i love...

i love it when i am overwhelmed in worship by the holiness and hugeness (is this a word?) of God. there are moments that getting face down on the floor cannot possibly get me low enough...He is so good and so amazingly worthy.

i love it when His Word and Truth is confirmed in my life not just in one or two or three or even four ways...thank goodness He is patient with this hard head of mine! (and thank goodness walking with Him is a process...a process where He is so gracious and merciful to move me on toward the next step...even when my stubborn feet don't want to move!)

i love hearing from my friends and family what God is teaching them and how they're growing.

i love getting hugs in general but from someone in particular. seriously, the best hugs. ever. and, i don't believe i'm partial or anything ;).

i love when a kid at church randomly screams, "hey miss amy" at the top of their lungs. it makes my heart and my face smile.

i love that my friends' kids love playing in the "play corner" of my office. i could seriously just let them all play there every day and not ever get any work accomplished...i'm a sucker for a good game of flip flop faces.

i love spending time with my nephews and niece. i love that when i haven't seen them in a couple weeks, they hang close beside me and want me to play with them...video games, baseball, polly pockets, etc.

i love that my 13 yr old nephew still wants to spend time with me and he still thinks i'm kinda cool.

i love my sister...she truly is my best friend and i adore her. i don't just love her because she's my sister...i love her because she's an awesome, godly woman. she rocks ;).

i love the 100 calorie snack packs.

i love sharpies...any size, any color. come visit my office if you don't believe me.

i love stationery...i could spend so much time and money in a stationery store. oh good grief, i do spend tons of time (not quite as much money) in the notecard section of target.

i love listening to songs on repeat. seriously...i pick one song and it could stay on repeat for days. usually, it's a worship song that, at that moment in my life, is rocking my world.

i love ice in my drinks...lots of ice. i will sacrifice more drink to have more ice in my cup.

i love baseball caps.

i love curls.

i love going for drives with joel with no specific destination in mind.

i love the mountains.

i love going to the beach every year with my family. they're the best.

i love laughing with my friend cari...i love it when she does her carla tate voice AND when she leaves me voicemail messages as shaneequa. cracks me up.

i love that caroline guinn still asks me if my toe is okay. she is one little girl that i simply adore.

i love catching up with friends over coffee.

i love getting email. seriously. i love it. hey, in fact, if you're reading this email me...it will make me smile to see that i have something in my inbox.

i love singing. i really love singing when i'm in my car and i'm all alone. i turn the music up and sing at the top of my lungs.

i love the "bravo" stickers you get during celebration time at weight watchers. isn't it sad that little sticker is my motivation during the week? what can i say...it's the little things.


you know, this is a long post and i could seriously keep going. i know that it's crazy to say that i love baseball caps in the same post where i say that i love God but it's true. it's just completely different kinds of love.

so, what do you love? take time and think about it and then write it down. i can promise you, if you're having a day that is not so bueno, it will make you happy and put things in perspective. i promise. listing things you love can't help but make you smile. :)

just call me mara...

well, not really. don't call me mara because i'm not really bitter. :) i had lunch with my most fabulous and favorite friend, melissa, today and it was just what i needed. do you ever have one of those weeks where you're just tired of dealing with issues and specifically, you're tired of dealing with certain issues over and over again (because, apparently, even when we become adults we don't think that no really means no. we think we can ask another person to get a different answer or over step a clear boundary attempting to convince someone to "pull strings" for us. but, remember i'm not bitter ;). sorry about that little rant there.

anyway, back to the real purpose of my post today...i had lunch with my dear, sweet friend and it was so good to sit down with someone and unload some frustrations. the best thing about that is that she knows my heart and she knows ME. we joked about being bitter but we're not really bitter. it struck me, though, that it is necessary to have a friend who will listen to you vent but who knows you and knows that you're just releasing some steam so that you can go back and not let those petty or stupid issues take root and cause problems.

i was inspired by one of melissa's recent posts where she made a list of the things she loves; i'm planning on doing that in a later post but i seriously just wanted to take a second and give a shout out to an amazing friend. thanks, my friend, for being encouraging, laughing with me and speaking the Truth in love when i need to hear it. thanks, too, for being real and transparent with your life.

so, you can call me amy because i'm not bitter...i'm not mara. i am blessed!

a long post about not a whole lot...

it's been one of those craaazy, non-stop weeks and i'm so glad it's friday!! today is my one day this week that is free...i'm not working at church and i'm not working for the publishing company today. i'd planned a "girl's day" on my calendar back in november with my amazing, wonderful friend, amy sweatt and then our equally amazing and wonderful friend tracey is going to hang with us tonight for dinner and a movie. i'm seriously excited about today because i soo need it. (as an aside, i also really wanted to sleep in a little because today was my only chance for the week but i woke up at 8 am...such sadness. now, i know for some of you out there who have children, 8 am IS sleeping in but i wanted to at least sleep until 8:30 or 9 ;).

so, last night was my very first bookstore preview for group publishing and for the very first preview, it went pretty well. without boring you out of your mind, a bookstore preview is an event that Christian bookstores pull together for the churches and customers in their community to come together, meet with a representative from various publishing companies and experience a presentation previewing each specific vbs curriculum. because group has 2 vbs curriculums, i have a blast rockin out 2 presentations (did you like my positive spin on that one ;). i really do enjoy these events because over the last 6 years i've built relationships with representatives from other publishing companies and it's neat to reconnect with them (because we only see each other during vbs preview season), but the events tend to run a little long and anytime there is technical difficulty, i always think my head is going to explode and last night did not disappoint ;). no worries, though, it was all okay in the end (isn't it always, though)!! if you're in the market for a vbs curriculum this year, give me a shout because not only do i know group's vbs programs inside and out, i just spent 3 hours last night listening to 5 other companies present theirs...i'll be happy to consult (for a small fee, of course...kidding, i'm kidding ;).

i would now like to apologize because i have read back through my post and i think it borders on the most boring thing ever sent out into the world wide web. i started typing without a topic and look where we have landed...again, my deepest apologies.

in my last attempt to spice up this post, i decided to put together a list of things i learned from the vbs preview extravaganza last night:

• no matter how fabulous the accessories, a white lab coat will never, ever be a flattering look AND a wrinkled, just out of the package lab coat makes the look even worse. (group's easy vbs is powerlab and i had to wear a white lab coat as my "costume" to present...yes, we have to wear costumes.)
• it's never good to try an activity for the first time in front of an audience...especially if you don't pay close attention to the directions and your balloon pops unexpectedly while you are trying to demonstrate what a great and successful vbs activity this will be for their kids. yikes. lesson learned.
• any program that requires lots of oozy slime is gonna be a hit...even if the balloon popped.
• it is always best to pack your own dvd and cd player...just in case the two from the church and the one from the bookstore don't work. i'm just sayin...it's a good idea.
• no matter your theme or curriculum you choose, the most important thing is that it's all about sharing Jesus with kids this summer and introducing them to the extravagant, amazing love of God because slime or no slime, THAT is what will change their life.

alright ya'll...have a most fabulous friday. i head back to asheville tomorrow morning for another round of previews but promise not to bore you with those details any more!

grace and peace,

blessed

just a quick report...i am finally finished with the flu (the only remnant is a pesky cough). yay!! i am so thankful to feel better and more like myself.

in other news (that has nothing to do with the flu or sickness;), i had such a great weekend. all i have been able to think about since i rolled back into town is how blessed i am. the Lord has blessed me with some (one, really,) amazing things in the last 6 months and i am so, so thankful!!
well, i am off to finish watching the nfc playoff game (this girl is sad :( that football season is one game away from being over) but am looking forward to a great march ;) packed with lots-o-madness!!

the flu...it is not my friend

well, i think everyone would agree that the flu is NO fun. seriously. (don't worry, i am not going to go into detail describing my symptoms, etc. just so i can get some sympathy because straight up, it's just gross...flu symptoms...not sympathy.)

the fact that i haven't posted in almost a month has been bothering me and kind of hanging over my head...i would log in and stare at the blank screen and the cursor blinking and just decide to close it out instead of try to write anything. so, i decided tonight that i'd log in and let all of you in the world wide web that i am still alive and somewhat kickin. ( give me several more days and the "kickin" part will be more believable.)

so, for a quick update: christmas was one of the best ever (i had 2 weeks off from work :), new years was fun, and having all that time off was just what i needed to really feel refreshed and ready to go for 08.

alright, so there is a quick update. i'm going to go load up on more sudafed, cough syrup and load more movies into the dvd player.

until next time...stay healthy, use hand sanitizer, and take your vitamins...because the flu, it is no one's friend ;). (and give yourself a pat on the back if you took a flu shot. that is a lesson, apparently after having the flu twice in 4 years, i have not learned. maybe next year.)