What's Stopping Me?

Lately in my Connect Group (Connection Church's version of "small groups") we have been working on articulating and writing down our testimonies. Last night we talked about what stops us from sharing the Gospel and talking about Jesus with others, particularly non-believers. And what is it? Because it's not something I do very often. If I am around a bunch of other Christians, it's easy for me to praise God and all He has done in my life. It's even easy to talk about on here. But out in the "real world," it's hard. Really hard. It's hard talking to my friends and family and it's definitely hard talking to strangers. Why is that??

If I really believe what the Bible says, shouldn't I be jumping up and down to tell others about Jesus? Shouldn't it be my heart's desire? If I believe that without Jesus, we are destined for Hell, if I believe that God's grace provides our needs in life, and if I believe that the Holy Spirit living in us makes us more like Jesus and allows us to go through life's hardships with more joy, peace, patience, love, and all the other fruit of the Spirit...then WHY would I not want to share that with as many other people as possible? Especially those who I already know and care about, like friends and family.

For me I had to think about the times when it's easy, and figure out why that is. It's easy to talk about it with other believers, because I know that they feel a similar way. They won't argue. They won't be offended. They won't think I'm crazy or weird. They won't get defensive or feel put-off by my passion. It's easy to talk about it on here because I don't have to look you all in the eyes and see your reactions. Worst case, you just quit reading. I haven't even had any negative comments.

So, I think it boils down to a fear of man. This fear takes many forms, depending on the situation. I'm afraid that my passion and vigor will rub people the wrong way and will turn them further from the Lord. How many of you have experienced someone who tried to talk to you about God and it turned you off from the whole topic? I know I have. Even as a Christian, I have. I'm afraid that people will think I'm weird or crazy. I'm afraid they'll put me in a religious box that doesn't adequately define who I really am. I'm afraid that I will offend people. That rather than hear how God has saved me and the awesome things he has done for me, they will instead hear nothing but I think you are going to Hell. (Which, by the way, is very rarely what I'm thinking at any given moment!!) And I suppose I'm also afraid that they might challenge me in ways that I'm not equipped to handle. They may ask me things that I can't answer. My attempts to answer may not be quite accurate. What if I paint Christ in the wrong light?

But I guess here's the thing--I have to TRUST that GOD is going to work THROUGH ME to reach people. If I allow the Spirit to move in me to talk to others, my words and my passion and my answers will do exactly what they're meant to do. Sure, people may still think I'm crazy and they may still be offended or rubbed the wrong way. But it's not because I did something wrong, it's because they are not ready to hear the word of God. It's not up to me to convince someone, I can only share the love of God with others and they can choose to accept it or not. God will either use those words to draw them near or to plant a seed that will come to fruition later or to not have any impact at all. But that part isn't up to me. Not if I'm trusting God.

And as for the rest...I need to GET OVER MYSELF! So what if I make someone mad or they think I'm nuts? Do I care more about myself than bring God glory or saving someone's soul? Yes, maybe I do. And that is probably the second reason why it's so darn hard!

I just pray that God would help me get over myself and would give me the courage and strength and the open heart to be used.

Anyone else struggle with this? Is there anything that makes this easier for you? I would love to hear!

Have a great weekend!
~Christy~

Lately...

* I finally bought 2 pairs of new pants for work. Guess what? I dropped TWO sizes! I also tried on a pair of khakis I've kept in my closet for the past few months even though they were way too small (I was too lazy to donate them!). And they fit perfectly! I'm wearing them today and feeling good about it. I'm a little bummed though that one of the pants I bought seemed to get looser as the day progressed. I hate that about pants! It's so hard to know when you try them on in the store how they're going to fit after you wear them for a little while. Is there a good rule of thumb for how things should fit when you first try them on? Does it depend on the material? I didn't want to buy tighter and have them shrink...

* We're going to the Passion Conferences Good Friday concert tomorrow night for the 3rd year in a row. I can't wait!! It's such a powerful way to worship...singing our hearts out to God, outside in the midst of nature and His creation, thanking Him for sending His son to save us...even though we were thankless sinners. Also, Chris Tomlin, Dave Crowder, and Kristian Stanfill??? Yes, please! :)

* Last Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, Connection Church had a cookout after church and then had a massive egg drop. We literally dropped thousands of plastic eggs filled with goodies from a helicopter! You should have seen the kids go nuts, trying to run out there to get the eggs as fast as possible!

As one of my friends said when the kids started running all at once,
"HUNGER GAMES!!!!"

* I think we're going to go on a cruise again this year. And not just any cruise...the EXACT SAME one we went on before! ha! It's not that crazy, right? I mean, people redo vacations all the time! I guess it is a little silly since there are SO many different cruises. But we want to go during our anniversary week (also Memorial Day week), we have a modest budget, and we can only take off certain days during the month. So, basically we're looking at cruises that are offered one particular week that are in our price range. And the one we've already been on is the most affordable. We get a couple different discounts, and it's way cheaper than the others that week. Some of the other cruises have great deals earlier in May, but we can't take off work then. But you know what? I'm totally okay with it! In fact, I'm super excited! We had such a great time for our 1-year anniversary...it's going to amazing for our 3rd anniversary, too! :) Plus, there is so much to do on cruises, we can easily have a very different experience. Now, please enjoy some pictures from last year...and you may notice...I was heavier then! (After 1 year of marriage, I added on quite a few happiness pounds!)

And that's about it, folks! Other than that, just keeping busy with school, work (plus an internship!), and church. Did I ever tell you that Scott and I lead worship for the kids at church now? Oh, well, we do! :) And we love it!

Happy Holy Weekend! :) {Almost weekend anyway!}

~Christy~

Feelin' Good!

Ready for some good news?

*I lost 4.4 pounds last week! Yes, I'm trying to get back on that losing weight and being healthy wagon! I took a little hiatus for the months of November & December, and boy did I pay for it! But I've been doing much better this month. My best friend Hayley and I have created a Google Doc spreadsheet to keep track of what we eat each day and how much we exercise. It's a great way to hold each other accountable, and it really is helping me. I have actually mustered up the motivation to work out, and the self-control to turn down a cookie, just because I knew I would have to write it all down. And not just write it down, but have someone else look at it. I highly suggest it, as long as you trust yourself not to cheat!!

*Scott is still trying to sell his motorcycle to help pay for the down payment on whatever house we end up buying. As a sort of last resort, we took it to the dealer on Saturday just to see what they would offer, assuming it would be highway robbery. We were pleased to find out that they would buy it for a decent amount, OR would sell it for us and only take 10% for themselves. So, hopefully they have some luck selling it. If not, we know we can get a fair amount from them for it. One step closer to a house!

*I had an awesome weekend hanging out with some good friends, enjoying a balance of rest and productivity, and leading worship at church for the kids. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but Scott & I now lead worship for the 1st through 5th graders at church. I sing and he plays guitar and sings. We also have a friend on the drums, and another friend who does hand motions for the kids to follow along and get excited. This week I felt like was especially good. We had about 3 kids up at the front of the room jumping up and down in excitement. It's so awesome to serve God in this way and see kids get amped up about worship!

*I recently discovered how much I love The Big Bang Theory. Hey, that's good news, right? :)

PS--Sorry there are no pictures. I decided to stop pressuring myself to have a picture for every post, meaning I was carrying my camera around at all times, trying to capture the moments instead of just enjoying them. I know it's less exciting for y'all, but I think the living part is still more important than the sharing part. Hope you can forgive. :)

Happy Monday!

~Christy~

Just so ya know...

Just so ya know, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. 

I realize I'm not a very committed blogger sometimes.

And I know that's annoying to a lot of people.

But here's the thing,

I'm BUSY. 

Like for realz. 

Improper grammar...that should show you how serious I am! 

Just what am I so busy doing that I can't

write a measly little blog post more than once every week or two?

I'm glad you asked.

* Working 20 hours a week

* Class from 5-7:75 on Tuesday & Wednesday

* Supervision from 8-9 on Wednesday

* Counseling 5 clients a week. That's 5 hours of sessions, reviewing tapes and making notes for each one, and making sure I schedule them in a way that works for everyone involved. And let me tell you, scheduling alone takes up a LOT of time. Everyone has reasons to change or cancel, and I only have so many hours to work with.

* Church small group from 7-9:30 on Monday

* Communicating with team members to fulfill my "team leader" role in children's church

* Reading textbooks, writing papers, giving presentations

* Searching & interviewing for an internship for the spring 

* Completing 5 1-hour interviews with members of various multicultural groups throughout the semester

* Church on Sunday (either attending or working children's church)

* Being married (i.e.: spending time with hubby, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, all that fun grown-up stuff)

* Visiting & hanging out with friends & family as often as I can

* Other random stuff that life throws at me. Like having a doctors appointment which I completely rearranged my schedule for, showing up (LITERALLY) 2 minutes late and being told they could not see me b/c I was late. Having to reschedule said appointment and alter my schedule for next week as well. Gotta love it. 

So, yeah. 

Busy. 

But I do love you guys! 

And I'm still keeping up with YOUR blogs as best I can! 

And I will try to post more stuff soon. 

Wish me luck!

~Christy~

Good Stuff

After yesterday's really sad post, I feel the need to write a post about happy things. Because there are still happy things, and for that I am thankful.

• I'm happy that this weekend I get to see my besties and celebrate with one of them as she prepares to move to The Netherlands to marry the love of her life. 
• I'm happy that my house smells like autumn (via Bath & Body Works wallflowers. Currently enjoying Spiced Cinnamon Pumpkin & Autumn)...even if the weather outside has reverted back to gross heat. 
• I'm happy that I got new glasses that I really like and actually think look good on me! 

• Remember how a couple days ago I said I stopped weighing myself b/c I kept gaining weight? Well, I weighed myself today and in the past 2 weeks I've lost 5 pounds!!! Oh yeah! :) I'm not really sure why b/c I don't think I've worked out at all in that time! I have been trying to eat better, but I'm certainly not eating perfect. I think a lot of it is just how my body weight fluctuates throughout my cycle. BUT it still makes me happy, nonetheless! :)

I don't know how much different I look. But I felt thinner that day.
I'm back down to 151 pounds.
This is about how much I weighed after my last 10 pound loss back in April.
So now all that work hasn't been deminished, thankfully. And it's time to keep going!

• I'm happy about new shoes. I got 2 new pair from Rack Room a couple weeks ago, and I got a new pair from a local consignment shop today. These are the only ones I have a picture of: 

• I'm happy that my kitties are finally starting to get along a little better, and will both snuggle with me at the same time. (Forgive the unattractive sleeping picture!)

• I'm happy that my counseling sessions are going well so far, and I actually feel like I'm benefiting people, not just meeting school requirements.
• I'm happy that this is my 102nd blog post! I realized while writing the sad post that the one before was my 100th! If I had realized it ahead of time I would have made it a little more special. Oh, well!
• And I'm happy that YOU are reading my blog! :) I'm excited that I have gained several new followers in the past month or so. I'm still miles behind most of you in that area, but I just have to remind myself that this blog is not about getting followers, it's about my life and my walk with God. Any who wish to share in that are more than welcome. But even still, I'm super thankful that you are willing to share in it! :)

Happy Friday, Bloggers! What are YOU happy about today? 

~Christy~

The Weekend Wrap-Up

Hello, all.

I don't know about you, but I had a GREAT weekend. You all know I started off my Friday in high spirits, listening to my Feel Good Playlist on Grooveshark, and being optimistic for the times to come. And my optimism paid off!

Friday Scott had to work a little late, but that night we watched Shrek Forever After and enjoyed a glass of wine. The movie was hilarious, and much improved from Shrek the Third and maybe even the second one, too. The first one is still the best, though. This one left me wanting to watch the old school Rumpelstiltskin movie. Did y'all see this when you were kids? I used to watch it over and over and OVER. I'm sure my parents loved me for it.

Saturday Scott had to work, unfortunately. But I mysteriously popped out of bed at 8 AM, which I never do...no matter how much sleep I got. I finished my book, watched several episodes of 90210 (yes, I'm still watching it! I'm afraid I'm hooked!), finished cleaning the house, worked out at home with Wii Fit and Just Dance 2, had some good quality God time (I just started reading a book called Enjoying God's Grace, and I think it's going to really open my eyes to a lot of truths I have been missing), and generally enjoyed the me time. When Scott got home we had dinner and then spent the night singing and listening to music (while Scott played along on the guitar) and playing a fun card game called Mad Gab. It's a game of word puzzles. We got it from my dad in our Christmas stocking and this was the first time we tried playing it. We were practically rolling on the floor laughing at the crazy things we were saying trying to figure out these puzzles!

Yesterday we had an awesome church service. Boy, do I love worshiping God! :) Then, we went home to cook the sauce for our spaghetti dinner and do a few chores. We live out in the country and we don't have a trash service. So, we have to load up our trash and recycling and take it to a dump or recycling center. We choose recycling center! Fortunately, there is one right down the road from our house. We also take our neighbor/land lord's trash when we go. Because we take their trash, they usually let us borrow their truck. Well, the truck is being used by the church for now, so we have been taking their car. We took the trash and as we tried to crank the car back up to leave the center, it wouldn't start. And there was a thunderstorm rolling in. We had to call our landlords and have them drive up to meet us with some jumper cables. So, that was quite the adventure! But after all that madness, we drove back to town and saw The Help. I LOVED the book, and I think I actually loved the movie just as much. It's rare that I like a movie as much as a book. I think they did a great job with it. If you haven't read the book...DO IT! If you haven't seen the movie...DO THAT TOO!! :)

Now, today I'm starting off the first week of fall classes. So, you may not see as much of me. But I shouldn't be as busy as I was over the summer. Summer classes are much more intense! I have one online class which I've already started working on (and it looks super easy so far), and 2 in-person classes. My first one is tomorrow night. I think both of those classes are going to be a CRAZY workload. So, I'm glad my online class seems easy. I'll be sure to update you after I go to my first meetings.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!

~Christy~

Feel Good Friday

Today is Friday! And despite things like Scott having to work late today and tomorrow or school starting back up next week, I'm still going to enjoy it! Today I'm having lunch with some ladies from work, and then heading home to relax. Tomorrow I'll do a few chores around the house (to not feel COMPLETELY guilty about husband having to work while I sit at home), and hopefully finish up the book I'm reading (One Summer by David Baldacci). Then Sunday I get to go to church to worship God like crazy, which I always love, and then we're going to see The Help. I'm so excited! I LOVED the book, and am looking forward to seeing how the movie turned out. 

And today, to truly enjoy this Friday, I'm listening to my Feel Good Playlist on Grooveshark. And I want to share the love! Check it out: http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Feel+Good+Music/58369127 

You can listen for free. :) Trust me, it's good stuff. Guaranteed to brighten your day. Here are just a few of the amazing artists you can enjoy:

• James Morrison
• Jason Mraz
• Matt White
• Ben Rector
• Boyce Avenue
• Joshua Radin
• Matt Nathanson
• Blues Traveler
• Eric Hutchinson
• Paolo Nadini

If you haven't heard of some of these, you want to give it a try! Trust me! :)

ENJOY--and I wish you all a Feel Good Friday and an amazing weekend! 

~Christy~

And because every post should have a picture...
here's to hoping for cooler weather SOON!
(Did I mention that I HATE summer??)

Serving Others...my inner ramblings

Lately I have felt challenged and encouraged to do more service work. I read the book Radical by David Platt. Our pastor has been preaching hard-hitting messages. And certain worship songs seem to be speaking directly to my heart, lately. I feel like God is teaching me what it means to serve others, revealing the need for service in the world, and preparing my heart for just that. The only trouble is, I'm not sure where to begin. I know I want to serve others, but I don't know how to get started. I serve at church all the time, which I love, but I also want to find ways to serve the lost--not just my fellow Christians. The starvation and disease taking it's toll on the horn of Africa is heartbreaking. Haiti, still piled so high with rubble, or Japan still suffering from their recent earthquakes...all these cases, and more, make me want to get out and help the world. I want to help those who are hurting. And I also want to share the love of God with others, so that even in hardships, they will have the joy of the Lord in their lives to sustain them. I also know that you don't have to go another country to serve hurt and  hungry people. There are people right here in our tiny community that need help and service. But how do you go about it? I feel like I can't just go up to strangers and ask how I can help them. And sometimes I'll see someone who I think looks needy, but I'm afraid to approach them, not wanting to offend them if they don't want help. And then there are the needy people who abuse the service of others by asking for money that they will only use for drugs, or who scheme and scam charitable people. I don't want to enable them... I guess I just don't know how to take the first steps in serving others. For now, I try to help out those who I know. One of my coworkers recently had a tree fall on her house. I donated to her and have offered to help in any way possible. I helped clean up my great-grandmother's house because she was physically unable to do it. Other than that, I donate clothing and money to various causes. But I'm wondering how to get more directly involved in service in my community and in the world. Have any of you done service work or have any advice for finding ways to get involved? I'm so thankful that God has put this on my heart. I guess for now I'll just continue to listen and submit to Him in any way I can, trusting that He will guide and provide a means for me to serve others in His name and to His glory.

~Christy~

It's Complicated

Occasionally I have to remind myself why I love living in South Georgia. Because every now and again the reasons why I HATE dislike it seem to pile up and seem overwhelming. This especially happens in the summer. Boy, do I hate summer! The muggy, suffocating heat! We've been on a heat advisory for the last week or so. That means it's DANGEROUS to be outside here! That just isn't right. And as if the life threatening danger weren't enough, there are BUGS. Lots of them. Gnats mainly. Buzzing around your ears and eyes with that annoying, high pitched drone that can send anyone into a temper tantrum when combined with the awful heat. And we're far away from so many people who I love and miss like crazy. Our nearest family member lives 3 1/2 hours away. My niece is growing up super fast, 4 hours away, and I miss all the wonderful little milestones along the way. My sister is racing through her teenage years and has a father who makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for me to spend any real time with her. And I have grandparents who are aging, their last years going by, and here I am...seeing them once a year, if that.

When all these things pile up, it puts me in a bit of a funk. Stupid summer.

So, I have to remember why I've been here for the past 7 years and have no real plans to leave anytime soon. And it's not just because of school. It's because this is my home. It's more my home than any other place in the world. Even the town I grew up in is not my own anymore. And I really do love it.

We're within driving distance of the beach! 

We are super blessed with a wonderful house
complete with a pond
and sunsets to die for

I have lots of friends.
I know it's weird that I put up a picture of just one friend.
And me in toilet paper.
This was a for a bridal shower.
I like the picture.
Deal with it! :)

We're only an hour away from Savannah

And I do love Georgia Southern.
With all my heart.
I can't imagine attending or working for a different school.
But I am willing to work somewhere else.
maybe.
One day.
If the timing and opportunity is right.

And perhaps most importantly, we have a wonderful church family here.
We actually rent our house from our pastor's parents.
We are very close with the family.
We've made lots of great friends.
And the message and worship music is the best we've found.
I would be afraid to move somewhere and lose it.
but I know if we are called to move,
God will provide an anointed church for us to join. 

How about you? Ever think about moving? What keeps you where you are?

~Christy~

Blah

I have failed you all! (As if you are actually keeping up with this photo challenge and caring!) This weekend was crazy busy, so I didn't post at all. And today I am tired and really don't feel like posting something for the challenge. Saturday was supposed to be something I wish I could change. I don't really have an answer for that. I wish a lot of things could be different, but I don't even know where to begin or what picture to post. Sunday was a picture of "my day." Well, my day yesterday went a little something like this:

7:10 AM: Wake up and get ready for church
8:15 AM: Leave for church (20 minute drive)
8:40--10:45 AM: Set up church (we meet in a local high school so everything from the band equipment to the signs to the entire children's church area has to be set up and taken down each week by volunteers and staff).
10:45--12:00: Work with the kids in Konnection Kids (Children church)
12:00--12:45: Pack up and take down church materials
1:00-1:35: Lunch with some friends
1:40--2:15: Grocery shopping
2:15--2:45: Drive home
3:00--6:30: Put away groceries, clean house, wash cars, etc...
6:30--7:45: Cook dinner for us and cook a casserole for our neighbors (the husband is recovering from surgery and his mom was in the hospital. She passed away early this morning)
7:45--8:30: Chat with neighbors
8:30--9:30: Read chapter in Respectable Sins for church small group with hubby
9:30--10:00: get ready for bed, read a chapter in my book, SLEEP

So....there really isn't anything all that exciting in there to take a picture of to post!

And today I was hoping to start my summer classes online, but technology has failed me again and they are not showing up on my account. I've been through the runner with the IT people all morning. Finally they have concluded that one class should be up tomorrow (delay b/c I registered late last week) and the other class doesn't actually start until next week (no idea why it starts a week later than all the others...). So, hopefully that class will post sooner rather than later, but that's entirely up the professor. My concern is that we'll be in Disney World all next week. I was hoping to know my class assignments before then so I could do as much work ahead of time as possible (and I'm really anxious to make sure we don't have any scheduled chats or anything for that time!). But if he doesn't open up the class content until next Tuesday I'll have no way to get work done in advance and will be logging in while in Orlando and seeing what I have to do then. I really hope things work out to where that is not an issue and it doesn't mess up my vacation. I was planning to be in the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday. And we were planning to be there ALL DAY. Like until the late hours of the night! I really don't want to take a break to come back to the hotel and do school work. NO FUN! But we shall see.

Anyway, today was supposed to be a picture of something that means a lot to me. That could be any thing or any one that I have already posted about (except bugs!!!). So, there ya go! haha!

But I will leave you with some Disney attractions that I'm super excited about! :)

Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom! We'll be there one week from today!!! OH YEAH! :)
Last time I went to Animal Kingdom this ride did not exist.
I'm SO excited to ride it for the first time.
It goes backwards!
I LOVE a good backwards roller coaster! :)

And another amazing thrill ride! The Rock-n-Roller-Coaster! :)
I've only been on this one once before, but it was amazing!
That 0-60 start really gets ya!

Well, happy Monday, folks! Hope it's going a little more positively than mine is!

~Christy

Pieces of Me

Lately my identity and sense of self has been revolving around my schedule. Every role that I play and identity that I claim seems to be overwhelming marked by events lately. Lately opportunities to take a breath have been few and far between, much less time to just be.

Most of you know me pretty well. You know who I am and what my roles and responsibilities are. For those of you who may not know me as well, I'll take this time to share. Take a breath now--you may not find much time for one once you start reading this!

First and foremost, I am a Christian. This always should be, and usually is, evidenced by my loving, gracious, and giving nature that shows through all that I do and in every role I fulfill. But for scheduling's sake, we can say it's evidenced by going to church every Sunday, working in Konnection Kids at least once a month, attending couples small group once a week, and spending 30 minutes first thing every morning praying and studying the Word.

Engagement Picture Dec. 2008

Another Engagement Picture Dec. 08

I am a wife, as evidenced by regular household chores (which we share) such as cleaning, cooking, managing money, etc... I also require quality time with my husband in the evenings and weekends. Second to my relationship with God, this is the part of my identity that I value the most. Honestly, spending time with Scott is just as good (or even better) than that "just being me" time.

I am a student, which means I spend 11 hours a week in class, and many more hours studying and completing assignments, papers, and projects.

I am a Grad. Assistant in Continuing Education, which means I work 20 hours a week on campus, and sometimes more depending on the events we have scheduled.

I am a daughter, meaning I talk to my parents periodically and I try to visit them at least once every few months. I would LOVE to visit them more often, but (as you'll notice) I don't always have the time, especially since my dad lives 3.5 hours away and my mom lives 5 hours away. To visit each of them would be at least 2 separate weekend trips.

My mom & her husband Mike

Daddy & my niece Kyli
Checkin' out the news
Christmas 2010
PS--that's Emily (Kyli's mom) & her husband Kevin in the background.
Notice the baby bump. They now have another little girl! Keirra Bushey!

I am a daughter-in-law, so I also try to visit my in-laws at least once every few months. Again, they live 3.5 hours away--it's a weekend trip.

Me with Scott's family. Easter 2010

I am a sister & sister-in-law, I have a step-brother, a step-sister, a sister, a brother, and a sister-in-law. None of them live together or even close to one another. None of them live closer than 3.5 hours away from me. Go ahead and schedule a few more weekend trips....

Me and my sister Alora. Summer 2010

Me and my brother Brett. October 2010

Me and the sibs at my wedding. Love them!
May 2009

Me and best friends Hayley & Kaitin
Friends since we were little!
December 2010

Me and my friend April
She and I worked together,
had classes together,
and basically love each other
because we're both so
amazing. The end.

I am a friend to many. You can see this recently as in the past month I've been invited to 2 baby showers, 2 bridal showers, 1 engagement party, 1 house warming party, 1 girls' night out, 2 graduation parties, and 1 going away party--most of which I attended or plan to attend. Some of which are on the SAME weekends but about 4 hours away from each other.

I am an aunt. My niece lives 4 hours away from me, and at least 1 hour away from any other relative that I would visit/spend the weekend with. I only see her a few times a year which is heartbreaking. Her 2nd birthday party is coming up and it's on the same weekend as my sister-in-law's graduation in which all of her family will be staying at my house...4 hours away from my niece's party. So, I'll either skip town and do an 8-hour day-trip to Atlanta, or I'll miss her party.

Me and Kyli--the most amazing and beautiful niece a girl could ask for!
Christmas 2010. Playing in the snow. :)

I am a granddaughter, cousin, niece, etc... and b/c of all my other roles, I usually only see these extended family members around Christmas...and only for a very short time b/c I'm busy running around creation trying to see everyone in a week's time.

And of course with all these roles and relationships also comes birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's & Father's Days, vacations, and other holiday celebrations. I often feel like my all my time is spent fulfilling these roles, scheduling every minute of my life (and certainly every weekend) to accommodate the plans and desires of SO MANY people. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I really do. I'm SO blessed to have all these people in my life and I wouldn't trade it for all the "me time" in the world. But sometimes, every now and then, I would like a weekend or at least a day to just SIT. To just BE. To read, watch Gilmore Girls or other pointless TV shows, to watch several movies in a row with my husband, to nap, to daydream, to write/journal, to sing, to dance, to workout without feeling like I'm in a time crunch.... It's hard b/c as much as I want those things, I also want to be with my family and friends and be there for them in their celebrations and times of need. I get so sad thinking about how much I miss my family and friends. It seems like I must see them all the time, but the truth is, there are so many of them that even though I'm seeing PEOPLE all the time, I only see each person every now and then.

So, that's my dilema these days.... I have so much going on, part of me wishes I had time for even more, and then I also wish that I could stop the time altogether and just focus on being me--apart from all the rest. But then again, I guess "all the rest" is what really makes me who I am anyway.

Zoe Cat. Can't forget about her!
I'm also Mom Cat.
Doesn't take too much time.
But still.
Worth mentioning...

Here's to hoping for rest in Christ and enjoying all the moments of my life (no matter how busy!)...

~Christy

Good Friday

Tomorrow is Good Friday, and I am SO excited! :) While I have been completely SWAMPED with school and work lately, and while this weekend will be a lot of running around and very little rest, I am still thrilled because nothing is going to get in the way of worshipping God and getting filled to the brim with The Spirit!! :)

Tomorrow we are working half days and then heading up to Alpharetta for the Good Friday Concert with Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockles, Kristian Stanfill, and Louie Giglio. We went last year as well and it was INCREDIBLE. It's so awesome to worship God in such a huge crowd. All that energy is consuming, and God is so present you can literally feel the Spirit coursing through you. Plus, I always love worshipping outside. I feel more connected to God when I'm standing in His beautiful creation. I'm also really excited because this year Scott's parents are going with us. I can't wait to share it with them! I really hope God uses it to reach them in a special way.

On Saturday, we are heading to Snellville to visit Hayley and Julian and their new baby Leland! :) I've seen pictures, and from what I can tell, he is absolutely perfect! I can't wait to meet him. It's so crazy that out of my close-knit group of friends from childhood, one of us already has a baby! And two of us are married and the other 2 are engaged! Crazy! We're all growing up so fast.

THEN we are heading back home to Portal on Saturday night b/c we are both scheduled to work at church on Sunday. Last week was our first service meeting in the new location of Statesboro High School's auditorium. I admit that Scott & I were both hesitant about moving to this location and growing so much so quickly. But the service was so powerful, and all that energy from having 700 people together worshipping God, was overwhelming in the best possible way! This will be my first time serving at this location. The bad thing is we have to get there an hour and a half early to help set up everything. But I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like working with Konnection Kids with this new layout and format. I'm a little bummed that I won't get to attend the service for Easter, but I'm still happy to be at my church home for the holiday. This will be the first year that I actually get to go to my own church for Easter. And even though I won't be in the service, I know I'm part of what's happening there and that's exciting.

I'm trying to get as much done today as possible so that this weekend will not be tainted with worry about school work. Nothing is getting in the way of my abundant joy and thankfulness for Christ this weekend! :) And I wish you all a spiritual and joyful Easter weekend! Remember the reason--I don't think any bunnies have died to save you recently. Just sayin'.

~Christy

Crazy Town!

There is so much coming up! It's crazy! Here--take a peek into my upcoming life!

~April 6th--paper due in Admin. & Leadership
~April 7th--Erin, Joe, and Scott's parents come to our house for the weekend
~April 9th--Hayley's baby shower
~April 12th--paper due in Contemporary College Student
~April 15th--Scott's interview for grad school
~April 16th--Ryann's bridal shower, Connector Orientation @ Connection Church
~April 17th--Palm Sunday--first Sunday meeting at Statesboro High for church
~April 19th--leading group session in Group Counseling class
~April 20th--paper due in Admin & Leadership
~April 22nd--Good Friday--Chris Tomlin concert in Alpharetta
~April 24th--Easter
~April 25th--final group project due in Contemporary College Student
~April 26th--paper due in Group Counseling
~April 29-30th--Relay for Life
~May 3rd--final group project due in Group Counseling
~May 4th--final group project presentation due in Admin & Leadership
~May 5th--Hayley's baby is due
~May 7th--Eric & Jess's engagement party
~May 8th--Emily's baby is due
~May 9th--Cont. College Student Final Exam
~May 10th--Group Counseling Final Exam
~May 11th--Final paper due in Admin & Leadership
~May 12th--Erin, Joe, Scott's parents, and Scott's Grandma come to our house for Erin's graduation/Kyli's 2nd birthday
~May 13th--Erin's graduation/party
~May 22nd--Alora's birthday
~May 23rd--Summer classes start
~May 30th--Memorial Day/Our Anniversary/Disney World Vacation Begins!!! :)

Now that's just through the end of May! June has lots of birthdays including Scott's, my mom's, and his mom's. And July is our week-long family vacation to St. George Island with Scott's family.

Fun, fun, fun!! So, you can see...lots of exciting things, and lots of SCHOOL! I'm doing some serious praying to keep me from going INSANE during this time!

Anyone else have a schedule that will send them straight to Crazy Town?

~Christy

Fun Times

I had a great weekend! Lots of fun updates to share!

Friday afternoon I went shopping for baby shower gifts for my best friend Hayley and bridal shower gifts for my friend Ryann. I had a lot of fun picking stuff out. I love buying gifts and giving to others. I always wish I could do more, though. The one sad part of my shopping excursion was overhearing a lady cussing out her 3-year old like it was no big deal. She was saying the most horrible things to him. She was obviously angry with her significant other (husband? Boyfriend?) b/c she was telling her son to stop b-ing at her b/c his daddy already f-ing b-ed to her all morning. Okay, this doesn't work so well with the abbreviations. But I would not be able to bring myself to use the language she was using. She was dropping F-bombs and GD's like it was no big deal. And she didn't even care that people could hear her. There was no shame there at all. I was so sad for her and especially for her little boy who will have to grow up in that environment. I had to stop and pray for her and spent a good 5-10 minutes praying about it when I got home, too. It made me so angry and sad at the same time. I just wished there was something I could do. But I gave it to God and that's the best thing to do.

Friday night Scott and I got CPR Certified through church for working with Konnection Kids (our children's ministry). That was as fun as a certification process can be. We watched a First Aid video that was corny at times, and we had some good laughs when the infant dummies' heads wouldn't stay on when we were giving them CPR. Later that night we attempted to watch Winter's Bone but couldn't stay awake. It was late, and that movie isn't particularly thrilling. Mostly I just wanted to see it b/c the lead actress is the girl who was picked to play Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games movies that are coming out next March. I wanted to see what this girl was all about. I was pleased to see she is actually a good actress. Though she doesn't look like the character as I envisioned her, she roughs up pretty good which is necessary to play Katniss.

Saturday we slept in until 11:30 which was FABULOUS! I felt sleep deprived all week long, so it was nice to catch up a little. I didn't even feel like a zombie when I woke up. After breakfast and showering, we spent an hour or so just listening to music, singing, and Scott played along with the songs with either his guitar or trumpet. By the time we were done with that, we had just enough time to eat a late lunch and then start heading to Pooler where we had dinner and hung out with our friends April and Waring Harvey. We love hanging out with them. We don't have to do really do anything, and it's always a good time...just sitting around talking and catching up. They are so funny! I miss April so much, and it's great to get to spend time with them.

Sunday was especially eventful! We woke up early and went to church. When we arrived we were asked to help with Communion at the end of the service. Scott does this as an usher/greeter, but I had never helped with it before. I served the bread: "The body of Christ, broken for you." It was a really awesome experience. I really felt the Holy Spirit moving through me, and it was wonderful getting to serve in that way. It was such a literal and concrete example of God using me to share His love. I loved it!

After church, we did our usual grocery shopping and lunch. Then we had to power clean our house because we found out only the night before that our good friend Drady, who moved back up to Atlanta after graduation, would be visiting as well as Scott's parents!! We somehow managed to clean both bathrooms, the kitchen, dust the important furniture, vacuum/sweep the floors, and spot-mop...all in about 40 minutes! It was insane! But we had about 5 minutes to spare before Drady showed up. Once everyone arrived, we just hung out at the house, talking and catching up. It's nice to chill and spend time with family and friends. Then we went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. We were going to go to La Berry afterwards, but the line was almost out the door, so we passed. Poor Drady drove all the way back to Atlanta after leaving our house at 8 pm! Scott's parents spent the night, but were planning to leave this morning after we left for work. I assume they have already left.

So, that was my big-super-fun weekend! :) This week I have LOTS to look forward to (as well as DREAD!). Hopefully another awesome workout in about 10 minutes, couples group tonight, Erin (Scott's sister) coming up on Thursday to defend her thesis, Scott's parents coming back down to celebrate Erin passing her thesis this weekend, going up to Atlanta Saturday for Hayley's baby shower, and hopefully other fun things along the way! The dreaded stuff....school, SCHOOL, and more SCHOOL!! But that's okay. Only a few more weeks left...if you can believe it! I hardly can! That also means not much time left to finish all my many assignments and projects! But I know God will provide His wisdom and guidance to help me complete them all as He sees fit. It's amazing the difference it makes approaching school work through the Holy Spirit rather than my flesh. I'm so much more calm and I don't procrastinate nearly as much. I'm so thankful for that! :)

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend, too! Any good stories? I would love to hear! Leave comments! :)
And have a GREAT week!
~Christy

Hold-Over Post

Hello, World!

I realized today that it's been over a week since my last post! I've been meaning to post for a while, and I actually have real stuff to say! I have some Godly things I want to blog about, but it's so much easier to write a quick blog about nonesense! Writing a more serious blog takes time and concentration, and even a little planning. I hope to conquer that soon! Until then, I thought I would write a quick post to hold you over!

Updates on my world--the weekend after my last post (so not this past one but the one before), Sandy Curley, my Mother-in-Law, came down to visit us. She came down Saturday around lunchtime and left in the afternoon. She was on her way down to Florida for the week. Lucky teachers and their winter breaks in February! Anyway, we had a great time with her. She took us out to Chili's and La Berry. After she left, we attempted to fish in our pond for the second time. Scott and I have no idea what we're doing when it comes to fishing. We have all this gear and no clue when to use what! Needless to say, we had no bites. Then we read on the front porch for an hour or so. While we were out there, we heard the Williams clan down at the pond. So, we walked back down there and watched Jeff, Brandon, and Dake all three catch fish! Figures.

Last week I was busy with school and work. We also had our first couples group meeting for church. There were 3 couples there (normally there will be one more). The group leaders did a great job planning the activities and discussions, and Scott and I came away with some new perspectives and something to think about during the week. I'm looking forward to seeing God move in this group!

I only lost .7 pound last week. Which means this week (my final week of my 10 pounds in 2 months challenge) I would have to lose 2.9 pounds to meet my goal. I don't think it's going to happen. Even on my best weeks I've never lost that much at once. And this past weekend I had Taco Bell, Mexican, and Arby's. Yikes! Traveling is bad for me! Road food = fat food!

We went up to Atlanta this past weekend to my Great-Grandmother's house. She is actually out of town this week, but we wanted to go up and clean her house for her. She is 87 years old, has trouble walking around, and has poor eye sight. She can't see most of the filth that had accumulated in her house, and what she can see, she may not physically be able to clean. I know she likes a clean house. Growing up, her house was always super clean. So, it was important to me to serve her in this way. So, we went up and fully cleaned the house--dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed the kitchen and bathrooms. It took us about 7 hours. Thankfully my Great Aunt and Uncle showed up to help us once they found out we were there cleaning. It probably would have taken 9-10 hours if they hadn't helped. But the house looks SO much better now. I'm not sure if she'll even be able to tell when she gets there. My second-cousin lives there as well and he's kind of a slob, for lack of a better word. He obviously didn't care to clean anything before, and he didn't help us while we were there. I just hope he doesn't trash the place before she gets back. But even if she can't tell or it's messy again, I know it's a healthier place for them to live just because of all the dust and mildew we cleaned away. I'm happy to provide the service, even if we don't get much recognition. In fact, I think it's good that we don't. So often we serve others but only with the condition that we receive abundant thanks or even returned favors. I don't want to fall into that habit with service and giving.

Now this week I'm preparing to buckle down for an intense couple of weeks! We have our National Youth at Risk Conference coming up next week at work and it's going to be a mad house this week preparing for it. Then of course next week I'll be in Savannah working at the conference for a few days. Also, midterms are next week and I have a lot due between this week and next for school. And, of course, I would like to work out a lot this week to get at least close to meeting my weight loss goal. But today I have to go grocery shopping after work and then hit the books! I also have huge stacks of laundry waiting for me at home. I won't have time for my full gym workout. But hopefully I'll at least be able to do some exercising at home. And on Thursday afternoon I have a dentist appointment, so I may not get in my workout then either. I am most definitely NOT losing 3 pounds this week. Oh well...I suppose I can extend my goal for one week due to the week and a half I had the plague.

So, until I find the time to write a serious post... just know that God has been doing a work in my heart and (as you may have noticed from some of this post) a lot of it has to do with serving others. I look forward to sharing what He is teaching me. Hope this post can hold you over until then!

~Christy

Weekend Daze

I love that I can push the workweek aside, school and all, and enjoy my weekends with friends and family. I manage and plan my time each week so that I don't have any school work on the weekends. I also try to do all my work during the day so all my evenings (aside from the ones that I have class) can be spent with Scott.

This weekend is off to a great start! Last night Scott & I had a date night. While Scott was working yesterday I went ahead and cleaned the house so we wouldn't have to do it this weekend, and I had burritos ready for dinner when he got home. We ate dinner while watching some Parks and Recreation (hilarious show that we only JUST discovered). Then we headed into town and went to the new frozen yogurt place, La Berry. It was AMAZING! I love those places! So cute and trendy and super yummy! Then we went to La Te Da and had some coffee and played Scrabble. I beat Scott by only 10 points. We were using 2 game's worth of letters so we had literally almost filled the entire board with words. It was really fun and nice little date night. :)

So far today we have slept in a little and enjoyed some breakfast while listening to Worship music. Our friends Matthew & Ryann (who just recently got engaged--CONGRATS, guys!) are coming over for lunch. We are grilling out, shooting guns, and just enjoying the fellowship on this beautiful weekend. Who knows? We may even pull out some yard games that we got for Christmas!

Tomorrow is church in the morning, grocery shopping, and then Connection Junction at church in the evening. It's a fellowship event revolving around our Connect Groups. It's a chance for those interested in joining a group to get a feel for what they're all about and what the choices are. Scott is in a Men's Group. I was in a Women's Group, but we recently dissolved. I think Scott and I will be joining a young married couples group. :)

And that's about it for now! I love weekends and spending time with my husband and good friends. :) OH--and I lost another 1.8 pounds this week! Go me!!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend daze as well!

~Christy

Making Good from Bad

Today I studied the story of Tamar for my women's small group at church. I have read this story a few times in the past, but had not given it much consideration. This time around I found it to be very enlightening. That's what I love so much about the Bible. You can read it time and time again and still find new revelations throughout.

For those of you not familiar with the story, it can be found in Genesis 38. I'll give you the recap. Tamar was married to Judah's son Er. After Er died, as customary in these times, Judah ordered his other son Onan to lay with Tamar so that she might give birth to a son who could carry on the family name. Onan basically practiced the method of withdrawal as birth control because he did not want to father a son that would be considered his brother's. (Which is how they would have viewed it) He ended up dying also. Judah had one more son but refused to give him to Tamar b/c he was afraid he would also die. So, Tamar left town. She heard that Judah would be visiting the town, so she veiled herself and pretended to be a prostitute so that he would sleep with her and she would bear a child. When Judah found out she was pregnant he sentenced her to be burned to death for adultery. When she proved that the baby was from him he said she is more righteous than he is, and he let her live.

Okay, so this story is really weird to us, much like most of the stories in the Old Testament. We can't really relate to those times. The practice of sleeping with your dead husband's brothers (and then tricking your father-in-law into sleeping with you) seems really off-putting to say the least. I found a few things interesting in this story.

First of all, the customs were so different back then. There were no real issues with men sleeping with prostitutes, but women couldn't sleep with anyone other than their husbands or they were sentenced to death! This is mainly because carrying on the family line was so important. It was okay, and even encouraged, that she sleep with her brothers-in-law because this would preserve the family line. If she slept with someone outside the family, it would be a disgrace because that child would not be part of that family. It was confusing to me that Judah claimed she was more righteous than he was. I mean, after all, she tricked him into sleeping with her. It seems they are both equally to blame for this. But her actions were seen as righteous because her attempts were to keep the family going by having a male heir. He had denied her his other son, thereby breaking such an important law and custom. It's just interesting to see the differences between today and then. At the same time, it's interesting to see how human kind has struggled with immorality and rash behavior since the very beginning. Many of these customs seem offensive to us, but how many people are out there in the world doing things like this or worse right now?

But the best part of this story--what I found especially encouraging--is actually found in Matthew 1:3. Tamar and the son she has from Judah are in the family lineage of Jesus Christ! Now you can argue for their reasons and possibly empathize with these people, but I think we can all agree that their actions were questionable and not entirely moral. But look what God did with their mess--He made Jesus! The one who saves the lost! How encouraging and awesome it is to see God turn something that we would deem as "bad" into something marvelous and PERFECT!

Not only is it an encouraging, but it provides a very good example of God making good from bad over a very long time period. Tamar and Judah's son was only the 3rd generation out of the 14 that lead to the birth of Christ. They definitely didn't see the awesome transformation of their mistakes in their life time. Nor did those in the lifetime after, or after that... I think that's an important point to remember. It's easy for us to proclaim that God makes good from bad, but when something "bad" happens in our lives, we always search for a direct result of it turning into something wonderful. And we can't always figure it out. This can be discouraging at times. We may start to doubt that God works all things together for our good or that He always uses what people do for evil into something for His glory. I think we need to remember that it may take a long time for that result to come about. We may never see it. It may affect someone else and not even be about us at all, and we may never know. Or it may cause a long term effect of something that doesn't even happen in our lifetime. We just can't possibly know for sure. But I believe we can trust that He truly does take the messes we create and transform them into beautiful things that will ultimately bring Him glory and benefit His people.

Lord, thank you for taking even my worst mistakes and using them to benefit the Kingdom in some way. Remind me of this whenever I may become discouraged with my life or the state of the world. Help me to see the good whenever I can, and fill me with your peace and joy in knowing that even when I can't see it--there is good to come in some way. Thank you for your unbelievable grace, love, and wisdom that you pour out on us each and every day. In your name I pray. Amen.