reasons i love saturdays.

as i have grown up, i have more of an appreciation for saturdays. especially saturday mornings. i get to wake up a little later than usual and really take my time with coffee and my breakfast (the usual oatmeal, banana, honey, and flax meal creation). i get to clean everything. i get to do laundry. i get to go for a long run (if the weather permits). i usually get to collect my thoughts and feelings from the week, write them down sometimes and move onto the next week.

Source: weheartit.com via Morgan on Pinterest

another reason i love saturdays is the time i get to spend with Jesus. during the week, i have a time crunch on everything i do. there is always something else going on every hour. but on saturdays, not the case.

today i began reading my daily Jesus Calling devotion by Sara Young. {don't have it? check it out here.} i have talked about this little book before. each little devotion is based on 2-3 verses from scripture and is written as first person, God, speaking directly to you. and because it is direct scripture, it is God-breathed, living and applicable to every single day of my life. i love when God does that.

she began with this today...

YOU ARE MINE FOR ALL TIME- and beyond time into eternity.... 

I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! 

Even as you falter through this journey of life, I will never let go of your hand.

faithfulness.

knowing that your future is absolutely assured can free you to live abundantly today!

I have prepared this day for you with the most tender concern

and attention to detail.

Be on the lookout for all I am doing.

This requires a deep level of trust, based on the knowledge

that

MY WAY IS PERFECT

it applies to me this morning for several reasons. but the most obvious one was i was sitting here at the table eating my oatmeal, making a list of everything i needed to do today. {ps. if you didn't know, i'm all about me a good list}

and then i thought about how much i needed a job, to i need to find a job, to what if i can't find a job, to i should start looking right now. 

which led me to the computer. where my bible and Jesus Calling was. 

so i stopped. opened the Bible, and read Jesus Calling. and here i am. 

i believe my future is secure. but i need to KNOW it. 

i believe i will be provided for. but i need to KNOW it. 

so i will live this day in His arms. and my future will be as it will be. secure. 

blessings.

i wanted to put a little blessings tag on here. because i just think everyone should know how truly blessed i feel. 

this week i was blessed by my parents. they came to hear me sing at cornerstone and filled my belly with food and my car with gas. i am blessed to have parents who do that. i think i have the greatest parents in the world, but i may be a little biased...

i was blessed by my church. i get to spend all week with these amazing people at cornerstone. i am blessed to call them my church family and honored to work beside them furthering the kingdom. i have so much excitement about the weeks to come. the Lord is doing amazing things there...

i am blessed by my sister. no words for this one. she is my best friend. that is all. 

by my roommates. double s gets up and has devo with me. makes getting up so much easier. kim encourages me in ways she doesn't even know. their drive in life is inspiring. 

my BAND! i think i could hang out with my monsters every day. they are teaching me and encouraging me like no other. i love them. and i am SO EXCITED to be playing with them over the rest of the semester. 

W. i don't have too much to divulge into about W. because it's not for everyone to know. but i am honored and blessed by him every single day. more excited than he probably knows about this journey. 

________________________

so there is my saturday morning brain ramblings and thoughts. 

until next time. 

mb.

ps. photo of the day...

Source: vk.com via Morgan on Pinterest

oh well.

honestly it has been hard for me to keep up with this blog. with how much i time i spend on the computer, there is a very small desire for me to sit here and work on a post when i have other things i can be doing.

with that said, i am not quitting, because i don't believe in quitting.

but i think i need to find more inspiration to blog about. maybe i am just tired of trying to be creative and write beautiful prose for all my followers to enjoy. i think this blog began for me, and needs to continue to be for me. selfish kinda yeahh i know. but it is my blog.

so yeah. want an update?? i'll do my best to fill you in quickly on my past couple months.

jan.u.rary.
went to passion. began my last semester of college. began working at cornerstone. began singing with Teacup & the Monster. began waking up early again. began reading more again. got another eye infection. kim got engaged. w visited auburn. developed achilles tendonitis.

feb.ru.ary.
led at Winter Retreat with AUMC.

break from running. w visit's 3 times in conjunction with family farm extravaganza. first time singing at Lee-Scott. second show with Teacup & the Monster. phenomenal ash wednesday service at cornerstone and the beginning of lent (no meat, no desserts.. yea). justice week with IJM and it was unbelievable. starting running big time again and insanity.

oh and new baby bethea was born!

march.
morgan goes to atlanta and sees w. sings at cornerstone and lee speaks an incredible message about restoration. next week is spring break. as well as myra's birthday!

soo that's all folks. back to work on cornerstone stuffs. hope you enjoy your week. i know i will.

mb.

roll bounce.

there is this thing called the "elliptical pony tail bounce." girls, you know what this is. you are on the machine, running your little heart out, and you gaze lightly at the mirror [just to check your form right?], and behold, you have the bounce.

your long locks sway perfectly from side to side with each stride. and this girl [me] perfected the bounce yesterday while at the gym. kim and i decided to do a little 30 min super pump at the gym last night at about 9:15. only problem with that is i didn't sleep until about 2 am.

oh well. the body was happy.

LGN body... here we come :) well for kim's sake, not mine yet!

and since i am not going to be able to run tomorrow, i am about to hit the road. after my little coffee this morning.

and i saw this little quote this morning, for your inspiration....

Source: rippedandfit.tumblr.com via Maribel on Pinterest

and this is what i look at for inspiration pre-run

Source: Uploaded by user via Shelby on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Tracy on Pinterest

she's rockin' the bounce. 


oh and for breakfast now, i eat Coaches Oats. they are an excellent way to get healthy carbs in your diet and fill you up, lower the cholesterol [if you need too] and they are tasteeyyy! they take a little while longer to cook, but add a teaspoon of brown sugar [i use dark brown] and a banana, and your set for a run; carbs, a little sugar and potassium from the banana, and whole grain all in one little bowl.

also, going this weekend to winter retreat with about 575 high school kids. should be quite the experience. third year to go back, and i'm excited about meeting a new little family group to pour into.

oh, and i want this sweater.

Source: imgfave.com via Ashlyn on Pinterest

much love. mb..

[product]ivity

now that i no longer have an income, i find all these things that i need want. and that's okay. i can have the wants every now and again. i don't normally do anything about them.. just post on here so that any giving soul can lovingly purchase them for me...

kidding.
well, sorta.

i actually could need these if you think about it. i keep getting my feet wet when it rains. partially my own fault, but also because i don't have these... navy is a good color too. i should probably stay away from green....

these ones... because mine are out dated. and i think my vision has gotten worse since my last eye issues. forgot to mention that... i had an ulcer on my cornea. felt about as bad as it sounds. 

thus far, today has been extremely productive. woke up early, ate my bfast, did my research and writing, did some extra credit... 

SIDE NOTE: 

can't 

wait 

to 

not

post about 

school. 

any.

more.

fran visited monday night and had a slumber party [well not really a party, consisted of homework and going to bed]. i miss having her around as much. the girl is going to calif. for 4 months in may. i guess that means someone will have to take a trip to CALI.... 

and i'm off to run in this gorgeous weather. 

so i will leave you with a little inspiration

Source: etsy.com via Morgan on Pinterest

gotta love good ole Winnie the Pooh. 


adios. 
xoxo. 


meb.

portland.

ever since passion, i have had this desire to go to portland. our community group pastor was from portland and he sparked my interest. i like the cold, i like green, i like big cities.... sounds good to me

days like today in auburn make me want to more somewhere up on the west coast. the rain, the coffee (so i've heard), the coast in general, it would be an interesting place to go visit.

i always want to travel; to step out of my seemingly small comfort zone into something new and different. but, seeing that i am still in school, i don't have the means or the funds to.

portland is now on the list of places to go. along with vancouver. which i have been wearing on my wrist now for almost a month...

[background]

passion is doing a world tour... their next stop is vancouver. so on the back of all the wrist bands for passion, it says {passion vancouver} as a reminder to pray for them.

so vancouver has been on my mind too.

i made this here bread saturday. i got the recipe from simply scratch and it could be the best banana bread i've had (sorry aunt pam and aunt jenny and mom and grandmama) you can ask my roomies and sis. it was pretty darn good. not to toot my own horn or anything... but there is only one piece left, and i've only had 1 and 1/2...

_______________________

this past week was my first week at cornerstone as an intern. i've enjoyed working around people with an eternal perspective and have a desire to serve and teach our community. the Lord is raining blessings on the people of Cornerstone... it's obvious even today in the attendance we had. the leadership at cornerstone has already been a tremendous blessing in my life. i am confident the Lord is going to continue to teach me through this added time there.

anddddd the multi site is beginning next month which is exciting.

________________________

oh and i found this with the help of my dear friend Kelly and i am kinda obsessed with it... you will be too

and speaking of music......

 my {"musical excitement"} 

i am now a part of this little group called tea cup and the monster.
now, i didn't come up with the name, but it's cute...
the twins and tommy started  writing and playing together and graciously invited me along.

they are truly inspiring and i have loved spending my evenings listening and writing new music with them. they're love for the Lord is displayed ever so delightfully in their lyrics and i am astonished by their talent every time we play [they play, i just sing].

but we are playing [as you can see below on the AMAZING poster josh created] on thursday night at Gnu's Room. if you are free, or not free, and just want to come listen to some fantastic music for a spell, you should join us.

i feel honored to be a part of this group. they get mad when i say "their" songs, so i've started saying "ours" but it didn't feel right until last night when we wrote another song called "finished." but there is your musical snack and excitement for now. hope it met expectations. {smile}

any who... enjoy your rainy monday afternoon.

thoughts.

i have a green car. a green back back. a green Patagonia "better-sweater."
i have a green messager-bag. 2 green watches.
the coffee mug i am drinking out of is green.

yesterday, i was wearing most of the above, and a girl in my class asked me if i "liked" green. honestly, i had never realized the high tendency for me to pick out green. not a bad thing, just a little embarrassing...

Source: ducksliketea.blogspot.com via Rush on Pinterest

happy birthday is a weird song. even in a room full of musical people, it still turns out bad. our family decided the fast you sing it, the faster the painful sound leaves. we try though... different pitches, harmony, volume... but they all turn out the same. once again i was reminded of this while at the staff meeting (weird for me to be saying that) we had at Cornerstone this week.

maybe we should adopt the "this is your birthday song, it isn't very long" song they do in restaurants. it's far less embarrassing.

Source: Uploaded by user via Jordan on Pinterest

it's safe to say, i am completely in love with coffee. the roommates and i drink a significant amount of coffee. for christmas, one got a Keurig, one got a french press and i got a grinder.

i wake double-S up every morning with coffee and a Bible. it's a sweet morning time, even at 5:45am. we read scripture together and talk about what we are reading. God is doing some beautiful things in double-S's life, and i am blessed to be able to listen to her heart.

oh, and i got this double-walled starbucks (which i only bought from starbucks because i have $$$ on the tigerCard) tumbler. it keeps my coffee hot for about an hour and a half... new love.

Source: simplyscratch.com via Meredith on Pinterest

this weekend, i think will be baking weekend. we have some bananas and i have been requested to bake some bread. since sister and i FAILED last time to make above par bread last time, this weekend will be much better. 


and because i have an amazing new cupcake cookbook, i think cupcakes for the dgroup may be in order. 


or at least a bowl of butter cream icing for a few of them...

Source: blog.rcmgphotography.com via Christina on Pinterest

i have been reading in hosea where the lord places him in his wilderness and shows him where is true satisfaction comes from. this picture reminds me of hosea and his wilderness. if you haven't read hosea, i suggest it. 

more on that later. . . 

Source: google.com via Kailey on Pinterest

in other news... i have some musical excitement coming soon for you guys... but it'll have to wait until closer to time. let's just say, i wish could have a small portion of the talent i have encountered this week. 


until later... 


mb.  

taste and see.

psalm 34:8

Oh, taste and see that the LORD IS GOOD. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

this past month has been quite the roller coaster of emotion. days of sky high climbs of excitement and sudden cork-screws of fear and doubt. occasionally, i would throw out a nervous scream as i dropped to what seemed the end, only to be bounded back up for a loop-the-loop. although my harness was tight, i was afraid to let go of the handle bar. yet, the Lord reminded me to take refuge in Him...


this month, i traveled a lot. from austin to birmingham to atlanta to montgomery to atlanta again. austin was incredible...

the capital at night in downtown austin.

staying with myra was so fun. her little town of bastrop was mayberry and their gorgeous Victorian (historical monument) mansion was intriguing. i loved every second of being there, and myra made that possible. 

myra and me at the Driskill dowtown austin.

paigey got all married. it was weird watching one of my best friends get married. but now we're old enough... 

anyways... the ceremony was spectacular, the reception perfect, and she was STUNNING. one of the most fantastic looking brides of all time. glowing in anticipation for her husband. it was sweet to watch matt's face as she walked down the aisle. so sweet in fact, it brought tears to my eyes. 

it was very christmas-y (which is totally paige) and completely Christ centered. making it all the more wonderful... 

but austin was amazing. SoCo, was my favorite part (besides the Whole Foods downtown which was probably the coolest thing i've ever seen). i got to spend some time alone, and went exploring. of course i got Jo's coffee and then went to this awesome little bookstore and purchased this cool little memoir from this British chef....

just a cool little trip. short, but suuuper sweet. cannot wait to go back. texas IS all it's cracked up to be. and now i know why all the Texans have this "pride". i would.

birmingham was good family time as always. LOTS of food, basketball and load rap music, puzzles and card games, and cookie decorating. 

we also had an awesome little visitor from ATL while in b'ham. W, for his sake, was a welcome guest and we hope to see him around more...

Atlanta for Christmas... always a pleasure. we had 36 this year and we managed to have leftovers... Grandmama is one talented chef extrodinare. i don't know how we do it, but we do. i let Em use her NEW camera to take pictures, so I don't have any favorites from ATL. but it was good cousin bonding time. i feel like my cousins teach me more in two hours then i learn on my own.

i think that was when i hit the drop on the roller coaster.
mom and i had a nice long conversation about the pressure i was putting on myself. but after the weekend, the Lord reminded me that i need to just seek His will, not what "every one thinks i should be or ought to be doing."

then i came home. NYE with friends and W. and i let go of the pressure. and slowly i came to this place of excitement about what this LAST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL (yay) is going to be.

then comes the big climb to the top. Passion.

meet my family.

jenna, josh, andrew, spencer, casey, me, and stephen

greatest family. period. i learned SO much from this diverse little group. strong men and women of faith who were open and vulnerable with people they knew for 30 minutes; who met only because the Lord orchestrated it perfectly. we laughed together and prayed over each other. i already miss my fam.

Passion was 4 days of intense teaching and walking with 45,000 other 18-25 year old who came to worship the one true God. there were several point during the week where i saw a glimpse into what heaven will look like.

people. in the GA dome. 

the Lord taught me more than i can even begin to explain over this little white space. it is so much bigger than that. i am eager to put it into practice and to "DO SOMETHING NOW." the Lord is so faithful...

which brings me here; back in auburn, starting back classes.  my last semester at auburn. what a blessing it is to be in this place. i believe the Lord is planting revival in the hearts of those here in auburn. i have been praying the Lord would give me fearless proclamation to SHINE brightly.

not ashamed. for the Lord has revived me.

needless to say... i am pumped about what the Lord is doing in the hearts of those 45,000 people at Passion. i am expectant that my generation isn't going to sit by the way-side to watch others being exploited. i am eager to be the hands and feet of the Lord through whatever means... in Auburn, Atlanta, Uganda, Greece... where ever he leads...

well.

       i rambled. 

                       anyways. 

i will be back on here more that i am at school... i promise (my little one reader who keeps me accountable). 

well... happy new year. 

oh and i am reading through the Bible in one year. keep me accountable to that too frands... 

xoxo.