Please consider adoption...

Saw this video from another adoptive family and had to share it. I hope it stirs your heart.

(double click the video to watch it in full screen)

Monday Matrimony

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you and the love(s) of your life have a wonderful day. And now for your weekly bit of [unsolicited] advice...

The staff girls at South Bay have been reading a book together called, "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace. I got this list from her book. I thought you might enjoy trying out a few of these on the week where we celebrate love!

Ways to Bless My Husband

• Pray for him daily.
• Speak words of kindness, softly and gently to him. 
• Surprise him with a sweet note or card in his lunch.
• Serve a special meal to him- his favorite food.
• Give him an unexpected gift.
• Fill up his car with gas.
• Thank him for something good he has done.
• Praise him for one of his good character qualities.
• Be humble enough to confess your own failures to him.
• Reaffirm your commitment to him.
• Initiate a special time of love-making with him.
• Spend time with him doing something he likes to do.
• Ask him to take a walk (with you, of course).
• Obey God and let your husband see Christ in you. 

Love Week: Random

Here's a list of ten random things I love:

1. I love hot tea and typically have at least one cup per day. Chai and earl grey are my favorites.
2. I love desserts. It's borderline a disorder how much I love desserts. My two favorites are tuxedo cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and good ol' chocolate chip cookies.
3. I love Broadway shows. For my birthday/Christmas, Andy knows I would normally rather have tickets to a Broadway show than anything else. It's not always possible, but it is always special!
4. I love(d) breastfeeding Caedmon. TMI, I know. I just think breastfeeding is one of the most beautiful, pure, and intimate acts in life. I have to remind myself that it is a social faux pas to stare at a mother breastfeeding her child. When I weaned Caedmon at 13 months, we both cried. 
5. I love traveling internationally. Not so much the actual traveling part, but I love seeing new places and experiencing new cultures. 
6. I love riding horses. Not so much the trail riding, ten horses in a straight line type. But the run them until they can't run anymore type. I had a horse growing up and some of my best childhood memories surround my experiences with that horse.
7. I love laying on a blanket watching my kids play at the playground. Side note- a couple weeks ago we were leaving the playground and I said, "Boys, wasn't that so much fun?!" To which Caedmon replied, "Mom, how could you have had fun just laying there? You didn't even play in the sand or go down the slide!"
8. I love the feeling I have after a great workout. Wish I had that feeling more often!! :-)
9. I love it when other people make (almost) all my decisions for me! That's weird, huh? I'm just not very opinionated about most things. I don't care where we eat, I don't care what flowers I have in my wedding, I don't care what toppings you get on the pizza, and I don't even care that much about what movie we watch. Don't get me wrong. I do have opinions on some things and I may be one of the most stubborn people you'll ever meet when it comes to those issues (not my best quality). But most things, you can decide.
10. I love the beauty of God's creation. There is something so majestic, so life-giving about staring out into the ocean or being surrounded by snow capped mountains. It reminds me how small I am and how big God is...and that's a good thing to think about.

Love Week: South Bay Church

It's no secret that I am head over heels in love with South Bay Church. Here's my top 10 for South Bay:

 

1. The pastor is REALLY hot! (That better not be one of the reasons YOU love South Bay Church!) 
2. The refreshments always greet me like an old friend...hot tea on a cool morning. I think Andy goes through about 4 bottles of water, 2 bananas, and 3 clementines every Sunday morning!
3. I love the intentionality of the mood/experience that Archie and the creative team work so hard to prepare. It all works together to draw us into the presence of God and to be ready to hear from Him.
4. I love that both of my kids LOVE Bay Kids. I never have to arm wrestle them to go. They enjoy it, which is a really good thing since they get a triple dose of it each week!
5. Our worship band rocks! (Pun totally intended.) I love to feel the base and drums in my chest. And I think the people who wear earplugs are so cute; I just want to squeeze them!
6. I love that I get tears in my eyes at least once almost every Sunday...God is doing something so fresh in our midst. 
7. I love feeling challenged to take next steps each week. There is rarely a week that goes by that I don't do something differently because of the sermon I heard on Sunday.
8. Our staff families are uh-may-zing! I could sing their praises all day long. Just pick a name and I've got a list of things I love about that person.
9. I love meeting people in between the services who tell me stories about how God is changing their life through the ministry of South Bay Church. That NEVER gets old. Every. Single. Story. touches my heart deeply.
10. I love knowing that we are apart of something so much bigger than ourselves. I believe that our lives and this church are just a small part of the movement that God intends to do in the Bay Area. In 20 years from now when we look back at all God has done, we will be filled with such joy knowing that we were apart of it.

If you are a South Bayer, please leave a comment to tell me something that YOU love about South Bay!

Love Week: Sammy

Next up in the Love Week line up is Samuel Wondimu Wood. Here's my Top 10 for Sammy:

1. I love how Sammy is 100% committed to running around the house naked every chance he gets.
2. I love that Sammy is a great eater...unlike some other unnamed children in my household. 
3. I love how Sammy will suddenly look at you and say, "Five five!" which means he wants a high five.
4. Sammy truly may have one of THE most adorable smiles ever given to a child.
5. I love the way his skin feels. There is something different about black people skin. It is so smooth and the muscles are so firm and dense. It just feels different and I love to touch his beautiful skin.
6. I love how he sings "Jesus, Bible" when he knows it's time for bed. That means he wants me to sings, "Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so." He got the two most important words right!
7.  I love that he thinks he is hysterical and the best thing that ever happened to planet earth. And he doesn't really care if you agree with him. He is one resilient little fella.
8. I love to watch Sammy dance...especially to Ethiopian music. So stinkin cute.
9. I love how he comes running when I pick him up from Bay Kids every Sunday. Not sure if he's running to see me or to get the treat that he knows I brought him. But, hey, I'll take it!
10. I love when people look confused when they see us out in public and I simply smile and say, "He's mine."