Catching A Glance of Splendor

Journeyin' Through the Holy Land

2011-07-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Bedouin friend, taken by a Bedouin student.

Baptisms in the Jordan River.

The Old City of Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock, and Mt. Of Olives.

I left for Israel on May 15th, 2011.

I returned from Istanbul, Turkey on June 2nd 2011.

And during the course of those 19 days, my life was forever changed.

I traveled to Jerusalem, Israel; Petra, Jordan, and Istanbul, Turkey during my time in the Middle East. I came face to face with Jesus, religious conflict, history, and love in a variety of colors. I slept in airports, in hotels, in buses, on floors, on tables, and in airplanes. I ate food of all different colors, shapes, and kinds. I took many pictures. I journaled LOTS. I laughed and cried and loved until my heart was full.

I went on this trip through Lee University with their education program (seeing as I'm an education major, and all...). 30 kiddos went, and none of us really knew each other before the trip. We traveled to Atlanta, flew to London, flew to Tel Aviv, and drove to Jerusalem where we would be living for ten days.

In the Middle East, I encountered God. I encountered Him as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, God the Comforter, God the Author, and God the Creator, just to name a few.

God the Father: We were in the Middle East on a study abroad trip. And as educators, we toured many different schools to get a taste for what the education system in all these different countries looked like. We went to a Tali school (basically their curriculum combines both Arabic and Hebrew cultures in the curriculum- which is unheard of, but a great idea to take steps toward peace!) during our time in Jerusalem. We also visited a deaf school in Jerusalem because we had a friend who worked there as a soldier teacher (she is in the Israeli Army). Here, I met Jonathan, a precious little 7 year old who was hard of hearing but had the most beautiful smile I have seen in my life. He diplomatically made eye contact, waved, and smiled to every member on our team. More than once. I had to fight with everything in me not to scoop him up and take him home with me. Blessed my soul. :)

While in Bethlehem, which is part of the West Bank and a Palestinian settlement, we visited a Catholic boy's school.

In Jordan, we visited a Bedouin school. The Bedouin people are nomads and live in caves or tents in the desert. The Jordanian government is forcing these people to move into permanent housing, in order to better keep tabs on them. It was here that I saw God as Father.

This school was also an all boy's school. Naturally the guys from our team were totally stoked, seeing as they could play soccer and do man stuff with these new friends. We visited the classrooms, were treated like royalty (much like in Malawi!), and took lots of pictures.

During recess, while many of the boys were playing soccer, I was walking around taking pictures of the fun and a few boys caught up to me and wanted to take a picture with me. I was nervous to give them my camera (a Canon Rebel, whom I love very much), but I slid the strap around their neck and explained to them how to take a picture. Which was more difficult than it seems, considering I don't know a lick of Arabic, and they knew very little English. But the boys caught on quickly, and lots of fun followed.

I instantly, and I mean INSTANTLY, was in my element and overcome with peace. I was doing two things I love: teaching, and taking pictures. The joy on the boy's faces was so evident, and I couldn't help but thank Dad. As I watched them laugh and take pictures of their friends, I couldn't help but think of the Lord's extravagant love for them. "Red, yellow, black, and white" just kept playing over and over in my head. The Creator of this universe loves those little Bedouin boys. They are His children, as much as I am. Talk about humbling.

God the Son: Jesus. It is a powerful name that has traveled through languages, time, across borders, and around this world. And I've walked where He has.

The interesting thing about Jerusalem is that it looks like nothing that I had conjured up in my head before going. I was picturing camels, and desert, and shepherds, and cobblestone. Thank you, Beginner's Bibles and flannelgraphs from Sunday School!

But it's nothing like that. It's modern, ancient, unified, and divided all at once. It's crowded, it's a melting pot, it's so full of Jesus I can't even describe it.

We toured the Garden Tomb/Golgatha, Nazareth, Capernum, the Mt. of Beatitudes, the Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Ghedi, Bethlehem, the Jordan River, the Via Delarosa, the Old City of Jerusalem, David's Fortress, and the Western Wall. I've touched where Jesus was born, where the cross stood, been in the tomb where he was buried, and walked the land where He did His ministry. Many, if not all, of the holy sites from the Christian faith have churches ontop of them. (Even Peter's mother in law's house. The Franciscans built this weird looking UFO church right ontop of it. ) But the thing about these holy sites is that some of them may not be totally accurate. We know a few things for certain, like Peter's mother in law's house and where Mary's house was, and the cave where Christ was born. But we don't know exactly where Christ's cross was put in the ground, or where He cried on the Mt. of Olives.

But it doesn't matter WHERE it happened. It only matters THAT IT HAPPENED. He was born of a Virgin, revolutionized the world with love and truth, died on a cross, and was raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of God and He will one day come again. All that matters is that He came. And He rose. And He's coming again. Hallelujah.

God the Holy Spirit: Birds are my thing. Birds are my God thing. There have been quite a few times that the Lord has spoken to me through creation, but most specifically the presence of birds. Peace and joy come when I see birds, and it always seems to be at just the right time.

Day one, we are standing at the Western Wall. Now, the Western Wall is significant because it is the last remaining wall of Solomon's temple. It's a place of prayer for the Jewish people, and is a very beautiful picture of the love and devotion they have to their relationship with God. As I stood in the Western Wall Plaza and took everything in, I noticed a soup kitchen directly across from the Wall. Which excited me, because of my big ole heart for missions. And I had just been wondering about homelessness and the needy in the community of Jerusalem. I just thought it was so neat, and such a cool picture, to have the last remaining wall of Solomon's Temple directly across from a soup kitchen. What a picture of the kingdom being lived out.

As I continued my little 360 -degree-tour to look around the Plaza, I noticed something: birds. Hundreds. All congregating around the wall, flying to and fro. But all reminding me of the Spirit's presence, and God's love for the Jewish people. And my heart began to beat a little happy tune.

Shortly thereafter, we were sitting in the Garden of the Garden Tomb, looking at the face of Golgatha. As I sat there and contemplated Calvary and fought back tears, a dove swooped down right into my line of vision. A dove. With the shadow of Calvary in the background. I almost lost it. How cool is He?!?

The next day, we visited David's Fortress, which is the highest point in the Old City. The view is spectacular; the Mt. of Olives, the Old City, the New City, the West Bank, and Jordan are all visible from this spot. As I was looking around, I felt a tug on my arm. Marissa was next to me, pointing at something. I squinted and looked closer. And there, in the middle of this great big fortress that we were climbing around, sat a dove. As peaceful as it could be. Just a little sign of God's love. With my name on it.

God the Comforter:

Psalm 51:11 says "Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit away from me."

The Psalmist is writing to God, pleading for his transgressions to be removed from him and in return, be given praise for the King. Shortly before my trip to the Middle East, I went through a big and tough decision in my life that was covered in prayer, but was heartbreaking. I was nervous to go halfway across the world without my family and closest friends, but I knew that the Lord had called me to go on this trip. And boy, did He ever. And He never, ever, ever left my side. Glory be. My doubts, fears, and heartache was cast aside. In exchange, He gave me beauty, dancing, and joy. How He loves.

God the Author: I was originally supposed to be going to Egypt for this trip. Due to some civil unrest in Cairo (where we would be spending the majority of our time), the trip directors decided that it would be better if we switched our trip to Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. So this trip was "Plan B." This trip that so radically changed my life, wasn't originally the plan. But God is the Author of all things and the Great Orchestrator, and He had a plan. He knew how much I would learn and love and be challenged on this trip. And He used it. He used, what I considered a "Plan B." So although I took a giant leap of faith at the beginning of this summer and made a tough decision, I know God's got a plan. He orchestrated an unbelievable three weeks in the Middle East. I trust Him to pen a beautiful path to my life. Although I originally thought that this path was "Plan B" after my big decision and therein my heartbreak, I am now seeing that it's not Plan B. It's His plan, and I'm in the palm of His hand, and nothing can take me from there. So the pen is in His hand. And I trust, just like He took care of me in Israel, He will carry me through.

God as Creator: I am an artist. Well, I like to think I am. I know my way around a Hobby Lobby, I love to paint, and I poke around with photography. God speaks to me through creation- His earth, and the creations of His children- through songs and artwork of all kinds.

The second leg of our trip was in Petra, Jordan. Petra was the Middle Eastern equivalent to Cleveland, Tennessee. There were a few shops, a few restaurants, but nothing really of note here. Until we went to Petra Park.

Petra Park is a national park that honors and displays the life of the Nabateans, an ancient people group of southern Jordan and the Canaan area. They're important became they carved lots of really cool stuff from rocks (see pictures below). Petra was important to me because it reminded me of God's splendor.

Our tour guide showed us around the park a little and told us quite a few stories I don't remember. Then, we were let loose in this national park for the whole day. We had a liter and a half of water and a sack lunch to last us. I had snacks in my pack. I thought ahead. Thank you, CliffBars! The park was huge, and we didn't even scratch the surface.

The small group that I was with decided to climb the first flight of stairs we came across. Little did we know this flight of stairs was 817 steps long. Which wouldn't be too terrible, if:

1) I was in shape

2) the steps were all even and smooth like in America

3) it was not 50 million blazing degrees outside

[Note: it didn't start off 50 million blazing degrees. But it eventually got there, oh say around lunchtime.]

We climbed. We stopped to have a snack. We climbed. We stopped to take pictures. We climbed. We stopped to let the boys throw rocks off the side of the cliff. We climbed. We stopped for water. And to pet some cats and talk to some Bedouin ladies. We climbed. I thought I might die. We climbed. I thought I literally was on the Stairway to Heaven. We climbed...

...and finally got to the top. We had climbed up what we later found out was one of the sacrificial mounts of the Nabateans. Which was eerie but neat. We stopped for lunch and to look at the view and for the boys to pretend they were going to fall off the side of the cliff to their sure death far below and give all the girls heart attacks. We took more pictures. Then, the boys decided to boulder up another mountain on top of this sacrificial mount.

Keep in mind, we are in the middle of the desert. Which was breathtakingly beautiful, surprisingly. But we climbed nonetheless. Good thing I wore my trusty Chacos. :)

We bouldered up mountains and stood at what was surely the top of the world. As I looked around and saw Petra in the distance, and mountains rolling across the horizon and clouds hanging low in the sky, I couldn't help but think, "Lord, you have a really awesome view." And I heard in reply, "This is only the beginning." Which made me smile. And feel very very small. His hands, the very ones that hold me, carved the mountain tops and scooped out the valleys. They poured the waters in the rivers and planted trees. He uniquely stitched together the blue lizard I came across (ie: almost stepped on), and specifically designed each bird I saw to survive in such an environment. He made it all. I've never felt so big and so small at the same time.

I made new friends. I laughed until my sides hurt. I Dougie'd ontop of our hotel in Jerusalem. I played Dutch Blitz in a no-man's land between the borders of Israel and Jordan. I bouldered in the desert. I used a squatty potty. I bartered in the Old City of Jerusalem. I ate street corn. I loved until I thought I'd burst and I was loved on until my heart was overflowing. I was reminded, day after day and moment by moment, of God's unfailing love and faithfulness. And it is His faithfulness and His strength that lead me, guide me, and carry me through.

His strength is my joy and my song.

The sign on the door of the Garden Tomb.

Once Upon A Time...

2011-04-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

...I was a small second grader with big dreams of being a teacher just like Ms. Honey on the movie Matilda. I would live in a cute little cottage and be super sweet and love all my students. For "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up" Day, I wore pink dress up heels and had my hair tied back and carried around a notebook. I wanted to be a teacher.

...I was a third grader with dreams to be a teacher just like my teacher, Ms. Schnarrs. She typed so quickly, loved Disney, her room always smelled good, and she told me that one day my brother and I would be best friends. (She was right.)

...I was a fourth grader with dreams to be a teacher just like my teacher Ms. Paris. Her desk was always a wreck, she cast me in the class play (which gave me momentary dreams of being an actress) then encouraged my love for writing, (which gave me momentary dreams of being an author) and she loved Dr. Pepper.

...I was a fifth grader with dreams of being a teacher, so I collected all the extra worksheets from my teachers, brought them home, and enlisted the girls on the street to play school with me.

...I was sophomore in high school and was entrusted with my own kindergarten choir class at church. I learned how to manage a classroom of rowdy 6 year olds, I learned how to carry on a very lengthy conversation about Bob the Builder, and I learned how to interact with parents.

...I was a junior in high school, and I took my first trip to Africa. Where I realized that I was a world changer, a Daughter of the King with a passion for helping the least of these. With a thirst for knowledge and a desire to see love spread around the globe.

...I was a senior walking across a stage to receive my diploma, and I was walking into the next chapter of my life.

...I was a freshman in college and I took my first trip into the inner city culture of Lower East Side Manhattan. Where I quickly learned the art of being firm and asking, "Where are you supposed to be?" To students wandering the halls. Where I learned that love sees no color and that kids are sponges.

...I was a sophomore in college, and I took my second trip into the inner city culture of Chattanooga. And I learned that prayer in school can never be removed when a teacher is praying ceaselessly for her students. And I met my first friend who is from an abusive background. And I was taught how to dougie from three second grade girls. And the same girls micro-braided my hair, which took quite awhile to shake out of my "white girl" hair.

Last week, I was at an elementary school in Chattanooga with Mrs. Y's second grade class, observing my little friend for a class back at Lee. On this particular day, the class had a funky schedule which put us outside on the playground for an extra hour, which lent itself to an extensive game of Duck Duck Goose.

As I watched 60+ second graders sit in the grass, laugh, and enjoy the early April sunshine, I was overcome with love for these guys. I genuinely cared about each and every one of them. Their well being, their futures, and their educations. I scanned around the little circle, and I counted two white faces looking back at me. Two. Out of 60.

I should be used to this. I've been at this school many times before, I'm in the inner city of Chattanooga, I've taught in NYC, I'm looking at and praying about being an inner city teacher, for crying out loud. I should be used to this.

But where I'm from, it is lily white. If there's a black kid at school in the Wilco, it's like a fly in milk. Lots of money, lots of affluence. My high school minds well have been a private public school.

I once heard that educators teach in similar environments to the ones they grew up in. I hope not. I love the Wilco, but no thank you.

As I watched my second graders play Duck Duck Goose, I couldn't help but think about the statistics that are stacked against my precious little ones.

Incarceration rates are 6 times higher for black males than white males.

Black women have the highest teen pregnancy rate.

Each year, 1.2 million students drop out of high school. Over half of these are from minority groups.

My heart shattered into a million pieces. My precious little ones were literally going to have to fight to not be another number. A sense of despair began to creep into my heart, but I realized what a great responsibility had been laid on my shoulders.

No matter where I teach, if it's in an affluent neighborhood like Franklin or in the Bronx of New York City, I am a world changer. I can impact the lives of the future of my country. I fill young minds with the knowledge of the world around them, and I can encourage them that education is a ticket out, a ticket to a better life.

Overseas in developing countries, an educated woman is more likely to have a healthier, smaller, and more educated family. She is less likely to sell her body. She is more likely to attain a higher paying job and make a steady income.

Education leads to opportunity. As an educator, I hold the key to opportunity for all the students that will pass through my classroom. And if I can help just one, if I can just change one student's life for the better, I will have made an impact.

Change just one. Feed just one. Love just one.

On the same day that I was in Chattanooga playing Duck Duck Goose, I was in the parking lot walking to my car back at Lee later that day. A woman approached me and the small group of girls I was with, and she began to tell us her story. She had just recently lost her mom to cancer, she was struggling to pay her bills, she had suffered a serious car wreck, and the electric company was going to shut off her electricity the next morning if she didn't come up with 40 dollars.

As she told her story, I will admit that I thought, "Oh, I am not about to enable this woman to go to the supermarket and buy alcohol. I will not enable her." But that thought was quickly stomped out by, "Satan, get away from me. Jesus loves this sister just as much as He loves me."

I asked the woman her name. She told me Rebecca. I apologized that I didn't have any money, but some of the girls I was with did have cash that they shared with her. I asked her if we could pray for her, and she excitedly said yes. So right there in the parking lot, we prayed. We prayed for provision and for Dad to remind Rebecca that she is loved.

I think of Rebecca everyday. Because even though I was not able to help her in her situation, I was able to pray with her, and I pray for her everyday.

Feed. Love. Teach. Heal. Help. Serve. Pray for. Just one. But don't stop at just one.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

2011-03-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

2011 [thus far] has brought:

My first New Year's kiss

Passion 2011.

Passion 2011. [I really loved Passion.]

Lots and lots of snow.

The start of my 4th semester of college.

Chad and I's one year anniversary since we started dating!

New friends.

My first Valentine's Date Night. :)

Painting.

Taking lots of pictures.

Change.

Love.

Hope.

Knowledge.

Jesus. Lots and lots of Jesus.

About a month ago in my Art History 2 class, we were discussing Raphael. I really like his stuff. He's pretty smart. But my professor explained to us that Raphael "burned the candle at both ends" and met an early death and demise. Apparently he was a killer and thief and just really liked to party. So that's what my Art History prof meant by "burning the candle at both ends."

But I began to think: what if I burned the candle of my life at both ends? What would that look like? It was during this time that I also ignited my intense love of Lecrae's music. Thank you, Chad! Lecrae is this really fantastic Christian rapper who has an AWESOME story and platform for reaching people, if you didn't know who he was. I like him a whole lot, and find myself being so encouraged every time I listen (which is usually at very high decibels in the car or during my exercise time). So it was shortly after the Art History lecture that I was in the car listening to Lecrae. And one of his lyrics just struck me right between the eyes. In his song "Go Hard," Lecrae says:

If the cross don't move me

I don't wanna breathe no more

If I don't see Christ

Partner I don't wanna see no more

Those are some pretty heavy words. But they hit me nonetheless. If I wasn't moved by the cross, and the unfathomable and immeasurable Love that is displayed there, why even live?. If I am not seeing Christ in everything and everyone I come into contact with, then why even see? This all may sound really morbid and depressing, but it's so true.

I am on this earth to shout for the Kingdom of God and His beautiful glory. I'm on this earth to reflect my Maker.

I'm on this earth to "burn the candle at both ends" for His glory. I carry the Name of the Creator of this universe. Burning the candle at both ends in the heavenly aspect looks a lot different than it did for Raphael. I am called to speak truth, to worship, and to love all those I come across, just as Jesus loves me.

He has gifted me in so many ways, and He has blessed me in so many ways. But all of this is so that I may sing His praises and lift up His Name. So if the cross doesn't move me, if I am not undone at the touch of His word and awestruck by the love that He has for me, then I'd rather not be here. If I am not seeing Christ in my roommate, my professors, the precious girls on my hall, my friends who live on the streets in Atlanta, my family, my Chad, and my sweet Malawian friends that I think of everyday, then I don't want to see anymore.

I was going to Egypt this summer with the education department at Lee. Now we are going to Israel. I am going to be living in Israel, more specifically Jerusalem, for three weeks.

I remember being little and returning from DisneyWorld for the first time. I was watching Disney Channel, and I saw NSYNC standing outside of MGM Studios...exactly where I had been a few weeks before. I instantly hit the roof. I was quite the little NSYNC fan growing up, so to see them standing in the same place I had been a few weeks before just overjoyed little 10 year old me.

Fast forward a few years. I'm 18 years old, and at the Coldplay concert in Nashville with two of my girl friends from high school. I was beside myself in excitement: I was in the same room as Coldplay!! Once again, so excited to have a thread of relation to these superstars.

Now the 20 year old me is going to Israel in a few weeks. I am going to walk where Jesus walked. I just know that I'll be crying the entire time I'm there, but that's perfectly alright. I'll just pack plenty of Kleenex.

I've walked on the same ground as NSYNC, I've been in the same room (albeit a huge stadium) as Coldplay. But nothing in this whole world can compare to walking where Jesus has walked. To see the places that I read of in Scripture literally come alive right in front of my eyes is something that I've always dreamed of.

Philippians 2:9 explains to us that God gave Jesus the Name above all names. Jesus is above NSYNC and above Coldplay. Jesus is higher than Beth Moore and bigger than Francis Chan or David Platt (all whom I deeply love and respect and look up to). Jesus is higher than Joseph Kony and what he is doing to my precious Ugandan friends. Jesus is bigger than President Obama, and Jesus is bigger than Justin Beiber. Jesus, my Jesus, is the Famous One. And I am going to follow in His footsteps...LITERALLY! I've always known that Jesus is the most famous Person ever. But this adventure is putting it into a perspective that lil' ole me can wrap my mind around.

The blessings in my life are innumerable. Some days I just stand in awe of the Lord's fingerprints that are all over my life. In pillow talking, baking, laughing, and dancing with my precious roommate; loving, serving, laughing, discussing, eating, and snuggling with my incredible Chad; and laughing, eating, loving like crazy, talking, and adventuring with my family, I am always struck with just how much I am loved by those who surround me and the One from whom all blessings flow.

There have been some absolutely precious moments in the past 3 months. From playing in 8 inches of snow (the most I've ever seen) with the girls I live with, to being nursed back to health after being stricken with the flu (on our 1 year anniversary, no less!) by the greatest, most God-fearing man I know, to laughing or talking Jesus with my precious roommate Sharon until the wee hours of the morning, to just some really great Jesus moments...I think it's safe to say that 2011 has been a year of blessing, thus far.

With the completion of my sophomore year, a trip to Israel, a vacation to the beach, more time with Chad, time resting at home with the family, beach camp, summer classes, and a summer job all in my near future, I really can't wait to see what the Lord has in store!

fall '10.

2010-11-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ben, Dad and I at the Titans game in October.
Some of the girls I live with at Benton Lake in September.
Ryan blowing out birthday candles on his 21st birthday.

I have a healthy obsession with black kids. It's healthy because I love them. And I really want to adopt one (or eight) after I get married. I think my obsession with black children, or any color child for that matter...but specifically black, was born after my first trip to Africa. Then it only continued to manifest and grow: after my second trip, after my trip to inner city New York...and now my working with kids in low socio-economic environments here in Cleveland/Chattanooga.

Plus, it doesn't help that my "boss" Jason has adopted a little boy from Ethiopia. I was seriously within an inch of putting the latest picture of Matty on my desktop as my wallpaper. But I refrained. That'd be creepy.

I have three pictures on my desk. One is of me and Sarah on the last day of my time in Malawi. I miss her. I miss that little girl singing Blessed Be The Name while we play in the dirt and her deaf sister sits next to me and touches my hair. I miss living in a hut made out of mud with a thatched roof that has no electricity. I miss showering underneath thousands upon thousands of stars while singing Veggie Tales at the top of my lungs with my sisters from other misters. I miss the lizard in Maddie's hut and the tuna casserole cooked over an open flame and sunrise worship by the river. I miss the simplicity and the closeness of His love.

Another picture is of me and the girls from the second trip to Malawi. In this picture are some of my sisters. We don't share earthly parents, but we share a Heavenly Father. We share abundant laughter and tears and hugs. We share the longing in our heart that we

feel to travel and serve and love unconditionally. We share our love for NSYNC and Christmas songs year round. We share our obsession with black kids and our intense love for anything chocolate. We share Jesus with each other, and with each life that we come into contact with. I miss these girls terribly. They are as much my family as my mom, dad, and brother are.

The third picture on my desk is of Chad. The man who has blessed me in astounding ways in the last 9 and a half months of my life. The man who has taught me so much about the Lord, music, how to almost lock yourself out of the house, how to love the unloveable, how to keep everything in perspective, how to not take myself too seriously, and how to love unconditionally. I just smile every time I see this picture of him and I from back in August. We've changed a lot. Physically (thank you, P90x!) and mentally and spiritually and relationally. But through it all, he's been there. And the Lord brought him to me in the most unconventional of ways. But that's how Dad works sometimes. His ways and His thoughts are higher than mine. And He's in control. And I'm just so insanely blessed. Golly.

It's November. I'm out of school in a month. I'm half way done with my sophomore year in a month. CRAZY. I've been insanely busy, cried lots, eaten a lot of chocolate, stayed up way too late too many times, been to Walmart too much, laughed until I cried, quit habits and picked up new ones, written many many many papers, studied many many hours, danced and laughed and taught kids just about every day, been loved, and loved. As hard as some points in this semester have been, I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Being around kindergarteners a lot is interesting. The little guys change day to day. The growth seen from August to the next May is astounding. If you ever doubt learning and education, hang out with a kindergarten class. The learning that goes on there is exponential. But I kind of feel like a kindergartner. I'm just 20 now and in college. Last year, I changed a whole bunch. This year, I've changed a whole bunch. It's almost day to day. One day is unlike the one before it or the one after it. I am on a continual journey to the King, and to His desire and will for my life.

At this point in the semester, I am RESTLESS. Yes, in all capital letters. I want to go. I want to do. I want to love and travel and adventure. I want to do just about anything other than have my nose in a book for one more moment or take one more test. I just want to get OUT of school and DO LIFE. But I am trying my very hardest not to wish my life away. Because I am in this season, this place called Lee University, for a reason. The Lord has me here to teach me and nurture me and grow me into the young woman He wants me to be, and the young woman that I need to be to do what He wants me to do. So I listen and I wait and I keep on studying and staying up late and loving on the people here and praying without ceasing.

I am clay in the Father's hands, and in Him I live and move and breathe.

buzzwords for a new school year.

2010-08-31T16:10:00.001-07:00

Since I am now back into the swing of being a busy college kid, here are some buzzwords for the past few weeks of my life.

Lee University

new friendships

old friendships

love

M&Ms

Jesus

Farmhouse

inspiration

8am

moving

cleaning

more moving

freshmen

pub lab

Student Media Family

toilet paper fairy

love

trust

HUGS

the best boy in the world. :)

tears

love

dancing

Simmons Sisters

love

music

love. lots and lots of love.

NYC pictures soon. I haven't forgotten.

ramblin' all the way to ramblin' town.

2010-08-02T20:53:00.001-07:00

1. HOW PERFECT IS MY NEW BACKGROUND?!?!?!?! yessss.

2. I need to learn patience. But I'm afraid of praying for it. That's a dangerous prayer to pray.

3. It's been awhile.

4. Dad is doing MUCH better!

5. Pictures of NYC will be posted later.

6. This is going to be an extremely ADD post...

7. ...one in which I talk about my summer, NYC, my heart, Chad, Lee, family, the flood, and assorted other things.

Let's start at the beginning.

Summer:

After summer class, which ended June 4th, I ventured home. Home was still very much under construction, but was coming along slowly but surely.

I jumped right into my summer activities with leading a kindergarten class at Vacation Bible School...where I caught laryngitis.

I was then recruited (thankfully!) to go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with the youth group. For the first part of the week I was a middle school g

irl's leader, and the second part of the week I would be in charge of freshman girls. The first part of my week was SPECTACULAR. I didn't get a sunburn, made some really fantastic friendships, and got to baptize one of the girls in my small group. It was just a really great experience.

Until I came down with laryngitis. Thank you, weakened immune system from lack of sleep.

Spent a week resting. Got back in the saddle. Worked on Mondays at TPC with the staff kids and doing odd jobs around church. Fell in love with my two favorite kiddos, Seth and Canaan. They are three. They chop me up with fake lightsabers. Sometimes they even drop eraser bombs on me and claim that they've erased me into oblivion (don't ask how a three year old knows that word). But they always bring me something magical (they're recent favorite is magical blueberry pancakes made of Play Doh) that heal me and/or bring me back to life. Why yes, I love my job.

The house was finished in this time...new floors, new walls, new paint, new cabinets in the kitchen, new appliances in the kitchen, new doors, new knobs, new...everything. Which is kinda weird, because it all still looks the same. Well, not the kitchen. But I'm glad that got upgraded. :)

I was able to go to Atlanta for July 4th weekend to see Chad. :) Extreme happiness all around. We made pizza, and cinnamon rolls, and Oreo truffles. We gained about 486 pounds in Chinese food that we ordered. We watched movies and spent time just hanging out. We got closer. I learned that I am just so thankful for him. :) Like I said. Extreme happiness all around. I could write all day about him...but that's kinda heart language for the two of us. I am just thankful, thankful, oh so very thankful, for him. :)

I was also able to see Ryan. He was at Shepherd Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta. He has made lots of progress. When I walked in, he teared up...which made me tear up. We (correction, I) talked for about an hour or so. I had lots to tell him. He remembered everything prior to the wreck, but had some trouble remembering things from a few days prior to the day that I talked to him. I filled him in on everyone that I could, but soon had to be on my way to go home. Ry's at home until the end of this week letting his bones (and spirit, in my opinion!) heal some more. I've talked to him via the phone a few times, and he seems to be better each and every time we talk! God is so good.

NEW YORK CITY!

I went to NYC two weeks ago. If you've been around me within these two weeks, I'm either talking about Chad, the TPC kids, or the New York Kids. The love I have for each one of these things just fills my heart to overflowing and I can't help but to just smile. :)

New York was everything I thought it would be and more. It was beautiful, it was smelly, it was inspiring, it was challenging, it was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life.

I went to the top of the Empire State Building. I saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. I had a shopping experience for the storybooks in Times Square. I went to a Yankees game. I gazed at the constellations on the ceiling of Grand Central Station. I took many pictures. I rode the subway all day long. I bartered in Chinatown, and ate Italian in Little Italy. I became a "regular" at Jamba Juice. I fell in love with Soho, I waved my hellos to Lady Liberty. I constantly stood in awe of the mass of humanity coming at me from all sides. I fell in love day after day after day...for a million different reasons.

I also taught in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for a week. I traipsed through a park, talking to the Lord in my mind about how beautiful the trees and His creation were. And then, I looked at my surroundings. And I realized there were hundreds of homeless around me, asleep on park benches or the ground or in flower beds. I also witnessed a mother scratch off a Lotto card while her two children wistfully watched my students eat their lunch and laugh with their friends.

And it hit me: I'm in another world. Amberly is no longer in Franklin, Tennessee. And she didn't want to click her heels three times and go back home to Auntie Em and Toto. She wanted to strap on a helmet, open her heart as wide as it would possibly go, and love the kids of Lower East Side into oblivion. Because they were so hungry for it. For truth, for love, for honesty, for hope.

In the mornings, I taught mat chants at Upward cheerleading camp. I am in no way, shape, or form a cheerleader. I was in marching band in high school. But, I got through it! And really loved on some girls while teaching them "U-P-W-A-R-D! Upward! (clap, clap) Upward!" cheers over and over.

In the afternoons, I taught an art class. I TAUGHT an art class. A full fledged, bought my own supplies, I am the teacher you are my students, I am responsible for entertaining you/teaching you for the next hour, art class. I spent the month before I left mapping out lesson plans, buying supplies, doing more lesson plans, and doing lots of praying. I also spent the month before my trip freaking out about teaching inner city kids.

But I loved each and every minute of it. Even on Tuesday night, when I was in my room with THE BEST ROOMMATES EVER, (shameless shoutout) when we were complaining that it was "ONLY TUESDAY!!!!" and about how bad our feet hurt, and how tired we were and how badly we wanted macaroni and cheese and sweet tea.

My kiddos learned basic (and I mean BASIC) techniques their first day, did printmaking on styrofoam plates with acrylic paint the second day, painted with watercolor the third day, did self portraits the fourth day, and on the fifth day they worked with chipboard to make their first initial, and did acrylic collages.

I surprisingly learned everyone's names within a day. Considering I had names like Keyshala, Ahava, Ariel, Tameka, and Janiah, this was a task in and of itself! I learned names and likes/dislikes, who got a long with who, who could and couldn't sit next to each other...the ins and outs of my little classroom. I had 4 classes of approximately 10.

The third day, we watercolor painted. Xianne accidentally got paint on Ambree's paper. Ambree pitched a fit and sat in her chair with her arms crossed and refused to lift a brush. I approached her, learned about the situation, and told her politely that if she tried to paint over the paint, she would discover that her new paint would go over the old paint. She vehemently told me that, "No, it would show through, Miss Amberly." I once again told her to try it, she would be surprised. And she once again informed me that it wouldn't work. My gloves came off and I said, in a tone that would be described as nothing short of stern, "Ambree. Are you arguing with the teacher? Who goes to school to LEARN how to teach her students about art? Who probbaly knows more about art than you do? So hows about you pick up your brush and prove me wrong. You have two choices, Ambree. Sit there and pout, or put your big girl panties on, pick up your paintbrush, and paint."

And I walked off.

And you know what she did? She shook off that little attitude of hers, picked up her brush...and had a great attitude (I kid you not) for the rest of the week.

When I walked off, I noticed the other missionaries from Franklin standing agog at my encounter with Ambree. I smiled and couldn't help but laugh a little.

We had a blast. My third "period" was my favorite. But they were the most rowdy. It was a class of 10 very dominant personalities, all vying for my attention.

The girls knew about Chad. They had asked me if I had a boyfriend at cheer camp. And I had some of the same girls in my art class. So on day three, Faith asked me if she could ask me a personal question. I told her that she could go ahead and ask, and I would determine if I was going to answer it. She asked what Chad looked like. I told her. Seth replied with, "HUNKA HUNKA!....No homo, no homo." To which I busted out laughing. And this sparked a 15 minute long discussion about my relationship with Chad...and lots of laughter.

Alliyah: Miss Amberly, does Mr. Chad make you wanna go..... *jumps out of her chair, throwing her arms into the air* "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" ???*sits back down*

Me: (laughter) Yes Allyiah, he does!

Alliyah: KEEP HIM!

Faith: Yeah Miss Amberly! He's a keeper. And bring him next summer when you come back to teach us more art!

Me: Alright girls, get back to work.

Faith: Miss Amberly?

Me: Yes Faith?

Faith: Does Mr. Chad support you? Like, bring you snacks and help you with your homework?

Me: (more laughter) Yes, Faith. Mr. Chad is a great supporter, and he always encourages me.

Faith: Good. I like him, Miss Amberly.

Me: Me too Faith, me too.

This conversation ended with me telling the ladies in my class to see, and take note, about how I feel with Chad. And the questions they were asking me about him. I instructed the girls to remember this day...and to not settle for anything less. Then I told the boys that they better treat every young lady they come across like the princess that she is.

Which evoked a "AWWWW YEAH YOU GO GIRL! YOU TELL THEM, MISS AMBERLY!" from the ladies in the peanut gallery. And obedient nods from the boys.

This is why. This is why I love them. The kids of Lower East Side had a way of exhausting me in every essence of the word. But they also had a way of planting themselves in the very depth of my heart, and digging their roots all the way to my toes, showing no signs of leaving. But I'm okay with that. Because I'm hoping to visit them again.

I have a million stories, spanning from straight up shouting at a girl during cheerleading to bartering with a little Chinese lady in Chinatown. And if you see me, you'll have to ask me about my stories. Because some of them are just too good to be told on here. Some of my stories come with faces and hand motions and lots of jumping. All of my stories are told with love.

Three words to sum up New York: exhilarating. incredible. challenging.

Three words to sum up what I learned in New York: faith. hope. love.

in all things...love.

Floods, Summer School, the ICU, and Dad's Heart Attack

2010-05-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

It was just about a month ago that I wrote my last blog post.

It was just about 3 weeks ago that I finished my freshman year of college.

It was just about 2 weeks ago that my house flooded.

It was just about 7 days ago when my best friend, Ryan N., was hit by an 18 wheeler on his way home from helping me move into my apartment.

It was just about 6 days ago when my dad had a heart attack.

It was just about an hour ago that I learned that Ryan might be waking up today.

And through all this, my Savior has been near and FAITHFUL.

Some say hellacious. I sure did. But now, I stand amazed at the goodness of the Lord. Now, I know that I am to sing blessed be the name of the Lord at ALL times of my life.

My last few weeks of college went even faster than my first few weeks of college. Between exams, projects, packing, goodbyes, a new kitten...it's a blur! But it was so fun. And I truly loved my freshman year. I can't wait for my sophomore year.

On April 30th, I went home to Franklin for the weekend, and to take a load of my junk home, because there was absolutely no way it could all fit into my car in one trip. So I went home. It began to rain Friday night. And all day Saturday. My home backs up to a flood plain, and beyond that is the Harpeth River. Saturday afternoon, the river began to rise. Saturday evening, the river was in my backyard, and had become more of a lake. Saturday night, the river/lake was licking at both my back door and my front door.

Sunday morning, the water had receded. But my front yard looked like the picture above. And the water only began to rise. Sunday afternoon at about 1, the water began to come into my house. At about 2 oclock, we had 3 inches in our downstairs, and my dad made the call to evacuate. We had moved everything upstairs on Saturday, so most of our stuff was saved from the flood waters.

Lucy looks out the window at the flood waters rising.

The neighbor's backyard at about 1 oclock on Sunday afternoon. Also pictured is part of my backyard.

We left the house out of our dining room window. The water in our front yard was up to my thighs, and at its deepest point it was past my waist. We swam around the corner and down the street. We were picked up by firemen in a life raft. The dog was with us, in my dad's arms. She was terrified, so she was put in the life raft, along with my brother and our backpacks and duffle bags. We waded to the end of the street where we were picked up and taken to the Clubhouse in my neighborhood. From there were were bused to The People's Church (hooray for my home church being a Red Cross Shelter!). Since Lucy (my beagle/cocker spaniel mix) was with us, we weren't going to stay at TPC. The fantastic Baldwin Family came and picked my family and I up and housed us for the night.

Monday morning, we woke up and went to check out our house. We had 13 inches of water in the downstairs, and had to gut the drywall (up to 4 feet) and flooring out, along with the whole kitchen. My mom's excited about that...she gets a new kitchen!

But throughout the week after the flood, (the first week of May) my family was consistently reminded of the Lord's goodness and His providing hand. COUNTLESS stories can be told. My dad needing a mechanic, and one showing up at the house literally 5 minutes later (without a phone call or anything!), people bringing us food (we had enough food to last us a good long while!), and all the volunteers. My family started having to turn volunteers away we had so much help. It was absolutely amazing. God is so good! The dry wallers/ rebuilders are at my house this week putting us back together. :)

So this past Monday, I came back to Lee for summer school. It's just three weeks, and one physical science class. It's 4 hours long and rather dull, but at least I get it out of the way in 3 weeks!

Monday night as Anna (one of the Simmons Sisters, and my female best friend here at Lee) and I were unpacking and moving into our apartment, we called Ryan N. over to help us move a couch out of storage and into our apartment. He had a truck, that's why we called him. Anna and I both drive cute little cars...that are in no way suitable for hauling couches across town.

Ryan came up from Dalton, Georgia to help us move heavy boxes and the couch. We weren't able to get the couch out of storage, we didn't have a key to get into the unit. So we went to Target instead, to pick up "essentials." Which included soap that smells like mangos, a trash can large enough for me to live in, air freshener, and Saran Wrap.

After our Target run, we ordered a pizza. We ate it on the floor of mine and Anna's apartment, since we were severely lacking furniture. It was fun to catch up and laugh. At about 8:20, Ryan left to go home to Dalton.

At 9:30, Ryan T. (a very good mutual friend of Ryan N. and I) called me and told me there had been an accident. He said that Ryan N. was involved in a wreck on Dalton Pike, and that he had, at most, a broken leg. Ryan T. also told me that the Man Clan (that's what Anna and I have dubbed them. They are the three boys that Ryan N hangs out with remind me a lot of the Man Clan back in Franklin!) were already at the hospital in Cleveland, and that Anna and I were more than welcome to come too. So we loaded up and headed down the road.

Once at SkyRidge, we met up with the guys...and heard that an ambulance with Ryan N. hadn't been by. Anna and I went into the ER to check if Ryan N had been checked into the system. The man at the desk told us that he hadn't. So we went back outside and hung out until we had more information.

Then the phone call came.

Ryan N. was being airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. The lot of us loaded up in Ryan T's Explorer and booked it into Chattanooga. We made it in 15 minutes, but it felt like an eternity to get to the hospital. Once there, we made our way to the emergency room and asked for the Narramores. The lady at the desk told us that Mama and Papa Narramore were in the Family Waiting Room. We went in and sat with them and asked what the latest news was.

Papa Narramore told us that Ryan had been hit by a semi and was in surgery. He said that Ry had a ruptured spleen, a bleeding liver, a swelling brain, a broken leg, and two broken arms. He also informed us that the doctors had given my best friend a 50/50 chance of survival.

I felt like I had been sucker punched. I felt like I was simultaneously going to throw up, faint, and cry at the same time. I left the room and called my mom. And the tears started. This boy, who has seen me through such a hard season of my life, was standing at death's door, according to the doctor. Ryan, my best friend. Ryan, the one who makes me laugh and sings country songs loudly and wears boots and holds the door open for little old ladies and gives 5 dollar bills to the homeless man by the interstate exit, had a 50/50 chance of survival. I might not have ever see him again. I might not have ever been able to punch him in the arm when he called me a tard. I might not have ever been able to hear his advice again. My world, and the world of his closest friends, came to a screeching halt.

People that were important to Ryan began to arrive in the ER as the word spread. Pastors from Grove Level, Ryan T's mom, the Douglases, friends from Lee, faculty from Lee. We all prayed and waited for an answer from the doctors.

In about three hours, the doctors came out and told us that Ryan had survived surgery, but he had lost about 30-40 units of blood and his brain was still swelling. They also told us that it wasn't a day by day fight for Ryan, but an hour by hour battle. The doctors left, and more texts were sent. More family and friends came.

At 3:30, Anna and I had to come back to Lee for our class that started on Tuesday morning. We came home and crashed.

At 7:45, I woke up and called my mom. She asked how Ryan was, and I told her that the doctors were going to put pins and casts on his arms and legs, along with a gauge to measure brain activity that day (Tuesday).

Mom then told me that she had something to tell me. My stomach instantly plummeted, and I knew that my dad had had a heart attack. When she told me that's what happened, I began to cry. My house was only half liveable, my best friend was in critical condition, and now my dad was in the hospital from a heart attack. My life was quickly becoming chaotic.

Mom assured me that my dad was okay, and that he was stable. She said that his heart attack was minor, and that he was going to be okay. I couldn't help but be fearful. What if it happened again? What if my dad died from this? He wouldn't be able to see me graduate college or walk me down the aisle on my wedding day or hold his grandbabies. I'm very very very close to my dad, and these thoughts broke my heart. But mom assured me that dad was alright.

I went to class, and through my day, all in constant communication with my family and friends about dad's condition and Ryan's condition. Prayers were being prayed all over the world for both these men that mean so much to me.

Dad and I at my Senior Prom

Ryan teaching V how to shoot a rifle.

Tuesday night, Anna, the Man Clan, and I, all went to the hospital. We were hoping to see Ryan, but we were not able to. His brain was still very sensitive to swelling, and it was under stress when a lot of people were in the room. So we just hung out in the waiting room, trying to keep everything positive and uplifting. The boys did a great job of making us laugh, and we had a great time getting to know one another even more.

I found out how Ryan's wreck happened that night. He was on Dalton Pike going home, and was trying to pass multiple cars in his lane. This road is a two lane, straight shot, highway. He pulled into the left lane and there was a semi truck coming at him from a long distance off. The semi saw Ryan in his lane, and pulled off the road as far as he could. But Ryan couldn't clear it, and clipped the side of the semi.

It's a miracle that he lived through the wreck. God has SO got big plans for this boy!

We also heard that he was in rough condition in the ICU. Carly, his girlfriend, told us that there were lots of tubes and machines, but that he looked just like Ryan always has. No facial swelling, no scratches or bruises.

That night was rough. I came home and cried. I didn't know what was going to happen. I hit my knees and prayed hard. Anna, the superwoman that she is, cooked spaghetti for dinner. We ate it and watched Glee together, which put me in a better mood.

Wednesday, good news came. Ryan had a surgery to revist his liver (they had removed part of it, along with taking out his ruptured spleen) to check for continued bleeding. But- miracle!- there was NO MORE INTERNAL BLEEDING. And!!!!---- HIS BRAIN HAD STARTED DRAINING ON IT'S OWN. He was pumping blood on his own, and his brain swelling was going down. We were so happy. We cried happy tears, and danced around and sang praises to the King. Ryan's a fighter, and the Lord is merciful and mighty!

(I didn't go to the hospital on Wednesday, instead I was able to have date night with Chad. It was MARVELOUS to see him and get a hug and a kiss. He is really really amazing. I am so incredibly thankful for him. The ways he has impacted and blessed my life are beyond measure. :) )

Wednesday night, Ryan tried breathing on his own. HE WAS BREATHING ON HIS OWN. God is SO AWESOME. The doctors didn't want Ryan using his energy, so they gave him a paralytic to help him save his energy. But what a big step!

Thursday was a quiet day on the Ryan front. Dad was discharged from the hospital, and sent home in good spirits. I was able to go to the hospital yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, with hopes of seeing Ryan. But I wasn't able to. I hung out with his family, and updated them on my house and my dad's condition. We laughed and shared sweet stories of Ryan. I also spent lots of time with Carly, Ryan's girlfriend.

Today, more great news came. Color is coming back to Ryan's lips and cheeks. His brain pressure is the best it has been, and the doctors are going to attempt to take Ryan off his sedation to see if his body can handle being awake. If not, they will try again later.

All in all, it has been a crazy few weeks. It really is true that with Christ, all things are possible. It really is true that whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger (thank you, Kanye West, for that great piece of advice). It really is true that I have grown up a little more in the past 14 days. It really is true that God is still in the business of miracles, and that He hears my prayers and the prayers of so many around this globe. It really is true that He is King of Kings, and His name is greatly to be praised, come high waters, heart attacks, or serious car crashes. Because He cares, He loves, and He is in CONTROL.

Summer has started. Not really with the bang that I wanted it to, but it's okay. I've learned more and loved more and listened more. I am thankful for what God is doing and what He has planned for my future.

All the glory belongs to Him. I am just the messenger.

The Time Has Come...

2010-04-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

...For me to blog again.

I'm just a mess. I've got so many thoughts bouncing around in my head. All I want to do is:
A) paint.
B) sleep.
C) go home and crawl into my bed and have soup and just recover from this semester.
D) go back to Atlanta and goof off with the boy.
E) GO HOME.

I love Lee. Don't get me wrong. But today (and the past few days for that matter) has just been a little season of missing home. I miss Nashville, I miss Franklin. I miss swimming holes and Fusion and (gasp!) FHS. I guess I'm just burnt out on school and such. But I miss home. Miranda Lambert has this song out called "The House That Built Me." It makes me bawl everytime I hear it because I've grown up in the same house for 15 years, and because Franklin "
built" me. People laugh at how much I talk about Nashville. But I truly do miss it. And love it. It is my hometown.

<< Me in the first few weeks of college.

>>Me and Court (I'm on the right) today.

I am almost done with my first year of college. This freaks the tar outta me. For multiple reasons. I've grown soooo much! But it's just weird. Because I guess it really hasn't set in that I'm in COLLEGE. I'm almost a SOPHOMORE in COLLEGE. In THREE YEARS I will have my own classroom. Wooooa.

I'm almost done with my first year of college. That's so strange. No longer am I going to be a freshman, but a sophomore. It doesn't seem like that big a difference, but at the same time, it seems like a WORLD of difference. It's really really strange. I guess it's so strange because I am making decisions everyday that affect the rest of my life. Freaky.

I've changed SO much in the past 9 months. It's really kinda strange and sometimes makes me nervous that I'm not being true to myself, or that I'm going to let someone down by changing. But I feel like it's change for the better. I feel like I am growing, even though sometimes I have to take steps backward first, in order to take giant leaps forward.

Top Ten Things I've Learned During My Freshman Year (so far):
1. I am a clean person. (My parents thought I was kidding when I said this. But I'm not. I'm an extremely clean person now that I'm living on my own.)
2. It's never too late for a Steak and Shake run....
3. ....or a Krispy Kreme run...
4. ....or a Taco Bell run.
5. a 4.0 IS possible.
6. Time management is KEY.
7. Find a quiet place where you can be alone. Visit that place everyday.
8. Professors do care.
9. Adventuring, by yourself or with others, is a really fun Sunday afternoon activity.
10. You can never ever ever visit WalMart too many times in one week. (I think my record is 4 times in one week.)

Of course, there are serious things that I've learned as well. There have been ups, and there have been downs. There have been insanely frustrating moments, and there have been moments when I want to leap for joy. It can get really really tiring, all these ups and downs. But it's such a rush. It's such a thrill, getting to experience college and life on my "own."

All in all, I am thankful. All in all, I wouldn't trade college life, and this past year, for anything in the world. The Lord has been FAITHFUL and GOOD. He has seen me through rough times and great times. And it is by His strength and love that I live from day to day.

I can't wait for the summer. I'm not just saying that because I'm ready for school to be out, but I know that the Lord has big plans for this summer. :) And I can't wait for Him to reveal those plans!

Oh, Life.

2010-02-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

GOD IS SO GOOD.
GOD IS SO GOOD.
GOD IS SO GOOD.

His loving kindness and overflowing mercy astound me.
He is so good!

I'm back at Lee for my second semester of freshman year. I feel so much older. More mature. Stronger. It's strange.

But I did go through that phase this past week of feeling "lost." I realized I hadn't picked up a brush in months, or read just for the fun of it, or baked, or gone out shooting for photography, or taken a walk, or anything like that. And I missed it.

But now, I'm in Franklin for the weekend. I've only been here a few hours, and I already feel filled. My Franklin tank was getting low. It's full now. I'm laying in my bed, listening to Andy McKee, eating Cheeto Puffs, and blogging.

My idea of a fantastic Friday night.

Something nags at my heart, however. Plays its strings, and calls out from a deep place. I'm in my literal home. My parents are down the hallway, and I'm laying in my bed in my room surrounded by memories of my life before college...but I know deep down inside, in my heart of hearts...

I'm not home.

Because home is a place on the other side of this planet. Home is a little mud hut, surrounded by other little mud huts, surrounded by the Father's love and the Father's presence. Home is a one-roomed church/school house filled with hundreds of little bodies singing praises to the King.

Home is where the heart is.
And my heart isn't here.
It's in Africa.

So now, I embark on this interesting journey. Well, more like continue on it. But with a different flavor. Because after I got back from Malawi in the summer of 2009, I knew that I wouldn't be going back.

Or so I thought.

But tonight, something drew me to those pictures. And something twisted my heart. And something called me home.

I fall on my knees. And pray. Hard. Because if the Lord IS calling me back, there have to be a lot of things that happen in a very short period of time. Money has to come in, schedules have to open up, and a spot on the team has to open up.

But if it's His will, He will make a way. Because HE WORKS EVERYTHING OUT FOR MY GOOD.

Lately, I've been praying for Dad's will to be done in different aspects of my life. With my new boyfriend, with my Sophomore year at Lee, with my summer...

But then, something dawned on me. I have given the Lord a coloring sheet and a crayon and kindly said, "Please color this section, this section, and this section in your will. But stay in those sections.

Now I am giving Him a canvas and a paintbrush and asking Him to paint the CANVAS OF MY LIFE in a beautiful rainbow of colors. Because I don't want to compartmentalize. I want Him to be moving, living, breathing, flowing into every nook and cranny of my crazy life. I want to overflow with His love...and give Him all the glory for everything He does.

I wait. I pray. I journal. I cry. I laugh. I dance. I sing. I hope. I love. And I dream.
I am clay in the Father's hands, destined for greatness.
Let His will be done.

Shameless Plug

2010-01-06T11:42:00.001-08:00

Graduated with this guy.
Now he's at SAIC, totally rocking face.

Here's the link to his blog.
Czechitout.

Prone To Wander...and Wonder

2009-12-23T10:18:00.001-08:00

The past few days have been a challenge. The past few weeks have been a challenge. The past few months have been a challenge.

But I've loved almost every minute of it.

I've especially loved the minutes that I remember that I have a Heavenly Father who cares enough about me to provide for my every need. My need to be loved, my need to be encouraged, my need to be held and whispered to....all of them! And man, does this move me to tears.

Because honestly, I'm really not a good Christian. I have a tendency to wander and wonder. I wander away from the God that I so dearly love and I know so dearly loves me. I wander into the arms of earthly things or people, looking to them to fulfill my every need. But they cannot- they are earthly beings, fallen children just like I am.

I wonder at what God is up to. There are many moments that I get frustrated because I can't see the big picture. There are moments that I just want to hurry up and graduate college and start teaching and get married and live in Africa and have a family and live happily ever after. And there are moments that I wonder on a more short term basis....I am not patient, and when I see that God is taking His sweet time unfolding something for me, I like to hurry it along. But usually that winds up in something going wrong.

So I'm learning. I'm learning to trust, and allow Dad to love on me and take me into the desert place and speak tenderly to me, like Scripture says in Hosea. It's hard sometimes because God isn't always tangible. I am really affectionate. That's my receiving love language. I love hugs and kisses and hand holding and snuggling. But since the Lord isn't here physically, I can't always feel Him hugging me or holding my hand or dancing with me through fields of wildflowers.

But I know He is.

When the sun shines on my face, or the wind blows my hair, I can't help but think, "I bet Dad's thinking how beautiful I am right now. Look at how my hair sparkles in the sunshine, or how it dances in the wind. He is so enthralled by my beauty!" And this makes me so excited.

Then there are those moments where I am enthralled by HIS beauty. The fog lifting from the mountains in Chattanooga, or the stars here in Franklin the other night, or those precious little chocolate-colored faces that swim into my night time dreams and my day time dreams quite frequently...they all captivate me because they are such a perfect picture of God's love and His beauty.

A very important person has recently stepped out of my life, and I've been really having to rely on Dad to carry me lately. There are moments when I feel physical pain due to this loss. There are moments when I can't help but to break down and cry. There are moments when I ask God "Why?" and there are moments when I want to undo everything that happened. But I was reading on Katie Davis' blog the other day about how when someone steps out of our life, and we feel that pain and heartache, that MUST be how Christ feels when we lose sight of Him. It says in Scripture that when the Shepherd loses just one sheep out of 100, He goes looking for it. Sometimes I am that sheep. Most of the time, I'm embarrassed at the place He finds me in. Not literally, but heart-wise. Sometimes other things have taken over His throne, and I am ashamed. But He lifts my head with His hand, looks into my eyes, picks me up, and carries me Home.

I am the Prodigal Daughter. I am the Lost Sheep. But most importantly, I am a Daughter, a Warrior, an Heir, and a Princess. I am His, and He is mine.

Once Upon A Time...

2009-11-09T13:21:00.001-08:00

...I used to blog more.
...I was a high school student.

But now. Now I'm not a high school student. No longer do I have a principal, a locker combination to remember, or my own bedroom. Now I answer to college professors, enjoy sharing a 9' by 14' room with one of my best friends, and have about 48 different numbers, passwords, and usernames to remember.

But boy howdy, DO I LOVE IT.

I'm at Lee University. I get along with this place like peanut butter and jelly get along. It's beautiful. It's nestled right in the middle of las montanas (or "the mountains" for all you non-Spanish extraordinares out there), the people here are INCREDIBLY God- breathed, and the Lord thrives on this campus.

College is a little weird, though. No longer am I surrounded by the people that helped me be "me." I know that first and foremost Christ, and my relationship with Him, defines who I am. But in a sense, you can't help but to cash in on what others say about you, think about you, and act toward you. At home in Franklin, I was Amberly, the Africa-loving, sweet pea, art freak. Now I'm Amberly the....

It's a clean slate, is what it is. It's completely exciting but insanely disturbing at the same time. I get this EXACT feeling staring at a literal blank canvas before a painting. There are so many different directions that I can go. But I feel that tug toward the "known," toward my past, toward my roots. I know that I'll remain faithful to my roots for the rest of my life, to one extent or another. I'll always love kids and have a really, really, really, really big heart for other countries, most specifically the continent of Africa. I'll always feel absolutely perfect with a brush in my hand and Ray LaMontagne on my radio.

But now, now I'm in a new culture. Gone are the cowboy boots and cowboy hats. Gone is the Pancake Pantry. Gone are the TPC Youth Kids. Gone are my parents (well, not literally GONE, but out of my everyday life). Gone is the Nashvillian Culture. (Isn't it funny that you don't realize how INSANELY AWESOME a place is until you leave it?) Gone is my bedroom. Gone is my house with all its little creaks and groans in the night. Gone is my favorite bookstore, with my favorite overstuffed sofa. Gone are my backroads that provided therapy for so many frustrating days. Gone are my carpool buddies that would accompany me in a lively (and very off key) rendition of "Gone" by NSYNC.

And in their place are beautiful trees. New people. New family that lives within 30 steps of me (and shares the same bathroom that I do). An insanely amazing boyfriend. Fantastic opportunities to positively impact the world around me for the glory of the Father. Beautiful parks. An "adoptive" mom and dad that live 20 minutes from here. Freedom out the wazoo. Cleveland Culture...which isn't as awesome or inspiring as that of Nashville, but still offers some interesting opportunities. Free food. And lots of it.

So in short, I miss home. But I love it here, and I know that the Lord has me here for a reason. I love love love Lee. There are definitely tough days, but I'm gonna have those anywhere. But here, the fantastic days far outweigh the tough days.

Top 10 Memories So Far:
1. Meeting my boyfriend in the ID line.
2. Party in the USA music video making.
3. Girl's Nights
4. Spending more time (and money) at Wal Mart than ever before.
5. Seeing yellow butterflies EVERYWHERE.
6. The sunsets here.
7. Meeting more people than I could ever imagine in the span of about 49 minutes.
8. Having professors tell you their testimonies.
9. Having professors remind you that they're praying for you.
10. Learning that you really DO change freshman year.

Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward T0
1. THANKSGIVING BREAK!! (Dalton, Mississippi, extended-family meeting, food-consuming...)
2. Christmas Break! (Franklin, Gatlinburg, hot-tubbing, cookie making, girls nighting...)
3. Small Groups the rest of the year
4. My art classes next semester
5. Tutoring elementary schoolers next semester
6. Spring Break
7. Urban Outreach Weekend 1 and 2.
8. Skype dates with Neens and Em.
9. Continuing to teach my kindergarten Sunday School class.
10. Even MORE baking parties.

So here's to you, College Adventure. I love you so far!

Ps--- This is my shameless plug for Em, my seestar. She's going to North Africa this Spring. CHECK IT OUT: http://emifaye.blogspot.com/

Nashville, Malawi, and Everywere In Between.

2009-07-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have returned!

I've returned from Malawi, and the month of chaos that followed. And here I am, basking in the cool(er) weather here in Middle Tennessee in my pajamas, drinking sweet tea.

Malawi:

WAS INCREDIBLE. No, that's an understatement. But OHMAN, did the Lord move. We saw about 5 people come to Christ, and a few of us got the chance to talk to some of the kids about Christ. I was able to talk to my little friend Sarah about Jesus- it was so encouraging, and so cool!

We got delayed in Nashville. It's really funny when you think about it, getting delayed before you even start the race. But we hung in there, and eventually made it to Dulles, our second stop on our 3 day journey. The president and his wife came out to see us off:

After Dulles, we arrived(after a 7 hour red-eye flight) in London. We didn't get to go out into London this year, due to being delayed in Nashville. But we had fun in the Yotel again...

After the Heaven of the Heathrow airport, we left with heavy, down-trodden hearts. The pits of Hell awaited us, in the form of the Nairobi airport. No air conditioning, LOTS of people, not very much English, and nothing really to do. The airport is about a football field's length long, and I could about stand in the middle of it, and touch the sides. It's pretty narrrow. I start feeling sick just thinking about it. We had a delay here too. Of about 3 hours.

And finally, after another flight of 2 hours and sitting on the tarmac in some strange city in Zambia for 45 minutes, WE MADE IT TO MALAWI!

We retrieved our bags, and came out into the parking lot (that brought back a FLOOD of memories from last year) to find the youth from Capital City Baptist Church (CCBC) waiting for us! They helped us load up our luggage, and we were on our way to Kumbali.

It was so crazy and exciting being back in Malawi. It felt like I was home. As we drove through the country, all my memories from last year came back, and I couldn't help but tear up at the thought of the people that weren't in Malawi this year, from our team last year. But I knew that the Lord still had crazy awesome things in store for us...AND BOY, DID HE EVER!

here we are!

2009-06-18T08:21:00.001-07:00

In the past month that I haven't been updating my dearest bloggy blog, I've been:

Grad partyin' it up:

This is Will. Enjoying the Chocolate Fountain of Wonder at my grad party.

Praying over my senior class:

GRADUATING:

This is pretty self explanatory. :]

Traveling to Mexico (Playa Del Carmen):

Where my family started out on vacation, but our trip wound up being a mini mission trip. Absolutely amazing. What happened could have ONLY happened through the power of the Lord. I have now found where I want to move to teach. :] After Africa and the inner city.

Seeing Coldplay LIVE here in Nashville:

Then I led a small group of 1st grade boys at VBS at my home church. Now, I had 10 first graders. Who were an absolute HANDFUL, but totally worth it. I got the awesome honor and oppportunity to lead 3 of them to Christ. Such an amazing time!

After VBS, we had youth camp:

Where we had bubble blowing competitions on the bus to camp.

And we did the Everything Skit to the song Everything by Lifehouse. It was pretty powerful stuff, and there were some campers that came to Christ that night! Praises!

And now, after all of that craziness, I am stting in the midst of Packing Chaos in my room. Because tomorrow folks,

I AM HEADED BACK TO LILONGWE, MALAWI.

I am so incredibly stoked, but not so incredibly stoked about my mile-long to-do list, or having to finish up camp laundry so that I can re-pack 7 pairs of socks. But alas, I AM GOING BACK. The flight leaves tomorrow at 1pm. Hot diggity dog, here I come, Malawi!

el fin.

2009-05-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

A Haiku by Me:

I'm done with high school.
Goodbye FHS, I'll miss you.
Hello, dear sweet summer!

Man. I'm done. It's sooooooo weird.

I cleaned out my locker, and my art cubbies, and all my random possessions in the art room...it was like moving out of a house.

We signed yearbooks today, we ate our last meal on FHS grounds.

I heard my last dismissal bell, I walked out to my parking spot for the last time. I drove away for the last time. I looked back, and remembered.

I remembered:
-Freshman year, and my first day of high school.
-Freshman band
-the band bus.
-Mr. Jones.
-Dr. Beat.
-BAND CAMP.
-Mr. A.
-pushups.
-California.
-OC Marathons.
-flute eggs.
-dot books.
-Mrs. Vaden. (aka: Darth Vader, and her transporter to the Underworld.)
-singing Queen at the top of our lungs under Mrs. Vaden's desk.
-dissecting the fetal pig sophomore year.
-moving into the new building.
-being one of the first students in the new building.
-accidentally walking into the boys bathroom.
-getting moved in Spanish because John and I "talked too much."
-Art 1, and washing our brushes in a water cooler.
-Student Council.
-getting my arms covered in spray glue at Float Bulding.
-Tyler.
-Relient K in concert.
-the phone scavenger hunt.
-teaching Liane how to drive a stick shift.
-piccolo.
-the smell of the band room.
-going commando in our (new) band uniforms in California.
-NOLA, 07.
-"I feel like a burrito!"
-"The sun raped my face!"
-gutting those houses.
-Big Booty.
-Little Sally Walker.
-permagrins and THE BUNGALOW.
-camp.
-"McDonalds" at 2am.
-piling in Kevin's car.
-football games.
-the student section.
-AFRICA.
-Invisible Children.
-painting my fingers to the bone.
-APUSH.
-Florida.
-prom.
-dance parties in Ms. Saylor's room.
-camping out in Ms. Saylor's room.
-yearbook staff.
-girls' nights.
-dreaming.
-decorating our parking spots with sidewalk chalk.
-Fake Fusions.
-the class of 2009.
-blasting NSYNC in my car with the girls.
-getting advice from the boys.
-the FRIST.
-Art Buddy.
-STUDIO ART AP.
-sisters from another mister.
-flour wars.
-paintballing.
-loving.

Man, what a ride. I'm so thankful for the past 4 years, and I can't wait to see what the Father has in store for the next chapter of my life!

woooooooa! take a look at me nooooooo-ow!

2009-05-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY SAVIOR IN HEAVEN,

I AM DONE WITH MY ART PORTFOLIO! :]

A little taste of what's in it (more soon!) :

<"Goldfish in a Bowl" -abstract, happend on accident. Cleaning off my palatte from another piece, I decided to use the extra paint on this sucker. Turned out to be a beaut!

So, now that I'm officially done with my art portfolio, and I took my English 4 AP exam today...I'm practically done with high school. I have 4---COUNT THEM, 4!!!!!---days left of my high school career. This is kinda freakin' me out, and making me so stinkin' excited at the same time. Yuuuuuus.

Africa is soon! it's like 42 days. Man oh man, this is going to be so great. I can't wait to get back!

Grad parties have already started. The yearbook came in yesterday. It's beautiful! I'm done with Studio Art. No more hanging in Ms. Saylor's room at all hours of the school day. Lunches on the lawn are drawing to a close...man, sad day!

But in other news, our cruise to Mexico got cancelled, due to "Swine Flu."

-----Swine Flu is a HOAX. All it is is the media of the US blowing it up into this HUGE deal. More people have died from the regular flu since the beginning of the year than Swine Flu.

Where is the media coverage about the 15 MILLION children that die EVERY YEAR of hunger? Where is the media coverage about the 2 MILLION people that die EVERY YEAR of AIDS? Swine Flu isn't a pandemic. AIDS and world hunger are pandemics.

World hunger is completely preventable. The average American family spends $800 on Christmas. This could give 7 children in developing nations 1 meal per day for a year.

Okay, hopping down off my soapbox...

So, our cruise was cancelled. I was excited, honestly. I loved the cruise, but am much more of a beach bum, hang out by the pool type o' gal. So we are now looking at our favorite beach house in Seaside, FL. Or possibly flying down to Cozymel (which stole our hearts last summer) and staying in an all-inclusive. I'm purty pumped. :]

Here are some Prom 09 pictures! We had a blast.

Karl and I at the Angles. >

Half the gang, at Picture Station #1. >

So now I'm off to work on Senior Slideshows for my grad party (WOO!) and the Senior Recognition for the class of 2009 (aka Kono) at church next week. Could you pass the Kleenex box, please?

ONE Story.

2009-04-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

I am 18 years old. I am from a small town just south of Nashville, Tennessee. I have big plans and dreams ahead of me, that include furthering my education at a university. But my story isn’t about me. My story is about the precious souls of the children that I had the amazing opportunity to meet last summer.
During the summer of 2008, I was presented with an opportunity to venture overseas to Lilongwe, Malawi to teach in schools and build a home for a family that adopted an AIDS orphan. I had no clue where Malawi was, and what it was like. I spent many an hour on Google researching the place that would soon steal my heart.
Google told me about the beautiful Lake Malawi, the kind Malawian people, and the wonderful scenery in this country. What Google didn’t tell me about was the absolute poverty that has stricken the country of Malawi. Like so many sub-Saharan African countries, Malawi is plagued with disease and famine. But these life altering circumstances don’t stop the Malawian people. They are a people of hope and of joy. (Google didn’t inform me of this either.) Even in the face of death, starvation, and drought, the Malawians shook me out of my comfortable American kid bubble, and into reality.
My first day in Malawi, I taught the African equivalent to an American kindergarten class. I was lead to a small brick room and 28 smiling, breath-takingly beautiful faces. The teacher I was temporarily replacing instructed that I was to teach these little ones the Alphabet, body parts, colors, and numbers. I was a valuable asset because I’m from America, and therefore have an accent (albeit a very Southern one). As I looked around the small room with one window, I thought to myself, “Man, I have more in my book bag alone than these children will ever see. I have textbooks, notebooks, and pencils. These children have nothing.” I was accustomed to having materials to teach with, like a blackboard or flashcards. But none of these awaited my use here in this brick room. So, my imagination kicked in, and we embarked on a journey that included lots of laughter, some language barriers, and even some learning- on both my part as the teacher, and their part as my students. These Malawian children are some of the lucky few that are able to receive an education. Most children in third-world nations don’t ever get to hold a pencil, or see a textbook. There are children in our world that don’t know how to add two and two, or what a verb is. Every child, from sea to shining sea, deserves to know what it’s like going to class and holding a pencil, or raising their hand to answer a question. And this can be done, if those that hold prominent positions in our world step up, step out, and let their voices be heard.
With the education of children around the world, new ideas and styles of thinking will be brought to life. Creative minds, all around the glob, working together for a common cause can truly change our world. Even children in third-world countries have dreams, just like 8 year old Ishmael told me, “I would love to become a doctor when I grow up. To help my people not be sick anymore would be so….cool.” He then burst out with an uninhibited smile, which brought tears to my eyes. Because I know the future of this small boy, along with his hopes and dreams, rests on our shoulders as a country where providence flows.
I’m not a politician; I’m not a world leader. But I am a world changer, and with the help of all those around me, including those that are prominent in the American society, WE can change the world. WE can have a positive influence on those that can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. WE can be hope carriers to those who have lost all hope. WE can change the world, starting with educating those small minds that are part of our global community.

the home stretch.

2009-04-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well howdy there, Mr. Blog!

This is becoming my "Holy Crap I'm Graduating! Brain Dump Place." But I promise that I'll sprinkle in some other tidbits of news in here too.

I just planned out my next two weeks. This week is full of catch-up...both academically and socially. Mainly socially though. Because I'm a 4th Quarter Senior. And I don't do school work anymore. But get this: I HAVE 41 DAYS UNTIL GRADUATION. 41! 41 school, weekend, bummin' around school, and exam days left. In 41 days, I will be gradumatated. Praise the Lord!

I spent last weekend at Lee University signing up for classes. This was so surreal to me. I'm going to college. I'm signing up for classes that sculpt my future. I'm leaving home, and embarking on a new adventure. Hot dog! I absolutely cannot wait. From rooming with one of my best friends to discovering new cute coffeeshops to new friends and people to meet (read: boys), I am so excited!

This week was spring break. And boy howdy, was it needed! Here's some snippets of what I did...

< Raced shopping carts in parking lots...

Had Fake Fusion with the youth group, where we had great roomie boding time... ^

< and aided the Senior Boys in their fashion show at Target.
(Where we were stalked by an employee that kept giving us looks. We were just killing time before our movie!)

All in all, a great spring break. :]

In other news, high school consists of getting ready (and pumped!) for Prom '09, sending in final transcripts to our choice colleges, and eating lunch outside. :]

Summer holds: GRADUATION, Vacation Bible School, Youth Camp, AFRICA, return trip to Mexico, THE POOL, girl time, last memories with the Class of 09, Kid's Camp, a possible mission trip to NYC, a possible beach trip with the girls....and COLLEGE! Wooo hoo! Let's go!

and the countdown begins.

2009-03-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

I am attempting procrastination. This will be an extremely random and ADD post...so beware! :]

I'm watching Little People Big World, on TLC. This show is growing on me. I think it's cute. So anyways. Molly, the daughter on the show, graduated from 8th grade on the episode I just watched. Now, I've been there. And it wasn't really that big of a deal. But it's what Molly and her friends did after the ceremony that got me.

They ran to each other and hugged each other's necks really tightly. And it hit me a little bit: I'M GRADUATING IN JUST OVER 80 DAYS. I will be a high school graduate. I will be going to college. When August rolls around, and everyone's buying school supplies and new clothes, I'll be going to Cleveland, TN for college at Lee. That is SO weird. That's uncharted waters, is what that is.

Freaky.

I'm counting down the minutes until the finale of The Bachelor. My mom and I watch the show every Monday, while we eat ice cream. It's our own little tradition...one that I will greatly miss next year. But I'm excited for the show. I know it's all hokey and television, but I still think Jason is totally cute. :]

I'M GOING BACK TO MALAWI. I will be in Malawi in a little over 3 months. Weird weird weird. We had our second team meeting yesterday...and I am so excited but also a jumble of other feelings. The idea that some of the girls and guys that went last year won't be there this year is weird to me. But it's exciting that there will be new faces and friends on this team. It's also weird to think that I'm going back. I'll be crawling in the dirt again. I'll have 6 little hands wrapped around my fingers, while we waddle back to the Adziwa village for lunch. I'll teach little guys how to play Frisbee, and play the "dancing game" with the girls. I'll be laughed at by the native workers that we work alongside with on the house. I'll be going home.

Prayer points for Malawi 09:
-peace in the journey before the journey
-protection for traveling mercies
-guidance in what to teach and how to teach it
-trust that the Lord will provide!
-blessings from the Lord in monetary and spiritual ways that only the Father can do!

Man, it's just so weird. But boy howdy...AM I STINKIN' EXCITED!!!

Countdown::
Graduation- 82 days until graduation. (includes weekends and Spring Break)
38 SCHOOL days until graduation.
Malawi- 109 days!

an ode to the things i love.

2009-02-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

So I haven't updated this doo-hickey in a very long while. But I've got lotsa thoughts bouncin' around in my head...so here goes. :]

(That was a very Southern Slang sentence.)

Disclaimer: There are many many many more things I love. But Grey's Anatomy comes on in an hour, and I cannot miss it.

1. Winter Retreat:

So we (my youth group) just got back from Winter Retreat. It was absolutely incredible. The Lord has brought us all back together in ways that we've been praying for for over a year. Man, what a great God!

Last night we had a Fusion (our Wednesday night youth service) and debriefed what Winter Retreat was for us. Needless to say, God moved again.

Winter Retreat WAS full of funny things, like skits, copious amounts of M&Ms, and LOTS of giggles. And scavenger hunts. Which the Group 2 owned FACE at.

2. The Senior Class of 2009:
I am 54ish school days away from being a graduate. This makes me excited beyond words. But that's not why I love the senior class. I love the senior class because we are FAMILY. Just like it says in Nehemiah, when one of us is missing from the group, there is a tangible hole. Each one of us brings something different to the table. (I'm sorta stealing this from Will...bare with me.)
We each have our own strengths and our own weaknesses. But we complete each other so perfectly, it can only happen through the Lord. In the class of 2009, or Kono, we have: leaders of all shapes and sizes, artists, lovers, dreamers, scholars, musicians, comedians, dancers, prayer warriors, risk takers, photographers, directors, actors, filmakers, teachers, missionaries, justice-seekers, optimists, and planners. We are by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but we love each other unconditionally nonetheless. We are clay in the Father's hands, going anyway He leads. How incredibly blessed I am to be in such a diverse and loving family.

3. Oil Paint:
Dear oil painting, how I love you. Actually, dear any type of painting, I love you. As soon as I have a brush in my hand, everything fades away (yes, I proudly stole this from The Notebook). But it really is true. I get in my own little world when I paint...just me and the canvas. Sometimes, I get stuck. I hit a "painter's block." But usually, with some thoughtful sketching and some great music, I can bust on through that dumb painter's block. I especially love the way oil paints smell. They just permeate my memory, and I know that whenever I smell that particular scent, it will bring me back to my adventure with my canvas. Some people say that they take their cars on adventures. Or their cameras. Or even their friends. But with a canvas, I can do anything.

4. Picnik:
Oh my lanta, I never knew photo editing could be so fun. Hello a new form of procrastination. But hey, it's creative!

5. Driving with my windows down:
Oh, the wind in my hair, the clouds in the sky... just kidding. But I really do like that. There's just such a feeling of freedom while driving with the windows down. Especially to good music.

6. Del Rio:
Not "of the river" in Spanish. Well, it is. But that's not what I mean. Del Rio is this really great narrow road that winds through the fields and "countryside" here in Franklin. I especially like it while driving with my windows down. There's not much traffic on it, so it's almost like the movie Elizabethtown, when Orlando Bloom is just crusin' along listening to some really great music. Yeah, I like it. :] Both Del Rio and the movie Elizabethtown.

7. Africa:
I'M GOING BACK THIS SUMMER! Praise the Almighty Father, I've been called to return back home. I've still got dirt from Malawi in my shoes, and not a day passes that I don't think about those precious children. Hopefully I can brush up on my soccer skills before I return...

A Random List of Things I Love, But I'm Not Going To Elaborate On Because I Want To Watch Grey's:
-throw pillows.
-travelling.
-acoustic guitar.
-love stories.
-Preds games. (Nashville's hockey team)
-football.
-sweet tea.
-the Art Girls. (I see them every morning. Without them, I wouldn't have anyone to share my embarassing stories with at 7:30 a.m.)
-my car.
-my car's sunroof.
-best friends.
-answered prayers.
-God moments.
-sisters from other misters. (Not literally. But I've got some great gals that surround me. And I'm pretty sure the Lord didn't put some of us in the same family because...well, I don't think there's a set of parents out there that could handle some of us in the same family. We're a bit goofy.)
-dance parties.
-senior boys that have Lumberjack day.

Mr. Golden Sun

2009-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here's the top ten reasons I would really like the sun to come out:

1. Photo outings! Do you know how hard it is to take pictures in sub-40 degree temperature? Exactly. Frozen fingers!

2. Sundresses. Boy, do I miss my sundresses and skirts. Jeans get kinda old after awhile...

3. Going barefoot! I hate wearing shoes. I hate cold, it makes me wear shoes. I hate shoes. Wait. I love shoes, I am a girl. I love buying them, I love looking at them in store windows and drooling over the ones I can't afford. I hate WEARING shoes. Yeah, that's it. I hate the act of wearing them. I love shoes themselves.

4. Farmer's Market. So I've actually not been to the Farmer's Market in awhile. But I miss the colors, and the people. And now that I have Marty the Cannon Rebel, it will be more of an adventure.

5. The beach. So I was born in southern Alabama. On the Gulf. And I basically love the beach, and would totally live on the beach if I could. But because it's cold, I can't go to the beach. Warm weather, please come!

6. Driving with my windows down. So I do this now, but it's not nearly as fun. Because it gets really cold when you have all that wintery wind blowing into your car...

7. Days at the park. Man, I miss Pinkerton. I miss just going to camp out for the day and play Frisbee and eat snacks and swing.

8. River hopping. A branch of the Harpeth River is right behind my house. I live with a very adventurous dad and brother. We usually wind up in the river at least twice during the summer, doing all sorts of things from fishing to skipping stones to swimming. The dog usually gets roped into our adventures too. Great fun.

9. Fireworks. We do fireworks in the winter, but it's not quite the same. There's just something about sitting around on a hot July night eating watermelon and watching the fireworks. Or watching them after a baseball game.

10. Various Summer Activities. I miss Vacation Bible School (speaking of, isn't it about time to announce the theme?). I miss kid's camp, and playing in the pool with the 3rd grade girls. I miss youth camp and crawling through mud that smells like New Orleans, and eating Nutella and M&Ms on the back porch of our cabin.

It's a safe thing to say that I am not really a fan of the cold. It's almost like the cold makes me become a hermit. All I want to do is curl up with a warm blanket and a good book. And some hot chocolate.

So, dear summer, HURRY!

(And Mr. Groundhog, please don't see your shadow next week!)

first snow and ramblings.

2008-12-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

It snowed tonight. On December 11th, in good ole Tennessee. Wow oh wow. :]

Here's 14 completely random things about me and my life right now:

1. I know I've said this 647 times, but Amos Lee is so incredible.

2. I always get struck with inspiration late at night or at inopportune moments during the day...

3. ...hence why I almost always have a sketchbook on me or near me.

4. I am currently craving a London Fog.

5. It snowed today.

6. I really want to watch Chicago.

7. One of my goals for winter break: make stir fry for at least 5 people.

8. I like Ebay. A lot.

9. When I see the Malawian Nativity scene on the coffee table, I smile.

10. Michael W. Smith's newest album, A New Hallelujah, is absolutely beautiful.

11. A purchase of flannel socks may be in my very near future. My feet stay cold in the winter.

12. I spend half of my school day, literally, in the art room...

13. ...usually with the other Studio kids, listening to music and talking (and occasionally working on a project). We are family.

14. If I could be anywhere in the world right now:

Mission-wise: Sitting with Aefe on the field watching the boys play soccer, feeling the wind blow, Daddy's presence, and practicing our letters.

Just because-wise: in a hammock with a book on the beach somewhere where it's 83 degrees and sunny.
Africa Girl's Nights (the girls that went on the team) are always lots of fun. Especially Christmas Extravaganza ones. Complete with a PJ pants swap and cookie-making. :]

I Need Africa

2008-11-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

So my friends at Mocha Club have started a new project called, "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me." I learned about it from BooMama, and thought, "Oh, why not. It sounds cool, and I do love me some Mocha Club..." So here we go.

Why I need Africa more than Africa needs me:

So, here I lay in my nice, warm bed in one of the most affluent counties in the nation: Williamson County in Middle Tennessee. I am typing this on the eve of Thanksgiving, possibly one of the most underrated holidays in our nation. Thanksgiving is looked over until you've been to a third-world country. Talk about a reality check. I ventured to Lilongwe, Malawi this past summer, and learned enough about thankfulness and blessing to last me a good long while.

I haven't always been crazy about Africa. When I was younger (like, oh say, 12...) the idea of missionaries in Africa freaked me out. There were elephants, and rhinos, and native people with spears in Africa. No thank you, Lord. I'm just fine doing missions in my nice, comfortable American Kid Bubble.

And then, my freshman year of high school, that was all turned on its head. I began to learn about the uprising of the LRA in Northern Uganda, and participated in a Global Night Commute with Invisible Children. From that night on, I'm positive that I've had an Africa-shaped hole in my heart.

Last spring, an opportunity to go to Africa arose. My youth group was traveling over to help build a house, teach school, and lead a Vacation Bible School with a village just outside of Lilongwe, Malawi. Now, Malawi is this teeny tiny sliver of a country sandwiched between Mozambique and Zambia. Malawi is where some of my best friends live.

I need Africa more than Africa needs me because I left my heart there. I met children that cannot comprehend going to school with a bookbag full of notebooks and pencils and textbooks. I met teenage girls that rather than spending their afternoons with girlfriends, they spend their afternoons caring for their baby brothers and sisters. I met men who provide for families on under one American dollar.

Just becase I lay my head down every night on a nice soft pillow in a nice warm bed, doesn't mean that some of my best friends do too. Some of my best friends dig old magazines out of trashcans to take their science notes on. Some of my best friends don't know what it's like to go to school and sit in a desk.

I need Africa because Africa taught me to dream on a whole new level. Africa taught me to laugh, and love, and learn. Africa taught me to be thankful, and to trust that the Lord will provide. Africa taught me to wave at strangers, and that a smile can make a world of difference.

I need Africa because the people are incredible, and they taught me so much while I was there. I went to Lilongwe, Malawi for two weeks the summer before my senior year expecting to serve the people there, but in return, I was blessed beyond words. The people of Africa are truly amazing, and blessed me in more ways than I can put into words. I need Africa.

hello there, blog.

2008-11-23T21:38:00.001-08:00

i take pictures when i drive:

It's been awhile. Igot this idea from mollyis.com (totally worth checking out.).

eight things i'm obsessed with:

01. Football. We are in the 4th round semifinals. Woohoo! Celebrated a HUGE win over our rival on Friday. Praise the Lord!

02. London Fogs: The best drink ever at Starbucks. Perfect for overcast days. Or days with lots of studying.

03. Dave Barnes: Oh, beautiful. Beautiful voice. He's pretty beautiful himself. :]

04. Union University: I'm going! I've been accepted, and I'm currently waiting on a letter telling me how much money they'll award me. I'm super excited, and cannot wait for college.

05. Africa: Well, no shocker here. Invisible Children stuff (book drive) is going well. It's so cool watching how the Lord provides! We had our first Mission Meeting today. It was soley an interest meeting, but I can't wait to be back in Malawi. I miss my home.

06. Girlfriendies: Girl's Nights are the best. They're good for the soul. We laugh our heads off. They're pretty grand. No matter what The Man Clan says, Girl's Nights are WAY better than Man Nights.

07. Art: Also, no surprise. A few new projects coming up...getting excited!

08. Cold Weather Clothes: From scarves to gloves, I love them all. Way way way too much fun to play around with.

eight things i say:

01. blast

02. holey moley

03. bee-een. (pronounced B-eeen.)

04. theeeeeater.

05. geeze louise.

06. hilarous.

07. fantastic.

08. fab.

eight things i want:

01. 4 stretched canvases, ranging in size.

02. a london fog.

03. grey shrug boots.

04. pangea necklace

05. anthropologie dress.

06. nikon d60.

07. a mac book.

08. grey's anatomy season 4 on dvd.

fall = love.

2008-09-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

How I absolutely adore fall. It's got me dancing and wondering and adventure-ing, and dreaming. I think it's the way the air feels and smells.

Ray LaMontagne and Amos Lee are the names of the game today. And open windows and a sketchbook. Oh, sweet bliss. This is what Heaven will be like.

i think my heart may explode.

2008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

A girl's heart can only take so much excitement.

We (the seniors at school) have already started a count-down to senior year. 136 days, my friend. Woo hoo. But also oh no...my time is running out.

Since seeing the Go! Movie, all I have been able to think about is how BLESSED I am, and how much NEED there is in the world. Specifically, Northern Uganda. I mean, having my heart located there really doesn't have anything to do with it.... :] kidding, of course. So I am currently marvelously entangled in the web of organizing the BIGGEST community wide book drive ever. All for the sake of students in Northern Uganda that have been affected by the longest running genocide in human history. Man, I'm excited.

PLUS....senior year is rockin. I've applied to one college, and am going to work on another application this weekend. (Can you tell that there's no football?) Speaking of football...WE ARE UNDEFEATED. Yessss. We play one of our biggest rivals in a week, and I'm honestly sitting on pins and needles. It will be a great game!

And then, the leaves are changing, and it feels FABULOUS outside. I would be out there blogging this and listening to Matchbox Twenty/John Mayer/Justin Nozuka. Yay Pandora, but boo wireless internet that only reaches so far.

And! Oh, and. GREYS ANATOMY TONIGHT. YEAHHHH. The long awaited season. Hooray, I have made it! I had my doubts. I'm ridiculously addicted to Grey's. It's quite sad. But, oh well. :]

I just can't wait for:
-the book drive to officially be kicked off.
-MY 18TH BIRTHDAY.
-the leaves start changing colors.
-fall picnics
-outside sketchbook days.
-more football.

because i miss it.

2008-09-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn, one of the Middle School pastors at TPC is in Malawi right now. I think the day she left was the hardest day since being back. What I wouldn't give to have been on that plane with her.

There's no dout about it, my heart is in Africa. I didn't believe that for a few days on and off since I've been home. But now, more than ever...I know my heart is there.

3 months later. After blood, sweat, and tears of 15 American teenagers and 5 adults went into that house, it still stands and is being lived in. I walked that land, I layed those bricks. I prayed over that house countless times...there, and here. I think about the family that lives in that house everyday. I'll never forget spending hours in the bathroom with Court, or sweeping with my hands with Kelso and Will. I'll never forget the picture of love that the Lord showed us on that last day. This is The House That Love Built.

some of my new favorite things.

2008-09-10T14:00:00.001-07:00

Courtney and I ventured** to Nashvegas this past weekend to see the GO! premier of the new Invisible Children movie. Oh man, how God has put this organization on my heart. The showing was so cool, it was at Take 121 Arts...which was totally cute and totally me. Very artsy, very comfortable, and very down-home feeling. There were alot of Belmont kids there-which was exciting.

**[ I say ventured because we MapQuested directions, and they led us through the ghetto of downtown Nashville. Two blondes+maps+ghetto... not the best mix.]

The movie itself was SO awesome. It brought back many memories- it's about a team of students from all across America that raised the most money out of all the schools that competed in Schools for Schools. As their adventure unfolded on the movie, I couldn't help but remember my journey to Africa. Of course, their's was vastly different, but at the same time, so similar to mine. After the movie, the IC Roadies introduced us to 5 of the team members that went. I was so psyched, and I'm now friends with 2 of them on Facebook.

So. A list. 'Cause I like those...and I'm good at them.

My NEW Favorite Things:
-Kairos on Tuesday nights.
-Go!
-Schools 4 Schools
-Nalgene jars...just don't let them get over heated.
-Monoprinting
-Senior Student Council
-THE STUDENT SECTION.
-tailgating
Oh, how fun senior boys are.

the rollercoaster of senior year.

2008-08-28T16:30:00.001-07:00

So. Senior year has been the easiest, hardest, most boring, most fun, and craziest year of my life thus far. I've been happy, sad, frustrated beyond belief, excited, apathetic, hopeful, creative.....basically all over the board this year. It's exhausting, but interesting at the same time.

I haven't blogged in so long, and I don't even know where to start. I miss summer. I miss being able to wake up at noon and eating lunch for breakfast. I miss Africa. Kelso had pictures last night at Fusion, and I cried for the first time looking at pictures in a month. I cried today reading back through my journal entries from the trip. I'm so ready to go back.

We WON our football game last Saturday! The game was on a Saturday because it was the traditional Clinic Bowl at Vanderbuilt. We played Hillsboro High. The Tennesseean predicted us to lose. Ha. Funny guys. We beat Hillsboro 34-28. It was a spectacular game, in which we had the ball the majority of the time and were smashing face the first 3 quarters. The fourth quarter, Hillsboro remembered they had a "star" on the team, and decided to give the ball to him. Our boys still held on though. What a great game. We play Mcallie tomorrow night. I'm loving not being in band. The student section is absolutely rockin.

I filled out my first college application last week. It was so exciting and so scary. As much as I love it here, I am ready to move on. High school was fun the first 3 years...now I know I'm so close to the next step in my life, and I cannot wait to get there!

...and i'm officially a senior.

2008-08-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was pretty spectacular. Day One of ABS. Or Area Bible Groups. Either/or. The SENIORS (woo!) and assorted underclassmen met at "The Mansion on the Hill" as I have so lovingly and admiringly dubbed it. The picture above is a portion of the Senior Girls. Because yes, we get capitalized. :]

Today was Day One of senior year. Yikes. I don't know what to think about it. I like being the oldest, and being in a position of leadership. I don't like the feeling of being the oldest. (Alright, that made no sense.) It feels so strange, for this to be my last year of high school. But honestly? Praise the Lord. I've made it this far...179 more days to go!

these are a few of my favorite things.

2008-08-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

So, I'm officially in love with:
Breaking Dawn. [except I fell in love with the series back in sophomore year.]
Pieces of Flair on Facebook.
pandora.com
freerice.com
snorkeling.
Christmas in August.
Girl's Night.
the hammock chair.
the recliner in the "window corner" downstairs.
chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies.

To Do, Or Not To Do, That Is The Question.

2008-08-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

So, as I come upon my last week of summer/freedom, this is what I'm having to deal with. I have my list of legitamate "To-Do" things:

-Read the rest of my summer reading for English. (4 books)
-Art AP Sketchbook
-Art AP Portfolio Piece 1
Ideas: Embroidery floss portrait, finish the two pieces I've already started
-Burn Africa CDS
-Catch up on Ragamuffin
-CLEAN MY ROOM
-Buy a new organizer
-CLEAN MY BATHROOM
-CLEAN MY CAR

Here's my list of "Want To-Do's":
-Scrapbook
-Paint
-Sit on Facebook for hours
-Get a pedicure
-Shop for Back To School Clothes
-Go to the fair
-Go to the pool
- Sit in the new hammock (!) and read Breaking Dawn. Which is not on my summer reading list.
-GIRLS NIGHT. (It's happening.)
-Leadership Summit
-PREPARE FOR FOOTBALL SEASON!

It's a very hard decision, this one. I shouldn't have procrastinated on all that "Summer Enrichment" crap that the school makes us do. It's not enriching me at all. It's just giving me early practice at procrastinating, and prolonging my Senioritis. Because I can call it that now. :]

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

2008-07-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

So, Malawi.

I'm feeling a picture's post, because I'm a fan of pictures. :]

Lunch break for the kids in the Adziwa school.

The Malawian men show the Americans how it's done.

The children loved Magic Markers.

Leike carries his brother's school books.

One thing that I've learned about myself in these past few weeks since Africa, youth camp, and being a teen leader at kid's camp is that I'm much more laid back than I was at the beginning of the summer. I've always been laid back, but now more so than ever. I'm very "Hakuna matta," these days. And I quite enjoy it.

Last night, my mom and I were spending some quality time together at Wal Mart. Typical girls. :] We jumped on the notebooks for 5 cents, and loaded up with them to send over with the next Malawi team. While we were checking out, the lady in line behind us was getting quite huffy. I really wanted to turn around and say, "Excuse me, but these 40 notebooks are for children in Africa. What are YOU doing with your life?"

But I didn't. That wouldn't have been very Chrisitan-ly.

We (the fam) are leaving tomorrow for a cruise to Mexico! We are porting in Cozymel and Calica. I'm quite excited. Especially about snorkeling and parasailing.

Hasta luego!

An Update

2008-07-10T21:37:00.003-07:00

---We inturrupt this Malawian Program for an update of life stateside!---

So these past few weeks have been busy busy busy. After I got home from Africa, I was home a week. Then I went to youth camp at Horn's Creek, where we got to do fun things like....

...get really gross in "New Orleans-Smelling Mud." And....

...get blobbed, and....

'8os Night it up! Camp was pretty much a blast, of course. The Junior Girls also had a running scoreboard of how many flies were killed in our cabin. We were up and over 120. It was disgusting but so entertaining at the same time. Girls. :]

My dearest friend/sister/and blogger Neens is in K. right now. I miss her SO much, not being able to talk to her/text everyday is not cool. But I know that the Lord is doing BIG BIG BIG things through her and to her, and I'm SO proud of that young lady. I cannot wait until she comes back!

A portion of the Junior Boys made breakfast for a few of the girls last week. Yes. They made breakfast. It was very entertaining to watch. And delicious to eat, don't get me wrong.

Here, the boys are cracking the eggs for french toast. They did a fantastic job!

So I leave town again on Sunday for KIDS CAMP. I am pumped beyond belief, this is always a highlight of my summer. A week with the grade schoolers, I couldn't be more excited. Expect many pictures and lots of funny stories.

Justin Nozuka = absolutelypositivelyamazing. Check him out.

VBS, Malawian Style- Day 1

2008-07-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

So after school, we were walked back to the offices by about 500 kids. No joke. We quickly learned that the English way of holding hands (one child per hand) didn't apply here. In Malawi, we were rockstars. We were rock stars with one child per FINGER. Which made for a very interesting step-shuffle-giggle-shuffle routine. The kids loved having an "adzungu" hand to hold, of course. :]

We got back to the Adziwa offices, and chowed down on a lunch of sandwiches (or "sundwiches" as the Malawians called them). Each day the team had a choice of peanut butter or jelly, but not peanut butter AND jelly. The boys caught on quickly, and peeled their sandwiches apart then smacked them back together with a buddy, so they made two PB&J sandwiches. Way to go, boys! The peanut butter in Malawi was HEAVENLY and made from scratch. We were so spoiled.

After lunch, we then prepared for our first Vacation Bible School. Thandi prepared her lesson, which was out of Luke, and the girls worked on theirs. Emily, Heather, and I were doing our lesson first. Heather told the story of the woman touching Jesus's cloak, I told the story of Zacchaeus, and Emily told about Jesus loving the little children. The overarching theme for our lesson was that Jesus loves everyone. Thandi translated, and the kids followed us very well! We played Simon Says, and learned that there is a smiliar game in Malawi! The kids responded and interacted at a surprising level, they were almost hungry for English words. After our lesson and game, we dove into making picture frames. We were armed with popsicle sticks, foam stickers, and lots and lots of glue (in the stick form, we weren't crazy! Liquid glue = nightmare.). Emily was in charge of taking Polaroids of the kids. She taught them how to shake their picture to make it turn up. Once they realized that the picture revealed their faces, the kids lit up like a Christmas tree. They would then show if off to all their friends, and then reluctantly let me glue it into a frame. But once they saw it in a frame, their smiles got even bigger. If that's possible.

Some of the boys finished early, they were sitting next to me and got a lot of help on their projects. We went outside to play football (soccer). We had 10 balls stored away for moments like these, that we would give them at the end of our two weeks. The boys had SO much fun with the soccer balls, and quickly split off into teams without any help from the authority figures. It was incredible. I would have played, but Aefe, a young girl that had been close at our heels all day, pulled me aside and we practiced our English letters and numbers. She was absolutely precious, and pretty soon, we had a crowd in our pseudo school lesson. I was totally in my element, and could have spent all day drawing in the dirt with these precious children.

Eventually, we walked back to the offices to clean up. The Adziwa kids all hung outside while we finished cleaning. They would dig through the trash that we had piled up to find the empty Polariod boxes. I saw one girl with her frame in her box, to keep it safe. My heart broke, once again. I am so blessed.

We finished cleaning up, and decided to go out and bond with these precious children. We taught them the Macarena with English numbers, the Chicken Dance, the Conga Line, and the sprinkler. We had a ball- and I think they did too. Tionke, a 10 year old boy, could bustamove. His favorite was the Macarena, and he added his own moves. All the kids loved the "Heeeeey, Macarena!" part. I tear up just thinking about it. If the children needed to get our attention, they would start humming the Chicken Dance until we all turned around. I miss those moments.

As we were leaving, Taylor pointed out the absolutely GORGEOUS first sunset. We all stood there in wonder. We had never seen anything like it. Yay Daddy! What an artist You are!

We said our goodbyes, blew kisses, and gave out hugs. As we went back to Kumbali, we all laughed about the day. How great God is!

Once we got back to Kumbali, the Shower Extravaganza began. Since the girls were all wary of showering in the African darkness alone, we all donned our swimsuits and jumped into the showers in pairs. Our showers weren't really showers... just scoop-n-dumps. We filled our big blue buckets up with as much hot water as we wanted, then drug them over to the cold water spout. We then buddied up, and carried them to the shower stalls, which were made out of straw. They had slits in the bottom of them, which were rock. We had rock shelves that our lanterns and shampoo sat on, and no roofs. I miss having roof-less showers, the stars were breathtaking.

Showering in the dark with long hair was quite difficult. So frequently, we needed to solicit the help of our shower buddy. The joys of friendship are limitless. Sing-a-long showers haven't been born yet... that's day 7. You just wait. :]

Day 1.

2008-07-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's quite fitting that I'm blogging about day one in the schools on the one month anniversary of this very day. I miss Adziwa and Kauma village with every fiber of my being. I'm so ready to go back.

We all woke up to an extremely cold morning. Who knew that Africa was cold? We all had sweats on for breakfast. We were that cold. The boys woke up for early showers (hey, at least they are showering!) and then we all met for breakfast. We had toast, porridge, and baked beans. Yes, baked beans. For breakfast. It turned out that we had to wait about 30 minutes for breakfast to be finished, which we totally didn't mind. We were used to "Africa Time," which basically means that it will get here when it gets here. Be patient. No worries. I am still on Africa Time, and it drives those around me nuts. But I find a specific serenity in it.

As we enjoyed our breakfast, and talked about the night sounds we heard, including the bird outside of Hut One's window, Kyle came around the tables saying, "Okay guys, funny story!" And we all knew that this story was not going to be funny. Kyle then launched in to telling us about how in Malawi, they don't observe a time switch like the surrounding countries do. So instead of the time being 8 hours behind American time, the correct time was 7 hours behind American time. So the little man that gets our shower water warm? We woke him up. And he was apologizing for not having our water ready. No wonder the breakfast guys weren't ready, we were wrong! Looking back on it, the story is quite funny. But we all were thinking about that extra hour of sleep we could have had. Oh well. :]

After breakfast, we gathered up our materials that we would need for the day, and headed out. I was on school duty all day, including Vacation Bible School that afternoon. I could NOT be more excited. We drove through the villages again, and people of all shapes, ages, and sizes would come running out of nowhere, just to wave at a passing bus of Americans. Many asked for money, but the younger kids all yelled happily and waved their little arms off. We felt like rockstars.

We arrived in Adziwa, were shown around, and began working. The construction team split off to go begin working and meet all the men that worked on the house. We started our walk up to the schools, being led by Thandi. She was possibly the most patient and loving woman that I have ever met. We first went to the elementary school, and looked around a bit there. The children, of course, went crazy. Many of them had never seen a white person, and they all wanted to shake our hands. It was precious. We were TOTALLY a distraction, but I could tell that the kids were eating it up.

On our way to the "middle school" (grades are different, the team called it the middle school), we noticed many of the children that were fleeing from something. Connee, one of the leaders that went with us, quickly asked if we were in danger. Thandi and the headmaster from the school system told us that we should not have fear, they would take care of us if something came up. Then they explained that the Chichewa tribe was having a funeral procession- the chief's son had died. The Chichewa tribe is a native tribe, so therefore they do not practice Christian-based funerals. The tribe had beasts that would run around town, and capture people. We had nothing to fear though, because it was a time of mourning, and the young men would not capture anyone. The children, however were terrified. The men running around would wear masks and carry machetes, which were menacing to the little guys. If captured, a prisioner would have to return to the graveyard with the "beasts" and be initiated. It was quite alarming, but really interesting to see. We were not allowed to make eye contact, wave, or take pictures of the Chichewa people for our safety. The Lord totally had His hand upon us!

We then ventured to the middle and high schools, and I was shown just how much I am so blessed. The Lord has given me a desk, a notebook, and textbooks. He has given my teachers erasers, and my friends school materials also. How blessed I am!

After we saw each school, Thandi instructed us to split into pairs, one pair per school. Emily and I went to the elementary school, and were able to teach a class of 3 and 4 year olds. They were absolutely precious.

When it was time for lunch, the teacher that Emily and I were helping instructed us to come outside and sit on a bench she had pulled out for us. She then told us that she was going to get us some lunch-the same lunch that the students in the school were eating. As she walked away, Emily and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes. Here was this precious lady offering up all she had to her visitors. What a beautiful picture. She then came back and with a distressed look on her face, told us that they were out of porridge. Emily and I tried our best to explain that we had our own lunch back in Adziwa. The woman was obviously relieved, and then invited us inside to hear the children sing. I was so humbled and amazed at the hospitality of this woman who had nothing. How cool is Daddy!

The children singing. It brought tears to my eyes, WHAT a picture of Heaven!

I'm going to stop there, this is the longest post ever. I'll pick up tomorrow with the rest of day one!

And It Begins.

2008-06-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

'Mulibwanje' = How are you?
Thanks to John, he corrected me! There are multiple ways to say hello and how are you. This is one of them. :]

So after we settled into our huts, we explored. Behind our huts lies the bathroom and shower.

The bathroom is on the left, and the corner of the shower is on the right. The bathroom was a hole in the ground with a toilet seat over it. The shower was just a little room. But we had so much fun with them both. More on shower sing-a-longs later. :]

So we continued to explore, and came across a group of children near our source of hot water. We learned that these kids were the children of the women that worked at the lodge, doing laundry and cooking. They were so shy, but curious about who we were. Connee brought individually wrapped Lifesaveres to hand out, of course. These kids were her first customers, and they were very excited.

Eventually, one of the men that worked in the village shop took us around behind the dining area. He said, "You want to see more children? Come with me!" And led us around the dining area to a clearing in the trees to about 20 kids practicing dance. It was incredible, and I will admit, brought me to tears. Each one of them was BEAMING.

Everytime I look at these pictures, I can hear their voices. I feel like that guy in Amazing Grace. These children have SUCH a special place in my heart. They were already special before I met them all, but now that I can call each of them by name, it is so much more real. I can recall a voice, and instantly know whose it is.

After watching the children practice dancing, we left so they could go home for dinner. We wandered our way back to the huts, where two men were playing Baul, a game like mancala. Andrew and I instantly got excited, we knew how to play mancala! But Baul was nothing like mancala, which we quickly learned. The men gladly taught us, Nathan caught on the fastest. I was left somewhere in the first couple minutes of explaining...all the jet lag had caught up with me!

Dinner rolled around, and we had goat stew with rice, green beans, and tomato relish. For dessert we had fruit salad. Everything was so good, but I will admit that I didn't try the goat stew. I heard it was delicious. A band played while we ate, in candlelight, I might add. I could totally get used to that.

Mozabanji, Malawi!

2008-06-20T16:29:00.001-07:00

Mozabanji = Hello in Chichewa
(I think that's spelled right.)

So we bumped and jiggled our way to Kumbali Village, where we would be living for the next two weeks. The roads were surprisingly pretty smooth, until we turned off the road the president lived on. (We literally were NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS!) Once we hit the dirt roads, things got interesting. You hear people talk about the roads in Africa, and things jiggling that you didn't know could jiggle... it's all true! My cheeks jiggled, my arms jiggled, my lips jiggled. But the ride was so fun.

As we grew closer to Kumbali and farther away from Lilongwe, we began to drive through villages with many huts that looked like this. The way these people live began to take shape and form in our minds. Driving through these villages was extremely real- I've seen this up close and personally, not only on TV. What a privelage. What a life-changing moment.

Kumbali was beautiful. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but we were so excited to be there! We met Eunice and Frank as SOON as we got off the bus. They were the most welcoming people! We met Guy Pickering (the boys on the team ADORED him) and Scott Grey (who apparently has a CD out?) after we met Eunice and Frank. Everyone in Kumbali was so excited to see us and meet us and greet us. We were already totally at home.

The huts were just huts in name. Yes, they were made of mud and straw, but where "4-star huts," as Kyle called them. Very very true.

Note the mosquito nets...the bane of my existence. Those, and propane-fueled lanterns. :]

Maybe this round I'll acutally get to Africa.

2008-06-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

After London, we ventured to Nairobi. It was a flight of approximately 18 days. Well, not really. More like 7 hours. It just felt like 18 days. The best part was journaling, the really cute guy in the row infront of me, (Nina, sass comments to yourself, my friend!) and waking up to a KILLER sunrise in the air, and the boys singing the opening number from Lion King. (The BAAAAAAI-YA BI- YAIIII one.) That was hysterical.

Oh, I was also FINALLY given my letter from Nina. This letter was under 3 layers of packing tape. The kind with the reinforcing yarn thing strung through it. And about 7 paper clips, and 2 envelopes. It took me 45 minutes to open and 2 minutes to read. :] Technically, I opened it while in the air over Africa. Not while I was standing on African soil. Oops.

The airport in Nairobi itself was not fun. We were all so dehydrated that I don't think any of us remember it. I do, however remember a really nice shop guy, and really mean security guys. That made me down a bottle of water in 5 minutes. Because I have a b-o-m-b in my bottle of water. Yes, that's right. But we got out of that airport, and onto a tiny tiny plane that took us to a city in Zambia and then onto Lilongwe in Malawi. I don't remember any of this flight, I was dead asleep for the entire thing. I learned my lesson about water and flights and jet lag.

We got off the plane in Lilongwe and rode a bus to the airport. There were no gates for the plane to pull up to. That was an experience! We were able to breathe Malawian air for the first time, and look around. We were amazed to see how beautiful it all was! We made it to the airport, and through passport security, and then collected our bags, and walked out to the bus (The Wheels of Champions, excuse me. Not the bus.) And we were greeted by ladies from the village.

They were all singing, and dancing. They wrapped each of the girls in a Malawian wrap. I cried. They sang. I couldn't help but think that that's what heaven will be like- nationalities fall by the wayside, and old and young alike abandon all things and worship. In the most beautiful place ever. Even more beautiful than Malawi. How cool.

Ramble Alert!

The new(ish) Jack Johnson CD is the best. Especially for the beginning of summer. :]

Africa Re-cap Now That I'm Not Jet-Lagged.

2008-06-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I will probably not be able to get through this blog without crying. I miss Africa so bad it literally hurts.

I just cracked open my journal. Here goes the Africa Recap. It will probably be about 50 posts long. I haven't blogged in awhile, and I need to. So here goes!

London- (On the way to Malawi):
Hillsong London was stinkin' SWEET. They meet in a theater that's been tricked out to look like a rock show. There were about 50 people in the worship band onstage. One of the girls singing was pregnant, in heels, jumping around, and STILL MANAGED TO SING. The youth group (called Wildfire, I think...) was AMAZING. The first song started, and the congregation started jumping. And they didn't stop.

Now, I am a white, Southern Baptist born and raised, blonde chick. So that equals absolutely NO rhythm. The Lord did not bless me with that spiritual gift. So anyways. These guys are all jumping, and dancing, and singing, and praising their very well dressed rear ends off. The Africa Team just stood there in awe. It was like summer camp on 'ROIDS. Even the senior pastor from my church was amazed. Our youth group gets down, but that Sunday morning service made us look like WIMPS. It was so so cool. The Lord is GIGANTICALLY MOVING through that congregation. Very very exciting.

I totally live in a bubble called Nashville, Tennessee.
A) It's in the Bible Belt. Almost everyone goes to church. It's easy being a Christian here.
B) Everyone is wealthy compared to the world's standards.
C) I literally have the world at my fingertips.

To see the Lord moving so drastically in a nation that isn't America really opened my eyes. I've always known that there were other countries over the big ocean, but I haven't actually considered that there are people over there. People that know the Lord, people that are as on fire for Him as I am. The service at Hillsong (and the whole Africa trip, for that matter) gave the song "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands,"a totally new meaning. Yay God moments!

Stranded In London.

2008-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well chaps. Stranded probably isn't the proper word to use, because we are all giddy that we are here. (Speaking British was Emily's idea...)

So Africa is on pause. It's not over-- I'm going back. I've decided. I left a LARGE part of my heart there, and I know that's where the Lord wants me. It excites me to NO END.
On Sunday night at Zion Youth Center, we did the Everything Skit. We had SUCH a great response. It was super exciting! Kelso shared her testimony, and Kyle spoke. It was great- the TPC kids fit right in! OF course, we have all friend requested each other on Facebook. :]
Tuesday I touched a chameleon. We named him Francias. (Pronounced: Franz-wah.) He had freaky eyes that rolled back in his head. It was a very nice break from cleaning out the Adziwa house we were working on!
Wednesday I went to the high school in Adziwa and TAUGHT. I was scared out of my pants at first, but as I went on, I grew more and more comfortable with it. By the end of the lesson on plans and roots, I could have gone all day long. What a God thing!
We also FINISHED and dedicated the house on Wednesday! What a miracle. The family was absolutely precious, and I was able to meet the kids of the family a few days early. The girls were precious. During the dedication ceremony, I was told that a white dove flew down out of the sky, and straight down the middle of the house, then lifted back into the clouds again. I didn't see this dove, I was a little preoccupied with the squirmy 4 year old on my lap. But still, hearing about it blew me away. Joseph, the foreman of the house we were working on said that doves only come around when it's the Holy Spirit. Talk about God bumps!
Currently, I am listening to the hustle and bustle of London again. It's really funny to think that we were so hopeful in thinking that we would one day come back to London to see the guards (they weren't out the last time we were here) and get to go to Hillsong again. Next time in London we THOUGHT: Oh, about 5 years from now. ACTUAL next time in London: 2 weeks. Now I'm sitting in a 5 star hotel on someone else's dollar. Yay God! :]

I will have a TON of pictures, and even more stories once I get back home... this keyboard is a little quirky. :]

Neens- I MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John- Hope you enjoyed Morocco!

Africa Update!

2008-06-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Wow. That's literally all I can say! This trip so far has been absolutely amazing. Currently, I am sitting in the Zion Youth Center here in Lilongwe, waiting on my fried chicken and a milkshake. I am so excited. :]
Emily and I taught the first VBS of the trip, and it went SPECTACULAR. We had about 50 kids, and we took Polaroids of them. They took them home, and then were showing them off the next day at school. The children's director said that it's always a good day when the kids don't want to leave VBS- and THEY DIDN'T. It was SO encouraging!
The numbers at VBS have only gone up, and today we tickled 100. Two boys came to Christ! God is SO moving through us, in us, and around us.
Each day it grows increasingly harder to leave the kids at 5:30 (which is like, the middle of the night in Franklin). We have learned "See you tomorrow" in Chichewa, and the kids have learned it in English. Today, the kids were all saying "See you tomorrow," and we had to tell them that we would see them Monday. As soon as the bus drove away, all the kids (all 100+ of them) were chasing our bus. I cried. (Neens, yes. I did. So sue me. ;]) It's going to be SO hard having to leave for good. Or at least until next summer!
So I'm paying for this internet time. We will be here Sunday night too, I'll hopefully blog then!

Tapita! (Goodbye in Chichewa)

Check It!!

2008-05-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

I will meet these children in a matter of HOURS. :]

So, 60+ days, 5 shots, a WHOLE LOT of sponsor letters, some new clothes, lots of prayers, lots of growing, and 3 days of shopping later.... AFRICA IS HERE. Well, not technically,but I leave in 15 hours. 15 HOURS! Praise the Lord!

And of course, everyone of my posts has to have a pointless rambling part. So here goes:

1) The new Tenth Avenue North CD will absolutely blow your socks off. I've been a fan since 8th grade, but this CD is SPECTACULAR. (Is that spelled right?) You WILL love it. And if you don't... well, your loss.

2.) The new Hillsong CD is also SPECTACULAR. It makes me want to dance around. All their stuff makes me want to dance around. But this CD is even more so. :]

3.) I am SO PROUD of Neens. Girls State has stolen her away, but she is absolutely flourishing. I adore that girl. And I will miss her so while I'm gone. (I know she will read this at some point. Probably on Saturday afternoon. I know that she is itching to blog after being gone all week.) I also think it's quite cute/funny/amazing how she wrote us letters. Us = Africa team. She put mine in 3 envelopes and apparently like a whole role of tape. Because we aren't supposed to open them until we actually GET to Africa. She knows me well. :]

4.) Michael Buble is my future husband, I don't care what anyone says. Well, that last part sounded really mean. But I've offically decided that I'm going to marry him. And he can sing to me at all hours of the day. [Nina is scoffing at this, by the way. She's probably thinking some sassbucket remark...]

5.) Stuff Christians Like (new link on right side of page) is HEE-LARIOUS. I was up at obscene hours of the morning last night reading it. My brother thought I was going crazy. But it's hysterical. Jon Acuff is the type of guy that I would want as a best friend.

See you on the other side of the pond. :]

ramblings. (i tend to have many...)

2008-05-26T19:11:00.001-07:00

Today is Memorial Day. The family and I went to beautiful Coffee county. We ventured to some state park. It was an experience, let me tell you.

5 days! It's soooo odd to say that. It still feels like I'm dreaming the whole trip up. Like a bunch of teenagers are sitting around going, "Wow, how fun would it be to go to AFRICA this summer?" But it's real. Hooray! It seems like just yesterday that I was saying "Africa is 60 days away!!" And to think it's 5 DAYS AWAY. Wow. That's.....(I'm counting on my fingers...) 120 hours. WOW. Less than that now. More like, 96. Holy guacamole.

Ramblings:

- I love practical jokes. I'm currently in a Practical Joke War with a friend. I stuffed his car with blown up balloons this morning. I got home from "Beautiful Coffee County" and the balloons were stuffed under my car. I then strung the balloons together, hoping to string them through his front-yard shrubbery. Nope. I T.P.ed his room with another friend. :]
-I frequently pretend like I'm on American Idol and sing my heart out in the car. I'm not a shower singer. I prefer the car. Yes, I'm the one that's at the red light next to you dancing and singing, not caring that she looks like an idiot.
-I love when the Man Clan gets together. The Man Clan is a group of about 5 junior (now SENIOR!) guys that get together for hangout time. They frequently sleep over at one of their houses and make lip syncing videos to Paramore songs. Hysterical. But these boys make my world go round.
- Chick flicks are fun.
- The season finale of Grey's Anatomy that just aired last Thursday was THE BEST EPISODE EVER. Especially for hopeless romantics like myself. :]

hello sweet summer.

2008-05-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

hello summer and all it brings:
-SWEET TEA. and lots of it. :]
-watermelon.
-strawberries.
-BBQs.
-the BEACH.
-the pool.
-the sun.
-my moon roof.
-warm nights.
-beautiful sunsets
-kono bonding time. :]
-seashells
-PAINTING DAYS.
-youth camp
-kids camp
-----AFRICA!!!!--------

So I survived! I survived my first year of AP classes, and a killer band season [insert band geek jokes here...], and Junior year altogether. It was not easy, let me tell you. God is still in the business of miracles, I got out of 11th grade in one piece! Now I can call what I have "Senioritis."

AFRICA IS IN 8 DAYS. As each day grows closer, I grow more and more excited. Which I didn't think was possible, because I was pretty stoked about a month ago. Emily and I are teaching on God Loving All People. We are very excited- think "Red, and yellow, black and white... They are precious in His sight." Totally both of our hearts!
Now, I'm not going to lie. This is my first trip out of the country. I do love flying, but it makes me nervous. The whole "let's go up in the air in a metal BIRD. THAT'S HEAVIER THAN AIR" thing does not fly too well with me. (No pun intended.) But my Daddy is bigger than anything. So there will be alot of praying going on. Here in TN, and up in the air somewhere over that big ocean.

AFRICA PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Travel mercies- both in the trip over to Malawi and travel in and around the village.
2. Safety on site- building+teenagers (espeically klutzy ones like me...) could be dangerous.
3. PATIENCE. - 28ish hours of plane rides, and 2 weeks in close quarters with different personalities... yes. Patience would be good.
4. Open eyes, and and open heart- this trip is going to be SO out of my comfort zone. I know the Lord likes to work in me when I'm uncomfortable. Pray that my eyes will be opened to what He has in store. (This goes for the rest of the team having open eyes too!!)
5. Love- I will be the first to sign up for Grumpy Sleep Deprived Citizens Annoymous. Yet another possible foothold for the Devil and buttons to be pressed. Please pray for our team, and that our love for each other is EVIDENT. We are known by the love we have for each other.
6. Awareness- So I'm from little ole' Tennessee, and I've never stepped foot outside the good ole' US of A. I'm not fully prepared to be hit with the different smells, tastes, sights, and sounds of other cultures. Please pray that I (and the team!) will be aware of how we dress/interact/portray ourselves. [And yes, I am fully aware that I said 'ole' twice in one sentence. Yikes.]

So that is kinda a hefty list. But it's what's on my heart. Expect about 8 more "____ DAYS LEFT! AHHH!" posts. :]

Ps--- Pray for Katie W. and Brittney H., they are leaving tomorrow morning for the Ukraine! How exciting!

heart meanderings.

2008-05-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

I am a senior in a day and a half. Praise the Lord. But also guide me, Lord. Big decisions on the horizon!

I just watched a clip of the documentary Jesus Camp. It absolutely broke my heart. One little girl on it was talking about "godless churches" and "God not wanting to come to those who are quiet." So many emotions were going through my head.

Heather told us about the video of the softball player being carried around the bases. It's worth checking out. Here's the synopsis: Sarah T. hit her first home run of her softball career (she was a college ball player) and was running around the bases. In hre excitement, she realized that she forgot to actually touch first. She ran back, and tore a ligament in her knee. She collapsed, crawled to first, tagged it, but could not move on. The umps and coaches declared that if her teammates touched her, Sarah would be ruled out. If a pinch runner was put in, the homer would have been counted as a single. So two girls from the OPPOSITE team stepped forward and asked if they could carry her around the bases. They carried Sarah around the bases, to complete her home run. The opposing team wound up losing the game, and their spot in the playoffs. I watched the video and cried. It's so amazing.

AFRICA IS IN 12 DAYS. 12. 12. I can't sit still. God is SO good!!

franklin in the spring.

2008-05-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Prom 2008- On the steps of Belle Meade Plantation

These are a few of my favorite things:

1) Franklin in the spring. And fall. And right before Christmas at night. Pretty much year round. But today, I went to the Mercantile for the first time. It was delicious. I will frequent there often. After lunch, we walked to Pinkerton, but got sidetracked at Landmark Booksellers. (FYI: Landmark Booksellers is this super cool bookstore with new books. And books from like, the dark ages.) I picked up a copy of The Wizard of Oz Babies (I think...) today that was originally copyrighted in 1899. It was insane. Kory found a book that he had been looking for that was around the same age. I ventured upstairs, found the art section, complete with a Billie Holliday CD, and an overstuffed leather chair. I was in heaven.

2) John Mayer. He has an incredible voice, and is easy on the eyes to top it off. His new single "Say" is worth checking out.

3) NO MORE AP US HISTORY! I took the test today, and survived. Praise the Lord!

4) Cheap dresses and sandals. Went mall hopping today too. Boys are fun to shop with. I found a 20 dollar dress and 7 dollar sandals. Wooo Hoo. New outfit!

Africa: 22 DAYS. Only 22!!

insane ramblings.

2008-04-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

so. here's a snippet of this past week...

strep:

I have/had strep this week. Mind you, I was at school yesterday and today, because if you miss even a MINUTE of Junior year, you're basically up a creek without a paddle. (I missed half of Monday and all of Tuesday. I thought something had died inside my head.) So now, I'm on this VERY pleasant medicine. (not.) I'm pretty sure that sand is one of the ingredients. Yes, sand. Like, the grainy stuff you find on the beach. And in your EVERYTHING upon your return home...

AFRICA:

Wow, God is so so so COOL. My dad sent out an email to a lot of his buisness buddies for support... and within 30 minutes I had a donation of 100 dollars! On top of another donation of that much. What a cool dude. PLUS, I got a surprise e-mail from Hannah (the daughter of the author of Red Letters) today. Hooooo-ray! 37 DAYS!!!!

Prom:
IS ON SATURDAY! Going to get my nails done tomorrow. What a treat. I love pedicures. Pictures will be posted...we have a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER coming in. FOR FREE. I will deff post her link in here so pictures will be available soon after they are taken!

I ADORE Phil Wickham. Go to Youtube and type "Phil Wickham- Hallelujah" you will not be let down. [Thanks Neens for sending me this!!!]

I love getting friend requests on Facebook. It's like a little present. You never know who it will be. Unless, of course, you were just at a youth retreat. And followed every goodbye with "I'm on Facebook!" Then it's different.

AP classes kinda freak me out.

Wii Fit looks extremely exciting. I may have to ask for it for my birthday...

I'm stoked about my next oil painting. All I can say is that it came from the Uganda blogging trip pictures.

I'm nervous about wearing heels. I've been wearing them around the house. My brother got a kick out of heels + pajamas.

Guitar Hero makes me feel beastly.

a little glimpse of heaven.

2008-04-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

So I teach kindergarteners. And we were practicing our songs tonight. We issued a "challenge" and split the room up into two parts, and told the kids that whoever sings the loudest gets to sit down at the snack table first. (Yes, I firmly believe in the art of bribery. It works wonders.)

I have never in my life heard them sing that loud. And nail all the motions. While these six year olds surrounded me with their shouts of praise to the Lord, I couldn't help but think that THAT is what heaven is going to be like. I almost cried.

Then, after choir, God did something totally cool. Again. Yeah, I never ever grow tired of it. Ronny and Fernando, two of the boys I babysit, and I have taught them both in choir, walk up to me with their parents. Their mom says, "Okay boys, tell Ms. Amberly what you did!" And the boys said: "Miss Amberly, we sold our Jeep drive car, and some more of our toys. To raise money for your trip."

Now. These two boys are seven and five. And they SOLD some of their toys for me and my trip to Africa. I am SO stinkin' proud of them. I even teared up a little. Maybe I should put a picture of them in my wallet, and whip it out when I tell this story.

God is so cool.

Ramblings:
-I love Oprah's Big Give
-I love Neens and her funny Nina Stories.
-I love taking pictures.
-I. LOVE. SPRING.

Countdowns:
Prom- 6 DAYS!
Senior Year- like 2o something school days.
MALAWI: 41!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My God Is A Great Big God

2008-04-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Malawi:
So this morning I was journaling about my trip. I was praying that if this trip is the Lord's will, that it's the Lord's bill. This afternoon, I was on the phone with a friend, and my mom comes upstairs. She hands me an envelope from my grandparents. I open it, and find a check for 500 dollars inside. I then spent about ten minutes yelling into the phone and dancing around the room. God is SO cool. :]

So SHOT DAY was today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The Lord blessed me with the two SWEETEST ladies to give me my shots. We talked about my trip, and college, and art, and boys. All my favorite subjects. :] Sadly, my left arm is super sore. Oh, I'll deal. It's going to be totally worth it!

Amberly Moment: When I was asked where I was going on my mission trip, I replied with "Malaria."

For those of us keeping score at home, I'm going to Malawi, not malaria.
In my defense, this was AFTER 5 shots and 2 lectures about not drinking tap water.
(Plus a particulary difficult day at school.)

Found out today (THANK YOU FACEBOOK!) that Brooklyn and Abbey are going to Uganda. I am SO excited for them, but I wish I could tag along! I for sure have my sights set on a Projekt Hero shirt. :]

PROM COUNTDOWN: 13 days
MALAWI COUNTDOWN: 47 days!!
Senior Year: 18 class days!

T-Minus 2 Months!

2008-03-31T17:18:00.000-07:00

Disney Picture # 1- The Magic Kingdom Group.

Malawi:
Had Team Meeting No. 2 yesterday. We found out that we are now traveling with a different airline, and have about 3 layovers. Considering that these layovers are in: Chicago, LONDON, and Nairobi, I am not sad about 3 layovers. I will be able to spent a DAY in LONDON. Yes, LONDON. I'm not happy at all. :] Just kidding. Em and I are STOKED.
This time in 2 months (1000 something hours, according to me and Em's calculations) I will be on my way to London, England. Then to MALAWI. Oh, God is so good. :]

Rent:
My dad and I went to see RENT on Saturday. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE. I think, if he keeps taking me to TPAC, he may create a monster. There is just something about it that I LOVE.
RENT was so so so so so good. The cast was ridiculously talented, and the play was very very well acted. I am currently Myspacing/Itunesing (is that a word?) all the actors in the play...Many of them have record deals! Heinz Winckler is worth a checkin' out... he was my fave. :]

Living in Nashville:
Is officially the best. It has been the best for awhile, but there is nothing like going out and seeing famous people. Plus, the atmosphere here is supacool. It seems on every street corner there are musicians with open cases playing out their souls on their respective instruments. Street performers I love. The famous people are neat too. We always enjoy showing out-of-towners the homes of the "stars" we know. (ie: Alan Jackson, Michael W. Smith, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, assorted Titans players.) By "know" I mean know where they live. We don't get invited to these peoples birthday bashes for their pet goldfish or anything. :] I do, however know a few other stars. But I don't want to name-drop.

Prom:
Countdown: 26 DAYS! Hooooray!

Spring at LAST!

2008-03-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Disney was a blast. Lots and lots of pictures. :]

I was pressured into riding:
Everest: Totally worth it, and not that scary after all. Unless shadows of "Yetis" scare you. The best part: riding the whole track BACKWARDS.
Tower of Terror: Also totally totally totally worth it. Kelsey and I were upset we didn't get dropped the whole 13 stories. Helped me overcome my fear of falling. Flew out of my seat, thank goodness for strong boys sitting next to me and seat belts.
Splash Mountain: Very cute. Not nearly as scary as I remembered it, but still really cool. Especially when riding it at night during the fireworks show.
Expedition Mars: G-Forces are SWEET. Maybe I'll be an astronaut when I grow up.
Soarin: MY FAVORITE. Especially the Smell-o-vision and playing Wii in line.

The marching band [I play the piccolo.] marched in a parade on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. I say A parade because there were about fifty thousand. Which makes getting around the park especially difficult.
We got to see "Backstage Disney." Which was totally cool, except for the whole "No taking pictures! No cell phones!" Thing. I will probably get reprimanded for talking about it on my blog. That whole keeping up apperances thing and all. It was cool though, seeing all the characters. Plus-- who knew you could stargaze in DisneyWorld?!

Welcome back, spring! I have missed you tons. Especially because I've spent the last 5 days in sunny Florida. Let's go jump in a swimmin' pool! The temperature is above 50 degrees! (52 to be exact....maybe I should go back to Orlando. It's still a little chilly to swim.

And The Countdown Begins!

2008-03-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

So I got the "official word" last night that I was on the Malawi Africa team! Praise the Lord! I am so excited, and think about it every second of everyday. :]

Spring Break is in 8 days. I'm going to see Mickey. And Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. I'm such a little kid.

Current Obsessions:
-swing dancing. I'm currently buying a load of swing music to put on my Ipod. hoooooooo-ray. :]
-Sister Act 2. It has the best soundtrack. I will admit, I was dancing around while the kids on the movie were singing "Oh Happy Day."
-PLANET EARTH. [nerd alert!] Watched it today in chemistry. What Planet Earth has to do with chemistry, I do not know. But it amazes me that humans can catch all these different, diverse animals up close and personal. And that ONE God created them all. I like to think I'm somewhat creative...but His creativity outweighs mine by about... a whole whole lot.

Disney pictures WILL be posted. :] I highly anticipate chasing around the characters, just like I did 7 years ago when I was ten. But I'll have an excuse- I'm in Disney World, where everyone turns into a kid as soon as they walk through those magical gates. I can't wait. :]

Countdown: 86 days!

confessions of a teenage blog addict.

2008-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

I think I should go to Blog Addicts Anonymous. And Facebook Wallstalkers Anonymous.

Had my interview for the Malawi, Africa Trip yesterday. It went well, I will keep posting updates on the process! =]

So Neens texted me this morning saying that Boo Mama was hysterical. I do have to agree, her blog posts have kept me howling all morning.

I made my way into her Africa blogs, from the Compassion Blogging Trip that got back about a week ago. Alot of her posts, along with the other bloggers that went, are about the children in Uganda. I eat it up. Boo Mama mentioned that many of these children have never seen their faces before. I've never thought about that. I take mirrors for granted. Something that I use everyday, and don't think twice about. I see my face in my mirror in the morning, in the multiple mirrors in my car, in store windows (okay, sign me up for I Check Myself Out In Any Reflective Surface Anonymous too please.), and in pretty much every reflective surface. In my defense, I am not vain. Just a teenage girl.

But still. That little thought, that many children living in poverished nations have never seen their own faces. Their own beautiful smiles, and the eyes that make me tear up, even when I just see the pictures. I'm going to be a basketcase when I actually get to see these faces up close and for real. And put names with them. Names that I will never forget.

I cannot wait.

It also occured to me last night that in about 90 days I will:
-be a SENIOR.
-be getting on a plane to go out of the country for the first time. To a country that I've only read about on the internet.

Oh my lanta, I cannot wait.

things that make me tick.

2008-02-26T17:21:00.000-08:00

In a burst of creativeness, I decided I would do a "random" blog post. =] Here goes.

Three Things That Make me Happy:
1. sunshine, windows down, sunroof back.
2. candid kindergartener comments.

[favorite to date: but ms. amberly, how did you get your car in a shopping bag if you bought it yourself?]
3. friends =]

Three Things That I Look Forward To:

1. Missions
2. College
3. SUMMER

Three People That I Admire:

1. My mom
2. Neens
3. Heather

Three Pet Peeves:
1. Not knowing the time
2. AP classes
3. Wearing shoes

Three Songs That Will Change Your Life:

1. Say It: Britt Nicole
2. My Lovely: Joel and Luke
3. Human: Jon McLaughlin

Please Put Me On A Plane.

2008-02-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

I think I'm developing this awful habit of sitting infront of the computer for hours looking at blogs. Its not so much the blogs that are the awful habit, it's the procrastination that i'm doing that's the awful habit. Oh well.

My applications for the Malawi trip in June are turned in. My passport is applied for, my sponsor letter is in the oven. I cannot wait.

So the past hour and a half has been dedicated not to Union kids this time (although yesterday and the day before that, it was. =]), but to the group that is currently in Uganda with Compassion. I blog hopped all afternoon. Its safe to say that I'm addicted.

Pictures and video always get to me. The dreams of these kids in Uganda that are living in poverty make me smile. A young boy wants to be an engineer. A mother hopes her son will be a doctor, so he can help the people in his village. Many parents want their children to get a strong, formal education so they can break out of the cycle of poverty of their villages. With the help of Compassion, these children are being sponsored by families in the United States. Families of these children are visited monthly by a Compassion "networking" friend, who keeps folders on each child in the village, along with charts of growth, pictures, and goals for the family and for the child.

The hope that fill the eyes of the Ugandan children is incredible. The smiles are captivating. I cannot wait for the Malawi trip. I know God will do BIG things. Because He's my God, and my God does big things.

I, I am small but You,

You are big enough

I, I am weak butYou,

You are strong enough to

Take my dreams

Come and give them wings

Lord with You

Nothing I can not do

Nothing I cannot do

I wanna feed the hungry children

And reach across the farthest land

And tell the broken there is healing

And mercy in the Father's hands

-Set The World On Fire: Britt Nicole

The Spirit of Union U

2008-02-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

Union University has quickly become a school that is being talked about across the nation. On Feb. 5, 2008 a tornado cut through the campus just outside of Jackson, TN.

I have spent the last 2 1/2 hours looking through pictures, news stories, and Facebook posts from students. It's incredible.

God was TOTALLY on that campus, protecting each and every one of the students.

Three months ago, I went to Union for a preview day and totally fell in love. After seeing the countless pictures of the campus now, I am still in love with Union.

The people are what caught my attention. They genuinely care about each other, and that's something special.

I am more sure now than ever, that I want to go to Union University in a year and a half.

The Lord is totally and completely there. Ain't no doubt about it.

Union's in our prayers! Love you guys!

Approaching

2008-01-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” –Isaiah 6:8 NIV

Last night at Fusion, mission trip flyers were passed out. At exactly the right time, too. God has such a way of having the perfect timing. =]

Throughout the past 3 weeks, I have been reading Journey of Hope by Lurline McDaniel, and Red Letters by Tom Davis. Both of these books are rooted in the stories and situations of the African people. The people that have my heart. The people that I have never met, but already hold a special place in my heart.

So as the informational meeting, application process, passports, and shots are all approaching, Isaiah 6:8 will be my prayer. Maybe the Lord doesn't want me to go to Africa this summer, maybe He wants me to wait. But I know he wants me to go somewhere. And that makes me smile. I can't wait to see what He's got in store!

We leave for Winter Retreat tomorrow. After months and months of prayer, it is finally here. I could not be more excited. From prayer meetings in hallways, to Elevate weekend, to playing hide and seek with the Oates girls, God has moved huge mountains. Man, the power of prayer. I never grow tired of the Lord being so breathtaking. We are finally a family. We are standing up after months of being on the ground. We aren't standing up on our own. We've got a family now. A family with a Heavenly Father that loves us, and has plans for our lives. Plans that start tomorrow.

I can't wait. =]

A New Leaf and Ants in My Pants

2008-01-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hello 2008!

Five favorite memories from 2007:
-CPP '07
-Mud fights
-Elevate
-Homecoming
-Football season

Five hopes for 2008:
-NYC/Italy with Neens
-Unity
-Be used as a catalyst for change
-Direction for the future
-Joy in the small things

Winter Retreat is in 17 days. I cannot wait. I can't wait because of the Lifehouse skit, the memories that will be made, and the walls that will tumble. I'm so pumped.

Christmas Cheer

2007-12-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Christmastime excites me. The lights, the food, the family, the gift wrapping, the seasonal drinks at Starbucks.
Especially the seasonal drinks at Starbucks.
I like the feelings in the air, and the experience of the holidays.
However, the thing I like the most about Christmastime is seeing people bless others out of the goodness of their own hearts. This makes me smile.
My brother was telling me about the elementary schoolers at his school, and what they do for their "favorite janitor" (they only have one full time janitor at his school). Each student brings in money for this man, because they all love him. My brother said that last year they gave him over a thousad dollars. I know those students have blessed this man's life in so many ways, and I always find myself smiling at stories like this one.
A bank in North Dakota gives employees Christmas bonuses of 1000 dollars. The bonus comes with a video camera. The employees are required to spend every cent of their bonus on someone else, someone in need. A single parent, at the homeless shelter, anything. The employees have to document with the video cameras how they bless others through their Christmas bonuses. I wish there were more stories like this.
I hope that Christmas is a time of giving out of willingness, not out of obligation. Emotions are contagious, and Christmas Cheer is worth spreading.

=] Ambie