A Purposeful Peek

I've heard it said, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." I truly get to do what I love and love what I do. I am a full-time working professional, a full-time wife, and a full-time momma. I love each of these roles. But they are most definitely WORK. Having a career I'm passionate about makes me excited to go to work each day, knowing that I get to love and serve children and their families during the most vulnerable time in their lives. Being a part of the healing process is incredibly rewarding, and having a front row seat to watch God's miracles take place is absolutely awe-inspiring. Even so, it doesn't make being away from my baby girl 10+ hours a day, 5 days a week, easy!  There are many days where I literally only spend 2 waking hours with her. She is still asleep when I leave for work, and she goes to bed not long after I get home.  The commute to and from work is long, and the time I get with my girl is way too shor...

September 2011. We had just returned from the honeymoon of our dreams in beautiful Santorini, Greece. It was a Monday morning - our first day back - and on my way to work I prayed a prayer that I often lifted up, " Lord, open my eyes to see the opportunities you have for me today to share your love with someone else. "  It was a busy day at work, and time flew by with nothing out of the ordinary happening.  Before I knew it, it was time to go home.  I breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward to a long nap, as I was still a little jet lagged.  Maybe after that I could get some unpacking done and even have dinner prepared for my new husband before he got home. As I pulled up to our house and stepped out of my vehicle onto our gravel drive, I heard a voice, "Excuse me...miss??" I turned towards the park across the street to see a woman who was clearly in distress. She hobbled towards me, wheeling her bicycle which was obviously in need of repair.  The look o...

September 3rd, 2011 - Labor Day Weekend Romance was in the air, but this wasn't the only thing heating up the evening; this was the summer of record-breaking heat in Oklahoma - several consecutive months of daily temperatures exceeding 100 degrees... We'd been planning our outdoor wedding for the past 2 years of our engagement, and no heat wave was going to deter our plans! We wanted our day to be intimate with a rustic vibe, unique, and reflective of us as a couple.  According to the wedding website www.theknot.com, it is estimated that the average American wedding costs roughly the amount of a new car... $30,000!  Instead of following this trend, we set our wedding budget at roughly half that cost (excluding the honeymoon) and chose to be resourceful, utilizing the help of our creative and talented friends to help create our wedding experience.  Here is how we made our dream day possible [while sticking to our budget]... The Location:  The Historic Harn H...