thursday's ten: the women of faith edition

so...this week is a bit different here at thursday's ten!  i'm so excited to be participating in a really cool program this fall.

1. because i review books for Thomas Nelson through Booksneeze, i was presented with the opportunity to apply to attend a Women of Faith event for FREE.
2. i immediately went to the website and filled out all the info.  i knew that atlanta was probably a pretty popular choice, so i tried not to get my hopes up that i would be selected.
3. a few weeks later, i got a great email informing me that I had been selected!
4. my requirements for going are to post at least 2 blogs about the event, one before and one after as well as to display the nifty little badge you see over there to your right on the blog for at least 30 days.
5. i will TOTALLY be life tweeting the event.  the official hashtag for the WoF Imagine is #wofimage so be sure to follow if you're interested in what's going on there!
6. i received 2 free tickets to the event, and I'm taking my future mother in law.  We will be staying with Anthony's Aunt Tammy while we are there, so we'll get a little family bonding in too :-)  i'm so thankful that God has placed me within such a God-seeking family...a little added bonus to marrying this man i love :-)
7. i honestly have a very limited grasp of what to expect.  BUT i'm actually pretty excited about that.  i'm praying that God will release His Spirit all over that place and that the worship and speakers will be out of this world amazing :-)
8. we leave today after i get off work.  events begin Friday at 9 am sharp, so we may be slightly sleep deprived...but i'm sure staying involved won't be a problem.
9. i can't WAIT to tell you all about it!
10. Have i mentioned i'm excited? :-)

i have wanted to go to a women of faith event since a few years ago when some friends gave me the women of faith devotional for a birthday gift.  i have so appreciated the wisdom and insight from these Godly women, and am thrilled to be able to experience all of this firsthand.  plus, you know me...any chance to take off a weekend and just worship my Papa is a chance i'm going to take!

hey, it's ok (tuesday) .9

hey, it's ok

...to not get a fabulous time on a 5k when you (a) didn't run because your knee was bothering you and (b) hadn't actually DONE a 5k in months and months and months

...to already be looking for the next 5k.  because i totally have the bug again.

...to love ical because you get to color code *everything*

...to eat a cheeseburger (or quarter pounder) now and then

...to be completely overwhelmed by financial "stuff" all the while knowing and trusting that God will provide

...to need a (free or extremely cheap) getaway.  stat.

...to have way.too.many recipes in your "to try" folder

...to love twitter

...to feel accomplished because the dvr percentage is down to 50ish.  and all that was watched while getting other things done, so it's not like i've been a *complete* couch potato!

(amber is the one who started this and you should totally visit her)

hey it's ok tuesday

(visit amber, who originated this idea!)

hey, it's ok ...

... to only turn on children's programming that you can sort of stand unless it's an extreme emergency.  a nanny has to keep her sanity.  if that sanity includes strategically leaving out the options "word world" "barney" "cailou" and "yo gabba whatever" when reading off a list, so be it.

... to be thankful for so many things.  and to currently have VERY high on that list: pumpkin spice creamer.

... to be the crazy coupon lady.

... to consider it the success of your day to have turned the tears of a 3 year old who has just wiped out on the hardwood floors to giggles within 2 minutes.

... to be irritated by the dvr'd shows who say "stay tuned for scenes from next week's episode" because you know full well the dvr cut off those previews...

... to be completely weirded out by the idea of the new xray machines at airport.  i get and appreciate that they are amazing new safety things, but i can't say i'm going to enjoy walking through them!

Monday's Memory: the one where a relative actually comes to nashville!

for whatever reason, i normally end up visiting my family in their place of residence

instead of them coming here

this is for a two-fold reason

i love to travel, first of all

and their lives seem infinitely busy

(my parents have the 3rd reason of me not necessarily wanting them to make the drive more than necessary)

but once in awhile

someone actually comes here

and i love it :0)

way back in 2006, my brother's ex wife

who will always and forever be my sister in law

(my family)

called me to tell me that she was bringing a group of students to nashville

for a convention

at the time i lived right between the hotel they were staying in

and the hotel they were conventioning in

so it just made sense

that i take off work a couple of days

and play tour guide

and just hang out

it was a great time

and yes, in the picture above we are standing in a graveyard

an old, historic and cool one

(her kids had quite a fascination...they made us pull over for pictures and exploration)

her divorce was only a few months old

and i was grateful

to be able to spend some extra time with her

perhaps i should let my family come here more often :-)

on the road again!

the month of september has been full of travels

and i've mentioned every trip here (i think)

but haven't really shared much about them.

so here's the very quick run-down.  if you're friends with me on facebook you can see the full photo albums!

first up was labor day weekend.  anthony and i climbed into a car and headed with our friends andy and mandy to the awesome city of st louis.

there we

stayed in an awesome hotel

 

(where we played cards -- and slept a few hours)

found angry birds

went to a cardinals/reds game

ate AMAZING food

visited the zoo

and got in a tiny tram and rode to the top of the arch

later that week, i traveled to downtown nashville

where i got to see a bunch of politicians

including...

bill clinton!!

(i'm such a political nerd.  and it doesn't hurt that i kinda love the clintons.)

the following weekend i went with our youth group to the annual retreat.

middle of nowhere

no connection to the outside world (no cell phone service or wifi)

and absolutely a blast

upon returning from the retreat, natasha and i went to our local barnes and noble

where we met

max lucado!

 

fast forward to the following weekend

where anthony and i jumped in my car and headed to indiana

we visited my parents

and hit holiday world with our friends brian and angie

(who got married this past may)

it was SO fun

and has changed a lot!

we'll definitely be back, hopefully once a year at least :)

 

and this past weekend natasha and i went to arkansas

where she showed me all around her college town

we got hit on at sonic

had some great cookies at her favorite little shop there

and shopped a little

and then

we saw jason mraz in concert!

and then

we got soaked by sprinklers

and THEN

we met jason mraz

and on the way home, we stopped by memphis zoo

where i saw penguins

 

 

(i dubbed these two anthony and lora.  heh )

so yes.  if you've kept track that means that in fact i have not spent one friday or saturday night this month in my own bed

and i gotta say,

it's been a FUN month

but i'm so glad to be settled down for the month of october

with only one possible trip out of state

(i think the cat might stop being mad at me too ;-))

it's a great day to get stuck on a golf cart

 

so, i'm in arkansas with my friend natasha this weekend

we drove out for a jason mraz concert

(yes we live in nashville)

(yes he comes there often.  ish)

we are staying with a family she used to live with when she was in college here

this morning we took their golf cart out for a drive

it didn't end well

battery dead, two girls listening to an iphone waiting for help

we ended up in the back of a pickup truck towing the cart

funny

tonight we see jason mraz

tomorrow we return to tennessee

road trips rock

(although some more than others.

this trip would be in the "some" category)

road trips with friends: good times

Thursday's Ten: the random edition

i just realized that i have a LOT of stuff i haven't shared here lately, so (sorry) i'm lumping it into this post :)



1. i get to see bill clinton tonight! he's coming to campaign for the dem nominee for governor of tennessee...and while i'm not really into the whole "rally" idea, i couldn't pass up the opportunity to see a former president for free! i'm actually leaving the house in a couple of hours, having lunch with the boyfriend, and then hanging out downtown for the afternoon. *really* looking forward to it!

2. the whole burning of the Koran thing makes me sad and disgusted. until this morning i had not had even ONE person on my "friends" list on facebook even remotely supporting the idea -- at least publicly. and on my friends list are a LOT of conservatives --both in politics and faith, a bunch that have propagated the idea that our President is of the Islamic faith, and quite a few who are scared of anything but lily-white Christiandom. this morning, that changed. one "friend" i know vaguely from high school said something to the effect of "if he's praying and hears that from God, who are we to say it's wrong?"

on the one hand, i understand the reasoning.
on the other, i think we have to look at the fruit.
the last couple of weeks i've been learning more about the prophetic and how to operate in that gift. and i know this is "out there" for some of you, so bear with me, ok?
the thing about the prophetic is that the message should always be shared in love
if you discern that someone is struggling with depression
you don't want to say "oh, you're depressed and feel hopeless!"
you want to ask what to DO with that knowledge
and speak words of peace, hope and LIFE over them
because God wants to reveal His love to people

i can't help but think that this is similar.
and how on earth is burning someone's Holy Book
showing them God's love and Father Heart?

(i always lose followers when i write stuff like that, so goodbye 3 or so of you. :-)

3. we had an AWESOME time in st louis! i will post pictures here eventually...
although my iphone lost all the ones i took on friday and saturday. i was quite sad about that one...

4. 30 rock is my new favorite thing. in fact, this morning it's trumping all my ideas of getting ready to go see Mr Former President. that should tell you how much i'm loving that show!

5. this weekend is retreat with our youth group kids. since i missed camp this year i'm looking forward to finally meeting our new 7th graders!

6. twitter is becoming more and more addictive. oy.
honestly, i think it's because NONE of my former students or youth group kids are there. or not that i've found. and i'm happy to not have to wonder how people will take what i say there. it's nice :)

7. next weekend i get to take anthony to a place i spent quite a bit of time in as a child. holiday world is not very far from my parents house, and we are (hopefully) meeting one of my best friends from high school (angie) and her husband there for the day.
i'm excited about it...and really hopeful that it's all i remember it to be, lol.

8. and the NEXT weekend i'm going to arkansas (blech) with my friend natasha to see jason mraz! yes, i am fully aware that i live in music city, usa...and that he is here fairly often...but road trips are awesome and especially with good friends.

and for those of you keeping track at home, YES, this means that not one weekend in september am i home. C.R.A.Z.Y. here's to staying home in october! except that i probably won't be staying home the *entire* month...but more on that later

9. hmmm -- this is my favorite day of the year! 9/9 :) my favorite number is 9.
(when i was doing data entry earlier this year i got really excited when someone had entered the country on 9/9/09. i'm a dork...)

10. sometimes iced coffee makes my day. especially when i make it myself so it's way cheap. ahhh...in my new mug from the arch that is the *perfect* shape and size? sometimes it's the simple things...