Africa Bound

We are selling T-shirts to raise money for our trip to Watoto Orphanage in Uganda. $20 a piece and all of the money goes directly towards a donation each of us have to make to Watoto to work with the babies there, if you are interested in ordering to support our trip, please message me or comment the size you want to order so we can get the orders in....

The shirts should be ready soon, and our trip is in September!! We are getting so excited!

to find out more about Watoto, go to http://www.watoto.com/home, our team of 14 women will be working with Baby Watoto the 10 days that we are there...

NATHANNAH Wedding- Alpharetta, Ga

This has been a crazy week and I am still in the process of sorting and editing the photos from Nathan and Hannah's wedding at the end of May. But just for now here are a few of my favorites so far

Think about it

Well as usual life has decided to take off on me. There has been a lot going on with my grandmother. As many of you know I am in the process of getting her moved to a long term rehab facility (nursing home) and that has been honestly a bit overwhelming. It isn't easy having to be totally responsible for someone else... much harder than I anticipated!

One of the most annoying side effects from all of this responsibility is the lack of "thinking" I get to do. I mean real thinking about real life matters such as love and the meaning of it all. My brain is just so tired by the end of the day and so full of to-do's that I forget to slow down and really think. It is sort of a cultural phenomenon i believe... the lack of thinking. We just say,go and do.. and half of the time we don't stop to think about why we are saying or going or doing. You follow? I think we are too busy of people. We could all stand to slow down a bit. So that's what I'm going to try to do. Eliminate unnecessary things to leave more room to actually think about the things that matter to me and matter to Him.

I have a friend at work named Rachel. We share a special little bond because, well, we are both Rachels with curly blonde hair :) This Saturday her husband was killed suddenly in a water skiing accident. He was a barefoot skier practicing for a competition. They got a new boat driver who was a bit inexperienced and as Stuart was doing a trick the driver swung too wide and slung Stuart into a dock. He was going backwards and didn't see it coming. In a second he was gone. That news really shook me up. I think I needed to be shaken a little bit. I had gotten a little to comfortable in the false promise of tomorrow. It really reminded me that we do not know when our last breath will be.

Yesterday would have been their 8th anniversary. I can't even wrap my head around that. My heart is so heavy for her, but I know that she is leaning on the Lord and that Stuart is in a better place. I just hate we had to lose such an awesome man. You don't find many men like him anymore (step it up boys!). Kind, servant of God but oh so accepting and relevant to the world and the people in it.

But all that to say... if you can take a minute each day to just think. It will change you I promise.

A Yummy Treat

So as some of you know I recently started working at Organic Harvest in the cafe. Organic Harvest is a local organic market and cafe located in Hoover off highway 31 by the new Starbucks and Publix (everyone come see me!). I love working there and I am already learning so much about food and health. No worries I won't bash you for your eating habits or bombard you with healthy living info overload, but on occasion when I find out something interesting I will pass it along. There is just so much to learn when it comes to food and health. We have a very detailed creator that is for sure! I know I am quickly realizing how poorly I've treated my body (lets see poptarts, easymac, snickerdoodles)... I know I know I just nailed about half of your daily food intake...but there are some awesome and really yummy alternatives to the stuff we've been running to for a sugar or carb fix.

Try this for example. I concocted a little signature smoothie at work (no worries I won't be spilling all of O.H.'s recipes on here, but since I sort of made this one up I thought I'd share). This is a great sugar fix and it has better for you ingredients than the typical candy bar or cookie. Give it a try I promise you'll like it!

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothie

½ cup Strawberries (or any berry you like)- Try to buy organic here, fruit is one of the highest chemically sprayed items out there!
¾ Pear
2 Tbls. Raw Almond Butter (raw is best, but natural will do if money is tight)
2 Tbls. Honey or Agave (natural sweetness)
½ cup Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt (once again organic is best)
1 Tbls. Flax Meal (fiber- good for your digestive system)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2.5 cups Ice

Blend and Enjoy!

Life is Seldom What You Plan

That quote keeps coming to mind these days as life is changing all around me. It is so simple yet so true. Much has happened since my last post. I found another job in Atlanta working for a family as a live in housekeeper/nanny... which was going to be such a great opportunity.

But after speaking with my grandmother this weekend and seeing how much the circumstances have changed back in Birmingham and how in need of me she was, I decided to make a tough decision and move back home. I wrestled so hard with it all weekend as I am just getting settled here in Atlanta and had a great job opportunity open up, but felt that God has given me a responsibility to take care of right now and that is my grandmother. His word tells us that as children we are to take care of our family, widows and orphans... and that is an undeniable responsibility that I need to fulfill right now.

I would be lying if I said it was as easy as that to make a decision. It was a very hard weekend to say the least. I have never felt so torn and I know I put a lot of people through a lot of emotional roller coasters... you know who you are and I am so sorry. I definitely felt called to Atlanta back in October and took a step of faith and came. But it is a new season now and God has a new plan for me and His plans are always good. I have to stand on that.

So for those of you who I met along the way in Atlanta, please know that I love you all and you mean the world to me. My PCC family was just starting to feel like a real community. I am so excited for all of you and can't wait to see God work in you and through you in the coming days of Passion City Church. It breaks my heart to think I will not be here, but He knows best. My heart is with you guys... don't stop believing in great things! They are coming! I can feel it! And who knows... maybe and hopefully I will join back up with you guys...

So Birmingham I will see you in a few. I have missed you.

And back to square uno

For those 2 of you who read my blog you probably know that God provided an awesome job for me being a home manager for a family in Atlanta! I had recently been re-evaluating and praying hard about whether God wanted me to stay in Atlanta and just asked that if He wanted me to stay, that He would provide a job for me... and He pretty much laid one in my lap that week! The way He worked out the details just blew my mind and was clear evidence that He wanted me to stay.

Yesterday I received and email from the family saying that Kim, the wife, lost her job on Friday and that they didn't think they were going to be able to hire me anymore. Talk about disappointing! I will get a definite yes or no from them tomorrow after Kim goes into the office and finds out about relocation. I must say it doesn't look hopeful.

All that to say please pray for me if you get a chance. I need direction. Very badly! I also need some open doors... and quick! I know that God provided that job for me and I have no idea why He took it away, but it's not my job to figure out the plan of God... I'm just here to walk through the doors He opens. I know He has something better He wants me to do... and I am beyond excited to find out what that may be!

BUT

that very well may mean moving back to Birmingham. Which is a bitter-sweet thought and something that I just don't think is what I am supposed to do! I feel very called to Atlanta and have had that calling confirmed many times... so I'm just praying for His will to be done and whatever that means I know He will give me the strength to do it!

I appreciate your prayers so very much! They are felt trust me. He is in control and I am resting in that!

Hello 2010

Wow. I don't even know if I will be able to put into words how full my heart is right now.
Passion 2010 came and went...It all feels like a bit of a blur to me right now.
I didn't get to see much of any of the sessions, but one line from a song sung by Chris Tomlin keeps running through my mind right now:

And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us! If our God is with us then what can stand against!

What an awesome anthem for 22,000 college students to be carrying around in their hearts right now as they go back to the "real world". I remember as an attendee that was the hardest part for me. Going back to the real world. I learned so much and then had to go back and live it... it's not easy!

I think one of the coolest parts of a Passion Conference is Do Something Now. Do Something Now is an area set aside for students to explore ways that they can be involved in bringing justice to people all around the world who are suffering from everything from hunger, lack of water, sex trafficking, and much much more.

Are you ready to be blown away?

These 22,000 POOR college students gave $668,597.95 (and counting)..WHAT! Then a couple in the crowd matched that with another $668,597.95!!!

That is over 1 million dollars going out from the pockets of students and leaders to people all across the world who will now see the hands and feet of Jesus meet physical needs that have crippled their lives!

I don't know about you but I am pretty positive that I have never been so blown away and humbled in all of my life!

So you want to know what I've been up to and what all this #passion 2010 stuff that I've been twittering and facebooking for the past week is. It is not about the cool production elements (which were really cool by the way). OR the awesome design of the Go Center (which was completely amazing) OR the artist (even though they are all really awesome) Or Louie, Beth, Piper or Francis.

BUT it is about the Glory of God. The glory of God brought to life in students lives as they see that God is not all about them but God is all about God and in that we can have complete joy! The glory of God seen in the fact that students sacrificed more than we will ever know so that people around the world can now have $1 million to help them get out of a pit they thought they were going to die in. The Glory of God seen in the life of the student who came with a friend, clueless to what they were getting in to and are now a child of God by His grace.

That is what Passion is about. It's about Him.
There is so much more I could say, but since I tend to like to tell stories via photos I will let these tell the rest:
268generation.com/blog

And at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father!