Crabgrass

Tonight I finally decided to check my email after not doing so for almost 3 weeks.  I noticed that I got an email from my Mame (grandma)  and I just felt like I should share some of it with ya'll: 

"It was 100 degree yesterday.  I've been getting up early 6:30 A. M. and going out to try to pull crab grass out of our 13 blueberry bushes.  While on my knees, some thoughts came to me such as:

Crabgrass reminds me of Satan.  It takes hold of the roots of plants and draws all their moisture & nutrients.  It grows deep in the soil & tries to hide under the mulch, but soon sprouts reveal its location.  After gathering it, Granddaddy puts it in the burn pile.  (where Satan belongs). It is very persistent and though the plants are free of their enemy for a while, it comes back even without being given any water or invitation.  I dug trenches around the plants, to let the crabgrass know that it is not to go beyond the boundaries.  It paid NO attention to me.  I'm glad that God sets boundaries for us to protect us and enable us to be blessed and to bless others. When we obey his Word, (boundaries) we fulfill the plan He has for us."

This email was something that I needed to hear and my Mame had no idea how much I needed to hear it.  It is funny how God works and put these little reminder's in our lives.  I am so thankful for my Mame.  :)

Peace, Love, & Lobsters :)

Man I am spoiled.  As I write this blog post, I am sitting out on the deck overlooking the beautiful ocean and mountains.  It’s almost like looking at a painting.  I feel the cool breeze and smell the wonderful fragrance in the air that only Maine has.  My typical day here consist of sleeping in until 9am, taking Brody on his morning walk, making a yummy smoothie, sitting out of the deck reading,  cooking with my Nana, eating, then bed.  To me, that is a perfect day.  I am so lucky to be able to have this time to myself, and this time to spend with my grandparents.  Being here in East Blue Hill is like being in a bubble.  You have absolutely no distractions of the outside world.  To this day, there are still people who live in this town with no running water or electricity.  It is a very simple living around here.  There is tiny little post office, a cute little library, and a boathouse in the village.  That is all these people need.  

Two days ago, I woke up to a perfect day here.  It was 68 degrees, and sunny.  Anyone who knows me knows that if it is a beautiful day I will not be staying inside.  I decided to hike up Blue Hill Mountain and then I was going to try out the coffee shop in Blue Hill.  Needless to say, I did not make it up the mountain.  Somehow I took a completely different path that wasn’t even on the mountain!  I ended up in the smack dab middle of town somehow.   I am still not so sure how I did that.  I was more than frustrated with myself so I didn’t even end up going up the mountain or going to the coffee shop.   I will try again another day though  J 

Yesterday, I went into Blue Hill and shopped around in the adorable little shops.  One of my favorite stores I went into is the quaint little wine shop.  I had to pick up my favorite blueberry wine which is ONLY sold in Maine.  I love going into different wine shops and trying different wines.  Being that I was in culinary school, wine has turned into a little hobby of mine.  I love learning about it!  There is this wine vineyard that my Nana and I are going to check out.  They make all of their wines with berries only grown in Maine!  I am super excited J

I have another week and a half left here, so I am sure a couple of more blogpost will come about my adventures here in Maine so stay posted!

Peace, love & lobster!

How the Worldly View Destroys Our Confidence

Earlier this week as I was watching the news, I saw where there was a mother who gave her 8 year old daughter botox.  As I sat there watching this with disbelief, my initial reaction was anger.  After I had time to process it, the anger turned into hurt.  My heart hurt for the little girl.  How could a mother be so superficial to go to the extreme of injecting her own child with botox?  Does she even love her daughter, or is her daughter just a barbie doll for her Mom to use?  What kind of mother would do this?

As these questions ran through my mind, I started looking back to the young girl that I once was.  At age 14, I remember asking my parents if I could get a nose job for my 18th birthday.  Of course that was not an option.  My parents basically looked at me like I had 3 heads when I even suggested that.   

Why is it that we as females try and find our identities and our confidence through what the world believes we should look like?  Hollywood has painted this unrealistic view of what we think we should look like that we will do anything to achieve that "perfect" image.

One of my biggest struggles is remembering to define my self confidence and identity through Christ.  I focus so much on my clothes, weight, hair, shoes, and make-up to try and fit the mold of how the world views we should look like.

I came across this video and had to share it.  I hope you guys get as much out of it as I did.
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KDDKLWNX

My Rant for the Day :)

Chivalry is not a term that you hear to often these days.  I find it very sad that people jokingly say, "chivalry is dead."  I am not lecturing to all the men out there.  The one's who do show the respect to ladies by opening the door, or paying for dinner I would like to thank you.  Every girl likes to feel as if they are appreciated and respected by guys.  The sad part is, is that I don't see chivalry existing anymore in today's society.  Call me old fashion if you want, but I do expect to be treated like a lady and have my car door opened if I am going out with a guy.  I think the problem these days is that girls don't expect it, therefore they do not demand it from a guy to be treated the way they deserve to be treated.  

Ladies:  Step up and expect guys to treat you the way you deserve.  We all like to feel as if we are being "taking care of" in a sense.  We all like to feel as if we are special.  Therefore, you need to expect a guy to treat you that way.  For me, this goes for all types of relationships with the opposite sex.  Whether they are just your friend, boyfriend, fiancée, or husband, you should expect them to make you feel special.  Don't let guys get away with thinking that, chivalry is dead.  We as females deserve way better than that.


Guys:  Get it together!  Show the ladies that they are special by doing the simple things like opening the car door.  It is not hard.  Little things like that make us feel like we are special.  One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a guy walk ahead of his girlfriend/wife while they are out in public.  Please bring chivalry back up from the grave. 

A shout out to some amazing people.

I have been avoiding writing this blog post.  As I sit here, my eye's are filled with water and my heart hurts.  I have known for quite a while that I will be moving out of Charleston by the end of this month, but I kept it to myself for a while then I only told a handful of people.  Now, I am 1 week away from moving and I have so many feelings running through me.  Don't get me wrong, even though I have feelings of sadness, I am super stoked for the opportunity that God has set before me and I am very excited to start the new chapter in my life.

Up until about a week ago, I wasn't even sure where I was moving.  I had applied for a job back in my hometown of Hartsville.  The job I applied for was at my home church that I grew up in from the time I was a tee tiny baby.  The position I applied for was for "The Director of Programs Ministry" position with a emphasis on children and youth.  A week ago, I was offered the job and I took it!  I feel as if this is where God is calling me, so I am super excited for the opportunity.  If for some reason I did not get that job, I was going to move to Maine for the summer, find a waitressing job and begin taking online courses in Youth ministries.  

Now the hard part.  I have lived in Charleston for close to 3 years now.  I now feel like this is my home.  Charleston is one of the most beautiful cities and most awesome place to live.  Not only do I love this city, but I have the most awesome friends in the world here.  Even though I have been here for a short time, these people are truly my best friends.

Brittany Block:  She is truly one awesome person.  We lived together for 2 years and we made some lifetime memories in our apartment 1818.  She is always there for me.  She knows me like a book.  She is a strong Christian and a awesome example of what a Christian lady should be.  One thing Brittany can always do is make me laugh.  I don't think she even realizes how funny she is.  I am going to miss her ridiculous loud obnoxious burps, being able to just go to her house and vent about my day,wine nights, the ridiculous tricks she loves playing on me, and the adventure's that we randomly go on.  She is truly one awesome person and I am so blessed to be able to call her my best friend.

Dannielle Hardaway:  Even though Dannielle and I have only known each other for a little over a year, I feel as if I have known her forever.  If you didn't know us but ever hung around us, you would think we have known each other since birth.  God brought us together one Easter day and we have almost been inseparable since.  She is an amazing person.  I look up to her in so many ways.  I really do consider her almost as an older sister figure to me.  She gives me the best advice, even if I don't like it. ;)  I know she will always be honest with me, even if it's something that I don't want to hear but need to hear.  She too, is also one awesome women of God.  I will miss our nights of cooking, fist pump nights,  her amazing sense of humor, and the random situations we always get ourselves in.  I am so thankful God put her into my life.  There have been many of times where she has helped get me through difficult times.  I am forever grateful for our friendship.

Beverly Hill:  Oh Beverly.  Such a beautiful person inside and out.  I met her the same day as I met Dannielle. She has an amazing heart for God and I admire her so much.  We have had many fun times of movies, chicken nugget/peas/mac&cheese nights, long talks, and random parking lot incidents together.  She has been such an awesome friend to me and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Lindsey Thames:  AKA my roomie.  I love her to death!  We have been living together for almost a year and have had many memorable experiences together.  Our morning talks, nightly talks, wedding planning and so much more I will miss!  She is getting married to an awesome man, Steven, this October and I am so honored that she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. Weddings is one of my favorites things ever so I have had a blast living with a "bride-to-be!"  I have been able to watch her plan and the excitement she has every time she mentions her wedding.  Her eye's light up when you mention her wedding, and I love it!  She will make one beautiful bride, and I am so excited that God put her in my life just so I can experience this part of her life with her.

Other awesome people that I am so thankful to have in my life are Melissa, Sarah C., Sareh R., and Sarah W.  Every single one of these ladies are amazing people.  They have a love for God that is unbelievable and they have have impacted in many ways.  Even if I am not as close to some as I once was, I still consider them to be really good friends of mine.  I am so thankful call them friends.

I know that moving to Hartsville is where God is calling me to be, but I do have to admit...leaving these awesome people is going to be hard.  I love them to death and I would do anything for them.  I just hope that I am half as good of a friend to them as they are to me.  But you ladies don't fret, I am only 2 hours away so I will be back visiting from time to time!!  :)

Happy Mother's Day!!

This blog post is dedicated to my wonderful mother in honor of Mother's Day.  Not that I am biased or anything, but I can honestly say that I truly have the best Mom in the world.  She has been my strength, a listener, problem solver, friend, my stability, encourager, hero, my support, teacher, caregiver, but most of all; she has been the best mother to me.  I am so blessed to have her as my Mom.  From the time I was a little girl to now, she has always supported me in everything that I wanted to do.  When I was little, I wanted to play cello and she made that happen.  Then I wanted to play violin which she also made happen.  I wanted to be in dance which she supported.  I wanted to be on CCYM ( a christian organization through the methodist church) and she was behind me 100%.  I wanted to play tennis, so she made sure to put me in lesson's.  I wanted to be a girlscout, so she made that happen by being my girlscout leader. I was also on the swim team which she made sure I was at every practice.  She was at every event, recital, swim meet, girlscout event, school event, tee-ball game, basketball game, softball game, church event, and every community play that I was ever a part of.  I can not recall a time that she was not their.  Not only was she their for me, but she made sure to be at every single event my sister and brother has been a part of.  My Mom has given up her life, her needs, her hobbies, her wants just to make sure my siblings and I experience everything that we want.  I know that my Mom is my number 1 fan in everything that I do.  I know that she will be my support, a shoulder that I can cry on, and my best friend.  She is my hero.  She has been the perfect model to what a mother should be like.  I am so thankful that I get the privileged to call her my Mom.  I hope and pray that I can one day be the type of mother my Mom is to me.

Mom, Thank you for putting up with me throughout the years.  I know I didn't always make it very easy for you.  You are one awesome lady!!  LOVE YOU!

My Plan+God's Plan= Completely Different

As I look back on my life to when I was a little girl, I would always imagine myself to where I would be in the future.  Over the past several months I have quickly realized my life has not played out the way the little girl I once was imagined it would.  I would have thought that I would be entering my last year of college, have a promising career after I graduate and at least be in a serious relationship if not engaged by now.  I do realize that I am young, but knowing that my Mom was already married by my age, I imagined myself following in her foot steps.  As I look at my life now, none of what I thought as a little girl has been achieved.  I am going to be 22 this year, not in college, and not in a relationship.  I can't even imagine myself being engaged or even married right now.  I am not saying that I am unhappy with where I am at in life.  I feel as if I have accomplished so much already.  I got my Culinary Arts certificate, I have a "real" job, and I have been supporting myself since I was 20.  Granted, my parents have helped me out tremendously, but for the most part, I have been on my own.  I feel a sense of accomplishment with where I am at.  Although I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend, it's not the end of the world for me either.  As a single person, I feel as if I can accomplish so much during this season of my life.  I know that God is preparing me for when the time comes when he brings that special person in my life.  I know I have a promising future for which God as planned for me.  I am doing all I can to run towards the path that God has paved for me.  As a little girl, you dream of your future, your little house and married to prince charming.  As I got older and as my relationship with Christ has matured, I quickly realized that I don't have a plan for me but God has a plan for my life.  He has had this plan for my life laid out before I was even born.  Although sometimes I don't feel like it, I know His plan is perfect and as long as I pursue HIS plan for me, I know that I am living my life fully to Glorify God in all that I do.  I can not wait to see what God has in store for me as I will be entering the next chapter in my life in a few short weeks.  I pray every night for me to seek God's plan first in every decision that I make and not rely on myself alone.  I know that I can't do it alone.  

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29: 11- 13