Girlfriends!

Guys you are awesome but there is nothing like girlfriends! I am so blessed with so many wonderful, beautiful, loving, compassionate women in my life and lately I've been realizing that more and more every day.

At the end of the summer I had the most amazing time with my girlfriends here in Lynchburg. It was really the first time where I had ample amounts of time to hang out with them and we all weren't crazy busy. We relaxed, laughed, talked about life, prayed, made up "indie time", and mostly had a blast! I love these girls and am so blessed that God has sent me here to Lynchburg to be with them. There isn't a day that I don't feel called to be in Lynchburg. I cherish these wonderful women of God and pray that I can continue to serve them wholeheartedly and not hold back but share and live fully with these women.

I've also had the chance recently to catch up and spend some more time with older friends. I've been able to go see my Angel and spend time with "just the girls" (I love Isaac but we all just need a little girl time) and we welcomed little Kylee into our lives and I can't wait to see the little woman that she becomes. I am glad that I am at a place in my life where I have a little time for friends, especially friends who could use a little pick me up and help every week.

Those girlfriends that I haven't been able to see lately, I've had wonderful phone conversations with too! The most wonderful friends are the ones who when you talk on the phone even if it's been a few months it feels like nothing has changed and you are still sitting next to each other gabbing away. Those are the best conversations. I would much rather see these beautiful women in person but a phone call or ichat is the next best thing especially when the phone conversation goes somewhere you were totally not expecting! I love catching up with these wonderful women!

The point is I am so blessed to have wonderful women who enrich my life every day that they are in it, make this world a better place to live and play, serve and love the Lord with all their hearts, do all the womanly things with such grace, and most of all love and take care of me with everything they have! Thank you wonderful women. I will cherrish you all the days of my life. You are truely a blessing and a joy :)

Lately

Lately life has been really good. I haven't been working ALL the time. I've had a little time to hang out with friends and have Courtney time. My parents visited recently. Life is just lovely and it's mostly because I have wonderful friends here in Lynchburg and have found a little bit of work/play balance. There isn't a day or moment in my life where I don't feel like Lynchburg is where God wants me and called me to be. The other amazing thing that has been happening lately is God is moving...

God is moving at LC. With the semester in full swing now we've had two FCA meetings and I had forgotten how much I enjoy the group, planning activities, and sharing my faith. THis group is truly uplifting and is a good challenge for me to grow and build lessons for others. It's amazing how much it effects my life to have regular interaction in groups again to praise God and learn more about Him. In the summer I get away from FCA, bible study, and even church sometimes when I'm traveling. I can keep up with podcasts and watching online but it just isn't the same as being there. I find myself feeling much more connected, positive, ambitious, and energetic when I have regular growth and community Jesus sessions in my life. It is truly uplifting and I hope that I remember this during the summer when I tend to take a break and am inconsistent.

Really really feeling like I belong and am being called to the church I've been attending recently has really improved my life as well. The messages have been so moving and just what I needed. The first time around when I visited Brentwood church I didn't feel like the pastor was speaking to me and I didn't feel a connection or fulfilled but the second time around that is not the case. It's like God has put me here at this exact time to witness the growth and just truly outpouring of this pastors heart. He has been so in tuned with God lately and just what I needed (not always wanted) to hear every Sunday for the past couple of months. I feel like I can see him maturing and fine tuning his preaching style right in front of me lately. It's also been wonderful to go to church with friends again. Since living in Lynchburg I haven't always had that connection. It was either go to church where my friends were but where I didn't really feel like I was being spiritually fed or go to a church where I'm fed but don't have a community. I'm really enjoying being connected like that again and can't wait to get more involved in the church and start volunteering.

Despite the events of late summer... and the setbacks in my life that it caused me... I feel that I am healing, moving on, and that God is wrapping His wonderful comforting arms around me and showing me where I'm supposed to grow because and despite the hard times. I can't wait to see what is next!

Third time's the charm with Miss Kylee Isabella Colbert :)

Miss Kylee! My newest little lady :) She's a doll! I finally got to see her awake!


We had a blast! We made faces at each other, had girl talk, laughed, she cried a little, we stared at eachother. It was a great time!



I can't wait for more time with this precious little girl and her two wonderful parents who I love so much! One beautiful little family :)

Pain and Suffering

Fun title huh? Just what everyone wants to read about right? Don't worry hopefully it will be worth your while. Pain and suffering. Why do we as humans always see pain and suffering as a bad thing? I was just listening to one of my favorite podcast's and this was the topic. As athletes when we run, lift, and play don't we say no pain no gain? Why would life be different than our muscles. Our muscles hurt because we are tearing down the old fibers and laying new stronger ones. God doesn't always cause our pain and suffering, a lot of times we have something to do with that as well as the devil. The cause of our suffering is irrelevant. God can and will take all of our pain and suffering and use it to make us stronger. Paul knew this and spoke about it passionately in Romans. Even in his extreme pain and suffering he knew that pain would bring about perseverance and perseverance character and character hope (romans 5:3-4) and trusted his God to bring him not out of pain and suffering but into a place where he was stronger and wiser because of that pain.

The other great point that the pastor had was just because we are hurting and suffering and we pray for healing doesn't mean that it is going to happen automatically and suddenly we are going to be happy and feel wonderful again and that moment where the pain happened is going to go away. Sometimes God has to take us back through that moment of pain and suffering to bring us out and to give us that perseverance that he is trying to teach us. Also Christians love as a part of who they are and loving means suffering sometimes. Love means hurting for other people, having compassion, staying up all night with someone who needs you. Jesus didn't die so that we could be happy and pain free all the time... Jesus died because God loved us so much and His heart heart so badly for his people that He gave us a second chance in the sacrifice of His only son. Jesus has scars and His people will also have scars but because He died our scars don't have to kill us but make us stronger.

I am in pain right now. Pain because of the love that God has placed in my heart for people and pain because of the compassion that he has also put in my heart. I don't know that God caused this pain but I know that He is using it for His good and changing my life because of it and that everything is a part of His plan. I have no doubt that I will heal and move on from this pain but I will never forget and I will never be the same person because of it. God is love and sometimes love is suffering for others.

So go out there and love and don't be afraid that someday you might have to suffer because you just love too much! God loves you so much that he suffered for you!