Fill in the blank.

Next week, Christopher and I are headed to the ARC conference. It is a conference for church planters, and I could not be more excited! It will also be Christopher's first experience on an airplane! So i thought it would be appropriate to share a little fill in the blank about travelling!

1. My favorite place i've ever traveled to is ...the Czech Republic. Prague is just beautiful!



2. Italy is somewhere I'd love to go someday.

3. I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by muisic + books.

4. My three must-haves when I travel are a customized traveling playlist, a Nicolas Sparks novel, + FRIENDS!

5. My favorite travel companion is the hubs! I love sharing new places and experiences with him!

6. The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is Bolivia missions trip... On take off, some birds were swallowed up by the engine. We ended up stuck in Bolivia an extra day, taking a Bolivian airline home the following day. Only this plane was small, so we had stopped for fuel in Peru and Panama. This led us to miss our connecting flights in Miami. Our group made up of 60(+) high school students were split up in to groups of 10 or so. My group had to fly to Chicago AND THEN Dulles. Within 24 hours I had been in Bolivia, Peru, Panama, Miami, Chicago, and DC. whewww!

7. The most exotic food I've ever tried while traveling is anything I ate in India. I'm not really sure of some of the things I ate...


8. If I could live anywhere else, I'd live in Charleston, SC for its southern charm!


9. I have been to 19
states in the U.S.

Who can be against us?

Originally, I had planned on this post being one of those amazing, encouraging posts, filled with all of my profound revelations I came to during the 21 days of fasting. Instead, I'm finding myself in need of some encouragement and profound revelations.

Yesterday was cra-cra.

I'll separate this story into thirds.

1/3-panic.
My mom woke me up around 9:30 with a phone call. "I think I just broke my foot," was all she said then made noises filled with painful gasps. And I panicked. All I knew was that I needed to throw on real clothes because I would most likely spend the morning in the ER. I raced over to my parents house to find my mom with a throbbing foot, laying on the couch. She had dropped a weight on it while working out. We hobbled to the car, and I spent the morning at good ole Fauquier Hospital. After about an hour and a half we found out it wasn't broken. Thank goodness!

2/3-hair cut.
This was a very pleasant part of my day. My hair is looking fresh and healthy. woo! If you need a hairstylist, you need Carissa. (And if you say that I recommended you, you get 10$ off and I'll get a free cut!)


3/3-more panic.
For the past week Chris and I have been house-sitting. My grandparents went on a cruise to the Bahamas, so we got to hang out at their house with Felix their cat. :) After the haircut, I came to their house to find that they had gotten back, so I packed up my stuff, and headed back home. I spent the next few hours cleaning, doing laundry, and unpacking. I then decided to get some work done, so I finally made my way into the living room. Something was weird. Finally I realized the TV console had been pushed out on one side. When I walked up to the TV I realized the playstation was gone. Hmm. I called Christopher to confirm that he hadn't touched anything. And then I panicked for the second time. Again I found myself bolting to my car and racing to my parents house.

When Christopher and the cops arrived I came back to the house to realize that not only was the playstation gone, but so was my laptop, the PA system that came with Chris's drum set, and my Cannon XTi. boo.

Later our friends Stephanie and Kenny came over with some guns and some tips on how to scare away anyone else who dared break in. Even with a shotgun within arms reach, it was hard to fall asleep, and we ended up spending the night back at my parents. (Thanks Hopie for your bed!)

I'm so thankful we weren't home when all this happened. That we were safe at my grandparents with the attack kitty, Felix.

But it's interesting, I know I'm not the only one who had an interesting Monday. There were people in our church going through emergency surgeries and things of the like. Oh how the enemy likes to attack us when we think we are so strong. Right after we've fasted and sought after the Lord. He knows our weaknesses and how to make us feel trapped.

Romans 8:26-31
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?



On another, totally unrelated note. I am so happy to have this back in my life.

The Mid-Fast Blog Update.

Its funny how when you ask God to do something, show you something, or for something; he always seems to answer.

Now, its most always not the way you expect or have planed out in your head. Actually its probably the opposite of what you expect.

This week Christopher's boss cut his hours. He went from a full time, salary paid manager to a part time, hourly manager. stinky. The upside is that I have a whole extra day to sleep in and snuggle with my babes. The downside is we pretty much only have enough money to pay our bills and eat macaroni and cheese. Now, I'm usually okay with mac n cheese, but this Daniel fast has got me eating pretty much nothing...

Anyway. While when I heard the news I first felt that panicky, butterfly-in-your-stomach-y, nauseous feeling, I then just began praying. And the phrase that I kept hearing in my heart was simple.

The Lord is my Portion.

He is all that I need. I have always known this, but today, it brings me to tears. My confidence is in the Lord.

Matthew 6:30

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

I am assured, and I expectant that Jesus will fill my needs.


So keep reading folks, cause God is bound to do something soon. :)
And its gonna be awesome.

What's next?

So lately, and by lately I mean post-graduation, my life's purpose has seemed to be muddied. The day to day has a way of distracting me from the big picture. This being said, I know that God has a plan for my life, that it's unique, and that it's awesome. I just have no idea what that will look like.

While both Christopher and I's jobs are knowingly temporary, we have come to a kind of crossroads. Neither of us know what the next chapter of our lives will look like, or even what we should be pursuing. It's times like these when it's clear how much we need Jesus to trust in and rely upon! Who needs to worry when He already knows the future! We are just along for the ride. :)

So starting Sunday we are participating in 21 days of fasting with our church, The Sound. I've decided to do the Daniel fast, which is basically just fruit and veggies. Chris and I have decided to make this one of our prayer focuses during the fast- for God to be preparing us for our future and give us a dream for the future.

My dad often says that sometimes we are just too full to ever feel hungry. I am so ready to feel that hunger after the Lord and to spend time focusing on how to glorify Him with my life and my marriage.

Stay tuned!

Thursdays are the best.

Let me tell you why.

It's Chris and I's day off.
We sleep in.
Have coffee together.
Sometimes at starbucks.
Sometimes it's red truck.
Sometimes its the good ole cheap kind from my kitchen.

And we generally don't to anything productive for the rest of the day.

It's glorious.

Rainy days.

I forgot to mention one last thing that I am thankful for...

-a tin roof.

Its been a very rainy day today. Its officially 3:30 and I'm still on the couch, in my PJs, and havent even thought about lunch. [online christmas shopping has a way of doing this to my day] But in a few minutes I'll have to drag myself off of the couch, spend 40 minutes in grueling pain [chris and I have started doing insanity], shower, and then make my way to the Echo [youth group].

If you have never listened to the rain on a tin roof, you are really missing out. So I just wanted to amend that thank-you-list, and acknowledge the wonderful music of the rain that I have been enchanted with all day. Thank you, tin roof.

There's Thanks, and There's Giving.

I know this is super cliche, but since it is the holiday season, I thought I would just take a second and jot a little list of my thank-you-for's (in no particular order). Its always good to remind myself how much God has blessed me with before I start thinking about the "what I want for Christmas-list"

-My husband. (tehe, still so new to hear that word) This new season of life with him has just been pure fun. I just love the company he brings- from tickle fights even to the more serious moments, he makes life so much more FUN!

-Our home! We seriously found it just in the nick-of-time. It may not have a dishwasher, and my hands may be a little more dry than usual, but its perfect. AND it has a wood stove. This little treasure is amazing. Christopher says in his manly voice, "Babe, I'm gonna make a fire!" And for a few moments, he feels all manly and I get to stay warm!

-My job. I am so spoiled. I get to work from home, usually in my pj's & nestled on the couch. I could not ask for a better set up.

-The music channels on TV. I know I'm probably the ONLY one in the universe who uses them. But it makes me feel a little more productive if I'm not actually watching TV all day while I work.

-Redbox. Seriously. The Campbell family weekday entertainment. Except that Christopher and I can never remember to bring them back. We are now stuck with The Last Song, and other more manly movies that I fell asleep during. Bummer.

-My two baby sisters. aka, the best friends in the entire universe. :) I love it when Hopie comes home from college, and we all get together. The days usually play out like so: we hug and snuggle and love on each other, get seriously annoyed that someone just messed up our hair or tickled us or something, start making fun of each other, and then the rest of the day we spend laughing at how silly it was to get so annoyed in the first place. I love them.

-I am thankful for pintrest, and online shopping to occupy my time when work gets slow.

-My mom and dad. Most people, when the first get married, want to move far far away from the rents, start their own life, and be independent. Lucky for me, I am 0.8 miles down the road from mom & dad....annnnddd grandma & grandpa. But in all honesty, its wonderful. For starters, it made the physical moving out a little easier, and it also made the mental move a little easier too. And hey, when my car breaks down, they are always accommodating....as long as I'm willing to give Faith a ride somewhere. ;) Also- when I'm cooking and realize, gee, I don't own a muffin pan... I always know mom has like 5 (not exaggerating), and she's always willing to help.

-Being able to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner this year. It may seem small, but it was so exciting to me to have my own dish sitting there on the table.... Call me crazy, but I loved it.

-And finally, Christmas music, and lights, and decorations, and your toes being so cold you can't feel em, but your hand are warm cause you are holding hot chocolate. I love it all. This is the best season ever.

Happy December folks. And Merry Christmas!!