I am not skilled to understand...

"I am not skilled to understand...
what God has willed, what God has planned.
I only know at his right hand...
stands One who is my Savior."

"My Savior lives
My Savior loves,
My Savior's always there for me.
My God He was,
My God He is,
My God He's always gonna be."

-Aaron Shust - My Savior My God

I LOVE this song. It's been on the radio for a while now and I've just found out it is actually a hymn that has been redone (go figure). A friend at work emailed it last week at the end of an email update to let us know what God is doing in his and his wife's life as they get ready to bring a son into the world. There are some complications with the baby, but to see their faith through all of it has been so incredibly encouraging.

God has shown me a lot this past week... He's reminded me how much He is in control. Earlier this year I was able to move into my "dream job" and have loved it. But in my head, I thought that was just the beginning. I thought for sure that since I had gotten the job I had been waiting a year for that everything else would fall into place; the "everything else" being a guy. Well, I was hanging out with a friend a lot for the past couple of weeks (ok, we were essentially dating) but instead of continuing to build into that relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, God used this guy to remind me what HE has called me to do. I want to work in missions, I want to go around the world and show people how much Christ loves them and I still want to live overseas again. This guy and I had different goals in mind and while it was fun hanging out, we weren't on the same path so it never would have worked. It's true that we are both awesome, but we'll be even more awesome with the people God has intended for us.

So anyway, "I'm not skilled to understand" all that God is doing but I'm thankful that He let me see into a minute piece of what the past few weeks were about.

Happy 30th LindsEy!!

Blowing out the candle...

The girls... me, Lindsay, Lindsey, Juli and Missy

The Marts!

This is what we like to call a Lindse(a)y sandwich. haha!

Happy Birthday LindsEy!! I hope the next 30 years are just as wonderful if not better!

I know... I know...

It's been a little while and I've been totally slack, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I guess after my "North American Tour" this summer life is pretty boring. Although, I've been hanging out with some cool people lately but I'll fill you in on those details later. Clemson won their first game, lost in double overtime to Boston College in their second game and we've got FSU in Tallahassee tomorrow. Be praying for our Tigers!!!!! :)

Next up: Ukraine!

Yep, I'm headed to the Ukraine in November for work. I've been blown away these past 4 months that I've been working in our Global Dept at how much God is doing around the world. Aparently there is a lot going on over around Russia and I'm excited about going to check it out. So, pray for me as there is a lot of work we need to do before we head over!

Peace out.

Clemson Kickoff!

So, I'm a pretty big Clemson fan... if you haven't figured that out yet then you either don't know me at all or haven't been keeping up with this blog. Anyway, we had our first game today against Florida Atlantic and finished the game out with a solid score of 54-6. It was pretty sweet. Yes, there could have been some better plays, we could have done without the turnovers, our team could have connected better, etc. BUT we won and had some pretty sweet moves to get that score. Plus, I was excited to be sitting in Death Valley with some of my closest friends. Even if it was so hot that my khaki capris I was wearing were soaked with sweat. It was pretty gross... it looked like I had sat in water or something. And yes, I know you wanted to know that! Let's just hope that the Sept 23 game against UNC is at least a tad cooler!

And by the way... we had an addition to the tailgate this year. You've seen her before, but here she was all decked out for Clemson! Andrea joined us fully... well, except for the eating part. And getting to go downtown in a stroller instead of walking. And taking a couple of naps during the day. But other than that, she was already one of us!!

Isn't she adorable?? I personally like to call her
"Chunky Monkey" but it's completely out of love :)
Just look at those cheeks!!!

Finally...

It's been a while, I know, but here is the link to my New York pictures. There are a good many there, but I'm really proud of a few :) So... enjoy!

New Hope New York

Times Square... in the flesh!

What a great week! We had about 58 kids for flag football camp and 27 for cheerleading camp and had a blast. We ended the week with a block party for the neighborhood of Mott Haven in the Bronx, which went really well and was a hit with everyone. All of it was free... the food, the magician and the kids performing what they learned at the Fine Arts Camp and the cheerleaders performed some cheers and their pom routine. We even had time for a little site seeing during the week. I love NYC but those kids were amazing and I miss them already!! God did so much last week and if we did anything at all, we planted some seeds in these kids and made sure they knew that God loves them. Pray for Graffiti 2 in the Bronx and the ministry they have there. It has already been an amazing thing for those kids!

Carly, Natalie, Myrna, me and Lance sporting our Statue of Liberty hats with the NYC skyline in the background. You won't believe it, but Myrna and I actually had people want their picture taken with us in these hats! It's ok to be jealous that I didn't bring you one... maybe next time! haha!

Myrna and me on top of the Empire State Building... it was a little windy, can you tell?

Derek showing the guys how football is done!

Natalie showing the girls how cheerleading is done!

Well, there's the overview... I'll post more later... or maybe I'll post a link to the rest online. That may be easier :)

On the road again...

Tomorrow morning I'm hittin' the road! We're driving down to ATL for one of our Upward Leadership Training Conferences and then Saturday when it's over I'm leavin' on a jet plane for NYC! I'm so pumped. I love being "on the go" and rushing around. It gets my adreneline (sp???) pumping.

Of course the thing that stinks is that Melody is moving back to Tennessee tomorrow :( I'm so sad. She's been such a huge part of my life since I started working at Upward and it's not going to be the same without her there!! I've about cried multiple times just thinking about it over the past few months, but the tears finally came as I hugged her bye and left her house tonight. It's so odd because she's one of the two really good friends that I've made since graduating college. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'll definitely see her again b/c I'm going to be the photographer at her wedding. We just don't know the exact date of that event yet :) See? There's a silver lining in every cloud. Or something cheesy like that. ha!

Alright, I still have to pack my overnight bag for ATL and get a few hours sleep before getting up in the morning. No idea if I'll be able to get online while I'm out and about next week, but I'll post pictures if I can!

My Blood Runneth Orange

Today we went to Clemson for the Tommy Bowden Ladies Football Clinic and had SO much fun!! 500 women met in Jervey to meet all the coaches, some of the players, learn a few plays and tour the facilities. And yes, we even got to run down the hill. WOOO!!! GO TIGERS!

This lovely gentleman is Will Proctor, our starting QB for the 2006 season. :) Let's just say that while I'm always excited about Clemson football, this fall will be even more of a treat. GO TIGERS!!

I was tempted to put the helmet on my head... but thought against it as I saw another lady actually smell another player's. Um... I'm fine with just holding it, thanks!

This was just before we ran down the hill... and I didn't even fall! As you can see, the new West End Zone is done and it's gorgeous. Too bad I'll never be able to afford to actually sit in there during a game! So, if you know someone who's got tickets for it and they need someone to use an extra one they may have, I will be more than happy to help them out.

This was a GREAT way to start off the season. Just 34 more days until kickoff! GO TIGERS!!

Congrats to the Hofts!!

Allison and Wes got hitched this weekend and we were all present to witness it! The newly weds are honeymooning in Jamaica for the week (not that I'm jealous at all...) and will keep keepin' it real in Cola when they return!!



They came to the reception in the flippin' sweet car behind them! GO TIGERS!!

See... I told you we were all there! Jennifer, Brooke, Natalie, Allison, Megan, me, Leslie, Kristen and Jill.

Pictures from Mexico

Ok, here's the link to my pictures: Mexico pics. I will warn you that if you thought I was dangerous with film, I'm even more so with a digital. Especially when I have a memory card that will hold almost 400 pictures. but don't worry! There are only 232 on this site :) And no, my feelings will not be hurt if you don't look at every single one! Once you go to the kodakgallery.com site, below the main picture will be thumbnails of all the pics. Just scroll over them and click on some to view them at random.

I wish you could have experienced the joy of these kids and the love of the people who are down there. But, since most of you weren't able to go, I hope you're at least able to experience a little of what I was able to through these pictures. Enjoy!