wonderful grace

the package was waiting outside my door when i got home friday. i was relieved excited to see the return address from dayspring. inside was their wonderful grace carved wooden serving tray. it is beautiful.



dayspring is beautiful. this is the second time they've generously sent something lovely to me.

to be honest, the tray was not my first choice for this particular giveaway. but, i've spent the last month or so moving and [slowly] getting settled into a new apartment [yes, i'm on the hunt for curtains!], and i have been on the hunt for a tray to put on my ottoman for a sturdy surface and to dress it up a bit. it didn't even occur to me that i could potential be receiving one! how perfect is it that the wonderful grace tray was sent to me. [and my living room!]

inscribed on the tray is wonderful grace ~ authentic peace ~ unfathomable love ~ simply joy ~ unending hope.

i'm sure that no matter what kind of a day i'm having, one of those truths will remind me of Him and his unfailing presence in my life.

i'm so stoked i don't have to give away my firstborn child but instead have a new piece for my living room.

thank you, dayspring!

:: disclaimer: i received this product from dayspring through (in)courage in exchange for this review. oh, and because they rock. ::

a look inside

my thought process...


a FedEx note was taped to the door at my apartment for me yesterday. they'd tried to deliver a package but needed my signature.

my thoughts yesterday:
for me?! i don't remember ordering anything... did someone send me something?! suh-weet! come on friday! i LOVE packages!

my thoughts this morning as i left my signature on the note:
what if it isn't something nice? what if it's a letter saying i owe someone money? or my firstborn child? maybe i shouldn't leave my signature...

eternal optimist i am not. 


part two is sure to come...

love notes

i got home friday afternoon to find that someone had sneaked into my apartment that morning and left these for me...

i love him lots and lots too.

shh... don't mind my messy bed. i'm just keepin' it real for you!

and today we celebrate two years together. i'm so blessed to have such a thoughtful stud. he makes me laugh every day. he listens to me vent, lament and show excitement. he makes me yummy food. and his hugs are the best. xoxo.

letting go

it's time to get back on the blogwagon. for some reason, i tend to approach my blog in a rather shy and insecure manner if it's been awhile since i've spent time with it. i'm not sure why i treat it like a stranger, someone i'm unfamiliar with, give a little wave and try to avoid making eye contact. i want my blog to be like a lifelong friend - the kind who, even after weeks or months of not talking, picking right back up again is as natural as ice cream in the summer and it's like the time apart simply never was.

i hold high expectations for myself and this blog. and for what? my sense of value? to let it tell me what i'm worth? to feel like i have a voice in this world? yes, yes and yes. i answer those questions honestly and then i shake my head. i know Whose i am. and no compliment on my writing, comment, or amount of page views can ever completely satisfy and quench the hole in my heart... the longing i have that can only be filled by Him alone.

so i just don't have much to say for awhile, or i can't get the words out the way i want. so i actually find myself living life and not having the time or energy to write about it. so my blog doesn't look as good as a lot of others out there, i don't write as well as some of the ladies whose blogs i read daily, and i'm just not good at keeping up with it.

i mean, i even gave myself grace when i named this blog. i write... sometimes.

and it's ok.

[say it again, sarah.]

it's ok.

this blog does not define me.

whether i get one reader or 100, the whole reason i started doing this was so that i would have a space to get my thoughts out, remember the race i'm running with Jesus and the places he's brought me and keep memories and pictures along the way.

so let's start again, blog. let's be friends with no rules and no expectations. let this place be full of grace. and let's see how beautiful life is (: