Sweet Southern Pearl

My Facebook status on Sunday evening as soon as I left church: "Completely WRECKED! The Lord spoke to me loud and clear and wrecked my heart this evening at a service at a church I'd never been to before. I cannot wait to write about it!" This is why: I've been wanting to visit this church nearby for a while now, because I really enjoy visiting churches. I enjoy worshiping the Lord in different ways, meeting fellow believers, making connections, hearing the Word taught in different ways, etc. I am not looking to leave Oak View; I absolutely love it there! With that being said, I went to Mercy Hill on Sunday evening, in the pouring rain, alone (I like doing things by myself when I can!). I had tried to go the week before and meet a friend there, but accidentally took a three hour nap and missed it (these naps are killin' me lately). To be honest, I was there mainly to meet people, and not as focused on learning more about the Lord. So boy did it hit me like

A few years ago, tall riding boots were all the rage. I still love mine and plan to wear them a lot this fall / winter, but BOOTIES have really taken the shoe scene by storm and made their way into my heart lately. They're just so easy to wear with whatever. They're easy to slide on, and with pants or leggings, or a dress, or even shorts. Pictured are my favorite booties from Belk.com. [[  http://www.belk.com/AST/Main/Belk_Primary/Shoes.jsp  ]] This last pair I actually bought a few weeks ago and LOVE. As you can see, I'm really into the natural / fringe / earthy look right now. Booties are great. eBa

It's only 45 minutes past Friday, so I'm going to do my first "Friday Five" in a while. 1. I wasn't sure if I would like Pumpkin Spice Oreos, but I bought a pack, ate one, and before I knew it, a whole row was gone. whoops. (I really haven't eaten Oreos in years, but for the past month I've been eating two packs a week... I guess I'm just on a kick right now.) 2. This mascara is my BFF. It's cheap and the best I've ever used. Bought a new tube this week, so my eyelashes have been on fleeeeeeeeek! 3. This is my absolute favorite perfume, and has been for two years now. It's my go-to fall scent, I guess because I first started wearing it in fall of '13 at a bachelorette weekend in Charlottesville, VA, and then to football games at Appalachian, so whenever I wear it, I feel like it's GAME DAY, even if I'm just teaching English for five hours :) 4. My current favorite Yankee Candle sc

I'm so excited that fall is here! I picked some pictures that kind of symbolize fall and put them on here. Every fall is so busy but so fun! I try to do as many fun fall activities as possible. Some of my favorites: festivals FOOTBALL GAMES hayrides pumpkin painting other fall crafts bonfires costume parties hanging out and drinking fall beverages going to the MOUNTAINS and looking at the leaves going to the Farmer's Market taking Emery on crisp fall walks :) eBa

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 I've talked about this a lot already, but four years ago was when my grandmother went home to Heaven.  I've re-posted the words I wrote and read at her celebration of life service... Today I wore all black to commemorate the carnal pain that we felt four years ago today... But her pink and purple necklace because pink was her favorite and in the midst of all the hurt and pain, there was joy because she had lived a long, full life, and we could feel hope and peace... I wore the opal ring that she gave me when I was in college because her parents gave it to her when she was in college and opal was both of our birthstone... I realized that today was just like four years ago today - cloudy, chilly, gloomy, and depressing until about 4:15ish when she passed from her earthly body and almost as soon as she did, the sun shot gorgeous rays out through the clouds as if she was being welcomed home... I saw the sun come out through t

1. How Country Feels - Randy Houser So good. 2. We Went - Randy Houser I'm trying to listen to more Randy Houser because he's opening for Luke Bryan on Saturday AND I'M GOING! It's gonna be so amazing :) I didn't know "We Went" until Grace told me to listen to it last night and now I can't stop. 3. Gonna Know We Were Here - Jason Aldean  4. When She Says Baby - Jason Aldean  Because Jason Aldean is always appropriate and I've been on a serious country kick since Spirit Week last week because our mascot is the COWBOYS! 5. Want to Want Me - Jason Derulo / Luke Bryan If you haven't seen the video for this, please YouTube it. 6. Cheyenne - Jason Derulo  For over a month, I've been obsessed. I still can't stop listening to it. In fact, the next dog I get will be named Cheyenne. 7. Another Night - Real McCoy SO random... It popped up on Spotify last week and I had a flashback of doing warmups

This weekend, we had a middle and high school girls' retreat at church. Girls from Liberty University came and led the weekend and many of the female youth leaders helped out. The weekend was called "Renew Weekend" because the team from Liberty is called Renew. We had a fun time going deeper in the Word and learning more about Jesus and focusing on issues that girls deal with. We also had a little lip synch battle, and I was on some people's snapchat stories with my awesome *NSYNC "Bye Bye Bye" skills. I loved spending time with these precious girls. Hopefully this weekend really did RENEW everyone and was the perfect recharge and refocus weekend, and they can take what they learned into their worlds with them! :) eBa

Friday, September 11th, 2015 I really like the Hillsong song "Man of Sorrows." One line of the song is "bowing to the Father's will, He took a crown of thorns." That part never really made me think too much until tonight, driving to Boone. It refers to Jesus's crucifixion and how beforehand, He had begged God to spare Him, but God's will was for Him to die so that we could live freely if we so choose. I really stopped to think about it tonight because lately I've been asking God for guidance and direction I'm to show me His will for my life for certain situations... But sometimes I catch myself thinking, "I don't deserve to go through this" or "why can't it just go the way I want it to go for once?"  When you stop to think about how even the Son of God was not granted His request to take His situation away, it really humbles you. Jesus surely did not deserve to die. Yet He was not above bowing to God's will,

Sunday, September 13, 2015 This morning at my church in Boone, The pastor said a quote that really stood out to me. He was talking about seeing life through a different lens and said, "See your obstacles as opportunities." Everyone in the congregation got out pens to write this quote down. What does this mean? How can an obstacle be an opportunity?  Me not getting a job in Boone seemed like an obstacle at first, but it provided an opportunity for me to score my dream teaching job at SWHS.  I could look at certain situations in my life as obstacles, or I could see them as ways to overcome and become stronger. I could use my own obstacles in life as opportunities to share with other people who are struggling with the same obstacles how I have overcome them.  I can definitely use my obstacles as opportunities to pray more and grow in Christ.  I can use my obstacles as opportunities to trust Jesus more. If I hit a roadblock and have no idea what is ne

So last week was a trying week... it was a short week because of Labor Day, but it was a heavy and somber one. I was longing to just get to Boone. I hadn't been in a month, and it was time to go back. I have to get my monthly (or bimonthly) fixes. I wrote in a post the other day how when I drove into Boone, my spirits immediately lifted. A feeling of lightness came over me when I got into Boone around 11 Friday night. I went through the McDonald's drive through and got coffee and then went over to Grace's apartment. There was a chill in the air (okay, it was FREEZING) and my black coffee smelled and tasted so good and everything seemed perfect. Grace and I sat in her room, lit by candles and Christmas lights, and talked about life and Jesus for a long time. It was so relaxing, and so necessary. It's so good to just talk to a good friend about anything and everything. My soul felt at peace!! On Saturday morning, my bro