Dancing

When do we usually dance? When we are trying to impress someone? After we've taken lessons? When we are at a social event? When we are at a concert? Lord, when do we dance for you? Too often we praise you with our voice but not with our movements. Maybe reaching out a helping hand is our dance for the Lord. Maybe when we are hammering away in the mission field, we are dancing for the Lord. Maybe when we hug someone hurting, we are dancing for the Lord. Maybe we dance when we shake a new face's hand. Lord, we want to dance for you. We want to be alive for our living God. Lord, When do you dance?? Do you dance when a child of yours seeks your love and forgiveness? Do you dance when the hurting reach for your healing hand? Do you dance when we share our love for you to others? Lord, my prayer is that we all dance with you in rejoicement of your love. My prayer is that the dance is written by you, for you and ALL about you.

Tailgating at a High School Fooball Game

So as part of my job, I've joined with a network of local youth pastors called East Cooper Youth Network. We are from all denominations and we get together every month or so and chat about the local youth and ways we can reach the unchurched. One way we are doing that is by sponsoring a tailgate before every home game for the Wando High School football team. Now I never tailgated at my own high school games but I hear that it is very popular around here so I'm hoping for a great turnout because if not, I've got to find some other way of getting rid of the 200 hotdogs that are in my trunk right now. Maybe I need to call up Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi. Hope everyone has a great weekend and GO TIGERS and Wando Warriors!!

Football, Friends & Shenanigans

Let the good times roll! Over the past few weeks, i've gotten to go to a Clemson game for the first time since 2004. I've rejoiced with my friends Mary Lorraine and Ryan on their soon to be nuptials and I've hung out with my youth a LOT! Also, got to hit up the Atlanta Aquarium with Scotty and Melanie! Here are a few pics from all those events.

I'm still here

So I realized that I haven't posted anything in quite some time! There are many excuses I could give for this. First, my internet at my house has been down for 2 weeks. I use wireless and for some reason when I changed internet providers, the wireless router decided to stop working. I just don't know what to do. That situation is where my knowledge siezes to exist. ( If you have any helpful hints, please feel free to share).

Excuse #2, I haven't had much to say. I have been extremely busy at work, now that the youth and children are back in school, it means more planning for events, more meetings at night at church and an overall chaos of what i'm going to put on the calendar for this school year for my children and youth. In this job, i face the challenges like a lot of my counterparts, trying to be less of an event planner, and more of a faith builder(totally made up title, by the way). But it's a tricky situation because to get youth and children to learn more about God and discover their own faith, you have to get them to the church somehow, hence the grand events on the calender to lure them in.

Anyways, excuse #3, I have been sick for over a week with this stupid sinus infection. But Glory to God, it's finally gone and I can start enjoying my life. Alright, on to the highlights of the past few weeks. I've gotten to spend some great time with my closest cousin, Jennie and her husband Rusty. I went and hung out with them in Greenville a few times, and they are gracious enough to house me when I'm in the upstate of SC. And then they came and stayed with me in IOP. What a wonderful time it has been. If you know me, then you know how important Jennie is to me. She is like my older sister, constantly giving me the advice and encouragement I need so I'm super thankful to get to spend more and more time with her and her husband, Rusty. I will attempt to attach some pics from their visit here. Okay, how about them Tigers???? Got to watch my Tigers beat up on FSU last night and what a great feeling to start a new football season that way. I'm really excited, because I get to go to the game this Saturday against our big rivals, University of Lousiana, Monroe! I kid, I kid. Although we are not big rivals, it will still be wonderful to get to see the Tigers play, I think it's been 3 years since i've been to a game at Clemson! By the way, the final update of my life, is that I've finally joined the Jazzercise place in Mt. Pleasant and am LOVING IT!! I heart Jazzercise and I'm so glad to be doing it again. And of couse, leave it to me, to go to this random, facility, and run into someone I know. I tell ya, tis truly a small world!

THE ADHD has taken...anyone hungry?

OH MY GOODNESS. I cannot get anything done. i swear i love technology but it is the devil right now. First of all, I forewarned all of you that i have ADHD and that these posts may come at random times. Such is the case for today's post. I haven't written in about a week and that's because I would start a post and then get distracted with chatting on IM or checking my myspace page, or facebook page, or email or I would get a text, or I would get a phone call at the office. Seriously, sometimes I feel extremely over connected to this world. Wait, I take that back, I thrive on being connected. I can't stand it when i call someone and they don't answer. Unless I have bad news, then I'm happy to leave it on their voicemail. All I'm saying is that I have ADHD and I haven't been medicated since college but I'm considering getting back on the drugs. Okay, now I've just spilt coffee all over my keyboard. By the way, did I tell ya'll I got a pet? Okay, it's nothing big, it's a betta with this intense tail and his name is Roscoe. he loves to fight and is not afraid of kicking some other Betta butt! WOW. Do you feel like you on a rollercoaster with me right now? Oh my goodness, I was just typing away, and something on my computer barked at me. I'm not even kidding, what is going on around here? so, i think i need to stop drinking the coffee, take an aderall and get some work done. maybe this afternoon i'll be able to write a more...by the way, I'm headed to Greenville today for my Grandma Cooke's 83rd birthday and tomorrow I get to see my friend Sarah at her baby shower.

Bunnies and fake teeth

I was just loading pics from my work camera and found this pic of my sister(on the right) and her friends larsen and catherine. They were visiting and investigating the fun items in my office. can't wait for them to visit again! Hope this puts a smile on your face like it did mine!

SHARK ATTACK!!!

So for the past 2 days I've spent a considerable amount of time in the ocean. Yesterday I was with some of the girls from my youth group, surfing. Okay, if you know me at all, then you know that they were the ones actually doing the surfing and I was just playing in the water while they showed me the skills. Today my friend Thomas from newberry came to visit and since Thursdays are my day off, he and I went to the beach for the afternoon and body surfed and such. So I get home tonight and Thomas informs me about this. http://www.live5news.com/news/state/9069416.html 2 shark attacks off the shore of Isle of Palms today. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? so while I was goofing off in the murky water, people's flesh became appetizing to the sharks swimming around me. I'm not okay with this. Actually it got me thinking. For the past 2 days, I've been talking about how the waves have been amazing for IOP. We usually have pretty small waves but because of the new moon, they have been abnormally large. Well I guess the jokes on me. As pleasing as the ocean was, there was danger close by. Because of the great waves, the water was extremely murky so there would be no way to see sharks nearby. Can't we all say that our lives are sometimes like that water. The other day, a friend of mine told me that her friends lost their 15 month old baby. Three days ago, another friend told me that me about her mother who has terminal cancer. Horrible, horrible things that could turn anyone against God and life in general. There are continuous things that come to us in our lives just when life seems to be perfect. We often say, how can this happen to us? Why me, God? I don't have the answer to that but i do know that if we live our lives in fear then we are unable to truly enjoy the moments that we have. We may not have the answers but can rely on our faith in God to provide us with comfort and love. When I got into the ocean, I knew that there were sharks in there but I didn't allow that to scare me out of the water. We must dive in, enjoy the moment and if we are placed with obstacles, like some of our flesh gone, then we take care of it but we don't stop enjoying the things in life that we are blessed with. May we each constantly collide into the water...