Wordless Wednesdays - Fall is Here

My dear friend MM {real name eradicated}, is somewhere that has no Fall (very sad I know). So my friend, Precious {name also eradicated} and I decided to take some pics so we could send a little fall her way.

MM, these are for you! We love you!! Happy Fall!!! :)

No She Di-int.... Yes, yes I Did.

Yep, I've gotta do it. Now for those of you who don't know me and are wondering around the bloggy world reading random posts, I'm going to tell you something about myself. I rarely am wooed by the bumping into, hanging out with or meeting of professional athletes or celebs. Maybe it's my pride that won't allow myself to put these people (after all that's what they are) on the pedestal that society does but day in and day out, they are just like you and I... with a few extra million in their pockets and the fact that they can't eat dinner in public because people are constantly dying to run up to them and make a fool of themselves (eh hem) just for one little obligatory head nod and word of appreciation (if that). Which brings me to the reason I'm writing this post.

I went to this new spot at the Reston Town Center on Thursday night with my friend Abby. When we walked in I was shocked at the crowd. There were literally people smushed from wall to wall at the bar and it was a 45 minute wait to eat. So Abby and I decided to go fight our way through the crowd until we found a place big enough that we could squeeze our head through and order a drink while we waited to be seated. Fun. So we sat, no actually we stood, drank and chatted until our little buzzer thingy went off... 45 minutes later, after not eating all day and a half a Mojito or Cosmo too many (lol, Abby you know why that's funny), we stumbled our way to the table and were ready to order.

As I'm looking at the menu, this tall glass of water starts walking right towards the open table next to us. I notice him out of the corner of my eye but due to the lack of nourishment during the day plus the alcoholic beverage (yes, that's singular folks) I consumed, I needed to concentrate on what I was going to be eating. I continued to try and stay focused on what really mattered (me getting food in my stomache) but I couldn't help it, he caught my eye again. I looked up right as this man was about to be seated and my heart fluttered (wow that's corny). This man was beautiful. I smiled sheepishly, as I just knew he could tell my heart rate went up as soon as he started walking my way. He smiled back and sat down.....ALONE! "No way was this man dining alone," I thought to myself. Consumed by his gorgeousness I didn't even think about the fact that it was Jason Taylor. As soon as I could put words in my mouth I whispered, not very softly, "That's Jason Taylor!!!!!" to Abby. She said, "Who is that?!" Oh my dear Abby.. Only the most beautiful man in the world, who happens to play for the REDSKINS, which happens to be my team! So she glanced over at him and the first thing she says to me, "He's not married." We both laughed and then she says "Are you going to say something to him?" My response of course was, "I normally don't do this, but I HAVE to... " So I leaned over and tapped him on the arm "You're Jason Taylor, aren't you?" He smiled and said yes. I'm not sure exactly what I said after that, I'm pretty sure it sounded like diarrhea of the mouth but went something like this... "I am a huge Redskins fan and I love you." He laughed and said thank you so I scooted back over to my booth and tried to keep myself from squealing.

I can honestly say that, that is the first time I can remember ever getting school girlishly excited about meeting an athlete. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it had nothing to do with him playing for the Skins (a bonus, no doubt) but everything to do with the fact that I think I met the most beautiful man in the world. And let me tell you, he's even more good looking in person. So yeah, I met Jason Taylor this week and while I know he puts his pants on one leg at a time, he sure does look a lot better after it's done than anyone I've ever seen. I think this is just after he pointed at me and said "you have my heart." It went something like that, I'm pretty sure. And that's a purity ring, not a wedding ring on his finger ;) A girl can dream can't she?! lol

The Real Blessing

I had a conversation with a friend of mine today. She gets Joel Osteen's daily emails and I guess todays was about speaking over your situations, kind of a daily affirmation type thing. I don't know why but I cringe a little when I hear pastors talk about speaking the things God has for you into existance. I understand that people see verses like this "And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak" 2 Corinthians 4:13, and then want to start speaking their finances or fiancees into existance. But my question is then, 'how do we know what exactly it is that God has for us?' Unfortunately I do not have a crystal ball that lays out my future and tells me when I will meet Mr. Right or when I will be able to pay off my mortgage... or if I ever will for that matter.

The problem that I see with this whole idea (again I don't see a problem in believe in God and trusting that He is going to bring us to what He has for us) is that some people act upon this thought and then if something doesn't happen, i.e. they don't get the job they were speaking on, or they go bankrupt when they were trusting and affirming that God would deliver them, they think one of many things. 1. God is not trustworthy, 2. They must have done something wrong and our not walking with God or 3. God is not a loving god b/c if he was he would've come through and brought them whatever it was they were affirming. Which in most cases, probably isn't the truth. God is trustworthy. And just because you don't get something you "believed" God wanted you to have doesn't mean you are not walking with God. And God is a loving god, moer than we will ever understand. Which is probably why you didn't get what you were praying about.

The way I see it, God really isn't all that concerned with how comfortable or rich we are. He wants intimacy with us. So if it takes us living pay check to pay check or in a season of lonely, singlehood to get us into an intimate relationship with Him, that's what He's going to give us. And of course that's not saying that we all need to be single and in poverty to really be intimate with Jesus. That's a bit extreme to say the least... But sometimes I feel like we get it backwards in wanting "OUR BLESSING" more than we want Him and that's when we miss out.

Do I think we need to believe that God is working for the good of those who love Him? Yes, without a doubt. But do I necessarily believe that I can speak my own desires and self proclaimed needs into existence without asking God to reveal to me what are HIS desires for my life? Nope, I'm not convinced. My God is a big god and can do anything. And there is nothing wrong with believing in Him for deliverance, blessings, etc. BUT just don't let yourself be convinced that God does or doesn't love you because you have or haven't been delivered. You never know... God may just be pursuing you, in fact, I'm sure He is. Your intimacy with Him is far more important to Him than your comfort here on earth will ever be. Ginny Owens song "If You Want Me To" just came to mind. Her lyrics are so powerful.... This is how I want to desire Jesus.

If You Want Me To
The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why
You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley If You want me to
Chorus:
Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise
You're not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to
It may not be the way
I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone
So When the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering that
Your love put You through
And I walk through the darkness If You want me to cause
When I cross over Jordan, I'm gonna sing, gonna shout
Gonna look into your eyes and see you never let me down
So take me on the pathway that leads me home to you
And I will walk through the valley if you want me to Yes, I
will walk through the valley if you want me to

Half Full or Half Empty... You Can Decide

"You can either allow your circumstances to be a trap and ensnare you for the rest of your life, or you can use them to learn what it takes to succeed in a world where things won't always go your way."-- Lenny Wilkens

Wordless Wednesdays - New du or not to du?

I don't like my newest cut and color so I'm looking for a new du... what do you think?!

Wordless Wednesdays

Pics by an amateur :)

I can't remember if I took this last one or if it was Mego's and I just edited it. But none the less it's a perfect picture for "Wordless Wednesday" ;)

Wikihow is wikid-awesome!

I have found a new favorite website!!! I have enjoyed and gleaned so much information from it in the short time I've known about it that I can't help but tell all of my loyal readers about it. It will change your life, well at least help you navigate this journey we're all on. You can find out "how to" do anything on this site. From ending a manipulative relationship and preventing wrinkles (lol at #9 in the process) to way more important things like cooking baked potatoes in the microwave and learning new golf swings. You can find almost anything on this site, it's awesome.

To all of you doubters, check it out. Next time you don't know how to do something, whether it's how to fix a hole in the wall or surviving the first month of motherhood, go check out http://www.wikihow.com/. You won't be disappointed.

Fantastic Fridays - On the other side

This week has been crazy for a myriad of reasons but mainly because the Army Ten Miler is taking place. I have been in charge of selecting the All Army team that will be competing in the Elite/International group. There are so many little things that go on behind the scenes when entering a team in an event like this. As an athlete I think I took so much of it for granted. Coordinating the travel, equipment, money disbursement, hotel reservations, and event obligations are all things that use to "just happen" when I was the athlete. But now, I get to be on the other side of it. God is funny like that. I think he just wants to make sure that I think back and appreciate the people in my life that made my life as an athlete seem to just smoothly sail along.

It is quite eye opening when I think about it because God has placed me in two positions that I am in charge of things I never had to worry about. Stuff like planning, organizing, logistics, funding and more planning are things I never even thought about, nor did I want to. Sometimes it's much more enjoyable when you're ignorant to the things that go on behind the scenes. Although knowing these things helps you appreciate the opportunities that others have helped happen.

I can't begin to tell you how many seasons Mom and Dad had to coordinate their schedules with getting us kids to our extra cirricular activities throughout the years. And as much as I'm sure it brings unspeakable joy to watch your little rugrats chase a ball around some field or court, I can't imagine that it was ALWAYS the first thing on their "Things I'd Like to Do" list. So thanks Mom and Dad, for all of your support and sacrifice!

If you haven't realized yet, it is Fantastic Friday. I'll be in DC all weekend working with and for my team. It won't be all bad though... I have a hotel room in DC and will be able to get away to spice things up a bit! So even though I've been crazy busy doing behind the scenes work for this weekend, it was worth it because I love love love the city and am going to take advantage of being there for a few days (I say that like it's far away and I live in the country).... and that is pretty fantastic!

Enjoy your weekend!!