God is not....

I wanted to take some time to tell you all about the place that has been feeding my spiritual life in so many ways during my time here at Alabama. On Wednesday nights I attend The Well at Calvary Baptist Church, this past fall we got a new college minister, Chris Brooks from The Church of Brook Hills in Birmingham. Chris is a phenomenal speaker, he brings humor and stories from his life to make sermons that always speak to me and the hundreds of college students worshipping with me. The Well Band is just incredible and always knows how to get my heart in the right place before the message.

Our most recent series is called "God is not..."
...a secret to be kept. -Matthew 5:13-
...ashamed to be called our God. -Hebrews 11:13-16
...a man in that He does not change His mind. -1st Samuel 15:29

This series is using the theory of the "via negativa" meaning the negative way in which we reason what something is by talking about what it is not. "Everyone has a burden and for some of us our burden is God. Questions like these can reveal how heavy that burden can be. Do you ever feel like you can't live up to God's expectations? God is not ashamed to be called our God. Do you ever feel like people who rebel against God and are living life however they desire and they're getting away with it if not getting blessed for it? God is not mocked. Do you ever feel like you are going through life alone because God doesn't make any difference in your life? God is not a God of the dead, He is the God of the living and he is active and involved. Do you ever feel like God is really not worth talking about? God is not a secret to be kept."

This series has really challenged me and moved me to realize so many things about my faith walk and for those of you who are interested please go and listen to the podcast for The Well-Calvary Baptist Church. God is using Chris in such amazing ways at Calvary and in Tuscaloosa and I am so looking forward to where his leadership will take us.

Here is a thought for some of you:

"Is it more difficult for you to delight in God or for you to discover that God delights in you?" -Zep. 3:17

Headbands by HM

I wanted to take a little bit of time and tell you all about my sweet friend Miss Holly Martin. Holly (pictured in the blue shirt with the wrap-around headband) is a student at the University of Arkansas and is one of my friends from when we lived in Memphis. She is making and selling some very stylish headbands and hair clips to raise money to pay for her mission trip to Togo, Africa this summer. She needs to raise nearly $5000 to go on this trip and is doing well so far by making and selling these headbands. She created a website and is authorized with PayPal so you can completely make your purchase online by using your debit or credit card or your bank account number. Her website will tell you more about herself and her trip as well as a full photo album of headbands she has already created and you can order based on those, or you can email her with your own idea and she'll make it happen. Her prices are CHEAP, ranging from $2 for some clips and the most expensive headbands being $15. The pictures I posted on here are 3 headbands I ordered from her and will be getting in the mail soon! If you like what you see on her website, please do not hesitate to order a headband from her and help her on her way to Africa!

http://web.me.com/hrmartin/HeadbandsbyHM/Home.html

Bye Bye Wisdom...

Today has been an interesting day. I said goodbye to all the wisdom I've gained the past 21 years, all in a matter of an hour and a half.

I woke up this morning at 6:15 and was at Dr. Burton's at 7:45 to have my wisdom teeth taken out. Luckily, I only had the 2 bottom wisdom teeth, no top wisdom teeth. Everyone at Dr. Burton's office was extremely nice and I am so thankful to have such sweet and understanding people working on me today. My nurse Heather was just extremely nice and we had a very nice conversation and she just had this aura around her that just kept me so calm. Dr. Burton was just beyond nice and very good at explaining what he was going to do while my parents were in the room and again a little more after they left before he put me to sleep. I don't remember a thing, just as he promised, nor did I feel a thing! I sat in the recovery area for a little while before Mom and Dad drove me home, I instantly fell back asleep in the car. Apparently Mom made a stop to handle a little real estate business and another stop at the pharmacy to fill my pain medicine and antibiotics and then home. I don't remember ANY of this, I remember falling asleep in the car in the parking lot at Dr. Burton's and then waking up at home. At home I changed back into my p.j.'s and went back to bed for a few hours. I had my first "meal" around 2 and drank a Slimfast- luckily I've gotten used to these because I've been on the Slimfast diet for a few weeks now and have lost 13 pounds! I also took my first pain killer and took another nap and have been watching Dexter (since I so slyly borrowed it from Adam :)).

Now, Mom's making me some mashed potatoes for dinner and we're going to watch Couples Retreat later. I'm really excited because the new big comfy sectional for the upstairs t.v. area gets delivered in the morning, so if you need me you will find me there breaking it in for the next few days! I'm hoping I'll be up to taking my cousin Claudia, who is 8, out on Wednesday or Thursday to the McWane center and just out around town to hang out and have some girl time. I also hope to spend some time with some friends who still live in town that I don't get to see as much as I should. Even still, I have some school work to do for my online classes and get some other stuff done to make sure I stay ahead of schedule and help relieve some potential stress from happening.

I'm not feeling too bad from having all of my wisdom taken away from me. I'm still a little numb but it's finally almost gone, I've been taking my pain medicine every 4 or 5 hours to keep it at bay today and tomorrow. I'm about to go and lay in bed and watch the movie with Mom and ice both sides and I'm hoping I don't bruise or swell up too bad. All in all, it hasn't been too terrible and I really had nothing to worry about. Please keep praying for me and my healing process.

In other news, I would like to pass along a prayer request for a dear friend of mine, Patrick. His grandmother is in critical condition after being in an accident where she was sucked down into a drain pipe during last weeks flooding in the Birmingham area. He said she is doing a bit better today but she still needs as many prayers as possible.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Spring Break and don't forget to stop and smell the daisies... (not the roses---I like daisies better!)

Just another day in Paradise...

Hello all! This is my first blog in a very long time. I figured this is a great way to keep all of you updated in a much easier fashion than email groups. In this you'll hear about many of my endeavors, in my school, work and personal life.

To kind of update some of you who don't already know... Recently I decided to change my major from Elementary Education to Early Childhood Development/Child Life under the Human Development and Family Studies department. I am loving my new major and really have found my niche and know beyond a doubt that this is what I am supposed to be doing. I currently am volunteering at Children's Hospital one day a week and getting to work with a Child Life specialist there and learning the ropes and getting some real experience. For those of you who don't know, a Child Life Specialist works with hospitalized children and youth and helps to encourage their coping ability, as well as provide fun and stimulating activities to help distract them from all of the stresses hospitalization brings. I am really really enjoying my time at Children's and look forward to continuing volunteering with them. The other route I can take with this is being a teacher in an Early Childhood Development Center (Preschool). I have been spending some time in the Children's Program at the University of Alabama for a class that I am taking and I love it. I am in a multi-age classroom with kids ranging from 3 to 5 years old and I not only participate with them in the classroom but I have to write a lesson plan for an activity every other week and my most recent activity was with "funny shaped" crayons.

To make the crayons into new shapes:

1.) Remove the label-Easiest way is by soaking them in ICE cold water for 30 seconds to a minute then pull off the label.

2.) Melt the crayons in an oven no higher than 225 degrees (Wax is VERY flammable!). - Best way is in old cans and bend them so you have an easy pour spout.

3.) Once melted pour into candy molds or small muffin tins or any form you wish.

4.) Allow to cool and solidify for at least half an hour before removing. - To speed up the process put the molds in the freezer.

So, this blog will keep all of you updated on all the fun activities and things going on in my life. I hope all is well with each of you and I'll leave you with this scripture for the day....

"One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: 'Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!' But the other one made him shut up: 'Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him-he did nothing to deserve this.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.' Jesus replied, 'Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise.'" -Luke 23:40-42