grace eventually.

Yesterday in church we sang "Shout to the Lord." I was in college when I first heard that song so it's obviously a little dated but without fail, I always get choked up when we sing this line, "Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your Name." I get this vivid mental image of this and it seriously gives me goose bumps. I realize not all my readers get this. I have a few friends who don't share my Heavenly allegiance, so they probably think I'm crazy about now, but I guess unless you've experienced Jesus Christ firsthand, you just don't get it.

Does anyone remember Fresh Ink cards that Hallmark used to put out? They were my absolute favorite! When I lived in KY and I was having a rough day I would run down to Hallmark and literally spend hours reading these cards and too much money purchasing them for friends. I thought about this a few days ago when I was at our local Hallmark looking for a couple of cards for different friends. It wasn't therapeutic at all. In fact, it was kind of frustrating with the poor selection in the midst of hundreds of cards on the shelves. I need a card that's not only funny but a little quirky. I need a card that when the recipient reads it, they're getting a piece of me. Sadly I feel defeated in this area and sad that I didn't stock up even more on these amazing cards. If I end up turning to something destructive for therapy, I will be calling Hallmark for help with rehab! Here are a few things that still work in the meantime! Do we see a trend?:)

I love October. I don't know why exactly but it's always been my favorite month just like Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I guess because Fall is my favorite season. I was talking to my cousin, Bob about it last night. He lives in CA and was commenting on how cold it is in LA right now. The weather is perfect...almost. What would make it complete would be bright reds, yellows, and oranges filling the trees, but alas, we live in the land of pine trees. I'm waiting for the Bradford Pears behind my bank to turn. They were gorgeous last year! Last week I traveled to Houston to visit friends and to see U2!!!! It was quite the experience! We had general admission tickets so we got to the stadium at 1:30pm and waited until 5:00pm for the doors to open. Did I mention it was sunny and 90 degrees??!! Yep, we definitely live in the South! Thankfully some nice people let us sit under their tent til 3:30 when we were told that we needed to put up all tents and umbrellas (we were using umbrellas as sun-blockers!). The last 2 hours were definitely the most miserable. Once we got inside, however, we scored great spots...second row behind the wrap-around stage that the band periodically walked out on. It was amazing to see Bono so close! I must admit though...by the time it was over I wanted to cut my feet off and my entire body ached. What I used to endure in my teens is not as easy in my 30's:) But I wouldn't trade it for anything...especially spending time with these girls!

~ God is not someone who has been invited to play a part in our story. Instead, we have been privileged to play a part in His.
~ It’s painful to obey. The Lord will direct us to do some things that won’t be our choice. Invariably we will give up what we want to do for the cross.
~ Focused intensity over time multiplied by God creates unstoppable momentum.
~ Faith & doubt are intertwined...like a dance.
~ All God calls us to be is ourselves so why do we get caught up in the “bigger is better” mentality?
~ We don’t need to get so caught up in what we’re building that we lose sight of who we’re becoming.
~ Confession and repentance are necessary for our spiritual health.
~ Laughter truly is one of the greatest feelings ever.
~ There are friends in this world who just “get” us like no other.
~ It’s never easy to say goodbye but it makes the
time spent together that much more precious.
~ Be careful who you start conversations with while waiting in line to get into a concert…you never know what it might lead to.
~ Running UP an escalator that is intended to go DOWN is just not a good idea.
~ Kings of Leon puts on a great show…just make sure the person you’re with knows where he’s going.

My first night in Atlanta has been quite adventurous. I got in about 3pm which was amazing because I beat the 5pm traffic. Even at 3, it was still a little crazy. I don't mind driving in big cities...in fact I really enjoy it...when I know WHERE I AM. After spending a year in Chicago, I rarely got lost and if I got turned around I could quickly get back on track. Now by nature I'm directionally-challenged. My first summer with CSM, I was always the first host to get lost but thankfully I worked with groups that were gracious and we always found our way...eventually. So tonight I decided to venture out for some take-out, watch a little tv, and go to bed fairly early since I have another early morning tomorrow. At 6pm I head out into the crazy traffic on a hunt for food. I didn't necessarily want something I could get in Ruston so I was willing to search. However, after about half an hour I decided to turn around and head back to the mall that's directly across from my hotel. There's all kinds of eateries over there. As I was driving back I realized I wasn't recognizing street names so I pulled my phone back out to check my map and lo and behold I've somehow gone off-course. I finally made it back about 7:30 and ended up at a local sushi place. If you're wondering what's in the photo, it's egg sushi:) It was really cheap and I was really just curious so I ordered it along with my rainbow roll. It's basically just cooked egg attached to a ball of rice with a piece of seaweed. Needless to say, I didn't eat it but I did laugh really hard when I opened the container:)

So I've modified my blog (yet, again). I get bored easily if you didn't already know that about me. I change my apartment up every few months. The most recent is my bathroom. I bought all new accessories (tootbrush holder, soap dispenser, etc.). I love it! It's much more uniform and truthfully, I've been using the same stuff from when I lived in Lexington so I thought it was about time. Next on the list, kitchen lighting to be purchased next week from IKEA! If you've seen my kitchen lighting, you'll wonder how I've tolerated it for the last year and a half:)

Back to my blog design. Recently I've been reading about couches. Sound strange? Well, the 2 books I've been reading, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and Angry Conversations with God both reference the couch. Don Miller talks about getting off the couch and participating in our own story instead of watching everyone else's and Susan Isaacs talks about getting God on the couch for couple's counseling. When Don's book came in a couple of weeks ago, it halted my progress on Susan's book but as promised earlier, I still intend to update you as I read it. Ironically, these two are currently on tour together and I will be seeing them in November! I am so excited! I will have Susan's book finished by then! Anyway, I chose this blog design because one, I just thought it was cool, and two, it sort of represents where I am right now....right in-between Don & Susan's couch metaphors! More on this later...

This week I'm headed to my favorite conference ever...Catalyst! I'm always amazed at the work the Catalyst team puts into hosting this event every year! Although it's definitely geared toward pastors and those of us plugging away in ministry, it's designed to be a leadership conference so the key speakers will be well-respected men and women that speak on organizational leadership, personal leadership, integrity, character, relationships, and teamwork. I'll also get to see one of my favorite people ever while I'm in Atlanta so that's another perk! I get back on Saturday, then turn around Tuesday and drive to Houston to see U2 with 2 more of my favorite people! It's going to be a great month!