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Blue Springs

This past weekend, Hunter and I took our youth students to Blue Springs in Marianna, Florida. Ya'll, I just love the beauty of my state. Of course I didn't get any pics of the crystal clear water, or the underwater caves because #nolifeproofcase for my phone. So these next few pictures are courtesy of Google - mucho gracias!

 

 

I'm so grateful for the natural beauty my state has to offer. We have so many rivers, springs, and obviously beaches that it's very hard to tire of the beauty all around you. It's always humbling when you are in the presence of God's masterpieces.

 

I'm also beyond thankful that His guiding hand was with us when our tire blew on the way to the springs. Yep, and yours truly was driving the van with 12 teenagers and a husband in tow. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jesus for not allowing our van to flip.

 

How was ya'lls weekend?

 

 



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Oh happy Friday! There's just something about Friday's that make me so excited I could nearly wet my pants. Kidding on the total pant wetting deal! Anywho, it's going to be a quiet Friday down yonder and that is not a bad thing in my opinion.

 

As ya'll go throughout your days, be sure to check out some of these good reads:

 

+ Emily talks about the beauty in simple things like the vast array of colors in a southern night sky.

 

+ Did ya'll know that Kelli and her husband traveled to Honduras?! Considering the fact that half of my heart is currently in Honduras, this just made me smile so, so much.

 

+ Nina's heart is so kind and her post to follow-up on one of the hardest posts she's ever written is unbelievably brave and humbling. It's refreshing to know that you're not alone in your walks of life.

 

+ I'm always stressing to my youth girls: Your worth is not in others, how many like your pictures, etc. Your worth is found always in Jesus. My girl, Maegan, does a fabulous job in reiterating this to her readers!

 

Happy Friday friends! Here's a challenge for ya'll as you go throughout the weekend: compliment at least one person each day. It can be on their hair, clothes, shoes, tan, personality, I don't care. Compliment somebody. What does it cost you to be kind? (The answer is nothing)

Just because they're cute

Letters to Hunter

This letter is part of a link-up with the beautiful Mrs. Amber. These letters are snippets into our lives and treasures that I can hold onto dearly as we grow old.

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Dear Hunter,

I know you'll agree with me when I say, "What a crazy, whirlwind of several months it has been!" And I think you'll also agree with me that it's only just beginning. As crazy as our days have been, having you by my side through it all has been rewarding and satisfying. Rewarding because I know I'm not in this alone; satisfying because you won't let me do it alone.

We've been fortunate (or just finally figured out how to manage time) lately to have been able to slow down and breathe. Sleeping in late on Saturday's, swimming lazily in the pool, and random trips to pick up ice cream and a Redbox movie has become a bit of the norm. Through it all - busy and slow - I've been witness to some of your greatest strengths. And they always amaze me.

Your ability to remain calm during the storm is absolutely contagious for a gal like me who tends to be somewhat of a tornado, leaving a trail of devastation and messes to clean up later. Your steadiness is a stronghold for me to lean into, onto, and against. In my wildest moments, I always turn to you because you're my voice of reason; my better half; the creamy peanut butter to my wild berry jelly.

We always joke that you're the Type B to my Type A - we complete each other. When I'm stressing over the most minuscule detail of God-knows-what, you're quick to show me the bigger picture. That in the grand scheme of things, sometimes those little details just don't matter.

Thank you for being the steady foundation in our marriage, our friendship, and as my lover. God knew what He was doing when he lumped us together.

Always yours,

Kelly

 

Gratefulness

Goodness what a quick, but wonderful weekend! I couldn't believe how quickly it went but hey, I guess that means we had fun. Also, the fact that it's almost the end of July, which means almost moving time, is just beyond me. I realized last night that I need to get to packing because errr... haven't even really started. Ha!

 

This little gem was sent to me from my sweet, sweet friend, Kate. She knows I always love a good laugh. Love you girl!

 

 

Remember that shop I told ya'll about on Friday? This bench is the end result of said shopping trip. I'm so in love with this reclaimed piano bench! We'll be using it at our kitchen table to go along with all of our other mismatched chairs. Of course, pictures will come once we're moved and settled.

 

Fun fact: That painting behind the bench also came from that same shop and was painted by our dear friend. Love oldies but goodies!

 

Overall, I'm just so grateful for the love in my life. All of those who wished me happy birthday, sang to me via voicemail, texts, you name it. I was so humbled by the kindness of those around me and their sweet words. I also got some of the biggest hugs from our youth students on Sunday morning so that in itself was wonderful. God has truly provided for me in ways that I'm not worthy of, but so beyond thankful for.

 

 

For me?!

Happiest of Friday's to you lovelies! And happiest of Friday-before-my-birthday to me! I plan on doing nothing this weekend except relax, shop a little, and relax.

 

Tomorrow morning, Hunter will be taking me to the most adorable shop ever in Marianna, FL - Living Life Repurposed. Sissie takes old things and refurbishes them for others to enjoy. I cannot wait to just browse the store and pick up a few things to decorate our home with.

 

 

We'll also be lounging by the pool tomorrow and grilling out with my family and the in-laws to celebrate not only my birthday, but my grandma's as well. July is such a fun month full of birthday's!

 

Speaking of July birthday's, I want to wish this spunky, God-loving, fashionista a wonderful birthday! She makes our days so much brighter with her gorgeous smile and quirky sense of humor. We thank God daily for her friendship and light in our lives. We love you Andrelia and wish you the happiest of birthday's!

 

 

So tell me, what plans do ya'll have for this weekend?

 



Continuing on

So remember that list I started before I left for camp? The one that talked about 27 things I've learned in my {almost} 27 years of life?

 

You do? Great! Let's continue that list...

 

11:// Constructive criticism is important. That is, if it's done out of love. Sometimes it's not easy to hear the truth but if it's beneficial to all parties involved, then it's necessary for growth.

 

12:// Acting your age is so overrated. Watch kid movies, laugh at silly jokes, play pranks on your loved ones, frolic in the front yard. Live life with the innocence of a child - it makes the dark days a little brighter for all those around you.

 

13:// Budgeting is actually cool. Coming off of college with a good bit of debt attached to me + Hunter's tiny bit of debt = a nice hunk of debt for the both of us. Establishing a budget and sticking to the budget is key to kicking that debt in the buttocks. Of course, always remember to have a bit of fun.

 

14:// Going off of budgeting... Cash is KING. Seriously, you will never find somebody who hates credit cards more than I do. They are the absolute devil, credit card companies know that, and they have successfully fed the lie to people that we all need credit cards. Do yourself a favor and don't get credit cards. If you do have them such as I, cut them up.

 

15:// Honesty is the best medicine you'll offer to somebody. I feel like there are a lot of lies, fakes, and wanna-be's in our society. Honesty is very rare to come by and should be treasured, praised, and embraced more often. I'm honest (to a fault sometimes) with people when it comes to my opinions and I'm not ashamed of them. Don't forget though to show honesty with love. Honesty without love is just meanness.

 

16:// Reserved. This was my word for the year and I'm surprisingly doing better than I thought I would. I've learned to hold my tongue when necessary and to share when welcomed. Now I just need to work on my facial expressions... Those tend to get me in trouble ha!

17:// Don't expect {and wait} on people to come to you. You go to them! This was something I really struggled with in my young 20's. I just couldn't understand why I felt like I was having to do all.the.work to get up with my "friends". I've found that if you reach out to those true friends you love, they will reciprocate it. Trust me on this one.

18:// Experiences are so much more valuable than an actual gift. This irks Hunter at times because when it comes to events, such as my birthday, he'll ask, "What do you want." My response is pretty much almost always this: "Spend time with me."  You never know when you may get another chance with a person so I take experiences any day over material gifts.

19:// You don't have to have a relationship with someone to love them. Let me repeat that again because this is something I've just discovered in the last year: You don't have to have a relationship with someone to love them. Especially if it's person that you just can't jive with or your relationship/friendship is like mixing fire and gasoline. Just doesn't work my friends. You can still love someone, pray for them earnestly, and even send out "hope you're doing well" texts, and not have to have a forced relationship/friendship. Your fried nerves will thank you.

20:// Quiet time with God can be anything. Some days my quiet time looks like reading a book that forces me to meditate on Jesus. Other days it's conversations with Him in the car while I drive (yes, out loud conversations). And sometimes it's singing off key with my husband to worship songs while he plays the guitar, and allowing the words to penetrate my soul. Whatever that quiet time looks like for you, know that God loves spending it with you.

I'll wrap up next week with the remaining 7 things I've learned! I can honestly say this - God has really been too good to me in {almost} 27 years of life.

Form the Banana

I'd be lying if I said it isn't weird to be back to reality. Just something about camp, being around hundreds of teenagers, and spending all week having uber amounts of fun is pretty addicting. It's weeks like these that remind us why we love what we do.

 

I'm so beyond grateful for the opportunities Hunter and I have had to be able to do this ministry. We fully feel that God has called us to be where we are in this moment. Yes, the past week was a fun fun fun week! But we also had an opportunity to be away from life and really dissect our ministry. We worked through future plans, visionary ideas, and Hunter was able to finally put to rest some fears he had been harboring.

 

And now, the honorary photo dump...

 



 

4th of July eve

I'm off on this beautiful 4th of July eve day and I plan on making the most of my day! We'll be heading to camp next week with our youth students and guys, I cannot begin to express the excitement I'm feeling right now. Hunter and I cannot wait to get away with these 17 (yes, 17!) teenagers to do nothing but the Gospel, love God, and love each other.

 

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Well... Hopefully love each other. By day 4 out of 5 we may not be loving each other that much. Ha! But it's going to be great!

 

If ya'll could join me in prayer, that would be just fab!

 

God,

 

Thank you for another beautiful day of life! Thank you for waking us up today to be able to do your work here on earth. Thank you for gifting us each our own gifts to bring glory to your name.

 

God, I pray for our teenagers. I pray that you will reach them in ways they've never felt before. I pray that you will move them to be so on fire for you and your glory. Thank you for bringing each of these teenagers into our lives, and allowing us to love on them. I pray that they seek Your face always.

 

God I pray for energy and strength as we will need it each day we are there. I know that you are good and faithful, and your Spirit will provide for each of those needs whether they're physically, spiritually, or mentally. As always God, use us in ways we've never been used before. Tell us where to go, lead us, and we'll follow. We want to bring glory to You, and You alone.

 

As we go through this week God, I pray that you will watch over our families and friends back home. Love on them God, as we would. Thank you for your love and mercies anew each day.

 

In Your precious Son's holy name,

 

Amen.

 

I'll be checking out from life all next week but I can't wait to catch back up with everybody to share our adventures. #FUGE15 here we come!

It's my month of birth!

Ahhhh what a glorious month! And what a hot month, right? First let's make this very clear - I'm not wrapping my head around the fact that we're already halfway through the year. And furthermore, I'm not wrapping my head around the fact that I'll be 27 years of age this month too. I totally thought I was way younger...

 

For some fun, 27 things I've learned in my {almost} 27 years of life:

 

1:// Eat the chocolate. Seriously, life's way to short to not eat the chocolate.

 

2:// Don't sweat the small stuff. This is an every day learning process for me but I'm learning to not sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, it's just really not worth it.

 

3:// People will disappoint you... and bad! People are sinful creatures and Lord knows, they're going to disappoint you. Whether it's big or small, remember they're human first. And guess what? I know I've disappointed too! Let's just accept it, move on, and be BFF's.

 

4:// Saying "no" to going all the time is okay. I've had this issue of saying "no" to things, and I love spending time with people but it got to the point of not having any down time. And ya'll, down time is so so soooo important. Especially with your husband.

5:// Take that time. As I've said, our life is way too short to fill it top to bottom with work, work, work. Take that time to rest, relax, heal your body. You're sick? Take that time! Your body is important.

6:// Material things are just that, material. Your dog chewed up your favorite shoes? Life goes on. Your favorite shirt got bleach on it? Life goes on. Your once favorite bed sheets have a tear in it because said-dog-that-chewed-the-shoes decided to throw a temper tantrum on the bed, thus ripping the sheets? Get a new dog. I kid! Life goes on.

7:// Laugh hysterically and pray earnestly because they unfriended you on Facebook. I'm going to say this with as much love as I can (and with little humor) - it's social media. Don't base your worth on the people on your friends list that you probably don't talk to. Ever. Base your worth in Christ. However, pray earnestly for those that you "lost" via social media because they need love too.

8:// Never be ashamed of who you are. Plain and simple, you are who you are. God designed you for a sole purpose, His purpose. Embrace your freak.

9:// Your husband is, and should be, your best friend. If you've made that contractual agreement (because it is, duh) to be with that person til death do you part, then you better like him.

10:// It's okay if you and your husband are living with your parents. It's called redirecting. Everybody in life has to do it at some point, if not at several points. Life throws you curve balls and sometimes you need the help of those around you. Take it.

Because I realized 27 is a lot of stuff, and because I'm partly medicated (thanks germs for making me sick), I decided to break this up in 2 parts. Honestly, my brain isn't functioning properly at the moment and all I'm thinking about it "what do I want for breakfast?". Check back next week for the remaining 17 epiphanies of life!

 

These were my wrestling caregivers yesterday + Manny (pitbull) sleeping on the couch