The Gospel

John Piper had this to say a couple days ago on his Desiring God website. I love the wisdom this man has and the challenges he puts out to Christians. Read it and tell me what you think..

(Author: John Piper)

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

• grace gets bigger;
• Christ gets greater;
• his death gets more wonderful;
• his resurrection gets more astonishing;
• the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
• the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
• its global extent gets wider;
• your own sin gets uglier;
• the devil gets more evil;
• the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
• its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
• and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won't. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The Time

I was reminded this weekend just how fast life goes by. We celebrated my grandmothers 91^st birthday on Friday night. She has had a wonderful life, and she is still going strong. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be at that age but I am so thankful that Grandmommy is still here! Thank you Lord for blessing us all with her life! Happy Birthday Grandmommy!

I also got to see my youngest sister go to prom! Katie looked beautiful as always and it was a real joy to watch her get all dolled up. It seems like yesterday I was going to prom…oh how the time flies by!

I also got to spend time with my little Bryanna (she is on my hip in the picture) and I just love her and miss her so much. Every time I go up to Birmingham she always has something new to tell me and always a new game! This was one of the hardest times though that I ever had leaving her. She just cried and was so upset and didn't want her howie to leave...I cried too. I wish I was in her life everyday, I guess it will only get harder as she grows. But the good news is that she knows her aunt howie and loves her!!

Welcome to the world!!!

Two great friends just had their babies! Welcome to the world Charleigh and Ava Greer!

Meredith and Bo Mobley, friends from church, had Charleigh Marie on Thursday at 7:20 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds 1 oz and was 17 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful and The Mobley's were so excited to add their second child into their family. Meredith is excited about coming home on Saturday!


Lacey and Heath Hughes, friends from college, had Ava Greer on Wednesday at 4:33 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds 15 oz and was 21 inches long. They are thrilled to have their first child. Lacey is going to bee be a wonderful mom. You can check out her blog by clicking here.

Both mommy's and babies are doing great!

My Blog Reader

I like to follow a number of blogs to stay up to date with friends, relatives and even the latest fashion, tips on being a great wife and numerous other topics. So I decided rather than going to each blog to see if there was anything new out I would get me a google reader. It's great because I just sign in to google reader and read all the new post each day.
But here is my complaint, I can't comment on the blogs from my google reader. If I wanted to comment I would have to go to the bloggers page and comment. I think that is crazy!! What is the purpose of having this reader if I can't interact with it! Come on you smart, techy people at Google! Can't you figure out a way for me to read and comment in my reader??
Please work on this to make my life (and maybe some other bloggers) even more easier!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today is a special day for two special people in my life...my little sister Katie and my niece Bryanna. It's their birthday!

It seems like yesterday I was rocking Katie to sleep or playing Barbies, or swimming in the pool at BB and granddaddy's house but today she is 17 years old! We still share special memories but I am reminded today of how fast life goes by. She has grown up so fast and is so beautiful, I know she will change this world and make it a better place in her future! Happy Birthday Kaite-Bug...I love you!

Now on to little Bryanna. She is an adorable two year old today! The first two years of her life have been so sweet. She is a lot like by brother when he was a child. Loves to play outside, eat dog food and get really dirty! She does have the Kemp temper though! (Unfortunately a lot of us carry this around) I love being an aunt to her and I wish I could be in her life more, I try as hard as I can to spoil her while I can...I can't wait to see her and give her presents this Saturday at her birthday party! Happy Birthday Bry Bry...Aunt Hollie loves you!!

Half Marathon Race

It is finished! I ran and finished my first ever half marathon this past weekend! Our friends Jamie and Claire along with some friends from church all went down to Seaside, FL to run in the half marathon. While the rest of the south was getting snow we were at a very windy and cool beach, running our hearts out! I really did not start feeling bad until mile 10, that is when I got a horrible cramp in my stomach which slowed me down. But needless to say I finished in 2 hours and 33 minutes (with the Lord's help)! I hope to do it again next year but my goal will be 2 hours and 15 minutes!
The whole weekend was fun and we enjoyed being in Seaside, just a cute town!

Recap...

So it is the end of February and I haven't posted a blog since December! The time has just flew by!

Here is an update:

January:

Tax's, Tax's and more Tax's!! My main focus this month was to get the church's 2008 tax's, W-2's and 1099 forms filed and sent out along with all the tithing contribution statements. Needless to say I had no idea what I was doing but the Lord helped me through it all! They are all signed, sealed and delivered!

I got to go to the Celine Dion concert in Birmingham with my two sisters, step-mom and aunt! It was a lot of fun and Celine was beautiful! I had tons of flash backs to my dancing days and wish I would have done a solo to one of here songs"Because you loved me"...I would have dedicated it to my Nana.

Our women's retreat caped the month off "Connect 09" It was so fun and I got to learn some really interested things: my personality type, how to be ministry focused in everyday life and how important it is to take care of our bodies (thanks Jenny Hord)! Jennifer our pastors wife did an amazing job with planning every detail and I am so lucky to be able to work with her. Great job Jenn!

February:

I recommitted to my eating/weight loss program this month. So far I have lost 34 pounds but stopped trying when the holidays came so I am back on the program with 25 more to loose! I'll keep up posted.

Robby was, as always, Mr. Romantic for Valentine's! We had a nice relaxing night in and he made a great dinner that he found of the Olive Garden's website. See below:

Roast Pork Loin with Grapes and Wine

Ingredients

3 tsp garlic, chopped

3 Tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 lbs center-cut boneless pork loin

1 cup dry white wine

1 lb red & white seedless grapes

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 375º F.
COMBINE garlic, sage, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp of oil in mixing bowl; evenly coat pork loin.
COAT large baking pan with 2 Tbsp of oil. Place pork loin in baking pan; cover pan with aluminum foil. Place in oven and roast for approximately 10-15 minutes per pound or until temperature reaches 155º F (medium well).
REMOVE foil; roast additional 15 minutes or until well-browned. Remove pork loin from pan and place on cutting board. Let stand for 10 minutes.
PLACE pan used to roast pork on stovetop over medium heat. Add wine. Using spatula, scrape bottom of pan to release drippings. Add grapes; cook until soft and wine is reduced by half.
SLICE pork loin into 1/2” slices and place on serving platter. Pour grapes and sauce over pork. Serve immediately.

It was great and we enjoyed hanging out together!

Of course the big event for February was getting ready to run the Sea Side Half Marathon that we committed to do back in the fall. My friend Claire and I have been training mostly together and along with our husbands. It's next Sunday and I am really excited about it. The training has been hard...I am not a runner...but I am working on it! Much prayer will be needed on March 1st at 7 a.m.!