picturing summer...

I'm so excited to now be able to talk about my plans for the summer...I'm going to Ecuador!  My church is partnering with Dominic Russo ministries and I'll be blessed to spend about 8 days in Quito, Ecuador taking God's love to the streets.  Stay tuned for more awesome information about this trip and partnering with me if you would like...but for now, check out this video!  love.


The 2012 Missions.Me Promo from Missions.Me on Vimeo.

day of love.

Normally, I'm not someone who harps on Valentine's day...either positively or negatively.  I do really really love holidays of all sorts, so I do naturally have a love for celebrating people on this day.  However, I realized something this year that sets this Valentine's day apart from the other 23 I've celebrated in my life.  Yesterday I realized that though I attempt to make every day a day to love on and bless others, that today I should especially walk in love toward those that I'm around.  Not because it's mandatory on February 14th yearly, or because Hallmark has set the precendent for love, OR even because, on this day alone, America will spend 14.7 BILLION dollars "showing" people that they love them...but because Christ in me manifests himself outwardly through the way I love others and especially through the way I regard this day.  No bad attitudes about being single here, because the love of my Father is all I really need, and because of that love, it's easy for me be gracious and appreciative toward others.  Check this out:

Friends, we should be walking in love daily, really.  But especially today, when people are open and receptive to the idea of love, and when the range of emotions is so vast on how those that surround you are feeling, walk with an extra dose of love in mind.  Tell someone that you appreciate them.  Say something encouraging.  Take someone who also doesn't have plans to dinner.  Hand out Justin Bieber valentines.  Listen, it doesn't matter what you do, but do it in love.  Lord knows I'm not perfect and I fail a lot (a lot!), but I'm committed this day to walking in an extra covering of love, because my Father first loved me.  That's all it's about. 

Because God first loved us, our ability to walk in the love of Christ runs its full course in every good thing we do.

Have a great day sweet readers :)

bless your heart.

I'm sitting here on this rainy Monday absolutely freezing at my desk, and a little tired because I didn't make good decisions about my bedtime last night.  Despite those things, I spent some really great time with Jesus this morning and I asked for him to make my spirit sensitive to the things I should be learning and I just now learned something really cool, so thanks, Jesus, for two things:  1. waking me up this morning with enough time to pray and seek after you and 2.  for this really cool lesson that I'm about to share. 

My office is small, probably no bigger than most of your living rooms, and that includes office space for 7 people.  So, you can imagine that we're readily involved, both voluntarity and involuntarily, in the lives of our co-workers every minute of every day.  I typically plug my ears with headphones and work pleasantly to the musical selections of my day, but this morning has been different.  I figured that if I wanted the Lord to open my heart to learning opportunities, the first step was going to be to listen.  So, I am keeping the headphones out of my ears today. 

Ten minutes ago provided the first learning opportunity.  One of my co-workers was on the phone talking to a doctor -- I don't know the specifics of their conversation, but I do know that my heart heard three particular words and then my spirit learned a lesson.  Bless your heart.  She said it on the phone at least 5 times, and then I started thinking about what she could be saying that about -- then, I realized that instead of trying to investigate the cause for my own satisfaction that it would be really cool if I actually learned how to bless people's hearts.  Instead of instantly gratifying my needs, I learned that when I say things, I should mean them.  How different would things be if I actually started intentionally blessing people with my actions, words and thoughts?  How life-changing would it be if through my intentional blessing, I was enabling people to believe the best about themselves and also to bless other people?  My spirit just learned a lesson -- blessing people has to be intentional.  We have to approach the relationships in our lives believing the best and with intent to bless in every way possible.  That's how we spread the Kingdom.

I also prayed this morning that the Lord would equip me with the resources necessary to bless others today and this week.  It started with the lesson, now on to the blessing. 

Happy Monday :)

Purpose that doesn't grow slack

Hello faithful readers, whoever you are!  I'm so excited to share something awesome with you today -- something that has completely shifted my heart and opened my eyes to so much perspective in the last two days.  Wednesday night was one of those nights where, after making myself go to church solely because it was the right thing to do, I came home humbled, blessed, encouraged and changed.  It's funny how when you don't want to do things and then you do them anyway, there's no room for bad attitudes.  Just being honest -- my attitude has been bad lately, but that's beside the point.  Actually, it's not, because it led to me recognizing that my fruitfulness has to start at the root of who I am, but you see my point.

Anyway, we heard a message at church that was so essential to moving forward -- it was about the tie between passion and purpose.  For a long time, I've felt like I just needed to discover my purpose so that I could move forward with it.  Am I going to stay in Boone and book travel for doctors forever?  Is my husband here?  Do I need to move?  Do I need to change jobs?  Am I wasting God's time and being selfish?  PAUSE.  I have to discover who I am first before I can be aware of my passion and I have to walk out my passion before I discover my purpose.  What?  Never thought of it that way before but thank the Lord that Pastor Hunt preached that sermon and thank the Lord that I decided to push through my bad attitude and go to church.  I'm still working all of that out and processing and praying so I don't have too much to report, but I did read this this morning:

Point number one:  Your purpose never grows slack.  It is tied tightly to your future in Heaven.  You don't have to stress just because you don't have everything figured out right this second.  You're not wasting God's time, you're learning and growing exactly according to his will, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Point number two:  The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger.  Daily.  If you invest in the Word, the Word produces fruit in you and other people see that fruit.  Keep investing.  Keep digging.  Keep praying.  Your return will be worth it.

Point number three:  You'll keep getting hungry for more.  It's funny to think that I had some pride in this area.  I seriously thought that since I had read these verses in Colossians (and all over the Bible) time and time again that I couldn't learn anything else.  False.  I keep learning the more that I invest.  I keep getting hungry for more knowledge and wisdom the more time I spend digging into the word, even the verses and chapters that I've read repeatedly. 

I'm really preaching to myself, but if you're reading, I hope you're now encouraged.  Praying that you and I figure out who we are at the core, and that we become aware of our passions and that we act out our passions so that we can discover the Lord's purpose for our lives.  Can't wait for that to happen.  In the meantime, I'm committing to loving and investing in people like never before.  The time is so over for it to be about me.  It never should have been about me.  This is a new year, ladies and gentlemen, and today is a new day, so I'm moving forward.  Thanks, Jesus, for making that an option.

Stay tuned for my goals of 2012...accountability is definitely the way to achieve what you're after, right?!

'Tis the season to be grateful

Christmas is all about recognizing and celebrating Jesus and all he did for us.  I'm a firm believer that he continues to do great things and bless us in the most amazing ways.  Christmas isn't about focusing on how much of a mess your family is or on how stressful the circumstances in life are, Christmas is about realizing that aside from all the "stuff" in life are the blessings and they're only made possible because Jesus was born, lived and died for us.  What an amazing privelege it is to be grateful for the blessings.  This year, I celebrate the fact that I have been blessed with the best brother in the entire world.  He makes me laugh when I don't feel like it and always brings joy to my days.  Knowing that in the midst of chaos there is stability is the most reassuring thing.  Holidays and family time would be impossibly difficult without him!  Thanks Jesus for blessing our family with John, the level headed, hilarious, most generous and loving, best brother in the world!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! 

Weekend of Blessing

I'm not much of a blog updater when it comes to every small detail of my life, but I just wanted to share about how faithful the Lord has been lately, especially when it comes to my family.  Going home isn't ever overly exciting for me, and I've really been praying that the Lord increase my capacity to love and fill my heart with Kingdom grace.  The fruit of this prayer hasn't been all easy and joyful, it's been challenging -- and to be honest, I haven't responded with the grace that I've been diligently praying for.  After this weekend, I'm finally seeking after the Lord's increase in my life, and it's changed my perspective in all kinds of ways.  All that being said, this last time of family and fellowship was one of the most blessed.  Just a simple, quiet thanksgiving with my mom and brother and some sweet time with dad, followed by lots of fun with the greatest friends.  I'm really blessed and couldn't ask for more. 

The weekend in pictures --

My sweet brother cooking some delicious turkey for mom & I.  Proud of him and how he's just stepped up to the plate.

Beautiful mom cooking the rest of our delicious meal -- It's amazing that for having a mom that's such a good cook, I really struggle cooking.  Big shoes to fill, I guess!

On Friday, I went to Raleigh to spend some time with my roommate and her wonderful family and I was completely honored to share in tree decorating tradition with them.  This wasn't ever a big deal in my house, so it was so cool to see how special it was for their family, nevermind to be invited to be a part of it.

Saturday morning, I shared in the most wonderful coffee/breakfast with Liz and her mom and friends.  I just wanted to share this picture because the coffee looked cool and tasted way better than it looks.

Then I traveled over a little farther to go to the NC State game with my old roommate and some of her friends.  It was seriously one of the best football games I've ever seen, and I'm thankful that I made the trip.

What weekend of gratefulness wouldn't be complete without meeting a celebrity?  Okay, so this is the only one I've ever met, but I've been thankful before.  Anyway, Sarah and I went up into the box with her boyfriend's mom for a second just to check it out and lo and behold, Scotty McCreery was also in our box.  What a cool kid who is doing big things in this state.  And yes, his celeb status made me incredibly nervous.

So thankful just for an opportunity to create unforgettable memories with family & friends!  That's something that I definitely don't take for granted!  I'm seriously so blessed.

thoughts from a grateful heart.

Sometimes it's good to just remind yourself of how blessed you've been in your journey of life.  Not just because it's Thanksgiving week, but because my life is good, the Lord is good, and I am so fortunate.  Have there been hard times?  Absolutely.  Have I wanted to throw in the towel?  More times than I can count.  But, when I look things over, I am just so thankful for how much I've experienced, been blessed, been favored and all of the people who make my life as full as it is.  In thinking of what I'm most thankful for, here's a list of a few of those things:

1. I am thankful to serve a God who relentlessly loves, forgives, gives grace, provides, answers, consoles, makes a way out of no way and has the best listening skills.
2. I am thankful for a family who, while they are not perfect (and neither am I), have provided a path of life that I am fortunate to have been able to walk down.  I'm thankful for a mom who cares and has always done the best that she knows how to make our lives enjoyable.  I am thankful for a dad who is so smart, knows the answers, is wise, knows how to fix broken things, can build anything and never fails to make me laugh.  I am thankful for a brother who is sweet, will break his back to do anything for me, is one of the funniest people in my life and works hard to go after his dreams.
3. I am thankful for Cornerstone Summit.   I serve in the best, most encouraging church body anywhere around and I count it a huge blessing to be surrounded with the most selfless volunteers and by people who are always always servants first. 
4. I am also thankful to serve under the most selfless and encouraging and loving Pastor in Boone.  Even in transition, his faith and certainty in the Lord is amazing.  His sacrifice is unreal and it is truly an honor to be under someone who cares so much about his people.
5. I am thankful for the concept of discipleship and for a leader who has more grace, love and wisdom than I could even think about having. 
6. I am thankful to be in Boone, pursuing my dreams (literally) and for a house to live in with the most wonderful and encouraging roommate ever.
7. I am thankful for a job that I absolutely love, and I'm so thankful for the patience of those who have helped to shape and develop me professionally.  I'm also thankful to be a part of a ministry that is literally and tangibly making a difference in the world daily.
8. I am thankful for the close friends in my life.  The girls who never let me be upset for long.  The girls who give a lot of themselves to do life with me.  I'm thankful for so many memories, so much laughter, and long and meaningful conversations that will never be forgotten.
9. I am thankful for my sweet, loving and Godly husband.  He'll be here one day.
10. I am thankful that my needs are met, my bills are paid, my car is running, my house is functional, my pantry is full, my sickness is healed, my body is whole, my dreams are peaceful, my mind is at ease, my heart is happy and my life is complete. 
11. I am thankful that there is none like Jesus and that He trusts me to do His work.  I am also thankful that there's grace for when I fail more than I succeed and forgiveness for when I'm disobedient.
12. I am thankful for the "extras" in life, the things that are blessings above and beyond what I could ever need or deserve.
13. I am thankful for the nations and for all of the beautiful people all over the world.  I work in a place where I get to see those faces often and send doctors to help bring medical answers to them and that is the biggest blessing.
14. I am thankful for laughter.  Truly laughing can make any circumstance not as heavy as it once was.  I'm thankful for the people who know how to make me laugh.
15. I am thankful for the talents and gifts that the Lord has placed within me.  I don't deserve them at all, but I am thankful that the Lord gave them anyway.
16. I am thankful for life.  I'm thankful for the ability to love.  I'm thankful to be where I am doing what I'm doing and being able to say it's only because of the redemptive power of Jesus Christ that I am where I am. 

You see, this life is just blessing after blessing.  Even as the storms rise up, the good always makes the bad seem insignificant.  I challenge you to bring to mind just how thankful you are today.  Writing those things down helps to remind us that gratitude is truly the biggest gift, but also the biggest challenge.  Times might be rough, but we can still be thankful.  When we say "thank you", the problems that were once too big to conquer are suddenly not so big.  So, thank you, Lord, for blessing me beyond all my imaginable desires.