November

so the month of November is where i got to show Sean off and introduce him to almost everyone. here are some pictures of mine and Sean's adventures during his stay here in Birmingham:

our first picture together.
eating breakfast at chikfila in atlanta after picking Sean from the ATL airport.


us trick or treating with the Long family.

tailgating at LSU v UA game.

i got to take him around downtown b'ham for a little bit. one place Sloss Furnaces.


Katelyn & Marc's rehearsal dinner.

Katelyn & Marc's wedding. (11/11/11)


hanging out at my aunt's house after weekend full of weddings. when i mean full, i mean 3 weddings. we were a little exhausted.



so i finally got my tattoo that i have wanted for 3 years. it says "kalos" meaning "beauty" in Greek. It is based from my favorite Bible verse, Song of Solomon 4:7.



me and socks, sean's cat. his cats are huge! i got meet them over Thanksgiving.


this is our first black friday adventure at walmart. waiting by the wireless printers at 8:30 pm. naturally, we make silly faces.


we got the printer. we actually got 4. one for me & the rest for his mother. they were gifts.


this is me waiting to pay at midnight & waiting for his mom to come the walmart we were at. we had a fun experience on black friday. it was a little crazy but fun.

well i hope you enjoyed a little bit of these pictures. only having one month together was harder than i thought. trying to squeeze a bunch of things in one month is not easy. but i can't wait for us to be in one city so we can really start our life together. so stay posted on our adventures together :D

how we met :)

so it has been a long while since i have updated my blog. one reason is because the news i wanted to share, i had to keep quiet until November.
well here is the reason:
i now have a boyfriend! :D
many of you know that we have been talking for a while but for those who don't know here is the story of how we met:
Sean is a part of a traveling ministry called the American Awakening with Tommie Zito Ministries. they go to churches all over the country to share the gospel by training churches how they can do this on a daily basis & make it a lifestyle. they have come to my church a few times now.
this past july, the team was here. on their last day at my church, i decided to go out on the streets with them to witness. i had been struggling whether to go or not; well i decided to go at the last minute. after a few minutes of me getting there Sean walks up to me & starts talking to me. He starts to talk about my water bottle. I have an IHOP water bottle that i basically take everywhere. then we start to get paired up with a team member to go out onto the streets. as my turn was coming up, Sean yells to Ryan, "i want her!" in front of everyone. so while i'm walking towards him, i am thinking, "today is going to be interesting... and fun." i was already nervous to talk to strangers about Jesus and that made it a little worse.
we go to the bus station in dowtown Birmingham with a few other people. Sean and i talked to a few people but we mainly talked to each other trying to get to know each other. we then proceed to the Galleria (because it was cooler) to talk to more people. Sean and i only talked to one person! we mainly walked around to all the stores showing each other what we like.
we get back to the church to eat lunch. Sean and i get our food from the kitchen and walk to the choir room. as we are walking to the choir room, he tells me that he thinks i'm attractive & that he likes me. i basically said the same thing :D
from that moment we have been talking every day.
he spent the whole month of November in Birmingham. we went three whole months without seeing each other from that day we met until Halloween. needless to say, i am one happy girl and i'm so thankful to have a man who fears the Lord and loves Him with his whole heart. God could not have brought him at a better time nor in a better way. i enjoy how the Lord is so unpredictable and everything truly works in His timing. God is good.

frames, frames, frames

another obsession i have... frames! i love frames! i love how people place them and re-use them. thank you pinterest for giving me ideas.
so enjoy these pictures!

Who are you?

Something i have been thinking about is one's image.
i was on the phone with a friend and the words that were told to me were this, "you were/are a goody-goody." i immediately told that friend to not call me that because it has a negative connotation. then i realized that our society needs to change that statement/identification into a positive meaning.
i was a goody-goody in high school & in college (i tried to not be for a little while). i don't regret it because the decisions i have made have brought me to where i am today: serving as a high school leader in my local church and being able to travel the world. my life goal is to remain pure at heart and follow the Lord with every cell in my body.
so why do we not want to be a goody-goody? i have an idea. when i was in high school, i wanted a "cool testimony" by having conquered struggles. however, one thing i have learned as i have grown in my walk is that we don't have to go through certain struggles to have a testimony. if we want the likeness of Jesus then we need to follow His example. easier said than done, i know. We all struggle with different things but i want my students to know that it is okay if they have no desire to date or party. it is okay that you haven't had your first kiss, it is wonderful that you have never dated and you are only 16! i'm 23 going on 24 and never have been in a relationship. i was 19 when i had my first kiss and i don't regret that. i do wish i have waited for my first kiss but we learn by the decisions that we make. the purity testimony needs to encouraged by our fellow churches. we need to explain what it means to be pure and why it is so important. we need to tell these kids that being pure is accepted in our society. we need to break the skewed vision of this world. I pray for purity to be released on this earth.

Blessed are the PURE in heart, for they shall SEE God.
Matthew 5:8

I want to see God and i am willing to stay the goody-goody & have my identity in God.
are you willing?

Psalm 25

My prayer for today:

A Psalm of David.

¹ To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
³ Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
⁹ The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹ For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹² Who is the man that fears the LORD?
Him shall He^[a] teach in the way He^[b] chooses.
¹³ He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
¹⁴ The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
¹⁹ Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
²⁰ Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.

²² Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!

puzzle

i want this cookie cutter so i make some fun cookies and put writing on them. i think that would be so much fun! and also do this with kids to help them learn Bible verses or have for name places for parties. i will be buying this soon. :D

august

i cannot believe it is already august. this year has flown by so far.
to start off this month right, i took a very short trip to the beach to visit kendall + fam in gulf shores. it was a great couple of days to just relax and not have to worry about anything. i also love her family.

i then went to visit my dad in the same week. i was asked by his pastor to come speak on my trip to Kenya. i was a little nervous only because i did not know what to really say and if i really to prepare something. i just gave it to the Lord and got up there and spoke whatever the Lord laid on my heart. speaking on a trip where your life is changed is really hard put into words. i forgot stories that i wanted to mention but i didn't want to take up the whole service since the pastor was going to speak but i really enjoyed going and speaking. the best part of the whole weekend and that day was hearing my stepmom telling me that my dad started to cry as i was speaking. nothing feels better than making your parent proud. it was a good day.

today, i'm heading to columbia, south carolina to visit my sister and brother-in-law. i'm pretty excited! i haven't been up there yet and i get to see the bar/restaurant that they just opened last weekend! it's going to be a good weekend. lots of cooking and baking. you all need to check out her blog: Modern Day Housewife.

i hope it's this pretty this afternoon as i drive.