Paris on the horizon

I realize that it has been a really long time since I have blogged. Life has been so busy lately, but I've been loving every minute of it!

Currently, I'm sitting in an airport in Lubbock on my way to Dallas. I just spent a week in El Paso with my precious family and it was wonderful! I love my family with all my heart! I love our traditions, camaraderie, inside jokes, sarcasm, and the fact that it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we are together, it always feels like home! Lorin and Phil weren't able to be with us this year for Christmas. Lorin had to work and so they stayed in Galveston and spent Christmas with Phil's family. I will admit that it was hard to not have her around! She's my other half! She was deeply missed but this is part of growing up, right? Sharing isn't always easy, but I understand that sometimes it's necessary.

Now, I'm headed to Paris to visit my best friend Danielle! We planned this trip while I was visiting her in Taiwan (her current home) way back in March and sometimes it felt like it was never going to get here. But, now, here I am, sitting in an airport waiting to head that way. Danielle's mom, Joanna, is also meeting us there. She is coming a day later, but will be flying back with me. I'm so excited! We have lots of fun things planned and I just can't wait to ring in the new year Paris style!

I pray that all of you, my dear friends, had a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you abundantly in 2011!

Oh, and don't worry! Pictures and a full report from Paris will be coming soon!!

Sweet Suite Life

Oh my friends. I have been a bad blogger lately. I think I've been too busy living life to sit down and write about it. I think having a roommate contributes too, because now there is always someone around to talk to, so I'm not sitting alone with time to reflect as much. I do miss blogging, and I hope that I'll get back in the swing of things again starting now.

Today I've lost my voice and so I can't talk. Probably why I'm more inclined to write. Here's a recap of things lately. Two weekends ago I went to Dallas and saw Lady Antebellum in concert with Candice and her parents. It was SO much fun! They are an awesome band (even if they do sing country, haha) and they actually won the Vocal Group of the Year at the CMA's a few days later. After the concert I went over to DBU and stayed with my sister Jamie for the weekend, which was great! We had such a wonderful time catching up, shopping and enjoying the city of Dallas. I love my little sister and am so proud of the amazing woman she is becoming.


That Sunday I headed to McAllen, Texas (way south, practically on the border) for the Baptist General Convention Texas Annual Meeting. This was the last year for my dad to president and to preside over the meeting and I was sooo proud! The convention was actually my favorite one that I've been to. There was such a great spirit in the services, the sermons were great, music was so good and we even had the opportunity to participate in mission projects in the city. I went with my parents to the border to pray on an international bridge. Being that close to the danger and violence on the border was really eye-opening and humbling. There is definitely a war being fought on the border everyday and so we came together as believers to pray for the Prince of Peace to come and heal the land. We prayed for the violence to end and for God to be glorified.

I came back to Brownwood for a couple of days before I headed to San Antonio to celebrate my 26th birthday. Candice and I drove down and spent the day with my college buddy Maria. We strolled the Riverwalk, stopped by the Alamo and then went to a Spurs game. There was an HPU alumni event at the game that night and we got to watch the game from a private suite, which was really sweet! :) I was the photographer, which was fun. The game was pretty exciting and afterward we stayed to watch HPU alum Coffey Anderson perform a concert. All in all it was a really fun birthday! Definitely exciting!


I really will be writing more often from now on! Sorry for the silence. I'm excited about being 26 now and seeing all of the great things God has in store for me this year. 25 was really awesome. I grew so much, had a lot major changes happen and made some great new friends. I'm going to keep delighting myself in the Lord and look forward to seeing Him giving me the desires of my heart.

Coming Home

Last weekend was HPU's Homecoming and it was so much fun to have so many of my friends come "home!" I obviously have a different experience, having stayed at HPU, so it is always so much fun to have my friends come back so we can relive the good old times! It was also different this year, because I didn't have to "work" the weekend as an alumni staff member, so I had more time to spend hanging out and enjoying the festivities - which was awesome. Not surprisingly, though, I was still exhausted by the time Sunday came around. Here are some of the highlights: Alumni Award banquet, BSM Coffee House, bonfire and float building at the barns on Friday night. Then Saturday morning we went to the All-Class breakfast, parade, toured Mims and Grace Chapel, lunch at Mi Familia, the football game (it was a sad loss, better not to talk about it), then dinner and a walk around campus that night. It was such a wonderful weekend! I'm blessed by amazing friends and I'm so thankful for the impact that HPU had our each of our lives!

What Dreams May Come ...

For my 100th post on my blog, I'm going to talk about my dreams. Not my "oh, I want this in my life someday" dreams, but my literal, while I was sleeping this is what my mind came up with dreams.

Last night I had a good old fashioned crazy dream. It involved an inflatable kayak, Tarzan, a proposal of a very unlikely couple (not me, don't worry) and needless to say it was pretty far-fetched. Which, incidentally, is what most of my dreams are like. They tend to be very vivid, involving people from different times in my life, quite "out there" and sometimes, believe it or not I do believe I have deja vu! Sometimes I really dream things that come true! People can say that my mind is playing tricks on me, but I just can't rationalize that. I legitimately remember these random conversations or events from my dreams. I can't tell you it's going to happen before it happens, and the dreams/real life situations are never really of great significance, but I promise. Sometimes my dreams come true.

I was telling my mom about my crazy dream from last night and she said, "it's so interesting because you didn't really use your imagination as a kid, and so it's like you are using it now that you are grown up through your dreams." It was quite a profound thought. As a kid, I wanted to be a grown-up. I didn't really play "make believe" much, instead I played "real life." I would be a lawyer or a doctor or a secretary. I made file folders and diagnosed diseases and solved the world's problems. I wasn't very big into imagining far off lands, villains or spaceship rides. I wanted to imagine what I would be like when I grew up. Of course, what I imagined is not at all what my "grown up" life is like now (it's so much more fun than I pictured!). So, I guess my imagination had to be put on hold for about 20 years, until I grew up, so I can imagine crazy things while I sleep.

Who knows what dreams will come in my future. All I know is they are probably sure to be entertaining ... if I can remember them.

So You Think You Can ...

DANCE! I would be remiss if I didn't give you, my wonderful readers, a detailed account of my amazing night at the So You Think You Can Dance tour last week. I went with my friends Larissa and Rachael to Grand Prairie for the tour. It was featuring the cast from season 7 (actually the first full season that I have watched all of the way through). I was excited to see all of my favorite dances performing my favorite dancers (most of them included Robert, my fav).

Here we are before we went in to the show:

So, while we were waiting for the show to begin, we were just sitting in our nose-bleed seats watching the slideshow that was meant to entertain us. Larissa had to go to the bathroom, so Rachael and I were reading the slides when one popped up that said "Got2B is giving away free backstage passes to the loudest fans, so make some noise." Well, Rachael and I started yelling, just for fun, and then another slide came up that said something like "You can do better than that, get louder!" So, we looked at each other, shrugged and thought, why not? So we yelled a little louder and threw our arms up. There weren't many people in our section at this point and we were pretty much the only ones yelling, so I guess we made ourselves noticable because less than a minute later this man and woman (with camera in tow) came up the stairs and gave us free backstage passes for being the loudest fans. It was AMAZING! We were in shock, to say the least! I've never won anything like that before! It was so fun! Here we are right after we won the tickets:

We were bursting at the seams for Larissa to get back and tell her our exciting news! She was shocked too. We were all so giddy and just kept laughing and saying "I can't believe this!" Well, then the show began - and it was awesome! They did all of my favorite dances, plus some bonus dances that were just so much fun! Then it was the big event! Time for us to meet all of our favorite dancers! We had to wait around about an hour after the show, but it was well worth it!

We met the winner of Season 7, Lauren, along with my favorite Robert, and Kent, Jose, Billy Bell, Dominic (all-star), Russell (Season 6 winner), Kathryn (all-star) and Ashley. It was so great! They were all so nice and just stood around and talked with us for a long time! My favorite person to meet was Kent. He was just precious! And I had a lot of fun when Dominic and Russell fought with me over who was more awesome! I still contend that they are so awesome, but they were pretty sure I was the awesome one, haha. Needless to say it was a really fun night! Here's some more pics for your enjoyment ...

Rachael, Kent and me

Larissa, Kathryn, Jose and me

The Awesome Dominic and Russell

Rachael, Larissa, Lauren and me

Me and Robert!

Treasures on Earth

Do you ever have times when God is speaking to you about something and everywhere you turn, there it is again? Well, that's how's its been for me the past few days. I've been really convicted about my "riches" here on this earth.

On Tuesday night at Bible study, Beth Moore (via video, no, she wasn't really here) was talking about the wealth we have in America. She said that if we own one book and are able to read it, we are some of the wealthiest people in the world - because of the education we've received and the money we have. It really struck a chord with me and I've been thinking about it a lot this week. I know that I have so much and I know that I am not the best at sharing my wealth.

This morning in Sunday school, we had a guest teacher - one of my favorite people in the world - Dr. Carol Boren. She taught from James 5 and was talking about hoarding our wealth rather than blessing others with it. She talked about how the money we have been given is not a bad thing, but it is important to be wise in how we use it.

So, here are some of my thoughts. I know that I have not been the best steward with my resources. A lot of times I just blame it on being single - I know that I have money in the bank and I'm the only person to buy things for myself, so I usually just get what I want when I want it. Do I always need it? NO! Absolutely not! But there's no one around to spoil me, so I just spoil myself. That's so selfish! I try to bless others with gifts from time to time and give money to offerings, mission trips, and other things that I feel inclined to, but it's sporatic and not always intentional. I really feel like God is calling me to be a better steward. To use the money and resources He has entrusted to me to bless others and help those who need help.

So, starting October 1, I'm going to try to start budgeting. I'm not sure how good I'm going to be at this, but I'm going to try. First, I'm going to evaluate where I'm spending my money and set limits for myself on certains areas - like shopping, eating out, etc. I think that part is going to hurt! Then, I'm going to really seek out areas that I feel like God is calling me to give. I don't know what this is going to look like yet, but I really want to bless others and support mission opportunities (locally, nationally, globally). I think I'm writing this plan out to help me stay accountable. I really pray that this is a lifestyle change that will stick! I want to be so much better with my money!

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Kickin' it with Consistency

Tonight I went to Turbokick for the first time in at least 3 weeks. And you know what? It was hard! I know that it wore me out a lot more that it usually does. My schedule has been so crazy lately, I just haven't had time to go to the 5:30 classes, so I've been walking, doing the eliptical or other forms of exercise, but it's just not the same. Turbokick is intense - and it works for me! Since I started the class 5 months ago, I've lost around 20 pounds. This is a such great achievement for me! You don't know how long I've tried to lose weight, to no avail.

So, here's a summary of what I'm telling you - Turbokick works for me and yet, the past few weeks I haven't made time for it and so now it's kicking me in the rear end. Conclusion? I need to be more consistent with what I know is good for me. I need to make time for Turbokick in my life, because I know it's beneficial and don't tell anyone, but I really enjoy it too.

I feel like the same is true of my devotional time. When I am studying God's word, I can see the fruits in my life. I have more joy, no matter the circumstances around me. I am rooted in God's truth and I am less likely to faulter. And yet, so many times I'm inconsistent. I see how good it is when I spend time with the Lord and then I go and get busy and one of the first things to go is usually my quiet time with Him. Why is that? Why can't I remain consistent?

The new Bible study that I'm doing with a group of precious friends is on the book of Daniel. Last week we were talking about integrity and how one of the greatest keys to integrity is consistency. To remain consistent in what you say, what you do and who you are. So, my new personal goal is to be more consistent - in my quiet time, in my exercise, in my speech and in my actions. Now, I'm going to log out of skype and facebook and blogger and go do my Bible study!