Nine Weddings In Twelve Months!

This past year I was extremely blessed to partake in nine of my friends’ weddings. I love seeing how the Lord can bring 2 amazing godly people together and create an awesome team to bring Him glory. I can honestly say that each one of my friends that got married this past year are truly seeking Him. I believe that each one of them can serve the Lord better together than apart. I’m so thankful for my friends!

Laura Sampson and Sean Townsend

August 5, 2007

(Journey friends)

Becky Smith and Chris Kiser

November 24, 2007

(Becky-my best friend since I was 3 years old)

Shayna Whiteside and Andrew Brown

March 1, 2008

(Journey friends)

America Lentz and Logan Warren

March 29, 2008

(Journey friends and 2-steppin buddies)

Jen Kight and Jeff Spencer

April 12, 2008

(Journey friends-I wasn't able to attend the Spencer wedding because I was riding in the MS150 bike ride, so I technically didn't attend, but I would like to think I was there in spirit)

Jaime Stoekel and Travis Ledford

May 10, 2008

(Journey friends)

Karley Mangrum and Victor Gudalupe
May 17, 2008

(knew Karley in college but grew closer through Journey)

Emily Rincon and Josh Saavedra

July 5, 2008

(met Emily at HBU through education classes and Phi Lamb)

Mary Cady and Eric Lowers

August 2, 2008

(Mary & I attended FUMC youth group and later became roommates)

I believe that's all the weddings I have scheduled for 2008, well unless... I have a special one coming up in January 2009-Mel and David. I'm super excited for them too. It will be a great start for 2009 weddings :).

*After catching the bouquet at Becky's wedding and Shayna's wedding I decided to make a fun little game out of all the weddings I was privileged to attend. I thought it would be fun to see how many bouquets I could catch out of the eight I attended. Out of eight weddings I caught 3 bouquets, and was really close to catching 2 others. Well, we shall see if the superstition is true... ;)

Keep The Shutters Open

By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. Galations 5:5

"There are times when everything looks very dark to me--so dark that I have to wait before I have hope. Waiting with hope is very difficult, but true patience is expressed when we must even wait for hope. When we see no hint of success yet refuse to despair, when we see nothing but the darkness of night through our window yet keep the shutters open because stars may appear in the sky, and when we have an empty place in our heart yet will not allow it to be filled with anything less than God's best---that is the greatest kind of patience in the universe. It is the story of Job in the midst of the storm, Abraham on the road to Moriah, Moses in the desert of Midian, and the Son of Man in the Garden of Gethsemane. And there is no patience as strong as that which endures because we see "him who is invisible"(Heb. 11:27). It is the kind of patience that waits for hope.

Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience divine. You have taught us that Your will should be accepted simply because it is Your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his cup yet still be willing to drink it because of a conversation that Your eyes see further than his own.

Father, give me Your divine power---the power of Gethsemane. Give me the strength to wait for hope---to look through the window when there are no stars. Even when my joy is gone, give me the strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night to say, "To my heavenly Father, the sun still shines."I will have reached the point of greatest strength once I have learned to wait for hope. Geroge Matheson

Strive to be one of the few who walk this earth with the ever present realization---every morning, noon, and night---that the unknown that people call heaven is directly behind those things that are visible."

-Streams in the Desert, L.B. Cowman

World Food Crisis

I read something the other day that made me think about how I can be more mindful of the world food crisis...

1. Pray before every meal. Thank the Lord that we have food to eat and pray for those that are starving.
2. Be more careful when I say...I'm starving and there is nothing to eat here (as I'm looking in my pantry full of food)!

http://blog.compassion.com/is-it-really-a-global-food-crisis/

There's a lid for every pot

Here is an analogy to ponder...

"There's someone for everyone...A couple of years ago, I was over at my friend Kelly's and we ere cooking pasta carbonatta-which is not an easy task, by the way-when we realized that we needed a lid for the pasta pot. Well, we looked everywhere but it turned out she didn't have the lid-mate, and to tell the truth, I panicked. Had Grandma lied to me? Had I been building my romantic hopes on a total lie? Then I thought: No, that lid is probably sitting alone and unused in someone else's cabinet every once in a while when another lid was dirty, but it never really fit in with the other pots and it knew it. And then it occurred to me-what we as a nation must do is free all of the single lids and pots so that they may find each other and be happy. I said to Kelly: That's what we as single babes have to do, too! Free ourselves from our "cabinets" and get out there and find the lid for our pot! She looked at me kinda weird, but then totally agreed. So, we pit on some lipstick and went out to find our soul mates. In fact, we were so excited about our mission that we forgot to turn the pasta off, and now I can't even apply for fire insurance until the year 2050. But I didn't care because we had met so many cool people that night. So remember: If you're a pot you will find your lid one day, or vice versa...you know what I mean. Just remember to turn the stove off."
Excerpt from The Real Rules for Girls By Mindy Morgenstern

Praise God for His sovereignty! I trust the Lord will supply the right "lid" at the right time. He is faithful and I trust Him with everything. I will serve Him all my days with or without my "lid". I know that right now I'm able to bring God more glory than I would with my "lid" (if this makes any sense). :D Or maybe God is the "lid" for some? Humm...what do you think? Is there really someone for everyone?

If we had a tail?

Okay here is a really random thought...what if people had tails?

This thought came to mind when my roommate's dog, Koby, was not happy with us the other day. I could easily tell that he was not happy because he was not wagging his tail. I told my roommate, wouldn't it be easier if humans had tails? It would make reading people's excitement or lack there of much easier...right?

Everything

These past several months have been really tough for me. I have been super busy and really exhausted with everything. I haven't had much time in The Word. I have felt a constant battle going on inside me. I have been feeling lonely, purposeless, depressed, self-absorbed, unmotivated, lazy, and a bad friend; to name a few. I know I have allowed myself to believe satan's lies. I haven't been preparing my armor every morning to go out into battle (Ephesians 6:10-18). The lack of armor has caused me to stumble and fall. Glory be to God that I have been redeemed.

I know that the Lord has a reason for this season of mine. He has been revealing himself to me through this inward struggle. Through diligent time in The Word, I have been able to catch a glimpse of the Lord's glory and be reminded of His grace. I'm trying to be more conscience of identifying the lies that lay before me each and every moment. The lies are more evident because I'm basking in His presence daily. The Truth shall set us free!

This Lifehouse video explains it so much better than I could ever explain it.

Thanks brother for sharing this video with me!

Get Carded at Kroger

Here is a cool way to help out the National MS Society. Get carded at Kroger to help everyone with MS. You can support people with MS every time you shop at Kroger. Print the letter with its barcode and ask your checker to scan it the next time you use your Kroger PlusCard. Your Kroger PlusCard will then be linked with the National MS Society; when you use your Kroger PlusCard, you'll help the Lone Star Chapter earn its share of Kroger's $1 million in annual giving. Unlike Kroger's prior SHARE cards, you only have to get the barcode on this letter scanned once.

Happy Shopping!