So... It's OFFICIAL!

I'm now the MINISTER TO STUDENTS & CHILDREN at FBC. Tonight was made complete with sweet comments, plenty of hugs and...

great friends/ youth...

...and cake

with plates-- picked out by Drew (I told you I would give you credit)...

and car decor...

My cup runneth over!

Catching up!

It was so nice to be able to take a weekend and catch up with friends that I don't get to see too often!

Friday night with Kristina

and Saturday afternoon... I was Betty Crocker. I'm not sure what caused the brownie making and then presenting them on the "Dress Me Up" platter-- just felt a little artsy, I guess!

Saturday night with Lauren D.

A LOT of NEW THINGS!

Just this week I've gotten a new car, a new camera, hopefully some new responsibilities at work (we'll find out on Sunday night), and next Tuesday, I'll have a NEW outlook on life from the BEACH!! I won't be staying at the beach so my outlook on life will technically be the same. I'll try not to post too much while I'm at the beach-- I would feel so bad if you felt a little jealous of my toes in the sand! I've updated A LOT today so keep scrolling down!

Happy Birthday!

I FINALLY got to see Harper!!

Last night we celebrated my Granny Poe's (she's really my great aunt) 74th birthday! My mom and grannie, Jesselyn, Erin & Harper (grannie poe's daughter, grandaughter and great grandaughter) and a family friend all dined at the Hungry Heifer! We always have such a great time with all of the girls in our family! Happy, Happy birthday GP! I hope it was the best birthday yet!

Playing with GP's bows from her gifts!

Grannie Poe, my Grannie and Mary Hope

Mom & Me

Harper & Erin

3 generations... Harper was in the next picture with them which would've made 4 generations!

393

Several of you have commented on facebook and said that you wanted to see the 393 issue that I was in. I'm trying to get several more copies to send to family and friends... but for now, this will have to do. A lady at FBC had this framed for me and brought it to surprise me this week!!

Sorry for the glare! KELLY-- this post is mainly for you! Tell Ritchie to stop laughing... I know he's losing control of himself about right now!!

The Big Move

Monday, I spent my whole day changing office, AGAIN!! This will make the 3rd time I've moved offices since I've been at FBC-- I only blame 1 of them on myself though. I am officially back to the office I started in and I LOVE IT! I moved out of that office when our Associate Pastor came. I was still a part time employee at that time and wasn't sure how long I'd be there, so Dr. Leake requested that I make my home in the break room. So, after I made the break room my "girly" home for a year, I requested that some work be done to make it a more permanent fix. During that time, our youth minister left to go to a church in Louisiana, so I moved to his office while my office was being fixed. When my break room office was complete, Matt (associate pastor) wanted to move in because he wanted the sink, refrigerator, etc., and I wanted to move to HIS office (my very first office) because of the closet space. Confused yet? You can't be quite as confused as the church office or the members of FBC... they get confused each time they travel down our hallway!! We are now in our new homes and I'm thrilled to finally be settled!!

From this... Matt's stuff...

To this... my stuff!

Summer wreath on office door... pretty soon, it will be time to place the Christmas wreath there!

Bookshelves

My little work space!

I got this from Shana over at Rustic Creations last year at Canton!

I'm so proud of this!

I still need to find some things to hang on the walls and I'm having a HUGE bulletin board made that will cover a wall that faces my desk. But for now, I'm happy!

A Gift...

God knew that I was having a pretty bad day on Tuesday...

So, on my way back from a funeral visitation, I saw this...

God is so faithful!

Yumm-o!!

I LOVE this pasta salad! I like creamy pasta salads much more than oily ones... so this has become a favorite of mine!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients- 1 package of Tri-colored spiral pasta

1 8oz. package of shredded cheddar cheese

1 tomato

1 bunch of broccoli flowerettes (cut off ends and keep)

3/4 cups of mayo (I add a little more)

1/2 cup of parsley

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Add broccoli flowerettes, tomato (cut into small pieces), cheese, mayo, parsley, and other spices. Mix all together and refrigerate for 3 hours. Serve cold.

Sharon McMullen brought this over yesterday in a bag of happies to take with us next week when we go to the beach! I couldn't resist... I ate some of it for lunch today! Thanks Sharon!

A Smile for you today...

I could just eat her with a spoon...

I'm officially having "Harper girl" withdrawals! I came across this picture today and wanted to show you what a sweet little girl our family has been blessed with! I'm so thankful that Harper is doing so well!! She goes back to the doctor next week and will hopefully be FULLY released to do EVERYTHING!! I don't know about you, but she definitely has my heart...

Exciting Stuff!!

I spent my weekend on a back to school retreat with the FBC youth at Twin Lakes in Florence, MS. We had so much fun getting to know all of the new 7th graders and spending time with each other before everyone has to get back on a regular school schedule. The Tony Staires Band came and led in worship for us and Lee Yancey was the speaker for the weekend.

My cabin mates for the weekend-- Hayley, Katherine, Hannah, Sophie, Anne Morgan & Marilyn

The back to school retreat-ers... minus me, Kristina and Kristen

My favorite picture of the weekend... Garrison-- you free falling from the top of the rock wall was perhaps the BEST part of the weekend!! Thanks for the laughs!

Me and K Hill!
Just a little rock wall climbing!

Jeremy & Kristen

Ben, Reed & Chris

When I left the retreat, I drove on over to Clinton and spent the afternoon with my friend Kristen. Kristen provided a wing (yes, you heard that correctly) of her home to me on Sunday nights last semester when I was traveling over for school. She's been in Belgium for a month and I enjoyed getting to catch up with her!

There's also a little something else I need to fill you in on... My lips have been sealed since June, but I have been nominated by the Youth Pastor Search Committee at FBC Meridian to take over Youth responsibilites FOR GOOD! I've been praying about the decision for a while and have been talking back and forth with the committee for weeks. The announcement was made this morning in church and it felt so good to be able to talk about the possibility OUT LOUD!! It's been so hard trying to keep it hush hush! Please be in prayer for me over the next few weeks during this transition. Next Sunday night, there will be a special called business meeting. I will be presented and asked to give my testimony. A brief question and answer time will be held, and the church "vote" will take place immediately after. I have so many emotions but I am truly thrilled that God has placed this on my heart, but so anxious/nervous about the next few months as all of this becomes real. I know that God won't give me anything I can't handle and I am confident that He will equip me with all of the tools I need to serve Him and do His work.

Walking and Birthdays!

Several people from our church and others from around the community gathered at the Wesley House tonight to do a little local mission work. From cutting grass, walking around the neighborhood, picking up trash, oraganizing school uniforms, school supplies and canned goods, to playing on the playground with some of the kids, everyone had a great time serving.

Regan... multi-tasking!

Malley-- I'm going to miss you when you move next weekend! Good luck at MSU!

We also had to celebrate a special birthday while we were serving. Today was Kristen's birthday! K HILL and I became friends a few years ago. We actually took dance from the same dance school years ago but we never got to know each other until we both ended up at FBC. You are very special to me, K Hill! Thanks so much for all you do to help me out, whether it's pulling off surprise birthday parties for me, calling to check in and see how my day is going, or making a Sam's run with me after my wreck because I couldn't lift anything. I hope that today was everything you hoped it would be and more. Love you!!

Me and K Hill

First Outing...

I feel like I've been going non-stop here lately... the wreck hardly made me slow down in my social life. Less than a week after my accident, I headed back to Jackson to see Derrick, since I didn't make it to see him the day I totaled my car. I met him at his church as they were winding down their VBS week. The kiddos at FBCR are precious and it looked like they had a great week! Friday night, we went to the American Cancer Society "Jamaican Me Crazy" Fundraiser with good music, lots of fun and great company!! Thankfully someone else had a camera because mine was DEAD!

Post-Wreck

Many of you have called, sent texts and emails to check in on me and see how I'm recovering. This has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. Monday I was sore, and yesterday I was a little more bruised, but today, I'm in a lot of pain. I didn't get much sleep last night-- I just couldn't get comfortable.

There have been many moments throughout the past few days when I just stop and think about how grateful I am to be alive. I really shouldn't have been able to walk away from my wreck-- especially with only bruises and burns. However, I am thankful that God was with me before and during the wreck and continues to walk by my side while I'm recovering.

Last night at Bible study, we had a big discussion about how God uses different situations in life to grab your attention. There have been many times in my life when things have happened and I didn't understand the reasoning behind it, but was able to find peace in the fact that the God I serve knows! I know that God will use this accident to get me WHERE He wants me to be and to become WHO He wants me to be and that I'll see the big picture soon.

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song." Psalm 28:7

Always wear your seatbelt!

I'm sure that by now, most of you have heard about my wreck yesterday. I was on my way to Jackson to head to Memphis for the American Idol concert. Somewhere in between Pelahatchie and Brandon, I hydroplaned and began spinning in the middle of the interstate. As I was spinning around, I knew that there was nothing I could do to make the situation any better. I remember watching everything around me and wondering when it would end, closing my eyes, and knowing that my life was about to end. After I heard and felt the airbag, I opened my eyes, and heard 4 men yelling at me to get out of the car. They helped me gather the important things and said that their girlfriends were calling 911 for me-- then they left.

As I was standing on the interstate, white dressy long linen pants on (covered in mud to my knees, mind you), no shoes, and rain blowing from every direction, I frantically made a few phone calls and help arrived soon after. I went on to the hospital in Brandon and had x-rays made on my arm, chest and foot. I left the hospital around 5:00 and headed home to rest and get pampered, of course!

I'm taking the day today to rest and clean out the items from my car. I've had so many phone calls, texts and emails and am so very thankful that I've been able to talk to each one of you. I have several big burns and scratches from the seatbelt and airbag and something is wrong with my foot, but that's all minor. The policeman said that I should be thankful that I was wearing my seatbelt because I really shouldn't have survived.

Thanks so much for all of the prayers so far, keep them coming! I'm pretty sure that I have a few long days ahead! Seatbelts really do save lives... I'm a living testimony!!