Three of my favorite things in January

1) Our family hike.

We've done lots of fun things on our family nights...they are usually Travis' great creative ideas.  But this one was mine!  I had been conjuring it up for a few days and was so excited about it.  It started out with a hike and ended with ice cream cookie sandwiches! 

"A" mountain (actually called Hayden's Butte).  Named after the founder of Tempe who climbed this butte, looked out over it into the desert and said, "This is fertile ground if only man could get water to it."  This is one of the main words that brought us here to this desert to believe for streams of living water to flow.  We do believe it's fertile ground.  We are experiencing it.

So this little butte is significant to our family and our church.  Ellie has climbed it a couple of times with Travis and some teams that have come in, but the little girls never had so we've never done it as a family.  It's a pretty easy hike and from the top you can see the whole valley.

And, the sun was setting.  Arizona has the most beautiful big sky sunsets you have ever seen.  Stunning.  One day if I ever get good with my camera (help, Lisa!) I'll capture one.

Trav and I each had a backpack with a kid and Ellie walked (well, maybe Reed carried her a lot of the way up...one "please" from Ellie and Reed couldn't say no!)

Thankful Canela and Reed were with us...our kids tend to be a little crazy these days.  And we were on a mountain!

These two are getting closer every day.  So fun to watch.  They love each other.  Someone asked SG today who her best friend was and she said, Ellie.  And then they asked who her second best friend was and she said, the baby.  Lord, knit their hearts together for all their days.

We so want our kids to know why we do what we do.  We want them to know and walk in the presence of God from an early age.  We believe we are a team in this church planting journey and so they are with us in all that we can bring them into...

So they prayed together with their daddy at the top of this mountain just as we have done many times before...believing for streams of living water to flow in this desert.

After the hike we went to Fuzzy's for buy one get one free tacos and then to the yummy new Slickables for ice cream cookie sandwiches! 

Fun family night if I do say so myself!


2) My half marathon.
No pictures from this but wanted to document it because it was so significant for me.  It was a huge race here in Phoenix...thousands of runners.  We started in Tempe and ran through Scottsdale, some of Phoenix, and back to Tempe.  I ran by myself.  Trav dropped me off, I ran, and they came and picked me up after.  Very anticlimactic as it may appear to most.  But it was so significant for me.  I have run for years...since junior high cross country, but in recent years it has become a time where I connect with God, worship him, listen to sermons, hear him speak.  I almost always run alone (the only exception being when Travis comes with me, which I welcome!).  So now, when I start running my heart automatically begins to connect to the spirit of God.  It's so sweet.

So to get 1:45 minutes with Jesus, while doing something I love to do, it was bliss.  Travis and the girls would "hey tell"  (an app on my phone that works like a walkie talkie) along the way to cheer me on (and pray for me...had a blister that randomly developed early on but went away after they prayed).   It was such a spiritual experience for me.  Felt so close to the heart of God.  Felt his nearness in such a real way.

Was reminded over and over again of one of my favorite verses...Fix your eyes directly before you, don't look to the right or to the left (Prov. 4:25)...as I ran.  And worshipped multiple times over to two new songs that I have recently downloaded (which I think is a huge help in running, especially in a race, get some fresh music that you're excited about).  No One Else...Cory Asbury and Laura Hackett.  We Are...Kari Jobe.  Loved these.

Call me crazy, but I loved it...all 13.1 miles! :)
  

3) Two day planning retreat with Trav.
A highlight for sure.  My mom came into town and we were able to get away for a little bit.  It wasn't so much play...but LOTS of planning, goal setting, preparing for the year...or at least for the next quarter.  We came out of it having logged lots of hours at Paradise bakery...AND with detailed goal sheets for Travis and I and one for the kids.  As well as a print out of my personal schedule.  Trav even surprised me and got them all laminated so we can put them up and keep them before us!  Can't wait!  It's crazy how a little time taken out to plan and set goals can affect how you live your life and what you choose to prioritize.  Jimmy Seibert sent out a suggested "roles and goals" sheet to use as an outline in praying through the year and we loved using that.  It's so powerful and encouraging to wait on God for each area of life and to then hear him speak...We're moving forward with intentionality on His words and we're excited to seek to be obedient to them.  (And the girls had a great time with Grandmommie while we were away...they went to the Children's museum AND the Science museum in the time we were gone!)

Thankful for a fun, purposeful start to our year!