Jamaica

I can't believe that I have to be up in exactly one hour to get ready to go to the airport, and here I sit typing away.

I can't believe I am about to embark on an incredible journey all for the glory of God!!

Please be praying for me and my team as we head down to Jamaica to help start up a high school ministry with Spalding Church. This is my first trip out of the US and my first mission trip, so needless to say I am anxious with excitement and nervous for the unknown.

More is certainly to come...stay tuned, mon.

:)

Fear Factor...Work Edition

Waaay back in the day God gave us the Ten Commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other Gods but me.
2. Thou shalt not make thyself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.
3. Thou shalt not misuse the name of the Lord thy God.
4. Thou shalt remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Thou shalt respect thy father and mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not envy thy neighbor.

Notice it does not say anything in there along the lines of "Thou shalt encounter rodents in the workplace"

.....its a good thing I love my job. :)

Today at 3PM I did the same thing that I do every Tuesday at 3PM...I headed down to the church to get set up for the evening. I put my stuff down, and went straight to the 7|22 storage closet to pull out everything we need for the night. What I didn't know was that an unwelcomed visitor would grace me with his presence and send me screaming into the East Auditorium moments later. Ugh.

Let me back up a little bit...

About a month ago, as I was pulling out the snack baskets for our volunteers I noticed that someone had helped themselves to quite a few pieces of chocolate. But this was not your usual hungry employee wandering aimlessly into our chocolate stash...oh no. This time the culprit left his mark...teeth marks, to be exact...straight through the wrapper, leaving half eaten (but still wrapped) Hershey's Kisses all over the place. Yup, you guessed it - apparently a mouse had helped himself to our goody stash.

At first I found this humorous, affectionately referring to the little fella as "Herman" to make him seem more friendly (even though im not a fan of rodents of any kind). Then I got a little freaked out when he ran across my (bare) toe today and scared the heck out of me. Now that I see even after I hid all the chocolate in solid plastic containers, that he has helped himself to our potato chips, its just plain war.

Nowhere in my job description did it say that I would have to fight off four legged vermin, but unless Herman decides he's going to become a 7|22 volunteer he's not getting anymore of our goods!

It's you and me Herman. Or, uh...its you and the exterminator (i'll be hiding behind him hoping that he catches you). I will NOT fear the mouse in the closet! :)

Ahhhhh.....

Oh my precious blog, how I have missed you so!

I think it has been eeons since I have contributed to you, and I promise not to let that happen again! Call it "writer's block", call it "ive been so incredibly busy that I haven't taken the time to stop and write out my thoughts" or call it "information overload"...but whatever the reason, I am through with my writing hiatius. I miss writing, and my brain is about to explode with all the thoughts that have been building up for the past 4 months.

Bear with me while I sort out my brain, and stay tuned - there is certainly more to come.... ;)

Fair WEATHER Fan

Ok, so i'm not actually a fairweathered Braves fan, i've rooted for the home team as long as I've lived in the ATL (which would be my entire life)...but today this title seems apropriate.

Apparently I have been hexed with the "Free Ticket Curse." Every time that I have been given free tickets to a Braves game from work, out of nowhere a mighty monsoon decides to grace Atlanta with its presence. Two months ago I received some tickets the afternoon of the game, and about 10 minutes before we got out of the car a torrential downpour covered the stadium (and us..who had no umbrellas, by the way). We waited out part of the storm like drowned rats with about 60 other fellow soggy fans in the neighboring KFC, only to dash over to the stadium in a lighter downpour and find out an hour later that the game was called. Bummer.

Today was no exception.

I enjoyed a beautiful ride with the top down to a relaxing outdoor lunch with some friends at around noon. At 3pm I was offered 4 fantastic seats to tonight's game, along with a convenient parking pass.

And right on schedule, at 3:30pm the rains, they came a pourin'.

Oh well, maybe they will hold out this time - or maybe i'll just get another shower... :)

Daylight Savings?.....Nah!

It's mornings like today that I wish I hadn't gone back to being a brunette, then I could just choc my stupidity up to having a 'blonde moment' and get on with my day...

I go through the exact same routine every morning...set my alarms (all 3 of them) - hit snooze about 10 times each, wake up late and scramble to get out the door by 8:15 to make it to work by 8:30 (I am so not a morning person). Now considering I went to bed extremely late last night, I might have been a little out of sorts when I woke up this morning. Maybe that's why I did what I did. I glanced at the clock....quarter till....shoot! I only have 30 minutes to get ready and out the door. I rush around getting ready, trying to find the clothes on the hangar that needed the least amount of ironing (and think to myself, 'I have got to start ironing clothes when I hang them up') and im out the door.

As I pulled out of the neighborhood and turned on my headlights, I thought to myself that we must be getting closer to the fall time change, because I never have to turn my headlights on. Either that, or its just super cloudy...and I kept driving on in sleepy oblivion.

It wasn't until I pulled into the parking deck at work that I think I actually woke up. I pulled up the ramp to the 2nd floor, and was surprised that there were available parking spaces...I always have to park on the 4th or 5th floor by the time I get there.

And that's when it hit me....it was 25 after SEVEN, not EIGHT!!!

How in the world I managed to get up and get to work an hour early, and not realize it until I got there is beyond me...either I was really, really tired or maybe, just maybe that blonde is seeping back through....haha. ;)

Happy Weekend!

I Wish For You

I Wish For You
By: Jessica Andrews

Time goes by so fast, and days they seem to dance
Into the distance till they're gone
If I had a map, to lead you down life's path
I'd give it to you, But I don't
So go on

Cry hard, laugh loud
Be humble, stand proud
And don't be afraid of your fears
Let love break your heart
Just be who you are
All of this
All that there is
I wish for you

You can never know which way your world will turn
How the stars are gonna fall
Salty tears they burn
There are lessons you will learn
But you'll be stronger for it all
Oh, yes you will

Cry hard, laugh loud
Be humble, stand proud
Hold onto your faith with all your heart
Be careful, Be brave
Be still, but don't stay
In any one place for too long
Remember God's grace
Give more than you take
All of this
All that there is
I wish for you

Weekend Seclusion

Friday night I ventured to Vevay, Indiana again...where everyone knows everyone, and where I have no cell phone reception (nice). :)

It was kind of nice to just get away, hang with one of my best buds (Casie), and not worry about what parties or social functions I was missing back home. We made our own schedule, and had some good old fashioned small-town fun. We went to Vevay's Annual Swiss Wine Festival, and it was exactly what you envision a small-town festival to be. It was funnel cakes and face painting, country music and corn on the cobb; crafts and carnival rides, and fireworks over the river. We watched a parade down main street, and I even got to judge the cheerleading competition! What fun!

Today, back to reality...but only for 3 days. Thursday it's off to Destin, and I can't wait! If anyone needs me, i'll be somewhere asleep in the sand...

There's God

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."
Proverbs 3:5

Sometimes in life we have what my pastor, Andy Stanley, likes to call "Where's God" moments. Moments when you look at a situation, and wonder how in the world God could let something like that happen. I'm sure many of my friends, as well as tons of people in the Atlanta area have felt caught in the midst of a "Where's God" moment this past week, as we watched a tragedy unfold right before our eyes. I was shocked when I got a text early Wednesday morning that a friend's mom, Jenny Ewing was missing. I immediately began to pray that she would be found, but as the hours wore on, I feared the worst.

When I heard word that her body had been found, I was horrified...and my mind instantly flashed back to a similar scene, when I mourned the death of two coworkers and friends, Lori Brown and Cindy Williams, who were brutally murdered in a random act of violence just three years ago. It's so easy to look at both of these situations and think..."God, where were you when this was happening? Where were you when these families' foundations were rocked to the core?"

As I sat in Jenny's memorial service on Monday, I was surrounded by "There's God" moments. I sat among hundreds and hundreds of people who were impacted by the life of this woman, and the events that led up to her glorious journey home...there's God.

I watched as one by one, her children, family and friends painted the picture of a woman who was a light to all who crossed her path. An incredible wife, mother, friend and servant of the Lord who left a legacy that many can only hope to acheive in a lifetime...there's God.

Jimmy said his mother always told him that the enemy attacks those who are a threat. This is so true. But over the past week, we have watched this family stand firm - firm in their committment to each other, and firm in their refusal to let the enemy get a stronghold on them...there's God.

It was just two weeks ago that Voddie Baucham spoke of his own family. With tears in his eyes, he said that every couple should live their lives and raise their children up so that when they are gone, their children are the missles that they fire out into the world to continue the fight against Satan, and to spread God's word far and wide. It is evident in the lives and actions of her children that Jenny exemplified this principle.

Also at the memorial, their family pastor read from Proverbs 31, of what a Godly woman should look like. Instead of being sad, I walked away from the service moved and humbled to hear the story of a woman who's life embodied this very description...

"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain....Strenght and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue...Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her saying: many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all."

I am inspired and ever so humbled...There's God.


Bigger Than Me
By: Amanda Bailey

I'll admit I like to win
and hear a 'that a girl' every now and then
a pat on the back, a compliment, feels ok

I'd like to see my name in lights
and I'd like to sail my ship into paradise
I want things that sparkle and shine
but glitter fades

And at the end of the day
I want to hear them say
she gives more than she takes

Cause there is something bigger than me
How will they remember me?
Did I laugh enough?
Did I give, did I love?
Did I make an offering...to something that is bigger than me

I could quickly make a list
of this or that I need to bring me happiness
I'd like to be the best of the best at anything

But is it wisdom or age
experience or grace
that helps me find my way

To something that is bigger than me
and what I want the world to see
is it beauty from within
that only comes when I give unselfishly
to something that is bigger than me

Let the sun shine down on me
Let the wind blow soft upon my skin
Let the rain wash my fears away
Let me live if only just to live for something that is bigger than me

A love, a light, a legacy
I look in my daughter's eyes, I know I leave behind
A reason to believe
in something that is bigger than me

Home Sweet Home

This past Saturday afternoon was wonderful...I chilled at home. And by home, I don't mean Dunwoody - I mean H-O-M-E...where my parents are, where I grew up, and where I have all of my fond memories from the last 18 years.

Casie came with me - we went to hang with my parents and see my little nephew they were keeping for the day. She and I relaxed out on the front porch swing, and I remembered all those lazy summer days when I used to spend hours on that swing - writing, making up songs in my head and daydreaming about anything and everything. That little corner of the porch was my haven - my hideaway; it was my space that I claimed in the house. I camped out there on rainy days, wrote so many poems and stories, and when I was older, even had a first kiss there. Casie and I sat there and tried to remember what life was like before cell phones and boys, work and stress and responsibility... days when we could daydream about being a fairy princess rescued by her prince, and believed that one day we would live in a castle filled with anything we could ever want. I began to long for the days when all I had to worry about was what time Saved by the Bell came on, and which friend was going to come spend the night so we could stay up gabbing 'till the wee hours of the morning, ingesting every calorie in the pantry like we had the metabolism of a tapeworm and not thinking twice about it.

In the true spirit of reminiscence, we decided to "fast" from our cell phones. I did something that I haven't done since probably my freshman year in college, I (gasp) turned my phone completely off. And so did she. We hopped in the car and drove around the neighborhood to find a garage sale that we saw a sign for when we pulled in. As we drove around the block, I remembered it like the back of my hand...I pointed out where the bus used to stop for all my friends, the house of a boy I had a secret crush on, and all the neighborhood kids I used to babysit for. After some vintage record purchases (records.....do you remember them? I used to love to listen to my parents old 45's!), we headed out to eat lunch with the family. What a perfect day.

My head may be in a million places sometimes, but home is definitely where my heart is. :o)

Patience, Grasshopper...Patience

Isn't it so cool how God uses so many different avenues to speak to us? Here's my "God moment" for today...

Just last night I was talking with a friend about how lately I have felt conflicted, or maybe frustrated (for lack of a better word). I have been struggling with direction, and where the "next steps" should be in my life, mainly regarding career, but also touching on a few other areas as well. I knew a year ago when I accepted the position that I am currently in, that it was merely a "transitional" job; one that will add skillsets that I will need in the future, but ultimately serve as a stepping stone towards wherever it is God is leading me down the road. The uncertainty now comes in the question of "how long do I stay here, and where do I go next when the time is right?"

I am not one who likes to be complacent in a spot where I know I could be doing/learning/acheiving more. However, I also know that if God has ingrained nothing else in my head and heart over the past several years, He has continually challenged me with mastering the art of patience. In every aspect of my life, from dating to career to finances, to basically everything, the central recurring theme He has shown me has been wait. Yes, the four letter word that strikes fear in the heart of every Christian...W-A-I-T. But how do you make sure that your "patience" doesn't become "complacency"? As a child of the "microwave generation," its so easy to want something or to set a goal, and expect to have it immediately. I set my own timeline, hand it to God and say "ok Big G, here's what I want...why don't you see what you can do to make it happen in the next 30 days..mmmkay?" Uh...yeah, im sure (as ive learned the hard way in the past) God is probably taking one glance at my timeline and laughing hysterically. In one of my favorite books by John Ortberg, "If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat," he wrote something that stuck with me: "For good reasons, God does not always move at our frantic pace. We are too often double espresso followers of a decaf Sovereign." And he is so right. On the front end, we see something we want, or we discover a passion for something that God has placed in our hearts, and we wonder why we can't have it now. But on the back end, God is telling us to wait - maybe because we're not ready for it yet, maybe because He's still building the framework to make it happen, or maybe some other reason that we'll never know. But whatever the reason, He knows my whole story and He knows how the book ends, so shouldn't I trust that He knows which chapters to build everything into? Easier said than done.

I was that kid that used to beg my mom to let me open one, just one present before my birthday. I was sure that if I could have just one thing early that I would be content until my birthday got there. Wrong. One year she actually let me do it. I can remember opening that pink Barbie umbrella and being elated because I had pointed that out to her in the store months before. But I can also remember that the excitement lasted all of about an hour. After that I was dying to know what was in the other boxes...if I got one of the little things I wanted, there was no telling what else I might get..the possibilities were endless! I'm sure I pestered her until she was ready to tape my mouth shut that year, because I never got to open another gift early. On that same note, God doesn't give us things before we're ready because He knows we'll just be that impatient little kid who will never be content.

Back to the patience/complacency debate...as I said, ive been struggling with knowing that this role that I am in is only temporary. I'm good at what I do, I work hard to make sure of that, but while I do constantly learn things, I don't feel like I am being continually challenged. I know that I am capable of doing much more than what is in my job description. This is where I find my conflict. I've tried to be still and just listen to God - to figure out whether I need to continue to be patient as He prepares me for the next step in my life, or is it time for me to seek out a new challenge where I feel I can learn/do/be more? I've repeatedly asked myself (and God) why I am still in this role that I feel is holding me back from reaching my full potential?

Enter God stage left...

So last night, I just laid it out to God - talked to Him like we were chit-chatting over coffee. I told Him, "God, I'm confused. I don't know why I am still where I am, and I don't know when or where I am supposed to go next...you're gonna need to give me some directions here, i'm feeling a little lost, and a little bit like im spinning my wheels." Earlier in the night, I had told my friend that I feel like im ready for a next step, but that I kind of felt like maybe God is telling me to wait just a little bit longer, but im not really sure. I prayed for clarity and direction.

Ironically, expecting it to be a while before I got an answer (probably another test of patience), I got a little more insight today. (how fast!) I have a box sitting on my desk of daily devotionals - on one side it has a bible verse, and the opposite has a prayer for the day. I pulled out my devotional for today and here was the verse:

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
-II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

And then I turned it over and read my prayer for today:

"O Lord, help me to understand the reasons for your chastening."

If you're like me, the definition that comes to mind of chastening is to hold back. I decided to look up the actual definition of the word. And as I thought, the first definition was along those lines.

Chasten: 1. to restrain; subdue

But then I read the second definition that was listed:

Chasten: 2. To rid of excess; refine or purify

Ahhh. Ok God, I get ya - you're coming in loud and clear. So many times we mistake God's timing as restraining us from reaching our full potential, when in all reality He's still doing a little refining "behind the scenes" to prepare us for what's ahead. I feel that my intuitions for (gasp) waiting just a little longer are right on...I don't understand at the moment exactly why, but I know He will reveal it to me in time, and I know that He will open those doors for me when He knows I'm ready, not when I think I am.