my plight and my pleasure

every single morning when we get ready for our day i sit georgia in front of me and attempt to tame her hair. it takes a towel. a water bottle. a wide tooth comb and some leave-in conditioner. and she has come to expect AND resent the process. which makes a hard task even harder. so lately i've just been real honest with her explaining that this will have to happen every single day of her life. it's just the nature of her hair. the perfect and beautiful nature of her hair. well. perfect and beautiful after the process. and a big ole' nappy mess beforehand. so until yesterday i considered this 5 minute ordeal each morning a plight. until yesterday.

as i was getting her ready for church yesterday morning the Lord stared to reveal some very similar comparisons between his relationship with me and my relationship with her hair. i am the hair. his word is the conditioner. he is the comb. daily is the process. i began to see that each morning i desperately need his word to saturate my knots. to loosen the nap. to expose the mess. and as i gently let his word cover me then begins the process of the comb. it is only through me allowing his word to find it's place with me that he can begin to work through the scriptures to change me into something beautiful and perfect. not worldly perfect. his perfect. this is where it starts getting uncomfortable. the combing part hurts. georgia {and me} hates this part. squirming and fussing and carrying on. and in the midst of it all i keep reminding her that we're almost through. almost through sweet girl. until tomorrow i say. then it starts again.

i am so thankful that regardless of all my fussing { and boy i know how to fuss } he still tames the knots. i am his child and just as i don't want my own child out there looking a mess, his desire is the same. even more so. and for better reasons than mine. and it will remind me to pray each day that he be patient with me as i fuss because i want to be made beautiful as well. and he will. and in turn, i will.

so from now on i will look at that head of curly hair and think tender thoughts of the process it takes to make it and me beautiful. and hope that one day i can be a pleasure to him as well.

a superhero trick

disclaimer: you should only try this at home if you have a wonderwoman costume lying around. also, no babies {nor mommies} were harmed in the making of these pictures.

{and one more thing i just have to add...want to know what i love best about these series of pictures??? when georgia had stood up straight and balanaced with her arms up, she looked over to her daddy to see if he was as proud of her as she was. and he was. and i hope she always looks to him for encouragement and confidence because he is her biggest fan. lucky lucky girl. uh. i mean superhero. }

been trying...

finding time to post these last days has been challenging. between the sun, the rain, bubbles, friends and potty training we've been a little covered up lately. i mean that figuratively and well. literally...

{ covered in rain }

{ covered in pollen }

{ covered in mud }

{ covered in bubble juice }

{ covered in toilet water }

doesn't all this make you super anxious to come visit???? thought so. just be warned if you do that from sun up to sun down there will be a little 30lb person with super curly hair standing at the door begging to take her outside. regardless of the weather conditions or pollen count.

and that little person is 22 months old today. 22 months. as in almost 2 years old. as in boy time flies.

the rest of the story...

it's one thing to read a book or watch a football game when you already know the outcome, but it's quite different when you are witnessing the event in real time and hanging on every moment. this morning when i woke up i immediately thought of the disciples and the way they must have been feeling some 2000 years ago watching the crucifixion of their Lord. the very same One that had been among them for 3 years and performed miracle after miracle, was now at the hands of the people who would take away His precious life before their eyes. i imagine that which each blow and strike to Jesus' body, there was a blow to the hope they held as well. and when the time had come and the price was paid and the Savior gave up his life, his disciples were left with a devastation that we will never comprehend. and the next day and the next day served to only further their hurt and hopelessness. but that glorious 3rd day served something that been planned from the beginning of time. that 3rd day served to change this world forever. that 3rd day fulfilled the scripture in the most beautiful and perfect way...

the news of our Risen King wasn't just for the disciples. it was for all of us. you. me. the sinner. the saint. your neighbor. your friend. your enemy. your father. your child. you. me. all of us.

as soon as i finish this post, i will pray for every soul who reads this blog post. that eyes be opened. ears be cleared. minds be changed. and souls be saved. this Easter...every Easter is what that is about. that we who are so desperate, just like the disciples, would come to a place of belief and restoration through the life and death of Jesus Christ. and those of you who are believers...rejoice my friends. rejoice in the glory of our Risen King.

happy Easter everybody. happy happy Easter.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified...

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said"

Matthew 28:1-6