Mommy Bible Study

I quietly took this picture at our women's bible study last week. I just looked around and noticed how awesome all of these women around me were. Each of them is caring for their little babies, while studying the Word of God and connecting with each other. We are missing one mom who is currently adopting her second child and will bring that newborn to the group soon! I will have another in April. And there are six more downstairs (at the time of this pic) with two babysitters. Sometimes mommy-hood is crazy...oh wait, it always is. But these are the moments that I love to reflect on as we pursue intentionality through that craziness. God calls us to be in community with Him and with each other. I can't imagine life without those two elements. It has been necessary for me in my mommy life. 

Special thank you to these women who encourage me to be a better mom daily. 

Congrats to Jen and Jonathan!

Carol Wilson, Kari Bangston, Jen Bryce (woohoo for a new last name!), Jen Baker, and me

Last Sunday we got to go see Jen and Jonathan as we celebrated their marriage at a little gathering in Edwards. They had a small, beautiful ceremony in Yosemite National Park a couple of weeks ago. After this party, they were headed down to UTEP to begin their lives as partners in ministry together for the college students down there! We are so excited for them and wish them the best!

While I am excited about their new lives together, I will miss my dear friend Jen. We first met at a bible study she hosted during the first year that I lived in CO. We have one of those relationships that I really cherish. It is not one where we are BFF or even talk every week (or month for that matter). But when we do get together, we love the realness that exists between us. We know that we can be vulnerable with each other because we share an intense desire to love others the way Christ did. I appreciate her walk with God and her ability to cut me to the heart. She appreciates my ability to tell the truth and not sugar-coat life. Jen challenges me to never settle for mediocre but to strive for an abundant life that God has in store more me! I will miss you Jen, but I expect our relationship to grow!

My Bible Study Girls

The Lord has blessed me with these sweet ladies in my life. Sabrina, Abbie, and Alana (and Danaleigh, but she had already moved by this party...we miss you Danaleigh!) have had such a big role in my life here in CO.

After traveling to Avon for a Bible study, we gathered up and decided to have our own little study in Gypsum/Eagle. Even though I knew these girls for a year before we started the study, we weren't super close. For the first round, we studied Psalms and Proverbs, with each of us leading a week and then rotating. We learned a lot about each other and the Word, but grew kinda tired and all of us found our spirits tired towards the end of the study. Then, we got a book called Becoming a Woman of Excellence. It is a study that we would all read during the week and then talk about at study. This was exactly what we needed! We grew in our walks with God and really talked about good, real things. I really cherish these girls and am so happy to have them in my life.

Over the corse of the year, there was a point were I thought I might be the only one left in the Vail Valley as of this fall. But, I am happy to report that all of these sweet ladies will be here for another year! Woohoo!

The pictures below are from a little surprise we had for Sabrina yesterday at the Dusty Boot. Sabrina worked her tail off to complete her college degree! Way to go chica! Hope you enjoyed this night, as I know we had fun planning it for you!