Highlight Reel #2

The 2nd highlight reel is brought to you from days 3 and 4 of our East Coast Adventure. Enjoy!

Day 3: 


We began day 3 WAY too early. But, I suppose it was worth it to get a tour of the White House... 

 Of course we couldn't take pictures inside, but here are a couple from the outside. 

My favorite part was talking to a secret service dude inside for quite some time. 

We, of course, had to head back to Georgetown for some more cupcakes. Maple and lemon? Yes please!

 

The next highlight of the day? The National Zoo!! LOVE it! Here are my favorites!!! 

Day 4: 

We began day 4 with a tour of the Capitol, given by McCarthy's interns, complete with underground tunnels, private elevators, sitting in the House gallery, and meeting our congressman! 

 The Rotunda

 Kevin McCarthy--the Majority Whip!

 Beautiful!

We then ventured on to the Air and Space Museum where we saw lots of neat flying things.

 We even did a flight simulator that went upside down. Mom freaked--morethanonce. 

And, of course, we had to go back to Georgetown. LOVE IT!

Cookies and cream cupcake. Thankyouverymuch.

I hope you enjoyed days 3 and 4. Stay tuned tomorrow for the adventures from days 5 and 6--some good chili, lots of monuments and memorials, and our trip to NY!!!

Aaaaaand I'm BACK! Highlight Reel #1

Did ya miss me? Didya didya didya? Ok, I'm done. ;)

I was finally able to upload all of my trip pictures onto my computer (after deleting 5,894,285ish of them).

I have decided not to bore you with all 8,953,294 pictures from my trip, but rather break it down into 6ish HIGHLIGHT reels. Great idea, huh?

Soooo, let's BEGIN! Here are the highlights from the first two days of our EAST COAST ADVENTURE!

Washington D.C.:


Day 1: We started the day off with a Segway tour of the city! We got to see a ton and it was super fun.

Here we are in front of the Capitol!

 Yah, that's the White House!

And we won't talk about the end of the Segway tour where my vision starting going black and Ialmostpassedout. Did I mention that I HATE humidity? Thank the Lord for the air conditioning in the Smithsonian Museum of American History! 

A couple of my favorite things:

 The first ladies' dresses. This was Nancy Reagan's. 

 Abe Lincoln's top hat! For real!

Dorothy's ruby slippers!

Day 2: We started the day off with a tour of the PENTAGON. It was AWESOME. We couldn't take pictures inside of course, but we have one from the lobby. We followed that up with a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown, and one of the malls to eat some INCREDIBLE sushi!

 Pentagon 

 Arlington

 We got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 We also got to watch a couple of girls change out the wreath at the tomb.

 Georgetown cupcakes!!!!! YUMMMM!

 They really were worth the trip!

 Coolest sushi place ever! The rolls come around on a conveyer belt and you just choose the ones you want. The pricing is based on the color plate the roll comes on. :) Genius.

That wraps up Highlight Reel #1 from days 1-2.

What should you look forward to in the next highlight reel? Oh just the White House, the National Zoo, more cupcakes, the Capitol, meeting our congressman, more cupcakes, air and space stuff...and much much more!

Quite Like, Rather Dislike, Round 3

Here comes the third installment of the Quite Like, Rather Dislike series. To read Round 1 click here, to read Round 2 click here, AND for Round 3, READ ON!

Quite Like:


My new bedding! I fell in love with it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I pretty much had to have it. Do you love it??!!?

The Olympics are in 26 days!! I seriously. can't. wait. Who wants to come over for an Opening Ceremonies party? Let's make it happen.

Photo Credit

Washington D.C. is happening tomorrow! Well, I guess I can't really say that I like it yet, but I'm quite certain that I will. :)

Photo Credit

New York City! I'm positive that I will confirm my quite-likeness of this awesome place shortly. So excited!

Photo Credit

Rather Dislike: 

Foot surgery. Who out there remembers this horrible event? 

It was two years ago, yet it seems like it was just yesterday... And why do I bring it up now? 

Beeecause it's going to happen again SO SOON. As in, AUGUST 2nd SOON! Dumb other foot... 

I'm pretty sure Rather Dislike doesn't even begin to describe this experience. I'm slightly freaked out. Aaand I'm sure the students will really enjoy me starting the year on the scooter. 

The only saving grace? I'll really be able to (more like have to) really sit on the couch and watch the Olympics--ALL OF THEM. 

Who wants to come visit me and put me out of my misery? :) 

Added Treasures

Yesterday, I bought some fabulous treasures.

Today, I added my own touch.

I wanted to put something a bit unconventional in some cute black picture frames (to accent the incredible hardware on my new desk).

I decided to incorporate my favorite hymn and some of my favorite Bible verses....somehow.

The hymn wasn't too difficult--I was able to find that online and distress the paper a bit.

The Bible verses became a bit of a challenge. I really struggled with whether or not to actually use pages from a real Bible. I found an old Bible I used for a short time as a child--it was one of the only ones that didn't have highlighting or writing in it, so I decided to go for it. 

And guess what? No lightening. I think I'll make it. 

I put Proverbs 31 (the woman part) in one frame:

And in the other, I decided to make a bit of a collage. Psalm 23 is in the background and parts of Psalm 139, Isaiah 41, Colossians 3, and John 1 are in the foreground.

I am a huge fan of the completed look.

What do you think??

Treasure Hunting.

Once upon a time...


....I was going to meet DeAnn for lunch at The Padre (our favorite place). I had been running errands all morning and had a bit of time before lunch. Of course I wasn't going to go home, so what was I to do?

Treasure hunting of course! 

Julie told me a few nights ago about Chic Staging and showed me some of their beautiful things on Facebook. She told me that they had a few of their treasures at Timeless Furniture, so I decided to check it out.

My intentions were pure--browse around, kill some time, maybe find a little treasure or two...

Apparently I didn't stick well to my intentions (this is not a common occurrence people!). 


This is what became of my time treasure hunting...

 A sweet little shelf set...

 A bookcase (I LOVE bookcases!)...

 An amazing chair that is to DIE FOR...

 An awesome desk...

And a GORGEOUS dresser!

LOVE THEM! I know it's a bit difficult to tell from the pictures, but they are all the same beautiful color of blue. 

I had to call my mom from the store to make sure we could find places to keep my treasures until I have a house of my own one day--thankfully she said yes (especially since two pieces are now in her room and look wonderful!). 

Shout out to Mom and Sam for helping me get my little treasures from the store back home!

I'm a big fan of shopping for the house that I don't have yet. We'll just consider it an investment. 

Would anyone like to take a gander at how much these five gorgeous pieces put me back? Go ahead, I dare you! Leave a comment below!

The end. For now...

Miss Them...

It's truly amazing how close you can grow to a group of people in such a short amount of time when you are living and serving with them... 

...when you are experiencing a life changing experience with them...

...when you're able to break down walls and pour out your heart to them. 

I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with them, but I miss them so much it's crazy. 

I pray that God will allow us to be together again soon. 

Y'all know you want to come to CA! ;) 

Please? 

Thoughts on Marriage...

Our church, Living Grace, is currently going through a series on marriage and family. Yesterday's sermon was about how marriage is a covenant relationship, not a consumer one (although our society treats it as a consumer relationship much of the time). As I sat and listened, I was reminded of something I wrote about this topic four years ago (6/12/08)--although it seems like just yesterday...

The subject of this note may have thrown you off a bit—“Thoughts on Marriage,” especially coming from me. We all know that I have never been married and have never really dated; yet, I am one that learns quite well from others, and I feel as if I have had enough life experience in the area to share a thought or two. I know I am by no means an expert or even a novice in any of this, but I want to share my heart from where I sit today. God has grabbed my heart these last few months and opened my eyes to view a little more clearly his thoughts on marriage, and I believe it is because of my life experiences that I was able to listen and learn. 

Coincidence? I doubt it. I was standing downstairs in Barnes & Noble last night with Christy discussing my thoughts on church and church planting as she simultaneously picked up a book on the shelf that basically echoed my heart—I must read that one soon. What does this have to do with my thoughts on marriage? Well, after the topic of church planting, I moved onto my recently discovered thoughts on marriage. With my thoughts spewing out of my mouth and my back turned to her, she pulled out a book of letters from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and randomly flipped open to a letter he wrote on marriage. I continued on, completely unaware of what she was holding in her hand. I reached a pause in the pouring out of my heart, and she held the book out to me—the letter was everything I had just said and more. Interestingly enough, last night was the first time I had read the letter. I was amazed. Please take a moment to read the words of this theologian, written from his prison cell….

"Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which He wills to perpetuate the human race until the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to His glory, and calls into His kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and all mankind.

Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal — it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. As you gave the ring to one another and have now received it a second time from the hand of the pastor, so love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God. As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love."

Read it once more—slowly. How imperative this message is, especially in our society today. The sanctity of marriage has been tainted. The idea of love has been degraded. Pride, selfishness, lust, personal ambition, power, and temptation have seeped into this union that was created by God to be sacred. Lives are being devastated; families are being ripped apart because people have forgotten what marriage is. God created marriage as a union of man and woman to be an earthly example of Christ’s relationship to the church. Take a look at Ephesians 5:

"22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

Marriage cannot be selfish. Marriage was not created just for the husband and the wife. Marriage was not created merely for pleasure or sex or feelings—yes, those are nice attributes, but they are not the purpose of marriage, they will fade (or so I have heard). The purpose of marriage is to serve God and his Kingdom; to glorify Christ and honor Christ in a union far better than you could by yourself. God created us all so uniquely. We are able minister to his people right now, just as we are, and we should. For some, God’s calling on their lives is to serve Him in their singleness without the ties of marriage. But, for those who are called to be married, how much more effective could they be in a Godly union, bringing complimentary attributes together with the single purpose of serving God and his people and bringing God all the glory along the way? The beautiful picture of marriage painted here cannot be attained in selfishness or pride—it cannot be tainted by lust, greed, or temptation. It must be centered on God and his purpose from the beginning.

I sit and picture myself as a wife one day. We all know I will not be perfect—I will be far from it. I know things will not always be easy—there will be disagreements, fights, and disappointments. If I go into that marriage just for myself or my husband or even my future family, odds are it may not work out. Every fight would crush me. Every disagreement would seem defeating. Every challenge or rough patch would seem like too much to handle. I know that I could not sustain myself. My husband will not be able to solely sustain me and pull us through—only our Savior has the power to do that. With the goal of my marriage completely focused on Christ and his glory, I pray that fights and disagreements will seem petty. I pray that challenges and rough patches will serve to bring my husband and myself closer to each other and our Creator. I pray that I will not rely on myself or my husband to sustain me—but fully lean on Jesus Christ. I desire to follow my husband as he leads me in ministry. I am excited to see how God may take my gifts and talents together with my husband’s and bring them to fruition in an area where we can best serve Him together. I pray that my marriage will not be for myself, but for my God. 

Remember that love is not just a feeling; it is a decision, one that you must make every morning you step out of bed. 

Our society is sick—it is in desperate need of a Healer. 

Ponder Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words once more: 

"It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love."






To watch an incredibly sweet video that depicts this type of covenant marriage and/or to read a PDF copy of John Piper's book This Momentary Marriage, click here. You really should click there because everyone and their mother/neighbor/friend/coworker should read the book. I'm super serious. ;)