I wish it could be this way all the time!

I personally want to thank Ryan and Jeni for getting all my friends in the same place at the same time! I wish weekends were always like this past one...just being silly, being carefree but more than anything, being together!

To all of you~ Ryan, Jeni, Downey, Kristen, Abby, Peej, David Helms, Yam, Chris Wilson, Darell, Travis, Aaron, Josh Powers, Jesse, Carrie, BD, Kendall, Stuart, Sara, Heather, Tiffany, Kristin B, Scotty, Megan Lloyd, Pa, David Sherrill, Josh Sullins, Rachel, Emily, Dave Pace, Adam, Joey, Carsie, Dawn, Mr Clay & Mrs Susan~ Thanks for being some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Here are some carefree, fun moments from the weekend:

The boys went a little bananas

Singing Don't Stop Believing

NTCA...our awesome new group

Me with two of my favorite people, Clay and Susan Johnson

Me and Peej

Me, Downey and her little baby bump!

Ahhh...how I long for another Caswell weekend:)

Mr & Mrs Ryan Salley

Oh my goodness I have come to the realization that weddings are a big part of my life! I'm not quite sure how it all happened but apparently I am totally that girl in 27 dresses. I tried to count up how many weddings I have actually been in over the past few years and I lost count, twice. So I quite trying, haha!

Anyway, this past wedding I watched as my best friend Ryan gazed at his beautiful bride, Jeni, as she walked down the aisle. He had tears in his eyes as Jeni walked down to the song 'How Beautiful.' You see, for as long as I've known Ryan, he has always talked about his wedding day and he always hoped that his bride would walk down to the verse that says " How Beautiful the radiate bride, who waits for her groom with his light in her eyes." Jeni, with a little help from Abby, Phillip and me, made it happen and it was perfect. They looked so happy and I had to regain my composure several times after making eye contact with Ryan and his tear filled, happy eyes. I kept getting emotional as I watched these two wonderful people so happy and so in love.

I was honored when Ryan and Jeni asked me to sing on their big day and with Phillip and Abby with me, with created some beautiful melodies for the joyous occasion. We sang a few praise and worship songs at the beginning of the service, totally unplanned but pulled off well(all while the ring was being retrieved). We followed with 'How Beautiful' and a song by Dave Barnes called 'I Have and Always Will'...definitely my new favorite song to sing in weddings(but cannot be pulled off without Peej playing the guitar).

Everything was gorgeous...the church, the flowers, the dresses and of course the bride! It's how I've always pictured Ryan's big day:)

Here are a few more shots of Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Salley! Love you both!!

Vote

Tomorrow is Election Day...Don't forget to vote!!!

"Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world."
The Lord of Heaven's Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

Psalm 46:10-11 (New Living Translation)

All over the place!

Right this second I am sitting on my bed with a box of Wheat Thins by my side and I am thinking about how awesome it would be if I were still at Caswell!

Today I left the beautiful coast of NC and trucked it 7 hours back to the ATL. You know, being in a car for 7 hours by yourself gives you a lot of time to think...too much time! My mind was all over the place. I thought about the past four days and how amazing it was to get to see so many smiling faces at the same time. I thought about my goal to find a carbon copy of Chris Wilson and how stinking impossible that is going to be. I thought about my duty as a new NTCA member and how I need to prepare myself for what is to come. I thought about how I would really like to see Janis and her little preggo belly(I can't wait for little Aiden to get here). Oh and I thought about Josh's comment on being the last one(not funny). See I told you my mind was all over the place.

Although my mind was all over the place, all my thoughts had one common denominator... Can you guess what it is?

Yep...you are correct. All my thoughts dealt with home! Friends from home, events from home and even goals from home. It was 7 hours of thinking about home...and it was amazing:)

Miss each of you all ready and I can't wait till I make that drive again!! It will be soon...real soon!

Practice makes perfect!

I can sum up the past two days in one word...Practice!

Peej and I have been working hard on the music for Ryan's wedding! Or is it hardly working, haha!

Driving along

On the road again....I just can wait to get on the road again...

As you read this, I am on my way to North Carolina! I'm driving down I-20 with my music turned up and more than likely I'm singing as loud but as discreet as possible:) I'm anticipating the moment when I cross the North Carolina line and I'm daydreaming about sitting on Vespers and walking the loop at Caswell. Ahhhh the joy!!

Now even though I am thinking about all the fun moments to come, there are a few other things consuming my mind:

The New Kids on the Block concert was amazing last night! (I'll post pics soon)
Did I pack my hair dryer?
Which shoes did I bring to wear with my dress?
Man I forgot my phone charger!
When was the last time I checked my oil?
Is my car really going to make it all the way to NC making that funny noise?
Did I put the right voicemail on at work?
Oops, I forgot to make my bed!
Is someone going to DVR The Office for me?
Did I find a friend-sitter for Jen?
Did I practice the right song for this wedding?

Oh goodness how my mind wonders:)

Wait

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

~ Psalm 27:14, NLT

Sometimes reading a piece of scripture is all you need!

The Lens of Life

Have you ever looked through a broken camera lens or one that is all fogged up from a temperature change? If you have then you know that it's pretty difficult to see anything clearly. Everything is fuzzy, distorted and can be way out of focus. In order to take a decent picture you have to clean the lens and adjust it till the object your shooting becomes clear and precise. Sometimes how we look at our lives through a fogged up lens. You may see things on the lens of where you have been and it can distort your view of what you are really trying to see.

Now I'm not trying to be all artistic or give you some fluffy example of how we can magically fix our view of life...I'm just thinking out loud and hoping that someone will agree with my thoughts.

When I think about the words focused, unfocused, white balanced, airbrushed, retouched, edited, I of course think about them in terms of photography but I can also think of them in terms of life. Right now, I'm feel as if I'm looking through a unfocused lens that hasn't been white balanced. White balanced? What does that have to do with anything you ask? Well white balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo... it helps the picture that you take look more like what your seeing when you pull the lens away. So the lens I'm looking through isn't what is really around me.

The problem is I'm not see things as they are, I'm seeing things as I am. I am looking at all the hurt and disappointments and it's distorting what my view should be. I feel like instead of looking through an unfocused lens, I'm looking through a broken lens, one that the scratches are too deep for repair.

The good news...yes there is good news to all this crazy mumble I'm writing...the good news is all I have to do is put down the old broken camera with the irreplaceable lens and pick up a new camera. A camera with a new lens to look through. One that will take amazing photos and allow me to see crisp beauty. It will show me a new view. This view will be crystal clear, perfectly focused and never in need of retouch. It will radiate beauty and glow with vibrant colors and beautiful angles.Oh and you better believe it will white balance like no other. This camera with this view is and will represent my life with Jesus, one that is not fuzzy and will never need an adjustment on the lens.

So let's take this new camera out and watch as it captures immaculate photos:)

Complete

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Ephesians 3:19 (New Living Translation)

What Went Wrong!

Jeff Henderson really rocked my world at church tonight when he finished the two part series entitled "What Went Wrong." It definitely sparked an awesome conversation at dinner about accountability and getting priorities straight. It's amazing how God speaks the right words at the right time!

Check out his series when you get a chance...WHAT WENT WRONG

So here's the To-Do list:

Find a few accountability partners! Godly women who will get in my face when I'm about to make a dumb, regretful decision.(Kristen, I know you'll be good at this)

Put meeting times on the calendar to meet one on one with those person in order to talk about situations and life.

Join a small group or start one that meets regularly!

Stay Alert! Be aware of all the ways that could hinder my way.

Continually build and work on my personal relationship with Jesus Christ

Holly's Birthday Bash

Happy Birthday Holly!






Can we say awesome night! Birthday wishes, yummy food, good music and amazing friends:)

Final chance for BMP

I expect to see you all there tonight! You know I'll be there:)

Thanks Brad

Waking up is hard to do!

I woke up this morning super tired, because I can't seem to go to bed at a decent hour. Mornings are always a little stressful because I'm not excited about leaving my warm, comfy bed. I'm not happy about picking out 'dress up' clothes when I'd rather wear sweat pants and a t-shirt. I'm not thrilled about blow drying my hair. And I'm usually hungry but don't have time to eat. WOW, can we say whiner!! I need to work on that:)

But there is one part of my morning routine that I love! It seems that all my frustration and exhaustion quickly fades when I look at my bathroom mirror and read this quote written:

Never put a box on what God can do in your life!

My friend Brad used to say that quote to me all the time and when I moved to Georgia we wrote it on my mirror as a reminder.

Sometimes you just need to be reminded:) Thanks Brad

Unique Rainbows

I wish you all could have seen how adorable Kenyon was tonight coloring a rainbow for my desk at work. I was watching his little face as he carefully tried to keep all the colors lined up while making his picture unique from Selah's. He used red and black and yellow which he told me were not normal rainbow colors (absolutely adorable). He was so proud of himself and the best part was he used scented markers, so my picture smells like cotton candy! How fun is that?!

I can't wait to get to work tomorrow to show off my brand new decoration!

Ahhh the little joys of life:)

Refreshing my soul

There is something about crossing the North Carolina line that just brings a peaceful feeling to my soul. My heart gets all warm and fuzzy because I always know that when I cross that line, I'm about to see people that bring pure joy to my life.

This weekend that feeling trickled in as I made my way to Gardner Webb University to see some of my favorite people. What a feeling!! As I stepped out of my car into the chilly, fresh air I felt so peaceful and happy. When Kristen opened her house door, I smiled so BIG and I can honestly say I had that smile on my face the entire weekend! You know how some people find comfort in food, well I find comfort in my friends...my true friends! I miss them everyday and I embrace every moment that I get to spend with them.

Things that made the weekend great:

Getting to hug Downey
Seeing Brett smile
Watching scary movies while Kristen played with my hair
Sitting by the bonfire with Rannon, Joey, David and Stephen discussing life
Watching Deborah marry the love of her life
Singing Dave Barnes with Jenni, Craig, Stephen and Chad in front of the Mexican place
Sunday lunch fellowship
Taking pictures with Heather
Discussing a love for jeans with Tiff
Just relaxing and enjoying life

Two more weeks guys and we'll be back together again! Counting down the days:)

Here's a few pictures from the weekend...

Self-Disipline

God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

God wants you to develop a self-discipline that pushes you to do things, even as others are giving up. So how can we go about doing that?

Well here are a few key expressions of self-discipline presented to me by Rick Warren:

People with self-discipline master their moods. They live by their commitments, not their emotions. People who do the right thing even when they don’t feel like it accomplish most of what gets done in the world! “A man without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28).

People with self-discipline watch their words. They put their minds in gear before opening their mouths. “He who guards his lips guards his life” (Proverbs 13:3).

People with self-discipline restrain their reactions. How much can you take before you lose your cool? “If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it” (Proverbs 19:11).

People with self-discipline stick to their schedule. If you don’t determine how you will spend your time you can be sure that others will decide for you! “Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility … Make the best use of your time” (Ephesians 5:15–16).

People with self-discipline manage their money. They learn to live on less than what they make and they invest the difference. The value of a budget is that it tells your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went! “The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets” (Proverbs 21:20).

People with self-discipline maintain their health. That way they can accomplish more and enjoy their achievements. “Every one of you should learn to control his body, keeping it pure and treating it with respect” (1 Thessalonians 4:4).

The disciplines you establish today will determine your success tomorrow. But it takes more than just willpower for lasting self-discipline. It takes a power greater than yourself: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

So the more I accept God’s control over my life, the more self-control he gives me! That's awesome!

A little twinkle

My DOVE chocolate wrapper said...

"Make Your Eyes Twinkle"

...how cute is that:)

Trustee vs. Truster

Trust is both important and dangerous! Let me tell you why...

It is important because it allows us to form relationships with others and to depend on others—for love, for advice, for help when our car breaks down, or what have you—especially when we know that no outside force (ex. the law) compels them to give us such things. Trust always involves the risk that the trusted person (we'll call them the “trustee”) will not pull through for the trusting person (we'll call them the “truster”). If the truster could guarantee that the trustee would pull through, then the truster would have no need to trust that person. The truster therefore cannot assume, while trusting, that the trustee will do what s/he is trusted to do because the trustee has no legitimate choice in the matter. Since people often can choose whether to pull through for us, we often need to trust them...WOW that was a mouthful and a half...Ok let's keep going!

But since trust necessarily involves risk, it can also be dangerous. What we risk while trusting is the loss of the things that we entrust to others, including our self-respect, perhaps, which can be shattered by the betrayal of our trust. Because trust is risky and can be dangerous, the following question is of particular importance: “Under what conditions is trust justified?”

Now to save myself from having to go into a completely boring philosophical answer, I am going to just put my own little spin on things...

I am that girl that will open up to anyone! I would tell the wall all my secrets if I knew he was listening. I feel as if meeting new people is a chance to learn a new story and to see how our stories are similar or different. I tend to be very trusting and I can usually sense when a friendship is about to blossom, well I used to be a good judge of that, until recently. So justifying trust is going to be hard to think about but here is my solution...

Love all, trust a few.
~William Shakespeare

What do you think? Under what conditions is trust justified?

Bon Qui Qui

I was introduced to this video about two months ago and it still makes me laugh and smile every time I watch it...



MADTV is hilarious!

Materialistic

I try not to be too materialistic because I know that life isn't about what you have, but right now I am super excited about a purchase I made...which is gonna make me sound very materialistic!

Last week I purchased a pair of absolutely amazing boots, spent a ridiculous amount of money and didn't think twice about it! Well today they arrived...


And they are still just as amazing as last week when I purchased them. Now I must find the perfect outfit to go with them!

Kristen, aren't they perfect...I told you that you would love them:)