braving a northeast winter

well, i survived my little trek to new england during the middle of winter...not only did i survive but i totally enjoyed my experience and time w/ the holloways. i enjoyed seeing beautiful snow covered cities (including the big apple) from 30,000 ft before landing in snowy hartford. not since my one trip to colorado in the winter of '99 have i ever seen so much snow at one time. but the large amount of snow did not prevent us from exploring connecticut as if a gilmore, western mass and boston. i'll let the pictures tell the story of all i saw...

whether in small town connecticut, the town that inspired stars hollow home of the gilmore girls
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or big city boston, such a beautiful city while covered in snow






or pretending like i'm shopping for an ivy league college, harvard or yale, yale or harvard?!!

unfailing Soveriegnty

the past few months i've been learning and challenged with God's Sovereignty as a whole, not just in the big events and changes in my life or the world but every single activity, event, thought, etc that occurs 24/7 and then my responsibility and need to wholeheartedly trust in Him because of His Sovereignty...i don't have a lot of time to expand on this thought(i'll save it for another post) but i read this devotional this morning that absolutely touches on this subject and wanted to share:

God’s Sovereign Hand

The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
—Isaiah 50:4 niv

God is sovereign, and he has a sovereign design for each of our lives. But knowing, believing, and having faith in God’s sovereign design does not necessarily mean we like the design. We may actually hate the design.

Do we dare tell God we aren’t crazy about his plan? Of course. He already knows our feelings anyway. He knew what we would be feeling long before we had the experience that produced those feelings. He knows the beginning from the end, including our emotions. So go ahead and boldly tell him what he already knows. And don’t worry, he will receive your emotions.

How do I know? The Bible tells me he knows that humans “are as frail as breath” (Isaiah 2:22). It also tells me, “All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

A part of experiencing his shelter is trusting the one who provides that shelter. We can settle into the comfort of that sheltering promise. We can trust him and have faith in his character of love that a higher good is in the making and that one day, we will look back and say, “Ah, yes . . . God’s hand was in that.”

—Marilyn Meberg (God at Your Wits’ End)

coming soon: braving a northeast winter

in the morning, i'm heading on a little vacation to visit my friend jennifer & her husband andrew...in western massachusetts. while most folks vacation to warmer places in the middle of winter, i'm being daring and braving the weather to go visit the northeast (plus, southwest suckered me into an incredible deal for this time of year...i guess they know the northeast in the middle of winter isn't everyone's ideal vacation destination)

don't worry, i've got plenty of warm clothes and yes, i'm actually going to remember my camera and to seriously use it so be on the lookout for a post detailing my winter adventures.

roll tide roll

college football season is over and now my ultimate favorite sport gets the spotlight in the college sports world...hello basketball! january to april provide some incredible games especially once march madness kicks in. let's just say tide basketball hasn't been the most stellar in the past few years but thank goodness for coach grant making some strides to get bama bball back where it has been...how bout that victory last night over caltucky?!! wasn't the prettiest especially the 2nd half but hey, we're young, inexperienced and not the most talented team out there but in the end we can all sing some rammer jammer!

i'm excited for the future of bama bball not only as we finish out conference play but as the anthony grant process continues to work.

enjoy the next few months of college hoops because i know i will

new year, new resolutions?!

or just stick w/ the old ones from 2010...

i'm not much of a fan of creating 5-yr/10-yr/2-yr plans or goals mainly because when i have the Lord laughs & reminds me that He's the planner. i do think setting goals can be beneficial so i'm not totally against starting the new year w/ resolutions i've just been reminded repeatedly over the past few years that it's all a matter of where i'm placing my trust: the Sovereign Lord or the plans/expectations/goals i create & expect Him to fulfill.

when i think of any new year's resolutions as the calendar turns into 2011, the main one that sticks out to me is actively pursuing any and all job opportunities/options He places/has already placed in my path. or as i said on new year's eve: "find/get a new job" (Lord willing & planned of course) i was challenged in the month of december with how i approach trusting vs obeying Him and i'm pretty sure that challenge didn't stop once the calendar changed from 2010.

so here's to resolving to continue w/ the challenges & goals of 2010 in a new year