Attitude of Gratitude: All You Need is Love

There is nothing like God pulling you out of bed on a Sunday morning for church. I know I have said this before, but it seems to be happening to me a lot lately. This Sunday, He was a little late, so I went downstairs to make coffee for Jay and bring up cereal and the couple of leftover pancakes from yesterday. We flipped on the laptop and watched Andy Stanley online. What did people do when they were lazy and before church had live sermons online? I am actually still in my PJs while I am writing this. I love Sundays! He is on the 7th installment of an 8 part series on Christian. What it means to be Christian. Buddy Hoffman at Grace has a similar attitude as Andy, and I first heard the phrase from him. "Strive to be more than a Christian, strive to be a follower of Christ". Of course, Buddy tells people he is a follower of Christ, but it was interesting to hear an entire sermon on why we should do this. The lesson today was on loopholes. Andy claimed that Christians are better at loopholes than any other religion on Earth. That was a pretty bold statement. But, when he started giving examples of how Christians try to rationalize their actions and beliefs it started to make sense.

Then, as it does on most of the Sundays that God un-willingly pulls me out of bed, I got that hit in the gut with the realization that I have been doing this with a pretty major life decision all week. I feel like God has been calling me to volunteer with the middle school girls at North Point. I can't remember if I had posted about that before, so if this is a repeat...bare with me! I truly found God when I was in middle school, due in huge part to my middle school leader LeeAnn. On another Sunday that my butt was forced into a chair on Sunday Andy was talking about how they are going to add a service in the fall and would need close to 1000 additional volunteers to make this happen. One of the biggest needs was in middle school, and there was another conviction I wouldn't have received unless God woke me up that morning. I have gone through the interviews, applications, background checks, and met with the girls coordinator to get started. We sat down and had a long conversation about what it means to be a follower of Christ, your beliefs on different hot button issues that come up in the middle school world, etc. I shared my story and was asked what seemed like a very small question at the time, but has sparked alot of self-doubt since then. Have you been baptized? Well, the answer is no. It's not that I don't want to be, it just never came up with all of our moves as kids and bouncing around churches like we did across the country. In order to serve at North Point you really need to be baptized. Kids in the middle school have their own baptisms in their own wing of the church. In order to help these kids find a life in Christ, it's important that you can share this story with them. I completely understand. But, I had all of this doubt. Maybe I'm not ready, maybe this is God's way of showing me that this isn't what he wanted from me. This isn't where He wanted me to serve. I can't be a member of this church, I just started going there. Clearly, God has other plans for me, because this is ludicrous. This is all too fast.

But then, He wakes me up again for another convicting service. Loopholes. I was using baptism as a loophole to not serve Christ in the manner in which He has intended for my life. What does love require of me? God is requiring me to LOVE these kids the same way I was shown LOVE at their age. It's a huge commitment. It's 3 years, following these girls through their middle school career. It's every Sunday night, it's several camps a year, it's being there when life hits these girls. But, God gave me someone who did those things for me. How can I use a loophole to deprive those girls of the same thing?

I am thankful God woke me up out of bed this morning. But, I am going to need a lot of prayer throughout this experience. Without sounding too old, kids these days are faced with so much more than we were even 15 years ago. They are surrounded by more tragedy, divorce, and forced to make much more adult decisions than we even knew existed. They need strong women in their lives. They need women who can show them a safe way through their teenage years to help them make good decisions. Pray for the leaders who will impact their lives. I thank God for giving me someone who did this for me, pray that God leads the men and women who will be guiding our next generation into adulthood. I'm grateful God woke me up this morning to put this across my path, and grateful God gave me a strong network of friends and family to help me live out His plans for my life.

Thoughts Needed

As Jay and I have just celebrated our first wedding anniversary, it has brought on many thoughts about our future. Then I started thinking as I was planning my blog post for this week. We really aren't newlyweds anymore, but I am definitely still Southern. I am officially looking to re-name the blog to something more suited for the next phase of our life and marriage. We have moved past the newness of marriage, and have since moved into a comfortable love-filled era. Any ideas would be much appreciated. And, if you don't have any thoughts, be prepared for a couple of changes at The Southern Newlywed!!

How to Hide Your TV Cords

I absolutely cannot stand disorganization in my house. It drives me crazy, just ask Jay! I think everything has a spot, and there is a spot for everything. One thing I struggled with in our living room was the TV, DVD, Cable, and all of the cords that go with them. Our TV is hanging on the wall, per request of Jay, but the cable plug isn't on the same wall. At one point, and I really wish I had a picture of this, we had the cords strewn from the back of the TV and 5' across the wall. It was horrendous. I wouldn't let Jay invite anyone over to the house until we had this figured out. We ended up buying a piece of furniture that we could place under the TV, but it really didn't conceal any of the ugly. So, I decided I was going to Hobby Lobby and was going to find a solution. Then, right there in the lamp aisle, and don't ask why I was in that aisle, there was a pretty fabric cord cover in a pretty taupe color. It hit me. I am going to move the cable box to the piece of furniture under the TV, and zip tie the cords together, and cover them with this lamp cord cover. I mean, there isn't a huge difference in a lamp cord and the cables behind the TV, right?

You can still see it, even though I put some Mason jars and Hydrangea in front of it, but it is much less offensive than the alternative. Our fireplace is on the other side of this wall, so feeding the cords through a hole in the sheetrock just wasn't an option. I love the furniture. It was a HUGE steal at Ballards Backroom that is right down the street from us. I think I only paid $85 for it, and it's brand new. The cord cover was $10, and the flowers were right around $10 as well. We had the jars, the frame and the bird cage, so it was a pretty cheap fix. It totaled right at $105. If you already have the shelving, you can do this for next to nothing. I am very excited about how it turned out. The OCD has been quieted for a little bit!! 

Happy Birthday Hay Bug

Yesterday was my precious puppy's birthday! She isn't technically a puppy anymore, she's 4, but she's still my little girl! Haley and I have been through alot together. I adopted her right before football season started my senior year of college. She lived in my college apartment, tailgated through the fall, moved home for my summer internship, moved to Boston after I graduated, moved back to Atlanta when Jay got a new job, Jay and I got married, and she moved into our new house together. This is one well traveled, spoiled, little girl. I can't remember life without her in it. She is my little buddy and partner in crime. I had to have a ode to Haley on her Birthday!

Haley follows me wherever I go. I really don't think she knows she is a dog. She like to cuddle up in a blanket when it's cold, she prefers to sit on the heated front seats of the car, she sits at the table in a chair if she thinks there is going to be a meal she may not be included in, and naps for the better part of every day. She's the only child I have, and I love having her around.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALEY BUG!!

Happy Anniversary

Jay and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary yesterday! I can't believe a year has gone by so quickly. I am so lucky to have Jay in my life, and can't believe how far we have come.

To give you a little background story, Jay and I met in 2006 at Auburn, hence the orange and blue wedding theme! The day after we met, we never left each others side. We just instantly fell in love! We dated while we both finished up at Auburn, while Jay moved to Atlanta and I was at school, and then I followed him to Boston after I graduated. We got engaged right before I moved on New Year's Eve, December 31st, 2009. We got our first apartment, and just couldn't wait to spend forever together. We planned our wedding for April 9, 2011 at Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA. All of our friends and family came to Atlanta, and we had an entire weekend long blow-out bash for our wedding. It was truly the most amazing day of my life. And here we are, one year later, still madly in love and talking about forever.

We have been lucky enough to experience so many things in life, and so many of them together. We have moved cross country twice together, purchased our first home, survived our first home DIY project, and can't wait for all the things to come. We have endured career changes, both good and bad, and have finally found the place where we belong. Jay is my best friend, and the only person on Earth who knows me like I know me. I can't wait to experience all that God has in store for us in the future!

Jay and Paige both sent beautiful flowers to the office yesterday! Our cake company re-made the top layer of our cake so we didn't have to freeze it for a year. It was amazing because it tasted exactly how it was supposed to a year ago, and since we didn't get to taste it that night it was truly awesome! Sugar Kneads is out in Loganville, and definitely worth talking to if you are planning a wedding, birthday, or shower. 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JAY!!

Easter Feast

We had such an amazing weekend this weekend! For anyone of you who are Facebook friends with me, you have probably noticed Paige and I giving my mother the guilt trip for the last week and a half. Mom and Dad were able to go down to the Masters on Masters Sunday, which also happens to be Easter Sunday. I don't think they understood the difference between the holiest place in golf, and the holiest Sunday of the year. I know it sounds similar, but you just can't worship at the Altar of the Green Jacket!

They left us to fend for ourselves on Easter Sunday, that isn't really Christian! We survived though. I prepared my first Easter meal, Paige came down and went to Church with us, and it was really nice spending our first big holiday in the house. We seem to always be on the go. I made BBQ Beef Brisket, Corn Casserole, Emeril's Mac & Cheese, Salad, and Grandma's Homemade Apple Pie. It was DELISH! We all sat around our dining room table that sees more crafts than meals, and were able to spend some great quality time with each other. Paige is always on the move with school, volunteering, her boyfriend and sorority, that we hardly get to see her. Here are a few pics from our awesome Sunday. See mom...this is what good Christians look like going to Church on Easter Sunday!

Even without mom there, I had to snag a couple of Easter shots. 

Paige and Haley had a rough afternoon after lunch. Between watching Bubba and napping with each other, it's clear it was almost more than they could bear. 

Now, this is a little project that is a great steal from Pinterest. I went over to TJ Maxx, one of my favorite craft finding stores and found these two vases that just fit perfectly into one another. I bought two bags of the Jolly Rancher Jelly beans and filled the bottom. In hindsight, I should have put another bag or two down there. I just love the colors. Then I CAREFULLY stacked peeps on top of one another. This was pretty tricky. It is a challenge to try to fit your hand in between the two vases, and get the bunny to sit exactly how you want it to. I wish I took a picture with the flowers in there. You can see it in the table picture above. I found a great spring mix of flowers form Publix for about $5, and then got two bunches of gerber daisies that were $3 a piece and just arranged them around in the vase. I am still learning how to get a pretty arrangement, but over time I will figure it out! I thought it was pretty cute and festive, and now I just want to eat all of the peeps. I am really hoping they are stale when I get home!

We had a great Easter, and I am so happy I survived my first one in the house!