(Ice cream) Sunday and Babysitting Goodbyes

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This was going to be a long day...I got to bed really late after work as usual on Saturday nights aka Sunday mornings, but at least it was before 1 am this time! But I'm dead. All day I could not stay awake; my eyes and head were dropping at everything. Church was really good, but I was struggling. All day I just tried to keep myself occupied to stay awake. I didn't have time to take a nap, but I would've given so much for one...

Pastor Dean's sermon was about how God is the giver of all things new. He forgives our sins, makes the sun rise each new day, changes hearts and lives in ways that we never could imagine. Passages of scripture about "new" have been great encouragement to me when I have struggled in the past and/or am trying to make a change in my life. He can take any bad situation, any sin, any sinner, and make them new. One of my favorite verses on this is Isaiah 43:19, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." 
Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 3:10 are about putting of the old self and on the new self that God made to be righteous. 
In the passage Pastor Dean used in Luke 5:36-39 and another I love in 2 Corinthians 5:17, old can't stay with the new. You must let go of what is holding you back and work in the life ahead!

This is a recurring theme in my life, especially lately with the studies I have been in! Personally (and usually with most people whether we admit it or not), I know the old that I need to get rid of. But we can't just get rid, we have to replace. New and good!

in Sunday School, our contemporary worship leader and his wife came as guest speakers. I have always loved them even before I really knew them. Last semester I got to work with Brooks in the media department as an internship in place of one of my classes. There are just some people that have that "something" about them that others admire. That's a gift from God. It is great to hear from people in all walks of life and how they have seen God at work and the advice they can give. Fellowship is one of the most powerful tools that we have!

My little kids are moving this week! I met the Mom and son on a dog walk in the old neighborhood the end of last summer, and I babysat them a time or two a month most of this year! It was really nice since they lived just down the road. I had never babysat before, but I apparently did well because they kept asking me to come back! Almost a year later, we have moved and now they are moving, too. The parents were taking an afternoon to get outside themselves, so I came and occupied the kids! David and Svea have grown up loving to be outdoors, which is something I admire about that family. It is hard to find people "not of this world" anymore. It was always good for me to get out and away from the rest of the world when I was with them, too. Today I took them some little things and some cake, then we went to the park to enjoy the beautiful day! We rode bikes, kind of (we walked a lot for the hills and roots), but David wanted to take his scooter. Svea and I didn't think that was a good idea, but he insisted and learned the hard way. Scooters are not made for trails.

Dad has been working almost nonstop on our dock for a week now. He is almost done, but it is another one of those projects that once he finally gets going, he doesn't stop. Bless his heart, he is such a hard worker, it just drags out. I am usually okay huger-wise eating dinner really late (a bad habit I've gotten into), but I have really felt the affects of this over time now. I eat later, have a really long day, do more stuff later, then get to bed later, and I just can't seem to get back on track. I have to.

**SOS my family needs sleep!

Today's holidays are National Give Something Away Day, National I Love Horses Day, and National Ice Cream Day! I didn't have anything to do with horses except drive past them on the road, but I did give my little babysitting kids a gift, card, and slice of cake! For the ice cream, here are just some pictures of the best ones...and some Breyer's that got me to win some for free from a Twitter contest!

Here we have Cold Stone Creamery (my mix from the beach with strawberry cake batter and triple berry yogurt with strawberry wafers, brownie, coconut), Breyer's, Kirk's (also from the beach, pistachio, coconut almond, blueberry pie, banana pudding), Halo Top (most of the flavors that I have tried are amazing), Bruster's (some of the best creative flavors and a good price!), Clumpies (local to Chattanooga, creative flavors!), Foote's Rest Sweet Shop (the one and only in downtown Frisco, Colorado, homemade daily!), and another not pictured is the Comfy Cow!

Third Time's the Charm

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Third Time's the Charm
9:10 AM on Tuesday, May 29th

This morning did not start off too well...I was late getting started to head to the old house to run, but then I realized I forgot my watch (which I had also done a day a couple weeks before). It was also raining. The weather forecast was wrong, as usual, but I don't like running in the rain. (At least it wasn't cold, I told myself) I hadn't gotten too far, so I turned around and ran upstairs and back out. Then after making it a little farther down the road, my windshield wiper flew off. Why? I don't know; it wasn't even raining hard. They were brand new wipers! Just a couple weeks old! So there I was, still driving down the road, called Mom to ask her what to do, and she told me to come back home because I can't be driving around in the rain with no windshield wipers (but I thought later now a legit reason to say that I couldn't go into work at moment's notice). Frustrated with circumstances but pleasantly surprised by Mom's encouragement, I headed out the door for a third time. This time I ran and made it the whole way with no disasters. The rain wasn't even bothersome.

Following this run, I was most excited to try a new egg scramble that I thought up. For some reason, I've been craving avocado lately. I didn't even like avocado until like two weeks ago. I think it's my mind and body trying to tell me something. So this bowl was scrambled egg (which I do in the microwave--so fluffy and fast!), avocado, and onion. And coffee, always (unless it's tea). "Life is crazy good" even though today life started out just crazy. I'm thankful to have been safe, healthy, and able to run.

After taking one last day to do a deep conditioner and face mask, I worked on some clean up and packing tasks around the house then laid down for a nap. When I'm having a hard time, this is something that I have come to cherish to get me through a day. My sleep has not been acceptable the past few months, so I'm trying to make up for it where I can. It was a great nap, too.

Lesson learned, I can get blood drawn and shots no problem, but stick something through my ear, and it tears me up. I'm personally fine with it; there is just something about the afterthought of there being a hole punched through my cartilage that makes me sick when something goes wrong. Long story short, I tried to change my stud to a hoop, and it was a curved post that I could not get in the right angle. I finally did, but then I couldn't latch the back, asked for Mom's help, and that was even worse than just trying to get it through my ear. I almost passed out/threw up twice and ended up leaving it until the next day not even latched in the back.

Next up was another new wonderful waffle! I really like carrot cake, and I discovered that using leftover canned carrots from previous dinners is one of the tastiest things...I've started using it in both oatmeal and waffles! I'm also in that point before vacation where you throw together random leftovers, so in this batter was also some peas, white beans, and pineapple juice. For the carrot cake affect the batter also had almonds and raisins, which is more normal. The topping was peas, carrots, honey, juice, and maple peanut butter.

Another habit that we have gotten into is eating dinner really late. So this night Mom and I actually sat down around 7! That was early! So I took a break between dinner and dessert to do my devotion for the day.

I have all kinds of Bible study things I would love to get to, but I have come to really believe in quality over quantity. Some days I may only get through a few verses or one small page in a devotional, but it can still speak to my heart more than much lengthier things sometimes. All it takes is a little work of the Spirit. The last in a series of 4 about seeking to glorify God, this was focused on trials. In Philippians 1:29, we are told to remember that with believing in Him includes suffering for Him. But we can find peace when we suffer in living for Christ because then we are doing something right. If life was easy in this world, if the world accepted us, we would not be living the life Christ has called us to. What really stood out to me here was the direction of prayers. It is natural to want to pray for relief from a circumstance (even Jesus asked if the Father could save the world any other way), but the way we should turn our hearts is to change our attitude. The challenges we face are great opportunities to grow personally and to share with others. “Tests lead to testimony.” I can surely attest to that. No, I don’t like all the things I have been through, but I am thankful for them. I may have failed, but I have received grace, mercy, and strength to come back and be able to try again, and more importantly, to share the encouragement that I have received with others.

Speaking of encouragement...Beth Moore is a good one, and I am glad to see that she seems to support the Warriors! GSW FTW.

And it was national paperclip day. Small, but so handy! Papers, picking out things, poking things, unlocking doors...

Race Day: Saturday Edition

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This post is a follow-up to the post about how a small/home/weeknight race day goes. 

Races of any kind, big or small, get me hype, but Saturday races are exciting on a whole different level.  Cross country is one of those things that you just can't understand without having the experience, but I'll try to give you an inside look.

This was our first Saturday meet of the season.  It's not the biggest, but it's a fun one!  I love the course, too, at Jackson Park in Western North Carolina.

Start lines are intense.  That's my least favorite part.  It is a stampede.  It's actually rather scary, especially for those who have never run in a race of this size before, as is the case for our freshmen at this race each year.  Unless you're a speed demon like Jessica (who fell flat on her face when the gun went off), if you don't get a good start, you get stuck in with so many people way too close together, all heading for the same place!  I didn't even know this until this season, but my mom never watches the start.  Never.  It scares her, too, and she's not even running!

It gets dead silent as the starter gives instructions then tells us to take our marks.  His arm goes up.  BANG.

That gunshot is an intense noise. 

As I am not a sprinter, starts are tough for me.  I need to get out faster to get good position, but it's tough when my legs don't want to go that fast!  This race was especially bad in that.  I started the race in the back!  However, over the first half mile or so, I caught up, just focusing on passing people bit by bit.  I was surprised at how quickly I caught up to the two leaders.  Then I even passed them!  I knew that was God taking me up front so fast because if you had seen my start and all the people I had to work through, this was not an easy task.  Anna Vess, the defending NC state champion was right on my heels until mile 2 where I left her.  I was so thankful to have her there pushing me through the whole thing!

This course is two loops, and this is us coming up the "horseshoe hill" the first time.  Every hill on this course has a name like that, including "hill hill," "seizure hill," and "heart attack hill," etc.

Anna and I were really pushing each other for the first 2 miles of the race.  It always adds tension within myself when I have someone right with me, but it can be a good thing if I use it to push myself faster.  That's what happened!  I was so thankful to have her there to keep me going.

  

Like with my starts, I don't have that much speed going down the finish either.  I can push a little faster, but it's not a sprint like some girls can.  Everyone always has things they can improve on, and that's something I'm trying to work on!

I was super surprised as I crossed the line of just the second race of the season with a time only 10 seconds off my PR, despite that horrendous start!  I was so thankful that God carried me through that.

Not that I feel like I need recognition, but cross country meets do give awards to the top finishers and teams!
How does a team win in cross country? is a typical question.  The lowest score wins.  Whatever place a person gets is how many points they "score" for their team, runners 1-5 to finish.  (At least 5 people are required to have a full team)  For example, in this race, I placed first, so I counted 1 point.  Just making this up, but if the next 4 on my team were 8th, 11th, 14th, and 20th, we would have 54 points.

Scriptures containing "stumble" have come up a lot this season, as I often stumble during races!  It's scary, since if you fall, you just might get trampled!  Or lose your position and throw off your pace.  These are a couple verses that I really like to go with the life and running metaphor. 
"For You, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living...what shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?"  Psalm 116:8-9, 12
Life now seems more fulfilling than ever; God has filled me with joy and keeps me safe; even when I stumble in my races or mess up in life, He never lets me totally fall; I have hope that no matter what happens here on earth, I have heaven to look forward to!  All this is so wonderful, I just want to make use of the blessings.  With a day like this when I started out feeling bad, got an awful start, yet still almost PRd, it leaves me asking "How can I thank God enough!?"

I try to use who I am and what I do to point to the One who made me as such.
Instagram caption:  Although I may be first, I am second.
I might get first in races sometimes, but I wouldn't be able to have this life without God.  I, as a child of God, am to put God first in my life, followed by others.  (Matthew 22:36-39, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’")
(For more "I Am Second" testimonies, there is an actual thing-for lack of better terms.)

This is Katie, and she is a hard worker!  She may not be the fastest, but she will push herself.  That's the beauty of the sport.  We have such admiration for those who work hard.
I also love that she bought two boxes of pumpkin spice granola bars for the snack bars thinking of me and my love for pumpkin!

I like to switch things up sometimes, but we usually end up going to one of the same few places after races, those being Chick-fil-a, Salsarita's, or Chili's almost every time.  The past couple years after this race, we went in Chick-fil-a!  (Although 2 years ago, we made a special trip to Tupelo Honey Cafe because I was dying to try it, and the Asheville location wasn't too far.)  My mom even got a treat by going here this time, too, because she got free samples of the frosted lemonade from the sample stand!

Races are also great opportunities to have fun and meet new people!  We helped out some guys get some social media attention with their cardboard friend, Super Trent.  Check him out on instagram!

The Sundays after races are always fun and relaxing.  I'll do some stuff to loosen up and get my blood flowing, but I spend most of the afternoon catching up on schoolwork, preparing myself for the upcoming week, and looking at race results and pictures online.

Again, as I didn't feel good before the race, it was not my strength that carried me through to a fast time, but God's. 
Jackson Park is also a pretty place, and now anyone who sees this post on Swarm will get a glimpse of the Lord!

Milesplit's twitter always posts tons of updates and articles, and this one advertised the results from our race!  They even had great videos!

This guy is the Morristown/East TN sports writer, and I must say, he is on the ball! 

It was also exciting to see myself and the team making a statement in another state!

The week's header photo for Tennessee Milesplit!

Another thing I do after race days is make collages and post pictures of course!

 

Every race is different, but they all have some things in common.  This is just a little bit of cross country.  I suggest you go see a big race for yourself sometime!  It really is exciting, but you'll never know until you've done it yourself.

Joy Comes in the Morning

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Since this winter there has been one promise from the Bible that has stuck with me and come to mind more than any other:  "...pain may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning."  Psalm 30:5

 God has sent it to me during many personal situations, as well as in times when I should share it with others who are struggling.  It fills me with hope that I do not have to stay down in the dumps.  When I put my faith in His promises that there is good to come, it never fails.  Then when I have been through the battle, I have a testimony that I can use to encourage others when they are down.  I hate the trials when they happen, but I am so thankful for the lessons they teach me, strength I gain from overcoming, and opportuinities to share with others that they give me.

 

add lyrics by Newsboys in Your Love Never Fails

Sometimes joy comes in the most unexpected or simple ways.  This picture, for example, was taken one morning before school when I had had a really rough morning at home.  I was starting the day off in a really bad mood!  As I pulled into my neighborhood friend's driveway to pick her up for Bible Study, my heart was lifted at this beautiful sight.  It was just a blessing to see these cute little cows grazing behind her house as the sun was rising.  It may sound silly, but at that moment, it made my day.

This was during the region 3200 race that I won for the second year in a row.  This spring was a rough one for me because of school stress and so much more, but the joy of the Lord always kept me going!  Even when I would have a bad race or practice, I could always find strength to keep on trucking.

Two different years, two different uniforms, two different locations, one goal and One God.

If you want to hear a little more about these two pictures from region this year, let your mouse take a detour for a minute.

There is this awesome social media account that I've mentioned before called Daily Bible Verses that you should check out on instagram and Twitter!  I have found so much encouragement from the verses and quotes shared on there and I am sure you will find something that speaks to you, too.  I also think it is great to have positive things like this included in your news feed so that it helps keep your mind fresh while you also look at the other things you follow.

***As a matter of fact, this is just one awesome and totally current example of how God is always working in our lives!  I love to experiece these moments, and love sharing about them, too!  As I was typing this post, I went to the DBV instagram page so that I could copy and paste the hyperlink, and look what the most recent picture was:

Is that crazy or what?!  God never ceases to amaze me.

This one was posted by DVB a while back.

klove's instagram page also posts lots of similar quotes and verses of enocouragement.

 

There is also a song that gets stuck in my head whenever I think of this verse.  It is so upbeat and makes me want to dance!  It's called Your Love Never Fails by the Newsboys.

Here's just a sample of the lyrics:

 

I know I still make mistakes
You have new mercy for me everyday
'Cause Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
But joy comes in the morning

...

And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good

 

Back in the spring when I found this picture, it inspired this post.  It also gave me the idea to make my own version of this picture, because I love my morning coffee!   Earlier this week, I decided that now was the time.  I was going to stop putting it off for "another day" and was determined that I was going to get it done!

Here is my homemade morning joy:

Jesus

coffee

vanilla bean espresso almond butter pancake

 

No matter how restless a night may be, painful or discouraging a day you've had, daunting the tasks behind or ahead, each day is a new one, and God promises that He will uplift and renew your spirits if you simply surrender your mind to His peace.

 

Motown Madness

 Motown Madness is an area-wide discipleship weekend that my chuch, First Baptist, and another large church in town, Manley Baptist, take turns hosting each year.  This year, Manley was the host church, where we had our worship services in their brand new sanctuary!

 

Friday night, February 28th, we started out the weekend with an awesome service before heading to our host homes.  (Unless there is too few people in an age group and they have to combine) each gender of each grade, 7th through 12th, is assigned a host home where they sleep, eat some meals and snacks, and have small group.  My group, the sophomore girls, stayed at Cassie's house.  We have a large Sunday school group, and most of us got to come along with some that we invited from other churches.

 

Here's some pictures and things we learned and shared over the weekend.  You can find more from anything that anyone posted at Twitter #Motown2014 and Instagram #Motown2014.

Jenna inspired me to draw this picture.  Being rooted in faith, you grow, and when you grow, people can see it and you can give off seeds to make others grow, too!
"So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:6

Along with being firmly planted in the faith, I gotta stay firm!  I know through lots of experience lately that there is nothing in this world that I can put my trust and hope in.  The only One who can always satisfy my soul is Christ.  I often get distracted then disappointed by things that I want to do, but I know that my efforts are pointless if they are not backed by Christ.
"The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God is my Rock in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  Psalm 18:2

More roots...
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how long and high and wide and deep is the love of Christ."  Ephesians 3:17-18

This is a collage posted by the girl in the bottom picture wearing the purpleish scarf.  Her name is Katie, and she was one of our college leaders with our group for the weekend.

Up top left is Bella, who like me, loves to sleep.  And she loves cats.  How convenient we got a picture of Bella sleeping next to a cat. 

On Saturday, everyone gets free time between lunch and dinner, and since the weather was gorgeous, Panther Creek Park was a the hotspot!  In the top right, Bella, Katy, and Maddie set up their Enos and "hung out" for the afternoon.The bottom picture was Saturday night after small group.  From left to right is me, Abby, Katie, Patty (our amazing Sunday School teacher), Sara, and Olivia.

Here again is Olivia, who used to be one of my absolute best friends when we were in elementary school.  We had the craziest sleepovers and laughing fits, and of course I had to have a crush on her brother at one point.  Seems like everyone had that friend when they were young.  It has been great getting to see her at church again lately; we were all thrilled she got to come.
Abby has also been a great friend of mine for a long time!  We went to preschool together, but then went a long time without getting to see each other.  Now, we are both at the same church and are growing together all the time.  We even have the same birthday!

Katie is a new friend, but we're all glad she joined us!  She has a home church and church she sings at on Sundays, but she gets to come to FBC on Wednesdays.  She is one of the many college leaders we are blessed to have with us!  It is so important to have older, yet still young, people in our lives to share with us and encourage us in what they have learned.  Something that she said that I really liked was, "It's just as much of a sin to think that you aren't good enough," because God has made each of us to be used for His purposes.

This was while we were waiting around before worship on Friday night.  In the back is one of my best friends since preschool, Parker, and his friend who moved to the other side of town for high school, Ed.  They're such fun and goofy guys, but they're also sweet, too.

This was also at the park during free time.  Cassie and I tried to get a picture swinging, but those swings were hard to get high on!

Everyone always love the food at Motown.  It's a lot of people's favorite part!  Around here when kids her Motown Madness, they think of the awesome worship services and food.  We had all kinds of yummy stuff Saturday morning like muffins, coffee of course, fruit, sausage balls, ham rolls, and any snacks and sweets people brought to share.

I took a group of girls on a hike up to the highest point at the park, on a trail called "Point Lookout" where you can look over the lake from wayyyyy high up, and it is gorgeous.  We had a ton of fun!  One of the things we talked about in worship was being rooted in our faith in the Lord, so we had to get a picture with some major roots!

We also went to Sonic during free time, and Patty thought it was hilarious that the cat loved to lick milkshake off of a spoon.

 

I don't have any pictures to go with this, but the speaker/preacher who does Motown Madness is the one and only Chad Poe!  If you ever hear that he is near your area, you should really go listen to him speak.  He is not here to tip toe and make you love yourself, but to be honest and really share what life with Christ is all about.  He always says things that push me to be a stronger Christian.  He is also hilarious, so I promise no matter how long he talks, you will not get bored.He really hit me head on that weekend with plans, the way for my life.  I have plans.  I have a ton of plans and my own ways that I want my life to go.  But ya know what Jesus says? 
"I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  John:14:6.
Christ is not a suggested route of travel to eternity or a rest stop along the way, He is The Way.

Another tree analogy:  "Without roots, it is no longer a tree, it is an obstacle."Remember that the service, the music, the people, the clothes, the weather, the day, the circumstances won't always be the same, but the God we worship will always be the same.This is something that he said that I remember to stay humble:  "Until I realize that I deserve the wrath of the Lion, I will never get the mercy of the Lamb.

This is a picture I took a screenshot of on Instagram.  This is the man and his band who have been leading the worship at Motown for the past few years.  He is Chuck Hooten!  Not only does he have a great name, he has a fantastic voice and opportunity to use it to glorify the Lord.  I also just now found his blog!Having a strong worship leader is very important because music is a sermon in itself.  It is beautiful, teaches and inspires us, and gives us opportunities to worship our Savior!  Chuck did a great job of getting us fired up to learn and grow.

Here is a picture I took of Chuck up there doin' his thing!  He was a little panicked at one point, because the batteries in his earpiece died, and he had never sang without his music.  We encouraged him to wing it, and he did, with great success!  Now hopefully he will be more confident to burst out anywhere sharing his love for the Lord!

This poetic picture as she called it was taken by my friend Morgan, who I think is just super cool!  Today is her birthday as well!  She takes very pretty pictures when she goes places, like here at the park, the beach, and even overseas and on mission trips.  She also loves sports and is always up for something fun and challenging.  Her hair is also really long and silky, and she almost always has a smile on her face.  Her Biblical knowledge is amazing; we always go to her when we have questions!  I love her spirit for the Lord!

This beautiful girl has a terrific future ahead of her; she has an amazing voice and can play the piano and sing like a pro!  Her name is Hope, and you better just watch out because she will be out there singing and performing one day like those on KLove, like Laura Story and Mandisa!

 

Here's a final picture I threw together to sum up our adventures.
Small group, worship, happy hour at Sonic, and a walk in the park.