wife – The Bless Your Heart Blog

I Heart Heart Day

I know I’ve mentioned it before – I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day! Hate all you want; I think setting aside a day to really go out of our way to show someone we love them is a fine way to spend our time. Who doesn’t love that?!

For Fun Friday, the kids helped make cupcakes!

Decorating them is obviously the best part…and I always feel like SUCH a good mom afterwards because it really pushes me outside of my comfort zone. I’m not the biggest fan of messes or 501 little, round sprinkles all over the place but I do it because I love them. And it’s fun.

Yep, those are the ones... — Yep, those are the ones…

And, of course, Wryder had to be rewarded for his efforts…

Our sweet friend/mail lady, Pam, brought goodies to the house in the form of chocolate bars (which Wryder inhaled!) and mail from friends. We sent her home with a cupcake, too!

On Saturday, I woke up to this gorgeousness…

I LOVE getting flowers! I vow not to be the woman who thinks they’re a waste of money because all they do is die. They are life and they bring life – I’m a big fan. 🙂

I loved the balloon, too! I remember when I was growing up that I always, always wanted a helium, mylar balloon, though I don’t know that I ever asked for one. It was either my tenth or twelfth birthday, my parents got me several and I was over the moon! I kept them deflated and pinned to my bulletin board until I left for college. I kinda wish I still had them…

Wrexy knew my love for them and surprised me with a huge one! Wryder and Sawyer though we should practice letting the cat jump through the center. I vetoed that. *ahem*

We were saving our steak dinner for Valentine’s day so I decided to make heart hamburgers (with bacon, of course) for lunch.

Nothing says love like beef... — Nothing says love like beef…

The kids LOVED this! Especially the bacon part – a treat around here!

Sawyer, of course, dressed for the occasion – heels and all!

Sunday, we went to church and ate a little chinese food for lunch…

We found out Sayble REALLY likes ice cream like her PaPa!

Oh yeah...that's more like it! — Oh yeah…that’s more like it!

Then we came home to check on the gentlemen working on our shop and barn. The shabby chic will soon be no more as we’re getting tin put on. The shop is almost done and then they’ll throw the sides of the barn on.

I'm afraid I may miss this guy's worn, weathered look... — I’m afraid I may miss this guy’s worn, weathered look…

We have scrimped and saved and my hubby has worked his tail off so we could do this little project; we are so excited that it’s getting closer to done! It’s gonna look pretty fancy around here…or at least a little less shabby.

It was a good weekend! I posted this on Facebook but I’ll post it here, too.

In the midst of all of our Valentine shenanigans, Sawyer made a crown and hung it on the wall at our dinner table.

She said it was so we would remember that Jesus loves us.

My heart delights that she knows this already and I pray she takes Him at His word. He LOVES us…without condition or premise…and despite our past (or even our present) situations!

He IS the lover of our souls; the lead role in the greatest love story ever told. We can’t outrun His love, friends – it will always find us… Let him…

A Decade of Love

Several years ago, I did a study on covenant. To say it changed my life and the way I understood the Lord and His word is a COMPLETE understatement. It. was. AMAZING and completely fascinating. (It’s honestly, one of my favorite things to talk about EVER so if you have questions, let’s chat!)

Back in Biblical times, people would “cut a covenant” as a way of making a binding, holy, irrevocable contract. To cut a covenant, they would perform a covenant ceremony which you can read about (in the most succinct version I could find) here.

The closest thing we have in our day is marriage and the wedding ceremony. When we choose to marry our mate, we are choosing to create a blood covenant with them…an irrevocable, holy and binding agreement. We now share such a close relationship with each other that all we have or possess in this life is available to each upon demand.

Everything that is good that I have, you now have. You will benefit from my organization and my efficiency…my cooking and cleaning abilities…my heart for the widow and the orphan…my bold loyalty to those that I love and my fierce protectiveness of my family.

Everything that is good that you have, I now have. I will benefit from your patience and grace…your spirit of servant leadership…your easy exhortations and your adventurous nature.

Everything that is not so good – every weakness and every hardship – that I have, you now have. You and I will have to work through my spirit of abandonment and my ability to withdraw for fear of being hurt…my constant state of worry…my temper that can flare and my inability to understand (or work) anything that requires an engineer’s mind – yes, even the stinkin’ waterhose.

Everything that is not so good – every weakness and every hardship that you have, I now have. You and I will have to work through your inability to keep track of time and the way you can never effectively end a casual conversation so we (or whoever you’re talking to) can move on to something different….your wanton workaholic tendencies…your inability to put things away or keep the garage clean.

Every tool or ability I possess, you now possess. You are now an administrative whiz! You can juggle a plethora of tasks simultaneously and write, give and critique the spoken word with pleasure and authority. You can poof hair and change diapers and decorate on a dime.

Every tool or ability you possess, I now possess. I can now fix anything and everything…no really, anything and everything. I am proficient in plumbing, electricity, carpentry, welding. I can break horses and fit a steer and use the grill. I have incredible marksmanship and am as strong as an ox!

When we walk down the street, people should wonder if they’re seeing you or me. There should be no division in our beliefs or thoughts or ideas or desires or possessions or the way we view the world. We should be a solid unit of ONE because of the Lord’s ability to supernaturally commingle our lives. I’m identified as you and you are identified as me.

I am now a Phipps. I carry your name as a sign that I am in a covenant relationship with you. I no longer operate under my own authority, but yours. I take into account your opinion and your desires and I make every decision as this new unit of one. I am now you, and you are now me. I take on your personality and character and reputation and essence and authority. I care for you just as I care for myself because of our unity.

Ten years ago today we stood in this very spot, under that old pecan tree, and declared our undying love and commitment to each other. You have less hair, I have more body mass and together, we have three outlandishly beautiful children to show for it.

As much as I’d like to say that I did, I didn’t truly understand the weight and the beautiful severity of the vows I took on that day 10 years ago. I’m still learning what it truly means to be a wife and covenant partner. I’m still learning to die to myself and to live for the Lord and for our marriage and for our children – who, by the way, are the most perfect product of our love I could ever imagine.

But I’m getting it…and I’m vowing to make the next 10 years even better than the first…is that even possible?!

I am so thankful that you chose me. Our dating days weren’t perfect and our story could’ve ended in several different ways on several different days…praise HIM that this was the “ending” He had in mind and that we were obedient to that.

In all my days or wildest dreams, I couldn’t have dreamt up a better husband or partner or lover or teammate. You are the best man I know. I still can’t believe I get to wake up next to you every morning…

Loving you has been the easiest, most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Thanks for making my life, Wrex Phipps. Being your wife and the mother of your kids is an honor and a privilege; my soul is satisfied.

Much Rejoicing

About a month ago, I felt like my Bible time with the kids had waned a bit and I woke up one morning just thinking/praying that I’d like to just find something to teach them some basic biblical truths. I got online and searched for pre-school type devotionals and the Lord led me to one called Truth for Kids. Exactly what I was looking for, yes?

Now, some of it’s a little cheesy and the graphics are a little outdated and I’ve found a few spelling/grammatical errors, but the meat seems to be right on the money. Every morning at breakfast, we’ve been studying these basic biblical truths and learning scripture and it has been a blessing to me, too.

A couple of days ago, we learned about how the Lord makes us a new creation once we choose to confess our sins and follow Him. The little devotional talked about how in our sin, we’re like an ugly old caterpillar but when we accept Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, He transforms us into a beautiful butterfly.

At lunch yesterday, Sawyer was putting her dishes in the dishwasher and she started to say, “That ugly old…” and she caught herself. I said, “Good catch, sugar. We don’t say ugly.”

In the next second, we both thought of the caterpillar and we said, “Except for that caterpillar.” I told her that in that instance, it was definitely ok to use ugly, because that is exactly how our sin is. She said, “Yeah, I want to tell brother about the caterpillar. And I want to ask Jesus into my heart.”

I told her we could do it right then and there! (I think I might have gotten a little too excited *ahem* because her shyness took over and she took a while finishing at the dishwasher…then she wanted her blanket…then she decided she just wanted to play). I wasn’t going to force her into that decision so I just told her that whenever she was ready, Jesus was ready for her.

She came back about five minutes later and said, “I’m ready to ask Jesus into my heart.”

So we did! We prayed together. She said she was a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross. She said she wanted Jesus to live in her heart and be in charge. Then she said, “But I’m not going to change my mind.”

I asked, “Change your mind about what, sweetie?” She said, “About being married and being a mom. He can live in my heart, but I still want to stay here with you guys!”

She has been sooooooo concerned about that lately and I think she thinks the two are connected somehow; if Jesus is in your heart then you are/become a wife and mom. How sweet is that? We talked that through and she felt a lot better about it…even though we prayed about it again upstairs. 🙂

I am such a joyful, proud momma this morning. I am boasting in Christ, because every good thing about her comes from Him – of that I have no doubt. She is leaps and bounds ahead of me in this life and I’m glad she is! It will serve her well…

Thank you, Lord, that you give us the free will to choose you!

Thank you that you forgive our sins as far as the east is from the west!

Thank you that you want to be in relationship with us from a very early age.

Thank you for what you’ve done in Sawyer.

Sweet girl, you will never regret this decision – I promise you that. Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and no one or no thing can revoke that. I pray that satan does not steal the joy of your salvation and daddy and I join forces with you to push away his nasty attempts to distract and restrain you. This is the beginning of a beautiful journey and I pray that you follow close to Him all the days of your life. I pray that you call upon the riches of the Holy Spirit in you to guide your every thought and word and action. Go take the Kingdom by storm, sweet girl! We are so proud of the wonderful little sweetie you are; you bless us!

Sweet Sawyer, seconds after asking Jesus into her heart... — Sweet Sawyer, seconds after asking Jesus into her heart…

*****If any of you reading this have questions about following Christ or confessing sin or what He did on the cross, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a message or comment and I’ll be glad to help answer those. It’s a life changing decision to be an heir with Christ…one you won’t regret!*****