I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Monday night I went to dinner with my friend Brittany. Sometime during our conversation she asked if I had seen the video of Ben Rector covering Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". Brittany had seen him perform it live a few weeks ago and found the video afterwards and has since then been obsessed.

I totally get it, because after watching it one time, I too became quickly obsessed. Homedude is legit. The craziest part is that they recorded this only a few days before Whitney Houston died.

What Brittany might not have known is that this was by far my favorite Whitney song. In fact, it was the only song I owned of hers. So thank you, Ben Rector, for making me love it even more.

If you have three minutes, and you love this song, or even if you don't, you won't be disappointed. Let him entertain you.

May I Direct Your Attention Elsewhere?

Although I'm on a social media fast, I decided blogging was here to stay. The truth is, I don't spend near as much time blogging and it is such a wonderful outlet for me. Plus, these next few months are filled with a lot of fun things, and if I have time, I hope to blog about them so it is well documented. Things like half-marathons, wedding showers and baby showers, oh my!

However, I have to admit, being off twitter and facebook has been quite the stretch for me. It has been hard. Period. All of the sudden, I'm not connected to the social world. And that is straight up weird. But at the same time, very good. I am already seeing fruit from it, which has been really sweet. That alone encourages me to keep on keepin' on. (And don't worry, I've replaced that time spent doing something else, but that's another post for another day.)

Being off twitter was hardest this weekend when I was at a Girls Conference in Nashville. You and I both know twitter was going crazy and I missed out on all the fun! Bummer. But I lived! I hope to blog about that as well this week. It was greatness.

Anyway, I really hopped on here to point your attention to another blog.

My friend Becky, whom I've only met a few times in real life, but have known virtually for a few years, asked if I would consider writing a guest post on her blog. This month she's highlighting dating, relationships, marriage and all things love. Since we all know I'm not an expert on dating or marriage, she asked if I would consider writing an honest letter to my married friends from a singles perspective. After a little hesitation, I agreed and finally, this past Thursday, towards the end of February, bless my heart, sent my letter to her and she posted it today.

Since I'm not on twitter or facebook, I thought I'd share the link here. I am honored she asked me to write on her little corner. It really made me think. Feel free to hop over, or feel free to ignore it, the choice is yours. I pray it encourages somebody! I honestly think the world of my friends, married or single.

And with that, I'm out. Happy Monday, peeps.

Unnecessary Noise

I have typed and re-typed the first sentence of this post a billion times. Ridiculous if you ask me, because I'm getting on here to say one simple thing.

As of tomorrow, I am putting myself in time-out as far as social media is concerned.

It's time.

It's beyond time.

I know I don't owe this post to anybody, because who really cares that I'm about to unplug, but I'm writing it for myself. And more than that, I'm writing it for accountability.

Social media is a big umbrella, but I am specifically unplugging from twitter and facebook.

Why? Because I'm ashamed at how many hours I waste browsing each of those websites.

I could take or leave Pinterest. And my blog? Well, apparently it's not been a distraction lately as you can see by my lack of posting, but facebook and twitter? They monopolize my time more than anything. Someone asked if that meant email, but email is a must. I had to ask myself what brought me the most distraction and stole most of my time, and what really was entertainment. Email is far from entertaining to me. Recently I've been so thankful for the fact that these things didn't exist in high school, and really, until later in college, because if I would have had facebook as a high school student, I'm not sure I would have graduated.

This has been a long time coming and I've fought the conviction, but I told somebody today that if I really didn't want to give it up, it was probably a sure sign that I needed to.

Why am I so attached to it anyway? Am I that afraid I am going to miss something? Disappoint my "followers" or friends? Are my only connections happening online? What am I trying to promote or secure? These are just a few questions I've had to ask myself. Because let's face it, twitter is flat out fun sometimes.

The truth is, there is a lot on my plate right now and I feel like I can't focus on one thing well. And when I can't focus, I resort to the most mindless things like facebook and twitter.

However, I was most convicted about it last night when I was writing in my personal journal. There are a few things I'm asking the Lord to give me clarity on and immediately after writing them out I thought to myself, how can I hear the Lord clearly when there is so much noise in my world? So much unnecessary noise that I used to not even have to fight against. Somethings gotta give. Something has to be eliminated, at least for a little bit.

It just so happens that tomorrow begins this Lent season and no other time than now seems appropriate.

So beginning tomorrow morning, I will deactivate my facebook and delete my twitter app.

Although I'm really fighting it, I already have a sense of peace. Will it be hard? No doubt. I'm a very social girl who loves social media. But the exchange will be so much sweeter.

I'm already looking forward to the books I plan on reading, the face-to-face dates I plan on having, the fun texts and the phone calls to friends. You see, when you're not consistently hooked up to the social world, you have to do those things to keep up with your friends, just like the old days. Doesn't that sound lovely?

I've made up every excuse in the book to keep these two outlets going, but I've run out of clever excuses. In fact, I happen to run the facebook page at work and even that made me second guess my decision, but thankfully, the Lord made me smarter than I am and I've got that all worked out, too.

Who knows, maybe this here blog will see a little more action since I won't be wasting my random thoughts elsewhere.

I know for a fact I will see the goodness of the Lord. When it's all said and done, He really is better.

Why I Loved Today

Mondays used to be one of my favorite days. I know the word Monday and the word favorite are not typically found in the same sentence, but it happened to be my day off. For three years, Mondays were a day of solitude, rest, and sabbath. Although I often felt guilty, it was beyond necessary because my Sundays were labeled insane.

One of the hardest parts about transitioning from working at my former church to working at LPM was not having my Monday.

Granted, there is something to be said about having two days off back to back, and quite frankly, I love that my Sundays are the exact opposite of insane now, but it took some getting used to. Let’s be honest, more often than not, Mondays live up to their stereotype.

Although I find myself at my desk come Monday morning these days, I have to admit it isn’t half bad. Instead of looking forward to a day off, I look forward to our staff prayer and devotional time. Being in the Word for that hour is just as refreshing.

Today, however, happened to be a very good Monday.

Here is why I loved today.

For starters, I had a great, refreshing weekend. I spent Friday night with some of my favorite people celebrating an amazing friend. Saturday I had the entire day to do whatever. Can I get an amen? I ended up checking off a lot on my to-do list and it felt so good. On Sunday, not only was church so wonderful, but then I spent the evening at a friends house socializing. I realize we all gathered in the first place to watch the Super Bowl, but not one minute was wasted on that T.V. Instead we sat in the dining room and laughed our heads off. It was so good for my soul. Having a good weekend like that made my attitude returning to work on Monday pleasant.

Secondly, the first thing I received at work today was some snail mail. You can just go ahead and add snail mail to my list of favorite things. I forget how much I love the written word until I receive it. It made me realize that I need to get back into sending cards to friends, I used to do that all the time and these past few years have gotten away from it. There’s just something about a tangible card as opposed to an email or text. It’s special.

Thirdly, like I mentioned before, every Monday we have staff prayer and devotional time. Every Monday never ceases to amaze and encourage me. However, today I truly wish I could have recorded our prayer time. I would like to put it in my pocket and take it with me everywhere I go. Without going into detail, the Lord knew exactly what prayers needed to be prayed, and I not-so-selfishly received every prayer and word spoken over me during that hour. Sweet prayers were prayed without my prompting or asking. I’m claiming every single one of them and believing God to do what only He can do. Quite honestly, I went from really distracted to refocused. Can I get an amen?

Finally, last week through a series of events and circumstances, I had to un-install and re-install Microsoft Office on my computer. I may be Media Assistant, but I’m not a genius when it comes to technical things, I’m more so technologically challenged. Anyway, I thought I did everything right until Thursday afternoon when I realized I completely wiped out my entire work email history and every contact. I had a knot in my stomach. I called a few of our folks that do things like this for a living and I was told I was out of luck. Honestly, my email inbox looked like the first day of work. That is until today when my BFF Randy whom I met for the first time face-to-face today saved the day! He recovered my entire email history all by the click of a few buttons while I stood and watched in amazement. MacBookPro extraordinaire. It was truly a Valentine’s miracle. Jesus does love me, this I know.

And just for good measure, meet Baby Maddox. My former college roommate, Megan, is the proud mama of said baby girl. She filled my baby love tank Saturday. So excited for she and Daniel and the new season ahead!

How can you not love this face?

I'm smitten.

Megan looks amazing!

Oh, and here’s a picture of my BFF and me Friday night. I’m abnormally tall. She’s abnormally short. It’s how we roll. (If you can't tell, she's on her tippy toes.) I love her.

Sometimes we get really tickled. Then this happens.


And that, folks, is what I consider to be a good Monday. I'm thankful.

I'm Killing My Blog

One of these days I'm going to start a normal post with a normal sentence and it won't say something like, "I'm killing my blog one day at a time."

Sweet mercy.

So, let's all just pretend I've been around lately and have posted more than three blogs in the past month and move on, shall we?

Deep breaths.

I feel better now.

With that out of the way, let's transition to a list of my favorite things currently. Because when I feel stressed about my lack of blogging coupled with my desire to continue writing, a list relieves some of the stress.

1) Bayou City Fellowship. Let it be said, I love my church so much. I honestly didn't think after leaving Cypress Bible that I'd fall so hard so quickly, but I have. And I think that's okay. There are most definitely relationships and people I miss dearly, but overall, the Lord has been so good in allowing me to really enjoy where He's planted me. Curtis Jones has a gift and to sit under his teaching weekly has been the biggest blessing. The only way I can explain the past couple of weeks is that the Holy Spirit has shown up and is working among the people. The fact that I've been given a front row seat to enjoy that is beyond me. It's been a while since I've left church every week feeling both extremely challenged and yet built up and it is a beautiful thing. If you don't have a home church, come visit us one Sunday at Houston Christian High School at 10:00 am. We'd love to have you! And if you don't live in Houston, don't miss the BCF podcasts on iTunes.

2) BCF worship. I grew up in an extremely musical household. My parents have always been a part of the worship team and I followed in their footsteps as soon as I was allowed. After growing up in choir and praise team, I honestly came to BCF with intentions of not getting involved in the worship team. True story. I didn't even know how to get involved. I decided after doing it at my previous church that I wanted a break. Then through a series of circumstances, I ended up getting the privilege to sing early on, and now I'm so thankful the Lord saw fit to make that happen when it did. It has been my greatest joy to serve in that way. Getting to be a part of that team and seeing how the worship has evolved, has been one of the neatest and most fun things I've been able to be a part of! It is different. For the better. I'm humbled and grateful.

3) Skinny jeans. Y'all, I'm addicted. I wear them ALL THE TIME. As much as I used to despise tapered jeans growing up, it amazes me how in love I am with them. I know I'll probably look back one day in utter disgust, so I'm currently soaking up my love for them by wearing them as often as possible. And really, church, worship then jeans? I'm so godly.

4) Loreal Telescopic Mascara. I get asked quite often what type of mascara I use, and there you have it, folks. Nothing fancy. But I'm not sure what I'll do when they discontinue it. I hope it stays as classic as the green and pink tube of Maybelline mascara.

5) My gray Toms. I adore them. The first pair of Toms I ever purchased were red, and don't get me wrong, I love them as well, but my gray pair is more versatile. Not to mention the comfort factor, in my little opinion, is quite fantastic.

6) New friends. Yes, they are becoming some of my very favorite things. I keep singing the girl scout song, "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." All of my sweet friends are golden. And I am so thankful.

7) Organic Horizon Chocolate Milk. I am not ashamed to buy the carton of milk at the store even though I have no child under the age of four living with me. That stuff is ridiculously good. I feel more justified when my roommate drinks it, too. Which she does. In fact, she bought the last carton.

Well, that list went from spiritual to materialistic really quick. I'm gonna take it as my cue to bid you goodbye and thank you for putting up with my random nonsense.

Passion 2012

Almost six months ago, this past July, I learned during a really special meeting that LPM was going to sponsor 1000 young women to attend Passion 2012 in Atlanta. During the middle of all of that chatter, I also learned that I would be heading that way as well with LPM. To say I was pumped would be a vast understatement.

For whatever reason, I have never personally been able to attend a Passion conference. I think a lot of that was due to the fact that during my college years they took some time off to travel around the world, but it just never worked out for me.

I’ve been a part of the conference every year in the smallest way possible in that I have owned every CD passion has ever released to the general public. And need I even say they are some of my favorite worship CD’s? It just doesn’t get much better. So, to have the opportunity to go, spend time with girls, and worship alongside 44,000 other people sounded good to me.

Last Monday morning, very early, six of us from LPM hopped on a plane together headed to Atlanta, I had very few expectations. I just wanted to hear from the Lord. I got to serve as a group leader while the rest of the crew all served as volunteers, mostly in the capacity of serving in a community group. Serving as a group leader just allowed me time to hang out and minister to the thousands of college girls attending. Could there be a better job? I submit that there cannot.

The sweetest thing was that I got spend most of my time with two groups of girls that I’ve known for quite some time and used to be their bible study leader. I loved that and loved my time with them.

When I say we didn’t stop from the time we touched base in Atlanta to the time we left, I am not exaggerating or lying one bit. We literally landed, dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and then the fun began.

Picture with me 44,000 people trying to register at one time. Yes, the line was out the door and wrapped around the convention center. I have literally never seen anything like it, little did we know, it was just a taste of what the rest of the week would look like. Lines, crowds, lines, crowds, a little more waiting, a little more patience and a little more crowds. People were EVERYWHERE. It was crazy town.

That night as Passion started, the dome was pumped up. Before anyone took one step on that platform, different folks read from the Word so we could acclimate. It was powerful. From that moment on, the Spirit of the Lord fell on that dome and His presence was felt. Louie Giglio welcomed us, welcomed the band, welcomed the choir (oh, the choir), and challenged us with a word to rise up!

One thing I have to add here is that if every choir in the world had as much passion and energy as the Passion choir, I can almost guarantee that every church would still have a choir. They were amazing! Of course, I’m a choir girl myself so they may have had a small impact on me, but I think they made the worship times all the richer.

Once the first session was over students and group leaders alike headed to community groups for the first time where we’d be placed with a family group that we’d come to know and love. The group leaders were really blessed in that we had some really special visitors everyday such as Louie Giglio, Francis Chan and John Piper. Can you say spoiled? It was really sweet.

The rest of the week went as follows:

Wake up before the sun, eat breakfast, head to morning community group, go straight from CG to the main session, go to lunch (yes, they fed all 44,000 of us. Whoa.), go to main session #2, try and find dinner with 44,000 other people in a matter of two hours, end your day with main session #3, meet with your community group, go to late night (late night was a concert each night by David Crowder Band or Hillsong), get to your hotel by 1:00 AM, fall in your bed and do it all over again. Exhausting? Yes, in every sense of the word. Worth it? Absolutely.

In the middle of all of that, we had the sweet pleasure of meeting with the 1000 girls LPM had the privilege of sponsoring. That may have been my favorite part of the week. They were the sweetest, most gracious group of girls ever. We got to hug and pray over them, which was really neat. For me, it was fun putting a lot of those names with faces.

I am still processing so much personally like, what does all of the truth I heard mean for me? My ministry? The girls I serve? There is a lot in my head, but it’s all wonderful.

There is one thing I know for sure, our God is a big God. If you’ve grown up in church like me, I know you know that and hear that all the time, but He really is so big. I have made Him so little in my mind for so long. I am a firm believer that we need to make sure our students understand that the same God they experienced at Passion is the same God they can experience in their own bedroom. His Word is living and active and will change your life. I love a good week at camp, but I never want it to be a spiritual high, I want life change. However, being at Passion is most definitely a wonderful kick-start that I wish every college student could experience. Yesterday somebody at lunch summed it up right when they said they feel like they’re on an IV of the Holy Spirit at Passion. That’s so true. The Lord has granted much favor upon those conferences and I watched lives be changed. It was incredible.

To get your focus off of circumstances and on a big God that loves you dearly and invites you to know Him intimately is one of the best things anyone can experience. All of the sudden, your worries seem small and your God astounding. He can take it all and deal with all of it, even when you feel like you’re spinning out of control.

One thing I absolutely cannot get over is the sacrifice the students made to help free slaves all over the world. At the beginning of the week Louie challenged to the students to raise one million dollars to help free captives, at the end of the week, not only did the students raise one million dollars, they far surpassed the goal and raised over THREE MILLION dollars. Tell me that’s not amazing! Do not count this generation out, y’all. They’re here to fight for freedom. They’re going to fight to know God personally despite what this world is throwing at them. There is nothing greater than seeing Jesus in them. It is sweet.

God’s name and renown is the desire of their hearts. Oh Lord, may they live boldly for you. In Jesus’ name.

This is how they spelled my name at Starbucks the morning we left. Hello, my name is Linzze.

Sabrina, KMac, Kimberley and me about to head out!

We met some sweet girls headed that way as well. So fun!

Kelli and I on the plane!

A sea of students registering.

Welcome to The Dome.

We are here for you, Jesus!

Beth bringing us a word on Tuesday morning.

Later that day we got to meet with the 1000 sponsored girls. Here they are! Precious.

Mary and I. : )

A sweet group of girls I know from A&M. I've known Taylor, on the very far left, her entire life!

The girls I spent the majority of my time with. And also my old Bible study girls. I love them to bits!

Sara and I on the last morning.

My sweet friend Raven was their as a group leader with her church so it was super fun getting to be with her and Nick all week. The last morning we were twinkies on accident!

One last TIRED picture before we headed out! We were exhausted! Love her.

Louie Giglio sending us out on a strong word. So thankful for that man and his vision.


Thank you, LPM and Passion, for letting me experience an incredible week. I am forever grateful.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:19-20

A Little Blog Love

My poor little blog has been severely neglected this past (almost) month. Looking back at 2011, I wrote less than I have any other year that this blog has existed. I think a lot of that was due to the fact that I was 1) very busy and 2) there was a lot going on that I couldn’t really reveal on the blog, and when big things are happening, little mundane things to blog about are harder to come by. I know I am making this way more dramatic than it is, but those are my only excuses for the neglect. Blogging most definitely took a back seat in 2011. I am hoping to revive it in 2012, but I can make no promises. Only time will tell!

ALL of that to say, I have about four posts written in drafts that all have about one line and then are a blank slate. Needless to say, I’m going to let those posts die in my drafts and start with a clean slate (ten days later) in 2012.

So, what have I been up to?

In case you were on the edge of your seat dying to know, it has been BUSY around my parts of the world.

First, there was Christmas. Christmas was actually very calm. We had a small, nice, peaceful Christmas at my parents’ house with our little family that morning, then that evening headed to celebrate the day with some dear friends of ours, the Snow’s. I enjoyed it so much.

However, it was after Christmas when all the action happened. Two days later, my family from Colorado arrived, I took a few days off work, and from there I think we took them to every legit restaurant in Houston. Not really, but I feel like all we did was eat. It was magical.

My time with them was shorter because before they left to head back home, I left with a few of my co-workers to head to Passion 2012 in Atlanta. That is an entire different post for a different day, and I am really hoping I get that written. I process things by writing them out, so I know it would be so beneficial, if for no one else but me. We had an amazing time there last week, then came home on Thursday evening and jumped straight into work on Friday. Of course, I dragged my feet to the office, but it was a surprisingly productive day.

This weekend I managed to take down Christmas décor, finally, slept in, took a nap, surprised a 14 year old with a Justin Bieber life size cut out for her birthday, went to church, had a meeting, then went to a surprise party. It was a full, but fun weekend!

Now, two days later, I’ve finally completed one training run for my half-marathon in March and been full on at work. In case you are curious, I am far from bored.

I’m not sure if this post can actually be deemed as a revival for the blog, but for now, it will have to do. I sure have missed blog world!

Happy Tuesday, y’all.

Oh, and Happy New Year! Better late than never, right?

A Quality Weekend

Recently I have been really, really busy. Like, so busy that I've been gone every single night for almost three weeks straight. Each Monday that rolled around I would vow that that particular week would be different, then this or that would happen and by Friday I'd be exhausted.

In an intentional effort to reduce the busyness, both last Saturday and this past weekend, I decided that I would be the boss of my calendar as opposed to letting it boss me. The issue is that I happen to be a very social person and I hate to miss a good party, and with no husband or kids at home vying for my attention, it's easy to just go, go, go. I realize this is not the healthiest way to live, but it was my reality.

Last weekend on the one day I had free, I rested as opposed to making myself crazy. It was good. My body was so physically tired that had I wanted to, I don't think I could have gone one more minute.

When I realized that I only had one "scheduled" thing this weekend, I deemed it the weekend of rest as well. What you might find ironic is that although some might characterize rest as being still at home, I actually feel rested when doing things that fill my love tank.

Quality time and words of affirmation are my top two love languages. This weekend I spent a lot of quality time with a lot of my favorite people and as I sit here and type this blog post at the end of the weekend, my love tank is so full. And I feel rested. Not insane.

Friday night I attended a wedding and sweet Sara happened to be my date. We had the best time and I am so glad she was there. Sara has been a special girl in my life that I've loved getting to know on random lunch dates and outings, but what is really awesome now is that her mama is my co-worker. Isn't that so fun? After spending time with her at the wedding, I got the itch to see all my other college girls that are due home any minute for the Christmas break. I can't wait to give some hugs, spend some time together hanging out, laughing, eating and catching up on all things college life.

Me and Sara at the wedding. This picture happens every time we're together. : )

After the wedding I actually ended up heading to my parents house to see some friends that had come in town. We were having such a great time that I didn't realize it was almost 1:00 AM and I was STILL at my parents. I drove myself home shortly after that and fell right into bed.

Saturday morning after clearly sleeping in a bit, I got ready and drove to the Woodlands to hang out with some of my best college girlfriends Jen, Raven and Katie. I have been a horrible friend to them lately and I needed to redeem myself. Why have I been a bad friend? Because I've missed HUGE events happening like Raven getting engaged and celebrating Jen having a BABY GIRL! I needed to physically lay my eyes on them and hug them, so since Raven was in town and staying at Jen's house, I killed two birds with one stone. It was perfection. I spent five hours with them catching up on every little detail and I've never been happier. I love them to pieces and love what the Lord is doing in and through them! Ironically, we didn't take one picture, but that's because we never moved from the couch. We were comfortable to say the least.

That night I had dinner with my roommates and parents and then we drove around to see a few Christmas lights. Really fun times!

Today was just delightful. Bayou City Fellowship had their first baptisms since launching and it was the sweetest day. We used a horse trough and all gathered around outside since there isn't an actual baptism in the chapel of Houston Christian High School, but I can't imagine a better way to have done this. I said this leaving church today and my roommate said it again tonight to me, but it is just really neat and fun to be a part of a church plant. The Lord is moving and working and the fact that He allows us to take part in what He's doing always amazes me. I am beyond grateful for BCF and all that it's meant to me these past three months. I am praying, anticipating and expecting even greater things the next three years.

This afternoon, after finally decorating our apartment for Christmas, I headed over to the Melton's house, some sweet new BCF friends, to watch the Broncos, or more appropriately Tim Tebow, play the Patriots. Let's be honest, number 15 is easy on the eyes. We may or may not have planned my wedding during that time. ; ) My sweet friend Kristy is originally who invited me and she and her sweet family were there too, along with my friend Angela. I'm telling y'all, quality time plus quality people and I am a happy girl. It doesn't take much. We had so much fun and I told the Melton's to be expecting a knock on their door from me every Sunday evening from now on. I am just so thankful tonight for new friendships and new seasons.

It was most definitely a quality filled, restful, fun weekend. Thank you, Jesus!

Life is Full

Apparently I need a challenge to blog everyday or I don't blog at all. It has been over two weeks since I've even thought about writing one word and just for the record, it is not due to a lack of material. Life has been very full the past few weeks. So full, in fact, that yesterday evening I was visiting some friends and I told them I was glad we were in 2012 and it wasn't 2013 yet. Um, earth to Lindsee, it is actually 2011 and we are only two weeks out from 2012.

To which I say, where in the world has 2011 gone? To say it has flown by at lightning speed would be a vast understatement.

So, to not make this the most boring blog post of 2o11, I'll share some highlights from the past two weeks that would have probably made the blog had I actually sat down and written them out. Of course, if this ends up being the most boring post of 2011, just humor me and pretend it was the best.

1) This does not actually count as it was a few days before December, but a highlight has been the Hillsong Live concert I went to a few weeks ago. A group of ladies from BCF all went together and we had the best time. I said this on facebook, but it's worth repeating, it's amazing to me how on pitch everyone sounds when thousands of people sing together. On pitch and beautiful. Surely, it is a sweet and joyful noise to the Lord.

2) A couple of Sundays ago, I hopped in the car with my friend Angela last minute and we got to enjoy a night of the Shane & Shane and Phil Wickham Christmas tour. Need I tell you how amazing it was? You know my love for all things Shane & Shane. Add a third harmony in there and I'm smitten. Now, I realize that I sound like a complete concert junkie, and I'm really not, but recently people have been tossing free concert tickets at me like they grow on trees. I think in the past six months I've been to five concerts. Really unheard of in my world, but I've soaked up every minute.

3) Our community group had a really fun Christmas party where we did a White Elephant gift exchange and I came home with a moo-moo. Highlight? Absolutely. Attractive? Duh.

4) I recently learned how to play the game "LCR" at a girls night and I'm hooked. Have any of you played it? It's actually a gambling game, but we played for fun. However, there were a few Starbucks gift cards up for grabs, so needless to say, the competition was fierce.

5) Do you remember when I blogged about the Despres family bringing their baby girl home from China? Well, SHE IS HOME! The picked up Sienna two weeks ago and arrived back in Houston a week ago tomorrow. She is an absolute joy. I got to play with her a bit last night and I left with a heart full of love. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for her. She is special, no doubt. To read all about their time in China and their journey now, visit their blog.

6) This past weekend Houston's First Baptist Church did their big Christmas Celebration and I went with my people to see my sweet best friend perform in it. I loved it and was so entertained the entire time. I mean, how could you not be when there is a literal elephant in the room? Easily my favorite part of the entire night was getting to see my best friend sing, Hallelujah (Light Has Come) by Barlow Girls, with five other ladies. It was beautiful! I am so proud of Jen.

7) Lastly, and certainly not least, Saturday my sweet friend Raven GOT ENGAGED! I am really a professional at keeping this kind of secret, and let me tell you, it never gets easier. The minute I heard from Nick I wanted to shout it from the roof tops. Unfortunately, I wasn't actually able to be there, which made my heart so sad, but I have celebrated she and Nick all week in Houston. I cannot wait to attack her the next time I see her! Nick is a wonderful, godly guy who happens to be a youth pastor, so I for one, am thrilled for them! Congratulations are most definitely in line. I love y'all!

Well, seven highlights later, I'm out y'all. Hope you weren't bored out of your mind.

Happy weekend to you!

Fifteen

A few weeks ago I went to a Taylor Swift concert here in Houston. I was given tickets at the very last minute so my roommate and I ran out the door and had an unexpected fun night out.

Do I think she’s a doll? Yes, I do. Do I think she’s a bit dramatic? Yes, I do. (I would have never thought that had I not gone to the concert, but the way she talked to her audience was quite humorous and very dramatic. For instance, she kept telling us how incredible and beautiful we were. I just laughed.) Do I think she’s a good role model for the little girls that are falling all over her? Yes, I do. She has a good head on her shoulders and thus far, her walk has matched up with her talk. She’s not gone crazy. I’m praying she stays grounded. You laugh, but I’m serious. Someone needs to say sane! And I say that in the most gracious way. She has a national platform and to see it destroyed would sadden me.

Before the concert I think I owned five of her songs. I knew most of her songs but that was mainly because she gets a lot of airtime on the radio. What I didn’t know, though, were a lot of the lyrics.

Are any of you like me? You think you know the lyrics to a certain song then you look them up and realize you were completely off base? That’s my life. I’m constantly making a fool out of myself in the lyrics department.

After the concert I ended up buying a few more songs that I thought were fun and also decided to look up some of the lyrics. I knew I was singing the wrong words and wanted to fix that. Yes, I annoy my own self.

Taylor has a cute song called “Fifteen”, and it’s all about a girl experiencing her freshman year of high school. She talks about the highs and lows that girls would typically experience.

After lacing themes of friends, first dates, first kisses and breakups throughout each verse, she begins each chorus by singing, “Cause when you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them…”

Taylor is right, is she not? If a fifteen-year-old girl heard the words I love you from a hunk of a boy, she’s going to believe him, no doubt. Those of us a few years ahead of that game know it will probably end in heartache (although those of us hopeless romantics would love to believe they end up as married high school sweethearts), but in the moment, that fifteen year old girl will be floating on cloud nine and will undoubtedly drown out every other voice that tries to whisper otherwise.

But what about the girl that never hears the words I love you from a boy? What if she never hears them period? From anyone?

What if I changed the lyrics of the chorus to “Cause when you’re fifteen and nobody tell you they love you, you’re gonna believe them…”

Our present day culture speaks a lot to the girls that have that heartache and breakup, but I think we forget the girls that never experience that. What about them? What about the girl that spends all four years of her high school career waiting for that special moment and doesn’t get it? Or better yet, all four years of her college career and doesn’t get it? Emotionally, this could be just as detrimental.

As time goes on, if you’re not grounded in Christ’s love, you’re belief system will become that of, “I’m not lovable.”

Since I happen to know that hearing I love you in high school from a boy isn't the end all be all, and I certainly don't advocate it, I'm not naive to the fact that, whether we choose to believe it or not, those words are being tossed around on a daily basis by students everywhere. In fact, they're being tossed around carelessly by a lot of people. Those words hold a lot of weight and attachment with them.

I happen to be in the latter category. I was not the girl that experienced breakup after breakup. I lived vicariously through a lot of my friends that did experience that, which taught me a lot, but that wasn’t me.

To be very honest, it is so easy for me to write my own words to that song, and even at 26, believe that I am unlovable. If I am 26 and have yet to be chosen and heard those sweet words, am I unlovable? I know that is far from the truth, but Satan himself likes to feed that lie most consistently to me.

What I know now is that no human man can ever out-love Jesus. No human man can tell me I love you more than Jesus whispers and satisfies me with His love. But I have to believe that and claim that. That is the tricky part, transferring that knowledge from my head to my heart. No man will ever know me greater than Jesus does and yet love me just the same.

But, I am old enough to know that doesn’t always take away the sting of desiring that human love. In fact, I might argue that the older you get, if the Lord has placed that desire in your heart, the more it stings. Is it wrong to desire that? Is it wrong to desire marriage? Not at all, unless it becomes a stronghold or idol in your life, lest we forget, the Lord ordained marriage and said it was a good thing. However, as we mature and become more like Christ, my prayer is that we would let the Lord tend to that sting and replace it with joy. That is the beauty of getting older; you know how to tend to that sting when it rises up in you.

Believing and leaning into truth means believing that you are loved by the one who knows you the best and loves you the most. It means that there is redemption, healing and hope for the girl who has given everything away and left with a broken heart. That the Lord still desires His best for you. And for the girl who has yet to experience the butterflies, it means there is hope for you, too, and for whatever reason, the Lord has protected you thus far. He is most definitely not holding out on you. Be thankful for that.

Believing the truth means that you are wise enough not to jump at the first chance you have to marry the first guy that asks you on a date out of your fear of being alone. There may be a few good (and bad), dates here and there, but that doesn’t mean you have to marry any of them. Not every single guy you lay your eyes on will be your future husband. Give yourself the freedom to get to know them as a friend without the pressure of trying to win them over so you can be their wife one day. We all do it out of insecurity and fear, do we not? The minute I see a single guy as a potential future husband, is the minute I clam up and don’t act like myself. By setting that aside and shifting our thinking, it’s amazing how the chains fall off and the pressure decreases.

At then end of the day, although culture and media will tell you otherwise, your identity is still found in Christ alone, not in whom you’ve dated or whom you haven’t. You’ll do greater things than date the quarterback of the football team. Praise the Lord.

And for the record, you are dearly loved. And so am I.

“The LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3