Faith For Her by Katie Nguyen

So grateful for the leadership of our church to lead with humility and a desire for God above all else! @saddlebackchurch encountered the living God in a powerful way this week. After 3 days of worship, repentance, prayer, and God’s word He honored our hearts desire to see more of him in this generation. There are no words for the joy the Holy Spirit poured out in the room on everyone! All ages, stages, walks of life, Jesus is after all of us to turn our hearts to him. He has so much more for us, it’s time! @stacie_wood and @pastorandywood this is just the beginning. Thank you for being obedient.

Nothing like a beach day. Salty breeze, toes in the water, seaweed discoveries, dolphin and pelican watching, and sketching while my boys play catch is so good for my soul.

When was the last time you were captivated by Jesus’ willing sacrifice on your behalf? I encountered a piece of art recently that brought me to tears as I was reminded of how Jesus bore the punishment of my sin, willingly, without complaint, without waver. My heart sighed as I gazed upon His face in this painting, “Lord, who am I that you should do this for me?” And it sang the same. This bitter sweet exchange of our Savior’s sacrifice in order to make us right with God is baffling, which is what makes it glorious.

It’s the simple things. My son made me a valentine and I have 3 days to anticipate what he wrote. Stay tuned..,

When the spirit moves and your neighbor and his wife decide to get baptized on the spot. I just happened to be in the second row to get it on video. God is on the move! This neighbor taught Jude how to pitch and when I showed Jude the video he said, “No way? That is so cool. So he’s surrendered to God now, that’s awesome.” @douglasjjones that second invite is powerful! Thank you! @saddlebackchurch @pastorandywood @stacie_wood thanks for being sensitive to the spirit and doing baptisms this weekend. #moveofgod #godisonthemove #lovemyneighbors #sodoesjesus

What if we spread more ideas about family and nurturing, God fearing homes being the foundation of society? What if we made that go viral? And just as a little thread of gold, running through a fabric, brightens the whole garment, so women’s work at home, while only the doing of little things, is like the golden gleam of sunlight that runs through and brightens all the fabric of civilization.” —Laura Ingalls Wilder⁣

Christmas is a beginning not an end. It’s not the day we wrap up the season and put it away but rather the springing forth of new light! Now that is something to linger in, and here in the Nguyen house, we do. For twelve days we reflect on Christ’s birth and what that means for us. We celebrate that love came down. We leave up lights and light more candles to remind us that the light of the world is with us! And then I do a slow roll of taking down more decor slowly, first the trees, then the house lights, then the nativities get tucked away as we move through the liturgy of the church calendar and then before we know it the season will be upon us again to prepare our hearts to wait for and celebrate our Savior. My resolution this year is simple, continue in the simple rhythms our Heavenly Father has given us, keep trying to love more like Jesus, keep taking steps to care for this fleshly temple he has given me, to be at peace with myself, others, and my God. Happy New Year, friends.

In the hustle we tend to look down, at our to do lists, our gifts to wrap, the house to clean, the food to prepare…and as our eyes look down our hearts drag down and overwhelm sets in. But Jesus came so that we could have life abundant! Look up, friend! The light is there! Your joy is in the heavens not in checked off boxes in a to do list. Let it go. Grab the hands of those you love and look up.

The best ever date with my boy! We had a magical “snowy dinner”, rode his first rollercoaster together, gifted fast pass tickets that were gifted to us and smiled together at the happiness of two teen boys over such a small gesture, saw two shows (gift of the magi and snoopy on ice), then shut the night down with a last ride with all the employees, but the best part was how we kept grinning at each other and saying, “I’m having so much fun!” That night at home he looked at me and said, “Mom, why do we love each other so much? I mean I don’t love anyone like I love you. Why did God make it that way?” To which I replied, “because He loves me too.” This memory will always be a gift from a gracious God to a loving mother.