Barry Graduated Basic Military Training!

Airman Moore

Hey ya'll! Sorry I've been missing from blogging for about 2 months. I have been so busy! Barry left to go to BMT (Basic Military Training) to become an Airman in the world's greatest Air Force, I graduated college, and of course life just flies on by. Anyways, this post is going to be ALL about my wonderful husband. I have never been more proud in my life than I did this weekend. 

February 25, 2016

This was the first time I was able to see my husband in 7.5 weeks. I was so ready to see him! I was so anxious that morning and when I saw him I literally screamed! The first thing they did that morning was an Airman's run. I saw Barry right as he passed because he had told me in a previous phone call that he bought a blue hoodie and he was wearing it! He looked so handsome and proud. 

After the Airman's run they went back to their dorms showered, and changed into their ABU's. The next thing on the schedule was their coin ceremony! I was so ready for this because right after this I was able to hug my man. I couldn't wait! I was getting so antsy. Finally the ceremony was over and I got my hug and kiss!

      

The moment we wrapped our arms around each other, I started bawling. It was so beautiful. Being able to feel his touch for the first time in 2 months was the best thing ever. 

After this, we took pictures with our family, Barry got his gifts, we walked around the base, and my mom went to get us Whataburtger (per Barry's request) LOL, and we just enjoyed being together again. 

(his mom & aunt)

(Reading what was engraved on the back of his fossil watch)

(whataburger!)

(talking each other ears off!)

 February 26, 2016

The next day was the Graduation Parade, and they got to wear their blues! Barry was chosen to lead his whole flight for the parade! He was the person in the front marching them in. I was SO proud. I always told him he was going to be a leader. After the parade, I got to tap him out again. Then we were able to see his dorm, where he was living for the past 7.5 weeks! Finally after this we were able to take him off base! He wanted In-N-Out and wanted to go to the movies. We saw Ride Along 2 :)

(leading his flight)

(his bed)

(his closet)

(all of his letters)

(he wanted burgers again)

February 27th & February 28th 

The next two days we were able to spend a lot of alone time together. Just being with him again made me feel so warm and happy inside. He is truly my best friend. We went to breakfast with his mom and aunt, looked for boots, and just hung out at the hotel. We really liked just relaxing together. Sunday, we went to the church on base. It was so amazing to see where he has been going to church since he has been there. I was so grateful to be able to worship our God together again. Then we went bowling, my mom brought us pizza and we were able to eat it in the park (it was beautiful out), and we just relaxed together some more before we had to say our see ya laters.

(church)

(right before we had to say our see ya laters)

This weekend was one of the best weekends of my life. I never wanted it to end. Time went by so fast. Next stop for Barry is California and then we will be moving together in July. We don't know where we will be moving but God knows where we need to be and He will place us there. I am BEYOND proud of Barry. I thank God for him everyday. 

{Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9}

Basic Training Packing List &+ Extras.

Hey y'all! We are just 5 short days away until my husband, Barry, leaves for Air Force basic training. I wish I could pin point all of the feelings that I am having about this but, I just can't. He is so ready to leave and "get it over with" (in his words). I am going to miss him SO so much. But anyways, I've been trying to make this a fun experience for both of us, and I don't ever want to forget this experience so I want to document it all! Today I helped him pack his bag that he gets to bring with him to San Antonio. If you guys are about to leave for basic, or know someone that is, I took a picture of some of the things Barry is taking. We referred to a paper his recruiter gave to him. 

He is bringing: a duffel bag, shower flip flops, running shoes, 3 plain t-shirts, 3 pairs of boxers, 5 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of jeans, paper, notebook, black pen, watch, toothbrush, razor, {travel size: deodorant, body wash, shampoo, lint roller, toothpaste}, brush, glasses, stamps, and his bible. 

I wanted to do something personal to his bible; something he could look at and have a quick reference to some verses. This is a good idea for basic training, deployments, or another time someone you may know that would need this kind of encouragement. He LOVED it. Since we will not be able to talk that much, I'm hoping this will bring comfort to him on the days that are just a little rougher than the other ones. 

Lastly, I wrote Barry a personal letter that I want him to read the night before he leaves. I thought it would be special for him to read a letter at the hotel. I plan to take him to dinner on Monday night, drop him off at the hotel, and give him this letter when he is about to go into the hotel. 

I usually don't do this but, I am asking for everyone to keep us and especially him in your prayers during this time. I praise God that I have a husband that is willing to serve his country, and make a better life for me and our future family. 

If any of you have a loved one in the military, I would love to talk. 

{"For I know the plans I have for you", declares The Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."} Jeremiah 29:11

A Whole Latte Controversy

Christians who are bashing Starbucks because of their red cups, are ridiculous. 

First, let us look at Starbucks holiday cups over the years. 

2008

 2009

 2010

 2011

 2012

 2013

 2014

2015

Alright, since we now see what 8 years of holiday cups have looked like at Starbucks, we can go on. I don't know about you but I do not see how any of these cups represent Jesus/ why us Christians celebrate Christmas. I do not see a cross or a nativity scene on these cups. If they used to have a cross or a nativity scene on the cups and they all of a sudden removed it, I could see the big controversy; but that is not the case. One Christian recently stated, "This also denies the hope of Jesus Christ and His story so powerfully at this time of year." One question, How? How do these simple cups deny the hope of Jesus. I'm sure Jesus is not thinking that right now. We, as Christians, are the ones to spread the gospel, and show the love of Christ, to bring people to Jesus. How can a simple wintry, Christmas tree, snowy cup bring hope of Jesus? The Jesus I know has nothing to do with winter, a Christmas tree, or snow. The Jesus I know is loving, redeeming, freedom giving, selfless, cross bearing, and so much more.  We, as Christians, are the ones that should be in Starbucks sitting with random people talking about life, dreams, and faith. We should be the ones encouraging, loving, and spreading joy everywhere we go. Starting controversy over a RED cup is not something that is on the top of Jesus' list when He meets people. Love is. Mercy is. Joy is. Freedom is. Starbucks and their red cups are not the gospel. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 ESV). That is the gospel. That is the good news. Us as Christians, believe this, and if we believe this we know that love is the greatest commandment of all. Also, we are called to be Jesus disciples, every single day. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35 ESV). 

So let us love. Let us give. Let us hug. Let us cry. Let us rejoice. Let us praise God. Let us share the GOOD news; now that is something to talk about. 

Measuring More or Less?

Sorry, it's been so long since I've posted! It's just a very busy season in my life, and I am loving every minute of it. Since I have last blogged, I have got MARRIED to my amazing husband, Barry Antonio Moore, Jr. Also, I have finished 3 of my classes for the semester.

But anyways!,

I don't know about you guys, but I love me a good podcast. Two podcast's I LOVE listening to are Joseph Prince and Elevation Church (Steven Furtick). They are just full of God's wisdom, grace, and love. Last week, on the way to get my Dunkin Iced Latte (I'm addicted), I listened to the latest podcast from Elevation Church called Measuring More. God revealed SO much to me, I had to listen to it twice. Most of the message was based off of Ephesians 3. Also, most of what I state in this blog will be from the message.



"That according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His spirit in your inner being" (Ephesians 3:16 ESV)

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, Amen." (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)

These verses are just screaming to us that Our God is a MORE God. He's bigger than ur doubts and He is able to immeasurable more than we ask.

As humans, we have this instinct to measure people for what they have, what they have done, where they went to school, what their job is, what choices they make, and so on. We need to learn to measure what is immeasurable. Everyone that has stuff isn't rich and everyone that doesn't have stuff isn't poor. Some of the people you are jealous of are miserable. But if you only measure stuff you can see, you will continue to ask yourself your whole life, "Do I measure up?"

Praise God that Heaven has a different measuring system than we do. Since I am a child of God, I am blessed beyond measure. So please don't measure me as what you can see because there is ore to me, I am a child of God. I do not want to know how wide my hips are, but I want to know how wide is God's love for me? & On every side you want to judge me on; I am just how I ought to be because God made me.

I think sometimes we ask people questions to size them up -- to see if they measure up to our standards. But the problem is, human's measurement is limited. Human's measure how far it goes and how much it is; God measures what it is made of! I know what brands you wear but what are you made of? Are you measuring what it is made of or what it looks like? When you measure people by what you see, you only measure what it is on the surface level.

"But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 ESV)

Do you measure yourself by Resume Virtues or Eulogy Virtues?
Resume Virtues- By what you do, or what we have (measuring success)
Eulogy Virtues- How much of it is going to weigh when it is over

Some of the people that are most popular now, aren't preparing for their purpose. God doesn't look at how many people like you. He looks at your faith, not your face. The assessments of other's will often make you miss other opportunities. The problem is when you start letting the size of the opponent become bigger than the opportunity.

Why would I be scared of how tall it is, when my God reigns over all of it? For our light and momentary troubles are allowing for us an eternal glory. The glory weighs more.

God's grace weighs more!

(Heaven's metric system= more)

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

I don't know about you guys but, I love to cook. I also am a huge fan of Pinterest, since that is where I get 99% of my recipes. Last night I made a chicken dish and everyone in my house loved it, so now I'm sharing it with you all!

What You Need:

1. 4 small chicken breasts (I used 2 big chicken breasts)

2. 1/2 cup mayo (I used light mayo)

3. 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

4. 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

5. Italian style bread crumbs

6. Salt

7. Pepper

How You Need To Cook It:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

 2. In a small bowl combine mayo, cheese, and garlic powder

 3. Put chicken in a pre-greased pan

4. Spread the mayo mix from the bowl on top of the chicken

5. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top 

6. Put the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes

 7. Take the chicken out and sprinkle bread crumbs on top

8. Put the chicken back in for 25 minutes (or until the chicken is done)

 

9. ENJOY

I also like to listen to music while I cook and right now my favorite worship song is "Give Me Faith" by Elvation Worship.

I hope you enjoy this song & recipe as much as I do!

God Bless You All!

Planning Made Cheap

Ever since I've been starting to get organized (a whole 2 weeks); I've started writing in my planner exactly what I need to do that week. It is so much easier for me to look into the planner, and remember exactly what I need to do that week. And everyone knows that planning is not fun unless you use stickers, and colorful markers. But guess what, this girl is B-R-O-K-E! Stickers can get expensive, especially if you are like me and want a sticker for every event you have to do in a week. Soooo, I was determined to find out how to make my own stickers. I got my idea from the avery labeling stickers that were on my table. Of course I went straight to Pinterest and typed in "using avery labels for planner"and I went to the first thing that popped up; the blog "Mama's got it Together". She had a post on exactly which avery labels to use and how she did it. The only thing different was, she went on etsy and paid for her clipart for her stickers. I went to google and I got clipart for free. Told you I was cheap & B-R-O-K-E. LOL. So here ya go. This is what you want to do. 

1. Go to Office Depot and get "multipurpose labels" or Avery 5408 stickers

2. Go to Avery.com and go to print it yourself and type in 5408 product number

3. Click the empty template and make sure you have clip art saved from Google; or if you want to pay for some you can go to Etsy, LOL.

4. Add your clipart image, here.

5. Print your very own stickers!

 6. My planner and some of the stickers I made!

I also love that you can make like ANY sticker. I would never be able to find the old people with party hats in the store, but I found that clipart for my Grandma's birthday dinner. Sorry Grandma. LOL. Anddd, I coach soccer and the team name is penguins, so I made a sticker with a penguin with a soccer ball on its head. I would never be able to find that in the store either. So this is is just WINNING all over the place. Cheap and unique stickers. Can't beat it. 

This is also something I like to remember when I plan and stuff doesn't go right, or how I have planned it. 

You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:21)