friends and float trips

it is a fact that i rarely meet a stranger. at least, strangers that appear to be having as much fun or more than i am at the moment. i cant help passing up a good opportunity to make a new friend and join in on the fun...which is exactly the condition upon which this story begins. 

earlier this summer, me and some friends decided one weekend to float the river for the day (a very popular summer activity in Austin) so we loaded up in two cars and headed for San Marcos for some fun. now, floating the river with SEVEN boys (and no girls) may seem like Heaven to some girls...but not this girl. I was down in the dumps this particular day because of the apparent lack of good girl friends I had in Austin this summer, and although my guy friends are truly amazing, they just aren't the same...you know what i mean, girls?! 

SO, as I am moping around on the river and half-listening to the guys talk about golf, girls, and whatever else a group of guys talk about when together on the river, I get an idea....why not MAKE some new girl friends while I have this 6+ hours out on the river?? so i set off on my new mission....and it didnt take very long. Before long, I was floating next to huge groups of people, getting free drinks and chatting it up with everyone in sight. loving life. Then....bam...i bump into a group of like EIGHT or so girls floating all together and being super fun. I immediately knew I had to stay with their group....they looked classy (rare for the San Marcos river) and were super friendly to me right away. I spent the rest of the day attached to their tubes, talking about life, laughing at the not-so-classy people on the river, and introducing them to "my boys" so our groups could merge together. At the end of the day, we all managed to memorize each other's phone numbers long enough to make it back to our respective cars and put them in our phones. We all called each other shortly thereafter, and our friendships were officially confirmed! 

We have spent the rest of the summer texting/facebook chatting at work, going to church together, eating downtown on our lunch breaks, going out...and we are going to the lake tomorrow! we're planning on wrapping the summer up with one last float trip next weekend...it only seems appropriate to end right where we started. So it's true...you can make friends ANYWHERE as long as you're willing to make a little effort! 

me and the girls (natalie, jehan and bonnie) at dinner downtown

usa day

i love birthdays, and the celebration of America's birthday (freedom....birth, same thing) is no exception. From hanging out with kids, to wearing American flag apparel, singing patriotic songs, watching fireworks, and eating BBQ...I had a very eventful weekend.

I have floated the river a few times, but my river experience this weekend was quite different than any I've had before. I went with my friend Erica and her parents and a big group of their family's friends early Saturday morning to the Guadalupe River. We rented big rafts (4-person rafts... we had 7 rafts total) and set off down the river armed with huge water guns in each raft. The chaos began immediately. The only rules regarding the water guns were that there WERE NO rules. Every man for himself. We spent about 5 hours floating/paddling down the river, stealing other boat's paddles, guns, and anything else we could grab...I'm sure the innocent floating bystanders LOVED being caught in our cross-fire. I'm pretty sure I used a 7-year old in my raft to shield myself at one point...it was everything a Fourth of July activity should have been.

To polish off a successful 4th, I spent the remainder of the day/night with my roommate* and his nine friends from Nashville who were our house-guests for the weekend. After catching part of the fireworks downtown, we headed to E. 6th street (a slightly cleaner version of Bourbon St.) where we hung out and danced all night. The best part of the night HAD to be when some random frat guys walked onto the dance floor in the bar where we were at closing time (3 am) and started belting out, at the top of their lungs...."and I'm proud to be an American...." and no lie, the entire bar (if not the entire 6th Street) joined in. I was amazed at how many people knew every word to that song...the display of patriotism was impressive. It was a day and night to remember, that's for sure. God bless America.

they really got into it for "across the plains of Texas"...if you can imagine.

*i don't actually live with said roommate all the time, i am just living in his house while I am in Austin...therefore we call each other "roommate".

one month

one month from today i will be in Virginia again. reunited with my law school besties, who i miss dearly. i cant wait to be back and hit up the beach every day and eat every meal at panera and/or jason's deli. i cant wait for sleepovers and bible studies and long runs with sarah at lake james. i cant wait to go back to my CHURCH. i cant wait to start YoungLife and get involved in that ministry. i cant believe i'm saying this...but i can't wait to see the halls of Regent again!

my besties. they really miss me too.

but for NOW...i only have 19 days left in Texas. And as much as i love and miss Virginia...i REALLY love Texas (as everyone knows). I have THREE float trips planned in the next three weekends, I will be making trips back to Krause Springs and Hamilton Pool (both are natural springs outside of Austin...with waterfalls and everything), and I have to cram in as much hang-time with all my new friends as possible. It's going to be a glorious 19 days, to say the least. Let the games begin.

feed my people

when i was little, my mom said when i used to pray at dinner, i would pray for all the people who didn't have beds to sleep in at night. the fact that there were people in the world who couldn't crawl into a warm bed in a dry place like i could really bothered me at about age 5, and that feeling has never really gone away.

i recently found out about a homeless ministry in Austin called "Feed my People" that feeds hundreds of homeless people in the city breakfast every morning, and the same voice telling my little 5-year old heart to pray for the bedless people began speaking to me again about getting involved in this ministry for the summer. Of course, my 23-year old body doesnt appreciate being woken up at 4:45am in order to get there in time to serve breakfast, so i have gone through several tues/thurs of pressing the snooze button on my alarm clock before i finally made up my mind to get my lazy bum out of bed this morning and just GO. and what a blessing it was for me. we fed almost 600 people this morning at FUMC in downtown Austin...one of the biggest crowds they've had yet this summer. i served juice all morning- we even ran out because of the huge crowd. To see the smiles and voices of gratitude coming from all those people was overwhelming....talk about a much needed slap in the face from reality. I dont know the stories behind those faces, I wish I had the time and opportunity to find out...but I can see the immediate need they are dealing with- shelter from the 100+ degree Texas heat, meals just to sustain them through the day, soap and showers for their hygiene, and the need for people to care about them and let them know that they are valued as a person...home or no home.


As i was driving to work later this morning...in the pouring down rain...the Holy Spirit once again led me to pray for all those people i met this morning-- and others i may never lay eyes on--that don't have the opportunities i have been given and for their needs today that far outweigh my version of "needs" for the day. If you have the opportunity to get involved in anything like this in your own city, i HIGLY recommend it. I know the next time my alarm clock goes off at 4:45am, I will not hit the snooze button so quickly.

"I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me."
-Matthew 25:35

monday, monday

for the first time in my life, i think i truly understand why people loathe Mondays. I have been a full-time student for a long time now, so the weekends have always been a nice break from the classroom...but the homework doesn't go away over the weekend; in fact, the weekends are typically when the most homework needs to be done. i have found a new love for the weekend since i started my "job" this summer....this work doesn't follow me home every night/weekend like school-work does! this means i have the entire weekend to PLAY...from 5:00 on Friday afternoon until i go to bed on Sunday night, i can go/do absolutely whatever my little heart desires. The freedom i have discovered in that has been somewhat overwhelming...in a great way. However, the flipside to that freedom is the Monday morning that inevitably follows. Now, as I have said before, I truly love my job and what i am doing this summer...but that doesn't change the fact that I have to get up at 7 am in the morning, get dressed, drive to work, park in a garage (on the TOP level), and walk 3 blocks to work with heavy eyes after a long weekend full of activity. The only thing that actually gets me to my desk is the thought of the daily cup of coffee I will get to drink at 9:30 in the break room. And then the lunch i will get to eat at noon. and then what good new restaurant I will get to go to with one or some of my many new friends in Austin that night. hmmm, i see a pattern.

At least this week is a 4-day work week because of the Holiday. Maybe if i just think of today as a Tuesday instead of Monday, my perspective on the day will brighten. Yes, I think I will do that.

change of plans..as usual

i should have known this wouldn't be a relaxed summer like i imagined it would be...then again, my summers seem to follow a pattern of craziness lately! i just found out that i will be going back to Virginia way earlier than i originally planned to...I will be heading back to the East Coast on August 1st instead of the 21st now...which means i will only have about 4 days in Mississippi to hang out instead of the month i thought i would be spending there. (It seems the more plans i make to get back to Mississippi, the more they head in a completely different direction...every time!) I was asked to be an advisor for Regent's Academic Success Program, a position that i am THRILLED to have been nominated for, but it requires that I be in Va Beach (at school) by August 3rd. The only problem is that I cant move into my new house (our 3-story, million dollar beach house ON the beach, what what!) until August 30th. That should be an interesting month to say the least. Thank goodness for awesome friends that have offered to put up with me as a house guest for extended periods of time. As much as I am sad to not be in Mississippi for longer, I will get to be with the whole fam for a week or so before I have to move back...our annual beach trip is planned for the DAY AFTER me and Jack drive home from Texas. (I am becoming an expert last minute packer/re-packer!) Then back home for a couple of days before I make the drive to VA....whew! As crazy as my life seems sometimes, I would not trade it or slow it down for anything in the world. I am really learning to enjoy EACH DAY for what God has in it for me...good conversations, meeting new (and awesome) people, taking advantage of fun activities around me, and *trying* not to think too far ahead--it takes away the joy of the moment too often!

There is a verse I read recently in Amos...so random...but so applicable to my life right now that I thought I would share...it's so simple, yet so awesome to me.

" So Seek God and LIVE!" -Amos 5:6 (message)

I love this because it is a command to do two things. 1) Seek God...His will, His character, His desires, His love....and 2) LIVE...don't just sit around waiting for crystal clear answers or confirmations to your prayers before you can do anything purposeful in life...God will work through us when we just get out there and start living (and loving on people in the process!)

yes and amen!

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." -1 John 5:14-15

i have been praying about a lot of things lately...and i love when God starts answering so many of my prayers all at once, mainly to remind me of just how much He is present and working in my life. Not that He answers everything at once....what then would be the point of remaining close to Him and needing wisdom and revelation from Him?!

Just a few of the prayers He has answered lately: giving me solid, awesome girl friends in Austin. I can't even begin to describe the blessing that has been!....Covering me with peace about the immediate future and filling me with contentment in being in Texas....Opening doors for Wes for a really good job in Austin (he got it today!)...Connecting me to families that need a babysitter this summer (so i can finally make some MONEY!)...Directing me to an awesome church in Austin (Stone) and giving me friends to go with!

I know I've said it before, but it is so worth repeating. God is GOOD. Even when we can't always see His big picture. And when you start to look for Him working in and around you, He will definitely show up!