Word of God Speak

In Sept. of 2001 I walked into Lifeway and purchased a Bible. I was used to switching out Bibles every few years so I did not have any reason to believe this one would be any different. Little did I know this particular Bible would be with me for the next 10 years and would be one of the tools that God used to completely transform my mind and my life. This Bible has been my companion for the last 10 years. It was the Bible I had when we got married, served in our first 2 churches, studied with for 5 years of Sunday School lessons and Core Groups, completed 26 Bible studies, moved with me to 3 different states, was my Bible at the birth of both of my children, and was used to help me fall more in love with my Jesus.

As you can imagine I was very sad when I opened up the Bible one day and this happened:

The entire section from Romans 8 on came out in my hand. It causes a little problem when the New Testament is not in one piece! I thought I could still make it work but that part of the Bible kept falling out! I finally came to my senses and started the mourning process (I am only half kidding :) ) I thought about getting my Bible rebinded but after much thought decided it may be better to get a new one without all my study notes so it would make me read it with fresh eyes. I purchased a new Bible a few months ago and started the process of trying to make it "mine". Tonight as I was cleaning up my room I came across my old Bible that I have not seemed to be able to put away yet! Here are a few reasons why:

Emma Kate drew all over the pages one day because she wanted to "write" in the Bible like her mommy did. I was SO MAD at first but as time went by those scribbles were very sweet reminders of the legacy the Word leaves.



It was with this Bible that God taught me in the study of Exodus that sometimes He chooses the wilderness for his children. The Israelites had a shorter route to the promise land but God choose to lead them through the wilderness. Exodus 13:17-18 "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. for God said, "If they face war they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle." It was through that same study that God taught me I could have missed the wilderness but then I would have also missed the parting of the Red Sea. It was just a few chapters over in Exodus 15 that God showed me that could indeed make bitter waters sweet. I wrote a little more about my journey in Exodus here.http://www.loriwelcometomyworld.blogspot.com/2009/05/want-to-be-more-like-jesus-and-less.html

I also spent a lot of time in Hosea and learned about the relentless pursuit of God. I was confronted with my sin, convicted to deal with "unplowed ground" (Hosea 10:12), and meet the tenderness of God.
http://www.loriwelcometomyworld.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

I spent a good bit of time in Hebrews where just in chapter 1 we learn Jesus

•Heir of all things (1:2)
•The world was made through Him (1:2)
•He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature (1:3)
•Sustains all things by His powerful Word (1:3)
•Made purification for our sins (1:3)
•Sits at the right hand of God (1:3)
•Is better than the angels (1:4)
•All the angels of God worship Him (1:6)
•He is the Unchangeable One. (1:12)

It is Ps. 55:18 that He showed me when I really did feel like I was in the middle of a battlefield. He has continued to remind me that "He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me."


Bible Studies Completed:
2004
Experiencing the Heart of God- Max Lucado (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
2005
Patriarchs- Beth Moore (on my own)
Covenant -Kay Arthur (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
Believing God- Beth Moore (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
2006
Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth)- Kay Arthur (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
2007Daniel- Beth Moore (Thursday nights at WWBC)
John- Kay Arthur (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
2008
He Speaks to Me - Priscilla Shirer( On my own and with Monday morning at WWBC)
No Other Gods- Kelly Minter ( On my own)
Hosea- Kay Arthur (College class at WWBC)
A Women's Heart God's Dwelling Place- Beth Moore (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
Stepping Up- Beth Moore (Monday morning at WWBC)
When Godly People do Ungodly Things- Beth Moore (On my own)
2009
Esther-Beth Moore (On my Own)
Hebrews1-3- Kay Arthur (Saturday Morning at WWBC)
One in a Million- Priscilla Shirer (On my own)
Proverbs and Principals for Parenting- Stockdale (Monday mornings at SBC in MS)
Haggai- Kay Arthur (on my own)
Zechariah- Kay Arthur (on my own)
2010
Ruth- Kelly Minter (on my own)
Lord I want to know you- Kay Arthur (on my own)
Faithful, Abundant, and True- Deeper Still Women ( on my own)
2011
Believing God- Beth Moore (2nd time with someone from work)
Jonah- Priscilla Shirer (Tuesday mornings with FBC Alpharetta)
Ruth- Kelly Minter (2nd time with FBC Alapharetta)
James- Beth Moore ( on my own- went into 2012)

I could go on and on of why this particular Bible feels like home to me. I have cried many tears over the pages, rejoiced in promises, marveled at the mysterious, and have been downright frustrated when I could not make it say what I wanted :) There have been many changes in my life over the last 10 years but one thing has and will remain the same.....The One who met me in the pages of scripture is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Cancun

Jeff and I had the opportunity to go to Cancun on an all expense paid for trip by my company since I hit a sales goal. The trip was AMAZING and I am so thankful we had the opportunity to get away and do whatever we wanted for 4 days without paying for anything! We left really early Sunday morning and arrived at our hotel around lunch. We ordered in room service and took a nap since we had been up since 4:00AM. That night we had an all company dinner where the person who founded our company spoke. It was so cool to see him live and in person. I love my company and not imagine ever working anywhere else.

Monday:

We had a complete free day. We slept in and then I did my Bible Study on the balcony looking at the beach. Can I just tell you how much I love the beach mixed in with God's Word. We ordered room service for breakfast and then went to the beach with our books! We ate lunch on the beach, took naps, and enjoyed the steam room at the spa. For dinner that night a driver took us into the city and we had a great steak dinner. Once we got back to our hotel we rented a movie and called it a night.

Tuesday:

I was so glad that we were going to be in Cancun for Valentine's Day :) We had room service for breakfast and then got ready to swim with the dolphins! I was so excited about this particular excursion because it was something that I never I would get a chance to experience. It was part of a small aquarium so we also got to see some big sea turtles and jelly fish.

There were four different dolphins they used and you broke up in 2 big groups. Each group was in a different pool and you started out with getting to know the dolphins. You get to touch them and they swim around and between you. You also shook their "hands" and gave them a kiss.



The grand finale was the the dolphins came behind  you and each pushed a different foot and "swam" you to the other side of the pool. I was freaking out and decided pretty quickly I did not know if this was a good idea! I pushed through my fear and Jeff said my face was priceless as the dolphins were pushing me because I was so scared! I am glad that we did it but I do not think it is something we will do again.

For dinner that night we ended up at a really cool restaurant completely by mistake! I had thought that I had made reservations at one restaurant but ended up at a Mayan themed restaurant. From the front of the building it did not look like a "good" mistake however once inside it was beautiful! They sat us outside at a table that was at the very edge of the bay. They had it decorated for the day so there were Christmas lights strung all outside. It ended up being the best mistake of the trip and a perfect spot for our date!

Wednesday

This morning started off early with a massage at 8:00. Once I got back to the room it was time for us to go eat breakfast and meet up with the group to go snorkeling. This was the first time that either of us had gone snorkeling and I was not sure what to expect. Each couple was given their own speed boat to get out to the coral reef. Once we arrived close to the coral reef we put on our gear and got in the water. I must admit it did take me a few minuets to figure out how to breath! We swam and swam and swam and swam some more. It was beyond cool to see God's creation under the ocean and reminded me of the vastness of His creation that we are never even made aware exist. Between being out of shape and the big flippers we had on our feet I was worn out  by the time we made it back to the boat. I am really glad we picked this excursion and had a lot of fun once I got the hang of breathing!

Once we arrived back at the dock we saw this guy hanging out.

When we looked a little closer on the other side of the dock we saw this little friend.

Wednesday night we had an office dinner at Harry's. It was fun to get hang out with everyone else from my office and celebrate. At the end of dinner they bring cotton candy to everyone's table.

Thursday our flight left around 11:00 so we other then waking up and getting breakfast one last time at the hotel the day consistent of mostly flying home. It was such a fun trip and I loved getting the alone time with Jeff. However, as wonderful as it is to be gone we were both glad to get back to our babies and "real" life. We came home to 2 very spoiled children who really still wanted a few more days with MiMi and Paws :)

Until next time Cancun....thanks for the memories......you were good to us!

6 months

Since we are three months into the year with no blog updates I thought I would spend some time trying to catch up! I always have great intentions but then I get home and after I hang out with Jeff and the kids the last thing I want to do is get on the computer! However, I know that I will regret  it if I don't document these moments so I am going to try to do better. I have every Monday off work so it was the perfect time to take Daniel for his 6 month check up. I had forgotten that Emma Kate was going to be out of school all week or I might had decided it was not such a good idea! However, by the end of the day I was thankful I had my little helper with me because she is such a great big sister.

The doctor said Daniel was doing great. He is in the 10% of height and weight (but sticking to his normal growth) and the 90% in head circumference. Poor baby has a big head but he gets it honest :) The only thing that was a little off was the doctor wanted us to go get hip x-rays because there were some creases on his back legs that did not match up. She said more then likely it was not a big deal but she wanted to get it checked out just in case. The x-rays were not going to happen until 2:00 so it was a perfect opportunity for us to go meet daddy for lunch.We recieved the results of the x-rays the same day and everything is fine...he just has mis matched creases!  I was so proud of Daniel because he was way off his eating schedule but was a real trooper all day especially considering he had 5 shots!

 Emma is always such the big helper and has to be reminded at times that she is not the mommy!

Some things that Daniel is doing at 6 months:

Sits up

Laughs (the most at Emma)

Nurses 5 times a day

Eats a fruit at lunch

Eats a fruit and veggie at dinner

Loves his exersaucer

Starting to reach when he wants something or someone

Puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

Is VERY laid back

Wears Size 2 diapers

Wears some 3-6 months clothes but mostly 6 months

Sleeps until around 5:00 and then needs to be fed but will go back to sleep until 7:00

Loves pulling hair

Loves Taco (our cat)

Completely stolen his mommy's heart :)

2011 in Review

2011 was a great year for our family. We welcomed baby Daniel, started Pre-school, and bought a new house! I can not even begin to write how incredibly blessed I have felt this year and the contentment that we have had as a family. It has just been an overall great year. The year started out with us living in an apartment and trying to survive the first trimester of pregnancy! We also experienced first hand the ice storm that hit Atlanta. The entire city shut down for almost a week. Both of our offices closed for 3 days and you literally could not leave your house. By mid week I was beyond stir crazy so I tried to walk to my car only to realize there was no way I could even walk in our parking lot! In February we decided Atlanta was for sure the place we were going to call home so we started the process of looking for houses. I do not remember a single thing we did in March other then continue to survive my pregnancy and I started to get REALLY busy at work!

In April we had 3 Easter Egg hunts (1 at Emma's school, 1 at our apartments, and 1 at my brother's country club). She was not a very good egg finder because she would let the other kids just pick them up if she thought they were going for the same one.

In April we made a trip to TN to celebrate my sister's 18th birthday. I love the below picture of Emma Kate.
In May we celebrated Mother's Day at the Melting Pot which is a true gift of love from Jeff. We used to eat there a lot then Jeff got sick one time after and now can barely mention the place without feeling sick again! He did a great job sitting through Emma Kate and I enjoying our fondue :)
We also took another trip to TN to celebrate Jenny's graduation.

In June we finally were able to move into our new home. It was a short sale and was touch and go for a few months on if we were going to get it or not. Two weeks after we moved in I caught our kitchen on fire! We spent the rest of the month with cleaning crews in our new home and replacing all of our appliances. In the end, it worked out to our advantage because we were able to do a lot of work to the house that we wanted to do it just happened on a much quicker time table then expected! We LOVE our home and I am so thankful to have a place of our own again. I also turned 31 this month and we had a fun date weekend attending the U2 concert in Nashville with some friends.
We had so much fun this summer playing outside and swimming in our neighborhood pool. It is an AWESOME pool with a water-park slide. By the end of the summer Emma was starting to swim by herself and LOVED to go down the slide by herself as long as we were at the bottom to catch her.


July continued with lots of swimming, I had my work baby shower, Emma attended a baby and me class, and I went to NYC for work. It was such a fun trip. While I was there I also went to see Wicked. I stayed on Park Avenue and so much fun exploring the city for a couple of days.
My feet looked this most of the summer.August was a big month for the McKenzie family. Emma Kate started Pre-School and LOVES it. At her parent/teacher conference her teacher raved about her. I was most proud of the fact that her teacher said she was a great friend and is always willing to help her peers out and is very encouraging to them.
We also did some more swimming and I hit what we call "contest" at my office. Part of hitting "contest" includes an all expense paid for trip to Cancun that Jeff and I will enjoy the week of Valentine's Day!

We ended the month of Aug. (Aug. 31st) welcoming Daniel Edward McKenzie into the world!


The month of Sept. was busying just loving on Daniel and playing at a local park.



October was another busy month that started with Emma Kate turning 5 years old! I have no idea how my first baby is 5. She is a true delight and keeps me and her daddy laughing and on our toes every day. I am so thankful for her. The below picture is her with one of her best friends Tia.

I also took doughnuts to her school on her actual birthday and read a story to her class.

In November we made our first trip to MS with Daniel so he could meet his great grandmother. On the way there we broke up the trip and stayed at the Enloe's one night. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my oldest brother and his family and the week after that I started back to work.

December was busy with all the normal Christmas festivities that I already wrote about on the post below. We had my family Christmas in Atlanta during the 2nd weekend which ended with a trip to the ER for Daniel. We attended both of our work Christmas parties. We had Emma's school Christmas program which was the talk of our house all month :) Christmas weekend MiMi and Paws came to stay with us to celebrate with us Christmas morning.
Our first Christmas as a family of 4
We are so excited about what 2012 has in store for our family. In this current season I feel beyond blessed and honestly can not think of one thing I would change.