Rise

I attended a Women's Bible Study event tonight at my church with Beth Moore and was so blessed by it.  JW and I have been attending Bayou City Fellowship, a church I first learned about the Living Proof Ministries blog, since we moved back to Houston this summer.  We tried a few others, but really felt led that BCF is where God wanted us.  Beth's son-in-law, Curtis Jones, is the pastor, and he is such a powerful motivator of faith.  The church is only a year old, and has already grown so much. 

Rise is BCF's quarterly women's night of worship and teaching by Beth Moore.  This was my first time to attend and my mom got to join me.  It was a powerful evening.  The Bible study was on 2 Kings 5:1-14 and we talked about God's power to heal us of the things holding us back from truly living for Him. The healing that God offers is sometimes hard and requires much of us, but we can be mighty women of valor living for Him if we allow the Spirit to help us.

One of the worship songs we sang was so moving and powerful to me.  The lyrics are below.  I don't want to forget the impact they had on me tonight.

"Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)"
by Hillsong United

This is my revelation
Christ Jesus crucified
Salvation through repentance
At the cross on which He died

Now hear my absolution
Forgiveness for my sin
And I sink beneath the waters
That Christ was buried in

[Chorus]
I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

I stand a new creation
Baptized in blood and fire
No fear of condemnation
By faith I'm justified

[Chorus]
I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

I rise as You are risen
Declare Your rule and reign
My life confess Your Lordship
And glorify Your Name
Your Word it stands eternal
Your Kingdom knows no end
Your praise goes on forever
An on and on again

No power can stand against You
No curse assault Your throne
No one can steal Your glory
For it is Yours alone
I stand to sing Your praises
I stand to testify
For I was dead in my sin

[Chorus]
But now I rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

Fall Polish

I love having my nails painted.  It's not often that you'll find them bare.  I love all the new colors I can where when the seasons change too.  So, even though it doesn't feel like fall outside, and I can't wear fall sweaters and boots, (I've tried to wear boots and my feet just end up hot all day), I can wear fall nail polish. 

JW and I had date night last night, and before dinner stopped into Target to pick up a few things.  I needed some things in the cosmetic section and ended up trying on nail polish.  JW was patient with me, and here's what I came home with.

I have never worn anything like this copper color, and probably wouldn't have picked it out off the shelf, but a co-worker had it on last week and I loved it.

This is a deep golden bronze color.

Via

 I didn't buy this one, but will next time I see it.  I think it's a cool fall neutral.

Essie: Sand Tropez

Via

 Apparently, I am liking metallics this fall.  What are you wearing?

P.S.  Shout-out to my talented friend, Shay, who just started a neat "techy tips and tricks" blog called The Pocket Buzz.  That's where I learned how to add text to my photos from my iPhone for this blog.  Go check it out!  I promise you'll learn something. :)

Spice it Up: Signature Chefs 2012

I have mentioned work has been crazy over the last couple months, and that is because we were leading up to our fall event, Signature Chefs.  It is a really fun food and wine auction event.  I did this event in Waco, but this was my first year to be a part of Houston's event.  Needless to say, it was on a much larger scale.  Houston's Signature Chefs Gala is the largest in the nation for the March of Dimes.  We had a team of people working on it, so that was nice compared to me being the only staff person in Waco.  Here in Houston, I was in charge of the auction and culinary aspects of the event.  We had close to 100 auction packages and 25 chefs that were a part of the evening.  It was a huge success!  There were over 750 guests in attendance and we hit our million dollar goal!  Check out this article in a social publication about our event: Culture Map article.

It sure was a lot of work, but was so rewarding to see great results and a successful event Thursday night.  I am honored to work for an organization with a great mission to help moms and babies.  I didn't do a great job getting pictures since I was running around most of the evening.  I'm kicking myself and will do a better job next year.  Here are the couple I got.  My mom and JW both came and worked a Big Board auction for me.  I am grateful they were there. 
 

I am pretty exhausted, and we plan to spend most of the weekend resting.  We are looking forward to a normal week next week... no more 12 hour work days and 8:30 dinners!  Happy weekend!

Happy Birthday to JW!

Last Sunday, JW turned 27 years old and we spent the weekend celebrating.  Friday night we went out to eat at Outback, just the two of us.  It was nice to sit there and talk.  Work has been crazy lately, so it was good for us to get out and spend uninterrupted time together.

Saturday, we celebrated with friends and family and went bowling and then have everyone over to our house for dinner and cake.

Sunday was JW's actual birthday, and as a gift last year, my parent's had given JW Texans tickets to a game of his choice for this season.  He had chosen the Texans vs. Packers game this weekend, so we took an attorney JW works with and his wife.  Neither of them had ever been to a Texans game before, and even though the Texans lost, it was a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday, Joey!  We love you!

Dakota's Puppy Party

After work on Dakota's birthday, I went to watch Claire cheer at a middle school football game.  She is in eighth grade and did a great job!  It brought back Viking cheer memories for me.  So fun!

After the game we headed back to our house for dinner and cake (both for the humans and pups).  We love to celebrate around here, so even a doggie birthday is a good excuse to all get together.  Momma Hance was so sweet to make lasagna for dinner and bring it over since I was working all day.  My mom brought a bundt cake for the humans, and I made cake for the dogs.  I made the same peanut butter dog cake that I made Harley for her first birthday.

 JW and me with the birthday girl

 Family that came over to celebrate with us

The dogs were more challenging to get photos of, but the dogs in attendance were Maximus and Calamity Jane (with Momma Hance) and Noel (with my family).

 We ate in peace with the dogs all in the backyard.  It was pure puppy chaos when we let them all in.

Yes, we even sang "Happy Birthday" to Koda, and then moved the party back outside for the dogs to enjoy their cake.

 

Happy Birthday, Koda monkey!  We love you.

Happy 1st Birthday, Dakota!

Dakota is one year old today! We had a fun evening with family and puppies over to celebrate, but I'll have to post more on that later. I am just stopping for the first time since before 6:00 this morning. Work is busy right now, but we are so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate and spend time with loved ones. 

Dakota brings a lot of fun and joy to our lives, and we are grateful she is part of our family. Happy birthday, Koda Bear!