thankful thursday: thanksgiving weekend.

it's only appropriate to write a thankful thursday post for thanksgiving, right? here are a few things i've been thankful for this thanksgiving weekend:

1. our brand new nephew!
the husband got a call on tuesday morning saying his sister was headed to the hospital, so we packed in a frenzy and rushed to dallas. a little over 24 hours later, benjamin made his debut into the world! 24 hours, y'all. that's just brutal. but, we'll never forget the thanksgiving we spent in and out of the hospital celebrating his arrival. we're so glad he's finally here!! he's such a cutie (can you even handle those chubby cheeks?!) and we're so pumped to be his favorite aunt and uncle!

benjamin daniel hardy. 9 lbs, 22 inches.

2. sweatpants.
i think sweatpants were made for thanksgiving. cozy, stretchy, baggy... they're perfect (okay, they're perfect for everyday, but definitely on turkey day). this was my first thanksgiving at the brister house, and let's just say, i'm still full. thanks for way too much good food, bristers!

3. facetime.
one of the best parts of getting married is gaining a family, but one of the hardest parts is not being with your family on holidays. this was my first thanksgiving not to see my family, and while i loved being with the in-laws (especially little ben!), i sure missed my fam. so to whoever invented facetime, thank you!! it made my weekend to see them... eh... screen-to-screen.

4. auburn.
it's no secret auburn was TERRIBLE this season... and today's iron bowl performance was no exception. i mean, it just hurts. but... i still wore my auburn shirt proudly. it's still great to be an auburn tiger. i wouldn't trade it for anything. war eagle.

5. christmas season.
the end of thanksgiving weekend means the beginning of christmas season. while i'm not really into the black friday madness, i'm super into christmas music and christmas decorations. both are in full swing in our apt and i couldn't be happier about it.

hope you had a great thanksgiving! what are you thankful for this week?

national adoption day.

did you know that november is national adoption month? probably. did you know that today is national adoption day? i just learned that! anyway, if you know me at all, you know that everything about adoption makes my heart freak out. i don't think i can read/watch an adoption story with dry eyes... and i'm hoping chris and i will one day have an adoption story of our own!

all of that to get to this -- i read an article from buckner about national adoption month, which led me to this video of francis chan discussing why believers should be about adoption. i just love the way he describes it -- so clearly and so passionately. it's only 2 minutes long, so you have no reason not to watch it -- enjoy!

Francis Chan For Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

psalm 100.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

the phrase "give thanks" is used over 70 times throughout scripture, and several of those times it is phrased something like this: "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" it's all over the place.

the act of giving thanks seems to be unquestionably connected to the act of recognizing his goodness and his steadfast love. why? because, unlike our circumstances, those things are unchanging. i think that's why paul was able to write, "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 thessalonians 5.18) -- because we're not necessarily giving thanks for the circumstances, but for the one who doesn't change even when our circumstances do.

the author of psalm 100 seems to get this connection, too. he calls us to enter the lord's presence with thanksgiving and praise -- why? not because of who we are, what our circumstances are, or how we feel, but because of who the lord is -- the lord is god, he made us, he is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness extends to all generations.

at times, i've for sure questioned his goodness, love, and faithfulness in my life, but i wonder if that's because in those times i've looked for evidences of his goodness, love, and faithfulness in my circumstances, rather than in his character.

i'm in the process of re-learning these things. i feel like i'm learning how to recognize his goodness, love, and faithfulness all over again -- as if for the first time -- and the psalmist was right, the only proper response seems to be praise and thanksgiving.

"The highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God... God only desires that our soul cling to him with all of its strength, in particular, that it clings to his goodness. For of all the things our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon his goodness that pleases him most and brings the most profit to our soul." -- Julian of Norwich, quoted in "one thousand gifts"

thankful thursday: 11.08

i missed last week's post, so here are a few things i've been thankful for over the last couple of weeks:

1. pumpkin scones at syrup.
i love all things fall, which also means i love all things pumpkin. just last week the bakery we get our scones from sent us some pumpkin scones to sample. y'all. it took about .03 seconds to decide we had to have them. these scones are like autumn in your mouth -- so unbelievably good.

2. election day.
i'm so thankful i live in a country that gives me the right to vote. there are way too many places in this world where that is not the case. i'm so thankful the lord calls us to pray for our leaders and assures us he upholds the universe by the word of his power (hebrews 1.3).

3. nephew #2.
the fact that it's november a little bit blows my mind, but the good news is, our second nephew is making his debut into the world this month and we absolutely can't wait!! chris's sister, katie, is due november 21st, and we are counting down the days. chris doesn't even know what to do with himself he's so excited. we can't wait to meet you, benjamin daniel hardy!

4. weekend in norman.
after traveling 4 out of the last 5 weekends, we are super excited about just being in norman this weekend! all of our out-of-town trips have been so much fun, but we're ready to be home and feel normal for a little while before the holiday madness begins. also, OU is playing baylor here in norman this weekend -- we'll be wearing our green and gold proudly. sic 'em!

5. my preacher husband.
chris gets to preach at our church about once every 4-6 weeks. i know i'm 100% biased, but i really do think he's got a gift for it. he's especially great at the studying and preparation. then he's able to communicate it in a clear, matter-of-fact, down-to-earth, somewhat sarcastic way -- would you expect anything else? the most incredible thing is when i hear people talk about what they got out of the sermon -- to realize the lord is speaking through your husband to work in someone's life is a pretty crazy/awesome/humbling thing. i'm so proud of him and eager to hear him again this sunday.

one thousand gifts.

ann voskamp's book, one thousand gifts, has been on my nightstand waiting for me to read it now for about four months. in the meantime, i've started following her on twitter, checking her blog occasionally... but for whatever reason i've just let her book collect dust.

then, last week my friend posted a video of ann voskamp on her blog. i'm not completely sure, but i think it's a preview video of a new one thousand gifts bible study. whatever it is, it's fantastic. i sat there watching it (and have watched it again) with tears in my eyes.

she talks about how at an early age, she went through tragedy and her heart became closed off toward God. she talks about how she couldn't see his love and his grace toward her. she talks about how this project of finding one thousand blessings in her life became a journey of restoration. she talks about how gratitude changed her entire perspective on life and allowed her to understand God's love for her.

the tears came because her story sounds way too familiar. i've struggled to understand God's love for me in the last five and a half years. i've tried to keep him at a distance. i've allowed my faith to become something in my head, rather than my heart. on top of that, i've recently felt like i've just been going from job to job, event to event, weekend to weekend... just feeling like i'm existing and getting by rather than really living.

but, i find myself really wanting my heart to be engaged. i want to really live in the moment. i want my affections to be stirred for him. i want to see his love and grace in my life. it may seem scary and difficult sometimes, but i want it desperately.

whether you're in a similar place or not, i hope your heart is encouraged and your perspective is renewed by this video. it's only 20 minutes long, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. oh and i'm only a few pages in, but i can already tell you i'd recommend the book, too!

wedding weekends.

in the month of october, chris and i went to three out-of-state weddings three weekends in a row. i mean.... what were we thinking?! october was basically a whirlwind for us, but all three weekends were a blast and we can't imagine missing any of those weddings. so here's to being young, not having kids yet, and loving so many good people in our lives (even if they did all decide to get married at the same time)! here are a few of the highlights -- this should probably be three separate posts, but we'll cram it into one gigantic one -- get ready for a LOT of pictures...

october 6: emily (my cousin) and nathan serven / austin, texas

pit stop in waco at my favorite coffee shop ever -- i never thought i would say this, but i actually really miss waco.

always fun for all of us to be together -- whit did that all by himself right before they snapped the pic -- adorable, right?  

dad's side of the family -- my first time to be around all of them since our wedding a year ago -- that's way too long!
 {random fun fact: emily wore the same dress my aunt and my grandmother wore! so cool!!}

the boys went to a UT football game while the girls and whit drove down to san antonio to see gigi. i just adore her.

we took whit to the pumpkin patch down the street from gigi -- he loved it!

other highlights: being in texas, eating great mexican food, seeing chris's family on the way back thru dfdubs (next time we see them his sister will have a baby!!), oh and being in texas...

october 13: chase and lauren sievers (friends of mine from auburn) / montgomery, alabama

we were SO happy that alan and melinda (norman friends) made this crazy long 12 hour drive with us --  they brought with them good stories, lots of laughs, good snacks, better music selection, stellar road trip games, and most importantly, car knowledge. alan came to the rescue when the volv battery decided to die on the trip back.
yes, we used coke to corrode the rust. yes, we drank the rest. yes, we left the car running from tupelo to norman. yes, we pumped gas twice with it on. 

saturday morning breakfast with friends

quick trip to the loveliest village on the plains

weagle weagle

'nam friends + spouses. some of my absolute favorite people in the world. easily worth the 24+ hours of driving.

other highlights: celebrating chris's birthday the whole drive there, seeing friends (the littlepages) that live on the other side of the world and meeting their brand new daughter -- miss adelaide, talking adoption with friends (the mcgees) who recently adopted from ethiopia, catching up with my college pastor and his wife (the deans) and meeting one of their sweet daughters they recently adopted from china, hearing the incredible things the lord is doing in all of these friends' lives and dreaming of doing life together again one day... 

october 20: brian (chris's friend from tech) and jaime griggs / amarillo, texas

quick trip to lubbock for a texas tech fix

while chris was doing the groomsman thing on saturday, i hung out with my cousin, sheree, who lives in amarillo. she took me to all the amarillo hot spots -- like cadillac ranch -- what even is this place?!?!

palo duro canyon -- second largest canyon in america. BEAUTIFUL!!

{i just realized we don't have any pics from the actual wedding. oops. i'll try to find one.}

other highlights: being in texas, eating great mexican food, not ever being able to get over how FLAT west texas is, seeing my cousin kaitlyn in lubbock, watching sunrises and sunsets in the biggest sky, sneaking away from the reception to watch tech beat tcu in overtime, watching chris around some of his best friends in the world, oh and being in texas...

whew! the end. october, you were so so so fun, but maybe just a little bit crazy... cheers to spending most of november in norman!