Give thanks

So I too decided to be cliche today and write a thankfulness blog. It's too hard to pass up - I have so much to be thankful for!!!
Something I've always been thankful for..Now, more than ever I think is it real to me...
JESUS CHRIST, the one who saved little old me when I was not even worth saving! He's been my Heavenly Father forever, but really since the age of 7 when I accepted him and life has never been the same! It's been quite an exciting ride thus far and I keep seeing Him more and more in my life!

Another thing I'm thankful for...
My fantastic and loving parents! I feel so incredibly thankful to have been born an only child. Some may say spoiled, but I say blessed! It's brought me a lot closer to my parents, and I've learned a lot from them! They've always been there for me through EVERYTHING and I wouldn't trade 'em.

Another thing...This amazing little band called HAWK NELSON and these amazing girls that I've met because of them. They've become some of my best friends and I honestly don't know where I'd be in life without them!! They have been so uplifting and such an encouragement to me through some wild and crazy times. And this band Hawk Nelson loves Jesus as much as I do and are probably some of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Not to mention their music is catchy and amazing and uplifting! Who cares if we see them "too much" or spend "too much" money on them? We're making lifetime memories and it's all worth it! =)

One thing that I'm definitely thankful for that is a dream come true...
Working as a student worker with UK Athletics! It's such an AMAZING opportunity...I kinda get chills standing on the floor of Rupp Arena or in the press box at Commonwealth Stadium sometimes when a game is about to start. I guess it's hard to describe when you haven't grown up being a UK fan but it's so cool! Thinking about the tradition of UK sports and how I'd watched these teams for so long on TV...And thinking about all the opportunities I'll hopefully have later on down the road...it's really exciting! There's a lot of options though so I'm really just praying for God to lead me in the right direction...

Finally, one more big overarching thing to be thankful for...My AMAZING friends and family!!! I have some of the most fantastic friends in the entire world! I guess everyone says that but I guess it's just because God picks out all the right friends for each particular person! They all fit my personality in different ways and add to my life and bless it in such a big way =) I'm so thankful for all of them!!!

On top of all these things..there's SO much more to be thankful for. I was just hitting the highlights...Just a few to name...A warm home, cute clothes, food on my table, great health, Starbucks, football, music, fun pretty girly things like jewelry and nice-smelling things, the opportunity for an education, a new car, etc. etc. etc....I could go on forever about everything I've been blessed with. But I won't..I don't want to bore or sound conceited..But really..Even though we all get down, God picks us back up and makes us remember what He has given us! I feel like I'm letting God down if I'm not thankful for what He's given me! So I challenge everyone to make a list of what they're thankful for and give all the praise to God! I'm so thankful for everyone readings this (at least all of you that I know who read this...). Happy Thanksgiving!!!

There will be a day

So I realized I hadn't blogged in awhile...and the last one was a bit of a downer. So I wanted to have a more positive blog :)

"There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face".

If you didn't know, that's lyrics to J.Camp's latest single! (New CD "Speaking Louder Than Before" out today!!) He is AMAZING. If you don't know his story (which I'm fairly sure most people reading this do)..BUT, just in case...A few years ago his young wife got cancer and they still got married anyway. Talk about a real life "A Walk to Remember" story! She passed on to heaven and he, surely, went through alot, dealing with the pain of that loss but with the joy of her passing as well. Since then, he has remarried and has one (maybe two? I forget..) beautiful children and a lovely wife. (Doesn't hurt that he's BEAUTIFUL, too!) Check him out:
Jeremy Camp - Take You Back

Anyway...the main point of this blog is...Isn't it awesome to think about that no matter how much pain, tears, fears, stress, death, loss, sin, backstabbing, misery, agony, and so on there is on this earth...One day that will all be wiped away and we'll be aloud to spend ETERNITY with the one who saved us and knows/sees all! Amazing? The word amazing barely scratches the surface! BREATHTAKING! AWEINPSIRING! I don't think any earthly word can describe how blessed we are to even be considered to be loved by Him. And we're loved unconditionally and the ultimate sacrifice (His life) was given for us. What did we do to deserve it? Nothing! Should we be ever grateful? Of course! Throughout all the pain, if someone like Jeremy Camp who has lost everything, only (with God's help) to rebuild it all, I should certainly be able to rejoice in all things.

I just can't wait for that blessed day...

This little light of mine

The events of the past week or so makes this song I've sung at church before come to mind...

" We're living in uncertain times
And more and more I find that i'm aware
Of just how fragile life can be"

That's just a small bit of a song by Avalon called "Everything to Me"..Old school Christian group..In fact, I probably couldn't tell you a single other thing they sang..But that one I think is definitely a good one.

Within 8 days time 3 people (2 of which I know of and have met) that are all around or at my age have died in separate car wrecks (well 2 in the same one, but anyway)...When they announced that some people from a Christian campus group I attended freshman year had died in a wreck my heart sank to the floor. I just prayed that it wasn't someone I knew..Even if it wasn't, however, it was going to be someone that some person out there DID know...And they were going to be lost for words on how to get through the next few days, week, months, maybe even years..I was heartbroken to find out it was in fact someone I knew of and that was very good friends with one of my dear friends.

First of all, they will probably never read this but my heart and prayers go out to those families and friends dealing with this right now...Though I believe a couple of these guys were Christians, it doesn't make it any less shocking or make the blow any less harsh for those left behind to pick up the pieces.

This second crash confirmed how I'd already been feeling all week..that life is too short and too temporary for us to just sit idly by and do just as much as we have to to get by. Tonight's sermon also compelled me as well...We need to want to keep doing more and more to bring people into the kingdom of Jesus. We have found Him, yes, that's AMAZING. But..that's just the beginning of the journey. If we love others, we want them to know the same unconditional love that we have found. The worst thing we can do is keep it to ourselves or as the children's song says "hide it under a bushel".

Life is also entirely to short to let little decisions and little difficulties in life bother us the way we sometimes let them. Especially I think when we're young, everything that happens seems like it's absolutely the end of the world and we will never recover from it. I'm sure that certainly isn't true...I'm striving more and more everyday to be more bold with my faith and stand up for what I feel is right. I also want to make amends with those I have fallen away from and at least attempt to bring those to Jesus that God has laid on my heart to do so...On the final judgment day, if we have done nothing to share the good news with people, I just have this feeling God's not going to be too happy with us. Instead, most of all, I want him to tell me "Well done, good and faithful servant". I want to be ushered into the kingdom of heaven for all eternity and I want every single one of my friends and family to be there with me..That has what I've been called to do. And I want to be bold and say yes to this challenge..I'm grabbing onto God's hand and holding on for the ride of my life.

Letter to the President

So yesterday was obviously a historic day in our country! We have a new president after 8 years of very mixed feelings and hopefully the next 4 (or 8) years will become a positive thing, even if some don't see it at this point!

It was my first time voting for president and it was truly very exciting for me!! (Not to mention, free starbucks and free krispy kreme for voting - not too bad!!) :) But I still feel like I made the right choice in my vote no matter what.

I'm proud of our democratic system, that we have the right to choose and that have made history! I don't think alot of people ever believed they'd see the day of the first African American president. I can only imagine what great men like Martin Luther King Jr. might think.

On the opposite side of the ticket...I was really impressed with John McCain in his concession speech! Many of his supporters booed at the sheer mention of President Obama's name and he told them not to do this, in respect for our new leader. That really took courage and I thought both speeches were very moving.

Most of all, he needs our prayers and I certainly will be praying for him! I can't imagine how difficult the decisions that come along with this high office would be and he needs nothing but prayer! I can't say how disappointed I have been in several people I used to respect...They have done nothing but bash the president-elect and I think this is a terrible witness! That is not going to shine Jesus' light to the world!

So whether you were crazy for McCain or partying like a Barack star, now that the election is over, let's try to forget party lines and remember that we're all Americans and that the American dream is one of the many things that fuels our freedom in this country. I, for one, am still very proud to be an American.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So I wanted to just write a few thoughts on the election..and yes this will probably be different than what most people write about when talking about the election and no I am not going to include who I'm voting for. I get on facebook and all the time, people make their status as who they're voting for or something slanderous about the opposing candidate. I just don't think it's going to help anything to put your opinion out there that boldly! It's just going to cause disagreements and harsh feelings and it can completely be avoided! It's very similar to the topic of religion..If someone asks me, sure, I could talk forever and ever about what God has done for me and how I would love for them to accept this as well but I'm NEVER EVER EVER going to push my beliefs upon someone who doesn't want to hear them or try to push them into something they don't want to do. After all, this is a big reason I feel like alot of people reject religion in the first place.

Secondly, and probably the most disturbing topic I wanted to address. Yesterday, most people have heard (considering it was broadcast all over the national news as well as local) about the effigy hanging on our very own campus here at UK. I didn't see it (thank God) but from what I hear, it was a likeness of Senator Obama hanging in a tree. Do things like this happen to past democratic candidates that are white? Not generally! I think the amount of racist feelings, especially surrounding this election, are sickening. Here's what was worse though. Another effigy of Obama was found hanging at another school here in the US, this time in Oregon..I guess this was a few weeks ago. Where was it? George Fox University, a school that the KY Kernel reports is a small CHRISTIAN school. Yep, that's right. That makes me sick! That's the type of witness some Christians want the world to see? Really? No wonder many people reject the name of Christ when this is the type of people and things supporting the idea. I actually saw this on a facebook bumper sticker once but it really had a great message. It was a quote by Ghandi that said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike Christ." That completely explains what I'm trying to say here. Alot of times, I wonder why Jesus even allows us to be the symbol of His name to the world. Because sometimes, we fail miserably. And some apparently don't even think about their witness at all. I'm not perfect by any standards, but I feel like I know enough about simple right and wrong to know that these acts are WRONG!

So, I know many people will probably disagree with me on this. There's ALOT of hate in our world today. And this just really gets me fired up so this might sound more harsh than I mean it to. But, I just feel like...No matter who you're going to vote for next week, can't we show simple signs of human kindness instead of resorting to savagery? As humans, we all deserve a kind of simple respect. And as Christians, we are called to something even higher. Will we respond to the calling?

I wanna be in the light

So this weekend was one of my favorite weekends I've had thus far in my 20 years on this earth (yeah, 20! Wow..still feels weird to say it..) Anyway, we had a fun girls (and Sarah's dad) day at the orchard and then carved Hawk pumpkins! The next day we saw Hawk and it was a total blast! (I don't know why I'm telling this...those of you that read this already know all this.) ANYWAY!! To my main point...

Saturday afternoon we went to a church down the road from the orchard and pumpkin farm to actually buy pumpkins. They were way cheaper there than at the actual pumpkin farm so we thought, heck why not! Who can pass up $2 pumpkins? Anyway...We picked out our pumpkins and were on our way. When we were leaving the church parking lot, we saw one of the coolest signs I've ever seen in my life. This sign was at the end of the drive out of the church before you went back onto the "main" road:

How great of a testimony is that! I know so many people (and sometimes I even get stuck in this rut) that just go to church for a social gathering. They dress up in their nice clothes and go to impress everyone else there with their "faith" and what they've done the previous week for the Lord. This isn't how church is supposed to be at all, however! Some people need to be clued in on this fact, because apparently they haven't heard! Church is supposed to be the place where we can worship our Jesus and be spiritually energized and recharged from being out in the "secular world" for the week. It's even supposed to be the place we bring those who are interested in the joy and hope that we have and to help them get this relationship with Christ that we have! We are spiritually fed and encouraged at church by those who believe the same way we do. Then, when the service is over, we all go our separate ways. This is when the true meaning of being a Christian begins. We are supposed to go out and spread the word of God to all the nations! We are supposed to love those who are hard to love and share what he's done for us with our friends and loved ones. Church isn't a place that's supposed to make us feel better about how Christian we are. It's a place that trains us and equips us with the tools we need to share the most important fact ever with the unbelieving world..that Jesus had come to save and that he is ready and waiting to accept anyone willing to have a relationship with him into his Eternal Kingdom!!! Church is the place where we get our training, kind of like boot camp in the army. We get all the tools and information we need. When we leave, that is like going into the battle. We battle against sin and temptation and we share with those what God has done with us. If only more people knew this and felt this way, more people may be drawn to church and not be scared off by those who call themselves "Christians" but don't live it by their lifestyle.

One In A Million

So one of the main places I find out about cool music is from friends...And Sarah Pocket Spice just happened to share this artist with me the other day and we listened to him some in the car. She actually just recently wrote a blog about his songs..they have uplifting lyrics that make you think but they're also put to a fun beat which always makes things better. He goes by Lecrae and I really like his stuff the more I listen to it!

Anyway, one particular lyric from a song off his new album made me think. It's a preacher talking in the background and you don't always catch it if you're not listening closely. In fact, I was just groovin' along to it and Sarah had to tell me what it had said! I'm glad she pointed it out to me! Here's what it said:

"You're just a conformist if you're drunk and naked driving around on the back of a motorcycle smoking cigarettes and breaking commandments. Everyone's doing that, it's so tired. If you really wanna be a rebel, read your Bible, cause no one's doing that. That's rebellion, that's the only rebellion left."

That just really hit me! That's exactly right. I used to be a part of that scene..or at least I thought I was. But now I just realize I was too afraid to be a rebel and stand out of the crowd. I still have alot of friends who think it's cool or going to "solve all their problems" to go out drinking on the weekends. Your boyfriend breaks up with you? Get drunk this weekend. You get a bad grade on a test? Let's have a party to drink our cares away. Your parents are being hard on you? Alcohol will solve all your problems. I listen to some of my friends and my peers and I just feel really sad for them! This is all that you have to hope for to fill that void in your heart?

Alot of these people are all the same..they look at you like an outcast if you don't drink or "party" on the weekends. It's SO easy to go along with the crowd and do that kind of thing, especially if you're the only one not doing it. It takes work, HARD work to say no to those temptations if that's all you surround yourself with.

Only recently have I been able to see has God worked a miracle in me through friends, through music, through so many special people and events...I now have the courage to be a rebel for him, to do something that not everyone else is doing. Am I going to be looked at as weird? Definitely! In fact I have been many times. But am I going to be richly rewarded for it in spending eternity with my heavenly Father who cares for me like no other? Absolutely. And I thank him every day for His grace greater than all my sins.

Wake me up when September ends...

So today begins a new month!! In fact, one of my FAVORITE months of the year! I really just felt like blogging to tell about some of the things I'm really excited for this month..if anyone cares at all to hear about them :)

1. COOLER WEATHER -- I'm sooo ready for hats, scarves, coats, boots..all that good stuff. I love layering. Lots of fun :)
2. My Birthday!!! On the 11th, I'm no longer going to be a teenager. Crazy! So much has happened in my short life and I've gotten to experience so many things in the little time I've been here on this earth. I'm ridiculously thankful for all the things God has brought me through and I'm really happy with where I'm at right now for the first time in a long time. Totally besides the point of my birthday but a random side note...
3. Big blue MADNESS!! For those of you not from KY or if you are from KY and have been hiding under a rock..I'll explain it to you :) Madness is the first official practice the UK basketball team has for the new season. This past week, people camped out..some for about a whole week..just to receive tickets for this game. YES, I said camped out just to watch the team practice. It's amazing how fanatical people are about their sports here! As long as it doesn't come before God (which, with some people it does) I LOVE it! UK is definitely a special place :) And I'm happy that I have good enough friends to do all the dirty work for me and camp out then give me a 3rd row seat to come share in the fun!!
4. Birthday dinner! Basically just a fun hangout chill dinner for me to see as many of my loves as possible for my birthday!! It's gonna be a blast I hope :) A good chance to get everyone together.
5. UK-South Carolina Game - There are few birthday presents better than having football happenin' on my actual birthday! Let's just hope we come out with a win...which we totally will :)
6. GIRLS WEEKEND/HAWK SHOW - Hangin out with my girls is ALWAYS a good time...the mall, the Ville, potential trolley car rides?, out to eat, slumber party..what could be better?! THEN, the fun continues the next day when we see one of our favorite bands in the WORLD. I love those guys more than words can describe and they have blessed my life in so many ways they will never even know. I LOVE THEM! That just about sums it up...
7. Halloween! Always a good time pretending to be a kid again and eating lots of candy and dressing up...Oh heck yes!

And I guess that's about it...But how much more fun could this month get?! Lookin' forward to more fun for the rest of the year as well...more football games (more sittin' in the press box and talkin' it up with athletes at the press conference), Thanksgiving, more REVOLVING!, Christmas, New Years Fun in Virginia with who other than my favorite girls and HAWK! And more and more and more...I am so blessed and thankful for all I've been given! I'm loving my life right now and I can't wait to see where God takes me from here!

Let's revolve!

So this past weekend, myself, Jesi, Sarah, Katy, and Karen went revolving! What is revolving you ask? We went to this conference for middle/high school girls put on by Women of Faith...and volunteered. But we did it all for those boys we love...Hawk Nelson! It was like thousands and thousands of screaming..more like squealing..teenage girls. And Hawk on a HUGE stage. It was such a strange experience! We had the most fun just sitting back as spectators, watching all the little teenybops go crazy. Here's a little glimpse into how insane it was.We felt bad for them!! But we at least got to see the guys several times, which made us very happy. All in all, great first revolving experience and we're looking forward to revolving again really soon!!

Grace that is greater

So this all sounded pretty good in my head but it is usually the case that I'm a lot more eloquent in my mind than I sometimes sound on paper (or computer). We'll see how this goes though :D.
Earlier today, I was just generally feeling sorry for myself. I think cloudy, rainy days tend to make you do that more and feel more down and today is definitely one of those days. I have a lot to look forward to but for some reason, my mood was just kinda BLEH. So I was driving home from school, and I saw two men on the side of the street. One appeared to be homeless (I'm not judging him on his appearance..ok well I am..who knows if we was or not. But even if he wasn't, there definitely are others out there that are) and another was cleaning garbage up off the side of the road (possibly for community service - sometimes people are made to do this while in jail, sometimes for other reasons). Anyway, then around that same time Building 429's version of "Grace that is Greater" came on my stereo and it just got me thinking. What makes me so special? I, at one time or another, have taken everything that I have, material and otherwise, for granted. Just the fact that I'm not thanking God at every second makes it true that I'm taking it for granted. (Though that would be a little impractical, right? :D) But it got me thinking about some of the various sayings about grace and some of the verses from the Bible..for there are many. One of my favorites is John 1:16 saying "From the fullness of his GRACE we have received one blessing after another". But for the grace of God, that could be ME who is living on the streets. That could be ME who ended up in jail. It could be ME who had no hopes of ever going to college or is an unwed mother. My life could have taken so many other paths. Sometimes I get caught up in life and tend to think that for some reason I deserved to have anything that I currently own. But that couldn't be further from the truth. I could spend all day listing everything that I should be thankful for and probably still wouldn't cover everything. So why is it so hard to be thankful sometimes? Plain and simply, we let the devil get the best of us. We're fallible. God didn't owe us a single thing yet he loved us enough (for who knows WHAT reason?! - heaven knows we are all fairly unlovable from time to time) to give us his EVERYTHING. He gave his own life, his own breath, his own flesh and blood for us in hopes that we would simply just have a relationship with him and spread his name to the masses. It's harder than it sounds but it's the least we can do. I guess just thinking about all the much worse roads that my life could have taken makes me SO thankful for the path that it has taken. I have shelter, food whenever I'm hungry, nice clothes, my health..and that's just some of the "necessities". I also have good Christian friends, a loving family, the possibility to have a college education and make something better of myself, this laptop I'm typing this on, etc. etc. etc. (See I can't even start typing this list because it would be neverending!) I know we all feel this way at one time or another so I just wanted to get my thoughts out and encourage those who feel the way I do sometimes that we have a Savior, a father, and a protector in Heaven who will do ANYTHING for us if we just do a few simple things for Him and his glory. That should be enough to give even the most hopeless person hope for a better tomorrow.

1 year later

So a year ago, I had the pleasure of seeing my team (Kentucky Wildcats) beat our absolute rivals -- LOUISVILLE CARDINALS in football for the first time in forever years in champion-like fashion. We reclaimed the Governor's Cup that was rightly ours. It was a close, but AMAZING game and I was so happy to be there. Now, a year later, I had high hopes but was nervous, especially since we had a QB who had never played a play in his college career. Well...much to my excitement, this year's game just finished (on LOUISVILLE's home field, might I add) and we again were victorious! Not just victorious, but we STOMPED them. 27-2! This makes me so much more excited to work with UK Athletics this year and be a part of many more amazing games like this one. Ohhh C-A-T-S, Cats Cats Cats! I love my school =)















(Pictures are from last year's game)

Best days of our lives

So, now that summer is coming to a close, it makes me crazy sad because this has been one of the very best summers of my entire life! It's hard to describe how great it was without showing some pictures and videos from all the awesomeness. Here's some of the highlights!

I made some new friends and hung out with some old friends (and froze our butts off waiting out in the cold for my 1st of 8 hawk shows this summer!) -- Side note: At this point, I only had 2 or 3 Hawk shows planned lol

Stayed up until all hours of the morning doing karaoke



Reunited with some friends I hadn't seen in FOREVER


Watched several good friends graduate high school































Went on a road trip to Alabama for Hawk shows 2 and 3 of the summer!


(Made some memorable friends on this trip...)



Ichthus 2008! (Hawk show 4 of the summer included here)..And mom's birthday!


At Ichthus, we danced like we're saved with Building 429 and Justin Lookadoo



Saw Hawk again! (Show #5 of the summer)..This time, only 30 minutes away from home! Crazy!


Reunited with my girls! (I've known them since I was 11 and they were 4 and 6...now almost 13 and 15)






























Hawk show #6 of the summer..Still in our home state, surprisingly


Roadtrip to Cincinnati to see David Crowder Band and TOBY

















Decided the day OF the show to go see the Idols in Cincinnati..And sat in the 4th row!

















Made some new friends!


Met Mark Stuart (lead singer of Audio Adrenaline)..and he remembered me the next time I talked to him!


Went on a planned trip to Akron, Ohio (Hawk show #7 of the summer) -- Daniel was CRAZY this day!!
















It was a LONG car ride. So we had some fun =)



And after a 1am trip to Walmart to buy clothes and toiletries...And crashing at 2am in Kelly and Christina's motel room in South Bend...


and a few other random snags...

..we went on an unplanned trip to Appleton, WI the next day! (Hawk show #8 of the summer..and Show #10 overall, for me!) -- New state: WISCONSIN!!




























Went on a shopping day trip to Kenwood Towne Center!

Went to 2 more new states! MINNESOTA and IOWA!




























Fulfilled one of my life dreams (Mall of America) and toured one of the greatest stadiums in the NFL (Lambeau Field - home of the Green Bay Packers!)





























Came back home and supported our boys at training camp

Saw the Idols again and met a couple of them! They're so sweet!






























And participated in the world record breaking water balloon fight!
















So that's a little tour through Mollie's Summer 2008! I've left a TON of pictures out..It would take all day to look at all of them. But it was amazing fun and I can only hope this school year is just as good or even better than this summer has been! I have the best friends and we have the best lives and we've been so blessed with all the things we have gotten to do. Until next time, I love you guys!

Don't you forget about me

So some days aren't completely a perfect world. But my 2 Idol tour experiences this summer have been as close as could be without being perfect. The first was one of the most unexpected and crazy things I've done in awhile. The day before they came to Cincinnati, my friend Jesi texted me and told me they would be there and that it'd be fun if we went up to see if we could meet them. I don't think she actually thought I would say yes but I thought heck, why not! So of course, the next day, she told me to look just to see if there might be any tickets to the show available. Well, much to our surprise, what did I find but FOURTH ROW! And this was about 4 hours before the show was to begin! So off we went on our Idol trek, more excited that we were actually going to the show, with not too shabby of seats. So, to make a long story short, here's a picture I took from our seats of the only Idol that really matters worth anything :)


So after the show we thought, well let's try to meet some of the Idols. If you've ever been to US Bank Arena in Cinci, you know the crazy and treacherous stairs that connect the arena to the street below (Ok, they're not that bad). We came out of the arena and there was already a ridiculous crowd of people waiting. So we decided to go down by the buses. Then, we'd hear another scream and know "Oh someone else just came out up there". So we'd run back up. And back down. And up. And down. We definitely got our exercise that night. So, finally, we decided to fore-go standing in the crowd for awhile and try our luck down by the buses. We sat down and a few minutes later, who did we think we saw but THE MAN himself..DAVID COOK! Jesi yelled "DAVID!" with no luck. So, we ran across the street, despite many of the security guards yelling at us to stay on the other side of the street. Well..we were right! We ran up to DC and were standing within INCHES of him. I couldn't believe it. When I finally stopped drooling on myself and regained the ability to speak complete sentences again (ha! it wasn't quite this bad..), Jesi and I both asked in unison if we could get a quick picture. Here's where the perfect world shatters into a million pieces. David looked at the security guards with a pleading look like 'Hey can I just do this for them real quick'. He seems like a really genuine guy who cares as much as he can about his fans. Then the head of security quickly came back with "No, you can't take pictures by the bus. And you need to go back across the street". WHAT!! So close. So, we ended up going back upstairs one more time and I got DC to sign my ticket which made me feel a little better and I got a picture with Michael Johns. We left, feeling somewhat defeated yet hopeful that we would meet him again one day and finally get that coveted picture with him.


Anyway, so fast forward to yesterday and again, we set out on our trek to meet idols (sans Jesi, this time, she's on an adventure of her own right now!). This time, in Lexington! That's CRAZY these days to go to a concert in town or even this close to home. So that made things extra special. We went out to the back of Rupp Arena and there were already 2-300 people there waiting for the idols! Whoa! We waited from 12:30pm until at least around 2:45 or 3 I think it was, when FINALLY the buses pulled in and the Idols started getting off the bus and coming out to sign! Kristi Lee and Carly came out as did David Archuleta and then the others followed. Jason came out as well and being crazy as he is, he started in the middle of the crowd, went down to the other end, then came back to the middle and started going back down to the other end..completely skipping our little section! Ohh no! That can't happen! So me and Hannah ran down to at least get an autograph and ended up getting a picture! And I got one with Brooke too! Score!















So finally..after waiting what seemed like FOREVER.. (It almost was..at least 3 hours!)..we see a van pull up. Katy said "That'd be cool if David Cook was in that van". Well, who do we see waving from the passenger's seat but DAVID freaking COOK!!! Finally. So, we start thinking, here's our chance! We're gonna finally get that picture with him! He starts at the other end of the line. He does some skateboarding for awhile with some little boys.




Finally, he gets closer to us. He is a few feet away! He's right here. Here's how close he was! (Actually, he got closer than this!)


So, we've got our cameras, our pictures to have autographed, and our game plan of how to get this all done. He gets within about 5 people from us when we hear "Guys, I'm so sorry, I have to get inside". NO! That couldn't have been DC that said that! To our intense sadness, it indeed was him talking. He had to go inside RIGHT before he got to us. What are the odds?? So, we went and got some long-awaited food, drink, rest, and most importantly air conditioning. So, again, our plan was foiled and my 2nd attempt to meet "my husband" was all for naught. Don't worry though, it will happen one day. I have all the confidence in the world in our celebrity meeting skills. Still, we had a great time and I realized how awesome my friends are. And at the end of the day, that's the most important thing.

Does that make me crazy?

Hello world! So alot of my friends have been getting these blog things lately so I figured..hey if everyone else is doing it..can't be SUCH a bad idea! We'll see how often I update this and if any of it is actually worth reading along the way but I hope you enjoy it!

Basically, this summer has (so far, it's not over yet!) been one of the best and definitely most memorable ones of my entire life! I met an amazing group of girls who love Jesus as much as I do and who love just having fun and traveling around the country..especially seeing this fantastic band we like to call Hawk Nelson! A lot of people think I'm crazy for seeing them so many times (and so many more times to come, I'm sure) but they really have meant so much in my life, though they don't even know it!

In the past and especially in this past year, I hung out with people and did things that, if I had continued, would have eventually led me on a path to destruction. I really wasn't enjoying myself but I didn't know where to turn. Obviously I have grown up in a Christian home so I know the right things to say and do, but I had strayed so incredibly far away from Him. To make a long story short, I really don't know what pushed me to go see Hawk with these amazing girls on May 3 of this year. It was the day after school got out and I somehow got an invite a couple months prior to that date to go to Indianapolis to see them, even though I barely knew these people I was going with. Something inside of me changed at that show and I realized what I'd been doing wrong and knew exactly (not to say I have all the answers..) what I needed to do to fix it. I came back from that weekend and started reading my Bible every morning again (something I'd neglected to do for a LONG time). I then knew it was God who had brought me together with these amazing girls I now consider to be my adopted sisters (lacking in siblings by birth as I am..). It was no small coincidence that I decided to go with them that day, starting a wild and crazy ride that has continued until now and I pray will continue for a long time! In fact, I just went to my 10th Hawk show! Double digits baby, yeah!! (I still have a long way to catch up but it was an accomplishment for me...)

We just got back from seeing Hawk in Akron, OH and at the last minute, decided to go again the next day to Appleton, WI to see them, resulting in 1 am Walmart shopping for something to simply wear the next day and a 10-hour drive home which gave us a 5:30am arrival time back into town. These guys must be pretty amazing or something (check 'um out!)

So while I've already written WAY more than I thought I would, I could write a ton more about what God has done for me this summer and how excited I am about life to come! He has spoken to me through these girls and through Hawk and my life will never be the same! One of these friends of mine commented to me how incredible it was and just by many "random" chances that God brought us all together and that we all just happened to have a majority of the same interests. It's indescribable! Call me crazy but my God works in crazy and amazing ways. More to come!