31 Purses

My roommate Addy recently became a consultant for 31 gifts. We are hosting a party today and a percentage of the sales will go to support missions in Honduras.

I have several bags from 31 gifts and I love them all! Please consider supporting a good cause. Just click on the link below and shop! :)

mythirtyone.com/addymccoy

quote

"We must have the faith that things will work out somehow,

that God will make a way for us when there seems no way."

--- Martin Luther King Jr.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge,

aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

--- Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Sunday

"LORD, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done wonderful things,

things planned long ago."

--Isaiah 25:1

The More I Seek You - Christ for the Nations Kari Jobe 16x9 lyrics

quote

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs,

and returns home to find it.” - George Moore

“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you,

as you are to them.” -Desmond Tutu

“The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted

with people you might never even introduce yourself to,

had life not done it for you.” -Kendall Hailey

My family grew to include another little nephew this past Monday....I couldn't be happier that he is here...and healthy. I can't wait until we can get a family photo with our newest addition. :) I'm going home tomorrow to meet the little guy so I promise there will be more pictures of him soon....this proud Auntie can't help but show him off! :)

David Crowder Band - Come Thou Fount

Auntie X 2

I'm now officially the Auntie of the TWO most adorable nephews in the world. My sister had her second little boy. Jordan Wayne Blackburn was born at 10:45 last night. He weighed in at 8 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing great. And I of course am a proud Auntie...I couldn't have asked for a better Valentines gift! More pictures to come later! :)

Valentines Day

I posted this blog 3 years ago but its message still rings true for me....and sometimes I need the reminder of the true meaning of Valentines Day.

I realize that Valentine's Day was yesterday and that some of you would much rather be rejoicing in the fact that it has come and gone. However, as we celebrate (or boycott) this "love" holiday I can't seem to help but ponder what it all means. Why does one holiday bring such joy to some and bitterness to others? I can’t think of any other holiday that brings such division among human beings. I’ve heard all the arguments for and against it and I've found myself on each side of the fence throughout the years. However, this year has found me simply sitting on the fence wondering why the heck we have a fence in the first place? So as I've sat pondering the issue I've come to a few conclusions that I want to share with those of you that live for the holiday, those of you that boycott the holiday, and those of you who like me find yourself sitting on the fence not sure what to think.

I have now spent 2 Valentines Days in this country. (Honduras) Both years I’ve been shocked and amazed to find that V-Day is almost bigger here than it is in the states. Every restaurant, store, and road seems plastered with decorations meant to make you in the Valentine’s Day mood. However, the difference between here and there is that here it is called the Day of love AND friendship. Makes all the single people out there less inclined to hide in bed when February 14th comes around. Reminds us that love isn’t limited to relationships between a man and a women. I know people think adding friendship is just a way to sell more cards and make those who would rather skip the day more apt to celebrate it. However, I’m growing to appreciate the “and friendship” part more every time I think about it.

I’ve been guilty of being one of the loudest boycotters out there against this “hallmark” holiday. There was a day when I may have picked up a sign and joined a group protesting the “stupid” holiday outside a flower shop. (ok so probably not but I would have been chanting with them in my heart/mind) For whatever reason through the years the desire to fight has left me and the arguments that used to ring so true seem pointless now. Why is it we have such a problem with having a day to celebrate love? We V day boycotters used to complain that it was a Hallmark holiday invented solely to sell cards. We couldn’t seem to figure out why there should be a day set aside for love. Shouldn’t we be loving and expressing that love every day of the year? In the past 48 hours I’ve sat pondering all of that once again.

It has hit me though that isn’t the point of any holiday to simply have one day in which we recognize that which we celebrate (or should be celebrating) every other day of our lives? Think about it….Christmas comes but once a year. It is a day to celebrate Christ’s birth. Just because we recognize and celebrate Christmas doesn’t mean that we don’t have to appreciate the precious gift of His birth any other day of the year. Thanksgiving Day by no means limits us to only being thankful for the blessings of life on that one day in late November. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day doesn’t mean that we spoil our parents on “their” day and treat them like crap the rest of the year. Each holiday is simply a reminder of the love, appreciation, and celebration that should be happening EVERY day.

I have looked up and researched the origin for why we celebrate Valentine’s Day. What was it that triggered its birth in the first place and what made it significant enough to be added to every calendar you buy? The results to my search could have kept me reading for days. I could fill you in on just about every detail of what makes February 14th what it is today. However, as I mentioned in my last blog… 1. this blog is plenty long enough already and 2. if you were capable of getting to this blog I’m confident that you can also handle a google search. (with the exception of maybe Bonnie! he he) I will leave you with this…. my research proved to me that there are plenty other reasons for this holiday than the cliché “hallmark wanted to make more money” argument. Does this mean I’ve climbed down off the fence and been converted to stand fighting beside those of you that love this holiday….no. I simply still sit wondering why it is we ever built this fence in the first place. What have those on the “love valentine’s day and anything to do with it” side of the fence done to invoke such a riot from those on the “not so fond of the holiday” side? Surely it is more than just an I have or don’t have a boyfriend, husband, reason to celebrate love issue. So what is it that fuels this war? So I would say I have at best become sympathetic to both sides but am choosing to simply celebrate the same way I celebrate every day I’m given to love those around me.

Happy Sunday

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

--1 John 4:10

Friends

This past weekend my friends Mike, Lauren, and Flick came to visit me. We had an amazing weekend visiting the aquarium, playing Harry Potter Clue, watching movies, going to the beach, and eating A LOT of great food. Mike happens to be a great cook and he spent the entire weekend making his infamous garbage burgers and crepes...breakfast crepes, desert crepes, middle of the day crepes...he's your guy just about whenever you want a crepe. :)

Even though it is February and a little cold we spent time at the beach flying a kite, throwing a football, hitting the volleyball back and forth, and yes we even got in the water....yay for doing a polar plunge!

It was the perfect weekend. I'm thankful for my friendship with each of them. And I was thankful for a weekend to relax and just be near them....it doesn't happen nearly enough these days.

We were a bit cold!

If you look really closely you will see Colby's head sticking up out of the water.....

she may or may not have tripped! :)

Snow!

So it rarely snows in Virginia Beach. We might get the occasional snow flake but it hardly ever actually sticks to the ground or accumulates. Well yesterday morning I woke up to a good 2-3 inches of snow coating everything in sight! It was beautiful....for about 4 hours....and then it started melting. But I was a happy girl for those few short hours that we had snow! I miss living in Ohio where we get lots of snow.

quote

No one can do everything about the suffering and unfairness in our world,

but everyone can do something. - Max Lucado

Good News

"It's not just countries that are getting richer -- individual people are, too. In 2005, the number of people worldwide living in absolute poverty, or on $1.25 or less a day, was around 1.3 billion, according to estimates from Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gertz of the Brookings Institution. The same researchers suggest it was below 900 million last year. From one-half of the developing world in 1981, they estimate the proportion of people in absolute poverty today at less than one-sixth." http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/07/the_poor_are_getting_richer

My friend Lori posted this on her blog today and I couldn't help but steal it....it brings hope and joy to my heart.

quote

‎"Life is a series of of pulls back & forth. You want to do one thing,

but you are bound to do something else. You take certain things for

granted, you know you should never take anything for granted.

A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band.

And most of us live somewhere in the middle." So which side wins, I ask?

He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.

"Love wins. Love always wins." [TWM]

Recipe

Creamy dairy-free pina colada smoothie that's good for you. Tastes like dessert:

1 Cup silk vanilla coconut milk

1.5 ripe bananas

1/2 avocado

1 cup frozen pineapple

3TB pasteurized egg whites

splash coconut extract

splash vanilla extract

Serves 2 - 240 calories each

The key is the avocado half. Makes the smoothie unbelievably creamy without imparting flavor.

Happy Sunday

‎"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me;

you have delivered me from the

depths of the grave."

Psalm 86:11-13

Recipe

Fudge Babies

(Serves… depends on how good bad non-existent your self-control is)
I rolled these into balls, but if you want true brownies, simply shape the dough into bars instead.
.
Ingredients:

• 1 c walnuts (120 grams)
• 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams) (If you want a sweeter result, up the proportion of dates.) (If you’re unsure as to what dates to use, or you want measurements in cups,
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want the balls to be (I used 4T extra dark)

Directions:
1. Chop/blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc. (No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once.)
2. Roll into cutey-pie little balls. (Use plastic wrap if you need to.)
.

Father God

When I first moved to Honduras a mission team came to work with us for a week. During their time there they did nightly devotional time and would sing. One night they sang a song called Father God. It quickly became one of my favorite songs. I used to lay in bed with the kids at the orphanage and sing them to sleep with the song. In fact I sang it so often that they quickly learned the words and sang along with me. It is my prayer for their lives as well as my own life.

Father God just for today

Help me walk the narrow way

Help me stand when I might fall

Lend me the strength to hear your call

Refrain

May my steps be worship,

May my thoughts be praise,

May my words bring honor to Your name,

May my steps be worship,

May my thoughts be praise,

May my words bring honor to Your name.

quote

‎"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

----Martin Luther King Jr.

quote

"If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition

to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly

similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over

the airwaves of North America."

- Tony Campolo

Chris Tomlin - God Of This City

I fell in love with this song a couple of years ago when I first heard it. I was living in Honduras at the time and felt like Chris Tomlin put my heart song for Honduras into words. It became my prayer for that country and its people. In moments of desparation when I wanted to throw up my hands and question everything ...I would come back to this song and remember God IS the God of that city and those are His people. And no matter what was going on at the time I could rest in the knowledge that I know who wins this fight. God will prevail. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.