6.30.2010

my life is fake

ok, seriously. is my life fake?

i headed to my new roomies house tonight because i thought we were having girls night. opened the door and 30 of my closest friends were there to surprise me for my birthday!

no. idea. that. was. happening.

i feel overwhelmed. extremely happy. i've only lived here 1.5 yrs and i know people well enough that they would want to throw me a SURPRISE birthday party. incredible.

i'm determined my life is fake. i have the most ridiculous awesome job in the entire world. my mom drives to dallas to be at my surprise party. i have friends that love me well, ones in dallas and around the entire country. i'm healthy. the list could go on and on.

all that to say i'm spoiled rotten. i've already had the most incredible birthday and it hasn't even begun.

thank you Lord for these past 48 hrs. they have been a true gift. i do not know what tomorrow holds, but i will remember Your goodness always. Your love makes it worth it all!

6.29.2010

06.29.2010


my heart is so full. what an amazing 24 hours it has been.

a new niece was born. Lily Kate Hoppe. 7 lbs 7 oz 20 inches. the most beautiful little brown baby you have ever seen. theres something so prophetic about that sweet girl. Psalm 29 is her own chapter:

Ascribe to the Lord O might ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry "Glory!" The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

this little one is going to know the voice of the Lord. she is going to ascribe Him the Glory and honor due His name. she will be a silent warrior that hears the voice of God in a powerful way.

not only was my niece born today, but God was so near to me today. more than usual. it's like He was going out of His way to show me His presence.

i woke up with the feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. you know when you are struggling with something for a while and it just feels heavy on your mind, heart, and almost literally on your body? well, it was gone today. what did i do? nothing. God just decided it was time to remove it.

then i get the most encouraging email from a friend. speechless after reading it.

then God just kept speaking little things to me throughout the day that He knew i needed. He was literally showing off today.

not because i deserved it. not because i did anything super special. just because He loves me. as Priscilla would say, He goes out of His way to confirm what concerns us most.

06.29.2010 - you were a good day to me. i think i'll remember this one for a while.

cheers to God being a stud, and Lily Kate Hoppe!


6.27.2010

weekend wrap up


i don't think I could've crammed more things into this weekend. but, then again, that's what I do best!

Friday night I made the most DELICIOUS black bean burgers you've ever put in your mouth. I made them from this cookbook. My sister got me into this stuff and everything in here is amazingly delicious and healthy. I also made some chocolate chip cookies that the guys devoured. If you are interested in cooking gluten free, you should check out this cookbook. The main ingredient is almond flour, which is super expensive if you just buy in a store, so I buy it in bulk from a website.
I made all of this food because we went over to a friends house to watch Troll 2.( If you don't know the story behind this movie: basically it was voted the worst movie of all time. And let me tell you, it's the truth. They just did a documentary on this movie recently which was hilarious. All that to say, don't waste two hours of your life watching Troll 2. ) Casey and Erin set up a screen outside so we ate and watch the movie on a screen in their backyard. It was actually really fun.

Saturday I got to pick up my sweet friend Jenny Pang from the airport. She has been away from us for 6 weeks touring Europe. I know, jealous right? I certainly was. I had the most amazing time catching up with her at dinner and of course dessert at PinkBerry - the love of my life!

Sundays are always my favorite. I love being able to lead worship, I love seeking God with my community at church, and I love Sunday afternoons. Half of my friends have been in Detroit for the past 8 days and they got home last night as well. Thankfully, everyone is home now!

This week is packed with lots of work, and most importantly, my sister-in-law is being induced tomorrow! yay!! Lily Kate, we can't wait to meet you!! Praying for them tomorrow if you think about it.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

6.23.2010

uncle lala


Last night I got to have dinner with my Uncle Keith who was in town for business from Chicago. I can't begin to tell you what a treat it was to go out to dinner with him, for so many different reasons. "Uncle Lala" is one of those uncles that everyone wishes they had. He is seriously one of the most loving, funniest, most kind human beings ever. I have no idea what we would do without this man in our family.

I was talking to my sister about going to dinner with him before I got to the restaurant, and she said something that totally stuck in my mind. She said "it's so fun that you get to go out to dinner with an older man. you and I don't really get to do that ever."

Let me explain that sentence a little bit more. If you know me, you know that I have lost a lot of influential men in my lifetime. My dad passed away when I was 11 (from cancer) , my moms dad just a few years after that, and my dad's dad passed away when I was about 1 yrs old. If you think about it, those are the main men in ones life, for the most part.

Anyway, I started to think about what my sister said, and how neat it was that I was getting to spend some time with an influential male in my life. The other thing that was so cool to me about last night was that Uncle Keith lost his daughter (my cousin) to cancer as well a few years ago, and so here we are.... a girl who doesn't get to have dinner with her dad, and a dad who doesnt get to have dinner with his daughter....

And let me tell you it was so fun. I see Uncle Keith a few times a year, but this has been one of my favorite moments with him. Nothing spectacular happened. We just talked, shared amazing Italian food, and caught up on life. I felt like it was a gift from God. There was something so sweet about last night that I can't really explain. But I'm forever grateful for it. It made me feel like a little girl again, when dad used to take us out to eat, make us laugh, encourage us in our season of life, and make us feel special and love.

Thank you Uncle LaLa for making time in your schedule to hang out with your niece. It was a moment I will remember forever. I love you!

6.20.2010

favorites from the weekend

and in no particular order...

1. pinkberry

2. 13.2 mile run on Saturday

3. laying out by the pool

4. lots of fuji apples and almond butter (duh!)

5. church this morning = faith stirring and thought provoking

6. whipping out my flute... yes, i used to play the flute, and yes it was really fun to play tonight

6.17.2010

love

Last night some friends and I got to talking about l-o-v-e. Relationships, fears, dating, etc. etc.

It got my head spinning last night, so much so that I didn't fall asleep until 1:00am. I was thinking about my past relationships, what I learned from them, why they didn't work out, the fears that I carry into relationships because of the hurt has been caused in the past.... one thing I do know: I've learned A LOT and still have a lot to learn.

I love when God does this: He awakened me this morning to talk to me about... love. His love. His high, wide, deep and long love for me. And for you.

Just a few things that I'm pondering today

1. It is better to love than not have loved at all... true? false?
What if God didn't chose to love us? What if he didn't decide to give us his reckless, hopeless, abandon love? I'd say this is a pretty valid statement.

"Love is the great equalizer in the Kingdom.. no one has an advantage over another in giving and receiving love." - Bob Sorge

2. Give love and receive love today

3. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Because I haven't experienced crazy love here in earth physically, I think there is something so profound about letting God show me how deep and high and wide and long is His love for me today. I can't love others well if I don't know how high and wide and deep and long His love is.

I want to be someone who loves people recklessly, and not only that, but more importantly, I want to KNOW His love.. I mean really know His love for me.

I put up walls with loving people. Because I put my heart out there and because ____ isn't going to give me anything back, I don't want to love _____ well. God I can't pray for ____, I can't honor _____, because it's not fair and it's not safe for my heart. But if I'm only willing to love to the extent that I am loved back, then I have it all wrong, and I'm in trouble. You know?

So what would it look like if we let God SHOW us His high and wide and deep and long love today? And loved people out of the place?


6.10.2010

Deeper Still, Denver

Today we leave for Denver for our first Deeper Still of this year. I can't believe it's been half a year since I've been with everyone. So many things to look forward to this year.... new schedule, can't WAIT to hear what the gals are going to teach on, lots of birthdays going on... it's a party.

praying that this will be a transformational weekend for myself and everyone else invovled and attending the conference.

did i mention i get to stay and hang out with my sister and brother-in-law for a few days after the conference? SO EXCITED!

oh and Happy 30th Birthday to my brother Brian! whoop!

6.08.2010

not waco

Well, turns out that Lily Kate was not ready to come last night. Luci's contractions leveled off and the doctor ended up sending them home around 2:00am. So, I'm back to work plugging away today getting ready for Denver this weekend.

Hope you have an awesome Tuesday!

6.07.2010

Waco?

By the time you read this I may or may not be in Waco. Got a call from my brother and sis in law just now and they think she is going into labor.... 3 weeks early. She was supposed to be induced on June 29 so this is totally unexpected.

So.... Super excited that the baby could be here very soon! I can't go back to sleep so I'm just trying to delay time until I hear back from them. Yay for Lily Kate arriving soon!

Pray for Luci and the baby!

6.05.2010

it.is.hot


i woke up this morning to go on a long run, and i didn't make it out to the lake until 8:30. bad idea. I should've started about 3 hours earlier. it is so incredibly hot already in Texas. not cool.

our forecast for the week:
Sunday - 99
Monday - 97
Tuesday - 95

Seriously Dallas? It's only June. I'm wondering how in the world my brother and I trained for a marathon over the summer last night? Not sure what we were thinking, but I'm just glad I'm not doing it right now.

I will say, though, that I totally have the bug again. I've been looking and looking for a marathon that I can run this year. It seems like they are all on dates that I can't do. Hoping to find one soon though. I'll keep you posted.

Just a little remembrance from the Chicago marathon....


6.03.2010

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaan Diego

About a month ago mom and I were planning on taking a vacation to Orange Beach, until all the oil spill stuff was "supposed" to hit the gulf coast. So, we decided to randomly go to San Diego. And what an amazing decision that was! I swear, San Diego, is one of my FAVORITE places in the world. Seriously. It is the perfection beach destination place. Never again do I want to go to Florida. That really says a lot coming from me, but it's the truth. You have GOT to go to this place if you are looking for a beach vacation spot. Not to mention there is about one million things to do in this city.

Mom and I left last Monday from Dallas, and my two sisters came and met us Wednesday and we all stayed until Sunday. We vacation so well together.

We slept. We ate delicious food. We sat on the beach all day long. WE DIDN'T SWEAT ONE BIT. We exercised. And did all of these things all over again.

It.was.perfect!

Here are some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

La Jolla (pronounced la-hoya)... you HAVE to stay here if you go to the SD

We stayed in Oceanside. This is the Harbor of the city

Sara teaching yoga....

our "hike" we went on

SD has the most beautiful flowers EVERYWHERE. this amazing home was on Coronado Island

you know I love food and have to take pictures of what I eat. this was banana bread french toast. soooo yummy

our first night in Oceanside. ate a great dinner!

So... GO TO SAN DIEGO!