A Round of Applause for God

Last night at More than a Meal, Earle welcomed everyone, made annoucements, and asked for a round of applause to thank the people who make the meal possible. First the cooks, then the volunteers/servers, and then someone from the crowd yelled, "And an applause for God." I got goosebumps when the crowd roared loudest for that last request.

That is just one of the reasons I love More than A Meal, that you can never know what to expect.

I also asked a few people what they would do if someone gave them $100 dollars.

• The first person I asked is a man who always comes with two boys who I don't believe are his biological children. I intentionally serve his table every week, so we have a built a friendship. He thought for a second and then he said, "I'd buy some school clothes, and some school supplies. And if I had any left over I'd get some new shoes from the thrift store." Then he inquired why I was asking and just told him someone had asked me recently and I was wondering how other people would answer. Then he said, "Well you would probably put it in the bank because you can do that." I was surprised that was his perspective of me and knew he was right. I didn't feel like I was being judged, but I wanted so badly to be able to relate to him. But instead, I felt like we were worlds apart at that moment.
• The next man I asked said, "I'd buy some gasoline, and then I'd pay some of my bills."
• Another man said, "I'd get somethin' for my baby for Valenine's Day." To which I replied, "How old is your baby?" And the whole group chuckled at me. Then I realized he was talking about his significant other and not his child.
• A lady sitting with that group said, "I'd give it away to someone who needed it."

More to come in the weeks to follow...

The Kingdom Assignment

Sunday night at Neighborhood Church Robert talked about the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19. He chose 10 people and gave each of us an envelope with a $100 bill in it and gave us these instructions:

1. You must understand and agree that this is not your money. It is the Master's money and He has entrusted it to you.
2. You are to manage, multiply, and invest this money as a steward in some way that advances God's Kingdom agenda in the world.
3. In three months, you will come back and share what happened to the initial investment.

We discussed our initial thoughts at community group tonight, and my friend Meredith suggested asking a poor person what they would do with the money. A hundred dollars means a lot less to me that it would someone who is homeless.

She is right, and I'm curious. So my goal is to ask some people what they would do if they were given $100 while I'm serving dinner at More than a Meal on Thursday nights over the next couple of weeks. I'm going to share their responses here. I know I have a lot to learn.

A few weeks ago, we had a guest preacher and he said that the problem between the rich and the poor is not that they don't love each other, but that they don't know each other. I hope that I can get to know a lot of poor people through this assignment.

Oh What a Night! Late December Back in 2009

Danielle and Sam hosted a great laid-back New Year's get together. It wouldn't have been complete without The Office Clue: Who Killed Toby? or pomegranate champagne for toasts at midnight.
The only thing missing was a central time zone countdown. Thankfully, I was wearing my watch to count down:)

On New Year's Day, Callie, Robert, and I headed downtown for the Liberty Bowl Parade. Callie and I did not have tickets, so we were on the lookout when we went downtown for the parade. Thankfully, the Razorback Ticket Office had some random tickets for sale when we went to pick up Robert's tickets, so we enjoyed the afternoon without worrying about getting tickets.

It felt good to call the Hogs and sing the fight song on Beale Street. We followed the parade with some good ole Memphis ribs on Beale Street.

_

Callie and I got to the game early because we found Free parking quickly. It didn't take long to understand why our seats were still for sale:

But we shifted a little, so we could see more of the field.That game was the coldest I have ever been. I heard the wind chill was 15 degrees. My mom had stocked us up with hand and foot warmers, so we survived and stayed through Overtime. [I even put a hand warmer in my hog nose.] And the Hogs pulled out a win. It was ugly, but it was a win.

Woo Pig Sooie!

2010 Goal

One of my goals this year is to jog a 5K. I have never had a physical goal other than to lose weight, and so far my competitive spirit is loving it. [I also love that it will help in the losing weight efforts.]

I pray that I can remember how good I feel after jogging every time I consider skipping it for the day.

I also look forward to better jogging outside weather. Single digit actual temperatures caused Memphis City Schools to close yesterday and I have seen many local friends post about freezing pipes on facebook. Memphis can't handle this much longer!

Christmas Highlights

There were some great surprises at our house on Christmas morning this year:
Martha was beyond excited about her autographed National Champions Georgia Gymnastics Poster and Calendar and handwritten note from Courtney Kupets. [Carolyn met Courtney at a conference the week before Christmas, what an awesome sister.]I also got a gift from an Olympian. [see photo on the right]

This was one of my Christmas projects this year. Carolyn loves this Third Day song, and had mentioned doing a series of paintings awhile back, but she was surprised to open these. She even jumped up and down!

The most special part was spending time all together. This photo is from a Christmas Eve Party at a friend of the family's home.

My friend Callie brought back awesome gifts from her semester in London! She brought the entire City-In A Bag. Click on the link and you can see what other cities can fit on your bookshelf. I think the double decker buses are my favorite!

2009 in Review

I was looking through photos from this year for a collage on Facebook, and I really enjoyed remembering all my adventures, so I'm sharing them here in a little more detail.

New Year's 2009: New Orleans

This time last year, I was on a mission trip to New Orleans. December is a great time for mission trips because the reason for the season is so real for me when I'm serving directly. We did it right by going over New Year's. We even got to see Blues Traveler for free on New Year's Day!

New Orleans Mission Trip #5

Last December I actually spent two weeks in New Orleans rebuilding. This photo represents the other extreme of mission trips: safety gear.

January: Northwest Arkansas Ice Storm

The ice storm was historic. Days of classes canceled:4. Days without power in our apartment:7. We went to the movies just to have a warm place to be for a few hours one afternoon, and then we just left town.

February: Valentine's Day Basketball Game

Amy and I were the most excited to wear shirts with our "boyfriend's" names on them. We made sure we got to sit on the front row, and saw the team pointing at us multiple times.

May: Graduation

After 5 years of Architecture School, these are the only girls left in a graduating class of about 30. It is such a relief to be finished with that accomplishment. I still don't think it has really sunk in.

May: Train and Sister Hazel Concert

Martha was my date to the Botanical Gardens for a Sister Hazel and Train concert this summer. It was a life experience to see a live performance of "Meet Virginia."

June: 2 Weddings

Neither of these friends got married, but two girls who were in the Bible Study I led for 3 years got married in June. Thankfully not the same weekend, but reasons for me to go back to Arkansas and visit!

July: Family in town

My cousin Christy and I have seen each other a bunch this year. There is more to come for 2010 because she is getting married in April and I will be accompanying my grandmother to her wedding.

July: Adventures in Arkansas and Sending Off Kidd

Frase, Kidd, and I made a little Road Trip to Eureka Springs before Kidd moved to Bulgaria this fall. We are enjoying Rocky Road treats in this photo, which I have learned to make this fall. Maybe I'll make some to send to them as a memory of this trip.

July: Road Trip to Brett(&Ashley's) house in Bartlett

One thing that I am so thankful for in moving back home is that I still have all these wonderful high school friends who I see regularly. This particular get-together included a few fun rounds of American Idol Karaoke.

October: Florida Trip

October brought a fun trip to Florida to see my sister's school and her play softball, and also go to the Florida and Arkansas game at the Swamp. More about that trip in this post.

October: Castle Creation

This photo represents two things. 1. An opportunity to fuel my creative side and make the castle. 2. The awesome opportunity I have to be around for all the excitement of Martha's Senior year.

November: Martha's official visit to Fayetteville

This picture is evidence that I had some fun of my own while accompanying Martha to visit the University of Arkansas. It was fun to visit Fayetteville without school hanging over my head and get to hang out with everyone is still there. Martha has not made an official decision, but my money is on her going to Arkansas!

November: Neighborhood Christian Center Chicken Strut

My parents were such good sports to go with me to walk the 5K Chicken Strut and then pose with the chicken. I am glad to have the opportunity to spend some more time with them since I moved back home too.

Since July: Neighborhood Church

It has been such a blessing that God has led me to Neighborhood Church this year. I have been amazed with all that he has done this year and I'm excited for what God has in store for 2010.

December: Family Christmas Traditions

Our Christmas cards are just on of our wonderful traditions. We re-vamped another tradition this year: my sisters and I used to sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve and Easter Eve, but our double beds just haven't cut it in a long time for three of us, so this year we rushed to my parents king size bed when we got home from the 11:00 Christmas Eve Service.

Happy New Year!

Think Globally, Party Locally

The weekend before Christmas, the Spickler's hosted an Advent Conspiracy party to raise money for Living Water International. We were thinking globally but partying locally, right in the heart of Cooper Young.



Their house was filled with conversations, food, drinks, and more food.

Their front rooms are even painted red and (lime) green for the party.
What dedicated hosts they are!



The fun went into the night. These photos are all from the first 30 minutes before my camera batteries died! Thanks to Paula for taking all of them!