Road trip to see the Locals...

This past weekend Jason and I went to my aunt's cabin in the North Georgia Mountains with our friends Catherine and Micah. My aunt has always offered up this cabin any time we want it and we were so excited that this weekend worked out! Friday night we went to a local restaurant and it happened to be the night that the festivities and fireworks were going on in the town. Can I just say... what an experience! I think we saw the whole town and the 4 of us just starred like kids in a candy shop at all the teenagers and tried to figure out their clicks. We saw the jocks, the popular girls, the wanna be's and so much more. I think we honed in on it because 3/4 of us work with high school students.

The next day we went tubing down the Tocoa River and just relaxed. It was great and then rest of the trip we just vegged out. I LOVED IT!

Baltimore

I just got back last night from a mission trip with the Senior High Youth from my old church and I had an amazing time with them. My team was amazing and I was so blessed to be able to connect and get to know each person on the team. They worked so hard with manual labor and reaching out the homeless in the city. This is a trip where we rely solely on public transportation, sleep on the floor with no pillows, can't take a shower and can only bring 1 change of clothes. This really forces us to see, in some way, what it is like to have little or nothing. The youth really grasp on to this and it's so cool to see how they are impacted. I am exhausted, but my heart is so full of love for Team 1...

Healty Eating

I have always been a big fan of eating healthier foods... but I have to admit that I love my candy and fast food. Jason and I decided recently that we are going to start eating healthier. We are eating organic foods as much as we can now... well I am slowly starting to switch everything over. We are also going to be cutting out sodas, fast food (the occasional Chick-Fil-A is ok) and eating foods that don't come from a box. I think we started getting excited about this because we love The Biggest Loser and we see the transformation in people's lives when they exercise and cut out the unhealthy stuff. It won't be perfect and I know I will cheat, but if we can eat health 80-85% of the time, I think we'll be good :)

Black Bean Quesadillas
15 oz. can of Organic Black Beans
15 oz. can of Organic Diced tomatoes (or 1-2 cups of fresh Roma tomatoes)
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tbsp. of minced garlic (I just bough a jar of this)
Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Flour Tortillas
Cooking Spray

• Saute the garlic and EVOO for 30 sec. and then add the beans (make sure you wash them) and tomatoes
• Cook for about 5 min or until the water is absorbed
• Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place the Flour Tortillas on them.
• Cover 1/2 the tortilla with the black bean mixture, add a bit of cheese, and fold tortilla over
• Put in oven at Broil and cook for 3 min. or until the tortilla is firm.
• Eat and enjoy!
  

Today I was finally able to visit my friends Scott and Sarah and their triplet girls (www.rouxtriplets.blogspot.com). I have not seen them in so long and it was so good to see all of them. The girls are absolutely precious and mom and dad are great parents! It's also so cool to see how we had been praying for them since they were teeny tiny in the womb and now they are 10 months old. God sure is good!

Visiting my old campus

This past weekend I walked the campus of my old college. It was so weird to walk around and see buildings gone or revamped or brand new. It almost felt as though it had been an eternity since I had been there. But what was fresh in my mind were the memories... the laughs and struggles I had there. The joys and the sadness. I loved it all and for me Saturday was a trip down memory lane. I am blessed to know I went there.

I locked my keys in the car...

Now you know it's never a good thing when I title my post that. But yes, I locked my keys in the car today at work. I mean really!? So I called Jason at work to let him know that he would need to come and get me and the secretary at his school was so sweet. He was in a staff meeting and she said she would go and interrupt him because she didn't want his sweetie (or something like that) to be locked out of her car. Hilarious!

But it totally worked out because I stayed late at work, which meant that I made up my time from earlier (had to get 2 or 4 cavities filled today) and then we got to go to dinner with some amazing friends www.thebeautifulmess.com.

Also, we got a SonicCare toothbrush today and I am obsessed with it. Can't wait for the thing to charge so I can start using that to brush... I have decided that I really need to take care of my teeth! I really don't get cavities but when the dr. said I had 4, I thought, "you better take care of this E!"

Thoughts of the day...

I am going on a mission trip this summer with the high school youth from where I used to work. I am excited to be going and to spread God's love to the people in the city we are going to. You see, for 1 week, we live like we are homeless... to give us a small idea of what it is like and so that we can relate to the men, women and children we come in contact with. Last night at training we were shown a picture of a man who had been frozen in ice and all you could see were his feet. He had died and the story went on to say that no one called the police when they found him. He was forgotten... but the Lord did not forget Him. He knew his name, He knew the man's likes and dislikes and He loved him. My hopes are that the youth will understand that we need to bring love to the streets... extravagant love. That is what Christ modeled for us and in scripture it says, "There is no fear in love." I believe that.

Willow in the wind...

I sat outside tonight with my dog, relaxing in the hammock... the noise from our sprinkler drowning out my thoughts. I felt the cool breeze brush across me and I had this idea to start up my blog again... and maybe actually be good at remembering to post.

As I laid in the hammock I closed my eyes and thought about summer nights in Wisconsin at my grandparents cottage. Remember the days playing in the lake and fishing... hoping to catch enough fish that we could eat it that night. I smiled as I thought about those cool nights, lathering up on insect repellent just so I could go outside and enjoy nature. The smell from the kerosene candle also filled my senses with the memories of camping.

And I thought about willows blowing in the wind and the name of my blog just came. For I am like a willow, bending beneath the weight of HIS love and mercy...