SYWDMC - So You Wanna Date My Chicks

Chicks: The sweet young women that God has entrusted me to teach, lead, guide, speak truth, and push toward Christ. They were birthed by some of the sweetest people on the planet and God dropped them in my lap a few years ago. There is no greater joy than loving and serving them.

If my name was Kay, LauraLynn, Alyson, Paige, Cyndi, Zulema, SoYoung, Angie, Teresa, Sandra, Joy or Cathy then this would be a letter that could have some points on "What it takes to date my daughter." This, however, was birthed by many a conversation with my Chicks...and the study of the #TrueLoveProject.

So....
You Wanna Date one of My Chicks.
Welcome to the club. It's exclusive. :)

You want to spend time with her. You want to take her out on a date. You want to have sweet chats while hiking the mountains or sipping your favorite Starbucks drinks, or eating frozen yogurt. You may even want to kiss her. Yeah, I said it! Well, that is lovely. No, seriously, it's lovely. But I hope that you are up to the task of what dating one of my chicks really looks like. 
These are some non-negotiables:

• Love Jesus. Above all else, you need to know and love Christ. Loving Christ first means you put your relationship with Him as a priority. God is a jealous God and He will not accept being second (or third,fourth,fifth) in your life. He is first and His calling on your life comes first. Follow Him with all you have. Christ is worthy of your all and nothing less. My chicks deserve a guy who loves Jesus with reckless abandonment, who isn't afraid of doing big and loving bigger. 
• Serving. Along with loving Jesus, you need to be involved in a local church, serving in a role or leading a small group, or praying about your next step in serving. All of my girls have huge servant's hearts and they totally want a guy who loves to serve in all sorts of areas. Some of my girls love helping out in the nursery and preschool areas. They like playing with the kids, watching them grow, and even babysitting. Some of my girls like sports - so when sports camp comes around at the local church, they want to be a part of that. Some like making food for people, others like ministering to homeless people. It runs the gamut, but suffice to say Loving Jesus and serving others is key.
• Love Languages. Huge part in dating and knowing each other. Learn your love language and how that works. Read the book. Take the test. Because if they have been with me for any length of time, they already know their love language and they aren't afraid of telling you what it is.
• Get to know her family. That requires you to spend time with them. The only way they are going to be okay with you leaving the house with their daughter is if they actually know you! :) Come for dinner. Invite her over for dinner with your parents. It doesn't have to be elaborate, the effort goes a long way.
• Call her on the phone. With the age of texting, it has lessened the priority and opportunity for a guy to call a girl and actually speak to her. With most kids getting a cell phone at a young age, it also limits the idea that mom or dad will answer the HOME PHONE and speak to you. So, give her a call. It's okay if you text her first to see if she is available, but puh-lease PLEASE PLEASE pick up the phone and call her. Particularly if you are calling for a date, which should be a few days in advance (see any Southern Etiquette book). While we are on the phone situation: NO long conversations over text. NO important conversations over text. You owe her the courtesy and respect to at least give her a face to face for anything big/out of the ordinary/over the top/special/disheartening. If you have to ask whether or not you should text or call, the answer is you should call. <cough cough> That's for YOU. and YOU know who YOU are. 
• Leadership. All of my girls have dads who are doing their best to rock out this raising-a-daughter thing. Some of them are business men, teachers, coaches, and a handful of them own their own company. These men are leaders in the business sense and leaders in our church and community. They are also spiritual leaders in their home. My chicks are looking for a guy with those qualities.
• Study Up. Chicks don't like stalkers. However, they do like a guy who has done his homework. Example: "I heard you mention that your favorite flower is daisies, so I picked these up for you." Insert you bringing flowers. DUH. No brainer. It's even better if you bring them for her mom...right moms?? Remind me to mention that in the post about Raising my Two Boys. Disclaimer: I have a chick who does not like sentimental things...things that I think are sweet and totally cuteness, she does not. She doesn't even gush over it. I sometimes don't even know how her and I are so close, but anyway she would not enjoy flowers all the time like I or someone else would, so like I said, STUDY UP! And in regards to gifts, see Love Languages.
• Other details: Some of these are specific to them individually, but I'll list them as a general - they like a guy who works hard, who has ambition to do good in life, has healthy priorities, good friends, athletic, funny, smart. The list could go on for days if I allowed that.

If you think you have some qualities that my chicks would like, the application will be posted tomorrow.

NO NO NO...just kidding. :) I would never do that to them. 

My chicks are sweet. They are funny and lively, and there is never a dull moment...we wouldn't allow it. They are equally learning and studying their calling as a follower of Jesus - learning to love and serve Him in all He is calling them to. They love deeply. They laugh hysterically. They pray with passion. They hurt when their friends and loved ones hurt. They want more...more than this life is ever going to bring them. They have hope and they trust in the One who formed them and gave life to them and gave His life for them. 
If you are lucky enough to date them - now or in the future - know you have been prayed for. 
If you are blessed enough to marry one of them - years down the road - I have prayed for this moment...and Boy - you are you going to need it.

Love,
Ms. Karen

Happy Birthday Noah!

This little monkey turns 7 today...

Could he be any cuter?

2007 was ROUGH. We have had weeks of anything but bliss, but 2007 was the year of week after week, month after month, we were bombarded with messy, crazy, OMG moments of "God, what are you doing?"  I lost all of my remaining grandparents in six months, Jeremy spent 18 days in Africa, when he came back, I resigned from the landscape company I had been working for, a month later he accepted what is now his current position in our church - Administrator, I began working at the church preschool, and we had been asking God ALL YEAR for another baby. It was not until December till we would enter a doctor's office to learn that yes, indeed, God was going to bless us in that way. We considered that an exclamation point on our year!
July 11, 2008 at around 8 AM, Noah Lewis was born. He received the family name of Lew and it was appropriate since Jeremy said "he looks like a Burdette". 
Noah is our giggling, smiley, baseball-loving little man. He loves all things baseball, although he hasn't met a ball he didn't like. Noah is the carb lover of our house, trying to live off bread alone. :) His favorite color is RED, and ladies, I am sorry, but he has a line of girlfriends....mostly his babysitters. :) 

Happy Birthday little man! Your infectious smile and laugh make my heart happy. Your dad and I marvel at your funny thoughts and your desire to dance at any moment. You tend to be stubborn in trying new things, but slowly coming around in that area. You like schedules, but don't mind surprises. You deeply love, and sweet thing, we LOVE you!

So today I have a seven and eleven year old...and today is 7/11! :)

-Karen

Faithfulness

This is our yard. Our yard has not always looked this beautiful. This yard used to have two pear trees that were drought-ridden when we purchased the house almost 8 years ago. The front yard has never grown grass really because of the pear trees. 

But, this. 

This is God's Faithfulness. 

Leave it to me to find faithfulness in mowing this beautiful yard today. YES! I mowed this! Sh. Don't tell my boss, he will have me working on a crew if I am not careful. ☺️

As I am walking a path through the yard I am staring in awe of how it looks. And it occurred to me that that is exactly how God does things:

Things sometimes start out messy. Our yard was a disaster. We kept saying one day we are going to take out the trees and make the yard look nice and the opportunity presented itself this year. 

Growth takes time. LOTS OF TIME. When we laid the sod almost two months ago, I was unsure that it was ever going to grow in. I knew we had to water it. I knew we would eventually have to mow it when it grew in, and I also knew we would get crab grass and some weeds in the mix. It often reminded me of the parable of the weeds - the servant and master see the weeds growing in with the wheat and the servant asks if he should pull them. The master replies NO! Because while you are pulling the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with it. Wait till the harvest comes and it can be separated then. Insert smack upside the head. I wanted to pull the weeds and crab grass as I was watching our new grass grow. It would begin to look awful but then as we were able to cut it (prune it, so to speak), it would look amazing. We went a few weeks there where we needed to cut it about every 4-5 days...rain was pouring out of the sky and I could almost hear it growing when God was watering it! We are just now beginning to see the fruit of the harvest! The weeds and crab grass look less and less as the new grass continues to mature and grow. 

Water and food. In order for it to grow properly it needed to be watered every day and fertilizer needed to be thrown out. These are essential in allowing new grass to take root and grow deep. 

THE SAME IS TRUE FOR US! 

We must spend time with our Creator, drinking up His Word, and feeding on the Bread (of Life) that only He offers. Things sometimes start out messy, it does take intentional time, and we need the essentials of water and food that He gives. 

As I finished mowing, I came in the house and shared with the boys that God has done something beautiful outside. They immediately ran out and looked for a rainbow or something amazing. I turned their attention to our yard. I explained to them the same things I wrote here. It brought tears to my eyes to point them to what seems like a mundane task or item and to find Jesus right in the center of it. 

Fret not if things are messy right now, God is going to do something so beautiful!

Love,

Karen