are you happy?

Don't we all just want to be happy? I know I do, which is why this last Sunday's sermon was especially sweet. Brian is a friend of ours - we had the pleasure of getting to know him and his lovely wife Sonia while he served as an intern at Capitol Hill Baptist. They have been living in North Carolina the past year, and will soon be moving to Philadelphia to plant a new church. It was so nice to catch up with him as he stopped by Del Ray Baptist last Sunday to deliver the sermon.

Speaking of the sermon, it was so, so good. Sometimes as Christians we spend a lot of time talking about sin and our need for a Savior. Those are good things. Confessing sin and meditating on our dependence on God are necessary for the Christian life. Being a Christian certainly isn't just about being happy, but have you been rejoicing in your Savior lately? We are happy travelers with happy hearts headed to a happy destination. Hopefully you can delight in that truth today, especially if you are feeling weary.

As Brian said, "Jesus is the captain of happiness." I love that. So listen & be happy.

We also sang this hymn on Sunday, which is an old spiritual written by a Methodist preacher in the 1800s. It's not a familiar hymn to me, but it's quickly becoming a favorite. [Here is a college choir singing it. Lyrics are below.]

Hark, I hear the harps eternal
Ringing on the farther shore,
As I near those swollen waters
With their deep and solemn roar.

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, praise the lamb!
Halleluja, hallelujah,
Glory to the great I AM!

And my soul, tho' stained with sorrow,
Fading as the light of day,
Passes Swiftly o'er those water,
To the city far away. 

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, praise the lamb!
Halleluja, hallelujah,
Glory to the great I AM!

Some have crossed before us safely, 
To that land of perfect rest;
Can you hear them singing faintly
In the mansions of the blest?

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, praise the lamb!
Halleluja, hallelujah,
Glory to the great I AM!

Mighty Jesus bear us over
There to kneel before they throne.
May we join Thy saints forever
Praising Thee and Thee alone. 

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, praise the lamb!
Halleluja, hallelujah,
Glory to the great I AM!

child of the 90s

Have you seen this Internet Explorer commercial? It's been making the rounds lately, and I love it. I can't help it. I'm a Millennial. BUT I don't live with my parents, I have a real job, and I make my bed every morning...so please don't hate me.

This inspired me to share my pogs story (which was just auto-corrected to "pigs"). It's still a little painful, but time heals all wounds. Pogs were huge when I was in elementary school. HUGE. Of course, I wanted pogs. It was a matter of social life or death on the playground. But my mom wouldn't buy me regular pogs. I'm guessing she had a problem with some of the pogs' themes. Whatever that means. She insisted I get Christian pogs. It should be noted that I went to a private Christian school so all the other kids must have been real heathens for playing with *gasp* pogs. The horror.

Like most Christian merch, they were a little slow on the uptake. By the time our local Bible book store had pogs, and I had properly stocked up on "Jesus Loves You!" slammers, they weren't cool anymore. Yeah, it still hurts.

If you've ever been deprived of pogs or have a similar childhood story, I highly recommend you check out this blog post: 20 Signs You Grew Up a Church Kid. Sure, I missed out on pogs, but I had a pretty great Precious Moments collection and I got to listen to all the Adventures in Odessy tapes I wanted (Tapes. I'm old). So thanks, Mom.

christmas happenings

Happy New Year!

Jon and I spent Christmas in Alexandria. After a busy six months full of changes and transitions, it was nice to spend some quiet time at home. Even though it was just the two of us, we managed to keep some family traditions and maybe start a few new ones.

We decorated frosted sugar cookies and shared those goodies at our church's Christmas Eve service. After church, we ran home (it's nice to live a few blocks from church!) and put Martha Stewart's macaroni and cheese in the oven. While that was baking, we drove around our neighborhood to look at Christmas lights - a McCormack family tradition. We opened gifts that night and caught the second half of It's a Wonderful Life.

On Christmas day, we opened presents and stockings from Santa. Per Jon's request, I made caramel rolls for breakfast. For Christmas dinner, we splurged on cost and calories since we were just cooking for two - steak & lobster, leftover mac n cheese, homemade crescent rolls, grilled asparagus, and a bottle of Chianti we brought back from Italy. Needless to say, we were stuffed. We also managed to squeeze in a few trips to the movies, a lunch with friends, and some post-Christmas sale shopping.

It's not Christmas without some homemade frosted sugar cookies! 

Shark Socks!

You know you've been nice when your stocking is too heavy to hang on its holder. :)

North Dakota caramel rolls. Yum. Recipe forthcoming.

Fred & Ethel, our Christmas dinner. 

A cooked lobster is a happy lobster. 

Table for two 

#foodporn

On Friday, we headed to Arkansas to visit Jon's family. We got to do Christmas all over again with them. Besides spending time with his parents and grandparents who live in Arkadelphia, we got to see extended family from Texas & Arkansas. We usually only see them once a year at best so it was great catching up with everyone!

We played cards (I actually won a game of hearts), ate more food (ugh), watched the Packers beat the Bears, went to see Saving Mr. Banks, met up with some college friends to meet their new baby girl, and Jon sang a duet with his Dad at their Sunday church service. We got back on New Years Eve around 10 p.m., but that didn't stop us from heading over to our friends house for a low-key NYE shindig. We finally got home around 1 a.m. but I requested we watch the game-winning drive from the Packers game before going to bed. What better way to start a new year, right?

Jon's grandma MeeMaw playing with Elliot - Gary (Jon's cousin) & Kat's son. He is such a cute kiddo! 

Jon's other cousin, Gina & her husband Zach are expecting a son in May that they will name Jordan so we had to stop for this photo while we were touring the new Grant Center for International Education at OBU, our alma mater (named in honor of Jon's grandparents). Are you keeping up with all the family name dropping?

My MIL Shirley made all the Hardin family stockings. When I joined the family, she made me this one.
I'm a little bias, but it's definitely the best of the family stockings. :)

The Hardins - Phil, Shirley, Monica, Tad, Zachary, Isaac

I sneaky captured this little video of Phil & Jon practicing before church.

You know you are an adult when needs trump wants for gifts. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I loved getting new things for the house!

New towels and rugs for the master bathroom courtesy of Santa and Pottery Barn.

Kitchen canisters from Phil & Shirley - how perfect are these!

Magimix toaster from Mom & Dad. You can watch your bread toast to the perfect level. It's kind of amazing. 

It's back to work today, but I'm honestly ok with getting back into a more normal routine that doesn't involve so much sleeping and eating. I was starting to feel a little too lazy & gluttonous.

2013 was an exciting, but challenging year. I'm looking forward to a more calm & relaxing 2014, but I'm probably just inviting trouble with that statement. :)

The Friday Happy List

Del Ray Baptist Church. We joined a new church! As of Sunday, we are new members at Del Ray Baptist. We are so excited to be part of this small, but growing church. It already feels like home! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. :)



Kitchen Island. We have an island. Even more impressively, we have an island that Jon and I assembled. But most impressively, we have an island that Jon and I assembled, and Jon and I are still happily married. Success. It's the last big piece to the kitchen, which I guess means it's done. We still need to hang some things on the wall, and I would love to find some shelves for my cookbooks, but for now, I'm closing the book on this one. Maybe I'll actually get around to doing a proper before & after blog post now!

Turks & Caicos. In one week, we'll be hanging out here. I. Can't. Wait. We need a vacation real bad. We're renting this house with my sister, brother-in-law, and parents. It's perfect timing because we could all really use a vacation for one reason or another. Normally I'm all about the turkey and fixings, but with this view for a week,  that's all gravy. [That pun was for you, Jon. Although I'm not even sure Jon reads my blog. This will be a test.]