the joy of teenagers and the importance of placing your doubts & fears before the Lord

last night was our youth christmas party. everyone brought food and the 'coolest thing you can find for $1'

it was FANTASTIC. i've been so stressed lately with all the deadlines for school that i almost rushed past the simplicity of fun.
my worries started to ease after i got to hang out with my area group from seminary...for dinner and a light show, then we had the youth christmas party, where we exchanged gifts and i got to play cards, which was absolutely delightful. (card playing was def my favorite part of missing my plane to orlando)
<-the guys from seminary

after i got home that evening gifts in tow (the youth got me coffee and house warming stuff...i was in utter shock) i started to make soup and was thinking...wow, that was wonderful, thank you God.

The past 4-6 weeks we have been studying about sacred space, but truthfully I have been so stressed out trying to complete all the readings, lectures, papers, and meditations that the sacredness was lost. i feel the warmth of Christmas...finally. because of this...i just couldn't help but laugh and love.

cookies with santa

you would think i would be more excited about this than i am.
it's an annual thing they do here at the church.

however, the youth will be discussing the importance of Christmas and what it means to them. via photo scavenger hunt.
i will post the results. maybe i'll bake them cookies anyway...fresh ones that have not been frozen (who freezes cookies...really?, santa might have some bowl trouble later tonight)

holiday happenings

well we had thanksgiving and my birthday w/ my family this year. it went well. as i was about to go to bed the evening of my birthday i found out my dog has died. please be in prayer for my parents for he was their company and he was such a good and very well loved dog.
r.i.p. bear

on another note this guy that used to participate in the men's basketball league's that i was a part of as rec. dir. shot his ex. gf and himself thursday evening. so pray for those families as well.

childhood photos

(just for reference scott made the title)

so scott's home and tall enough to reach the family photos box on the top shelf of his closet. so guess who's looking through boy-hood photos of her fiance...

i hope our babies turn out equally as cute and that i can restrain myself from coo'ing excessively so over them.

on another note, my birthday is saturday...i'm getting old. i'm well on my way to 30 now. (all of you who read my blog that are over 30 i'm sorry.) it's not that i'm old but at least when you're like 21 or 22 you're still considered 'young', now i'm considered an 'adult'.

i love my kids

1
i'm blessed. i just finished a weekend retreat w/ my senior high youth. granted i know they are not my biological children i love them so dearly.
they finally got to meet adam and adam got to meet them. on the way home adam told me 'you know you have some good kids'...i tilted my very drowsy head towards him, smiled and said 'i know'.

i love my job.

sex in the city

so i went to visit my friend taylor saturday, who is now an army wife and is going to be deployed to korea in january. i met taylor my freshman year of college. we lived on the same floor in the community bathroom in our dorm.
i liked her slippers and we've been friends ever since. anyway i borrowed her complete series of sex in the city. we used to watch it together. apparently i've changed quite a bit since then b/c the more and more i watch this show the more and more i get upset at carrie and well the show in general.

i just finished watching the episode where Charlotte discovers that carrie is the other woman and is in fact sleeping w/ big still. here is carrie, with a man that loves her and treats her well and wants the best for and she's torn!!!!
torn?!! i feel like i've waited my entire life to not only find a man like adam, but to find a man that wonderful that would return the affection.

carrie likes to think of herself as a independent woman of power, but in reality she seems to just be a pathetic woman who feels like all she has to offer a man is sex and isn't content unless sex is all a man wants from her.

dumb woman.

so, now then i present a separate question all together. what exactly qualifies as love, longing and devotion?
how does this differ from independence or obsession with your significant other?

a special breed

not to say we're anything special...but i really think grad school people are of a special breed. not to be biased and say us seminary students are but it's insane.

here i am procrastinating on my paper, planning a retreat, planning an agape feast/celebration/ending to our 'to save a life' bible study...and i'm talking to my fellow class mates.
most of us are wrapping up one of the 3 papers...but not both. mind you they are due 10 a.m. on friday. we have a formation practicum that was sent to us this morning that's due w/ reflection on thursday which is 2 days from now and one of my buddies preached sunday on top of all of us (memphis ppl) taking our kids to a concert....

we're all insane. and why do we do it?.....love. b/c we love it. we love our jobs, we love our kids, we love our creator.
sure we complain about it all the time...but we love it.
....maybe

non - wedding planning

maybe i should be more excited about planning my wedding, but i'm more apathetic. maybe it has to do w/ the excessive amount of weddings adam and i have attended the last 2-3 years. we'll be getting married in 2012, which apparently everyone thinks that's the end of time....(no play on words here in relation to the world ending...people think 2 yrs to be engaged is too long) i just want to do it right and the way i want to.
i mean i've always said i wanted to elope, but adam's such a romantic. i will admit i am excited for him to see me in that dress. i look hot. (not trying to sound vain).

and i've found nothing more annoying than people asking me about when the wedding is and commenting on how far away it is....how miserable that must be.
well considering adam and i are both working on our master's degrees and working....it's not like we have a ton of time for planning or each other either.
i wish people would just stop judging me and asking me about the wedding. i mean i'm sure it's some high or thrill for some people to be the star of the day but i personally don't like that much attention.

on another note, i'm taking my students on a retreat this weekend. it should be fun.



on another note...i should be writing 3 12 page papers...so i'm gonna have to sign off now. i just needed a break.
<3

jack!!

finally a picture of my soon to be (but not soon enough) father-in-law. i figured since i talk about him all the time i would post a picture. this is from the wilderness weekend adam took me on to their farm.

s'mores cupcakes

i did it! i did it! i did it!!!!!
w/ the help of my friend april, but i did it!
and from what i can tell the kids love it as did adam!!!!

adam even dared to say (they rival muddy's....even better) ha! take that goodness of muddy's!

on a side note, i got my flu shot today. the prick didn't hurt but the goo going in me did feel a tad bit thick.

a devoted love

there are a few things i love more than baking.....
they would be my job (which sometimes involves baking), God, and of course adam.

but recently i have found recipes and designs that are far beyond my baking abilities. i being the well prepared youth worker that i am (ha ha ha...no seriously this time i was) decided to spend my free time on baking websites. (yes i know i'm a nerd) and i will share this next cupcake with you then i will get to my point of devoted love....while i am quite devoted to baking i am speaking of another matter.
(all cupcake pictures are property of ak cupcakes)


so recently i have had a good handful of friends talk to me about divorce (all newly married...and by newly married i mean less than 10 years) and i have recently had a good friend become un-engaged, and it makes me think. don't get me wrong i know there are valid reasons for getting divorces, but it just seems that people aren't willing to tough it through the nitty gritty anymore.
i love adam. it's not always easy but i love him. trust me esp while i'm pms'ing there are times when i'm like WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING LIKE A BOOK AND TALK TO ME LIKE A NORMAL PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATED PERSON, but i love him.

maybe it's out of my realm of understanding. it just makes my heart ache a little bit when people give up on love.
Christ has never once stopped loving us, he loved us before we came into being, and if we are modeling our lives after Christ....sigh
I wish life really were as simple as cupcakes and cookies, and that people were not flawed. I hate that people hurt and cause hurt.

<3 i'm just a lover with a glass half full of milk, a heart filled with joy, and an oven filled w/ cake.

actively loving

so Christ teaches us that we're supposed to love without condition, and how many times do we treat people different? and Christ clearly says, thank you for feeding me when I was hungry and clothing me when I was naked, but he also says where were you when I was hungry and where were you when I was naked....everything we do, good or bad we do in the name of Christ. we are his representatives here on earth.

I have had the luxury of having many friends and I have served in several ministry positions but yesterday I encountered the kind of Christ love I have been speaking about for years.
Recently my car engine has died...well I have had the joy of hitching a ride w/ my dear class mate jason.

He serves a church out in Covington, which is the next town over.
anyway this man in my church noticed i was standing in the parking lot waiting on jason to come pick me up for class last thursday, so he tells me that i should not have to rely on others to get around....and to give him a call when i get back from class and he would take me to his house to get a car, that i could....borrow.

I am over-whelmed with joy....but it gets better, this has not been this gentleman's service and he's not through....on my way to a presby campus leadership team meeting I am on the interstate and my tire blows....shreads of rubber are flying and i get over as soon as possible.
I am sure that i need to call this gentleman and that he will be furious at me. Instead he calls one of his friends who's in the area to check on me.


I have called a tow company (the same guy that towed me that night i had the encounter with the drunk driver )and the tow guy tows me off the interstate and changes my tire for me (and does not charge me, how blessed i am), the gentleman who lent me the car's friend stays and makes sure i get rolling safely.
The gentleman who owns the car then proceeded to pick the car up this morning and get a new tire for it, and then promptly returned the car to me.
No angry words, or frustration, just hospitality.
I told him i was amazed at his hospitality and generosity. I have only been at my church now for 3 months....and he's entrusted me with his car AND something went wrong and he fixed it.
He went out of his way to be a good Samaritan.

I know this is how Christ has called us to be. To seek and tend after those in need, but the sad reality is that we are not doing this. We see those in need and sure we help them, but only when it's easy for us. I am amazed at the lovingkindness that this gentleman has shown and it has warmed my heart.

I wish for myself, and for you, that you are not only touched by this but that it changes you. Many a times we teach our youth about life lessons but rarely do we act out on them. I did not reach out to this gentleman for help, he reached out to help me.

We need seek to love those who need it, not just love those who seek our love.
Bless you brother jay.

excitement

so in a whirlwind of excitement about the new series i am conducting with my youth (to save a life...it's going to be pretty epic)

i have fallen behind in my studies



sadly this does not upset me nearly as much as it frustrates me.
i came back exhausted from intensive retreat no.2 in brentwood, to present youth sunday then to write a paper (cough just completed a day late cough) and to have discussion group and to figure out if i'm going to buy a car for adam and i or just adam.

captain z told us that 1. we are not cymj(obs) nor are we to be negative to bring eachother down...
however...not that i feed off the negativity, but it is encouraging when others are not succeeding on an equal level of my lack of success. not that i am seeking validation for my laziness or frustration with the materials BUT....
it aids me in knowing i am not so far on the totem pole.

basically i don't look at our whining and complaining about the stuff we do for class or lack of stuff we do as negative but as a way we can compare ourselves to one another....in a way we are helping one another (no not helping one another slack off) but to feel confidant that they too are normal that yes this is a lot of material and yes it is hard.
no you are not a dum-dum.

:-D

new shoes and organization using technology

i realize this is a vain post...but i really do like my new shoes. (adam picked them out)


and you say, well so what lauren...well the fact that these are closed toe and heels makes them a big deal. most closed toed shoes make me uncomfortable, same with heels, however.....these are awesome. proly cause for once i got them someh where that was not payless, target or wal-mart


this is how my feet normally look on a typical work day....yes i have chaco lines and yes i wore pants today for the first time since christmas....it was cold and i didn't have time to look nice enough to wear a dress or a skirt.

on to more important things


i don't know how many of you are familiar w/ google docs or google apps or google calendars
but i have a classmate who has made a calendar (google) for the entire class so to that i added an additional calendar for my life and for work....they are all color coded and let me just say it's the most incredible thing ever.
and with google docs everyone can edit and such and see the same work in progress document. which is great for class projects when your classmates are 3 driving hours away.

ahhh technology.

i should be writing a paper...

but let me just say last night at youth group tears came to my eyes. i walked in this morning and was greeted in the office and on my facebook with praises.
Praise God, for he has blessed me and used me to prepare a lesson that those youth so desperately needed. my youth are amazing, just absolutely amazing.
sure, sometimes they're a bit immature, and yeah its hard to create lessons for both jr and senior highs in the same setting...but they are incredible.
Praise God indeed. Hopefully my blessings will continue as I prepare the paper i have procrastinated on....

oh and my fiance is the best ever. just wonderful and i'm blessed beyond measure...just way beyond measure.

the joys of sugar free

for those of you who don't know i enjoy a sugar-free/low sugar/low carb-lifestyle. i started this lifestyle back in april and have been quite successful.
the first 2 weeks i lost 14 lbs and since have lost about twenty ish.....while cheating moderately. i'll eat a cupcake at a shower if i'm there and i'll eat chips at a restaurant. etc...
i have recently discovered my favorite joy...
russell stovers has a sugar free variety pack of york patties, pb cups, pecan clusters and choc. covered toffee....after you subtract the sugar alcohol they basically have 1 carb. wooo

nanny'ing

well i don't know if i've shared it with you guys yet but on monday's i will be picking up my favorite 6 year olds from school and taking them home until their mom gets off work.
i am blessed.

i love my job
this is a tool for ministry :-D

have the first football game of the year. the weather is amazing. it'll be fantastic.

construction

so at work they said that they would be doing 'some' construction in the parking lot...i go to leave and i can't because there is a trench outside the door...btw i walk to work. mostly because i live only a parking lot over.
at least the water damage problem will be fixed.


saturday i also went to a lingerie shower that was also a scrapbooking shower, it was fun...but LONG....but really fun. i enjoyed it.

children

there are things in life that i greatly love. one of those are children.

the other is being a smart ass.

i'm not sure if this is a good combo (esp since my calling is to preach) but let me explore this a little bit and hear me out. i really love kids. i mean REALLY love kids....they're not even mine and i love them. i would say from the ages of 4-18 are my favorite.

i reckon this explains the whole youth/campus ministry idea for my career and i suppose even when i get a pulpit my congregation will be like my 'flock'.
my job is very relational based, which works for me since for the most part i am a very social person...naturally.
however, adam and i were discussing how i have a child-like presence about me. at first i was a tad bit hurt by this. why after all i turn 26 in a few months....and well i do love taylor swift
but then adam and i got to discussing and this is exactly how i relate to teenagers. i mean i relate to everyone...and this is a gift but somehow in my petite stature and my amine eyes (please explain this someone) people trust me before they even 'know' me.
i'm digging the purple hair and the wings...maybe amine eyes aren't so bad.

i do like to color, i do sleep w/ a stuffed animal....sometimes ish...sorta not really, and i do love kid stuff.
i think adam and i are both glad i'm not like typical women or rather the gross majority of...for the sensory of my blog 'particular-demanding' women.

but back to the point.....lately i've had this desire to have kids, which is WEIRD. when you have kids that are yours, they're not just yours for a few hours they're yours 24 hours, 7 days a week, 18 + years...woah. that's huge.

i would have to set an example
..a good one.

i hope adam and i can stay silly and not take ourselves or our kids too seriously.
not that i think i ever have to worry about adam being overly serious about anything.


hopefully i won't be that poor patronizing mother who coos at her kid while her kid looks at her like urg she's doing it again....
let's just hope for the sake of my petite stature and the genetics of both adam and i's large head that we have twins the first round so we can knock it out.

also for those of you who are new to following el blog the kids are andrew and lauren. they are twins and my favorite now 6 year olds. they belong to my dear dear friends thomas and becky.

finally an update

well it's been awhile since i last updated...let's see what's happened.

well i got engaged. (wooo)


started seminary

in co-partnership w/ this program called CYMT (center for youth ministry training)
they are helping me to get my M.Div
which leads to the next awesome thing....i have my meeting w/ the dCom the end of september, so i'll be a certified candidate for ordination. which means this will be me
...only i'll hopefully look more enthused to be sharing the gospel. (this is my mentor jallen...he's awesome don't let the photo fool you)

and i also have a new youth group, that happens to be awesome.

idk if you can tell but we took the youth and spelled out MFUMY! i think i'm the dot on the exclamation point.

we had our first swim party and it was a success. i sadly got really sick afterwards and was on quarantine.

today i went to my first student led bible study we met at subway at 7 a.m. (yes i know 7 a.m.) and it was nice. i completed my first 2 quizes and first paper. i'm hoping i can keep up w/ all the school work and i'm very fortunate to have such an outstanding network of friends, family and classmates to help me along the way.