tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67135300144399219192024-03-13T21:09:43.230-04:00Carrie ContemplatesThe world through my eyes. Sometimes I post what I'm doing. Sometimes I post what I'm thinking. Sometimes I post what I'm feeling. This is just a chance to see the world through someone else's eyes.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-5724960822871419372014-02-02T16:43:00.002-05:002014-02-02T16:43:45.585-05:00My EbenezerHis Proposal was filled to overflowing with the Word of God. I could not have sat for 2 days just listening to women's personal anecdotes and words of wisdom. That was what I was afraid I was going to get. But I got Jesus. The Word. And He is life giving. And refreshing. I was overcome with the Bible. Totally captivated.<br />
<br />
Confession time. I am not a morning person. I am a snooze pusher. I don't like the process of having to wake up or open my eyes or come out from under the covers or crawl out of bed. It's torture. But I have wanted to get up earlier. It has not been happening. Last week the Lord woke me up day after day literally one minute before my alarm was to go off. And day after day I ignored Him and rolled over starting my snooze routine. The Spirit started to convict me big time!<br />
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Then last weekend happened, and it has been so much easier to get up. I was hungry to get in the Word. I've never been one to write in my Bible or any book really, but I got this Notetaker's Bible and have been writing all over the place. I am doing a Bible reading plan to read through the entire Bible this year, and I am playing an audio version of the Bible to help me focus while I read and digest. I couldn't be more excited about God's Word. My first morning I gave myself 20 minutes, and 35 minutes passed before I even checked the time! I thought it had been maybe 10 minutes! I have been so thankful for a few snow days this week where I have been able to spend lots of time in the Word. I know every day won't be this way. I'm the least busy I'll be in my whole life and I want to take advantage of that. Goodness knows, I'm not writing these things to brag on myself, but to brag on God. He is giving me, a girl who is not a morning person, the grace to get up and get wrapped up in Him. And you can too!<br />
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Pray that the Lord gives you a hunger for the Word. He will.<br />
<br />
Friday night Jennie gave away some prizes. I was the first to spout out an answer to her question (fitting for me the word was creation), and she gave me a pink sparkly Bible with a designable cover. I was so happy. It was silly, but it felt significant. I was already committing in my heart to be more in the Word, and then came that. Out of nowhere the Lord whispered in my heart that this was my Ebenezer. A funny word to receive at the time. But it felt fitting. I later looked up what that was in Scripture.<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Then
Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,
saying, “Thus far the </span></span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 115%;">Lord</span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> has helped us.”</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> 1 Samuel 7:12</span></b></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thus far the Lord has helped me. That was His reminder to me the whole weekend which I wrote about a few days ago. That pink sparkly Bible was the sign to remind me of what He has done and what He taught me that weekend. It is a sign to remind me of God's love for me and to remember the importance of being in God's Word.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What kind of Ebenezers do you have set up in your life and what do you need to remember today? Honor Him by remembering.</span></div>
Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-37418275574412659682014-01-31T00:18:00.000-05:002014-01-31T00:18:48.729-05:00RadiantAs I said before, I spent last weekend at a women's conference in Florence called <a href="http://hisproposal.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">His Proposal</a>. It was a wonderful renewing weekend for me, and I'm so glad I went. I cannot tell you how much I needed to hear what was spoken. One of the first things that reached its way down into my heart and set the tone for the rest of the weekend (I want to say it was Jennie who said it) was the story of Moses, after he had seen God on Mt. Sinai. When he came back down the mountain, his face was shining. <br />
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<b><span class="text">When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with
the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his
face was <span style="background-color: yellow;">radiant</span> because he had spoken with the </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="text">.</span></b></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Exodus
34:29</span></span> </b><br />
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She said there is no one as beautiful as one who has been with God. And I knew that I wanted that kind of beauty to be seen in me. I could strive to attain beauty by the world's standard. Or I could just be with Jesus, and He would make me beautiful. A hunger for more of the word of God and time with Him began to grow in me.<br />
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You see, when I was a senior in high school my youth pastor at the time, stopped and made a comment to me that I will never forget. He talked about how some guy was going to be lucky someday to have me and he would need to know that "there are some days that you just shine." And I knew it too. It was like the beauty of the Lord in me was at last confirmed by someone outside of me.<br />
<br />
Since then I have always known that I wanted a man to see me shine, to recognize the beauty of the Lord in me, to see me as He sees me. A couple of months ago I was really thinking about how I wished to be seen me that way, and then our women's Bible study wrote encouragement notes to each other. Half the ladies wrote something about me shining or glowing or being radiant. It was like they knew! God did! I was beaming just reading their sweet notes. I am seen and known!<br />
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That statement that Jennie made was like handing me a key. So the more I am with the Lord, the more beautiful I will become? Yes! I desire that beauty! More on the Word tomorrow...Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-67157503330910279032014-01-29T18:29:00.000-05:002014-01-29T18:29:28.068-05:00Jehovah Jireh<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">"But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May You shelter them, and may those who love Your name <u><b>boast about You</b></u>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield." -Psalm 5:11-12</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyCQg7Emx2ls1a-z-7tGOMlvSsynCsSwGbJRS9xCk4djxMOm0KlJ7K4RJofw-0B-nWBOC2x9eeKwfbZld4pHrPBf8By21R_uHkkFNNl40P5Zrpmobd6xWtpc5gmbV_0j-HpyvhYbo6MDP/s1600/joy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyCQg7Emx2ls1a-z-7tGOMlvSsynCsSwGbJRS9xCk4djxMOm0KlJ7K4RJofw-0B-nWBOC2x9eeKwfbZld4pHrPBf8By21R_uHkkFNNl40P5Zrpmobd6xWtpc5gmbV_0j-HpyvhYbo6MDP/s1600/joy.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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From Pinterest (origins unknown)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I'm sitting here while a blanket of snow is falling quietly outside, thinking about what The Lord has done and is doing in my life. This past weekend I was at a weekend conference for young women at a church in town. I almost didn't go. Why would I give up my weekend to sit with a bunch of women and hear a bunch of things I probably already knew? Somehow The Lord would not let me say no, even though most of my friends were not going. So I said yes. And I am so glad I did. Today, I'm not going to write about my experience at the conference, though I'm sure I will soon. Today I am prompted to write some of what God has brought to my mind as a result of the conference.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">As I wrote at the end of 2013, a lot has happened in the year and a half that I wasn't writing. While I felt no need to recount it all at the time, I was sorely mistaken. God wants us to remember what He has done for us, and I don't want to rob Him of the glory for what He has done in my life. I want to boast about Him. To brag on The Lord for a bit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I have to be reminded about the Lord's provision a shameful number of times. At the times I am waiting for the Lord to provide, He has to remind me of the divine ways He has provided for me in the past, to keep me from whining about the present (impatient much?) and to continue in hope and dependence towards the future. He has provided oh so clearly and beautifully my whole life, the fact that I still doubt is ridiculous.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">One thing that I will say that I gained from the His Proposal conference last weekend was a renewal of hope and of my dependence on Him. I have in some ways prided myself on not speaking on this topic, but while I don't want to dwell here, the label on this season of my life is "single." Now I can fill my life with all kinds of wonderful things and people. I am good at that. No one can accuse me of not having a full life. But at the end of the day there is still this slight ache and a feeling of missing something. I'm not going to open a can of worms here, but what I heard from the ladies at His Proposal and these reminders the Lord gave me leave me confident that my Lord is a God who provides, Jehovah Jireh. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">So let me share about this past year and a half...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">I moved back to my small hometown of Florence, SC basically in August of 2012 to look for a job. I had no intentions whatsoever of staying here after years in Atlanta and West Palm Beach. While I knew I needed to start my career, my heart is not to be a career driven woman. More than anything I want to start a family, and Florence is not exactly crawling with young, Jesus-loving men. In fact, church was another issue. I had learned so much about the Lord in my time away that I could not imagine going back to my home church. It did not fit me anymore and was an invitation to complacency. But almost all of the churches here are dead, dying, or well not for me. So I just knew that a larger, younger, bustling city would be the right move for me. Only I had to find a job.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">It's not easy to find a job these days, and my profession makes it even more difficult. I had a job offer in Florence within a month of being home. But I had barely begun to look elsewhere so I turned it down. Trying ever so hard to leave this town.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Enter Rachael. Within my first couple of months home 2 people had told me about this girl who had also just graduated with a counseling degree and was looking for a job. They thought we would be great friends. Spurred on by the Lord I made a call and then another one, which led to an awkward voice mail message, which led to instant friendship. It was all God. She was my first new Florence friend, and the true beginning of a brand new life here in Florence. I was so grateful.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">After Rachael and I's first lunch together, we had both wanted to find a church to get involved in and were both excited to go looking together. For two months we searched, not excited about anywhere. Then, it's as if a church appeared out of no where. A tiny church had opened on the other side of town, pastored by a man I knew and thought highly of when I was in high school. I knew the first Sunday that was it. I didn't know a soul, but I threw my whole self in.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Some of you have read my exhausting stories of my previous church failures and successes in Atlanta. Be prepared to have your mind blown...In less than 1 month I knew more people at that church than I did at both Atlanta churches in those 3 years. I'm not talking about people I met once and then forgot. There were probably a hundred of those. But this was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. God. All glory to God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Then I got involved in the youth a month and a half after starting at that church. And met my second new Florence friend. Our hearts beat as one for the teenage girls at our church, and we were together almost nonstop.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">All the while I was fighting my hardest to spread my wings and fly far far away. It doesn't sound like I was, but the Lord had clearly told me that my life was not on hold while I waited for a job. I didn't get a "Get out of church free" card or a "Get out of serving" card or a "Spend all your time on self" card. Many jobs waved hello and quickly goodbye to me, and I rode on an emotional roller coaster for months upon months. But I wasn't allowed to get off even when I wanted to, because I was single and must have a job.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">It wasn't until March that I finally surrendered. It was when I realized that I was just as scared of leaving Florence as I was of staying in Florence that I decided to go back to my first job offer and beg them to consider me again. It was not an immediate yes and there were concerns that I would not be able to have insurance. I showed up for what I thought was an interview or to discuss what they could offer me (expecting less than before). I showed up and they just started talking about when I would start and logistics. They offered me more money than they had previously and insurance was covered. It was a dream. Seriously, it was more than I ever could have possibly asked for in a first job, and I get to work within my specialization. It was God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">All that remained for the start of a brand new life here was to be out of my parents' house. My youth leader friend started inviting me over to this girl's house every Monday for a dinner get together. There were four of us and we really enjoyed each other. The girl was looking for a roommate and after six weeks of getting to know each other we decided to be roomies! I was terrified the moment I said I would move in, because I had just started my new job, I didn't have to pay rent at home, and home was comfortable. But again. I just knew somehow that it was right and worth taking the risk. God knit it all perfectly together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Honestly, I put a lot of effort into a lot of things the last year and and half. None of my striving is what brought me my whole new Florence life. I did things. Yeah. But I cannot deny that God orchestrated all of this. It has been exactly what I needed. Every single time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">So here's to Jehovah Jireh. My provider. Your grace is sufficient for me.</span></span></div>
Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-5704937124015490732014-01-20T18:28:00.000-05:002014-01-20T18:28:46.938-05:00Dance Walking<div style="text-align: center;">
As I was talking with some friends over lunch the other day, the topic of dance walking came up. In light of my recent post I have decided to share the wonder that is dance walking...</div>
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You are welcome.</div>
Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-75773075363666041722014-01-18T23:32:00.000-05:002014-01-18T23:36:19.489-05:00Just Dance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A couple of weeks ago I woke up with a revelation that I had let my life become boring. </div>
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I had become so practical and hard working and serious and tired and sad and blah, blah, blah. I'm not that girl! I want to be a classy and respectable woman, but that does not have to mean stuffy and unbearably serious. I was taking an image a little too far. Part of it was due to the fact that I am a young girl trying to be taken seriously as a counselor. But I don't want to become boring based on a possibility that someone might question my qualifications. I want to be me and at that, the best me. So what's a girl to do when she wants to reclaim an exciting life, a front row life? Dance!</div>
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I went to town! Crazy, fun town! I decided I want to start and end everyday letting loose and dancing my heart out. Laughing at myself. Enjoying my self. Not taking life too seriously. And everywhere I looked there was something about dance. I have been feeling the benefits of it. I smile more, stress less, am more relaxed, and overall feel like I am breathing more life back into myself.</div>
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It's funny, because just a couple of months ago I wrote out this little prayer (below). I believe the Holy Spirit lives in me. And I want to be someone He can be active in. I want to hear his voice and respond. I want my life to be filled with God adventures. Because those are the best kind of adventures. And part of that is freeing myself to be the person God made me to be. My heart is a dancing heart. As long as I've been a Christian, dancing has been an act of worship for me. I love it. When I was younger I got to share some of that with my church through interpretive dance. People would always comment that they could see that I was truly worshiping. And I always found it funny, because I never got up there for a performance. </div>
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A couple of years ago I went to a prayer night at my church and there were some artists praying and painting prophetic art pieces for those who were being prayed for. This was the painting that a lady painted for me. When she gave it to me she said the Lord had given her a picture of a dancer that was like a butterfly. She spoke about the connection between dancing and freedom in my life. So that 's what I equate dancing to. Freedom.<br />
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Heaven will be an eternity of worship. And we will be perfect and completely free. I cannot wait to dance for Him. Seriously. I just know that all of the songs I've choreographed in my head will come to life before my Creator. Such joy.<br />
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I've never had a dance class. I take that back. There was a season of tap dance in first grade. I might have stuck with it, if it weren't for the hideous yellow and black recital ensemble I was forced to wear. I've also dealt with more than my share of social anxiety and ran from too many social opportunities to dance for me to count. The moments I remember that I just cut loose and danced are precious treasures that have pushed me to loosen up and propelled me onto the dance floor as life has gone on.<br />
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I could talk a lot on this topic, but my point is this. Don't let your life be boring. Maybe it's not dancing. Maybe it's something else. But do it. Today. And don't have a boring relationship with God. He isn't boring, and He invites you to have an exciting walk with Him!<br />
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Photo credits: <a href="http://www.slapcaption.com/front-row-rollercoaster-dress/" target="_blank">Photo 1</a>, Photo 2(unknown), <a href="http://8fact.com/" target="_blank">Photo3</a>, <a href="http://navy-blondeshell.tumblr.com/image/28485664136" target="_blank">Photo 4</a>, Photo 5(unknown), Photo 6 & 7 (mine)Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-31465888934707341072013-12-31T00:53:00.000-05:002013-12-31T00:53:08.492-05:00The Comparison GameIt's been almost a year and a half since I last wrote here. A long year and a half. I've gotten a job. Moved out. Started working in my church's youth group. Stopped working in my church's youth group. Learned a lot. A lot. I won't rehash it all.<br />
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I come back with no empty promises or goals to write X number of times a day, week, month, year. I'm don't even really want people to know I'm writing again. Well I guess I wouldn't write here if that were the case. Maybe it's that I don't really want most of the people I know to read this, those who will form opinions about me or judge me for my writing. In fact, I was in a tizzy just this week for someone judging me for less than that. I couldn't imagine that someone would act as if they knew me when they haven't tried to get to know me.<br />
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We all do it. We think we know someone's intentions. We think we know what people are thinking. We think we know what people are feeling, experiencing, being. You know. The guy pulls out in front of you or cuts you off in traffic, and how many things do you attribute to him? Stupid. Reckless. Inconsiderate. Probably too old to have a car. Or too young. But when we do it...It doesn't seem to go both ways.<br />
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I've been caught up in this a lot lately. The comparison game. And it just goes to show the ugliness that is still in my heart. I have this desire to expose what is ugly and broken in others, while hoping that others will overlook the ugliness in me. I despise fakeness. And I hate when others can't see through fakeness. Especially when it comes to the Lord. I feel this grave sense of injustice that must be made right. I hate when God's name is tossed around for personal gain. I hate watching people who claim Christ's name so adamantly and do not walk in love. And I hate that I feel this way.<br />
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I am not a judge. There's too many planks in my own eyes for that. But my spirit has been trained to be sensitive to the real and not just the perceived. To see the heart and not just the outward appearance. I truly believe that I was made to be a counselor. It serves me well and has blessed me with very deep and rich relationships with wonderful, God-loving people.<br />
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But then there are days when I get so undone by the truth of others' failures and great grievances against me and against God that I fail to extend the grace I so desperately crave myself. My pastor just spoke on the inseparable nature of grace and truth this past Sunday. And I still miss it. All. the. time.<br />
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And God is just so smooth in how He redirects, corrects, and refines us. I was caught up in this comparison game. And I was labeling people as Pharisees who wear the bells and pray in public. And I literally picked up my Bible in outrage to read the verses that prove that they are the wrong ones. That I am right in my indignation. And I started to see the tables turning. I was the one looking for spiritual brownie points. I was the one feeling overlooked and scrambling to be seen, to prove that I was worth something more, because I didn't do what those "sinners" did. I was screaming for God's attention, and at my core I was wanting to do exactly what I saw people doing. I just knew it wasn't God's desire.<br />
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He gently led me. Oh how I love His gentleness. He softened me and He spoke to me. "God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; He'll reward you well." (Matthew 6:18, The Message)<br />
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How He loves.<br />
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When we stop the comparison game. When we stop trying to find our security elsewhere. When we remember God sees us, He hears us, He loves us. That is when we find rest. That is when we find peace and become people of peace. And that is when we discover who we have been divinely designed to be. In that place, I love me. And I can't imagine trying to be anyone else. :) Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-55701224605599215842012-08-11T01:08:00.001-04:002012-08-11T01:13:34.142-04:00He will come like the rainRight now I am sitting in my sister's new apartment in Birmingham listening to the rain pour down and am reminded of God's passionate pursuit of His people. Last night I had a dream, well a nightmare really. And although God doesn't often speak to me in dreams, there are times when He does. Now, I don't keep a dream journal and I rarely analyze my dreams, but God has spoken to me clearly through the use of dreams just enough for me to pay attention to them.<br />
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Last night was one of those times. If you would have asked me what the dream was about this morning I could have told you. Now, I could not tell you. What I can tell you is that the message and the feeling I won't forget. I was barely conscious of what was happening, but it was going on inside of me and externally in the room around me. It was a battle, and I awoke literally gasping for air.<br />
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Fear gripped me for a moment. I said a prayer acknowledging God's power in the moment and asking for assistance. He was there. Suddenly I knew there was a battle going on in the spirit realm, a fight between Good and evil.<br />
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God confronted me and told me I had turned to idols. He told me to list them and repent. I did, as well as repenting of every other sin I could think of. Idols? Me? I knew it was true. I listed them so easily. Some were harder to repent of than others. Even though I was fighting against gripping fear, I told Him He was my Prince of Peace and asked for Him to send me back to sleep. I woke up this morning with an odd sense of peace about me.<br />
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The reality of the night's spiritual warfare sat with me from the moment I first opened my eyes. As I got ready for the day, I kept singing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWC3J4Wz0wo" target="_blank">this song</a>, "I believe He will come like the rain...." over and over and over. I had already been singing this song due to a <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/199495458464603616/" target="_blank">pin</a> from Pinterest this week. But now it felt significant.<br />
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(print can be purchased <a href="http://society6.com/AshleyPyeatt/Like-Rain_Print" target="_blank">here</a>)</div>
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I grabbed one of my sister's Bibles off of her shelf and asked the Lord where to read. This verse was from Hosea and it speaks of an unfaithful people and Israel's turning to idols. I figured I would start there. I turned to Hosea and it fell to a daily devotional reading labeled "A Prayer of Repentance." Hmm, that sounds familiar. Turns out God told Israel exactly what He wanted them to say and exactly how he would answer them in chapter 14, the last chapter. (Gotta love a good ending.) It seems God was asking the same thing of me.</div>
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I turned back to chapter six to read the verse from the song. The whole verse reads, "Let's try to learn about the Lord, he will come to us as surely as the dawn comes. He will come to us like rain, like the spring rain that waters the ground."(Hosea 6:3 NCV). </div>
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Ladies and gentlemen, I think after a year and a half of running and fumbling and holding on to the way things are for dear life, I cannot continue to learn about the Lord without His Word, the Sword of the Spirit. And apparently I need the Sword for this battle I believe we are all fighting, whether we want to or not. He has actually been nudging me for quite some time to return to daily Bible reading, but I have been more than a little resistant. I surrender.</div>
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Earlier this year the Lord used this song to really do a work in my heart. I love the way He speaks to me. I want to hear Him more. I'm still fine tuning my listening skills.</div>
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Song: Only One, By Harvest Bashta one of the worship leaders at my church when I was in Atlanta.</div>
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<br />Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-69958425336511914322012-07-13T16:50:00.000-04:002012-07-15T22:55:24.371-04:00Jerome the Gnome goes to RomeJerome had been taking a break from his travels for awhile to support me in my last year of grad school. I thought it was time to reward him with an international trip to Italy and Germany. Okay, it was really for me, but I did take him. He even got to meet the Pope. Well, sort of.<div>
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Here are some of my favorites of him, before I take a few days to show you my favorites of the trip as a whole. So without further ado....Jerome the traveling gnome in Rome...and Venice and Haltern and Cologne. </div>
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Inside the Coliseum</div>
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The Pantheon</div>
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Fountain at Piazza Navona</div>
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The Trevi Fountain</div>
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As I'm taking pictures of Jerome at the Trevi Fountain this man walks up to me, asks me about Jerome, and tells me his girls are doing the same thing...but with the Pope. They wanted a picture with Jerome but were afraid I might be Catholic and find it offensive. But I'm not Catholic, and it's not every day you get to meet the pope. This was their pope's first time to Rome. I tell you what, Jerome always makes friends.</div>
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St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice</div>
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Hey look, it's a gondola! *Sigh* You may not be able to tell by his face, but I know he was loving every minute of this trip just like I was. I love Italy. No, I really love Italy. No, I really really love Italy.</div>
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Overlooking downtown Nuremberg, Germany</div>
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Making another friend in a store front in Haltern</div>
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532 stairs is a lot of stairs for anyone, especially a gnome. The top of the bell tower at the the Cologne Cathedral</div>
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By the Rhine River in Cologne. Fun times.</div>
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Can't wait to see where he goes next! Any exciting trips coming up for you? Wanna take Jerome?</div>
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<br /></div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-34142842167402047342012-07-13T15:33:00.000-04:002012-07-13T15:33:00.158-04:00SummerO, I have been having so much fun!!! Seriously, I love summer. And this has been an especially fun one, probably because the past two I was in school and working...And beginning next year I will work every summer indefinitely. I am soaking in every second.<br />
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Here's the quick overview which will be broken down over the next few weeks with lots of pictures capturing (rather flatly I would say) the wonderfulness that has been my summer. First, a marathon trip across Italy and Germany, a quick trip to Atlanta for an appointment, spending time with friends, and meeting my friends' brand new baby boy, followed by Hillary's wedding in Augusta, a trip with the Glanvilles to the beach, only to come home and turn <span style="background-color: white;">right back </span><span style="background-color: white;">around to the beach with my family. I've been at home for a week now helping to organize and clean my parents' house(no small task), and in an hour or less I will be back on the road with my family to Birmingham to help find my sister an apartment. When we come back Sunday, I will leave Thursday to go to Atlanta again, be back to organize some more for a week, then I have jury duty, right before going to Mississippi to be in my friend Kayla's wedding. My sister will have moved into her new apartment in Birmingham that weekend, and as I drive back I will stop and stay with her for a few days to help her set up her new apartment. Then it's home to finish the work I began here and ending the summer with a big yard sale/bake sale.</span><br />
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I'm not sure if this goes without saying, but I haven't been looking for a job. I started the summer hoping to have a job to start in July or August, and believe me I am ready to start real life back soon. But summer begs to be enjoyed, and I have been doing exactly that. Work will come. Right now, I will enjoy some time with my family and friends while I play.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-60647115614565836642012-05-21T23:23:00.000-04:002012-05-21T23:23:21.468-04:00So Long Apartment by the ChattahoocheeThis week I am living in an empty apartment. I found some old pictures from when I first moved in and thought you could reminisce with me....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our outside space complete with Albert the albino frog. He lived on our patio for a few weeks. We were tight. I miss him. Okay, not so much. You'll notice I also have a flamingo in one of my pots, and my gnome Freddy in the flowers on the table. What can I say? I'm weird. And the inside...</div>
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This was before curtains, lamps, wall hangings, an extra chair, and new pillows. Want a drab to fab makeover? Curtains and lamps do wonders!</div>
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A perk to having an engaged roommate...fresh flowers. :)</div>
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The kitchen was small but worked for us...most of the time.</div>
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bathroom</div>
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bedroom, I had to flip the bedding after awhile, because the large bright flowers became a bit much.</div>
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Imagine a couple of brightly painted mirrors on the wall. Yep, that's about right.</div>
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O, there's my mirrors on the floor. Yes, pile on the floor by my chair, that's about right too.</div>
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Well, there you have it. My past year in pictures. I've had a lot of good times in that apartment. I will miss this place dearly. I will miss the river and the trails and the coffee shop and the free book of the month. Mostly I will miss this...</div>
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Thanks for a good year Hillary! I will miss nights of Alias, swapping crazy hospital stories, and overall enjoying spending time with you and getting to know you. You've been an awesome roommate, and I wish you the best as you share your life with Justin!</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-70649748581487799032012-05-20T23:31:00.001-04:002012-05-20T23:31:41.596-04:00My Journey: Part 7, The End of the BeginningPart of why I never finished the posts about my spiritual journey was that there was never a final conclusion that I could tie a pretty bow on. I am still a work in progress. I am still on the journey. I've had moments where I feel as if I'm walking backwards and others when I see forward motion.<br />
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I've been at a new church for over a year now. And most of the time I have a friend going with me. When she can't, I still want to go even if that means sitting by myself. Huge improvement. If I were honest though, I have struggled with some of the same things at this church as I did with the last church. I think that it makes sense when you take into account that I'm not perfect and neither is any church. But this church has been a blessing, and I know and have relationships with many more people than I did at the other church...and in less time.<br />
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But as I look back I can see some of the bigger picture and how God in His omniscience orchestrated my being at both of those churches for the length of time that He did. I learned some very specific and powerful things about God and the Holy Spirit from both churches. He is painting a picture with my life. Although it looks like a mess now, it will soon be a masterpiece.<br />
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I wrote in August about learning about grace, and I still am. Add to that learning about God's goodness and learning to hear God's voice and you have enough for me to work on for the rest of my life.<br />
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You already know I just graduated and am moving, but as I look to an unknown future, I can tell you that I have peace in the midst of uncertainty. The Lord goes ahead of me. He walks beside me and behind me. He is in me and works through me. This sounds super spiritual and Christiany, but the past three years have proven that in my life. I'm growing to trust God in ways that I have previously been unable to do. Our relationship is deepening and deepening.<br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+42:7&version=NIV" style="color: #b37162; text-decoration: none;">Psalm 42:7</a></strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Deep</b></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">calls</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">to</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>deep</b></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.</span>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-44623307638743909392012-05-20T00:41:00.000-04:002012-05-20T00:41:13.512-04:00The Breakfast Club...more than just a movieI have an obsessive personality. (Note to self: This is probably not a good way to start a post.) I get extremely passionate and over the top about a given thing, topic, or person for a period of time, and then I'm on to the next thing. My current obsession: fine china. Weird. I know. When I was growing up, my mom would drag me into Mikasa and Lenox stores, and I would whine the whole time. She loved china. My dad would always be asking how many china patterns she had. I never really cared about it.<br />
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Then out of no where BAM! I started oohing and ahing over china. First, it was just visiting a few antique shops. Now it is so out of control that I will have to post about this twice to even cover it. It is embarrassing. Once I started my collection, I realized I didn't want to be one of those people who buys or registers for china but never uses it. I also needed an excuse in the midst of my crazy busy life to get together with my friends.<br />
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Thus began the breakfast club. I planned a girls get together one Saturday a month for my friends to come over, eat a light breakfast off of fine china, and spend a couple of hours together. It was such a fun experience. I loved putting together the tables and having my friends just come and be. I told them the only thing fancy was the dishes, because I certainly didn't want it to feel stuffy or pressured. I took lots of pictures of my tables each month, but I forgot to get pictures once my friends arrived. By that time I had forgotten about pictures and just enjoyed my time with them. Here are just a couple of pictures...<br />
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If you look closely, you can see that the pictures have two different china patterns...I told you it was bad....you just don't know how bad. I will disclose fully to you soon, but tonight I must rest. It's been a very busy weekend for me.</div>
<br />Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-15337011597010082012-05-19T00:55:00.000-04:002012-05-19T00:55:19.555-04:00SpongeBob SquarePantsAnother random post...I'm in the midst of packing and moving so random will have to do until Sunday. So, I've never been a SpongeBob fan, but for some odd reason he has shown up in my life a few times to make me laugh. The first time was for my sister's birthday when she was probably twelve or so. She was into SpongeBob, and my mom had bought SpongeBob decorations to decorate a table for my sister and her friends at my church's pancake dinner fundraiser. I was in charge of putting out the decorations. I pulled out the table cloth and busted out laughing. I went to find my mom to tell her we couldn't use the table cloth. All around the table it said SpongeBob Nudypants. My youth pastor helped go around and black out all of the NudyPants. Hilarious.<br />
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Then SpongeBob came back into my life this past year as a little plastic toy in my roommate's Cheerios box. He was just sitting there for days until I finally decided to move him around the apartment in random places where my roommate would find him. First, on top of the hall mirror. Then in the fridge with her daily Diet Cokes. Then on her bedside table. Hillary finally decided to play along. He has been everywhere around the apartment...I love his eyes. He just looks sneaky.<br />
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These are only a few of the fun places he has been found, but I have to say that my latest hide takes the cake for all time best SpongeBob SquarePants hideout. I put him in Hillary's graduation hood. I thought I had put him in her sleeve, so when we were all getting our robes on I asked her if she had found anything in her sleeve. She didn't, so I told her I had put SpongeBob in there. We thought we had lost him until she came up to me after the ceremony and told me that right before she had gone up on stage to get her diploma, after the millionth time of standing and sitting she sat on him and realized he was in her hood and she couldn't get him out. So, he got to walk across the stage with her. :) </div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-44542020457862073852012-05-17T23:55:00.000-04:002012-05-17T23:55:13.923-04:00The Mystery AntOkay, so this post is a little random, but for about a year now I have had an metal ant in my front yard. And I have no idea where it came from. The day it arrived, I asked my roommate if she had bought it even though it didn't seem like the kind of thing she would have/buy. We had a good laugh when she told me she was afraid to ask me about it, because the thing is a little...well, odd. I've never been one for eclectic garden statuary, but she was afraid I had bought it and didn't want to offend. We laughed even more as we weeded out the possibilities. We asked our neighbors if they had put it out there. Dead end. I asked my friends if they had done it as a joke. Dead end. Even my neighbors thought it was a little creepy. We joked about secret admirers and creepy stalkers. Here's what the little guy looks like...<br />
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Then, a few months later we got another gifted piece of yard art...<br />
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I opened the blinds of my apartment one morning, and there it was brightly waving in the breeze. I was rolling. Hilarious. It had to be a friend. After some interrogations, I found out it was my friends who put the flag out there...But no one knows who was responsible for the ant. He still sits out there to this day. We don't like him, but it's too funny a story to throw him out. I think he will be paying a visit to someone else's yard very soon!</div>
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<br />Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-16780803572878624222012-05-16T20:40:00.000-04:002012-05-16T20:40:15.577-04:00My 25th BirthdayA few weeks ago I turned 25, my quarter century birthday. My friend Brandy chopped quite a few inches off my hair the week before, and I was beginning to feel a bit older, maybe finally even my age. This was probably my best birthday ever. At least top 3, right up there next to my fifth birthday pirate/1st sleepover party(We went on a treasure hunt and had to dig up a real treasure chest with all of the party favors. You really can't beat that.). I really thought my birthday was going to fly by without notice seen as it was sandwiched in between the National Counselors Exam and finals, but I was wrong.<br />
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My friends came together and gave me one of the most wonderful parties a girl could ask for. There is no word to describe all that I was feeling that day. The whole day was beautiful. I was able to spend the day with the people I've come to know and love so well. Everywhere I've been in my life I have always had the group of unlikely friends, people so unique that no one would have ever put together. Somehow we work and work well. It is so beautiful to see us all together. They really do feel like family. Even my friends who came that didn't know everyone else were instantly welcomed in as one of family. I love being a part of a group like that.<br />
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My friend Jamie who threw me the party at her beautiful new house made the whole thing very special. She had gotten all of my friends to send her reasons why they love me, and she wrote up a page of 25 reasons why we love Carrie. And they were all very personal. It felt so good to be known and loved by my friends. The theme of the party was cupcakes, because I love them so much. Each person brought a different kind of cupcake to the party. It was fabulous! Add in church, free Moe's, Alias, and gifts, and you have the best birthday ever. I had such a good day that I had no problem writing a paper and studying for my final that evening. Thanks to everyone who made the day so special!<br />
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Stay tuned for tomorrow's write-up!Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-45774480906500927952012-05-15T23:44:00.000-04:002012-05-15T23:44:08.824-04:00I'm back!Aaaaaa...I'm finally back and better than ever! ;) Over the next seven days I hope to have you caught up on all that has been going on in my life over the past year and then to write consistently from this moment on. That is my plan. Although, my plans have a way of getting changed by Someone with more authority than I have. Until then, here is today's big news and reason for my time to dedicate to blogging...<br />
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On Saturday, May 5, 2012, I, Carrie F. Lusk, graduated from Richmont Graduate University with a Master of Arts Degree in Professional Counseling!! Thank you Jesus that school is over! Internship is over! Studying, reading, writing, crying(j/k) is over! I am so happy! Since then I have watched 3 seasons of 30 Rock, which is one of the dumbest shows I have ever watched, and I love it. My brain loves it. I can feel my brain hugging me at this very moment. I have also gone to the beach and slept a lot and not gotten out of my pajamas til the afternoon. It's beautiful. Soon real life will start again, and I will be fully prepared. But today I will enjoy every moment at turtle pace.<br />
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A few things must be said about graduation. One is that my sister graduated on the same day from Charleston Southern University. Yay sissy! This means that my family had to figure out how to be in two places at once. As amazing as they are, until the invention of teleportation devices, they had a choice to make. I did not want them to have to make that choice, so I made it for them. All family was banned from my graduation.<br />
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My friends in Atlanta have been the best second family a girl could have, and I was glad to have my friends Melissa and Cameron as my stand in mom and dad. They were amazing and took my pictures and took me out to eat and bought me a cupcake carrier. Sweetness. Also, I loved being with my Richmont family which have come to mean so much to me. Everything was so special.<br />
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And even with the distance my parents were very much present and made my day very special. They sent me the most beautiful flower arrangement to Melissa's parents' home where I was staying for the weekend. They were so sneaky and used facebook and the white pages to find the number and address to send me the flowers, which were waiting for me upon my arrival to their home. I felt so loved.<br />
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And Melissa's parents were so amazing and hospitable! They are in the midst of remodeling their home and both having serious health maladies, yet they took me in no questions asked and prepared a beautiful room for me. They even had bought a gift for me. It was all so overwhelming.<br />
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Over the past few weeks the Lord has been proving His love for me and using other people to really bless me beyond belief! The Lord is a proud dad, and I feel as if I am being showered with blessings now that I have stayed the course and finished this work that He began in me over 3 years ago. A lesson learned in perseverance.<br />
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Until tomorrow,<br />
CarrieCarriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-17304264572897272462012-02-08T21:29:00.001-05:002012-02-08T21:29:53.210-05:00Heavy HeartToday I just have a heavy heart. If only I could share all that I see on a day to day basis. I've been interning for a residential psychiatric hospital working with mostly late elementary school and middle school girls for almost 4 months now. This place is where kids go when they aren't stable enough to go anywhere else. They are either a danger to themselves or to others. I see children who have tried to murder members of their families. I see children who have trauma histories that you wouldn't believe if I told you. I see kids who often lose touch with reality. I see children who have tried to hurt themselves in ways that would make anyone cringe. I see emotions at their extreme.Every day is a new story.<br />
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As I leave...often much later than I expected...I take a deep, cleansing breath in and let it all out as I exhale. Still, some days there is still the lingering feeling of heaviness of heart, a deep-rooted sense of heartache and longing for Eden.<br />
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Almost every Sunday my church sings this song that has become my anthem for these girls. It goes,<br />
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"You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of us."-Gungor's Beautiful Things<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;">"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:10</span>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-69943613626280054752011-12-18T20:55:00.000-05:002011-12-18T20:56:46.974-05:00Carrie the Elf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a picture with my old college roommates in the Rinker pit at PBA 5 years ago. You see my pants? Do I look like I came for a photo or to help Santa and Mrs. Claus? This post is dedicated to my friend (the lovely lady on the left) Michelle who chose the topic of my crazy red pants for my first post back to the blog. She is also responsible for convincing me to start writing on the blog again. So, here's to Michelle...and the pants.Yikes.<br />
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The pants began their reign of terror about 8 years ago. The only good thing about them is that after 8 years they still fit. I decided two years ago it was time to retire them. No more Carrie the Elf. You see, I would wear them every year for Christmas parties and such with a bright green shirt. Yikes.<br />
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One thing you should know about me, I am overly festive. I go a little nutty around the holidays. So, every year around Christmas I would don the red pants and feel like a million bucks. Until a few years ago when I came to the realization that I was dangerously close to becoming the old lady with the Christmas tree sweater with jingle bell ornaments hanging from it. Yikes.<br />
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That is too closely reminiscent of a time in my life when I was completely clueless about the clothes I wore. In 5th and 6th grade I dressed like an old lady. I wish I was kidding. I was the fat kid with big glasses and thick bangs, hair parted down the middle, and braces. I have sworn off all of those things for the rest of my life. Let me describe one of the worst of my outfits. There was this dress, a denim, shapeless dress with a button on vest. Sounds horrid, I know, but that isn't the worst of it. My favorite part was that the vest was reversible, flowers on one side, bird houses on the other. O, yikes.<br />
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This is so embarrassing.<br />
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And some would try to blame my mom for letting me wear such terrible things, but she told me they looked like stuff old ladies would wear. I just thought they were awesome. And my mom had such a hard time finding things that would fit me, so she would cave. Man was I ever clueless. Sometimes, I am still clueless. I look back on an outfit and think, "What was I thinking?" Then came the pants.<br />
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You've heard of burning of the greens after Christmas. This year, I think it's time for burning of the reds.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-2864625313632038692011-08-16T11:42:00.000-04:002011-08-16T11:42:02.360-04:00My Journey: Part 6I have been on vacation for a week now, so thanks for waiting patiently on the next part. Your comments have been so sweet and encouraging. I'm thinking I'll only write one more part to this series after this. But my journey is not ending, only beginning.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">I told you about the <a href="http://www.chattingatthesky.com/category/31-days-of-grace/page/3/">31 Days of Grace</a> blog I have been reading. Well, I’m halfway through and boy is it hitting me in all the wrong places…or the right ones, I suppose. The next part of my story is when I began to start seeing glimpses of grace everywhere. And yet apparently I am still on the journey of grace. I felt Emily explained it perfectly on her 13th day of grace. She said she felt like all she had to share was a pocket full of vanilla jelly beans instead of a single colorful everlasting gobstopper. So my story is just that. A single vanilla jellybean. There are plenty more moments when I have been overtaken by grace, but I can’t give you one beautiful story to blow you away and make you comprehend God’s grace.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And I think that’s just how God works. We can’t have it all at once. Or even handle it all at once. It isn’t something to be achieved. We can’t control it or earn it. He gives it. Moment by moment. One single jelly bean at a time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was April when I actually went to my favorite Christian bookstore. The same chain store I had memorized as a teenager I hadn’t stepped foot in for months. It was my love of savings and all things frugal that brought me there. I had a coupon, a really good special birthday coupon. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I went thinking I would pick up some new music or one of the books I had been eyeing the fall before. Even if I wasn’t ready to read it yet, I could have at least gotten it for when things were back to normal again. (That hasn’t happened yet.) So I looked. I wasn’t really looking for anything new. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason for me picking up that book that day. It can only be the working of the Holy Spirit. I say that with certainty.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The name of the book was <i>Craving Grace</i> by Lisa Velthouse. The last thing I want to do is start a theological debate, and I don’t consider myself a Calvinist; but there was something irresistible about that book. I bought it. And although I didn’t really have time for it, being around final exam time, I couldn’t seem to put the book down. I haven’t been able to say that about a book in a long time. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t think I can explain it to you, except that it was like the book was written about me, to me. It was a memoir and the girl was learning lessons I was either beginning to learn or was yet to learn. I was completely captured by this thing called grace. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Reading this book marked the beginning of my being able to see light at the end of the tunnel…</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-3093848976793195532011-08-04T01:03:00.000-04:002011-08-04T01:03:49.457-04:00My Journey: Part 5Some time on a Sunday in January I had a phone conversation with my mom that went something like this...<br />
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Mom: So where did you go to church today?<br />
Me: I decided just to stay home and get some rest today.<br />
Mom: You couldn't find a friend to go to church with this morning? Jamie? Andrea? Kelly?<br />
Me. I just decided to stay home and get some rest today<br />
Mom: Well maybe next week....<br />
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Some time on a Sunday in February I had a phone conversation with my mom that went something like this...<br />
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Mom: So have you gone to any new churches recently?<br />
Me: Yeah, I went to Kelly's church a couple of weeks ago.<br />
Mom: O great! And how was it?<br />
Me: It was good. All churches are kind of feeling the same.<br />
Mom: Well, I know you'll find the right place soon. You just have to keep looking<br />
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Some time on a Sunday in March I had a phone conversation with my mom that went something like this...<br />
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Mom: So what did you do today?<br />
Me: I just slept in and did some reading down by the river.<br />
Mom: O ok well your dad and I ...<br />
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These conversations look like they would come from a girl who didn't really care what her mom thinks about what she does and who she is, but I wouldn't say that is true of me. But from November until this past May I only tried about 5 different churches, and I usually didn't go back a second time. And while my mother was concerned about my faith, I just wasn't in a place to fix that. I needed something from God that couldn't be found in aimlessly wandering from church to church. I refused to go to church by myself, something I had been doing for a year and half.<br />
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Not only was I not going to church, I was tired and frustrated with all "good" Christian things. I stopped reading my Bible. I would not pick up Christian books. I didn't really pray for others.<br />
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And here's the hardest thing I had to wrestle with....God was giving me permission to do all these things, or I guess better put would be to not do these things. Do I recommend this or think God often tells people not to read their Bible or pray? No, not necessarily.<br />
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But I had been living off of a checklist of spiritual things that had lost their meaning. God didn't want me to read my Bible everyday because I felt like I had to. He wanted me to want Him.<br />
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There were times I felt like reading my Bible during those months, because I thought it would fix everything. And God would tell me no, not yet. Not as an obligation. Or as leverage. Or to feel better. But when you are drawn to it.<br />
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It was funny, how God started showing up in other ways. Through art. And nature. And people. And in really small, insignificant events.<br />
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And my prayer life was changing too. I wasn't wrapped up in praying specific things or specific ways for specific amounts of time. It was becoming an ongoing conversation. Brutally honest conversation. Raw. Unpolished. Unapologetic.<br />
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I had always had glimpses of these things, but now I was living in a much freer relationship with Him. There wasn't anything forced about it. I was learning "the unforced rhythms of grace."<br />
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Wow. I just had a moment. I couldn't figure out where I had heard that phrase, so I did what any 21st century person would do. I googled it. And though I don't think it's where I originally heard it, it's found in the Message, a modern translation of the Bible into everyday language. And although my hermeneutics professor might die to hear me quote from it, it has been the only translation I have picked up to read on my own, outside of church since January. God will use anything to speak to His children.<br />
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<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="color: #5c1101; margin-top: 10px;"><h3 style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Matthew 11:28-30</span></h3><div class="txt-sm" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Message (MSG)</span></div></div><div class="result-text-style-normal"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-MSG-10028" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;">28-30</sup>"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wow. Thank You, Jesus.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hang in there. We are getting close to being caught up. We just have March-July to go. I have shared my whole life with you in 5 posts. You are very patient readers. I would so love your feedback.</span></div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-17372931875075015342011-08-02T16:20:00.000-04:002012-04-06T20:49:46.841-04:00My Journey: Part 4bAll the while I was studying Acts, I was struggling in other areas too. I still didn't know hardly a soul at my church. I started Thursday night discipleship with 5 girls in my small group, which turned into 3, which turned into 2-me and the girl I was coming with from my school. I was really desperate, so I asked if we could join forces with another group. I know they had good hearts, but they didn't want to disrupt groups that had really taken off and started opening up to each other. The first time it was a no. Eventually, my friend stopped coming on Thursdays and so they let me join with another group.<br />
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I was placed in a group with 3 freshmen and a sophomore in college. Not ideal, but I figured it was a starting place. But they really couldn't get how lonely I was and how hard I was seeking to connect. Every answer I got was super spiritual and true, but not helpful or practical. Every Sunday, I would still almost always end up sitting by myself and would often leave without making any meaningful connection with anyone.<br />
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Towards the end of the study, I was at a meeting where leaders and students were talking about what changes they would like to see in the upcoming studies. One girl voiced that she would like to have more time to get to meet other people. This was met with an immediate response. Thursday night discipleship was just for discipleship. Not for meeting people. If you wanted to meet people, you could go to one of the age appropriate house churches. I was so upset by that response, as if trying to meet other people in the church and getting to know the church body was of lesser value than learning to studying the Bible . It was as if the girl had said, "Who cares about studying the Bible? I'm just here to find a nice, Christian boy to date." But I wasn't boy crazy, I was relationship starved.<br />
<br />
Up until that point, I had not been able to go on Wednesday nights to the young adults house church. And by the time I was, I was terrified of going by myself. It was held at a group of guys' house, and I didn't know any of them. Those were my excuses. Then I randomly met one of the guys who lived there, and he seemed welcoming enough. Then I met a girl who had been going there, and both of my excuses were shot. So I called up the girl who had been going and asked if we could go together. And we did.<br />
<br />
It only worked out that she could come that one time, so I spent the next few months awkwardly going by myself. People did not come very consistently to house church, and apparently most people already had friends that they came with. And the main church had 3 services, so I only saw some of those people on Sundays. It was not very conducive to developing deep relationships, and I was exhausted every time I left. Still, I went to every event I was invited to for house church.<br />
<br />
Invitation #1: Contra dancing on a Friday night. I had made friends with a girl who was only in Atlanta on a six week rotation at Emory (my luck), and I decided to go, since she would at least be there. There were only five people who went, and I really enjoyed it. But it did kinda feel like an awkward group, like we were the reject group from house church going to some uncool country hick dance. And there were 2 guys to 3 girls, which made dancing awkward.<br />
<br />
Invitation #2: Fun at O'Somethings pub after house church. This was where everyone went after house church. I just had to wait a month to be invited. In fact, more people showed up for food and drinks there than were at house church. I went into culture shock for a bit when I realized I was the only one at the table not ordering a drink with alcohol in it. (We didn't typically go out drinking after my Southern Baptist church get togethers.) We had fun, played a few games, and I was outta there before things got crazy.<br />
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Invitation#3 The Braves game. I even went to the cookout before the game. But somehow, at the game I got stuck on the end. Behind me were obnoxious people cheering for the other team. Beside me were some girls flirting with one of the boys and bragging about all of the spiritual stuff they had been doing, saving orphans and quoting Scripture and such. Thank goodness I brought a friend with me.<br />
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There were a couple of other things I went to, but overall my experience wasn't very positive.There were some who made me feel like an outcast and others who were inviting and friendly. But all of my trying was falling flat.<br />
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House church was growing, so they decided to do a split. I was placed in a group with none of the people I knew. They also decided we would read a book together, so we would all be studying the same thing. Read a book? In what time? I have 5 million other books I am reading. My group was also meeting far away from where I was working on Wednesdays, so if I made it, I would be late. I just quit.<br />
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At the same time the main church was growing and needed to find a new place for us. We were packing 400 in a room that comfortably sat 250. The fire marshall would come lock the front doors when we reached capacity. And we had a growing overflow room. So when a place opened up for us to rent on Sundays that sat 1,000, the leadership jumped. They combined some of the services, so instead of coming to a service with 300-400 people sitting in a pew I was going to a service with 600-800 and dark, stadium seating. You couldn't see or talk to anyone there.<br />
<br />
I had been at the church for a year and a half. I had hardly a thing to show for it.<br />
<br />
This is what was leading up to that rainy night last November...Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-53252092820485461612011-08-02T14:59:00.000-04:002011-08-02T14:59:45.555-04:0031 Days of GraceI found this website a few months ago and remembered that I wanted to go through these posts and learn from someone else about grace. So as a new month begins, I take yet another step in my journey of learning about God's grace. And I wanted to invite you to come along with me. Emily Freeman has written <a href="http://www.chattingatthesky.com/category/31-days-of-grace/page/5/">31 Days of Grace</a>, 31 posts on the topic of grace. I know it's already August 2, but you can catch up! I forgot about it yesterday, but I caught up today. Since the post are a year old, they are listed backwards. So scroll to the bottom and read up. To go to the next page of posts scroll to the bottom and click Newer Posts.<br />
<br />
I leave you with a quote from her first day.<br />
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"I will not give you a list of things to do; I want to inspire you to receive the abundance of that which has already been done."<br />
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I have the tendency to think that I need to do something first in order to receive grace. What a great reminder that it's already been done. The price has already been paid. I do nothing. And who needs something else to do?? :) Come do nothing with me!Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-89227364715151686132011-07-30T15:51:00.000-04:002011-07-30T15:51:32.070-04:00My Journey: Part 4aI wanted to write this a few days ago, and it wasn't until I had written half of a story that I realized it was not the part of the story I had intended on writing. Funny how that happens. It must have been heavy on my mind.<br />
<br />
So here's the fourth part of my journey, the part I had intended to write several days ago.<br />
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I have said for a long time, mostly to myself, but sometimes to others, that I am part crazy. Don't call me crazy, because I'm not all the way crazy...just partly. It comes out in small bursts. Sometimes in what I say. Sometimes in what I think. Sometimes in what I do.<br />
<br />
It reminds me of this Scrubs episode where Elliot is having a hard time hiding her crazy from her new boyfriend and is afraid she is going to mess up another relationship. She turns to her best friend Karla who tells her let it out in small bursts to total strangers, until her boyfriend is committed enough not to jump ship at the first sign of crazy. She ends up telling the chief of medicine that she used to peel off her scaly sun burnt skin, put it in a pile, and eat it. I'm not that crazy. No really, Elliot is crazy. I am not... At least not that crazy.<br />
<br />
But sometimes I do things that make me question my sanity. Like how I moved to one of the biggest cities in the country where I did not know a soul. And how I wasn't near home. And it wasn't like college where you live in a dorm surrounded by hundreds of people your age. I moved into a one bedroom apartment, to live by myself. I started grad school. And have you heard how much I dislike school? I felt a little crazy.<br />
<br />
And other people made me feel crazy too. Like how my first week of school, I was so desperately trying to make friends, but everyone else seemed only concerned about learning to do this whole grad school thing. Or how I went to church and Bible study at that church, and people couldn't understand why I was there to meet people. Wait, so you aren't here to learn more about Jesus??<br />
<br />
About the grad school thing. I started in on the track on crack. My plan was to get it done in two years, and while some people can do that, I wasn't one of them. Especially, after what I mentioned earlier. I was taking 7 grad school classes and I knew no one and was by myself all the time studying, reading, writing. Not healthy by any stretch.<br />
<br />
That was the loneliest, hardest semester of my entire life. It was also the semester that everything I knew got turned upside down. I started going to a church almost as soon as I got to Atlanta. When I walked in those doors, I could literally feel the Holy Spirit in that place. This was ironic, because I was about to find out that I didn't know didly-squat about the Holy Spirit. I felt more free to worship the Lord than I had felt in my whole life. Every once in a while, I would just cry, and I never worried who was watching. It was the most honest and passionate place of worship I have ever been.<br />
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Enter Thursday night discipleship.We were studying the book of Acts, and I was there almost every week to study chapter by chapter, verse by verse. It was the first time I had ever studied the book of Acts all the way through. And it changed me. And by changed me, I mean messed me up. How had I missed this? The God that I knew was so small compared to the God of Acts. And what did I know about the Holy Spirit? Apparently nothing. It was too much for my Southern Baptist brain to comprehend. Now, I've never been too tied to my Southern Baptist roots, because I feel like no one denomination has it all right. But this has been very difficult for me.<br />
<br />
Now, before you started thinking the wrong thing about what was happening, this is NOT my journey from becoming a Southern Baptist to becoming a Pentecostal. In fact, sometimes I cringe to even speak in those terms, because God does not live in denominations. He lives in His followers. But my heart was growing and the ideas I held about God and the Holy Spirit were growing. And all too fast too...Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-39693226183513622962011-07-26T17:26:00.000-04:002012-04-06T20:49:46.846-04:00My Journey: Part 3, College<div>Disclaimer: This is probably the hardest part of my story to write, because it involves friends and others who know me. This is written to tell my story and no other purpose. Some things are over-generalized for writing's sake. All of these things come from a single, flawed, human perspective.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In high school, I was venerated and placed on a pedestal as a good Christian example.</div><div><br />
<div>In college, I was knocked down. I struggled to be even good enough for the Christian crowd.</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>In fact the only time I felt that people recognized me as a decent Christ follower was when I was chosen to lead a mission trip to the other side of the world. I know the trip was not a failure in the eyes of God, but it did fail to make me look good as a Christian in the eyes of man. ( To make a long story extremely short, for the next couple of years the missions department at my school referred to my trip as "the mutiny" and was used to help future students lead mission trips better.Seriously, I was not a winner.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>I did everything I could possibly do to look like a better Christian, so that I would be accepted by those who were thought to be. I was aware of the tension between wanting to impress the cool Christian crowd (and even some of my friends) and the desire to be authentic. So, I didn't join groups or lead or mentor when I didn't feel God calling me to do those things. But I walked a bit inauthentically at some points, because I rarely felt like the authentic me was good enough.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I coined the term "spiritual points" during my college days, because it so often felt like a game. The more spiritual things you did, the more friends you could have, and the more people looked up to you. There were certain things that got you more spiritual points than other things it seemed. I just never seemed to do the right things to win at the game.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I even had friends that sometimes made me feel like less of a Christian. I'm sure some of you may be thinking that good friends wouldn't do that, and at times I felt that way. But my college friends put up with a lot from me, and in turn I put up with a lot from them. The truth is we were all kind of immature at the time.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I wish I could do justice to the Christian climate at my school, but words really do not explain it. And I certainly don't want to pick on any specific crowds of people. But there's this ridiculous, yet hilarious book out called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stuff-Christians-Like-Jonathan-Acuff/dp/0310319943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311568514&sr=8-1">Stuff Christians Like</a> </i>that I wish I had studied before college so I would have been more prepared. Pick it up. You might need it someday. Or don't. Your choice. Anyways...</div><div><br />
</div><div>So there I was, hundreds of miles from home, away from everyone who believed I was a good Christian, spending hours in Beth Moore Bible studies a week, taking ministry classes, serving in my church, and trying to look really, really spiritual.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It's too bad that I didn't stop and consider what Christ thought a good Christian looked like...</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6713530014439921919.post-71530391785689520692011-07-24T16:49:00.000-04:002011-07-24T16:49:30.067-04:00Camping<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">About a month ago, I went camping with some friends in the North Georgia mountains. They aren't from the South, so when they asked if I wanted to go with them on a camping trip in the middle of the summer, I thought they were a little crazy. I thought it would be miserable. But it was the most beautiful and perfect weather. I couldn't have asked for more. The first day we hiked Desoto Falls, both the upper and lower falls which was where we were camped. They were easy hikes and we were just enjoying the weather and each others' company. We ate about a hundred s'mores and mountain pies. It was a great time.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgbg_InUUrUVJkLVGPk_GPRZsv3W80ITaeJvEF-ddMjl-qdKzNhFjud3M4zVLS2rzQhltnuRHdsk7_ysHIdGQcMKCb9perJMfjEm7bf2wSRwWPz_Hk4Y5s__QfLNwZF04g0a__Qva8KzR/s1600/camping+11+002.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgbg_InUUrUVJkLVGPk_GPRZsv3W80ITaeJvEF-ddMjl-qdKzNhFjud3M4zVLS2rzQhltnuRHdsk7_ysHIdGQcMKCb9perJMfjEm7bf2wSRwWPz_Hk4Y5s__QfLNwZF04g0a__Qva8KzR/s320/camping+11+002.jpg" /></a> <br />
The upper falls</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZCgdZmvMF-reUcOJRN8kIdE8rsjQfuaj_LInnU3jpYRjSRxaBK6SOba1Dagryc9rMfPzPZbV_nY2MQ8KNaJzRYRJl5T5wJDyBpwBVjm5wSiDnUrFBOW8GD-E3NVhJ2TBHq_obPejVDxF/s1600/waterfall+friends.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZCgdZmvMF-reUcOJRN8kIdE8rsjQfuaj_LInnU3jpYRjSRxaBK6SOba1Dagryc9rMfPzPZbV_nY2MQ8KNaJzRYRJl5T5wJDyBpwBVjm5wSiDnUrFBOW8GD-E3NVhJ2TBHq_obPejVDxF/s320/waterfall+friends.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I let my friends blaze their own trail to halfway up the falls. It was too steep for my liking. Yes, I was a wimp, but in my defense, two of them came back down on their rears. It was that steep. And I am accident prone. So, I took pictures instead.</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yyew6BTHbcg24_Nl1VC3ntnwgWtKafRyxkAHwziEWHWM35z1PJw1m9ameVRsUhltscx_b10yhDWnzTGcOeb9OF_ETK5gpbZsHeSeMUvDp2H1SFzYF-z4waiyhJ-zJvaYzdE7SgkDFEMf/s1600/camping+11+012.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yyew6BTHbcg24_Nl1VC3ntnwgWtKafRyxkAHwziEWHWM35z1PJw1m9ameVRsUhltscx_b10yhDWnzTGcOeb9OF_ETK5gpbZsHeSeMUvDp2H1SFzYF-z4waiyhJ-zJvaYzdE7SgkDFEMf/s320/camping+11+012.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The lower falls</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1PXGs9yKWQbUT6uba9OUjSFBPLfAndCf0jpEP1N4Baktxu-QD6j0Ww52GQF_Tfj6opWV8CXoKr9vc02J5Gga_C67QH_QfZBCbIqokX-uJTVeHGH2YJrr8DKhyeyZVckgnQvyKEsGvmoj/s1600/camping+11+013.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1PXGs9yKWQbUT6uba9OUjSFBPLfAndCf0jpEP1N4Baktxu-QD6j0Ww52GQF_Tfj6opWV8CXoKr9vc02J5Gga_C67QH_QfZBCbIqokX-uJTVeHGH2YJrr8DKhyeyZVckgnQvyKEsGvmoj/s320/camping+11+013.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">the gang at the lower falls-gotta love asking strangers to take your picture. They almost always cut out the scenery.</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Mupi8XBCE0-s69u3my8kGBSvN7uJAYdMbB38e-6MlV5rMcuANWZyI9CGWnJe79U5d_6jolQAvxZ_lxYsHyO-DeNrszSz0hw0HAQ-w8c0r5-aX4uxG9h5PC5Vurptvg_Md6kbCEzIky5/s1600/camping+11+020.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Mupi8XBCE0-s69u3my8kGBSvN7uJAYdMbB38e-6MlV5rMcuANWZyI9CGWnJe79U5d_6jolQAvxZ_lxYsHyO-DeNrszSz0hw0HAQ-w8c0r5-aX4uxG9h5PC5Vurptvg_Md6kbCEzIky5/s320/camping+11+020.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">It was Bob and Jamie's anniversary that weekend, and I still can't believe they wanted to spend it in the woods with us.</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvzWbOvaHAg9x1HbcTr9Fiu6sHVVeqFMMbo53xUq1weJ1UjqKdmlegB9LRXIo6wE-H2eMwE1ixwCs64m4zFxT36sqO6QJ5jv0zdmsjO1ueyi7Hv6U_2egQr6pfQ07sC8a114fH9eG0syt/s1600/accomplishment.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvzWbOvaHAg9x1HbcTr9Fiu6sHVVeqFMMbo53xUq1weJ1UjqKdmlegB9LRXIo6wE-H2eMwE1ixwCs64m4zFxT36sqO6QJ5jv0zdmsjO1ueyi7Hv6U_2egQr6pfQ07sC8a114fH9eG0syt/s320/accomplishment.jpg" /></a> <br />
I named this picture "Accomplishment" in my album for several reasons. This is at the top of Blood Mountain, right after a rigorous 2.5 mile hike up and right before my first time ever peeing in the woods. :) I know you probably didn't want to know, but it was a very proud moment and at least I spared you the details.<br />
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Grace and Peace,<br />
Carrie</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136069862741748610noreply@blogger.com0