because I can...

This post is simply because...

A. As you know I love NEEDTOBREATHE, and they are up to some fun stuff right now. Thought I'd share.

B. Sharing is caring aaaaand sharing is good, and in this case there is a reward for sharing!

Check it out. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll see a little bit of why I love these guys so much :D

this week in SLO...

Here's a look into my life in the last week or so...

NEW BED!!!
It's soooooo squishy and big!
I thought that I'd wait until I got married to get a new one,
but a wise friend told me that if I can afford it now, get it now.
I guess you could think of it this way too...
I'm making room in my life for one particular dream to come true.

This is the top half of a thank you note I got.
One of my favorite little friends wrote the above.
Things like that make me melt inside.

I have a funny relationship with this cat named Chip.
He really likes me.
I am kind of allergic to him.
But I kind of like him too.
1. Here he is sleeping next to Steph. We thought this was cute.
2. Right now as I type, he is sleeping in this box. He's been in there for over an hour.
3. This is where I find him every morning.
4. This pretty much sums up my relationship with Chip. He's trying
really hard to cuddle with me.

Found this dress and a similar one at Target this week.
I love them.
Thought I'd share their cuteness.
I know it's not fashion week.
But I don't really care. ;)

Oh, and today...MY town was featured on Oprah.
Boo yah. Check it.
I went to a local Chamber of Commerce mixer tonight to celebrate,
and ended up in the background on the local news.

And in final news...
I found out today that one of the top 5 musicians I hoped to see this year
will be playing in Charlotte THE DAY I fly there.
Guess who will be there? Yup, me.
So far, I'll be seeing the following shows that week:
Nathan Angelo (big yay!)
Brendan James & Matt White
Chris August & David Crowder Band at WinterJam!

Getting really excited for March :D
Hope you are having a wonderful week!

scars.

The other day I was driving around town somewhere and found myself staring at my right wrist. There lies a scar I incurred at the age of seven or so. I was pushing my cool Barbie Corvette and pushed it right into a crack in the sidewalk. I kept going. The car did not.

This scar is over 20 years old. The wound is healed, but the scar has yet to fade completely. A lot of things in life are like that. We fall. We get hurt. Over time, it heals, but it still leaves a mark. A reminder. We wonder if the scar will ever fade from the recesses of our memories. But the presence of the scar does not mean that we are NOT healed. We are.

Some scars never fade. They tell their stories even after we can no longer tell them ourselves. They are a part of our story, a part of who we are. We just have to be careful not to let them define us. It is what we've been through, overcome, and been healed through that defines us. And for me, it's my Healer that defines me. His scars tell a story too. A story of death, life and redemption. If His scars defined Him, all that would be told is pain and death. But it's what He overcame that makes Him so amazing. His scars simply remind us of that.

show and tell, things learned

A few things learned this weekend that I thought I'd share:

always take a picture of your friends when they get their hair done.
even despite their protests. gorgeous, no?


if the only way you will take vitamins daily is through gummy form,
by ALL means, do it.

don't freak out so much about taking the Christmas decorations down right after the new year.
it's kinda nice to let it linger.


buy flowers for yourself.
also something you won't regret.


it's absolutely okay to go to a show by yourself.
i met new people, and ran into people i knew.
had a blast, and got to start using my camera.
may or may not have stayed up past 2am.
worth it.

glow.

This Sunday, the Pastor's daughter shared an encouraging message which included the following two things. First, a poem. Second, Isaiah 58:6-9. What I absolutely loved about her message was that God made us to glow. And that is a message God has long written upon my heart, yet I have been at a loss on how to walk it out. I am hoping that this year will be the year I begin to break out and shine. To not be afraid of offending people by being the best I am. To let go of the lie that I was meant to hide behind the scenes. As you can see below, that certainly is not God's intent. For you OR for me.

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Isaiah 58:6-9 (the Message version)

"What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins,
rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again."

If you've never heard of a place called the Dream Center, check it out.
I'm excited that our church is going to start something similar here.
I can't wait to be a part of it.
God's restoration is beautiful, yes?

it's in the bag.

One of my blog friends, Krystal, posted a similar post and I thought it would be fun. What lies in a purse lends insight into the kind of person they are. Here's mine (and feel free to do this yourself and share with me!):


Contents:
1. The bag itself. Bought at TJMaxx per a friend's recommendation. I love this purse!
2. Cheap sunglasses from Ross. I rarely pay a lot for sunglasses.
3. The checkbook. I don't know why I don't keep it in the wallet. Guess it's for convenience.
4. Bottle of water. I always have one.
5. Orbit gum. I also always carry gum.
6. Lotion. Another staple. Dry hands are gross.
7. Vitamin C.
8. Butterfly Flower roll on perfume from Bath & Body Works.
9. Small bottle of Ibuprofen. It has a picture of one of my best friends on it. I also realize that I forgot to number the pens. But I try and carry two, so I can always lend one.
10. My wallet. I had to have this. It was from the Liberty of London collection they sold at Target.
11. Keys. Essential. I don't like a lot of keychains, but I have 3. One with the Footprints poem on it, one is a hook so I can find my keys, and the bottlecap one was made for me.
12. Lipgloss from Sephora. Normally I carry one, but my roommate gave me the other, and I liked it too. So I currently have 2.
13. Burts Bees chapstick. One word: addicted.
14. Mini Benefit lipstick, just in case I need a little color.

***Not pictured, but also a staple: HTC Eris phone. :)

superficial.

I am going to write a really lighthearted and somewhat superficial post...partly because I am in the kind of space where my emotions don't match what I am believing for and I am prone to outbursts of tears. This happened three times in one hour yesterday morning. Oh yes, yes it did. Anyway, it has to do with my last post and fighting to dream...but I am not ready to hash all of that out yet.

In other news, they are breaking ground in San Luis Obispo for the new Target!!!!! I squee giddily every time I drive by. This is very dangerous. You can ask anyone I know. Every day I can be found wearing something from Target. I used to work for Target. I am pretty confident that half the money I made there went straight back there. Ha. And now it will be within walking distance. Maybe I should make myself only go when I walk. Then I can't buy too much stuff! Oh. Dear. I used to have a buffer. A 30 mile buffer. I could only go when I really wanted to or I was in the area. Soon, oh-so-soon, it will flash its happy bulls-eye at me and draw me in...I think I will have to exercise more self-control than ever.

I also bought tickets to fly to Charlotte, NC and St. Louis, MO this last week! I am going to spend a week in the beloved Carolinas before heading to MO for a dear friend's wedding in early March. And no, I am NOT going to be seeing a NEEDTOBREATHE show while I am there. (Unless they happen to add a show...but that is not why I am going. Just clarifying. Everyone keeps asking.) I am, however, really stoked to see two other shows while I am there. Brendan James/Matt White and then WinterJam, which will include Chris August and David Crowder Band. So so fun! Now I am starting to plan out the rest of the details. It is an understatement to say that I am incredibly blessed to be able to afford this and have the time off. I feel like all the traveling I am doing lately is to make up for the years of, well, not.

I also bought a new camera that I am itching to try out...it's a beautiful Canon EOS Rebel XS Digital SLR. I think Friday night will be my first time really giving it a go. I hope to go to a local concert. Hopefully the quality in photography posted on here will greatly improve!

Hope everyone is having a good week. Despite my emotional-ness, I am having a pretty good one. I am super blessed. I can think of so many little things that prove that...free meals with amazing friends come to mind (x2 so far this week!) as well as seeing how much God is providing for me!

Oh, one last random and awesomely crazy thing...at the end of this month, I will be celebrating NINE years of working at OPTIONS. NINE. I am so grown up or something. Haha. What a blessing!

word.

I always ask God to speak a new word into my life as I start a new year. It gives me something to look forward to as the year unfolds, and I have yet to not see God fulfill what He gives me. This picture above captures what God is pressing on my heart. The verse is Isaiah 61:3 "and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."

Oaks are incredible trees. They can live up to 1000 years if left undisturbed. Their root system plays a key role in helping them to survive the worst storm, as some oak trees' roots grow laterally up to 90 feet. There is very little that can knock them down. In looking at the verse above, I see that God wants to help me become so rooted in Him that I cannot be shaken. That He wants to bring joy and life to areas of my heart that need it.

This word is timely, as God is asking me to dream again. To trust Him with the things that I long for the most, and yet fear are just out of reach. It's like a poker game...as long as you have something in your hand that you think might bring you a good play, you hold onto it. This morning, God removed all the cards that I thought I had left to play. And last night, as I begun to write down my dreams for 2011, I realized that there was one I could not bring myself to write out. You see, I've written it every year since I started this tradition with the Lord. And not seeing it come to be has left me shaken. God is asking me to take my empty hands and let Him fill them. I am hurting and frustrated. But I am being honest. My hands are empty. I have nothing, no ideas how to "make" what I want happen. Except coming to the One who holds it all. Except clinging to His promises...His word.