Ummm....

Uummm....sooo much to write, not enough time.

I got my first official ministry partner!!!! I am so excited. You know...as I've been praying through this journey that I am on (and I do mean a journey) I am reminded of God's faithfulness to provide. It would be very easy for some to look at support raising for their income as a burden and a chore. As something that has to be done. But I thank God that He has given me new eyes to see with. This is not a problem or a burden of some sort, this is a blessing. God has chosen me to do this and to experience this, knowing that I could and I would. This is an incredible opportunity to put every ounce of trust and faith I have in Him, to see Him as a great provider and as the only true one, and to grow like never before. Now...I know this is not going to be an easy journey, it hasn't been so far, but no one said it would be easy. It's going to excited and fun, stressful, and most of all stretching. I count myself blessed that I can experience this in my life and know God in this very special way. I don't think many people will ever have this opportunity like I have. I am excited to see changed lives through this journey, including my own!!! I do covet all of your prayers as I am on this journey of faith: prayers for provision and most of all that I would not doubt, but trust always! Thanks!

I'm at work!!!

Well...here I am...at work. Oh the things I do. I'm sitting at work doing what I do. But the good thing is that while I'm here I can do other things, such as type on my blog and let everyone know what's going on.

So school has been enormous this week. I think that's the way the entire semester is going to look honestly. A lot of reading, but the thing that keeps pushing me through is that this is my last semester. So I'll bust my butt and get little sleep, but then that's it. I'm through and I'll be on my way to Colorado. Whoo! Hoo!

I went to Home Groups last night. A lot of the people of changed. We lost some people and we've gained some people, but it's still great. I really enjoy going and talking and fellowshipping and meeting new people and sharing. I love that the body of Christ can come together in such a way as that. There are people that we've never met before, but when you meet them there is an automatic bond that is unspoken, but yet so deep and so dear to heart. There's a common goal and a common yearning inside that is somewhat of a mystery. I don't think many would be able to put into words, but many would agree and know what I'm talking about.

Lately I've really been struggling with a few things. Loving people for who they are not what I want them to be. It really comes and goes, but mostly comes. Obviously, people let us down, a lot! Hold on a sec, let me explain the whole situation, before I get myself confused. People let us down, I do it to people, they do it to me, it happens. I know this. My thing is (and I'm sure others) that when they let me down, that's it. I lose trust in them, and I have to really pray through it to forgive them and to get back to myself with them. But that in between time when I'm still upset and hurt, it's so hard for me to love them, really love them. I want to so badly. I want to love people despite their faults or what they've done to me or what they've done to people I care about, but it's hard. I want to love people through service through them and through prayer and through encouraging words (something I definitely am working on). I've been reading and studying Hosea lately. (I think I've already mentioned this before.) But it's amazing to me to see Hosea love his wife despite the things she did to hurt him or to embarass him or deface him. The same goes for God. In chapter 14 God is calling Israel back to Himself, begging Israel to turn from their idol-worshipping and to love Him back. Despite everything Israel had done to Him and how they had turned their back on God, He wanted and desired them and loved them for who they were. Hello!!! How gut-wrenching is that? I mean what?

Answered Prayer

First, let me say that everytime I have an intention to come on this thing and write something specific and I do that, but I always end up writing more than I had expected. Oh well.

Praise be to God, He got a job! I prayed specifically for a few things with this job. One, that it would be flexible, two that I would not have to stay out late (this being so I would have time to study so as to graduate and so I can have plenty of sleep), and three that I would have weekends off to do the traveling that I need to do. He answered every one of those prayers wonderfully. I have all of that and it's great. My budget will be extremely tight this semester, but it's totally fine. Some great people I know taught me how to budget my money well and I'm doing that. Yea!

Hi Amy and Heather!

I just left weight-lifting and now I'm off to kick some butt in Karate and work out in Aerobics. Pretty stoked about that. The only thing that isn't great about all these activity classes is the fact that I have Managerial Accounting immediately following and I doubt the people sitting around me appreciate my smelliness. Oh well.

Matt...thanks for the message.

What?

Some people don't know who Ashley Simpson is. Can you believe it? Actually, one of those people is my sister. She has been in a little bubble for a year. She's finally come out. Let's give her a big cheer. Actually, I think it's okay that she doesn't know who she is, I think the rest of the world would be just fine not knowing who she is. I mean, how many airheads do we need singing across country being "role models" for a young teenagers?

School, school, school

Here I am, back at school. My last semester of college. It's a great feeling and a little bit of a sad one. This week has been fun so far. I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my sister. I think this is the most time we've spent together since we were children. It's been great. She's got some teeny-bopper prom queens for roommates, but they're sweet.

Throughout the midst of getting things settled for school and moving me and my sister in, I have been looking for a job. And....the verdict is in....nothing. It seems as though everyone has gotten here before I did and took all the jobs. So...what does that mean for me? It means I am going to starve and that Stephanie will kill me because I can't pay the utilities and it means I won't be going to class because I have no money to buy gas in which to get there. Now obviously, I'm being overdramatic on this, but seriously, will anyone give me a job? I mean really.

Today is such a busy day. It's full of many difficult classes. My first class of the day is weight lifting, followed by Karate, and then following that will be Aerobics. You see what I mean, difficult huh? Seriously though, there is one later, Managerial Accounting. I don't know what it is about accounting, but I just don't get it. Any help?

Back in a-town?

Well...tomorrow morning is the big day. I'm headed home. Back to the Carolinas baby. Here I come!!! My flight leaves tomorrow morning at the butt crack of dawn and I arrive in NC at around 2:00 and then driving to Anderson. Oh the fun times I'm going to have with my mom:) Hope I'll get to see everyone tomorrow night or soon. That would be awesome. Honestly, I don't know when I'm going to have time to write on this thing once I get back to school. What is everyone going to do?

Pray for a safe flight tomorrow and a safe drive for my dad and sis tomorrow as they are driving from Texas. All the family back together again. It's a beautiful thing. If any of you have any more leads on a job for good ol' me, let me know. Karl, what happened to the lead you gave me. I haven't heard from you.

All these new things this semester. New roommate (Yea Katie!), last semester of college, last season of powder puff and doing some serious damage, first time raising some major support, moving to Colorado shortly, last a lot of things, and new a lot of things. Whoa! It's all happening too fast.

Last night was good times with some Mongolian Barbeque. Fabulous stuff, let me tell you. Try it, you'll love it. But those people are weird there.

Yeah, last night I was standing downtown Denver waiting on my friends to arrive. I am still wearing my clothes from work, because I hadn't been home yet, and some freak, drunk guy walks by singing, "Pink is my favorite color." Talking to me. Weird people like that freak me out. It's makes you not want to stand outside by yourself. Now...before you say, "Well...that was dumb, don't stand outside downtown by yourself." Let me explain. There were TONS of people around. I was right outside ESPN Zone and it's like G-vegas on the weekend. People walking around everywhere. It's just kind of creepy when guys do that. Ladies, you know what I mean. Stop it guys.

Wafer-like

What is it about wafer-like textures/tastes that makes things taste bad!?!?! Yuck! You ruin a perfectly good chocolate-covered peanut butter ball when you stick a wafer substance inside of it. I mean really, what are they thinking?

So after talking to Mr. Queen this morning I'm getting more and more excited to be back in a-town. I can't wait to see everyone and hang out and have some good times. What a whirlwind of a semester it is going to be.

Craziness!

Well...I know...I have not been on here in a long while. Good to be back. I was extremely blessed this morning to receive a phone call from no one other than Mr. Jacob Queen. It was soooo good to talk to him this morning on my way from Starbucks to work. He makes me laugh so much!! It makes me want to be in Anderson right now.

This week I think I really the most busy week I've had in Colorado thus far. I had some friends in town until yesterday afternoon and work this week. Last night Emily and I went searching for an apartment for me and went to P.F. Changs for dinner (a chinese bistro). It's sooo good. We had a very "funny" waitor, but very good at making us feel like we were having a good time:) Today is more work and then hopefully a support raising meeting with a family tonight. Continued packing each night to get ready to go home. Wednesday involves watching Silas and Aynsley all day and them going with me to Sam's to buy food and supplies for graduation this Friday afternoon. Wednesday night is dinner with friends and then earning some extra bucks helping Emily clean the office building. Thursday is work and watching Silas and Aynsley in the afternoon and packing my office and room up and putting it in my car because on Friday morning I will pick my dad up from the airport and he will drop me off at the office and he will drive on to Texas to pick up my sis. Friday is cooking for graduation and decorating and the actual graduation and then that night I am going out to dinner with Kristen, her parents and some others for her birthday. Saturday is airport dropoffs, a cookout, and my last in Colorado until January. And I fly out of DIA at o'dark:50 (as Mr. Jim Taylor would say!). What a week.

Last night I was so thankful to just sit in my room after dinner with Emily. I cleaned and washed clothes and cut fruit and packed a little. It was nice to just sit. I don't think I'm going to have another one of those evenings for a while. But it's okay. I was complaining earlier that I didn't have anything to do. I guess there are good things and bad things both ways.

This am I got up so early, before the sun, to look for a video clip for Mark's class this morning. I had to find the one from Schindler's List where they give him the ring and he started taking off a pin he's wearing and talking about his car and how those could have bought more people to save them. Point is, it was early, and I found immediately so I had no need to get up that early. I had a whole extra hour of nothing to do. So I read and went over my ministry presentation while listening a wonderful Ms. Sarah McLachlan. She really is amazing. And I thougth to myself, "This early am deserves a white mocha, no cream, from Starbucks". So I went, good times. That's when I got the call from Jacob. Very surprised he was even up. I know it was like 9:30 there, but still. It was great!

Okay, let me think, how many days? Six days including today and the day arrive until I'm in Anderson. I can't even handle it. Anyone know of a place I can get a job? Just for the fall.

Rattlesnakes

This morning me, Shannon, Kim, and Kristen headed out for the mountains. We were going to hike at Red Rocks Park. Not too strenuous, but not too easy. Great idea...we thought. When we were about 20 min. from the top it started thundering and raining, so there we were, headed back down the mountain. (It's usually not wise to be at the top of a mountain during a thunderstorm. If you don't why this is, I'll explain at another time.) About 30 into heading back down the mountain we ran into some ladies going both directions that weren't moving at all. Turns out...there's a very angry rattlesnake on the trail. Oh yeah, don't you worry, we had just passed that snake not more than 1 min. earlier. So there we were...not going up or down. Needlesstosay, we made our own trail. Whoops, that's a little bit not good. Oh well, first time to see a rattlesnake and hopefully the last.

OH, and I was blessed immensely today by a big glass of wonderfully tasting sweet tea. Haven't had that in a while. Thanks Jamie.

Good times:)

Well...Amy and I are house-sitting this week for a friend of Emily's. Oh, what a good time we are having. I feel like I'm at home. We each have our own room and bathroom. She is upstairs and I am in the basement. The kitchen is nice and big. There is internet and the air conditioning is running ALL the time and it's even so cool that I have to wear a sweatshirt (I love that!). And...they have cable. It's been wonderful. What a blessing to me and Amy. I'm lovin' it. And...sorry for the confusion earlier. I am not coming home this coming Saturday, but next.

Can I just vent for a sec.? Why does the city feel the need to put up cones all over the road and close off lanes of traffic so they can do construction WHEN THEY AREN'T DOING CONSTRUCTION? I hate that and it's so annoying. They just leave the cones up with no work being done. They just sit there. It's like that old Chick-Fil-A radio commercial where they're talking about cows working on the side of the road, but they aren't actually working. Not actually like that at all really, they aren't cows. BUT, the guys aren't working. They just stand around and smoke and fill the air with harmful stuff that is going to kill all of us one day. What is that about? Why do I pay tax dollars again?

Excitement!

Well...it was announced to the KBM staff today that I will be coming on staff in January. Wasn't expecting that, but very glad it happened. People seemed happy, so must be good. And....my dad is so wonderful. We were going to drive back to SC and "swing" through Texas and pick up my sister. There were a few circumstances that were going to kind of get in the way of that. So....my dear dad is buying me a ticket home instead. Yea!!! I will be in the Carolinas on Saturday now! How exciting! And he and my sister, Jenn, get to drive cross-country together. That way both girls get to experience with their wonderful father. What good times.

My Mom: a little crazy and quirky I always say, but how can you not love this woman? 

On top of Pike's Peak 

I know, they kind of look alike, but they're beautiful and I couldn't resist. 

yep, took this too! 

I'm sorry, what? 

Me and ol' dad. Not really sure what he's doing. 

Is this beautiful or what? And yes, Tolbert, I took this one. 

Me, mom, and Aunt Teresa. What is wrong with me? I look a little funny. 

What a weekend!

I know, I have not written in a long time. The end of last week was so hectic and fast I didn't even get to sit down on Friday to check e-mail. Sorry. I know you guys missed this.

Friday was Youth Institute graduation. We decorated and set-up for it and we made all the food for it. Printed pics and put them in frames, did the certificates, rolled them with nice ribbon and tried to have a little sanity left over. I was pooped afterwards, but it was a hit and a very successful graduation, yea!! Saturday a.m. I got up at 6:30 to take a student to the airport and after that I met most of the KBM staff at some new staff members' home to help them move in. They had moved from Kentucky. It was very interesting to see all of these people in shorts and casual clothes when usually the only thing I see them in are dress clothes. We had a great time and I stayed afterwards to help Holly unpack the kitchen. She is pregnant and we had a great time. I learned a lot about some new utinsels in the kitchen and what they actually do because I had no clue about a bunch of them. So the experience was educational as well! And then that night I rented another one of the movies that Lucas recommended. "In America" was okay. It was kind of a strange movie actually. I think it's one of those movies that you have to see a second time for you to really enjoy. Sunday was church and then afterwards we went to Six Flags for Emily's birthday! I really felt like a kid and I was on vacation. I had a blast. It was so much fun! Oh, that morning Amy had woken up with a terribly crick in her neck or something, point is she couldn't move her head and she was walking kind of stiff like. And that afternoon before we left I was getting in the car and my head got shut in the door. Don't know exactly how I managed to do that, but I did. I have a big goose egg on my head. (It hurt pretty bad.)

Six Flags was so fun. We rode rollercoasters and I rode a bunch I wouldn't have ridden otherwise, so that was fun. Amy got sick on the Spider thing, that was kind of bad. But still a very fun time. And we went to Beau Jo's for dinner. Yummy. I was craving a coke like no one's business. Yea for Pepsi. And then....I got a little sick. We'll just leave it at that, but I had to hurry home:)