face time.

growing up, my mom had this book that was always in her bathroom. it sat on the corner of the large garden tub, and it's colors and title still dance across my mind whenever i think about that little house on Semaht Drive. i couldn't read at that point, at least not well, so i just remember the cover. 

now that i can read a little better, i decided to pull out the 5 Love Languages book again and see what it was all about. granted, i had heard the love languages spoken to me as a child and we all tried to figure out what we were so our family could "love each other" better. and now, i find myself analyzing people to figure out how i can show love to them better. 

so for a quality time-physical touch-words of affirmation type chick like myself, this week has been marvelous. and i would love to explain my reasoning why. 

saturday. let's just begin there. first of all, community and fellowship with the body is incredible! i am a self-proclaimed introvert... i honestly do not get "re-charged" by social encounters. however, they are necessary in one's life and walk with the Lord. we had a cookout for the interns at NightLight and i cannot begin to express the humility and affirmation i received from those hours. 

my cousin J sent me a text earlier last week encouraging me to open up my heart to just listen and learn from the people i would be surrounded by. he called them "oaks of righteousness." boy, was he right on target. such incredible, Godly, wise men and women are leaders in the ministry. i am honored to be a part. i received so many words of affirmation during our prayer time. and the Lord showered blessings upon us to encourage our journey this summer. and through our lives. 

not only that, but before the cookout, will and i went to a surprise "baby daddy shower" party-thing for our dear friend Cy. i finally met all the friends i hear about from will, who i basically feel like i know. 

i had one conversation with Jay, and my attitude about this summer changed. 

we were discussing the work i will be doing when all the sudden Jay just stopped and said,

 "so what if no one is changed from what you say this summer?"

that stopped me right there and scared me for a second. so i gave a good church answer and said 

"at least the seed would be planted you know."

then i got this nugget of wisdom, Jay said, "What if the person who gets changed, is you?"

and i felt dumb. and then encouraged. then empowered. how affirming, once again, that i am supposed to learn... and grow... and that this is more for me, maybe, than it is for the rest of atlanta. that this relationship i have with Jesus, is so important, that He would bring me here, to this place, to teach me one little thing. 

lots of quality time and affirmation on that saturday. 

sunday, woke up before the sun to leave for the beach with will. we met my family in gulf shores after a 6 hour & 20 minute drive. we enjoyed great food, and greater fellowship with my family. we laughed hard, i got to meet the newest baby bethea, and will got to meet the rest of my family. it was beyond worth it, just to get away for a couple days before my first week of working. and i got a tan... 

after another 6 hour drive back to atlanta yesterday, i drove to grace to begin our first night of Kids Club. i love working with kids and showing them the love of Christ through simple, yet meaningful acts. singing songs, playing with side walk chalk, learning about God's Heart, and how he loves us, eating a snack, and just a simple hug. the word i kept seeing yesterday in my thoughts was hope.

we talked about how no matter what we do, God always loves us and keeps us in His heart, if we ask for forgiveness. simple truth. 

as i sat on a tarp in the dirt with a little angel in my lap, i could feel the presence of the Lord saturating the playground. i heard laughter and joy in their voices. i saw love and hope in their eyes. these children can and will do amazing things with the right direction. that is why we are here, to share that direction in the name of Jesus. 

during craft time, a little boy was coloring a picture of himself to put into God's heart. he stopped and looked at me and asked, "what color is God?"

i smiled and said that God is all the colors... and another child spoke up, "yeh, He is all the colors in the whole world!" 

and then i saw the children coloring all the possible crayon combinations on the little paper hearts we gave them. then they glue sticked themselves in God's Heart. such a precious picture. there is no color boundary for God's everlasting love. 

when i showered off all the dust last night, i thanked the Lord for the faces i saw and the hands i touched. i prayed they would see great things and do good with those hands. i prayed they would never forget the words of affirmation and the time we spent with them for those hours. i pray for them to come back next week. 

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life according to the iPhone

                                   

                     

much love and blessings. 
mb.

the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed

me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

- jesus

the journey begins.

yesterday was my first day as a NightLight intern. we met at the church to do some training and preparation for the coming season.

i started preparing my little brain for this summer a few weeks ago with scripture and books we were required to read. first was When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson. If you are interested in learning about the power of the Holy Spirit, this book will challenge any belief or idea or the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. On the "heavy scale" i would give it a 7 out of 10.

i read Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd. a book about sexually exploited girls and women in New York. Rachel was a sexually exploited girl while she lived in GB and Germany. her story is powerful and not for the easily queazy. such a story brings these situations to heart... and in your face... about the reality of what is occurring on our streets and in our backyards.

i wanted to start using this blog as a journal of my journey this summer. along with the other events that take place this summer, i want to offer this space as a place for people to learn and become educated about this travesty and injustice.

with that, expect nothing. the God we serve is a big, crazy God, therefore we are expecting Big, Crazy things. our God is bigger than these injustices, and we expect to see things bigger than the industry. 

so here we go...

before i begin, i wanted to clear the air. the women/girls/children i will be ministering to are sexually exploited, that may mean they are in prostitution, have been trafficked to atlanta, could be trafficked out of atlanta, have been forced, coerced, manipulated and brainwashed into this industry. 

many people ask why these women don't "just leave" and these women are just "prostitutes," so they chose this life, and "should we really feel bad for them if they chose it?" they are "working girls," or "hos." but they are also someone's child, sister, niece, mother, cousin, neighbor....

this always infuriates me, then i have to remember that i too once felt the same way. i didn't understand the fact that over half these girls are there out of desperation, and the other half have been forced by some excuse for a man who "loves" them. 

these women never had a choice and probably will never get out of the life. they cannot "just leave" something that they never "just chose" to get involved with. i want people to understand the pain and torture these women face. the manipulation. the actual chains that are holding them to the street. and the life. 

girls at risk are looking for love, and get trapped. girls at risk are lost, and are taken. girls at risk are searching for something, and they find a man. then their bodies are used at the beck and call of a man who they thing "love them."

we want to show them a man who actually loves them. who knows what they are doing, who sees inside their hearts, and recognizes injustice and still wants them. 

he knows their real names. 

Jesus is the answer to this injustice. and that is our job to share and show Jesus with these beautiful women. 

Micah 6:8- He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do 

JUSTICE, and to LOVE KINDNESS, and to walk humbly with your God.

2 weeks.

happy two weeks in atlanta.

had wonderful week while the Grands were in the Bahamas. only one bad thing happened... i lost the dog. thankfully, a sweet family found her roaming the streets after she ninja-ed out of the high security prison-type fencing in an effort to "get out of the storm". the family kept her over night and i retrieved the little ninja yesterday morning before the Grands came home... that was unnecessary stress on my heart.

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officially, today was the first day of training for the marathon. the past two weeks have been a bit of "pre-training," getting used to the hills of Atlanta and finding places i like running best. our program is about 20 weeks, which puts us right and ready for the october marathon. this is a big bite to chew, but i have great accountability and an actual real life running partner. it's nice to have accountability like i did last time with dad. will is faster than me, so i have catching up to do...

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this week i had dinner with myra at antico, one of my favorite spots in atlanta. and the following day, steph and i adventured to historic norcross, ga. and we had no idea we were going to fall in love with the little downtown. it reminded us of downtown opelika and made us miss auburn for about 3 seconds. we recovered quickly.

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a week from tomorrow i start at NightLight. i got the greatest text from my cousin last night, encouraging me in my mission and calling for this season of my life. most importantly, he stood beside me and challenged me to observe the "great oaks of faith" i will be surrounded by. which only leaves room for growth.

LIFE ACCORDING TO MY iPHONE

because i forgot....

went to passion city church and jane was being baptized! it was so cool to see and hear her testimony! blessed to know her!

will's clever naming while we were at Chow Baby in atlanta. it was entertaining to watch the waitresses face when she said my name...

          

           

lots of laying out and eating raw foods this week...

baby snake, in the back yard... dying so i saved him

also, please pray for my baby sister. she went to the ER this morning because of extreme abdominal pain. we are praying for ultimate healing on her body. they believe it is something like appendicitis, however they are talking about ovarian cysts. i just found out about 2 hours ago... so if you read this soon, please pray.

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have a blessed wednesday.

mb. 

munchie monday.

DISCLAIMER: this post was meant for yesterday, however i was distracted by a phone call...

if i ever wake up without something specific to do, i find myself longing for my once busy lifestyle pre-senior-graduation-mode.

then i think about it for three minutes. 

and decide there is much to be thankful for during my time "off."

for example, i took a two hour nap today. might i add that i achieved at least 7 hours of sleep last night and needed no nap today, however, when i felt my body calling for a siesta, i accepted. and i didn't set an alarm...

i finished a book today by Naomi Zacharias call The Scent of Water. it's about human exploitation and her fight and passion to achieve peace and justice through her efforts. and her prayers. and the battles she sees others fighting. it is beautifully written and crafted in such a way that invites you along side her journey. it gave me a mini preview into the work i will be doing this summer. 

_________________

being that it is monday and i am a fan of alliteration and cooking, let me give you a little munchie for moday. 

meet the SNICKERDOODLE CAKE with Brown Sugar Butter Creme Icing. 

probably the best cake i have had in a long, long time. props and shout out to little miss sister who baked this beauty for mother's day. she did a two layer, sometimes is calls for four. because we did two, go with half the icing. but, it is so good. with a little vanilla ice creame... yummm-e.

click on the name up there and it will give you a link to the website where sister found this gem. you will not be disappointed. 

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tonight i took a trip back to my early days of writing this blog. true there are not as many spelling errors or awkward sentences. i went through times of happy posts and sad ones. there were also long lulls of no posts at all. but somehow, i find myself sitting behind the old faithful laptop sharing my thoughts with an open world. 

today i read a blog from three different women who are hosting a conference for women in the blog world who are Christ followers , discussing their influence in the world and how they can make a positive impact for Jesus through blogging. 

what a cool way to reach people for Jesus. 

it's called "Influence" and it's hosted by these three women, 

Jessi

Haley

and

Casey

i have been reading their Mommy Blogs for some time now, and must say the reach they have for the kingdom is amazing. maybe it is their love for their children, or the hard times they have been through, or their ability to write honestly about their lives with transparency and grace.

i admire their risk. it is so easy to pretend like everything is perfect on your blog. post perfect pictures of pretty things and people. make your house look spectacular, dress your kids (or imaginary ones) up in their best get-up and put on a little show. 

but these ladies don't even try this. they just live, and write for the kingdom. and making our Lord famous and His name known.

it's impressive.

today's aspiration... do that. 

Hotlanta.

wednesday morning i woke up to rain outside. but that didn't slow me down. 

i have made many trips to atlanta in the past, however this trip was far from what i am accustomed to. 

driving through tiger town starbucks is a trip ritual. hazelnut skinny latte please. and as the rain sprinkled into my car window as i grabbed my coffee from the barista, i realized, this time, i was going home.

i now am settled in beautiful bustling atlanta. i have enjoyed getting moved in and am growing more used to the "you say 20 mins but me 45 mins" away. i am learning to parallel park better. and it's only been three days. 

in other news, i graduated college! finally i am able to say those words. after the four year of writing this blog, there has never been a post that school was not looming overhead, barking at my brain, waiting to be done after i made a little post. my creativity and whitty juices all flowed into that mass called education. 

now. i get to learn. and do. 

         

i also got an iphone. which has been remarkable. a struggle sometimes to pay attention to other things going on, but it's still new... so i am allowed right?

now that i have an awesome phone that takes incredible pictures, my life is all of the sudden more documented for everyone and their mother (literally in some cases) to view it. so here is my life recently according to my iphone (this will be a traditional saturday post... all the cool blogs do it)

         

i have successfully run twice in atlanta so far. will and i went to piedmont park today to run and he (as expected) was much faster than i am. we enjoyed the time together, none the less and made about 5.2 total miles in the may heat. the wind was our friend, however. 

a special shout out to the lovely fender mandolin that brian gave me. i am learning chords at least one a day. i really like it. it is good for my baby hands and squatty fingers to play. and not to mention the fact that Ellie Holcomb uses onc. which makes me feel that much more capable of mastering the instrument.

brian told be i couldn't come back until i was the master mandolin player of the year. which, might be a stretch, but we have hope. 

OH YEAHHH!

I got the summer internship at NightLight! my whole mind has not wrapped itself around the fact that the passion the Lord has given me in this life if going to see itself in the light this summer. i will be blogging a lot about what i will be doing later. i have some emotional feelings right now, and i am learning a lot through the books i am reading for the adventure. if you want info about this organization in Atlanta, look them up here! 

did i mention how happy i am to be so close to this guy right here?? because i am. enough said. 

___________________________

sitting here at this desk in this new room is a little odd. mostly, because this is now where i stay, not where i visit.

part of me was scared to move here. part of me was a little apprehensive. part of me was pumped.

now, i am more excited than anything. 

i have been given grace to proceed in life. the Lord has shown a little glimpse into His will for my life.

today, i saw a slice of my future. not planning on it, but i saw it regardless.  

and the Lord showed off. 

my heart leaps inside my chest when he pats me on the back and tells me good job. 

when he gives me a nudge in the right direction.  

i prayed for the opportunity. he gave me a desire, and a calling, now he is equipping me.

and he is showing me His LOVE through another. 

a picture of HIS LOVE. 

how could you ask for more?

you can't. because there is nothing else but HIS LOVE.

__________________________

well, that is a significant update. i look forward to posting more about my adventures through post-grad life. 

get outside today. green> screen (outside is green...screen is like a tv or computer... ya digg?)

peace and love. mb. 

guess who's back...

one week from today {exactly when i am writing this} i will walk across a stage in front of hundreds of people i don't know and a few i do, to represent walking from student to graduate.

finally.

 obviously, i am excited. as most students approaching graduation are and should be. embarking on a new journey never looked as appetizing as it does in my current state. 

if you would like to see what i have been slaving away at for the past semester and a lot to do with why it has been weeks since my last post, click HERE. you can let me know what you think... unless it's negative... 

UP.dates

this is embarrassing because i feel like i never, ever post about what IS going on, i always write about what happened. but i feel like i haven't written about me or what's going on inside my little brain in months. probably because it consisted on HTML and CSS coding and things like that. which, believe me, makes me more of a nerd than you care to know. 

but i guess you may {or may not} care to know the happenings of the last month. so here is a short description in a paragraph.

last formal. maundy thursday service at cornerstone church; the most amazing worship service i have been a part of. good friday, family comes and our LIVE CD goes out!! Will {yes Will is his name} spends Easter with the fam. work hard on that project. work more, and more and more. teacup and the monster album release, party for the album. sing in a festival. our album on iTunes. go to athens, go to savannah. turn in senior project. turn in final campaign {got an A!}

about Athens and Savannah... these three rockstars rode their bikes from athens to savannah. 

that's 200 miles. 

on a bike. 

hence rock star status. 

will, cy, and brad after 200 miles!!

jerseys. brad's says squirrel. 

needless to say, i was impressed. 

jane {cy's wife} and i were personal SAGs the whole way. i was also paparazzi and a coach. 

it was nice to watch instead of being the one competing or running. but it made me more motivated about that little marathon in october....

and then, we went to savannah.

i had not been there since i was a young-en, and despite the overcast skies, still loved it as much as i did then. we just walked around mostly. i dropped my jacket a few times in the road because i was preoccupied with my camera. shocking.

 

will and i enjoyed our time with friends that morning. lots of laughter from this group. and we will definitely be going back to savannah. to eat at this restaurant down to the left... the spanish pink-red one. it's called the "pink house" i do recall. 

                     

i still don't have a job exactly. so if we go back to the check-list, i am doing okay. most things have been accomplished, except the insanity and the mandolin and i don't know what i got on my project yet... but i still have a week. 

now that we are all caught up on things, i will be able to post things that are happening. now, not five weeks ago. 

glad to be back.

mb.

gone fishin'

although i am not literally gone fishin', i will not be here for a while longer.

i am taking a break from blog world (contrary to my previous post where i made the lavish claim of 3 posts per week).

i apologize for the inconvenience i know this will cause you all.

just wait for the post-grad post. should be a doozie.

until then.
much love.