Posts

Showing posts from October, 2014

Last Thoughts Before Turning 26

Image
At 3:51 a.m., I will turn 26 years old.  In about two hours, I will have officially been on the earth for 26 years. My first response to that is " Gross !!!"  ...because I had a hard enough time turning 25 and finally coming to terms with it. But so many great things happened to me at 25. Many really hard things, too, but so many great things. Like: I graduated from Appalachian State University. I gained a furry companion that I've gotten to watch grow and now cannot imagine living without. I got over my fear of huskies and labs, since I have both of those in one. I became the president of the alumnae chapter of Alpha Chi Omega in my area. I got to see Luke Bryan perform TWICE. I strengthened family relationships. I strengthened friendships. I formed some wonderful new friendships. I spent lots  of quality time with the people I love. I became the godmother of a precious baby that I love so much. I attended my first NASCAR race. I finally developed a

Starting Birthday Week Off Right

Image
Start of my birthday week... On Sunday at church, Shelley and I both wore houndstooth and that was pretty cool. #twinning Our church had its fall festival, open to the community, and it's always super fun. I had a great time with family and friends :) ..................................................... On Monday, Ashley got her braces off!!  It was a teacher workday, so I was able to take Granny to her dentist appointment and then we met Ashley and my mother at the orthodontist where Ashley was getting the metal taken out of her mouth and I got to see her beautiful smile when she came out!!  The four of us went to eat at Kepley's, where an older man noticed my Appalachian shirt and started a conversation with me because he went there (the bond of the Blue Ridge stands strong) and when my mom and Granny walked up, my mom recognized him as her elementary school principal! Oh, HP.  I thought that was pretty cool though. I love k

Fix My Eyes on You

On the day I called You answered me And the hope in my soul increased I lift my hands And turn my eyes To the God who heals my heart And gives me peace You are more than My words could ever say You are Lord over all Over all of my days I will see this season through I will fix my eyes on You Only You ~Hillsong I heard this song for the first time the other day when I was really anxious about some stuff during my planning period at work. I didn't feel good and my mind was a little overwhelmed.  During those times when my mind is so boggled, it's hard to just sit back and have peace.  During those tumultuous times when it seems like everything is going the opposite of what you'd planned and everything seems to spin out of control, it's hard to remember that God, the Creator of all being, is in control. During those times of change and confusion, it's hard to trust that everything is working out just the way God has planned it

Little Things This Week

Image
Sunday was a gorgeous fall day and Emery looked so beautiful in the sun. I love  sunny Sundays in the fall. The best stress relief for me Wednesday night after a rough day, believe it or not, was taking my small group of middle school girls to hand out fall festival invitations. On the way, we jammed to One Direction, Neil Young (they didn't enjoy Neil Young), and Mariah Carey Christmas music. They told me to send Tim Tebow pictures of them because "no one can say no" to their faces. They casually told the lady at McDonald's that I was their mom. And I got asked, "Miss Beth, are you ever gonna get married?" I love my middle school girls. I mentioned that Wednesday was rough. Well  I work with THE best people, and in the short time I've been at Andrews, some of them have become more than just coworkers; they've become good friends to me. I had a rough day the other day and found this ^^ in my mail box when I FINALLY ch

Anthem Lights

Image
My buddy Trent Gabriel introduced me to the cover group Anthem Lights last week when he was home for fall break. I'm currently obsessed with this mash-up of two of my favorite songs. The folksy, acoustic sound just adds so much more to the fact that these two songs have always reminded me of Boone. I am listening to this on repeat. And missing the mountains.  It's hauntingly beautiful. I'm in love. <3 eBa

Sunday Inspiration

Image
Exodus 33:14  "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest ." In the Old Testament, God promised the Israelites that He would be with them on their journey to the Promised Land. This is one of my favorite verses because He promises to be with us also. Just as He was near to the Israelites and protected them even when they cursed Him and didn't have faith that He would come through and lead them to safety, He is near to us and will go with us wherever His plan for our life takes us. His mighty Presence will give us the peace that we need to sustain us from day to day, even in the hardest situations.  We can seek refuge and relaxation in Him because He has everything taken care of. If we are His children, we can be assured that He has us in His hand and that everything will be okay, no matter what. Two years ago at this exact time, we were in Exodus in our daily quiet time book for Word of Life, and it was the first time I'd ever really read through

Never Say Never

I said I'd never be a mountain person. Over the past year, I've realized that it's true what my mother always told me. You really shouldn't ever say never. Besides the whole mountain situation, there have been at least two other instances in the past year where I said "never," and ended up being proven wrong. I feel like God disrupts our comfort zone when He feels like we are getting too complacent. Whether it's for a wake-up call or a call to something higher to further the kingdom and cause us to grow, it seems like those "nevers" usually end up happening to us. It may seem like spite at first, but I think that God really has a sense of humor in some cases, but in many, He is allowing us to experience our "nevers" to open our eyes to things we never expected to be able to do. I'll use my mountain example: I've ALWAYS loved the beach. So much. When I was a kid I was okay with going to the mountains but I didn't part

Jumbled Up Recents

Image
Very random things from lately; since I can't seem to get everything in order, I'm just gonna leave it at a semi-organized mess.  So this first picture is from my FIRST Appalachian football game as an alumna! That was back in September and I went with some lovely friends and my brother, and for some reason I have this picture in here and not the rest, so I'm gonna add the rest later I guess... in a new/different post.  Emery turned 10 months old in September! I cannot believe she's almost a year old. She's doing intermediate training classes at Petsmart and doing very well!! Emery got to attend her first family birthday party when my dad turned 58 (?) last month!!! She loved the cake :) I got to meet my cousins' ADORABLE kitten Elsa a couple weeks ago! We recently had Spirit Week at school, and some of my wonderful co-workers and I dressed alike on Twin Day! We've had sooo many G

Sunday Inspiration - The Proof of Your Love

In our Word of Life quiet time book, we are in James, and I'm REALLY enjoying it. We were in Psalms and I'm the kind of person that loves comfort and consistency so much that when the book switched from Psalms to James I got a little sad. Psalms is comforting, but James is challenging.  But a challenge is good, and I'm really loving it. James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 2:15-16 - "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" The song "The Proof of Your Love" comes on my Pandora ALL the time while I'm working during my planning period at school. Today I was listening to it on the way home from a wonderful  weekend

Day of Decades

Image
This week is Spirit Week at the high school where I teach, and I have always LOVED Spirit Week so, so much. Ever since elementary school at Wesleyan when we were only allowed to participate in "Red and Gold Day" on the Friday of the week. But I got to see all the middle and high schoolers dressed up (and they went ALL OUT) every day since it is a K-12 school. I couldn't WAIT to dress up for every day of Spirit Week... and now I can, for the rest of my life hahahaha. Anyway, today was Decade Day - my all-time favorite because since I was like 13 I've felt like I'm in the wrong time period. Most of my favorite music is from the 60s and 70s and I used to look at my parents' yearbooks from HP Central and HPU and Appalachian and WISH SO MUCH that I'd grown up when they did // wish that I could've gone to an Elvis concert // wish that I could've worn bell-bottoms every day // driven a Chevy Nova to school // heard their music all the time // l

Just a Good Old Mountain Weekend

Image
This past weekend in Boone was wonderful. As you can see in the pictures above, we had a great time at the Appalachian State game even though it was frigid (well, 43 degrees is nothing for Boone, but it was a shock to the system) and we got to the tailgate late and left the game early :) Below are the pictures from the other fabulous things we did prior to the game: We got to meet Jerry Moore, the former App State football coach that led the team to the "Threepeat" championships of 2005, 2006, and 2007. We had free BBQ in his presence and watched some SEC Network looking for Tim Tebow. On Friday night, we painted pumpkins at the apartment and I cannot tell you how warm and fuzzy and happy my heart felt to be crafting in the apartment again with fall candles and some of the people I love most. It was a wonderful start to October and felt so festive!! Oh my word my heart was full!!!!!  My precious brother got our beds ready for us while