2010 has brought many blessings for the Keith family. This year God opened many doors for us, including Matt going full time with Journey Church and me making the decision to continue teaching for another year. I was really thinking about leaving the teaching profession back in March, I thought I blogged about it...but I can't seem to find that post :) We've both grown a lot this year. I've been reminded many times that my timing is NOT God's timing. And sometimes he has a WAY better plan than we do for ourselves.
2011 will bring new joys to our family & extended family. Just to give you a sneak peak...
-In May Matt's twin sisters graduate from Appalachian. Megan with a degree in Family & Consumer Sciences Education & Morgan with a degree in photography.
-In June my baby brother graduates from high school...This is a pretty big deal, he's thinking about going to my alma mater..AppState. (fingers crossed he gets that acceptance letter at the end of January)
-Also in June my sister will be competing for the title of Miss NC here in Raleigh. This is something that has been her dream since she was a little girl and she feels that God can really use her to be an example of a Christian role model for youth across our state.
-BABY KEITH COMES!!!! in July. My due date is July 18th and we are THRILLED to become parents in 2011. I can't wait to meet our little one!
-Morgan (Matt's sister) gets married in November. We're gaining a wonderful brother-in-law and we are super excited about the plans for their special day.
-And finally...in December Anna (my sister) will graduate from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Elementary Education.
Many other wonderful things are happening in 2011...weddings of close friends, vacations, and of course many surprises and blessings from God. We can't wait for 2011...bring it on!
12.31.2010
12.30.2010
Merry Christmas! A few days late...
Matt & I had a wonderful Christmas! We actually started last Wednesday (Dec 23rd) and had something every day through December 26th...sometimes something twice in one day. We celebrated Christmas 7 times, missing 1 family get together with my dad's side of the family. We traveled to Fuquay Varina, Sanford, and Kannapolis...by the time we got home I was exhausted and sick with either a major case of morning sickness or a nasty stomach bug.Even though I was sick, we were able to enjoy our wonderful families and I was reminded once again, how blessed we are. God had given us such big families and we have a great time anytime we are together. It was great to stop from the busy month of December to celebrate the birth of our Savior and what that means for us. I was reminded as we drove around NC of how full I feel all the time because of the love, grace, & mercy of my Savior. I can't imagine celebrating Christmas just to celebrate Santa Clause & getting presents...what an empty reason to have a holiday. As Christians we get to celebrate the birth of the One who came just for us, and I can't think of any better reason to gather with my friends & family.
Matt & I scaled back on the amount of money we spent on each other this year, mainly because we just don't need anything...but as I shopped & as we opened gifts the theme of why we celebrate just continued to run through my mind. Every time we opened gifts with our family, I thought about how I had more than I need & the God of the universe came to be born in a stable...A STABLE! No heat, no nice hospital room...but a barn with animals and smells. Such a humbling thought. As we get ready to celebrate the new year, I've been reflecting on what this means & my prayer for the year is that I will come to know Jesus & fall in love with him even more than ever before. Matt & I have an exciting year ahead of us...(I'll save that for my new year's post) but without listing it all God is going to do HUGE things in our family. I want to make sure that through it all, people see Jesus in our family. After all, if you take everything in this world away...he's all that's left. He's all we need.
Anyways, I realize this blog probably doesn't make any sense...it's really just my ramblings of Christmas. Thanks for enduring it! I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas!
Our child got a lot of presents this year...you would thing he or she was already here. Our parents are going to spoil this kid rotten. Can't wait! :)
Aunt Megan couldn't resist when she bought this onesie! I think this was secretly Matt's favorite Christmas gift.
Molly enjoyed Christmas too, even though she has already chewed up (I mean bit the head off and ate it) one of her new toys...sorry Mr. Chicken.
12.16.2010
Not Much Lately...
Exactly what I've been doing...
Since I found that I'm pregnant, I've not really done a whole lot...except work & sleep. Of course this is a whole new experience for me, but I'm usually a go getter. Despite the fact that I don't get a lot of sleep as it is because my job is so demanding & I strive to have a life outside of working, I usually just go with the flow...sleep or no sleep, headache or feeling great. But I've experienced all of the 1st trimester goodness...nausea, vomiting, need for MORE sleep, headaches. I feel like I've been such a baby about it, but I've found myself sleeping or laying around any chance I get. For example, I was really planning to get a lot done since it's a snow day. I'm sooo behind on grading & other school responsibilities but when I woke up this morning, even after eating, taking nausea medicine, & showering I still felt like crap & my head was pounding. So what did I do today? Sleep & lay around & eat. It's killing me, this isn't the normal me.
People keep telling me that it will go away after my 1st trimester & I really hope it does. Of course I've also heard the horror stories of women being sick for 9 months. Regardless, I'm trying to make best of this time & I know that whether I feel like a million bucks or I just feel like crap & have to spend the next 7 months going to work, sleeping & eating...7 months from now I'll get to meet the little peanut inside of me that seems like it's growing like a weed because I can't get enough food in my body & that's also been making me so sick.
Matt has been amazing & has had to work WAY to hard recently. He's been doing the cleaning, laundry, & keeping up of the house. He did a lot of the decorating for Christmas (what got done this year...we didn't get everything out, which makes me sad but next year I'll have the energy to help). I've done good to get dinner cooked when I get home from school & keep the fridge stocked with food. Don't even get me started on Christmas shopping though, we have barely started. The goodies I usually bake won't be made this year either, Matt keeps telling me "it's okay," but it's my favorite time of the year & feel like I'm not making the most of it. He is such a wonderful husband & I know he'll make a great daddy. I just feel so bad that he has to take care of me, grab me a snack in the middle of the night, & take over a lot of the stuff that I normally do in the house.
Hope I haven't bored you, but I haven't written in a while & this is really all that's on my mind...and it's what I've been up to. Until next time, I have my saltine crackers & my gingerale! :)
Since I found that I'm pregnant, I've not really done a whole lot...except work & sleep. Of course this is a whole new experience for me, but I'm usually a go getter. Despite the fact that I don't get a lot of sleep as it is because my job is so demanding & I strive to have a life outside of working, I usually just go with the flow...sleep or no sleep, headache or feeling great. But I've experienced all of the 1st trimester goodness...nausea, vomiting, need for MORE sleep, headaches. I feel like I've been such a baby about it, but I've found myself sleeping or laying around any chance I get. For example, I was really planning to get a lot done since it's a snow day. I'm sooo behind on grading & other school responsibilities but when I woke up this morning, even after eating, taking nausea medicine, & showering I still felt like crap & my head was pounding. So what did I do today? Sleep & lay around & eat. It's killing me, this isn't the normal me.
People keep telling me that it will go away after my 1st trimester & I really hope it does. Of course I've also heard the horror stories of women being sick for 9 months. Regardless, I'm trying to make best of this time & I know that whether I feel like a million bucks or I just feel like crap & have to spend the next 7 months going to work, sleeping & eating...7 months from now I'll get to meet the little peanut inside of me that seems like it's growing like a weed because I can't get enough food in my body & that's also been making me so sick.
Matt has been amazing & has had to work WAY to hard recently. He's been doing the cleaning, laundry, & keeping up of the house. He did a lot of the decorating for Christmas (what got done this year...we didn't get everything out, which makes me sad but next year I'll have the energy to help). I've done good to get dinner cooked when I get home from school & keep the fridge stocked with food. Don't even get me started on Christmas shopping though, we have barely started. The goodies I usually bake won't be made this year either, Matt keeps telling me "it's okay," but it's my favorite time of the year & feel like I'm not making the most of it. He is such a wonderful husband & I know he'll make a great daddy. I just feel so bad that he has to take care of me, grab me a snack in the middle of the night, & take over a lot of the stuff that I normally do in the house.
Hope I haven't bored you, but I haven't written in a while & this is really all that's on my mind...and it's what I've been up to. Until next time, I have my saltine crackers & my gingerale! :)
12.04.2010
A guy, a girl, a dog, and...
Take a look at our latest blog post on our Matt & Magan site. www.mattandmagan.com
Exciting things to come in the Keith family! :)
Exciting things to come in the Keith family! :)
11.10.2010
Your's is the Victory
I really can't write much about the situation, but just know...
Over the past 3 days I've seen the devil try to tear apart what is going to be a wonderful outlet for Jesus' name to be spread all over the Cabarrus County and North Carolina this year...but guess what...Jesus has already won the battle! It might be a long road of healing for the people involved in the situation, but I believe God is good and he will be glorified through all of this!
The power of death swallowed up in the hope of our Savior
All fear overcome in the light of Him
All of our sin covered up in the love of our Savior
Set free by your grace made alive in Your righteousness
At the cross where You took my place
Yours is the victory
Yours is the victory
Yours is the victory
Yours alone
The power of death swallowed up in the hope of our Savior
All fear overcome in the light of Him
All of our sin covered up in the love of our Savior
Set free by your grace made alive in Your righteousness
In Your power, You abandoned the grave
At the cross where You took my place
In Your power, You abandoned the grave
-NewSpring Church Worship
Over the past 3 days I've seen the devil try to tear apart what is going to be a wonderful outlet for Jesus' name to be spread all over the Cabarrus County and North Carolina this year...but guess what...Jesus has already won the battle! It might be a long road of healing for the people involved in the situation, but I believe God is good and he will be glorified through all of this!
The power of death swallowed up in the hope of our Savior
All fear overcome in the light of Him
All of our sin covered up in the love of our Savior
Set free by your grace made alive in Your righteousness
At the cross where You took my place
Yours is the victory
Yours is the victory
Yours is the victory
Yours alone
The power of death swallowed up in the hope of our Savior
All fear overcome in the light of Him
All of our sin covered up in the love of our Savior
Set free by your grace made alive in Your righteousness
In Your power, You abandoned the grave
At the cross where You took my place
In Your power, You abandoned the grave
-NewSpring Church Worship
11.07.2010
Babies, the BELL, a Championship, and a Crown
I told Matt Friday afternoon, as we left Knightdale ,that this was going to be my blog title at the end of the weekend. I just knew that it was going to be an incredible weekend. I could write and write and write about it...but pictures are fun too!
On Friday morning, we woke up to a phone call from our friend Blake that his wife, Jacqui, was having their twins! They are some of our best friends, so this was pretty exciting for us. I was able to take a half of day and spend the afternoon with them and their precious babies since her family lives all the way in Indiana. Little AnnMarie & Aiden are just so precious and we are so excited that they are finally here.
Friday night we bared the rain to watch my brother's football team win a tradition that has been around for over 80 years...the battle of the bell game (and yes, Kannapolis has won this game more times that they've lost). This game is between A.L Brown High School and Concord. The Wonders were able to pull off a win, despite the downpours...bringing the bell back to Kannapolis and sealing the conference championship.
To finish off our time at home, my sister accomplished a life long dream of becoming Miss Cabarrus County. She has competed in the pageant for 3 years and after many years of hard work, accomplished her dream. You can read more about her and her calling to participate in the Miss America System at this previous post. I know that I am biased, but Anna did an amazing job last night. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses her with this title to make him famous. She will now advance to the Miss North Carolina pageant in June. I am so proud of her!
To finish off this wonderful weekend, I better get off of here...I need to get ready worship at Journey this morning. We have so much to be thankful for today!
On Friday morning, we woke up to a phone call from our friend Blake that his wife, Jacqui, was having their twins! They are some of our best friends, so this was pretty exciting for us. I was able to take a half of day and spend the afternoon with them and their precious babies since her family lives all the way in Indiana. Little AnnMarie & Aiden are just so precious and we are so excited that they are finally here.
Friday night we bared the rain to watch my brother's football team win a tradition that has been around for over 80 years...the battle of the bell game (and yes, Kannapolis has won this game more times that they've lost). This game is between A.L Brown High School and Concord. The Wonders were able to pull off a win, despite the downpours...bringing the bell back to Kannapolis and sealing the conference championship.
To finish off our time at home, my sister accomplished a life long dream of becoming Miss Cabarrus County. She has competed in the pageant for 3 years and after many years of hard work, accomplished her dream. You can read more about her and her calling to participate in the Miss America System at this previous post. I know that I am biased, but Anna did an amazing job last night. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses her with this title to make him famous. She will now advance to the Miss North Carolina pageant in June. I am so proud of her!
To finish off this wonderful weekend, I better get off of here...I need to get ready worship at Journey this morning. We have so much to be thankful for today!
11.04.2010
I Gotta Grade Essays...BUT
I really need to go grade essays that my students did a week ago, but it's just been on my heart to share the message from this past Sunday at Journey. Jimmy spoke on the questions that so many people ask, believer and nonbelievers..."What does a Christian look like."
This sermon really meant a lot to me because I know a lot of people who have given up on Christianity and some that just do not believe because of the way Christians act. Jimmy reminded us that Christianity is not about rules, and it's not about religion. God didn't send his son to be the Savior of the world so that Christians could be "good people." He came so that we can glorify him with our lives. If we are following Jesus and have an authentic relationship with him, then we do good because it comes from the overflow of our hearts...not because in order to be a Christian you have to be a "good person." (1 Peter 2:11-12, Matthew 5:16)
I could say so many more things about this past weekend, but one thing that he said that remains in my mind is "The Christian life is not about obligation, it's about obedience." It's about bringing glory to Him. I love that. I know that I am not a perfect person, I don't always do "good," because I'm not perfect and I do mess up. Just like little children mess up and sometimes disobey their parents, so do Christians and God loves me even though I don't always make him proud. But one thing I do know is that I want to live my life so that I am transparent and others see Jesus in me. I want to be obedient. I don't want to be the stereotypical Christian. I want people who do not believe to see something different in me, and I want them to fall in love with him...not because of me, but because He is real!
If you have 30 minutes to spare, or even if you don't I highly suggest you listen to Jimmy's message from last weekend. You can watch it here: Sermon.
Now, I must go grade these Revolutionary War essays!
This sermon really meant a lot to me because I know a lot of people who have given up on Christianity and some that just do not believe because of the way Christians act. Jimmy reminded us that Christianity is not about rules, and it's not about religion. God didn't send his son to be the Savior of the world so that Christians could be "good people." He came so that we can glorify him with our lives. If we are following Jesus and have an authentic relationship with him, then we do good because it comes from the overflow of our hearts...not because in order to be a Christian you have to be a "good person." (1 Peter 2:11-12, Matthew 5:16)
I could say so many more things about this past weekend, but one thing that he said that remains in my mind is "The Christian life is not about obligation, it's about obedience." It's about bringing glory to Him. I love that. I know that I am not a perfect person, I don't always do "good," because I'm not perfect and I do mess up. Just like little children mess up and sometimes disobey their parents, so do Christians and God loves me even though I don't always make him proud. But one thing I do know is that I want to live my life so that I am transparent and others see Jesus in me. I want to be obedient. I don't want to be the stereotypical Christian. I want people who do not believe to see something different in me, and I want them to fall in love with him...not because of me, but because He is real!
If you have 30 minutes to spare, or even if you don't I highly suggest you listen to Jimmy's message from last weekend. You can watch it here: Sermon.
Now, I must go grade these Revolutionary War essays!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)