I have put together a reading list for 2011 separated out by the topic's I want to grow in next year. I will share my opinions of each book. But first thought I would post the whole list. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
2011 Reading List
Spiritual
1.Emotionally Healthy Spiritually: Unleash the Power of Authentic Life in Christ Peter Scazzero
2.The Grace of God Andy Stanley
3.Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis
4.Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God Francis Chan
Marriage
1.Boundaries in Marriage Henry Cloud
2.Sacred Marriage Gary Thomas
3.Five Love Languages Gary Chapman
Motherhood
1.That’s My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character Rick Johnson
2.Letters to Moms Karen Stubbs
3.Sacred Parenting Gary Thomas
4.Personality Plus for Parents
Business
1.Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable Seth Godin
2.Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business Patrick Lencioni
Here at the Walkup house we have been very sick. Over the last 3 months, it has been a revolving door for infections. And the sickness is NOT a WELCOME guest. So I thought I would get some suggestions from my readers.
I'd love to know what vitamins, probiotics, supplements, etc that you would recommend. So comment away! PLEASE.
We took Finn to visit Santa and have his picture made yesterday. Below I have two pictures. The one from last year and the one from this year. Didn't you know Santa is so scary?
My good friend, Ashley shared this post yesterday about Hallelujah. And it was amazing. But it introduced me to an artist and a song. The words in the song blew me away. (side note-I'm a words of affirmation person) And the artists life story blew me away. So I had to share on my blog too. I have just shared the song and the story behind the song. For more information on Heather Williams visit her website.
This video is the story behind the song.
And this video is the song with lyrics on screen.
Hope this blesses you as it did me.
Isn't this our cry everyday?? "Jesus, please come...please come today. I'm in need of your grace, today."
Praise God that His love always stays the same, yesterday, today, tomorrow - AMEN!
Once again, Jason Pendley has outdone himself. We had a photo session a few weeks ago and I thought my readers would like to see a sneak peek. This past year we have had 6 photo sessions. The all have been amazing - thanks to Jason's eye. We are so thankful to have the pictures made. And are looking forward to more in the upcoming year. But for now, here is a sneak peek from our session. And if you have any photography needs (family, baby, wedding, and more) check out his website!
Disclosure: I was not asked to write this post. Nor was I paid to write this post. I just had a great photo session and wanted to share with my readers. My thoughts are my own.
Hey friends,
Sorry I haven't written in the last 10 days. It's been very busy and I just didn't get an opportunity. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did!
I'm working on a project and I would love your help. I have been writing down good recipes that we use in this family in a recipe book. I want to pass it down to either my daughter or Finn's wife someday. I want the women in my family to be able to continue cooking our family meals after I'm gone. So this is my way of doing it. I want the book to be full of delicious recipes.
So you may be asking, "how can I help?" Well, I would love for you to either post a comment on here or email me with some delicious recipes you would like to share. Additionally, it would be awesome if you could link to this post from your blog or twitter t spread the word. I want as many recipes as possible. The book has to be full!
As I was driving to work today, God spoke to me through a song that I have heard a million times. And for some reason the words really moved my soul. I wanted to share with you all.
Here is the video and the lyrics. Have a wonderful day resting in the knowledge that we are His!
Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.
Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
Cause I am yours..
I am yours..
He trained hard for 9 months all for a cold Saturday morning in the beautiful scenery of the Chickamauga Battlefield in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA. That's right, yesterday Gregory ran 26.2 miles.
What a true accomplishment. What an inspiration he is to me. Below are a few pictures and then a video of him coming through the finish line. Tonight I smile because I am a very proud wife.
The cheering committee (minus me the photographer)
Almost half way there and looking good! He wasn't even sweating.
Waiting at the finish line!
Finn was looking for dada
Bro and sis at the finish line!
Uncle E and Gregory at the finish line!
Gregory and I at the finish line-so proud!
And here's the video clip of him coming through the finish line-Great job Gregory! You are truly an inspiration to us all!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
I work at a church. I love my job. I love my church. I'm in the ministry and I'm blessed.
Every other week we have campus staff meeting. In these meetings we get updates about whats going on in all the different ministry areas and then we break up and pray in groups.
Now, I will be brutally honest. I have a hard time with prayer time. I literally view this time as sharing requests or praises that are on your heart so we can pray about them. I do not view the time as an opportunity to share everything going on in your life lately. I know this sounds mean but hey it's who I am. This is probably why I get frustrated in groups when prayer sharing time takes 45 minutes to an hour.
But in staff meetings it's a different story. We go around and share whats on our hearts. And I love how authentic we can be. And then one person prays for the group. That is my kind of prayer time-efficient! I know what you are thinking..."Wow, you have no compassion, no love, what a hateful person you are." But that's not true. I am a compassionate person. I do have some serious love for others. I just enjoy an efficient group prayer time!
Anyway, the whole reason I am writing this post is because this past week one of the people made a statement as he prayed for us over and over. And it really stuck with me. With every request, he prayed for God to go before us. Just sit on that for a second.
"Go before me Lord." What a profound statement. I've started praying that now too. And knowing that my Lord is going before me makes everything better.
For Halloween this year we went to the Jansen's for trick or treating. And wow was it so fun! They have an awesome neighborhood with LOTS of kids. Thanks to Mark and Ashley for letting us tag along. Below are some pictures from Finn's first Halloween dressing up!
First I have to show you this. Finn learned to smile on command this weekend. When I say CHEESE, I get this adorable face :)
Finn is really excited about candy!
Seriously, he wouldn't put it down
Daddy and son
Mommy and son
Just strolling around outside
Finn's new thing is messing with his shoes
A true boy-playing in the grass
Ready to go Trick or Treating
Lets go daddy!
Getting tired but having fun
Having too much fun with daddy and getting very sleepy!
So last week on Friday, I took Finn to get a "real" haircut. He was also introduced to candy-a sour apple ring pop to be specific. He loved both the haircut and the ring pop. Here's a few pictures. I can't believe how much hair this kid has!
Getting ready-already checking out that ring pop
And the first taste is pretty good.
Oh yeah, that's delicious!
Such a sweet little boy
" Here come the clippers, but I don't mind-I have a ring pop!"
This morning in my quiet time I was reminded of how important praying is. What's funny is I've actually been wrestling with that lately. God always has a funny way of telling me things. So, first let me say that I do love praying with the God, I talk to him often. I have a struggle with what to pray about. Because some things, I think He already knows that, no need for me to mention it.
But the power of pray is huge. Just recently, I had been praying for a friend's pregnancy. And at her next appointment God performed a miracle. He totally answered our prayers, she was completely healed. You see, that was a reminder to me that prayer works.
The Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing." It also says "submit your requests to God, with thanksgiving." I actually read once that "prayer is the key to God's heart." I definitely want that key!
So, think about what/who you want to lift up to the Lord and do it. Keep a prayer journal if you can. It's very encouraging to look back over days, weeks, months and see all that God has done!
I'm going to tell the story of this weekend through pictures. We had a blast as a family this weekend. Hope you enjoy!
SATURDAY
We started off the weekend on Saturday by taking Finn to Kinsey's family farm. He got to walk around and pick out a pumpkin.
Then we went on a hayride that stopped at a pond where we feed big fish! That was so fun!
Isn't this a cute picture of Gregory and Finn?
Finn picking out his little pumpkin
And he picked one!
Daddy and Son
Mommy and Son
On the hayride
Feeding the fish!
******************************************************************************** SUNDAY
I started my Sunday by running a 10k. That was fun! My first big race and boy was it an adrenaline rush! I enjoyed it and the best part was coming into the finish line seeing all the lovely people that care about me. Allison & Meri ran the 5k so they were done as I finished. Meri's husband is my boss and he was there with this sign. On one side it was for me and the other side was for Allison. Very nice! I absolutely loved seeing my husband (who had flowers) and my sweet son clapping. It was a great day for a race and I finished in just over an hour.
Here's a video of me coming through the finish line...
The second part of our day was a buddy walk for Downs Syndrome. We went to the Marietta Square to support the Gatlin family. Their daughter Abby is in Finn's class. We say that they are boyfriend and girlfriend because they absolutely love each other. So we had to go out and support them. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and then walking the mile for Abby!
Yesterday at church we heard the speaker Justin Grunewald. He works in the middle school department at Buckhead. And well, he is quite the communicator. He preached yesterday on the popular bible verses in Psalm. I have listed the verses below...
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
I would recommend you go and listen to the sermon on our website by clicking the link: Online Messages @ North Point The title of the sermon is "Promises".
Anyway, the message really got me thinking...where in my life is God not MY Shepherd? Where have I not invited HIM to lead? I will be praying through this the next few days. But just yesterday one area popped to mind-
Part of parenting is fixing meals, doing laundry, bathing, diaper changing, etc-All those things are under my control, I lead there. But do I have to? I should be asking God to lead and help me with the little teachable moments with Finn.
And what else? I'm sure there are TONS of areas. I wish there wasn't, but unfortunately it's reality. Our flesh always wants to take over.
So join me...ask God to show you where he is NOT currently your Shepherd. And then, ask him to be. Life change is on the way!
Feeding
Nothing really new here. We have been off of baby food for a while now. He does enjoy feeding himself-so I guess that's new.
Weight/Height
We just had his 12 month doctor appointment today. He was 23.4 pounds. I will also start posting his height on here. He was 30 inches tall. That puts him at 55th percentile. Just a good ole average size.
Sleep
We still have a great sleeper. Bedtime is 7:30 and he sleeps til 7:30. As for naps, at school he naps at 10 & 2. But at home he naps like a big boy-one nap at 12:00ish. He will usually sleep 2 or 3 hours with this nap.
Wake Time
Well, the last few days have opened up a whole new world. Finn is walking! He stumbles all over the place. It's adorable!
Clothes
Finn is now in the 18 month size for the Fall. The pants are a little long, but fits him great in the waist. He got some great clothes for his birthday so he has some very cute outfits!
Fun fact
I've decided to start making our Fridays special by doing a "Mommy/Son day". We either go to the park or shop together. Or for a special treat we are doing outings. Today we went to the Cagle Dairy Farm with a groups of moms and their kiddos. It was so much fun! Below are some pictures. Thanks Ashley - for taking the cute pictures and inviting us to go along. But I hate we didn't get any pictures of us or the boys together. Oh well-next time!
Feeding the calf
One more shot of him feeding the calf (he loved it!)
Who knows what Finn was pointing at, he loves to point these days :)
