Easter=Favorite Holiday!

Easter has been my favorite holiday for the past 5 years.  I love the colors, springtime, easter eggs, easter egg hunts, but most of all, I love celebrating the resurrection of our Savior.  The house I grew up in had a beautiful Dogwood tree in our front yard.  That was my favorite tree, and to this day remains my favorite tree.  During the Easter season the Dogwood tree would bloom with these beautiful white flowers with red pointy tips.  I was told when I was a little girl that the flower represented the Easter story of Jesus.  The white flower represented the pure innocence of Jesus and the pointed red tips represented the blood that he shed for us. Every time I see a dogwood tree I am reminded of Jesus death and resurrection.  I hope to one day have many dogwood trees in my yard.  They are breathtakingly beautiful and the symbolism of them mean so much to me.

This Easter was an awesome one! I got to go home to Hartsville and one of my very best friends, Brittany, came with me.  We decorated sugar cookies and cupcakes.  They turned out to be so cute.  I got to show her where I grew up and the beauty of Hartsville.  Most people think that Hartsville is this one stop light town, but boy are they wrong.  The older I get the more and more I appreciate my home town.  It is such a quaint, adorable little town.  Brittany and I took bikes downtown and rode around everywhere in Hartsville.  She really loved it and so did I!  We had such an awesome time!  We also went and walked around Kalmia Gardens.  Kalmia has all kinds of trails through it.  It is so much fun to explore.  We did come across a snake and Brittany's reaction was to push me towards the snake and leave me there while she took off running!  Typical Brittany thing to do.  :)  It was quite comical though!  We went to the Easter service at my home church which was absolutely beautiful.  We then came home and had a wonderful Easter meal that my Mom made.  It was such a wonderful, beautiful weekend!!

I also want to make a shout-out to my friends Dannielle and Beverly.  Easter of 2010 I met these two lovely ladies and they quickly became very, very dear friends of mine.  So happy friendship anniversary to you ladies a couple of days late!  I love you guys dearly!!!

Brittany!

 The beautiful dogwood tree  :)

 Kalmia Gardins

 Easter Cupcakes, cookies and strawberries!

Beverly and Dannielle  :)

It's the little things that open my eye's to what should be so obvious

These past couple of months have been really tough on me at work do to several different reasons.  So lately, I have had a very negative attitude towards work.  I often let my emotions take the best of me.  I always feel mentally drained after getting off work.  I try not to be so noticeably upset while I am there because I don't want my negative attitude to feed off to the patients.  It has nothing to do with the patients so I try not to take any frustration out on them.  It's one of those things where you have to make yourself smile and act like nothing it wrong, which hopefully I do okay at.  


Today, after counting down the minutes to 6:00 I darted out that door as quickly as I could.  I had to stop by Publix on the way home to pick up some groceries.  I already had a frustrating day, so the last thing I wanted to do was go grocery shopping.  My goal was to get in and get out as quickly as I could. As I am standing impatiently waiting for the young guy to finish bagging my groceries, he looked up at me and ask me, "how was your day?"  Me, being the impatient frustrated person that I am, I simply looked at him and answered, "fine."  I then immediately felt bad for the tone of voice and shortness I had, so I pulled myself together put on a smile and returned the question back to him.  He then looked at me again with a huge smile on his face and in the most sincere voice said, "very blessed."  For some reason I was caught off guard by his answer.  I then just looked at him and smiled.  


Every frustration from my day and even over the past several months seemed so minor.  I have been harping so much on what is wrong, that I somehow forgot how incredibly blessed I am on a daily basis.  I often complain to God about my horrible day instead of rejoicing and thanking him on the many blessing's he has so graciously bestowed on me on a daily bases.  You could tell by the look and sincerity in the guy's voice and face that he truly meant he felt "very blessed."  He reminded me of how blessed I truly am.  As cheesy as it sounds, I am very happy I went to Publix.  I know that that was a little reminder from God for me to get over myself and realize how fortunate and blessed I truly am.  

Welcome to Maine: The way life should be

As I am sitting here at work I have only one thing on my mind and that would be my summer vacation!  I have not planned out the exact details yet, but I do know that I will be going to Maine for at least 2 weeks this summer.  I am super excited because East Blue Hill, Maine is my favorite place ever.  My grandparents live there during the summer in this adorable little cottage that has an unbelievable view.  The cottage sits right on the water and looks out into the ocean and mountains.  I could sit there all day and just take in the beauty of that God so brilliantly created.  


Unfortunately, the rest of my family is not able to go this year which leaves me to find a way to get there.  In the past, I have flown there when I go by myself but this year I am most likely going to road trip there.  I want to take my dog Brody so I figured driving would be the easiest way.  But it is a 22 hour drive, so it should be interesting.  I have family all up the east coast so I will be making some stops to visit them as well.  And hopefully it will work out to where I have a friend drive up with me and then have another friend to fly up and drive back with me.  :)  If that does not work out, at least I have Brody!  


I am looking forward to the perfect weather, the beach, hiking, seals, lobsters, blueberry wine, the company of my grandparents, the cute stores, The Fishnet, the Maine people, antique stores, my Nana's cooking, the cute cabin, the white house, reading, doing puzzles with my Nana and so much more.  I am looking forward to the time that I will have to reflect, study, and listen to God without the distractions of the, "real" world life.  I feel as if I have so many changes coming up in my life, that I think this is a much needed, "me" time.  Maine has a huge chunk of my heart and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be able to call Maine another home to me.  For those who know me personally, do not let this small town southern accent fool you, I have Maine blood running through my vanes.  I do turn a lot of heads in Maine with my accent, most people talk to me just to hear me talk and I LOVE it.  


Maine is my get-away.  The welcome sign when you enter Maine reads, "Welcome to Maine: The way life should be."  That statement stands so true.  It is such a different, slower pace life.  I am so excited and can not wait to be there sitting on the rocks in front of the cabin looking out into the ocean and mountains  :)

The way life should be  :)

 In the flower and chocolate store! I LOVE that chair!

The back of the cottage

 The view from the deck of the cottage.

 The road the cottage is on

 The front door of the cottage

 No make-up, hair in a pony-tail=typical day for me

 My Grampa's Dock 

 Boats!

 Merrill Hinckley= my favorite grocery store

Lobster!

Prom's+Formals=Jealous sister!

I am so jealous of both my brother and sister because this past weekend they both got to go to some sort of formal.  Allen got to go to his Jr. prom and Janet went to her boyfriends MBA formal.  I want to get my nails done, my hair done and dress up in a fancy dress and dance the night away!  

Allen and his beautiful prom date Emily.  I am almost positive that they were the best looking couple there.  (Not that I am being biased or anything.  :)  )

Janet and her boyfriend Eddie.  My sister looked absolutely flawless.  I wish we wore the same size, because I would totally be stealing that gorgeous dress!  And Eddie looked very sharp himself!  :) 

I Am Proud to Be an American!

As much of a "people's person" I am, I am still one that enjoys and need "me" time.  I woke up this morning knowing that I wanted to do something outside.  It is such a perfect day in Charleston so I could not imagine spending my day any other way.  I text one of my friends asking if her and another friend  wanted to go to lunch with me at one of my favorite places, Perfectly Franks, which has outdoor seating and is dog friendly.  They declined because of other plans that they had today.  So I decided to take my dog, Brody, my bible, and a book I am reading, "This Way to Youth Ministry" which I highly recommend for anyone who is thinking, works, or volunteers in youth ministry, and spend my day reading and people watching.  And of course I brought a long my computer.  I figured it was a good time for me to have some "me" time."  As I sit outside, I can't help but be in pure amazement of how blessed I am.  I can freely sit in public read my bible and strike up a conversation about my faith with a stranger without the fear  of being discovered that I am a Christian.  We, as Americans, have the freedom to practice and share our faith openly.  The only concern that I may have as I have my bible out on the table is that someone may look at me thinking to their selves, "yeah, she is one of those typical "Jesus Freaks."  I will never forget when I was in 10th grade, one of my classmates turns to me out of the blue and ask the question, "so are you like one of those Jesus Freaks?"  If that is the only concern that I have to face as I openly confess my faith, then I am okay with that.  There are so many people in this world who to not have the "right" to be open about there faith.  They have to worship, meet, and witness in secret in fear that they may become discovered and punished in some way for being a Christian.  I always new about this, but I did not fully understand the concept until my sister went on a missions trip to Africa where she witnessed this first hand.  She came back with a completely new experiences and knowledge of this issue.  I have yet to have the opportunity to go on a missions trip but  I am hoping I will sometime in the near future as I have some places that God has put on my heart.  I am so grateful and proud to be an American where I don't have to worry about being punished for being a, "Jesus Freak."  I know that I take for granted the fact that I can be so open about my Christian faith that I do not witness or share God's love as much as I should.  I have the opportunity daily to share his love yet it's not something that I do on a daily bases.  I want to be someone who radiates Jesus love.  It is so easy for me to take for granted that I have the right to do this daily.

Brandon Heath, "Give Me Your Eyes" describes perfectly how I want to live my everyday life.


"Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see"

I want to be reminded daily that I need to take advantage of the right that I have to openly share who I am and my faith without being in fear.  I want God to break my heart for what breaks His so I can radiate His love so that everyone that is around me can see Him through me.

"He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us. For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him, according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will, we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory."  Ephisians 1:5-12

You are More

I have heard the song, "You are More" by Tenth Avenue North more times than I can count.  The radio station that I mainly listen to repeats the same 5 songs over and over and this happens to be one.  I'm not complaining though, Tenth Avenue North is one of my favorite bands so I don't mind.  There is something about this particular song that tugs at my heart every time I hear it.  It is a simple song with a simple meaning, but yet it's so powerful.  The song points out, no matter what you do, where you came from, or the choices you have made, you are so much more than that.  God so willingly carried the weight of our mistakes, our bad choices, our brokenness so that we can be, "remade."

It completely breaks my heart to see someone who thinks that they have made to many mistakes or they are to unworthy to receive the love and grace from God.  I know that there are people who have been in situations completely out of their control where they believe that they are unforgivable.  This song perfectly describes that no matter what, you are more and that you have been remade.  God loves us regardless of the situation or your mistake.  We just have to be willing to come to Him in all of our shame, and He will be there waiting for us with open arms ready to remake us.  How amazing is that!?!

"Therefore , if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

My favorite holiday, April Fools Day!

Today is one of my FAVORITE days of the year!  I am the MASTER of April fools jokes.  And to this day, I still can't remember a time that I have fallen for an April fools day joke.  Once again, I got my mom and sister and they totally fell for it.  Oh I am so good  :)  I love this day!  And to top it off, the sun has decided to come back out!  The rain this past week has been a drag, but I am very thankful for it because we sure did need it!  I hope everyone has a good day, and try not to, "get got" (as my sister likes to say it).  Don't be a fool  ;)