My Favorite Mid Evening Show

This is the pilot episode of the Mid Evening show. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

These guys are hilarious,

PS. Im engaged to that Tony guy ;) 

Advent

         The Christmas season is upon us once again. Christmas makes the days a little brighter, and the nights a bit more welcoming. Every decoration, song, and movie fills my head with memories wrapped in nostalgia. For the past couple of years I have celebrated the Advent holiday in a more traditional way. I am and grew up Pentecostal Holiness. The church I attend does not celebrate Advent the same way other more traditional churches do, and we do not have a Christmas eve service. Which in their defense is sometimes nice because that time is designated for family time and personal reflection. But I have a desire to celebrate everyday of December in remembrance and deep thought of our Christ's decent to Earth as a child. My goal is to turn off my social networking radar and focus my attention on anticipating the holiday and spending intentional time with family and close friends. This is my last Christmas at home before I get married in the spring and I am excited about savoring every minute.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and if you would like to know more about Advent HERE is a link to a wonderful blog that explains in detail why Advent is so special. The You Version Bible app has some great Advent reading plans if you are interested. Also, the Book of Common Prayer has a great reading section about the Advent. I hope these links answer any questions, if not comment below I will try to find out more for you!

Merry Christmas!

The First Day of Advent!

Christmas is often a whirlwind of decorations, presents, and food! All of which I am totally okay with, but this season I am trying to devote myself to remembering the season for what it is. I grew up Pentecostal Holiness and never really celebrated Advent as apart of Christmas. My brothers and I always knew there was no such thing as fat man who came down our chimney to leave us presents under the tree, but we did believe and honor St. Nick of long ago. I was never scared or injured in anyway by not believing in Santa Clause. I simply had a respect for the man he was. We also got to play along just like everyone else that some presents were from “Santa.” 

I would like to take a moment and share what Advent is really and why I would like to celebrate it more during the Christmas season. The word Advent means simply coming, or arrive. So the season of advent is all about celebrating the coming of our savior 2000 years ago and waiting for His soon coming return. As a Christian it is so exciting to wait for the return of the Almighty! I think it is extremely important to teach children about the celebration of the advent season. I am gathering all sorts of cute ideas for one day when I have children to teach it to! 

Everyday this month I intend to post something knew about the advent season in hopes of helping you find the peace and joy in the real reason for the season. I am doing this for myself as well, in means of teaching myself to step back and really celebrate the Saviors return and not worry about money or school. I need to be reminded of the real reason for the season everyday and especially this month of December. I pray this month that you may be encouraged by my blog and be in awe of the Christ Jesus. 

Isaiah 9:6 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Count down to Thanksgiving!

Favorite things about Thanksgiving:
- Pumpkins
- cozy warm blankets
- baking!!!
- outside fires
- family
- being home!
- the smell of coffee and pancakes
- the Mall!
- scarfs and socks
Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday of the entire year! I love Christmas but to me Thanksgiving is where all the love is! I love the turkey-day when my whole family gets together to eat a big meal and not have to worry about presents or forgetting someone's present. We just huddle together, talk, mingle, and being thankful for our blessings!
I am gathering ideas for our family holiday because my mother and I are in charge of making the desserts :) I am just a little excited about that!!!!

How about you? Do you love or dislike Thanksgiving? What is your favorite part of the holiday? I would love to hear about it!

AB

Pumpkin Scones

As promised I did find time last weekend to make these delicious scones by The Shoebox Kitchen. They turned out amazing and probably the best I have ever made scones!
They were gone so quickly that I only got time to take one picture of them and you will notice I did not do all of the icing that they did. And another little tidbit I just used the pumpkin pie spice mix in stead of all the separate spices. I believe another batch is soon to arrive in my home soon!

We also attended the 7th anual Greek Festval and it was amazing! I am slightly obsessed with festivals! 

 

I found this cute little book for a dollar at the Greek Festival and I can not wait to read it! 

I would have to say the Mr. and I have had such a wonderful week/weekend! Now back to studying my brains out! 

Blessings

Birthday Celebrations!

This week I celebrated my 23 birthday! It feels so weird having another birthday because I don't feel that I have felt my age since I was 15. But this week has been such a blessing and I am still in awe of the love shown to me! 

What is a birthday with out coffee and Trader Joe's?

My Birthday present from my parents were a pair of new running shoes from Try Sports! I got these amazing Saucony's that fit like a dream! And I completed my delayed autumn goal of being able to run a 5K by my birthday which i did the night before my birthday!!!! I am soo thrilled beyond words!!!!!!! 

The best family game in the world was played a lot this weekend called Dutch Blitz

I would highly recommend this game to any family!  

My lovely Mister sent me the most beautiful flowers on my birthday even though he was away working at our church camp. 

I would have to say this was a fantastic birthday and I am so thankful!

Blessings

HATS!!!

Hey, I just wanted to show what I have been busy making! 

The Olivia Hat

 The Butterfly Hat

Cloudy Day Hat

I am so thrilled and stressed that finals are coming soon! I am so ready for Christmas break! I have been  studying hard then de-stressing with crocheting! I am hoping that on Thanksgiving and Christmas break I can make a lot more things to sell. Some friends are pushing me to put my hats for sale on Etsy but I am not sure yet. Since I am in college my life has limited free time so I am praying about it. 

How do you feel about Etsy? Is it worth it for a small time hat seller? 

Have a great week! 

A Blissful Fall Weekend

Tony and I got to spend another weekend together! He drove to school for the David Crowder Band concert on Thursday and then stayed till Sunday!  It was so wonderful to have him near by and not 5 hours away! The David Crowder Band is on their last tour together so it was a wonderful treat to be at the concert.

  

Sadly there was still work to be done so while he was here we studied at the Library like old times! 

My man can make me smile no matter what!!!!

This was our view on the way to church Sunday morning! I love fall!

 

Then after church we caught up on some Saturday night live! 

 

French press from Starbucks! 

 

I think our lives are centered around coffee! 

Well that was my weekend! How was yours?

Lonely One

When I think of the word “lonely” I think of not having anyone around, a state of quietness, or deserted. So, what happens if that is not how life is and there are people around who love and care for you, yet the feeling of loneliness remains inside? What is there to do about this deep feeling of being alone? 

For the past few weeks, since I have been at school, I have felt like this so much! I believe that my homesickness and frustration in being at school has increased much more this year than my first year here at school, when I was new and had no one I knew. At school I am five hours away from my home and family, so there is no just dropping everything and running home. I have to wait it out for certain weekends, or plan much in advance to get to my family and loved ones.

Well, I looked up the meaning for the word lonely and I was given generic descriptions such as: (without companions, solitary) and for a place (unfrequented and remote). I found the definitions of this word to be bare and hopeless. So as I turn to the bible to look up some encouragement apart from the desolate word, I discovered that David, the writer of Psalms felt just as I do right now. Psalms 25:16 says, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” I read those words and prayed an imitative prayer to God, but I think to myself, “how did David, a man after God’s own heart, get to a place of loneliness and torment?” I scrolled up to the beginning of chapter 25 and read verses 1 and 2 which say, “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.” How can this be the same chapter that I am reading? In verse 1 David is putting his trust in God and believing in the Lord to not let anything harm him. Reading down David asks God to show him the ways of the Lord, to guide him, and to teach him, while all of David’s hope is in God. 

As I try and imagine how David can be so lonely, as shown in vv.16, when he is so close to God; I find a footnote in my NIV study Bible, which says that David was the target of his enemy’s words. In a sense, David was mostly dealing with spiritual warfare to not let his spirit take in all the nastiness that was being said to him. 

I find it so encouraging that David has gone through this situation, because in our world today there are so many “bullies” that come against us. Satan tries to tell us “you are all alone” or “you are worthless”, but through this cry of David we continue down to see that in verses 19-21 David says to God, “See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May my integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” David is completely trusting in God! David knows that God is holding him through the hard times no matter what, because David does not let anything askew his faith, trust, and hope in God! 

As I feel hopeless and lonely in my dorm room praying the same prayer as David did; I am encouraged to know that I am not alone! God is with me, and I know that He is holding on to me because I remain faithful to Him. Loneliness is not supposed to be a lesson of selfishness, but a lesson of giving. Give yourself to God today and let Him use you in this trial season of your life. Choose not to let your heart be troubled but to speak in faith as David has shown us how to do. 

A few more encouragement verses to look up are:

• Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in your midst?”
• Psalms 119:116 “Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.” 
• Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
• 2 Thessalonians 2:16 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,”
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

EC Fitness Chalenge 5K

Today is day 3 of my official EC Fitness Chalenge 5K training! I am entering a race on November 12th! This will be my first ever 5K experience and I have just 8 short weeks to train! I am super excited to accomplish this goal! I has several friends a loved ones who are pushing and encouraging me! 

So, Since this is day 3, let me tell you what my previous two days were like.

Monday the 12th I Ran/Walked for 30 minutes ( 2 miles).

Tuesday the 13th I did circuit training with a group in our Student Activity Center. This training is provided for the EC Fitness Chalenge coordinators. As well as Run/walked about 40minutes (about 2 miles *outside*) I am soo sore from the group training and the run! My muscles are YELLING at me! 

Today will be a 30 min Run/walk with more running than walking I assure you. I will probably run on the treadmill. I find that I can run much longer on a treadmill than outside, I am not quite sure why but I hope to be just as good out side in the near future! 

In the mean time I live in the practice rooms playing music all the time, and studying! I am so relieved this semester seems to be going by quickly! Life is so difficult when not around the one’s I love! 

Dorm Room Ideas

Today I also have another really cool blogger lady for you to check out! This if more for all you college girls out there that need some ideas on how to spruce up your dorm room!

Helpful Tips

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a great week and now that everyone is starting school again I have a link to College Study Tips thatI think is helpful for starting the school year off right! I hope you enjoy the rest of the day!

Summer Time Catch Up

Hi everyone, This summer has been a whirl wind of unending things to do and accomplish! I have been fortunate enough to have much needed family time with my family as well as my future family (in-laws). So for this catch up blog I am going to post some of my favorite pictures from this summer! Also I should mention most of the pictures have been edited through Instagram.

Our new hobby is Geocaching!

Pretty Pictures of Tony and I!

Left; My brother and his friend. Right; Add a kid advertisement!

Down; Summer Travels

I hope your summer was wonderful and relaxing!

Now off to pack for school!