Living an Intentional life

When I ask how you are I promise I care enough to listen even if you aren't good, great or fine. I think the idea of friendship and church family is very skewed if we don't truly care about listening to people when they aren't okay and life has beaten them down...even if it's hard or awkward and we feel like we couldn't possibly come up with eloquent enough words for them. Scary enough I also think it becomes even easier to intentionally not ask how people are when we are already fully aware that they are NOT okay. Are we being intentional when we walk into school, church, work or even the Wal-mart check out line? Or are we just going through the motions and the routine of the same faces, same schedule, same stuff that we are completely looking over people that are dying to just be listened to,cared about and loved? I think we all daily come in contact with at least one person who is deeply hurting and walking through a low time. If we actually took the time out of our selfish busy lives to just listen to them then I think we'd see life in a whole new light.

I read an article recently that sort of walked through answering the questions "What does it mean to live intentionally?" and they made a few great points that I thought i'd share..

Intentional living is about knowing why you do what you do and why you don’t do what you don’t do.

Intentional living is being willing to take a step back and evaluate the things you’re doing.

Intentional living is about doing the things that are important to you even when they’re not easy.

Intentional living is about evaluating the advice and example of other people and taking from it what works for you.

Intentional living helps you set a course for your life rather than just wandering aimlessly through life. It gives you the freedom to make time for the things that are truly important and to discard the rest. 

With that being said, it's my personal belief that being intentional with people in our lives and that we come in contact with is extremely important. One thing I've learned recently is that sometimes there are no red alerts to how deep people's pain might be. Sadly enough, we have all gotten really good at hiding or suppressing the bad stuff and putting on a happy smiling face for those around us when in actuality our worlds are caving in around us and no one even knows. Being open and willing to come alongside our friends and family should be something we are pursuing with passion.  It's what we're called to do... to LOVE people well. I can't count the number of times someone has said, "how are you?" only to quickly move on to another topic before I can answer or jump into a conversation with someone else while I was mid sentence in my response. I don't know about you, but in this situation I always sort of think...what was the point in asking if you didn't really care? It's because "how are you?" has become a polite social norm, a way of filling in the conversation gap when we don't know what else to say and even though I'm guilty of doing it too... I really dislike it. 

It is my goal to be more intentional in this area and I hope you will too. How different would life look if we REALLY came alongside people in our life and GENUINELY cared deeply about what is going on in their world? 

Taylor Swift's NYC Announcement

As I write this I'm on the plane ride home from New York City blaring Taylor Swift's new song 'Shake it Off' through my headphones and I can still barely believe this adventure I just went on was real life!
I'm going to go into great detail about the whole experience from the announcement to the scoop on how her apartment is decorated..

For those with a short attention span here are the highlights: Official video highlight reel

1. I won a contest!
2. It was top secret mission.
3. I was one of 89 chosen out of 5000 entries!
4. I flew to New York City!
5. I attended Taylor's Yahoo Live stream event at ABC Studios!
6. Taylor announced a new single, album and music video!
7. I watched her Good Morning America interview! 
8. She invited us to her apartment for a pizza party!
9. We danced with her in her kitchen to that new single! 
10. I held her grammy and took a polaroid with her! 
11. She gave us a goodie bag with 3 t-shirts in it!
12. Her apartment smells like Christmas and Anthropologie ! 
13. I also met Perez Hilton at this Swift apt party! 
14. Her apt is full of really cool antiques and quirky decor!
15. She stood at the door and told each of us hello and goodbye individually!
16. Taylor is genuinely nice and humble. Inviting us over was 100% her idea no one made her do it! 

I'm going to try to write down all the details so this might be a long post feel free to stop reading now :)
I got a phone call around 10:45am on Friday (8/15/14) My heart started pounding when I saw it was an NYC number because I knew what this could mean. I picked up the phone and heard a friendly voice say that they were with Taylor Nation and informed me that I had been chosen as one of the 89 fans to come to New York and hang out with Taylor Swift at her Yahoo live stream event on 8/18/14! The details of the event weren't given to us just to keep it secret, but the words "hanging out" and "Taylor Swift" were enough for me! The most popular question I've gotten this far is HOW? The contest was announced by Taylor herself on her social media sites and you just simply had to fill out a little info and write a 500 character essay as to why you were a fan etc. I have to admit my first attempt was 1293 characters so needless to say I had to do some simplifying! I later found out over 5000 people entered and Taylor herself picked us based on those mini essays ..so to be chosen in itself was just amazing! In my essay, I just simply explained the facts, but honestly i've really tried to remember exactly what I said and just can't.

So to quickly sum up why i've admired a girl two years younger than me all these years i'll say this, she's genuine. She loves and treats people well...and I really value genuine people that treat others well.   I've kind of grown up with her music. I was introduced to it through a clip before the first album was even officially released. I was 17 at the time and it's just continued to be relevant in my life. The way she writes so honestly and the way she feels things so deeply is just something i've always loved and related to. Not to mention that just as a human being she handles her success with such class and is genuinely kind to the people she comes in contact with and I think there is much to be said about growing up in the spot light and still some how managing to stay humble like that. She spends days off in children's hospitals with no press..the only reason that's even public knowledge is because parents of the children post about it. She stops for pictures even when her security tells her not to, she's extremely generous with what she's been given and she doesn't let the world tell her who she has to be. I know this first hand from the interactions i've had with her and from other people who have been around her and have only raved about how sincerely kind she really is. I don't know about you, but I love routing for good people who live life well, ones that have had success and had their dreams come true yet still give back, remain genuine and humble and remember to appreciate the people who have played a part in their life all along their journey. I think it's exciting!

Now...back to the story

 During the phone call I was informed that it was all very top secret info. Mostly just to keep us (the fans) and Taylor safe from a media frenzy. I was instructed to tell as few people as possible... So I grabbed a sheet of paper and with very shaky hands scribbled down the directions to the meeting locations,times and my favorite part the secret passcode phrase to get you in. I felt very official and the best sort of rush to be sneaking away to NYC to hang out with T Swift! Anyone who knows me knows I've been a fan since the start of her music career... A "hardcore swiftie" some might say... So this was a HUGE once in a lifetime moment for me! Not to mention, something like this just couldn't have come at a better time in my life.  I knew it was a blessing and I knew that I needed to step back let myself be spontaneous and have fun!

I had some connections and scored a free flight to NYC so I drove up to Nashville Saturday and flew out Sunday morning! I love a good spur of the moment road trip adventure so every last minute detail of getting myself to New York by Monday morning was thrilling! I landed in NYC around 3pm Sunday afternoon and hit the ground running because there was so much to see in a short amount of time! My number one USA bucket list destination was New York City so this also crossed that off for me! I will be going back someday because there is just so much to do and see!   

I saw a lot in my two short days in the city though! The night time bus tour around town gets two thumbs up and major love eyes from me! It was beautiful!!

PART ONE: Arriving for Project Hummingbird

Monday morning I woke up bright and early just as anxious and excited as a kid on Christmas morning! Just for kicks I had breakfast at the Subway (restaurant) in the actual Subway tunnel and did some short sight seeing before returning to the room to get ready for the big event!!!! I was so excited.. I practiced what I was going to say to Taylor over and over in my mind so I wouldn't have a speechless star struck moment again! I was thinking at best we would get to give her a quick hug and get a picture and that be all because there were 89 of us! I had NO idea what was ahead.
I was supposed to meet at the secret location (the Mellenium Broadway hotel) around 1pm and give the secret passcode (Project Hummingbird) to people waiting in the lobby. We would then be searched and have to give up our phones,cameras and all personal belongings until after the event just to prevent anything from leaking before it was time! We were ushered into a ballroom with lots of tables and grouped up in groups of 10 or so people. This is where I met some of the sweetest people in the world...ladies and gents ranging from 18-32.  It was so fun to meet other fans from all different places. We got to know each other pretty well because we were in there awhile all anxiously awaiting the surprise day ahead of us. When the time came for us to finally move on we were separated into 6 groups and I was in group one! Each group was assigned a person from Taylor's crew to walk over to the actual event location which turned out to be ABC studios! We walked into the studios and were searched once more and given a quick snack before being usher into an elevator to take us to the set for the live stream. When we walked in there were lots of ooo's and ahh's ...the set was adorable and made to look like a NYC loft apartment. There were tons of couches and chairs for us to sit on and the one I ended up sitting on was maybe 8 ft from where Taylor would be sitting. We all were so excited and giddy. This is when the moment really sank in for me...this is when I realized what an incredibly special opportunity I had on my hands.

PART TWO: THE LIVE STREAM EVENT 

The stream began with some footage of Taylor on top of the Empire State Building and then it cut to live footage and she walked through the door...of course we went nuts! She looked adorable in this white eyelet cropped top and matching skirt with teal heels. The girl is already pushing 6ft and she definitely hits the 6 ft mark in high heels,but that's one reason I like her. Taylor isn't afraid to be who she is.  She sat down and the live stream began .. this thing was being streamed all over the world from Norway to Brazil! It was a big moment in history for Yahoo and ABC! So from this point of the sorry you could do one of two things ..keep reading or skip the next paragraph below and watch what happened on the live stream with your own eyes! It should be available on yahoo screen and YouTube..Or you can watch that link at the start of this post for just a little high light reel.

Taylor started by saying she had 3 announcements the first being she was going to play us her new single. Taylor explained that she's had to learn the hard way that people are always going to talk and always going to have an opinion but that she thinks life is really measure by how we dance.. This painted a beautiful image in my mind about how we handle life when it's tough and not very fun. Do we get up and dance to our favorite song at the tenth wedding we've been to that year without a date or do with sit and mope. I want to dance! She said there are always going to be those people who talk about you and say "ew oh my gosh look at her dancing" but don't you think you are having way more fun than they are sitting around talking about people! She said, " People will find anything about you and twist it to where it's weird or wrong or annoying or strange or bad. You have to not only live your life in spite of people who don't understand you, you have to have more fun that they do." We really have a to choice sit and be sad or just shake off those things that get us down and that is what inspired this incredible new single "Shake It Off"! When she played the song for us she went all around the room dancing with us.. Note those high heels I mentioned earlier... She still had those on and danced and twirled around the room like a champ! Here's the only solo clip of that part I could seem to find and it has some subtitles, but you can see me at the  2:27mark 

Shake if Off dance party

She was having the best time and so were we...all I could do was keep reminding myself to soak in this moment. She then sat down and announced that her 5th album would be coming out October 27th. She explained some of the influence for this album and said she had definitely had some 80s pop inspiration this go round and so the album is called "1989" after the year she was born.

She then took some questions from various sources and revealed the third surprise which was the new music video for shake it off which you can see HERE. It was so much fun to watch the video for the first time with her in the room. She was watching and laughing at herself in the series of hilarious dance scenes, but every so often she would look at us as if to take in our reactions to it.  After the video she stood and thanked everyone for watching told them how and where they could pre buy the album and in true Taylor Swift fashion ended awkwardly saying"You know what they say, there's no sale like a pre-sale....no one says that" The live stream was over and she looked at the 89 of us standing before her wide eyed and grinning and said, "thanks for coming today guys.. I was wondering if you might like to go hang out with me after this?" of course there was a resounding "YESSSS!!" She said "Ok! I've secured us a place" she then explained that she had to do a couple interviews AND we were going to get to watch her do the interview with Good Morning America that would air the next morning!! You can watch that HERE or below..

After the interview we were instructed to get in our groups from earlier so we could take a group picture with Taylor. We all huddled up anxiously awaiting our turn.  When Taylor walked over she greeted us like old friends and squeezed right in the middle beside me for the picture. They snapped the photo (you can see it below) then she kinda squeezed the two of us she was standing between in for a hug. I noticed the dress she had on was leather and I just blurted out my thoughts.."oh this is a leather situation you have going on here...its so cute!" she laughed and said, "Yeah! the leather was sticking to the seat up there I was starting to think it was maybe a bad choice" We all collective said how cute it was and several other people said nice things and she got all genuinely coy as she does and said "thanks guysss...I'll see you all in a bit!"

The night could have ended here and I would have been 100% happy, BUT it only got better.  

Part 3: The time I had a pizza party at Taylor Swift's House:

We were ushered outside onto charter buses blocking the busy streets of NYC just for us.  We sat for a little while waiting on Taylor to finished up some interviews then I got to see part of her life that just kind of brought everything into perspective.  Her life is just paved with adoration and craziness and swarms of people.  For the first time I could really see how that life could get the best of people. It made me nervous and I was just watching from afar. They had taken lots of measures to prevent the paparazzi and media from knowing where this live event was taking place, but they found her regardless. She walked out of the studio smiling and waving to a small group of regular people who had formed on the side walk then to the larger group of paparazzi cameras who just seemed to go into some sort of frenzy. There she was "America's sweetheart" just living her completely normal life.. she's so used to it and it didn't seem to phase her at all. Even though I already knew it..it just gave me the saddest feeling seeing it all from this side and knowing every move she makes there are people waiting to document it.  Of course those photos were very easy to find online. 

She jumped in the car and was whisked away ahead of us.  I sat beside a super nice guy on the bus named, Ryan.  He was from the area and we chatted about careers, Taylor and where it was we seemed to be heading.  The bus soon began to have lots of hushed whispers from those who knew exactly which direction we were headed and little squeals from those of us who didn't as we saw we were entering the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of TriBeCa aka:Taylor Swift's neighborhood! 

My mind began to swirl. This couldn't be happening there is no way she's letting 89 of us go into her NYC penthouse apartment. The bus made its final turn and people started screaming.. I knew what this meant.. we all immediately knew exactly where we were..we were at Taylor Swift's house! One of the girls that works for Taylor stood up laughing and said, "I know you are all very excited and this IS very exciting but please remember other people live in this building to so try to keep in down as we go in." Later I came to find out Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and Orlando Bloom own homes in that building just to name drop a few!  We were escorted into the lobby then up 6 flights of stairs. I made it up those stairs a lot quicker than I normally would have knowing there was something super exciting at the end!!  We entered a pretty entry way, painted a burgundy color with some framed art, exposed wood beams and a wonderful anthropologie sort of smell.  We all stood anxious and uncertain of what the fans at the beginning of the line were seeing. Word eventually traveled back through the line that Taylor was greeting us in groups of 2 or 3 welcoming us to her home and the awww's were that her cat Meredith had made an appearance and the scream was because Taylor just heard 'Shake it Off' on Z100 for the first time!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I finally got in view range and stepped inside her apartment. The smell was just divine.. I heard someone say it smelled like "Christmas and Anthropologie" and I do agree that was the perfect definition. Someone mentioned how great it smelled to Taylor and she laughed saying "It's because I have more candles than a seance"  As I waited to greet Taylor I admired the purple ish velvet couch, oriental rugs, birdcage and giant TS sitting on top of old books that adorned the entry way. I immediately knew I was going to be obsessed with Taylor's decorating style because it was vintage and quirky and thats my style too! As I stood looking around I could hear Taylor greeting people and genuinely listen to their stories, I could see the gallery hall with a huge black and white framed photo of Ed Sheeran, a beautiful wooden distressed mirror, another huge birdcage filled with old books with one of her grammy's casually displayed on the top of the stack of old books.  She had tons of classic literature.  As it was about to be my turn to greet Taylor her Dad walked up and I waved at him and said Hi and he told us how excited he was that we were here. He told Taylor to try to speed up the line and get us on in. I was next... Taylor hugged me tightly and then the girl beside me and she began pouring her heart out to Taylor. I didn't want to interrupt even though I had my little spill I had been planning out for two days haha...this was her first time meeting Taylor and I knew how much that moment meant and to be fair I had met Taylor once before even though it was 4 years ago and I was so star struck I couldn't even remember where I was from.  I just added a few things into their conversation and we talked about the upcoming VMAs.  Taylor hugged me again with an almost apologizing sort of look because she knew I didn't really get to say much and said, "go on in and make yourself at home there's pizza and drinks in the kitchen..i'll see you in there in a few!" I walked into her living room noticing a line of Billboard awards and another grammy. There was another bird cage with books and a light up love sign adorned on top.  I walked up close to the grammy I spotted and read 'TAYLOR SWIFT ALBUM OF THE YEAR FEARLESS' my heart kind of made a flitter. I reflected back on the day I went to buy that album as I walked over to the huge farm table with the Don Giovanni pizza. I grabbed a plate and a slice of pizza and began wondering around.  I soon found my way into her TV room lined with lots of pillows on a window seat and blown up polaroids of all of her adventures on the wall. This was my favorite thing. I stood staring at those polaroids for quite some time. The photos were just such sweet,fun moments with her family and friends like Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Karlie Kloss, Lorde, Emma Stone and so on. There was a couch with lots of cute pillows and a basket of quilts. There were all sorts of Blu Rays under the TV and Bambi seemed to be the most recently watched because it was laying out of the case. I walked into the kitchen and spotted a familiar face sitting at the counter with Taylor's publicist.. He wasn't just overly friendly but our conversation went something like "Hey are you Perez Hilton?".."Yeah thats me." "Cool I read your stuff.." "awesome thanks"  Right about that time I eyed Olivia, Taylor's newest addition and went over to pet her. The girl holding her said she'd been holding her awhile and handed her over to me... I walked around the kitchen casually carrying Olivia like this was a normal thing.  I noticed Taylor's red kitchen aid mixer, lots of adorable dishes and a really cool large print done for Vanity Fair. I soon learned that Ryan(the guy I sat with on the bus) designed that print for VF magazine and here it was blown up in Taylor's kitchen. He had no idea Taylor had it so I know that was a really cool moment for him! You can see the print and check out Ryan's work HERE he's crazy talented! Taylor had the two water color flower paintings she painted and posted on Instagram this year displayed on a cork board with some fan art over her breakfast nook.  She had several fan gifts displayed! I dropped Olivia off in the TV room and walked down the gallery hall of black and white pictures that held the Ed Sheeran photo I mentioned earlier.  There were a lot of pictures I recognized from Taylor posting them on social media.  I stopped by the bathroom mostly because I just wanted an excuse to see it! It was mostly pristine white in every way, white floors, walls and white fluffy towels. A black and white image of Taylor and Karlie Kloss standing beneath a log hung on one of the walls and the glass door shower was a beautiful marble.  The soap smell heavenly so I took a mental note that I needed to find and purchase some of this Pecksniff's English Garden soap.  I then made my way across living room noticing all the little details. The barn wood floors and exposed wood beams and brick walls gave the place such a perfect cozy feel. I noticed her moon man VMA on a table and that 2 of her Grammys sat proudly on her mantle next to another cool TS cut out of old books. There were so many really cool vintage pieces scattered about from a random jar of old baseballs, a camera, jars, bottles, books etc etc. I passed the pool table where a few people where playing pool. "Just playing pool at Taylor Swift's house"one of them said I laughed and said "So casual" We were all just so happy so thankful that she had welcomed us in like friends.  I made my way  into the library room that held her grand piano. I slowly ran my fingers down the piano just taking in this moment. All I could think is she's probably written some amazing songs I haven't even heard yet on this very piano.. she's probably had quite a few jam sessions with her friends around this piano. Girls that actually played piano sat down and played a few notes of songs just beaming in the fact that they could now say they played Taylor Swift's piano.  This is where my typical something strange always has to happen to me moment kicked in... I began to notice a funny smell.. actually not funny at all...it was a smell I knew well because I too have a cat. I looked down and on my shirt was the tiniest of poo stained paw prints of my shirt from when i'd held Olivia earlier.  I made my way into the bathroom by the piano and cleaned my shirt off thankfully I had on black and it came out easily with a little soap and water.  I laughed to myself thinking well stuff like this only happens to me but it will make for a funny story.  I made my way back across the house and into the tv room and listened to Taylor's dad telling stories about her. There's one thing for sure...he's so proud of his baby girl.  He offered to show a few of us one of the guest rooms. We walked into a beautifully decorated room...it looked straight out of a magazine. There were photos of Taylor and her brother on the walls. Two recent photos of Taylor doing ballet. Her Dad said, "I know y'all probably see these pictures of her going to dance class..well this is what she's been doing in that class..she's actually pretty good" There she was in beautiful ballet poses looking perfectly normal and confident with her tall thin ballerina frame.  I commented on how beautiful the pictures were and how the place in general was decorated so cute and asked if she just picks things up as she travels and he said "yeah, this is all Taylor she decorated this place all herself she loves to. She goes into antique stores and just zones out" Then he laughed and said, "well she has to because she has to be quick before people find out she's there"  As I walked out of the bedroom I noticed Taylor was in the kitchen and I walked in as she grabbing a slice of pizza. Soon enough everyone noticed and all 89 of us were in the kitchen eyeing her as she stood there eating and chatting like it was completely normal for 89+ people to be watching her like a zoo exhibit at feeding time.  People asked a few questions and joked about all the theories we had all had about what the album was going to be called etc. She laughed and joke just like we were her very best friends she mentioned something about Olivia or "Dibbles" as she called her and I laughed and said "yeah we bonded earlier" She said "oh yeah?" I made the cheesy grin emoji sort of  face and said, "well you see I apparently picked her up right after she'd gotten out of the litter box and she got a little poo on me." We both laughed and she apologized saying "Wow that's disgusting I really can't say sorry enough for that." I promised her it was completely fine and that I'd cleaned it off and it was not big deal. What I wanted to say was "I mean its a fun story who else can say they got pooped on by Taylor Swift's cat" but I refrained. I mean it's not the best way to be remembered but maybe "The girl Olivia poo'd on" will ring a bell if I ever see her again hahaha! I heard someone behind me trying to tell Taylor "Shake if Off" was playing again, but she didn't hear them I taped her on the back and said your song is on again and she took off through the crowd of fans standing in her kitchen to turn up her song.. she danced back through everyone singing the lyrics and stopped right by me hip bumping me as she fed us some of the lyrics so we could sing along! I wanted to hit a pause button of life right then. I was having a dance party in Taylor Swift kitchen with her to her brand new song.  As the song came to and end i grabbed her hand and said "is it still just as exciting to hear your song on the radio?" and she looked me dead in the eyes in the most genuine voice said "YES. It never gets old its especially exciting when its a brand new song!" I smiled back at her taking in the full magnitude of this moment.  She said,"let's go take some polaroids!" We all filed into the living room as Taylor exclaimed, "Grab some awards whatever you see...whats the fun of having them if you can't play with them." I stood back and waited for a minute as we all passed around the various awards. The VMA...who knew that moon man was SO HEAVY..the CMAs..the Billboards...then someone passed me a Grammy. I held it closely just having a completely pinch me moment.  As I was admiring it Taylor put her hand on my shoulder and said, "have you been in one yet" and I said 'not yet' she pulled me into a hug and I realized this is the picture i've always wanted. There it was I'd traveled all the way from Mississippi to NYC for a moment like this.. there I stood in Taylor Swift's house holding her Grammy with her hugging me like I was one of her very closest friends.  They snapped the photo and I hugged Taylor a little tighter and said,"thank you so much for doing this for us this has been so much fun!" She said, "You're so sweet..I'm so glad you've had a great time!" 

I walked back over to some of the people I'd befriended and we all discussed how nothing could top this moment and shared some stories and pointed out things we'd noticed in her house. We all wandered around a bit long before we heard Taylor yell excitedly, "Okay everyone goodie bags at the door!!" What?! We'd already had the most perfect day and now she was going to give us presents.  We all began to line up taking pictures in our minds of everything. I looked at the people by me and said guys we just literally had a dance party in her kitchen and the girl next to me said, "danced around the kitchen in the refrigerator light" making a reference to Taylor's song 'All to Well' and we laughed and awed at her clever reference.  We thanked her publicist and she quickly responded with, "no guys this was all Taylor. She planned all of this. We had nothing to do with it...she wanted you guys to come over" As I made my way to the door I hugged her dad and he thanked me for coming. Taylor handed me my goodie bad stocked with 3 of her new merch t shirts and pulled me in for a hug. I told her how I had really needed a fun day like that and how thankful I was for everything she'd done that day and that her music had just always seemed to be there when I needed it most.  She said, "thank you for saying that" with the most heartfelt look and said she loved me and some other really nice things that are all a blur now and said that she would see me at a show.. of course I couldn't leave without being awkward.. I just always have to be awkward...I stuttered out, "of course i've been to 11 already" and she laughed and said "well i'll see you at another?" I nodded and said bye. 

If you read all of this you deserve an award or something because it was extremely long so thank you so much for reading!!!

I will be forever thankful that on 8/18/14 Taylor Swift opened her home to me and 88 other fans, treated us like family and gave us memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. She's a special person. She loves people well. She didn't have to do any of that, but she did.  As long as she keeps playing i'll keep going, as long as she keeps putting out music i'll keep buying it. 

I'll end this simply with a quote by another fan I met that day...

"If you don't like Taylor Swift...You Should." -Marley Harper

News articles about this event:

Buzzfeed

MTV

NY Daily New

The Hollywood Gossip

Eonline

Teen Vogue

AZ Central

Lockerdome

Gossip Cop

Bustle

Perez Hilton

ABC NEWS

ABC NEWS 2

YAHOO

Summer 2014 Recap

Summer 2014 has been beautiful, full of laughter and fun adventures. However, I've done a terrible job at updating my blog! So i've decided to do post on some of the highlights from the past few months...

Shelbie Rae graduated!!! I still can't really believe this. I've known Shelbie since she was 4 years old...she is my best friend's little sister and the closest thing i've ever had to having my own little sister.. scratch that she IS my sister. We really are #family... the thing is I simply love the entire Crane(Berry/White)/Henning/Phillips family like they are all my own blood. We've walked through a lot of years of life together and i'm so thankful God saw fit for it to be that way.  

God blessed me with so many incredible experiences this summer. I'm so thankful that he's allowed me to be a tiny part of these incredible peoples lives. It was a blessing to get to know so many fun new people this summer. Now that I step back and look at the last few months, I can clearly see God at work in the smallest of moments and i'm so thankful for the peace and joy i've found walking through this season of life.  

United 2014

 Camp was such a beautiful and incredible week. God is really working in the lives of students at FBC Brook and i'm so excited to see whats in store as they grow!!

Supporting the USA during the World Cup 

Jordan and I are #StillGoingStrong

#Family so thankful to have had the chance to get to know the 3 G's this year Garrett, Grant and Grace you're all incredible!

Love my team silver family!

Grace and I loved hanging with these fun girls at United!

4th of July 

fun.food.friends

Super Summer 2014 

Grace Revealed 

What a joy it was to get to know these precious girls in Brown school (Claire,Cara,Anna Kathryn, Christian, Marleigh and Amanda) as well as the rest of the staff! 

Thankful for these two and their sweet hearts. They love Jesus and it's so apparent. Genuinely love them like #family!

Orange School/Brown School 

Nothing like getting to catch up with these three. I've been beyond blessed to have them in my life all these years!

Even got to hang out with this old friend some this summer which is a rare treat. 

So thankful for longtime friendships and Mexican lunch dates! 

Ended the summer with the Exchange club fair and Disciple Now weekend #Family Reunion and it was such an incredible God breathed weekend. I loved getting to hang out with the sweet Freshman girls!!

Matching in our Casey Darnell tanks

If I had a little sister I think she might look just like Abi D! Still so crazy how similar we look! 

JG!!!

How can you not just love MB Stevens? 

                                       

Life will pass you by if you let it. This year i've made more of an effort to make my time on this earth count. I've been blessed, encouraged, inspired and challenged and I'm so excited to see what's in store for the rest of 2014!

I heart Nashville

I love a good road trip... who doesn't?  My mom and I set out for a little weekend trip to the Nashville area to visit my sister over Memorial day weekend.  I love Tennessee specifically Nashville so very much and I mean a way down deep in soul sort of love. It's beautiful!!

Trip highlights:

--Family time is always a winning situation. We went shopping, sightseeing and tried out some new restaurants.  We basically just went the full blown tourist route. 

--Coffee at Fido in downtown Nashville.. I know it's silly but i've always wanted a coffee with one of these fun designs in the froth. 

--Finally seeing the I believe in Nashville murals.. this was a bucket list item. Not for any particular  reason other than the fact that I love Nashville and wanted to see them in person. 

--Downtown Nashville at sunset. I love this city with all of my heart..it's fun and vibrant yet still holds that unique sweet southern charm.

--American Picker's. Sadly the store had just closed but we did get to see the famous Antique Archeology from the show American Picker's.  It's in the coolest old building that used to be home to Marathon Motor Co.  We did get to peek in the windows and see some of the fun items. Actually going during business hours is a must do for my next trip! 

Fun Facts about Nashville:
Did you know???

--The AT&T tower, located in downtown Nashville, is the largest building in Tennessee with 33 stories and a maximum height of 617 feet. It is affectionately known as the “Batman building” because of the two towers shaped like Batman’s ears
--Nashville has a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
--Nashville is the home of The Standard Candy Company. The confectioner has been making the sweet known as the Goo Goo Cluster, a cluster of peanuts, caramel, marshmallow, and milk chocolate, since 1912.
--Nashville's iconic Music Row is where Elvis Presley recorded more than 200 of his songs at RCAs historic Studio B.

Celebrating

I know I talked about joy in my last post, but this is where my heart is over pouring at the moment.  My recent wake up call came in an unconventional way that I wouldn't have chosen. It was a long process of realization, healing and understanding, but it's funny what the Lord will use to wake us up and draw his children back in.  I have been so beautifully aware of just how much I need Jesus lately. I've been so aware of his presence and consistently felt him holding me together when I felt I was raveling away. What a peace and joy it is when we realize we are not alone but yet cherished and adored by the King. He is always refining us and because of him we are FREE and that is something worth celebrating indeed! I have been truly rediscovering "the art of celebration". Big thanks to the band Rend Collective for helping me embrace this art. Wrapping my mind around what this means and should look like in my life has not only brought me joy but drawn me intensely closer to Christ. I try over and over to do it myself, but I always fail because without him I am an empty vessel.  I stumbled upon this video recently that Rend Collective filmed discussing the concept behind their album The Art of Celebration  They painted a beautiful picture of what this might look like and it got me really seeking and digging into the word to find what joy really looks like.

"Happiness is not the same thing as joy.Happiness is a superficial response to pleasant circumstances. But joy is deeper. Its a spiritual discipline"

That is why we must fight for our joy.

"I have come that they might have life and have it to the FULL" --John 10:10

                                                        The Art of Celebration story


I highly recommend their album! All of the songs speak Biblical truths and the instrumentation and melodies are simply contagious.  It just makes me want to have a party and dance and celebrate life with the people I love!

I pray that you are not only happy but that you daily seeking Joy!

XOXO,
Amber

A testimony of life at 26

"on this earth, we are always seeking beauty. i seek the things that take my breath away. snow glistened mountain tops, enchanting sunsets, star-filled skies, wind-swepted plains, drives down empty roads with the windows down. we want something to take our breath away...something more. something that makes us feel alive. i don't want to just see the beauty, i want to feel it, and i want it to fill my very soul. it's these things, the glories of nature, formed by my Creator's hands, that fill up my heart."

-Meg from Rivers and Roads

No one ever really tells you when you are young that life might not go the way you imagine. Sometimes dreams don't play out and you might fall on your face multiple times before you get your wings to soar and prayers might go unanswered at the time but you'll be thankful in the end. They forget to mention things will be hard and cut throat and there will be pain and bitterness and maybe even jealousy along the route. They don't tell you that you might have to face the world as a single adult and how important it will be to carry yourself with grace and dignity through it all.  As a teen I had no reality as to what life in my 20s might look like.  If you would have asked me ten years ago what I'd be doing today, I would have spouted out dreams and plans and I would have surely told you that by now I'd be married and starting a family because that was always MY plan. Some of those plans have happened and others have not.  I didn't ever stop to think if the plans I was making lined up with God's. I didn't always stop and prayerfully consider the decisions I made and looking back oh how I wish I had. 

       At 26 I've learned a lot and I'm still learning. Life can be tough but man it's also so short and so beautiful and we MUST soak it in and LOVE it with everything we have.  I'm really working on loving my life more. Part of that means daily choosing joy and I do believe its a choice. That's no easy task. I'd say i'm a pretty real person... so in saying "I choose joy" please do not think that means every day I'm a "bundle of smiles" as Jason has recently coined me.  One of my favorite quotes from the book i'm reading says,  "The Experience of sorrow in no way diminishes the joy of living". I love this quote because I think as a Christian woman I sometimes forget that those hard days are not out to get me but simply to strengthen my faith. I say this to be honest because I have faced many days in my life where I just feel i've hit rock bottom and I don't know what my next step should be. The amazing thing is I have a God that has long before planned out those steps for me.  Choosing joy can be a daily battle and there will be moments that knock you on your knees in desperation, but the cool part is there are always great moments to come.  Lately, there have been a lot of knock me to my knees moments in my life and i've had to make the daily decision to not live in fear and self pity, but to rise up and cling to the hope and promise God has offered me. Back in Novemeber I really started dealing with God about contentment and priorities and his message rang clear...be content right here, right now, just where you are.  Contentment has been a long battle for me the last few years, but once I finally welcomed it intense contentment and peace have both filled my heart. His plan is perfect.  
       When I think of a lady who daily made the choice of  joy in life, Linda Monroe so clearly comes to my mind. I know she had bad days.. I know things in her life weren't always perfect, but she used every chance she could to love on and invest her time in other people. I will never forget our last Super Summer together.. We were suite mates and I walk over into her room and caught her dancing her heart out and singing "Dancing Queen"! She didn't know I had caught her until much later and we had a good laugh about it, but man that picture just sticks with me. She was totally alone and just enjoying life and living it out!! Her legacy continues to inspire me! Why don't I do that more? I have so much to dance about! 

         I've been reading "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge.  I highly recommend this book to any young woman.  To quote the book, "After all isn't it what all of us as woman desire..to be captivating?"  This book will rock your world.  One of my favorite parts so far talks about how God desires to romance us.. if you have any doubt just look at a cotton candy sunset, a field of wild flowers or a starfish swept ashore by the crashing waves.  He loves us so deeply. He made this earth and life so beautiful and oh how we forget to appreciate it.  I've really reached that point in my life and walk that i'm just so desperately in love with who God is and all the little things i've been missing rushing through this life. As I go through my day now I notice things I've never noticed before and as I look back I see God's provison over me in every situation that's happened. I've decided to choose carefully how I use my time and carefully evaluate the priorities in it. I will tell you that I haven't been disappointed yet by how God had used my time since I fully released control over to him and stopped planning it out myself.  Jeremiah 29:11 

I will be the first to admit i've messed up a lot of things in my life and missed a lot of wonderful moments by rushing through and not enjoying it as it happens and by grasping so tight to my timeline on when I thought things should be happening....  so i've decided to REALLY settle into the fact that life is meant to be lived and lived well. That means letting go of my plans and my timeline and giving God full control.  Part of this for me personally is using this time to be more intentional in my relationships. I love people.. i might even say I have a passion for them. There is nothing I love more than spending time in good conversation/sharing life with people from all walks and stages. I have been so blessed by the people who have come along side me and poured into me over the years and from that I could turn around and pour out into others.  God made us to be relational and to love each other intently...I think that is one of the coolest things!

I was a funeral recently and heard this story... A young man was sent out on a class assignment to a cemetery. He was asked to find and trace the most important part of a headstone on a piece of paper. He looked around and decided it must be the persons name so he traced that and went back to the classroom.  He quickly learned that was indeed NOT the most important part and sent back out to the cemetery. He walked around for quite some time looking at the different headstones and thought that maybe it was the year the were born or the year they died or maybe the various other inscriptions left on the stones. After pondering for awhile it suddenly dawned on the young man that it wasn't the year they were born or even the year they died that was important. The most important part about each of those stones was the dash - between the date they were born and the date they passed away. That dash represents the life they lived. You see.. after we are all gone from this earth, that dash is time that we can't get back. We have to make the most of that time we are given by making  sure that we are living our dash well.  The reason Ms Linda Monroe continues to to inspire me is because she lived her dash well.  
      So this is my heart cry..I'm seeking to live my dash well and choose the joy and peace Christ offers me. I'm choosing to have sincere faith and use my time wisely.  My prayer for myself and whoever else might be reading this is to be intentional, love this life and always be willing to say "Yes" to God. 

Welcome 2014

2014 is in full swing and I haven't stopped long enough to just sit down and get some thoughts together for the year..so here goes.  It happens to be my one year of blogging mark! I started blogging this time last year, but was pretty lousy at it and had to completely redo my blog half way through the year. I'm going to try to be better at taking time to really enjoy my blog this year. I love the little community i've found through doing swaps and links.  I didn't really make any resolutions this year. I did however bookmark some thoughts and ideas on Pinterest that reflect the way I want to look at this year...
                                                                     So Welcome 2014
I know there will be some good and some bad, but mostly I hope that through whatever this year brings I remember to truly LIVE this life and make wonderful memories.

 Not always my first instinct so I want to embrace this more in 2014

This year I want to take time for all of those little things that sometimes get pushed aside

 I want to travel to atleast one new place.

 I want to make memories and capture them in photos and record them here, but yet at the same time not focus on that so much that I actually miss the moment itself. Sometimes enjoying a moment means putting the cellphone down. Every good moment doesn't have to be on Instagram.

I want to take more time for reading. I'm currently reading the Divergent series....I'm only a few chapters in, but it's great so far!


Here are a few shots of the start of my 2014! 

 "Greens picking" with my grandmother one saturday and of course I couldn't resist snapping a few blog worth photos

A huge bonfire at my Dad's along with some wonderful company and great food!

Dinner at Santa Fe with some of my favorite people