Random Thankful Thoughts...

Have you ever stopped to think about where God has you in your life? Where He's taken you? Have you ever thought about the purposeful orchestration of the people you've met along the way, the fact that they are, without a doubt, people who God allowed you the blessing of knowing? Well, I have, as you who know me, get on these random thought kicks, and I have had this thought recurring and I wanted to write about it.
I have had the privilege of being a serious Christ follower since I was about 13ish, and the journey that God has taken me on and led me through has been ANYTHING but the boring path I would have laid out for myself! The best part about my journey is that throughout it, God has allowed me the ultimate privilege of getting to meet and walk with some of His most amazing creations, my friends.
There are snapshots of my life that stand out to me and in those flashes in time, God provided for me friends (which seems like such a weak word for how I regard these people) to experience life with. God orchestrated in my life, very early on when my family was shaky, a small group of girl friends that are some of my best friends today. God brought us together to experience the breathless and the breathtaking together because we surely experienced that between us all! I am so incredibly thankful for these girls that I call my sisters (which still to me doesn't seem strong enough) because they saw me, see me, and will see me through the rest of my time on this Earth and I know that God ordained them to be my life partners. God did that!
Then I jump to the time that God pressed on my heart to serve Him at a youth camp for the summer with my best best friend. We both had just graduated high school, were so amped and ready to serve God, so scared for the future after the summer, but fully confident that God had it covered. And that He did! That was the summer that God ordained 3 more special people in my life (other than my best friend) who would change me forever! That summer defined God's skillful way of that"just right" kind of timing. I am fortunate enough to still have a pretty close relationship with most of those friends, but even so, God used those people to make an impression on me, to help me grow as a woman of Christ and to learn to love. Crazy enough, that summer was the year I met Marcus and wow, did God change my life with him! :) (Of course in all the best ways, right?! :) ) I didn't know that one of the reasons God had pressed me to volunteer for this camp was because He had done the same pressing on the heart of the man that I had prayed for for a very long time. A year after camp, 3 years after that and 3 years of marriage have made me so so thankful that I obeyed God's call. God did that!
Then I rewind and slightly fast forward to the year after that first summer camp, where I felt called to serve on a different youth ministry camp. That summer was incredibly fun, crazy, and sweet! God brought me there alone, vulnerable and waiting on Him to move me, and God moved me through the group of friend, who became my family, I shared that summer with. Although time and distance hinders communication sometimes, this family God allowed me to make has left such impressions on my heart, I love them more now, even though we don;t get to talk as much, than I did that summer! God did that!
Then I fast forward a few years to the present. God moved Marcus and I to a church where He had a small group waiting for us. At the time of us moving to that church, our hearts, spirit, everything was hurting and we needed mending. God provided for us a small group who truly IS our family to live life together. Marcus and I have grown so much in our walk with Christ with this group that we ever have before and I can't imagine not knowing these people. We have laughed, cried, vented, questioned, discussed, lived the past year's life together. God allowed us the privilege of being apart of an intimate fellowship of believers and for that I am so amazed! God did that!
I know that God has had His hands on me and my life path for way longer than I realized and to know that God cares enough to provide for me these friendships that have left my heart and soul so much sweeter is such an amazing, humbling reminder. So, when you are thinking, doubting, praying, being reminded that God's got it covered, trust me, (and I am preaching to the choir here! ), God's HAD it covered! God did it and does it!

Life Theme Songs....

I have been wanting to write a blog about this for a while, even tried to get a Facebook discussion going on about it (which was a total fail), but have you ever thought about what could be the theme song of your life? You know what I mean; like in professional baseball or basketball games (or all kind of games, I don't know) when the player comes in and the song they pick to play anytime attention is brought to them blasts through the speakers and it represents them, that is what I am talking about. If when you entered a room, there was like a 10-30 second blurp of the song that perfectly represented you, what would it be? These are the thoughts (random as they are) that I have.

Well, after years of hearing songs that I love, hate and wish I could forget, I have decided on a list of some songs that, for some reason or another, resonate with me.

These are the songs that I think best represent me past, present and future until the next one-hit-wonder comes along! :))

1. "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree
2. "Live Like We're Dying" by Kris Allen
3. "Just Fine" by Mary J. Blige

So when you see me, and I am be-bopping to the beat of my own drum, chances are, one of these songs are in my head! ;)

List of Accomplishments in 2010!!! (continued...:))

Okay, so for my first post since March, I believe, that I should update on my List of Accomplishments for 2010 because I have actually tried to make good on some of those things that I wanted to try to do this year. Okay, let's start with the worst...

- Losing weight= Ohhhh mercy; well, I can happily report that, so far, with the help of a doctor, a really supportive husband, and alot of prayer, I have lost, thus far (because I still have a WAYS to go) a total of 29 pounds and I think about 23 or 26 inches all over, so I am pretty stoked about it. Because I am such a foodie, I HAD to go to a weight loss doctor because that is the ONLY way that I could be accountable, so with his help and supervision, I have been taking a metabolism booster and have learned how to eat SOOOOO much healthier, restricting my calories to a VERY reasonable number compared to the endless, mindless calories that I had been eating without one thought to what I was doing. This journey of weight loss, (and I call it a journey because it really has been a struggle) really has opened my eyes on how to eat healthier and smarter and I feel so much better about mine and Marcus's health knowing that we really are eating like we always should have been. I am hoping that these good eating and exercise habits will stick with me as normal routine so that when the time comes for us to start a family, I can do everything in my power to have a healthy pregnancy as well as develop a healthy life for my kid(s). For now though, the weight loss is because a.)it is just necessary for my health, and b.)because I want to feel better about myself and my health, so so far so good and I am still going! :)
-Thinking about/Talking about having kids= Wellllll....May this year, Marcus and I found out that we are going to be.....AN AUNT AND UNCLE !!!!! :) (gotcha! :) Yeah, no babies except our fur children right now. :)) My sister-in-law and brother-in-law (Tina and Scott) told us the news on Mother's Day and we were TOTALLY surprised!!!! So, for now, we are focusing on being the BEST aunt and uncle to our Seamonkey (the nickname I have given the baby because we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet; not until August 17!!!!! :)) So for now, I am taking notes from Tina so that I have a reference for when our time comes...but Marcus and I are in serious talks about this subject so maybe sooner than later, who knows.....:) but, again for now, we are just soooooo excited to meet Seamonkey and love them only the way their crazy Aunt and Uncle can! :)
-Doing something crazy and not like me at all= Okay, I don't know why I have taken so long to post about this because this is a major deal for me. First, those who read this and don't know me so well, let me catch you up on a couple of important thing about me that will help you understand and appreciate the gravity of what I am going to describe to you. I LOVE late 80's, early 90's music, ESPECIALLY old school Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, etc. I also like shocking my husband by doing things that he otherwise would be CONVINCED that I would NEVER EVER do. Okay with that being said, let's move to the monstrosity of the event that is connected to all this.
I (if you've read any of my other posts) have a litttttllleee bit of an obsession with the Harry Potter series, so when Universal Studios Orlando Theme Park disclosed that they would be creating a portion of their park to pay homage to HP, from that moment, all I wanted for my birthday was to be able to go and experience one of my favorite series come to life. And my husband, being as incredible as he is, made this happen, so for my birthday, what did I get from him? A weekend trip to this amazing theme park! Thrilled is not even a strong enough word to describe how I felt. Okay, so fast-forwarding to the main event, one of the nights we were in the park, after having a great but very hot day at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Marcus and I decided that we wanted to go to the Karaoke Club that was on the property. (Here we go...) And this was no Joe-Shmoo, hole in the wall Karaoke place; this was 2 stories, HUGE, live band and back up singers, big screen display, AND AT LEAST over 200 people. So, for SOME reason I to this day cannot explain have this innate desire to sing AT THIS PLACE. Now I have NO problem being on a stage in front of people acting, but singing is a whole other beast and I am absolutely not comfortable being that kind of vulnerable. So the fact that I so badly wanted to sing at this place and WENT EVEN FURTHER to PUT MY NAME in the running to be picked to sing is still beyond me. Anyways, so I decided to request to sing a Bonnie Rait song and a Whitney Houston song, naturally, and thought nothing more of it because I just knew there was NO way that my name would be chosen out of a bowl of 100 plus other names, just no way. So Marcus and I watch one cycle of the show and it was awesome! Waited around and watched another cycle of the show, relieved that my name was not being called. We decided to stay for one last cycle and just before the show starts, I see my name in a crawl ACROSS THE BIG SCREEN DISPLAY meaning that I WOULD BE SINGING IN THE NEXT SHOW ANNNNNDDDDD I was singing "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" BY WHITNEY.....AHHHHHHHHHHHH. So I am thinking, Okay Mandy, play it cool you HAVE this! I mean, I don't know anyone other than Marcus here and it just can't be bad......ummm hmmm... So as I am walking down the stairs to get on stage I start panicking and seriously considering forgetting my name and how to speak English. But no, I signed up for this, I was going to follow through and face my fears; I love the song I chose so I have GOT to do this. So I get on stage and my hand starts shaking like ccccaaaaarazy. The music starts and I start singing. I start getting into the song, the song starts getting louder and I can't even hear myself anymore. At this point, only the audience could hear what note, word, sound I was making because I was pretty sure I was creating new notes that no one's discovered yet. By the end of the song, I was relieved to be done, BUT I am SOOOOO glad I did it! Now that I have done it, I would TOTALLY do it again with no abandon this time because that fear is gone! I know that I am not a singer, nor should I expect myself to sound like the artist, so with that being said, I know now that I can totally just have fun with it and go for it! So now that I have done something that is totally not like me, I am ready to do some other thing that is not like me this year! Doing stupid, spontaneous things like this really help me not take things so seriously and enjoy life! :)

-Books= An update on some other books that I have successfully completed this year; Along with the other books that I have read and posted on here, I have also finished "The Shack" and "Eat, Pray, Love". "The Shack" I will admit, started kind of slow for me, but by the end, I TOTALLY recommend reading it. So thank you very much Tracey for letting me borrow (for a very long time) your copy and thank you for suggesting that I read it! I also just finished reading "Eat, Pray, Love" which was very very good. It is a good read if you are just wanting something to read to enjoy reading. After reading, I wanted to find ways to accomplish my goals and invite clarity in my life (once you read, you;ll understand). If you want to see the movie with Julie Roberts coming out in August, I would totally read the book first so you can completely appreciate what goes on in the movie!

So this very very very long winded post is to catch-up on some things that I have wanted to do this year and have made an effort to do. The year does feel like it is FLYING by (it's already mid-July which is crazy to me) so I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year had in store.

Dirty laundry...

So I was doing my quiet time this afternoon and I am in the book of John. (I recently finished Ephesians which was telling me how to love, and now I feel as though God lead me into John to teach me how to fall in love with Him through his life story; very cool and fun for me! :) Anyways, so I am reading in John 4: 39-42 and in my Bible, its just a blip of a couple of verses, but as I read, read over it again, and read over it again, I kept praying that God would reveal to me or uncover whatever it was that I was supposed to understand from those little bits of verses. Its all about the woman at the well, post-visit from Jesus and she is telling anybody who will talk with her, hear her out about her experience with Jesus. I especially got stuck on verse 39 where she testified, " He told me all the things that I HAVE done.". And I kept pondering on this and thinking, and God started putting the pieces together for me as to why I was hung up on that verse (It was like when you used to do those Math Superstar worksheets in Elementary school, which I HATED, and you asked some one to help you and they kept dancing around the answer until your brain caught up, that's how reading this verse felt.) What finally struck me was the fact that this woman was the 'woman at the well' the infamous woman who Jesus called out and exposed her for who she was being at the time; a floozy if you will. Well after she encountered, spoke with and experienced Christ, she was all about airing her 'dirty laundry'; she didn't hesitate to share the fact that, yes, she wasn't perfect, she had had her faults, flaws and blunders and would probably pay for that the rest of her life in her reputation, but she made it known that Christ told her all that she had done and given her something that she hadn't found in the beds, words or situations she had been in before; she experienced Christ as her literal Savior from the life she had led. And in the verse, she says ' all the things she had done" meaning, that was put behind her. So I am thinking, wow this woman is throwing all caution to the wind and just letting it all hang out, all her issues and all, but all for the sake of pointing her redemption back to her Savior, Christ. So I started putting the pieces together, and I realized after she had time with Christ, she wasn't pious, or off-putting, snobby-like like, "I was just with the Savior of the world and YOU weren't". Instead she testified. How often do we "Christians" find ourselves with an air of snobbishness about us because we are Christians, we are saved, God has redeemed us and there are just those other heathens in the world who just need to come to Christ? I know that sometimes, I'll admit, I feel a little high-on-the-horse about my relationship with Christ. Now I am not saying that you shouldn't feel empowered or proud that you have been redeemed and have a real-deal relationship with God; there's a difference between being honored and arrogant and I am speaking to the arrogance that we sometimes display. God just helped me recognize that maybe, just maybe, when other people, everyday Joe-smoes are able to see me as me, Christian, and are able to hear where God has taken me from, then I may seem less intimidating and maybe God can use me when I am humble, not arrogant. God was able to use the woman at the well's testimony as well as the Holy Spirit to help others see their error in their own lives and need for Christ. So maybe, we as Christians need to be reminded that God did deliver us from the same, disgraceful sin as the woman at the well and that God wants us to share that story of His sweet and tender love to the rest of the world so the pious off-putting "Christians" that non-believers think we are will realize we aren't that different; we Christians have just allowed God to wash our dirty laundry and take control and that has made all the difference.

Convictions...

Have you ever been in that kind of mood where you just have no desire to do anything but be at home, in your pajamas, with a blanket and the couch? And on top of that, feeling like that around the same time you are headed to church? Yeah, well yesterday Marcus and I decided to go to the 6:15 service at The Journey just to have a chance to spend the day together and relax and still enjoy our time at church. So as we were piddling around and wasting time before church over in Yulee, I started getting really tired and just in that mood where I just wanted to be home, period, which resulted in me being kind of punchy with Marcus and just not in the right place mentally or emotionally to worship God. Fast-forward about 30 minutes and we are in church, the crowd is lighter than usual for us and Marcus, of course, sits us in a very uncomfortable area.Worship begins and we start singing, and I suddenly realize there is someone in the previous vacant chair beside and the only way that I can tell that is because I feel a texture somewhat like old-lady's permed hair on my arm. So, at this point, I'm thinking, "Great, now what? I'm already a little annoyed that we waited to come to the latest service, I am going to miss the Oscars and the Amazing Race, and not this old lady is encroaching in my personal space, and I KNOW that Marcus won't take the hint and scoot over; he'll interpret my moving closer as a sign that I am being affectionate, not what I'm going for!" So I am ranting in my head, still singing to God mind you, about how I am going to be the light that this world needs (because I am really showing it in my thoughts!), I mean really singing like I mean it. Then the transition to the next worship song occurs and its a song I LOVE and really know and I am excited, all the while still a little annoyed about this raiding of space I am feeling. Literally, at that moment, as I am reaching my vocal limits as well as space limits, it was like God reminded me of everything I needed to be reminded of; why I was there, what was going on, my own inability to really focus on Him. At that moment, it was like God opened my ears and I heard this little old lady singing the words to the David Crowder song that was being played and God reminded me, this isn't about you, your harmony, your comfort; Let me remind of what I am hearing, how MY name is being blessed. I guess because my best friend and my husband are passionate about worship and I have experienced God's hand work in them with their passion and have learned how to appreciate intimate worship, God often reminds me to stop everything; thinking, singing, watching, everything and take a moment to absorb a glimpse of Him. When I heard that woman, an elderly woman who didn't care about the volume, the sound, lights, nothing but singing praises to her Lord, I realized how wrong I was. Wrong for coming into God's sanctuary already with a chip on my shoulder over such stupid stuff, wrong for not embracing this woman into God's house, rather getting annoyed with every brush of her arm against my sleeve. I was so convicted, I started to get teary-eyed because God was showing me the reverence and sweetness of what WAS important in that moment. As I took that time to look around I noticed a mentally handicap young man raising his hands in worship to the God who he adored, and it was truly evident that God was in that room. Even though I've written a book already, I cannot describe to you the humility I felt for being so selfish and unworthy, but at the same time so blessed that God was taking this time to gently remind me of Him. To see the Holy Spirit evident and sweetly touching God's people in that time was more than enough to convict me and make me quickly change my tune. I stopped and just prayed that God would forgive me of my own selfishness and for Him to please open me up to Him the remainder of the time I had not wasted on myself. You can take what you will from this post and let God use it in His way for what's going on in your life, but I mainly wanted to say that God is so real, so holy, and so precious and don't let petty, silly things hinder your worship in song, text, tithe,prayer, or meditation to Him because at the end of the day, He's all that matters, above all other things, people, events, circumstances. God is God and thank God that He loves us so much that He gives us that pause to reconnect with what is really important!

List of Accomplishments in 2010!

Again, I am successfully adding to my List of Accomplishments for 2010 today! Sadly enough, it may be a little boring for the average Joe, but I proud of myself so whatever! :) So far, let me catch you up to speed...

1. Finished the Harry Potter series

2. Went to a concert of an artist that I looovvee- John Mayer!

3. Finished the Twilight series- (Now that I am reviewing my list, this must be my year of reading because books are dominating my list! :)) I have to say, I TOTALLY knocked the 'Twi-hard' fans because I thought, okay seriously, vampires and werewolves? The books sounded either like a.) a scene from a the haunted house I ran uot of in 5th grade that's jaded me to this day or b.) some super cheesy spin-off wannbe Harry Potter (which I considered untouchable, that NOTHING could be better than my favorite Gryffindor). So I started Twilight, the first book, began a little slow, and then before I knew it, I was having a fictional affair with Edward Cullen. No joke, I literally took like maybe 3 days to read the first book. Then I just HAD to have the second book. Read THAT in like 2 DAYS! The third book took me a little longer and then I made it to the 4th book. I actually loved it! And my students loved talking to me about it; it really became the perfect example for most of the literary terms that I was reviewing with them. When my kids asked me who would I choose, Harry or Edward, I told them I just didn't know. I mean, Harry and his adventures engulfed me so much so that I was helping Harry defeat Valdemort in my dreams. But then there was sweet, misunderstood, steadfast Edward who I just melted for (no matter what Jacob looked like!) because of his love for Bella and vice-versa. So I resorted to the fact that if I had to choose, I choose both as my favorites; Harry has the adventure and fun and Edward has the heart and soul. So I have completed another series and I have caught up with the rest of the teenage readers I encounter and understand what it means to be Team Edward or Team Jacob! :)

Thoughtful Thursday...

Here's a thought that you can take literally or metaphorically because it can be applied as both:

Don't trust a cat alone in a room with a glass of Crystal Light fruit punch! This can lead to stains!

Let your minds run wild and crazy with this one! Have a happy Thought-filled Thursday! :)

Wordless Wednesday...

Wordless Wednesday...

My sad attempts at being more domestic...continued :)

So, the last week in January, my school participated in a county wide initiative to get students excited to read called Literacy Week. So naturally, I just HAD to participate because I am a sucker for anything to get my wayward students to even remotely think about reading in a fun manner. We teachers could choose different ways that we could actively, voluntarily participate and one of our options was to decorate our classroom door with a character or a book that we enjoyed. After much thought, sketches, and plans and coming off my completion of Harry Potter, I decided that I needed to honor the Hogwarts spirit by theming my door Potter pretty! I decided that I would create a tribute to all the Gryffindors at heart and came up with the idea of hanging a Gryffindor flag, with a golden snitch and the Hogwarts train station sign on and around my door. I didn't want to emblazon HARRY POTTER so obviously on my masterpiece, so I opted to create a conversation starter door, one in which my fellow Muggles would understand and appreciate and also one that the other students who weren't on the Hogwarts Express to loving Harry Potter could ask me questions about, which would hopefully inspire them to read it. Here are some pictures that I took of my labor of love. I didn't win the best door contest, but having the kids excited, if only for one week, about what I was reading and what they wanted to read was totally well worth all the glitter! (I figured this was a post worthy of being called being domestic! :))

List of Accomplishments in 2010!

So, I started blogging a list of things that I am proud to have accomplished over this year. I am making an addition to the information that will be on that list, which will include things I have done in 2010. I am making a well-waited for addition to my list today, so here goes:

1. Finished the Harry Potter series

2. Attended a concert of a musician that I reallllllllly love- JOHN MAYER!!!!: Let me explain. My sweet husband surprised me at Christmas time with tickets to go see John Mayer in concert in Jacksonville in Feb. Over the moon doesn't begin to explain how excited I was for that gift! You have to understand, mine and John's relationship - full of passion, repairing, love, building relationships, laughing, crying, sleeping; of course all under the umbrella of his music, not literally together, he and I. :). So I really love John Mayer's MUSIC (he's a little too weird to ever be my friend). So that gift that Marcus gave me just was overly excellent. So, Feb. 6, Marcus, John and I had a, like, 3 hour date. Needless to say, I LOVED the concert and I am sooooo happy that I can finally say that I have seen that musical Mayer in concert. So that is why this is a very worthy addition to my list, and I have my sweet, wonderful husband to thank for it! :) Here are a couple of pictures from the concert. It really was an awesome gift! :)

Wordless Wednesday...

Thoughtful Thursday...

So, my husband being the cd hoarder of all time, I decided to add to his collection and get him a few more cd's for Christmas. Well, on his list of like literally 50 cds, I chose about 4, one of them being the latest Addison Road cd. Well, Marcus tends to leave his newly acquired collection of cds in the Jeep all the time, so I sometimes take advantage of the time I have with them and listen. On the way to small group Tuesday, I was listening the Addison Road cd and the song "What do I know of Holy" was playing. Below are the words, but, for some reason or another, I really listened to the words and was sincerely struck at how true those words are for me. Just read the words and you will see what a powerful punch they make and how they really make you take an honest look at yourself and your relationship with God:

I made You promises a thousand times

I tried to hear from Heaven

But I talked the whole time

I think I made You too small

I never feared You at all No

If You touched my face would I know You?

Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)

What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were mighty to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

(CHORUS 2)

What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave life "its" name?

What do I know of Holy?

Of the One who the angels praise?

All creation knows Your name

On earth and heaven above

What do I know of this love?

(CHORUS)

What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy?

Wordless Wednesday...

List of Accomplishments in 2010!

I've decided that this year, I want to track the accomplishments that I have achieved so that when I look back on this year, I have something to show for it! So here is my start of my List of Accomplishments for this year:

1. After probably a year of reading, I have FINALLY finished the Harry Potter series (all 7 books) and I will say, I loved it! :) I will now be able to wear my Invisibility Cloak and black rimmed glasses at the next premiere with not an ounce of shame! :)