Sincerley....

Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning....

Guess why I'm in a good mood?!

BECAUSE this morning I had to put on a long sleeve and my slippers while I made breakfast and cleaned up the house! Yay Fall! Nevermind that now my feet are slightly sweaty and my sleeves are rolled up, I still deem it a Fall day.

And now QUICK! Micah's morning nap is quickly diminishing so I only have one hour to babble about who knows what to who knows who (besides my mom, Hi Mom......)

But with all sincerity, what has been heavy on my heart is... sincerity.

Does anyone have it down? If so I would lu-uve to sit and have a Skinny Chai Tea Latte....Grande, with you and learn your ways. Because sincere is something I long to be.

Conversely, one of the last things I ever want to be described as is insincere.

Sincere, by definition, means "Free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings."

It's from the Latin, sincerus which means whole, or pure.

The most important place to be sincere?

Before God.

I have long struggled with straightening my tie, if you will, before I come to God. Or tucking in my shirt tail. Often I like to clean up and fix my sin before I begin to pray. THEN God will be so impressed with my godliness and my heart for him....

But I am finding much blessing in whole, genuine, messy presentations before Him. The times where I can say to Him,

"God, I'm not feeling it."

"God, I'm ticked off."

"God, I hurt so much I don't even want to pray."

"God, I'm so distracted by this falsely satisfying world that I don't feel like giving you this time."

Because sincerity before Him is like a highway to refinement.

It cuts through a bunch of steps, a bunch of half hearted prayers and attitudes, and allows His loving heart to get through to mine.

Pronto.

It seems to open my eyes to my stubborn independent efforts to hold of God from really working in my heart. It opens to ears to hear His promises to me, his desires for me.

For those who feel far away from God, I encourage you to give up. Quit trying to pull yourself together. Leave the shirt tail out. And come to the God who loves you as you are. Jump on this highway of sincerity and you will quickly find yourself nearing a place of healing, restoration, and purpose.

Only If You Are Bored....

50 Things about Me.

Because my big sister did this and sometimes I copy her, just like when we were little....

Warning: If you are reading this, you are bored. Go find a hobby friends. :)

1. I'm left handed.

2. I prefer my hair be called 'strawberry blonde.' It is far more appealing than 'RED HEAD.'

3. I'm an ER nurse, which is my dream job #1.

4. My other job I wanna be when I grow up is a school nurse/health teacher/coach.

5. I'm married to the funniest man on the planet.

6. I have an unusually long torso. Like my dad. Thanks Dad.

7. I love mornings, I love getting as much as possible done before ten.

8. Besides Matt, my siblings are my best friends. I have 2 sisters, Rachel and Ruthann, and one brother, Ryan.

9. I love goals. I'm kinda obsessed with goals. I set yearly goals, monthly goals, weekly, etc....I set physical, spiritual, domestic, and even 'social' goals. :)

10. I'm horrible at keeping in touch with friends from the past, even if they still mean a lot to me.

11. Sundays are my favorite day of the week and always have been. When I was in high school I would pop out of bed and put on Keith Green's Greatest Hits CD. My sisters hated that.

12. I had no idea Matt's proposal was coming...I have never been more surprised in my life! But he knew I needed to be unplanned for once...:)

13. I still consider myself the middle child, even though Ryan came along.

14. I was Iowa's Junior Miss. For more information, contact Shari Hamby.

15. I loved high school.

16. I loved playing sports competitively. I would go back to that part of high school in a second.

17. I'm cheap. I can talk myself out of buying anything.

18. I love to cook, bake, and host.

19. I am introspective.

20. I don't have a lot of confidence at work. Some shifts I still feel like a new grad because there is so much to learn.

21. I knew I wanted to be a youth pastor's wife from the time I was 14. Boo-yah.

22. I don't like to sit still.

23. I talk to my mom and sisters almost every single day.

24. I'm way too emotional. And have to process about lots of things out loud. Luckily I have a very gracious husband.

25. When I was in 4th and 5th grade, I was determined to be the first female in the NBA. And I was mad at my dad for not 'trying out.'

26. I don't wear accessories. I don't know what to do with them.

27. I pretty much just wear my sister's hand-me-downs.

28. I used to think that hand-me-downs where called "Hamby-downs." (my maiden name) And by 'used to' I mean until I was 17 years old. Whateva...

29. I'm living vicariously through my little brother's sports. He is such a stud. Let's just say I'm glad my athletic career was before his or I wouldn't have been considered an athlete.

30. I love hymns.

31. I was an all-state euphonium player in high school. I still think that was a mistake....

32. I tan farely well for a red head, er...I mean strawberry blonde...head.

33. I love, love, love quiet times with my Lord. They are my high light of each day.

34. I love being involved at church. I love junior high and high school girls.

35. My parents have an incredible marriage that I desire to emulate.

36. I'm so very proud of my husband for getting his Masters.

37. I pray my brains out for my little guy to come to Jesus and to love and serve Him passionately.

38. My best friend growing up was my cat, Mittens. He was trained like a dog and was absolutely perfect.

39. Now I have a wonderful dog, DeWayne. DeWayne is named after D-Wade of the Heat, but Matt wanted to spell it appropriately for his....skin tone. DeWayne.

40. I work really hard at being sincere, and always want to improve on that.

41. I love to watch movies with Matt. I can't wait till his school is over so we can do more of that.

42. Sometimes I accidently kinda make goals for Matt too. That doesn't go very well.

43. Someday, I would love to speak/teach a conferences for girls/women. Lord willing...

44. I wasn't a fan of natural labor. But I'll do it again.

45. I married a mascot.

46. I'm kinda really into BabyWise.

47. I prefer salty over sweet any day.

48. I love my church, Mission Hills. I have been blessed to go to so many focused, godly churches.

49. I want so much for my husband to come home to home that is comforting, welcoming, joyful, and restful.

50. It's ten and I still have things to do. :)