life through photos

since i'm terrible at starting a post and never finishing it, here is a series of photos showing what Sean and i have been doing.  here goes:

Sean & I's engagement sunrise photo shoot at railroad park

photos were taken by the lovely Sherei Jackson.  She did a wonderful job.

we visited the Sharpe family in Tyler, TX & had some good tex-mex. too bad it wasn't taco bueno.

we visited Sean's friend Bethany in Houston, TX.

 and we got to experience Sprinkles Cupcakes for the first time. so delicious.

we had a wonderful time visiting with her & visiting her church (Houston Worship Centre).  it was a refresher for me to be able to just soak up the Lord's presence and be poured into.  i haven't had that in a while.  so much healing comes when you sit in His presence.  it's a wonderful feeling.

Next stop: CHICAGO!

view from the Willis Tower aka Sear's Tower

 in the glass box

 i'm freaking out on the inside...

 we found our new tradition: to find a sprinkles cupcakes in every major city we go to & get a cupcake.

 our main reason to go chicago... my best friend got married!  so happy for the newlyweds :D

we have gone all over the place these last couple of months visiting friends.  we definitely loved it!  but i am glad to be in one place again for a while. 

hope you enjoyed the photos!  have a blessed day!

lately

these last few weeks have been super busy. since the engagement, we have gotten lots of the wedding planning taken care of. it's been a smooth process and i could not ask for it to be any better. the Lord has been all over this process.

March 9-11 was Winterfest in Knoxville, TN. i had a great time with my kiddos and it was a great last trip with Jason & Christina. i hate that they have left but i am so excited for their next adventure as youth pastors in tyler, tx. we got see Hillsong United & they played the best i have ever seen them. it was so great to hear them again.

sean and his parents came into town last weekend. sean & i got our engagement photos done at railroad park. my friend, sherei, was great and we had a great time with her. the photos turned out amazing and i can't wait to get all of them soon. we had our tasting for our caterer with his parents. we loved the food the caterer prepared for us. the main reason sean came in town was for my best friend's wedding shower. we had a little reunion with my closest friends. the day of the shower, sean, me, katelyn, and marc went to sloss furnace to take some fun photos. katelyn was so good to me for taking some more photos of sean and i. we had wonderful time with them. the night of the shower, we had dinner at the shower and christy and jeremiah loved it! i'm so glad that the shower turned out great. after the shower we all went out to a local b'ham lounge and hung out. we had lots of laughs and bonding time. i personally loved it because sean and i do not get the opportunity to have outings with other couples. this was great for us.

this past weekend was the best weekend i had in a long time. i love being with friends and just fellowshipping with them. that is the update on us for the most part :D

ENGAGED

(this is the reenactment photo)

that's right! i'm ENGAGED!!!! it happened on Friday, Feb 24.
it all started with Sean coming into town this weekend mainly to see the broadway Wicked. however, he surprised me by coming into town on thursday night (after a long week of me nagging/begging him to come in that night). i was so excited and happy that i cried (only a couple of tears). haha i have become more emotional lately.
on friday, we had coffee with one of my close friends & we ran some errands after. we had an appointment with the event coordinator at Sloss Furnaces to discuss our wedding. (we already started to plan on our wedding before the engagement.) while we are meeting with her, Sean had a few of my friends come and hide for the proposal. we walk to the actual wedding site & Sean gets the coordinator to practice "walking down the aisle." while we are doing this he starts to record all of this on his phone. she then walks me to the stage. Sean and i go to the middle of the stage and then coordinator tells us after we "exchange our vows" that we can say anything we want to at that time. So Sean starts talking after i tell him not to & then he pulls out the ring, gets on his knee & proposes. i was so shocked! after that 3 of my friends, mom, and aunt come out from hiding screaming. they scared me! the whole moment was wonderful! i could not ask for a better proposal. they came down to congratulate us and we celebrated with some champagne. it was so good.

there is a video of the whole proposal but it is on facebook. if you are my friend go check it out! you will be full of laughter when you finish watching it... due to my reactions.

i seriously cannot wait to marry the man of my dreams and that the Lord has blessed me to be his wife. The Lord has already been working in ways with the wedding and we could not have asked for anything better. He is so good!!

v-day

so this year was my first year to have a valentine! sadly we were unable to be together since we are long distance BUT i still loved it. Sean had flowers delivered to me at work! it was so nice to receive them there. it made all the other girls slightly jealous. so i think Sean succeeded. here are some pictures that i took. Enjoy!

did i mention that he got me my favorite flower? red gerber daisies :D

a psalm

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:5

this verse is so wonderful. it speaks truth too! have you ever met someone who is absolutely in love with Jesus? if you aren't sure, then you may not have yet. it is very evident when someone is in love with Jesus. you see it in their eyes & they are consistently full of joy. i love meeting people who are in love with Jesus. for one reason is because it challenges me to go deeper and it is encouraging. when I'm in mundane state (which has happened before) i long to be with friends who love Jesus. i feel at home. the weight of the world has been on me for a while and a couple of weeks ago i got visit with a dear friend who just encouraged me the whole. it is funny because we are actually in a similar season, but she has been able to really get away and spend time with the Lord. unlike me, i have been so busy that i feel like i can't get anytime with God. but i have made the effort once again to get at least a few minutes to read a couple of verses. it's amazing how your whole perspective can change in a just a few times.

my goal is be radiant in God's presence. I want to be bold & no longer fear. it is a work in progress but i know that the Lord will move in my life as i grow in Him. so i encourage you to be gaze upon the Lord. gaze at His eyes. Meditate on His word. Use the word in your life & see how it can help you. sit in His presence and accept His love. as i write this post, i can feel His love all around me. it's a wonderful feeling.

be blessed today!

a cry

my life has taken some sudden changes. this post is about a recent situation. my pastor resigned due to some unfortunate circumstances that cannot be said. i am truly heartbroken by this sudden change & all i can do it pray & cry out to a sovereign God:

Lord, I thank You for what You are doing. I know we don't understand the full reasoning be the situation at hand but I know you are in control. Lord, I for mercy & grace upon Your children of Metro Church. I ask that you will strip us raw so that we will be made into a new creation, a new bride. I ask that you shed light onto any darkness that is in our hearts. Make us NEW!!! Make us one with You. I long to know Your heart, I long to see your eyes of fire. God, I ask for justice for those who have wronged you. i ask for a new heart for Metro. I ask that a spirit of repentance to be release among the people. You desire unity & I long for it. Change our hearts. I pray that we return to our first love, You. Remove the pride that hinders your lovely presence. Melt our hearts. I thank you for hearing my cry. I know these words will not return void. You are King of Kings & my Savior, Jesus. There is none like you, there is no greater love than Yours. Teach us to accept your love as a gift that you give daily. Thank you Lord. Amen

this cry is from a daughter who doesn't understand the present but I know & have faith that my God will provide for every need that my church has. I know in His timing something good will come. i believe.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4

december recap part 2

the last few days of december were absolutely wonderful.
two days after christmas, I drove to shreveport to go pick up sean & his brother, dylan, to head to Kansas city, mo for the one thing conference. we did not get spend christmas together so we exchanged gifts when i got to shreveport. this is what he got me:


ninja bread men cookie cutters! i have recently gotten into baking more than usual and i really like using different cookie cutters. i'm so excited to use these and i plan on using them soon. he also got me some other things but they are not in yet.

the one thing conference is hosted by the international house of prayer, aka IHOP. it is held in downtown kansas city, mo every year from december 28-31st. it is a young adult conference that is wonderful and the Lord shows up every year. this was my second time to attend the conference.
This year's theme was "Jesus, Our Magnificent Obsession." it was so good and i did not want to leave. some of my favorite worship artists are from ihop. the conference had at least 30,000 people register to attend & had about 70,000 watch on the webstream. the conference was so good for me. to learn more about my Jesus and how he needs to become my magnificent obsession and not just other people's obsession. i have become more comfortable to sit back and not press into the presence of the Lord. the season i have been in for the last few months have been long and hard. work has become my life and it has spiritually drained me. so to be able to come back into the Lord's presence was so good and sweet. the Lord is so sweet and kind to us, even when we feel shameful. we all endure hardships and being able to escape was what i needed for sure. i learned so much in such a short time. that is my favorite part about One Thing. hopefully, if i remember, i will post more pictures later and some videos of worship.