Much Needed Mini Vaca!

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. A great movie night with friends, loving on my babies (aka cousins and my babysitting kiddos), chillaxin with the family, all things Nashville (especially Nashville Predators hockey), the beach, roadtripping, etc.

The last few days has been filled with all of these things! (Minus Nashville, but hockey was involved! The Stanley Cup Finals were this weekend and the Blackhawks kicked some Bruins tail!!!) I had several vacation days that I needed to start taking so I took Mon-Wed off this week and convinced my friend Heather and my baby brother, J, to join me on a road trip to the beach. We started our road trip with a stop in West Monroe, LA to visit the Duck Commander store (I was just here over Memorial Day weekend but the bro and Heather hadn't been). Unfortunately we did not get to meet any of the Robertson's but we did take some fabulous pictures (I will be sure to post as soon as I get them on my computer!). After our stop in LA we drove another 6 1/2 hours to Galveston. I absolutely love Galveston so I was really excited to get to show my brother and Heather around this cute little beach town. Unfortunately, because our trip was planned so last minute we didn't have reservations at a hotel and apparently everyone and their dog decided to go to Galveston the same weekend. There was not a single vacant room in Galveston or within 30 miles in any direction. We ended up driving another 45 minutes at 11 p.m. to a little hotel in the middle of nowhere (Angleton, TX) to pay $160 for a room that had no electricity. Yes, you heard me right. No electricity. One outlet in the room worked and the t.v. was plugged in to it so at least we had a little bit of light. It was for sure a crazy experience but we made the most of it and were pleasantly surprised the next morning when we learned that there was a beach only 16 miles away!!!

We were honestly a bit nervous about this beach because we had to drive through a little community that consisted solely of electrical plants. Interesting surroundings to go through on your way to a small beach town. As crazy as it was to see all of the plants, it was absolutely amazing to cross over a huge bridge and see the most adorable little town of brightly colored houses on stilts, old boats converted to bait shops and the most gorgeous (and not crowded!) little beach. We had landed in Surfside Beach, TX, and I have to say I may have a new favorite place!

We spent two days laying out on the beach, watching some of the locals do some crab trapping, admiring the "Super Moon" from the beach and taking walks on this fabulous 1 1/2 mile fishing pier! It was definitely a great relaxing trip that we all needed!

With yesterday being my last day of vacation, my wonderful friends Mary, Tabatha and my cousin Alisha and her baby girl, Roxy, came over for a quick visit! Nothing like a movie night with Japanese take out and some of your favorite people. 

Today has been a great day back to work but let me just say I am so ready for a quick trip to Nashville next month and my family vacation to Jamaica and Cayman Islands in September!

Theme Days...Sure, Why Not?!

I really enjoy reading other people's blogs. One of my favorite things about certain blogs are their "theme days". Some of my favorites are "Man Candy Monday", "Twin Tuesday" (a co-worker has the funniest twins and she uses this day to simply talk about their shenanigans!), and "Throwback Thursday".

Because I do love these theme days so much I have decided that I need to also rock a couple of "themes"...the only problem is I still don't know what those themes will be. Maybe "Macaroni Monday", and I can make cool noodle art. Or "Why Me!?! Wednesday" and I can use that day to vent! :) 

Ok, so maybe those are not great ideas, but my brain is a churnin' so stay tuned for an ever clever theme day! :)

Blessings...Remember Them and Be Thankful!

While going through some journals last night I found one "article" in particular that I wrote on August 1, 2011. I still remember the moments I wrote this. I vowed to myself that I would remember these words and think of them daily. Since the day I wrote this article I have looked over it maybe two times and then I have forgotten about it with the hustle and bustle of life. I am going to rewrite my words again on this blog so every time I log in I will see the title of this blog and remember.

8-1-11
Blessings...I feel that I have honestly been blessed beyond measure. My whole life I have had what I needed, sometimes it took a little hardship and a whole lot of faith but God has always provided.

Lately I think that I have taken all that I have been blessed with for granted. A lady at church last Sunday repeated a saying she had heard. It was something like... "what if you woke up in the morning with everything you thanked God for today?".

That really shook me! What if that were to happen? Have I thanked God for all of the blessings he has poured out on me or just the things that seemed above and beyond and the rest I just kind of expect from Him.

He is an almighty God and I am far from deserving all of the awesomeness he has placed in my life.

My prayer today: God I thank you for EVERYTHING you have blessed me with! My family, friends, health, faith...there is not enough time to list all of the things I am thankful for. Most importantly though, thank you for sending your Son to die for my sins!

Inspired, Simply Inspired!

William Borden...does this name sound familiar to you? It didn't to me either when I heard a pastor mention it in a church camp service this week. But boy, am I glad to know the name now.

William Borden was literally born a millionaire. His family is the famous (and wealthy) owners of Borden, Inc., better known as the producers of Eagle Brand milk. Anyways, what makes Borden really special isn't the fact that he was born into money, but that he willingly gave it all up.

Just after finishing with his schooling Borden traveled the world. During these travels he began to hurt for the people he encountered. He once remarked that in every country he saw souls that desperately needed salvation. When Borden returned home to Chicago he informed his family that he was giving up his share of the company and he was leaving this life of luxury behind to travel to China to work with the Muslims.

Borden did just that. He packed his bags and headed out. He decided to stop in Egypt on his way to get a little experience working with the Muslim people. While there Borden died of cerebral meningitis. He was only 25 and he never made it to China.

As the preacher spoke of this mans life I began to ache for him, for his family, for all of the people that would have been touched by him in China. Then the preacher continued.

Among William Borden's possessions that were sent back to his parents was a journal. In this journal was something that could touch people much further down the road than just him traveling on to China. Just after telling his family that he would give up his fortune to travel to China as a missionary Borden wrote "No Reserve". Later, after being told by his father that he would never be welcomed back to work for the family business, he wrote "No Retreat". The part that really got me was just hours before he died in Egypt Borden wrote "No Regrets".

This man who died in 1913 at the young age of 25 has forever inspired me. He gave up literally millions and was turned away by his own father to follow his calling. He may not have made it to China but his story has made it in to the heart of a 22 year old in 2013, something he likely never imagined would happen in a million years.

I hope that I can be half the Christian that he was and I hope I get to shake his hand and hear his story from his own lips as we relax on the bank of the crystal river in Heaven!

Well Hello There, Beautiful!

So I am trying to get back in to this writing/blogging thing. In the one year (and a couple of months) since I graduated from college I have pretty much completely stopped doing the one thing I loved so much while in school; writing.

I'm not sure where I will go with this blog. Maybe I'll talk about my family and friends, maybe my travels, or maybe even my attempts at various Pinterest projects. Maybe I will just talk about life in general and all of the things that make my life just that; simply mine.

In my 22 years (and 8 months) I have not lived an extraordinary life, it has been quite common actually. I was born to a small town couple living a small town life. We were joined two years later by a cute blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy, I often refer to as Bubba. Out little family has had more than our fair share of drama, chaos, health issues, etc. but through it all we have stuck together . We are still working on "us" as a family but we love each other none the less. (Notice I said love, we definitely do not always like each other!)

I say all of this to give any of you that don't know me a little history. As time goes on I will elaborate on certain parts of my life I am sure, but for now I want to focus on who I am in this moment. 

To write about myself in the "now" is actually really hard. Mostly because when I thought things were starting to become stable I realize that couldn't be further from the truth.

I mean, if we want to get technical, right now I am employed by a great organization that saves over 400 lives every day! How many people can say that?! I have been very blessed with this job! Right now I am living in a super cute house I purchased on my own almost 8 months ago. I have the cute little flower bed out front with the bird and squirrel feeders and two of the cutest (and oldest...they were rescued from a kill shelter at a fairly old age) chocolate labs in the huge fenced in back yard. 

Sounds picture perfect, right? I thought so too until I realized that I could be missing Gods calling on my life. This calling is something that has been on my heart for years, since before I was even old enough to really understand it. It has taken me all of these years, though, to decide to stop fighting against myself.

I know now for sure what my calling is. In what capacity it will be fulfilled and when, I have absolutely no clue. I do know though that God equips the called, and while I can do nothing on my own, with Him all things are possible!

Whoo! So apparently I may even preach on this blog! Who knew!