Under pressure, your faith shows its true colors

Provision

2009-06-25T00:11:00.002-04:00

Folks, this is going to be one of the shortest blog posts ever...its simply here to remind you that our Lord PROVIDES. Its so easy to forget or overlook, but store it away in the depths of you heart so you will always know that he comes through. Whether by time, money, friends, restored relationships, or rest.

Just a lil nugget for you. :)

Peace <3

Blessing of time

2009-06-11T15:01:00.002-04:00

I'm sure pretty much all of you know that I am a jam-packed-schedule type of girl. I like to go-go-go and rarely make time for myself. I have always felt that I thrive under pressure and can get things done on the fly.
Sometimes this leads me into situations where it seems I have too much to do and too little time. I have been able to see God working in my life in these times... some this week!
Let me lay out the homework that I have had this week....
discussion questions due Tuesday, quiz due Wednesday, 10-15 page interview paper due Friday, and 30-40 slide powerpoint due Friday.... on top of this I babysit every morning, go to class from 11:30-1 and then babysit from 1 until 5ish.
Holy smokes, right?? Well on my way across town to babysit Wednesday morning, I was praying (cause car rides are phenomenal for that) and was asking God to work through my schedule to allow everything to get done and get done well.
Well God answered my prayer less than 30 minutes later. The woman I babysit for teaches exercise classes... and no one showed up for her class that morning---so I got to leave 15 minutes after getting to my babysitting gig. This allowed me to get things printed off for class and do a 45 minute interview necessary for my paper! WOW!
I share this with you all in the hopes that it will remind you to 1) pray to God-its not our first instinct to lift up our day to day situations, but he still cares and has control over them and 2) to remember to look for the answers to our prayers-they may not be what we expect, but He does answer them, and its such a blessing to realize that.

Home

2009-04-11T16:48:00.004-04:00

A few things about my home/hometown that may differ from yours:

You can go to the coffee shop and have a conversation with 70% of the people who come in (case and point, I'm at the BRCC now and have seen 12 people I know so far... and only about 8 have come in that I've never seen before)
The cashier at the coffee shop knows my name and the fact that I go to ECU... and she graduated 3 years before me
I live in "Uptown Shelby" yet have land that takes up an entire block.
My dad can tell me to get a basket from the barn and I have to ask which barn...and again, I live in uptown
We have 0 Starbucks (sorry Urkos)
I still know the majority of the seniors at Shelby High School
And quite a good number of the underclassmen
You know exactly where someone lives when they tell you they moved into the _____'s old house
Some of the biggest news in town recently has been whether or not to allow alcholic beverages be served to people seated outside at uptown restaurants
If you try to go to the grocery store and not see anyone you know, you fail
Every elderly person I meet asks me if I am Shem and Martha Blackley's granddaugther. I am in fact....
When giving directions it is rare to go without saying pass by so and so's house, then turn on to the road that so and so lives on.

Oh Shelby. How you make me laugh.

I love it.

Out of the mouths of babes Part 2

2009-04-07T09:16:00.002-04:00

Last week when I was driving Mac home from school, we had some really fun interactions. He's normally very calm and not very talkative in the afternoons, but this day he was something else!
I was taking him to Toys R Us to spend some of his birthday money.. as we pulled into the parking lot, I made a smart comment about him buying something from Babys R Us instead.
He responded: I could get something from there for my girlfriend...she's a baby.
me: Mac, that's not a nice thing to say about your girlfriend!
Mac: Well she acts like one.
Me: How so
Mac: She just does. But everyone in our class says we're going to get married and have a baby. When we say we aren't and argue back, they say, 'that's right, you're going to adopt'
Me: Whooooa you don't need to think about getting married yet, you're only in 4th grade, I'M not even thinking about that and I'm in college!
Mac: I know. But if we were go get married, it would work because we're both on the same timeline
Me: What do you mean?
Mac: We're both ten.

Not sure what that last bit means.. but okay!
The following day he gets in the car and after a few minutes I ask:
Did you talk to your girlfriend today?
Mac: Yeah, I'm thinking about breaking up with her
Me: What? Why?
Mac: I don't know
Me: You don't?
Mac: Well, she is attracted to my other friend and he makes her laugh more, so I think she likes him now.

Oh 4th grade love.

Absent

2009-04-05T23:53:00.002-04:00

This is an apology...for the past and future for my absense on blogging. Not that many of you care or rely on my posting often.. but I'll flatter myself a little and pretend like it may make a difference to half of a cell in your body.
I'll leave it simply-8 projects due by the end of the month take a toll on you. Add in weekly assignments in classes, little diddys for fun that teachers throw in, and the normal reading and studying and you have one stressed college junior.
Comprende? Neat.
Ciao

Precious Hampton

2009-03-24T15:07:00.002-04:00

And here is another "out of the mouths of babes" episode courtesy of 4 year old Hampton.

Yesterday I load him up in his car seat, close the door, circle around the car, climb in my door, and just as I sit down he says, "Miss Baird," and if that isn't precious enough, "Do you like to move it, move it?"

HOW THE HECK DOES HE KNOW ME SO WELL? I LOVE to move it move it. Especially while watching the credits of Madagascar with my roommate and ex-suitemates. Last year we would watch and dance...and I can't lie.. we were good. We pretty much memorized the dance sequence. Because we're 7 years old and all.

Here is a youtube I like to move it from Madagascar 2. I think it will be our next hit performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a91pJDut50E

Yummy!

2009-03-18T23:33:00.002-04:00

So I looove toast with butter and cinnamon sugar. But we have no butter in my apartment right now. (Weird..) So I made it with peanut butter instead! WOW. Its so amazing. Plus its more protein which is great since I just got a crazy workout...aka...went to my indoor soccer game but only had 4 people on the team so we had to run around like crazy kids. I was in goal second half (btw I've never played in the goal before... mainly bc I flinch when the ball is being hurled at me) but anyways... I was in goal. It was so funny. I just talked to all the players and spectators the whole time. :) It must have worked as a distraction bc they only scored once. And it was really close to the end. And I ALMOST blocked it. But I did block like 5 others. :) I can't lie.. I'm proud. Of my goalie ability and of my chef abilities.

With heartfelt prayer

2009-03-16T12:54:00.004-04:00

So often when talking with other believers about difficulties in our lives or decisions we face, they ask us if we have prayed about it. If you are like me, you say, "Yes, of course I've prayed about it... but I haven't gotten an answer."
So often we pray to God for direction or answers or consolation... anything...but we feel our attempts are futile. Some lose hope, re-evaluate, and begin to turn to others for direction, but that is not at all what we need. In our re-evaluation, we should see that our attempts are in fact, futile...but futile in a different definition.

The first futile that I referenced is by the definition: trifling, frivolous, unimportant. The second, is every different....but also the definition of futile: ineffective, useless.

Amazing how one goes from placing the blame on God... the one who hears our prayers, to placing it on us... the one throwing the prayers out to God.
This verse from Hosea has come up multiple times this week... this week in which I have been in a lot of prayer about decisions that need to be made.
They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail. Hosea 7:14-NLT
This verse let me know that in conversation with God, I need to honestly let Him into my heart in order for His will in my life to be done. Let me be done with wailing on my couch...my couch of comfort and security...and open up my heart to him, so that all my prayers will be the laying out of my soul to the creator of all.

Challenge those around you to do the same. Challenge them to be heartfelt and sincere, for OUR God knows the difference, and he doesn't put up with futile calls for help.

Lake

2009-03-05T21:08:00.002-05:00

I thought I just heard a jet ski go by. But since I am in my apartment in Greenville, I really find that highly unlikely.

But I think that means I'm very much ready to be on my dock at my lake house.

Spring Break

2009-03-05T09:30:00.004-05:00

So my plans still aren't set for spring break... and it begins tomorrow. Now that's what I call procrastination. Or lack of interesting things to do.

I was hoping to take part in Extreme Makeover Home Edition out in eastern NC..but apparently its too late to sign up or something... that baffles me because I feel like they need just about as many people as they could ever ask for. Oh well. If I get to help, I will.

If this falls through though, you better believe I'm not staying in Greenville for long. The mountains are calling me home. I haven't been home since Jan 4th or something like that.... so its due time. But honestly-one of the things I miss the most about home is the beauty all around me. I miss seeing elevation changes for goodness sakes!!

Flatness is not that intriguing. Show me some hillsides and valleys... let me see towering mountains in the distance...as I'm driving down the road, let me get lost in what lies ahead.

Anyone up for a hike next week?

This was taken in Haywood County, NC. So yes. I love the NC mountains. :)

Free time

2009-02-26T19:19:00.002-05:00

I tend to make to-do lists while not listening in my classes. I always seem to have about 386 things on each list. Some little, some normal, some major. I try to refer back to it throughout my day and try to get as many things checked off during free time as possible. Unfortunately I often don't have much free time, so the things that don't happen every day don't get done for a long time. Today I was making a list in 3290 and really didn't see much time in my day to get these things done.
But amazingly everything else for the rest of my day disappeared!
-My group project meeting got moved
-Normal babysitting was canceled
-Babysitting for ECU Coach's Wives' Night Out was canceled
-I was reminded we didn't have bible study this week

Wow! So I was able to fit in some important things!
-Got ice cream with 2 girls from SCHS--one of which I just met then and there. (She came with a girl I already knew)
-Went and visited my previous campus minister, Kerri, and held her little 1 month old baby
-Chatted with the lovely Sara Jennings at her apt
-Got dinner and caught up on life with CJ
-Cleaned my room

And now I am about to do my summer staff application.
Ah, its SO nice, and SO rare for me to have free time. I need to cherish it. And I do love updating a blog. :)

Out of the mouths of babes

2009-02-20T12:07:00.002-05:00

I love hearing the comments that come out of the mouths of kids! They can be soo funny and a wonderful source of continuous entertainment. This week I got a few good doses of laughter from the boys I babysit. Here are a few that truly made my days:

I called Jennie, an amazing woman on my YL team, to wish her a happy birthday. I ended up leaving a message on her voicemail, and in the midst of it said that I had tried to get Flo-Rida to come perform for her, but he was all booked. (She loves some Flo-Rida). After I hung up, Mac (9 years old) says, "How did you get Flo-Rida's phone number? I laughed and said that I was just joking when I said that. He said, "Oh (pause.....) Will SHE know that its a joke?"

The next day (when the dictionary incident occured--see previous entry) Mac was asking me if I could help him on his homework once we got home. This is normal since I help him most days, but the way he asked me wasn't..."Miss Baird, are you like a dicitionary?" "Umm..what do you mean like a dictionary." "You know, are you like a dictionary, do you know a lot of stuff?"

Precious precious.

Seriously Pitt County??

2009-02-19T13:58:00.002-05:00

So maybe I was just spoiled with what I felt like was a very solid preparation for college...
Sure I will be partial to my alma mater of good old Shelby High (especially compared to nasty Crest... :0) Love you roomie) but I legitimately feel like I got a solid education through what was the Shelby City School system and later joined to become the Cleveland County School system. I always enjoyed school; and felt that it was preparing me well for later ventures in education (minus calculus and AP chem which I knew wouldn't help with anything).
But thinking back to elementary school, I really enjoyed learning and enjoyed my teachers. Now that I am babysitting a boy in 4th grade, I can't help but compare our educations at that age...and there seems to be little to compare, but A LOT to contrast. Granted its a different time and his days would focus on xbox and killing people on call of duty, when you take that out of the picture, his schooling is very much subpar. He's a bright kid when you sit and talk with him, but when he does his homework, he knows nothing. He can't read a passage and then tell me what its about. He can't think of creative sentences for his spelling words. It scares me on how little he is being challenged. I feel that if his teacher wants him to write a sentence with the word revive, she needs to take off points if he writes: My friend was revived. That doesn't show any thought or effort!! But he gets away with it. My reason for writing an entire blog post on this subject is because of what happened yesterday. He didn't know the meaning of a word, so I suggested that he looked it up in the dictionary. He got the dictionary and then came back to me 5 minutes later saying he couldn't find the word. In fact, he wasn't able to find any of his 6 spelling words in the dictionary. THE KID IS IN 4th GRADE AND HASN'T BEEN TAUGHT HOW TO USE A DICTIONARY!!! Heaven forbid! He said that he has yet to learn how to do that in school.. but later said, actually, they taught him 2 years ago, but he hasn't used one since.
Come on Pitt County. Please prepare your kids to make it through the school system without using their parents as crutches. College is going to crush them.

Katie started it.

2009-02-11T23:47:00.004-05:00

The lovely Katie Smith has tagged me in a blog ordeal dealio thing where you post the fourth picture in your fourth album and say something about it. I have done so because she tagged me. (Which I feel very honored for because she could only choose 2 people and I know she's a popular gal.)
Sorry its not more exciting... its just my face... but its my face surrounded by LONG curly hair. This was during the year that I was growing my hair out for locks of love and I would take pictures to document the process.... not for anyone else to see... but oh well, guess that's changing now. This was taken August 31st, 2007. I straightened it this day to also see how long it was straight. I got it all chopped off in late November.
I guess I can tie this into my weekend plans... I am getting a hair cut on Saturday. Happy Valentine's Day Aaron! You get my short hair back. :)

And I tag Kristen and Blair.

Psalm 62

2009-02-09T10:39:00.002-05:00

Psalm 62:2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

This was part of my devotional this morning, and I have already seen it working. Mondays are usually the most hectic days of my week... and this one was shaping up to be even more hectic with usual with a lot of last minute complications with club... but God is steadfast and always by our sides. To show me that he will not let me be shaken or thrown down like a leaning wall or tottering fence (v. 3) he has given me the day off from babysitting.. freeing up 2.5 hours, and let me out of Neuroscience 30 minutes early to get things done here.

Verse 2 is repeated in verse 6.. just to remind us and emphasize that nothing will bring us down with God as our rock.

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (62:8)

A day with....

2009-02-07T22:18:00.002-05:00

ALI JO!

Today has been a crazy day. Long.. and it had an early start...let me walk you through it.

I woke up at 6:15 to take a shower and get dressed to head out the door at 6:45. You see I had to be at the Young Life office at 7am to carpool to Raleigh. Young Life had our regional leader and committee training day. I got to see SO many lovely people that I have met throughout the years in young life...and of course they are such fun people. The day was so rejuvenating and wonderful. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Fellowship coupled with lessons of our ministry is a combo you just can not go wrong with. :)

On the way home Ali Jo and I chatted a lot and per usual with her, it was so so wonderful. We had decided the previous day that we would go to the basketball game tonight, so we added in plans for cooking dinner too! We fixed up some pasta with mixed in veggies. So delish. :) We headed to the game against UCF...which we WON. Go Pirates. The game was loads of fun. Sitting with all sorts of different friends and just loving life each second. Now we will say that UCF has some poor sports on their team and they should learn to play a little less... elbow-y. Haha.

Since we got SOO hot during the game, Ali and I decided we were going to get milkshakes from cookout after the game. We brought Aaron along for that fun as well. Now I'm at home for a shake of a lambs tail before heading over to 202 with guess who.... ALI.

I love this girl and she is such a blessing to me. I love how whereever our conversation ended, we can pick back up on life no matter how long it is between our dates and hangouts. I just wanted to share how blessed my life was today being able to be with her from 6:45am to now.. with only about 2 hours without her within my reach.

Babysitter

2009-01-17T12:06:00.002-05:00

I am going to the aquarium on Monday! :)
I just thought I would share because I'm super excited! I'm going with 3 South Central girls: Tina, Katie, and Emily, and Katie Maloney and 3 of her Ayden Grifton girls. :)

I'm pumped for some fun car times, making beautiful fish faces, and sweet times with precious ladies.

Returning

2009-01-12T21:56:00.002-05:00

I had mixed feelings about returning to Greenville this semester. Sure I love ECU and my friends, the families I babysit for, and Young Life, but I really don't like Greenville much outside of that. Plus, I had just been on all these amazing adventures, so who would want to return to a common place where you follow the same routine every day... psh, I'd rather be snowboarding. :)

But after being gone for a month, returning to see what God has in store for me this semester is exciting in its own way. So what does he do?? Blows my mind with my first experience back in Greenville....yay for Young Life Leadership!
I got a later start on the road than I had initially planned for, so I rolled onto Allen road right at 7, when I was supposed to be at leadership... obviously, I don't have time to go home, so I head straight there, and I couldn't have been more blessed. All the smiling, excited faces that filled this house warmed my heart and made me so happy to be back. Greenville is home for now, and since it is that, I can't help but be joyful. My friends, especially those that I am in ministry with and that I live with, are the most amazing people for this part of my journey in life.
Thank you, Lord, for that sweet reminder that you've made this place specifically for me in this season of life.

Home means family

2008-12-30T00:39:00.004-05:00

Home has been spectacular.

Resting is something that I don't do often, so I try not to take it for granted.

I've really enjoyed this break though...for the first time in years I feel like I'm not finding something to occupy every second of my day/finding ways to be away from the house.

Its never been that I don't want to see my family, its just that I seemed to put my friends above m family....and that needed a change.

I've realized more and more each break that time with my family is important...Maybe its since I don't get to come home as much, or just because I'm older, or because this is the first time my entire family has been in the house for more than 2 days in years(!), or because I've seen how friendships change---without my home life changing.

I've seen a quite a few friends, and that time has been precious, but just being around the house has been the best of all.

The holidays were wonderful to spend time with more family, but I am winding down on my days in Shelby. I'll be leaving Wednesday morning to go to Memphis with friends for ECU's bowl game. I'll be home on the 3rd, but leave again on the 5th to go to Raleigh before flying out to Colorado. (I know, I'm such a jet-setter).

Time for me to soak up these last few days of spending time with ALL my family.

Closing of a semester

2008-12-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

Friends, I can not hide the truth, it is GREAT to be home. Considering this is my 3rd time home since early June, I have anticipating this for a while...but to reflect on the end of my semester...
My semester ended well. Barely falling short of all A's with a silly B in my Early Intervention class.. but hey, it was my favorite class, just a bit more challenging.
Young Life at SCHS was beginning to look up after a rather slow and down semester. Some new girls had begun to come and were bringing along their friends! Most of them are girls that we already know, but just haven't had interest in club before. Campaigners is booming and every week comes as a surprise. I am meeting with one girl one on one every week, and that time has been a huge blessing in my life. She will be going off to college next year, so I am praying that I am being used to give her those extra steps of guidance to head off in a foreign land.
Friends are amazing. I saw way more of them than I probably should during exam time, but I loved every single second of it. I have been blessed by some spectacular people during my time in Greenville.
Roommates and porch sharing neighbors are AMAZING and so much fun. I can't believe we didn't take more time to spend together in our living rooms and kitchens until this last week. But no need to reflect on time gone by, because next semester (and next year for those of us not leaving) will be spectacular! Dance parties, and sharing life just go hand in hand!
On my way home I was able to stop and spend the night with some dear friends in good old Ra-town! I stayed at the amazing McGarvey household and spent time with many friends!
When I got to Raleigh, Quinn and I went to SBucks to find both Urkos working and 2 Smiths visiting! I made friends with a SBucks co-worker, Dru, who just so happens to be a Cleveland County Alum from his college years! It was amazing sharing stories about Yamatos and Young Life! He wasn't a leader, but knew all those amazing people that impacted my life so much in HS. That night we also went to suprise Mr. Smith for his 21st birthday! His reaction was... anti-climactic.. but maybe the suprise party the next day brought about abetter one! :)
Staying with Quinn was amazing. Her family was fun, and going to church the next day was awesome. As was a Sunday lunch with her parents and Jude.
I can not fathom how much God has blessed me in my 2.5 years at ECU so far.
Next will be a reflection of a few days at home and how excited I am to be here. :)

Whirlwind

2008-11-20T10:43:00.002-05:00

I feel like my life has been a going at super sonic speed since fall break. Honestly, how did an entire month go by since I was home?? Not that that is a long time for me to be away from home, but this month has just flown by.
I have been a busy little Baird, that's for sure... some of the things that have kept me the most busy were Rockbridge, four square, birthdays, anniversaries, giving the Sin and cross talks back to back, campaigners, spending time with friends, being a mom every afternoon, and school... okay, maybe not school... but I have to make myself sound good somehow!
Life is certainly amazing, and they say that time flies when you are having fun, so I definitely can not complain.
I can not believe that the semester is winding down. I have project deadlines looming before Thanksgiving break, but I look forward to the coming time off.
Before being home for Fall Break, I hadn't been in Shelby since JUNE. Yes, it took my 4 months to make the 4 hour drive home. Now I will be home next Tuesday through Saturday, then shortly after that, I will be heading home for almost an entire month!
Relaxing and spending quality time with hometown friends is most eagerly anticipated.
I will be sure to keep everyone updated on the happenings of this final frontier of 2008.

Birthday!

2008-11-12T23:01:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was my 21st birthday!!! Its kinda ridiculous to think about, but oh so fun.

The entire day was filled with friends and fun and love. That's really all I could ask for. I wanted nothing more than to share that day with people that I love and care about.

I have the most amazing group of friends that can enjoy the simplest things and make the most fun out of any of them.

My birthday went as follows:

-the night before: sharing cake, laughter, and playgrounds with some great South Central Falcon Young Lifers

-being with Reid, Hunter, Aaron, Nathan, and Daniel at the stroke of midnight on the 11th

-coming back to an amazingly beautified apartment...complete with streamers from the fans, 3 posters, and plenty of balloons

-going to breakfast with the amazing Lynn and being served a brownie with ice cream and hot fudge at approximately 8:38am (and having the Cracker Barrell lady servers sing to me)

-going to school for the first time IN MY LIFE on my birthday (so unfair, and inappro)

-making a 96 on an exam... take that teach!

-going to Olive Garden for some wonderful food, conversation, and quality time with Aaron Scott Brooks (we did this last year on my birthday as well... boy am I thrilled that we could share this time again an entire year later)

-playing ultimate frisbee on a full stomach (not bueno)

-getting knocked out while making a baller defensive move.. thank you Reid Smith Warren... apparently since he couldn't get me drunk for my birthday he just decided to knock me out so I knew what it felt like

-sleeping off the pain

-finding flowers on my kitchen table from my amazing older brother

-going to dinner with him

-having wonderful friends over for celebrations that evening which led to four square outside at 11:00... because we so cool that we bring back old school

and our first roommate picture was FINALLY taken last night! Whoooo!

Again, I absolutely LOVE my friends and felt so blessed to have that many people show my compassion on my birthday. Thank you all so much for making it special!

When we finally look for direction

2008-11-07T01:39:00.003-05:00

I know its a common struggle for me, and I have found it to be the same for many of my close friends...turning to Christ, and Christ alone, in our life. So much has been going on recently that I have just been letting my emotions rule my life; not much of what I know about my faith has been allowed tobe on the forfront of my actions. It has been detrimental and its about time that I have taken those few steps back to re-examine and go at it all again.

These realizations have come in stages:

First the phrase "In Christ Alone" was stuck in my head for weeks... I didn't even know the last time that I had heard that song or anything, but I was just always thinking about it.

Secondly, great talks with little Lynny, Aaron, and other friends.

Thirdly, getting to catch up with Amy Ruff Ruff Ruff

Fourthly, more things continued piling on.. including an impulsive trip to Barnes and seeing one single copy of this book sticking on on a shelf all by itself. The book you ask? In Christ Alone by Sinclair B. Ferguson. (I have not begun it yet because I am in the middle of The Shack, but it's next FOR SURE!)

and to top it all off... tonight at bible study we reflected on Jeremiah 17:9-10 which touched on the heart being decietful, and the need to base judgement on the Truth.

All these things lining up should eventually tell me that I need to work on how I handle situations involving my heart vs. my head. How hard headed can one girl be in order to need such CONSTANT reminding??

But the Lord is good and is ever faithful in teaching me things.

Today while I was babysitting, I was thinking about these things as I drove the 3 year old home. He loves to tell me exactly where to turn to get to his house from his day care. And its a good thing that I do know where I am going, because, though he gives accurate directions, he announces the turn as we approach the curb...aka, not much notice. I have begun asking him a few seconds before the needed turn if the road we were approaching is the correct one; this allows him to still tell me where to go, but me not put us in annnny danger! I find that we do this in our lives quite often... we're going and don't bother to ask God for direction until we almost pass it by; when he has to throw it in our faces in some form or fashion. Thankfully for us, we can give up the drivers seat and allow him to take control.

I don't believe this would be good for little Hampton since he's already tried to show how he can "reach the pedals."

This is my good buddy Hampton's self portrait... he played with my camera one day on the way home. He really is precious.

Spontenaity

2008-09-21T16:25:00.007-04:00

At 5 pm or so yesterday, Aaron and I left Raleigh. About 20 minutes down the road we were both just sitting quietly. He pointed out a car that had 2096 bumper stickers on it, all that were pro-life, shove God down your throat types... and he said that he hated how Christians were often portrayed like that. A few minutes later, I was just thinking about bumper stickers and noticed that none of the cars around us had any... which I found odd, because I felt like most people usually have them... going through statistics in my mind, I saw a car with 1 sticker. It was an Atlantic Beach sticker with a lighthouse... I mentioned that it said AB (for Aaron and Baird....duh) and he was like, ooh look a lighthouse. We began to wonder what lighthouse it was, because I had never seen one at AB before... this led to Aaron's brilliant idea to drive to Hatteras. And brilliant is not said in a sarcastic tone. It was a wonderful trip. :)

I pulled out the map and began planning our route while calling 411 to get ferry schedules to the island. We ended up stopping in Greenville to get gas from Sheetz (I mean, gas cards, so who would get gas anywhere else??) We left Greenville just before 7pm Saturday.

It was an adventure. I won't go into all of the details of the adventure of getting there, but I will tell you a bit about our arrival.

Around 11:30pm we got to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Obviously the visitors center was closed and it was deserted... but nothing was blocked off, so we walked right up. The half-moon was shining brightly, and as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we took in the beauty

of the night. It was silent and still, while lit up by the steady beams of light and the moon. It seemed majestic.
The sky was beautiful and clouds were passing by quickly. As we took it all in, we noticed a deer strolling up silently. It was beautiful to watch it walk closer to the lighthouse in such a graceful manner. We backed away and headed back to the car. We ventured down the road a bit to the beach access. The waves were crashing and the moon was peeking in and out of the clouds. It was a beautiful sight and we stood there and thanked God for taking the time to give us such a marvelous night. He created so much, and still puts enough precious time in for the details of things like the Cape Hatteras National Seashore at 12:30 at night.

Right around 12 hours after our departure, we rolled back into Copper Beech. It was a wonderful, spontaneous night that I will never forget.

The blue line is the "getting there" route and the red is the "coming home" route.

Our feet as the waves roll in.

What the beach can do...

2008-09-03T19:13:00.004-04:00

So I've started to write a new post quite a few times now... but to no avail...
Let's just say that life comes and comes and keeps coming. But a fresh breath of air is there for you when spending a few moments with Christ.
Hecticness is up and going, but I know that more is to come because my fall schedule still isn't in full swing yet. ... by that, I mean that Young Life hasn't kicked off for the year yet. I have been busy trying to pursue some girls this summer, but its just not the same as the school year.
So far this year I've made it out to a football game, volleball game, and 2 days of lunches. And they've all been fantastic! Its so great to see how God is backing me up and showing me that though the year, and these girls, may be tough, He's there, watching me follow His plan and trying to show these girls what a wonderful path it is to live on.
We had our Young Life leaders beach retreat this past weekend, and it was so encouraging to see approximately 30 of us crammed in a little, old house, all for the same reason... coming together to pray, worship, fellowship, encourage, and plan to go out and meet Pitt County high schoolers right where they are and to live as an example of Christ in their lives. I was thrilled that this trip came together, because I can already tell a difference in this year and last year, when we never had the chance to share that weekend together. God is going to do great things as long as we continue to live for Him and surrender to His amazing love.
Please pray for me and my brothers and sisters in this ministry!
Grace and love...

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

2008-07-24T00:36:00.002-04:00

This summer, I knew that the ministries that I was involved in wouldn't be meeting as much reguarly. In fact, FCA doesn't meet at all, nor does College Life. Collide meets some, but I didn't get a chance to go to the first few and they are going through a book... so yeah.
At the beginning of the summer I decided to check out Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF). They meet on Wednesdays from 6-8... they have dinner then, do a bible study for an hour. I had been asked to go during the school year, but the time conflicted with FCA...
The first few of the summer were great. I met some new people, who quickly became friends, and the bible studies were always great. We would discuss a topic dealing with our faith, and they always would bring up a bunch of bible verses in relation.
I haven't been able to go much these past few weeks because of other meetings, work, or being out of town, but tonight it randomly crossed my mind, and I decided to go. Let me just say, way to go God. It was fantastic. I didn't go for dinner because we had something with work, but I got there around 6:45 expecting the study to begin at 7. At 7 we sang some songs... Marvelous light, Mighty to Save, and Inside Out...awesome. We were waiting to begin the lesson because a woman had stopped by the house who was in need of a place to stay, as well as some food. Those were her physical needs at least. Kyle and Martha were able to provide food, some love, and listening ears. What a blessing...
While we were waiting for them, we decided to pray for the woman, sing some more songs, and then we began lifting up praises to God. Time passed quickly, and with Martha Grace and Kyle came back upstairs it was almost 8. They had planned a study though, so we dove into it. They presented the question of "why are we here?" Saying, what was our purpose in coming to Wurship that night. And on a broader scale, what are our purposes in meeting with each other? They read James 5: 13-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15, and Hebrews 10:24-25. These verses tell us why we should come together as believers, and what we should do for each other when we meet. The floor was opened for discussion on this subject, as well as to offer up encouragement or concerns that should be shared with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Great discussion followed. One thing we brought up was that we should go out into the world and share our hope with others who don't know Christ. But as a cycle, we must be "refueled" in a sense by meeting with believers and encouraging each other after being out where Satan can beat us down.
I was very encouraged about our meetings with christians and gaining christian friends. When we come together we should always ask how each other is growing and how they can be lifted up. It is easy to hide our spiritual life, so if we are faltering, and no one is asking or challenging us, we can easily continue a downhill slide.
Martha Grace had a great quote tonight. She brought up the verse, "Where two or more of you (believers) are gathered, I am there also," and said that we shouldn't make God show up for no reason. --If he isn't discussed or honored, we wasted that gathering of his faithful.--

I am meeting tomorrow with my South Central girls from camp. I am going to discuss some of these verses with them as a way of introducing campaigners and our reasons behind encouraging one another in faith. God prepared me well tonight, but please be praying that they are open to sharing their growth and faith and struggles with one another and myself. It can be tough.

Sharp. Top. Cove.

2008-07-21T11:06:00.003-04:00

I punctuated between the syllables because the dramatic pauses will add to how amazing it was. Or so I hope.
Folks, this past week 8 Pitt County Young Life leaders peaced out of Greenville with 41 of our high school friends to head to Jasper, Ga. The hills of Jasper, Ga. actually. To Sharptop Cove. I tried to have no expectations going into the week, but was also so super excited because 3 years ago I had just had my first YL summer camp experience, so I knew the amazingness that was in store. Oh, but wait, I actually had NO IDEA what amazingness was in store. Coming to camp as a camper is one thing. Going again as a camper is another. Going as a leader is not even in the same realm of thinking. Learning the purpose behind little things at camp and the timing of activities was so awesome. Young Life's camping experience is like a science. They've learned what works, and what best expresses Christ to lost children throughout the week.
I absolutely loved this past week. Spending precious time with precious girls. Growing closer to them and watch them take those steps to get closer to their Lord and Savior was a blessing beyond compare. I had 9 of my South Central friends go, and we were in a cabin with the 2 Conley girls and Sandra Anastacia.
Serving those girls and showing them the love that has so freely been bestowed upon me was so sweet. The little things that they'll never notice were the most rewarding. They were amazing to be with, and amazing to talk with.
By the end of the week, hearts had been softened, ears and eyes had been opened, and secrets had been shared. 15 Pitt County folks stood up at say so to proclaim to camp that they had accepted God's proposal to them. 16 met or recommitted their lives to Christ this week after seeing God in an amazing new light .
Brian Summerall was the speaker, Ryan Clark was the special music. They were both fantastic. I've heard a lot of camp speakers, but I know that even as a leader, the things that Brian said will stick to my heart. He had a great way of talking to high school kids on their level and expressing Christ in a way that is important to their struggles now.
God worked in amazing ways bringing me closer to these lovely ladies that I am excited to spend the next few years (and hopefully on after that) loving on. They are God's children, and my constant prayer is for them to know that and His love for them. But also to recognize the work that He is doing in their lives now.
I hope that many more of you will be able to experience camp this coming summer as we take more and more kids to a place where they encounter Christ on every level, every second of the day.

Changes

2008-07-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

Its funny to think back over the past three years. Three years ago I was looking forward to my senior year of high school. My dreams and aspirations are so different from what they are now. I just looked back through my xanga postings at this time in 2005. One cool thing is that I had recently gotten back from my first trip to a summer Young Life camp. Now, three years later I am about to go on my first summer camp experience as a leader! So exciting.

I have been reflecting on where I was with my walk at different stages in my life recently in hopes to connect with more of my South Central girls where they are. We've been where they are, so we need to reach down to them and try to lead them on the path that has served us in such an awesome way.

Even looking to last year or two, I can see how much of a change has taken place in my life and those around me. College is crazy in how much you mature.... or don't mature.

I encourage you to look back and see what has led you to the place you are now. Reach out to those who are where you were recently. Ryan Eaton and I talked about this the other day---how we look up to the elders in churches and older Christians to model our lives after theirs. We get the honor of being that to those younger than us. So talk to the Lord and ask him to prepare you in ways that you can't even imagine. Ask him to point out turning points in your life that you can share. Our lives define us. You can't just push your past away.

here are two great pictures from November of freshman year. Mike and me out to dinner for his birthday. :)

And Aaron and I at West End for a Friday Night Hang Out.

Funny how these guys were both fun people to hang out with freshman year, but who would have guessed that became so important in my life??

Awesome.

Camps: Caswell and Sharptop!

2008-07-08T09:09:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was fantastic. :) Aaron and I went to Caswell, hung out with amazing people and had some great times. Thrift store hopping for decade dance outfits, funny photoshoots, running on the beach, decade dance, and other fun times with the Caswell Staff of '08 were fantastic!

On the way home, we stopped to see friends in Wilmington. Scott Brewer and Jason Pogue. Oh those kids. We hadn't seen each other since the lake, and it was a fun reunion. Then the little miss Ali Jo Forester came to join us! Oh that was just wonderful! I love love love seeing people from school. She's so fun. The visit was short lived because I had work that night, but its okay. Little reunions+ice cream=unbeatable. :)

Can I just express to you guys how awesome life is?? I am getting so stinkin' excited for camp. William (my younger brother) just got home from Crooked Creek yesterday and was raving to me about how awesome it was. I haven't gotten to hear the full story yet, hopefully that will come later today, but I know it was a great time for him with friends, new people, awesome enviroment, and the big man upstairs. How cool is it that I get to be a leader for kids experiencing these same things this coming week??!?!?! I have done nothing worthy of being put in this position, but wow, what an honor to serve My Creator and Savior like this! Its giong to be one heck of a week. Please pray for Pitt County at Sharptop Cove! I have 9 girls going with me from South Central and am so so blessed in that aspect!

Things that make me smile

2008-07-01T22:28:00.002-04:00

Soo, sometimes our emotions run away with us. We get caught up in the little things in life and loose control and find ourselves on an emotional roller coaster. I know that when this happens to me, I am always very shaken up... I am not normally a very emotional person. But the good news is that when anything gets us down, we all have so many blessings that we can think about and rejoice in.
some things that I always remind myself of are:
*I am a beloved child of God
*Nothing is stronger than my savior
*My true friends will always be there to help me up
*My family is amazing
*Encouragment can be found in any avenue of my life

Renew is one of my favorite words... we must renew ourselves daily with our walk and discovery of Christ. Doing this can allow us to find that the smallest of blessings can brighten the worst of days. I hadn't had a great day the other day..things seemed to keep piling up on me. One of my recent, constant stressors has been that I have lost my camera. To destress, I decided to clean my room, and in one last sweep, I decided to check a place that I have looked multiple times since I lost my camera, and sure enough, it was there. Oooh kids, you may not understand how big this was for me to find it. I didn't even care that I may have had to buy a new camera soon, but I had just taken some pictures that were precious to me, and I just wanted those back. Great news for me. :) I'll share some of these pictures soon.
<3

I don't want to survive, I want to live!

2008-06-28T23:48:00.005-04:00

So yesterday I had an amazing day in Raleigh! I got to see GREAT friends, share laughs and hugs and pictures and ringtones. What an amazing time with Lacey, Sandy, Quinn, Heather, Laura, and Yaron! Following this, Aaron and I went out to eat with other YL friends to celebrate the births of Katy and Kristina! We ate at a great Seafood Grill called Michael Deans. Now, for me to say this place was great is... crazy. I don't consider myself to be a fan of seafood, but here I was eating halibut, crab cakes, mahi mahi, and tuna... but not just tuna, but raw tuna! Oh my gosh. You guys should be soooo proud of me. :) We stayed there until late, but Aaron and I made it even later by going to see Wall-E!!! SUCH A GREAT MOVIE. <3 Definitely awesome. And it has a great pre-video with a bunny who is pretty sick at some magic tricks. I love bunnies and rabbits.
This morning I woke up early and left Durham to drive back for the trash-a-thon. Dangerous drive for me because I was so tired! The trash-a-thon was great though. We beasted it and got done really quickly. And it was great times with some girls that I unfortunately haven't seen in a while.
My aunt and cousin are in town for my cousin's soccer camp. Tonight I went to dinner with my aunt and it was such a great time. We talked for about an hour and a half; it blessed my life so much. She's amazing and I hate that I don't see her more often.
The title of this post is a quote from Wall-E. I loooved it. The captain said it when he began to realize what all he was missing out on. Let us strive to LIVE. We all have something to live for, so do it! We should never be "okay" with how things are, we should strive to Love, Invite, Value, and Encourage people through the love with which Christ taught us to share.

Celebrations

2008-06-27T14:10:00.000-04:00

It always seems like there is so much to celebrate... birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. Sometimes it seems like everything comes on at once, but really isn't that how life should be?? Full of celebrations? We should celebrate with our Lord for those who turn to him and praise him. We are his handiwork, and that is such an honor. Let us always turn to Him and lift up our voices and emotions to show Him how much we rejoice! We can never show our God enough praise!!!
This came to mind because I am about to head out to Raleigh to celebrate the birthdays of two lovely females, Kristina and Katy. It should be good times with some great friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and role models. :)
I will get the chance to see some of my closest friends before going to dinner, and I couldn't be more excited about it! Because of this excitement, I'm going to shower and hit the road ASAP!

Dear avid readers

2008-06-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Hello all! All being the 4 of you that will read this... :)
So...I'm really pumped that a lot of people are being all cool and awesome and blogging. That word just makes my face light up. I used to be a blog addict, I can admit this. I miss it at times, mainly because I don't want to forget where I was in my life at these times. So much happens, and we can't remember it all. Of course we can't keep account of it all either, but bits and pieces will help me remember when I am old and gray. [I just lost...]
Anywho--I hope that through this blog, I can update you on little happenings in my life. I don't want this to just be an account of what I did when and how much I enjoyed it. I also want it to be somewhere where I can share things about my faith. I know some of my closest friends will be looking at this from time to time, and though we are all so close (and growing closer), the deep parts of our lives aren't always at the forefront of conversation. This could be such an avenue for us to share things that we may not bring up as we sit and watch "I love the new millenium."

This post wouldn't be complete without a run down of some recent fun times that I've had.
Yesterday I got off of work at 4 and drove to good old Kenly, North Carolina to see that kid that I call boyfriend and his grandparents. We had dinner, discussed the amazingness of the E. Coli infestation in the Greenville water supply, and talked about Aaron's miniature horse, Jimmy. After dinner we drove to Zebulon for a Carolina Mudcats game. For those of you that aren't as country as this... I'll fill you in (though I can't lie, I wasn't exposed until yesterday). The Carolina Mudcats are a minor leauge baseball team out of Zebulon. There are quite a few teams throughout NC that I am learning about. :) We had fun and enjoyed the game though those silly catfish lost. After that adventure, Aaron and I had to go to WalMart to get bottled water and the classic disney movie, The Sword in the Stone. We didn't finish watching it, but we will soon. I drove back to Greenville this morning, worked, went to the UBE for a book, and went to Town Commons with my bible for some Jesus time. It was awesome... it was a hot day, so no one walked by the the entire time. Great alone time. After that I went to the CB and met up with Mike and Bryan. After ordeals, we ended up at the U. Manor pool and went TaNnIn' together. Hahha. We were all reading books and working up a sweat. After a dip and some drying, we headed back to their place and watched the tele. We had some great laughs at the "I love 2003 and 2004" Oh wow. I love those boys. They've blessed my life since freshman year hanging out in Jones hall. I went for a run tonight too! How exciting!!! I ran 3.5 miles and was very proud of myself... I haven't been running much at all, so this is a starting point for me.
Life is grand. Sorry for the long post, but I hope that if you read it all, it brought you some smiles and good times.