New York City!

Eight years goes by in a flash, in an instant. Eight years ago I married the love of my life and started the lifelong intertwining of our paths. God is so good to us in that he created us uniquely different yet, crafted little similarities to incline us closer to one another. He understood our desires, our hopes, and our dreams and was faithful in his unfailing patience with us while we struggled through life up to the point when our eyes first met. I am thankful for my husband.

Josh has never liked big cities so when he surprised me with an anniversary trip to NY to see Wicked on Broadway my heart was abounding with love for him. When I say surprised, I mean I begged him daily to tell me what was up his sleeve! I pulled out all of my resources to persuade him into sharing his secret and I conquered him. It's my power as a wife. These poor men have no chance when we beg like little girls;)

Here's a glimpse of the precariously silly and blissfully romantic fun we had;)

DAY 1-
We packed up our car, kissed our precious child Bella goodbye (leaving her in amazing hands with Nanny & Poppa Earls...we can never thank you enough) and headed north. The drive was gorgeous and we were excited. We arrived in NY and checked into our hotel that was literally one block from Times Square (nice job Mr. Earls)! The very first thing we did was get pizza. I was salivating like a dog at the vision of the large slices of thin crusted goodness... I should have been embarrassed as I downed the pizza before Josh had a few bites of his... I wasn't and I'd do it again, cheese and all. We grabbed Starbucks and headed to central park. This park was bigger and more beautiful than any movie could do it justice. It was stirring with children, roller bladers, models in bikini's (which made me look short and frumpy), homeless men, and business people....just a busy blend of culture and beauty. I was in love. We took a bunch of pictures and saw all sorts of familiar spots we'd seen in movies. We exited the park in front of The Plaza Hotel (as seen in Home Alone 2)...and yes, I did yell KEVIN! to Josh's embarrassment. We headed into FAO Schwarz to see the impressive toy collection. Of course, the first thing we found was the Harry Potter section and just had to put on various Hogwarts sorting hats ...like any two 14 year old tweens would do. Straight up nerds. Then it was off to shop. So many stores, so little time....so little money. Some of the names like Chanel, Tiffany's, Prada.... were right in front of me. I cannot believe people have the money to buy things from these stores....I'm pretty sure when I walked in they didn't acknowledge me (due to the Forever21 shirt I was wearing and my home done pedicure with flip-flops). It was dinner time so we searched for Serendipity, the restaurant seen in the movie Serendipity. It was small and really funky inside and located in a quaint part of town . The food was scrumptious and eclectic. The frozen hot chocolate was to DIE FOR! I'm glad we went out of our way to go there...

We were on our way back to the hotel when we actually experienced a bit of our own serendipity... We were on a random block crossing the street when Josh looked over and saw a familiar set of dreads. Yep, one of his college buddies (who was in our wedding) was walking on the other side of the street with his wife. Josh chased him down and we ended up hanging out with them the rest of the evening. They are a lovely couple and we cannot believe out of the millions of people in the state of NY, we were on the same street at the same time. :) Ok, it was time for bed.... for reals, my feet were bleeding, I actually HAD to by new shoes from Urban Outfitters due to the blood :)

DAY 2
We slept in (which was hilarious because we still were up before 8am--old farts). We grabbed some Starbucks (yes I have a problem) and headed to the place I've wanted to go for 10 years....ground zero. I'm going to write a post dedicated to seeing this because it was so moving inside my heart. In a nutshell, it is life changing seeing the spot. It makes you ache inside and wish time could be reversed for the souls lost on Sept. 11th. I will never forget my time there and the feelings I felt at that moment. After visiting ground zero, we grabbed lunch at a cafe and headed to SoHo. What a funky and fun place it was...tons of shopping and cute cafe's. I went to see the store DASH (the Kardashian's store) and had to wait in line to get in.... silly reality TV fans (oh wait, that's me....deep sigh of embarrassment). Josh gave me the BIGGEST eye roll of all time when I waited in line for that store. After SoHo we headed back to get cleaned up for our big night:) We had dinner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea (check it out). It was one of our favorite dinners EVER! It was not cheap but, well worth it for the experience and the four course meal of literal bliss. It was also terribly romatical;) We hitched cab and headed to the theater to see Wicked. I've seen a ton of Broadway and this was BY FAR my favorite. If you ever get the chance, please do yourself a favor and see it! This day was packed full so we were pooped. Off to bed.

DAY 3
We really only had a few hours to do stuff because we needed to get home in time for Josh's parents to make the trek back to CA. We grabbed breakfast with Josh's friend Ethan and his sweet wife and saw their cute studio apartment. Wow, places in NY are not large but they serve their purpose well....city life is worth the lack of space I think:)

Some of my favorite pics...

My Futile Heart

Ephesians 4:17-21

"This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus"


I am often stricken by the futility of life. The little things that are so meaningless.

These futilities are trifle things that bog us down and keep us in chains to this earth. I mean, have you ever gone through a day, or a week, or a month...or maybe even a YEAR without praising God (or even thinking of Him for that matter) for the things he does in your life? Have you stopped and pondered that God could literally stop your heart from its constant rhythm? Yes, friends you would cease to be on this earth and return to dust and life would move forward without you! It's not all about us and our "things" friends. I know we have jobs, and children, and bills, and "status quo" to keep up with but really.... they return to dust too!

I get frustrated at myself for forgetting the how mighty God is. My creator moves mountains ... He spoke Mt. Everest into existence ... He creates the cool breeze that calms our souls at dusk ... the ocean and its mighty waves....He molds the baby in its mothers womb and holds it with his gentle hands ... He carries loved ones home to be with Him in heaven and rejoices in their company with His angels. People, God is not futile....his love is deep and wide.

The fact is, He does care about the small stuff, but that's because He loves His creation and all of it's intricacies. If we continue to allow our hearts to be filled with the "things" of this life, we will leave no space for God's wonders. We take away His power and replace it with our weak and unstable desires. We desire things that are not real. To become people that (our society says) are beautiful and popular. These people that society has manufactured do not desire to be refined. They crumble at the struggles of life and have no firm foundation to stand on when trouble creeps in.

Let God in. Let him rule your heart and help you process life through His eyes. He has offered you a life free from the bondage and chains of sin. All He asks is that you accept Him and the work of His Son on the cross. He payed it all, even for those futile sins.


Here's some more insight on our futile hearts based off of Ephesians 4:17-21. This was written by John Piper and I believe it explains why we are so numb to the beauty and power of Christ in our lives sometimes.

Six Levels of Evil in the Heart (sound bad huh)?!

1. Hardness

First, the deepest problem is hardness (v. 18 at the end): "due to their hardness of heart." My deepest problem in life is that apart from the free and sovereign grace of God my heart is hardened against God. I am like a stone toward all that is spiritual. It does not move me, attract me, delight me. This is a far deeper problem than ignorance. It is the cause of ignorance, and the guilt of ignorance.

Do you see this in the last two phrases of verse 18? "The ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." The hardness is deeper than ignorance. And therefore my ignorance of spiritual things is not innocent. It is evil. It is blameworthy, because it comes not from lack of truth or evidence, but from a deep hardness in my heart against God. That is the first and deepest problem that the surgeon shows me about myself and why my life is so futile.

2. Darkness

Second, there is in me a deep darkness that swallows up my understanding, and keeps me from seeing the glory of the gospel or the excellency of Christ (v. 18 at the very beginning): "they are darkened in their understanding." Notice 5:8: "Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of the light." Before the Lord shined in my heart, I was darkness (2 Corinthians 4:4–6). There was no light in me. And Jesus said in John 3:20 that I would not come to the light because I hated the light. And this is true whether I am a college professor or an illiterate native.

3. Deep Ignorance

Third, the result of this darkness is a deep ignorance of reality (v. 18): "alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them." I say it is a DEEP ignorance, for there is a superficial knowledge in the darkened mind of man. Apart from spiritual light I can know ten thousand things, but I can't know the true meaning of anything—not one thing. Because to know the meaning of a thing is to know why it exists. But Colossians 1:16 says, "All things were created through Christ and for Christ." So until I know in my heart that every molecule in this universe exists for the sake of Jesus Christ, I don't know the final meaning of anything. I misunderstand everything, until the darkness of my mind is taken away.

4. Licentiousness

Fourth, the hardness and darkness and ignorance of my heart results in licentiousness. Verse 19: "They have become callous [which is the same as 'hard'] and have given themselves up to licentiousness." The sense of the passage seems to be that when a person is ignorant of the true meaning of things, and the true values of life as God sees them, that person will make his goal in life something other than God. It may be the gratification of his body in sex or drink or drugs or food. Or it may be the gratification of his ego with more refined intellectual and cultural pursuits. Anything but God, and everything apart from God. The heart that is hard and dark and ignorant of God will also be a licentious and covetous heart.

5. Uncleanness

Fifth, inevitably the hardness and darkness and ignorance and licentiousness spill over into practices of uncleanness. Notice how verse 19 ends: "greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness." Literally, their covetousness drives them to pursue practices that in God's eyes are impure.

So we have finally reached the level of outward behavior, or what verse 17 calls "walking" or "living"—"don't walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds." In other words, Escape from futility! Live a different way. Walk a different path.

But now that we have read the surgeon's report in verses 17, 18, and 19, we know that the disease is massive. The cancer of hardness and darkness and ignorance and licentiousness has spread everywhere. And we will never be healed, we will never escape from futility by means of a psychological quick fix or a superficial, up-beat seminar on how to change our attitude. That's man's way, not God's way.

6. Alienated from the Life of God

God has a way. But that leads to the sixth level of evil in my disease that I haven't mentioned yet. Verse 18 says I am "alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in me, due to my hardness of heart." Hardness and darkness and ignorance and licentiousness and the practice of uncleanness cut me off from the one thing that could save me—the "life of God," and leave me dead (2:1, 5).

Lets repair our hearts today:)

We can change so much, but not change at all...

Hi Friends,

We have been busy lately at the Earls household. Our home has been buzzing with friends old and new and I realized this week that I relish in their company. I love having people visit and stay in this beautiful rental home God has blessed us with. It fills my heart with joy to cook comfort foods (mostly Kiki recipes), bake naughty sweets (that are filled with chocolate), drink familiar coffee (hazelnut was our college flavor of choice), and wake up to friendly faces of the past.

This week my roommates from college stayed with me. Their sweet faces, their silly stories, their unique intricacies, their perfume, their laughter....it all takes me back to my days at Liberty University. Days I loved and desperately miss. Its amazing how we can change so much, but not change at all:) I'm pretty sure I'm still as wild and mildly inappropriate as I've always been. Amber still bounces around with her mischievous laugh and is as loyal as any friend could be. Niki is still sweet and grounded (which was always good in 118B and is still good now), and Kirsten is forever joyful and creative....and totally silly and I love that! Here's a picture of all of us above (left to right): Amber (and Levi), Me (and Bells), Niki (and part of Gabe's head), and Kirsten (and her child/dog Millington)...

118B Watergate FOREVER (P.S. that was our townhouse number in college).

Oh, and we threw a little party for my friend Sarah this last weekend as well! It was her 30th and she wanted a "90's House Party"...she deserved a good bash so I was pumped. I also couldn't have been more excited about my chance to be transformed into Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell! Oh yes, I did the reenactment with the caffeine pills (for questions about such reenactment click here...it will all make sense and you will be slightly concerned about my sanity)!






On a completely different note... (my mind is in a constant state of wandering friends...it's scary, ask Josh).

This excerpt below was taken from a book called, "The Special Child" and it reminds me of God's unfailing love. He makes all things work together for his purpose. He equips us daily with the tools we need to live life here on earth, and for that I am thankful...

Read and be blessed and challenged as I was...

In Mark 8:34 Jesus says, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he must deny himself, shoulder his cross and follow me.” Christ’s words were addressed not only to the people of his time, but also to us today: each of us who desires to follow him must be willing to carry the burden laid on us by God. Because the cross each person carries is different, we sometimes tend to look at others and compare our lot with theirs. When envy makes us dissatisfied with ourselves, we look at others and think, for instance, “He (or she) is so athletic” — or articulate, or musical, or easy-going — and we begin to wonder whether the person we envy has any cross at all to bear.

Every man, woman, and child has his or her own burden to carry. Even the Apostle Paul had a “thorn in his flesh.” He asked God to remove it, but God answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8). If we accept the grace God gives us, we will be able to bear the heaviest cross. And, strange as it may seem, it can even become a blessing.

The discovery that a newborn child is disabled can be a deeply shaking ex­perience for any couple. Unfortunately it is common for some, in their shock, to assume that they have done something wrong. I would advise parents to give no room to such thoughts. Rather, turn to God and seek to see the situ­ation as from his eyes — as a blessing that can lead you closer to each other and to God. He comes close to us through every child, but especially through children with disabilities.

....end of excerpt.

Not sure why you clicked on the blog today but, I urge you (as I urge myself) in all situations to not envy others. We can envy and not even know it. I know you understand what I mean...it's a sneaky sin that manifests itself in some of life's bests moments... marriages, child birth, new homes, successful children, successful spouses, church, work....the list goes on...

I battle this too often with Bella. I'm not sure if I would call it envy, more like a feeling of loss on her behalf. Loss in the sense that she is not "perfect" in the world's sense of the word. God is good and constantly reminds me that in his eyes she has a heavenly perfection. These reminders give me peace. Then I feel so blessed that God chose ME for HER. I feel special...I am thankful for my girl and her differences.

Annie