Friendship and Fellowship!

So - the past few weeks have been busy, busy ones......and we're not through the fire yet! Thankfully busy, in this case, has also equaled FUN! We've been enjoying visiting with family and friends in the past few weeks.

First, we recently drove home to Granbury to visit with my family. My brother, Taylor, got married a few weekends ago on June 18th. The wedding was beautiful! It took place at the Dallas Arboretum Gardens and it was so wonderful to watch he and my sister-in-law, Nia, make their commitments to each other! We enjoyed the chance to catch up with family! Such a blessing!

After the wedding, we rushed back from Dallas in time for me to get to a baby a shower! My dearest and oldest friend, Jenny, is expecting her first baby! Jen's husband, Jason, was our wedding photographer last year! These are such dear friends of ours and we are thrilled for them as they anticipate becoming parents to their sweet baby girl, Anna Kate. The shower was a great time of fellowship and laughter! Jen and Jason were blessed with a lot of gifts to prepare for their Anna Kate needs :)

I was particularly blessed my the devotion given by a dear friend and mentor, Lisa Palmer. Lisa's husband, Keith, married us last year, and they have been a dear source of love and encouragement in our lives. I was very challenged by a lot of what she spoke on in terms of how motherhood is a stretching time that God uses to reveal idols in our hearts. I am so thankful to observe and learn as I watch other dear friends experience parenting before us! What a gift from the Lord to see other learn and grow in their love for the Lord and their dependence upon him - such an example. I was so thankful for this!

After the shower, we went home and collapsed from such a busy day!! We enjoyed the rest of our time at home with mom and dad and sarah, and I was able to go over to Jen's parents house on Monday and catch up with her and some of the fam! What a gift of time that was to me!

Then we loaded up and hit the road...and Sarah came too! She came out to visit last week and we had such a good time watching the Masterpiece Series of Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit." Or at least we tried to watch it.....the discs were pretty scratched up and the disc would pause or skip at the most crucial parts of the movie. After trying Peanut Butter and not fully succeeding, we went to the most informed source about these things......google :)

There we discovered that furniture polish is better known to do the trick. We tried that....and google did not fail! The furniture polish worked like a charm and we were able to see Amy Dorrit finally unite in marriage with Arthur Clennam - for those of you who haven't seen this series, it's well worth the watch! And no, I did not spoil the ending just then....it's obvious from the beginning of the movie!

Sarah went home a few days later and this past weekend we caught up on house cleaning! YAY! Michael was not as enthusiastic as I was - but he was such a champ and definitely helped out!

Now its Monday and we have a fairly short week with a long weekend ahead of us - particularly long for Michael. He's heading into Dallas on Wednesday afternoon to meet up with Michael DeGroat and the rest of the groomsman for Michael's wedding! Michael (Skeen) is the Best Man in Michael's wedding and so he's heading in early to be apart of preparations and to throw Michael's Bachelor Party. I'm heading that way on Thursday afternoon in time for the Rehearsal Dinner and then the Wedding on Friday evening. On Saturday, we're heading back to my parents to celebrate the Fourth of July!

So......those are the most immediate plans for the Skeen household. We've also been implementing some goals for ourselves that we're slightly daunted by, but excited about nonetheless. I'm going to tell you about my goals...but I'm gonna have Michael tell you more about his! (He could explain them so much better than I can anyway!)

For me: I've begun preparations to FINALLY begin my NANC training. I've been anticipating working through this certification process for the past few years. I think we're going to get the ball rolling this year. Through this trianing program, I will be working toward my Biblical Counseling Certification. I'm really excited about everything I'm going to be learning and how I'll be stretched spiritually and academically through this endeavor. For those of you who haven't heard of NANC before, it stands for the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. For more info, visit their website, it's pretty convicting!

I've ordered a few books to begin studying, and they should arrive today! I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Well, thats about it for now. I'm looking forward to more pictures and information to post after our wedding/4th of July Celebration this weekend!

Thanks for dropping by! And on a more serious note, I want to encourage each of you to pursue God's Word more deeply. This is something He's been working in my heart about. Studying and Knowing God's Word is the foremost and primary way that He will speak to our hearts, convict us of sin, and make us more like Him. It is only through knowledge of His Word that we gain greater knowledge of Him. Scripture is the tool by which we are made to know who God is, who we are in correspondence to Him, how desperately we need a Savior, and how to receive in faith the greatest gift ever offered.

"The unfolding of your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple" Psalm 119:130

May you know to joy of being kept in the Love of Christ!

Michael and Katie