All 4 Him

house plans

2006-08-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

So, on Friday I met with my house planner and finished my first revison of my house plans. She's going to finish it up, then call me and we're going to have a couple of more revisons...then the construction begins!! The target for breaking ground and building is Spring 2007. It's going to be here before I know it.
It was so exciting to actually go to my land and go over the design of my house with my planner, Wendy, and Mom and Dad. I could see it and it became real to me...I'm so pumped! Just a little shout out to thank my Jesus for blessing me enough to be able to do this. A second shout out to my Dad for being my General Contractor and saving me tons...not on my car insurance, but my house. :)

Stay tuned for more updates...

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2006-08-13T18:09:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to send out a great, big shout out to my Mom...who is Fabulous at Fifty!!
Love you, Mom, and you're lookin' hot!

Click on the picture to see more from the party.

of late...

2006-08-04T17:36:00.000-04:00

It's been a while...so here's some of the fun things I've been doing-

1. My brother turned 23 on July 15th. We had this big family BBQ including our family, my sister-in-law's family (for those of you that I talk to often...I refer to her as simply my sister-cause I love her that much :), and my sister's brother's wife's family. Whew...
Anyway, there ended up being about 100 people there. Great times!

2. I went to see Theory of a Dead Man at the Handlebar in Greenville with one of my favorite peeps, Allison. We met a couple of friends there and had a blast! The first two bands were beyond horrible...and by 11 I was ready to go. Theory came out and totally turned it around for me and made it worth every minute.

3. I went to Jax last weekend and had a most fabulous time with my homie, Nikki. We did nothing but lay out on the beach (and get harrassed by an old drunk guy), eat great food, and hang out in one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. In one of the resturants, we got to make our own smore's! It was awesome!!! I'm looking forward to going back...despite the 6 hour drive. :/

4. I just got back in town today from Charlotte on a work trip...which is yet, another cool city. However, I have no fun pictures to share. Paulie, I'm so sorry that I didn't call. This is a public apology. I hope you accept it along with a rain check. The next time I'm in Charlotte, we'll hang out.

I've had a great time the past couple of weeks and have been nothing short of busy, but loving every minute of it. I do miss the guys and ladies of Canterbury and plan on going back to visit this Monday!

(...so my pictures aren't uploading for some reason. I'll try to figure it out and re-post them on Monday)

wow...it's been a month

2006-07-19T20:18:00.001-04:00

If you can't laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at? So, I thought I would share this picture with all you peeps who would laugh at me...with me. haha! This was immediately after I was rolled into my room after my Gall Bladder surgery and I obviously had no idea this was taken. Funny stuff!

I also heard from my good friend, Dr. Grier, that once having your Gall Bladder removed your stool could become "greasy and foul smelling". So far, so good...but I'll update you guys if that changes.

On a serious note, thank you to all my great buddies that called me to check on me. It was much appreciated and nice to know that I'm loved. Well, maybe that's pushing it...but at least I'm thought about. :)

Costa Rica

2006-06-21T17:12:00.000-04:00

Just let me start by saying that there's no way to describe how beautiful this place is and how much fun I had while I was there. Just for a brief summary- the waves were great (oh yeah-we were shreadin' waves, hangin' ten, the whole deal), the sunset insisted on different colors every night, pina coladas just don't get much better, and the people live the kind of lifestyle I would love to live. "Pura Vida" Just a carefree way of life...no stress, no worries. I loved everything about this trip...even the heat....just ask the guys.

I will download most of the pictures from the trip on my Flicker site soon. I'll keep the censored ones to myself. :) Just kidding....no censored pictures only one's of me looking fat. ha! Thanks to Jason and Lee for providing a wonderful trip with lots of good times. I would definitely recommend checking out CR if you ever get a chance...just be aware that you'll want to stay once you get there.

Yay!

2006-05-26T16:45:00.000-04:00

Yay for lots of reasons:

1. I got a new camera and I love it! Canon Powershot S3 IS
It's so sweet...I'm still learning a lot about it and playing around with it so my picture taking skills should improve over time. :)

2. I just spent my first Monday night back at Canterbury and I had a blast! It's so awesome to have a group of friends you can hang out with and act all crazy together, but then at the end of the night pull some people aside and ask for prayer. Good times! (Yeah, that's mace in Sandy's hand...)

3. I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Hilton Head to spend a week with my family for Memorial Day weekend! I love time with my family. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures from the beach that you can laugh at...cause I just got fat! ha!

Digital camera

2006-05-17T09:45:00.000-04:00

ok - so, I'm a little behind the time. I don't have a digital camera. I want the convenience of having a camera that I can slip into my jacket pocket and download pictures right onto my computer.

Your feedback would be appreciated.
Are there any stories of:

"I wish I would have known...before buying my camera"
or
"You've got to get something with this feature...."

Anything would help. I'm doing my research, but I thought your feedback would help me out. Since all my buds are in with the time...and Dr. LaBar is one great photographer (that's his picture above). I'm sure you have some helpful info for me! :)

Thanks!

Update

2006-05-13T10:12:00.000-04:00

(I know the pictures are blurry, but it's all I've got for now.)

Alright...I'm back to the land of the living. Finally. I placed 5th out of 30 girls in my class. The top picture is the top 5 girls in Class C, which was my class. The bottom picture is all of Class C, just to give you an idea of how many girls were in it and what they looked like. I'm sure attending bodybuilding shows isn't on the top of your "things to do" list. :)

Unfortunately, I just found out yesterday that I'm going to have my Gall bladder removed sometime with in the next week. I'll find out for sure on Monday. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that it was the diet that did me in. So, I'm done with competing...in Figure Competitions at least. No one is safe on the basketball court...I'm still competing, that is. I'm looking forward to resuming my social life once again...with some good grub involved. JT, I hope you can forgive me for givin' you guys the shaft and disappearing for a while. This is a public display of my desire to be allowed to hang out with the "cool kids" again. Pretty please....

Now that I have a little bit of free time on my hands, I'm going to dedicate a little more time to building my house. I'm meeting with my house planner at the end of this month and hopefully construction can start in a little less than a year. Woo hoo!

Just a little update on myself to keep you clinging to your seats...waiting on my next blog. (I'm sure.)

JR USA Figure Competition!

2006-04-24T15:43:00.000-04:00

It's here!! This weekend is going to be the best! Kickin' Chickin and Marble Slab...here I come!

I'm not sure if I got a chance to show my picture to everybody, so I'll post it on here...with the risk of receiving harassing comments. :)

Since this picture, I've gained 11 lbs of lean muscle mass, so I'm excited to see the difference on stage from last year to this year.

Anyway, wish me luck.

my proud dad

2006-04-10T13:37:00.000-04:00

Wow...what a fish!! I can't remember the last time I saw my dad smile in his sleep. :) This just goes to show you that it's fishin' season...which means that it's almost summer time! I'm so excited! I'm ready to get out and go hiking, camping, and fishing (of course).

This blog is to let you know that I'm still alive and keeping in touch with the other bloggers of the world. There will be more to come after my competition...which is only 3 WEEKS AWAY!! Woo hoo!

Elite 8...baby!

2006-03-29T11:54:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, baby....Josh and I got to go to the NCAA Tournament to watch Texas vs. LSU on the 25th! Too bad it wasn't Duke vs. Texas, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. What a game...back and forth the whole time and then overtime...man, it was exciting! It was an amazing game and an amazing experience to get to go to watch one of the Elite 8 games in ATL! Holla!

(He's really happy to be with me...don't let him fool you.)

Besides that, I've been going back and forth to Charleston to pose for my trainer...so he can change my diet and make me eat nasty fish for the last month before my competition. I know one thing....I cannot wait to get to eat some Super Taco, chocolate chip cookies (preferably Double Doozies), Oreos, cheese, ranch, Zaxby's, Taco Bell, IHOP chocolate chip pancakes, biscuits and gravy, biscuits with jelly/honey/apple butter....well, I guess you get the idea. Despite all my cravings, the diet and training have been going great. This year has been so much easier than last year...especially mentally. I started to wonder why...so here we go getting into a deep spiritual analogy. :)

Training for this competition is a lot like living your life for Jesus. (I think I might have touched on this in one of my previous blogs...but here we go again) I can't tell you how many times I want to shove my face into chocolate cake...or something with cheese on it...Especially during mid-February/ early March. Why don't I just do it? Why don't I indulge myself in something that I would really enjoy and would taste like pure heaven to me....I can just do more cardio and work it off, right?
Well, I remember from my last competition what it felt like on stage wishing I would have watched my portions more. If only I had been more disciplined. After the show was over, I see where I could have been if I would have stuck to my diet better. With that experience I gained knowledge.

Spiritually...why don't we indulge in the things that would "taste" so good to us. It's ok...we're saved by God's grace and He loves us enough to forgive us, right? Right, but with experience and maturity in our walk with Christ we know and understand the benefits that come from staying disciplined in our walk. It's so worth it in the end. We gain more wisdom and a closer walk with our Savior!

So, I guess I'll save the cheesecake and chocolate until after April 29th and also focus on staying more disciplined in my walk with my Best Friend.

good, healthy fear

2006-02-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

So, I'm reading a book now by Donald Miller called, "Searching for God Knows What". I'm not sure if any of you guys are familiar with Donald Miller, but he is a great author! I've read another one of his books, "Blue Like Jazz", that I would highly recommend reading if you have some free time...if not, make time!

There's a chapter that talks about how a lot of times it's the TV evangelists that are so focused on money, power, and fame that turns people's stomachs when it comes to the thought of Christianity...or a better way of saying it- when non-Christians think about Christianity, those types of people are the first to come to their mind instead of the Christians that are non-self seeking, humble, full of love, and mercy. Miller goes on to say that if he didn't really know who God was, then he wouldn't want any part of Christianity either. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, so it's funny that I would read that while all this has been stirred up in my heart. I detest how people use and abuse Christ's name to get something that they want. It's sad, really. Then, I stopped and thought, "Have I ever done that? Have I ever used Jesus' name to make something right for me?" The answer is yes. I think we all have at some point.

Proverbs 16:6
"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil."

I think what those people lack, and what I lack, is a good, healthy fear of the Lord. He is after all the Creator of everything. I have no doubts that His love and mercy for us is endless....I guess that's why I focus on that so much....it's nice to think about. However, we do need to constantly have a fear for Him. I think back to times that I wanted to knock someone's head off because they ticked me off...and might have came pretty close to doing it. I know about Romans 12:18, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.", but even knowing that, I still proceeded to argue and push the limits. I still wanted to hit the girl. Why? If I knew that it is not how Jesus wants me to live, and I'm aware of that, why would I still push the limits? The answer is, I knew He would forgive me. I totally take advantage of all the goodness of His love and mercy that He has for me. I need that healthy respect and fear of the Lord. If I feared Him I wouldn't have kept pushing. I would have let it go. It's like when I was little. I knew that if I did certain things, I was going to get a whippin' from my dad...even though he loves me...I feared him because I knew there were consequence's.

Proverbs 16:6 "...through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil."
Thank you, Lord!

V-Day!

2006-02-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all my peeps!!

I love you all and wish nothing more but for you to feel loved, loved, LOVED today!

the dish...

2006-02-08T15:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, so today's been alright. I've been productive...at times.

I proudly spin around in my chair, grab my red pen to mark off 2 things off my "To Do" list (with a big grin I might add). The excitement only lasted a moment when I looked at the rest of my list. Then, my smile creeps back across my face when I think of job security....I've got plenty.

Since I've red marked those 2 items off my list, I've been diligently working on the other things on my list. Stop laughing....it's true.

Later on today, someone stops by and drops some inter office mail on my desk. I'm thinking bonus check...rave reviews from upper management....(hey, I'm an optimist), but instead I get another list of work. Except this time, it's not really mine to do.

I had spoken with this lady...real sweetheart....and offered to help her find a contact to lead her in the right direction with some changes she needed to make in a particular document. Well, in this envelope was the changes she needed to make with my name attached to it. I'm laughing right now because I have nothing to do with this...but because of my offer to find her a name, mine got tagged to it. I got the dish!

Without knowing what had just happened, I asked my co-worker, "You live and learn, don't ya LaTina?" She said you sure do...you sure do.

I'm sure that's never happened to anyone reading this...so I'm just giving you a heads up. Watch out for the dish...it's out there....waiting.

back by popular demand

2006-02-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

Since I've had some great feedback on my blog here lately (thanks Paul and Rebeca), I was asked....no, more like told to get off my lazy tail and blog again.

If you know me well at all, then you know that I'm training for a figure competition. It's a type of bodybuilding. Let's suffice it to say that it's muscular women that actually look like women...not women with beards, mustaches, or deep voices.

Training for this thing gets pretty intense, therefore encouragement from family and friends really goes a long way. I woke up this morning to find a card from my parents. Amazing quote and something to remember, for sure. Just thought I would share it.

You have a God who hears you,

The power of love behind you,

The Holy Spirit within you,

And all of heaven ahead of you.

Max Lucado

You have all you need.

a lil' bit of discipline

2006-01-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

At this very moment, I'm sitting in Books-a-Million waiting on my sweet Pathfinder to get a sweet car alarm/automatic car starter installed at Circuit City. Sweet! I'm so excited about not having to walk outside in the freezing cold to start my car. With just one click on my key chain before I leave the warmth of my own home, ten minutes later, instant warmth in my car. Ahhh...
Can you say, "spoiled"?

Since the title of my blog is "All 4 Him", and I've received recent heck about applauding myself all the time, (Naeem) I guess I'll tie this back into Jesus.

While sitting in Books-a-Million feeling spoiled with hot coffee, wireless internet, my MP3 player, reading my Bible, I began to think of how awesome I have it. God is so good to me...no doubt.

My thoughts were interrupted with a phone call from my bud, Nikki. She and I began to talk and she began to unload about some things that she's going through right now. As we she was talking, it hit me. Discipline. How much of our lives are about discipline? There are so many parts of my life where I am spoiled to pieces (blessings) and there are other parts that discipline is needed....needed just to get by, or needed to be blessed and to see rewards from it. I can look back over my life and see times where I was just breezing by and at the same time there were other parts of my life that required much discipline. Over the course of time those areas that need discipline change...and will continue to. It's so cool to think about that. The more we go through in life, the more discipline we become in certain areas...areas that we may have mastered, or areas that we will continue to have to be disciplined in for the rest of our lives. The good thing about this is that we are in control. Not in control of what life throws our way, but how we handle it and how much we allow God to be in charge.

Discipline and God. That's a pretty dynamic duo. I'm thankful that I'm able to have both.

...and just so you know, I will be very disciplined about starting my car every morning before leaving my house. :) Rotten, I know...

getting alone with him

2006-01-12T01:11:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I knew this title would catch your attention....and no, JT, I'm not talking about you. :)

I think back to when I went to Sri Lanka in 04', (I can't believe it's been that long) and I remember how, no matter how tired I was, I always found an hour or at least 30 min, to spend with my Jesus. I wrote in my journal at that time, that no matter what I would continue to take time out of my day and spend it with Him. There were so many times that I wrote about specific words that He gave me...and all I did was get alone with Him...and He did the rest. Unfortunately, like so many other things, I allowed life to get in the way and I haven't kept my word.
When I talk to Jesus, I tell Him how much I love Him and how I need His direction in so many different things. Then, this whisper in my spirit says, 'spend time with me'. There has never been a time when I have spent time with Jesus that He has not met with me...even if it was just to tell me how much He loves me....I could feel it!
There are so many ways to spend time with my savior, but there are 3 main ways. Worship (whether it be through music, nature, fellowship...), prayer, and reading His Word. I worship in my car to music everyday. I worship Him through nature everyday when I see the beautiful sunrise over the lake as I drive to work. I worship Him through fellowshiping with my buddies I just wrote about. I pray and just get down right honest with Him everyday...I could always do more, I'm sure. Now, why then, do I not read His Word everyday? I'm so thankful for Paul. When he says, "Why do I continue to do the things that I do no want to do, and do not do the things that I want to do?" I can totally relate to this guy. It's not that I don't want to...I just don't take time out to do it like I should. Don't get me wrong there are days that I read my Bible, but I'm convinced that your spirit needs His Word just like your body needs food and water.
I'm gonna get better. He is the reason for my everything...and I'm gonna give Him my best.

my buddies, my buddies, my buddies and me....

2006-01-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

I hope all you guys had an awesome Christmas and New Year holiday. I had a blast! If you get a chance, I suggest going to check out Jason's pics of New Year's Eve night. ....a bunch of crazy people getting buzzed off of grape juice. "Sandy!"

Fun times!

OK...down to business. There's been something on my mind here lately...and something that I've been dealing with. The gang I was blessed with in Charleston is no longer around....well, they are, just a little spread out. My point is, I don't get to hang out with them at all anymore.
Fellowship. I thrived off of fellowship when I lived in Charleston. My friends challenged me to live for Christ in new and exciting ways all the time and always offered me encouragement.

Just since I've moved back home, I've realized that fellowship with other Christians is key! It's so easy to slowly get drug into believing that you're fine in the routine that you have. Wake up, go to work, (for me) go to the gym, eat, go to bed. I'm not saying that routine is bad...but it is boring. I grow complacent in my routine...Complacent in places I shouldn't be, such as my walk with Christ. I just recently started hanging out with Justin Tanner and the crew of some of the coolest people that I know. (Justin, that did not label you as the leader of this group:) Just from the couple of times I've been over there, I've met so many great new people. Christian peeps that help you think outside the box...push you to reach out and touch some one...You name it and they'll help you with it. You just can't beat that.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to plug into a Christian community since I've been back home, but I'm so thankful that Jason encouraged me to hang out with his buds here in Clemson.

Naeem and Ashley, you were a constant source of fellowship to me and I'm so thankful for that. I miss you guys dearly, but know that you are spreading your love all over Charlotte and many other people are being encouraged and uplifted by you!
Amy, I really hate that you and I didn't get to know each other better, but Charlotte is only 2 hours away. I'm comin' for ya, girl! :)

Thank you for your encouragement! You guys are the BEST!

look at me go

2005-12-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

Two Days in a row! See I'm comin' back...

Today is my last day at work before the holidays! So, I'm writing this for two reasons: #1) Since I live in Walhalla, I can't get high speed internet at my house...therefore, I never get online at home. (don't make fun of me...:) I've been spoiled with DSL. #2) This is my last chance to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Woo hoo!

I hope that everyone gets the holidays off from work and gets to spend it with family and friends. I think it's really cool that The Chronicles of Narnia came out right in time for Christmas. I know a lot of people have blogged about this movie...as they should! It's amazing! What better time to watch the story of Christ. My suggestion is, if your family hasn't seen the movie, take them to see it! It will really open your eyes to the love that Christ has for us. Amazing!

I'm falling more and more in love with that man! He gave me a present the other day...a really cool present...and it was one that I asked for! That was the cool part! OK, since you twisted my arm, here's the story:

On my way back from my family vacation in CO, I began to really talk to God. I was thanking Him for loving me so much and wanting to romance me. I was just lovin' it up, thinking about the way he loves me and the

things he does for me! Since He loves to do things for me, I thought that it would be cool to actually ask for something...a present. I thought for a minute about what I would want from Christ...you know, one of those "just because" presents. I wanted a shooting star. It's not that often that you see those. You really have to be looking. Well, the whole ride to Denver I stared at the sky, waiting for my gift from my true Lover! As much as I stared, I never saw my shooting star. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't give up easily...

especially if it's something that I want. Plus, I never doubted that he wanted to give it to me. I knew that He wanted to make me smile...so I kept watching. Well, that following Monday I was on my way home from the gym and wasn't thinking about much. Pretty much just unwinding from my day. Chris Tomlin was playing, and as soon as he sang, 'He made the stars and he knows them by name', here comes the brightest shooting star ever! It started at one side of my windshield and went to the other before I couldn't see it anymore. Talk

about capturing my heart! That was a direct gift from MY love to His love (that would be me)! It was perfect! I began to thank him and love on him...how could I not? It was neat how He waited. He was waiting for the perfect time...so it could be just me and Him. I love Him and our relationship. It keeps getting better and better.

This is a very random blog, all I wanted to do was wish you a Merry Christmas....but you twisted my arm and made me tell my really cool story about how God loves me! :)

Have a a wonderful Christmas! Ask for a present from your Love. He's dying to give those out!

Give me a round of applause

2005-12-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

I deserve a round of applause because I'm back. Well, hopefully... I guess one post since July doesn't officially mean that I'm back, but I plan on it. Plus, there's no telling who is going to read this and when since it's been so long. It will be interesting to see.

It's so funny how blogging can connect you to different people. First of all, it's been a while since I've kept in touch with certain people, but by going back and reading their blog I know what they've been up to. Kind of crazy! I have to admit, I feel like a stalker sometimes. :) (I know what you've been doing and you know who you are...)

It' really cool how connections are made though. One example...I lived in Charleston for 3 years and met some really cool people! After I moved back home, I lost touch with the blog world. Life got really busy for me (I think I got it straight now) and I just recently started reading some of my friends blogs again and found out that my friends from Charleston blog now and know some of my friends from Clemson who, you guessed it, blog as well. NUTS!

Who said that blogging was crazy. It totally ties you in and plays a healthy role in keeping friendships alive and growing. :) I feel complete now that I'm back on the board.

Shout outs...

2005-07-20T13:44:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to take a second to give some shout outs to let you know that I'm still here....alive and kickin'. Things have been so busy with work and moving, but I'm finally at Oconee Nuclear Station and moved in up here. Wow....I'm lovin' it! Thanks for those of you that keep my in your prayers. They're always needed. I'll give a more detailed update later....sooner than later. :)
Shout outs:
Dr. Labar, Jason Grier, Laura Tossey, Jenna Lewter, Rebecca Diaz, Nik-cole Elmore, Tammy Woodie, Candy Bell....and all the other fine ladies in packaging....all the peeps at Seacoast; special shout out to Naeem and Ashely-Good luck with your big move! God's with you!!!

Miss talking to you all and hope that everything's going well! I'm out...

Spiritual Warfare

2005-05-23T13:24:00.000-04:00

First of all, just let me say that I will finish my story about Sri Lanka. I've just been so busy trying to get things together at work and at home for my big move. Until then, I want to just jot down a couple of things that I've been thinking about. I go to a church called the Annex which is a part of Seacoast, and is targeted for singles. The Annex is awesome and if you're ever in the Charleston area I would suggest checking it out. We have a service called Every Tuesday and usually the pastor will speak about a certain topic for about 4 weeks. The current series is on spiritual warfare. It's been so awesome! Naeem is the pastor that is leading this series and he's allowing God to use him in an incredible way. (Just to keep you connected-Naeem was one of the leaders for the Sri Lanka mission trip) I'll get more in depth with Naeem's personal story later on in my Sri Lanka tale, but he has had some encounters with deomons. The very first encounter is how he became a Christian. Great story.....hopefully, I'll get to share it with you later. Since this series has been going on, my eyes have been opened to a whole new world that's out there...consantly. You may be familiar with the verse that tells us that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:12 NIV
Christ did not make us bad...he made us pure and holy...and most importantly, in His image, both male and female. (Gen 1:27) The fall happened. This just shows that the battle against the evil forces has been going on since creation. I never thought about things this way before, but whenever we think bad things...whenever we crave to do something that we know we shouldn't...we bash ourselves for thinking such horrible things. We then convince ourselves that we are a bad person. If I were a "good" Christian, then I wouldn't think those things. Not true!! I think that's the biggest lie from Satan. First of all, we are not the ones thinking those things. Satan and his pals are there constantly whispering those things in our ears. We are in control of what we do with those thoughts, not what comes into our head. Another huge lie...when we fall down and mess up Satan and his demons are constantly telling us that we're not worthy and we don't deserve Christ's love. He pushes self doubt and the feeling of worthlessness on us all the time. As Christians, we need to be aware and know our enemy! If we recognize that it's Satan telling us these things, then we can better equip ourselves to fight against him. By the way, the battle is already won...we just have to keep fighting! How encouraging!! When we allow doubt to live in our head, we allow those demons to have a foothold in our lives. So secondly, and equally important, we need to know who our God is! How powerful, strong, loving, and devoted to us He is. Then, when that doubt comes into our head, we can strongly say, "I know my God. He loves me unconditionally and you, Satan, have NO power over me! Get behind me!"
I've been reading an incredible book and would definitely encourage you to read it if you have time. The name of it is "The Oath" by Frank Peretti. He is one incredible Christian author. I would also suggest "This Present Darkness" which gives a fictional, Christian veiw of spiritual warfare. Great books!
There is so much to say about this subject, but I hope that I've atleast probed your brain to start thinking about it. I think it's crucial to know so we can be prepared for this battle because we're in it, whether you want to be or not.

thanks

2005-05-10T11:47:00.000-04:00

I would like to say thanks to Ed, Justin, Laura, and Jason for snapping me back into reality and helping me realize that I haven't blogged in a really long time. To Ed and Laura, I know you're going to be disappointed, but I think Jason pretty much summed it up in his blog about meeting the parents. I know this doesn't make for an interesting story, but my parents think Jason is great.
Things have been so busy. I just recently found out that I will be working for Duke Energy at the Oconee Nuclear Station as an Industrial Safety Assistant. Straight to the point...it's going to be an awesome job. I'm so thankful for the opportunity. It was definitely a God thing. I'll be moving back to the upper state around June 20th.
I also just got back from Knoxville, TN as a certified Church of God Campus Chaplin. I will be starting the Pentacostal Student Union student organization at Clemson this fall. After going to the conference in TN I see how much work really needs to be done. However, God has opened the doors for us up to this point and He will continue to do so if it is His will. Clemson has donated an auditorium that seats 800 people for us to have our meetings in, the sound and video equipment that is already there, and the people to run it for us. God is so good. Now I just need Him to throw me some talented musicians to lead praise and worship, a speaker, and some leaders to help me out. :) He's going to do it. I'm claiming it!
There's just a brief update on me. Thank you guys for being concerned about my blog. That really makes a girl feel special!

your thoughts

2005-04-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, I've been challenged. This guy that I work out with at the gym asked me a question that I've never thought about before. Unfortunately I haven't done a very good job of doing my homework. So, I'm going to count on you guys to give me your input. I'm curious to see what everyone's take on this topic is.

Ron's question is about the creation of man. God created Adam as the first man and Eve as the first woman. Agreed. Then God commands them to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28) in a sinless world. So, this commandment came from God to the only two people on the Earth in a world without sin. How is it that a good God without sin would ask Adam and Eve to fill the Earth under these circumstances? That means that Adam and Eve, and everyone else for that matter, would have had incest. Incest is bad, right? God is good, right? Then, what's the deal?
Please help. Ron needs answers and so do I.

where's my passion?

2005-03-30T13:20:00.000-05:00

Wow...it's been a long time since I've written anything on here. I've been so busy with all sorts of different things. First and foremost, I just recently finished competing in a figure competition in Atlanta. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's a type of body building. Don't get scared. I'm not as big as a man, nor do I look like one. Figure is a step below that, basically....you are judged on your figure and how well you sculpted it. There's a lot that goes into training for one of these things...A LOT! The part that I really struggle with is the diet. I don't mind all of the hours put in the gym, but it's the "you can only eat chicken and veggies" part that I don't like. With all of this training going on, I really have not made time for anything else. I didn't realize it, but it started to become my main focus. Not good. I am a really driven person. Once I have a goal, I go for it...and I will keep going until I reach it.
I went to church last night and began to pray intently for the people of Sri Lanka. As I was praying, it struck me that I haven't prayed for them nearly as much as I should have been doing. Come to think of it, I haven't been praying for anything as much as I should have. Unintentionally, I have allowed my focus and my real passion to slip away from me. Not completely, but more than I should have. I continued to pray for my friends in Sri. I cried out to God to take away their loneliness, fill their hearts with His joy, come fill their homes when they have prayer meetings, to allow them to lay anything...any burden at the foot of the cross and leave it there. I prayed for a lot of things...and specific people over there. I have such a passion for them. I asked God for that same passion that I have for those people to be carried over to my friends and family here. It's strange to me that is how it is. Why am I more passionate about praying for them and seeing God move in their lives instead of my close friends and family? I want to be passionate about my friends and family....about seeing God do awesome things in their lives. They are after all the ones who encourage me daily. It's not that I don't pray for them, because I do, but without the same passion. I want passion to overflow in this area of my life.
I know this is a break from my Sri trip, but it's just something that was laid on my heart last night and I wanted to share. Keep me in your prayers...

always on time

2005-03-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

The next morning came faster than I would have liked for it to, but once I was up and going, excitement was all over me. Our team assembled together in the hotel lobby and then crammed into our van and off we went to meet with the leadership team at Bethany Church. Byron spoke to all of us on leadership with a vision. It was a really great message. After he spoke we all sang and prayed together. Then, we were split up into teams of two to go visit some people of Sri Lanka in their homes. Another lesson of humility? I think so! God was full of those lessons...well, for me anyway. Knowing that I had the opportunity to go into these people's homes, see where they live, love them, and pray with them made me really anxious to go. Byron and I were a team, and were the last of the teams to leave...45 minutes passed...still no sign of our transportation, which, by the way is a great story in itself. We rode around in these "vehicles" (I use this term loosely...very loosely) called trishaws. If you notice the prefix is "tri" meaning three...as in three wheels. These things were tiny, which wouldn't be a big deal if the people there were to drive "normal", if there is such a thing. Wow...by riding in a trishaw you experienced the "light at the end of the tunnel before you die" syndrome...everytime. Clinging to the ground when you got out of one was not a rare sight...well, for us Americans. :) Anyway, back on track. Byron and I waited 45 minutes on our trishaw to come pick us up, which to some would be frustrating, but to me was a blessing. We had gotten in late from the church service the night before and woke up early to go back to church this morning and I was scheduled to speak that night at a prayer group meeting. The problem is I didn't have anytime to spend some good quality time with the Lord so He could show me what He wanted me to say. The Word of God, 45 minutes...what more could a girl ask for? He spoke to me so clearly. It was obvious that this is what He wanted His people to hear. He revealed passage after passage about His power and how He wants to help us. I won't write out my entire lesson, but I will write down some scriptures He gave me to share...so I keep on sharing. John 14:12-14, Eph 3:20, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 8:15
As God and I were wrapping up, Pastor Peter came up to me and told me something that I will remember for the rest of my life. First let me tell you a little bit about this man. Pastor Peter believes that God can do anything at anytime. I have never met anyone with faith like this man. He walks on a leg that has no bones past his knee cap...patella for you medical school students... Amazing!! I didn't believe him until he showed me. That is truly a God thing! This wonderful man of God told me that he was watching all of us worship in church last night and his heart was drawn to me. He said that he could see my soul crying out to my Father, my Savior, as if I needed Him more than my next breath. With tears streaming down my face, knowing that he saw into my soul, he continued to tell me that what I am experiencing here in Sri Lanka was but only a tiny speck of what God has in store for me. I was like a chicken merely breaking out of my shell. Are you kidding, I felt like I was about to explode already...my heart felt so full. How could there be more? Looking through my tears, I saw the compassion of Jesus in his eyes. After coming back here to the States, I now know what Pastor Peter was talking about. God is pouring out blessing upon blessing in my life.
Our trishaw driver interrupted by letting us know that he was here....finally....but I am so thankful that he was late. Off we were to share the love of Christ with people in small villages in the middle of Sri Lanka....and my heart was on fire.

Psalm 107:1

2005-03-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

"Give thanks to the Lord for the Lord is good! His faithful love endures forever!"
There is something about God's love...well, there's a lot of things I could say about God's love. One thing in particular that was laid on my heart in church this past Tuesday is that His love is humble. How humble is His love? I looked up the word humble in Webster's Dictionary. It said, "reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission". Expressing love in a spirit of submission. How humble is Christ's love? He was beaten beyond recognition...out of obligation? No, out of submission....for us. Wow! I just sat here and let that sink in. I desire to love like that...with a humble love. Not boastful or proud, but humble.
I was taught a lesson in humbleness while in Sri Lanka...a lesson I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
The story left off with the girls from our team leaving Shaun and Cathy's house full of those beautiful girls with hearts for Jesus. I didn't want to leave, but thankfully there was more to come.
We all piled into a van...a van we got to know very well and went to pick up the fellas. We got our first taste of curry from a local food court. Yummy!! It was wonderful, but doesn' t sit too well on the weak stomach's of Americans. :) After eating, we went back to the hotel and got ready for church. Pulling up to the chruch was exciting, but was nothing compared to what was on the inside. Wow, writing all of this brings so many feelings back. I'm telling you, when I walked through those doors, God's presence was so rich and full. It was almost as if I were breathing Him into my spirit. Everyone there was so friendly and greeted us with lots and lots of hugs! After hugging literally everyone in the church, it was time for service to start. Here I go again. I remember this so clearly. I was sitting beside Sarah. The music began to play and songs of praise were offered up to Jesus. He was already there, so it was almost if He was stirred up by our singing. I began to cry...yes, again...that happened a lot on this trip. :) Man, I think all of us experienced the power of Christ in a way that we never have before that night. I looked up and through my tears saw Sarah, crying out to God. Wow...I know that the Spirit of the Lord isn't visible, but I saw Him move over Sarah. It was amazing to see the Lord minister to her personally. Words just don't seem to do any of this justice. At the end of the service, the Seacoast team...that's us...was asked to come to the front. We prayed for people. Humbling? ....you have no idea....I began to cry as they walked toward me. I asked the Lord for His strength because I didn't want these wonderful people to come to someone with empty hands. Praise the Lord, that he filled my hands...He filled them with the things He knew these people needed. I loved them with a humble love...I weeped for them and with them from my soul. I've never experienced anything like that before. Amazing....His humble love pouring from my heart to theirs. Thank you, Jesus!
2 Corinthians 12:9,10
"...'My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (NLT)

2005-02-22T22:29:00.000-05:00

Cathy...this is her house...and her sister Nadeeka...and me of course. how beautiful are they?!

2005-02-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

first night in sri lanka

all the way around the world

2005-02-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

It was the first morning of the most incredible two weeks of my life. I had no doubts that this was going to be one incredible trip, but I knew very little of what God had in store, not just for me, but for everyone involved. Our team of 8 people: Naeem, Nicole, Byron, Jenna, David, Brian, Sarah, and myself were stickin' close together in the airport, chatting away, so eager to board the plane. Next thing I knew my name was being called to check my luggage and to get my seating assignment....well, checked the luggage, but found out that there was no seat reserved for me. Wow...talk about being nervous. I said a quick prayer asking for my heavenly Father's help and all nervousness went away. Our group gathered together in the airport and said a prayer that He would just work this out and prepare a seat for me. We waited...waited...and waited....then, finally a sweet and kindhearted woman told us that she kicked someone else off the plane so that we could all be together. :) Sweet for us, bad for the poor lady that got kicked off the plane. Hope she made it to wherever she was going. It was so evident that Christ had his hand in this right from the beginning. So, our journey around the world began. From Charleston to Houston for a 4 hour layover, then Houston to London for a 7 hour layover, then from London to Dubai for another great 4 hour layover, then finally to Columbo, Sri Lanka! Lots of time to read my Bible and pray, right? Well, yes and no...yes there was plenty of time, but no because #1) I was so sick...I couldn't breathe through my nose and my throat hurt the worst it ever has, I think...#2) Satan was doing a good job at shifting my focus from Christ to how lousy I felt...I just did not feel like getting into the Word. I wanted to do anything but that. There is so much power from digging into the Word of God. I knew in my heart that if I would just push through and open my Bible God would bless me with His presence. Thankfully, I had 2 of the most incredible Christian women beside me. I started telling them about how I felt and we all lifted each other up and opened our Bibles and began what turned into a 2 hour devotion. I still laugh about that when I think about it...even we were wondering when it was going to end. Despite our position, we dug into the scriptures and talked about them...in detail. :) I'm so thankful that we did. My focus was shifted back onto Christ...he was, after all, the entire reason we were on that plane to begin with. Thanks Jenna and Sarah for being such awesome encouraging sisters in Christ! I love y'all! You too, Nicole! I learned to push through and seek Him even if you don't feel like it. There is power in seeking the face of Christ! I also learned that there is strength in numbers...by having people surround me that love Jesus and wanted to seek after Him...encouragement was abundant and we helped each other through it.
Okay, so we're finally in Sri Lanka. As soon as we got to the hotel, we all threw down our luggage and waited to check in. We're all lounging on the couches they have there...trying to get accustomed to the 100 degree weather we were breathing in...yep, I'm sick...can't breath to begin with so the hot weather made it real fun. :) We probably got to sit down for a whole 15 minutes until Nicole and Naeem walk up to tell us that we get to go upstairs....just to put our luggage up....change clothes if we want, but had to meet back in the lobby in an hour. A bus was going to pick us up and take the ladies to the youth pastors house where there was a bunch of teenagers waiting on us to have a girls night out...the same went for the guys except they would be staying at the church...we also were told to bring clothes because we were spending the night. Whew...lets recap...2 days on an airplane, or laying face down on a floor in an airport...2 days...yep, now we're going straight into ministry mode. God never said it would be easy. :) Once we got to the house, there was about 30 girls there...wow...they were so beautiful. I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. We played games and watched movies and just hung out...devotions were for the next morning. There was a language barrier, but that was just with speaking...our eyes, smiles, laughter, and our souls communicated just fine. We both were so thankful to be with each other. After a very, very....very long night (I'm sick, remember...I'm allowed to complain) Nicole, Sarah, Jenna, and I all pile into a bed...yep, one bed and have the most wonderful night's rest. Morning came all too soon for me. I was awakened by the sound of my own cough and Buddhist chanting. They play these chants over loudspeakers over the whole city from 6:00-7:00. This was definitely a first for me. Everyone then started to wake up and as soon as everyone was ready, Nicole lead praise and worship and devotion. Wow...as I sit here and think of that time, I become speechless...words just can't express the humility and love that filled the room. As soon as the girls began to sing in their own language, I began to cry...a hard cry. I think I cried for several reasons....I realized how little I knew about truly worshiping Christ....I watch those girls close their eyes and raise their hands in complete surrender and adoration to Him...it was so pure...they longed to feel Him...because of their humility and surrender; He showed up. The Holy Spirit was so thick there...I couldn't stop crying....God's presence was so real....Those 10-19 year old girls taught me how to worship...the true meaning of worship. All of a sudden, sickness nor tiredness mattered anymore.

satan's tricks

2005-02-21T16:32:00.000-05:00

To pick up where I left off: The first series of team meetings began. Right from the start I knew that I was in the right place with all of the right people. Our second meeting we all gave our testimonies. It was amazing to see all of the different places that God had brought us from. It was almost as if you could see all the paths of our lives leading us to that very moment. God truly does work in mysterious ways. The meetings were awesome. We began to get to know each other and established close bonds. We all knew that Satan would try to break that up. One trick that Satan hurled directly at me and the leader of our trip, Nicole, was an interesting one. I can look back on it now, without bursting out in tears, but it wasn't that easy at the time. (just ask the people on the missions team :) One of the ways we raised money was by selling dinner before a couple of our church services. I, for once in my life, was early, had picked up some food, and was going to help set everything up. I went in to ask Nicole what she needed me to do and she had told me that she forgot the can opener...well, me wanting to help in any way that I could offered to go get it for her. All the food was in my car, so she told me to take her beautiful, white BMW. After a quick thought of how she only lived 2 minutes away from the church, I took her keys and was on my way. On my way back to the church, trusty can opener in tow, I went to cross the highway only to find that a lady wanted to take a closer look at Nicole's BMW...I told you it was beautiful...Yep, I wrecked her car. Not a good thing. Everything is cool now, but at the time I was so upset. I look back and now I can laugh with the rest of my team because I was literally sobbing when I was trying to sell desserts. Not a good thing for sells...everyone was afraid to come close to the hysterical girl that is getting all of the brownies soaking wet. After this, 3 other of my teammates got into car accidents. Satan was on a mission, but his was not as great as the one we were set out to accomplish. I've learned a lot from this. First of all, I need to expect that when I am following hard after Jesus' very own heart and striving to do HIS will and not my own, Satan will come against me. There is no if, and or but's about it...he will, but as long as I am prepared I will come out on top. Another lesson: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." I know that no matter where I am in my life...no matter what happens to me...as long as I am following the will that God has for me I can always be joyful. Jesus won't let anything hurt me, including all of the things the devil throws my way. So as for me, "I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:13-14

2005-02-19T16:37:00.000-05:00

The first morning in Sri Lanka with a house full of awesome girls!

Sri style

2005-02-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

First of all, just let me say it's a pretty interesting story of how this "blogging" thing got started. For those of you that know me and are curious enough to ask; I'll fill ya in later. :)
For me, this will be the place that I'll finally get to write down all my thoughts on my trip to Sri Lanka. There are so many things that I have been dying to tell people, but never enough time to do it...so here's my chance.
It all started one Sunday after church...my roommate and I were talking to some people about doing a mission trip. I have always wanted to go on a medical missions trip and so did Nikki, my roommate. There was an upcoming trip to Nicaragua, but for some reason I wasn't all that excited about it. Nikki ended up going on that one without me. Another trip was mentioned...a trip to Sri Lanka. I had absolutely no idea where it was, but it sounded awesome! Naeem is the pastor of the church I attend and he told me that it was an island at the southern tip of India. I knew in my heart that I needed to go. From there, the journey began....