here i go again...

i need this for my life.

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Ruta on Pinterest

you all know how much i love to set goals for myself and how much i love lists... well i have been doing a lot of goal setting and list making to keep me on top of m game for school and other activities in life.

{side note}

i promised myself when i created this blog my freshman year, that i would not post things in a negative nature. i do not enjoy negativity, and especially negative people. over my last few posts, i have been pretty negative about school. why? i am so blessed to be in school and have a mind that works and to have a family that supports what i am doing. 

no need for me to complain. it may be hard; so what? life is hard.

it may be a lot: so what? things can always be more stressful.

too blessed to be stressed.

so my apologies. i don't like negative people....

back to it.

i have made a goal for each day when i wake up. a goal for school, a goal for people, a goal for myself. you get it. and each day, i find more productivity in my midst when i work to accomplish goals. small or big! because of this, school is going swimmingly. and i am really enjoying my projects. and i cannot wait to share them with you!

and so i thought i'd share this little list i made a few weeks ago, when i relaized i had 60 days until graduation....

so i am making a list. a list of things i want will to do in the next 60 days before i graduate. 

1. i will finish 60 days of insanity
2. i will an A on my final project 
3. i will run at least 10 miles a week
4. i will get a job for the summer in my choice city
5. no meat (gave it up for lent)
6. i will invest in relationships
7. i will learn more of the mandolin

if you want to know my progress... here it is. 

1. haven't missed a day

2. workin' hard for my money

3. been more like 5... oops

4. interviews. interviews. interviews.... waiting, waiting, waiting

5. NO MEAT! until grad-g-ation. 

6. yeah, i feel like i am... you can decide that for yourself :)

7. eh, poor choice on the list... don't own one. ha.

so we're making progress. about a month and a week left. so i added one more thing.

8. blog more (as in a least 3 times a week) BIG ONE, i know (travis keep me accountable)

and then i decided i needed something to look forward to after i graduate and after i complete my list. ergo, another goal/list/check-off-thing

MARATHON. 

big scary, scary, 26.2miles-scary word.

yep, i said it. i'm gonna run a marathon this year. i have just decided this week. it's on my "things to do before i'm thirty" list, but i want to do more than one. so....Atlanta Marathon or the NorthFace Endurance Marathon, both in October. 

i know that if i say i am going to do it, i have to... i have all 3 of you to keep me accountable. so after graduation, i am going to start training. boom. 

here i go again...

Source: runnersworld.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

madness.

march madness does not just apply to basketball. because i only have a short amount of time until may, school work is beginning to take precedence in my schedule. i have been doing great on the whole "senioritis" thing, until spring break happened.

i think we have spring break just to be mean; just to tease.

but it's okay. there is always mercy amidst the madness.

i've learned new things about myself.  in the past couple weeks.

list time!

1. i am a master paper cutter. 
2. i love being a vegetarian. 
3. i cannot wait to have a house to decorate/organize/be OCD about. even if it's small. i look forward to those events. 
4. i like eating meals with someone.
5. i don't mind driving

apparently this photo is somewhere in england. where ever, i want to be there. barefoot.

yesterday was the first day of spring! and i am enjoying this weather for the most part. makes running more enjoyable, and i don't have to wear JEANs! i hate jeans. 

speaking of spring... spring break re-cap. i can do a top 5 things about spring break i guess. 

once again, list time!

1. Charlotte! got to meet W's family. it was spectacular. i don't remember the last time i've been to NC but we made a nice little day trip out of it. i was thankful for that little adventure. 

2.  hiking with Nat! got to go to this little mountain....sawnee mountain. it was about 15 mins from her house and i have never even been there before. it was a perfect morning with her. 

3. W and i got to spend lots of quality time together. that should actually probably be number one.   it was such a positive time for our relationship. 

4. grandparent time. wisest people i know. might be a little biased, but they're also the greatest grands in the world.

5. Intermezzo

we went to this little cafe one night. although W said he wouldn't try to tempt me with all the amazing desserts {because i gave them up for lent as well} but they have coffee and other wonderful cafe beverages. 

so i drank something called a Cafe Hazel {or heaven in a coffee cup} and made W taste his first ever coffee drink {#proud}. it was definitely top 5 moments of spring break. it stays open very late, so we stayed very late and enjoyed watching the interesting Atlanta nightlife. if you ever find yourself on peachtree... go there.


well i am off to the library for the morning. happy friday.
mb.

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.