Saturday, April 22, 2006

Hoot!

Get excited! The Central Alabama Chrysalis Community is hosting an OPEN hoot/youth rally on Sunday, April 30th from 3:00-6:00 central time. It will be located at Camp Whitewater in Prattville, Alabama. Since it's an open hoot, anyone is able to attend- not just people who have already experienced a Chrysalis flight or Emmaus Walk. The purpose of this event is not only to provide a reunion for those already involved in Chrysalis, but to also spread awareness of Chrysalis so that others may experience this wonderful journey. The hoot will consist of live music provided by The Crossing, two youth speakers, and a free dinner (hamburgers and hotdogs). We would be honored if you (and/or your youth group) could come worship with us. We've tried to arrange the time so that each group can work around their own church schedule. You're welcome to leave after dinner if you still need to have your regular church events. However, we will continue with worship until (or possibly after) 6. I've attached a flier for the event if you would like to print it out or distibute it. Feel free to contact me with any questions. PLEASE RSVP by Thursday, April 27th if you intend on coming or bringing a group so that we can get an approximate count for buying food. You can either e-mail (powerhc@auburn.edu) or call - (706)590-0182. Thanks a bunch and we hope to see you there!


Well, that's the basic letter that's been sent to approximately 38 youth groups. As of right now, I'm not exactly sure of how it's going to pan out. I've only received an RSVP from two youth groups. Plus I've still got tons to do. Good news though, I found a band to lead music! Originally we planned on getting the Encounter band, but they charge a tad bit more than we can pay. Okay, a lot more. So we will be having The Crossing, which consists of two guys and an acoustic guitar. I love that Shane and Shane feel. They're really willing and excited about it, and I'm excited about having them. Right now I'm trying to find a screen for putting up words to songs. We have a projector, but I think it only works for certain laptops. Sooo if anyone knows where we can get a screen or a laptop, please let me know. I'm really really hoping the rsvp's start rolling in this week. It wouldn't be a big deal if we didn't have to buy food. I'm trying to get everything done and organized on top of having finals. So it's kind of stressful, but I'm trying to remember the reason behind it. It's not about me, it's all about God. It's not about me, it's all about God. Yeah, I've been repeating that quite a bit lately. :o) Feel free to spread the word about the hoot. Also, if you know someone's coming, please encourage them...okay, tell them...to let me know.

Well, I'm about to go be lazy some more. I had to get up early this morning to have breakfast with Ian and Jason. Ian came down from North Carolina for his best friend's engagement party thingy. I had the stuffed french toast at I-Hop. Oh-my-goodness. That is some gooood stuff. Yeah, random. Just thought I'd share that incase anyone's planning on going to I-Hop. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Someone had a LOT of time on their hands.


Well, I was blog surfing tonight and came upon one of the most creative methods of portraying scenes from the Bible I've ever seen. This guy (he's actually a minister) constructed depictions of Biblical events entirely from Legos. That's right, legos. The farthest I ever got as a kid was a spaceship...






Check this out


(Special thanks to Susanna for the link)

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Interesting

Your Birthdate: July 11
Spiritual and thoughtful, you tend to take a step back from the world. You're very sensitive to what's going on around you, yet you remain calm.Although you are brilliant, it may take you a while to find your niche.Your creativity is supreme, but it sometimes makes it hard for you to get things done.
Your strength: Your inner peace
Your weakness: You get stuck in the clouds
Your power color: Emerald
Your power symbol: Leaf
Your power month: November

Yeah, I'm bored. It's Friday night, about 12:30. I just got back from watching She's the Man at the theater. I enjoyed it, good movie. There's no chance of going to sleep any time soon because the neighbors are apparently throwing a kegger. We have very loud (boy) neighbors who enjoy blowing things up. Literally. So I figured I'd update the blog. I was dreading going back to school this week, but it really wasn't that bad. I had a test today and outlines due (which are a huge pain) but it's over now so I can relax. Ooo and I made 20 bucks today judging drum major tryouts at Auburn High. It was fun. Poor kids, they were so nervous. I tried to smile...that always helped me during tryouts.

Oooo yeah, you know what I found out yesterday? Okay, get this. I was talking to Hope (former youth director-adorable kids-went to visit during sb-just read the post below) and she asked me if I knew Tony Nolan. The name didn't ring a bell. She said that he was their neighbor and she just found out that he toured with some big Christian band as their preacher for the shows. I asked the band and she didn't remember. So she gave me his website. I was expected it to be some small band that I'd maybe heard of. No sir. It's CASTING CROWNS!!! Yeah, needless to say I called her right back and screamed into the phone for a while. They're only like, the best (and my favorite) band ever! Maybe he can hook me up with tickets and stuff. I was just really excited about that and figured I'd share.

You know, I've been in a really good mood lately. I've just really been able to take a step back and see how God's been working in my life. It's been awesome. I'm so incredibly blessed, but sometimes I get so caught up in everything that I completely look past it. I'm really trying to be intentional about things. I often get distracted by going through the motions, and I'm tired of putting God on the back burner. He deserves sooo much more than I give Him. Thank goodness His grace and forgiveness is ever-flowing.

While we're on the subjects of music and God, I downloaded the new Passion cd yesterday! It's the bomb diggity. One of Matt Redman's new songs has been stuck in my head all day. The lyrics really just portray what I want to sing to God.
"Oh, no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh, no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me.

I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes...
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You..."

Isn't that awesome? He never let go and I know He never will. Man, it all just blows me away.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

It comes to an end

Yes, spring break has come and gone. Overall, it was pretty good. Here's the low down on what I did, starting with last week.


Friday- What better way to start spring break than going to Emmaus? So that's what I did. We ate dinner at Niffers then went to the camp. We had a record number of Chrysalis folks there. I'm usually one of the only (if not the only) young person at Alamisco, so hopefully we'll have a lot more involvement from now on.





Saturday- I actually slept late, which was very nice. That afternoon, I headed back up to Emmaus for closing. Wonderful, as usual. After that, I dropped by Niffers for a very healthy dinner of cheese sticks and Reese's pie...yum. Then, I went to babysit my adorable cousin, Nathan.


Sunday- Went to church in Prattville, then Ruby Tuesdays with the bunch. Food took a while, but it was fun. And my mom came with me which was cool beans. After that, I came home and took a nice nap. For dinner, I went to Ruby Tuesdays (again) with Ian and Jason. Then Ian and I went to Wal-Mart where I got a new tub of icing (yummm) and he tortured me getting two tubs of my favorite kind of ice-cream, moose tracks. I gave ice-cream up for Lent...and I swear, I've never been faced with so much temptation in my life! Everywhere I turn, I see ice-cream. No joke. Anyway. After we stocked up, we played some ping pong and chilled in the hot tub fora while.

Monday- Very eventful, haha. I slept late. I woke up and took a shower. Went back to sleep for a few more hours...okay more like 6 hours. But I had the worst migraine ever so I don't have to feel bad about wasting the entire day. After I finally dragged myself out of bed, I decided to go see a movie. Being a sucker for good horror flicks, I saw The Hills Have Eyes...and I was the ONLY person in the theater! Not kidding. The only person. Not good. I can handle watching some guy kill people with knives all day long. Scream, Halloween, Friday the 13th- don't bother me a bit. But you start talking about genetically mutated hillbillies and play old folk music...Halley gets freaked out. It was like a mix between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance, and Wrong Turn. Not a good combination for me. But if you're in the mood to be scared, go see it. It was a pretty good movie.

Tuesday- That morning, I babysat Nathan again. Pure cuteness. We watched countless episodes of Dora the Explorer, Baby Einstein, and The Wiggles. I just love the Wiggles! Seriously, I do. After his dad got home, I left for Atlanta so visit my old youth directors (Brad and Hope) and their kids (Scott and Beth). I feel so old, Scott's eight now and Beth is four. I remember when Scott learned to walk! It's crazy man. But we had a good ole' time.

Wednesday- I was so graciously woken at around 6 am my time by Scott and Beth. They just get a big kick out of waking me up for some reason. Brad had already left for work, and Scott was off to school..I can't believe he's in second grade...sorry. So the girls went out for a nice breakfast. Then we took Beth to swim lessons. It was pretty funny...she conned her teachers and got out of having to jump off the side of the pool. She's four and she's already tricking people to get out of doing what she doesn't want to do! I'm so proud of her, I'm teaching her well. :op But really, those kids are soooo smart! I went upstairs to see what Scott was doing after I got there, expected him to be watching tv like a normal kid. But no, he was reading! Yes, reading. We were outside playing with the puppy and he asks me this..."So, what are your thoughts on reincarnation?" He's eight! They're so precious. And take a look at the drawing Beth made for me. Is that not adorable? And amazing. She even colored my eyes brown, gave me a pony-tail, asked my favorite color for my shirt, and took the time to ask the exact color order of the rainbow. Very cool. I'm gonna get it framed. It stunk to leave, but I'm gonna go back up this summer and spend a whole week. I got back in Auburn then went over to Ian's to watch American Idol. Then we (and a few more folks) went to see Failure to Launch. Now that's a good movie! Very cute, highly recommended. Of course, before the movie we had to go to Brusters. Can you say torture!?

Thursday- Went to lunch with Ian and some more of his friends at Bullards. After that, he left for good to move to North Carolina. I held myself together, I was proud of myself. But it still really stinks. I was extremely bored that afternoon, and being bummed out didn't help very much. So I decided it was time for another "Halley's Night Out". I started by going to my favorite restaurant ever, Mikata. It was delicious. Then I went to the mall. It was really cool how it worked out. I walk in American Eagle and I'm wearing my Encounter shirt. The guy that worked there asked me if I went to Encounter, I said yes, and he said he did too. He asked if I was there the night everyone gave away their shoes. It was funny because that was why I was there to begin with, I went to buy some AE flip flops since I gave away my other pair. He told me they had a deal- buy one pair and get the other half off. Well, I'm not too big on just buying things like crazy. I needed one pair of nice flip flops so that's what I got. Well, he offered to pay for the second pair of flip flops! How nice was that? I need to start wearing my Encounter shirt everywhere. :op I tried to decline the offer but it didn't work. So now I have two new pairs of flip flops for this summer! After I left the mall, I went to see another movie. I wanted to see a nice comedy (She's the Man) but there wasn't a show time then so I had to see Stay Alive. It was okay.

Friday- Got up early and drove to Valley to have lunch with my mom at her school. Then I went to Wetumpka to go horseback riding with Alicia. It was a blast, as usual...but this time was a little more eventful. Diamond (the donkey) went with us and was very rowdy. He scared Macy so she took off, running, jumping, bucking- now I know what a rodeo's like. But I got her calmed down. Well, I guess all the excitement made her hot...so she decided to roll over in the creek..with me still on top! I was soaking wet, muddy, and banged up from the rocks. But it was hilarious. And it made it that much more memorable.

Saturday- I talked my mom into coming up to Auburn. We had lunch at Applebees then watched a couple movies at my place. Must Love Dogs was a cute chick flick. Not the best I've ever seen, but worth the watch. Derailed was pretty good too. I'm not used to seeing Jennifer Anniston in that kind of role, but she did a nice job. Great thriller. That night, I went to dinner with Brittany (Carmichael). Her boyfriend (Bray) works at Ruby Tuesdays so we got a discount. Big plus.

Sunday- Board meeting in Prattville, went pretty well. We're going to have a hoot/youth rally in about a month so I'm excited about that. I stayed in town and went to church that night. And take a wild guess as to where we went afterward....TCBY! Oh my goodness. I think this has been harder than when I gave up meat! I love my ice-cream. But I'm making it. Since I was craving something sweet, I stopped by Krispy Kreme on the way back to Auburn. Yummmm. I got a dozen- 6 HOT glazed, 2 chocolate glazed, 2 kreme filled, and 2 caramel crunch. No, I didn't eat them all at once. I've got a ways to go. But they're soooo good!

Well, that brings me to now-typing this blog. Man this was a long one. Oh yeah, if you want to check out the rest of the pics from spring break, check out the album "good times, good times". I put all the links over there ----> . The "pretty stuff" album has been updated also. I should probably be going to bed soon considering I have an 8 am class. I'm really not looking forward to going back to school. But hey, only a month to go! I can't wait. So until I blog again, God bless and goodnight. :o)