Magic in 3 layers!

I miss this!

Remember Jell-O 123? It seemed like magic, one uniform mixture separated into 3 distinct layers during refrigeration. It was introduced in 1969, then pulled off the shelves and then it was back until the mid '90s when it was discontinued again. In Jell-O, A Biography, Carolyn Wyman included this recipe to make your own at home.




Ingredients:


3/4 cup boiling water


1/2 cup cold water with enough ice cubes added to equal 1 1/4 cups


1/2 cup whipped cream


3 oz package any flavor Jell-O


Directions:
In a blender, mix together the gelatin and the boiling water. Add the ice cube/water mixture and mix until the ice cubes are melted. Mix in the whipped cream for 30 seconds. Pour into dessert glasses. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Serve.

Kooza

Yep it happened and it was amazing!

Last night Jen, Katie and I went to see the Cirque du Soleil show, KOOZA in Atlantic Station thanks to our good friend Michael Walker. There are not enough words to describe how awesome the show was.

KOOZA tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Pickpocket, and the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.

Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of fear, identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement.

That about sums it up, ha.

Walker thank you for everything. We had an amazing time!

A message from Ed Young

…Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant … For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:43, 45

Selfishness vs. Servanthood… When the war is waged in our lives, we side with selfishness. We major in “me.” We have this me, my, mine attitude in our lives and forget about others. We want someone else to serve us, to give us the massage, the pedicure, or the shoulder rub. We don’t want to serve anyone else because we think of servants as weaker than, less than, or below us.

But Jesus Christ, God’s only son, came to this earth to blow the doors off of our pre-determined ideas of servanthood. He taught us that serving is the way to freedom, the way to God’s heart. And he modeled true servanthood by performing the ultimate act of service.

When we accept what he did for us, when we bow the knee to Christ, we become armed in the battle against selfishness. God instills in us the character quality that Jesus showed every day of his life - servanthood.

When Jesus walks into the doors of your life, he places the person of the Holy Spirit inside of your heart. And the Holy Spirit is the one who helps you battle against selfishness - he gives you the strategy, the way to win, the way to serve with an honest heart.

This week, when you feel the pull of selfish thinking in your life, remember the act of service that Christ performed on the cross. Remember that Jesus himself came, not to be served, but to serve. Then, reflect that teaching in what you do; reflect the servanthood that God has so passionately shown you.

by Ed Young

Hunting corn

Funniest thing I heard today was from Mr. Brandon Coker! Apparently while he was in Nebraska he was talking to man about corn...random, yes but a good conversation starter! The man told him that corn wasn't in season right now so Coker, being the quick witted guy that he is, asked the question "Exactly how do you hunt corn when it's in season?"

I'm telling you, I laughed so much as Jen, Coker and I thought of the best ways to hunt corn. We threw out the ideas of maybe using a bow and arrow or some sort of small rifle but my favorite thought was using a fishing rod. You just through that bad out and reel it back in, haha!

What do think? When corn is in season, what is the best to hunt it?

No greater compliment!

I want to tell you about a little project I did a little over a year ago. I was living in Nashville and was struggling a bit financially. I didn't have a lot of money for Christmas presents so I decided to make something that would mean far more than a new sweater or some new gadget meant to make life easier. I decided to make a little something that I had been wanting to do for years.

With the help of my good friend Daniel Heath, founder and producer at 210 Records, I created a little CD for my family and closest friends. It was one of those ideas that trickled in to my head one day while I was singing in my car. So I compiled a few songs that had touched my heart and my parents in some way. My parents have always loved to hear me sing. I grew up singing in church, at my school, for retreats and my favorite, at Caswell. I felt like every opportunity was one that lead me closer to the dream I had when I was a little girl. The dream to one day be a singer...I think it's every girl's dream.

Now, I'm not one for spotlights and glamour, I always had a different purpose for wanting to sing on stage. I wanted the people in the audience to be touched. To have that feeling you get when a specific song comes on the radio. That feeling of a memory triggered and emotion sparked. I had it all planned out in my head.

As time went on, my dream changed a bit but it's still there. Over the past week I've had a few moments that have rekindled that dream. A few encouraging words, an awesome opporutinty and a sweet story from my mom.

Apparently, my CD that was made in 2007 has made its way to a preschool room in North Carolina. The teacher, Mrs. Dixie Courtright, a friend of my family told my mom that her tiny students request that CD everyday before their nap time. How cute is that?!

Maybe it's soothing or maybe it's just boring but to me it doesn't matter their reason. It matters that for those few minutes before they fall asleep, they listen to me, singing about Jesus and singing about hope, love and joy. And to me, there could be no greater compliment.

What Love is This?

You must download this song by Justin McRoberts! I promise you'll love it.

How long? How long to wait when my heart’s ready to break?
How long? How long to stand when I don’t know who I am?

Would you be my lover if I had no love
And no beauty to speak of?
Would you still be faithful if I had no faith
And I questioned everything?
Amen

What then if I turned away and in darkness hid my face?
Would you leave me then?
Or would you draw me to yourself again?

Would you be my lover if I had no love
And no beauty to speak of?
Would you still be faithful if I had no faith
And I questioned everything?
Amen


What love is this? What love is this,
That will never change? That could never change?
What love is this? What love is this,
That remains the same? It remains the same.

Amen.

The Here and Now

Ziggy makes me happy!! I think it's because he's so cute and so very wise, haha :)

Holy Through You

I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
— Ezekiel 36:23 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...
God can and will use us even though we are not worthy vessels for him to use. Scripture gives us many examples of people God used when they did not measure up to his moral and holy requirements -- for example, think a little about Samson or most of the other Judges! God will be revealed as the holy, mighty, and awesome God that he is. So let's not be unwilling tools in his hands. Instead, let's offer ourselves to him for his service and his glory.


Holy Father, make me pure and holy, not just by your grace, but also in my actions, words, and thoughts. Create a clean heart in me and renew a righteous spirit in me by the power of your Holy Spirit. May my life be a holy sacrifice of praise to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Addicted

I'm addicted!

Addicted to schedules. Addicted to planning. Addicted to checking my emails. Addicted to strawberry cheesecake yogurt. Addicted to being neat. Addicted to Facebook...among other things.

Why is it that we can get so addicted to work, friendships, internet phenomenons, etc but we can't get addicted to our relationship with God?

Good question, huh? Anyone have an answer?

Everyday I wake up, shower and dress, rush to work(unless it's the weekend), impulsively stare at emails, projects, meeting requests, etc then work out, head home, impulsively stare at emails, meeting requests and Facebook and eventually head to bed...always later then I want to, of course. Somewhere in that mix I do throw in some food and the occasional 100 phone conversations but if you look closely, something is missing. Can you see it? Of course you can't because it's missing. It's my time with God...that's what is missing.

Why is that? I can dedicate my entire day to planning other people's lives, answering everyone's questions and making sure that nothing goes unresolved but I can't even take 5 minutes to thank God for giving me that day to do all those things?! That's sad.

God blesses me everyday with new experiences, strength to do the things I have to get done, my health, friendships to make me smile and thousands of other things that would make this blog about 3 days long if I listed them all yet I have no time to thank Him. That has to change!! And it will, starting right now!

My days are going to be different, my time is going to be different, my life is going to be different! I am going to become addicted to God. Addicted to His word. Addicted to His provision. Addicted to saying thank you through prayer. Addicted to his updates instead of my Facebook updates. Just wait and see.

Oh and if you do see, I give you permission to call me out and scold me!! That's fair :)

Done!

I am done!

Done with the last minute change of plans, done with the let downs, done with acting like I am perfectly fine when someone tells me one thing but always does another. I have always been the girl that lets things roll off her shoulder when it comes to friendships and heartbreaks. I never speak up, I never lash out and I never confront but I think I've come to a point in my life where I've had it. I've had it with people who pretend to be your friend when they need something, come to you when they need to vent about someone or call you when they can't find anyone else to hang out with. I'm tired of being the back up plan and I refuse to do it any more!

For those of you who know me, truly know the real me, you know that I try really hard to be helpful and sincere. I offer my time and my ear to anyone who needs a friend. I try really hard to be there for everyone but I am finally wearing thin. I can't do it anymore.

So to those of you who are my true friends, thank you! Thank you for always being there! For those of you who need someone to vent to about your latest breakup or fight with a friend, if that's all I'm good for to you, don't bother! Find someone else to complain to. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that will listen to your whining and not expect a friendship in return. I am no longer one of those people!!

Passion City Church

Passion City Church

Yep, it has begun...Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels and a vision that has been in the making for years...Passion City Church.

Tonight was the very first service and it made me super excited about what is to come. I am excited about going out into our city, our community, with our people to make a huge difference. This church is for God, for People, for the City and for the World. Louie's vision spoke to my heart and I am looking forward to diving head first into spreading the love of Jesus Christ with several hundred other passionate followers!

It's going to be amazing. Come join us if you can.

A Special Surprise

It happened! Aren't they beautiful???

For those of you who don't know...for the past week I have been hinting to my Daddy, friends and just people in passing that flowers would be a great surprise on Valentine's Day (actually the day before at work so I could show them off to all my friends, ha).

Honestly I'm not that girly and flowers aren't really something I have to have on special love days but it's been a while since I've received flowers, so I thought it would be nice this year, haha.

And it was!

What an awesome surprise to receive a bouquet of gorgeous roses, lilies and geraniums plus some delicious chocolate from a sweet fellow in North Carolina. I totally showed them to everyone in my department and I displayed them on my desk :) Thanks Pookie, You made my day!

Then to make the day even better, when I got home there was an awesome package from my parents waiting for me. It had the sweetest card that made me tear up a little and a chocolate rose, which my dad said was all he could afford this year, haha. I was so excited. I am truly blessed to have the greatest family ever!!!

I want to be the exception!

I have been waiting for this movie to come out since last summer. FINALLY!!!

Saw it tonight and I can truly say that I learned a lot about what to look for when dating. Basically it's like this, simple really:
* Myspace and Facebook messages are known as booty calls.
* Guys who say 'its nice to meet you' at the end of the date aren't gonna call.
* If he's not sleeping with you, there is someone else that he is sleeping with.
* If he gets your number instead of giving you his, he's not interested.
* There are two types of women, the rule and the exception.(I'm tired of being the rule)
* Oh and this is one of the main points, never force a man to get married because the outcome could be him with a cheap tramp buying bananas at the local Handy Mart.

That last one will make you think! haha

You have to go see the movie! And guys you should go to...maybe you'll learn something!

No Hands

I love sharing these with everyone!

Today's 'Dare of the Day' was...eat your lunch using no hands. Sounds easy but it's not, especially when you have to eat your lunch in public!

Here we go:
I had Mac-N- Cheese.

Matt had some yummy fruit.

Kristi went with Lentil soup.

And Shawn went with wings...wearing a white shirt.

Results:
A few peculiar looks, lots of laughs and no stains on any clothing. My mom would be proud:)

There's a first time for EVERYTHING!

SO tonight I learned how to cut a pineapple. All these years of eating it out of a can, I decided fresh was a better way...and it totally is!

Here's the thing, I didn't even know where to start in cutting up a pineapple. I mean they look prickly and I always thought the top looked somewhat like a cactus which leads to a definite 'DO NOT TOUCH' thought! But pineapples come with instructions. Who Knew?!

So here is your step by step pineapple cutting lesson complete with pictures!

Step ONE: Twist off the crown AKA the prickly top I mentioned earlier

Step TWO: Cut in half, then into quarters

Step THREE: Trim off ends and core, remove fruit from shell



Step FOUR: Cut into bite size pieces

Step FIVE: Enjoy and indulge!

Winterjam 09

I love it when my roomies come to town!

Last night was the night that Winterjam 2009 rolled in to town and with it came my favorite Nashville roomies Stephanie, Emily and Lindsey. It was an incredible night. I got to see some old friends, meet some new friends and just take in atmosphere.

Fun moments of the night...
*Seeing Stephanie in her tu tu. She was absolutely amazing on stage! Owned it.


*Seeing a packed out Gwinett Arena all ready to worship the Lord!


*Being in the catering room when Toby found out he won a grammy. He was like a giddy little boy for the rest of the night!

*Getting to be with some of my favorite girls! I absolutely adore them.



*Hearing Brandon Heath sing! Ahh I fall in love with that voice every time!

*Talking to my new matchy matchy friend Nathan and Lindsey about dates, coffee and random moments.


*Dancing along with Pure NRG as they sang Foot Loose!

There were many more moments and many more laughs. It was such a great night and I'm sad it ended so quickly! Lucky for me there is a Nashville trip and a cruise in my future:)

I have changed!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how my life has changed so much in the past two and half years. It has definitely been an eventful ride mixed with lots of emotions, memorable trips, learning experiences and friends that have never let me down.

For those of you who don't know, in October of 2006 I took a job in Nashville, TN. It was my first 'grown up' job and it just happened to be 12 hours away from everything I loved. It was definitely a huge turning point in my life.

I remember going back to North Carolina after living in Nashville for a few months and someone said to me 'Shannon, you've changed!' I quickly defended myself by giving several reasons why I was the same Shannon that I had always been. It's funny but what I didn't know then that I do now, is I have changed. Everyday I change a little more. It's not a bad thing, it's more of a growing thing! You see, these past few years I've learned a lot about the person I want to be verses the person I don't. With becoming who you want to be, comes change.

It's a hard balance because the truth is everyone changes even if they want to believe they don't. I still love my family deeply and long to see my friends daily. I still love to rub noses with my puppy and blow bubbles in my kool-aid. I still crave Bojangles biscuits and Parker's sweet tea. The list goes on of things that haven't changed about me. The only thing is now there's a new list...a list of things that have changed!

While I could list those things for you one by one, there would be no purpose. Basically you need to know this... Through my changes I have grown closer to God, I have developed a love for new adventures and I have a hard time waiting for what may happen tomorrow:)

I see those as great changes and welcome many more!!!

Matthew 7:12

Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior:
Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then
grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's
Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

Matthew 7:12 (The Message)

I will give the first person to explain this verse in detail an apple Nutrigrain bar! Don't you all comment at once...I only have one to give away:)

Reality + Bank account check

SO for the past two weeks I have been keeping track of my purchases. All because Andy Stanley made me feel so guilty about the way I use my money...and he was totally right!

Looking back at what I spend my money on has made me a little ashamed of the way I live. I'll give you a little example...

Last week I spent about 100.00 on food eating out, 75.00 on gas and 100.00 on unnecessary items like home decor and Starbucks. That's almost 300.00 that wasn't spent on anything related to the Kingdom of God!

I've been thinking about materialism a lot lately and how much I put into buying clothes, picking out new shades of eye color, trying to find the newest trendiest bag and, I hate to say it, but how much I spend on boots >gasp< and it's ridiculous. Atlanta has turned me into one of them...A shopper obsessed with labels and fashion. For once Phillip was right, I have changed.(Don't anyone tell him I said that)

Thankfully I've had a reality check and a bank account check! I have started a new system...a system to get back on track. I am beginning to save for the future, cut out the unnecessary spending and put my money where it should have been all along... in the offering plate!

Thanks Andy for the reality check! I sure needed it.

If you want to listen to Andy's messages about finances visit www.northpoint.org and click on his Balanced series. I promise it will change your view on how you spend your money, in a good way!

Stairs

3 sets of stairs...5 flights of stairs and me running up and down them 3 times! Talk about jello legs. This torture, I mean workout is a part of our daily routine for the next 14 weeks.

Yep, my lungs were burning, my legs were hurting and I was sweating quite a bit but by God I will be fit by the end of this program:)

I'm back...with moments!

OK I'm back! Did you miss me? I know you did :)

Well first order of business is to tell you that my new car hit 1000 miles yesterday! My little boy is growing up...way too fast >tear<

Alright, so besides my truck becoming a man, the past few days have been awesomely wonderful mixed with completely tiring. Like I mentioned in my last blog, I have been at the Conclave Conference since Thursday. I forgot how much work goes into being a part of a conference...not to mention the fact that there were so many people I wanted to hangout with with so little time to accomplish it.

I was very excited to see Aaron Hinton, Chris Lynch and Brian Hemphill standing in front of the Fort Caswell exhibit. It's been months since I've seen them and even longer since I've been able to sit down and have a conversation with them. I absolutely love seeing friends from home. It's such a refreshing feeling, one that I will never get tired of.

I was at the conference to help Brock and Auny with there 3 day performances. I honestly feel like I'm in my element when I am with them, working these types of events. You know, merchandise, camera cues, sound boards and mingling with hosts and state leaders. What more could you ask for? I feel like I do a pretty good job...I mean they keep me around for some reason:)

So there were moments of laughter with great friends, moments of professionalism with state leaders and moments of bright lights and Family Force 5 tracks. I'd say that's a pretty great weekend!

Oh and to top it off me and few old friends decided to send a message to someone special that we missed seeing this weekend! Downey...Todd Agnew, Cody, Brian and I miss you!!