Winter Retreat Top Ten

For the past year and a half I’ve been attending a Bible study at a church in my area called Remnant. It has really been a huge blessing to me because it’s been an outlet where I can go and get fed as opposed to serving and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I love what I do, love it, but it’s hard sometimes, especially on Sundays, to get into the worship when I’m constantly thinking about what needs to happen next. That’s why Sunday’s are considered work days for me. Not to mention the fact that there are people my age there. It’s a wonderful balance!

I don't typically get to do more with the ministry than just go to Bible study on Thursday nights because of scheduling conflicts with my own ministry, so I was both excited and a bit anxious when I decided to sign up for the Winter Retreat at Camp Tejas this past weekend. I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to meet some new friends, but at the same time, I also didn't know a ton of people and that can be awkward. If I were really honest I'd just tell you that making new friends is hard. It takes work, but I happen to love people, so it's worth it.

With that said, here are my top ten favorite memories from the retreat:

1) Getting away for four days with a handful of people I don’t know, worshipping with some very gifted worship leaders and being taught God’s Word by some very gifted teachers. It’s nice to get away every now and then, and very necessary at times.

2) Last minute, Jared, the pastor of the group, called me to see if I could help co-lead a group. The girl who was supposed to lead it ended up coming down with bronchitis and was unable to go. Leading them was such a pleasure and my complete honor. It was a nice change of pace as compared to leading my typical high school or middle school students.

3) Being a part of Team Acne! There were four teams all weekend and each team was labeled and something people would typically be ashamed of. Hence the acne. The other teams were bad breath, braces and glasses. Go, Team Acne!

4) Sleeping on the top bunk. When was the last time I did that? I don’t think my climbing skills were up to par, but I felt like a little girl sleeping up there. I tried to ignore the fact that every time I went up I hit my head.

5) Nerd dance! To ring in the New Year we had a dance outside and all dressed as nerds. I revamped my outfit once we arrived because it was a bit chillier than I expected, and the dance was outside, but it was so much fun! I learned very quickly that night that the more I moved, the warmer I stayed. Needless to say, I never stopped moving.

6) My roomies! Martha, Cora, Anna, Sage and the girl who must not be named. Ha! Kidding. Sarah was my other roommate. We had a pretty good schedule as far as showers went, which is a must when six girls are sharing one bathroom. I love the facilities at Camp Tejas. They are so nice and very inviting. Our group stayed in the Four Seasons building and more importantly, the six of us took up residency in February for those four days. It was adorable!

7) Getting to do the Zip Line again. I was just at Camp Tejas about a month ago for our staff retreat and had a blast on it. I don’t love climbing up the tour that shakes as though an earthquake is happening every time someone zips off, but it is fun nonetheless.

8) Lying in bed at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning laughing uncontrollably over Sarah admitting her very real stalker-like capabilities. Apparently I’m not as easy to stalk because of my unique name spelling, but homegirl is legit, y’all. She may know more about you than you know about yourself. Watch out! (I actually went to see Wicked with Sarah and Jared this summer, so I’m not totally creeped out by her, but if I’d of known that before Wicked, I may have second guessed that invitation.) Totally kidding, Sarah. Love you, girl!

9) While we were laughing (very late, mind you) about Sarah admitting to her stalker capabilities, sweet Cora happened to be taking a shower. However, she forgot her towel outside by her bed and felt bad interrupting our conversation to ask one of us to bring it to her. Bless her heart! I was laughing so hard. I could just imagine her standing in the bathroom dripping wet waiting for a break in our conversation. This may be one of those moments where you had to be there, but I was tickled.

10) Learning and applying what it means to live in a way unashamed of the Gospel. Our God is a God that saves. If I believe that with my whole heart, am I living like that? If not, why not? Powerful message that will take weeks, maybe even months, to process. If I believe and claim that Jesus is better, my response to that should be complete obedience and surrender to Him. But whoa, that’s much easier said than done. Praise the Lord I’m not on this journey alone!

I ripped a ton of pictures off facebook. And thanks to my friend, Caleb, I have a lot of good looking professional ones that didn't come from me!

How gorgeous is this?

Swinging during rec!

Team Glasses!

Team Bad Breath! How awesome is their flag?

Go Team Braces!

We took a "hike" one day and came across a neat campfire area where we proceeded to climb branches and trees. I, however, did the least amount of climbing when it came to climbing higher than I preferred. : )


Ryan showed us all up with his excellent skipping skills.


Here is Anna ironing Martha's shirt with a Chi. We are so thankful for the Chi and it's usefulness on both our hair and clothing.

Waiting by the bathroom one evening for worship to start. It wasn't as windy under the covering.

Kendrizzle!

Me and Anna as nerds.

Watching a bunch of nerds dance is hilarious.


I love these girls!

Cora and I sat on the bus ride up together and I was thrilled to find out that she has done two Sprint Triathlons in her time. Needless to say, I grilled her.


This might have been when the Backstreet Boys were playing. Or maybe N'Sync.


Team Acne girls after Mega Relay on Saturday night!

Me and my partner, Cody, for the weekend. So fun!

See how legit Caleb's pictures are?

Popping our zits!

Go Team Acne!


Happy New Year, sweet friends!

A Late Christmas Recap

I know it's a week or so late, but a Christmas recap is better than no recap at all, is it not?

We had a very slow, calm Christmas this year and it was perfect. Pretty much from this summer on, I have been pretty busy, so to be calm and not rushed was perfect. Also, my mom had surgery nine days before Christmas, so it wasn't like a ton of energy was present in our home.

Christmas Eve we spent at church like we typically do. I sang on the praise team and my mom played the piano. Little known fact about my mom is that she has played the piano at our church for over 20 years. Can you believe that? I happen to think she's the best piano player and teacher around, but I'm biased. : ) We did two services and they were both wonderful! However, right before the last service, a torrential downpour decided to hit, making us push back our service a few minutes just so we could get people in the door. It was so crazy! It went from clear to awful weather very quickly.

After the service we headed to our pastor's house. They are like family to us and it was great just chatting and eating snacks!

Because our entire family lives in Colorado our Christmases tend to differ. Sometimes we go there, sometimes they come here, but this year it was just us. We usually spend every holiday with our good friends, the Snow's, and we did just that this year, but we didn't head over there until that evening.

We woke up that morning, all relaxed, my dad cooked a wonderful meal, and then we ate and opened gifts. It was so great! My favorite gift? A new pair of running shoes. Getting ready for this Sprint Triathlon has made me ask for things I never would have considered asking for. I love it! There is absolutely no doubt that I'll be putting them to good use.

That night we brought all of our left overs to the Snow's and some other folks joined us and we played games. My favorite moment of the night was when Cheryl (my BFF's mom) and I won Salad Bowl. Jen and I dominate at that game every single time and it was no doubt that Cheryl was channeling Jen that night, especially since she was in Louisiana with her hubby. I texted Jen right away so that she could share in our sweet victory!

It was a very wonderful day and I am so thankful for my super fun family and our wonderful friends.

The week of Christmas, a few of us went to look at all the lights in River Oaks. They are beautiful! However, there is one home in particular that has a rather large, very creepy angel sitting in the front yard. I don't understand it, but I really needed to take a picture for you all to see. Creepy, huh?!

Moving on...this is my friend Jennifer. I was her nanny from when she was four months old until she was almost four. I was obsessed with her and loved her like she was mine. Now she's in fourth grade and is so big! She came over to see us on Christmas. I just love her!

Ready to eat! My mom and I were both missing our Christmas dishes. But we hadn't pulled them down this year! Bummer.

Brothers! I'm not sure why I'm slouching so bad, but I love them.

This is our Katrina friend, Jessie. She is very much a part of our family and we love her. She was so happy opening her gifts on Christmas day!
Mom got Despicable Me for Christmas and a minion came in the package. I instantly claimed it as my own. ; )

I think they are hilarious. No worries, though. I broke up with him right after this picture. I think I could do better than a minion. ; )

My mom has a Thomas Kinkade village. We have them all over our home! They really are very neat at night when they're all lit up.

My mom was looking good for having just had surgery nine days earlier!

My crazy family!

Merry Christmas from all of us to you!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well!

Christmas Blessings!

Merry Christmas, sweet friends! I know that my family agrees with me when I say that we hope you know the peace, love, hope and joy that Christ alone brings, especially as you celebrate His birth these next few days.

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I cannot say thank you enough for making blogging so incredibly fun. The sweet comments and emails I get from y'all make my day, even if I'm a bad friend and don't get around to replying. I'm a words kind of girl, so know that I treasure each and every word you take time to type out. I can tell you right now that the Lord has done immeasurably more than I could have ever imagined or dreamed up in this little corner of my world the past four years, so I'm believing Him to do even more in 2011.

Christmas blessings to each of you! May it be a sweet, memory making, side splitting laughter kind of day. I love y'all!

Immeasurably More

Every year no matter what holiday comes around whether it be Valentine’s Day, my birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas, my heart tends to get a little heavy. And by heavy, I mean sad.

I have to be really honest and tell you that I even hesitated typing that, because with Christmas being three days away, I know the last thing you want to hear about is a single girl complaining about her singleness. But it’s my heart, and I’m hoping more than anything I can encourage another single girl out there.

If I could ignore every feeling that came with waiting, I would. Because sometimes the feeling hurts. I hate it that at certain moments I could cry at the drop of a hat. I hate it that I LOVE getting Christmas cards from my sweet friends, but then dream one day about creating my own Christmas card with my family. I hate it that I’m so selfish and my eyes are constantly on me. And more than anything, I hate that in those times I’m dwelling on the things that I don’t have rather than spending time dwelling on the enormous blessings I do have.

And the blessings I do have are countless.

I have a wonderful, loving, very fun and hilarious family.

I have the most amazing friends in the entire world that love me very well. Younger, older and just my age.

I have a very warm, comfortable apartment that I can call my own.

I have a job that I adore and provides for me to live a very comfortable life.

I have Jesus and that means I’m changed for the better, marked and sealed for life and death.

I have a lot of scarves to keep my neck warm.

I have some pretty funny roommates.

I have plenty of Tex-Mex around me to keep me fed seven days a week, and then some.

I have, I have, I have, but I want, want, want.

I know, it’s really pitiful. It’s not about me, but I’m making it all about me and that makes me want to puke.

Sometimes I get so frustrated with my desire to have a husband and family, because every now and then I doubt that will ever come to fruition.

After 25 years, it’s yet to happen, and although I know 25 is still young, you really start to play mind games with yourself. I'm only getting older, not younger. My world is a constant mind game.

Will I get to spend my next birthday with someone I love? How about next Christmas?

It’s the fear and the doubt of the unknown that really starts to mess with you.

I have been begging the Lord more recently to fill every void in my heart I may feel.

Let’s be honest, there are thousands of people going through much tougher circumstances than I ever dream to be dealing with.

I truly believe that if we beg, He grants, but only if it brings Him the greatest glory.

It has been so amazing the peace and joy I’ve felt this month.

Even though the desire to be married is still very much exploding in my heart, I’m believing God for bigger things.

Things bigger than myself, my heart or my imaginations.

I don’t just want to be that cute girl who blogs well, dresses cute, works at a church and posts cute facebook profile pictures.

I want to be a girl that reflects Jesus everywhere I go. I want people to be drawn to me out of my love and desire to know and be loved by Him more than my cute shoes.

I don’t know a lot of girls that have walked in my shoes. Girls that have not even been asked on a date. I don’t say that in a prideful manner, I mean honestly, what girl wants to admit that? That alone can cause lots of anxiety and questions. And while my heart and mind are far from pure and perfect, I have to believe that God IS up to something greater than myself. I have to claim that.

As Beth Moore said a few ago, and something I’m still holding onto, “Blessed are you when what comes naturally to others comes supernaturally to you!” At this point, I’m claiming my man to be supernatural. Well, he may not be supernatural and perfect, but when the Lord provides I’ll consider it to be supernatural. I'll be like Mary in Luke 1:45 claiming my belief that He who said He is faithful, really is.

2011 may not be the year I meet my man. It may not be the year I get asked on a date. It will undoubtedly be a year I cry over my singleness every now and then, it’s just reality. I’m still very much a girl asking and waiting on a boy to love her. (Cue Notting Hill.)

But, it can be a year that I die to myself daily. It can be a year I get out of my comfort zone. It can be a year that Lord continues to stir my heart for a purpose greater than me. It can be a year that I challenge myself and those around me. It can be a year of trusting God to provide everything I need, not everything I want.

Let’s be honest, actions speak way louder than words. I want to intentionally find ways to live out my faith, rather than just talking about it.

I know both sets of people, those that talk about their faith and continue to live a very mediocre life, and those that when called to action, do it. I want to be the girl that does it. That leaves a legacy of action rather than just words.

Maybe if I do that, then I’ll stop crying about my singleness and dwelling on what I am without.

I’m not asking Him to remove this desire; I’m simply asking Him to make this desire a catalyst to further His kingdom.

This is my Christmas wish. I better sign off before I ask for anything crazy, you know what He says, ask and you shall receive.

I pray He alone fills each void and desire in your heart as well, sweet friends. I still believe that Jesus is better.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20

A Social Network Christmas

I am sure by now you have seen this video, but if not, take four minutes to watch this really neat "Social Network Christmas". The Christmas story told through facebook. What a crazy world of technology we live in! Honestly, without Jesus Christ, Christmas would be non-existent. I know we hear it time and time again, but Jesus really is the reason for the season.

'Tis the Season

In case you were wondering, or stressing, Christmas is in approximately five days. Can you believe it? I cannot. Where, oh where, has December gone? It has been a wonderful, but pretty busy past few weeks. Doing what? Well, I'm so glad you asked.

Originally I thought I had five Christmas parties to attend, however, somehow I miscounted (math was never my strong subject) and I ended up having seven to attend. Seven Christmas parties. Let's just say that when I left my last one last night I was almost giddy. I have participated in five White Elephant gift exchanges and next time I see the White Elephant himself, I may not be very nice. Last night, however, I brought home by far the most practical gift yet, a plunger. I've been needing one for my new apartment, but just have yet to purchase one. Now I can cross that off the list!

Honestly, that many parties is just the nature of being on a church staff and working in student ministry. The parties are endless! Typically I think I have about four or five, so I'm going to go ahead and consider this year a record. Let's hope it won't be beat or I may have to file for bankruptcy on White Elephant gifts alone.

One party in particular was a tacky sweater party and that was really fun. However, I decided to make it a tacky outfit instead. And boy was I tacky. I'm pretty sure I was wearing a very large shirt that fit me like a dress. Not to mention the decade it was from. Let me tell you, it was a treasure. I actually showed up wearing a belt, but was convinced later on to take off the belt because that made it all the tackier. Although they told me I could wear that in public with the belt, I assure you, you will only see me wearing it on very special, tacky occasions.

Take a look for yourself.

Me and the roomies. In all our tackiness.

Lindsey rocked her sweater. I was actually really jealous. Everywhere she went, she glowed.

Girls! (Notice the belt!)

And the belt is forever gone. I promise, there is a figure under there somewhere.

The maroon crew.

Really not sure what was going on here. How about the elf?

My first gift in this exchange was the "As Seen on TV" Pasta Boat. Unfortunately, it was stolen.

That night we also made Ginger Bread houses. Up until this point in my life, I'd never made one. At least not to my knowledge.

It was quite the messy experience.

I don't do sticky very well.

I'm pretty sure JT is laughing hysterically here. We had WAY too much fun!

What a tacky looking group.

Our final product. We did not win.

Since we just moved into our apartment two months ago, not only do we not have it all decorated and done, but we are seriously lacking in the Christmas decor. With that said, our neighbor below us gave us this Christmas tree and I was so thankful! It was very nice of her. It's our very own little Charlie Brown tree.

We may not have a lot of Christmas decorations, but the little we do have, I absolutely adore.

Thank you, Mom, for my precious little nativity. And thank you, Round Top Collection.

Mini-Christmas Tree!

Besides the tree, this is my favorite part of our decorations. Our Christmas cards! I'm really bad about checking the mail every day, but it makes it so much sweeter when I do retrieve it and have a stack of cards just waiting to be opened. A lot of ladies on twitter told me to just hang ribbon and it has been perfect! I love it!

When I'm sitting on my couch at night, this is my view. It's very warm and the Christmas tree makes my heart so happy. It really is the little things, folks.

Five more day, friends. Five more days. Merry Christmas!

Oh, The Discipline!

Before I signed up for this Sprint Triathlon (please note that it is indeed a SPRINT Triathlon, not an Olympic or Ironman, there's a big difference), I was at Bible study talking to some folks about it, mulling over whether or not I should register, when Greg mentioned that I should do it, simply because I'd blog about it. Honestly, in the next few months I'm not sure how much I will actually blog about, and not for lack of material, but more so because my time from here on out will be spent training for said Triathlon.

I've never trained for anything even remotely close to this before, so I can imagine that come January, it is going to take over my life. Stink, it's not even January and I can't sleep well at night unless I've gotten in my run for the day.

In case you were wondering, I'm not the athletic type.

I may appear to have played sports growing up, and while I have the height to do it, I chose music over every other sport.

That, my friends, is why I'm obsessive over it.

Can I do it? Yes. Can I finish it? Yes. Will I win it? Probably not. Is my goal to win? No. My goal is to finish. And finish well.

In order to finish well, however, I need to be prepared.

There are so many reasons why I'm excited about this challenge. First off, I don't challenge myself near enough. If I'm not challenging myself to grow whether it be mentally, spiritually or physically, am I really changing, or am I just continuing to stay the same?

Secondly, I have a goal to do this race and to finish well and I'm really looking forward to accomplishing that goal. I know that crossing that finish line will be so sweet.

Thirdly, I am looking forward to some self-discipline. Quite frankly, this does not come naturally to me. It's something I have to really work at, and now I have no excuse but to be disciplined.

What will this look like? For me, it will be less time on facebook, twitter, blogging, TV, sleeping, going to bed earlier, waking up earlier, eating healthier and so on a so forth. A little balance can be a very good thing.

I've heard before that those that train for a marathon or half-marathon often are built up spiritually as well, because of said discipline, and if that's the truth, sign me up! Although no discipline is fun at the time, it is only for our good.

Here's the deal, if a contestant on Biggest Loser can run a marathon after being obese, I can certainly finish a 500 meter swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. It's doable, but how well I do is determined by my training and self-discipline.

Already, not even two weeks into it, I can see how much I'm going to have to die to myself and my selfish ways in order to do this, and although it sounds weird, I'm already looking forward to it.

Although I don't see this being the start of something new, or the catalyst to being a triathlete, I want to change. I want to grow. To grow and change we need to be challenged. Let's all challenge ourselves in something this coming year. Maybe it will be reading a book a month. Maybe it will be memorizing scripture. Maybe it will be going to bed earlier. I'm personally challenging myself to all of those.

Who knows, by April 9th, I may be a completely different person.

It's amazing what one goal will do to you. Or how one goal can change you.

Scarves: The Winter Accessory

Confession: I am a hoarder.

Okay, so I’m not the girl that has piles and piles of trash everywhere that can’t move without stepping on an old cheeto, but there is a certain pile in my room that keeps growing.

I never considered myself a collector of items until recently. And by recently I mean last year.

When I moved to Claire’s house, I realized that there was a certain pile in my room that was uncontrollable and it was really stressing me out. I try to be organized, and this pile was far from it.

That was my pile of scarves.

And it kept growing, and growing, and growing.

One day I was at IKEA and found this nifty holder with a bunch of holes in it.

Sometimes I find things like that at IKEA and have not a fat clue what it could be used for, but this day was different. Immediately, each and every scarf I own came flooding to mind and I purchased it right away. Duh, it was made to be my scarf organizer!

It goes without saying that the minute I got home, I loaded that bad boy up and hung it on our laundry room door so that each scarf was accessible to not only me, but to my roommates as well.

I don’t know if Claire misses me now that I’m gone, but I’m certain she misses my scarves.

I’m partly ashamed and yet partly proud of my scarf collection. It’s pretty ridiculous.

But do you know the joy a scarf brings? During our frigid winter months here in Houston, I like to consider the scarf the perfect accessory. It keeps you warm. It’s cute. It’s removable if you get to warm, it’s colorful and so on and so forth.

With that said, I now present to you my scarf collection.

I know you’re judging me right now, but I just really need you to love me in this moment.

I don’t think I’ve spent more than $10 on a scarf. I find them cheap, cheap, cheap. It’s the way to go.

Anyone, and I repeat, anyone, can rock the scarf.

I dare you to try it.

It will do your neck some good.

While we're at it, I'll go ahead a be a bit more vain to show you my necklace holder. It was an old piece I found in my parent's garage, and then painted it black. I love it! But really, what's better than your necklaces being so nicely organized? There's no time for tangled necklaces in my life. There are more to be had, but I won't show you those.


Need a scarf? Need a necklace? Lindsee's Accessories are here for you.