Thankful for Christmas

I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have an excuse to eat lots of good food, you get to be with your family (hopefully) and of course, it's time to prepare for the birth of our Savior.
How amazing sweet is that?

Thanksgiving lunch at my aunt's house. I think there were about 20 of us total!

My cousin, Karlin... she's so cute.

And another cousin, Alejandro. Don't you love that smile??

We finally got the (topless) tree at 205 decorated! Ain't it purty? :)

There is so much to look forward to at this time of year. It's amazing that we (in the states) get to begin the "holidays" with a day of being thankful. I just pray that this Christmas season will touch you like never before, that you will be able to see Christ as the Savior he came to earth to be.
It was an amazing miracle and he IS an amazing Lord.

TGI Fridays, Squatty Potties and a Little Basketball

It's amazing how much American food you will eat when you are out of the country! We ate at TGI Friday's twice and McD's twice. I think the last time I ate at Friday's was when I was living in Atlanta! And I may eat at McD's once a year. Actually, I think the last time I visited McD's was while I was going through Germany to and from South Africa. It makes me laugh!

Now, I've used squatty potties before. I know they exist and I'm not afraid to use them... unless of course the door doesn't really lock and the only light in the water closet is busted! However, after walking about for a bit and trying to figure out what I was going to do, I realized I didn't have a choice and decided to chance it! Luckily, after stepping outside to make sure the coast was clear, I saw Sasha and told him there was only one. So he said, "It's ok, you are safe!" You will be happy to hear that "Operation Squatty Potty" was a success :) haha!

The gym we were in for our conference on Tuesday was amazing. Although it was REALLY cold! Everything went well and the people we met in the Ukraine were very interested in what we had to tell them about Upward. We are at the very beginning stages, but who knows... Upward Ukraine may become a reality! We'll just have to see what all God has in store.

Orthodox churches are all over the place.

As are statues!!

It was a really good trip. It was odd being in Eastern Europe this time... many things were very familiar because it was Europe. But there are a lot of differences because it's in the east and still has a good bit of Russian influence. I'm thankful that God is allowing me to see different parts of the world and meet people in other cultures... and that's my job! It's amazing. He's amazing. And I'm so grateful for all that He is doing around the world and right here in Greenville. I love it!

I'm in the Ukraine!

First of all.... we made it safely.
Second of all... it's FREEZING.
But third of all... it snowed some today! So at least there was a reason for me being so cold :)

So far, I love it. But to be honest, there aren't many places that I've gone in the world and not loved. We haven't met too many people b/c we only got here about 24 hours ago, but our hosts are amazing and have been wonderful. We went to a market today and loaded up on fun souvenirs and headed to a church service. We ended up leaving part of the way through, but our hosts mainly wanted us to just see one example of a worship service. He actually helped plant that church and aparently it has declined in the last few years with their worship attendance. But he said that their small groups are going strong... a bit odd to me, but he said the church leadership isn't worried about it. If he were still there, he'd be worried, but he has helped start another church in the past 5 years that seems to be going really well. They meet on Saturday afternoon though and our flight didn't arrive until after it was over.

We start our Upward conference tomorrow and from what we've heard, many people are very excited about it. So, be praying for us and the people in Ukraine as they hear about what God has done through sports in the US and other parts of the world. Pray that they will be able to help us understand what it would take to help them use sports ministry here!

the FAITHFUL life

"...being a child of God isn’t about the easy life… it’s about the FAITHFUL life."

That's what I found my fingers typing on Natalie's blog this morning in response to what she's been struggling with (read it). I've always known that the life of a Christian wasn't easy. The Bible tells us as much! But every once in a while I find myself expecting things to always go my way or trying to rest in the fact that "my plans" are going to work out.

In talking with Natalie about what she is going to do when her little girl comes I've realized that I have absolutely no clue what my future looks like. In 11th grade I remember standing in the AP Chemistry lab talking to my lab partners/friends about how my life was going to work out. I was going to go to the Naval Academy, get a degree in engineering, apply to NASA and become an astronaut. Simple, right? Sure! NOT how God works. Unfortunately I had to learn that lesson a couple of times the hard way.

Of course I know what I would like to do and what I believe God is calling me to do, but I don't know for sure. All that I do know is that He is faithful beyond my imagination. His plans are to prosper me, NOT to harm me. He is in the process of reminding me of that and I'm thankful. I try to look at life with an attitude of excitement... I mean, it's better than a movie because you have NO IDEA what God is going to do!! Most of the time I'm just laughing at myself because who would have thought Miss "I'm going to be an astronaut and no one can stop me" would end up getting her FRENCH degree from CLEMSON to then go live in Belgium and come home to SPARTANBURG, SC (of all places...) to work with a ministry that I love and adore? If anyone would like to stand up and tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor after hearing about my life, then forget it, because I'll just tell you to sit back down :)

Since I didn't know where I was going to be or what I was going to be doing 3 years ago when I graduated from Clemson, what makes me think that I know what even the next year holds?? I'm excited about it. I know that God isn't going to drop me and leave me. There are times when I try and do it with Him, but He is always there waiting (patiently, I might add) when I go sprinting back to Him. If only WE had that much faith in HIM. Wow. I wish I could get to that point and really see what God fully has in store for me.

Trunk-or-Treat!

This was part of my small group working on our crayon costumes: Sara, Marsha, Alicia and Nicky.

The finished product! We had an awesome box of crayons!

Emily, Court and Chris McGowan
(Pirates... not sure if they were of the Caribbean or not)

Erin and Mac McArthur
(Glenda the Good Witch and The Wizard of Oz)

Late 20s

This is the view from the second floor balcony at my office. How amazing is that? Not too bad for a birthday morning, huh?

So apparently, some people think that 27 is still your mid-twenties, which I'm completely fine with, but I had convinced myself that it was OK to be hitting my late twenties today and I don't know that I can revert back at the drop of a conversation. Oh well... God has done some amazing things these past 27 years and I am SO thankful for His GREATness. All in all, I don't think it really matters what "age" we are... God doesn't work on our timetable anyway. Besides, to be honest, I've enjoyed getting older... (notice I didn't say "growing up." haha!) I wouldn't be able to appreciate life if I stayed the same age for eternity. This adventure of life is much more exciting when you have age and experiences under your belt.

Thunder and Lightening

If you haven't heard... James Davis and CJ Spiller are Clemson's "Thunder and Lightening" and are my new heros. They were AMAZING at our game against GA Tech with a 31-7 win. I was at Ryan and Sarah's wedding (as you can see below...) but was able to watch the ESPN Game Day crew and the awesome win on tv after the wedding.

I realize I'm a geek for taking pictures of the tv, but I wanted to capture the full evening and all of the joy! haha! Hopefully we can do this again on Thursday against VA Tech... now that would be a WONDERFUL birthday present!!

Congrats Mr & Mrs Wright!

I've known Ryan since we were 8 years old and going to Fernwood Baptist where his dad was the pastor and we were in 3rd grade at Jesse Boyd. And now, he's off to Australia with his bride for 2 whole weeks! CONGRATS Ryan and Sarah!! The wedding was a blast... and like your dad said, "I hope this is the worst day of your marriage."

This was just before they left...

Dottie, me and mom at the reception.

Ryan's oldest sister, Kristi, brother-in-law, Lee and two nephews, Grayson and Landon.

Landon essentially turned out to be my date at the wedding... now if I could only find someone my age that liked me that much, I'd be set! haha!!

Ryan's other sister, Traci and her husband, Alan.

Mother and Father of the groom with the ring bearer, Grayson.

Meredith, Sarah and Traci at the reception.

It's FALL!

Fall is finally here... Clemson games consist of dressing warmly...

(Kristen, Jennifer and Brooke modeling their warm Clemson attire at the Temple game in Charlotte... you know, where we won 63-9).

We carved some pumpkins and ate some taco soup...

(Kelly and John with their mad pumpkin-carving skills...)

And then spent Saturday evening in downtown Greenville at Fall for Greenville!

(This was Lindsay and Kelly after our first round of delicious food from Sassafrass.)

It was an awesome weekend. Food, fun, friends and a Clemson win. You really can't ask for much more than that :)

searching for life

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!" Luke 24:5,6

I read this passage this morning while eating my Cinnamon Toast Crunch and it stuck with me. I've read it numerous times before and heard it more than that. It's part of "growing up in church" and being there every Easter Sunday. But what got me this time is how TRUE it is.

I've heard a lot lately about speaking truth... whether you need to speak it to yourself or to a friend. The thing is, it's not just truth, it's Truth, with a capital T. It's the Word of God. It's the living Christ. It's what gets me through my day and many times is the only reason I get up in the morning. Jesus didn't die on that cross for nothing. He died for you, he died for me, he died for Bill Gates, he died for bin Laden and he died for all the Muslims who are in the middle of Ramadan right now (http://www.30-days.net/).

He had a purpose in what he did and it didn't stop there. HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD. His living, breathing Word speaks Truth day in and day out. He isn't physically sitting next to me right now, but he never leaves my side. He isn't audibly speaking to me each day, but I hear him often.

I just wish I could speak this Truth to others around me with more clarity than I think I will ever be capable of doing.