Merry Christmas

wow, Christmas flew by this year. it doesn't/didn't feel like Christmas. I have just been working constantly. not hanging out with my friends all the time makes me a little sad.

it's been a little rough these past couple of months spiritually but i'm definitely hanging in there and trying to follow God's plan for my life. it's tough but i'm being patient.

i can't wait to see where He takes me and who He puts in my life.

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
--Romans 8:25

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
--Romans 12:12

a quicky

here's a quick update:

thanksgiving was good.
work.
mom's b'day & surprise party was great.
work.
seeing old friends.
bethany's birthday.
church.
hanging out with high school kids.
and more work.

life has been pretty good. i can't really complain about it even though i do at times.
i'm soaking everything in right now. i don't know what the future holds but i'm ready to seize the moment with whatever God wants me to do :D
have a wonderful night!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

movie list

this months movie list:

one night with the king
new in town
carolina
new moon
the blind side
transformers 2
up

vulnerability

so i want to be more vulnerable to God's will.
i miss the community i had in college.

my favorite.

the little man

last Friday i went to the Ramp. Damon Thompson spoke on Luke 19:1-10.
The story of Zacchaeus has a new meaning after i heard Damon speak.
he spoke on how zacchaeus was a short man who was willing to climb a tree just to physically see what Jesus looked like. Damon mentioned how we need to be able to run after God but also go vertical to a new level. he also spoke on being equally yoked. we all use the analogy with the oxen yoked with marriage but he used it for that but as well as being yoked to those around you who are running towards God just as much as you are. it was really cool because the marriage analogy is overdone. (at least that is what i think). we need to be around those who will challenge you and really dedicated to knowing God.

there was more that he spoke on...

the Lord really wanted me to hear that because I was at a lady's house that morning and we were talking about Luke 19 for Sunday. so it was good for me to hear. it was a challenge for me to stop being complacent & go after Him with everything i have again. returning to my first love again.

this is my newest camera: Diana F+.
it's pretty awesome.
i'll post some later when i get more pictures developed and put on a cd.

UP

the movie UP came out today and i'm so excited. my mom got it for me and i am watching it right now!

it's been a crazy month so far.

i got a job. I work at Edgar's Bakery in Patton Creek. Come visit me sometime.

we got our new youth pastor and now we don't, after only 6 days of having him here. it's definitely the Lord's doing. I am trusting Him completely on this.

my cousin and his wife had their baby on halloween. Halle Brooke.

here are two things that tommie zito said last night that stuck with me:

1. "God blessed Ishmael but His covenant is with Isaac. The life of Ishmael is the easy way out."


2. "We all want to be like Jesus but we can't be like Him if we won't forgive the Judas in our life."

long but crazy good.

this week and past weekend was great. seriously!

Mentone was beautiful as usual. with all the trees that change colors and being at a place that is so special to me was refreshing, even if it was at a new location. mentone was different this year. we had to change locations and we had a whole new group of kids go this year. i was in charge of the music and the worship room. alan and mary got an amazing worship leader to come sing & we actually got some kids to come help sing as well. we have never done that before and it turned out really good. i even got to help him sing! it was fun! since i haven't sang since being in Dunamis. i found a verse that really helped my nerves before i sang: "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool." (ps 132:7). it just reminded of why i love to go to Mentone and it helped me to forget all the kids there so i could sing.
bethany and i got to have some really good bonding time. we really needed it and it was wonderful. i got to see where she works. she has an amazing view through the window. she gets to look over part of oak mountain state park! i loved it.

my favorite picture from the weekend:

this week at church we had tommie zito ministries come hold revival meetings. they were really awesome. he just let the holy spirit move every night. we also had trainings in the mornings so you could go out and talk to the people in the birmingham metro area. it was really neat. i went out one day to UAB and tried it out. we had a script that said everything that we needed to say. i was not good at it at all. but i was really glad that i tried it. my goal was really to talk with one person about anything and pray for them. God let me, and i got to talk with a lady who is a believer but is having a hard time due to health issues and whatever else is going on in her life. i felt her pain and cried with her; then prayed with her for strength and healing. it was really cool. tommie addressed the issue of abortion and showed a video that was not pleasant at all and he also showed another video about how Christianity is dying. if we don't start to change the world then God's children will go to hell.
people at my church definitely woke up this week. i pray that we will no longer stay complacent in my church.
we had kids in the youth group go out and talk with people. one boy (13yrs) led a muslim to Christ within 5 minutes; his little brother (11yrs) led a person at the galleria to christ and the person next to him without even talking to the person! the city of birmingham is really hungry for the truth.

highlights from the week:
1. 589 people got saved from our outreach! Praise JESUS!
2. our new music pastor came this week
3. i started my job at the bakery

highlight that is coming up:
our new youth pastor is coming tomorrow! and will be here on sunday!

here is a picture of the names of people who got saved!

After











Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
-Acts 16:10

so i'm driving to church and i saw a little boy get off the school bus. he was walking to his house and stomping on the leaves just to hear them crunch! i loved it! i started laughing because i used to do the same thing when i was a kid and i still do it sometimes. it made my day.

random photos.

some random pictures i have taken in the last few weeks.



i like to read my Bible at starbucks...



































these were taken at the colonnade.

netflix

thanks to a family friend my mom and i received a free month of netflix. now we have subscribed to netflix. since i can watch movies instantly i have watched a little too many. here are some that i have watched recently:

national treasure 2
across the universe
broken english
phoebe in wonderland
made of honor
hello! dolly

i recommend phoebe in wonderland. it's really cute and it has dakota fanning's little sister in it.

fleet foxes

i saw this video and i really liked it! enjoy.

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

yesterday it rained and as i was sitting in traffic to babysit i saw this beautiful rainbow. i got to see the whole thing right before it was covered up by clouds. it was beautiful. as i was driving to the family's house, i kept seeing the rainbow and i just rejoiced. it was wonderful! the Lord has been working in me the last few days and i just kept feeling His presence and peace.
i love Him.

"it's not about the hundred people whose minds you can't change. it's about the two people you empower."
-beth ditto from Gossip

from nylon magazine.

restore the joy of your salvation

so the new picture behind my blog title was found on lomography.com. red daisies have become new favorite of mine since valentine's day. a girl in the dorm, where i worked at the time, were given those and i've been in love with them ever since. they are so beautiful and simple.

so i ordered a new camera today for my birthday present. it's from my mom :D
it's a Diana F+ and i'm pretty excited about it. i can capture more of the Lord's beauty in different ways with this camera and with a different type of film.

we went on a beach retreat this past weekend to Destin, FL. it was called REhab. it was really good. it was exciting to see two different churches who have never worked together before unite in worship and as one body. that doesn't happen very often (at least i haven't ever seen it). the main verse was out of Psalm 51 about restoring joy (v12). it was great... great to spend 3 days with friends, great to see His beauty shine throughout the whole weekend, and great to make new friends.

here are some pictures of the ocean.
enjoy!






sailboat.

sips n strokes pics

enjoy!

the original:
the edited:




all of us. we had a great time!

life in general

so i'm finally taking time out to update on what's going on right now in my life.

to start:
the last few weeks have been a little 'rough' but not really. trying to find a job to make a little extra money is really hard. i've interviewed at two different places in the retail business and been denied due to lack of experience. well that sucks. after this last one fell through, i came to terms with myself that i shouldn't look anymore. at least for a week or so. i started studying for the social work licensure exam. i barely put a dent in it but i'm glad that i at least started to study. i had fun re-reading some of the stuff i read over too. kendall was with me which made it more fun.
i'm just trying to have more faith and trust in the Lord.

my music playlist for the last couple of weeks consists of:
cory asbury
justin rizzo
needtobreathe
and a few others...

cory asbury & justin rizzo's cd is amazing.
here are some lyrics that have really stuck with me:
Oh the peace of pure abandon
Oh the joy of sweet surrender

i have to give you everything
and then the yoke is easy
i have to give you everything
and the burden is so light
This is True Life by Justin Rizzo (you should really listen to the whole song)


There's nothing I can do to change Your mind
Mercy by Cory Asbury


Everything you do
it just screams "I love you!"
Everything you are
says "I care."
Everything You Do by Cory Asbury

i love worship music!

yesterday was my birthday. 22 on 9/22. my dad reminded me that this will never happen again. thanks dad :D
i will post pictures later today hopefully.

it's not raining today. i'm glad but i have also enjoyed the last month of rain. we really needed it and it's the Lord cleaning our earthly home.

verse of the week:
The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.
Zechariah 14:9

i'm praying for her today.

i want this for my birthday... it's coming up soon!

labor day weekend

i went to seagrove, fl for our annual family vaca.
















it was beautiful!

randoms from the beach:
i got my mom hooked on NEEDTOBREATHE's new cd.
i love the fried pickles at the seaside grill.
we saw some friends down there.


i watched The Shining with jack nicholson on sunday night with some middle school girls & high school girls. it was a little weird and creepy. not a fan but it wasn't that bad of a movie. we definitely had a great time watching it. lots of laughs.

watching a movie right now... update later.

the dress.

so i think i found my wedding dress... i was just browsing and i saw this:



it's beautiful!

anderson

pound it.

i accidentally captured this... he's a baby what do you expect?

this is one of my favorites.

i love his facial expressions.

this is fun:

click here

untitled.

gosh... i'm so obsessed with clouds! i don't know why... maybe it's because they are absolutely beautiful!

this weekend has been so good. i got to see my grandmother esther. that's what we call her: Grandmother Esther. she refused to be called by anything else. she's too classy and cool for that :D haha. anyways, she turned 84, so we had a little family get-together. it was nice and i wish she still lived near me so i could see her more often. what i loved the most about her and what really touched me yesterday was that she apologized for the stuff that happened between my mom and dad's divorce. i don't know why she apologized for it but she did and it almost made me cry... i did a little bit after i left. i don't know even know all the stuff that happened since i was four when it happened but i all i know is that for her telling me that was huge. she is an amazing grandmother. i love her dearly.

after that, i was a hostess at a wedding shower for Jordan. it was so much fun! getting to see erica, who lives too far away, and all of my wonderful THOP friends. they are such a blessing to me. i didn't even realize it was 10 until someone said it. we all had a wonderful time and it made miss tuscaloosa so much. my heart was so warm and full of joy when i left last night. it was awesome.

a couple of us are starting to pray for fresh fire in the youth at my church. so please pray for that as you read this. not only for my church but all youth groups in every church.

something to leave you with:
my favorite picture of my sister and i at her wedding:

here is the wedding party:

good night all.
may the Lord bless your dreams tonight and give you visions in your dreams.

so i have been in this waiting period. trying to find the job that God wants me to do and volunteering at church. it's been crazy. the Lord has been using me too! i've been praying for boldness and He has used me to speak up when needed. that is so hard for me but all the words that were said came out naturally. it was nuts! i just thank the Lord for using me and i credit it all to Him. i pray He keeps using me.

hopefully a more detailed update will come soon!
pride & prejudice is on tv.
goodnight.

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.
Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well-tended sheep.
Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
Psalm 100 (message)

short post

kendall is officially moved in and back from the beach! i'm excited for this year.

sad that two of my best friends are going back to school, and the other one is going to Bulgaria in October. happy about kendall being here :D

i still need a job.

zuzu joined the family officially this week. her owners don't want her since they got new furniture in their now remodeled home. that's lame and infuriates me... some people shouldn't be pet owners.

prayer room # 6

"you open up your heart
time and time and time again

you give beauty for ashes
and garments of praise
you give infinite mercy
for those who fear your name"

Sport

i will seriously miss this sweet animal. after about 13 years being alive he had to be put down yesterday because he was so old and just suffering. i never thought i would cry but i have and still do at moments. i will truly miss him.

on a lighter night... kendall graduated today!!! michelle's b'day is tomorrow!
pics are to come from graduation. :D

worship at workplay 7/27/09

worship at workplay was so good. it was good to worship as a tool for intercession.
i loved these lyrics.
i would say more but i don't have time.

later.

reflection

so as i was driving to meet candace & her sister for worship at workplay i saw this. how cool is it to see the clouds on this jeep?! you probably don't think this is anything special but i do. i got see the Lord's creation in a reflection. i loved it!

i guess it's good that i get easily amused by the smallest things. :D

nations

Lord give me a heart for all of your nations even though i will never set foot on most their soil. give me an intercessor heart for the nations i will never get to visit.

update from panera

i'm sitting in panera & it's a little cold in here.
i'm listening to the forerunner music podcast and matt gilman is featured in this episode. i am so encouraged by it that i could cry. thank you Lord for delighting in us.

i love driving. our road trip to arkansas was fun and it was so good to see andrew again. i must say though, when i drove, it was my favorite part. not because i was in control but that is where i get to space out and just drive. when everyone was either asleep or listening to their ipod i got to listen to my praise & worship music and just worship the Lord. the drive up there and back was so beautiful. i was so amazed! the Lord never ceases to amaze me by His creation. it makes me giddy and fills me with joy. as i was driving home and we got to see arkansas in the daylight, this verse came to me: The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. (ps 45:11). i started to think how the Lord just loves on us and enthralled by our beauty. as i thought this, i just started talking to the Lord and telling Him how enthralled i am by HIS beauty, HIS creation. His creation shows the beauty of himself. i love that! i love being reminded of it. this little thing is one thing that speaks to me the most.

also, when we got into arkansas, it was dark and we got to see the stars! i got so excited because we don't get to see that many stars here in b'ham or tuscaloosa. the only time i see the most stars is when i go to mentone once a year. to see that many stars was just breath-taking. i started to think of the lyric "In Your hands, You hold the stars" in King of Glory. i just started to sing that to Him silently. it was so beautiful.

i was a little kid this weekend seeing all the beauty of His creation. i'm pretty sure everyone got annoyed with me repeating how beautiful the clouds looked and stars. what i just wrote is why i got so excited.

the simplicity of the Lord's love also captures me. creation is one way for me to grasp onto His love for me. he has blessed me with the nature that is all around me. it's so beautiful that i'm in awe. he delights in me when i'm in the mundane period and when i'm in his presence. i'm so thankful for Him.

here is a taste of what i got to see:
(i wasn't able to capture all of what i wanted since i was driving for the most part).