Footprints

Regardless of what is happening in my life, I am always encouraged, in sometimes the smallest ways that Christ is with me. Even the weeks that I know without a shadow of a doubt that He is carrying me through, somehow we continue to walk forward. God promises takes care of the birds, so what are we worried about? He totally has us covered. Life isn't always a bowl of peaches, but hopefully you can read this poem and be reminded that He is with you, always.

Happy Monday! Have a wonderful week. :)

Our Path

With only five weeks left of this semester, I couldn't be more excited to be done with these classes! I was so pumped to start the semester, but naturally, I am ready to be done. David and I can't wait for the summer. We have so many fun things planned, plus I love summer!


As we continue to move forward with our goals, we have clung to this scripture:
 
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And he shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5
 
We have so much to be thankful for and constantly are counting our blessings. God is incredible with all that He provides!
 
David has officially been accepted into his two different honors societies. He is doing extremely well in all of his courses this quarter and is being reviewed for three different scholarships. David is one of the most incredible men of God I know. I am so proud to call him my husband.
 
As the reality of me graduating in December is slowly but surely coming to fruition, the more excited I am to accomplish my Master's Degree. I will continue working at the Shreveport Bossier Rescue Mission, as they are tranisitioning me into a new position once I have obtained my degree this winter.I love my job and am so thankful for this place. The Mission has taught me so many life lessons. Some I wanted to learn, while others I needed to learn. I have and continue to witness first hand the incredible redemption of Christ to so many. He speacializes in redeeming broken people! Isn't that great news?! Life is hard and I see that daily. I am so thankful we have a Savior that cares for us even when we think there is no hope, directon or way out. He's got our back - always! :) 
 
With the desire to attend law school, still very much a part of my life, David and I are moving forward with school visits and prayer of where we, collectively, will want to move. We are estatic about what the future holds and all the possibilities that are out there! One step at a time, we faithfully will follow.  

Padres Visit

Last weekend, my parents came to Louisiana to celebrate Mom and my birthday's! We had a wonderful time. I absolutely, love my padres. I am so thankful for the people they are. :)

They came in Friday and met me at work. I have changed a lot in my office, and so they were able to see all that I had done! I think it is still kind of surreal to them that I am a 'professional' with a real job in a real office that has four walls and a door. Let's be real, half the time it is still surreal to me! Anyway, we went to eat a Newk's, which is by far one of my favorite places to eat in Shreveport. After lunch, they dropped me back off at work and ran some errands and stopped to visit some friends. We met back at the Mission and followed each other to Arcadia. By the time we got home, David was off work. We had dinner at JR's in Simsboro, and hit the hay early. David and Dad had big plans for early morning bulb hunting!

David and Dad got up before the sun and went searching for bulbs and other various flowers/plants. I love that my husband and dad both share the love of gardening. Growing up, that was always something I loved to do with my dad. We would go to Callaway's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and pick out things. Dad would always let us pick out the "prettiest" flowers and then we would go home and help him plant them. Now, I get to do the same thing with David. :)

Mom and I spent the morning in Bossier attending the Shop for a Cause that the Junior League of Shreveport puts on. We found some wonderful finds, including some great new skirts for me! I got some birthday money, so I treated myself. (Not that I didn't get plenty for my birthday!) Anyway, I always enjoy spending time with my mom.

Once David was off work, Dad was done playing in the yard, and Mom and I made it back from Bossier, we had Subway for lunch and then went to pick up Aunt Char for our afternoon adventure. We headed south to Briarwood. It is about 160 acres of natural gardens. We were about two to three weeks early to really enjoy anything blooming, but did enjoy the time we had there. Everyone enjoyed the tour and riding on the golf cart. The tour guide was over 80 years old and had been giving tours there since he was in 7th grade! The best part was that it was so incredibly peaceful. I told David that I have decided we are going to have a log cabin one day that we can have as our winter weekend getaway! Naturally, I would also like a lake house that can be used for our summer weekend getaways. Hey, you might as well dream big! We are living like no one else so that we can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE! :)

After our tour, we headed to Ruston and went to eat at Portico. David and I were the only ones that had been there before, so everyone else was a little skeptical. However, after the appertizer was devoured, they knew there main course was going to be delicious. Portico was a success and will be repeat!

Since this was a birthday celebrating weekend, Mom and I had found a cupcake bakery that was set up at the Shop for a Cause and got six different cupcakes to share. After dinner, Dad and David dropped off the girls and they went to get the cupcakes from our house and pick up some ice cream. We split each cupcake in half and everyone was able to get to taste them. It was the perfect way to end a great day!

Sunday morning Mom and Dad packed up and headed back to Dallas. But before they left, Mom taught me how to make Baking Powder Biscuts. We have several containers of jelly that people have made locally, and Mom asked why we hadn't opened any of  them yet. I told her we didn't have anything to eat with it. She fixed that! We had a wonderful breakfast and the biscuits will be repeat for sure. While we were cooking breakfast, David and Dad spent the morning outside. We had tilled up a part of our flower bed to expand it, and they were finishing it up. The new flower bed looks wonderful.

Their visits are always too short. We can't wait to see them again at Easter in Dallas. Thank you for everything Mom and Dad! We love you!!

The following are a variety of pictures from the weekend:

David and I SOOOO excited to go on the tour at Briarwood! ;)

Us <3

 Everyone in the golf cart!

 My handsome man.

 Yours Truly.

 Dad taking it all in. Richard was a wonderful tour guide. Pretty sure he could give that tour blind folded!

 Mamasita and Me

 The inspiration of owning a log cabin one day.

 My precious Daddy and me. I love that man so dearly!

 Two of my most favorite men. :)



25th Birthday!

My birthday celebration started on Wednesday, March 16th. One of my best girlfriend's and I went to this place in Shreveport called Painting with a Twist after work. You pay $35 for the evening and they supply all your art materials (blank canvas, 3 paint brushes, and paint) and you can purchase all the wine/beer your little heart desires. April and I had an absolute blast! I am by NO means "artistic" but I love "artsy-fartsy" type things. This evening was just enough artistic to be enjoyable and equally relaxing. Thank you for inviting me April!

This is the finished product. I proudly have it displayed in my office.

 My biggest birthday present, or so I thought, was going to be us paying off debt. We no longer have any credit card bills!!!! We have paid off EVERYTHING except our cars. Praise God! We are continuing to move towards being debt free. :)

To my surprise, David had a surprise up his sleeve. He totally pulled off surprising me with my very first, very own gun! YA!!!!!!!!!!! Just for clarification - I am NOT a redneck, and I will be taking proper gun safety courses. I am super excited that I have my very own hand gun. I really enjoy shooting. I have a long way to go before people start calling me Annie Oakley, but I am improving.

One of the things I wanted to get with my birthday money, was a pair of Vibram shoes. I am so glad I did! They were quite the investment, but I love them. :) 

 I also have been wanting to get new glass frames. I just so happen to stumble upon these frames from the Beehive for $5! I already had my prescription so I just had to get them filled. Total cost for new glasses, frames included: $35! YA!!!!!! How awesome is that!? What do you think? David LOVES them and says, I look very "professional". LOL.

 First thing when I arrived at work, I had a delivery waiting for me at the receptionist desk. To my dismay, Aly and Matt sent a wonderful arrangement of tulips. I was totally shocked. Of course, David knew that they were going to send them to me, but wanted me to be surprised. :) Thank you Aly and Matt!

 I had a lunch meeting on my birthday. It was catered by Counter Culture. My favorite part of the meeting was that dessert was a small cup of frozen yogurt, colored green (for St. Patty's Day) and I got to put sprinkles and mini m&m's on it! Happy Birthday to me!!

David shocked the socks off me with this GORGEOUS display of flowers. They arrived at work while I was at a lunch meeting. They were breathe taking. I had NO idea that he had ordered these!



This is a picture of David and I before I headed to work for the day. I love this man with all my heart. He makes my day, every day so much brighter! Thank you for such a wonderful day. This truly was the best birthday ever!! I felt more love than I deserve.

Unprocessed

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles. (See The Apostolic Constitutions, Book V, Section III.)

This information was compliments from: http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm

I understand not every church, domination, or person participates in Lent. I grew up in the United Methodist Church, and this was common practice from the church I attended in Dallas. I want to make clear that I am not condemning you if you don't participate in Lent - that is your preference and well, so be it - luckily, that is between you and God.

For the past month or so, I have been really praying about what I am going to 'give up' for lent this year. The closer my relationship gets with Christ the more I desire to be healthy, live clean and seeks purity in my life.

The verse 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (NIV).

There is no secret that I have been really trying to get healthy and achieve several fitness goals. With this verse continually coming to mind - I figured God was trying to tell me something. I have gotten better about listening to Him and being aware of what He is trying to tell me. I am making progress people! :) Anyway, I started to do some searching. I knew I wasn't desiring some crazy new fad diet, but something that I can truly implement as a healthy and balanced lifestyle and habits for eating. David says that I have a little hippy/tree hugger living inside of me that is just screaming to come out! Some of these 'little hippy/tree hugger' moments include gawking over local farmers market, seeking out preventive care versus waiting until something is wrong to go to a doctor, wanting to use natural/homeopathic practices versus modern (western medicine), and the list goes on and on. With that said - I finally discovered what I am supposed to do will be a true life style adoption. I no longer want  to eat processed food or carbonated drinks and run every day. Living where we do (no Whole Foods or Central Market here) I know this is going to be a challenge within it's self. Well, have no fear, I am determined to in the next 40 days to grow closer to Christ and seek Him when I am tempted or struggling. This is no small feat, but I know if anyone can help me through this - Christ is the one! And that is just what I plan to do.

The next forty days will be ones of challenge and true intimacy with Christ. It is no secret that I am obsessed, maybe even addicted to bread and cheese, neither are desirable foods - both have there place, but not in the capacity that I consume them. I will continue to stand by my words of balance and moderation, but I do seek healthier living. This is one more small step to continue to move forward with progress. Every step I take to move forward, is made one at a time and done with support and love from so many; most importantly Christ,  my husband and friends/family.

May the next forty days find you well and anxiously anticipating the celebration of one of my most favorite Christian holidays ever: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ aka Easter! There is just something about the broken being restored and redeemed through Jesus, that is simply incredible!!!

 

Parties & Fasting

After living in Louisiana for almost 2 years now, Mardi Gras is no joke. This celebration is alive and well throughout the entire state. David and I both get time off from school for a "mardi gras break" and some businesses even honor this holiday by shutting their doors for the day. Crazy right? Please excuse my ignorance; there is no denying I gladly particpated in Mardi Gras parties, but I honestly never took the time to learn the what and why were we celebrating this holiday? Well, don't worry - this year I got educated. lol.

According to: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/mardigras/ the following information was found. Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That's why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of streetsweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.

Not going to lie.... I am not Catholic and I don't believe in having to go through someone to speak to Christ. However, Louisiana is very much a Catholic state (mainly in the south) and well, it is good to be educated on what and why people do things.

Personally I stand behind these two verses:
Acts 4:12 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (NIV).

John 14:6  ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV).

These two verses are what my truth is founded on. I am not here to pass judgement on others, but speak truth and these verses speak for themselves. With that I stand firmly on my foundation in Christ.

From the website: http://www.churchyear.net/ashwednesday.html the following information was found:
In the Western Church, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting before Easter. On Ash Wednesday, ashes are blessed, mixed with either holy oil or water, and imposed on the head with the sign of the cross, or sprinkled on the forehead. The ashes are made from burning palm branches blessed the previous year on Palm Sunday. When the priest imposes the ashes he says either "remember man you are dust, and to dust you will return" (see Genesis 3:19), or "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).


The ashes serve a dual purpose. First, as the above words imply, we are reminded of our mortality and humanity as we begin the Lenten Fast. Second, the ashes are a Biblical symbol of repentance, sorrow, and humility. There are many cases in the Scriptures of wearing ashes as a sign of penitence, often while wearing sackcloth. In 2 Samuel 13:19, Tamar puts on ashes and tears her clothes as a sign of sadness and repentance. In Esther 4:1-3, after learning of the king's decree to kill all Jews, Mordecai tears his garments, and puts on sackcloth and ashes. His fellow Jews do the same thing, as well as beginning to fast. The prophet Jeremiah (6:26) urges his readers to "gird on sackcloth and roll in ashes."

I am looking forward to growing closer to Christ through the next forty days. David and I will have many things to celebrate come Easter this year and we can't wait! Some of them include: being in Dallas and sharing time together with my parents, seeing friends and getting to run in a 5k that supports domestic violence. We are excited to get a couple of things off our plate that will be over by Easter. Life is full of seasons and the next forty days will be no exception. I am ready to take the ride!



Half Way

I always thought of Spring Break to be about the half way mark for the semester, well not in Louisiana. (duh). The half way mark is done via Mardi Gras break (at least year, because Easter is sooooo late). David has Monday-Wednesday off of next week, and I get off Monday & Tuesday (from school). I still haven't got quit accustom to the whole MARDI GRAS thing, but whatever. I definitely celebrated enough to last a lifetime in my more 'hethen' days, though. My Spring Break is the week before Easter, then we go for two more weeks and we will be done for the semester! Seems kind of out of whack to me, but whatever. I am just thankful I still have my head above water and I am doing well in my classes. :)

I am half way through my first semester at LSU - Shreveport! I only have 9 more months to go, before I get to walk across that stage with my degree! Ahhhhh. I simply can NOT wait. This is one goal I never thought I would actually achieve, but God had other plans to help push me towards it. I am so thankful for that, because I really do love what I am learning about. Going to school and learning about something you can apply, that makes sense and I enjoy, equals complete success to me!

LSU-Shreveport does a 'half way grading' thing that basically, gives you an idea of what your projected grade will be if you continue down the road that you currently are on. I can proudly report, all three of courses reported: A's! Who knew? I do in fact have a brain. lol.

My goal is to complete my Master's Degree with a 4.0gpa. Apparently, I like to push myself beyond measure, because I subconsciously get some sick pleasure out of it, since I do it more often than not! Seriously though, I love learning about this stuff and can't wait to complete the task.

David is doing just as great, if not better. Go figure. He began his JUNIOR year, yesterday starting the Spring Quarter. He wont hardly brag on himself, so I pick up the slack. :)

This quarter marks so many things for David:
1. He has completed over 60 hours
2. He doesn't have to take any more science
3. He doesn't have any more 'basic' courses to complete
4. He has more than a 3.2 GPA
5. He has successfully completed his 'beginner' accounting courses - with flying colors!
6. He has been asked to join two different National Honors Societies
7. He has been approached to complete an application for the College of Business (COB) scholarship
8. He has been asked to be a part of the 'welcoming' committee for incoming freshman at Tech
9. He has been asked by the dean of the COB to apply for internships for this coming Winter Quarter
10. He has accomplished all of these things and so many more while still making time to be with me. :)

Every day isn't easy, but every day we wake up and move just a little bit closer to our goals. We are learning all about my word of the year: focus.

Quiet Please

Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest. ~Lady Bird Johnson

This is just a friendly reminder to all who attend and take part in the local public library; be quiet! I know this is an absolutely crazy concept but people actually do go to the library to study, to read, to write and hey, did you know they have more to offer than just the new release DVDs? I know, it is insane. Public libraries are an incredible resource that every citizen of this country should utilize! In the event, that you do happen to grace a public library with your presence, please remember some of the following:

*BE QUIET

*be respectful of others

*control your children. no one else would like to 'play' babysitter while you surf the net.

*check out the books, libraries have books too! Not just DVD's.

*don't come if you are sick, no one wants your nasty germs.

*the staff are human beings, not servants

*this is not the local starbucks, if you would like to talk loudly, and catch up about the town gossip, kindly step outside so others can concentrate.

Hopefully, everyone is clear when you go to the local public library you do in fact mind your manners; trust, everyone else that is in the facility will greatly appreciate it.

Thank you kindly your fellow patron and tax paying citizen,

Anna