Thankful for my dad :)

First of all, I should also be thankful for forgiveness. I never realized how busy I would be and apparently a blog every day was a little too much for me to handle. However, I wanted to share with the blogging world just how awesome my father is.

He’s the guy that I love running errands around town with because everywhere we go, we run across someone who wants to chat or just say hello. Everyone knows him and everyone wants that communication with him. If all any outsider saw of my dad was the way other people treat him, they would see the respect people gave him and see a tidbit of his good character. Even those who don’t “know” my dad are able to see a glimpse of Godly personality.

He’s the guy with the best one liners that can make me burst into giggles, even when I’m in one of my moods. He has a sense of humor like no other and can always bring a smile to your face. It’s a shame so much of his humor is wasted on 7^th graders who don’t appreciate it :)

He’s the guy who has set such high expectations in any husband or future husband for my sisters and me. We want a husband like him who is steadfast in his faith and looks at my mother every time as if it were the first. His love pours out onto others.

He’s the guy who helps show me what fatherly love truly means. I know I could never possibly fathom our heavenly Father’s love for us, but if I had to pick an example, I can confidently say that I imagine it being how my dad loves me. Not a day goes by where I haven’t been abundantly provided for or where I don’t feel loved. My dad has been that rock for me and my family.  

I had a friend just today tell me that she couldn’t imagine how anybody could not want to be a part of this family. According to her, this is what people dream of. And honestly, I couldn’t agree more.

I love you daddy and couldn’t be more grateful for all you do for me. You have been my teacher, counselor, Webster, preacher, banker, cheerleader, tear wiper and so much more. I can’t wait until I’m able to see again. I love you :)

Thankful for Hannah!!

Today, my sweet sweet sister turned 20 years old. That's two whole decades people! It's kind of a big deal. It's so amazing to me to see how God has already begun to shape her into a woman of His own image. She has showered her love and compassion on me and always willing to lend an open ear and give an honest opinion. She's been there for me through some hard times and it's so evident to me why God has placed her in my life. God continues to radiate through her words, actions, and lifestyle. I'm so blessed to not only be able to call her my sister, but my best friend. 

She is attending Baylor University to become a high school teacher/basketball coach and has already begun to work in nearby schools. It warms my heart to hear her talk about what she experiences there. She has such a passion for teaching and the kids that most adults would just overlook. She loves every single student and has the highest hopes for them all. God is definitely going to use her to touch the lives of soooo many students. 

And with all of these remarkable qualities, this girl is still able to have some fun. I have some of the fondest memories with Hannah and they include but are definitely not limited to the following:

• country music and cowboy boots
• teaching Rebekah to dance :)
• road trips to Longview
• fireworks in downtown waco
• taco bell in movie theaters
• Cinnamon Spice Apple Delight P.J. Junior Beaudreaux Sheila Blanton
• early morning bible studies w/coffee
• space jam :)
• hopscotch and coloring
• Evey the Chevy
• our fish noises 
• baking in our aprons
• long walks at night, planning our future housing
• sharing a twin bed, just cause we felt like it
• Andy Davis concert :)
• Starbucks and CG

I could keep the list going forever, but what excites me the most is that I still have a lifetime to create some of the greatest memories with you. I love you Hannah. Continue to be the fearful, wonderful Woman of God that you have demonstrated thus far in your life. I love you nana. Happy birthday :)

"You're my best friend. Let's hold hands."

Thankful for hymns :)

Tonight I went to a regular wednesday night church service and it was awesome as usual. We always sing praise music then have a lesson. It always warms my heart though when they throw in a hymn or two with our contemporary music. Some of the lines that come from them are just breathtaking. I could sit and listen all day to someone on the piano or strumming on the guitar, just singing old hymns to God. It is truly beautiful. Tonight we sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness". Probably my favorite line from this one is "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!". 

Let's play a game :)

Maybe you know some of the hymns from which my favorite lines come from...

Let courage rise with danger

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always

streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise

In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief

Watching and waiting, looking above,Filled with His goodness, lost in His love


I would love to hear what some of your favorite hymns are! I hope you enjoy and your day is filled with singing praises to our God! 

Thankful for creativity!

This morning started out hard. I stayed up WAY too late last night trying to register for classes (which was a major fail btw) and woke up to freezing temperatures here in Lubbock, America. Normally, I'm a big fan of cold weather, but I forgot to put on socks last night and cold feet is just a pet peeve of mine. Anyways, I bundled up in my new coat from mom and the scarf that my sweet sister lent me and headed off to my early class, with coffee in hand :)

I get to class and we were required to spend the entire time revising our papers. That was pretty nice though, since I haven't allotted much time to it. However, it was just one of those mornings where revising a paper wasn't on the top of my list.

So, my wonderful professor suggested for us to do the "Frankenstein technique". We started out by cutting out the thesis statement and all the topic sentences in our paper and taping them down to new paper. Then, we cut out all the other sentences. After having each and every little sentence cut out, we would look at it and see if and how it related to our thesis. If it didn't, we shot it in the trash can. And if it did, we chose a topic sentence for it to go under.

As you could guess, the organization of my paper has changed greatly. Sentences were thrown away or put into entirely new spots and actually improved this paper dramatically. It was just so cute, though, seeing all these college kids spread out with their scissors and tape, working diligently to finish this assignment. I have never had as much fun revising a paper and it actually helping. It was an awesome start to my day.

I think this strategy, though, is applicable to more than just my analysis. Let's play pretend for a second.

Let's say life is a paper. What's your thesis and topic sentences? Let's say my "paper" is focused around God's love for His people and that's what my thesis is. Well I want every single one of my "sentences" throughout the day to relate back to that. All the small things that happen throughout the day can be my sentences and I have the ability to choose whether or not those things reflect God's love. If they don't, I should just throw em away.

I make new paragraphs every day. But once this life is over, my paper will be complete. I pray that when God grades it, He sees an "A". Maybe one sentence doesn't seem important to you, but you can't have a paper without them. I hope you are able to cherish the small things today. And I don't know, maybe you can get creative too :)

Thankful for my mom!

I know I haven't posted like I said I would, but this weekend has been slightly hectic. I traveled back home so I could be able to tell my sweet mother happy birthday! Needless to say, my schedule was kept plenty busy and blogging wasn't a priority. I wish I could share all the wonderful things I experienced and maybe shortly I will, but for today, I want to tell you about my mother. 

People have stereotypes. Not always a good thing, but they are there nonetheless. Whats a stereotype for a mom? Well if you don't have a clear picture in your head, go ahead and picture mine. I'm rather certain that she is the mere depiction of an idyllic mother. Sure, she does the routine stuff. Bake cookies and cupcakes, send me home with sweet tea and quarters for laundry, soothe the stress, and help stop the tears. That by itself is enough to make her beyond amazing.

But God didn't stop there. Not only is she constantly giving and loving on others, but she is a fearful, woman of God. Every morning I could find her sitting at the table, praying over her family. Every day. Not a day passed that I haven't been prayed over. She's led several bible studies with me and my sisters, including one over Proverbs 31. How to be a virtuous woman. She strives daily to be that woman and encourages her daughters to be the same. What a blessing!

I feel so blessed to have my mom. To have in her a best friend, a comforter, a peace maker, a culinary artist, a role model, a Godly example. The list could continue forever. I love you mom and am SO thankful I was able to spend your birthday with you. I love you and can't wait to see you again. I hope you realize the positive impact you have had on me. I LOVE YOU!! :)

Thankful for our Veterans!!!

 My Grandpa :)

Served from 1961-1965

My friend William

(On the right)

In Afghanistan

Today I am thankful for ALL of our troops who serve our country. Both past and present. It amazes me how easily I allow my emotions to erupt when speaking of our military. It's just one of those subjects, ya know? I'm so blessed to live in the country that I do and I'm so proud of these men and women. Especially my grandfather and very good friend, Will. My grandpa served from 61-65, I believe. It's always interesting to sit around and listen to stories :) My friend Will just last month got back from his first deployment in Afghanistan. I haven't seen him yet and won't until Christmas, but I'm so glad he's back safe!

I can't say thank you enough for all that you do. 

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13

Thankful for bible studies!

My friend Flor invited me to go to her bible study this week and I took her up on that offer. It was one that I hadn't attended before so I was excited but also slightly skeptical. Trying new things can be an issue for me sometimes :/

It was an all girl bible study and it was over being a "Heroic Woman". Unfortunately, tonight was the last night of the series and they decided to just share their thoughts on the book. However, just hearing how the study affected them really touched me. They had all come away with different perspectives and God helped them all in different ways.

It was one of those things that I wish I had been a part of from the beginning but I feel so blessed that God let me in on a small tidbit of His works in these ladies.

It was definitely a good night :)

Thankful for blogs

Today I am thankful for blogs. It is such a convenient way for me to keep up with my family members but also fellow believers. It is always such a blessing to see how God is working in people and their lives. Blogging helps me to be able to see God's work more evidently and I just love that. Know how much of an encouragement your blogs are to me!

Thankful for Praise Music

Unfortunately, this post is not going to get the full credit that it's due because of the lack of time I have. But today was just one of those days where I made the choice to let the small things get to me. Not okay.

My dear sister Hannah, however, gave me a song by the group Hillsong United to listen to. Listening to this song immediately lifted my spirits. It amazes me how songs of worship to our King can be such a quick, powerful way to our hearts. Music just seeps right down into our soul and when we listen to positive and uplifting music, you just can't help but bear a smile.

I encourage you all to fill your days with singing music to our King. It's an encouraging way to show us just how blessed we are :)

Thankful for Rebekah :)

I am so blessed with the sisters and brothers that God has given me. It's the truth when I say they are my best friends in the world and nothing will ever change that. They know be better than anyone and continue to pour their love on me every chance they get. But today, I want to share with you things about my sister Rebekah. 

Rebekah has more patience than anyone I know. She will take beating after beating from people and yet she still can't help but see the good in them. What used to anger me about her, I now admire. Oh how I wish I could love the ones who hurt me more easily. And if that's hard for her, nobody would ever know. 

I love how she always has an answer. I call her up with a problem and she gives me lists of solutions (not that I ever have to look past the first one). Maybe it's experience, but she always knows what to say to put a smile on my face.

She has a way of drawing people in. People who meet her for the first time walk away with more confidence because of the love she gives. She invests time in them and asks questions. Gets to know them. She never makes one feel as if they don't belong or fit in. She loves everyone. No exception.

She, along with the help of her loving husband, are raising two of the most precious children I have ever spent time with. You can see her love through her children. She radiates through them.

It wouldn't be unusual to get a random call from her one night, just to see how I'm doing or how that test went. She cares for me sooo much as I do for her. 

Rebekah, I could write for hours on how much you mean to me. I love you so much. Thanks for being such an encourager and giving me such an inspiring example to look up to. I love you sweet girl :)

Pics from last night!

 The final score :)

 Some of the people who rushed the field

 the football player who directed us (#57)

 Our Drum Majors :)

 Gettin his guns up!

 Raider Red at the bonfire!

and of course the masked rider :)

Thankful for TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL!!!

Yes, I know this is cheesy and predictable but I just have to rep my school spirit. Tonight, we beat Mizzou. Yes, a ranked team. I have never been so pumped for football. It was a great game but the best part was right when the timer hit 0:00

The entire stands flooded onto the field with all the players and they shared in the triumph. Mosh pits were going, a football player took our directors spot to direct Goin Band, and "Strive for Honor, Evermore. Long Live the Matador" was sung louder than I have ever heard. There was a massive celebration going on. The crowd was pumped. The players were pumped. It was just one of those moments.

Now of course, this led me to think of our time with God. After this great life we serve on earth is over, and our timer reaches 0:00, thats when the party really starts. Can you even begin to imagine what this "Jesus Party" is going to be like? Tech football can't touch that. Ah I'm just so excited!

And excuses are lame, I get that. But, Goin Band has kept me up since 6 this morning so my thoughts are a little off. So this is short and not very elaborate. So let's get some sleep and praise God for the glimpses of celebrating that He provides for us :) I don't think that even makes sense in writing like it did in my head. hmm. Well goodnight!!!

Thankful for Tamar

I feel like I should give warning to whoever may be reading this, but this particular blog is more personal than my others thus far. I was skeptical about writing on this subject, not knowing the reaction it may cause, but it is what God has laid on my heart today and I feel like it is what I need to share.

Recently I have been reading about Tamar from the bible. She was a Canaanite woman that ended up marrying, against her will, the eldest son of Judah, Er. Er was what most considered a despicable man and after his sudden death, custom decided that she would be passed down to Judah's second son, Onan. After he, too, died suddenly, Judah wasn't as willing to give her to his third and last son, Shelah. 

The story of Tamar is fascinating and I would highly recommend any and all to read her trying testimony. From where I left off, her story continues to decline to the lowest parts of her life and also triumphs in the glorious moments in her life. But here's what gets me about her story....

She wasn't brought up to praise the God of Judah, the God of Jacob. She had heard stories, though, of this God who "had turned Sodom and Gomorrah to rubble beneath a storm of fire and brimstone." She constantly wandered why the Canaanite people worshiped gods made of clay. She never feared these gods. She feared our God. 

Tamar never wanted into these marriages with the sons of Judah. She was beaten, abused, mocked, ridiculed, cursed, and so much more, yet she always had hope for what she did not know. I can't even begin to imagine what she went through. But her faith amazes me. It didn't take much for her to have faith in our God and once she made that commitment, she never looked back.

I know you may think I'm going to talk about faith and to a degree, I am. But lately, a topic on my mind has been relationships.

Here at school, it seems like everyone has a significant other and for a girl being so far away from home, that concept sounds really nice. It's hard sometimes to view other people being so seemingly happy with their relationships. One thing that this story of Tamar has taught me is that God is in all of our relationships. God knew what He was doing when He allowed Tamar to marry Er, Onan, and eventually Judah. He had a purpose, He had a plan and through all of her trials, she kept faith in our loving God. 

I know I don't have it bad. I'm blessed beyond measure. But this story helps remind me that God has a plan for my relationship status and it's not something that should be concerning my thoughts. I will continue to have faith in God, no matter where he leads me. If Tamar can deal with the beating, the abuse, the pain, and the hurt in her relationships and continually have faith in God, then I certainly can too. I am where I am right now because thats where God wants me. 

I'm so thankful for Tamar and people like her who are able to teach me so much about living through their own testimonies. No matter your status right now, have faith that God will pull you through it. He always does :)

Thankful for Coloring!!

This blog just makes me so excited! What greater way to end your day than with letting your imagination spill onto a  blank page and making it come to life?? You make a beautiful creation out of nothing. Ever wonder if thats how God felt when creating the world and each and every one of you? Making something so blan into something so wonderful. It's a pretty awesome feeling. If you haven't colored in a while, I would highly suggest you picking up on that little hobby. It's ALWAYS a stress reliever for me and maybe it will be for you too. 

I have this crayon (that my mommy framed all nice for me) that sits right by my computer on my desk. I see it every time I sit down. It carries a lot of significance to me. I heard a devotion that was kinda over coloring one time. How perfect for me, eh? But the speaker spoke of how we colored in kindergarten. How when given a picture, the biggest concern on our mind was staying inside the lines. Which for a 5 year old, thats pretty hard to do. Especially when they always give you these big, fat crayons. Rude. 

Anyways, compare that to any renown artist. They have a blank canvas and the last thing on their mind is containing their work to the confines of lines. 

It says in Romans 12:2 to not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 

We weren't meant to be contained in the comfort zone of the lines drawn out for us. We are meant to be transformed. When we let God transform us and we break out of those conformities is when we become the art God see's in us. We are God's masterpiece. So try coloring outside of the lines sometimes too. God and the rest of the world will see the beauty in that :) 

Thankful for Band :)

This blog was tweaked. I originally typed "Thankful for Muscle Relaxers" but refrained from doing so, hoping to not offend my dear family member who has recently abandoned the use of most medicine. So I will refrain from telling just how much they are already relieving the somewhat unbearable pain lurking in most of my body from yesterdays activities. I just won't do it. So...


I'm thankful for band. Yes, I'm aware that most people refer to me as a nerd but it's why you all love me so read anyways :) 


Music has always been a huge part of my life. A year ago today, I was traveling home from my final State Marching Band competition with the Clifton High School Band. That could be a blog itself. Currently though, I find myself a member of the Goin' Band from Raiderland. Aside from marching, I've also been involved in countless other music programs that will rename unlisted due to the fact that I'm tired and nobody wants to read that anyways. 


I have have been able to go to all kinds of crazy places and meet tons of exciting people due to these programs. I have made the best of friends and made countless memories. I have acquired a passion for music and the role it can play in entertainment, worship, ministry and SO much more. It just kinda rocks. 


I will never forget the time a very respected friend of mine told me, "I haven't been the same since the day I realized that I could use my passion, my music, to serve my greatest passion, my God." It changed his life forever and now everytime he directs, plays, composes, whatever, he uses that for God's glory. Legit. I know. 


Psalm 27:6
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.


Yes, I am so thankful for band :)

Thankful for the Lubbock Police Department

So today was a new experience for me. I was in what some people would refer to as a wreck. Personally though, when I think "wreck", I think smoke, fire, blood. Ya know, the dramatic stuff. But lemme tell you about today...

I was driving down 19th street (a very busy one for those who don't know Lubbock) and 2 cars ahead of me, a green jeep decides to make a u-turn while going about 40. I saw what the jeep was doing, as well as the truck ahead of me and behind me, so we were all able to react quickly. However, this was not the case for the 4th car behind all of us.

She was speeding and didn't see the jeep turning like the rest of us did. While we were able to react to the jeep, she could only react to the car right in front of her. Anyways, her little white car hit the big red truck in front of her, which in turned hit me, and I returned the favor by hitting the other big truck in front of me.

Now, out of all 4 cars and 5 people involved, only one car was totaled and there were no major injuries. PRAISE JESUS!!! This is where my thanks to the police department comes in. They arrived in no time and made sure I and everyone else was okay. They did their routine procedures and I was out in about 30 minutes. They made the process smooth and reassured my confidence. Which is nice, since my mommy and daddy weren't there to tell me it'd be okay.

I'm so glad they took care of me the way they did. They erased my fears and helped set me back on my feet. Sounds a lot like what God does for us, eh?? Anyways, thanks goes out to the police department today. Remember to buckle up kids :)

Thankful for Encouragement

So it's November. Finally. The month of thanksgiving. So (hopefully) every day, I will be giving you something that I am thankful for. Today, that is encouragement. I went on a prayer walk tonight, so my initial thought was I will post on being thankful for the power of prayer. However, too much happened tonight for me to be that detailed. So encouragement it is :)

While waiting on my partner to arrive for the prayer walk, I noticed in front of the library a station that read "Free Coffee". My sweet friend was working the station so I went to see what it was all about. They are a group called "Love Experiments" (or something similar) who go around doing nice things for people. Like tonight, served free coffee. They do several things like making goody baskets for sick students and things of that sort. I witnessed two men coming up for coffee and they asked one of the guys why they were doing this. His response was along the lines of they wanted to erase the images that some people have of Christians being hypocrites. They just wanted to love on people, even just with simple things like handing out coffee. How awesome is that?

I saw my friend arrive for the prayer walk and we began our journey through campus. I can't even explain the amount of comfort, joy, and peace that I felt. It has been too long since I've prayed for this campus and it was such an encouragement to me. The fact that I was so blessed by it, but also that I was able to lift up this school with a fellow believer. God continues to work. 

On this prayer walk, we had intended to go through Memorial Circle. Once we arrived, we noticed a group of students right in the middle. So we stopped and prayed together and once we did, I could hear this group singing songs of praise to our Lord. Again, I received such encouragement.

It's evident that this school is flowing with God's love. It used to be hard for me to believe, but God continues to give me encouragement. Just like He did tonight. I am so incredibly thankful for that.

That's my prayer for you all this month. And especially tonight. That you will be encouraged. Happy November 1st! 

A&M TRIP!!!

 They gave us fangs at 7 in the morning. What did you expect??

 The beautiful Flor and I

 The Corp Cadets. That went on for forever. Looked cool though

 Me with my loves, Paige and Kelli

My sweet, beautiful girls!!

This weekend, the Goin' Band traveled to Austin/College Station for the Tech/A&M football game. Oh wow. It was definitely an experience. A few highlights include but are not limited to the following:

• marching as an exhibition performance at a high school football game
• marching through the tailgating area of the A&M game to get to the stands (guarded by upperclassmen and leadership to protect us from the crowd)
• a total of 23 hours in a bus, mine was mainly boys, and mainly low brass. what fun. 
• Seeing one of our tuba players put an Aggie in a headlock until he dropped the merchandise he was attempting to steal (and yes, he did this with his tuba still on)
• Seeing a drum major tackle two Aggies who, again, tried stealing merchandise of the Goin' Band (he ended up with a bloody knee and ripped uniform)
• Seeing two of my very best friends
• Watching every scary movie possible on the bus rides (which I'm definitely not a fan of)
• Seeing a member of the Corp ARRESTED for trying to take one of the gaucho hats of the Goin' Band
• Making more inside jokes that should be possible to make

I know it seems like mainly bad stuff, but it sure made for an epic weekend. There was always something going on but the memories have been priceless. It was evident that God's light was always shining. Even in the darkness of College Station and 6th Street :) I'm very ready to get an intense amount of sleep tonight though :) 

Change Blindness

We were discussing the concept of "change blindness" in my psychology class recently. After having heard the lecture and watching several videos, I began thinking about the concept and how it affects me personally. I know, I think too much sometimes. But before I tell you my thoughts, I think you should watch the video below. I've never done this before and can't figure out how to post the actual video onto my page, so just follow the link :) and if/when that doesn't work, simply enter in "Change Blindness" into youtube and watch and follow instructions. So, here you go. And yes, watch the video even if you have a slow computer. No excuses on this one :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 

So... I'm assuming you have watched the video... if not, shame on you. Go watch it now.

For you obedient followers, I will begin my thoughts. Ahem... So after watching this, I felt slightly dumb because I fell into their trap perfectly and never even noticed the bear. After getting over this, I realized how this concept so often plays into my life.

How so you may ask? Well... on a day to day basis, I am often so focused on the small tasks at hand. Getting this paper done on time, updating my blog, getting my study group together. Just whatever. And at the end of the day, I look back and feel as if I missed the big picture.

I am in no way suggesting that these small things are not important because I know they are. However, I feel as if my purpose in this world is to be Christ and show His love to all. 

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.' " Mark 16:15

That's why I'm here. The small things are only whats helping me stay here. So if these small things are whats keeping my focusing, the big picture is slowly being pushed away. This is not okay with me. I want to see the big picture every day.

I know the passes are important, but when are the passes worth missing the bear? I want to see the bear. Every day. 

Trip to Clifton!!

 "Happiness is Lubbock in my rearview mirror" 

 I finally was able to see the band march!

 And I got to see my love, Kelli Anz!

 And of course, time with my sweet nana :)

I sure love her :)

So last weekend, I was able to go back and home and see my very missed family and friends. (yes, I know I'm late in posting, but thats what happens when college decides to give you midterms) Anyways, I was able to see friends in the band that I haven't seen since graduation! Crazy, huh?? And plus one of my all time best friends, Ms. Kelli Anz. I missed her so much! And of course, my awesome family! They spoiled me like crazy and I soaked up every minute of it :) I definitely cannot wait until I see them all again at Thanksgiving! 

Baking with Friends!

The finished product :)

                           Sara drizzling the brown sugar syrup on top!

                                            Mixing the batter

                        Pouring the batter over the pineapples and cherries

                                        


                    They made me take a pic. My mother would be proud :)




So yesterday on my Sunday afternoon, I got together with two of my friends to bake cupcakes. Sara loves to bake and has even taken some culinary classes back home, so she definitely had to help me and Paige out :) We made pineapple upside down cake (just in miniature, cupcake form) and drizzled them with this amazing brown sugar syrup. They were sooo good! So now we have considered baking new cupcakes every Sunday! We're preparing ourselves for cupcake wars :) 

Abide

No pictures this time so i'll attempt to make the words interesting :) I wanted to tell y'all about Abide. Abide is the college church service on Thursday nights that I attended last week and tonight. It's a part of Indiana Baptist church and their Sunday service is called Overflow which I have yet to attend but have plans to soon. And actually, funny story about Overflow that I don't feel I should publicly share, but ask me sometime and I'll tell you about it. Anyways... Abide is pretty different from any church service I have been to. The band that plays is the same one that was at Foundation (the church camp I went to before Tech for incoming freshmen) and I absolutely loved them. So it was nice to see them all when I walked in. Plus, they have this adorable bass player who is a girl. So that just kinda rocks. Anyways, one of my biggest complaints about other church services I have been to is that there are sooo many people. I'm surrounded by thousands of people I don't know everyday here at Tech. I want my church to be a place of comfort where I can have a close group of friends to have fellowship with. Abide has a pretty small congregation so that made me more comfortable from the beginning. Now here's the best part about that. We have worship in a big gym-like area, meaning there is LOTS of room. So while the band is playing, the people spread out to worship. Why is that so great you may ask. Well, when theres no one in a small radius around you, you're free to let God move in you physically. Your hands can go up and down and all around and you will be a distraction to anyone. It's just you and God. Plus, with that atmosphere, I can hear myself singing to God. I hear the words that come out of my mouth before Him and suddenly, these songs take on a whole new meaning. It is so personal. We pray where we are or if someones struggling, we pray over them. The amount of love in the room is unbelievable. It's hard to be in that room and not feel the presence of God in every breath you breathe. I love the worship and I look forward to Thursday's every day of the week. So there ya go :)