Juli is giving away some Curiosity

Winn Collier, the former pastor of DCF in Clemson, has written a new book: HOLY CURIOSITY: Encountering Jesus' Provocative Questions. And Juli is giving away a FREE copy of it on her blog. But HURRY!!! Time will be up come next Wednesday at noon.

Check out her post...

PS - if you mention that I sent you there, I'll get an extra entry into winning the book :)

13 people

I need 13 people to respond to this post and let me know what you are thankful for RIGHT NOW that you didn't have last year or that you didn't know you'd be thankful for in a year's time. Got it? I'll go first...

1. I'm thankful for the 9th grade girls in my Discipleship Group. I only met them about a month ago and I already consider them a huge part of my life. If only I'd known this time last year that we'd be chillin' every other Wednesday and on Sunday nights and on Fall Retreat and various other times/places, then I don't think I could have waited a year to meet them.

(more pics from Fall Retreat here and here)

Ok, so i guess i only need 12 people now :)
(Thanks for the question to get me thinking, Mary!)

14 reasons I'm humbled

A month or so ago I emailed some friends and asked for 3 words they would use to describe me. I mainly needed something to put up here for this silly countdown, but wow, I wasn't expecting to feel so inadequate because of the words they chose...

- understanding
- present
- seeker
- loyal
- relentless
- passionate
- selfless
- role model
- caring
- smart
- artistic
- pretty
- fun
- creative

I really don't have anything else to say other than thank you to my most amazing and incredible friends. I don't deserve you guys, but I love you tons!!

29th bday and Trunk-or-Treat

I can't believe I'm 29. Holy cow, just one more year until the big 3-0. But, luckily I have some pretty amazing friends who surprised me the Friday of my birthday weekend... so I didn't have much time to think about the number.

The biggest surprise was that Arica (who now lives in Nashville) drove in for the weekend! SO much fun :)

Sunday - the day OF my birthday :) - was Trunk-or-Treat at church, which is always a blast!

Tinkerbell (aka Adri) playing a little soccer.

A little peace-love from Nick and Gabby.

Mac and Erin - a part of The Greatest Show on Earth!

The coolest small group - i mean, community group - at Grace Church!

When your group leaders, who are avid Gamecock fans, get you a Clemson cookie cake for your birthday... you know they love you :)

Click here for more birthday and Trunk-or-Treat pics.

15 pull-ups

no... NOT the toddler diapers. ew! i'm talking actual, physical, real pull-ups. some guys at work decided to do 100 pull-ups in 100 days. it goes something like this...

Day 1 = do as many as you can at one time
Day 2 = 2 pull ups
Day 3 = 3 pull ups
Day 4 = 4 pull ups
etc....

the number of pull ups for the day we're on can be done over the course of the day (thankfully!). i was already doing a handful each time i went to fill up my water bottle or was in the general area of the work-out room at work. now i just have more motivation. as of today (and the past 29 years) i can NOT do a pull up all on my own. i'm pretty strong for a girl, but those muscles in my arms just aren't developped. so.... we're changing that.

i joined in on day 9 i think. and while i have to use a chair to do the pull ups, i can already tell that i'm not using the chair as much as i once was. so that's a bonus!

let's hope that by the last day i can do at least one without the aid of a chair :)

We interrupt this countdown...

...for recent happenings.
1. Fall for Greenville. ALWAYS mucho fun with yummo food and festivities:

Garrett was planning his route and menu.

Glamorous Kelly and Allison

Yummo....

the boys and their hotdogs

amazing what can be done with a large block of ice and a chain saw

2. It's fall in South Carolina and football is in full swing! Granted, Clemson isn't doing as well as all had hoped, however, we are still enjoying the season, our team... and the food :)

My cousin Morgan is a Clemson Tiger now... although her boyfriend is at the Citadel. But he's pretty cool, so we're keeping him around!

Will and Diana's tailgate

I love this picture of D and Wyatt!

as for this one... my friends were supposed to jump WITH me... :)

16 things...

... that I'm thankful for.

1) God's grace
2) His Son, Jesus
3) my amazing family (mom, brother, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins!!)
4) my Clemson girls
5) phone calls from old friends (like the one I just received from Melody!)
6) a job that i love
7) the fact that i consider the people i work with to be more like family than co-workers
8) the 5 months that i lived in Belgium
9) Arica and the Greens, none of whom i would know had i not gone to Belgium
10) the chances i've had to travel the world
11) the fact that i have friends in 6 different countries who would let me sleep on their couch should i ever get over to see them... :)
12) my Clemson Tigers (regardless of their ability to play sports)
13) a church that i love serving with in Greenville, SC
14) a small group - i mean, community group - that i adore
15) my new camera
16) cherry coke and chocolate

ok, i realize that last one had two in it, but they HAD to make the list. and really, i could go on FOREVER with things that i'm thankful for. this list doesn't even really scratch the surface.

what are YOU thankful for? everyone has at least 2 things they could name off the top of their head. come on, you can do it!

17 more days...

... until I hit 29. Wow. I've been freaking out a little bit because the next birthday that rolls around will be the big 3-0. Not that I've ever really been that into the number of my birthday... it's just the fact that it IS my birthday :) But, this is my last one in my twenties.

The other thing is that while I was never one to have my life planned out (by this age I'll be married, by this age i'll have a career, by this age i'll have so many kids, etc.), I really didn't think I'd still be single at 29. It's really a minor thing because I have an amazing life! I have SO many things that I'm thankful for (keep an eye out for #16 in the "countdown") and God has used me in ways that would have been more challenging had I been married.

However, it would be really fun to share this life adventure with someone. But, I know God has a plan (Jer 29:11) so I'm just chillin' until I get to share this cool life with someone else :)

18 Years Old (post 2)

The Christmas after my 18th birthday, I asked my mom if the family could all pitch in for my Christmas gift. What did I ask for? All I wanted was a "real" camera, like one that professionals use! That Christmas I got my first SLR, a Nikon N50... and I was in love.

This was my baby. I loved this camera. While I was co-opping in college, I purchased a zoom lens and took even more pictures. In the 8 years that I used this camera, I know that I took thousands of pictures. And loved snapping each and every one. Now that we're in the digital age, I've probably taken twice as many as I ever did with film. Maybe three times as many...

Well, along with time and practice and falling more in love with photography, it's time that I take it to the next step. No, I'm not a pro, but I've created a photography blog and I hope to have another website one day soon. I'm excited to see where God takes me with this venture.

So.... I'm officially introducing PS: Photography by Sabrina. So check it out.... www.sabrinalewis.blogspot.com... and tell everyone you know!

18 Years Old (post 1)

Finally... something for the number 18 :) In fact... I have 2 things!

When I was 18 years old I left an amazing group of friends and headed off to Clemson University. Little did I know that I would find another amazing group of friends. In the past few weeks, I've seen people from both groups and am amazed and SO thankful that God has allowed these people to remain in my life.

Back in March, we had our 10 Year High School Reunion (above). And this past weekend, I had lunch with the Scharffs and Jean. I love that even after 10 years, after going to different colleges, after some have gotten married, had children and moved to different towns, we can get together and still laugh and have fun.

The girls in the picture above (minus the Mrs Chapman, who is next to Jennifer, the bride) were in my bible study my freshman year at Clemson. These are the girls that I daily live life with. We certainly don't see each other every day or even every month, but we stay in touch, stay connected, stay close and stay in touch with what's going on. We've gone on cruises, we've gone to the beach, we get a cabin each December, we've been in each other's weddings (as you can tell above!), we've been at the hospital for births, we've been to funerals... and we plan on doing MUCH MUCH more together as the years go by.

As I've talked to people over the years, I've really realized just how blessed I am to have both of these groups of people in my life. God always knows what He's doing but it always makes me smile to think that He knew FAR more than I could ever have dreamed when He brought all of these people into my life... and have let them stay in my life!

GFCs from 2008

Upward churches in the states took Upward to 3 different countries this summer. Animoto put the pictures together and I found the song on their site... I'm quite a fan if I say so myself :)

19 Days...

...until we beat NC State in Death Valley :)

VS

GO TIGERS!!!

Disclaimer: I will be pulling for the Wolfpack this Thursday (Aug 28) as they take on the chickens... aka South Carolina Shamecocks. I mean, Gamecocks :)

20 weeks

I realize this is a little crazy, but I'm trying to keep up with this obscure countdown-to-nothing and I wanted to do something with the number 20 on the 20th day of August. So, when I counted 20 weeks from today, this was my revelation:

20 weeks from today will be the first Wednesday of 2009.

I've heard people say this SOOOO many times, but I promise that the older I get, the faster time seems to go. Ahhh!

Happy New Year!!

lol!

21 year-old Jamaican

Has anyone been watching the Olympics this week?? Yes, they're still on. Swimming may be over, but there is another superman in the house (or Bird's Nest or Water Cube)!!

Like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt is a MACHINE. This boy can not only run, but he can R.U.N. Run! Usain! Now!

And yes, I just made that up... thank you.

Of course, I'm still pulling for the US, but you have to appreciate that mad-crazy talent... regardless of where in the world it hails from!

22 Cows

So, I decided that after posting about 24 Minutes and then 23 Days that I wanted to keep going with this arbitrary countdown. I'm not actually counting down to anything and there will probably be almost no correlation between the posts and I probably won't post everyday to make it a legit countdown, but why should that stop me? Besides, after my last post, there needed to be a little less seriousness going on here:)

I realized the other day that I never posted any pictures of the cow crossing that I saw in Northern Ireland! Tragic, I know. So, while I'm not totally sure whether there were 22 cows or 220 cows, here is proof of my cow-crossing experience. lol

Our lovely driver, Jenny, offered us the opportunity to get out of the car to get better pictures, but I politely declined. 1) I was in the backseat of a tiny european car. 2) it was raining and 3) while I'm ok with being "that american tourist" on occasion, I'd rather not do it in the rain. Besides, you still get to see the pictures and you still get the same idea. haha!

And see? The cows made it just fine and we were on our way.

And now you know that it takes approximately 22 cows approximately 15 minutes to cross the road in Northern Ireland.

Half of my life ago...

August 9, 1994 was a day that I have run through my head a million times over in the past 14 years. It’s brought on every emotion known to man and affected me in ways that only our great God can fully know.

I woke up that Tuesday morning not long before 6:00am. It was nearing the end of the summer and my brother had soccer camp that week out at USCS (now, USC Upstate). So, while it was early and I thought it a little odd that the light in the hallway was on and people were talking in the hallway, I just thought my parents were getting an early start to the day. Being the inquisitive (aka “nosy”) person that I can be, I got out of bed to see what they were doing up so early to find my neighbors, Al and Cindy, outside my door.

I went into my parents’ bedroom to see my dad laying in the bed, barely breathing and his lips a pale shade of blue. I wanted so badly to reach out and put my hand on his chest, to hold his hand, to give him a hug, to kiss his face… but all I could do was stand there with my arms wrapped around myself. Turns out I didn’t know what fear really was until that moment.
Cindy was standing next to the bed massaging his hand and I remember her saying that his hands were clammy. I had to leave that room. Right then. Somehow I ended up in our living room where I did what anyone in my situation would do. I turned on the computer and started to play solitaire. It’s ok, you can laugh :)

Shortly afterwards, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics went back to my parents’ room. As they came back toward the front of the house, I walked over to the door they were about to walk by and as I closed the door, I saw my dad’s feet on the stretcher, having no idea that would be the last time I would see him alive.

The rest of that morning was pure torture. Mom followed the ambulance to Spartanburg Regional Hospital (no idea why she couldn’t ride WITH them) and when it was time, Cindy took my brother to his soccer camp. I tried to make the time go by as fast as I could, but without much success. I played more solitaire, I stared out the back sliding glass door, I tried to find something on TV, but while I was in that place, time seemed to stand still. I look back now and it seems that it passed by in a flash. What was probably a couple of hours later, I was sitting in “daddy’s chair” watching an episode of Sisters when my mom and our pastor walked in. I didn’t really have to ask, but I did anyway. “How is he?” Mom’s simple reply was, “He’s gone.”
The next couple of days became a blur of people coming and going and calling and visiting and hugging and kissing and crying and loving us. I have never seen so much food in my fridge nor have I gotten as many hugs as I did that week.

While I would not wish this experience on ANYONE, I’m thankful for how God has been able to use what my family went through for His purposes, which are always much more detailed and intentional than I could ever imagine. While I grew up in the church and accepted Christ as my savior when I was about 9, it took until my freshman year at Clemson before I let God really get His hands on me and draw me into Himself. Ever since then, He’s been my Father, my provider, my strength, my heart, my life, my everything. We’ve had a few rocky patches along the way, but what relationship doesn’t? My dad and I had more rocky patches than I would like to ever admit, but in spite of all that I consider hard or bad, God has used it all to shape and mold me into ME.

One of the hardest things about life is trying to be a friend to someone who has gone through something like this (just take a glance at the book of Job in the Bible!). We never know what to say. We never really know what to do, which is why we take food. You don’t have to talk if you’re eating! Most of the time, there just isn’t anything TO say or do. My advise: whatever you do say, do NOT start quoting scripture. As true as it is, it’s actually the last thing someone in that position wants to hear. Twice in the past 9 years I’ve had a few friends lose their dads as quickly as I lost mine. While I still didn’t know what to say, I was at least able to give them a hug and say, “I know” through my tears, letting them know that they aren’t alone in what they’re going through.

Most years when August 9 rolls around, I remember what day it is but I’m either at work or I have something going on. But I think because I was 14 when he died and it’s now 14 years later (and I’m this much closer to turning 30) I’ve been a little more reflective than normal. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d make it to the age of 17, much less 28. I don’t think I had any kind of concept of what 14 years later would look like. I’m just thankful that God has brought me this far and I’m still in one piece!

It would take a book to explain all that He’s taught me in the past 14 years. The main thing I’ve learned though, and I seem to still be learning, is that HE is God and I’m not. I know, simple concept, right? Then why do I think that my plans are better than His, when in fact, once I let Him do His thing, I realize that what He’s done is in fact what I wanted all along? For example, I wanted to go to the Naval Academy more than anything in the world. And I thought that God wouldn’t have put that desire in me if He didn’t have that plan for me. The reality of it was that I wanted to be a midshipman more than I wanted to follow God’s plan. So, I ended up at Clemson… which was almost the last place I wanted to be. I realize for those that know me – or have only met me once - that’s hard to believe. But, it turns out that since that’s where God intended for me to be, that’s what I actually wanted!! I just didn’t know it at the time because I was blinded by myself and MY plans.

The truth is, regardless of what’s happened in life, God will use it to glorify Himself. The only catch is that we have to LET Him be God and LET Him lead the way. But, if we can remove those blinders that only let us look at ourselves and instead open our eyes to what He wants to do with us through us and around us, we would see that we would be insane to NOT let Him lead the way.

There are some days that something will hit me and I’ll find my heart caught in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes over the loss of my dad. It’s not easy growing up on this earth without a father. But, out of this tragedy, God has revealed Himself to me as my Father and let me see Him in ways I may not have been as open to had my dad survived that heart attack.

Daddy, as much as we went through, as many tears as I’ve shed and as much laughter as we shared, I still love you. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.

Abba, Father, as much as we’ve been through, as many tears as I’ve shed and as much laughter as we've shared, I will always love you. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for You.

Michael Gray Lewis
February 12, 1949 - August 9, 1994

23 Days...

...until COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!People have been mentioning it, there's been chatter of season tickets arriving in the mail, the summer is drawing to an end and there we'll be... in the midst of football season!!!!!!

The Tigers are ranked in the top 10 and there's plenty of talk of this "being our year" to win the ACC Championship. I'll admit that I get a little nervous when we're ranked this high and we're the talk of the conference. BUT, I have faith in my Tigers. Always have, always will.

C-L-E-M-S-O-N! T-I-G-E-RRRRRRRRRRR-S!
Fight Tigers... Fight Tigers... fight, Fight, FIGHT!!

24 Minutes...

... is my new record time for getting out of bed, in and out of the shower, getting dressed, putting on make-up, fixing my hair (blow dry and all), getting in the car and pulling out of the driveway.

It's amazing how quickly things can happen when you wake up at 7:45 and are supposed to be at work, which is 20 minutes away, at 8:00am.

Details, Details...

There are no spoilers to the Batman movie in this post.

Last Saturday I finally went to see Dark Knight. I say finally because even though it had only been out for a week, it seemed as though I was the only person in the country who had not seen it yet! Anyway, my plan was to leave my house about 40 minutes before the movie started at 5:10pm, which would leave me plenty of time to run by Target across the street first. I left a little later than planned but still made it to Target and I ended up buying my ticket at almost exactly 5:10pm.

I go into the theater and make my way to Theater #2, as it clearly states on my ticket. I hand the nice ticket-tearing guy my ticket and he points me toward the left where my theater is waiting. I look over and see that the second theater is indeed playing Dark Knight. I quickly slide into the restroom knowing that I'll miss a couple of previews, which I don't like doing because I love previews, but this is a two and a half hour movie and I have the world's smallest bladder. So, I make a quick run through the restroom and then dart into my theater.

To my surprise, the movie has already started. Hmm... kind of odd, but whatever. It's one of the smaller theaters and the place is FULL. I go up a few rows and ask the lady and her husband if the one empty seat next to her is taken. She says no and I slide in and sit down, put down my bag and turn my phone to silent. After maybe 30 seconds I'm settled and ready to take in this amazing movie I've heard so much about.

The Joker is in a hospital room and talking to a guy that I've seen in the previews so I have an idea of who's in the scene. But, after a little bit I realize that I've missed something. But I waited a little bit longer just to see what was going on before I do anything. After about 20 minutes or so, I lean over to the nice lady who let me slide in next to her...

Me: What time did this movie start?
Nice Lady: 3:10
Me: Ahhh.... I'm in the wrong theater (duh). lol
Nice Lady: Yep

So, I gathered my things and left thinking that either I really did go into the wrong theater or the lady who sold me my ticket sold me one for two hours earlier. I check out my ticket as I leave and indeed, in my hurry to get to the movie, went into the wrong theater. Again, duh.

I had three options at this point.
1) Go to the appropriate theater and miss the FIRST 20 minutes of the movie
2) Go to the front, explain what happened and buy another ticket
3) Find what theater the 5:40pm showing was in and go to that movie and see the entire thing

Some of you may be sad to know that I took option number 3. And really, I don't know that management would have minded... :)

I'm telling you, some days I think I have blonde hair under all of this brunette stuff on my head. LOL Hey, at least I know how to laugh at myself, right? Well, that and I love giving "my" public entertaining stories about my life ;)

Northern Ireland

I know y'all have been waiting. So here they are... FINALLY. Enjoy :)



Me with some of the girls from camp.

Gotta love the Give Way signs :)

This was at a cultural event in the neighborhood we were staying in.

Beautiful sunset over the North Atlantic.
That small piece of land way off in the distance is Iceland!

This would be the view from one of the churches. Pretty, huh?

The group from Clinton, MS that I went with.

This is at the Giant's Causeway. I'm doing my traditional Irish pose. lol

Please notice the SHEEP in the background... :)

Goofy kids can be found anywhere in the world :)

It was parade season. All of the small towns have their own band and they marched right in front of the church we were working at. We were like little kids! It was cool.




Ireland + rainbow+ seeing the END of the rainbow
= leprechaun and pot of gold



sadly we didn't make it over there to catch him :( those buggers must be really sneaky!

More pictures are here. And even more are here.

In the meantime....

I KNOW I'm taking forever with my pictures from Northern Ireland... but I was home for about 5 days and then went to the beach for vacation (I'll post pictures of that too). So, until then, please watch this video! It's seriously one of the coolest things ever.

Be sure to click "watch in high quality" below the video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is one of the first places you'll see him... and I was there just a few weeks ago!

Info about Northern Ireland

• It's just now 15 min till midnight and I can still see a "wee bit" of light on the horizon over the mountains.
• They really do say "wee bit" quite often
• They drink more tea than any culture I have ever been around. I may float home from all the tea I've been offered to drink!
• Crumpets are actually served with tea
• I still have no idea what a crumpet really is...
• We've only had potatoes served with one meal... well, unless you count the "chips" (aka french fries) we had with lunch today
• I've already been here long enough that I'm typing this and expecting you to read it with an Irish accent
• It's the end of June and we're freezing. It's been cold and rainy... more so than when I was in Belgium! Ahh!
• But, because of the rain, the countryside really is as green and beautiful as the pictures and movies we've all seen!
• My roommate (for the week) and I set off the alarm when we came "home" yesterday. It was quite fun! Luckily the police didn't show up. Our hosts were out for a bit and had set the alarm. After a few phone calls they finally called and gave us the code to turn it off. whew!
• We were stopped on the road for about 15 minutes today while cows crossed the road to another field. Yes, I'll have pictures of that later :)

It's supposed to be yucky weather all week so PLEASE PRAY that God will allow good weather for our outdoor soccer (football) camps!! According to weather.com tomorrow is looking a little better so keep those prayers going!

Beth Moore on Worry...

I learn so much from Beth Moore and I wanted to share what she wrote on her blog yesterday. You can read the full post for yourself here, but most of it is pasted below... I have issues with wanting to be in control (and I'm sure some of you can relate!). So, it's a good reminder from a godly woman that GOD is the one in control... and for good reason!

The lead verse for this morning's entry was Isaiah 28:12. Of God the prophet Isaiah wrote, "He said, 'This is a resting place, let the weary rest'; and, 'This is a place of repose' - but they would not listen." Here's a little of what followed (originally written by Charles Spurgeon):

"Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul - God is the Master! Do you think all the commotion and the uproar of this life is evidence that God has left His throne? He has not! His mighty steeds rush furiously ahead, and His chariots are the storms themselves. (Pause, Siestas, and hear the sound of those mighty steeds in your spirit. Feel their hoof-beats pound in your chest. He's on His mighty way!) But the horses have bridles, and it is God who holds the reins, guiding the chariots as He wills! Our God Jehovah is still the Master! Believe this and you will have peace. 'Don't be afraid' (Matt. 14:27)."

My favorite line: "You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm." So, we might as well stop trying. Anyway, with the best intentions we'd steer that Titanic smack into the next iceberg with all our loved ones on board. You don't let your two-year old steer the car no matter how she might kick and scream from the backseat. God's too wise to let our control issues work out for us. If we keep insisting, He might let us give it a hand for a while but, sooner or later, we'll hit the iceberg. And the iceberg is He.

Regardless of how convinced we are, God has not placed us in control of our environments nor are we responsible for how everyone is behaving or how things will turn out. He is still God and, yes, even over "this," whatever your "this" may be. His, Beloved Siestas, is a LARGE SHIP. Something much bigger than we can picture is going on from a God's-eye view. Our trials are allowed so that Christ may be formed in us and then, through us, serve that greater purpose. Worry always and only forms thicker flesh in us and weights us down until we cannot walk where the Spirit would take us.

I've come to learn from God that worry is a waving red flag to the enemy. It is a dead giveaway that the person owning it does not trust God. The shield of faith is down. So fire when ready. Every time we're tempted to take it all on and worry something to death, let's say aloud from the depths of our souls, "I choose to trust You, Lord. I choose trust. I choose You."

Be quiet, Dear Soul! God is the Master! Don't be afraid.

With dearest love,
beth

Unique

I’m not saying I’m any kind of wise, almighty Christian.. because I am the FURTHEST thing from that. But God has been teaching me SO much lately and I realized just the other night that I’ve come back to Him in a way that I didn’t know was possible. I was never gone from Him but I’ve been so dry these past few years!

The time I had in Belgium was so unique because of the physical time I had on my hands and because of the situation I was in. I had time to wake up when my body was ready (I’m a much happier person when I get to do that!). Because I had the time, I was awake when I spent my time with the Lord in the mornings. I wasn’t rushed with my time with Him because of some crazy schedule. And I was relying on Him like never before to help me build meaningful relationships with people that I was only going to be around for 5 months.

I’ve been LONGING for that since I came home 4 years ago, but I’ve only just realized that was a UNIQUE time and I probably will never have that again. However, it doesn’t mean that God can’t work in and through me in similar ways. My hunger for Him has grown recently and a lot of it is because of my singleness. One of my biggest desires is to find the love of my life, get married and have kids. But, for whatever reason, God isn’t allowing that right now (I could go on and on about all I’m learning through the series of Job we’re doing at church right now and how we just don't know what God is up to! It’s amazing). And since I have no idea why He’s allowing that, my purpose is to serve Him as best I can. THAT is my desire right now!! Sure, I’ve always wanted to have that attitude, but for the first time I really GET it. I know that I’m in a unique (there’s that word again) place in life and all I want is to honor Him so that I can be used by Him while I have this kind of time on my hands.

I say all of this in hopes to be an encouragement, not to brag on what a "wonderful Christian I've become." ha! I hope no one ever calls me that... because I will never amount to what God had in mind for us to be before sin entered the world. Of course if that were the case, Christ would not have needed to come and we would not have the word "Christian". But that's an entirely different discussion...

It has taken me YEARS to get to this point... and I still have a long way to go. And I will probably even backslide quite often. But at least I finally understand what Paul was talking about in I Corinthians 7:34. "...An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit..."

Right now is when I have the time on my hands to serve the Lord with everything I have. Right now, I don't have a husband to devote my time and energy to. Right now, I don't have children that need my care and attention. So, RIGHT NOW is when I can devote ALL of myself to God and what He's called me to do... love and serve HIM! How amazing is that?? ;-)

the blog isn't dead!!!

i know, i know, i know, i know.... i know! it's been over a month. and i don't really have an excuse. other than i moved... again. and i don't have internet at home... at all. and i've been travelling... some. and i'm lazy... ok maybe that's the real answer :)

there has been so much going on in my head and i really want to get it out, so i PROMISE to get it up here soon (please feel free to harrass me until i do... accountability is a good thing!).

so for now, i leave you with a quote from the great Wayne Gretzky:

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

random, i know. but we ate at his restaurant in Toronto tonight and i liked it. therefore, i had to document while it was still fresh on my mind. haha!

Upward Blind Ambition

You need to see this story about Mitchell Bridwell...

Click here for video...

David Dean Grogg!!!

Jill and Michael welcomed their son into the world yesterday, March 31, around 5:08pm. He was 8lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. Isn't he beautiful??

Andrea is already a wonderful big sis! Jill's sister Meghan has more pictures and a video on her blog... check it out!