happy Easter.

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said." Matthew 28:6 (ESV)

"as he said,"...Jesus always fulfills His Promises. The greatest of which was dying on the Cross, paying our debt and then defeating death by rising and Living! 

We have everything to be thankful for as we reflect on this Gift that Jesus gave to us freely, without price. This Gift is the absolute perfect picture of humble sacrifice. We, as followers of Christ, should live out the same humble sacrifice in our daily life. Constantly remembering what Jesus did for us and for every generation to come.

Imagine with me for one moment if Jesus would have chosen to be disobedient to the Father. What if Jesus would have said, "God, are You crazy? I'm fully divine and You're asking me to make myself fully human and die on a tree?? And do all of that for FREE??" Can you imagine what the implications of that choice would've been? We would have no opportunity for healing. No opportunity for salvation. No opportunity for sanctification. No opportunity for Eternal Life. 

Oh, but Jesus chose obedience!!! Because of Christ's obedience to the Father we have Life. We have Freedom. We have Salvation. We have Santification. Through, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Eve's sin was crushed! Through Jesus Christ, Adam's sin was crushed! 

Now we have the opportunity to live as healed men and women through Jesus' Ultimate Sacrifice! Free from the bondage of Original Sin. 

Get excited about this, y'all!!! Let Your Spirit be filled with Joy & Hope today (and every day) as You walk this Life hand in hand with the One who chose to Love you! With the One who chose to Save you!

february highlights.

Well February brought warm, sunny picnic days and iced-in, snowy no school days! I got the best of both worlds. Definitely ready for green grass and flowers to make their Spring debut.

Here are a few highlights from the second month of the year:

• I started a new Bible study called "The Five Aspects of Womanhood." My school nurse, Darlene, is leading it. There's a mix of young and old ladies. Single, married, dating and divorced. Women from the U.S., Great Britain and South Africa. I cannot say how thrilled I am about this in-depth, transparent and life-changing study!
• Stephen and I went to a Progressive Two Step dancing class! I must say the only way I got him to go was by not telling him. At first, he wasn't too excited, but he got over it. We went with one of my co-workers, Jennifer and her better half. Stephen and I are definitely terrible dancers, but it was fun.
• I got to have lunch with Stephen at his job! It's always really nice to not be around 14 year olds at lunch time. 
• Hannah came in for a quick trip! We literally talked the whole time, went to our usual Greek restaurant and she took care of me. I got some weird 24 hour virus :( 
• I GOT MY BRACES OFF!!!!!!!!!!!! PTL for basically being 25 and finally having teeth again! Also, my orthodontist is better than yours. Why? They give their adult patients a bottle of wine when they get their braces off. Hello, free bottle of Merlot. (Yeah...I took an at-work selfie)
• Stephen and I were supposed to go to a Stars hockey game last night, but due to the 4-5 inches of snow/ice we received yesterday there was no way we could safely make it south. Bummer. Notice how deep those footprints are in the snow!

better late than never.

I’m back! I can’t believe I went the entire month of December without writing a single post. This past holiday season was the busiest I’ve ever experienced (Stephen’s family is large!) and I had no time to blog. So here’s to Merry Christmas, goodbye 2014 and Happy New Year!

And y'all, I'm sorry for this really long post.

December started out with our Belvin Family Christmas in Dallas at my house! My sister wasn’t going to be here for Christmas so we celebrated early. My brother, sister-in-law and nephews were able to join us as well! We had the usual Christmas dinner with every casserole imaginable and opened gifts around my tiny tree. After the food coma, we headed to Arbor Hills Nature Reserve with the family and three dogs. Arbor Hills is one of my favorite places in the area because of the trails and trees. I can pretend I’m in the country.

 We had a blast. It felt like we were back at Double Spring Ranch where I grew up. It was an awesome family weekend and we ended it with church on Sunday morning.

The weekend after my family Christmas, Hannah and I ran our first half marathon, the Dallas Metro PCS! The weather ended up being perfect. It was around 50 degrees and cloudy. It was supposed to rain all day Sunday, but luckily, it didn’t end up raining until that afternoon. We had so much fun! Around mile 6, I remember thinking “Oh man I’m not even half way.” But we pushed through and I met my goal of finishing it in 2 hours!

Through all of our training, Hannah and I kept Hebrews 12:1 as our motivation to keep going.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race set before us.”

Later that week, Stephen and I attended his annual work Christmas party. This year we got a chance to get drawn by the cartoon artists. Stephen looks like Jay Leno! It was so fun!

                                                         

                   

Fast forward one more week and it was time to head back to Louisiana for Christmas break! Stephen’s family is really big and there is always something going on. I went to three family functions with him. We had a white elephant party, a pig roast and one other Christmas gathering. All of his family is so sweet… seriously, every aunt, uncle, grandparent, and cousin made me feel so warm and welcomed. He’s a lucky fella!

As the new girl at all of his family get togethers, I didn’t want to be the one taking pictures and ordering everyone around to line up for a snap shot, haha. So I really don’t have any pictures of all the fun. Hopefully next year I won’t be shy and I can capture these sweet people on camera!

I got Stephen new golf clubs for Christmas and they were a hit! His brother was a huge help with picking them out. He got me a beautiful bracelet and the blender of my dreams!!! Seriously, this thing changed my life when I lived with my parents and now I have one for my own kitchen. He is the best gift-giver!

Stephen and I had such a great time at home. It was so amazing to both be off of work with no responsibilities getting to spend as much time as we wanted together. Our parents live right down the street from one another so that’s extremely convenient. We got to go back and forth between our momma’s home cookin’. One afternoon we went to his family’s farm and shot my new gun -- definitely one of my favorite days!

                                                                      

                                                   

                                                                   

           

We decided to stay in Louisiana through New Year’s and go to the O’Neals camp again. It sure was a party! Mr. David set up huge speakers with a microphone…. we had a real DJ… Mr. Greg….he was WAY too good at it! I got to have an a-mazing piece of King Cake!! We stayed up until midnight and did fireworks. It was a good time catching up with our friends.

 I am so thankful for every single person I got to share this Christmas season with. My people are the best. My Jesus is the best. 

Louisiana sunset.

P.S. For some reason the font for this post is all messed up. It's driving me insane, but I can't figure it out. 

october highlights.

I think I've decided October is officially my favorite month of the year. The weather is absolutely perfect and there are so many good football games (thanks, Stephen) -- because of those two things everyone is just happier!

Here are a few highlights from the tenth month of the year:

• My mom text me the throwback picture earlier this month and said "Happy Fall!" I haven't posted very many throwbacks and thought this one was too cute not to post. That is my sister and I in about 1995.
• Stephen and I watched the very exciting Baylor game against TCU. It was such a great comeback for our Bears, I wore my green and gold to church the next morning.
• My nephews had a joint birthday party, Slade celebrated his 5th and Holt his 3rd. I cannot believe they are already that big and adorable!! Happy birthday, boys!
• Stephen and I went to Shreveport last weekend to celebrate our friend's, Chelsea, birthday. I managed to not take any pictures (because I didn't keep my phone on me). The only one I took that wasn't of dogs was the one above of Stephen making his own rice dressing! Happy birthday, Chels!
• Jesus shows up everywhere. You just have to look and listen for Him :)

Not pictured:

• Stephen and I went to the local winery again and enjoyed an outdoor concert complete with a lawn chair, brick oven pizza and wine. Again, I did a terrible job of capturing all of this.
• Last night we had a double date with L Rut and her new guy from Louisiana! It was so much fun. I think Stephen may have met his match.

Happy Halloween, y'all.

september highlights.

Ah.....sigh. It's fall, y'all. The season of cool weather, football, gumbos, and pumpkin everything. The season that brings the most joy to my heart! I'm officially done with the most stressful month of work -- and it wasn't half as bad as last year. Praise!

Here are a few highlights from the ninth month of the year:

• I got to spend another fun weekend with my girl Hannah! We went to Dallas and had dinner with the Chabot's, did the usual yoga sesh and had dinner at our favorite Greek place. 
• L Rut invited me to the Women's Conference at American Airlines. There were so many great speakers (Jesus, help me learn a lesson from these wise women) and Matthew West even wrote all 11,000 of us women a song! It was great. 
• Before the conference, I got to go on a sunrise run and it was beautiful. Every morning run is always so freeing for me.
• Stephen and I made a quick trip to Louisiana for my high school friend, Jessika's, wedding! She looked so gorgeous and happy!

Not pictured:

• Stephen took me golfing with him one Sunday evening. And by "took me" I mean he let me ride around in the cart with him. My favorite time of day is the hour before the sun sets so it was fun to be out on the course. If only I could swing a club AND hit the ball....

There are so many things on my fall bucket list! 

Carve pumpkins, 

go to the Arboretum, 

make a good gumbo 

and an apple pie 

maybe even hit the Texas State Fair again...

Oh, I hope we can make it all happen :) 

my Victor.

vic·tor 

ˈviktər. noun.

1. a person who defeats an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition.

Today I finished my third first day of teaching. Even though this wasn't my first rodeo, I experienced major anxiety about going back. Last year was extremely challenging for me in numerous ways. I was in a strange, big city teaching the most failed course in the entire state of Texas. I had challenging students, challenging parents, and challenging co-workers. With all of those factors combined, I was faced with major spiritual warfare. This summer, I completely checked out... until August rolled around and then fear... overcame me. I was scared to death.

Twelve days ago, I woke up and didn't think I could go back. I was convinced that this year would be a repeat of last year and I wouldn't be able to handle it. I immediately went to the Scriptures and prayed. I was lead to go to my classroom and pray over it. I anointed and prayed James 5:13-15 - the Prayer of Faith - over every single desk in my room. I proclaimed angels and the Holy Spirit in A214 and cast satan out from all four corners. After taking action, peace did come. Last week during teacher work week, I was okay and confident until...last night.

Last night, the same fear bubbled up inside me and spilled into this morning. I immediately dropped to my knees and opened my Bible.

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith....Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-17, 20-21 (ESV)

These verses and Ephesians 6 were at the forefront of my mind today. Jesus could not have been more faithful, gracious and merciful in answering my prayers (and all my prayer warriors prayers!) and sending angels to fight for me. At times, my students literally left me speechless because of their respect and good behavior. I was told some of my new students would be awful and today they sat and listened. Praise! Praise! Praise!

Christ truly is Victor. There is a battle going on between the forces of evil and of good. If we would just call on Our King, He would fight for us! Today I had victory because Christ fought for me!  When we call on Him, He wins the battle every single time.

Christ is your Victor too.  

an angel to remind me we are surrounded by His Love.

easter blessings.

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel and said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.'" Luke 24:1-6 (ESV)

I can't imagine how Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James felt as they watched Jesus, their Savior and closest Friend, beaten, whipped and nailed to cross. They had witnessed the moment He had taken His last breath... and now they were being told He had risen.

 Risen.

Not dead, but alive!

Yes, Jeus really did conquer death. Most of the time it is hard for me to wrap my brain around this Truth. With all of the tragedy and pain surrounding us on Earth, I find it hard, at times, to trust and not to fear because Jesus already has the victory. He has the victory of every crime, war, murder, and sin. He has the victory of every abortion, divorce, disease, and death. He has already won every single battle.

Those that are in Christ Jesus shall not fear, for we will never perish.

This is the Truth that brings me much peace and joy when I make the choice to trust and believe.  

chloe's story.

On March 17, 2014, my family and I said goodbye to one of the cutest, sweetest, and loving dogs I've ever known, Chloe.

Chloe joined our family when I was in the 7th grade.  I remember I had been gone to church camp for the weekend and my parents surprised my sister and I when I returned home.  I had been begging my parents for years for an inside dog.  My mom had some convincing to do with my dad because he was so adamant about "NO pets inside the house", except for our beta fish which you could not see because he hid in the plants.  So it came to be, Chloe a part of our family, and my sister and I were beside ourselves with excitement.  From that point forward, Chloe was our little angel, a blessing from God.  

Chloe was special to each one of us in her own unique way:  

My father, the one person who I thought would never accept her, was drawn closest to her.  So close, that it wasn't long before she was in bed with him eating cereal off "his spoon."  It took no time at all for her to work her magic and soften his heart.  Chloe was so much fun.  My sister and I enjoyed each day with her, having something to play with at all times.  My brother just loved teasing her (as did my dad, it must be a man thing!).  One day he felt compelled to harness her up and lower her down the laundry shoot.  Sweet Chloe complied with no fuss and down the hatch she went.  There we were to greet her at the other end and her tail just a'wagging!  

Dad would find humor in things like: when he would prepare his cereal he found great pleasure in pouring 1/4 of the box on her back and giving the command "spin" and round and round she would go cereal flinging every where and then she would run around gobbling it all up.  It would just tickle him to death, laughing all the way. Everyone enjoyed Chloe; family and friends.  

Over the years Chloe became:  a family member, best friend, play mate, bed partner, dinner companion, sports fan, travel, fishing, hunting, boating, 4 wheeling, companion.  And there to celebrate every special occasion.   A true, constant companion.

                 

 

Job 1:21 "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

Chloe, 11 years old, became suddenly ill the week my mom came to visit.  Mother doing her best to care for her and praying for her healing.  My mom has a special walk with the Lord and is very attentive to His messages to her.  He speaks to her in many different ways.  On the third day of her visit, she was led to go for a walk.  As she stepped out my front door she immediately noticed an image in the clouds of Chloe's face.  God has given mother many images before like this so she knew what she was looking at.  It gave instant comfort knowing the Lord heard her cries in prayer and was aware of Chloe's illness.  

After her walk, the Lord led her to her Bible and she opened to Isaiah 38:4 "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, says the Lord."  With much peace within, she still was in discernment because she didn't know what the outcome would be.  As the days followed it was obvious that Chloe was not going to be healed.  My sister and dad came the following weekend and took her to a vet friend of my sisters.  After running tests it was conclusive that Chloe had cancer and needed to be put to sleep.  So on Monday my mom drove Chloe to Millsap, Texas where Katelyn lives and she put her to sleep and buried her.

 

The Lord had such a beautiful burial planned for Chloe unbeknownst to us.  He allowed her to pass away in Texas and Katelyn was able to bury her in a beautiful valley in the hills with a the most vibrant sunset as Katelyn laid the last stone on her grave.  

This has been such a life changing event from start to finish.  God has shown His love and compassion even in a small furry little friend.   It shows without a shadow of a doubt that our Lord above, has a purpose for ALL things in our lives.  God chose Chloe to teach our family the greatest lesson of all, Unconditional Love.  So, we must carry on the lessons learned that she has taught us.  

The day after her burial the Lord led Mother to:

Psalm 55:13  "...my companion, my  close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship...."

 Her love will live with us always.  So long Chloe, you are dearly missed.

Best gift ever.

To all my family and friends that read this, know and recognize that God has a purpose for All things....

december/2013 highlights.

Has December already gone by? Wait. Has the year 2013 already gone by? I cannot believe it. This past month and past year has been full of newness, surprise blessings (I'll explain this in detail later), blogging!, hardships, adventures, laughter, tears, grace, forgiveness, and provision of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few highlights from the twelfth month of the year:

• Stephen asked me to be his date for his company's Christmas party. It was so much fun! I got to meet the guys he works with and his boss. I'm so excited for him and his new job. Jesus blessed him with the perfect job.
• My small group had our annual Christmas party. We did a potluck dinner and I brought boudin. Everyone loved it! We played games and visited. Still can't believe I have such an awesome Christian community to do life with. 
• I think the biggest surprise blessing of the month and year happened a few weeks ago on a regular Tuesday evening. After coming home from work and showering, I came downstairs to a house covered in sewage. Yes, you read that correctly. It was an absolute nightmare and I hope no one ever has to experience it.  Long story short Jesus TOTALLY blessed me through it. I had to have all my floors replaced and luckily, insurance covered all of it and MORE. I was able to upgrade to beautiful hardwood floors and put some money in the bank! Never would I have been able to afford it, IF my house hadn't been covered in crap. Gross. I know. Jesus truly does work in mysterious ways. 
• The sunset picture is one I shot while finishing a run in the park down the road from where I live. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. I am so thankful I have this park to escape to after a long work day...even if it's in the middle of the city. 

Here are a few highlights from 2013 (most of these have been mentioned in previous blog posts, but I wanted a quick summary of this eventful year!):

January: Started my very first blog "Sojourner Stories." No explanation for the start of this blog other than Jesus laid it on my heart. Praying about a change in my life. New city?

February: Visited with HR in Dallas to discuss a potential teaching job. Praying. Is Dallas the right place?

March: Spring break trip with my mom to the beach & celebrated my birthday. Praying about making a big move to TX.

April: Attended my first real Louisiana festival. More prayer.

May: Attended a teacher job fair in Dallas. Finished my first year teaching. Feverishly praying. Would I be in DeRidder another year?

June: Anxiously waiting for interviews...got two interviews. Got a job! Prayers were answered. Went to Boston and New Hampshire for vacay. Praying.. where would I live?

July: Hosted a baby shower for a dear friend. Signed three contracts of possible future homes, one of them was the answer to my prayers! Packed up all my belongings and...

August: Moved to Dallas. Unpacked all my belongings. Started my new job. Praying for strength. 

September: Faced major spiritual warfare with all the unfamiliarity in my new chapter of life. Struggled with working for huge school district. Found my new home church. :) Praying for more strength & discernment. 

October: Still battling spiritual warfare, but confident Jesus has me right where He wants me. Made new friends at church and joined a small group. Mom and dad came for a visit! Praying in thanksgiving! 

November: Peace was established at my job and confidence restored. Thanksgiving celebration at my house with the whole family and friends. Praying & thankfulness. 

December: Final exams (no fun for students or teachers!). Christmas vacay (fun for students and teachers!). Mom and dad came to the rescue during my house catastrophe. Traveled home to Louisiana for Christmas break. Caught up with old friends. Spent time focusing on the goodness and generosity of my Savior, Jesus Christ. In awe of His power physically, spiritually and mentally over the entire year. Never would I have been able to do an ounce of what He did THROUGH ME without constant prayer and discernment. HE LIVES. 

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities---all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV)

obedience.

On November 2, 2012, I journaled, "Become obedient from the heart." 

On January 5, 2013, I journaled, "Jesus, I give you my life. I surrender..."

On January 20, 2013, I journaled, "'For at the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but it leads to the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been called by it.' Hebrews 12:11"

On February 17, 2013, I journaled, "praying according to God's will includes the need to pray in faith, with patience, in obedience, and in submission to God's greater wisdom." (from my commentary)

On April 13, 2013, I journaled, "A word from Jeremiah: 'I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.'" (emphasis mine)

On April 22, 2013, I journaled, "'....as obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.' 1 Peter 1:13"

On July 18, 2013, I journaled, "GC said, 'I will set you on high because you have known My Name, but it must be a purified you to be so exalted.'"

On August 7, 2013, I journaled, "'If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse or rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' Isaiah 1:18-20"

On October 6, 2013, I journaled, "'I am the Lover of your soul, Mary Kathryn.' -Jesus"

On October 13, 2013, I journaled, "Hebrews 5:8 says, 'Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.' I love this. You totally understand how I feel!"

On November 2, 2013, Jarrett Stephens from Prestonwood said this: "What could Jesus do with me if my obedience was immediate?"

And finally I got it. 

On November 3, 2013, I journaled, "JESUS IS TEACHING ME....OBEDIENCE."

We learn so very, very slowly. Thank goodness our Jesus is so very, very patient. It took an entire year for me to truly see and understand exactly what Jesus wanted me to learn...obedience. There is freedom in tiny revelations! Obedience is defined as, "compliance with an order, request, or submission to another's authority." It's the submission part that is the hardest for me personally. 

It's hard for me to submit all my hopes, plans and heart's desires to Him...knowing and trusting that He is sovereign and really does have things under control. It's hard for me to not do the one thing that I want to do, but He says no. You would think it would be easy for me to submit to the One that holds the entire world in His right hand, but my selfish heart gets in the way. Thank goodness my Jesus is selfless and loves me unconditionally and understands my faults. Praise Him!

As I sit here I pray that I would strive to become obedient to the Father from my heart. 

back to baylor.

that magical time of year.

Baylor Homecoming weekend truly is a magical time. Pigskin, Friday night bonfire, Saturday morning parade, Saturday night football game...there just isn't any other college HC like it! And getting to spend the entire weekend with one of your BFFs makes it that much more special and awesome. (warning: this post contains more pictures than usual) 

Hannah and I met in Waco Friday night and had dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall secret, D's Mediterranean. If you're ever in the Waco area this is the place to eat! Then it was off to the bonfire.

We ran into the Chabot's too:)

After the bonfire, we were pretty sleepy and if you know Hannah and I at all then you know we needed a good nights rest for our run early Saturday morning. So after meeting up with a few of my friends from BU, we went to Chloe's apartment at LL Sams (my old home!) to hit the hay.

On Saturday morning, we went for a lovely run, Starbucks for coffee and HEB for grapes! P.S. I can't live a day anymore without a substantial amount of grapes. Substantial meaning at least 25.

45 degrees was perty chilly.

Saturday afternoon I got to have coffee with my precious, Anna and got to see Sarah Long, Ryan, Philip and Alison!!! My long lost Highland church, CG, El Salvador friends. It was great. My heart was so full. :)

S Long & Anna. 

And Saturday night you know it was game time! Sic' Em.

BU vs Iowa State -- smoked em' 

Confession: we didn't stay for the entire game -- we were winning by a lot and we were starving so we figured it was time for dinner at our second favorite hole-in-the-wall secret, Baris Pizza. But we got salads, haha. They make their own special dressing and it's to die for so a salad is just as good as pizza.

We finished off our Waco Weekend with a Sunday breakfast at Cafe Capp and a walk through campus. Sundays are always the best for strolling through campus...it's quiet and there are more squirrels around than people.

Hannah and I were discussing on our walk how different Baylor's campus is from others we've been to. There is peace and joy that you feel walking along the side walks, swinging on the swings. We shared with each other that (we believe) it's because Baylor is rooted in Christian teachings.  A few days ago, Jesus lead me to a verse in a Psalm that I feel confirmed what we said.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is The Lord." Psalm 33:12 (ESV)

And Baylor has been a blessed nation.

It was such a fun, much needed, weekend getaway. Baylor will forever have a special place in my heart. After all, this is the place that Jesus captured my heart:) And I just loved my time with Hannah. We ran, ate, sang, laughed, cried, and prayed together. Incredibly grateful for her faithful friendship.