shockingly fast.

You are still breastfeeding like a champ.

You absolutely hate bananas [the face you make always makes me cry from laughing].

You love teething cookies and applesauce.

You respond when we say your name.

You can hold a bottle on your own [makes me really sad!].

You like tearing up magazines.

You still sleep on your side instead of your back.

You always crack up when your Daddy yells "butt!" at you in his silly voice.

You are a bouncing machine!!! Thank goodness for your johnny jump-up.

You "talk" to us very seriously...it's too cute.

You are into EVERYTHING...especially Daddy's Blackberry. :]

Your favorite color is red, which is one of my least favorites!

Your eyes look exactly like your Daddy's.

You love bath time.

You're very soothed by Daddy singing.

You're incredibly hot-natured! It's a little ridiculous.

You have me and Daddy wrapped around your little finger - which I wasn't expecting to happen to me!

You hate Miley Cyrus and fuss when she's on the radio. [yessss!]

You "nom" on everything...including chairs...which really cracks up Will the intern!

You sort of army crawl across the floor now...so the pack and play will be a big part of our lives soon.

You give me and Daddy "kisses"...sloppy and sweet!

You have started hugging me...and it makes me want to explode!

You are better than I could have dreamed. You have changed my life and I would do anything for you. Nothing matters to me more than you do. I'm sure all moms feels this way, but I often look at you and find it hard to believe that any person has ever loved another person this much. I want you to have everything that is good. I want to tell you about Jesus, and watch you grow up in the way He wants. I want to support every dream you may have. I want to be a better person than I ever have been so that I can be what you need me to be. I pray for you almost constantly!

My life will always be better because you are here. I adore every part of you and can't wait to get to know you more and more as you grow. You are a perfect picture of God's grace for me. I love you more than you will ever know, and more than I could ever understand.

my life as of late.

Shiloh has been killing some teething cookies. She can hold it and feed it to herself...which makes me a little sad. Stop growing up!!

I got lovely birthday flowers from my lovely friends who threw me a surprise party!
Shiloh also likes swinging...but in a very calm way. :]
Matthew's an awesome daddy.
Bruegger's Bagel Breakfast for my Birthday! [alliteration much?]
Life has been busy, but good. I have had an awesome 23rd birthday and this weekend will top it off when I get to spend the weekend in Black Mountain with people I love, and see Jennifer Knapp in concert! :] Also, Shiloh will be 6 months on Saturday...so I have to get back up here and do a 6 month post like all the other cool moms.

Spurgeon:TheBoilerRoom:Greenville

If you haven't heard Matthew explain where the name for the Boiler Room comes from, let me share it with you.

[Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification.]

Charles Spurgeon was obviously a powerful speaker. When he traveled, he was asked where the power came from in his ministry, and he said it was due to "boiler rooms" - a room in whatever city he was traveling to where people would gather and pray before, during, and after his meetings there. This is what fueled his ministry and gave it such an impact. Like a boiler room in a building or ship, they were not really seen by anyone except those working in them, but there would be no power without them.

This is the heart of the Boiler Room in Greenville.

Prayer fuels missions. If you believe in the God of the Bible, you believe in prayer. Even those who don't believe in Him often utter prayers without thinking when they're in a desperate situation. At our core, we as human beings believe in prayer. And we've seen things change when we cry out to Him.

Now...what if we prayed even when we weren't in crisis mode? What if your pastor could get up to preach knowing that he had been covered in prayer throughout the week? How more bold could those who reach out on ECU campus be if they had people praying for hours each week for them?

Ephesians 6:12 says that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but with the powers of darkness in this world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. That's why shouting at college students doesn't work, but praying against the things holding them down does. [And no, I don't mean walking up to a stranger in a public place and putting your hands on them and "praying the demons out of them". That's not a good plan...ever.] But what if when you went up to share the gospel with someone after having spent a significant time in prayer for them? We need to become more spiritual-minded, and less flesh-minded [and crazy-minded, for that matter.]

So that's the idea. A room where God's glory can dwell. An atmosphere that is conducive to prayer, worship, and intimacy with God. A place where the people of God can be with Him anytime - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And from that flame on the altar that never goes out, real power from heaven to change lives and set people free can flow. And though the people praying in th Boiler Room night and day may not be the ones to go out in power or even see what their prayers accomplish, they are still keeping the flame that fuels it going.

If you have a heart to pray, or maybe just want to see what this looks like, come out sometime. We now have public prayer/worship from 10-12, Monday-Friday, plus 6:22 on Friday Night. We'd love to have you!

Love:Responsibility.

I was reading my Bible at 6:22 on Friday, and stumbled across some verses that are amazing. I was planning on using this for my lesson at the 6:22 girls' bible study last night, but then only me and Hannah came...haha. So this is where I'll use them.

Proverbs 24:11-12

11 "Rescue those being led away to death;

Hold back those staggering towards slaughter.

12 "If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this',

does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not He who guards your life know it?

Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?"

We have a responsibility to one another. Christianity only works if we stop putting ourselves first and start looking out for others ahead of ourselves. If you see someone struggling and just go on with your day, this passage says that God weighs your heart and perceives that you made that decision, and that He repays each of us for what we have done. That's a big deal - it's important to God that we rescue those in need of rescue.

Also, we aren't just supposed to pat each other on the back for being good at pretending we have it all together; We're supposed to share in our struggles and bear one another's burdens. [Galatians 6:2]

Hebrews 11:13-16

13 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

We are not from here. We are not citizens of this world, and we should live accordingly. When you go to a different country, you have to take some time to get accustomed to it - a different language, or dialect, or traditions, or behaviors - how much more, then, should we feel strange and different in this world? We should not feel at home here, because this is not our home. We may never see the fruit of what we do; we may get hurt over and over again by putting others before ourself, but that's not an excuse not to do it. We'll see it when we get home - to our real home. While on earth, we should always be homesick for Heaven. The reason we fall short most of the time is because we have settled in here, and we look just like the rest of the world.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

14 "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, take tender care of those who are weak, and be patient with everyone."

This is my favorite verse. Well...one of my favorites. :] It lists a lot of types of people, or a lot of places people can be on their walk, and how other believers should respond. Not a single one of them lists "ignoring" or "judging" as a Godly option. When someone is weak or struggling with something, how often do we just gossip about them and pat ourselves on the back for not being that sinful? People are constantly hurting and going through things all around us - it's the human condition. But how many times at the end of the day can we look back and note the person we've taken "tender care of" that day? That's part of our job description! That's at the core of calling ourselves "christian". Loving others more than ourselves. Willingness to inconvenience ourselves to help someone else. And again, we fall short of this because we look just like the world. This goes against human nature and what the world would say to do, but it is God's heart, and therefore, it should be our heart.

You know how to make your heart look more like God's heart? Spend time with Him. Get to know Him. Read His book. It's awesome. :]

This is also awesome...and a good way to get pumped up about living like Jesus. Watch/listen to the whole thing...we've got this painted in the Boiler Room because it's just amazing.