Rainy Morning

I like when the week ends with a rainy morning. It's perfect for sleeping in or staying tucked inside with a book, blog, and coffee.

One of our best friends was in town all week so we were able to take a vacation day this past Wednesday. Middle of the week vacations might by my new favorite. Granted, you only have about 24 hours for fun, but it makes you feel like you have two two-day work weeks. Can't argue with that. For our out-of-town venture we went to Pensacola Beach, Florida. The weather was absolutely perfect - warm enough to swim, cool enough to not feel you were having a heat stroke. We spent all day (with the exception of lunch break) in the sun. We have burns to prove it. The getaway was great. The catching up and laughing at old jokes - even better.

Trent is running a 5k this morning and I found Google Picasa's new photo edits...A "5k" of some sort is on my bucket list, but not on a rainy morning.

Too cold for me, but the guys loved it

The water was crystal clear. I'm actually glad I edited this photo, because now it actually looks like what I remember.

Bucky fed seagulls for the first time.

Monday Mornings

I read a note posted by Jon Acuff via a picture on Twitter a few weeks ago that has been pretty encouraging to me on Monday mornings since. I wanted to share it with you today in case you faced the same kind of Monday I know many of us did. The note said, "Fear only bothers you if you're doing things that matter. So if you find fear waiting for you at the front door of this week, congratulations. You're doing things that matter."
It's a challenge, an encouragement, and a reminder. A powerful statement declaring you as a difference maker - even when it doesn't feel that way.

And for those who are feeling extra zealous and would like to "go the extra mile", try playing an intramural soccer game to help relieve the worries of the day... The left over ache is pretty distracting. (Yes, I played soccer this afternoon. And now my legs feel like jello).

Philippians 1:4-6 "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Happy Spring!

Happy Belated First Day of Spring!

Even though the first day of Spring was yesterday, Spring made it's appearance here earlier this year. Azaleas, dogwoods, wisteria are/have been in full bloom. The sunshine has tempted trips to the beach, vacation days, and lunch breaks on the lawn. Even swimming parties have been spotted.

If Spring has sprung, then the infamous spring cleaning has begun. The de-cluttering, elbow greasing kind of cleaning. But our first party was tonight and a dear friend is coming into town this weekend, so the first day of Spring clearning was/is the pay-off kind of cleaning.

Here's to the less glamorous side of Spring {cleaning} and to the fun side of Spring {flowers, showers, outdoor plans and sunshine}. Happy Spring!

What Spring plans are you making?!

I drove around 45 minutes yesterday looking for wisteria to take a picture of it...finally gave up and found some in my destinations backyard.

Our first Springtime party

Spring always remind me of one of my favorite childhood stories, Hamilton Duck's Springtime Story by Arthur Getz. Such a fun story! I wish I had this book right now...

*From Hamilton Duck's Springtime Story, 1974

College Days

I've forgotten what it feels like for 9:00 PM to actually be more like 5:00 PM. The time in college when 5:00 PM was seen as the "start" of the day. At 5:00 PM, the afternoon nap had taken place and you were once again ready to go - refreshed and recharged. Meetings were scheduled for 11...11 PM, which was no problem because you could drink caffeine past 7 PM. Intramurals went from 5 until midnight... Group devotionals or events started around 8 and went until.... And of course there was the ever reliable IHOP and Waffle House who consistently ensured you still had somewhere to go after the 11 pm meeting. But remember, IHOP was for "studying."

Tuesday was a nice reminder of that time. The college we work at invited Jon Acuff to come and speak during our regular, weekly worship gathering. Typically, I do not make events occurring this late, but I had heard many good (and funny) things about him so made it a point to attend. I am really glad I did. For those of you who are less familiar with Jon Acuff, he's written a few books - Quitter, Stuff Christians Like, and Gazelles, Baby Steps And 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt. His blog, Stuff Christians Like, is followed by thousands of people. And he's a fantastic speaker - enlightening, humorous and convicting - as I learned Tuesday.

He made several great points and I really want to share them with others. I feel this would have been a really encouraging message to me back in my college days. A lot of these points are in his book, Quitter, but still worth summarizing.

He emphasizes the passion that's inside of us and what we do with it. It's where our influence comes from - in living the life God has called you too.
1. Figure out your dream (passion). If you know what your dream is but don't know where to
    start, don't put it on the shelf. It only takes a small moment to change/make a big
    person. God loves the mustard seed concept.
2. Give God your whole life. Why do we try and imagine the worst thing is going to happen
     when we give God all? It's a trick our culture has played on us. (Consider Luke 11). You
     want fame? The Alpha and Omega knows your name. We are already famous.
3. Stop trying to fix yourself. Christ came for the "broken bowls".

A few subpoints:

• Don't look for the perfect passion, make a list of what you love, work on each one - one at a time (and when you get to the #3 thing you love on your list you may discover its your passion, but are better at #3 because you worked on #1 and #2);
• Figure out what's in your core, not the execution of your dream (God will surprise you with a crazy execution!);
• Don't quit your day job. Christ prepped 30 years for His ministry. Start somewhere.
• "Someday" is not on your calendar

The evening did not end there. A small group was able to "meet and greet" with him afterwards at a local coffee shop. Another reason for highlighting how much this evening reminded me of old times...I was out until midnight. Midnight. However, it was really fun to talk with him, though brief. I'm still glad I went. He gave a shout-out for the counseling profession and our last name and signed a copy of Quitter. Jon Acuff sent a lot of great reminders my way. I feel he confirmed small beginnings in life and encouraged doing something in the now no matter how seemingly insignificant. If you want to write, start writing.

Messy Mondays

I love spending Monday nights on the couch watching t.v. with TC (when he's not working). Monday brings enough stressful work to-do's without filling the evening with more. The mess will have to wait...until Tuesday. For now, I choose me and TC and the corny, cheesy jokes we relish in cracking. We've always been kind of ridiculous. Thankful for the silly moments.

Sweet Birthday

Happy 24th Birthday!!!

...to my sweetest, dearest sister and best friend, Brittany.

Words could not capture how much I adore and love you "little" sister. Going through pictures on my computer to collect pictures from the past six years (my laptop doesn't have any earlier pictures) reminds me how constant and consistent the good times have always been. I feel so blessed to have been given a sister - a sister who defines loyalty, trust, and friendship. An argument only lasts briefly before we are laughing at something funny. It only takes a brief glance toward the other before we erupt in uncontrollable laughter, knowing exactly what each others thinking. In some ways we are the exact same. Some ways completely different. We've cried together. We've dreamed together. We've celebrated in met goals. We've shared...everything. We've encouraged in discouraging times. We've prayed in trials. We've rejoiced in victories. We've taken care of each other when we've been sick. We've been super protective of each other (just ask the kids on the playground!). We've saved each other from fashion errors. We've grown up together. We will grow old together. Best friends. Old women. Cantankerous (to each other), sophisticated, merry old women.

"There were never such devoted sisters,
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir,
I'm there to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from rome
She wore the dress, and I stayed home
All kinds of weather, we stick together
The same in the rain and sun
Two different faces, but in tight places
We think and we act as one
Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing could come between us
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister
And lord help the sister, who comes between me and my man."

- Irving Berlin

Britt, we've shared a lot in life -parents (Ha!), bathrooms, dorm rooms, an apartment, friends, college, a Greek club, oversea travels, trips across the US, memories, cars, money, textbooks, clothes, Christmas presents, laughs, tears, ideas, ambitions, stories...It goes on. I am so thankful I've got you in life. So thankful for the adventures we've shared. So thankful for the person, the woman of God you have been, are and are becoming. Thank you for being my best friend. I would not have wanted to shared sisterhood with anyone else in the world. Me and you, pook. I love you and I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a VERY blessed and abundant year!

This is me being kind with the funny pictures...and you know it :)

 I love your crazy self.

P.S. I hope you got your birthday card in the mail today. :)

Proactive

Actually starting to read a book from my "Post-Grad-Must-Read" list. Changing out my winter wardrobe for a more sunny affair. Using organizers to keep thoughts in place {these are the cute}. In light of a friends recent post regarding their "Bucket List", pen my own to see my goals. Budget better with the help of TC. Throw out unnecessary papers and de-clutter in time for spring. Getting involved with something extra to contribute.

I'm trying to be proactive and diligent. It's me against the couch. Purpose versus selfishness. Effort versus slothfulness. Responsibility versus wastefulness. I want to remove the little "busy" distractions that are constant excuses from my working on the "big" things. A dose of motivation please?

P.S. The ever present laundry monster sitting on my couch is a real motivation stifler.

Crafty

It's been another fun girl's weekend. Mom and I came up to Birmingham for a craft show to sell Elizabeth Ann's products. BK, my sis, has been a great host and help. We've had a really successful weekend, with one day left to go; however, it has equated to me being completely tired and contemplative. Maybe I am tired from being contemplative...Either way, physically and mentally these weekends are exhausting! We leave feeling accomplished, yet wheels whirring. Encouraged, yet behind. There's so much you can do in this world...

At shows we meet a lot of neat people and hear a lot of inspiring stories. It leaves me feeling like I want to do more - to not be a poor steward of my time and talents.

I purchased a painting I found at the show for mine and TC's living room. I've had a bare wall in my apartment for over 10 months. Finally I found something unique and large enough to fill the void. I'm loving birds lately - and it's our accent color. I refrained from a few other purchases, but I'm really appreciating the creativity of people. It's left me feeling crafty...or rather wishing I was crafty!

I saw this quote on a craft today and thought it was a really a beautiful phrase. I cannot attest to it's accuracy, but it was credited to C.S. Lewis - "I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun - not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else." I wish I had such a way with words as this man did!

In sum, it's been a great retreat... I miss TC though. He makes the good even better.