Going to the chapel....

Now on the to the wedding extravaganza...

Saturday was absolutely beautiful from the flowers to the cake to the gorgeous bride! So a perfect wedding day! Carrie is quite the wedding planner. I felt like I was in the middle of a wedding magazine. Words can't describe the beauty therefore I will give you pictures!

First we had to get ready!

Then it was off to the chapel witness God bringing two people together!

There were a few pranks during the ceremony but hey this is Caswell people we're talking about!

Then to the gorgeous reception!


There was cake!

But best of all there was friends!

It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to and I must say thank you to Jesse and Carrie for getting all my friends together for an awesome celebration:)

"Those camp kids"

So I'm guessing that you noticed I was gone all weekend because of my lack of blogs. I do apologize and I intend to fill you in on the enitre weekend over the next few days.

Let's start with Friday...

I ventured up to North Carolina for my friends Carrie and Jesse's wedding. I met some friends in Salisbury, hopped in the car with them and took off. We had such great conversation on the way there dealing with life, our futures and of course our Jesus! That's one of my favorite things about getting together with my friends from Caswell. We're all so open about what we've learned, what we believe and how we want to impact the world. There seems to be this deep connection between all of us(and there are hundreds of us).

Some people call us "those camp kids" and we're OK with that because God has taught so much as a group and He continues to grow our friendships and He continues to place us all over in world to share His word. It's amazing to be in such a huge circle of believers and to know that no matter where you are or what you do, you have tons of people praying for you and caring for you! That's true "camp" people right there...And I'm proud to have that label!

Here are a few pictures from Friday...

More pictures from the wedding to come:)

Dependence

What is Child-Like Faith?

You know that's a good question with so many different answers...To me, having a child-like faith is having an innocence in trust. Do you remember as a child you depended on your parents for protection, wisdom, growth, etc. You watched them and learned from them what was right and wrong. You put all your trust in their hands because they would guide in the rigth direction no matter what. Well imagine having that dependence on your Heavenly Father. This would present a child-like faith.

OK, second question...How is your life different now from when you were a kid?

Here are a few answers that were given in a recent group:
I have more responsibility. I deal with more stress. I don't live in the moment anymore. I don't get to go outside as much. Food isn't free anymore. I try not to wear the same clothes everyday. Making milk come out of my nose isn't that funny anymore. I don't get to take naps everyday. The fun has seemed to turn into seriousness. I can't seem to catch up on bills. I have to deal with the stress of having a relationship. I know how to ride my bike without training wheels...

OK let's take that last response! Think about all the monumental moments in your life! Taking the training wheels off your bike, getting on the school bus for the first day of school, getting your learner's permit, graduating from high school. All these moments lead us to some sort of independence, right? All of us have grown up learning that in order to make it in this world we have to be independent and we have to be able to stand on our own two feet(ahh...the stress of being an adult). Most people would call this maturity.

I'm sure we've all heard that word a time or two. I can remember my parents saying when are you going to start acting mature and I've even said that to my brother and peers a few times. But when did maturity become defined as independent?

The problem is that we in turn, apply that value system to our faith. We try to be independent from God just like we try to be independent in the world. How do we ever believe we are going to make it without being dependent on our Heavenly Father. We go through trials in our life and we become discouraged and we turn to ourselves instead of turning to God. Our value system kicks in and we start to think that we have to fix our own problems and we have to figure everything out ourselves. Sometimes we hit a wall and we feel like we've learned it all or we don't let go of things because it's too scary to release control of the things in our life. And we think that all this makes us mature... when maturity actually has to do with dependence... letting go of things and letting God take control. It teaches us endurance and faith.

Independence is your faith in yourself!
Dependence is your faith in God!

James 1:2 says..."Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him..."

Be dependent on God! Rekindle that child-like faith...that innocence of trusting. Can you imagine what it would look like to move from independence to dependence on God?

...it would look mature and for once standing on your own two feet wouldn't be so stressful!

The Disco Car Wash

How many of you think about washing your car daily? ...What about weekly?

Well, I think about my dirty car all the time but the one thing I never really make time for is the car wash. Not sure why rolling your window down, paying a few bucks and driving into the car wash is so time consuming for me but, that's how my brain thinks.

Well what if your car experience was out of the ordinary? ...what if it was like, perhaps, disco style? I personally believe that would make me want to go more! Well we found one...



Last weekend Jen, Evan, Ben and I found the coolest car wash we've ever seen. We call it the Disco Car Wash! It was all lite up with neon lights flashing blues, greens, reds and yellows. It just gives off this vibe that makes you want to stop whatever you're doing and wash your car.

We couldn't resist! We pulled up to the entrance, paid the money, turned the techno music up, sat back and experienced the fun, haha! It was awesome and I encourage all of you to go...I'll give you directions;)

Designing Dream

I want to tell you all a little story about this dream that I had the other night! You see, I like to think of myself as a pretty creative person and sometimes I get these bright ideas of things I would love to create or design. Well, the other night my creative side came out in a dream...

While I was in Nashville this past weekend I went shoe shopping(actually it was more like shoe looking because A. I can't afford to buy new shoes right now and B. I didn't see one pair that I liked!) It's so frutrating to have an image of the perfect pair of shoes in your head but you never can seem to find them.

I think this stirred up some creative waves in my head because I dreamed about shoes all night long. I dreamed that I was a shoe designer and everything I developed was brilliant. There were heels and flats and cool little casual slides. I designed these awesome pumps with an array of colors and gold leaf trim(sounds strange but they were hot). There was every color, every style and every design imaginable and all with my name on them. Everyone wanted a pair of shoes designed by me. Now in real life this would never happen but anything can happen in dreamland:)

The best part of the dream was I never had to go shopping for shoes again because whenever I pictured the type of shoe I wanted with a particular outfit, I just created it! How awesome is that!

Easter

Love this song and very proper for this weekend.

Beautiful the Blood by Steve Fee

It’s only by the cross I’m saved

The King of Glory rescued me

How beautiful the blood flow

How merciful the love shown…

Never knew the nails would love unfold

Never knew these wounds would heal my soul

Never seen such beauty and sorrow meet

The King of glory poured out,

Victorious we are now…

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:8-11, NIV)

All Ye ~ Coffey

I wanted to share this great new song with all of you!



Enjoy!

Good Friday

Good Friday, also called Holy Friday or Great Friday, is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday. It commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Many Christians spend this day in fasting, prayer, repentance, and meditation on the agony and suffering of Christ on the cross. Did you remember to spend your day thanking God?

And they dressed Him in purple
And condemned Him to die
Mocked, spat upon, and whipped Him
As Pontius Pilate stood by

And with thorns as a crown
He was then led away
To carry His cross
And show us the way

Falling under the burden
Of its heavy weight
But rising up again
Knowing full-well His fate

And meeting His mother
With anguish untold
As God's plan of Great Love
Proceeds to unfold

Simon helps Jesus
Who seems broken and frail
And Veronica steps forward
To wipe His face with her veil

But He soon falls again
For a second time
Paying a price with His suffering
His love being the crime

Women and children
He meets on His way
Then falls for a third time
This most solemn Friday

Adding further humiliation
To any of His woes
Jesus is then
Stripped of His clothes

And while nailed to the cross
His earthly time here passes
His own life He gave
For the salvation of masses

Rock Climbing

Tonight was so much fun...

I went rock climbing for the first time with my friend Paul. Let me tell, rock climbing is intense and not easy! You kind of play this follow the color game while you're on the rock and it's complicated and I had a hard time maneuvering around! Now, Paul said that "I rocked, no pun intended!" haha...I'm not sure about rocking but I think I did pretty good for my first time!

I had a blast and I might consider climbing my new favorite Wednesday activity!

doughnuts on the brain!

Since I moved to Atlanta I have been keeping you up-to-date on all the latest developments in my life like "move in" day in the snow, becoming gelatized, my search for tater tots, the rained out Georgia Tech basketball game(odd yes I know), seeing U2 in 3D and of course the most recent, a tornado at the Georgia Dome! All of these events have left a lasting impact on my life and hopefully yours! Well, after this weekend, I have more to tell and I have decided to tell you one story at a time so that the anticipation will continue to rise(JK, just trying to be humorous).

First I must you ask a question...Do you like Krispy Kreme lemon filled doughnuts?

If you don't then this story will not seem as moving to you. You see, Jen and I had a mission this past weekend and we were determined to accomplish the task. When Jen left to venture to ATL, our friend AJ from back home gave her 5 dollars in quarters and told her that one thing she HAD to do when she arrived here was to take me to Krispy Kreme and buy me a lemon filled doughnut!

...a little back story, AJ and I love lemon filled doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. Probably more than any human should. Out of the goodness of his heart(and the fact that he misses me dearly) AJ wanted to bless my life with some yummy, extremely fattening goodness:)

So with 5 dollars in quarters in hand and the road as our pathway to heavenly sweets, we ventured out on a search to find Krispy Kreme! Now, one thing you should know about Jen and I is that finding random places is not our forte and using the blackberry to find your way in Atlanta is like using a crayon colored map that a kindergartner drew. So we indeed got lost and turn around. But another thing you should know about Jen and I is we NEVER give up!

We drove around and around and around! Two wrong roads and about 45 minutes later we found the Krispy Kreme!

...Too bad it was closed! We tried AJ, we tried....

What is it with Atlanta having only ONE of my favorite places? First Sonic and now Krispy Kreme! Haven't they heard of expansion? You would think it's a sign that I should eat healthier or something!

Nah!

St Patty's Day facts

Facts about St. Patrick's Day Holiday

St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.

Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North American, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.

Facts about Saint Patrick

St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.

Facts about the Irish

34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.

Some American towns have “Irish” names. You could visit: Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia; Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio.

The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”

The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.

The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”

Facts about Clovers

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!

One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.

Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Downtown tornado

So...for most of my life my biggest fear besides failing has been tornadoes. I get scared from the second the weather calls for a watch. When I little, I would climb up in my daddy's lap whenever there was a chance that a tornado was coming our way. Well, Friday night I guess you could say I faced my fear.

Jen Jen was in town for the weekend and we decided that we would attend the SEC tournament in downtown Atlanta. Kentucky was playing Georgia and my friend Mac was kind enough to find us some tickets to the game(Thanks Mac). We got to the stadium about 8:45, just in time to see Mississippi and Alabama go into overtime.(this is where it gets good...)

With 2:11 left in overtime, the unbelievable happened. All of sudden we hear this crazy loud noise that sounds like a freight train entering the building. WE look up and the top of the Georgia is shaking and it was doing this ripple effect. All the lights and the tress were shaken and it looked like the ceiling was gonna start caving in. To our right, one of the panels in the wall blew out and debris started blowing into the dome.



Yes, a tornado went over us. It was crazy! Everyone in the dome was kind of in a panic but not, at the same time because no one knew what was going on. We were told to remain calm and to stay in our seats. They advised us not to leave until we were told to, so everyone sat in the dome for about 3 hours till they let us leave. But what we saw when we were able to leave was unexpected....


Downtown Atlanta experienced quite a bit of damage from the storm and left everyone a bit shaken up! What an experience.

I'm sticking with God

I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.

Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.

~Lamentations 3:24-32(The Message)

*thanks Kristen

Happy Birthday Bub

Today is my brother's birthday! Definitely a day to celebrate!

Love you bub...

Blessing

What is the definition of blessing?

Well in the dictionary it says: to invoke divine care for.

I think that says it well. A blessing in my words is to encourage, to give, to love, to take time, to devote, to care for...

I could on and on! Blessings come from God and He has a way of working through some amazing people. And I thank Him everyday for placing such people in my life.

In the Bible there is a several stories of people blessing to others in need. There is one story in particular that stands out in my mind. In this story, the person gave when no one else would and he cared when everyone else passed by!

Go Read Luke 10:30-37 and you'll see what a blessing is!

Things I learned this past weekend

*never take a nap at 6:00 PM and expect to sleep that night!

*iphone's really are a genius creation

*second chances are always in order

*there is something about a cheer leading movie that is intriguing

*sometimes branching out can lead to surprises

*true friends are always there exactly when you need them

*NAMB has an employee appreciation day and on that day you get a free car wash and cereal bar

*coloring cards can be relaxing

*God opens doors in the strangest ways sometimes

*i really miss my mom and dad

*Andy Stanley really does give great messages

*never read too much into something

*laughing really does make it all better

Now, those are just a few!

What did you learn?

the struggle of moving on...

What do you do when you struggle?

For most of us the answer would be call our closet friend to vent. For some the answer is run and hide. I know that's the answer for me! When I struggle with something I tend to hide myself from the world. It just seems easier if no one knows what I'm dealing with. In the past I have shared my concerns and pain with people but in the end I just don't want anyone to know. I always seem to struggle with the same things and I feel that the more I tell people, the more repetitive it gets. No one wants to hear about the same problem over and over. After a while people just start to tell you to get over it and move on because you've obviously not taken their advice in the past.

So, how do you move on?

I know this question is different for everyone because we are not necessarily dealing with the same issue. But let's say we're dealing with something similar just for blogging purposes! Moving on is a hard thing to do no matter what your situation is. I haven't found a good way and honestly I quit looking a while back. I just realized that for me, letting go of things will always cause me to struggle. So what do you do? Maybe you can give me some advice...

Summer turns six

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday my dear Summer

Happy Birthday to you!

My adorable niece turned SIX today! I wasn't able to be there for her party but she told me all about her new silver purse and the games she played! Wouldn't it be nice to be six again? haha...it's a nice thought!

I'll have pictures from the party soon!

Worth It

We must not conclude that every trial will end with all problems solved, all hard feelings forgiven and everybody “living happily ever after.” It just doesn’t always happen that way!

No matter what happens to us, God always writes the last chapter. Therefore, we don’t have to be afraid. We can trust God to do what is right, no matter how painful our situation might be.

Job’s greatest blessing was not the regaining of his health and wealth or the rebuilding of his family and circle of friends. His greatest blessing was knowing God better and understanding His working in a deeper way. As James wrote, “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the purpose of the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). Hebrews 12:11 reminds us: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

“In the whole story of Job, we see the patience of God and endurance of man. When these act in fellowship, the issue is certain. It is that of the coming forth from the fire as gold, that of receiving the crown of life,”wrote G. Campbell Morgan in the book, The Answers of Jesus to Job.

No matter what God permits to come into our lives, He always has His “afterword.” He writes the last chapter—and that makes it worth it all. So, BE PATIENT!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." ~Hebrews 12:1

Try and read Job 42 and 1 Peter 2:19–23 sometime this week. It will be worth it!

Where's the party hats...

Today is my Daddy's birthday. He is the greatest man I know and I love him dearly! I wish I was in North Carolina so I could give him a big hug! He doesn't usually do anything over the top on his special day but I heard he had a great day of playing golf and relaxing! That sounds perfect for him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY:)

Disciple Now Alabama

It's amazing how God will bless your life when you least expect it. I was asked to help lead a D-Now this past weekend in Montgomery, AL for Heritage Baptist Church. My initial thought when I was asked was "I am not prepared to do this God." Never try to make an excuses with God because He knows when you are ready and when you're not!

This weekend I met seven incredible ladies all with a passion to be involved in changing the lives of today. We dove into the Word, learned how to apply our gifts in leadership, we sat around talking about our lives and we even played a few rounds of guitar hero. It was awesome...

Shana, Erin, Kim, Hannah, Amber, Kathleen and Kathryn, you ladies are amazing and I can't wait till I get to hang out with you again!

Here are my lovely ladies...

sweet surprise

I spent the weekend at a Disciple Now in Montgomery, Alabama with the most amazing girls ever...It was such an incredible experience that I plan on dedicated a whole blog to it tomorrow!

Today, however, I want to share with you something that made me smile from ear to ear! Yesterday while driving back from my weekend, I realized how exhausted I was from the lack of sleep and I was a little sad that my time in Alabama was over. I think for the first time in a while I felt like I was being used by God to teach and share with those young ladies and I was honestly sad that it had to end. So, I came home...tired and a little down but when I walked in my house, on my dining room table there was a box address to me! I rarely get packages so when I do I get really excited. I opened the box to find a bouquet of pink Lilies with a card from Brock and Auny. I teared when I read the sweet words because I had been missing them and in that moment I knew they had been missing me too!

If there is one thing that I learned from living in Nashville it is that I will always have two people in my life that will be there no matter the distance, no matter the job, no matter the friend circle! Brock and Auny bless my life and I am so glad God allowed my the opportunity to work with, to learn from and to know the two of them!

Miss you both:)

"cross I'ed"

“God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:14 (NIV)

I love the title of today’s devotion. Unfortunately, I cannot claim it. The credit goes to pastor and author, Dr. David Jeremiah. The reason I love it is because I easily get “cross I’ed” by focusing on what I cannot do instead of depending on the great I AM.

One of God’s chosen leaders, Moses, also got “cross I’ed” at times. Exodus 3 is a dialogue between God and Moses. Moses is passionately and whole-heartedly trying to convince God that he is not the right person to speak to Pharaoh about freeing the Israelites. Moses was thinking of every excuse of why he was not the right person for the job. He did not realize that God had prepared the way. Let me paraphrase the conversation.

God assures Moses that He will be with him. Moses says, "What will I say to them when they ask, ‘Who sends you?’" God gives Moses an answer that was probably a bit confusing. "Tell them I AM has sent you." Don't you know Moses was very grateful for a response but probably wanted to say, "OK, what do I say when they ask, 'Who is I AM?'" (Exodus 3: 12-14)

I love this dialogue between God and Moses because it sounds like many conversations I have with the Lord. I give excuses of why "I" can't do something He has asked me to do, not ever stopping to think that He has already prepared the way. I remember saying “Lord, I can’t speak. What will I say?” He replied, “Open your mouth and I will fill it.” Another time I said, “I am too tired to get up each morning to have a quiet time with you.” He tenderly said, “I give sleep to those I love.” Even recently I cried out, “Please pass this cup. I am not strong enough, Lord.” He responded by asking me if I trusted Him with all that I had. I replied with trembling, “Yes Lord, I do.”

I continue to learn as Moses did, that I am not and I can’t, but God is and He can. I recently read an amazingly powerful book by Louie Giglio, i am not but i know I AM. Notice the only letters in the title that are capitalized are I AM. Boy, when I figured out the significance of that phrase, my life changed. I am just a little "i." Let Louie tell you about it:

"God was telling Moses:

I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM enough.
I AM inexhaustible and immeasurable.
I AM God.

In a heartbeat, Moses knew God's name - and something more. He finally knew his. For if God's name is I AM, Moses' name must be ‘i am not.’”

I think the sooner we grasp the little "i" concept and live it out loud, the sooner we will make a difference in this world. Think about it.