Easter. Glorious Easter. I always say Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but I forget about Easter. How the dead has come back to life in every way. After the long, dreadful winter that we've all experienced, I was overcome to drive into my parents driveway and see this. Mammoth flower bushes fighting for more room to pop out in bloom. Like all the flowers we're jumping at the chance to finally show off. The dead is over. Life has come again.
Ahh. Then there's Jesus. Three days in darkness. Waging war on the power of hell. But Sunday was coming. With ground quaking, the Father scooped up his son, ALIVE in Glorious Light.
The dead is over. Life has come again.
A victory cry for all who call him King.
Easter. Glorious Easter.
(And just in case you missed my earlier post, click HERE to listen to something truly amazing.)
The Friday arrival kickstarted a full weekend of hiding and hunting eggs.
It also reminded me of how fantastically fabulous it is to be a kid.
A favorite 'perfect timing' shot. He was admiring his basket full and caught sight of ONE MORE he had missed! :)
The prized golden egg!
AND GO!!!
The start of a great weekend of tall tales, funny stories, lots of laughing, and tons of play! More to come!
Barry took a boys trip to Springville, TN last week for a turkey hunt with some of this friends. I thought he got some great pictures and wanted to share! He's on another hunting trip now, so maybe the photog skills will be just as good!
I've found the things that make you marvel are often incalculable in the mind.... This one, for example. She's all girl. 100% pink and tutu's and braids and lipgloss. But when the opportunity is there, she's 100% tomboy. Outdoors, dirty hands, lizard collecting, squealing laughing as this 'darling' lizard nibbles on her fingers.
She's kind hearted and cuddly and sweet and snugly. But she's eyes wide open and fearless and never looking back.
I feel like that last post may have been a bit depressing (and I'm not even sure if the happy part posted... The video! It was there one day then not the next!)
Anywho, we had a rip roaring good time today! Our week ended on the happiest note imaginable... More to come on that later! I picked up this little chicken from school and off we went for ice cream and then an afternoon of fun and dinner with Lala and the twins! SO FUN!!! A much needed QT sesh for Lauren and I and the kids surely burned the energy equivilant of whatever it takes to fuel a space mission to Mars.
I'm pounding this post out because I need to write this to myself. This video stirred something deep and severely important to me. Preparation.
Life right now is busier than I've ever known it. That sentence isn't of the complaining sort entirely… it is busy of good things that mean hopeful job security, fun times with friends, a healthy lifestyle, good choices for my family…. some of the things that are important to me. However, the MOST important thing is missing. I've been so so so busy that there has been 0 seconds of pretty much any day that's been devoted to being with/studying/praying/remembering the greatness of my God.
The reality of this horrifies me. During the time that was labeled 'days of divorce', I was scared to do anything without God telling me it was good. I was desperate for his closeness. I was a mess without his calm. I wouldn't have made it without his peace. I've never known God like I did in that time. I found rest in him entirely.
The divorce is over. In January, I claimed 2014 a fresh year for 'Taylor'….. not 'Taylor who's going through a divorce, Taylor.' This year was going to be devoted to just being in my own skin again. A new life with just me and my girl, and I was/am sincerely happy about that. It's been a pretty difficult year so far. Nothing major or blog worthy, just lots that hasn't gone as easily as I hoped it would or time that is so fleeting that I feel like Im gripping the last waking hours every night trying to finish things that need my attention.
I don't like this place at all.
I don't mean for this to be a bummer… but I've also been wrestling with how well we paint pictures of our lives for the world to see, but sometimes that facade is not reality. I do think the blog is a place to share the happy parts of our life and that it is fine for me to not put all of our life out there for public viewing, however, it is time… for ME… that I write this post and remind myself of the importance of slowing down… of making sure there is plenty of time for God, THEN time for all the rest of life that needs to happen. It's time for me to prepare.
I've tried to be intentional about preparing for the important holidays over the past few years. For 20 plus years, I've blown through the holidays like they were any other day, meaning they were purely self serving. I've tried to better lately. I've tried to research WHY these holidays mean that we should stop everything and pay attention to history. What was happening in the hearts of the ancients… and what needs to happen in the heart of me, right now?
When I've taken the time to prepare, when I've honored God and the heritage of faithfulness that he's left, when I slow and pay attention, God has shown up. Every time. He has shown Himself SO BIG that no word I type could poetically paint a grand enough picture of the way he has called me back to himself. How many times will he take my wandering heart back? I know the answer to that question, but oh how I want to be always positioned with my face to the Son. Thank you, God, for grace. And grace again. And again and again.
Easter is coming. Gosh, it feels like it will be here in the blink of an eye. This post is for me… so that I will stop. Prepare. Receive. Be changed. I know he will do it. I know he will show up, but will I be available? I'm vowing to slow. To study. To remember. To turn the volume down on my life so that God won't have to scream for me to hear. I want Him to whisper… and for me to smile big hearing Him, because we're walking so close that a whisper is all it takes.
This video is long but good grief it's good. What a remarkable song. I'm not a huge fan of this 'spoken word' movement- i think it sounds like a poem being read in a weird voice- but this brought me to tears. Please watch at about the 6:30 mark. I just completely love it. "He has defeated me in my rebellion, conquered me in my sin." YES. Praise God!
I guess Im writing this in hopes that we'll all listen to this and remember why we stop for Easter… God's got a word for all of us, but can we hear it?
You guys will never believe what happened! Caden and Lizzy got a homework assignment where they had to log a number of physical activity hours (or something like that) so a few months ago (oh my gosh.... Where has the time gone??) we all headed to Oak Mountain for the day!! I was SO EXCITED about it!! (Also, the sun was blinding us!)
Unc is such a great unc!
Pretty much the only time we saw Caden because he was running at full speed the whole way up the mountain!
Sooooo strong!!!
Bird watching and being adorable!
A few nature shots. This is the bottom of the lake (in the next picture). The water was crystal clear and all the fall leaves were so beautiful and undisturbed under the water. I love all the textures. Lovely, right?
Such a gorgeous place!
Best part of the day (for me)... Walking up from the picnic area and barry got pooped on!! So so funny! Some parts of immaturity will always be funny, no matter how old we get!
These two are so sweet together!!
{Very short video} How on earth did they all run into each other?! Silly kids!!
Just like the rest of North America, Birmingham is in the winter. that. won't. quit. The Sunday of birthday week, we woke up to the first blue skies we'd seen in a long, long time. We threw on Londie's new awesome workout outfit (thank you Booper!), grabbed our bike and headed to our favorite park for a picnic and day of fresh air… glorious, magnificent, fresh, straight from the heavens, air.
We started with a picnic. These shots are from me laying on the ground as she ran laps around our picnic blanket and did jumping jacks. This winter's cabin fever has been NO JOKE.
Then we took off for a bike ride/run. London's doing great on her bike! She loves riding and it thrills me to have her out and about with me!
We Rode.
And we rode.
And we rode some more.
We looked dang snazzy while we did it too!
We conquered the ropes course. She has no fear at all.
And ate rainbow popsicles by a creek...
I adore our life. There is sometimes stress, and there is lots of busy, but then there's this. This kid that makes my heart swell, this beautiful, friendly city that we live in, and days that while they are happening, you just know, this is one of those days that will stick around a while. Etched hard into the memory and filed under 'Days That Were Perfect.'
I love being alive. These days are but a vapor, so I'm thankful for the days lived well.
