Missing

I've been missing a lot of things lately. I guess I've been missing people more than certain things. I miss the way things were. I don't really know how to expand on this right now. When I figure that out, maybe I'll write about it.

Where have I been?

The last month has been a little bit busy for me. Before Thanksgiving I attended a Masquerade with some friends. It was really fun to get all dressed up. The Masquerade was put on by a friend of mine and her team that has visited Vietnam a couple of times. It was a fundraiser for an organization called Giving It Back To Kids and they raise money for orphanages in Vietnam. The event was neat, they had a jazz combo playing while a silent auction was going on. Then a live auction, followed by dancing! We were taught how to Scottish and square dance. It reminded me of dancing back in Jane Austen's time. The cheorographed moves that everyone knows...it would have been lovely to live in that time period.


This is a professional picture that was taken...


This is Mandy and I with our masks on...Do you know which is which?


Here we are getting ready to head to the Masquerade...Mandy, Andrea, Jenny and I


Scottish dancing...


I spent Thanksgiving in Louisville, Ky with my amazingly, wonderful friends Amanda and Jory. Although it was the first Thanksgiving that I did not spend with my family, it was probably one of the best Thanksgivings I've had. I enjoyed meeting my friends' new friends. I have to make sure that they are being taken care of since they are so far away!

Louisville is a very beautiful city. We drove around and looked at some of the old houses...they were so neat!

Here are a couple of the houses...




We also went to Churchill Downs and watched a few horse races!! I felt just like Audrey Hepburn from My Fair Lady..."Come on, Dover!" The only bad thing about my trip was when my heater wasn't working very well on the seven hour drive home!

Since I've been back, we've had a few Christmas parties at work...oh the delicious food! We had a secret Santa gift exchange and my secret Santa did a great job of fooling me. I had no idea that it was Mandy until the last day. She ended up giving me a stovetop espresso maker on the last day, which I am excited to use!!

A big thing that has happened in the last month or so, was taking the GRE on Saturday. This is the test I have to take before I can apply to graduate school. I had to get a certain score to even be able to apply...and I got it!! I actually scored 20 points above it!! I had hoped to do even better than that...but it works! Now I have to finish filling out my applications and send everything in before January 1!! It stinks that I won't find anything out until the end of February or March...I will be waiting anxiously until then.

Merry Christmas...it's almost here!

Here's Looking At You, Kid

I felt in the mood to post some lyrics to a song by Corey Crowder. It's called "Here's Looking At You, Kid." If you haven't heard of Corey Crowder you should search for him on iTunes or YouTube. He's great!

I’ll keep on driving so we can talk a while
I know I could drive all night just to stay here with you
At the end of the night we’ll embrace and stare at the star filled night
Would it be alright if we didn’t say goodbye this time?

Ill wait and wonder when our next time will be
Ill see you next week, hopefullyI wish it were sooner
At the end of my trip we’ll embrace and stare at the star filled night
Would it be alright if we didn’t say goodbye this time?

Every time we’re away I feel a distance I can’t take
Watching you drive away, oh it kills me

I’ll be alright
Have no worries
I’m just a bit over anxious
And maybe a little impatient
At the end of the night next time after we look at the star filled night
Can we escape to a far away land where we will forever remain
Living as one and walking hand in hand

Leaves will change, but my heart remains the same...

With the outcome of the election, interesting conversation has sparked in our office. Some ladies were talking about this being a strong sign of the endtimes. When people talk about Jesus coming back soon, it always makes me think about the things that I want to do before I spend eternity in Heaven. I know that it is going to be great, but I guess my human instinct makes me want to finish and tie up loose ends before I leave this world. The main thing that consumes my thoughts is wanting to find Mr. Right, get married and have children.

Is it wrong for me to want to experience these things?

Part of me feels like a bad Christian for wanting these experiences.

I don't think God would place a strong desire in my heart just to keep it from me. I need to step back and remember that God is in control. He knows what is best for me. He has someone chosen for me already and I need to trust that He will bring this guy to me when He feels it is the right time...not when I do.

HMO, PPO, IRA,...

It's official...I can sell Life, Health, Property and Casualty insurance. I took the Life and Health test today and passed! It's great to have passed the tests the first time around, but I still am finding it rather strange that I am licensed in insurance. I guess it's because I never would have thought I would do this.

While I was taking the test today, it was difficult to concentrate. One reason was because I was very tired, but the other reason was my eyes. I don't know exactly what has been going on with them, but they are watering constantly and they hurt. They might hurt because of tiredness. I am going to the eye doctor on Saturday, so I hope nothing is wrong and if there is that the doctor will know what to do. I am excited, though, to be able to use my health insurance benefits! I think I should have taken advantage of my parents' insurance while I had it, but I'm glad to have my own now!

Oh, boy!

My old roommate, Lauren, and I saw the movie Fireproof last weekend. The movie was about this couple having marital problems and the role of a husband in a marriage. It was made by the same people who made Facing the Giants. At first, I was a bit skeptical of the movie because it was a bit cheesy, but as I was watching I realized how God was speaking to me through it. Lately, I have been so distracted by the thought of having a boyfriend and getting married. While watching this movie, I felt like God was telling me that I am not ready to be married. There are so many things about myself that I still need to learn before I could ever think about sharing the rest of my life with someone.

After the movie, Lauren and I both shared with each other what God was showing us through it and it was very similar. Then this week in Lauren's Bible study, God reaffirmed the things that we were talking about. She e-mailed the Bible study question to me and I want to share it with whoever will read it. Sorry that it is lengthy, but it's worth it.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY
Dear Compass, I am confused as to how to find a husband. What are rules for dating? How long should you date before getting married? What are the characteristics someone should look for in a spouse? What are the 'deal-breakers?'

ANSWER:
In today's secular world, dating could be viewed as 'practice for divorce.' A typical person begins to date someone who they believe will meet all their needs. But after a while, for myriads of usually self-centered reasons, they 'break up.' The process of dating and breaking up is repeated over and over until the solution to every relationship problem is to start over. Eventually two people hang in there long enough and get married. The husband expects his new wife to never change and the wife expects her husband will change—a recipe for disaster. When the honeymoon fades, problems arise, and from past experience the cure is known, practiced over and over during dating— it's time to 'break up.' But in marriage it's called divorce.

The Bible offers a quite different model for relationships. First and foremost the Bible teaches that no human can fulfill another human's needs. Only God can do that. So the first principle in finding a spouse is not to try to find someone to meet your needs. Rather, wait for God to bring a Biblically oriented person into your life. Someone who trusts Jesus fully in every area. How they love God is a good indication of how they will love you. Being attracted to someone is good. But true love is not an emotion. It is an act of will. For you, as a Believer, to say, 'I love you,' means you are saying, 'I will allow God to love you through me, using me anyway He wishes.' If a guy says to you, 'I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to serve Him. I want you by my side for the rest of my God ordained days and for us to serve Him together. I want to love you (act not emotion), provide for you and have all the children God will bless us with,' pray about accepting his offer. It doesn't matter if he's rich or poor, fat or thin, tall or short, black or white or what age he is. You have a great opportunity to have an awesome Christ-centered marriage. You don't HAVE to take the offer, but you have found a potential husband who will lead you spiritually with incredible joy in Him.

Within the context of the above, any list of 'deal-breakers' should include (in no particular order):

> 1) God is not first in his life.
Just because he goes to church doesn't mean he's a God-first guy. What's his testimony? What's he been like since he became a Believer? Does scripture drive his life? Does he know what he believes and can he defend it scripturally? Is he looking for a scripturally solid, biblically sound, Christ-loving bride? If he is prideful, opposite of humble, decline to continue.

> 2) His flesh is uncontrollable.
If at any time he pushes inappropriate behavior, he is telling you he is not 'God first.' Most guys will see where the girl's lines are drawn. A guy who lets God establish where the lines should be drawn is exceptional. If he is a man given to anger, decline to continue.

> 3) He has no direction.
If he has no job, no education, no vision, no idea what he wants to do... he's just 'trusting God,' he's a loser. Move on. The Bible clearly says to get your act together before you take on a wife and home. He may be a great husband one day, but not yet. And don't wait!

> 4) He doesn't respect his parents.
God says we are to honor our fathers and mothers, so any guy who doesn't do that is ignoring a clear scriptural command.

> 5) Your parents object.
Regardless of whether or not your parents are solid believers, if they say this guy is bad news, listen!. As hard as it would be, assume God is talking though your parents. Most likely you're missing something that they see. God gave us parents to protect us as we grow up. (BTW- Any dad who doesn't take an active role in checking out a prospective suitor for his daughter is not much of a protector. Too often a dad takes more of an interest in who's borrowing his car or boat than in who's taking out his daughter for a test drive!)

Regarding how long you should date-
You should make it clear that you are not interested in dating. Rather, you are interested in finding a Godly mate. That'll weed out non-Christians and most weak Christians. Stick to your guns regardless of how long it takes. God wants you to keep your eyes on the long term, not the short term. When you have found the Godly man who captures your heart, get engaged, set the date with enough time to plan the wedding, and get married. Long engagements are rarely good. If you can't get married for a year, don't get engaged. Age is not really a factor... many who marry late in life crash and burn. Many who marry young stay married forever. Success has everything to do with having a doctrinally sound, God-centered marriage and little else.
God has designed you to be a helper to your husband. So when you evaluate your prospective husband, seeing some areas where he has short-comings is a plus. Those are areas where you may be used as a great complement.

Lastly, pray. Pray like crazy. Pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17). Pray for your husband now, even though you don't know him.

Prov. 31:12 'She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.'
'All the days of her life' would include BEFORE you get married, before you know who he is!

Hometown Glory

This past weekend was the big festival in my hometown called Apple Butter Makin' Days. I can't remember ever missing the event in all my years. It was the fifth year I've been back since I graduated from high school. It still is a bit strange to go back home for it, but through the years it feels less strange. Seeing people I went to high school with, but not knowing what to talk about with them is part of what makes it strange or awkward. I had fun and just enjoyed a piece of toast with delicious apple butter on it.

Apple Butter Makin' Days always gets me ready for Fall. Even though it was 80 degrees this weekend, I am definitely ready for the leaves to change to the vibrant reds, oranges and yellows and fall from the trees. I'm ready for cooler temperatures. I'm ready to wear hoodies. I'm ready to enjoy cups of hot tea. I'm ready for chili and potato soup.

G'day to you!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I just thought I'd leave a quick post about these amazing muffins that I made. My friend Emily has made them before and I adore them!

It's probably the easiest recipe ever! All you do is take a Spice Cake mix and a can of pumpkin and mix them together. You don't add the eggs or oil or anything! Then pour the mixture in muffin tins and bake at 325 degrees for about 20 min. They are incredible!!

Wonderful Weekend

The beginning of my weekend started off well. I had my property and casualty licensing exam bright and early at 8 a.m. I finished within an hour and a half with flying colors. That's right, I am licensed to sell insurance now.

After working the whole day, Jenny and I headed out for a four hour excursion to Little Rock, Arkansas. We went to visit our friend Ashley who now lives and works in accounting in LR. It was a great girly-girl weekend filled with shopping, eating, and catching up. So often I wish that we didn't have to grow up and could stay in the college-age where we didn't have a ton of responsibility. We could stay up late spending time with people and then skip class if we were still tired. Too bad we do grow up...well, kind of grow up. I may have a more adult job now, but I don't think I am really that grown up. It was wonderful to spend the weekend not having to worry about anything except having fun!

Deliciousness

One of the things I love about Fall...candy corn and candy pumpkins!!

Insurance Capabilities

As I sit here at Kaldi's reading my property and casualty insurance book, I am overwhelmed by the idea of insurance and the thought of taking my licensing test. I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. Am I capable of selling insurance? I feel like I've stumbled into this and haven't taken the time to process.

This has really had me thinking about all of the things I do either out of habit or without much thought. How often do I drive somewhere and when I get there not remember using my turn signal or watching stoplights? One of the worst things I do (some would consider it not such a good thing) is getting on my computer and automatically logging into Facebook. Why has it become such an obsession to know what other people are doing 24/7? Or who has been writing on so-in-so's wall? Or seeing if anyone has commented on my own wall?

Habits are hard to break...

Young Professional?

Yesterday morning I, along with fellow new employees, had breakfast with the executives of our company, AG Financial. The breakfast consisted of chatting with the executives while munching on bagels and fruit. It made me feel grown up and professional. I had a good time and even made a couple of the execs laugh.

After breakfast, I left AGF and headed to the office. On the way I decided to make a stop at the Mudhouse because I had not been there in a long time and it was on my way. While I was waiting in line, a girl behind me started talking to me. She began by asking me which drink I preferred. Being the friendly person that I am, I obliged her and answered. I went on to say that the Mudhouse is one of my favorite places and since I was on my way to work I thought I would stop. This girl continued asking me questions about my job and I, of course, answered. I thought it was a bit strange, but continued in the conversation. She then asked if I had a business card. Unfortunately, I do not and was weirded out by the question. To this she went on to say that there is a young professionals banquet coming up and asked if I might want to attend. Apparently, there will be young people, such as myself (she said), who are looking to network with others.

I hadn't thought of myself as a young professional until this incident. I guess being a twenty-something with a full-time job in insurance would make me a 'young professional.'

Maybe I'm growing up...

Start of something new

Hello friends, new and old.

This is my first post on this blog. I cannot make any promises that it will stay up to date, but I will surely try. This is all I am going to write for now until I have more time and am not working :).