Meet Mia!

Well I am happy to say that we have a new member in our family! Michael and I are proud parents of little Mia. She's a Shiba inu, a Japanese hunting dog that is absolutely adorable!



This is little Mia when we first got her. She's about 4 months old now. She won't get very big, about 20 lbs total and she is about 10 lbs right now. She is super timid, passive and relaxed. She finally likes to play with her toys and I think we have finally mastered the "bathroom" accidents! Whoot whoot!

Michael and I recently went to Houston to visit Michael's family where we also celebrated our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! That's right, Michael and I have been married a whole year...I'll blog about that later though.

On the drive back to Joplin, (It's about 11 1/2 hours in the car!) Mia did so great. She slept on a pillow between Michael and I and we just had to take a picture.

Here she is...


As Mia grows I'll be sure to post more pictures and funny stories! Maybe even a video of her prancing around with her toys!

Peace out for now!

Home Away From Home

While I now accept Michael and I's duplex as our home and I love our "spread" I can't help but love my home away from home. Michael and I got a break from believe this weekend and returned to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with my parents and siblings.

There is just something magical about only living in one house as a child. I know this house, the smells, the creaks and sounds. The air outside smells different and I can't hear cars or trucks driving by...only the animals that are going about their day. It's refreshing and if there was anything I needed right now it's to be refreshed.

I guess I just need to "make a public statement" to honor my parents in raising us under one roof, even though they had to make HUGE sacrifices to do so....I now realize how wonderful that is.

That's all for now but perhaps while I'm being so "refreshed" more thoughts will come.

Life in the Miyahara Lane....

Here is an update on life in the Miyahara world for all those that actually read this blog, and especially for Travis Long (I hope you enjoy this shout out!)

We have finished two believe events now, one in Anaheim, California and the other in Tulsa, Ok. We had great crowds in both and I am just blown away with how God is blessing the believe team. This 2010 tour really has a great staff and the artists are so much fun to hang out with! Also, a HUGE thank you to all the volunteers that came to help us out at both of those events! We seriously CAN NOT do it with out you all!!

The theme for believe, "The Messiah" is so solid and the speakers are really doing a great job of connecting to the students about how God created us, wants us and want to use us! Such an awesome message! I love it!!

Michael and I are doing well! Believe has definitely been keeping us busy but we love the ministry that takes place and the people that we get to work with. We were married right after the tour last year so it was a pretty stressful time getting ready for such a huge life change and getting ready for the wedding. It is so much nicer to be married now, whew!!

Update on the Turbo Jam work out...well I'm still doing it and I still absolutely LOVE IT! It really is the best work out I've ever done...so much more productive then running or anything else that I have personally tried. Nichole Palmateer one of my best friends and co-workers has also tried it with me now and she agrees...it totally kicks butt!

I'm am trying to get a little business on the side going of baking sweets (Pies, cookies and breads). I guess we will see where it goes. I really do love to bake and I have been practicing A LOT lately!! Michael likes that!

I recently went in to get my hair highlighted and came out with almost completely blonde hair...so that was unexpected and if you know me I don't do very well with unexpected things...but I'm slowly getting use to it. Michael said he likes it.

After this month Michael and I will officially be OUT OF DEBT!!! We are SO excited. It has been really hard but we put everything towards debt and we just have one payment left in February we are DONE!! Thanks Eric Samuel Timm for the advise before we got married!! It's already paying off (pun intended)!!
If you want help or advise on how to get out of debt (car debt, credit cards, school debt...anything!!) we would love to help!! Really....debt is horrible and if your in it...take steps NOW to get out!!

Well, that's all I got for now...maybe I will write more later on this week.

A great Offense...and confession

I recently offended my husband with a statement that I nonchalantly made the other night. After listening to the song "I am nothing" written by bebo Norman that The Jordan Howerton Band covered on their new album, Live Loud(coming out January 15th!) I just began to cry. Afterwards I told Michael that I think Bebo and I have connected souls (yes, this is the great offense). I am sure that thousands of people are fans of the song and feel very connected to the lyrics ( which was what I was actually trying to say).

My confession, my prayer....the lyrics of the this song.


Take these hands and lift them up
For I have not the strength to praise You near enough
For I have nothing, I have nothing without You

**Daily I am reminded that my meager attempts of worship to the one of only God of the universe is simply sad. My strength is weak...my attempt feeble...my heart is eager, my faith is strong, my mind is set but without HIM....what am I, simply put...nothing.

Take my voice and pour it out
Let it sing the songs of mercy I have found
For I have nothing, I have nothing without You

**My prayer, my absolute prayer is that somehow God can use my strong headed, awkward, untalented self to glorify His grace, power, beauty, spirit, presence, love, mercy, and compassion (just to name of few).


Chorus:
All my soul needs
Is all Your love to cover me
So all the world will see
That I have nothing without You

Take my body and build it up
May it be broken as an offering of love
For I have nothing, I have nothing without You

All my soul needs
Is all Your love to cover me
So all the world will see
That I have nothing
But I love You

With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all the strength that I can find

Take my time here on this earth
And let it glorify all that You are worth
For I am nothing,
I am nothing without You


** Ecclesiastes 1:2 says,
"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

There is something amazing about a body of believers, family, friends, strangers singing that they are nothing without Christ. Verbally communicating it to each other, to themselves that without the Creator and Savior of the universe we would be absolutely nothing.

I am a worrier, through and through I worry about everything...but somehow I know that God has something planned for my life that He has not yet revealed to me because I am not yet ready. I don't know what it is but I know I will be rocked and I pray that He will take my time here on this earth and let it glorify all that He is worth...

I know that I am nothing, yet because of Him...

I am a creation of the creator, intricately made and woven....gently molded, often tested and a receiver of grace undeserved.

Tis the season

I thought I would share a picture of our tree for those of you who haven't seen it. My mom bought Michael and I's first tree and ornaments! (Thanks Mom!) Michael and I were so excited to put it up and even more pumped when we got to see the finished result!

Michael has always had a real tree and since we did go with a fake one I bought a pine candle in the house to try and make up for the "fakeness" of the tree. It worked.

A Fools Redemption

So, this entry will be about my largest fault (in my eyes). I have decided that being more aware of it will somehow help me overcome it. Here it is...I am horrible at making friends and probably even more horrible at keeping old friends. There, I said it...and it's true. Here goes my explanation...

I think I have always been bad at making friends, it is not a gift that comes naturally to me. Yes, I believe that I am a nice person but making friends just isn't in my gift set. I have been opinionated and stubborn since the day I was born and it only got worse when I learned how to talk. When starting new friendships I have the hardest time opening up in any sense of the word, 1) because I'm partly afraid that my oh so opinionated self will come out very strong, or 2) I have no idea what to talk about because I only like to talk about things that I know or care about. (selfish? Yes, I know and I'm working on it.)

Proverbs 18:2 says, Fools have no interest in understanding they only want to air their own opinions.
**Ugh**

I need a fools redemption.

My husband is a social butterfly. It's like people shake his hand (*BOOM* magic glitter and smoke inserted here) and their instantly friends. Where I might have to shake a person's hand about 100 times and then we are acquaintances and talk occasionally when we see each other. Michael's phone rings a lot and it's typically someone new each time. If my phone rings it's either Michael, my mom or my boss texting me that I need to do something. Sad? Well that depends because I kind of like it...it's bittersweet to me because if it was anybody else I probably wouldn't know what to talk about. I'm so awkward, it actually hurts. :)

**I like to blame the above paragraph on the fact that Michael plays guitar and most people like to talk about that where as I...do paper work, read and talk about stupid facts and numbers well?? Yeah, case in point.

I'm not a "let's plan to get together" kind of person, although I'm getting better. This (moving on to the next point) is why I suck at keeping old friends. I super stink at checking in with people and trust me it isn't because I don't care about them it's because I suck at actually taking action when it comes down to it.

I've lost every "close" friend I've ever had...for a number of various reasons but I blame my lack of action and complete awkwardness for most of it. I'm hoping to keep Michael by my side for the rest of my life...he helps keep me in check. :)

Proverbs 12:1 says, To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

Well, I'm a learner....I'm disciplining myself to be better at being a friend.

Baby steps but I'll get there.

The Week, The Album, The Excitement!

Well, the time is here! Get Excited people! My husband along with the Jordan Howerton Band are going to Oklahoma City to record their first full length album next week!

Reasons why I'm excited you ask?

I'm excited to see my husband, Michael get so excited. He keeps talking about what he's going to wear, how anxious he is and how he never thought this would happen...and the time is near!

I'm excited to see what God has in store for this group of guys. They work so well together. They are friends on stage and off. God has obviously given this group of men the passion to sing His praises and guide others through musical worship!

I'm so excited to see how God will continue using JHB throughout the summer at CIY's, MOVE conferences and other various events!

I'm super duper excited about the album release party that will happen the first or second week of January (More details to come, I'm sure!)!