Eliya is 5 TODAY!!!!!

I can't believe that my sweet, smart, fun little girl is 5 today.

She told me she thinks she can jump higher and count further now that she is 5.

She is a such a joy.

She is definitely MY daughter; we are A LOT alike.

 She is all about all things girl these days. Eliya saw a commercial on this week and said "Mama look! The lady has on a pearl bracelet...why doesn't she have pearl earrings too?!" Yeah we are in for it :)

Yesterday morning I heard her singing from her bed. Later I asked her if she was singing and she said "Yes, I was making up a worship song for Jesus". She probably followed that awesome moment with hitting her brother in the head or something but those moments are precious...Just like she is.

Eliya, you made me a Mama and I love you so much.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Blessed

This past Sunday at church, our pastor said something that the Holy Spirit used to strike my heart. He mentioned Deuteronomy 26:18 that says we are a treasured possession to the Lord.

When I think of a treasured possession, I think of

something of great value

something that I hold dear to my heart

something that just the thought of brings me joy 

and a smile to my face

something precious

and loved

Oh how I need to hear that sometimes. I struggle to break free from the idea that what I am TO God depends on what I do FOR God. I am so thankful that it is so much simpler than that!

My husband Kyle has spent the past 6 months telling me how much he loves me, how grateful he is for me, how blessed he is because of me…and that I’m precious and of great worth.

These two paths have intersected for me this week. Marriage is a picture of Jesus and His bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33).

I am especially aware of the gift I have in my husband and in our marriage; that he affirms in daily life the heart of God towards me. Thank you Jesus!

And thank you Kyle for loving me in a way that makes my heart more tender to God!

and they lived...

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Life has been fun and crazy and busy!  Kyle and I truly had a fairy-tale wedding on the beach in Maui.  We loved everything about the day we got married!  We loved the pastor who performed our ceremony, our photographers, the perfect day, the beach that was clear except for us, the sunset and ESPECIALLY the moment that our love was sealed in covenant before and with God (and the state of Hawaii of course). 

God is so good and I personally and completely affirm that HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW.  I am so thankful to the One who restores and redeems everything. 

We have been married two and a half months and are now fully in the swing of life.  I am learning to be domestic for a family of five now.  I love my new son Rylie who has a huge heart and is so much fun.  Eliya and Simeon have adjusted very well.  We have gone to the lake a few times and had a blast swimming, tubing and spending time together. 





I made a slide show of some of our wedding pics and a few clips of video from the wedding, but the file seems to be too large for YouTube or google...so here are a few of our favorite pictures.  Be sure to find us on facebook Kyle Jennifer Henson!

Loved and In Love



A friend of mine has said a few times that the passage in Song of Songs 2: 10-13 ring true for this season of my life. 

"11.Behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come..., Arise my love, my beautiful one and come away." 

God is so good.  I have always loved the song Blessed Be Your Name because the theme of the song and of life is that God is so worthy of worship, love and my all...in every season.  He doesn't change and He is always good!  Can I just say that I LOVE the spring season that He has brought my heart and my family into. 

Kyle and I quickly believed that there was intention on God's part in bringing us together.  One month into our relationship, we began the process of premarital counseling.  We have prayed, read, and submitted ourselves to spiritual and pastoral wisdom and believed that God has given us the peace to commit our lives and family to Him through the gift of marriage.  Friday, April 1st at sunset, we will get married on the beach in Maui. 

I am loved so well by Kyle. God has given me a real gift in him.  I am very excited to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him.  We strongly desire to love each other well and bring glory to God through our marriage.  I am more than blessed by this man who is strong and sensitive, sweet, thoughtful, romantic and who genuinely loves Jesus.  I am blessed even more to get to be a part of his son, Rylie's life.  Rylie, much like his dad, is fun, goofy, sweet and sensitive.  All three of us love Rylie and miss him when we are away from him. 

THE PROPOSAL
For my friends who will want the details, I was a little grumpy at Kyle's house and he said he would cheer me up.  He got the guitar out and started to sing me a song.  This is a little out of his comfort zone and I could tell that he was nervous.  I LOVED it and thought even the nervousness was so cute.  After two false starts he sang me the song Grow Old with You.  It was the sweetest and most romantic thing ever.  I had no thought that he would propose at that point.  I had suspicions the day before that it might be happening soon, but was convinced that I had been wrong and had fully let go of the idea.  After he sang to me, he got on one knee and asked me if I would marry him.  I replied ABSOLUTELY.  Then, I was in shock (...maybe I still am) over the ring.  He took a lot of time and picked exactly how he wanted the stone set and all the other details about it.  It is beautiful and he far exceeded my expectations.  I love it and that it in part symbolizes his affection and commitment to me.  

Words can't describe how excited I am that this week has finally come and that in a few short days I will be married to this amazing man that I believe was sent FOR me by God.  Kyle Henson, I am so in love with you and I want to grow old with you too!  :)



Fairy Tales

I can’t recall ever liking fairy tales; although I’m sure as a young girl I probably marveled at them the same as my daughter does now. As an adult, I have felt much more logical and practical. My thoughts have been that fairy tales don’t happen; it’s just an unrealistic twist of reality that sets young girls up for disappointment. I have even thought if I should be protecting my daughter from the disillusioned view.


I believe in part that our culture, along with many in the world, longs for and loves fairy tales because Jesus has written it in our spirits. He is the fulfillment of every part of the Cinderella dream. I have many times identified with this. We are lost, broken and wounded and then He finds us and makes us His own. He does this at salvation and we are looking for the greater fulfillment of this when He returns to the Earth and fully rescues His Bride, the church. I love this angle of it and believe and hope fully in it.

God is wrecking my views and changing my heart! In early December I visited some friends in Kansas City, MO and they asked if they could pass my name along to their brother Kyle in North Carolina. After a couple of brief messages on facebook, I felt like it would be more work and effort than I thought I could afford at this point in life. Since it was the brother of friends, I thought I should at least be honest and tell him I wasn’t interested, so with that intent I let him call me.

Two hours into our first conversation, I remembered that I still hadn’t told him I wasn’t interested. He was easy to talk to and I had really enjoyed talking to him, but I had to say what I had intended to say. I really thought he was a great guy, so I told him that I had several friends that were coming to mind that were single. His reply was that he wasn’t interested in my single friends. That conversation ended with him asking if he could call again (given that I told him I wasn’t sure I was interested). I told him I was too tired to decide right then, so he could ask me again the next day.

The rest is rapidly becoming history. I knew that before I considered opening my heart to him, there were lots of things I needed to know. We logged close to 20 hours of intense conversation before we even met. After too many nights of staying up on the phone until 3 and 4 in the morning and numerous trips back and forth from Ga to Nc, my heart has fully been captured! I am so amazed at how God has brought this together and has completely caught me off guard and brought this amazing man into our lives. God is giving me my own fairy tale. Through this, I have heard the Lord say that He is turning my bitter into sweet. I know and have experienced that God is good and faithful in every season, but I am seeing His kindness and tenderness towards me in new ways these days. My heart is alive in love!

A little about Kyle :) He loves Jesus. That’s the most important part! He loves his sweet 7 year old son Rylie. He loves motocross. His heart is huge. He is sweet and romantic. I see Jesus in Him! He is perfect for me…AND he believes in fairy tales!!!