Day 33: FAITH shirt

THIS IS MY NEW FAV SHIRT. I went tv and clothes shopping today with Jamesy--my co-intern. I ALWAYS have to stop in Forever 21 to grab a couple items!! Ah, I love it so much! Well, I'd already grabbed a couple cutesy shirts when James found this little number! And I LOVED it! I tried it on and immediately knew I'd get it!
1) I love tank tops.
2) I love the simplicity of it.
3) FAITH is my favorite word, hands down.

I love this shirt because it's a representation of everything we should be living for. Jesus says in Matthew 10:38--"If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine." Paul talks about how we have to take up that cross DAILY. It's a choice every morning when we wake up whether we are going to follow Him or not. And without FAITH, there is no way I'd be able to take up my cross and follow Jesus. But, I put all my hope and trust in Him. I have faith that as I walk in His footsteps and follow Him with my cross, He will lead me on the path of righteousness. Taking my cross up daily is not always easy, but I have FAITH in my God. Thank you, Father, for loving me unconditionally, especially when I don't deserve it. 

Day 32: EMILY!

LOVED getting to know this girl!! Emily is one of the children's ministry interns at Otter Creek where I work. She is spunky and goofy and genuine! Don't know what I would've done this summer without her. For real. 
She introduced me to two of my new obsessions: Bubble Tea and "Japanese marshmallows" (from Sweet CeCe's). 
As we were taking these pictures in the parking lot, while NOT parked in a parking spot, a man was waiting on us so he could back out...embarassing!!
Most inspiring thing about Emily: her end of summer Facebook challenge! She put up a status stating that she'd run a mile for every like she got....and she has to run those miles in 28 days...as of right now, the likes on her status are 173....ridiculous!! She's gonna do awesome:)
I love you, Emily!!

Day 31: Last Sunday at OC

I'm gonna try not to get sappy with this entry.
Tonight was our end of summer celebration! It was my last Sunday as an Otter Creek intern. My last Sunday of the most incredible summer ever...I couldn't have even imagined a summer as amazing as this!

This picture represents so much! 

I've got 3 of my middle school girls....I love these 3 so much, and I love all my girls so much. My heart is already breaking; just knowing I'm gonna have to leave them. These girls have completely changed my lives--and they gave me an unforgettable summer that I will be forever grateful for!
Winn (in the pink) is the other girl intern..I could NOT have gotten through this summer without her. Seeing her face throughout the summer always made me smile! I couldn't have had a better female intern to be with. So thankful for our relationship that God has blessed me with. 
Hottie on the left is Susan: DKnox (my youth minister's) girlfriend...who is AWESOME. This youth group is extremely blessed to have Susan be a part of them. I loved having her at everything because it was so nice having another girl to hang out with and talk to. So, thank you Susan for being a listening ear!
THANK YOU to everyone who is represented in this picture!
Thankfully, it wasn't my last night seeing everyone, so I only cried once! 

Day 30: Fun Day with an Old Friend

It's been GREAT living in the same town as my friend of MANY years, Kimberly:) We love to have dinner dates and talk about boys and vent about our lives; you know, typical girls! We went to Centennial Park today, and although there were tons of beautiful picture spots, I saw this fish and KNEW we had to get a picture with it....HA. 


Favorite park of the picnic: The killer squirrel that wouldn't leave us alone. 
I've loved living near you this summer, Kimberly!
I'm also happy about your future engagement;)

Day 29: Homeless Newspaper

Today is a confession day....
I LOVE serving people, giving people money, helping out wherever I can. I'm not bragging, but God has always put that on my heart. HOWEVER, sometimes I'm not comfortable around the people I'm serving...I get awkward, I don't know how to act..so I'm always more comfortable dishing out money than talking and building relationships with them...It's something that I've felt convicted of for a while now.

God picked an energetic homeless woman to completely change my heart.

On the side of the road today was a woman selling The Contributor, which is a newspaper, created and sold by homeless people to make some money--it's an incredible ministry!! I see these Contributor sellers in Nashville a lot, but I never have any cash on me (they cost $1) and I don't think to scrounge up enough change.
Well, today, this crazy, funny lady was walking up and down along the streets just smiling and waving to people! I knew I didn't have any cash so I started to look for enough change in my car before the light turned green. As she passed my car, she waved and smiled, but I responded with nothing because I was too busy worrying if I would be able to find enough change to give to her in time. I finally got enough and quickly rolled down my window. She came by and said in a friendly manner,"Darlin', why weren't you smiling and waving when I came by?" I was shocked that she'd noticed...I told her I was trying to find enough change for her. She said,"Honey, we love to see SMILES! The money isn't as important."
Then, the light turned green and I had to drive off.
But, WOW, that made me see a whole new side of serving. I was so concerned with giving her money, that I wasn't even paying attention to my attitude towards her. Instead of avoiding her eyes and smiles, I should have been embracing them!

Day 28: The Minister's Tree House

Today was our Middle School MYSTERY TRIP! The kids had no idea where we were going until the second we pulled up! A little over a 2 hour drive brought us to this gigantic tree house. 

A man, named Horace, had a dream telling him that God wanted him to build a giant tree house and God would supply everything he needed to build it. That man had a dream and he was determined to make it come true! This is not just a really fun tree house, it is a tree house with a beautiful, inspiring story to go along with it. 

More about this tree house: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13769

We had almost 60 kids running around, hiding, and playing all over this tree house. After lunch, a few chaperones hid little army men all over the tree house and we sent our kids on a scavenger hunt to go find them and see who could find the most! 

Walking up all those stairs over and over again was exhausting! But, it seemed that every time I turned the corner, something new popped up!

Go check this place out!! It's in Crossville, Tennessee...absolutely worth your time.

Day 27: Life as an intern

I have the coolest job ever...hands down...I get paid to hang out with crazy awesome people like Addyson Rowe (in picture) everyday!
Addyson and I went to Mazatlan for lunch, then ran an errand for work, and of course, went to Sonic for happy hour! It was SO fun to just hang out and talk about EVERYTHING!! I have loved getting to know Addyson! She's one of my awesome 8th grade girls: she's so down to earth and is always making me laugh! So blessed to hang out with her!

I have loved getting to know ALL my girls! This truly is one special group of girls, and they have forever changed my life!

I have the best job ever.

Day 26: Bambi Look-a-like

Winn (the other girl intern) and I went walking on the Radnor Lake trails! It was great girl time to catch up on our summer! But, on our walk there were so many DEER on the trails! Ask Winn, I freaked out and got so excited! She's used to this thing...but it was a new adventure for me! I can't wait to go again cause I loved being around those sweet innocent deer!!


I've been looking for motivation to get out and exercise! This place is perfect because it's a beautiful, slightly challenging trail. All you need is a fun, chatty friend and a pair of tennis shoes!

Day 25: BRIDESMAID

Today I got asked to be a BRIDESMAID!! I am way super excited! Katie Chambers, my sweet friend since we were babies, is getting married next May! It will be an amazing, breathtaking wedding! 
Ever since the day she and Justin met, we have all been waiting for the wedding:)

I am blessed and honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!! 

AH, this was the greatest mail, EVER!!
If you can't tell, I am SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER EXCITED!!

Day 24: GIRLS ONLY Pool Party!

We had our "girls only" pool party for the Middle School today:) Here's a pic of some of my 6th grade girls bein silly! Typical!!

Day 23: Love Line

Here are a few sweet notes I received in my Love Line on the Mission Trip. Some were written out of the kindness of their hearts. Others were written because of a competition....Either way, they were all sweet and uplifting:) I love that I have a place I can go now when I'm feeling down..I can go to these wonderful, encouraging notes!

Day 22: Puppy Chow

I received one of the greatest surprises ever on Wednesday!! Winn Thomas brought me some of her mom's famous Puppy Chow!! It's like my favorite dessert EVER!!! I haven't had any time to eat it until today. And since I've been feeling pretty sick, this was the perfect thing to cheer me up!

Day 21: Cookie Bakin' Time

Today, Thursday, is our last day on the Mission Trip! We baked, decorated, and delivered cookies all day long! We made over 500 cookies! We delivered them to the police stations and fire stations in the Brentwood area. All the kids had so much fun scooping out the cookie dough, decorating the cookies with icing and sprinkles, and seeing the men's faces when they brought them tons of cookies! 


We wanted to thank all the men and women who keep us safe here in Brentwood!

Day 20: Second Harvest Food Bank

Today, at Nashville Mission Week, we went to a couple of places. We cleaned up Warner Parks...some waded in the river and some stayed dry and hot on land. Then we headed over to Second Harvest Food Bank. We built boxes, we stocked, we sorted, we tore down boxes, we got sprayed with soda, and we lifted 30 pound boxes. 
EVERY SINGLE PERSON worked so hard! I've never seen a middle school group work harder or more persistently. 

Today made me even prouder to be an intern of this group. 

And with all the miscommunications that happened today, I know that God put us exactly where He wanted us.
All Glory to God!!

Day 19: Y.E.S. day

Today was our day at Youth Encouragement Services! My crew got to play dodgeball, make bracelets, play SPEED, run around, and eat pizza with all these crazy kids...ages from like 5 to 18. These kids typically don't have the greatest home life. But, man do these kids have some JOY!! They get to come to this organization and have like a day camp everyday in the summer! It is a FANTASTIC organization! 

We were just blessed to get to hang out with these kids!!

Day 18: Story time with the elderly

Today, for Nashville Mission Week, we visited the elderly at Somerfield! It was an AWESOME EXPERIENCE. We played table volleyball with them, sang for them, ate cookies and milk with them, read a story, and laughed nonstop. 
The middle schoolers were AMAZING. They really stepped it up and loved to lead the songs and the story!
One of the lady's, Ms. Virginia, was so funny. She had us all laughing. She even sang us a song about an alligator eating a kid. She had so much spunk and JOY! 

Day 17: And this is why I love my job!

Today, one of my sweet girls in the youth group got BAPTIZED!! I'm so blessed that I got to witness this. I am beyond grateful that God chose me to be an intern at Otter Creek. There aren't many jobs where people get to witness kids giving their lives to God forever. 
It is truly an overwhelming experience.
I have gotten to see Emily grow this whole summer and have seen her mature spiritually.
She is the most selfless and kindest girl. I can't wait to see how God uses this wonderful girl!!
I LOVE YOU, EMILY!! I'm so proud of you:)

Day 16: MAJOR Grocery shopping

TOMORROW is the beginning of Nashville Mission Week at OCYG!! Woohoo! So, today was the day to buy all the food for it! The sweet mom and daughter I'm staying with helped me. It was TWO carts FULL and we had to load up a big suburban. We're feeding about 40 people for breakfast and lunch for 4 days.


This was a big haul! I'm so excited for Mission Week to START finally! 
After hours and hours of planning and stressing, it's finally here:) I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to see how God is going to use these beautiful middle schoolers!

Day 15: Reading buddy

I had a crazy, busy day at work so it was so nice to get to come home and relax and pull out a book and read:) While I was trying to read, I had a little visitor who wouldn't let me read without her...haha! So, this is a pic of my reading buddy:) This cat is such a cuddler!! Love! 
When I'm relaxing, I LOVE to read! So, it was nice to have a friend while I was reading...haha!

Day 14: ALL-NIGHTER

WE SURVIVED THE LOCK-IN!! Only a couple middle schoolers out of 83 went to sleep last night! Everyone else stayed awake from 8:00pm to 7:00am! So proud of everyone, but man, once 6:00am rolled around, everyone was DEAD. 
I slept 7 hours today when I got home!! Whew. 
Here's a pic that we took at about 6:45 this morning:) 
Best lock-in I've ever been to!

Day 13: Swagger Walk

OCYG Middle School had their LOCK-IN last night! Oh my goodness, it was so much fun!! We had a 30 ft water slide, danced to the interlude, made movies, ate junk food, and played TONS of games. 
One of my favorite moments was watching some of my 8th grade girls have their own little dance party!! They were obviously pretty awesome. Then, they did their "SWAG WALK" around the gym....so of course I got pictures and a video of it! Here's one shot:)

Day 12: Middle School Bible Study

Tonight was our Middle School bible study! We always start as a big group, then split up girls and guys. Here are my sweet girls:) These are some of my favorite girls!
Tonight we talked about Cain and Abel: we really focused on Cain's jealousy of Abel. 

Jealousy is something that all girls struggle with. We compare ourselves to our friends and strangers! We always want what we don't have. We compare ourselves to the girl who is prettier than us, who plays sports better than us, who has the boyfriend we want, who has a better body than us. The list can go ON and ON. But, the more that jealousy consumes us, the less that God can consume us. 


Tonight, I had planned for my girls to go around the room and tell us one thing that they were jealous of. But, as we were talking, I realized I didn't want them to talk about what brings them down. I wanted them to lift themselves up and GLORIFY GOD. I had each girl tell us something they loved about themselves....I told them, it's not bragging on themselves, because God blessed them with their own special traits!
I loved that each girl said something different!! Some girls really had to think hard about something that they loved about themselves. Almost everyone came up with something:) And the girls that didn't? Well, we had girls tell her what they liked about her!


God made each of us individually! He put thought into each of us. He made us special and unique. God knows how many hairs we have on our head. His thoughts about us are equal to the number of grains of sand!! That is a crazy amount!! How can we be jealous of another person when God created each of us so uniquely?? He looks at YOU and loves YOU for who YOU are!

Day 11: Attempt at being healthy

Today I went grocery shopping. After my crazy, unhealthy meal last night, I was very excited to GO ALL OUT with my new healthy lifestyle! 


I stepped into the Whole Foods Market for the FIRST time today. Not gonna lie, it was OVERWHELMING. I'm used to going into Wal-Mart and picking out my lean pockets, easy cup mac 'n cheese, chips, yoplait yogurt, ice cream, etc. Tons of processed foods.  Whole Foods Market was crazy different. Everything is organic and super healthy!! .... and MUCH MUCH more expensive. Whew.


But, here's what I came out of the store with. Lots of yummy fruit, Greek yogurt (which I found out today that I HATE, haha!!), lettuce, carrots, etc. 
I'm excited to begin this new healthy journey!! WHOO!

Day 10: Junk Food

Well...this is my last night for junk food. I'm eating HEALTHY starting tomorrow!! I hate hate hate healthy food. Hate. Hate. Hate. But, I'm gonna try to train myself to like it. I'm gonna try out places like The Fresh Market and that Whole Foods store. 


I'm also gonna start for real training for my second half marathon which means I need to eat those good foods and drink LOTS of water!!
And I'm also gonna crush my best friend in our weight loss competition...which starts tomorrow.


But, in the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy pizza and donuts one last night:)

Day 9: Souvenir Bracelet

My sister and my mom went to Columbus, Ohio for Volleyball Nationals (where my sister's team won their flight!! YAY!) this past week. They then went to King's Island on Friday...where they found some pretty awesome souvenir shops! Since they got to have a crazy fun time at the amusement park, they decided to bring dad, Caleb, and me a couple souvenirs back to us! And my sweet mom and sister brought my back this BEAUTIFUL bracelet!! I love it so much so I decided to take a picture of it....
.....Especially since I lose jewelry left and right, a picture would help me remember how beautiful it was when I lose it. 
Thank you, Mommy and Sarah!!

Day 8: CHEAPO gas

The gas has been going DOWN DOWN DOWN the past week!! And I, of course, waited last minute to fill my tank up in Knoxville (always a procrastinator), and the gas started to go back UP!! What?! It got back up to 3.09...boo! And just when I needed to buy gas...
But I drive to my usual Kroger gas station today and it's still at 2.98!! The ONLY Gas station I saw that still had this price. WHOO!! So I had to get a picture of the gas price, just because who knows when we'll see gas under $3.00 again! 

Day 7: Signs to smile

I've been getting a little discouraged with this project....some days are HARD to figure out what to even take a picture of! Today was a very unproductive day. I had NO idea what to take a picture of. Nothing exciting, interesting, productive, worthwhile happened today....so I took random pictures of Sonic drinks and the sky, but was extremely discouraged by them.....super lame. 

I went shopping in Rugged Wearhouse for a dress, and I stumbled upon this sign:

"Whoever Smiles First, Wins."

This sign definitely made me smile and brought my spirits up! Even if you're not happy at the moment, if you can find something to smile about, it will totally change your attitude!! After seeing this sign, I KNEW that it had to be the picture for today! It totally changed my day around, and my attitude about this project!

"Smiling is my favorite!" -Buddy the Elf

Day 6: 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!

My best friend, Jenna, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pinterest! So, for our fourth of July festivities, we decided to get a little crafty! We found some cheap-o cheesy Wal-Mart flag shirts and decided to make them SLIGHTLY less cheesy. We found a DIY tank top on Pinterest and used the directions to make our tanks. I also wore a red, white, and blue tank top under my shirt after I cut it. I fringed the bottom of my tank to add a little personality. The backs of our tanks were tied in a cute way. It may not look like much, but it was so much fun making them! 

This picture just represents an AWESOME day with Jenna. We made these shirts, enjoyed food with  friends and watched fireworks! I'm so blessed to be an American!

I LOVE YOU, JENNA LAYNE!

Day 5: Honduras fundraiser

This is a picture of one of my good friend, Courtney's, fundraiser t-shirt. I bought it today for $20. Not only is it for a GREAT cause, it's a super cute t-shirt!


Courtney is moving to Honduras for ELEVEN months! She has an amazing heart for God and heart for missions. I can't tell you specifically what she'll be doing there. But, I can tell you that she will be doing God's will, no doubt. 


The shirt says: "I am not afraid. I was born to do this." 


I LOVE what this says. We were BORN to live for and worship God. Fear is not of God. So, whenever we step out there, out of our comfort zone, we can't have any fear, because God is going to take care of us, every step of the way!!


I'm praying for Courtney's journey when she leaves in August! I can't wait to see how God uses her. And, I pray that I listen to God's voice when He challenges me, and that I won't be afraid!

Day 4: My Grandma Iris

I have been so blessed to have been able to spend a couple days with my grandma! It was the perfect time during the summer to see her. The summer has been incredibly wonderful, but most definitely EXHAUSTING. Coming to my grandma's means getting to just relax and stop moving for a couple of days...just what I needed:)

One of my favorite parts about coming to Grandma's is getting to stay in my daddy's old room! Always a good memory for my sister and me!

I love sitting on the back porch with her and talking about everything under the sun: from where my grandpa used to love eating (apparently, he ate Chinese EVERY Friday: so now I know where I got my love for Chinese food!!) to tons of teaching advice to how much God loves us. We have spent time playing board games, watching endless movies, eating pie with TONS of whipped topping, and reminiscing about Grandaddy.

I can't wait till the next time I get to see her!

Day 3: Deason Church of Christ

February 19, 2012. This is the day my grandpa suddenly passed away. It's been a few months since then and the days have gotten easier and the breakdowns have become farther apart. I still think about him daily, but God has continued to give me peace and comfort.
But, there's one thing I needed to do to really get some closure. I visited the place he ever stepped foot in.

My grandpa was the most godliest man I knew. His faith was rock solid and everyone around him could see that. He was never condescending, and love shone through his eyes. He respected everyone's beliefs, even if they weren't his own. The older he got the more he wanted to learn about God. He's been on countless mission trips, visited numerous churches, and helped out more people that I could count. Everything my grandpa did revolved around Christ. In fact, my grandaddy died doing what he loved best...learning about His Father.
There was a woman speaking at Deason Church of Christ that Sunday night about "the end times". My grandpa decided to visit just to hear a different perspective and maybe learn a little something more. 
After the sermon, he got in his truck and started to head back home to my grandma. Somewhere along the way, he started to have serious heart pains and pulled over on the side of the road. It was there that his heart finally beat its last beat and he died to go to Heaven.

I was headed to my grandma's today and when I got off the interstate, I started to think about my grandaddy like I always do when I hit Shelbyville, and I was overwhelmed with the need to visit Deason CofC. When I spotted it, I pulled into the empty parking lot. It's a simple, small, white church with trees and horses surrounding it. 
I loved being able to stand right where my grandpa stood soon before he passed. It was like I was there with him. I could feel him there with me. I had tears streaming down my face as I stood there in the parking lot, just thinking about him.
I miss him dearly, but I know that one day, when there will be no more pain and suffering, I'll get to see him again!