the matts…

It’s finally here! We are leaving to go see the family in Texas today after work and I can barely contain my excitement! We will be there through 4th of July… we haven’t spent more than 24 hours with them in over 6 months, so we have been aching for this trip. I am also looking forward to hanging out with Mackey, Chase’s girlfriend. She is a super-cool chick who loves Jesus, and we love her! I can’t wait for her and Chase to be at LSU! Anyway, if I don’t blog for a while, it’s because I’m soaking up some family time!

I will also be on vacation until next Saturday, so I am pumped. I love my job and I am so grateful for it, but everyone needs to rest sometimes (like Nicole mentioned in her blog today). I hope I will actually be able to rest from responsibilities, from emotions, from thoughts, from everything. I just need to live in God’s peace for a few days, and nothing else.

One last thing- props to my Daddy for an awesome birthday dinner last night. He, his woman, my brother, and my aunt showed us a great time… and we got more great gifts! We are SO blessed and I love them so much!!

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: the hottest, smartest, most servingest man in the world turns 24 today! For 3 days I was 25 and he was 23, but those days are over. Christopher Joseph Matt has been the biggest blessing (besides salvation, of course) that I have ever received. He is a devoted, caring, selfless, beautiful, wonderful, amazing more-than-a-dream-come-true husband. When he isn’t working super hard full-time to support our home or volunteering at 3-4 church services every week, he is at home cleaning, cooking, or serving me. He is a man of the highest integrity and moral character with the biggest heart to serve others. He makes me laugh til I cry, he makes me smile til it hurts, he constantly blows my mind… I love him more than life itself and I am so grateful to have him in my life.

So, to all our faithful blog readers out there, show Chris some love today (or whenever you read this)… send him a comment, an email, or a check!  He deserves the best of everything this life has to offer!

There are a couple amazing women who have started blogs in the last week or so, and I wanted to share the knowledge.

Vicki Ohlerking is Dan’s beautiful wife and she is gorgeous from the inside out. Vicki and I have a lot in common- she has a huge heart for missions, she has five kids (that’s how many we want), she has an incredible husband, and she loves Jesus with everything in her. Check out her blog here… it knocked Dan off my #1 favorite list.

Also, Nicole Duplechain finally started a blog. I have the truly awesome privilege of helping with a life group that she leads every week. She has already made a huge impact on my life in the short time I’ve known her. Her true, deep, raw love for the Father constantly amazes me, and it is obvious that she is so led by His spirit. I treasure the time I get to spend with her and learn from her and now she has a blog that I get to read all the time. It’s so exciting! Check it out… it’s definitely worth the extra click.

So last night I had a bit of a pity-party for myself. Chris had fallen asleep, and all of a sudden all I could think about was how many people close to me forgot my birthday. Before I knew it, I was in tears. And then I was mad at myself for being upset, which made me cry more. Stupid… I know. I tell you all that to say this: God is SO COOL. I’m laying there thinking about those who forgot me rather than thinking about He who always remembers me. I felt Jesus tell me, “I remember you. I remember you every day, in every thing that you do. I know the number of hairs on your head, the number of breathes that you take… I know what you feel before you feel it.”

Then I heard Him say that I chose the wrong book to read yesterday. I do need to read Chasing Daylight-it’s incredible from what I have read so far- but right now I should be concentrating on facing my giants (insecurity, worry, lack of faith). So what better book to read right now than Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado?! I sat down to read the first chapter today and finally felt something. For weeks I have really just felt like I was going through the motions, longing for a breakthrough… I think I finally found it. After just reading the first chapter, I teared up. I realized that this book is really going to rock my world and help me break free from these things I have been fighting for years.

I’ll keep you updated on how it’s going.

I forgot to mention the amazing breakfast place we ate at on Saturday in NOLA. It’s called Luke’s… I looked it up online and found no website or info, so all I can tell you is that it is attached to the Hilton on St. Charles and it is absolutely the best breakfast you will EVER eat. It was ridiculous. Though a little pricey for our budget, it was worth every single penny.

Also, Sunday night we went to Chris’ mom’s house in Denham Springs for a birthday party with her side of the family. It was a blast! Hope and Kate (the little girls) are finally beginning to warm up to me, and they are fun to hang out with. Kids that age are just stinkin’ hilarious. And we always have fun with Christine, Kenny, Grandma, Grandpa, Dennis & Shea. They are awesome! Plus, Christine really hooked up the presents this year
Last night we went to my mom’s… she is incredible. I love that woman more than words can ever say. I am so blessed to be her child. Plus, I have the best brother and step-dad out there.

Finally, I wanted to let you in on the latest book I am reading. I bought three yesterday (couldn’t decide), but today I chose which one I will begin reading first. It is called “Chasing Daylight” Seize the Power of Every Moment“. Erwin McManus is one of my favorite writers, so his books are always on the top of my list. I will let you know how this one turns out. Check out the others I will be reading soon on the sidebar.

What’s up world!!  I’m just chiming in to wish my beautiful bride a Happy Birthday!!!  She is such an amazing woman!  I am constantly amazed by her. She is the Queen of My Heart!!  I don’t know what I’d do without her. She treats me with so much love and respect, even when I don’t deserve it (which is a lot!!).  My life has been radically changed for the better since the day our relationship started.  I can’t imagine what my life would be like without her in it.  She means the world to me!!! 

Today is her special day (everyday is her special day)  and i just wanted to let her & everyone know that I love her with everything inside me. 

Happy Birthday My Love!!

 I Love You!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris and I are having an awesome time in New Orleans. The aquarium was awesome… took a bunch of pictures… and Dickie Brennan’s was incredible. What a treat! We don’t often get to eat at places like that, so it was super-fun. We even got a bananas foster bread pudding with a candle in it for our birthdays. Check out some pics from our day!

Chris and I are leaving after work today to spend the weekend in New Orleans. Our birthdays are next week and this is our present to ourselves (using birthday money we were blessed with). We are going to be staying at an incredible boutique hotel I found on Camp St. called International House Hotel. Guest rooms are loaded with amenities (like fresh flowers, Aveda products, spa-like bathrooms and free wireless internet)… plus they are decorated in monochromatic shades of taupe, tan, and white with original black & white photographs of modern, local jazz greats.

Tweezy told us about some great place to grab breakfast right by where we are staying, so we are doing that in the morning. In the afternoon, we will be going to the aquarium (yay!!!) thanks to the family membership Mom bought us. And tomorrow night we will be eating at Dickie Brennan’s steakhouse (thanks to the bill Mr. Dan so generously slipped us last night)… I can’t wait to get all dressed up and eat my multi-course meal! Sunday we will hit up Cafe Du Monde and do some shopping (my favorite part!) I mean, are we blessed or what??!! What else could a girl want- best God, best husband, best family, best church, never-ending blessings…

Ps. Dino gave two great Words today (one at staff and one at sub30) on giving God our future. I tend to be somewhat of a “control freak” and I try to plan out my life. In this many years I want to have this many kids, and I want to live in this kind of house and drive this kind of car and I want to work in this ministry. I totally needed to hear that I just need to lay all that down and work in His purposes and go where He needs me… All I need to worry about is feeding His sheep and remember it’s not about me!!! What a weight off my shoulders!

As I was driving back onto the Highland Campus property, I was overwhelmed by the construction progress. That arena gets bigger and bigger by the day, and I can just imagine the thousands of lost sheep that are going to find Christ there. I wonder what the construction workers think about all that… I wonder if they know the impact they are making for the future generations. We have let them know what it means to us, but I just wonder what it means to them. I wonder if any of them will one day get saved in the very building they constructed. I wonder if any of them will be the lost sheep we see come to Jesus under the roof that they will build. Wouldn’t that be so much like God?

(Click here to check out some awesome pictures of the building development)

I have to say… I am SO excited about the move to WordPress. I was apprehensive at first- there are thousands of options and combinations and I am not a girl with lots of computer skills- but after some exploring, I love our new blog home!! Plus, we get our very own domain name! This is just so exciting! I can’t wait to learn and grow in the land of blogging.

And props to my hubby for another great Monday post. He’s the best… and he’s really hot, too.