best day of the year.

Twenty-five years ago, my gracious God breathed life into the man I'm blessed to spend my days + nights with. I may not have been born yet, but November 19, 1988 is my favorite day in history. It's not every day your crush + boyfriend + fancy + best friend + husband + dream come true is welcomed into the world, you know. The Lord broke the mold when he made Troy Jerome Bargeron, and it's seriously the best to be celebrating my handsome fella's birthday with him for eleventh straight year.

On this day, as every other day, it is my prayer that Teesh would know how much he is loved by so, so many people. His selflessness + forgiveness + generosity + willingness + growth increase daily, and his heart is the most beautiful heart I know. It's my hope each day that he would embrace the love of our Father so that he can give it out to everyone he meets.

If you know my Teesh, let me assure you of something: you are blessed. If you don't know my Teesh, he's worth the initial hello and every hello that follows. There is no one more faithful than my Teesh, even when the world turns its back on him, and he looks more and more like Jesus every single day. I love the man he has become since first meeting him twelve years ago, and I love the fact that he's not done yet. Having a front row seat into the blessed life of my precious husband as I try my best to encourage him every step of the way is the best. So much more than I could have ever dreamed up on my own.

Happy birthday, Teesh! You're probably shaking your head to every word I've just written, but trust me when I say this: it's all true. You are treasured by this crazy girl, and I love loving you. Welcome to your twenty-fifth year! Celebrate being halfway to fifty all day long, old man. :)

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for [you], I always pray with joy...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"

Philippians 1:3,4,6

dupont state forest.

Two days ago, Teesh and I adventured to North Carolina to explore DuPont State Forest. It was a cool November morning, but the uphill trail quickly warmed us up. Breaking numerous "do not enter" rules helped get our body temperatures up, too. Shhhh! Triple Falls + High Falls + Hooker Falls were absolutely, positively beautiful, and we enjoyed ourselves so, so much. It, also, pumped us up to be in the famous filming location for Hunger Games. All in all, it was a splendid morning spent in our gracious Lord's creation, and, as usual, we're already looking forward to the next time we get to see a new part of this gorgeous place we call home.

fire.

The Bargerons have a firepit! The Bargerons have a firepit!

So, when are you coming over? :)

longing.

Our lives are probably a lot alike in many ways. We have good days and bad days, and we probably like + prefer the good days over the bad. Some days feel like a roller coaster where some parts of the day seem like you'e on top of the world, and then at a moment's notice, you're in the pits. Some of us are planners, needing every second of every hour planned out, while others of us run from any form of organization. We probably have a family we're thankful for, whether by blood of by common ground, and stillness + quiet is probably appreciated a lot after a gathering. We all have a job, whether it's in an office, classroom, car, or at home. Some of us work for money, and others of us work for fun and money just happens to come along with it. Some of us are fortunate enough to have never known disappointment and failure, and others are fortunate to have known both yet still courageously embrace each new day. Some of you, I may know quite well, and others I may not know at all. Regardless of our relationship, I know something about each of you; it is a truth that I know + believe about myself, as well. We are LOVED + FORGIVEN + INVITED to share in ETERNITY with our Creator. The Lover of our souls. Our sweet Hope. You may be tempted to stop reading now that my thesis has been delivered, but I hope you won't. Be encouraged to keep scrolling as I tell you about my God, the One who granted me freedom from the bondage of sin.

There are many people I am inspired by, but none so much as David. The Creator of Heaven and Earth acknowledged him as a man after His own heart, which tells of his devotion to his God. I often wonder what the Lord would say about me, and I pray that I would wake up every day and live like David did. When there was no one to trust, he didn't give up; he trusted in his Father knowing full well that He was the only One worthy of trust. David praised the Lord as he was being hunted by King Saul, and his heart broke when he realized he had broken the heart of his God. He wrote psalms of praise and danced in the presence of the Lord, and even the psalms he wrote in anguish still concluded with giving God glory. I want that. I want to look right into the face of evil and proclaim the faithfulness and sovereignty of my God. I want to tell the world of His strength and love (Psalm 62:11).

Like David, I mess up. A lot. The cool part? The grace of God covers it all. Everything I have every done and will do is covered by the grace granted to me by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 8 tells us that Jesus freed us from condemnation and brought us from death to life with Him. So if he died for all, you may be wondering, we're all good, right? Skip ahead to Romans 10: Paul tells us that we must confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead. He goes on to say that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Saying you believe and truly believing are two different things, and only one leads to life. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God says that He looks at the heart of man, not how we appear to the eye. With belief come repentance, as both John the Baptist + Jesus Christ proclaimed throughout their ministry (Matthew 3:2 + Mark 1:14). He loves us, extends His grace out to us, and offers us life eternal in His presence; He leaves it in our hands though. His offer is up for grabs, but so few lay claim to the victory over death He gives.

Every time I read Matthew 7:15-23, my heart aches and my stomach gets queasy. Most of us don't realize the weight of the truth in those verses. Do we really care about the fruit we bear? Many times, we spend more time comparing our fruit to the fruit of others rather than trying to better the quality of our own. We say "Well, my sin + struggle isn't as bad as that person's," and we continue is what entangles us. Right before Jesus speaks about fruit, He tells of the narrow gate + the wide gate. Coincidence? Absolutely not. The fruit we bear determines the path we're on. Too often we choose shame over forgiveness. Paul writes on 2 Corinthians 5:20 that "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Those who are hidden with Christ are made righteous in the presence of the Father because of His love for us.

My prayer is simple. That we would embrace the love poured out on us and proclaim, with joy, this beautiful truth in 1 John 3:1: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" That we would become a people after God's own heart.

What will your response be to His call?

birthday explorations.

On Saturday, the beautiful Melanie Joy Pineros, better known as P. Sawyer, welcomed the start of her twenty-fifth year. Our adventures were simple-yet-blessed, and they were all saturated in the rest of our Lord. We explored His creation and thanked Him constantly for our friendship that is so, so treasured by both of us. I enjoyed our time together, as I always do, and it was such a blessing to be totally surrounded by so much of my Father's beautiful handiwork, especially the birthday girl. I'm telling y'all right now, if this lady's next twenty-five years are even a fraction of what her first twenty-five years have been, this whole world will be turned upside down for good because of her.

halloween on brookdale.

'Twas a splendid second Halloween at the Bargeron Bungalow. We got visits from family, friends, neighbors, and even students! Days that overwhelm with joy are my favorite, and this was definitely one of those days. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams, and my heart is so, so thankful. I'm already looking forward to our next Halloween on Brookdale in anticipation of them getting better and better each year!

halloween partay.

Ms. Anna's class knows how to party, there's no doubt about that, and this Halloween was no different! We came to school dressed up in costumes, played all day, sang spoooooooky songs as we played, partied like it was 1999, danced until we dropped, and even had a special visitor while we partied. Anytime Mr. Teeshy Weeshy comes to play for a while is always so much fun! I'm tellin' ya, nobody does it like my big boys and girls do. Goodness gracious, I love my kiddos!