so the greatest thing happened to me today and i just want to tell. let me share... you know how you listen to music and so often God uses it as a tool in your life to draw you closer to him. hopefully that's why most christian musicians make music, to be used as God's tool (but in Nashville you never know!) so since i've been at home this week i've had the greatest time, and today i was having coffee with the missions pastor from my church and one of my favorite worship leaders (songwriter, musician) ever walked in. he's from new orleans and i'd met him like 5 years ago and we have mutual friends. the last album he released has been so influential in my life for the last 3 months, i haven't stopped playing it and telling people about it. so i had to talk to him... right. but i hate people like that, but i did it anyway, and he was so incredibly nice and excited to talk and he pulled up a chair beside him for me and showed me all of the new album art for the ep he's releasing in October, and then he played me some of it. IT IS AMAZING. he said that i was the first person that wasn't working on it that's gotten to hear it. if i can i'll buy it for all you who are actually taking out time to read this (just kidding, I'm not rich)

it's not that he's that well known, and this probably wouldn't excite any of you guys, but i love his music and have for about 5 years now and God has used it in my life, and i think listening to it is like pulling up a chair to God and just enjoying Him. and I got to hang out with him today. i think God knew that it would make my day! unreal... how fun. there may be some cool stuff that comes out of this random meeting :)

go buy it on itunes right now: Jason Morant - Abandon, and the new one will come out in october. jason morant

these pics are for my girls maria and meredith who love him as much as i do :) we need to find a way to go see him at the beacon next week. it was incredible. he's so talented.



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd


photo from susanrloyd


photo from susanrloyd

it's so unfair that my nashvegas friends called from the fun concert that i was not at (even though I already saw it!) I'm supposed to be the one making those annoying phone calls!!!

I've also recently decided that I really need to be on that show the amazing race... anybody want to be my partner? we could totally win!

i'm so thankful... that God is sovereign and that He has our best interests (to give us a hope and a future) at heart and that even when we think that we need something, He knows better. He's always taking care of us.

I love it when you can look back at years past and see His protection from something you didn't understand, and then suddenly He decides to reveal to you why you went through it all... His perfect purposes.

I'm also thankful for these verses in ephesians:

NIV - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

the message - Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

~ the work he has prepared us for - the work we'd better be doing ~

grace is so wonderful - may it move us on toward good deeds so that God may get all the glory. after all, we are here to be spent, by doing the work that he's created us for :)

at the coldplay concert i saw 2 perfectly normal looking guys wearing their own homemade t-shirts that said " where's gwyneth?" and then the back said "madison square garden sept 7 coldplay concert" .... you get the point. i can't believe that the eight of us who went didn't coordinate that as well. what were we thinking not making t-shirts to commemorate the occasion? next time we're so doing it.

seriously - they were sooo good live. one of the best concerts i've ever been to.



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd



photo from susanrloyd


photo from susanrloyd

photo from susanrloyd

this is my favorite... more to come when i have a little time to breathe!

random note: for the mac peeps out there, have any of you ever almost had a heart attack after your computer started talking to you out of the blue and you had your sound turned up really loud and you were in a different room? just wondering :) it just happened to me

my friends who i've talked to in Baton Rouge have said that life is quite different now. that's probably a huge understatement.

this really is hard to imagine: "Baton Rouge, which is about 80 miles from New Orleans, has doubled in size to almost 800,000, by most estimates."

look at lsu's campus map; they've turned it into a city that's caring for the people from further south. and they're starting classes tomorrow!

i'm still a little concerned about my roomate melissa and her family. they're from south of New Orleans in larose, la.

this article is encouraging. those are such great churches and i know that every other church in baton rouge is providing shelter and food as well. i've seen a couple of preachers on national TV from baton rouge and they've been talking openly about how people are crying out to God right now for healing, comfort, peace and hope. I'm so thankful to see the body of christ in baton rouge helping others in their greatest time of need. i mean really serving people. this is what my church from there is doing "the ring"

please pray for them as they show His great love and compassion.

they are thinking about bringing the saints games to tiger stadium now. that would be really neat. read here

photo from susanrloyd

have you ever seen that show on mtv? sweet sixteen? well i just witnessed one of those type of throw downs myself. (sort of)

we heard about this upcoming party from our youth for about a month before it happened, but i still don't think i was prepared. just check out the photos in the gallery.

it was a girl's birthday who goes to BCI. much fun was had!!! we lined danced and all.

our church knows how to have fun :)

it's really weird and surreal to be living in New Jersey and to be from the gulf coast watching the news coverage - from Pascagoula to Baton Rouge I've lived down there for most of my life. It’s almost like it’s a movie. Although my immediate family is in TN now, it sucks to sit and see all the familiarity and home of the MS coast and New Orleans torn into shreds like it has been and feel sorta helpless. my heart hurts for them. I just pray that my friends from MS to LA are all okay.

Please pray for my Mom and Dad as I’m pretty sure that soon they’re going to pack up and go down to help work with some of the churches that will begin to reach out to their communities and help people put their lives back together.

as written by Justin Bassett mostly and finished by Susan Loyd (which is why the explanations get a little shorter toward the end) please feel free to expound upon any that you feel led to!

In light of recent engagements amongst friends and in our church, the BCI team has put together a sort-of “how not to” propose list. The bottom line is that there are several ways to propose in New York City, as we all know, its one of the most romantic cities in the world! But, there are definitely ways not to propose. Therefore, we have put together the...

Top 15 Worst Ways To Propose in the New York City Metro Area:


15.) During a Mets Game.
Seriously, if you are thinking of going with the whole baseball scene, maybe think about the Yankees instead. One world series versus 26!

14.) In a row boat in the Passaic
While the Passaic River may look kind of like the river on The Notebook, trust me its not. It was actually voted by some scientists as the most polluted river in the world! If one of you fell in, you might grow another arm! If you do decide to visit this historic location, visit BCI located one block away! Pray for our appendages!

13.) Staten Island Ferry
Public transit is cool, but seriously guys, not for a proposal. There are several methods of transportation listed here, and this is the least worst way. On the plus side, its free and you get to see the Statue of Liberty.

12.) Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
For that matter, any hotdog vender, Gray’s Papaya, or any hot dog anything! It may sound like a good idea to us guys, but take it from a married man, its not.

11.) Secaucus Junction
This is the Mecca of the New Jersey Transit System! However, its not the place to propose. In fact, the New Jersey Transit is just not the place for a proposal.

10.) Taxi Cab
I watched a report on the Today Show, a scientist proved that these urban chariots are the dirtiest places in NYC. In the back of a cab, a germ swab can reveal anything from fecal bacteria to hepatitis! Gross! Not the place to propose!

9.) Flushing Meadows Corona Park
On theknot.com, the #1 web site for engaged couples, begins with each couples engagement story. Seriously guys, you don’t want to have your fiancé to have to start her engagement story with the word “flushing”. Great spot for Billy Graham...not a great spot for the proposal.

8.) Double-Decker Tourist Bus
Honestly, I think I just have a personal vendetta against these things!

7.) The Today Show
Please don’t be one of those guys who holds up a poster on the Today Show asking your girlfriend to marry you. (not to mention that if she’s at home watching TV and you’re at the today show, shouldn’t she be living it up in NYC with you?)

6. ) on a subway
there is nothing romantic about the subways, especially because they all smell like toilet.

5.) toys r us ferris wheel
save that one for the kiddies

4.) New Jersey
‘nuf said

3.) the back rooms of China town
shady, shady

2.) Starbucks
there are way too many of them; you may ask her to meet you at one and then you never actually see each other because you’ve both been to 5 different locations

1.) In front of Tiffany and CO with a ring that’s not from Tiffanys
if you have the guts to propose at Tiffany’s you have to be ready to shell out the big ones for a ring from there. (DO NOT bring your little CZ ring from Wal-Mart to NYC to propose)

We hope that you enjoy our list we put together. Much fun was had in the making of it!

i am the new proud employee at Garden State Plaza mall at Restoration Hardware. I never thought I'd really work at a mall. It was always one of those things i thought or even said like "I love this store, it would be fun to work here." The manager really wants me to work there, so since I got offered a job, and the pay isn't so bad, and I'll meet people my age, and I really like to shop and decorate and so on... I guess i'm going to take the job. I start on Tuesday. I guess if I don't like it I can quit. I do have to admit I'm having second thoughts because Pastor Jerry mentioned today (after he was admiring my computer) that there's an apple store only 15 minutes from my house...

so now the plan is to take the mall job, and then apply at apple and then quit at the mall when i get the job at apple.

I know i know, God makes the plans... not me!!!

we'll see what happens :)

it would just be really great to get a discount at apple.



photo from susanrloyd

photo from susanrloyd

isn't she the cutest thing? oh the joys of being assigned to the 3 and 4 year olds at evening VBS when they're falling asleep all over you at 8:30 pm :)

so, I've been to the brooklyn tabernacle twice now in less than 6 days and both times I've been taught some things about prayer... mostly about how much of a privilege it is to come before God and put yourself aside and really pray for the needs of other people, even people you don't know who have cried out admitting their desperation for God to move in a particular situation. It really is such a gift to be able to ask God to align our wills with His and to draw us closer to Him. I think naturally we usually bring our own problems and burdens to Him first, but that’s not really the way it should be. He’s given us the body so that we can care for one another and rejoice with each other and really depend on one another as brothers and sisters in Him…

a pastor at our church proposed today during the benediction and everyone was yelling and screaming and taking pictures. It was a little strange, but sweet. Our church really is family to one another, and he wanted to share the moment with all of the people closest to him. It was a really great example of what the body of Christ should look like.

So it looks like now the prayer service IS happening this Tuesday night at the tab. We misunderstood and did bad research...

i decided that my hair was was looking a little to red for my taste, so I dyed it dark brown.

now I'll fit in more at church :)

photo from susanrloyd

this photo is for my friends at the NHNY office... (I think they may sell burgles? what do you think?) Lindsay and I saw it and thought of you guys.

this is tina from the central park zoo. she was quite friendly...

I just wanted to share the photo :)