2014… you're gonna be a good one

I am not typically the one to follow the new year's resolution "trend." I honestly can't really think of any  year that I've ever made a real resolution. But as I was looking at my ONE (just one) blog post for the whole year of 2013, I thought maybe it was time I made a resolution to blog more regularly. (Don't hold me to this resolution… it was just a brief thought I had.) :)

2013 was a very interesting year. It started off rough, but the Lord answered our prayers and provided us with some lovely Maryland friends. When we realized that "our plan" wasn't exactly what God wanted for us in 2013, He also provided us with great contentment, peace and joy during that time. We officially were married one year on July 14, 2013, and by God's grace we continue to love each other more every day. I started my second year of teaching, which has, as many said, been MUCH BETTER than the first year. We spent a lovely Thanksgiving hosting the Jackson's in Baltimore, and traveled to Chicago to spend Christmas with the Nguyen's to end the year with family. 

With that being said, we look forward with great anticipation this year of 2014. We are excited to see where the Lord leads us and how He guides our steps. We are thankful for His grace and love, and we want to show it to those around us. 

May your 2014 be blessed. :)

GiveThanks 3

This week has been blessed, but it's also been EXTREMELY BUSY! I have wanted to blog every day this week as a testament to how God has been faithful in my life in all the things I am thankful for. Should time permit, I will continue to update with many thanksgivings.

Today I want to write about how thankful I am for my family: old and new, near and far, present and futuristic. :)

God has been so gracious to me from the very beginning. Clearly I had no choice in which family I would be born into before I entered this world. But even if I had, I couldn't have chosen a better family. God knew exactly what I needed when He brought me here, and I am so thankful for every single member of my family. I've heard this cute quote, and I think it applies perfectly to my family...

"My family: so many nuts we make a party mix!"

Here's a little glimpse of the beautiful people that make my heart overflow with love:

Conway cousins... there's just nothing like this crew. I love them so much!

My gorgeous sisters: Emily Michelle and Meghan Elizabeth pictured above, and Hannah Marie pictured below. Emily has recently been my wedding planner, and I am so glad to have her help! Meg is my co-college dominator, and Hannie calls me frequently to tell me how much she LOVES LSU! :) Now those are some girls after my own heart! hehe... love them!

My wonderful grandparents: thankful for the years I had with Grandma Connie (pictured above). Love Papa Frank dearly and how he took such good care of her. Also love my cousins Zack and Brett (Cuh Cuhh and Boat!)... we had such a great time visiting Grams. 

Below are my Grandma Mary and Papa Ted, with my 3 other Griggs cousins. :) I love to visit "the old man on the hill" and spend time with my sweet grandparents that love deeply. So thankful for them in my life all these years... for their love, care, and unending support.

And here are my Mema and Papa. I love these two so much!!! Thankful for Papa's tender care and teatime with Mema as she told me stories. I have truly been blessed with wonderful grandparents.

 Blog, meet mom and Thai. Mom and Thai, meet blog. I LOVE these two. I love them together so so much. I am so thankful that the Lord (recently) brought them together in marriage. I am thankful that God has graciously provided a sweet husband for my mom that cares for her better than anyone I could have hand-picked myself! :) And I am so thankful for a new stepdad that is so caring and willing to be involved in my life. Love you guys!!!

Along with a new stepdad came SEVERAL new cousins!!! I am especially blessed by this one: mi prima bonita Miss Erica Nguyen! I love her dearly and am so thankful to have her as a cousin, but also as a close friend. I pray that God would help us to encourage one another's faith and we grow in Him.

Above you see pictured one of the cutest baby girls that has ever walked this earth: Miss Molly Marie Jefcoat. Yes, she is a part of my *future* family. I am a proud *future* aunt Bec to this beautiful little girl. I love her and her mom and dad so so so much!!! :) I am also soon to inherit an outgoing and handsome nephew, Jackson... but we will have to take a picture next time we're together! :) Maybe he'll call me Aunt Bec too. :) I want to be the aunt that spoils... don't tell my *future* sisters. :)

And here is one good-looking wedding party. I love all the people in this photo.

This is honestly just a small glimpse of a large and full-o-love family. I am so thankful for my Dad and stepmom Jana. I am blessed to have them in my life for so many reasons. I wish I could see them more often... but it makes the times we are together that much more sweet. I am also thankful for my beautiful aunts and uncles (Phil, Paul, Deanna, Rita, Pat, Brenda, Renee, Dave, Julie, Rich, Donna, Jerry, Sarah, Craig, DeeDee, Wayne, Twin, Sharon, Butta, Truyen, Loan, Tony, Lin, Lee, and probably others I am forgetting). God has really blessed me with a large family. I pray that they will all know the Lord and live by His strength. I pray that God would unite our family and tie us together in love. That He would transform this family to do His will and work for His Kingdom. 

As for my future family... :) kee! I am so blessed to be a future part. Excited to be an "official" part of the Jackson clan, too!! 

Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy shown through family. May we love as You've loved us.

#GiveThanks

long overdue

I have not been a faithful blogger as of late. Things have been very busy... which leaves me with so much to update! :) Here's a brief post-finals review for your reading enjoyment. 

Firstly, I celebrated the 24th birthday of my sweet WDJ. I took him on a surprise date, which included an Italian dinner at Slice Pizzeria on Magazine Street, followed by a cup of yummy ice cream at the Creole Creamery. We laughed so much and enjoyed each other's company on the beautiful May evening. He's nice. :) 

24th birthday date night

This is the first summertime that I haven't done international missions... and honestly, it's a strange feeling. However, I feel like this is exactly where God wants me to be. And I've super enjoyed the free time that Daniel and I have been able to spend together. Here's a glimpse of our park visit:

afternoon in the park

Here's my sweet little Avery on the last day I picked her up. It was a bitter sweet day: I am so blessed to have Nick and Avery in my life, but I am sad that it's time for them to move on to another school and the next phase of their lives. I pray that I was faithful to represent Christ to them over these past two years. I love them both so much. I feel like this sweet little brown-haired cutie is my 4th little sister... and I am so thankful to God for her. Hopefully, should the Lord give me a special wedding day sometime in the future, this little lady will be a part of it! :)

date with Avery!

Speaking of sisters... MY LITTLE MEGGIE GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!! :) I was so proud to see her all "grown up" in her cap and gown, looking back to only three years ago when I made the same step, and excited for the next few ahead for her. I pray that the Lord would reveal Himself to her in a very real way. I am so proud of my beautiful Meg! :) BONUS: going to see her graduation was also an opportunity to see my bab.. well, not-so-baby sisters, Emily Michelle and Hannah Marie. I cannot believe how grown up [TALL!] they are getting. I am sad when I see them, because I realize how much of their lives I am missing. I pray that they know my love, though from a distance. I pray that they would know the true Love, too. Here... please allow me to show them off... :)

Hannah

Meggie

Emily

Mommy with her girls :)

After returning to BR, my precious friend Becca Sloane CAMPBELL was married!!! :) Here are a few pics from her sweet, summertime wedding. Love you, Becca!

cute wedding date

beautiful bride

Later, I was part of a special group that celebrated the 22nd birthday of Christopher Mott. :) We had a BLAST! I am so blessed to have this friend in my life. He will be greatly missed come August, so I need to spend all the time with him I can over these next few months. Happy Birthday, Chris!

matchies!

with our Chris Mott name tags! hehehe

And now, as I sit here and write this blog post, I am at my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Florida with my cousins, spending time with people I love, wanting to live out the Gospel: in service, in Love. Here are a few photo-updates from our first day here... we have had a blast so far. Look forward to spending more time with Grandma tomorrow. :)

with Zack and Brett in the airport!

swimming with Brett and Papa

trivial pursuit: we are obviously NOT geniuses... lol

And here are a few pics from the in-between:

my cousin Zack, batboy for the Zephyr's!

at a Zephyr's game!

cool flower in Spanish Town 

our first BR farmer's market experience!

after church eating crew

pretty friends! :)

Thanks to Ann Voskamp, I have been joining with many others and counting my blessings day by day. Focusing on God's blessings reminds me of His faithfulness, and it also fills my heart and mind with His joy. Here are a few of the gifts from His heart I have seen this month:

1. Beach towels in the summertime

2. 1 year, 9 months

3. sweet conversation with Ms. Julie

4. my little Avery growing up

5. pointless errands

6. time to relax with my roomies

7. birthdays: evidence of God's grace

8. a full house :)

9. midnight finger blasting in the dark

10. deep washing by a heavy rainfall

11. sweet reunions with my beloved family group

12. afternoon peeping sun

13. His mercies are new every morning

14. beautiful bird melody

15. laughing times with D

16. warm embraces

17. Saturday morning cup of joe and daily dose of the Word

18. summertime cucumbers and tomatoes

19. cousin visits

20. a happy, newly engaged couple, Mr. Zack Lofton and Miss Kelsey Selene Gober, soon-to-be Lofton. :)

I am thankful. Lord, please help me to see and meditate on Your goodness daily. 

"If you are not striving for intimacy with Christ nor trusting Him fully, you will be swayed."
-Kevin Whitfield

thanksgiving

I suppose it's appropriate to blog about the things I am thankful for on such a day as this.

When I think, "What am I thankful to God for?" some obvious things pop in my mind that are very important to me:

1. My mommy, Ruth Ann, the best mommy in the whole world. I have been so thankful to hug her whenever I want for the past day, and I look forward to spending more days with her over this break and hearing about her trip to Israel. Besides being thankful for her awesome qualities as a mom and friend, I am also thankful for her good cooking during this holiday season. :) I love you, mommy!!

2. My entire family, being awesome and sweet and funny and encouraging, etc. They are the bomb.com, and I am thankful to see the ones that are in town now, looking forward to seeing the ones that aren't here, soon. I thank God that He gave me such funny relatives. hehe

3. My beautiful roommates, Mary and Annie. Not only are they my roommates, but they are my best friends and accountability partners. I cannot express with my words how thankful I am that God has allowed me to have such incredible friendships with these amazing women, and I look forward to how He continues to grow our friendships. Thank you, my beautiful friends, for being so wonderful and encouraging all the time. I love you both.

4. My sweet friends from home, Kristy, Jess, Sara, Skylar, etc. I am so glad to have such a strong support system here in Monroe that has helped me to grow in my relationship with Christ. I am thankful that the Lord has put these women in my life to show Himself to me. Love you, chicas!

5. Jordy and our Freshman Family Group. mmm... it's good. Thank you, Lord, for teaching us.

6. W. you know. :)

7. Home. One of my favorite places on earth to be is here in my home in Monroe, sleeping with my mommy at night, and smelling the homey smells. Thank you, Lord, for a home You have provided for me to come back to.

There are also some "smaller" things that happen every day I am thankful for:

1. That the Lord is guiding me to a church in Baton Rouge. :)

2. The 6 darling children I pick up from school 5 days a week.

3. Almost an A in Spanish.

4. Homemade cinnamon rolls.

5. Seeing the stars tonight and last night.

6. The beautiful weather.

7. The heater my mom just turned on to thaw out my ice-cube-like feet. hehe

I know that being thankful for things doesn't need to just happen one day of the year. But I am thankful that there is a special day when I can get with my family and talk about the things I am thankful for. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

But above all, I am most thankful that Jesus has made a way for me to know God. And I am forever grateful for His unending love and mercy, even though I do not deserve it. Thank you, powerful, almighty God, for Your grace. I want to walk in a manner worthy; live for You.

Happy Thanksgiving.