tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186094522024-03-19T07:32:04.323-05:00these are my thoughts.cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.comBlogger213125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-85289946612334765132015-04-04T11:56:00.000-05:002015-05-13T12:02:37.601-05:00dear bo.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we are days away from your arrival. less than 48 hours until we finally get to meet you. it is the most surreal thing ever. it feels like all we do is talk about you. we can't wait to know what you look like and what you'll be like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we are off-the-charts excited but equally off-the-charts nervous. we have no idea what we're doing. for example, one time when we were babysitting for a friend, we tag-teamed a diaper change and put the child's diaper on backwards. i'm sorry, bo, but this is the level of baby expertise you're gonna have to deal with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">i think it's okay though. gigi says the manual comes with the baby, meaning you just figure it out and learn as you go when the baby comes. i believe it. i don't want to read books on how to be the perfect parent (in fact, i've read zero -- oops). i just want to figure out how to be the best parent for you. your dad reminds me of that all the time. he's much better than i am at not worrying about comparisons or others' opinions. i hope you pick that up from him.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">speaking of your dad, he could not be more excited about you. he already loves you so much and is so proud of you. the first week of your life is going to be a big one in the sports world -- the college basketball national championship, the masters, and baseball opening day. for months he's been talking about how he can't wait to watch it all with you. i haven't had the heart to tell him you'll probably sleep through everything.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you just kicked me again. it feels like you're running out of room in there and are trying to kick and elbow your way into more space. i will never get over feeling you move. it is just the coolest thing. it reminds me all over again what a miracle pregnancy is. i will never get over how perfectly God designed it all. it's funny to me how the mom gets all the credit for doing all the hard work in pregnancy. yes, i've had my fair share of backaches and heartburn, but i've had zero to do with the actual intricacies of your development. it has been such a clear reminder of how absolutely not in control i am -- a reminder i'm sure i will need often throughout your life. God alone is the one who created you and has been knitting you together (psalm 139). God alone knows the days of your life and the hairs on your head -- i'm praying for lots of them, and hopefully curly (psalm 139, matthew 10). God alone is the one who will give you life and breath and everything (acts 17).</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we pray for you all the time, bo, although i confess it's easier for me to worry than to pray. i'm prone to fear and to expect the worst case scenario. but what i'm learning, and what i hope you learn, is that worry is a waste of time and energy (because again, i'm not in control), and fear is a liar and a thief. it distorts the truth about God's character and steals my joy. praise God that in his grace and mercy he offers a different way -- a life of freedom and joy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. we don't have to be afraid, because he is trustworthy, faithful, and abounding in steadfast love. i pray you will come to know this about God. I pray that one day you will become so enamored with who Jesus is and what he's done for you that everything this world has to offer will pale in comparison. i pray you will be so sure of his love for you that you will be bold and courageous (like your [middle] name's sake, Joshua).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you are so loved already, sweet boy. the nursery is ready, the car seat is in the car, your grandparents are coming tomorrow, and we are all counting down the minutes until we meet you on monday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>photos by <a href="http://www.katebernardphotography.com/" target="_blank">kate bernard photography</a></em></span></div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-27743441124332066782013-10-08T12:16:00.000-05:002013-10-08T13:09:52.560-05:00like a bridegroom and a bride.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
a week ago today was our second anniversary, which i realize sounds like child's play compared to <i>forever</i>, but to us, two years is a big deal and definitely worth celebrating. our tradition (if you can call it that... we've only done it twice now) is to split fajitas at our favorite mexican place since that's what we did on our first date. last year, we followed that up with year-old wedding cake, but this year we indulged on my favorite dessert in town -- chocolate cobbler at blu. so delish. then, the best part of the night is watching our wedding video and crying our (my) little eyes out. i love reliving everything about that day. (side note: if you haven't gotten married yet, let me very strongly recommend that when you do, you invest in a stellar videographer. i'm so glad we did. thanks, <a href="http://whenitclicks.com/" target="_blank">whenitclicks</a>!)<br>
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needless to say, i was extra sentimental last week about all things love, wedding, and marriage. i think i even said to chris at one point, "my goal in life is to figure out how i can wear my veil again." totally normal, right?<br>
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so, one morning i decided to look up all the different times in scripture where wedding imagery is used. having just seen our video and looked through our photos, these verses completely came alive for me. i would love to share a couple with you. they're just so good, y'all.<br>
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<b>"I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!</b></div>
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<b>For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation</b></div>
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<b>and draped me in a robe of righteousness.</b></div>
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<b>I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit</b></div>
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<b>or a bride with her jewels."</b></div>
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<b>-- Isaiah 61:10 (NLT)</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoMB02Dwg-C7tcztM5u5XcyqX9A_QM-ozEBFA6wSvlHCaVX0W0X7t6YALP7ifIjcXpiogMCnR2k7wh03gmCPiVJu5BAF7zXqJJSWhyyJiHebDBjY81huA6e8emYzf3UAqymcSPg/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoMB02Dwg-C7tcztM5u5XcyqX9A_QM-ozEBFA6wSvlHCaVX0W0X7t6YALP7ifIjcXpiogMCnR2k7wh03gmCPiVJu5BAF7zXqJJSWhyyJiHebDBjY81huA6e8emYzf3UAqymcSPg/s640/photo+2.JPG" width="640"></a></div>
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isaiah says that <i>our</i> righteous acts are like filthy rags (isaiah 64:6), but God clothes us in <i>his</i> righteousness,<i> </i>which is far more beautiful than wedding clothes and jewels. and the best part is that unlike that beautiful veil that i only got to wear one time and desperately want to wear again, when we are in Christ, we will <i>always</i> be clothed with his salvation and adorned with his righteousness. when God looks at us, he doesn't see our filthy rags -- he sees Christ's stunning righteousness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3gmHOdfazYa1geYAPTcDcNv11hYJqpunf3pnKLknoLgGJo8ACsXPTFfOyLc_1-gr9GSnsidWFl5XNzDqcTzVvBmbwoj1kbbKYibEP6UZChRfFogDGbDYv7q4VP0dhZQHbeKbBA/s1600/CrowsonBrister381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3gmHOdfazYa1geYAPTcDcNv11hYJqpunf3pnKLknoLgGJo8ACsXPTFfOyLc_1-gr9GSnsidWFl5XNzDqcTzVvBmbwoj1kbbKYibEP6UZChRfFogDGbDYv7q4VP0dhZQHbeKbBA/s640/CrowsonBrister381.jpg" width="640"></a>okay one more:</div>
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<b>"...and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."</b></div>
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<b>-- Isaiah 62:5 (ESV)</b></div>
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it's the best part of every wedding -- watching the groom's face when he first lays eyes on his bride. when you imagine what God's face looks like when he looks at you, do you imagine a look of frustration? annoyance? disappointment? indifference? according to isaiah, if we imagine God's face to look like anything other than a groom's looking at his bride, we are <i>wrong</i>... just flat out believing a lie.</div>
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he is not frustrated or annoyed with you. he is not disappointed in you, and he's certainly not indifferent toward you. when he looks at you, he can barely hold it together. he cherishes you. he sees you as beautiful and radiant -- clothed in salvation and adorned with Christ's righteousness. </div>
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we have to quit believing the lies so easily. we have to quit trying to dress ourselves in filthy rags.</div>
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let him clothe you with his radiant righteousness. </div>
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let your heart believe he is captivated by your beauty.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">know that because of Christ, God is so pleased with you and so proud of you.</div>
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when he looks at you, it is a look of sheer joy and utter amazement. </div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-1540529856621908582013-09-28T12:50:00.001-05:002013-10-08T08:50:03.184-05:00psalm 94:17-19.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.</i></div>
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<i>When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.</i></div>
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<i>When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.</i></div>
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sometimes when i'm having a hard time believing God in my present tense, i have to remember who he's been in my past tense. i like to think that's what the psalmist is doing here -- verses 17 and 18 are in past tense, and verse 19 is in present tense. so, the way we would finish that past tense sentence ("If the Lord had not been my help, ______________.") should add at least a tiny bit of strength to our present tense faith, right?<br />
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also, i'm thankful that "when the cares of my heart are many," the one who paul refers to as "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" cheers, delights, and comforts my soul. what grace that though he commands us not to worry, he provides loving-kindness when we do. though he commands us throughout scripture not to be afraid, he provides comfort when we are. whatever our cares, worries, fears, anxieties are, we can look to the Lord's steadfast love (how good is the word "steadfast"?!) to hold us up when our feet are slipping.<br />
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i'm pretty terrible at remembering these things and pretty great at letting fear run the day. but that's not how we were made to live. we have the Spirit of power inside of us -- the same one that raised Jesus from the dead -- so at the very least i think that Spirit can help us to remember who our God is and how he's been faithful in our past tense, then strengthen us in our present tense to punch fear (anxiety, worry, discouragement, whatever) in the face.</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-4852008065695493782013-09-19T22:12:00.000-05:002013-09-21T10:17:40.452-05:00thankful thursday.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
a few things i've been thankful for this week...<br />
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<b>1. football season.</b><br />
college football is back, y'all, and the bristers are SO happy about it. currently, the auburn tigers are 3-0, the texas tech red raiders are 3-0, and the baylor bears are 2-0, so we're sitting pretty. i guess i should note that the oklahoma sooners are 3-0 as well, so our friends here are happy, too. below is a pic of us trying to be contextual or something. two things about this shot should concern you: i'm wearing <i>crimson</i> ("stripe the stadium" made me do it) and chris is wearing a visor. bless it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBi8JuclNX1O0BXT2Y3s0ShFd3o8RZqv5T59PaVLbTpWWlWF3Q2vIkkNi_t_r0kBYtd8yUdDaASxViqxeosKSizDRur2VlUKuJsjSkFIHBQdwKKDjHORIB9XyiE5W1hSjXSmUbw/s1600/ou+game.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBi8JuclNX1O0BXT2Y3s0ShFd3o8RZqv5T59PaVLbTpWWlWF3Q2vIkkNi_t_r0kBYtd8yUdDaASxViqxeosKSizDRur2VlUKuJsjSkFIHBQdwKKDjHORIB9XyiE5W1hSjXSmUbw/s400/ou+game.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{great seats at the ou/west virginia game -- thanks, houghtalings!}</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>2. texas trip.</b><br />
when some of our norman friends moved to spring, texas (you might remember them from <a href="http://carajanebrister.blogspot.com/2013/05/thankful-thursday-weekend-edition.html" target="_blank">this post</a>), we promised them we'd visit before the end of baseball season so chris could catch an astros game. we <i>really</i> miss them around here. we loved getting to see their new world, hear about kristian's new job with <a href="http://www.love146.org/" target="_blank">love146</a>, play with their sweet little boys, laugh a whole lot (kristian + chris = a hilarious combo), and, of course, eat plenty of ice cream (it's what they do).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUBdcjGnlOZBnd-wPh18IZr8xZg-a30lGaDUhqrj7BZYrtrVBgb-IuBnTIPdKv8CF2o_RevSPJv1A5TP7K0ennvkdr3ZD6kxEkg3tmZJmlxev8QD8bbBT1lQoqwjJuD7zEpqh7Q/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUBdcjGnlOZBnd-wPh18IZr8xZg-a30lGaDUhqrj7BZYrtrVBgb-IuBnTIPdKv8CF2o_RevSPJv1A5TP7K0ennvkdr3ZD6kxEkg3tmZJmlxev8QD8bbBT1lQoqwjJuD7zEpqh7Q/s400/photo-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{how did we not get a picture with kristian and katy?}</td></tr>
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<br />
on saturday, we drove from spring to longview for my cousin's wedding, so clearly we had to make a stop in lufkin to see two of our favorites. it was quick, but we'll take any time we can get with <a href="http://loveinlufkin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">katelyn and walker</a>. so thankful for them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhVEhcxVkNriq8eeWxpgKyKCdtvFPAq-Nf0IDAO9gJ3OMRhoZAJrEeH71glFEx98dzwJRSH1xX02sJQZmMkShyFUiXXa4CTs1HcDaWqg7-n_HIXX9kdEciFWzhyphenhyphenEaA7BMoPe_oQ/s1600/k%2526w.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhVEhcxVkNriq8eeWxpgKyKCdtvFPAq-Nf0IDAO9gJ3OMRhoZAJrEeH71glFEx98dzwJRSH1xX02sJQZmMkShyFUiXXa4CTs1HcDaWqg7-n_HIXX9kdEciFWzhyphenhyphenEaA7BMoPe_oQ/s400/k%2526w.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>3. wicked.</b><br />
my favorite musical is in oklahoma city right now, and i got to see it with a few girls on tuesday night! i've been singing and dancing around ever since. "so if you cannot find me, look to the western sky..."<br />
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<b>4. pie.</b><br />
my mom and brother have been raving about <a href="http://emporiumpies.com/" target="_blank">this pie place</a> in the bishop arts district in dallas, so when i found myself down there for work this week, i knew i had to try it. i may or may not have gotten two slices -- one for dessert last night, and one for breakfast this morning. it was hands down the best pie i've ever had -- and it came in super cute packaging, too!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfk0h9whcq_EuYz9Fu_s540R-rKsOnH9rei5EitKRnJmyk19ZJ1Abe4HkbCWfLpm0cK0_j-wJW2PK_majxaffZ2yAYO7XcVENIjsmBfmO1H1F8Jt1pz-etdTVGdBUZWPTVd8Wlw/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfk0h9whcq_EuYz9Fu_s540R-rKsOnH9rei5EitKRnJmyk19ZJ1Abe4HkbCWfLpm0cK0_j-wJW2PK_majxaffZ2yAYO7XcVENIjsmBfmO1H1F8Jt1pz-etdTVGdBUZWPTVd8Wlw/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{my breakfast slice: "drop dead gourdgeous"}</td></tr>
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<b>5. sunrise.</b><br />
when i opened my hotel room curtains this morning, this is what i saw:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJuy1Dq2Cxs1YaspshyphenhyphenOzWjFigXSTSg_f8kFYNtJBS3o_VWk4I2ly5AXdUPT1-PzUwAJa40AeZAv0uaunEWNsQEwnOJudiqJchsZ3Ieq-zsCwY7THfoBsM26TB26TIBVNBS5KfQ/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJuy1Dq2Cxs1YaspshyphenhyphenOzWjFigXSTSg_f8kFYNtJBS3o_VWk4I2ly5AXdUPT1-PzUwAJa40AeZAv0uaunEWNsQEwnOJudiqJchsZ3Ieq-zsCwY7THfoBsM26TB26TIBVNBS5KfQ/s640/photo-2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{if you zoom in, you can see the state fair ferris wheel!}</td></tr>
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are you kidding me?! sunrises are the most incredible. every time i see one i wonder why i don't wake up every morning to see it. donald miller tweeted one time that if the sunrise happened once a year, the whole world would wake up to watch it. i agree. it's so unbelievable that this stunning beauty happens every single day and we act like it's no big deal... and yet, God keeps making them happen. such a picture of his beauty and grace, and his new mercies -- every single morning!<br />
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<div>
<i>what have you been thankful for this week?</i></div>
</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-66022314620945751522013-09-12T07:39:00.000-05:002013-09-20T17:40:48.959-05:00thankful thursday: vacation edition.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
a week ago today we got back from spending a full week in colorado -- half of it with my family for a friend's wedding in winter park, and half of it just us in denver. it was a very much needed, very much enjoyed getaway. i've been looking at pictures all week trying to pretend like i'm still there. funny how life doesn't really let you ease back in from time away; it forces you to jump back in full force. it's been a crazy week back, so with this post i'm remembering how incredibly grateful i was for our time in colorado. the 5 things i was most thankful for on our colorado vacay...<br />
<br />
<b>1. time with my family.</b><br />
thankful for four days in a row with my favorite people in the whole world. i just can't get enough of them.<br />
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<b>2. the great outdoors. </b><br />
i think the only person on this trip who enjoyed being outside more than me was whit. being outside with a two-year-old boy is the BEST. who knew finding the perfect stick could be such a blast?! sticks, dandelions, rocks, flowers -- his hands were never without at least one of these things. thankful for time outdoors with this little explorer.<br />
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<b>3. our hotel pool.</b><br />
thankful for some down time -- and thankful to learn how to say "no" to seemingly fun things, like going out, and "yes" to seemingly boring things that are actually better for you, like laying low by the pool... because... rooftop pool in downtown denver. what?!<br />
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<br /></div>
<b>4. breakfast.</b><br />
we've decided our "thing" when we travel is going to be finding the best breakfast spots in town. i think we nailed it in denver. we found so many good places, but the denver biscuit company was our favorite by far. thankful to taste the best cinnamon roll of my life.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>5. time with chris in the mountains.</b><br />
thankful for so many days away with the one i love in a place i love. i hope i never get over the beauty and just sheer awesomeness of mountains. they leave me speechless and practically force my heart to worship. i so enjoyed us experiencing that alongside each other.<br />
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gosh, it was such a great trip. so thankful! can we go back already?!</div>
</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-7324092751946026642013-08-06T08:31:00.000-05:002013-08-06T10:32:02.068-05:00expecting, looking, and longing.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">"And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you <i>and </i>show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect <i>and</i> look <i>and</i> long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!"</span><br />
-- Isaiah 30.18, Amplified Bible<br />
<br />
i love that the amplified version translates "waits" as "expecting, looking, and longing." waiting can have such a negative connotation. when i read that he's <i>waiting</i> to be gracious to me, it's as if he's tapping his toe, annoyed at my continual failures, just impatiently holding out his grace until i get my life together. but <i>expecting, looking, and longing</i>? that paints an entirely different picture -- one of inexplicable mercy and loving-kindness -- a picture much more in line with the character of God we know to be true from scripture.<br />
<br />
i do that way too often. i create a picture of God in my head that just isn't true. i imagine God reacting to things as i would -- impatient, inconsistent, annoyed, indifferent. well no wonder i don't want to spend time with that god. no wonder i have a hard time trusting that god. i think this is why A.W. Tozer wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."<br />
<br />
so, what if i truly believed -- not just in my head, but deep down in the core of who i am -- that the God i worship is <i>expecting, looking, and longing</i> to be gracious to me, to have mercy on me, to show me loving-kindness?<br />
<br />
i think only when i understand that will i be able to spend my life <i>expecting, looking, and longing</i> for Him. because why wouldn't you long for that God? why wouldn't you look to a God who Himself -- His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, His matchless, unbroken companionship -- is better than anything this world has to offer?<br />
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i want to live like that. i want to believe it in the depths of my soul and let it transform my life.<br />
<br />
these are my thoughts this morning. i have no doubt i'll forget these things by tomorrow morning -- or even this afternoon -- and have to remind myself all over again. thankful for grace.<br />
<br />
"My only wish and desire, the one thing I humbly crave to have is the grace to love God, to love Him alone. Beyond that I ask for nothing more." -- St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-30079751895090202302013-08-05T21:44:00.001-05:002013-08-05T21:44:55.819-05:00adoption in scripture.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
one of my responsibilities at work is to manage the <a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/" target="_blank">blog</a> for buckner's <a href="http://www.beafamily.com/" target="_blank">be a family website</a>. i recently wrapped up a series on that blog entitled, "adoption in scripture," where i walked through various places in scripture where we see adoption themes and stories. i really enjoyed writing it. i don't miss late nights in the library, but i do sometimes miss researching and writing for seminary classes. i loved being a student (nerd alert). it was fun to use those skills to write about something i care so deeply about -- and to do it for my job! what a gift!<br />
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so, if you're interested, i'd love to share the "adoption in scripture" posts with you. i hope you enjoy them and are encouraged by them. i also hope you appreciate how many capital letters i used.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/03/adoption-in-scripture-before-creation/" target="_blank">part I: before creation</a><br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/03/adoption-in-scripture-part-ii-abraham/" target="_blank">part II: abraham</a><br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/06/adoption-in-scripture-part-iii-moses/" target="_blank">part III: moses</a><br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/06/adoption-in-scripture-part-iv-esther/" target="_blank">part IV: esther</a><br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/07/adoption-in-scripture-part-v-jesus/" target="_blank">part V: jesus</a><br />
<a href="http://stories.beafamily.org/index.php/2013/07/adoption-in-scripture-part-vi-pauls-letters/" target="_blank">part VI: paul's letters</a></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-65533920600058007402013-08-02T20:24:00.000-05:002013-08-02T20:24:00.924-05:00thankful thursday (on friday): texas tour & people i love.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
i know i'm a day late, but i had to write this thankful thursday post. i've been especially thankful this week for time with people i love.<br />
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<b>1. hefners.</b><br />
last week, i got a call from my bff: "hey, are y'all busy on thursday?" when your friend who lives 11 hours away asks this question, your hopes skyrocket. "please tell me you're coming, please tell me you're coming!" sure enough, she and her little family were passing through norman hoping to see us. we dropped everything, cleaned up the apt, and were <i>thrilled</i> to host them for less than 24 hours. it was such a quick trip, but i'm thankful for any time i can get with the hefners -- especially little john john!<br />
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<b>2. both families.</b><br />
on friday, we drove down to duncanville to surprise my father-in-law for his birthday. this is a man who is never surprised and is always in control of the plan. not this time! we completely surprised him. there may have even been tears, but if you ask him, he'll probably just say his eyes were sweating. his birthday dinner of choice was a low country boil... YUM! and, of course, we also enjoyed time with our little sitting-up-and-crawling nephew. what a cutie! we were both so thankful for time with the brister/hardy clan -- it had definitely been too long!<br />
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then, on saturday, my brother flew into dfw from a summer overseas in "the sandbox." my family took over the international arrival area and eagerly awaited his entrance through those big double doors. i know he loves his time over there, but selfishly, i'm thankful he's back in the same country as me. whit was pretty excited to see "uncle dew," too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oq9VVLlvDGh6of-Hlm6gMwW4lwws7RqVRWAhEueCGNx3Yz1nCHEJ2kxjLR0Az9hOhyoSJ74dgd5vXAlU8dmZQLR_AH7MHkm77197DCnBU_YuyAb8-nEORo3SaZ0d9L433looTA/s1600/photo-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oq9VVLlvDGh6of-Hlm6gMwW4lwws7RqVRWAhEueCGNx3Yz1nCHEJ2kxjLR0Az9hOhyoSJ74dgd5vXAlU8dmZQLR_AH7MHkm77197DCnBU_YuyAb8-nEORo3SaZ0d9L433looTA/s640/photo-8.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>3. foster families.</b><br />
one of the services <a href="http://beafamily.org/" target="_blank">buckner</a> offers our foster/adoptive families is an annual retreat at <a href="http://www.campbuckner.org/" target="_blank">camp buckner</a>. it was nice to spend a few days in the beautiful texas hill country (a nice respite from the flat land i call home!), and fun to be back in camp world -- blob, sunburn, eating contests, pie throws, and all. more importantly, i was super thankful to spend time around these families. i completely fell in love with the kids, a couple in particular, and loved getting to see what i spend all my time working for -- children placed in loving families! such an incredible sight!<br />
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<b>4. grandmothers.</b><br />
i got to see both of my grandmothers in the same 24 hours! what a treat! after the foster family retreat, i made a quick trip down to san antonio to see gigi, then "on my way home" to norman, i made a detour off of i-35 to see grandmother in longview. i'm realizing more and more what gifts they are, and i was so thankful for time (though brief!) with each of them. also, my grandmother is moving and having to get rid of some things, so i gladly picked up this 1970s (i think?) shot of my dad. too good!<br />
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<b>5. the husband.</b><br />
when i <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FINALLY</u> made it back to norman, the husband and i celebrated with a night out to our favorite fancy restaurant (thanks, groupon!). it's good to feel missed and even better to be with the one you've been missing. five days is just too long, y'all. (we're such wimps.) thankful for a special night with him.<br />
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<b>bonus: less hot weather!</b><br />
i'm including one more this week, because i checked my timehop app this morning and saw this. last year on this day i tweeted this picture:<br />
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what?! how did we live like that?! i'm thankful that for whatever reason, this summer has been mild -- still hot (highs in the upper 90s this week), but much better than 115. hello, perspective. get outside, people! enjoy it!<br />
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<i>what (or who!) have you been thankful for this week?</i></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-75787588535526449492013-07-13T09:18:00.001-05:002013-07-13T09:19:27.208-05:00weekend reading.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
a few blog posts/articles caught my attention recently and i can't seem to stop thinking about them, so i wanted to share them on here so you could think about them, too.<br />
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grab another cup of coffee and enjoy.<br />
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<a href="http://blog.lproof.org/2013/07/rain-down-revival.html" target="_blank">rain down revival</a><br />
beth moore<br />
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<i>"I'm tired of giving God an inch and expecting a mile. I want to go with Him wherever He's going."</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/07/when-you-are-done-with-pundits-soul-wrestling-looking-at-the-sky-25-things-i-learned-from-staying-with-katie-davis/" target="_blank">when you're done with pundits, soul wrestling & looking at the sky: {25 things i learned from staying with katie davis}</a><br />
ann voskamp<br />
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<i>"Our actual theology is best expressed in our actual hospitality. // And I don't mean that hospitality is one quaint ministry for those good in the kitchen and keeping their house picked up. Hospitality isn't for the good housekeepers -- it's the grid of life for anyone keeping company with Christ. Hospitality is meant to shape our churches and politics, our work and our schools, our home and our faith and our schedules and our meals and our lives."</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.baptiststandard.com/opinion/editorial/15273-editorial-get-ready-for-all-those-babies" target="_blank">get ready for all those babies</a><br />
and the follow-up, <a href="http://www.baptiststandard.com/opinion/editorial/15294-editorial-revisiting-all-those-babies" target="_blank">revisiting "all those babies"</a><br />
marv knox, editor, the baptist standard<br />
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<i>"If Texas' conservative moral values prompt our state to implement one of the nation's most stringent abortion codes, then we should accept the responsibility for all those babies we will bring into the world. We need to do right by them."</i><br />
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and because all of those are quite heavy, here's something to make you laugh...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VIvupevIc44" width="420"></iframe></div>
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happy weekend!</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-55948185526981630812013-07-11T22:17:00.000-05:002013-07-12T13:47:27.902-05:00thankful thursday: celebrate.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
if you know me at all, you know i love any reason to celebrate anything. lucky for me, the last week or so has provided multiple opportunities to celebrate, and for that i am thankful.<br />
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<b>1. july 4th.</b><br />
in the 24 hours surrounding the 4th of july, the husband and i went to three different cookouts, complete with pool parties, cookie cake, blue bell, and fireworks. that, my friends, is a successful independence day.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXwQ5hC0632feIu14CmTHonZ409IwPsQgS-ihln5yRWA6v6DvpK-Qm1m-dOXKSQy0Var3n21ec8f0sGDCcgf9sD3vsPFrArww6L-2J0175DSzqnv3IyBDCxs76u1SQ_dqs6Dbmg/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXwQ5hC0632feIu14CmTHonZ409IwPsQgS-ihln5yRWA6v6DvpK-Qm1m-dOXKSQy0Var3n21ec8f0sGDCcgf9sD3vsPFrArww6L-2J0175DSzqnv3IyBDCxs76u1SQ_dqs6Dbmg/s640/photo-4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i've always wanted to take one of these pictures. thank you, <a href="http://nicolehager.com/blog/" target="_blank">nicole</a>, for finally making that dream a reality. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>2. twister relief concert.</b><br />
on july 6th, moore's own toby keith hosted a massive, all-day concert to raise money for tornado relief efforts throughout oklahoma. somehow (God's favor, i'm convinced), our friend, amy, scored tickets on the THIRD ROW. it was so hot, and so long, but it didn't matter, because GARTH BROOKS. garth freaking brooks, y'all. also, WILLIE. and ronnie, and trisha, and carrie, and toby. and to top it all off, the night ended with fireworks -- all around the stadium. it was magical. this day for sure goes down as my favorite day in oklahoma so far. so thankful to spend it with fun friends, too!<br />
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<b>3. ice cream.</b><br />
yesterday i discovered july is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ice_Cream_Month" target="_blank">national ice cream month</a>. thank you, ronald reagan, and thank you, blue bell, braum's, chickfila milkshakes, and my new favorite, talenti gelato, for giving me so many ways to enjoy my beloved frozen treat. i plan to celebrate every single day, especially sunday, july 21st, which i now know is national ice cream day. mark your calendars, people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D9I8LANBVXXNQjk-b7ELH4AJMyFtoy6I4pxu5rXnji0-slzr9LfH3cVLIIHmoI7BokRzDIaSkaGkOmP2bP6UWmIMqk1zdsflrnmCN1WQkKA6qLkCeAYd6el8HYox68-JmksY6w/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D9I8LANBVXXNQjk-b7ELH4AJMyFtoy6I4pxu5rXnji0-slzr9LfH3cVLIIHmoI7BokRzDIaSkaGkOmP2bP6UWmIMqk1zdsflrnmCN1WQkKA6qLkCeAYd6el8HYox68-JmksY6w/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>4. emails.</b><br />
when i checked my email first thing this morning, i had emails from both my mom and my mother-in-law waiting for me. i wish i could somehow let you read both of them in their entirety. they both gave me reason to celebrate! mom's was a rundown of a normal day in her summer work life at <a href="http://www.buckner.org/locations/tx-longview.shtml" target="_blank">buckner</a> -- ESL classes, nutrition classes, summer feeding programs, job trainings... you know, just changing people's lives. no big deal. my mother-in-law's was full of stories from the apartment ministry she leads with her church. she's so faithful every week -- even when it's a hot summer in texas. it's been kinda slow recently, but she said last night she had kids piling into her suburban wanting to go to church with her. so fun! i'm so proud of and constantly inspired by my mom and mother-in-law. i'm so thankful to have such incredible examples of godly women in my life!<br />
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<b>5. 7-11 day.</b><br />
today is july 11th, or 7-11, which means you can get a free slurpee at participating 7-eleven stores! and by participating i mean, every 7-eleven store except the ones in oklahoma. after work today, i called my friend, shanae, and convinced her (it wasn't hard) we needed to introduce her 3-year-old, davis, to slurpees (right before dinner... oops). we raced to the nearest 7-eleven, mouths watering, only to discover 7-elevens in oklahoma "are under different ownership and don't participate." whatever that means. so maybe we had to pay for our slurpees, but we still got to celebrate 7-11 day!<br />
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<i>what have you been thankful for this week?</i></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-72594063904664812082013-06-22T11:24:00.001-05:002013-06-22T11:24:57.687-05:00a morning invitation.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DB5J9uT1TSs0L-YpP36R4dLOJks0JR8F_1QdQftBqVAjjwx1H-B-ApNq1BGxC-EnU0ZNUsT_COf00SmWyC01fVI6hnxo2obOUR8s-ai0WW3U2WRkqnm3Pfzc6Iie0RxLHBbLlg/s1600/photo-19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DB5J9uT1TSs0L-YpP36R4dLOJks0JR8F_1QdQftBqVAjjwx1H-B-ApNq1BGxC-EnU0ZNUsT_COf00SmWyC01fVI6hnxo2obOUR8s-ai0WW3U2WRkqnm3Pfzc6Iie0RxLHBbLlg/s640/photo-19.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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"I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn't come in an envelope. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It's the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turns down an invitation to the White House, but I've seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.<br />
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Turning down this invitation comes in lots of flavors. It looks like numbing yourself or distracting yourself or seeing something really beautiful as just normal. It can also look like refusing to forgive or not being grateful or getting wrapped around the axle with fear or envy. I think every day God sends us an invitation to live and sometimes we forget to show up or get head-faked into thinking we haven't really been invited. But you see, we have been invited -- every day, all over again."<br />
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-- Bob Goff, <i>Love Does</i></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-64990838739607921942013-06-17T10:53:00.000-05:002013-06-17T10:59:20.113-05:00reminder in the sky.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
after a weekend in arkansas, we were welcomed home last night in typical oklahoma fashion... with severe thunderstorms. hooray! thankfully, we were able to take alternate routes on our drive so that we missed the worst parts of the storms. we finally pulled up to our apartment and were doing the "we made it" full body stretch that just instinctively happens after you've been in the car <i>forever</i>, when we looked up and saw a stellar rainbow peeking through the clouds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPjH_QU1rIXTnKrWl85dDBpDFWh-6_X8Ph97zxBWwDc1-phObZ-6616qrfjKr453mUhEnxZ3erNworzF3SdKEqe1KcG3vMeiKnQWBbFgw7qm1ZOjZnmpVWjngY-ULo3rvaszDmg/s1600/photo-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPjH_QU1rIXTnKrWl85dDBpDFWh-6_X8Ph97zxBWwDc1-phObZ-6616qrfjKr453mUhEnxZ3erNworzF3SdKEqe1KcG3vMeiKnQWBbFgw7qm1ZOjZnmpVWjngY-ULo3rvaszDmg/s640/photo-18.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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maybe God knew i needed a little reminder of his faithfulness yesterday. it was my seventh father's day without dad, which is almost impossible to believe. it was easier than most since i was just on the road all day with my best friend, but it's just not a fun day -- and on those not fun days, it's easy to confuse emotions with truth, for "the heart is deceitful above all things" (jeremiah 17.9). so again, i was extra thankful last night for that little miracle in the sky reminding me that God keeps his promises and does not forget his people. he loves us and is <i>with</i> us.<br />
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<i>he is faithful, he is glorious and</i><br />
<i>he is jesus and all my hope is in him.</i><br />
<i>he is freedom, he is healing right now,</i><br />
<i>he is hope and joy and love and peace and life.</i><br />
-- bryan & katie torwalt</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-23729737437161622012013-06-03T08:29:00.000-05:002013-06-04T09:32:07.740-05:00niagara falls in a teacup.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"<i>Do you really accept the message that God is head over heels in love with you?</i> I believe that this question is at the core of our ability to mature and grow spiritually. If in our hearts we really don't believe that God loves us as we are, if we are still tainted by the lie that we can do something to make God love us more, we are rejecting the message of the cross. ...<br />
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When I conclude that I can now cope with the awful love of God, I have headed for the shallows to avoid the deeps. I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a teacup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God."<br />
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-- Brennan Manning, <i>The Ragamuffin Gospel</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEqqDx9-ah4ZU96o4tAurpgeqL1Bq9XAFZEPpl3dtpZ4yq8yuLiNYv7-MoXbWPXRoUV1u8l9lvAbsZmL1PgF14peb5XzCYgdniAwa3jGp7Gh8HT6zHp6KVw0Kat_qqprFdQSGKw/s1600/niagara+falls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEqqDx9-ah4ZU96o4tAurpgeqL1Bq9XAFZEPpl3dtpZ4yq8yuLiNYv7-MoXbWPXRoUV1u8l9lvAbsZmL1PgF14peb5XzCYgdniAwa3jGp7Gh8HT6zHp6KVw0Kat_qqprFdQSGKw/s640/niagara+falls.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{<a href="https://twitter.com/NatGeopix/status/341366166612213761/photo/1" target="_blank">source</a>}</td></tr>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-60977045707945581132013-05-30T23:56:00.000-05:002013-06-04T09:20:43.904-05:00thankful thursday: tornado recovery.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
here are a few things i've been thankful for in the last week or so since the big tornado in moore:<br />
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<b>1. pretty skies.</b></div>
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if i have to hear tornado sirens go off almost every afternoon, at least i get to see pretty skies at sunset. it's probably the only good thing about all these crazy storms. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJaWDiUxlIXr3FIK4TkB3aRArTBdCJWDTZMz73Q-NAN36OdpZEWBTwfYnq7XPDvwZVwty6nRcz9o3GmCXyNCjwa7Oc_KQWOAnk-E2rgV34u8zn7hyphenhyphenLR1TMajHyCm83QKQwUHsNA/s1600/photo-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJaWDiUxlIXr3FIK4TkB3aRArTBdCJWDTZMz73Q-NAN36OdpZEWBTwfYnq7XPDvwZVwty6nRcz9o3GmCXyNCjwa7Oc_KQWOAnk-E2rgV34u8zn7hyphenhyphenLR1TMajHyCm83QKQwUHsNA/s640/photo-12.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipt_vPOQPl9Ci8qdCiBomeNmph4_YdN2eaU1jt1rVFBaEZDPybgPanYbwrblL5ayo-vacAQCljEIPq4urAy0VJxMySFuIu1CfKuNAwhtbCl9JDPIWPKOcNi2QwjNaZFOK68qdy0Q/s1600/photo-16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipt_vPOQPl9Ci8qdCiBomeNmph4_YdN2eaU1jt1rVFBaEZDPybgPanYbwrblL5ayo-vacAQCljEIPq4urAy0VJxMySFuIu1CfKuNAwhtbCl9JDPIWPKOcNi2QwjNaZFOK68qdy0Q/s640/photo-16.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. chick-fil-a.</b></div>
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the corporate chick-fil-a folks sent their big red truck to norman this week to help with tornado recovery. this truck can crank out 800 sandwiches an hour, y'all. isn't that insane?! some friends of ours own the Chick-fil-As in norman and moore, and they were asking for volunteers to help distribute the sandwiches to families and volunteers in moore. i was so thankful for the generosity of chick-fil-a and for a practical way to serve and love people. i mean, who doesn't want a hot chicken sandwich?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJvl_LJ1qock_YP5C2XkmXoMQhS2yzloNO5wQs1B4ZKOhlJQUIBqvEDDdAZxLylLJEkFaS7TcJPzfrdpitu1yi19EvHdtWp5OLKKIbkrbxmhNY7O163IORP2aVZbYeKKGOdC4YA/s1600/photo-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJvl_LJ1qock_YP5C2XkmXoMQhS2yzloNO5wQs1B4ZKOhlJQUIBqvEDDdAZxLylLJEkFaS7TcJPzfrdpitu1yi19EvHdtWp5OLKKIbkrbxmhNY7O163IORP2aVZbYeKKGOdC4YA/s640/photo-13.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate." -- alan d. wolfelt</i></td></tr>
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<b>3. oklahoma pride.</b></div>
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i've always been an obnoxiously proud texan (and still am), but this week i tried to channel some pride for the okie state. we threw an oklahoma-themed party on wednesday night with our missional community to watch blake shelton's healing in the heartland concert. let me back up. we desperately tried to get tickets for the concert, but they sold out in seconds, so this was our best effort at a plan B. our party was complete with a soundtrack of songs about oklahoma, every oklahoma t-shirt we own (thank you, thunder) hanging in our living room, arrows pointing to oklahoma on our giant wall map, a garland of famous oklahomans hanging in our kitchen, and oklahoma-shaped cookies, of course. home sweet 'homa.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmLIENXEW-rQgAht8QPi3W0GX5KMxrafGRj1FGKyWKpzHFwEVBgLqfIgrnvtePri81RJfy4XzHz0WxBKX-8SAMj0Oiiv9p8pXNk5ICQ2sqiYowwXuvJUJnhzeisPBcKUryS0gWQ/s1600/photo-14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmLIENXEW-rQgAht8QPi3W0GX5KMxrafGRj1FGKyWKpzHFwEVBgLqfIgrnvtePri81RJfy4XzHz0WxBKX-8SAMj0Oiiv9p8pXNk5ICQ2sqiYowwXuvJUJnhzeisPBcKUryS0gWQ/s640/photo-14.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7e_miALNekG3mqzTnDNH4Q49lb_ntvjunDX6C4HIBIrGCDGW_sdEhjgGhTYE2DHLqss97qrAkmTokBtHd3sFv_jT3DFNcqSbup9ZS1_AOqYada5hr7IU5klBOQa9esPaBxw6sw/s1600/photo-15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7e_miALNekG3mqzTnDNH4Q49lb_ntvjunDX6C4HIBIrGCDGW_sdEhjgGhTYE2DHLqss97qrAkmTokBtHd3sFv_jT3DFNcqSbup9ZS1_AOqYada5hr7IU5klBOQa9esPaBxw6sw/s640/photo-15.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>we googled "famous oklahoma food" and fried chicken was the answer... who knew?</i></td></tr>
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<b>4. community.</b></div>
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i've been extra thankful for community recently. on a macro level, it's been so cool to see churches from all over the okc metro come together to serve moore, and on a micro level, i've loved watching our <a href="http://provroad.org/">prov road</a> community love each other well through all this craziness and seeing the different ways everyone has used their skills and connections to serve our neighbors to the north.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7htwpHf2XlpEmJksxt7rfUK2QA02hJAz1hz3y2smJ1vgCfHLPbjmd13c_AkKLfVyVWXNGmy27zk4fNTM5AsMNxNdfNrjIoDLyM06YsZrkFUICcOLuH79eOq_YS9QdiBCBB7ncw/s1600/photo-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7htwpHf2XlpEmJksxt7rfUK2QA02hJAz1hz3y2smJ1vgCfHLPbjmd13c_AkKLfVyVWXNGmy27zk4fNTM5AsMNxNdfNrjIoDLyM06YsZrkFUICcOLuH79eOq_YS9QdiBCBB7ncw/s640/photo-11.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>this picture has nothing to do with the tornado recovery, but everything to do with community. the saturday before the tornado, a lot of us ran the super fan 5k that our friend's work put on. it was a great way to support her and all do something fun together!</i></td></tr>
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<b>5. skype.</b></div>
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this doesn't really fit the tornado recovery theme of this post, but i just got off a skype call with one of our favorites that just moved down to houston, and i'm just so thankful for skype. whoever invented it is a genius. we already miss them so much, but somehow it makes it a little bit better that we can see their faces and get a virtual tour of their house. i wish i had taken a screen shot. oh well. thanks, skype!</div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-7498405840647736732013-05-23T22:10:00.001-05:002013-05-23T22:10:15.897-05:00ways you can help.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
we are still reeling from monday's tornado and the complete devastation just a few miles away from us. much of our spare time and energy this week has gone into figuring out how we as individuals and we as a church can help our neighbors to the north. most needs are very immediate at this point, changing daily, even hourly, but for now, here are a few ways you can help...<br />
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<b>donate money & materials.</b><br />
giving money may seemingly be the least fun way to help, but let's be honest, it can often be the most effective. especially in the early days, like right now, dollars are desperately needed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUb6V8Auj_g7KXUtdMQ-JSwbSDxrVrAf4pvQUhMDIvu32Ix4ImxHoAzJRfbsPXOIZQxAVoWY43rUGRXo0Bpa02b_CzcR_Rn17LOlqOBRbCCGf-c4U1Zwf9h7toRSoC_fYv3hz6g/s1600/give.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUb6V8Auj_g7KXUtdMQ-JSwbSDxrVrAf4pvQUhMDIvu32Ix4ImxHoAzJRfbsPXOIZQxAVoWY43rUGRXo0Bpa02b_CzcR_Rn17LOlqOBRbCCGf-c4U1Zwf9h7toRSoC_fYv3hz6g/s640/give.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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our <a href="http://www.provroad.org/">church</a> has set up a <a href="https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=04a8e1">disaster relief fund</a>. we'd be honored for you to give to it and allow us to steward your resources. we're committed to serving moore for the long haul however we can, but a few of the specific needs we'll be focused on include:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/awburkhart">andrew burkhart</a> and his family, who lost their house and everything they own. andrew is the pastor of love & justice, an acts 29 church in moore, and serves on our board of advisors (functions as an elder board until we have one in place).</li>
<li><a href="http://www.loveandjusticechurch.org/">love & justice</a>, as they serve the people and needs in their neighborhood. they also have a relief fund set up that you can give to <a href="https://loveandjusticechurch.cloverdonations.com/online-giving/">here</a>. </li>
<li>chick-fil-a of moore, as they serve their community and team members in need. a couple at our church owns this chick-fil-a and they've already done a fantastic job of assessing the needs of their team members and serving up their delicious chicken to volunteers and families in moore.</li>
</ul>
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if you're interested in donating materials (like holding a drive or collecting items and shipping them this way), let me know and we'll coordinate with the right people. the materials most frequently requested are baby items (formula, toddler food, diapers, wipes), medical/hygiene items (gauze, bandages, neosporin, shampoo, soap), and work items (gloves, trash bags, sunscreen, bug spray, duct tape, flashlights, tarps). <a href="http://journeychurch.tv/may-20-relief/">journey church</a> is the main drop-off/distribution site in norman, and they're great at keeping their list updated with the most immediate needs, so you might check there as well.<br />
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<b>volunteer.</b><br />
if you're interested in rolling your sleeves up and volunteering in moore (whether you're local or coming in from out of town), i would highly recommend connecting with <a href="https://twitter.com/ServeMooreOK">@servemooreok</a>. it's being led by <a href="http://frontlinechurch.tv/">frontline church</a> in okc and functioning as the hub of several churches in the area (including ours!) coming together to serve moore. <a href="http://frontlinechurch.tv/servemoore/">their website</a> is <i>continuously </i>updated with needs. be sure to check it out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqc4cc-9O6Ziy3F65MgTuGYtU2PnXykkvnVZ3681tPRHyoKwCMBYaiD10jdomLjhbe9TeBCuvg-bzZ_K6TUNjo3tJ0aDoKIkPDsgujYQnmqmtKS1h4b_y2B_v2fvRHipGujl2yw/s1600/serveMooreWebHeader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqc4cc-9O6Ziy3F65MgTuGYtU2PnXykkvnVZ3681tPRHyoKwCMBYaiD10jdomLjhbe9TeBCuvg-bzZ_K6TUNjo3tJ0aDoKIkPDsgujYQnmqmtKS1h4b_y2B_v2fvRHipGujl2yw/s640/serveMooreWebHeader.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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also, if you and some friends need a place to stay, let us know! if you have a team coming, check with <a href="http://fbcnorman.org/BetheChurchforMoore/tabid/348/Default.aspx">fbc norman</a>. they're hosting teams in their family life center.<br />
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<b>buy a t-shirt.</b><br />
this is the most fun and easiest way to help. there are <i>tons</i> of shirts being made right now, so here are my three favorite. ALL of the proceeds from these t-shirt sales will be donated to relief efforts. you can never have too many t-shirts, so just go ahead and add one of these to your collection!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0teH4ww3u5DSY2RTXXRTThHYClIGKvMdWkHceZW4i4mAJp96gXTnuegSykspT_cStoxzXgRvW_KyljQeBy2p5qQoTB4kzA3Z3zTTiFLvj04zsPk6XTpogtx-WOhgUMSfPmc0_fQ/s1600/homa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0teH4ww3u5DSY2RTXXRTThHYClIGKvMdWkHceZW4i4mAJp96gXTnuegSykspT_cStoxzXgRvW_KyljQeBy2p5qQoTB4kzA3Z3zTTiFLvj04zsPk6XTpogtx-WOhgUMSfPmc0_fQ/s400/homa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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this shirt is being sold by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TouiesDesign">touies design</a>, a small business run by one of my friends from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SyrupBreakfastBoutique">syrup</a>. (fun fact: she designed our <a href="http://carajanebrister.blogspot.com/2012/12/thankful-thursday-almost-christmas.html">christmas card</a>!) super cute shirt. buy yours <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/151848299/home-sweet-homa-t-shirts-to-benefit">here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrueStVLF9wnoi75poiJl2rZzt758MvLCrYE5XjHFZ1UBtHlQfAXGiPG8Df4cn0QPTIA2IVmORCbDjy3mvrGfPR8j92Zs9sL2pVVkVfQio2g_XFXpoohp_oB-fTuZtiydnVtOQdg/s1600/photo-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrueStVLF9wnoi75poiJl2rZzt758MvLCrYE5XjHFZ1UBtHlQfAXGiPG8Df4cn0QPTIA2IVmORCbDjy3mvrGfPR8j92Zs9sL2pVVkVfQio2g_XFXpoohp_oB-fTuZtiydnVtOQdg/s320/photo-11.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
this shirt is from <a href="http://store.shopgoodokc.com/">shopgood</a>, a fun little local business in the heart of okc. the best part about their store is that every single item is socially responsible, fairly traded, and connected to a local or international community development project. so great, right?! get their shirt <a href="http://store.shopgoodokc.com/SHOPGOODAPPAREL1072.html">here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ4oLCxjXbmWOId3VKfkEn9ie-EImX0VR7QGKj_6_gkszx3irnWzTtw-lVnZH11hcVbYD0H03ZX-fRQl0_xsG3GJ4S6RX4Cy1Oji3_RfoHhxuT7WftTLJ9nGEna2f2Vgd0lo9Bg/s1600/royalwhite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ4oLCxjXbmWOId3VKfkEn9ie-EImX0VR7QGKj_6_gkszx3irnWzTtw-lVnZH11hcVbYD0H03ZX-fRQl0_xsG3GJ4S6RX4Cy1Oji3_RfoHhxuT7WftTLJ9nGEna2f2Vgd0lo9Bg/s400/royalwhite.jpg" width="376" /></a></div>
a friend's coworker at <a href="http://oldhatcreative.com/">old hat</a> designed this shirt. it comes in several different color combinations, so pick your favorite and buy one <a href="https://ugpogo.undergroundshirts.com/groupIndex.php?cart_id=2253">here</a>!<br />
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//<br />
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again, thank you to everyone who has been checking on us and asking how to help. please continue to pray for those affected by the storm and for those volunteering in the recovery!<br />
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"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -- psalm 46.1</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-48883716514891031002013-05-21T17:23:00.000-05:002013-05-21T17:23:53.508-05:00heavy heart.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
i just really don't do storms well. this is our second spring (read: tornado season) in oklahoma, and i haven't gotten any better at it. if it even thunders, i assume a tornado is coming.<br />
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i was glued to the tv sunday evening as storms passed nearby us. a tornado touched down in edmond (about 45 minutes north of us), then moved on to do greater damage in shawnee (about an hour northeast of us).<br />
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i knew we were supposed to have bad weather again monday night, but surely it wouldn't be tornadoes again, right? surely it'd just be a thunderstorm? maybe some strong wind and hail?<br />
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i didn't think the weather was supposed to get bad yesterday until around dinnertime, so yesterday afternoon i was in my little home office working as usual. chris had come home for lunch and was working in the living room. i was on a phone call with my boss, and it wasn't even raining outside, when seemingly out of nowhere the tornado siren went off. chris immediately started watching the weather coverage while i stayed on my phone call (shocking, right?!). he came in and updated me a saying, "it looks like there are two storms. one should pass just north of us, and one should pass just south of us. everything's gonna be fine." it still wasn't even raining outside my window. my boss and i were nearing the end of our phone meeting when the sirens went off again. that was it, i had to go.<br />
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about the time i walked into the living room to figure out what was going on was about the time the massive tornado was doing its damage in moore... literally just 10-15 minutes away from us. we couldn't take our eyes off the screen as they showed live footage of the horrific destruction. pretty soon after that, our tv cut to the black and white fuzzy screen and our internet dropped. we made our way to a friend's house who still had cable and internet, watched some more coverage, realized we weren't in danger of any more storms, and resorted to pizza and parks&rec for the rest of the night. i never cried. i wasn't emotional. i think i was in shock and selfishly just thankful we were okay in norman.<br />
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today has been a different story. i've been wiping tears all day. my heart is just so heavy. i'm trying to work, but it's raining and thundering again outside which is disturbing to say the least, and i can't seem to turn the news coverage off in the other room, so my background noise all day has been stories of people just up the interstate from us whose lives were forever changed in a matter of minutes yesterday. the vastness of the destruction overwhelms me. the individual stories break me. those children -- it's just too much.<br />
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i'm not trying to pretend like this is my story to grieve or that i'm in any way a victim of this tragedy. please don't hear that. please don't be sad for me. i'm just trying to process by writing, and i guess "process" is what you call trying so hard to wrap my mind around this new reality just north of us and wrestling with this looming heaviness in my heart.<br />
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i'm heavy from the stories -- the children, the teachers, the parents, the first responders.<br />
i'm heavy from trying to figure out how we can possibly help when the need is so great. no option seems like enough, but doing nothing isn't an option.<br />
i'm heavy from feeling guilty that i want to act like it's a normal day and go for a walk on campus when it gets sunny later, but i'll be walking passed dorms where families are staying who are now homeless.<br />
i'm heavy when i consider that the God who created the universe <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/05/how-god-feels-about-storms/">shares in our grief and suffers the impossible with us</a>. it takes my breath away.<br />
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even in the heaviness there is hope.<br />
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a pastor friend of ours in moore survived with his family, but they completely lost their house -- i mean, everything. a friend of ours went and bought them underwear and other immediate necessities this morning. underwear, y'all. they lost <i>everything</i>. he <a href="http://instagram.com/p/ZkOjotMZvw/">posted a photo</a> this morning of the remains of his house and his caption said, "jesus is better than everything i used to own."<br />
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today, we sit in heaviness. tomorrow, we start meagerly attempting to help with recovery efforts. thanks to all who have asked how to come alongside us and our church as we try to help. we'll keep you posted as we hear of opportunities. above all else, please pray for the people of moore!</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-4347324433208034202013-05-16T22:45:00.000-05:002013-05-17T10:49:14.102-05:00thankful thursday: weekend edition.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
the first things that came to mind when thinking of things i've been thankful for this week all revolved around last weekend. it was a good one!<br />
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<b>1. whit. </b><br />
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on friday, my adorable little nephew turned TWO. i still can't believe it. if you can't tell, i'm pretty crazy about this kid. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqrnmvSyMhtd145GKzhj-4dkXV9jGf2vc9nc1DLfwbA0dRb0d0TciN5qePfNXWtwNcUlt5lo3MUBogHzHxFiJZdUbOaGK9U8t47d8CUuhLqoDceXMvMjCDFVwXgAJqFvLh9Eldg/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqrnmvSyMhtd145GKzhj-4dkXV9jGf2vc9nc1DLfwbA0dRb0d0TciN5qePfNXWtwNcUlt5lo3MUBogHzHxFiJZdUbOaGK9U8t47d8CUuhLqoDceXMvMjCDFVwXgAJqFvLh9Eldg/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. waco reunion. </b></div>
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the husband and i spent the weekend in waco with some of our favorite people from seminary. casey and chris grew up together, lived together during seminary, and now have both been groomsmen in each other's wedding. don't they look sharp?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6kxdAZxKuJmZDQFkLQTgeehd9d6IBLvn8U1hEAbycZ3Jvoeek1cbf4ytFkRYWqfimoBF8t1rCy7_T9v485WmCQF-HpWJXFt3GwqUTgN7ZmH16utZS6Pxn-yH-zrGEQ3CKJXpFg/s1600/boyz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6kxdAZxKuJmZDQFkLQTgeehd9d6IBLvn8U1hEAbycZ3Jvoeek1cbf4ytFkRYWqfimoBF8t1rCy7_T9v485WmCQF-HpWJXFt3GwqUTgN7ZmH16utZS6Pxn-yH-zrGEQ3CKJXpFg/s640/boyz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo source and better weekend review <a href="http://loveinlufkin.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/the-ramirez-family/">here</a></td></tr>
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<b>3. katelyn.</b></div>
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i'm always thankful for time with <a href="http://loveinlufkin.wordpress.com/">this girl</a>. i'm also thankful that time with her usually includes laughing really hard and eating late night jesus biscuits (you might know them as whataburger's honey butter chicken biscuits). my life is better, and way more fun, with her in it. i also got to cheer her on as she faced one of her biggest fears on saturday. she nailed it -- of course. i'm so proud of her! </div>
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<b>4. time with the bristers.</b></div>
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some of chris's family came to the wedding to cheer on the groom, and the best part was that they brought little ben with them! look at those cheeks! so cute. we're slightly obsessed with our nephews.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOe5Qvpgb4sV43lYIXbmyhk19-0pcMzQyfe1_kZNO-47rd8OnkLSGvhQvYdgVQ7ozrAABM-fsYY7euH_GuNhOiPG1pN4SH8oNcGkeXAf0EQodSyzoYfHzk6kzTqdLkVa2M9PlnKw/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOe5Qvpgb4sV43lYIXbmyhk19-0pcMzQyfe1_kZNO-47rd8OnkLSGvhQvYdgVQ7ozrAABM-fsYY7euH_GuNhOiPG1pN4SH8oNcGkeXAf0EQodSyzoYfHzk6kzTqdLkVa2M9PlnKw/s640/photo-3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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we spent the night with them that night and got to have early morning mother's day donuts with his mom and grandmothers. we loved getting to see them and celebrate them even if it was really early and really quick!</div>
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<b>5. team rose. </b></div>
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we made it back to norman on sunday morning to celebrate moms and say goodbye to graduating seniors at church. then, we spent most of the afternoon helping one of our favorite families here pack up a uhaul and get ready to move back to the promised land (texas). we just really love <a href="http://kristiankatyrose.blogspot.com/">this family</a> and are so thankful for the time that we've had with them in norman. it wasn't easy to say goodbye, although i'm still somewhat in denial that they actually moved and aren't coming back. we're so excited for their new chapter and eager to see how the Lord uses them and provides for them in houston. we love you, team rose!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVA7CVcGTugoE8DgZVK34gxwK-VCsPLb69wOiQm5-ZobgincB3L1qdPALdObM_aVl6T2lIC6FmWCzX3a4ZbIOQKQRQg-5spezSmTPFdCMEMJgtLDpMzv-RKCTrDLiJOxCEI6Vyw/s1600/photo-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVA7CVcGTugoE8DgZVK34gxwK-VCsPLb69wOiQm5-ZobgincB3L1qdPALdObM_aVl6T2lIC6FmWCzX3a4ZbIOQKQRQg-5spezSmTPFdCMEMJgtLDpMzv-RKCTrDLiJOxCEI6Vyw/s640/photo-5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">graduation/going away shindig.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutI74diNiE5C6AcAUO7AoeuIskYQfRB2OfCsBKcy6Idti9GppxpJQ1Y6vZIUmNwpyz49z-_q6_0oFCHJkTRUAFqPuKqTKsbeXTjdcTK4Mb3h8MIvldYbo8r1GJkscjDug5iTi4w/s1600/packing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutI74diNiE5C6AcAUO7AoeuIskYQfRB2OfCsBKcy6Idti9GppxpJQ1Y6vZIUmNwpyz49z-_q6_0oFCHJkTRUAFqPuKqTKsbeXTjdcTK4Mb3h8MIvldYbo8r1GJkscjDug5iTi4w/s640/packing.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">packing party.</td></tr>
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and now it's almost time for another weekend! hooray! what have you been thankful for this week?</div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-38494537739627974952013-05-12T22:27:00.003-05:002013-05-12T22:27:38.387-05:00the best mom in the world.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
i've seen posts and statuses all day that say things like, "happy mother's day to the best mom in the world." those silly people. they must be confused.<br />
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<b><i>I</i></b> have the best mom in the world. hands down. way down.</div>
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she sacrifices everything for her family. </div>
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she's courageous... so freaking courageous.</div>
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she's the coolest in her toms and noonday and warby parkers. </div>
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she is passionate in her pursuit of Christ. </div>
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she's one of the best bible teachers i've ever sat under. </div>
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she always sees the bigger picture. </div>
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she's such a fun grandmother.</div>
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she never misses an opportunity to tangibly display grace and love to us so that we'll better understand how Christ loves us.<br />
she's super hospitable.<br />
she trusts in the sovereignty of God even while sitting in a gazillion unanswered questions.<br />
she loves cookies... and really all forms of "prizes."<br />
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i'm so thankful and honored to call her my mom, and i hope to be half the mom she is one day.</div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-33113840045461100732013-05-09T12:39:00.000-05:002013-05-09T17:43:23.211-05:00thankful thursday: good people.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
time for another thankful thursday post, party people. here are a few things i've been thankful for in the last couple of weeks:<br />
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<b>1. time with friends in the south.</b><br />
i am nothing if not a maximizer. i attended a <a href="http://carajanebrister.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-idea-whose-time-has-come.html">conference</a> in nashville last week for work, which conveniently meant i got to see a couple of my favorite friends from auburn and drink my weight in fruit tea. i need a recipe asap so my oklahoma friends can experience what heaven tastes like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsHVw1A2oG4qQxsKJfltA05m3FDLudsnA9cv4kXX92hioz-VpM2XnJWRFAIgMVZySq_NfigR5SroWr9oVht6mJdNE5VTrTyzzY1PVZC1MWiAFUc_-uRR6ONwkWC8oEtK-cKg_3g/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsHVw1A2oG4qQxsKJfltA05m3FDLudsnA9cv4kXX92hioz-VpM2XnJWRFAIgMVZySq_NfigR5SroWr9oVht6mJdNE5VTrTyzzY1PVZC1MWiAFUc_-uRR6ONwkWC8oEtK-cKg_3g/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{delicious fruit tea unfortunately not pictured.}</td></tr>
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it just so happened that my college roommates had been trying to find a good time for a reunion, so since i was already in the south for the conference, we decided to make it happen last weekend. i drove my little rental car down to birmingham and had the <i>best</i> time with these girls:<br />
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i can't believe we graduated five years ago this weekend. that makes me feel so old! we hadn't all been in the same room in almost three years. unacceptable. i loved catching up on everyone's life, and i especially loved watching sarah be a mom and getting to snuggle with my favorite 10-month-old:<br />
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those eight girls, y'all. i could not have made it through college without them. so so thankful for time with them last week. such a rare gift!<br />
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<b>2. duck dynasty.</b><br />
speaking of the south (ha)... my husband's new favorite show is <a href="http://www.aetv.com/duck-dynasty/">duck dynasty</a>. bless it. he was so thrilled over my homecoming sunday night that he surprised me with flowers and two dvds of the bearded crazies. i'm mostly indifferent toward the show, but i LOVE how much it makes chris laugh. if you haven't ever heard his uncontrollable, really high-pitched, tears flowing laugh, then you're really missing out. it's the best thing ever. so if watching silly uncle si means i get to see that laugh, then bring on the duck calls.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_AD7pr0gfJY" width="420"></iframe></div>
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<b>3. worship "concerts."</b><br />
a couple weekends ago, we drove down to ardmore with some friends for a <a href="http://derekwebb.com/">derek webb</a> concert. it was part of his "she must and shall go free" 10th anniversary tour, so literally all he did was play straight through the album and tell the story behind each song. i've blogged about this album <a href="http://carajanebrister.blogspot.com/2013/01/recently-added.html">before</a>, but seriously people, if you don't have it or haven't listened to it in a while, get on that right now. there's not a bad song on the album.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJP6HX5AxwRpT7bYqdkbICu4LVglE5UlOvti-g0ssJfUriDZq7lGhPuZ1g-ea9qQksEAUR7ctUj9QR_4PQ6NxyaoKeJKzngaifPFaiv9LvIcDuM_dpI13ro2ioUDoyaUCwnWVpg/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJP6HX5AxwRpT7bYqdkbICu4LVglE5UlOvti-g0ssJfUriDZq7lGhPuZ1g-ea9qQksEAUR7ctUj9QR_4PQ6NxyaoKeJKzngaifPFaiv9LvIcDuM_dpI13ro2ioUDoyaUCwnWVpg/s400/photo-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">{i get my concert photog skills from my talented <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kwsilentphotography">cousin</a>...ha!}</td></tr>
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then, last night, <a href="http://shaneandshane.com/">shane & shane</a> made a stop in norman, so we of course had to go. i mean, i just really love them. live harmony can't be beat, and they're the best at it. their music has led my heart to worship for a solid decade or so now, and last night was no different. it was good for my soul.<br />
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<b>4. postal service.</b><br />
i love giving gifts and celebrating people, and i hate missing out, so when i have to miss out on celebrating someone, it's not easy for me. thankfully, that's where the usps comes in -- it's the next best thing to being there. and who doesn't love getting a little happy in the mail?! i hope my adorable birthday boy nephew is keeping an eye on his mailbox... you too, mom.<br />
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<b>5. cookie dough.</b><br />
i just ate leftovers for lunch and clearly i needed a little sweet bite afterwards -- a) as a treat to myself for eating leftovers (i'm the worst at leftovers) and b) ... well, let's be honest, i've never needed to come up with a reason to eat dessert. it's just a necessity in my life. so as i searched our kitchen for something sweet, lo and behold i found a tiny little bit of COOKIE DOUGH in my freezer -- just the right amount. where did this sweet goodness come from?!<br />
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here's the story that i've put together: chris hosted our missional community last week while i was out of town, and in normal chris (or maybe just normal boy) fashion, he took care of the meal and drinks (read: ordered pizza) but dessert didn't cross his mind (how does that even happen?!). in a moment of what i can only imagine was desperation (remember: necessity) our friend, tricia, took it upon herself to find the ingredients in our pantry and whip up her infamous chocolate chip cookies. they are TO DIE FOR, y'all. hands down the best i've had. so, all of that to say, imagine my delight just now to discover that she was thoughtful enough to leave a scoop of dough (even better than the actual cookies!) for me! i looked something like this:<br />
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happy almost weekend, everyone! what have you been thankful for this week?</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-37915953713287799882013-05-07T23:06:00.000-05:002013-05-07T23:06:35.750-05:00an idea whose time has come.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
the last two work weeks have taken me to dallas, okc, and nashville. it's been a nice break from my working from home routine, but definitely a whirlwind. <div>
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my favorite part of the last two weeks has been that my worlds have completely collided. at almost all of these different events, i've rotated between my <a href="http://beafamily.org/">buckner</a> hat, my <a href="http://provroad.org/">prov road</a> hat, and my cara jane hat (is that a thing?). for example, a couple thursdays ago, i went to a foster care forum in okc where i learned a ton about foster care in general for my job, but also learned how our church can be a part of what God is doing through his people in oklahoma to care for kids that need families.</div>
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it was incredible to see government officials, CEOs, foster care agencies, community members, and church leaders come together to discuss the future of foster care in oklahoma. if you're at all interested in this conversation, i highly recommend following <a href="https://twitter.com/BenNockels">@BenNockels</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/111Project">@111Project</a> and reading more about the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fosterforum&src=hash">#fosterforum</a> on twitter. they closed the day with a quote i thought could not have been more appropriate:</div>
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<i>"There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come."</i> -- Victor Hugo</div>
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then, last week i attended the <a href="http://www.christianalliancefororphans.org/">christian alliance for orphan</a>'s annual <a href="http://www.summit9.org/">summit conference</a> in nashville. if you've never heard of it, it's definitely a conference you should look into if you're at all interested in orphan care. they had a whole slew of incredible speakers and workshop leaders, from david platt to steven curtis chapman to u.s. congresswomen to foster parents and adoptees. catch up on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23summit9&src=typd">#summit9</a> on twitter.</div>
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i was there for work, but again, i took away a lot of helpful information for our church, too. our church isn't very big at all, but we already have several couples pursuing or interested in pursuing foster care and/or adoption -- like 10 or 12 out of our close to 60 people! we're trying to figure out what it looks like to love these couples well and support them on their journey.</div>
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at some point between all the workshops and networking and coffee breaks and exhibit hall-ing at the conference last week, i stopped long enough for the realization to hit me square between the eyeballs -- i get <i><b><u>paid</u></b></i> to do something i am crazy passionate about, and that is so incredibly rare. i was suddenly filled with an immense amount of gratitude. all i could do in the next session was cry my little eyes out during worship. i was just so overwhelmed by the fact that i was in a room with 3000 people whose hearts burst for the fatherless, and all of us were singing together lines like, "the fatherless find their rest at the sound of your great name"... and as if that wasn't unbelievable enough, i was getting paid to be there. it's my job to get these passionate people started on their journey of foster care or adoption. what a GIFT!</div>
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even better than all of that, i was reminded countless times through these events over the last two weeks of the reason why we do what we do and care about what we care about ("we" meaning the bristers, buckner, prov road, christians...). david platt said it this way at summit:</div>
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we advocate for the fatherless because we understand that while we were still sinners, outsiders, orphans, christ died for us and made a way for us to be adopted into his family. we care about foster care and adoption because we realize we ourselves were once chosen, rescued, brought in, and called his own. it's the most beautiful story of unconditional love and inexplicable grace -- and to think he calls us to demonstrate and declare this story to the world! </div>
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<i>"My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us -- perfect love! ... First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first."</i></div>
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-- 1 John 4:11-12, 19</div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-91081489723419315442013-04-20T11:45:00.000-05:002013-04-20T15:03:47.097-05:00thankful thursday: belated.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
belated because it's now saturday morning.<br />
belated because it's been over a month since my last thankful thursday post. oops!<br />
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what a week, huh? way too intense. in the midst of bad news after bad news, here are a few things i've been thankful for:<br />
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<b>1. a quick trip to lubbock.</b><br />
i guess this was technically at the end of last week, but it was so fun to see my husband on cloud nine and to see my cousin before she graduates! i'm thankful buckner has offices in west texas, which gave us an excuse to travel to the land of tumbleweed, windmills, and red raiders.<br />
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<b>2. carrie's birthday road trip.</b><br />
carrie took the week off for her birthday and drove across the country from montgomery to norman (13 hours!!) to visit us. she explored okc, met our friends, and even got to experience oklahoma weather. it was great having her here for a few days -- we love visitors! happy 27th, jehle!<br />
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<b>3. a meteorologist friend.</b><br />
you probably know this about me, but i don't do well with storms... which makes living in oklahoma a blast. wednesday night the weather got a little crazy, but thankfully, we were at our missional community with our weatherman friend. you may remember <a href="http://themosiers.blogspot.com/">the mosiers</a> from <a href="http://carajanebrister.blogspot.com/2012/04/hello-tornado.html">last year's tornado weather</a>. while my husband was doing this<br />
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i was inside with my stomach in knots. the weather passed and everything was fine, but i was thankful all over again that if i have to live in tornado alley, at least god gave me a meteorologist friend.<br />
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<b>4. syrup.</b><br />
i don't get to work there anymore, but i got to eat breakfast there 4 times in the last 7 days. i can't help it, y'all. i'm such a fan of this place and i love the people that work there... and i'm thankful for friends that will get up early to eat pancakes with me.<br />
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<b>5. baseball.</b><br />
even though it was much colder this week than it should be this late in april, i was eager to bundle up and get outside -- away from the tv (news) and computer (social media feeds). we took in not one but two baseball games this week, and last night's was even complete with fireworks! is there anything more patriotic?!<br />
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<i>what were you thankful for this week?</i></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-24006233208640867932013-04-15T21:55:00.000-05:002013-04-16T21:54:39.222-05:00brennan manning.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Brennan Manning, best known for his book, <i>The Ragamuffin Gospel</i>, <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/brennan-manning-author-of-the-ragamuffin-gospel-passes-away-93895/">passed away on Friday morning</a>. I read a couple of his books in college, and in the wake of his recent death, I'm feeling the urge to read him again. He was and through his works he will continue to be an incredible voice proclaiming God's relentless love and grace for us. If you've never read anything by him, I'd highly recommend you do. It will be time well spent, and more importantly, your affections will be stirred for Jesus.<br />
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"My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it."<br />
-- <em>The Ragamuffin Gospel</em><br />
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"Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion."<br />
-- <em>Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging</em></div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-27319754600516779702013-04-10T16:34:00.000-05:002013-04-13T16:05:24.925-05:00nephew love.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
the husband and i made the trek to east texas this weekend to meet our new nephew. it was so good to be home and so sweet to meet the little guy. i was sad to leave. i mean, look at this place:<br />
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who wouldn't be sad to leave? let's just say spring in oklahoma doesn't quite look like that. in fact, it's sleeting today. bless it. i couldn't stop staring at those azaleas and dogwoods... well, really just the trees in general. WE DON'T HAVE THOSE HERE. help me, jesus. </div>
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i've been a little homesick lately, so it was extra good to be around my favorite people for a few days -- and especially fun to meet my newest favorite person. he's just so precious and wonderful and good and perfect. yep. all of those things.</div>
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i also loved getting to hang out with my favorite almost-two-year-old (which is so hard to believe!). it's really fun to be able to communicate (-ish) with him now. we played outside, went to the park, watched cartoons... you know, like you do. he's so easily excited and laughs a lot -- which is convenient for me, because i can't help but laugh when he laughs. i'm just crazy about this kid.</div>
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east texas, you are beautiful.</div>
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family, i already can't wait to see you again.</div>
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on our way home, we made a quick stop to see the husband's family. i hadn't seen them since christmas. not acceptable. how cute is this little guy?! and who knew they made overalls for babies? it's too much.</div>
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we're so thankful for three healthy, adorable nephews and for family that we love spending time with. they're rare gifts and i miss them again already.</div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-41315941804607435742013-03-31T17:14:00.003-05:002013-03-31T18:28:46.909-05:00new life.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
somewhere in the middle of the 4 AM golfball-sized hailstorm last night, i got a text message from mom saying our newest family member had made his debut. i'm unbelievably proud to introduce you to my brand new nephew, benjamin luke crowson:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28EaThoXql3Pkr_DR2l_uYG9KNCM3uVFWGxBWhFfpVY3cfXnDQASoa8UhyphenhyphenLEg6J3ThmALHiKL6mYem5iiPJ5tVtVau4EKUeP37ZLt_usgcyZEsfBUXYjClhOiQxF0iMZmGUvpfA/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28EaThoXql3Pkr_DR2l_uYG9KNCM3uVFWGxBWhFfpVY3cfXnDQASoa8UhyphenhyphenLEg6J3ThmALHiKL6mYem5iiPJ5tVtVau4EKUeP37ZLt_usgcyZEsfBUXYjClhOiQxF0iMZmGUvpfA/s400/photo-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9 lbs, 1 oz // 23 inches</td></tr>
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i can't get over how kind God is to let our family celebrate new life on this easter sunday. it's too perfect. on a day in which we celebrate our savior who gives us new spiritual life by the shedding of his blood and the power of his resurrection, we also get to celebrate new physical life with this sweet little addition to our family.<br />
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apparently, his big brother was pretty excited about his arrival, too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTchi7GgkbQPge86MXLgfBXPC2SJ_0aZgOfFnJMd9BzGVHzfSPAbRUGvji2JuvXvXhtJCjnmlW0Rc0l32EKEPyPZSwQaIguCv4kdglRcSvqH82HvVqxEUCSrHwNkQtV1ssbnEgng/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTchi7GgkbQPge86MXLgfBXPC2SJ_0aZgOfFnJMd9BzGVHzfSPAbRUGvji2JuvXvXhtJCjnmlW0Rc0l32EKEPyPZSwQaIguCv4kdglRcSvqH82HvVqxEUCSrHwNkQtV1ssbnEgng/s400/photo-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">whit: "my ben..."</td></tr>
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we're so glad you're finally here, sweet benjamin, and we absolutely can't wait to meet you next weekend. love, your favorite aunt and uncle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">happy easter!</td></tr>
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p.s. it's also really cool that you decided to be born on opening day of the texas rangers' season. your grandfather would have <b><i><u>LOVED</u></i></b> that. i think it's another picture of God's kindness to us. thanks for that, ben. you're a gift. by the way, your astros-loving uncle chris is about to be very disappointed. let's go, rangers!</div>
cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609452.post-17312122949182522452013-03-30T20:52:00.002-05:002013-03-30T20:53:49.286-05:00rock of ages.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
last night, our <a href="http://provroad.org/">church</a> joined with other <a href="http://www.acts29network.org/">acts 29</a> churches in the okc area for a good friday service. it was simple, beautiful, and powerful... exactly what it needed to be. i was super thankful that several old hymns made it onto the set list. for whatever reason, i was so stirred by the lyrics to "Rock of Ages."<br />
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<i>Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</i></div>
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<i>Let me hide myself in Thee;</i></div>
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<i>Let the water and the blood,</i></div>
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<i>From Thy wounded side which flowed,</i></div>
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<i>Be of sin the double cure,</i></div>
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<i>Save from wrath and make me pure.</i></div>
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<i>Not the labor of my hands</i></div>
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<i>Can fulfill Thy law's demands;</i></div>
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<i>Could my zeal no respite know,</i></div>
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<i>Could my tears forever flow,</i></div>
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<i>All for sin could not atone;</i></div>
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<i>Thou must save, and Thou alone.</i></div>
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<i>Nothing in my hand I bring,</i></div>
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<i>Simply to Thy cross I cling;</i></div>
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<i>Naked, come to Thee for dress;</i></div>
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<i>Helpless, look to Thee for grace;</i></div>
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<i>Foul, I to the fountain fly;</i></div>
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<i>Wash me, Savior, or I die.</i></div>
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<i>While I draw this fleeting breath,</i></div>
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<i>When my eyes shall close in death,</i></div>
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<i>When I rise to worlds unknown,</i></div>
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<i>And behold Thee on Thy throne,</i></div>
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<i>Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</i></div>
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<i>Let me hide myself in Thee.</i></div>
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such an incredible reminder that my only hope for salvation is in the cross. i hope you're celebrating your emptiness and his magnificence this weekend. what a gift! what a savior! </div>
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cara janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04159160214008682568noreply@blogger.com0