WAY better, God. Thanks.

"God is not ordinary."

I've been clinging to this truth ever since Mac spoke it to our youth back in the spring of this year. I wish I could remember his scripture passage--but I can't. I just know the truth I took from his message: "God is not ordinary".

I turned it into my little facebook "about me". I've left it up for a good while. It's been applicable to my entire life. To every detail.


God is not ordinary, and so what I think is good and right, may not really be so. His good and right may be unordinary, and way more beautiful. :)

I want to love His way in my life.


My heart's cry,-- over this past year or so, in the middle of not really loving my job, feeling restrained and in a rut, wishing I could know confidently what I'm best at, and develop that into something excellent and do so with passion--my heart's cry has been, God, do what YOU will do. I will take practical steps, make plans, pray about them!, set forth a path, walk it, try things, but please never let me miss you in the middle of it all. In fact, let me understand and follow your heart, no matter where it takes me or what the process may need to look like and feel like. No matter if it does or doesn't match up with the plan in my head.

I just want to praise God for how he is leading me, for where he has taken me, and for where he is taking me. I'm kind of echoing my "Hurricane" blog, but I truly am grateful for God closing doors, opening them, providing neat friendships along the way, not minus a few growing pains. :) I mean, He really is a God of DETAIL. He knows his creation from the inside out and knows how to speak to us, as unique individuals, and as dearly loved children. He knows how to get my attention and for his gentle hand and Spirit, turning my head to him, lifting my face to his, I am forever grateful.

My friend Alex says it like this, "God is too good in letting you know what's up sometimes."

He truly is. It's beautiful.

my one true love

God, thank you for MUSIC!!!!!!!! :)

Without it, I'm not sure my soul would understand itself.

i don't know, john...

Ever since John Mayer came out with the song, "Say what you need to say", I loved it, sang along with it, and supported the campaign for having discussions rather than avoiding them.

But sometimes, in situations, I think....."This is not a good time to blurt out what I'm thinking. It might not make sense to the person listening. I might not be able to put to words what I'm feeling." OR..."I'll wait until a better time." There's also the thought that, while getting things said is valuable and o.k., it isn't always beneficial or necessary. Sometimes, if you can control your "mysterious" factors, you should. Leave room for curiosity and wonder. Mysteries and secrets (the good kind) are enchanting and luring.

So I think John is right. But the line, "It's better to say too much, than never to say anything at all..." cannot be applied to all situations. It just can't.

I'm learning to control what I say so as not to be one of those super complex and too-verbal people that nobody wants to handle. Also, I want to be mindful of what I'm saying, and if it really matters to whom I'm saying it.


Words carry power. What will you do with yours?

Turning over a new leaf

Cliche. But true. The best way I know how to describe it is that I've been in this hurricane....small, but a hurricane to me, none the less. And God has decided to let me out of it. And he didn't just toss me out all rough like. He landed me gently. In a place of provision and peace, and surprises. I am overwhelmed with how he makes our journey beautiful in ways we actually cannot. :)I've been praising Him despite circumstances, but sometimes, when God works through circumstances, it is something to be thankful for, and that's where I am. Taken aback. Loving it. Loving Him.

"I need a hurricane
To empty out this place
Seems it's the only way
To salvage any sense I have left
To move on

I need a hurricane
To straighten out this place
It maybe the only way
To salvage any sense I have left
To move on"

-Mindy Smith

Some beach

So I haven't been to the beach this summer. It's a little weird. Did I go last summer? Hm. I went last fall. And the previous spring break. :) But I have not gone this summer. It's actually really sad that I'm kind of ok with it. As much as I love the beach, I know if I were to go at this point, it would be for just a day, which would mean driving home all sandy, sticky, stiNky, and sunscreeny.

Anybody up for a day trip to Charleston, though? I just got paid. :) And sadly, shopping and eating sounds more fun than the above option. At least for now.

Kidding. Kind of.

cuz you got that Holy Spirit dwelling inside yo carcass

ok. so VBS on Broad Street is this week for our youth. we are all pumped about working with some street smart, but tender hearted kids from a few poorer areas in beautiful augusta. as matt papa says, "your name, your renown, all over town, all over this world, YOUR kingdom come".

one of our homework assignments, as participants, was to learn the song "represent (get crunk!)" by lacrae so we can do it up every day as our VBS theme song!! so tight! i love attempting to be culturally relevant. yes, it is possibly at most, an attempt. but still. i like it.

lucky for me, somebody somewhere knew that i would need to learn this song, so they made a youtube video of it, with all the words in the right spots. in case you want to represent, and get a little crunk yourself, check it out. you can't not do a little shoulder shake and finger snap- you know, when you dip your head down, then look up in one direction... you just can't. (can't not, that is)

because of gas prices...

i did something today i didn't think i would ever do.
first, let me explain.

i'm grocery shopping at the super walmart. definitely trying to be thrifty minded, knowing that i should try to stretch my money as much as i can these days. not only are gas prices high, but my funds are running low, and will soon run out, and i'm not sure what kind of salary will be replacing my current one. it's not easy for me, but i'm trying to keep my savings in my savings, and be careful with the rest.

ok. so walking up and down the aisle, i'm wondering which items i can "skimp" on. like, buy the offbrand, and be ok.

laundry detergent? i smelled a few. even the walmart brand, with daisies on the bottle. nope. not gonna work out. gain it is. tropical breeze this time instead of joyful expressions.

yogurt? no. i only like one kind. texture is a BIG deal. next.

juice? sure. i got tropicana fruit punch, light, for about $2. feeling good.

toilet paper? hmm. is it worth running the risk of having toilet paper issues? i wasn't sure, but when i skimmed the options, i found a 6-pack for $1.49. i mean, they weren't double rolled, they weren't ultra soft, and they definitely were not name brand. but the package had words like "2 ply soft" and "absorbant" written on it. i decided, yes. let's try it. $3 for 12 rolls is a steal. right?

so i feel dang good about my skimps today.

i've even thought about coupon clipping and making a whole hobby out of this.

maybe not.