Traffic Jam + Roommates Wedding= Frustration

This Memorial Day weekend was my roommate Lindsey's wedding in Atlanta.  I was so excited to see some of my good friends from school, hang out, and catch up on life.

I left my apartment in Orlando at 9:00 am and it takes 7 hours to get there.  Everything was going fine until I came to I-75 and every lane of traffic was at a dead stop. At first I figured it might have been construction since I was about one hour from my destination and it would clear up soon.

Nope. We crawled and stopped and continued this pattern for over 4 hours. I was beyond frustrated and upset because it wasn't as if I ran late. I had plenty of time to get there and I was missing one of my dearest friend's beautiful wedding. It just wasn't fair.  It turns out there was a car on fire and they were merging all 4 lanes into one. I knew I would miss the ceremony but I tried my best to make it to the reception.

I ended up changing into my dress in my car since we weren't going anywhere and putting on my make up. (And trying to avoid all the unneccesary oogling by truck drivers.) This was the worst ever traffic jam I have ever experienced in my 11 years of driving. (I'm sure that tells you how old I am.) I have a profound new respect for anyone who has a long and difficult commute to work. 

Sweaty and out of breath I made it to the reception. I was hoping to slip in unnoticed but that didn't happen. I don't like drawing attention to myself. But I did appreciate all the concern my friends had for me. I was able to have fun with my friends and dance at the reception. Lindsey was beautiful and I was so happy for her and her new husband Britt.

The rest of the weekend was fairly calm. I visited with a few of my other friends from Samford and enjoyed walking at downtown Decatur Arts Festival. I'm thankful for that short amount of time to spend with my friends. Those times are especially hard to come by now that we have ended college and started various chapters of our lives.

I hope everyone else had a great Memorial Day weekend with friends and family, until next time blog followers!

What I Learned by Eavesdropping

So this week completes my first full week in my new job as a PR assistant for the FL United Methodist Children's Home. It has been pretty good. I'm sorry I haven't written more frequently but that's what happens when you don't have internet at your house. I've been sitting in on a few meetings, updating the facebook page and proofread a few articles for our magazine. Next week I have CPR/first aid training and will shadow someone on giving a tour of the campus.

Today I had to go down to the SSA to get some issues cleared up. I went to one in Deland which is close to me then they told me they couldn't help me and that I had to go down to the bigger office in downtown orlando. So I had to drive an hour to get there. I'm sitting in the SSA office surrounded by 50 other people, of all shapes, size, genders, and ages. I'm trying to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan but I get distracted easily and I start to people watch.

In my head I'm fuming about how this happened and how this willl affect me and just irritated over everything. Then I overheard a conversation that took me back a bit. There was a girl sitting across from me who was about my age, with dark hair and dark eyes. She was very pretty. She was talking to this elderly gentleman about her situation.

She stated that she was robbed with a knife around christmas time and the thieves stole all her ID and christmas gifts for her 2 year old child. Her husband had been killed in Iraq. So she was trying to get her life together because the thieves not only stole her possessions they also stole her identity and bought things with her credit card and took out a morgage in her name.

"I do believe in God." She said "And I do forgive them. But why do people do things like this?"


I was blown away by her story. I instantly felt selfish and rotten. This young woman had lost everything and here I was stewing about what was happening in my life that I forgot how blessed I really am.

How often do we fixaite on ourselves that don't pause and reflex on the good things in our lives? So walk away from this blog post with a well known lesson: Be thankful and count your blessings.

WHOA!

A lot of you have emailed, texted, called wanting to know how things are going so I figured the easiest thing would be to write a blog post.  First and foremost I want to thank my friends and family who have been so supportive and caring these past few days. I have never felt so much love and encouragement and it has been such a blessing.

Ok so I left yesterday morning about 8:00 am. I got off to a late start because I was up late packing and the storm work me up so I slept in a little later.  As I made my way down I-65, I-20 and I-75, my faithful friends John Mayer, Michael Buble' and Taylor Swift kept me company as I munched on gushers and pringles. (Yes I'm five years old).

The weather was not bad. It rained pretty heavily when I came to Macon, GA and crossed over the FL state line. My thoughts varied on mostly two extremes, "Is this really happening? I can't believe it." and "What am I doing have I lost my mind?" Finally 12 hours later I arrived in orlando, and checked into the condo, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep. I ordered a papa johns pizza, watched Friends on Nick at Nite (I couldn't believe it either! I felt so old) and fell asleep.

Today, I woke up got dressed, then tried to navigate my way to I-4 E. I went to the childrens home for HR paper work, drug screen, and back ground check. I was pretty nervous and my stomach was twisted in knots. It was all a big blur but I'm sure it will be like that for the next few weeks or so. Afterwards I went to the potential apartment complex and scoped out the area. It overlooked the lake and it had a cute downtown area.

Now I'm sitting in the computer room typing up this informational post for you guys to keep everyone up to date. Thanks for all the encouragement and keep it coming. Well I'm a starving marvin, need to go grab some lunch, until next time!!

A Leap of Faith and a Heart of Courage

Holy Moly, so many changes have happened in the past few weeks it’s unreal. I’ve been feeling like a schizophrenic lately with thoughts racing through my head frantically, “Am I doing the right thing? Will I succeed? Is this some sort of quarter life crisis?” Lately I’ve been telling myself just to breathe. 

All throughout this week, I’ve been working, packing, organizing, trying to squeeze in some quality family and friend time and maintain some form of internal stability while everything else around me is spinning out of control.

On a side note, I want to thank everyone for their encouragement via text, email, calls. It definitely helps knowing I have a strong support group of family and friends rooting and praying for me as I begin this new journey.

One of my very dear friends said to me this past weekend “Anna Kaye, it takes a strong and brave person to do what you’re doing, because not everyone can do it.”

And I thought to myself, I don’t feel brave or strong, I feel the complete opposite right now.  I feel scared and frantic and constantly second guessing myself. But I contemplated my friend’s wise and encouraging words.  She was totally right, this was a major life change/move and not everyone can do it.

But I have faith God won’t take me anywhere, that he isn’t already and he is more than able to equip me for the tasks ahead.  It’s going to take more than faith, trust and pixie dust where I’m going.

I will do my best to keep you as updated with this blog and the exciting things happening as I can.

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”

                                                Vincent van Gogh

Guest Blog Post: Where Did the Time Go by: Nicole Abdou

This guest blog post is written by a woman, I greatly admire: Nicole Thurston Abdou.

I met Nicole when I was an intern for her at the Birmingham Chapter of The American Heart Association.

I have gained wisdom, encouragement and laughs from the joy of knowing her and cultivating a friendship. She currently lives in Georgia and is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Tubman African American Museum.

Her life revolves around coffee, media relations, photography, good friends, good food and of course writing. I hope you enjoy her advice to the masses to savor each day and all that it brings.

She blogs at: http://nicoleabdou-destinationunknown.blogspot.com/ and tweets at: @NicoleAbdou.

Where did the time go?

I often wonder where the time went. I find it ironic that I will sit and ponder this very thing, all the while wasting what precious time I do have.

I mean, yesterday I was 16. Then one day I woke up and I was 39. How can that be? What happened to all of the incredible things I was going to accomplish by my 30^th birthday? Or the trendy loft I was going to live in over looking Central Park? Yeah.. time got away from me.

It always does that. Time is a tricky friend.

I am not sure if anyone ever told me how quickly time went. Though I must admit, I’m not sure I would have believed them. Remember sitting in your classroom as a child? All I could think of was what it was going to be like in High School, or College.. or whatever came after that. I would sit up all night with such anxiety of what the future held, all the while, wasting precious time on thoughts that never came to pass. Oh, and the really scary things – they aren’t as scary as you might think.

I eventually graduated from college, and yes, I even got a few wishes granted, but then something happened – it’s called life. I survived the dreaded divorce, and the “C” word. I made it through job loss and home loss. I lost my opportunity to have children, and I walked away from situations that may or may not have turned out okay. But at the end of the day – everything is as it should be.

Now when I look at the time, it is not so much, “Hurry Up, I have soo many things I want to do.” It is now, “Slooow down, I have soo many things left to do.”

Guest Post: What Makes a Good Man by: Dan Reed

Hello fellow followers, you guys will have a break from my posts for a bit. I am excited to introduce this month a few guest bloggers.

First up is my friend Dan Reed. He is a student at Boyce College studying to be a youth minister. He is a wonderful godly guy that I have a great deal of respect for. I hope you are encouraged by his words.

Follow his blog at: www.dancurtisreed.com and tweets at @dancurtisreed.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find.  Or Is He?

My good friend, Anna Kaye, has asked me to write about what a “good man” looks like and why it is harmful for girls to look for/date guys who do not exemplify the qualities of a “good man.”  These are great questions, mostly because I really don’t think a lot of girls (or guys for that matter) have a correct understanding on what a “good” or “Godly” man is.  Not only that, but the consequences for Christian girls who look for/date guys who do not fall within this category are potentially detrimental.  Although I don’t feel that I am the best person to write on this particular topic, I appreciate Anna Kaye’s request for me to be a guest writer on her blog and I hope that the following information is beneficial to you.

What does a “good man” look like?

            The answer is quite simple: Jesus.  He’s the only perfect man to ever walk the face of the earth and what woman in her right mind would not want to marry the perfect man?  The only problem is that He isn’t available and there aren’t any other perfect men out there (I know, bummer!).  The next best thing (and your only true option) is a sinner who is striving every single day to be formed more and more into the image of Christ.  In fact, that should be every Christian’s goal: to be formed into the image of Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:13).  So, girls, when you are looking for a man to date, you ought to be looking for a man who, although flawed in numerous ways, is earnestly striving to become like the only perfect man, Jesus Christ, in every single aspect of his life. 

 

            The question then becomes, “Well, what kind of qualities/characteristics did Jesus have that a man striving to be like Jesus also should have?”  Much could be said on the nature/character of Jesus Christ, but for the purpose of this article, I will use Colossians 3:12-17 to give a brief description of the kind of man striving to be formed into the image of Christ, the very kind of man every Christian girl should be looking for.  A man striving to be like Christ will strive to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient.  He will strive to bear others’ burdens and to be forgiving and loving.  He will strive to be filled with God’s peace and God’s Word.  He will strive to be a spiritual leader, to teach others, and to be wise.  He will show thankfulness in his heart to God and in whatever he does, whether in word or in deed, he will strive to work hard so that Christ may receive the glory.

            That is certainly not a comprehensive list and more could definitely be said, but girls, the thing that you must see and understand is that the kind of man you should be looking for is a man who is earnestly seeking to be like the only perfect man, Jesus Christ.  So girls, I would encourage you to open up your Bible, give much time to reading about who Jesus was/is, and begin taking notice of the men around you who are really striving to become like Christ. 

Why is it harmful for girls to look for/date guys who don’t exemplify the qualities of a “good man”? 

            Let me be very clear: it is extremely harmful for girls to look for/date guys whose main desire in life is not to be formed into the image of Christ.  In my perspective, Christian girls today have a tendency to fall into one or two extremes in dating, both of which are harmful in different ways.

One extreme that girls fall into is the popular concept of “the One.”  To be honest, media has had a detrimental effect on the way women view men.  As fun as movies are, “Prince Charming” doesn’t exist (remember: the only perfect man is Jesus Himself).  If you’re waiting for your knight in shining armor to come to your castle and sweep you off your feet, you will spend your entire life waiting and will die single.  Over and over again I hear girls talk about “the One.”  “I’m just looking and waiting for the One that God has for me” or “I just want to know who the One is,” I’ve heard many girls say (and to which I cringe and roll my eyes at).  We have this strange, twisted concept that God has this one person set aside for us that we are destined to be with for the rest of our lives.  Perhaps this is the case, but “the One” is for God to know, not us.  It’s not our job to look for “the One,” it is our job to be faithful in our relationship to Christ and in the ministry of the gospel. 

 

To be honest, many of you who are reading this blog who are also single women have probably passed up on at least one or two good/Godly men in your life, all because you were waiting for “the One.”  Do you want to know how I will know who “the One” is for me?  When I stand at the altar and say the words, “I do.”  You see, finding “the One” isn’t about finding a man who perfectly matches every single description on your “perfect guy list,” it is more about finding a man who is earnestly striving to be like Jesus whom you are willing to commit to for the rest of your life.  Advice to the girls who fall into this extreme: stop looking for your “perfect man” (Jesus is the only perfect man and He isn’t going to marry you) and just be faithful in your relationship to Christ and the ministry He has called you to (and take notice of the men around you who are doing the same).  If/when you do find a guy who truly loves Jesus and is earnestly striving to become more like Him, don’t worry about if he is “the One” or not and give the guy a chance.

 

               The other extreme I see many Christian girls falling into is the concept of “missionary dating.”  In other words, you go after a guy who is obviously nothing like Christ nor is he even striving to be like Christ.  This is a Colossians 3:5-9 kind of guy: he’s immoral, impure, passionate for worldly gain, desiring evil, filled with covetousness, an idolater, filled with anger and wrath, seeks to do others harm, trashes the names of others, and has a filthy mouth.  And your hope/plan is to be a good influence on him (though we all know how this typically works out).  And, let’s be honest, sometimes your goal isn’t even to be a good influence on him, rather you are just so desperate for relationship that you will date any guy who is semi-sociable and decently attractive.  It is both foolish and harmful to look for/date a guy who is not earnestly striving to be formed into the image of Christ, because you then make the pursuit of your life something other than Christ Himself (which is idolatry).  To be honest, I would even question the salvation of any girl (or guy) who valued anyone/anything more than Christ Himself and persistently pursued a romantic relationship with someone whose character was the very opposite of Christ’s.  If you really love Jesus and earnestly desire to be made into His image, you will naturally value men who really love Jesus and earnestly desire to be made into His image.  If you value men in a romantic way who don’t love Jesus and aren’t earnestly desiring to be made into His image, you have a problem.

 Whatever you do, don’t overcomplicate things.  There are “good men” out there, I promise!  No, there aren’t any perfect men out there, but there are men who are striving to be like the only perfect man (Jesus Christ).  So here’s the bottom line: love Jesus, pursue relationship with Jesus, be faithful to Him and the ministry He has called you to, and earnestly strive to become more and more like Him everyday.  In the process, take notice of the guys who are doing the same (because those are the guys you want!).

If you have further questions, feel free to send me an email at dancurtisreed@gmail.com.

In Christ,

Dan Reed

Internal Makeover

Let me just say this, I probably am not a true girl…because I don’t like to paint my nails. I know, fashionista, Lauren Conrad, would be so disappointed in me. I hate painting my nails because it takes too much time, a steady hand and unbelievable concentration. Some people say it’s relaxing but to me it’s stressful because I mess up a lot and have to re-do it.

Today I looked down at my chipped burgundy colored nails and saw how strange my naked fingernail looked because it had been covered up for so long. Now I KNOW what you’re thinking, man she has a lot of time on her hands to think about such mundane things but that’s ok because I have a point.

How often do we look at ourselves in the mirror w/out all of the colors we have put on throughout the day? Pride, Accomplishment, Success, Materialism? I’m not saying these things are necessarily bad but have you stepped back and removed them to see what you are striving to hard to cover up; Fear, Failure, Loneliness, Sadness? When you “take off” these things in your life, are you scared of the nakedness or vulnerability you may see, or if anyone else may see it? We strive so hard to create the picture perfect image to make it look like we have it all together. But we know deep down we don’t.

God says come to me all you who are weary and broken and I will give you rest. Your creator knows what’s happening in your life and cares deeply for you. He is not surprised, angry or taken back by the obstacles happening to you. I read an article in relevant magazine that defined “afflictions” as God’s way of bringing us back to him. 

 Whatever affliction is in your life, A broken relationship, loss of a job, depression, addiction, God wants to show you freedom and bind up your wounds of brokeness, then glory of him will shine through your new face and you can’t help but show everyone the new you.