Love this pic

So I have been MIA like crazy, so sorry!  I am not a good blogger.  But here goes another one. 

I had a photoshoot of my Aunt's family the other day.... 

It was so so so fun because they are just adorable and LOVE to laugh.  I got a ton of laughing pictures.  Partially because my mom was making them laugh because she is crazy!

But this is one of my favorites from the day, slash probably ever.

I love it because one my cousin is so precious and two you see her parents in the background.  They love her so much and have really lived their lives to simply teach and love her like Christ!  They are probably some of the most amazing parents I have ever seen out there.  And as Carrie(cousin) has gotten older she has taken what her parents have shown her and pursued it on her own.  While she is still young and will continue to grow and mature I think this picture is a perfect example of how parents take a child that God has allowed them to have for their time here and teach her about Jesus' love and her Father!  I can't wait to see how Carrie grows up and the adventures the Lord will take her on in life!  I mean just look you can see her parents proud and adoring in the background!  Love it!

Camera is broken....

So I am a horrible blogger I have decided.  I commit to getting better.  On the sad news side of life, my camera is broken.  Such a sad day.  So potentially a new camera could be a big invest for me these days.

Here are the last few photos my camera was able to take.  A couple weeks ago me and my roomies and girls in my bible study took a sweet weekend to stone harbor, nj.  What an amazing weekend.  Glad my camera could at least get these shots!

Life is a journey

So it is official...i have not posted in over a month.  To be honest, i have a ton of excuses but the truth is i am just lazy.  So lately my thought process has been thinking about the journey of life (cheesy I know, but i swear it will be good).  My parents are divorced and now they are both empty nesters, rediscovering who they are and their life.  My mom has sold my childhood home and relocated to a small cottage on the water in annapolis (we refer to the house as the shack).  I was there this weekend and it is quite a beautiful place to watch the sunset and to just enjoy God in all his glory.  My dad, the sailing man, left yesterday to sail by himself to Florida.  I was laughing to myself saturday as I said goodbye to my dad (for awhile) and then left my moms house.  They got a divorce because they fought all the time and seemed to have nothing in common.  Yet when all the crazyness of a day is done they both find themselves on the water enjoying the same sunset thousands and thousands of miles apart.  Life is funny like that.  It is as if you think you know what is best for you and you think your plan is so much better then any other, yet really our thoughts and our plans are nothing.

dad on his boat

view from my moms cottage

sunset at the cottage

I have been really trying to enjoy the lord in every moment of everyday.  I have been studying what that means and looking at my heart and how this all works together.  What does it even mean to enjoy the Lord when all you know around you is not joyful but rather heartache?  I have been reminded recently of the vulnerability and boldness I used to have consistently in my ministry.  I would go to the ends of the earth just to have a high school kid hear about Christ.  Over the years it seems as though I have become numb to that passion and desire.  It is as if I expect pain to come.  The more and more I have realized this I have begun to realize how little and helpless I really am.  As inadequate as I feel, God has still chosen to use me.  How can I not enjoy the simple fact that is in that.  Although we are human and contain nothing good on our own, God still uses us all daily.  Now if that is not something to seek Christ daily and enjoy him I don't know what is.
On another note...recently I have been feeling as though I need a break.  I have not had all that much to do but for some reason I have been feeling like I need rest.  The funny part of this feeling is that every time I go somewhere to rest I end up having a conversation about Young Life or Christ.  Funny how God works in that way.  The resounding gong of my life is Christ saying over and over again...rest in ME, not yourself, not a movie, not the couch....just Me.

Enjoy a few pictures over the last few weeks....

Reunions

So number one Leanne and I have both been very very bad about posting, sorry.

Number two:
A couple of weeks ago I went to a friend's wedding.  He was my Young Life teammate in college and it was soooo exciting to see how God has one been working in his life and just his joy of finding this sweet, Godly, beautiful woman to spend the rest of his life with.  I loved getting to see and watch them make this commitment before God and their friends.  It is a neat and unknown thing to me how God brings people together and the whole two becoming one.  But what a gift for me to see it in front of me with these two people.
I also got to see so many friends from college.  Not only my girls and small group leader but also my old Young Life team.  I went through so much with this team.  We were on a team for three years together- well two and a half and we went through many ups and downs.  When you are working in ministry with someone I feel like they see the good the bad and the ugly, but you also get to see such a neat friendship that ties you together because you are loving and pursuing the same kids.  And God obviously put a similar calling on each of your hearts to bring you to the same school.  These teammates pushed me towards Christ all throughout college and I love them so much!  This is also the one good team picture we have together after three years together!
I love you Auburn Eagle buddies!!

 I love the light in this photo- and Lindsey wins the award for furthest traveled!!

lost cord

SOOOO i haven't posted in a while and I have been terrible!

But in my defense, I lost my camera cord to download pictures.  So I am taking pictures I just currently cannot find the cord.
I lose everything.
I need to be more organized.
But ya know you love me anyways!!!!

Haley and Dave

Cry and I had a great day taking engagement photos for Haley and Dave!  I figured I would give a little sneak peak of a few of my favorites!

Football

One of the great joys in life is experiencing a great college football game.  I had the amazing privilege of going to Virginia Tech.  VT plays enter sandman and we all jump up and down as our team enters the field.  I always find myself covered in chills and about to cry.  I love the community that surrounds me.  I always imagine life to be in that way.  Football brings people together.  I long for everyone to live in that community through Christ.  What if Christ was always the one that beings people together?  What if a stadium of 90,000 was filled with people shouting for Christ and enjoying him.  Whenever I am at a football game I have such high hopes that one day it will indeed be that way.  Virginia Tech loss to Boise State, but I had a great day enjoying my college friends!

Haley Booe!

Cry and I have a best friend named Haley Booe.  She is amazing!  For the last year she has been out of the country serving the Lord through Manna Project in Ecuador.  Booe came to Baltimore last week and visited for a few days.  It was such a treat.  Booe is a woman after God's own heart.  She has never cared too much for worldly possessions or money, but rather she is always eager to serve the Lord.  She really goes the distance to serve the Lord and experience Him deeper.  It was so fun getting to spend a few days with Booe and really just live life together.  I would love to one day live next store to Booe and Cry.  Oh and Booe is getting married soon!  Yay!

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." - CS Lewis, The Four Loves

Simple Things

Just in case you don't know.... this is Leanne.

She LOVES LOVES LOVES frozen pizza.

I know odd thing to love right?

But she does, whole heartedly.  

We got the great privilege of spending the weekend together.  And what does she suggest for our big time Saturday night?  Frozen pizza and a movie!  LOVE IT!!  Leanne is a person that finds absolute joy in the simple things.  I love that about her.  She reminds me of the joy God is laying out for us each day. We just need to notice it.  God is always doing stuff and working but are our eyes tuned to see it.  She is tuning her eyes each day to find pure joy in Christ, through the simple and big things.  Even the simple things like frozen pizza.  

You should really get to know Leanne.  Your life would be more fun I am sure.  She is a blast and my best friend that I do not know what I would do without.  She asks me hard questions and doesn't let me get away with the surfacey answers.  She cares, deeply!  

How many things are we missing that could change our spirit or heart that day?  God wants us to thrive and see him everywhere, because He is everywhere.  What are the simple things in your life that you find joy in, or maybe the places you could find joy in.

Love you leanner!

Love

Love

It is so simple, but yet how many of us love

others

all the time?

That is what we are called to do, so why don't we love?

Why do we let so many other things get in the way?

Jesus loved and we are called to love.

Happy 1 year YL Anniversary!

Today marks my one year anniversary of being on Young Life staff.  Like Cry, we both have the blessing of being a part of the amazing work that God is doing in the hearts of high school students.  This morning I spent time journaling about all I have had the privilege of experiencing.  I wrote down my praises for the year.  I still can't believe all that was on the list.  In a year, the Lord can do amazing things.  In honor of my celebratory day I wore a skirt and bought myself flowers (Gerber daises...of course)!

Laughter and Freedom

I have the amazing privilege of working for an organization called Young Life.  I love working for Young LIfe because they not only bring in Jesus and life but also so much laughter.  I do not feel like you can get to Jesus without laughter.  (you can, but it makes it more fun)  I love how kids come to camp and they get to laugh and hear about Jesus and for many experience freedom for the first time.  

I went to campaigner camp last week, which is a camp for our kids that already know Jesus.  And what fun that was.  I was with kids that get it- crazy.  Kids that are walking with Christ in high school, still trying to figure out much of it but really running after the Lord.  It was a blessing for my heart to be around these kids that are goofy and laugh a lot and experience freedom in Christ daily.  I think we all need to step back into the fun shoes of high school students are realize that we don't need to take ourselves too seriously, life is full of funny moments, lets laugh and be goofy.  We talked a lot this weekend about the false selves we tend to create, the St. (Crysties or whatever your name is) if you will.  THere is a website called I am second, where some people talk about their lives and how they are second and Christ is first.  There was one video we watched where a pastor told his story and talked about how he created a false persona for other people to think he was perfect.  We need to be set free from that and realize God loves us as WE are.  THe goofy, laughter filled people that we are.  

Here are two pics (i know I am cheating) of sweet laughter from the weekend.  

Memories and Friendships

Sunday, I had the great opportunity to spend the day helping my mom pack boxes at her house.  We really spent the day sorting through old photo albums and memory boxes.  At times it made me a little sad.  On Sept. 20 I am saying goodbye to a house that I have grown up in.  There are thousands of good memories in that house.  But, it is time to move on from all that and for my mother to finally turn over a new leaf.  I am excited to see where God takes my mom on this journey.  Goodbye 2321 Mt. Hebron Dr.....

Today (monday) I got lunch with one of my favorite people in the world (Jaq).  The Lord brought her into my life when I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman.  And to be honest we have always had this real and fun friendship.  She has been such a blessing in my life.  I love friendships.  My roommate sara and I went hiking in the woods today (next time I am taking my camera), what an adventure.  She has been another example of a deep and real friend.  The Lord provides for us in so many ways....

Beamers, Weddings, Sunshine

I have a lot of catching up to do!  On friday I flew to Columbus for a few days for the one and only Geoff Triechler's wedding.  It is true Geoff had finally tied the knot.  The trip was eventful to say the least.  My roommate sarah and I (pictured) were on the same flight.  We were lucky enough to be on the flight with the ccri (community college of rhode island) volleyball team, you would have thought they were none other then brad and angelina by their star treatment.  I arrived in columbus to discover that my car for the weekend would be none other then a beamer convertible (then to me by our dear family friends).  So to say the least I had fun cruising around Columbus. 

 I planned for the wedding to be the pinnacle of my visit there.  But, I greatly enjoyed the conversations I had with old friends.  It reminded me of the utter importance and impact Christ can have in your life.  Without Him, what are you really living for?  I had the best date of my entire life saturday night, the sun was setting and I sat leaning against the window of my airplane enjoying God.  Thanks for romancing me.

Underneath it all

I got the great privilege of hanging out with my dear dear friend Booe yesterday.

She spent the last year in Ecuador and had this.

While it does look like brains it is not, it is actually a very very delicious fruit.

I of course had to take pictures because ya know that is what I do.

But then I was thinking about it later and I thought about how we all have this outer shell that we try and make pretty and perfect and act like we have it all together.  But that is not what is true and real.  The inside things are a mess, we are all a mess.  But the underneath part is who Jesus loves so much and who he died for.  He loves US!  Not the shiny outside.  The realness.  And the best part is that the wildest messes create the sweetest juice.  God creates something beautiful out of our messes.  He wants the messes in order to show HIS glory, he wants to create masterpieces out of our messes.  Our messes are the masterpieces.  Much like this fruit, the best part was the mess/disgusting looking brains, but it was soooo sweet.

Panera!

Panera is a must in east baltimore, maryland.  On a good week I could be there 3-4 times.  Gotta love it.  These are my great panera friends!  Meet kate, annie and bianca.  They are all starting their senior year of hs at eastern (#1 football team in the state) on monday!  I love friends and a good place to always meet.  Thank you Lord for hazelnut coffee!

Courtney goes to college!

Today my friend Courtney left for college.  As my friend Alex (also pictured) and I said goodbye to her today I couldn't help but think about the next time I would see her again.  Or better yet when the Lord would choose to intertwine our lives again.  I love having old friends who have come back into my life again in recent years.  I love the way our lives get intertwined with sometimes the same people over and over again.  As if our life is a tapestry and we are all intertwined at the perfect time and in the perfect place.

Jesus and Coffee

How appropriate that Leanne and I both posted about coffee.  We were roommates in college and Leanne was actually the one that made me become obsessed with Coffee, she made me an addict.

Since I have been out of college my obsession with coffee has increased... because

I think Jesus is like coffee.  I have an analogy that I have shared with some friends and now I am going to share with you how I think Jesus is like coffee.

When you first begin your relationship with Coffee you think it is gross.  Most people do.  But you begin your relationship by having the "coffee drinks" that are not really coffee but you tell yourself that they are.  You then begin to wean yourself off of coffee drinks and you drink real coffee just with half a gallon of creamer and sugar in it.  As time goes on you begin to really LOVE the taste of coffee.  You had to start out with lots of creamer and sugar the "extra sweet things" in life to really love the taste, but now that your taste buds have matured, you drink your coffee black because you LOVE the taste of coffee.  I think our walk with Christ is kind of similar.  I work with high school students who are beginning their journey with Christ and in the beginning they need to be around lots of fellowship and people that love Jesus as well (the extra sweet things).  When I first got to college the Lord gave the me sweet sweet fellowship that helped me LOVE the taste of Jesus.  I needed that at that time because I did not love the taste of Jesus, yet.  Then I got out of college and all throughout college my taste buds changed to where I LOVED LOVED LOVED the taste of Jesus.  Now I am in a place where those sweet friends are not, but because I love the taste of Jesus I do not need the extra sweet things.  And at times I will have my "coffee" with creamer and sugar and get to enjoy the sweetness of fellowship but it is not necessary to have because I love the taste of Jesus.  

Jesus is all I need and I know that he will give me extra sweetness at times but all I need is my own relationship with him, that is not how my heart was beginning college, but he matured my taste buds to make that so now.  

Love Coffee.  Love Jesus. 

Coffee

As sad as it is, I am a coffee addict.  As I took this picture I couldn't help but think of the funny contrast that took place.  I keep that candle on my desk to help me to remember that the light of the world is all around me.  Yet, coffee is one thing I continually rely on to get me going everyday.  I have the light of the world, yet I am addicted to coffee.