So...I didn't die (however, my computer did.)  Life has taken many interesting turns since the last post :)


I moved back to Alabama to finish my last year of school.  I
successfully completed one semester and hoping to finish strong this
semester.  My sister got engaged in october.  Dan proposed to me on
December 1, 2006.  Sister got married on december 30.  I'm getting
married on April 21, 2007.  By the way, that's 48 days from now :) 




I'm currently working at the resource center for pastoral excellence,
providing assistance and resources to all ministers and churches that
ask.  I'm also interning at Journey-Birmingham.  It's still in the
developing phase, but we're working towards an experimental holistic
worship experience that starts on April 15 and will last for 6 weeks. 


Providing that I finish the internship, turn in my papers, and come
back to classes after my honeymoon, I should graduate on May 26.


Oh, and we have a house in Piscataway, NJ, except I don't get to live there until June.

so...God just continues to answer prayers!

i'm writing a book now...updates will be coming soon

hmm...i'm sittin here working.  or am i?

I prayed, God listened, God answered my prayer.  The conclusion I have come to is that I will continue to pray. 

It's crazy how it all works :)

O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.

The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

Psalm 143

cinco de mayo...always makes me happy that the US is not the sole country to call a holiday by the date.  i mean, we have Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day...you get the idea.  and then there is July 4th (i know some people call it independence day, but i've yet to meet them.)  so to know that Mexico also does it-well, it only makes me thankful that we're not the only odd ones in the world. 

what if we were to run down the streets proclaiming "CINCO DE DICIEMBRE!!!"  no hate mail, please.  just think about it.  cinco de mayo is a great day!  as is, dos de mayo cuz it's my niece's bday :)

during another sleepless night, i totally ran across some amazing things online!  there's a southern baptist camping assocation?  who knew!  that's not all, but that's the one that shocked me the most.  anyway, i suppose it's time to start the day...

allergies = not fun

yes, it is 4:30AM and i'm awake.  i still can't decide if i'm up late or woke up early.  i can't really remember if i went to sleep or not; it's all a blur.  after a horrible week of battling seasonal allergies, i'm much better but still a bit miserable.  for those that say they have allergies and sneeze once or twice, i don't want to hear it! 

anyway, on a brighter note...we survived our first week without ben and kevin at the after school program.  although, we did have a total of 6 new youth come this past week.  totally was not expecting it, at all. 

ouch, i just pulled a muscle (from coughing). 

the next few weeks will be full of studying and paper/office work.  i feel that since i made it through everything that happened in march and april, i can make it through a few weeks of this fun. 

not really any exciting adventures this past week...but hopefully there will be some soon

yep, went to princeton yesterday. saw ben and kevin play in their ultimate frisbee games. and saw both of them lose...kinda sad. oh well, had some yummy bbq though at the southern society bbq. learned how to play a new game, which i need to play again before i forget-don't even remember the name of it. nursery was fun this morning; much slower than last week. and enjoyed a rainy/sunny yankees game this afternoon. wasn't much of a contest for the yankees though. said goodbyes to ben and kevin afterwards. becoming anxious about what will happen in the coming months...

early saturday morning, why am i awake?  gonna head out to princeton in a bit, but i do have a few extra minutes.

having a car in new york city has cost me a lot of extra money, but i don't regret it at all.  because i've had a car, i've had the opportunity in the past couple of months to go to boston, providence, dc, baltimore.  not to mention, the advantages of learning my way around the city other than by mass transit.  and today it's off to princeton.  in a few weeks, there will be trips to martha's vineyard, long island, vermont-maine maybe. 

i'm actually looking forward to going to back to school now.  God had a lot for me to learn this year off.  and the fun isn't over yet.  i'm not excited about leaving new york city.  in fact, if you ask me i will tell you that i do not want to leave at all.  but i can also honestly say that i want to be where God wants me, and in august that will be back at school in birmingham. 

i'm thankful for the people God has placed in my life over the past year.  i can see God working at all times, in all places, through all people.  and that, in itself, is enough for me. 

whew, finally...a day off!!!

since the last post:
second concert at graffiti-it was incredible, exactly what i had in mind when i first got it going, over 100 people came to hear the guys, 25 of those with no connection to any church, 1 of those wanting to know how to begin a relationship with Jesus
easter egg hunt with graffiti 2-over 300 kids, many more parents/grandparents, lots of games and prizes and snow cones, i was the bunny (big thanks to mosaic for the last minute bunny costume)
easter sunday at graffiti-all of the gift bags that were made were given out to newcomers (not sure how many there were), the nursery sure was busy, baptism and all

went to the beach yesterday on my first day off.  just walked around a bit.  then sat in the sand and listened to the waves.  got some sun too.  i'm now convinced if you want sun, then go to south beach (it's in staten island, and no it's not that far away). 

so after this week (college metro conference) things will get back to normal around graffiti.  and it's only a month til this whole tlj thing is over.  kinda crazy to think that i've been here for almost a year. 

boston was fun, providence even more so!  i will live in rhode island one day, hopefully providence.  and it will be fun :)

d.c. this weekend...too bad i'm broke...oh well!

just wanted to check in from boston...heading back out to see more of the city in a few minutes.  glad to see lsu beat duke!

i seem to be in a reflective mood...gosh, so much has changed in such a short amount of time.  most things for the better, it's just been a particularly tough week.  i can deal with problems with relative ease when they are directed at me.  but i've realized that when the problems are with others i just feel utterly helpless. 

i'm thankful for all of the people that have followed God and as a result have pointed me towards God.  i hope that others can say the same thing about me. 

in the past several days i have watched flight plan, the brothers grimm, walk the line, just friends, and guess who.  5 movies in 4 days...not bad :)

i miss my friends and family.

i want all of my thoughts and actions to please God.

pinebrook (youth retreat) was great.  a lot of one on one time with the youth.  they actually listened to us and went to all the sessions (which some were boring) and stayed for the entire time too.  it was a pretty uneventful weekend, until 1AM on sunday when lorie had to take me to the ER for an allergic reaction to dayquil.  it was so much fun and the doctor was so nice :) 

so mark that down...two 911 calls in 4 days (we didn't know where a hospital was so we had to call somoene that did.)  i hope this doesn't become a trend.

lent has been difficult for me.  it's shown me how dependent i have become on other things.  just being honest, i'm still longing for what i decided to give up.  but i realized last night, that it might have actually saved my life earlier in the week.  God is good!

just when i thought this valley couldn't get any deeper
just when i thought that i was stepping out of it
just when i thought the mountain was in my view
that's when i saw you

you didn't take me out of it but you joined me in it
you didn't lift me out of it but you lifted me up in it
you didn't pull me out of it but you pulled me towards you in it
and i know i'll be ok

Jesus where would i be without your sovereignty?
Jesus where would i be without your sovereignty?

just when i thought this mountain couldn't get any steeper
just when i thought i was falling off of it
just when i thought the valley was in my view again
that's when i saw you

you didn't take me out of it but you joined me in it
you didn't lift me out of it but you lifted me up in it
you didn't pull me out of it but you pulled me towards you in it
and i know i'll be ok

Jesus where would i be without your sovereignty?
Jesus where would i be without your sovereignty?

why the crap won't my room clean itself???  i'm gettin tired of this...ugh

it confuses me with the nsow goes up instead of dwno

go find you some big red gum.  take the wrapper and lick the white part of it and stick it to your forhead.  let me know how long you can leave it there.  (and take a pic of your forhead when you take it off.)

my youth will be amazed if you can last longer than 5 minutes :)

my reasons/motivations for doing things lately have been so selfish.  God kicked me in the butt this week and put me back where i belong.  i suppose it was needed.  i'm excited to see what's gonna be happening in the days, weeks, and months to come.  i want to experience the change in my heart make it's way to my mind.  i serve a great God :) 

don't be discouraged, God isn't finished yet!

i had my first overnight guests at my new house :)

today = national compliment day
you know what to do...

good news all around...but i'll explain later :)