Hope's Splendid Song

This weekend we made a quick visit to Birmingham to help Dad lead a worship service on Sunday night, featuring many of Dad's original compositions! We had such a good time- it was so good to see friends and family and to be a part of something so special.

Mary, Austin and me drove down to Birmingham on Saturday morning, arriving just in time for lunch. We had to visit the amazing Iguana Grill! It is the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to!

After lunch, we went to Samford and practiced the music with our lovely accompanist Anna Williams :-) We also recorded a fun children's song that Anna wrote called, "A Good Name". It was such a fun rehearsal! 

In the courtyard at the School of Performing Arts

After the rehearsal, we were surprised with a delicious made-from-scratch peach cobbler made by Anna's mother, Eloise. She was so thoughtful to do that and it was greatly enjoyed!

Before going home, we made our first trip to the famed "Steel City Pops". I'd heard rave reviews about the popsicles and they certainly met with our expectations! I had a strawberry one, Mary had a peach, Austin had orange cream and Dad had lime. Yum! I'm craving another one now! 

Sunday, we went to church at Dawson. When we arrived, I saw someone who looked a lot like my Aunt Meg standing in front of the church. It turned out to be her! With Mary's help, she surprised all of us! It was so great to get to see her and spend some time together! 

We ate lunch at Jim N Nicks (tradition, of course), then went back to Steel City Pops again- haha!

You can't tell in the picture, but Vulcan is holding a popsicle :-) 

We had just enough to take a quick nap, finish up preparations for the worship service and change clothes before we needed to go to the church. The service went so well! Those in attendance told us how worshipful and special it was. It was so cool to hear Dad sing music that has come from his heart and lead the congregation in worship choruses. 

Visiting after the service with Mrs. Williams. 

The girls! Aunt Meg gave all of us red roses :-) 

Because Austin had work on Monday, we headed back to Jackson late that night. We loved our trip to Birmingham!

Summer Lovin'

Wow! Is it really already the second week of July? Where in the world has this summer gone? Besides updating about my current fitness challenge, I have been terrible at blogging this summer! Here is one massive first half of summer post! Enjoy :-)

Memorial Day was spent in two really fun ways!

My girlfriends from college and I had reunion at Panama City Beach! It was such a blast and I loved every minute! It was a blessing to catch up on what the Lord is doing in each of our lives. I'm so thankful for their friendships- that we have the ability to pick up where we leave off and that we're sisters in Christ. Before we left, we prayed for one another on the beach (after going to great lengths to obtain pizza!). It's so wonderful to know that even though we're spread out over several different states, the Lord binds us all together. Pamela, Cassidy, Becca, Maggie, Carter and Emily, I love y'all so much and I'm so thankful for your friendship!

I have GORGEOUS friends- inside and out! :-)

In the meantime, Austin and Dad went camping in the Sipsey Wilderness in Winston County, Alabama. They ventured out into the wilderness with their packs, a tent, and lots of Dinty Moore beef stew! I was nervous about the fact they would have no cell phone reception, but I was really nervous that the area is notorious for feral pigs! I should have known Austin would construct a spear :-)

Austin and Dad set up camp, complete with a fire! The camo jumpsuit is my favorite touch.

The guys enjoyed a very (insert hilarious story here) full day of hiking on Saturday and went to see this tree. Its one of the largest trees of its kind in the country!

Exhausted after our wonderful trips, Austin and I headed back to Jackson Monday night!


Austin's New Job! 

Like the heading suggests, Austin has a new job, which he started the day after Memorial Day! He is a full-time counselor for Youth Villages at their Deer Valley campus in Linden, Tennessee! This is such a blessing from the Lord! We have been praying for a full time counseling job for Austin for a long time! He'll be able to get wonderful experience while working for a great company, and can start completing his hours for his LPC! :-) He's already been to three trainings in Memphis and is enjoying the job. We're both enjoying a more stable schedule and money flow :-)


Fun and Mary Kay in Dickson

The weekend after Memorial Day, we headed to Dickson. Austin's mom and her friend Kaye performed at the Promise Land Festival on Saturday night. They are an awesome Americana duo and they did such a great job! You can check out their website here. I'm so blessed to have such a talented mother-in-law!

Austin, Arica, Grandmomma, Doris, Ann and I enjoyed the performance!

After the performance, we enjoyed a delicious dinner together at Applebee's, then went back to the house to prepare for Arica's Mary Kay Debut Party! Before bed, Arica and I did facials with Grandmomma and the Great Aunts. So Fun!

Sunday afternoon was Arica's Mary Kay Debut Party. She decorated everything so cute! The party went well- it was fun to get to support Arica in her Mary Kay business. 

Father's Day, a Wedding and Celebrating 60 Years

Father's Day weekend we went up to Paducah! We arrived on Friday night and stayed at the Hampton Inn, thanks to my stepdad's Hilton Honors Points :-) Mom and Larry traveled up from Atlanta for the weekend, so it was good to spend time with them, my grandparents and aunts and uncles in Paducah. 

Saturday evening we celebrated the marriage of my sweet friend, Rachel Nelson (Roach). She was a lovely bride and it was so great to see Keith and Michele again, along with other church friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Everything was beautiful and we enjoyed celebrating with them!

Post-ceremony, pre-reception shot of me on the bridge where some of our wedding pics were!

The lovely centerpiece on our table. The purple and black theme was so elegant. 

 Sunday was Father's Day and was also my grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary! We enjoyed a nice Father's Day lunch and celebrated Granddaddy. That night, my Aunt Joan, Uncle Wesley, and Michael and Matthew drove from Versailles, KY to celebrate the anniversary! Uncle Richard grilled the most DELICIOUS steak! I'm a steak and potatoes girl and it was so good! It was great to catch up with everyone- the only time we're all together is during Christmas so it was great to have another reason to celebrate!

Mom made a beautiful anniversary cake and we watched a DVD that Mary and I made for Grandmommy and Granddaddy.

Their wedding day, June 16, 1953

60 years later- June 16, 2013

My grandparents are a wonderful example of love, faith and what it means to put Christ at the center of everything. I'm so thankful that I am the recipient of such a godly legacy and can only hope that my marriage can set such an example for my grandchildren someday.


Getting Crafty

So, I enjoy having a wreath on our front door. We have progressively been obtaining different wreaths for different seasons and I didn't have a summer wreath. Originally I wanted a hydrangea wreath because I think they're so pretty and classy, but then I realized that it might be a little too much for our little house. Besides, we have BEAUTIFUL yellow knock out roses that smell so sweet and I didn't want to take the attention away from them. So, naturally, I started surfing wreath ideas on Pinterest. After awhile, the moss covered initials started catching my eye.

Using this great tutorial from "The Shabby Nest" I went to work on a rainy afternoon, while "Runaway Bride" played in the background. Instead of using foam board, I used 2" thick hard styrofoam and found really cute burlap ribbon with yellow polka dots from Hobby Lobby! It was an easy craft and fun to do. Here is the finished product. I am so pleased with how it turned out!

The Fourth of July

To celebrate our nation's independence, we traveled back to Paducah to celebrate! I cooked a Chicken Divan and froze it so we could take it there for our lunch and Grandmommy wouldn't have to worry about preparing anything. It turned out very nicely! We had quite a Fourth of July feast! We had: Chicken Divan, brown rice, wheat baguette, fresh watermelon, strawberries and Ninth Street House Tea. Grandmommy also procured French Silk and Strawberry pies from Bob Evans. We enjoyed eating together and visiting.

After we ate and hung out at the house, we headed to downtown Paducah for music and the fireworks display with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Sherry. We had a blast listening to the band play patriotic music and watching the fireworks light up over the river. Such a fun tradition! Of course, we took some fun pictures while we were waiting for the show to begin :-) 

How cute is my sister? :-) 

Before heading back to Jackson (Austin and I both had to work the next day!) we made an emergency stop at Sonic (along with half of the population of Paducah!) to get some food. Note to self: next year bring cash for the concession stand :-) 

So far, our summer has been great! This weekend, we're headed to Birmingham to help lead a worship service with my Dad. Next week, I'm taking the week off to get some projects done around home and just to chill! I'm affectionately calling it my "Staycation". 

Healthy Wife, Healthy Life: Take Two

It’s been too long since I've posted! We have actually had a lot going on which we will talk about in later posts, including fun trips and answers to prayer!

So, something I really need to work on is self-discipline. In the busyness of life, craziness at work, and spending time with Austin it is difficult to be disciplined to eat well and exercise. For those of you who know me well or have been reading my blog know that I love good food and have made several attempts to get healthier that have fizzled out. See Healthy Wife, Healthy Life: 1. It’s a sad truth to face- that when the going has gotten rough, I haven’t risen to the challenge and pushed through it. I’ve bought into the lie that getting healthier and losing weight should be easy and seamlessly fit into my life. WRONG! Getting healthy and achieving weight goals takes intentionality, hard work and DISCIPLINE!

For about a month now, I've been tracking all of my food and exercise. I've cut out regular consumption of starches, bad carbs, sugary drinks and most sugar. Regarding my diet this means cutting out potatoes (soooo hard for me!), white rice, pasta, bread, baked goods/sweets and sweet tea. It has been the farthest thing from easy!  I've been eating a lot of salad (I definitely recommend Chick-fil-A’s new salads), steamed and fresh vegetables, brown rice, and lean meats. I didn't realize how much bread, pasta, rice and potatoes I have been eating! I have splurged about once a week on this, but I feel healthier overall and am eating less in general.
In addition to eating well, I have begun a Boot camp for Moms on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 6-6:45 a.m. (soooo hard to get out of bed!). My friend Katie encouraged me to try it out and I love it! It also helps that my friend Blake (who led the GO Trip to Honduras last year) is the instructor. It’s a circuit workout (which is my favorite type of exercise!) I think I have exercise ADD. I get so bored doing the same thing for more than 8 minutes. With the Boot camp, I get everything rolled up into one with the accountability of a group and jamming to awesome music the entire time! It is TOUGH, but I feel great afterwards. I've made some new friends in the process and enjoy working out with them!

In addition to Boot camp, some of the ladies in my office and I are doing workout videos after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays! It is such a blessing that we get off at 4 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. during the summers. I’m able to exercise and get home in plenty of time to make dinner before Austin gets home.

Up until now, I haven’t actually worked out 5 days in a row. We've been traveling or I haven’t felt well due to allergies, but this week is the week! My body is so sore and I’m so tired by the end of the day, but I’m pushing through!

I’m already seeing results. I've lost about 5 pounds and a few inches total from what I've been doing this far! Can’t wait to get fit and see more results!

Greater is He!

Today is the second day that offices at Union have been open and the students have not been here. Campus truly feels like a ghost town between the end of the Spring Semester before summer classes start in June. Our coffee shop is even closed! This means a huge change of pace for me. During the year, I'm constantly working or talking with someone. Rarely do I leave with everything done. I thrive on being busy. Even though I get really tired, I love it. Summer for me means working on projects that go on the back burner during the year like cleaning out my desk, switching files, organizing the storage closet, etc. It also means I get to spend more time with my awesome co-workers! It is a welcome change of pace, but it is an adjustment nonetheless.

I see summer as my time of the year to get re-charged and get things done that I sometimes have to forgo during the school year (such as staying on top of the laundry and cooking dinner every night!). While writing notes to students about to leave on summer mission trips to closed countries, the Lord directed me to the first chapter of Colossians and has used it to speak to my heart today.

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light." (verses 9-12) 

What an awesome example of how we should pray for each other as believers! I have been challenged to pray this way for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what they may be going through, or at what point they are in their spiritual walk. When we pray that they grow closer to the Lord, everything else falls into place! Of course, it is important to pray specifically for difficult situations, loss, jobs, etc. but I love that we can pray scripture over each other as believers!

The second half of the passage talks about who Christ is, what He has done and the hope we have in Him! What a wonderful reminder! Praise Him!

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven...." (verses 13-23)

This is the hope that we have in the midst of natural disasters, horrific human acts, political uncertainty, economic crisis, personal tragedy, disappointments and in our everyday life! This is the power of the gospel. Greater is He than he who is in the world! Today, I choose joy because of the hope I have in Christ!

Memphis Adventure

On Saturday, Austin and I went to Memphis! We attended the lovely wedding of our friends, Bri and Jonathan at the Olford Center at Union's Germantown campus. Neither of us had been there before! It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect! We were so happy to celebrate Bri and Jonathan's special day! 

The ceremony took place at 2 p.m. followed by the reception across the courtyard in the back sunroom of the big house at the Olford Center. Following the reception, we had already made plans to eat dinner at Jim N Nicks on the way back to Jackson, but it was barely 4 p.m. when the reception ended. So, we decided to head into the city!

Memphis is a historic city for both of us! Austin's grandparents lived in Memphis shortly after they were married. My grandparents met in Memphis while Granddaddy was finishing medical school and Grandmommy was a nurse. Their first date was in the Peabody Hotel for one of Granddaddy's medical fraternity dances. So, the Peabody has always held a romantic charm for me. It's easy to get lost in time when you're there.

The trademark of the Peabody Hotel since the 1930s has been the ducks that swim in the gorgeous marble fountain in the center of the lobby. In the 1940s, one of the bellmen (who was a former employee of Barnum and Bailey) decided he wanted to train the ducks to march down a red carpet from the fountain to the elevator, take them up the elevator and to their penthouse on the roof. He did just that and became the first 

Duckmaster. So, every day at 11 a.m. the ducks leave their house, come down the elevator, and march down a red carpet into the fountain to John Philip Sousa. There they remain all day until 5 p.m. when they march out of the fountain to music, get in the elevator, and return to their house for the night. The last time I saw the ducks march was when I was 10 and visited Memphis with Grandmommy and Granddaddy.

When we arrived at the Peabody at 4:40 p.m., I was so excited when I saw the crowd gathering to see the ducks! It was such a lucky coincidence! We found a great spot, right next to the red carpet! There were hundreds of people crammed in that lobby and the second floor balcony. The guy in the red coat is the current Duckmaster. 

The march of the ducks only lasted a few minutes, but it was so fun to see the ducks come up that red carpet! There were lots of little kids who were delighted, and the ducks are so well trained! They paused every once in a while so everyone could get pictures and video. I think the march of the ducks is a great reminder that people still enjoy the simple things in life :-) 

The ducks made their departure in the elevator and then the lobby returned to normal. Austin and I enjoyed exploring!

I tried to capture all of the elements of the lobby in this picture: the beautiful marble fountain (daytime home of the ducks), elegant chandelier, gorgeous woodwork and stained glass ceiling. I love how historic, elegant and timeless the lobby is. 

This fountain is just so lovely! And I love the flower arrangement! 

As we walked around the lobby and talked, an older lady adorned in a shiny gold jacket played big band era music and show tunes on the grand piano. She was so talented! We gave her a small tip in her jar, and tried to be inconspicuous, but she thanked us warmly and asked if we had a song request. At the same time, we asked for our song, "The Way You Look Tonight". It was so special. We went up onto the second floor overlooking the lobby where we could hear the music really well and danced. :-) It was so romantic! 

After our dance, we took some pictures :-) 

My handsome man! 

We stayed at The Peabody for almost two hours and then decided we were hungry, so went back to our van in the Parking Deck! We couldn't figure out how to exit the parking deck, so we ended up on the top level and decided to take more pictures. Here is the side-exterior of The Peabody. The Duck condo is on the right :-) 

A look into the sunset over the Mississippi River. It was much more beautiful in person. 

We did end up going to Jim N Nicks and ate DELICIOUS food! We were so stuffed, but it was so worth it!

We loved our date in Memphis! :-) 

Honduras 2013

It's been several weeks since we returned from the GO Trip to Honduras. In one word, the trip was AMAZING!

We were so blessed to serve with Joey and Katie Hale! Their leadership was so great, and they created an atmosphere of fun and laughter! Our team was wonderful. The Lord was so faithful to provide unity, friendship, servant attitudes and joy! We had so much fun getting to know everyone and loved having meaningful conversations, working alongside one another, and making fun memories!

Most of all, the Lord worked in the hearts and minds of everyone on the trip. Our God is at work everywhere! He is not limited to time, space, location or even our obedience. It astounds me that He is ALWAYS faithful even when I am not.

In Honduras, we lived intentionally for Christ and in community with one another. Since the children were out of school for La Semana Santa (Holy Week) our schedule was very flexible. It is amazing how much time is truly in a day when all the distractions of our busy lives are taken away. Although there was wireless internet access in the team house (except for when we lost power for a day!), we encouraged the team not to even turn on their phones and I know it brought us closer!

This mission trip to Emmanuel is not what would typically come to mind when you talk about "going to an orphanage in a third world country". Orphanage Emmanuel is definitely the exception in a broken world full of children hungry for food and starving for love and affection. God has been at work at Emmanuel for a long time!

We flew into Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, and saw people living in homes built of every material imaginable. People, dogs and trash were everywhere. It is definitely a third world country. This photo was our last glimpse of the city as our bus headed into the mountains towards the orphanage.

Emmanuel is located in the town of Guaimaca, and our bus barely fit through the narrow dirt streets. We turned into the front gate and suddenly, there were beautiful brick buildings and immaculate landscaping. The photo is of the front of the office and the chapel. 

Last year, we learned that everything at the orphanage has been given to them, whether through the labor of volunteers or through monetary gifts. David, who started Emmanuel with his wife Lydia, told us that the reason he keeps everything so clean and immaculate is to display good stewardship. He also said that as believers, we are told to look different from the world so that the world will look at us and wonder what we have that they don't. The answer, of course, is our hope that we have through our Savior Jesus Christ. The stark physical difference between the rest of Honduras and Orphanage Emmanuel is merely a representation of the difference people should see in our lives as believers. That is very convicting to me. 

The above photo is the team house we called home for that week. It was nicer than many retreat centers I've been to here in the U.S.! We had foam mattresses, three delicious meals a day, two patios, clean water, indoor plumbing and a meeting room. We were so blessed!

As we kept observing life at Emmanuel, we realized that in addition to the beautiful campus and accommodations, the 600 children all had clean clothes, shoes, three square meals a day, workers who love the Lord and teach them about Jesus, and access to a great school! As volunteers, it was difficult to imagine how we could truly serve when the children's physical needs were taken care of. This is when it became evident that simply being willing to do whatever the staff asked of us was such a huge help to them. Also, we needed to just love them like Jesus. One of our team members reported at GO Trip chapel that the children easily told us "I love you!" and we found ourselves saying it back without hesitation. How often do I tell those around me that I love them without reservation?

Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." This rang true in my heart as we painted pavilions, hiked with the toddlers (up a mountain- those kids are so intense!!), did slip n slides with the kids, fellowshipped with the staff, made puppets with the power (not paddle) toddlers, and spent time with each other. It wasn't until I had been back in the states for a few days until I realized that the Lord was showing me how I can live for him in every decision, conversation and action in my every day life as well as in Honduras. It has been such a challenge!

Every evening, we invited someone on staff and their families to join us for dinner and share their testimonies with our team. Each time we heard story after story of how God has provided for each need the workers had, many of them that they had not shared with anyone.

Austin and I walked away from those testimonies reminded of how God loves to pour out blessings on us and is not limited by worldly things such as money. We were challenged to pray more boldly, more specifically, and wait on the Lord more expectantly. We have really tried to implement this since we've been back.

On Wednesday night at church Austin preached! He did such a good job! He taught on Exodus 16. We began by reading the scripture (in Spanish and English) and Austin drew the parallel of God providing the perfect amount of manna each day for the Israelites to Jesus being our daily bread. His sermon further reinforced that God is always faithful to provide, even when we are not faithful to Him.

Austin preaching!

Then there were the children. Beautiful children. Children who had no reason to be joyful because of what they had experienced in their short lives. The way they worshipped, the love they have for Jesus and how their faces light up when they see you coming was such a picture of what it means to be a child of God!

Here are a few of the children that especially touched our hearts. For the sake of the children's privacy, I decided not to post their pictures with their stories. Some of them have very difficult custody situations. If you look at my facebook album, though, you can put faces with names :-)

Jose is 11 years old and was in a wheelchair when we were there. He had surgery on his feet, so he couldn't play with the other boys. During the morning, Amy (one of the wonderful volunteers who is in charge of Jose) would take him to the Toddler House. Some of our guys met him there when they were instructed to take apart the trampoline. Jose was such a helper! After that, Amy and Jose would find our group at the store every afternoon. Austin, Michael and Tommy really built a relationship with him and he cried and cried when we had to leave. However, the day after we left (also Easter Sunday), we found out that he accepted Jesus as his Savior! It was such a wonderful way to end the trip, knowing that even if we don't get to go back to Honduras, we will see Jose in eternity!!!

Nicole really tugged at my heart! She is probably 14 or 15 but has the mental capacity of a 4 year old. She has such joy! She was amused at the most simple things, such as blowing little pieces of cotton out of our hands and into the wind, or throwing her doll up in the air and laughing as she would scramble to catch it. She reminded me that God adores his children and wants us to delight in him. I can't imagine where Nicole would be if the Lord hadn't brought her to Emmanuel.

It has been difficult to know what to write in this post, as there is still so much more I could say. There were so many funny stories, friendships formed, inside jokes, large insects, and other things like that. I will look back on those memories years from now and smile. Ultimately, the trip belonged to the Lord and I am so thankful that Austin and I got to be a part of it. Thank you to our team! Y'all are so wonderful!