Add Chattanooga to my list of hospitals visited thanks to kidney stones...

Oh goodness, so move in day didn't quite go as planned. I moved in to my apartment yesterday, thanks to my wonderful friends Alex and Steve helping me with their big boy muscles. I started unpacking and getting settled, all while trying to pretend that the giant pain in my back and side wasn't really as bad as I thought. I thought moving and being distracted would help take my mind off the pain, and so I went with Alex while he signed a lease for the apartment he and his wonderful fiance Rebecca are moving in to, after their wedding, and then I went to a Halloween party where I got to see camp friends, Alex, Steve, Seth, Olivia, Rebecca, and Jared. I guess I dont have to refer to them as "camp friends" anymore, since I get to see them a couple times a week now! We played games and talked, and had a great time hanging out... except that the pain was getting worse. Kidney stones are terrible and I've had them enough that I knew that's what was going on... but I didn't want to bother anyone by asking them to take me to the hospital. Dumb, I know.

My friend Kaylyn skyped me (video chat) at like 1 in the morning and found a hot mess Molly, and then she called our friend Alex (FROM FLORIDA), and told him what was up, and next thing I know there's a boy at my door at 1:30 to take me to the emergency room. Alex was a great hospital buddy... he made me laugh, and let me cry.. AND I mean, Alex and I were close before this trip, but I think his presence next to me while the doctors asked me all those awkward questions has taken our friendship to a whole new level. haha! We're about as close as 2 friends should be without being siblings. I was so grateful he was there. Now, I should probably make some more girl friends in Chattanooga, so that the next time I have an emergency, I have more than 1 or two people to call. :)

Today, Alex, on hardly any sleep at all, had to go to the UTC football game to be the creepy voice from Michael Jackson's Thriller for the marching band, and so I went to the game (still slightly drugged, and super tired) to support him. It was fun to spend time with him, and Rebecca and Drew and his girlfriend Addie... even though I could have been mistaken for one of the zombies in Thriller. :) Then tonight I stopped by my church for Trunk or Treat. we had a great showing from the community, and I loved seeing all the costumes people wore. It was good, but now I'm obviously really tired and hurting. I didn't do anything too crazy today, and I'm glad I got to support Alex... but it will be good to hit my pillow tonight for sure!

Today I'm grateful that the Lord has me in a place where I'm surrounded by wonderful friends, and humbled by how much they care about me. AND I'm glad I didn't die from my kidney stone like I thought I was going to around 2am! Despite the fuzzy medicine head I've got going on, today, post-ER visit has been good. I'm blessed for sure.

I started moving in to my apartment today. Tomorrow, hopefully my homie Alex is going to have some time to help me with a few heavier things, and I'll be able to sleep there tomorrow night. I'll be on an air mattress until my parents can come in town next week with my comfy bed. Oh how I've missed it, and uh, of course my parents too.

This weekend I'm being forced :) to play paintball for the first time ever. I'm trying to get out of it, mostly because I'm afraid it's going to hurt like crazy. I'm being a chicken. It's all boys that have signed up so far. I'm going to get killed by a bunch of high school and middle school boys. That doesn't sound awesome AT ALL.

Assuming I survive paintball, I'm going to my first UTC football game because Alex is the creepy voice from MJ's Thriller for the 1/2 time show. I'm excited to go and support my friend, and spend time at the game with people I love. It should be fun.

THEN, I'll head over to the church for Trunk or Treat, which sounds like it's a pretty big deal around here. I can't wait to see all the costumes our students are sporting.

It's going to be a fun, but packed weekend.

A few random bullet points:

*I hate to say it, but my country music collection has grown a lot since moving to Chattanooga.

* I unfortunately actually really like Taylor Swift's new CD. I tried not to.

* Shane and Shane put out a new album last week. They cover a couple other people's stuff, and it seems more like a side project than one of their real CDs, but its still good.

* I'm glad I have a job to support my music and reading habit.

*Becca sent me two very cute pictures of Noah and Chloe yesterday, and it made my day.

*Chattanooga in the Fall is a beautiful place on the planet.. come visit before all the leaves fall off the trees and its cold as all get out here.

See you soon??

Chick-fil-a and Colossians

This summer, our staff went to Chick-fil-a on one of our days off. It was crowded and the creepy CFA Cow was running around trying to shake everyone's hand. The place was crazy even before a big group of twenty somethings busted through the doors, looking forward to lunching on some Christian chicken. As we sat down to eat, and all kinds of crazy conversations were going on amongst our group, a friend of mine on staff began to share with me what he had read in Colossians 1 that morning. I hadn't read Colossians 1 in awhile, and being as sleep deprived as I was, I couldn't really remember what it said. So, I pulled my Bible out of my purse, and began to read it, right in the middle of the restaurant. My friend actually laughed at me as he watched my expression change as I read further and further into the passage. It's packed full of goodness! Since camp, I've gone back to that chapter more times than I can count, to try and break down the chapter to really try and grasp the depth of the theology Paul was throwing at the Colossian Church.

Here are a few little Chick fil a nuggets...

v 15- He is the image of the invisible God Jesus isn't some cheap imitation or copy, but "the illumination of God's inner core and essence."

v 16 He is the agent of creation, the sustainer, and the goal of creation. There will be a day when the whole created universe will glorify Christ. The whole universe!

v 24 When believers suffer, Christ also suffers because He dwells in us, and in that, our sufferings should lead us to fellowship with Him.

I guess I take from Colossians 1, that a correct understanding of the fullness of who Christ is, allows me to start to grasp who He is in me. Correct understanding is foundational to correct behavior. If I'm to live as one redeemed, reconciled to God, I have to really begin to understand who He is, and what He has done. Obviously, it's from that understanding that moral living flows. I get challenged every time I read Colossians 1, because it doesn't make me search for how to fix myself or to be a better person, but instead points to the One that makes it possible, from whom everything flows.

When you're transfixed on the glory of Jesus Christ, and the grace that His death and resurrection flows down upon us, suddenly your inadequacies begin to fade. It becomes less about who we are not, and more about who Christ is.

When Paul wrote Colossians, he was fighting against the false teachers who were leading people astray... and today I'm fighting against the false teachings of the world and the lies Satan throws at me. To trade in a self centered life for a more God-centered one is the desire of my heart... to die to myself, to my sin is a constant battle, but thankfully because of the cross, His glory is continually illuminated above all.

Hmm.. now I'm craving some sweet tea and a chick-fil-a sandwich!

This weekend was a good one... On Friday I had lunch with a girl who just moved here to be the middle school and girls minister for a student ministry in the area. She's a couple years older than me, but not many, and is like me, in that she doesn't know many people. We had a really good time talking about our time in Texas for seminary (she went to southwestern) and about the adjustments to a new place. It was really good, and an answered prayer for sure. There are a couple more girls I'm hoping to connect with who are in ministry here in town. I think it will be good have some people who are kind of in the same place as me in life.

Friday night I hungout with Alex and Steve and then went to Alex's older brother's house to watch a movie with them all. We watched "Predator" or something like that. Uh, gross. First of all I don't do the whole being chased in the jungle thing. I don't like it when things jump out at you. AND NOW, thanks to that movie, I don't do giant slobbering dread locked aliens who bleed neon green. I accidentally screamed at one point, which was a bad idea. I think SteveO wished he had sat next to someone else. I tried to be hardcore, but it wasn't happening.

Saturday morning I had brunch with a great friend from high school. She was 1 of the 4 of us that made up "jack's chix," the goofy name we called ourselves. It's been awhile since I've gotten to spend time with her, so it was great to catch up. THEN after that, I went back to my house and slept almost all day. I havent been feeling well, and it was exactly what I probably needed. That night I did my duty as a new Tennessean and went to Seth's to watch the UT game. uh, too bad they lost, but I was glad I got to spend time with my friend.

Yesterday, with the students went well too. In all it was a good weekend, even though I thought a kidney stone might kill me yesterday. I was hardcore. I went and hungout with the band boys after I got done at church last night, and maybe I just laughed enough to show my kidney who was boss? Im feeling much better today... although a little like I just emerged from a drug induced coma. :)

Apartment

So, as I kind of mentioned, last week was a rough week. One of the things that caused my coping skills to be non-existent, was the search for an apartment. The place I really wanted to live, even if it was kind of expensive, ended up giving the apartment they told me about to someone else, and then they were really rude and made me cry, blah blah blah. I knew I was going out of town this past weekend, I knew that I needed to be out of the church's house by the end of the month, so I was running out of time. So I got online, wrote down some numbers, called to check availability, and then got in my car and drove. I put a deposit down on an apartment that was nice enough, but still I wasn't excited about it at all. I called my mom on the way back to work and cried.

Remember, coping skills were gone.

I was tired.

I was worried about money and where I would live.

I was beginning to feel lonely and homesick.

Coping skills- gone.

BUT this weekend, one of Laura's bridesmaids, Courtney and I were able to talk. She's from Chattanooga but recently moved to Georgia. She was so encouraging, as she told me about different girls my age in town that she wanted me to meet, so I'd have community, AND THEN she told me her old roommate was still looking for someone to take over Courtney's place in the apartment.

The apartment is further away from work, but hello, living in Northern Virginia, anything under 3o minutes is nothing. BUT on the plus side, its closer to all my friends from camp. It's in a MUCH nicer complex, in a much nicer part of town, and I'd have a roommate, so my rent will be at least a hundred bucks less, and I wont be alone all the time.

PRAISE THE LORD!

I talked to this girl yesterday. Her name is Bethany, and she sounds really nice. The other apartment complex is refunding my deposit. And I'll move in sometime next week... which means my mom is coming down with my bed and some of my other stuff, and I'll get to see her. I'm so relieved that all this is working out. I was starting to freak out about all this.

Yesterday, was a good day.

God Knows..

He knows better than we do, the things we need and what we’re going through, or about to go through. He knows when we’re struggling, or when tough things lie ahead. God is sovereign, and in the craziness of life, somehow I forget that He welcomes us to rest in that.

On Thursday, I left Chattanooga and headed for Nashville. I was having a terrible week, and the night before had been especially difficult, as I found out some news that I just wasn’t quite prepared for. God knew… He knew that last week would be difficult, and that I would be struggling, and so even before I moved down here, He set this weekend aside for me.

I went to Nashville to see friends from camp, and to celebrate the marriage of my closest friend from seminary, Laura. So many people, that I just love so much, all in the same place… I didn’t have time to be sad, or to think about the last week I’d just endured. I was just way too happy to think about sad stuff.

Thursday, I met my friends Dinah and Lysney downtown in Nashville for dinner, and were joined by our friend Becky and a few of their friends. Dinah, Lynsey, Becky, and I all worked Fuge out in Glorieta, NM in 2008. I hadn’t seen them in at least a year and a half, and it was such a sweet reunion! Dinah and Lynsey are two of my favorite people on the planet, and Becky was my prayer partner all that summer… these are special ladies indeed. After dinner, we went to our friend Eric’s (who also worked Glorieta with us) church softball game and had another sweet reunion.

Dinah and me, freezing at the game!

The next day, Lynsey, Dinah, their friend Annie, Becky and I went to downtown Franklin for lunch. What a cute place that is! Franklin is a very picturesque little town, and I loved it. Carrie (who worked Glorieta with me in 08, and at Carson Newman ’10) and Candace (Carson Newman ’10) met up with us for lunch as well. More sweet camp reunions! We ate lunch and shopped and just enjoyed laughing and catching up. It was a lot of fun.

That night, I headed to my friend Laura’s bachelorette party, and got to spend time with her, and our friend Emily from seminary, who I haven’t seen in a few months. I’ve shared on here before, the girls from my time in Dallas will always hold such a special place in my heart for the role they played in my life while I was there for school… Laura and Emily are wonderful friends, and I’m so grateful I got to be there, and to spend time with them both.

Treb, Laura, and me the night before Laura's wedding!

Saturday, was the wedding, which was absolutely beautiful. Totally Laura and Nathan. One of those weddings where you’re just so happy you could burst. My friend looked breathtakingly stunning, and the happiness on both their faces was evident to everyone in attendance. It was a beautiful ceremony.

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Magness!

Lastly, to cap off the weekend, after the reception, I headed over to a house where our friend Eric was house sitting, and hungout with a big group of friends. In all, I got to spend time with people from 3 of my 6 summers working. It was so much fun, and I loved every minute of it. Those friendships are special to me, and it’s always good to reconnect and catch one another up on where we’ve been since we last saw eachother. It was a happy day.

The whole weekend I kept thanking the Lord for getting me out of town, and reminding me over and over again of all I have to be thankful for. It was a great weekend.

Carrie, Candace, and me

Carson Newman 2010

Eric, me, Dinah, Carrie, and Lynsey (Becky had left already)

Glorieta 2008!

Winders, MeLissa, and me

North Greenville 2007!

MeLissa and Erin... these girls make me laugh, always.

What are YOU Reading??

Hey friends! So, many of you might know that I'm an avid reader and music lover. My love for reading has come in handy the last few weeks as my temporary living situation is without both television AND the internet. I've got a lot of free time on my hands once I'm home from work. :)

It's not too bad though, because I've read some really great books and listened to some incredible new albums..

Books:

*I just finished Beth Moore's book, "So Long Insecurity," and surprisingly really enjoyed it. I'm not usually a huge Beth Moore fan, but this book spoke some truth in to my life that I needed to hear.

*I also just finished Nicholas Sparks' most recent book "Safe Haven." I love Nicholas Sparks books, and this one was pretty good. Kind of scary though!!

*I'm in the middle of David Platt's book "Radical." Maybe I'm rebelling against the hype, but I'm struggling to get through it.

*I'm also about to start Steven Furtick's new book "Sun Stand Still- What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible." I'm excited about it.

What about you? What are you reading, to keep that brain of yours engaged??

Music

*Charlie Hall's new CD The Rising isn't my favorite, but it's still good. He's so stinkin honest in his writing. I love it!

*Matthew West... the dude shut himself in a cabin for a couple weeks and read peoples' stories they emailed him. His new album is made up of songs he wrote after reading the things his fans have been through. The Story of Your Life is a great album.

*Lecrae just dropped an new album called Rehab and it's great! Definitely check that mess out!

*Hillsong.. I've been listening to some older albums, and am reminded with every song just how powerful their worship ministry really is.

What are you listening to these days??

Afghanistan Schmanistan

Found out today that Jess is leaving for Afghanistan on Friday.

This isn't a surprise, it's just lame that we're here again, and I've got to say goodbye to one of my best friends as she heads off for deployment. A whole year... I guess it's better than the year and a half she was in Iraq, and I'm so grateful that she'll have her husband Rick with her this time around too.

Praying that the Lord would keep her and Rick in His protective hands, and that when Jessica feels homesick, or if she finds herself in a particularly scary situation, that the peace of God would overwhelm her. Praying that he would use her to love others and to share Christ's love in an incredibly dark place... that the soldiers she leads and the people she encounters would know that there's something different about her because of how they see Christ at work in her and through her. I'm praying that this time passes quickly... so quickly, and that Jess is home safe and sound before we know it.

How sad.

But I'm so proud of her courage and determination to do the things she's called to do.

However, I sure am going to miss her, and worry about her while she's gone.

Sudan on the Brain

This morning I woke up with Sudan on my mind. I must have dreamt about the orphanage, although the details of the dream are alluding me. It’s probably for the better, because I know that if I had dreamt that I was holding baby Hannah, or laughing with Miriam or Sarah Lilly, while little Mary stood quietly by my side, I probably would have cried as soon as I awakened in to the reality that was my freezing cold bedroom.

When I was in Sudan in November, I remember walking across the grounds of the compound, taking a deep breath, and thinking, “Never forget what this place feels like, Molly.” It’s funny how quickly a moment like that passes, and eventually the memory of it really begins to fade, only to be recalled occasionally. Feelings are so fleeting sometimes.

I loved the simplicity of that place. What people who have much, look on others with pity, I saw the Harvesters compound as a place where I felt freedom. Here, sitting at my desk, laptop in front of me, office phone and cell phone by my hand, packed calendar open, ipod, books, my Bible… all reminding me that life is crazy, and somehow people and relationships can get lost in the mix of it. I get lost in the mix of it.

I wonder how hot it is in Yei today. I wonder if the kids played soccer today after they got out of class, or if the ceiling that I helped install in the teachers’ dorm and library has leaked much in the past year. I wonder if they remember Mary and are excited about her returning in November. I wonder what songs filled the air as they sang during their morning devotions. I wonder if they’re continuing to heal from the scars and memories of their pasts, and if they’re feeling the prayers of those of us who were touched by them, and think of them often.

Sudan is on my mind today, and close to my heart. Praying that those beautiful children are feeling the love and presence of God today.

UTC's Fall Retreat

Thank you to those of you who prayed for me and the guys in the Seth Medley Band this weekend as we led worship for UT Chattanooga's Campus Crusade Fall Retreat. What a huge blessing it was to be a part of their weekend! There were close to 200 students there this year, which is apparently more than double what they had last fall. The Lord is doing incredible things here on UTC's campus, and it's exciting to see the students excited about it.

The room we had worship in was packed. I was worried that we (the band) would be too loud, but all those bodies and voices absorbed the sound no problem. It was nearly impossible to hear Seth singing or the instruments playing because these students were singing their hearts out. The lights were off during most sessions, leaving the only light in the room coming from the projector. I liked it because it meant that the band was pretty much in the dark, and the screen lit the room up just enough for us to be able to see the gathering of Believers we were blessed to be leading. I could see their faces, hear their voices, and it was easy to just worship WITH them. Again, whenever I sing Hosanna over an age specific group, it's hard not to get choked up. To sing and pray over them, "I see a generation rising up to take their place, with selfless faith. I see a near revival, stirring as we pray and seek, we're on our knees. Heal my heart and make it clean. Open up my eyes to the things unseen, show me how to love like You have loved me. Break my heart for what breaks Yours, everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause, as I walk from earth in to, eternity." Oh goodness, it gets me every time. Do they even realize the potential the Lord has placed in each one of them?

It was a good weekend.

Well, minus the fact that I was in a cabin full of 19 and 20 year old girls that like to play pranks on their guy friends.. and their guy friends are intense at retaliating. Lots of screaming. Little sleeping. I'm too old for that mess, for sure! Thankfully, the guys and I had to work at our churches Sunday morning, so we only stayed Friday night. 1 night, in a cabin of college students was PLENTY for me. :)