you're enough for me

Currently, I find myself curled up on the couch in my favorite blanket, the crisp scent of fall filling the room, Tucker nestled in my lap, listening to the worship music playing in the office. In this moment, I am reminded of the goodness of the Lord and the grace that is constantly being poured out upon me. Simultaneously, I am reminded of my own depravity and desperate need of that grace.

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

Oftentimes, I feel like the first person described in that passage of Scripture. I feel foolish, disobedient, and led astray. Why would God extend to me so much mercy when I am so unworthy? I have been saved by His grace, so that I might make Him known throughout the world, for His glory. Yet, here I am, once again, in need of His continual forgiveness. 

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

Romans 6:12-14

The Christian life is filled with trials and tribulations. It is not one marked by health, wealth, and prosperity. It is not about 'becoming a better you' or living 'your best life now'. It is about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ. Knowing Him and being known by Him. Becoming more like Him through time spent in Scripture, soaking it into every fiber of your being, becoming like Him through prayer...even in hardships. 

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." 

Philippians 3:7-11

I pray that my life is marked by a consistent walk with God on a day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis. That I live an all-out, unashamed, radical, unhindered life endlessly proclaiming the gospel of Christ unto death. 

"Therefore, therefore, do not lose heart, but take these truths and day by day focus on them. Preach them to yourself every morning. Get alone with God and preach his Word into your mind until your heart sings with confidence that you are new and cared for."

-John Piper

3 airports, 2 roomies, & 1 day in seattle

In July, I had a long Seattle layover. The day before my trip, the roomie and I were driving back from a doctors appointment and per usual, I was hard at work trying to convince her to join me. Typically in vain. But, do to a handful circumstances (working in our benefit), she finally caved agreed to come! So, I hopped online, booked her ticket, and it was done. The roomies-extraordinaire take Seattle.

I had never been to Seattle so I was beyond excited to explore the city. Kelly visited when she was 10 years old so it had been a while for her too. Our goals? Pike Place Market, the Original Starbucks, a cupcake shop for K, and a great view of the city. Check, check, check, and check.

First stop, Pike Place.

Can't explain in words my love for raspberries.

So, K hates seafood. I know, I know, I'm working on her. I, on the other hand, love it. The one and only place that she said she might try it again was Seattle. So clearly we opted for salmon-on-a-stick. Her first impression...

And after tasting it...she loved it. You're welcome. Next, I will make you love sushi. Because it's necessary.

Pike Place Market was probably my favorite part of Seattle. I always find myself in markets when I go to new cities and this was no exception. The music was great, the shops were unique, the food was fantastic, and the location was excellent.

Ahh....Starbucks. Perfect for every occasion.

We ordered tea and bought a mug. #success

Next, we found the gum wall. Disgusting? Interesting? After looking around for a while, K found a spot for our gum to go/stick/live.

Strangely beautiful? Or something?

We considered going to the Space Needle, but after doing some research we realized that the Sky View Observatory at the Columbia Center had a better view and was more affordable. Sold.

We had to book it to the Columbia Center because it closed earlier than we expected. On the way, we passed a shopping area that we both wanted to come back and explore despite it being a 20+ minute walk in the opposite direction. It's pretty hard for us to turn down Forever21 and Sephora...like impossible.

Unfortunately, this is where the photos end...why you might ask? Well, this girl lost her phone. SMH. So I ended up retracing my steps back to the observatory where it was found in the bathroom. Oy vey.

Overall, I love Seattle. I would honestly consider living there. The Market is incredible, the atmosphere is fun, and the city is amazing. I'm excited to say that I have another long layover there next week! K, thanks for joining me on this crazy adventure. I couldn't have asked a better person to come with! Love yewww.

Until next time,
xoxo

sips n strokes: a girl's night

A few girls from my small group planned a Sips n Strokes themed girl's night on the 5th that I originally wasn't able to make because of work. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up staying in Birmingham, enabling me to come! For those of you who don’t know, Sips n Strokes is an art instruction studio that teaches you to paint step-by-step while sipping on drinks and snacking. Since many of us have been to a Sips n Strokes class before, we chose to instead have one at my friend Sarah’s house. There was plenty of food, wonderful friends, and an abundance of creativity.

Towards the end of the night we had a guess-the-number-of-M&Ms-in-the-cup game. Peanut butter and chocolate is my kryptonite. So, before knowing about the game, I ate two of the M&Ms. SMH. In my defense, Sarah's sister did the same thing. No biggie, subtract 4 from the total and we’re good. In the end, I didn’t come close to guessing the right number. I guess that's what I deserved.

I’m so thankful for these sweet women! God has blessed me beyond measure by placing them in my life and I’m thrilled to have been able to make it to girl’s night!

a hair-brained afternoon

I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to my hair. It's naturally straight and doesn't cause me many problems at all. I'm also admittedly cheap when it comes to my hair. I don't use a ton of products and the ones that I do use are drugstore products. (I'll do a haircare routine blog post soon with my favorite affordable products.) Anyways, I digress. Recently, the roomie and I needed a change of pace with our hair. I wanted to go blonder for the summer and she wanted to go ombre. I'm naturally a light brown/dirty blonde but have colored my hair red, blonde, brunette, and everything in between. Everything except black...that definitely wouldn't work with my skin tone. Kelly is a natural brunette but has colored her hair all kinds of fun ways, except going fully blonde. I had two days off in Birmingham in between trips so we squeezed in a trip to our new favorite hairstylist, Lindsey!! She is incredible and super affordable! Thanks to my sweet friend Kirstyn for referring us to her!

Here's the before photos:

We were short on time and my hair was all pinned up so I'm sorry for a not-so-great before picture!

My doll of a roommate—mid-beautifying! ;)

After a few hours of some serious salon hair-lovin', here's the final product:

Kelly's hair goes into a soft caramel in the above picture but she actually went back in a few days later and lightened the ends even more and it's incredible!! I love mine and am so happy I splurged a little to get it done!

Our salon night was a perfect, relaxing end to a couple of really stressful days for Kelly and I. Here's to summer hair and roommate fun :)

a perfectly timed pick-me-up

Getting to the halfway point in training comes with it's pros and cons. It really just depends if you're a glass is half full or half empty kind of person. For me, it changes day to day. Being away from my friends and family has been exceedingly difficult. I miss the community and accountability that comes from my small group, church, family, and friends. Thankfully though, the busyness of my schedule has only enabled me to focus on what is happening here, keeping me from dwelling on what I miss so dearly. One amazing thing about my training is that it's held in Atlanta, Georgia, a mere 2-3 hour drive from Birmingham! Some people here are 16 hours from their family and friends! Due to the short commute, I have been beyond blessed to have visits from my sweet daddy and most recently, Kelly!! Here's a rundown of 30 hours of roommate awesomeness.

It began with what can only be described as a breathtaking, jaw dropping, she-knows-me-too-well surprise. Gluten free chocolate chip banana bread. Feel free to take a moment to wipe the drool from your mouth. I understand. Some might say that this banana bread is necessary to my survival. If there are two bananas in my house at any point, you can bet I will be transforming them into this bad boy.

Moving on. We made a quick trip to Target so I could grab my weekly necessities. Soup. Cereal. Bananas. Protein bars. Ahh the joys of hotel life...microwave food only. Afterwards, we went for some serious girl time and got a manicure. It was so relaxing and a nice treat considering the workload Kelly and I both have had on our plate in the recent weeks.

Next, we wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been to that would be a fun experience in the ATL. Little did we know, we chose paradise. Trader Joe's.

This place is like a mini Whole Foods, but cheaper. A gluten free girls dream. We were excited to say the least. After perusing each aisle, we left like champions.

If you've never been to Trader Joe's before, make sure to tell the people at check out. You might leave with an extra goody and a few bells rung in your honor. Just sayin.

We had just a little time before church so we headed to one of Kelly's favorite places to shop. I had never been before so I was excited to see what the hype was all about.

Crate & Barrel was awesome! Kelly explained it perfectly. It's similar to Ikea, but better quality and you don't have to assemble everything yourself.

The next part of our day was honestly a huge disappointment. Being in Atlanta and having no car has kept me from being able to attend church these past two Sundays. I have been craving community and corporate worship so Kelly suggested we find a church to attend! Brilliant idea. We chose a well-known church in Atlanta and attended their evening service. It was terrible. There's really no better way to say it, we were shocked. The teaching was a feel good, man pleasing, Scripture lacking, motivational speech. The pastor read one verse and told personal, unrelated stories the rest of the service. It was fluff. The focus was completely misdirected. It was centered on being successful, finding your passion, and doing good. While that may sound nice, that's not the intention for the church. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. Finding your passion as a follower of Christ is relatively easy. We seek to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth, fulfilling the great commission. I was angered by the lack of gospel-centered, Christ exalting, God honoring worship. That being said, I am committing to pray for this church for at least the duration of my training in Atlanta. That place desperately needs refocusing.

Leaving early from the service with our spirits broken, Kelly and I made our way to dinner. She mentioned hearing about a gluten free burger place in town that sounded delicious. And boy was she right. God bless Farm Burger.

This place knocked our socks off. The service exceeded expectations and the food was delectable. We each built our own burgers...mine with a gluten free bun. The spicy garlic, parmesan, herb Farm Burger fries were to-die-for. Sooo good.

But wait, there's more.

This is truly the epitome of Kelly and I in milkshake form. She ordered the salted caramel and I ordered the chocolate peanut butter. It was bliss. Bliss people. A much needed pick-me-up.

Monday, we slept in (can I get an amen?) and then headed to Ikea.

It was a fairly quick trip but Kelly knew what she was looking for which streamlined the process. Here are our spoils from the trip.

Unfortunately, this is the end of 30 hours of much needed roomie time. Kelly, you're amazing, the best roommate a girl could ask for! I love you more than you know and am so thankful you were able to come visit! I miss you already and can't wait to see you in a few short weeks!!

xoxo