Just thought it would be fun!

This was an email from Jenn, and I just thought it would be fun to put up here! :)

Copy and paste and place an (x) by all the things you've done and remove the (x) from the ones you have not. Then send it to your friends (including me). This is for your entire life!
( ) Drove a semi truck
( ) Owned a horse
( ) Been on a cruise
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
(X ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to San Francisco
( X ) Been to Washington , DC
( ) Been to Las Vegas
(X) Climbed up a lighthouse
( X ) Cried yourself to sleep
( )Seen the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.
( X ) Played cops and robbers
( X ) Flown a plane or helicopter - in a plane
( ) Watched grandchildren grow –
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Been to the Kentucky Derby
( ) Been to Key West
( ) Been to a rodeo
( X ) Sang karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
( X ) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until some beverage came out of your nose.
( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced naked in the rain
( X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
( ) Seen the green flash at sunset
( X ) Blown bubbles
( X ) Gone ice-skating
( ) Owned a convertible
( ) Shot a gun
( X ) Been to New York City
( X ) Been to England
( ) Swam in the Pacific Ocean (just put my toes in it!)
( X ) Swam in the Atlantic Ocean
( X ) Went to a movie by yourself
( ) Owned a stick shift vehicle
( ) Went skinny dipping
1. Any nickname(s) Laura J, LJ, Little Lee Lee, Little Bit
2. Mother's name ? Sara
3. Body Piercings? one hole in each ear lobe
4. How much do you love your job? I am blessed to have one and yes I love it!
5. Birthplace? Greensboro, NC
6. Ever been to Hawaii? no
9. Ever been on TV? N)
10. Ever steal any traffic signs? No
11. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
12. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4
13. Favorite number? 4
14. Favorite movie? too many (Home Alone, Beauty and the Beast)
15. Favorite holiday? Christmas
16. Favorite dessert? ice cream
17. Favorite food? pizza... Brixx Pizza
18. Favorite day of the week? Monday, my day off :)
19. Favorite smell? clean clothes out of the dryer and gardenias
20. How do you relax? Read, watch TV, nap
21. How do you see yourself in 10 years? hopefully married with children
22. Farthest place you will send this message? Texas and PA!
23. Who will respond to this the fastest? No idea!!!
24. Who will be the last person to respond? No idea!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving came and went! I love the holiday and had a wonderful time at home with family in Greensboro. This year I had a little cold so just felt worn out and out of it. I think just going and going has sort of caught up to me! But I did have a great time and as always, staying at my parents house is wonderful and relaxing. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures.

One thing I did do was plan, organize, and collect things for our Christmas decorations at church in Greenville. I am helping with the decorations this year and am so excited! I even cut down trees for the occasion!! (yes, that's right!). My Aunt Janette and I walked in the wood out at Memaw and Da's house and cut down about 10 cedar trees. (It really wasn't hard, J had a hand saw.) Then friends from Greenville, Mark and Pam came by and loaded them in their minivan to Gvegas!! I also collected some things from Memaw and Da's house. My favorite was going through Memaw's Christmas decorations for myself and for church. I have a lot of Christmas decorations for a single girl! I even left one Tupperware box in Greensboro!

I will post pictures later of the sanctuary and my loaded up car (actually borrowed my mom's jeep and it is and was filled to the brim!).

Probably the highlight of the weekend was spending time with my parents, sister, family, and friends. Gala (my mom's friend) and Suzanne (a childhood friend) came by Friday night. It was good to see them. They used to live in Greensboro, now they live in Atlanta. They told lots of funny stories and as always, laughed really hard!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

Rainy Day

So today has been really rainy and drab! I am working from home b/c I don't want to get out of the house! I have an appointment at 3:30 at Starbucks so eventually yes, I will have to venture outside.

So far today I have cleaned some and most importantly been working on the Purple Book. I did the purple book in college and this year am doing it over again. I go over it with students and they talk about what it means to them. The funny thing is I'm really learning a lot too! I think it's great even as leaders to be reminded of the foundations of our faith.

Something I am thinking a lot about today is what it means to "pick up our cross." Often times because I work in ministry, I think I already picked up my cross, when I said yes to answer the call to go into ministry. Oh how I try to pull that card with God. It doesn't work! I still have to pick up my cross daily all the time, well daily actually :).

Also, all the time in the New Testament, we hear a lot about suffering for the Gospel. Our American culture is not into suffering. I often wonder what that means to my life. Do you have any ideas?

God please show me what this means for my life and how I can bring you glory!

VCM Made the News!!

Check this out:

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/53871957.html#

The last girl talking with brown curly hair, wearing a white tee shirt is Lily! She is awesome and is such a joy to our ministry!

The Gospel According to Lilly!

I love bright colors, anything pink and green and anything preppy. I love Vera Bradley, seer sucker and palm trees. But I really love Lilly Pulitzer clothes! (I can't afford them though!) I only bought one dress for myself in college which was a size 2 which I thought I could lose some weight and get back down into it. Well that never happened and I have filled out some more since then! But I did have two dresses that looked liked Lilly dresses and wore those things out!

Well back this spring, our church had a women's conference. The main speaker was Elizabeth Stewart and one of my favorite stories she told was on how God knew the desires of her heart. She told about how when she and her husband and little girls lived in Guam years ago they didn't have a whole lot. She said she loved nice things and couldn't really afford them. Well she had a love for Lilly Pulitzer clothes too that started for her back in High School when she bought the fabric and made her own dresses (Like the Proverbs 31 woman), (Lilly no longer even sells fabric b/c people sold knock off dresses). So anyway while in Guam, she learned that Lilly Pulitzer clothes were manfactured in the Philipeans, not too far away. Well somehow they had a connection to get Lilly dresses for $9! (That is a great deal! The dresses sell for $140-$260ish!) She said when she came back to the United States dressing her little girls in Lilly that people looked at her like she was squandering the Lord's money. But little did they know that she got the dresses so cheap! :)

The story really spoke to me about God's faithfulness and how He will provide for your needs and some of your wants and knows the desires of your heart (He put them there, so you know He knows them! :> ). I went up to her and told her so and she looked at me and made me turn around and asked me what size I was! My friend Stephanie was there too and she asked Stephanie if she wanted some Lilly clothes too and Stephanie told her she didn't know what they were and Elizabeth said "well you really need some then!" Ha! So anyway, I guess you have figured it out... she sent us some Lilly clothes! I ended up with two pairs of capris and one dress! I did have to do a few alterations but it was worth it! :)

Afterwards, I felt so loved by God that He cared enough to send me Lilly clothes. I felt like He was saying "I want you to have nice things even though you can't buy them for yourself." What a sweet testimony and an even sweeter Daddy we have!

Summer Reading and the Beach!

I have a lot to write b/c I have been mia for a few months! But tonight I thought I would just post what I plan on reading this summer. I am excited to be going to the beach this week for a long weekend. Hopefully getting down at Wrightsville Beach Wed. night through Sunday the 5th. (Can't belive it's almost July, where does the time go!)

So I am getting excited, thinking about the things I need to pack. I've got the sunscreen and bathing suits but I don't have anything in my hands to read. So this is what i'm thinking: Never the Bride and Trouble the Water. Both books I have seen on Denise Hildreth's (my favorite author) website. Never the Bride I will have to pick up in Wilmington at the Barnes and Noble (called there last week for them to order a copy for me). I am praying Trouble the Water I saw at Shepherd Library downtown and hope it's still there when I go by tomorrow.

Hope they will be good and that I get somewhat of a tan! :)

From One Southern Girl to Another

One of my partners supports me through working on my car! (How great is that?!) Well the car place is in Chapel Hill and while I was get my car worked on I usually eat lunch and look in a few stores. Yesterday, I looked through a cute pottery store that always has unique items. I found these really cute tee shirts. The brand is called "Sweet Tea." The shirts have sayings like "I Swanee, " "Lawd, have mercy," "Hissy Fit," and "In a tizzy." They even have cute children and babies clothes. I just love the idea!

The story behind the tee shirts is great too. Two women from the North married Southern boys and got a kick out of their sayings! Check out the website: http://sweeteashirts.com/

I can't wait to order the "I Swanee" shirt. That is one of my favorite Southern sayings that I love to hear white haired ladies say!

Have a good one!

Depression Cooking with Clara

I saw this lady on the news last night! I was just too precious not to share. Clara is in her nineties and she tells stories about living through the Great Depression. She shows how to make the recipes that kept her family alive. The cool part is that her grandson taped her and created the website. She even has dvds for sale!
Check it out: http://www.greatdepressioncooking.com/Depression_Cooking/Welcome.html

Straight No Chaser

Hey y'all! Straight No Chaser is a men's acapella group from Indiana. My sister just told me about them today! It's a little late for the holidays but still worth checking out! http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kYEK-pxs_A&feature=channel

(I love the 5 golden rings part!)

I also like their: Sitcom Medley and Teen Sensation Medley! Check them out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMj1ZaWVc-8&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkerzEpY-PM&feature=channel

:)