I can't wait for Saturday....

Two of my best friends are marrying each other...
So, so excited for Matt and Kristin!!

I have been friends with Matt since we were 10 years old and both our families came to Raleigh to plant a new church. I met Kristin a few years later when her family moved to Raleigh and started coming to our church. We took dance classes together all through high school. We each went different ways after high school and now here they are 10 years later getting married! I have seen Matt and Kristin both draw near to God as they have walked with him through good times and sometimes hard times. If you know them, you can't help but notice that they each have a genuine love for others. I am overjoyed to see them start their life together!

The wedding is outside ... I'm praying for good weather! I have heard rumors of bales of hay, caramel apples and bonfires. All of our friends from youth group who have moved away are coming back for the wedding, so it will be a reunion! I'll try to remember to take lots of pictures :)

Meet Mandy

This is a blog about my roommate Mandy (Amanda) Bradley. She is amazing. She is currently a nurse AND in school to be a nurse practitioner. Which means she is much smarter than me. (On a side note, we - Vicki, Jermaine and I - are currently judging the weight of her purse.) According to Vicki she has to "carry all of the pills for the people". Also, Mandy would like to ask all readers to please visit wax-lips.blogspot.com - at least that's what Vicki says. Mandy spent most of the past week taking wonderful care of her brother who had surgery. She loves her family and friends and can usually be found talking on the phone to one of them.
She is our GPS since she knows all the roads in Raleigh. Although she is a lifelong NC State fan, she is gracing the grounds of UNC Chapel Hill with her presence.

I've been friends with Mandy for five years now and I'm grateful to God for the opportunity to live with her! We've had such great times of fellowship, prayer, craziness, and laughter.

Tune in later this week to meet Lindsey...

PS: I am trying to get a picture up, but for some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload one. I will try again tomorrow.

I read this today at the blog "Of First Importance" and thought I would share it! Such a good reminder for me. Why do I try to live and conquer sin and trouble on my own when I have died and my life is hidden with Christ?

“In every temptation let us look up to a crucified Christ, who is fitted
and qualified to support tempted souls. Oh my soul, whenever you are assaulted,
let the wounds of Christ be your city of refuge where you may fly and
live. Let us learn, in every trouble which presses us—whether it be sin,
temptation, or any other evil—to translate it from ourselves to Christ. And all
the good in Christ—let us learn to translate it from Christ to
ourselves.”
—Thomas Brooks, The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures

I just figured out that I can post via email… so I am testing it out today!  Hopefully this will increase my # of posts per month so that Carroll will link to me, haha. 

 

Last weekend I went to Folly Beach / Charleston with Kendra, Shaynah, and Kristie.  It was SO much fun.  These three girls are a blast to hang out with… wonderful times of laughter and fellowship.  I always come away really encouraged and built up in my faith when I spend time with them.   I’ll post some pictures when I get home tonight J

 

Speaking of tonight… I start up my dance class again at 6:15pm!  I had a break over the summer and came up with lots of new ideas.  Now I just have to actually implement them… please pray God will give me grace for that. There are 15 in the class…twice as many girls as last year!  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Africa

Several years ago the Lord began to put a burden in my heart for Africa. I remember when Sovereign Grace Ministries first started working with a local church in Nagongera, Uganda. They showed clips in their mission presentation video of the work the church was doing and I felt a love for the people and desire to pray for them grow in my heart. I had never really had a specific burden for any particular country or people group until then. Of course time went by and I would forget to pray and the initial zeal kind of left... until in the past couple months I have come across several different things that have brought the Africa to my mind and prayers again.

----- A Note of Hope - Carolyn McCulley is currently in Africa filming for her documentary called A Note of Hope. I love what she is doing and cannot wait to order the film!

"A NOTE OF HOPE is part music appreciation and part social social-purpose documentary. It can exist comfortably at this intersection because it explores the legacy of the American Negro spiritual, a song form that has always lived there. These songs are the soundtrack of faith and hope in the midst of suffering, and that is still relevant today. A NOTE OF HOPE follows the musical journey of five American jazz musicians who are musical ambassadors for the cause of children left parentless by HIV/AIDS in Africa. These musicians recast the spirituals into the jazz genre, and then — following the example of those who came before them — give of their time and talents to draw attention to those who still suffer today."

----- GiveUgandaWater.org - A group from Covenant Life Church set up this site after going to Kiburara Uganda and learning that waterborne diseases were the leading cause of death in that town.

"Motivated by what we observed, we returned home and by the end of the year raised enough money to build three wells for the village. Today waterborne illnesses are no longer the leading killers in Kiburara. This year our goal is to build an additional three wells in neighboring villages.... $23 provides clean water for one person for the rest of their life."

----- I've been reading updates from a friend, John Heeley, who is in Uganda with a group from his church serving practical needs and sharing the gospel.

Here are a couple of other wonderful ministries serving Africa (links on the sidebar):
Dare to Share - I met Jonathan and Robin Daniel when I was working with Robin at Cary Christian School. Jonathan is from Zimbabwe and started this ministry to meet the needs of his country by providing educationa, social, physical and economic opportunities to children and families in Zimbabwe.
Covenant Mercies - a nonprofit started by members of Covenant Fellowship Church in Pennsylvania that is dedicated to serving the poor in their own community and beyond. Through Covenant Mercies, you can partner with local churches in Uganda, Zambia, and Ethiopia, to assist in their efforts to care for the many orphans living in their communities.

It is really exciting to see all that God is doing!

changes

so... I moved!

been here about a month and enjoying it... I am living with two great friends - Mandy and Lindsey.

May...

...is my favorite month of the year. This May was super busy, but also tons of fun.

Julie Graduated, sadly this was the best pict I could get from our seats.

I got much better picts when we went to the arboretum for Mother's Day...




.

Haha...this one cracks me up. I love my dad!


I turned a year older... there aren't any pictures of that, but I do want to say that I was TRULY blessed in many ways on my birthday! When I got to work there was a balloon and card from the girls that included a gift certificate for a massage!! Donna also made me a strawberry pie :)
Mandy called me on my way to work, Kendra emailed, my family made me a yummy dinner, my dad set off fireworks. It was great. I'm sure I am forgetting all the other things... but yeah, I felt very loved.

I got to have lunch with Kendra, Anne (& Kate!)
...and a dance party with Shay and Kendra and Renae :)

Then there was the week of Next-itude, visiting family, and going to Michael & Stacey's wedding. Those pictures will have to wait... because it is time for bed.

But...before I go, just wanted to share one more thing. A few months ago I started having these random weeks when I would get incredibly fatigued/exhausted...felt completely drained, couldn't concentrate at work, almost fell asleep at the wheel a couple times, etc. I thought I had pinpointed this as an iron deficiency - so I started taking a supplement regularly, and it seemed to get better - until last week. The same thing happened, I figure maybe I need to go to bed earlier, eat less sugar, exercise more. I scheduled a doctor's appointment in a few weeks. But, then one morning God brought to mind the story of the woman who, after trying every doctor around, touched Jesus robe and was healed. I will still try the practical things I mentioned - but, ultimately, my strength is from Christ. Mickey spoke at church on Sunday about being filled with joy...it was definitely what I needed to hear. No matter how I feel physically or emotionally, God has done great things for me and in his presence is fullness of joy!

Okay, more later...