july.

Boy...my life has been busy! It's so easy to get caught up in this busy thing called life and put off other things, like my blog!

Last post I promised a post about the "stinky cheese" sermon...and I will get to that. And there is another post I want to and will write (just for you Stacy! ;)), but for now, I wanted to share with you what I have been up to! It has been so long, that I can't even remember what all I have done since last time. So to figure it out....I went to my pictures album on my computer to find out what I have been up to. haha. This is why I love pictures! :)

The month of July has been....or I mean was...can't believe it is August! Time flies. Anyway...to finish my sentence, the month of July was a busy one, but it has been a blast! Chi Alpha (a campus ministry I am involved in) has a firework tent each year. All the proceeds go towards the ministry! It's a busy, exhausting, and hot week but always a lot of fun! This year I wasn't out there as much as I was last year but I enjoyed it when I was out there!

4th of July of course in my family is the day we go to Gridley, which is where both of my parents are from. We have a lot of family that live there. Every year they have a big celebration and since I can remember, we have been there just about every year...if not every year?! I don't remember missing one, but I don't always remember things so there is a chance that could be a lie! ;) Anyway, they have a big 2-on-2 basketball tournament, which if you know my brothers at all, they don't miss it!

Cousins vs. cousins. Devin, Damon and Derek are always on a team (all cousins on my mom's side). They usually win the championship. Then Dustin and Brad (also cousins but on my dad's side) are on a team. They were the only team to beat Devin, Derek, and Damon, but unfortunately they didn't make it to the championship this year....again. They will have their time though! I know it! :)

Silly brothers who always dress alike. That day wasn't so bad but look at the shorts and socks...

After the tournament we always walk to my aunts grocery store and have a soda and chat for a bit. Then off to Grandma and Grandpa's for some lunch! And grandpa got a new puppy and he is so adorable!

His name is Buster! :)

Moving on to....the baby shower!!!! July 22nd we had Kelli's baby shower! Me, Chrissy (Dusty's girlfriend) and Shana (one of Kelli's good friends from school) all hosted the shower! We all live in different places, so for months we have been sending email after email to prepare for the big day! And it was a success! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Baby Doug sure does have a lot of family and friends that are very anxious to meet him/her! The date is getting closer and closer! I am getting very anxious to meet sweet little Doug! I love being an aunt already! :) Here are some pictures from the big day!

The beginnings of the fruit baby stroller!

Cupcake maker=awesome!

Shana making some dip stuff....delicious!

This kid was a big help getting things set up and ready! Thanks dusty! :)

Chrissy and I wearing our awesome aprons!

I love this so much! See the baby??! 

Diaper cake that Shana made!

Loved the cake! Kelli's aunt made it.

Peanuts and M&M's.

Sign in table.

Dad also was a big help setting up! Thanks!

The makers of the fruit baby stroller!

Mom!

The hostesses! Chrissy, me, Shana.

The fruit baby stroller up close.

Thanks Aunt Debbie for finding the picture and showing me! It turned out pretty well. I was impressed with us! ;)

Food table....lots of food!

Drink table! Tea, lemonade, and water with oranges.

Shana with Kel Kel

I am SO blessed to have such an amazing sister in law!

Chrissy and Kel. 

All four of us!

Grandma and mom to be!

The cute and soon to be parents!

Kelli with the cake!

Great Grandmas (Devin's grandma on left, Kelli's on right!)

Some of the baby shower attendees!

Getting ready to begin the party! :)

They got lots of great things! Like I said....Doug has lots of people anxious to meet him/her. The baby won't be spoiled at all! ;)

To end the month I tagged along with a good friend of mine, Ariona, to good ol' western Kansas! It was.....well western kansas! It was a lot of fun. The best part of the weekend....we found a sunflower field. But not just any sunflower field....it was huge!!! So of course we had to stop on our way back since we were in a hurry and almost late to the wedding (the whole reason for the trip!) on the way there. So after the wedding, hanging out with friends, and good food, came the much anticipated stop at the sunflower field. If you know me, you know that I get excited about lots of things, it doesn't take much. So just imagine my excitement about this sunflower field. And you know me, I had to take my camera! We ended up having a mini photo shoot! Here are some of our pictures!

I love this picture and the next....couldn't decide which I liked best!

Taking in all of God's beauty! 

This isn't even the half of it!!

And now that it's August....I am staying busy getting things ready for back to school here at the house, working, and spending time with friends! Life is good! :) I will try not to wait so long in between posts next time. Then I don't have to cram so many things into one! If you made it all the way to the bottom of this post....kudos to you! And thanks for taking the time to read it!!

the "what if" game.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about God's faithfulness. It just keeps coming up everywhere I go in different ways. Songs on the radio, scriptures I read, conversations I have, the many thoughts that run through my mind...etc.
Last Sunday, not yesterday but a week ago, Pastor Steve talked about fear. Which was just another way God was reminding me of His faithfulness.

Pastor Steve stated 4 main kinds of fears most of us have probably struggled with at one point of time in our life, and possibly still deal with today.
Here they are:
A fear of loss: afraid of losing something. Could be a family member, a job, or control over something.
A fear of failure: nobody wants to fail at something....this could be at your job, school, raising a family, any leadership role you may be in....etc.
A fear of rejection: nobody wants to be told no...
A fear of the unknown: having no idea what is coming next! As a college student of many years...;) I am in this spot. I have absolutely no idea where I will end up after college...but I am kind of excited about that. The possibilities are endless!

Anyway...moving on!

So what does fear have to do with faith? Well, I'm glad you asked! :) Fear means the feeling or condition of being afraid. Fear has everything to do with faith! What you fear reveals where you trust God the least.

You see, God doesn't give us fear....it doesn't come from Him. Do you know where fear comes from?? It comes from the enemy. 1 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." When we walk with God, we are walking in His power and in His love. I will say it again....Fear doesn't come from God, but from the enemy.

In Exodus Chapter 3, God speaks to Moses through a burning bush. I mean, can you imagine...you are just minding your own business when out of nowhere you see a bush on fire. But the bush isn't burning up...it's on fire but not burning up. So Moses walks over to the bush and God starts calling His name, "Moses! Moses". So here God is, speaking to Moses through a burning bush. God calls Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt (verse 10).

Mose's first reaction was, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" So basically he was saying, why me? And then, if you jump ahead to Exodus 4:1, Moses says "What if...."

Let's be honest, if God called me to deliver the people from Egypt, as much as I would like to be able to say I wouldn't, I would probably play the what if game. What if they don't believe me? What if they don't come? What if I don't say the right thing? What if....what if....what if...

When we play the what if game, we scare ourselves. We think of all the things that could possibly go wrong. And when that happens, our fears begin holding us captive. We become trapped in them. Instead of having faith that the Lord is there with us, we get scared and we don't do it. We let the enemy win.

So what areas are you not trusting God in your life? Is it your finances? Your job? School? Family? What fears are holding you captive? And how do you get rid of that fear? It's easy....seek God! Slowly, your fears will go away. Instead of being overcome by fears and worries, you will be walking in God's power and love.

Thanks for being so faithful God! Help me to stay strong in the Lord, and not play the what if game. Show me what fears I have that are holding me captive...what areas of my life I'm holding onto and not completely trusting you with. Take away my fears, Lord! I don't want to be afraid anymore. Have your way in my life...do what you will! I'm ready now. Help me to never doubt your faithfulness. Amen!

Stay tuned! I want to also share with you Pastor Pete's message from yesterday....here is a hint....string cheese! :)

megh got married!

My good friend Meghann got married this past weekend. It was truly a beautiful wedding! I loved every minute of it! To see two people get married who both love Jesus and put God first before each other, is a wonderful thing. I believe God is going to use them, and already has used them, in big ways! And to know Meghann before they were dating, to see them as they began "talking", then start dating, and now married was awesome! So so happy for these two! They really are perfect for each other.

Meghann and I at the reception!

Stefanie and I got to be candle lighters for the ceremony. I was so happy to be a part of her big day! It was fun...and all the candles lit for us so that was a plus! :)

Here are some other pics from the day:

Meghann and her bridesmaids.

Stefanie and I. The candle lighters with the candle lighters! ;)

Stefanie and I!

Ariona was my "date" to the wedding. We had a good time!

I'm so thankful to have her as my friend. She fell asleep and woke up not long before the wedding began and wasn't going to come, but she came anyway. That's how much she loves me! ;)

Rachael, Stefanie, Ariona, and myself. We put the handy dandy self-timer to use...

Little did we know, my camera takes the picture twice. So as Rachael and I were walking back to check our cameras to see if the previous picture turned out okay, my camera snapped another shot and this was the result! Makes me laugh.

:)

Getting ready to head to the reception! Waiting on Stefanie so we could follow her so naturally, we got out the camera! :)

Stefa!!!

Where the reception was held. The Governor's Row House! It was a neat place. I love the way it was decorated!

Isn't it pretty?! :)

Reception time!

Cake, cupcakes, and pies! What more do you need?! :) Yum!

They had cool straws. What can I say, we are amused very easily!

Loved seeing Rachel there!

The happily married couple....Mr. and Mrs. Boatright!

Congratulations to you, Meghann and Clark!