The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres
On Fire For Christ & Sharing Our Journey With The World
Please click the video below! Watch, pray and share! The more hands and voices to Heaven, the better!
Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
One month and counting in Maine, and we have been BUSY. Church events, planning a youth ministry from scratch and this house. Y’all. This. House. I can’t wait to share our finished product. And honestly, for the changes we are able to make now it shouldn’t be too much longer before we can do the big reveal! Wahooo!!!
One blessing, though, in our move is substantially bigger than the updates we are making toward making this house our home, and all the other activities we are involved in – it’s time with the Lord. What an extravagant gift! I’ve had the privilege to be involved in an awesome women’s Bible study (‘Breathe’ by Priscilla Shirer – it’s awesome!!), and in my read straight-thru the Bible, I have just made it through Hosea. I am loving this beautiful land. This quiet. This time.
And today, God blessed me with a Word from Him He knew I desperately needed to hear. And honestly, it’s my new favorite passage of scripture:
Healing for the Repentant
1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sins have brought you down.
2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”4 The Lord says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.
5 I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.
6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
7 My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.8 “O Israel, stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”9 Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.Hosea 14:1-9
I stand in awe. His love is extravagant. It is all we need. HE is all we need.
So many times All the time my prayers are asking and pleading and begging…and every time His answer is the same: I am the Lord Who provides.
How beautiful that His love knows no bounds!! He is even our SHADE!! (And on days as hot as today, I can fully appreciate that attribute – and I’m sure you can too!) We don’t just serve a god who makes us happy in this moment. We serve the Almighty God, the Creator who provides for our every need.
I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me. Hosea 14:8b
He asks us to follow Him, and He will provide. Stop for a moment this afternoon and reflect on that for a moment…Whatever it is you are worrying about and stressing over, give it up to God. Fully surrender to Him. He. Will. Provide.
Return…to the Lord…for your sins have brought you down…Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us [Lord], so that we may offer You our praises.
Hosea 14:1-2 (emphasis & editing mine)
Ah, it’s Wednesday – the middle of the week, and (finally) a night I get to spend with my husband – who has been in Texas more often than Georgia these past months. It’s a rare occasion to spend some good, quality time together.
Which is why last Friday night, when Craig told me he would be in Knoxville for the night – for eighteen whole entire hours, nonetheless – and staying at a pet-friendly hotel, I finished my two hour commute home from work, packed a quick overnight bag, and loaded the pups up for the three hour trip up to Knoxville, TN! I was more than happy to drive most of the night with one anxious Lucy and an impatient Caroline in the backseat if it meant I got to see my husband!
By the time I arrived, it was almost 11pm but we were lucky enough to find a neat little place to grab some dinner within walking distance – The Downtown Grill & Brewery.
After dinner and our short walk back, we settled in with HGTV and FoodNetwork – our television staples…like an old married couple. 🙂 Luckily, the hotel even had a dog park for the pups to run off some of their pent-up energy – so sweet Craig had somewhere to take them when Lucy woke us up, restless, at 4am! #lifeasafurparent
The next day we got up and discovered a little bit more of the Knoxville downtown area, when we walked to have brunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe and opted to sit outside and people watch.
The food was pretty delicious, I must say and the weather was just beautiful, but it’s safe to say my brunch date stole the show for me! 🙂
It’s really a pity…but right after brunch we had to return to the hotel, retrieve the pups and Craig loaded me into the car – he headed back to being Captain Lefebvre, and I made the pretty little drive back to Georgia.
I spent Sunday with my sweet parents who I realized I hadn’t seen since Christmas! I couldn’t believe it! Time really does fly…and we sure have been busy! Sometimes it is so refreshing to relax from all of the hustle and bustle…but then, I feel like, we would never see anyone at all! 🙂
Two weekends ago, I visited one of my best friends and her daughter (our Goddaughter), Willa. We hadn’t seen her since right after her first birthday, about five months before, and all of a sudden she is a beautiful little girl – no more baby!!!
I wish we could spend as much time with everyone as we’d like to… 
We may be busy all the time, but it is such a blessing to be able to see our dear friends and family, and spend quality time together, when it’s possible.
🙂 And now for an exciting night in with my wonderful husband and our furs!
I know, I know. I definitely ruined any hope of keeping my New Year’s resolution of daily blogging in tact with my lack of posts this past week and a half!!
I don’t even have much of an excuse…so…please forgive me? 😉
Since I’ve last blogged, we have been all over the place – from Georgia to Maine, with Craig in Texas and juts in and out of Massachusetts. Here are the highlights:
We visited Maine, by way of Boston, once again! This time around, I got to see several of my former Youth Group members!
This group (and those who aren’t pictured) is what I miss most about Maine! It was so awesome to see them and reconnect!
As always, especially in Maine, we ate very well! We had the chance to revisit another of our favorite restaurants – Snow Squall. YUM!!
We worshipped at Cross Church the next morning, and then ate lunch at Robert’s Maine Grill – I totally blew my regimented eating plan and splurged on a Lobster Roll….Totally worth every single consequence!
Since flying back to Atlanta, it’s been mostly business as usual… With a little bit of Valentine’s adventure thrown in… 😉
My husband sent the most beautiful flowers to my office!! If you ever need flowers in the Atlanta area, Blooms of Dunwoody should be your go-to. Craig uses them every. time. #goodman
He sent me out for a much-needed mani/pedi on Saturday morning, and we had a delicious and romantic dinner at Chequer’s Steak & Seafood. Recently, I have been on a seafood kick – The Metformin I’m taking has really done a number on the list of food aversions I have, and seafood is one of the only things I can stand to eat!
After church on Sunday morning, Craig took me on a beautiful drive up into the North Georgia Mountains, where we ate some yummy sushi and ended up at Yonah Mountain Vineyards!!
Oh my goodness…GORGEOUS!!!! In short, our Valentine’s weekend was just wonderful and the perfect time to celebrate the amazing blessing the Lord has given us in our marriage!
So see? Maybe we have been a little bit busy gallivanting all over, since I have been blog-absent… Forgive me? 😉
See you tomorrow!! (Promise!)
Happy Mid-Week Everyone!
Craig left for Texas this morning, but we have a special weekend away planned, and I just can’t wait!! #2DaysUntilFriday
Last night, we went to the movies and saw The Boy.
I love a good scary movie every now and then, and this one definitely had a twist at the end I didn’t see coming. Poor Craig’s hand is probably numb today from my squeezing it so tightly at the theatre last night! If you’re looking for a jolt, this is your movie.
In other news, we all know I love cooking and baking…and trying to make either of those things as healthy as possible is one thing I love to be challenged with! So, this week, I made SuperMan Breakfast Bars with coconut flour and all-natural clover honey for Craig to have a healthy, but travel-ready breakfast to bring on his trips.
SuperMan Breakfast Bars
These are SUPER simple, and according to my husband, extra yummy – not to mention healthy!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Preheat oven to 350*, and line a smaller baking dish with parchment paper. (Hint: You can make it a lot easier on yourself by spraying the dish with non-stick spray for to make the parchment stick.) In one bowl, combine coconut flour, salt, baking soda soda, coconut flakes, nuts, flax and blueberries. In another bowl, combine butter, honey and vanilla. Once well combined, pour dry ingredients into wet and mix well. Press into baking dish on parchment, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, place into refrigerator to chill (at least 2 hours), and then cut into squares to serve. These can be kept fresh for about a week in a zip-lock bag, refrigerated.
If you try them, let us know what you think! I have found ‘sugar-free honey’ at Aldi, and can’t wait to try this recipe for myself – Insulin Resistant Style! 🙂
Y’all have a wonderful Wednesday!!
Much Love,
Hola Friends!
As we mentioned yesterday, things have been busy with our recent trip to Maine & Minnesota! Craig was in recurrent training literally until hours of when we flew out, so we definitely hustled to make it on time!
In Maine, we met with some folks who are quickly becoming extremely good friends of ours who pastor Cross Church Maine.
Those of us who reside in either the Southern or the Midwestern United States cannot grasp the need for evangelization in New England… A Gallup poll from 2012 shows the four (4) least religious states in the country are all located in New England – so the work that our friends, Dr. Aaron & Kathy Werner, are doing to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Maine is absolutely paramount! Check out this article by Ruth Graham about the need for re-evangelizing the historic birthplace of Christianity in our country – It’s quite eye-opening!
Once we left Maine, we headed to see our Minnesota family and, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
We visited the Como Zoo & Conservatory, where the flowers were BEAUTIFUL and the monkeys were too fast for me to snap a photo of!
We also saw the show ‘Jerusalem’ at the IMAX Omni Theatre at the Science Museum in St. Paul. It was breathtaking!
What a wonderful little getaway that ended way too quickly!!
I did come home to a fabulous surprise, though! If you didn’t see/notice this on Facebook this morning, I am one of 45 women across the country who is so blessed to be a contributor to a devotional about infertility, and the book, “Anchored In Hope” by Ali Forrest is for sale on Amazon! We will be running a giveaway soon for the book, but if you or anyone you know deals with (or has dealt with) infertility, this would be the perfect gift – for both of you! Sometimes those of us with an ‘invisible’ disease feel incredibly alone in dealing and coping with it…It’s a beautiful thing to know that this entire book was compiled by women who contributed their stories out of experience!
Well, y’all, I need to wrap things up so I can bid my precious husband farewell! He’s heading to Texas this evening for the rest of the week. 😦 #boohiss
Until Tomorrow!! We send our love!
Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week! I woke up this morning hoping it was Saturday as I looked at my alarm clock, buzzing like a madman. I don’t think I will ever get used to waking up before the sun!
Alas, Craig and I have enjoyed the whole week together and when I haven’t been working or commuting, we have relished every second. This past weekend we saw the new movie, “The Revenant“…
Honestly…I don’t even know how to ‘review’ this movie experience…except to say two things:
Apparently, the movie is based on a true story…and when you see it…you’ll perhaps understand why that is so shocking…Goodness, I am getting shivery just thinking about it…
Please, let me be frank – this is NOT a horror film, nor is it scary…It is just…indescribable, and has an incredible message, I feel, woven within…
Other than our cinematic experience, our weekend was pretty tame. Craig and I ventured into some thrift shops (my fave!) and hardware stores (his fave!) and even made it to JoAnn Fabrics, in preparation for my new sewing and embroidery machine:
Eeeek! We haven’t had much time to experiment, yet!, but I have already delved into one project, and am next interested in converting a pair of huge jeans that I bought thinking they were men’s for Craig…only to discover they were a pair of plus size women’s jeans…which obviously neither of us can wear… LOL… So – On to reinventing into “skinny jeans” – which Pinterest claims is really simple… We shall see!! 🙂
Otherwise it’s been work work work around the Lefebvre home! We are preparing to take a little trip next week – beginning in Maine and ending in Minnesota! There are bound to be pictures to come!
Keep my precious Mama Dee (my mother’s mother) in your prayers, blog-family. In recent weeks, she has undergone a THIRD knee surgery since shattering her patella in November. Prayers for healing, peace, patience and comfort are so very appreciated.
And finally, I want to leave you on this ‘What’s Up Wednesday?’ with a beautiful article concerning God’s design for marriage.
“A Last Name Says Alot” by Jasmine Holmes
Take a moment and read and think on Jasmine’s words…We have a Father in Heaven who LOVES us!!
Well, back to work! Until tomorrow!
It’s been a little while since we shared a ‘What’s Up Wednesday’ with y’all…
Partially, that’s because much of our current season of life has been about waiting in prayer. Waiting for Jonah. Waiting to proceed with the adoption process. Waiting on the Lord’s leading. Waiting…
Part of me feels as if at least a portion of our wait is over. We are ready to take on the next journey at our feet! But in the meantime…
My precious husband took me to see The Nutcracker performed by the Atlanta Ballet at The Fabulous Fox Theatre. It was wonderful! I have wanted to see this ballet in person since childhood, so this truly was a dream come true – Craig’s pretty good about making that happen for me! 😉
Right after this, we also had the pleasure of ‘baby’sitting for our fur-nephew, Copper. He’s my brother and his girlfriend’s precious pup, and made fast friends with his fur-cousins, Lucy & Caroline – Especially Lucy. Those two were peas in a pod, for sure!!! Aunt Pier sure was excited that Lucy had someone to play with non-stop, so that she and Caroline could relax and enjoy some good ol’ tv in peace! 🙂
Christmas 2015 was a glorious one, as well. It’s always wonderful to spend time with our families – and our celebration is only halfway over! We enjoyed Christmas Day with our Georgia Family, and travel to Minnesota to see our family there this month!!
Of course the furs enjoyed Christmas, as well! Pardon the blurry picture…but this is an action shot of Lucy Goose playing her favorite game of tug-of-war with one of her favorite Christmas gifts – The Red Snake. When she isn’t tugging her precious little heart out, she is dragging the fluffy rope-snake around in her mouth like a toddler with a ‘blankie’. She is TRULY adorable.
Her sisters, Caroline & Miss Daisy, are not to be outdone, though! They merely consider themselves to be older and wiser than little Lucy, and thoroughly relished in the opportunity the holidays allowed them to spend more time snuggling with Mommy & Daddy.
I can’t say we minded any of it one little bit.
Well, you can cross this off of your list for today. You’re all caught up on our lives. 😉 How were your holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s?
Are you a worrier? Do you lie awake at night processing every.single.thing. that could possibly go awry? When you pray, do you omit certain requests because you worry that God might actually say ‘Yes’, or perhaps, that if His Will really is done in your life, things might get uncomfortable?
I’ve been there. I’ve prayed, “God, please let Your Will be done in my life…but…please, let it include this and not that…”
But today, as I was reading Beth Moore on my train ride to work (another story in and of itself), something so simple (and yet so profound) dawned on me:
You see, my issue is not in saying YES to following Him. My issue is in saying YES and then freaking out over how everything is going to work out. I know that it will work out…it’s just the process in getting from Point A to Point B.
Here’s an excerpt from Beth Moore’s book ‘Jesus’:
“Could a teenager have fathomed that she was to give birth to the Son who was the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being? (Heb. 1:3) Perhaps Mary’s age was on her side. When my two daughters were teenagers, and when they would tell me something, I always had more questions than they had answers. I’d say, ‘Did you ask this question?’ to which they’d invariably say, ‘No ma’am. Never even occurred to me.’ I want to know every detail. They were too young to realize any were missing!
Mary only asked the one question. When all was said and done, her solitary reply was: ‘I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38) The Greek word for servant is doule, which is the feminine equivalent to doulos, a male bondservant. In essence, Mary was saying, ‘Lord, I am Your handmaid. Whatever You want, I want.’ Total submission. No other questions.”
Luke 1:45 tells us, in reference to Mary, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” When we are totally sold out to the Lord, we believe wholeheartedly – no details needed. We say YES, resoundingly, because we know Him and we know He takes care of all the details.
Have you ever heard the saying, “If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it”?
It’s true. When you are following His Will, He will supply your every need – not your every want, but your every single need.
One of the most heartwarming portions of Scripture follows below:
I get chills just thinking about it. He has a grand plan for your life and not only that, He supplies everything you need to follow His Will. If He calls you to youth ministry, you don’t have to worry about a job search – He will lead you right to the church doors. If He calls you to be a wife, He will supply the very best husband for the job. If He calls you to share the gospel, He will lead you to an ear that needs to hear. And as long as you are following Him (‘Only aim at and strive for and seek His kingdom, and all these things shall be supplied to you also.’ – vs. 31), everything thing you need in between will be supplied.
You see, we don’t serve a God who sits high upon His throne and waves an angry scepter at His servants. We serve the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Who desires a personal relationship with each and every one of His children – a relationship so personal that He not only KNOWS your needs, but provides for them, too.
So there’s no need to lose sleep at night. Your Father in Heaven has you in the palm of His Hand.
Today’s post doesn’t fit in any little category…Not Thirsty For Christ Thursday, not What’s Up Wednesday…Perhaps, I should just call today Catch-All Thursday – Because there’s a lot going on with this post-er’s brain today and I’m gracing you with my presence and scatter-brained monologue.
You’re Welcome.
Someone Several of you have reached out to me, oh so sweetly, and said you miss the regular posting on this blog. I can’t tell you how much that warms my little heart. Thank you for the love and for sharing it with me! Sometimes the day just gets away from me…Ever happen to YOU? 🙂
So to catch you up on the Lifestyles of the Not-so-Newlywed Lefebvres, we shall begin with Minnesota. You all know we traveled to Minnesota for the baptism of our beautiful Goddaughter, Charleigh Mae:
Miss Charleigh is so adorable! We are so excited to watch her grow up and honored to be her ‘spiritual parents’. If you haven’t had a chance to read about the absolute miracle that Charleigh is, go back to this post to read Dani’s story!
While in Minnesota, we also got to spend time with our beautiful little niece, Eden:
Isn’t she just precious?? I’ll give you one guess as to who bought her that shirt… 😉 It might just have been a Georgia grad and her husband. 🙂
Miss Eden particularly liked her Uncle Craig – She just couldn’t take her big beautiful eyes off of him – I don’t blame her! 😉
We took some fun family shots will we were up north, too:
We also made a trip to the Foshay Tower in Downtown Minneapolis, which is an especially special spot since that’s where Craig’s grandfather proposed to his grandmother. #swoon
While we were there, we found this vintage photo:
And decided to re-create it, with a modern touch:
I don’t think it’s half bad! 🙂
Since we have been home from Hawaii and Minnesota, our enormous moving truck from Maine arrived – We are officially completely in Georgia! Although, in our tiny rental house, we are overgrown with boxes now and have completely filled one room from floor to ceiling with boxes, not to mention the entire garage, all the closets, and one POD – which is now at the storage facility. I just keep telling myself…In less than a year, God-Willing, we will be alllll settled down in one place.
We celebrated a little bit by returning to the restaurant Craig and I went to on our third date…
I’m so glad we made it past that third date…not our best. 🙂 I truly married the most amazing man in the universe! #sorryladies
And when we haven’t been busy, we have been thoroughly enjoying the arrival of our treasured bikes from Maine! Yay!!
We did 16 miles this past Sunday, in under 2 hours. Not bad for the ‘non-serious’ casual bicyclists.
And I’ve been baking/cooking, too:
I made this lasagna from scratch (well, the noodles came from a box – but otherwise…) for Craig to take on this week’s trip. I just love to cook! I wish I had more time to do it and more calories to devote to eating the food I make!!! #alas
And this past weekend, Craig finally got to join my side of the family for University of Georgia Homecoming to enjoy his first ever SEC Football experience and Georgia game! We had an absolute blast!
Daddy & Craig 🙂
Mama & her BFF from Law School – in deep legal discussion, I’m sure! 😉 #precious
My little brother & his lovely girlfriend
And us! 🙂 (Notice the super enthusiastic man behind us… #photobomb)
And in other news, I spoke last night to a beautiful group of women at St. Francis Catholic Church in Cartersville, Georgia. Honestly, I just love love love sharing my faith journey with other people! If you are part of a group you’d like me to speak to, just send me a message! You can visit my ‘website’ here for more information, and links to some recent events.
Well, I think you’re now all caught up with us. 🙂 I promise to be better at blogging in 2016. I’m excited to put all of our suitcases away (and boxes too, soon!) and begin to nest again, as we get fully settled back in Georgia.
The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres 
You must be logged in to post a comment.