Packing

Tomorrow is the big day, we close on our first house.  We have been packing up our first home together, our apartment, and it is bittersweet.  There have been many memories established within these walls even over the short 7 and a half months we have lived here together.  This is the apartment we came home to after our honeymoon, where we bought our first furniture together, and where we have snuggled up each night since.  Packing is exciting but overwhelming at the same time.  Currently our apartment looks like a bomb went off and I am fighting my urge to clean and organize.  It makes you look forward to the future and remember the days you are leaving behind.  Tomorrow we will be homeowners and we look forward to creating many, many more memories together in our new home.  

Charleigh's ready to go

Veinticuatro

Today I turned 24 years old.  In honor of my 24th birthday here are 24 random facts about me.  

1. I have huge feet (size 11) 

2. I love ice cream.

3. When I was little I wanted to be an NC State cheerleader

4. When I drive, I pretend I'm a singer and rock out to Taylor Swift

5. I love photos.

6. My favorite color is teal.

7. Yes, my hair color is natural.

8. I love a good shopping bargain.

9. I have an affinity for step class.

10. I secretly wish I was Latina.

11. I love corny jokes, they crack me up.

12. I love the smell of a shoe store.

13. I still watch wedding shows and feel very envious of the brides.

14. I love the smell of my hands after a softball game, mmmm the combination of dirt and my leather glove warms my soul.

15. I hate all vegetables, except spinach leaves

16. Sweet tea is my weakness.

17. I want to live overseas one day

18. I am a perfectionist and a worry wart

19. I love Friday nap time.

20. I get very cranky when I am too hungry or too sleepy.

21. I have dreams that are bigger than my budget.

22. I have a designated side of the bed, the right side when looking at the bed

23. I hate it when my toenails aren't painted.

24. I wear my heart on my sleeve.  

The Daily Affirmation- Reblogged

 

My friend Katy over at Uncertainty Reduction Theory blog just posted this video.  I have to repost it here because I love it and I find it so encouraging.  If a little girl can feel this good about herself and pronounce it to the world, can't we all the do the same?  A simple thing as going through what we like in our lives can make a world of difference.  I find myself, all too often unfortunately, focusing on what I am lacking or what I don't like about myself.  It is much more uplifting to take a positive view of life and recognize how good we truly have it.  I am going to take a lesson from Jessica and try to focus on what I like in life for the next week and see how it transforms my life.  I love being inspired!!  

Here's my list for today:

1. "I can do anything good"

2. I love my husband.

3. I love my family.

4. I love my church.

5. I can finish these school projects!!!

Music to my Ears

Here is one of my favorite songs from Elevation Worship.  Thought I would share it.  Enjoy!

Ebb and Flow

Change.  It's hard to accept but easy to anticipate.  Recently a lot has changed in my life, especially in social circles and in expectations.  People come and go.  They lift you up and let you down.  The ebb and flow of life strikes and what you once had and relied on changes in an instant.  The people you could once count on are no longer fulfilling that expectation.  They move on and move out.  I am the type of person who pours myself into others, finding my worth in my relationships and I frequently find myself on the losing end.  I find that I give so much of myself in relationships that it is not so easily reciprocated.  

I've had to learn to embrace the change in life.  The times that throw you outside of your comfort zone and make you reach for something new, something more.  I heard one time in a counseling class, "If you aren't out of your comfort zone then you aren't growing".  This stuck with me.  I need to be uncomfortable for a time to embrace the new things the Lord has coming for me.  I need to lean hard on the constants in life, like family, Brandon, and my Savior, and moreover learn to embrace the change.  Change equals growth.  I know that God is going to place some incredible people in my life who will stick and who will work for His will in my life.  I want the growing pains that life brings because I know that He makes all things work together for my good.

“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."
Isaiah 43:18-19 

Go Bananas

Time for another yummy recipe.  Got some over-ripe bananas?  Try Banana Bars!  It's not only heart healthy but delicious!

What you need: 

1.5  cups sugar

1/2 cup fat-free margarine, softened

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 cup fat-free sour cream

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

Frosting: 

1/4 cup fat-free margarine

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp fat-free sour cream

Make It:

Preheat oven to 375*

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and margarine until light and fluffy

Add egg and egg whites one by one, mixing after each

Stir in sour cream until well blended

Add mashed bananas and vanilla, mix well

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture until thoroughly mixed

Spread into 15X10 jelly roll pan

Bake 20-25 minutes.  

Cool.

To Make Frosting:

Melt 1/4 cup margarine in a saucepan

Put powdered sugar in a separate bowl

Add sour cream and melted margarine

Beat until smooth

Spread on cooled banana bars and cut into bar slices

Enjoy!

Comfort Food

As human beings we go through the ups and downs of life; the roller coaster ride.  Being that this is the nature of living, we all seek comfort in a variety of places: exercise, sports, shopping, reading, or my favorite, eating.  Tonight I took on the task of making homemade creamy macaroni and cheese, the ultimate southern comfort food and believe me it was delicious.  While thinking about mac n' cheese it got me thinking about comfort in general and where I seek my comfort.  For me, I find comfort in other people, which too often leads to disappointment, unfortunately.  Other times I find comfort in eating, which only leads to remorse and self-consciousness.  Being a counselor, it is part of my job to help comfort others, but I don't even know how to truly find comfort for myself.  I think we can get all too lazy in our comfort sources without realizing that these sources really do not lead to peace and comfort.  Our comfort should come from the ultimate flawless source, Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.  

So regardless of how yummy comfort food may be in the moment, it can never replace the comfort we will find when we seek Christ.  Remember macaroni and cheese cannot save us just as it can never truly and wholly comfort us.

   

Love Week 2011

 

It all started a year ago in February.  Our church, Elevation Church took on the challenge to serve 5,000 hours around the city of Charlotte.  We busted the record, giving over 10,000 hours of service.  This year for the second annual Love Week they raised the bar big time.  Partnering with 25 other churches we pledged to serve at least 25,000 hours across our city.  One of the core values of our church is radical generosity and this is a testament to that.  Beginning on February 27 we set out for a week of service initiatives and projects.  Some projects took place with our outreach partners like Crisis Assistance and some were new projects like cleaning up parks and sending shoes to children in need.  Sunday after church Brandon and I participated in our first event.  We put together soup bags to be sent to Haiti through Stop Hunger Now.  These soup packages were specifically going to be given to children before they go to school so that they can have the energy to learn.  

 (picture on Holly Furtick's Blog )

On Tuesday our small group signed up to work with Soccer 945, which is a soccer league for homeless men.  We signed up to help cheer on the teams as they played.  I got stuck in traffic and was unable to make it in time, but Brandon went straight from work and was able to participate.  I was bummed, but there were over 200 volunteers who participated.

Finally, Saturday we signed up to serve at Bright Blessings which is an organization that provides birthday parties for homeless children by partnering with local schools and homeless shelters.  This organization is amazing and so inspiring.  They provide gifts for the birthday child, a party, a comfort and care package with toiletries, a blanket, and stuffed animals, along with snacks and games.  They have a grant with First Book, Inc. and receive new books to give to the children.  We mainly worked on assembling the comfort and care packages and organizing the new shipment of books.  We had a wonderful time and are hoping to volunteer here on a regular basis with another couple from our small group.  

Love Week is a great initiative to go out and love on our city.  Total, over 33,000 hours were given in love to our city.  How amazing!  We should all be reminded that service and radical generosity should be one of our personal core values not just for one week out of the year, but for each and every day.  Thank you Elevation for leading the way in generosity!