Thanksgiving Challenge

In honor of the approaching Thanksgiving holiday I have decided to challenge myself. For each day I am going to blog about the things I am thankful for. Because today is the 10th I will have to make up with 10 things I am thankful for. 

1. I am thankful for the undeserved grace of God--I do not deserve anything that God has done for me. His grace saved me. 

2. I am thankful for my stepmom giving me a job while I finish working on my Masters--Finishing up my internship is pretty much a full time job. Having a job that I make my hours is so helpful. 

3. I am thankful to be almost done with my masters (Graduation is in May)--I am 27 and have been in college what seems like forever. 

4. I am thankful to have passed my comprehensive finals--I took my finials in October and pasted; now all I have to do is finish my internship. 

5. I am thankful for my health--I know so many people that have cancer right not, and I am so glad that I am healthy (even if I need to lose a few pounds).

6. I am thankful for the chance to learn from my past--I have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I have learned a lot. I hope to use my past to help people someday. 

7. I am thankful for new friends--I recently moved home, and most of my old friends have moved on. I joined a life group with my church, and have made some awesome new friends. 

8. I am thankful for Jesus and all he has done and will do--I trust my Savior with my life. He saved me from my past, and my life if full of blessings. 

9. I am thankful for my dad and stepmom letting me come home to save money--Don't get me wrong, it is hard to come home. I am so glad that I have a place to live with no rent. It helps on the stress level and the grades. 

10. I am thankful for a chance to go to Mexico to share the love of Christ--In January I am going to Juarez, Mexico on my first official mission trip and my first official time out of the country. 

This is my first ten (in no particular order). Stay tuned for more. 

How He Loves

I wanted to share the lyrics of my new favorite song. It is so amazing. The words are powerful and true.


David Crowder Band - How He Loves
From the album Church Music
He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us
How He loves us all
Yeah, He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

And we are His portion and
He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
And Heaven meets Earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don't have time to maintain these regrets When I think about, the way...

Followers Needed!!!!!

Ok so I have one follower, and may I say that she has the best blog out there!!!!! But I am on the search for followers. Is is weird and needy that I am prepared to beg for followers. LOL! 

Running on Empty

For the last couple of weeks The Simple Church (my church....that I love sooooo much) has been
doing a series on being Empty. It is a really great series. We are talking about being empty
physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.


At the start of the series I was feeling great. I thought to my self, "I am feeling pretty full right now,
but this is all really good information to remember for the future." Well 4 weeks in, with at least 2
weeks to go, I am physically EMPTY.


I have been really busy for the last few weeks and weekends. I looked over my calendar last 
night and I am pretty busy from now to Christmas. Oh joy. Actually I love being busy. It makes me fell alive.


I rationalize and say if I have to be empty being physically empty is what I would want to be. My 
fear is that being physically empty will soon start to affect other areas of my well being. (I am
smart enough to know that is how it happens) So I am going to be looking over my agenda today to see if I can schedule some time for a little R and R.


Until the whole world hears,

Busy Busy Busy

Wow have I been busy!!!! I have not only been to busy to blog, but today was the first day since last Wednesday that I have even had a chance to read blogs.

Thursday was a busy day working. Nothing too special to brag about. I love the chance to see all the beautiful house my stepmom works in (she is an interior designer and Thursday I help her instal custom drapes and bedding), but it is a lot of hard work.

Friday I spent the day working on flowers for my friend Jessie's wedding. I realized around 10 am that I had a big job ahead of me. Friday night my church had a worship night at a beautiful old theater. It was AMAZING!!!! For an hour and a half we worshiped the Lord. There was around 800 people there. All the proceeds went to a fabulous ministry that I love to work with The Hub. It is a ministry that reaches out to the homeless in Shreveport. (check them out http://www.thehubministry.com/)


Saturday I was up early working on finishing the flowers. They turned out great. I got a lot of complements.

Bride's bouquet

Side view of the bride's bouquet

Bride's maids'

One of the table arrangements

I really enjoyed the wedding, but it was a lot of work.


Sunday was again another busy day. I did get to enjoy a picnic, shopping, and girls night with my friends. I
also got to buy the stuff for my Operation Christmas Child shoe box. I picked a little girl age 5-9. It was fun
filling the shoe box with fun little things that I know a special little girl will love. What is even better is that in 
January I get to be a part of the group that delivers the boxes to Juarez, Mexico. I get to help hand out the 
boxes to little kids. I am really excited about that chance.


******If you don't know what Operation Christmas Child is: It is an organization by Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son). You pack a shoe box full of toys, personal hygiene items, school supplies, and candy. Then they get delivered all over the world so that kids
everywhere can have a Christmas.

Now it is Monday again and time to be back in the swing of things. I hope you had a great weekend.

Until the whole world hears,

Cary

To Write Love On Her Arms

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non profit organization that helps people with addiction, depression, self injury, and suicide find hope in the world. It is a cause that I really believe in. I also know how big the need is because my life has been affected by each of those horrible problems. On Friday November 13th people world wide will be writing love on their arms to help spread the word. I am going to include the event invite from Facebook:

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

To Write Love On Her Arms Day is a day where anyone can write the words love on their arms, to support those who are fighting against depression and those who are trying to recovering.

The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time. We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.

The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

Check out their website www.twloha.com

Which way will you go?

I was driving down the interstate today (it was so beautiful out), and I had a thought...which I often do on my hour long drives. It was about 9:30 this morning. There was a lot of traffic on the road in both the east and west bound lanes. I was on my way to Shreveport to eat lunch with a friend, get my passport, register for school, and have coffee with my sister...you know fun stuff. I wondered how many people were on pleasure trips and which ones were on business. There was a man with a Texas license plate and clothes hung up headed back toward Texas. I wondered where he had been. All these people were going to there on destination and on their on little journey, but each person was only going in two directions (east or west).



It made me think about our lives, too. Each of us is on our very own journey. We are all going in our own directions. We each have our own experiences, but eventually we end up in one of two places....Heaven or hell. I know that there are many different theories on what the road to heaven actually is. This is my blog so I am going to tell you the road to Heaven as I know it. Jesus says in John 14 verse 6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It is the smoothest most direct route there is. My prayer is for each and every one of you to find the right road.



(**The interstate picture is I-20 in Atlanta not Shreveport)

Until the whole world hears,
Cary

Top Tens of the Moment

I decided to share with everyone what I am digging right now and what I am not!!! Enjoy

Likes :


1. Wood wick candles--the sound is so soothing

2. Starbucks skinny mocha.....ok I'm really loving anything Starbucks



3. Blogging--I am really getting into for the first time. Even though I've been doing it occasionally for about 2 years. It is my new addiction. I am also loving me some Twitter and Facebook...oh social networking I love you.

4. Non fiction--I am off my fiction kick and back to non fiction. I'm reading a great book Choosing God's Best. I recommend it to all the singles out there looking for the right one.

5. Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus--It is my guilty pleasure right now.

6. Sunshine--It has been raining here for like the last month and this is the 1st week that there is no rain in the forecast. I am very excited about it!!!!!

7. Sweater dresses--I just bought 2 and they are very cute!!!!!



8. Cooking from the Hungry Girl Cookbook--If you haven't heard of Hungry Girl you need to google her. She makes eating right easy. She has some great cookbooks.




9. I Love Lucy--This is one of my favorite shows. She makes me laugh!!! It is good clean fun.

10. Water-- I know that this may seem strange, but I don't usually drink a lot of water. I am a Diet Coke Addict. Since I have been on my health kick I have been trying to drink 2 liters of water a day, and truthfully I love it.

11. Fall Tv (Yes I realize this is more than 10 but I just couldn't stop)--I love the fall season because all my shows come on. I am loving Dancing With The Stars, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, and I'm even watching Vampire Diaries. There are even a few comedy shows on ABC Wednesday night that are pretty funny (The Middle & Modern Family.)

12. The News--Yes, maybe another strange thing on the list. I usually don't like the news. I get so aggravated, so I just don't watch it. I decided that I needed to be informed about the world. So I decided to change news programs. I am watching Fox and Friends in the morning. It seems to be doing the trick.

Dislikes:


1. Sleeping with puppies--My dad's dogs have been sleeping with me, and I can't sleep. It is driving me crazy




2. Rain--Seriously it has rained here for about a month. There is tons of flooding, and last Thursday we had a lot of bad storming with tornados. It has been depressing. I am so glad the sun is out this week.

3. Being on a 3 month break from school--I am working on my masters and will graduate in May. This quarter all I had to do was take my comprehensive finals, which took one school day. So from August till the 8th of December I am on break. It stinks because I am ready to finish. Side note and probably should be on my likes list: I passed my test!!!! YaY!!!!!

4. Keeping secrets--I have a secret that I have to keep right now (till November 21st actually). It is a good secret, but I am ready to tell!!!!! (Promise on the 21st I'll let you all know)

5. Telemarketers calling at work--Like we don't have enough to do. Now we have to stop and answer the phone every 5 minutes to be bothered.

6. Studying--My comprehensive finals have had me studying A LOT. No studying is a big perk of graduating. I still have to take my boards in May so I have to keep on studying. At least I can take a break for the time being.

7. Weight Loss--So I have decided that not only do I need to lose some of this extra weight I have gained over the past year and a half, but I also need to change to a healthier life style. Good choice I know, but some days it is hard.

8. Being 4 hours away from my bestie--I miss date night, running around, and secret stalking. My life is kind of busy right now so it is hard to get down to see her. I miss her lots. Good thing we have email, phones, texts, and facebook.

9. Waiting on New Moon--I have been waiting on this movie to come out for almost a year!!! I can barley wait for the next two weeks to pass. I love the Twilight series.



10. Missing my Mama--My mom also lives 4 hours away. I went from seeing her daily to once every month or so. I miss her.

Silly Me

I love being silly

If is an important part of me

I love silly shows and movies

I even love silly commercials

I love to take silly pictures

I love dancing around, singing loud,

And being totally silly

My favorite silly word is Nincompoop

I don’t know why,

But every time I hear it I can’t stop giggling

I am happiest being silly

I need sleep

I turned 27 in May and moved back in with my dad, stepmom, 11 year old sister, and 3 inside dogs. It seemed like a good idea. I am in my last year of my masters and doing internships, so it seemed like a great way to save money. For the most part it is great. I am saving money and/or have more money to shop with. :) I am getting the chance to reconnect with my family. I live right down the road from my nephews (Justin Michael 5 and Logan 2).  Life back at home defiantly has it perks. 

Before I decided to move back home I knew it would have it's draw backs. I am used to coming and going as I please, having friends over to hang out, and doing what I want when I want (like dancing around to loud music or spending rainy days on the couch in my pj's watching movies and cartoons). I also knew I would not have as much alone/quite time; which I cherish so very much. I never imagined that I would have to give up my sleep. 

The 3 inside dogs that I mentioned before, did i mention that they are all under 1 year old? So basically we have 3 puppies in the house. I love them. They are all sweet rescue dogs. (This is a plug to support your local shelter) For about the last 2 or 3 weeks Molly the only girl dog that is about 9 months old has decided to take my room for her own. She comes and goes as she pleases at any time. The house is older, and my door will close but it will not latch. So all she has to do is paw at it to come in. 

I don't sleep very well so her coming in and going out is very disturbing. Not to mention the whining, the need to be held, and early morning belly rubs. To make matters worse for the last two nights she has brought friends to the slumber party. All 3 dogs decided to come see me at 2 am. (This is the 4th night in a row I have been woken at 2 am) Then to make it worse at 6 am they are up ready for the day. Last night when they all came all I could do was cry. I feel like I am never going to sleep again. I am about at my wits end. 

Seriously sleep deprived, 

Cary