Butterfly Sparks Designs

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Emerald Coast

I've had so many people ask me about where I am right now and I always tell them "The Emerald Coast." It's a term that can be only described through pictures, so here are some...


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It is absolutely the prettiest beach I have ever seen. All of you should come! NOW:)

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

how can i pray for you?

I was talking to a great friend of mine today and as we started to end our conversation, she asked "how can I pray for you this week?" It triggered a thought inside my head, "why doesn't everyone ask this question when getting off the phone or leaving someone's house, etc.
What a beautiful thought...Everyone really wanting to know what they can pray about. Think of how great you would feel if you knew someone cared enough to pray for you and your specific need. That's a challenge...to everyone!
People always need prayer. Whether it be for joy or for understanding. It could be prayer for sleep. There is always a need and a situation to lift to the Lord.

Will you join me and ask someone "How can I pray for you today?"

Monday, June 25, 2007

Homesick

I think that I am a little homesick today. I keep thinking how great it would be to click my fingers and my parents, brother and puppies would be here. When you're on the road so much, sometimes you feel like you don't have a stable place. It's like you're in between homes.

I am loving every second of every day to the fullest but sometimes when I slow down I begin to think about memories. Times when I used to play in the river with my brother or sliding down water slides with my dad. I think about my mom's voice and how yummy her food is. I try to imagine what I would be doing if I was at home.

Here is what I would have done today... I would have woke up early so I could go down to the golf course and have my dad make me an egg sandwich. I would take the boat out with my brother and my niece on the Chowan River for a couple of hours. Then maybe let my puppies run and play in the pond behind my house. After a long afternoon, I would sit down for dinner with my family and of course, my mom's chicken casserole. That would be a great day!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Rainbow cake

I had the most amazing cake ever today. It was called rainbow cake. The cake itself was five different colors and five different flavors. It was layered like a rainbow starting with purple(grape), green(watermelon), yellow(lemon), orange(self explanatory) and pink(strawberry). It was topped with a cream icing and I ate every bit possible in one sitting...haha

Just thought you should know! It was fabulous. Check it out...


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Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Friday, June 22, 2007

Money on the walls

We ate at this crazy Irish pub called McGuire's! It's in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and it was such a good experience. Good food, good service and some amazing decorations. This restaurant has more than 550, 000 dollars on the ceiling and walls.
It all started when Molly McGuire opened the restaurant. She was a bartender at the time and she taped a dollar bill on the wall for good luck. A couple of her regular customers told her they would place a dollar on the wall as well for luck and if her restaurant ever went out of business they would come back to claim it.
Well, it never went out of business and today it is one of the top restaurant's in Fort Walton with money all over the ceiling. It's tradition now to place a dollar on the ceiling or wall for good luck!

Amazing:)

Here are some pictures from McGuire's!! Enjoy


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Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Thursday, June 14, 2007

I'm going to Disney World!!

Last night during Brock's performance...he stopped and began to thank Auny, Jessica and myself by telling us we had been doing a great job. He introduced us to the whole camp in the middle of the service( it was awkward because everything kind of stopped and the attention shifted from Brock to us). He then began to tell us that since we had done such a good job this week...Are you ready for this...he was going to take us to Disney World!

Well he wasn't kidding!!!

So, Saturday I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

Roller coasters here I come:)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

There are three types

Here is a story that put things in perspective for me!

I'll paint the picture...
A few years ago, Brock and Auny were on the beach in Pensacola, FL. They were sitting in the sand, around sunset. There weren't many people on the beach at that time. A few here and there and then these two people that were in the water. Auny was watching the people and after a few moments she felt like they were yelling for HELP.
A man walked by, stopped, looked at the people in the water, looked at Brock and Auny then turned and walked off. He avoided the call out for help.
Brock realized the people were yelling, but he couldn't really understand why because they were in chest high water and it looked like the were fine. Brock ran out to them and when he got there both people went limp. The girl was already in the first stage of drowning. He scooped them up still trying to figure out what was going on. When he turned, he figured it out real quick...They were in a rip current!
For those not familiar with rip currents, it's a wall water going outward, away from the shore. The pressure is extremely high and it's almost impossible to stay above water. Brock yelled for Auny to go get help! As she ran to find someone, he realized he had to do something because the two people he had were struggling and they were pulling him under with them.
He planted one foot after the other and after what seemed like a half an hour on struggle, he had pushed his way to the shore carrying the two individuals with him. All three fell to the sand exhausted!
It is a story of heroism but it always describes three types of people in this world.

  • The people who are drowning in sin! Crying out for help.
  • The people who walk by and do nothing!(the man on the beach)
  • The people who do something about it...who get involved and try to help!

Which one are you? Are you doing something about it?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The ministry is in your hands

The sermon tonight was incredible! It was one of those messages that every teenager and young adult should hear. It was called "putting the ministry in your hands." It comes from the scripture Acts 1:8... I could never do it justice but here are a few key points from the night:

  • If you are bored in church, you're doing it wrong! Church is what you make it. If you are bored...do something about it!
  • If you are 15 years old, you are old enough to be a leader. We trust young men and women in the military with thousands of dollars worth of equipment, heavy machinery and extremely dangerous weapons but we won't trust them to lead a Bible study! Why is that?
  • A building is not the church, we are the Church! Our body is the house of the Lord. We are his temple!
  • Quit going to church and start being the church!
  • Start to think about your school or college as your youth group. Instead of the small 20-30 of you, start to branch out and begin to share with all the people around you, not just who you go to church with.
  • Mentor those who are younger than you! Start a cycle...learn from the elders in your church and the older youth in your group so that you can teach the people younger then you how to be great Christians.
I could go on and on! It was one of those messages where I was absorbing every second. I have heard this message several times now, but the impact that it makes, still gives me chills every time I hear it!
God is good:)

Monday, June 11, 2007

Sounds like something I wrote before

I heard this new artist and one of his songs reminded me of a poem I wrote a couple of months ago...it's crazy how people think alike! I wanted to share it with you. It's called:

"Puzzle Pieces"


trying to make sense of this puzzle
but feeling like the pieces are scattered all around this room
climbing the fence of my trouble
falling down once again to try and get there soon
oh but could I stand and wait for You
instead of running from this black to find my blue
oh and when will I just listen to the truth
that the pieces of this puzzle just don't fit without You
trying to make sense but nothing doing
as I scramble on my knees to let some light shine through
over this fence, aah but peeking back through it
just to see if I left anything that I could do without You
though my vision lags behind
I have found that I can find
my completeness only in You, in You

Do you know who sings it?

Saturday, June 09, 2007

A new way to greet

Today we picked up Jessica(Brock's intern) from the airport! Brock always gets crazy ideas...everyone should know that by now. He came up with a brilliant way to greet Jessica after her flight from Houston, TX. Here let me show you:


I thought it was pretty creative! What do you think?

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

More food than I can imagine

Last night I had the biggest feast ever! We went to this restaurant called Old Bay Steamer near Fort Walton Beach. It was absolutely amazing! They bring out this huge bowl full of crab legs, shrimp, potatoes and corn. I was shocked by the size and by how amazing it was. It has moved to the top of my list of favorite places to eat!
You can only understand by seeing it...seeing is believing!!!

This was before!!


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And this was after...Let's just say "IT WAS GOOD!"

Monday, June 04, 2007

Here I'll show you...

I wanted all of you to see just a few memories so far! It's so pretty down here...


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These are just a few from the first day! There will be plenty more to come so keep checking

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Here I go!

So I flew to Florida today to begin my new way of looking at work! I am not to fond of flying, especially when the plane looks like a prop plane! It's safe to say flying was not my favorite part of the day.

I arrived a little after lunch and my friend Kyla picked me up and took me straight to the beach where everyone was. It was absolutely beautiful...white sand, crystal clear water and warm sun! I think I'm going to really enjoy this working at the beach thing:)

We are going to be working with three different camps this summer... Big Stuf, Superwow and LIFT! I am so excited to see how different these camps are from the camp I've always had a part in.
Here I go!!!!