Home Home on the Range…

Fun times at home this past weekend for the 4th of July. We had our friends from West Virginia come in to town and stay for all of the festivities. Between mom’s home cooking and Mr. Pete’s Thai food on Sunday night…we did well on the eating category! Here are some of the pictures of the family and friends:

Top Ten Thursday

Welcome to Top Ten Thursday… You never know what’s gonne be the talk about in the Top Ten, but this week I am going for the Patriotic theme.

10. Let the kids in your family plan and put on a 4th of July Patriotic Parade. Find red, white and blue clothes and items for them to use.

9. Make lots of Red, White, and Blue desserts

8.Take time to be a kid again and make some patriotic crafts. Use that time to teach the kids about the FREEDOM we have by being an American (and a Christian!)

7. Don’t forget to fly your American flag!

6. Write to a soldier in each branch of military to thank them for serving our Country!

5. Go to Old Navy and grab your $5 USA Flag t-shirt. They put one out every year!

4. Take a trip to Washington, DC to the Capital of the Nation to watch the celebration of FREEDOM.

3. Find a fun place to watch a fireworks display!

2. Go out in a boat and spend the day in the sun! There is just something about July 4th weekend that makes you want to be on the water.

1. Gather with friends and family and sing patriotic songs!

Thoughtful Tuesday

The past week in my devotional it has been talking about finding hope, grabbing on to hope, and living in that hope! I found that the scriptures that were presented on each day were nourishing for my soul during such a time as this! Do you ever have anything like that happen to you?

On Monday, the title of the devotional was When Life Isn’t Fair. It started out with Psalm 25:5, “Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You.” It talked about a lady who from birth was dropped causing physical ailment throughout life where she had to walk with a cane bent over. Instead of being bitter she shined the light of Christ on those she came into contact with and commonly made the statement, “Isn’t Jesus sweet?” The end always has a prayer and it pierced my hear…Dear Lord, I confess that words “Isn’t Jesus Sweet?” are not the first ones our of my mouth when life seems more than I can bear…” I think about my friend who just found out that she has breast cancer. I have been reading her blog (http:warriorswearpink.blogspot.com) to find that she has more hope then I can possibly fathom having due to her circumstances.Pray for her as she is enduring surgery and what’s next during this week.

Another verse that has stuck out to me during this week’s devotionals was Philippians 4:4, “Always be full of JOY in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice!” You know it is so true what she said about how as Christians we respond to this verse by putting on a front and acting as though we are happy to rejoice in all of our circumstances. The truth is we aren’t really rejoicing in our hearts. Some people struggle to come to the realization that life is not a walk in the park….it is a “slugfest.” How do you perceive this verse? When she broke it down for me I will carry away a new appreciation for this verse…of course, I love the book of Philippians anyway. The verse above tells us that we should be full of joy IN THE LORD. Not in people, not in circumstances, but IN the LORD. What about the Lord should we find joy in…how about His peace, His power, and His very presence?

I was reading in the book Tribes by Seth Godin the other day about how Religion without FAITH will faulter. When everything is stripped away there is still faith and the religion simply emphasizes the belief in what or whom. I believe that Faith requires the quality of HOPE. So what do you have Faith (or HOPE) in? What do you HOPE to do to build God’s Kingdom today? Do you let people crush your HOPE in life?

I look to Jesus for my HOPE that one day I will stand face to face with my Creator.

Savvy’s 40 Day Journey

Today, I decided to have a guest writer on my blog. So I told Savvy to blog about the things that had changed in her life over the past forty days of fasting. So below you will find a testimony about one instance where God has been at work. I praise GOD I get to be a witness to these “moments” in the lives of the girls at CSU.

Savvy writes…

Over the past forty days a lot of things have happened in my life. As the summer began I realized that my relationship with the Lord wasn’t where it needed to be. I was struggling with having quiet time with God everyday and I wanted that to change.  I was hungry for more of God because I knew I wasn’t where I needed to be spiritually. I was distracted by my friends and by my boyfriend at the time. I loved God but I wasn’t in love with him. So to help me in changing this way of life I started the devotional book, A Call to Die. At the beginning of the book the author asks you to pray and ask God what he would have you to fast from for the next forty days… I chose Facebook. Facebook had become something I checked constantly and just play on until I had something else to do. Instead of spending time with the Lord I would get on Facebook. So when I read that, Facebook came to my mind right away.

As my forty day jorney began I wasn’t opening my whole heart to God to allow him to do great things in me. I gave part of it to him and God started to showing me that i needed to give him everything. At the end of each day there is a verse to memorize. And it always seemed to be something that related to me or something  I needed to hear. As I progressed I would relate more and more to the topic of that day. At the same time I made a real effort to just be still and listen to what God was saying to me.  He started to stir in my heart that my ralationship with my boyfriend was not where God wanted it to be. I will be honest and say that God had moved from the focal point of our relationship to the back burner. I knew something was going to have to change. About a week later that boyfriend broke up with me. Of course it hurt… I really care about him and it still hurts from time to time. I had a few tough days just thinking about him, but in the midst I knew it was part of God’s plan to get my attention focused on him. I realized that I had to fall in love with the Lord before he would allow me to fall in love with this guy. It’s a difficult lesson to learn, but its worth it. Day after day I trusted God more and realized he could fill the emptiness that I felt. The  next devotionals were awesome! They were about grace and forgiveness. Grace really stood out to me because I always forget God’s grace. I can’t fully wrap my mind around it, but I can tell you that it is awesome and we don’t deserve it! Everyday I wake up and I thank God for how amazing he is and how much he loves me! It’s a beautiful thing… God’s love and forgiveness! I also realized that God hears our cries! He may not answer them in our timing or the way we want him to, but he answers them.

I am so thankful that I have the freedom to worship God and that he has put Christian people in my life to encourage me! Please pray for me because there is bound to be another struggle on my journey! But God will use every struggle to pull me in closer to him as long as I look to him!

And there you have it my friends…Isn’t God so good? I can’t wait to see what else He will do in her heart and relationship with Him.

Mission Monday

One thing that has been brought to my attention in the last couple of days is that I don’t trust a lot of people. Yes – I have 2,200 friends on Facebook and I have 550 people in my cell phone contact list, but I am not so sure I can call many of those people a true friend back. I hear people say…”You’re so sweet.” “You have such a servant’s heart.” “You’ve got more friends that I could ever imagine having.” “What do you mean you don’t have a lot of best friends?” But when the day comes to the end – I am sitting in my room wondering who is concerned for my well being. I don’t bring this up for sympathy. I believe a lot of it has to do with being fearful of embracing the goodness of pure and godly relationships. Its like Jon preached about a few Sundays ago from the gospel John, Jesus did what He saw the Father in Heaven doing. If you have not witnessed healthy relationship then how can you portray one? Here are some questions people might ask…

Why should you have people surrounding you?

Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.”

Remember the scripture that says, “raise a child in the way he should go and he will not turn from it?” – This didn’t mean for you to be raised in the preference of the parents, but in the way God has planned.

Or what about in Genesis 2:18, “For it is not good for man to be alone…” – This was not just meant for marriage.

One of the most desired things for human beings is the desire for relationships and not being left alone.

God designed us to have intimate relationships in our path, but not in His path for our lives.

How do you open up to someone?

Clear Communication is key! Just think about Matthew 18.

Set clear and measurable boundaries. Its like Jesus said in 1 John 4:16, 1:16 that He was love, but he is not darkness. This set clear boundaries of what He was, but also what He was not!

Start with small pieces. Share what you feel comfortable with. You have to set boundaries in your words, time, emotions, and some times even in touch.

What boundaries should you put up?

When I think of this question I refer to the Ten Laws of Boundaries identified by Dr. Henry Cloud in Boundaries. They are:

#1 The Law of Reaping and Sowing

#2 The Law of Responsibility

#3 The Law of Power

#4 The Law of Respect

#5 The Law of Motivation

#6 The Law of Evaluation

#7 The Law of Proactivity

#8 The Law of Envy

#9 The Law of Activity

#10 The Law of Exposure

What do you do to set boundaries? What kind of boundaries do you have with the people in your life? When did you put up those boundaries? Why?

As I kept writing this blog tonight I told Casey.. I am not sure I know how this ties into Mission Monday’s blog other than the fact that I am on a mission to kick my fears in the throat and head straight forward into healthy relationships. Pray for me!

Vacation in O-hi-o!

So I have been absent from the blogging world since Tuesday because I took a few days of vacation up to Columbus, Ohio to see some friends.

I spent almost 12 hours in the airport on Wednesday between my flights, layovers, and then waiting on Melissa’s flight to arrive. It made for a long day, but it was definitely chill and I read a whole book. Can you believe it? But just for those of you who like to read you should check out ‘Here’s to Hindsight’ by Tara Leigh Cobble. (We are trying to get her to CSU in the FALL and I am stoked!)

So the reunion with Melissa was great! I have not seen or talked to her in almost 10 years. We reunited on the addictive social networking site (aka Facebook) about 2 months ago. She lives out in New Mexico now and was coming to WV to visit her family for two weeks. She invited me to come up and have some fun with them in Columbus. So…after toyin’ with the idea of going I finally bought the ticket and I am so thankful I did! The first night we were there we waited until everyone asleep and then we sat up talking about things ’til 2:30 a.m. It was like we never missed a beat of our friendship though. We went to the Water park on Thursday and then had an amazing trip to Walmart that night (more about that story another day). On Friday, we went to the Zoo

…and then headed back to the airport to come home.

Here are some pictures of us from Thursday and Friday….

On Friday, I got to go to Breakfast with Nicole Bromley, Jude Bromley and Jenna Wilson. This was fun to see Nicole again and I got to meet the little guy. I am hoping she might be able to come back down to SC some time to speak. I got a couple of pictures while I was with them too. They gave me some suggested reads to help me with growing in ministering to women at CSU. So I will be picking up a few must reads…. The Blue Parakete, God is Big, People are Smaller,and Organic Church.

Here is my first time meeting Mr. Jude and the reunion with Jenna and Nicole…

Thoughtful Tuesday

Today was a busy and non-stop day at work because I am taking a few days off this week to go visit some friends in Ohio. So before I left today we had several meetings, some reporting to do and closing out some loose ends. One thing that I think the most about when I reflect on this day is my time planning for Elevate in the Fall. I believe it is going to be a tough semester with so much going on, but I believe that God is going to get ALL the glory.

I am a planner and like to be productive and today it just was not happening in the Elevate meeting. I was getting frustrated with not getting any where that I just shut out what they were talking about and went into another mode. Funny how it took us 45 minutes to get to a point we were ready to plan and then we put together a great working structure for the WHOLE school year…not just the Fall…in 15 minutes. I know – you’re probably thinking to yourself right now that this is not very thoughtful – oh but just wait!

Some of the topics we brought up for the Fall are centered on the Life of Jesus. That is so broad and I was getting irritated that we were not able to hammer out some details on what about His life or what about Him. We just were not able to get that. Then all of a sudden the ideas began to flow.

Clark asked us in the room… If you could describe Jesus in one word what would that one word be? For me, sovereign was the word that just slipped out of my mouth. I don’t know why because that is something I am still trying to wrap my mind around the sovereignty of Christ. Other words that came out in the room were Agape, Gracious, Savior. Then I took the time to ask some other people and they responded with Love and REAL. What one word sums up Jesus to you? Why?

Another question that was asked was what is the most impressionable image you have of Christ? Is it him hanging on a cross? Is it the words He said while on the cross? Is it the miracles He performed? What about the compassion and discipline he showed towards the disciples? One person said, ‘It is finished!’ Another one said, ‘Father forgive them…’ What about you?

After this meeting I had so many ideas floating in my head, but I think the main thing was the realization that I don’t know a lot of the Jesus that I serve and I should be trying to engulf all that I can get my hands on and my heart wrapped around. Lord help me to yearn to know YOU more! I feel so unworthy to be in His presence when I don’t always desire to be there. Thank goodness for God’s grace and compassion.

Simply Said Saturday

Palm trees, Oceans breeze

Salty air, sun-kissed hair

That endless summer

take me there…

Top Ten Thursday

This week I have been in a very reflective mood. I have to say that I have been trying to acknowledge those who have put time and energy into who God was molding me to be. I am NOT leaving God out of this top ten because He placed each one of these people into my life at the right season to push me, challenge me, encourage me, and mostly love me! I hope I can express this in words.

10.Tiffany Campbell – a driven and outgoing risk-taker – she taught me to be spontaneous from time to time. Life is about having fun. Her passion to live life to the fullest and to show ALL people love has taught me a lot about my small sheltered perspective I had on life. There have been times when I was completely shut out to her because I didn’t always agree, but God still used her to grow me closer to Him. (Especially in the gym)

9. Mrs. Sherry Atkinson is probably the most humble and encouraging people I know. She actually just called me today to tell me about a recent blog post. I trust her and cling to her wisdom. I know she doesn’t feel like it, but I remember when I would stop by her cube in the Hunter Reception Center and share times of laughter about things happening around campus. Now I do the same but just in another building. She pushes me to grow and walk in humility before the Lord.

8. Jessica Eddins has to be a person everyone loves and has never met a stranger. She was Miss CSU when I first met her and I immediately wanted to shut her out because I didn’t like the Beauty Queen thing. Something was different in Jess. We quickly became friends and then BAM! Let the good times roll with LOTS of laughter and some tears too. Jessica taught me to go after the dreams and passions in my heart. She did that with her life and made me want to do the same. She has a personality to die for and has impacted so many hearts. Talk about transformation. Just try talking to her one time!

7. Justin Sigmon, ohhh the “hot” cousin! as everyone says! He has always captured my heart and love. I believe he inspires me and pushes me to be more than I am now, because he wants to be like me! I can’t let him down. I can’t cap him off below his potential. So I keep pushing through life because I know he is following my footsteps. I am so proud of him.

6. Laura Crump Harrell took me by the hand and led me into a new uncharted territory when I was in Junior High. I learned more about serving and God’s word than I had in my entire life up to that point. She never gave up on me and my socially shielded heart. Her commitment to lead us was what inspired me to want to lead other girls. I am thankful for her today too because I get to still learn from her wisdom and grace.

5. Glo and Johnny Howle, providers! They have loved me like I was their own since I was born. They care about what I am doing with my life and in my life. They support me and encourage me to follow my heart. They have been providers for many years and taken care of me.

4.Lynette and Jon Davis have been incredibly timely in my life! God definitely has used them to push and prod me into the Woman of God that I am suppose to be. From Lynette being patient to wait for 4 years to hear me finally open up and Jon always being my biggest fan. I have come a long way in doing ministry, thinking ministry and living ministry. I have been shown unconditional love through their actions and words. Their kids are joys in my heart. I pray I become half the woman that she is to love, cherish and serve my husband. But then again if we’re both seeking after God’s own heart then we’re going to be drawn to each other.

3. Aunt Polly and Ron lead me to the Lord when I was 13 years old. Ron has been like a brother to me over the years and makes me fight harder and stronger in life. Aunt Polly has been my balancing block some times by pushing me and pulling me out of my comfort zone. She has always thought the world of me and helped me to stretch and climb higher and higher. She helps me to keep life a little bit light hearted.  Crazy can be fun, right?

2. My mom has taught me to love unconditionally and give sacrificially. I have people tell me I have such a servant’s heart. I believe its like John 5:19 says about how Jesus did what he saw the Father doing. I have watched my mom give and serve and love people and I tend to model that myself.

1. My Granny is my best friend! She has loved me and taught me so much about life…how to treat people, how to be a good steward of money, how to prioritize, and how to love. I could never financially repay her for all that she has provided for me,but I will do my very best to pass on to others the truth and love she has given to me.

Now – these are by far not the ONLY people who have impacted how I view life, but they have greatly molded and defined it. I will try to continue this list as the days pass. Because I believe its important to learn from everyone around you whether they are well learned or not. they probably have a life changing lesson for you to learn even if it teaches you how not to live your life.

It’ll Blow Your Mind

I had to share these couple of things with you today…

Aileen posted this on Twitter – Def. started off my morning just grand!

My new obsession is the PEACH MILKSHAKE from Chickfila. I will drive to every store in town to find one. It is just like Peach Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream in a gulp! SO GOOOOOOD!

I might end up adding more things as the day goes on, but this is enough to try to wrap your mind around for now.