hand-eye coordination I AM NOT

what is that creature you ask? you can find him/her on the new ps3 game "little big planet". the shipley household (blake) has been waiting for this game to come out for a while now. we've been watching clips about it and have "preview parties". j/k, i have to say though, the graphics on this game are unreal...not to mention the imaginative minds that created it. it would be a dream land to live in as a kid. so the other night we sat down to play our new phenomenal game and my conclusion is this: i suck! blake was running around with his little creature all over the place, popping every "bubble" so he could have new stickers and such and well, i lost A LOT! holding the controller is a new learning curve to me not to mention having to use it. let's just say i was getting really mad at blake for beating me and he was getting really frustrated at my inability of hand/eye coordination.
come over and play if you would like, i'm sure blake would enjoy your company more than mine! i think the next hand/eye coordination i will be working on is hand to glass to mouth in Napa!-peace out

they gave freely and wholeheartedly

blake and i have been discussing finances lately and with that comes giving. the holiday season is coming up so there are decisions to be made. do we give, where do we give, how much. you see, we have things in mind that we are "saving" for- car, baby, new shoes, new playstation games etc.... and we like to see our account rise (it is not much) but it rises. i've been processing lately why my heart is so eager to buy new shoes, new shirts, new items to add to my closet of jewels (shopping gives me energy, i love it).... so the scripture i read today i would like to re-read in the coming days and listen for what the Lord has for us-

1 Chron.29

king david is passing the torch to his son Solomon and it is Solomon that will build the temple for the Lord. in order for the temple to be built, people have to give. the scripture talks about the leaders giving and lists everything in abundance that they gave. then it goes to say "the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord." it then goes into a prayer of praise to the Lord from David. after that is the line i would like to "sit" on for a while..."But who am I , and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."...

vs.17"i know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. all these things have i given willingly and with honest intent."vs. 20 "they bowed low and fell prostrate before the Lord and king".

don't want to give a "normal" gift this season...consider this www.adventconspiracy.org.

watch the video that pulls up and then also go to the "video" tab and watch the others. we are doing some thing similar to this as a staff at Watermark, if you would like to be a part of it let me know!

trinity river

if you know my husband, you know he has a vast knowledge of all things dallas. the trinity river runs through dallas and it has been a part of conversation for 4 years. we used to live in oak cliff and would pass over the trinity every day. i know about the bridge being built that will go over it, i also know about the unfortunate"tollroad" that the city of dallas voted on that will run close by a new park being built by the trinity. so this saturday morning blake planned a little trip for us. it was a great date. we went to the new trinity river audubon park. the place where the park is used to be a part of a huge dump and they have done a lot of work to clean it up and make it like walking through a little forest. we walked on every trail (they were only about .5 miles long). one trail was the blue heron trail. apparently a lot of blue heron landed on the river the w/end before we went, we did not see them.  i know that i do not have the vast amount of knowledge blake has so i'll spare you all of the facts. they have things to do inside the main building (coolest part), the building is green certified with a roof made of grass. i think it will be awesome in a few years, you can tell a lot of things are newly planted in hopes to have a natural setting of native plants in a few years. btw, did you know that the last time dallas had a flood was 1908 and there are things called "100 yr. floods" which means we are due for one?? yep, learned that while i was there. here are some pics, it was a beautiful day. i do wish the river wasn't green...

new love

blake and i had a great weekend. it was full of festivities. we first went to OSU homecoming (walk arounds). we enjoyed coffee from a place called aspen coffee as we made our way through thousands of people to look at these huge walls of "pomped" tissue paper...it's so much better then the ACU floats we used to do in college! we stayed with our freinds jessica, zak and adley. they are some of our best friends and it is always a joy to be with them. i love being in oklahoma, its a different pace of life :)

we came home on sunday to meet the new love of our group: Brooks Joseph Netzer. our friends Veronica (V) and Mike are the proud parents of Brooks. i am really excited we have a little boy in the mix of babies. we also enjoyed time with blake's sister lindsey this weekend. we had dinner with her and the fam at jasper's last night! we are really excited to go to napa with the shipley family in a few weeks! here are a few pic's of baby Brooks below. welcome little one, we love you!

doesn't V look beautiful! she and mike will be awesome parents!

are you kidding

many know that i am reading through the old testament. i love the old testament by the way. it is full of the Lord's promises,faithfulness and miracles. as i was reading this weekend i thought to my self "are you kidding", God is so big, so faithful and is capable of anything. he is a good God. for example, start in 2 kings 4... the widow is about to have her sons taken from her b/c of a debt her husband did not pay. she is told to go home and collect jars from her neighbors, not a few, a lot of jars. she is told to use the "little oil" she has to fill the jars until there are no more jars to fill. i'm picturing her with a "little oil", enough to maybe fill one jar and the Lord fills, and fills, and overflows jars of oil. the Lord provided for her so that she could pay her debt, keep her sons, and to "use the leftovers to live on"...are you kidding, the Lord not only provided oil for the debt, he provided oil above and beyond what she needed. 

next....a faithful woman "does not have a son and her husband is old". she is told that "this time next year, you will have a son to hold in your arms". she doesn't believe it, she probably can't after years of trying (guessing since her husband was "old). she objects in unbelief, still the Lord blesses her, he gives her a son despite her unbelief. the child later got sick and died. here is the cool thing, God did not neglect his promise to her, she knew where to go and ask for healing. she found the man who told her she would have a child and asked for him to heal her son. i loved picturing this: Elisha (prophet of the Lord) reached the house, went in, shut the door and prayed to the Lord. The he got up on the bed where the boy was, lay upon him, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands...as he stretched himself out upon him, the boys body grew warm, he laid on him once more and the boy came back to life. are you kidding, the Lord not only fulfilled his promise once, but twice. 

naaman, who has leprosy asks for the Lord to heal him. he is told what to do (wash in the jordan river) and he complains that the river is not close enough, that he would have to go out of his way to wash in that river, why can't he be healed doing what he wants to do, in the river that is more convienent to go to (unbelief, stubborn, lazy, selfish...wouldn't i go to any river to be healed, or would i?...) instead of rath, the Lord is patient with him and heals him once he obeys, and goes to clean in the jordan river. 

you know, this present time, in some ways is no different for me. i sometimes struggle with unbelief, struggle with believing God has what is best for me, a hard time following him to the jordan river to be healed. thankfully, the Lord is big enough for those times, thankfully He is patient, He does not leave me EVER....the word "alone" shouldn't be a part of our vocabulary b/c we are never "alone". thank you Lord, for your faithfulness, protection, provision and calling me over and over to trust you and to know that you, you alone are a good and faithful God. you Lord are unchangeable, you Lord sit on your throne in the best and worst of times, thank you for where you have brought me and thank you for restoring me and renewing me over the past year. 

*side note: i want anyone who so happens to come across this to know: i do not recall a lot of bible stories, i do not have the bible memorized and i daily need refreshing. i have been reading through the O.T. to be reminded of the God i worship, for myself and to tell others of His faithfulness. i am a believer, but i am a seeker as well. 

in the last week

Here is to a few of my favorite things right now. The first is just because i think it deserves acknowledgement and the last 2 b/c i would like to remember them.  This may be a random assortment, but never the less...things i love. I have a friend who introduced me to salt and vinegar chips on a really bad (b*tchy day) and i so happened to have eaten half of her new bag of chips! They call my name frequently and I just can't resist them. I love the way they numb my lips and are salty/tangy at the same time-LOVE it! They have to be Kettle brand, no other brand will do.  p.s.-i missed this friend dearly today after a doctor's appt. when she wasn't at my desk with a coffee or waiting to go get one :) While I'm at it, Coffee is a favorite thing. Machiato w/o carmel...did you know its the same as a latte its just that the shot is at the top instead of the bottom- tastes wonderful, not to mention getting it at cost at the WM coffee shop. My bill did go up by 50% last month though..

I also love two little girls right now. I am blessed to have kept 2 of my closest friends from high school in my life. Now i get to be a part of their daughter's lives and wouldn't miss it for the world. There is almost nothing i would rather do then spend time with them! I don't have a pic of Jess this time but her daughter is Adley.

blake and harper

cuddling with harper 

with adley and sara

Fun, i love to have fun with a great group of people. we had a little competition last week and now have pumpkins on our front porch:

matt,katie,adam,sara,shipley's, mike and v

today i am thankful for a few things. this is something i would like to "blink" remember. i am thankful i have friends who ask the right questions, i am thankful i have a friend who made a cd full of songs to bring me hope and remind me of the Lord's faithfulness, i am thankful for a husband who is steadfast and i am most thankful for a God who is big enough for tears, big enough for anger, and for moments of unbelief. i am thankful his understanding no one can fathom, and he is able to give us a peace that surpasses all understanding. I am thankful he tells me to call out His name and that He restores me.

Isa. 57:10 "you were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say "It is hopeless" You found renewal of your strength and so you did not faint. " 

which leads me to Isa. 40: 28-31 vs. 29: "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" vs. 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength...they will walk and not be faint." 

So let my renewal of strength and my joy come from my hope in Him...

test drive

so this is what i have been test driving lately (i'm sure mine will look as pretty by a body of water as well). yep, the shipley's could purchase a new car in the next year. that is if we can save the money to do so. i can't believe my "dream" car would ever be a "sportwagen". it is really cool though and has room for little ones in the back. i have shown a picture of the coolest feature, a panoramic sunroof that goes from front to back. we plan to buy a used tdi (diesel). the dealer and blake use words like tork, engine size, etc...all i care about is not going to the gas station all the time (b/c yes, it gets something like 45-50 mpg) and possibly getting a sun tan with a panoramic sunroof, oh yeah, and the cup holders for the sonic drink i will also have in hand! we plan to have it for years so the tdi will pay off. i'll let you know when i...i mean "we" get a new car. for now, i'm test driving...