Medicine for the Soul!

January 10th - January 15th

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:22

        We were blessed to have a good dose of medicine a couple of months ago. The Town of Searcy, Fellowship Bible Church, and most importantly, the friends we have there, simply make our hearts cheerful! 

We had the chance to travel to Searcy and visit with dear friends! It all started when Jeremy realized he had a few extra days of vacation he could use, or otherwise would lose. We found super cheap flights ($217 each – round trip)…it doesn’t get much better than that! Laura and Sean worked around their schedules and opened their doors to us! 

        We relaxed, ate, worshiped, and soaked up the fellowship of people we love so much! We love Searcy….and it will always have a special place in our hearts. If it wasn’t for the 800 miles in between us and our families, we may have never left!

We made sure to eat at Casa Brava two times! :) We indulged at Mazzios and had a fun night in Little Rock at BoneFish with Laura and Sean! Oh, I even got to enjoy a Pig Pie (and Sean was so kind to request that Laura and I's teas were only 1/10 sweet). Laura and I are both Southern gals, but we don't like our tea too sweet - mainly unsweet with just a touch of sweet, hence the 1/10th!

We had the blessing of worshiping with our family at Fellowship Bible Church. God taught us so much while we were there - we are so thankful! It was during my drive back to South Carolina when moving (with the boxers in the backseat), that somewhere along the 800 mile trek I pondered "Lord, have we done the right thing moving back", "We love our church and friends", "You were using us there" - that it dawned on me that I was returning to SC exactly seven years to the month that I had first left to go to school in Arkansas. I traveled to AR in August 2004 to begin my freshman year at Harding and I traveled back to SC upon moving home in August of 2011. I thought 7 years...once I learned in a Beth Moore study that the number seven represented "completion and perfection". It was then in a quiet, peaceful voice within my spirit, I heard God say - "I've completed and perfected your time in Searcy - I've been preparing you for what is next - just trust me!"

And so here we are, trusting Him each day as he reveals the plans He has for us! We are so thankful for our time in Searcy - it was definitely pivotal to where we are now! (More on that later!!)

Here are a few of the faces we are so thankful to have spent time with:

Totally wish I had taken more pictures! There were so many other dear friends and sweet faces I wish I would have captured with my camera! Already looking forward to the next time.

Bahama Mama!

Wednesday, November 28 -  Monday, December 3

So, in the midst of the busy paper hustling for the adoption… we took a break and cruised to the Bahamas! My mom is the queen of bargain vacations! She finds great deals on cruises, flights, and hotels. My mom has always been ready for an adventure! It was a fun trip…and the crew we traveled with was the best part!

The Whole Gang!

Up on Deck!

Atlantis

More Atlantis!

Tour in Freeport!

Coin from Dancing Debby!

Tea Time in Cleopatra Bar on the ship!

The trip was wonderful but happy to get home when it was done ...definitely hard to go back to work and responsibilities though! Til next time!!!

Meet Whitney!

Once again, I’m linking up at Kelly’s Korner. Today over at Kelly’s is “Show Us Your Singles”!

I am super excited to write this post because it features a truly beautiful woman – who is available… for the right guy when the Lord sends him her way!

So, here is Whitney! She is 33 years old and lives in South Carolina.

Whitney “loves her some Jesus”, as she would say. Her relationship with God and passion for Him is evident in her daily life. She has a fierce devotion and love for the Lord. Her pursuit after God and trust in Him are such an encouragement to me.

Whitney loves health, fitness, and nutrition!

She loves yoga, but also enjoys taking a run through the mountains or kayaking on the river. She really does love the outdoors and is always ready for the next adventure!

She loves to have a good time and isn’t afraid to be goofy! Whitney has a confident spirit and is secure in who God has made her…. and simply radiates beauty!

Whitney is fun-loving, outgoing, and a compassionate person! Whitney will be an awesome mom. She loves her niece and nephew to pieces! She loves her family and friends unconditionally! Any man would be lucky to have her!!

 

If you think you might just be that right guy or simply just want to know more about Whitney, leave a comment or email hplexico@harding.edu.

"I am with you always"

Recently, I've been internalizing how God is ALWAYS with me! It's a simple concept, one so simple that it tends to slip to the back of my mine, but yet so powerful! In my quiet time this morning, I was reading "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young (absolutely love this devotional!) and once again God reminded me of His ever presence.

"When My Presence is the focal point of your consciousness, all the pieces of your life fall into place. As you gaze at Me through the eyes of your heart, you can see the world around you from My perspective. The fact that I am with you makes every moment of your life meaningful."

-Jesus Calling

I'm humbled and thankful every time God opens the eyes of my heart to know Him more. I'm encouraged to know that no matter where I am or what I face, He is always with me!

And on the note of adoption, even though I will not be with my children from the very beginning, I'm at peace knowing and trusting the One I know who will be with them always....

And, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ~Matthew 28:20

 

Psalm 139

¹ You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

⁵ You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

13For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.