After hearing lot's of talk about "Downton Abbey", I finally gave in and started watching Season 1 on Amazon today. I'm hooked. Think I can catch up before the new season starts, lol?!?
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Wordless Wednesday!
“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.
Even longer,' Pooh answered.” ― Winnie-the-Pooh
A Season of Change
Be warned, this post is a long one and is more for me than anyone else. I've been traveling a long road of change during this season of my life and I wanted to be able to put onto paper (or on the web for the world to see) what the last 10 months or so have entailed. My God is good and I don't ever want to forget that!
As most of you know, last September I was told my job (and myself if I chose) was relocating to Dallas, Texas. Talk about a life altering decision to think about. After a lot of thought, well maybe a week at most, and lots of prayer time I decided that wasn't a move for me and Dallas was not the path that God was calling me down. You see, I'm a family and friends kind of girl and I love my church. I can't imagine being 2 hours away from them much less a 10 hour drive away. I just don't think my heart could have handled it.
Fast forward to January when I had to make my decision known to State Farm. I was stressed beyond belief because I had never not had a job since I was fifteen. I had been at my current position with State Farm for almost 9 years and had been in a State Farm position for almost 13 years! The thought of not having a job in 3 months scared me but on a Wednesday night in January (the 9th to be exact) I decided to put a re-apply app in at Vol State to complete my pre-nursing courses. I had an immediate sense of peace. Now that I had made that decision final, I now got to stress over the fact that I was leaving what I had known and the people I had come to love at the Farm but I was also growing excited over the future and what was to come. I had been working with the youth at our church so that was going to open up the ability to continue working with them more hands on through the summer. My last day of work was initially set for April 30th but on March 21st we we're told that because the changes we're moving ahead of schedule, the company was giving those in my position an early leave with pay therefore March 29th was my last day "at" work and my last official day with State Farm was April 30th. The road branched.
April brought a lot of emotion. One of them being sadness on closing a chapter and another being fear. I quickly busied myself with lots of stuff to do because anyone who knows me, knows that I can't sit still for long so going from having the hours of 7:00-6:00 occupied with a commute and work to nothing left me feeling fidgety. Unfortunately the majority of my month ended up being consumed with dealing with the aftermath of an auto accident. My poor, well-loved SUV made friends with a tractor trailer and rock wall on a stormy, Wednesday morning and was injured beyond repair and I was blessed to only walk away with a wicked seat belt burn/cut on my neck and lots of bruising. It was kind of a sad month for me.
Luckily May flew by and the summer brought a full load at school and lots of youth trips. Like 3 trips in 3 weeks. The first week was consumed with Nashville Workcamp which is a blessing in itself. We take a week plus a house and restore it back to something beautiful for those medically unable or financially unable to. Hopefully we leave the street with a sense of renewal and an opportunity to have seen God at work that week. After a week of recovering, I took off to Jr Impact with 4 teen's at Lipscomb for the weekend, returned them back home and then returned for a week of Sr. Impact with 6 more teens. We learned about what it meant to truly honor God. We also sang a new version of "Just as I am" and it still sends chills down my arms. It was where I was at after the last few months or 7 had broken me down.
("Just As I Am" chorus by Travis Catrell)
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am
I left Impact with a sense of renewal and determination to honor God. It also gave me a sense of renewal as I began the final planning steps of church camp and left me excited for what was to come.
July started out with a week at the most happiest place on Earth with my family. It was my niece's 1st visit so it was very cool to experience and see everything for the 1st time through her little bitty eye's. Though she had a fear of the characters, she LoVed Disney and keeps asking to go back. I'm not sure what it is about Disney that makes it magical but I think it's the sense of being a child again no matter your age. It was a fun week that had to come to an end for me early Friday morning. I headed for the airport around 5:00 am to catch my 8:00 flight back to Nashville. I was greeted by Katy in Nashville where I hit the ground running to finish up last minute camp details because we we're headed out in a big gray church van on Saturday at noon with a LOT of food. Church camp was a blast and I was blessed with another great group of staff and a lot of amazing kids.
Needless to say after a whirlwind of trips in 6 weeks, I was ready to rest and figure out where home was. I had a week that I spent un-packing and re-organizing from camp and then jumped feet first into VBS with a few youth things thrown in. I'm now a week away from wrapping up a semester of college and only about 7 weeks away from when this journey started. A new school year is around the corner and I'm sure lots of changes are coming my way. I don't see this season of change ending soon but I have to say that I don't mind that completely. With every change that has been thrown at me, I've grown as a person, my views have been changed, and I've learned that God's plan is much bigger and better than what I could have come up with. This season has allowed me to be places I couldn't have been and help in ways that weren't possible before. It's allowed me to grow closer to new friends and renew relationships with those who our paths had gone different ways as life does. I'm forever grateful for my family, church family, biscuits, and friends. Without their prayers and encouragement I wouldn't be standing right now. I'd be in a fetal position in the corner afraid of what was to come. Now I can't wait to see what is to come!
Real faith isn’t a hopeful wish. Real faith is making the decision that no matter the outcome, we’ll choose to see it as God’s perfect answer. Through the good. Through the not-so-good. And even through the down right awful- we will trust God. Now this doesn’t mean we won’t cry and express hurt. But it does mean we’ve decided it’s better to have lived trying to take leaps of faith with God, than to walk away from Him. - Lysa TerKeurst
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. - Mark 4:31
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. - Mark 4:31
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Humble Thoughts
In my last post I was asking for clothes advice for Easter and in this one I've given myself a reality check. Two years ago, instead of buying a new dress and shoes to wear on this special day, I purchased a new 147 Million Orphans shirt to add to my collection and sparkly Tom's. Both of which, help provide the basic neccesity's that we take for granted everyday.
I'm not at all saying that it's wrong to want things, shop, etc. because I will be the first person to raise my hand for a new pair of shoes or purse. I love a good barn sale or flea market. For me, I'm taking a look at what I want people to see when they look at me. Is it someone representing the latest fashions or is it someone trying to help the less fortunate. James 1:27 states that
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.".
Buying a shirt to support an adoption or help bring wells to an area where clean water is a luxury and not a neccesity is only a small part that can be played to bring awareness and knowledge to those words spoken in James.
So on Easter this year I will be wearing the Toms mentioned in my last post but they will be worn with a shirt from Voices 4 the Voiceless and beads made by women Karamojong tribe in Uganda. It may not effect anyone else but it's humbled this girls heart and on a day that we celebrate the sacrifices that Jesus made for us, I hope to only bring a portion of awareness to those around us who have so little and obey the words written in James.
Jordan
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Online Shopping Help!
I have found this one at Kiki La' Rue that I really like.
I've also debated on getting something that would look cute with my new Tom Wedges that I ordered from Zulily a few weeks ago. You will see this cute pair of wedges a lot in the next couple of weeks/months. I saw them online last spring and debated on getting them and ended up with the grey Tom wedges while in Chicago and never could find this pattern/color again. Low and behold, Zulily came throught and they are hopefully shipping this week. Fingers crossed and everything else!
Now that I'm done sounding completly shallow, help a girl out! I like options ya'll, lots and lots of options! Where do you do most of your online boutique shopping?!?!
Friday, March 1, 2013
Frugal Friday!
Happy Friday! Don't worry the world is not coming to an end since I decided to blog twice in one week though it's definitely possible with the white stuff that's falling on March 1st. I really hope Spring is around the corner.
In light of my recent purchases and creations plus my plans to go junking at the Goodwill stores tomorrow I thought I would join up with The Shabby Nest and show one or several of my recent creations/purchases.
My frugal creation would be the body pillow I purchased for $10 at Target on Black Friday with the intention to cover it that weekend. Needless to say it didn't happen and I'm kind of glad it didn't because I would have been redoing it very quickly. I found the perfect material at Hobby Lobby and snatched up 3 yards for only $6 and some change. After about 15 minutes of cutting, sewing, stuffing the pillow in the cover, and stiching the end up, I know have a really cute decorative pillow that runs the span of my bed. Granted I know my shabby style isn't for everyone but I love it and allows for so many color/fabric combinations. Isn't the mustardy yellow color fabulous!
**PLease ignore the bad pictures, I've gasp...lost temporarily displaced my DSLR camera and my iphone camera is scratched.
My second frugal item is my purchase at Southern Honey Workshop this past weekend. If you live in Nashville and haven't been there then you need to get in your car now and go. Seriously. She has some really great furniture and knick knacks at really great prices. I've been on the hunt for a nightstand since I forgot misplaced a table I purchased at the Flea Market this summer. This one fit the bill perfectly and I loved the color and with a price tag of only $85 for a piece of sturdy furniture that needed no work from me? I was sold!
I also bought the hanging lamp below at Southern Honey for $20 and the lampshade at Target for $15 I think. I love when idea's start coming together.
As for my junking at the local Goodwill's tomorrow on half price Saturday, I'm hoping to come home with the pieces to put this together that Sara at Life {Sweet} Life created. Cute and functional and perfect to collect earrings, hair bands, etc that land on my nightstand. Of course frames are always high on my list and any other thing that I see potential for.
What have you made frugally lately?!?!?
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