4 Peanut Butter & Jelly

Hey friends,

I don't have much time today but I wanted to take a moment to say hello! Thank you all so much for reading my blog. My hope is that is becomes a source of motivation and encouragement for you during your day and also a tool that will help you develop/grow your own personal relationship with our Father.

Relationships aren't always easy, are they? Some people in this world I just instantly click with and others it takes some warming up to develop our friendship. During this post-college/young adult season of my life, I have realized how much effort it takes to maintain a relationship. I don't know about you, but I feel like I never get a chance to slow down. As a constant busy bee I am used to buzzing around but this season of my life I feel like I need to be drinking energy boosted honey to keep me going! This is somewhat of a problem because I know if I am feeling this way my friends are too so we have to constantly make an effort on both sides to maintain that friendship. Whether it be a phone call, text, or quick facebook message, we have got to try to keep that contact up!

One thing I wish my friends and I did more of are road trips or annual get-togethers. This summer, the girls that I was a cheerleader with in high school had a reunion at Lake Martin. We had the best time re-connecting and it was so funny because we had all changed but we still had our same personality traits as we did in high school. After that weekend, we promised each other that we would make this into a routine and try to have the whole squad attend. Check out this picture of them putting me in a stunt. Next time we are going to go for the full! ha ha





One friendship that I am so proud to have kept up is my friendship with my best friend, Ashley High Carson. We have known each other forever but we never run out of things to say. She and I were in dance together when we were younger and then in high school we became like peanut butter and jelly. We had a large group of friends and had other very close friends, but we always confided in each other and were there for one another when things got tough. I remember one time in high school I had an argument with my mom and I just had to get away. Ashley picked me up in her little white car and just drove me around town until I felt better. Below is one of our more recent pictures when we went to the Beth Moore conference in Nashville.



Ashley, thank you for teaching me what it means to be a true friend. I am so grateful for you to be in my life and I appreciate you always listening to me. I was so proud to stand next to you on your wedding day and I look forward to the more memories down the road! Love you friend!

Friends, take time to catch up with one another. We are always going to be busy but we still should make time for those that matter most to us.

"Of all best things upon the earth, I hold that a faithful friend is the best." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Our lifesaver

If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
-John 14: 15-17

Today, I want to talk about love. We all love different things in life. We love our mates, we love our parents, and we love our new pair of shoes. I have been reading a lot about love lately in the Love Dare book. Love is patient, love is kind, love is a choice that people make to stay together forever. On the human scale of loving someone, I can't imagine ever loving anyone more than I love Raleigh. And my family. I would do practically anything for them out of love. That doesn't mean I always agree with them or like them, but I do love them and I make a choice to love them every single day.

Another thing I love is being outdoors. This morning, as I am typing, I am looking at a crystal blue sky and autumn leaves. What a glorious day! The sound of leaves crunching under my feet, the deep breaths of fresh air I inhale; all of these things are a gift given to me from my wonderful Creator.

The verse that we opened with was spoken by Jesus and how he promises for us to have the Holy Spirit when we accept him into our hearts. *Faith is believing that Jesus is one with the Father and the Spirit and that the Spirit will always stand by Christ's people.

I don't know about you, but I desperately need the Spirit to be in my life every day. This verse calls the Spirit to be our Counselor - someone we can go to with our problems and our needs. He is our confidant, someone we can trust with our problems every single second of every single day.

Do you want to know why we can trust our Savior? Because he is righteous and just. See for yourself in this passage from Psalm 85: 8-13:

I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints - but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

Some of the key words that stand out to me in this verse are peace, love and faithfulness. All of these things are promised to us because of our righteous Lord. I love the imagery of 'righteousness looks down from heaven.' It makes me think about how throughout the day, usually in the early morning or just before the sun begins to set, we see these beautiful beams shining down from the sky. Next time you see this ray of sunshine, think about it as God smiling down on us from Heaven because he knows that we are choosing what is right.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise? Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.
Psalm 106: 1-3

So, if we as Christians are promised to have peace, love, and justice for what is right, why are so many things wrong in our life? Why do we feel so desperate sometimes and like we keep taking all left turns instead of right? I think it is two main things:
1. Satan
2. Not completely trusting God to take care of us

Hear me out on this one. I feel like this earth is a constant battle ground. Somebody or something is always going to be an obstacle that Satan throws at us to make us not trust that God is going to fix it. A lot of times, we rely on our own decision making skills or the thoughts from our mates and family members to get us through the tough stuff. Or, we do take time to give our worries to God but we are still anxious and don't trust that He is actually going to take care of them.

When we desperately seek God, our Counselor, we will realize that all we need is him. It is okay to tell your problems to your loved ones but honestly there is only so much that they can do or say to make it better. God, our Wonderful Creator, Beautiful Savior, the Name ABOVE All Names is reaching out his hand as we are hanging from the ledge saying "Grab my hand, Trust me, follow me!" When we have faith in Him alone, we will be living in his righteousness.

Friends, I think a lot of us are swimming in the middle of the pool. We can't really touch the bottom but we can still swim back to the shallow end if needed. God is waiting for us in the deep end, asking us to take that leap of faith off the diving board to completely and utterly trust him that we won't sink.

I will tell you one thing: Satan is not going to like this and he is going to try really hard to drown you in the deep end. When you feel like he is getting a hold of you, just tell him to go away and hold on to Jesus, our lifesaver.

Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. -Psalm 91: 14-16

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

*Zondervan NIV Study Bible

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0 Blast from the Past

Tonight we are going to take a trip down memory lane. Earlier this evening we attended our church youth "Wig Out" party and we had such a good time playing dress up. Raleigh and I love any excuse to put on a costume and it has been way too long! Here are some blasts from the past. Hope you enjoy!



This was the first time we dressed up. We had just started dating my senior year of high school and I was president of a social organization and it was our annual Halloween party. As you can see, Raleigh was an old man and I was his nurse! He really made me push him in that wheelchair most of the night! It was a great event to go to while we had just officially started "going out".





These pictures were taken in college at one of Raleigh's architecture parties. This was was an 80's prom theme and was the first time I actually hung out with all of his new friends that he spent many a nights around! They are such a fun group and they don't play around when it comes to costume parties. I remember dancin it up to Jesse's Girl and 867-5309!



For one of my sorority parties, we dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. We actually made Raleigh's costume all the way down to the feather in the hat. I had so much "fairy dust" on me that night that I couldn't get it off with my eye makeup remover! I walked around for the next day or two with left-over glitter in my hair and eyes :) There were other Peter Pan's that night, but I had the best dancing Peter Pan of the bunch!







These were the pictures from tonight's party. Raleigh was a Harlem Globe Trotter and I was his cheerleader. It was so funny...one of the girls asked Raleigh what team he played for. He said "East," and she was like, "Oh, from High School Musical?" I joined in the conversation and said, "No, like East Wal-Mart!" I'll have to admit...I was the oldest cheerleader there and the other girls actually had their real cheerleader uniforms on. I was rockin my Carver Middle School uniform and my Northview cheerleading shoes! I was just proud to have the zipper zip!!!!


Friends, I believe that it is okay to be silly and have fun with your friends. It was so nice to not think about any of the daily pressures of life for two hours tonight and just joke around and act like a Valley Girl cheerleader. Take time to laugh at yourself sometime soon!

Please feel free to share any of your dress up pictures or fun memories :)

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Lost & Found

This week I have been out of my normal routine. I was out of the office a lot this week and working late so I think I am just bone-tired. On top of being tired, I have been really forgetful. Typically, I am not a forgetful person and I rarely misplace things. But lately, I have not been myself and this forgetfulness has really started to drive me crazy!

Last Sunday, I took my journal to church to write the day's message in it. I either left it at church or it is in some mysterious place around the house but for the life of me I can't find it. Today, we searched the Lost & Found at church and couldn't find it anywhere. I feel like I have lost a part of me. The journal had some personal thoughts in there on top of some really great messages so I am so sad that I can't find it. I have been journaling steadily since college and I love to look back over my entries at what I was thinking or read over the teachings that I have listened to. I know I put my name in the journal but I don't think I put my phone number so who knows if I will ever recover it.

The second thing I lost was my cell phone. Not once, but twice. On Friday, I went to Mobile to check out our Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk because we are doing one in Montgomery next year. I rode down with two of our state leaders and after we ate lunch in Montgomery on Friday I couldn't find my phone in my purse. We called the office and sure enough I had left it on my desk. So, we drove back to the office for me to get it. I was so embarrassed by this forgetful action but I knew they understood because we were traveling. We safely arrived at the Mobile office late that afternoon so I picked up my phone to call my mom and husband to let them know we were there. Well, the signal wasn't going through so I set the phone next to my computer to try again later. Soon after that, we packed up our bags and headed to the hotel. At dinner that night, they were all showing pictures of their families on their cell phones so I thought I would whip mine out to show off my handsome husband and precious puppy dogs. Low and behold, I couldn't find my cell phone AGAIN. I was beyond embarrassed. I was really beating myself up inside thinking, "Christen, you moron, why can't you keep up with your phone?!" The office was locked up for the night but one of the staff got it the next morning and returned it to me. I felt so bad because she had enough to deal with the event that had over 8,000 people attend to be worrying about getting my stupid phone.

Finally, we got back to Montgomery yesterday afternoon and when I was unpacking I realized I had forgotten yet one more thing. I had left my diamond cross necklace in the bathroom at the hotel. It was so dainty and simple and I wore it all the time. My stomach did a flip flop when I realized I had forgotten this piece of jewelry. I called the hotel and am still waiting on a response but I am pretty sure some cleaning lady got an early Christmas gift. I know it is an object, but it meant a lot to me because I always wore it to feel like I had Jesus right next to me. I know I have Jesus but still I really did enjoy wearing it.

So, now I am just beating myself up for being so forgetful. I have stopped saying negative thoughts to myself but I am just mad at myself for misplacing all of these things within a span of one week. Of course, these items are objects and can be replaced, but they were things I was responsible for keeping up with. Today, I was thinking about this and the thought came to my mind that I am responsible for more than things like books, phones, and jewelry. I am responsible for bringing others to Christ. It is my duty, my call to action.

I purchased a shirt yesterday that is super cute. It is pink and on the front it has a little white sheep and underneath the sheep it reads "He is my Shepherd." The Bible talks about shepherds in many places. In Ezekiel 34:2 it says, "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?"
Friends in Christ let me say this: We are the shepherds of today. We should be taking care of Jesus' flock. There are so many people wandering around out there that do not know what it is like to live a life filled with God's love. How many people do we interact with on a day to day basis that are wondering around like little lost sheep?

For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice." - Ezekiel 34:11-13, 15-16.

Thank goodness that our Amighty Savior is always keeping track of us. He is always there and will always be seeking us. He won't forget, misplace, or lose us. He will continue to search for the lost, injured, and weak and bring them underneath his wing. I love my God so much that He cares so much about me. Take peace in this verse and find comfort in knowing that our God is omnipresent. If you are wandering around feeling lost today, please know that the minute you commit yourself to Him, He will be right there to herd you in with the rest of us. You will be apart of his flock, the body of Christ, and by golly that is the best place to be! He has been looking after you for a long time and He is so glad that you are not lost, but found.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 I Dare You

Last night, our small group started a series on marriage. We are each reading The Love Dare book that was written for the movie Fireproof. Today was day one and I really should have heard it on Tuesday instead of today so I could practice it! Below is a section that I really enjoyed:

If your spouse offends you, do you quickly retaliate, or do you stay under control? Do you find that anger is your emotional default when treated unfairly? If so, you are spreading poison rather than medicine.

Anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something is mixed with disappointment or grief. You don't get what you want and you start heating up inside. It is often an emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness, or evil motives.

Patience, however, makes us wise. It doesn't rush to judgment but listens to what the other person is saying. Patience stands in the doorway where anger is clawing to burst in, but waits to see the whole picture before passing judgment. The Bible says, "He who is slow to anger had great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly" (Proverbs 14:29).

Patience helps you give your spouse permission to be human. It understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it. It gives you the ability to hold on during the tough times in your relationship rather than bailing out under the pressure.

The last part of this segment is something that Raleigh and I have had to learn over time. For those of you that know us, we started dating in high school and continued to date for six years until we got married. I had to learn patience on multiple levels, primarily patience in waiting and then a close second was patience with my partner. Today, as a married gal, I deal with the latter on a weekly basis. Sometimes I get so frustrated by the smallest things around the house and I just blow up. Usually, if we get into an argument it is over something silly but then we quickly become angry and say things that we shouldn't say. When we argue I always walk away with regret at the words I chose to say.

"See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Being patient with your partner is a choice that we have to make every time we open our mouths. It is shown through our actions and through our words. As I mentioned in an earlier post, words are what hurt me the most. In return, I know my words have hurt those close to me. I am constantly learning how to practice patience every single day so my home can be filled with positive words and actions instead of negative.

Friends, I dare you to be patient today. Whether it is with your spouse, co-worker, family member or friend, choose to keep your mouth shut an extra second before you respond. I bet you won't regret it.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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1 The Simple Things in Life

Contentment has always been a struggle of mine. I am an overachiever so I naturally have my eye on the goal and then once I achieve that goal it is on to the next big thing in my life. The problem with this is that I don't take time to enjoy or take pride in my accomplishments. I give myself a little pat on the back and then onward I go to face the next obstacle that is in my way. But lately, I haven't quite felt like myself. Nothing specific has been wrong but I have been feeling a little off, you know? I've been in a state of non-contentment and have been very unmotivated to start the next task on my to-do list. It's like I have been just getting through the day and the months have just rolled together like one long, drawn out play of my life.

This weekend, Raleigh and I did not have a single thing planned except attending a wedding in town on Saturday night. Other than that, not a sliver of anything was on the menu. It was the first time in months that we have not had somewhere to go or something to fix up around the house. So, on Friday night we went on a date. We had a nice dinner and then went to the movies. I love my husband so much and I am the type of person that doesn't mind staying in but it was fun to hit the town together. He opened my door and payed for my meal like the perfect gentleman and it reminded me of when we were dating. It was fun not really having a care in the world.

Also, another thing that I have started to do recently is running. When I say recently, I mean like this weekend but still, it's a start. Let me rewind this convo a bit and let you know that growing up, I always ran. I was a soccer player so I was constantly running to condition myself for the sport. In college, I loved to go on short runs around the neighborhoods close to campus. When I lived in Birmingham, I had friends that ran half-marathons and I decided that was a goal that I would like to accomplish. So, I joined a sweet friend in her running club. They ran three miles in the blink of an eye and for the first time in my life I wasn't in first place. Not even a close second place. I was shocked that I couldn't keep up with them! Eventually, I started to run at my own pace and when we moved down to Montgomery I promised myself that I would continue to run to train for the big half marathon in Birmingham this past February. Well, while I was training, I ran in two 5k's here in town. They were in November and December and I was miserably cold. I mentally broke down and couldn't even finish the races without walking.

Not being able to achieve that goal was so frustrating to me. I couldn't believe that as physically fit as I was that I couldn't make it through a half marathon. So, for the past eight months I have barely made it past a light jog. I just gave up on the dream of running a half marathon and started exercising in different ways. But, recently I have noticed that my jeans don't quite fit the way they used to and I have been feeling a little jiggly in some areas if you know what I mean. So, yesterday Raleigh and I took the pups on a walk to enjoy the nice crisp weather that we have had. As I was walking, I got the feeling that I needed to put a little pep into my step. All of a sudden, we were jogging. And it felt good!

Lu Lu in her pink camo vest ready to go for a run!

Tonight, we went on a little longer jog. We still stopped and walked but all in all it was good exercise. My legs feel a little like spaghetti but overall my body is glad that I did it. I remembered what it felt like to just run. Not run for a goal but running for enjoyment. It was actually fun and not something that I dreaded.

Paul, while in the Roman prison, wrote to the Philipians to thank them for their gifts to him. He said, "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:10-13).

So, this makes me think that maybe I need to start to truly enjoy the simple things in life. Maybe I should take time to do the things that give me pleasure and not be so focused on achievements. It is by the grace of God that I accomplish anything to begin with so if I solely rely on Him to give me the strength I need to face each day then I can't help but be content because I know there is nothing greater than that.

"Put your hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." - 1 Timothy 6:17

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 The Rainbow after the Storm

Don't you just love a holiday? I've got the day off today and it has been much needed. I got caught up on some sleep, did some laundry, ate lunch with a friend, and now I get to write another blog post. I call that a pretty good day. :) I just can't help myself, but today is another post about my weekend. Forgive me, you will probably see at least one more this week about my trip to Memphis. It was just too good not to share!

The theme for the weekend was titled, "Wild God Chase." Beth spoke from Exodus 34:1-9. The meat of that passage was this: "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." (Exodus 34:6-7)

She touched on each of those topics but the one I want to share with you today is about forgiveness. Beth stated that God is scandalously forgiving. He forgives us for our wickedness that we are prone to do, our rebellion that we mean to do, and our sin, which we are bound to do. It is such a life lesson for us to know that God forgives us of all of our faults, whether we mean to or not, yet we often struggle with forgiving others.

Forgiveness is something that I have had to learn how to do over the years. For me, the thing that pains me the most is hurtful words. When somebody says something ugly to me or about me it is like a sword slashing through my heart. I cry out in agony and I suffer from those words. The wound is so deep and I am uncertain if it will ever fully heal. From the outside, I might look all clean and shiny but on the inside I am black and blue.

Beth spoke about how a girl commented on her blog that often she "fake forgives." We rip the band aid off before the forgiveness has mended the wound. I know I am a host to fake forgiving. The thing that has always bothered me about forgiveness is the fact that I have to forgive but it is hard for me to forget. I struggle with that saying because I know that God releases me from what I did and I am washed clean, but it is so hard for me to do that to others. For instance, when my feelings get hurt, I tend to not forget who hurt my feelings because I don't want them to do it to me again. I am guarded against that person. I usually start to not like that person because they hurt me. I also have these fake conversations in my head of what I really wish I would have said when they said something ugly to me. I just keep hitting rewind and I replay the scenario over and over and over in my head. It absolutely drives me crazy.

Friends, fake forgiving is neither healthy of beneficial to our well being. It does no good. To truly forgive, we have to take time to go through the healing process. Most of the time, the person that was ugly to me in the first place has no idea how deep they really cut me. I guarantee you that person is not losing sleep or having these crazy conversations in her head! I have just recently reached a point in my life where I understand the process of true forgiveness. In order for me to live a joyful, sane life that is not filled with garbage, I must forgive like God forgives me. I must be like Jesus on the cross and say, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34).

I know you have heard this a million times, but we have to pray for our enemies. This is such a testament of your mature life in Christ. When I began to pray for my enemy, the victim side of me began to kick and scream saying "She doesn't deserve your forgiveness! Don't you remember what she did to you? She hurt you so bad and now you are letting her off the hook?" Then, another side of me whispers these words of encouragement "Forgive her. Let it go. Stop letting her words eat you up inside." As I struggled with this wrestling match going on inside of my head, I finally just broke down and stopped fighting. I just prayed for God to show his love to me and to please help me forgive this person for what she did to me. After I did this, I was encompassed with God's peace and love. It is an amazing feeling to know that He is on my side. It was like seeing a rainbow after the storm.

This verse sums up everything, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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