Brothers

Today is my brother Joey's 26th birthday. It slightly freaks me out that he's 26 but then I remember that I'm 20 so that does actually add up. Joey has always been a great older brother. Sure, he picked on me when I was little, but it was the type of teasing that big brothers are supposed to do to their little sisters. In honor of his birthday, I decided to tell yall about some things that Joey told me over the years that I, being a naive little girl, believed because my older and wiser brother told me they were true. 

1. Joey convinced me when I was younger that I was adopted from the Cabbage Patch Kids. Maybe this is why I'm so interested in adoption now? Who knows. At the time, I could barely read. I had a birth certificate from one of my cabbage patch kid dolls. On the certificate, it had my name because I was the adoptive "parent." All I could really read was my name, "birth" and "Cabbage Patch Kids." I completely believed that I was adopted from the creepy Cabbage Patch Kids. He's lucky I turned out reasonably normal.

2. Joey also told me that whenever cows and horses were laying down on the ground, it meant they were going to die. Don't judge, but I believed this one WAY longer than I should have. He told me that since they were laying down, they wouldn't be able to get back up and therefore wouldn't be able to get to any food or water source. So if they were laying down, the end of their life was not far away. I vividly remember looking out the car window and seeing cows and horses in the fields laying down and being so sad for them! Those poor things were about to die!!!

Feel free to pay for my counseling whenever you would like.

3. I think out of everything Joey told me, this one was one of the most morbid ones. In Corpus, there is a statue of 2 people washing a car. I'm not sure what it's actually for, but it's been there as long as I can remember. One day while we were in Corpus, I decided to ask about it. Joey told me that two people had been washing their car in the parking lot and a plane flew over and dropped cement on them and they were trapped. Isn't that awful?! I seriously thought that there were actual humans trapped in that cement!

There are definitely more things that my loving brother told me over the years. There's probably still some things I believe because he told me. Maybe he was just trying to keep me young and naive as long as he could? While writing this, it makes me smile. It makes me happy to think that even though my brother is 6 years older than me, he still played with me and talked to me all the time. I'm sure I was annoying at times when I was younger so I probably deserved some of these stories, but they give me funny times to look back on. So happy 26th birthday Joey! I couldn't ask for a better brother.

Blessed

Everytime I go home for a few days, I realize just how blessed I really am. I've always appreciated the awesome things in my life, but it seems that when I'm home, everything is magnified. It's probably because now that I'm in Waco, I see how important these things really are to me. There are a few things I noticed this trip that I love with all my heart and some things I dislike. 

Things I love

1. My group of 2nd Mommies

I have a group of ladies that I absolutely adore. They are all Christ loving women that I love being around. This last trip home, I got to spend a lot of time around them and it made me so thankful for all them. Some of these ladies have known me literally all my life and a few of them I've gotten to know over the past few years. It's so comforting to know that I can call any of them and they'll be there for me to talk to. It's just so great to know that they're all back home praying for me and supporting me in all my endeavors. 

2. FBC Rockport's dedication to missions

This month, the church is focusing on mission work. Ever since I went to Honduras about a year and half ago, it's been brought to my attention how important mission trips are. I urge every Christian to do some time of mission work. Whether it's something local or something international; it's sooooo important. The Sunday I was home, we had a few people talk about their experience with missions and it's so encouraging to know that people in the church have a heart for sharing Christ with the world.  Going along with that, I'm officially going back to Honduras over Spring Break and I couldn't be more excited about it!!

3. Small town vibe

If you know me at all, you know I'm a small town girl at heart. I absolutely love it. While I was home, I ran into someone I knew literally every place I went and it made me SO happy. I know some people love big cities where they can blend in with everyone and do their own thing. Not me. I love seeing people that I know everywhere I go in town. 

Things I dislike

1. Humidity

Growing up, I never had a problem with the 200% humidity that Rockport experiences. My hair was never frizzy and it had no problem staying straight, I didn't think it was extra hot, and my skin was never oily. Now that I'm up here in the "dry" land, I can't handle humidity! I go home and my hair frizzes and won't stay straight, for the first day I'm there, I can't cool down, and my skin gets so oily. It's like 18 years is completely cancelled out by a year and a half. It's funny because people in Waco will mention how humid it is and I'm just like "ummmm no, you don't even know humid. This is stinkin dry." 

2. Baylor Defense

I guess I should say Baylor's lack of defense. Our football team is driving me crazy this season. I think it's mainly just because I was spoiled my freshman year with RG3 and his awesomeness so now that's what I'm used to. Our offense is pretty decent this year, but with no defense, it's killing us. Games we should be winning, we lose by a small margin. Plus all the scores of our games are crazy high basketball-like scores. If we had a defense at all, we would easily win. 

I think if the only things I can complain about are humidity and football, then I'm a pretty blessed person! 

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

God's grace never ceases to amaze me. After I stopped doing the internship, I was doubting whether or not I was actually called to family ministries. I thought that what I had in my head wasn't really family ministries and what I wanted to do in the church wasn't really an actual job. I feel like I'm called to work with the family unit, but especially with parents. So on Thursday, I met with a minister out at First Baptist Woodway (the church I've been going to in the Wack) for a paper I had to write for a class. After talking with the guy for about 30 seconds, I knew that I wanted his job. I guess not his job but I absolutely loved what he did and I didn't even know it was an actual position! His official title is Minister of Discipleship and Young Married Couples. He works with nearlyweds up to about 45 year olds. He arranges parenting classes, family retreats, financial management classes, etc. It's pretty much family ministries but working a lot with the parents, which is exactly what I wanna do!! It was just really encouraging to know that what I want to do is an actual job because I was starting to think it wasn't.

Complete change of subject. Before you start reading, there is a disclaimer. I don't talk about politics. I avoid the subject as much as possible. The following paragraph is neutral as to who I want to be the next president. That's not the issue on my heart lately.

Honestly, I'm tired of seeing political garbage on Facebook. But here's the thing, it's not the politics that I'm tired of seeing. It's the hateful, rude, and nasty conversations that I see between people on Facebook that really get to me. Think about it, do we really think that telling someone that their opinion is wrong and that they're an idiot is going to change their political views? Of course not. As Christians, we are called to a higher standard. We are supposed to represent the image of Christ in everything that we do. Our love is supposed to show Christ's love. Also, our identity should be in Christ; not for who we want to be our next president. Our hope should be in Jesus regardless of who our political leaders are. Yes, I understand standing up for what you believe in, but there's a line that we shouldn't cross. A line that nobody should cross  regardless of what their religious beliefs are. It all just comes down to having respect for the person you're talking to. There's absolutely no need to personally attack a person in a public place because of what they believe. That being said, if I offended you with this, please please please don't comment on my Facebook about it and make it a public ordeal. Message me, that's totally fine; I even encourage you too.

I also encourage you to read THIS article, I think it has some really good things to say.

Enough serious business.

I'LL BE HOME IN LESS THAN A WEEK!! I'm definitely ready for some time off of school. It's pretty nice to have a fall break, I'm not gonna lie. I'm not exactly sure what day I'll be home, but I'll at least have 3 days in Rockport which will be sooooo nice!

Lovin this song right now.

Direction

Remember that internship I mentioned a few posts back? Turns out it wasn't the place I needed to be at. For the past 4ish years, I was planning on going into Family Ministries after college. This awesome opportunity fell into my hands and I was so excited and just took it. The thing is, the internship wasn't right for me. Which I hate to say, because it was such a great opportunity and it was such a great program. I feel like I'm called to work with the family unit as a whole and specifically with parents. Don't get me wrong, I love working with kids. However, as a career, I feel called to work not just with children, but with the whole family.

That being said, I'm not positive about what I'm going to do after college other than go to seminary. I know I am called to work in Christian Ministry but I don't know what specific part of ministry. I don't know whether I'll work in a church setting or out in mission work. I don't know what I'm going to do. However, I'm not worried about it. Did you hear that, people!? I'm not worried about! It hit me last night that this is the first time in my life that I don't have an exact plan for something and I'm not completely freaked out by it! Now, I know what some of you are thinking. I know what some of yall are saying, "well that's lack of direction. She's in college and she has no clue what she's doing with her life? No bueno." Yall probably don't say no bueno though, huh? I don't think it's lack of direction, though. I think it's faith. I DO know what I'm doing with my life. I'm following Christ and I'm trusting that He'll guide me.

Does this mean that I'm just going to sit here stagnant all of college cause I know God's got this? Heck no. But I know that as I work in different ministries and feel each of them out, that I'm not alone in it. God will lead me to where I need to be in the long run anyways. I'm not worried about it and few things could make me more happy. 

Fun Facts

So this is more of a way out for me. I've had no idea what to blog about lately so this gives me a way of blogging so yall know I'm alive, but not really having to find something to talk about. Trust me, it's better this way. Had I thought of something, it probably would've made yall ridiculously bored. So I'm gonna tell yall 15 things that most people don't know about me.

1. When I was little, I told my parents I wanted to be a hamburger. Don't ask me why. 

But don't worry, I don't still want to be a hamburger; that's not a major at Baylor.

2. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others. I have to consciously tell myself not to do it at times.

3. I watched the movie Psycho when I was little and I didn't shower for like 5 years. I only took bathes and I still get a little paranoid when I'm showering in a hotel. 

4. I watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and I'm not ashamed at all.

5. It doesn't take much to make me laugh. Everyone once in awhile Briana will just randomly throw out words to see if they make me laugh. They usually do. 

6. It takes a lot to get me actually stressed out. When I do finally hit that point, it really bothers me that I can't handle it.

7. It really bothers me when people don't like me. If I ever did something to offend them, I try my best to fix it. But it reallllllly bothers me when they dislike me for no reason.

8. I hate hate hate Chuck Norris jokes with a passion. They really annoy me for some reason.

9. I'm OCD about locking doors. I think I do it without thinking about it so I don't remember actually locking the door. For instance, I'll leave the house, then get in my car and think, "hmmmm did I lock the door?" So I'll go back and check. Guess what? It's always locked. 

10. God gave me a heart for helping others. I want to spend my life make other lives better. 

11. I'm a major Facebook creep to the point where I don't even want to admit this to yall. I could get paid to find things out about people through Facebook

12. I read the Left Behind series when I was about 13 and it scared the crud outta me. I would sit up at night waiting for the clock to get past midnight so I knew that Jesus didn't come back and I got left behind. It's silly when I think about it now for a few reasons. First, just because He came at midnight in the book doesn't mean that's when He would come in real life. Also, if I was SO sure that He was coming back, why was I worried about being left behind?  Lastly, it's Jesus for cryin out loud! It'd be stinkin awesome if He came back!

13. When I was 14, I drove my moms brand new car through our carport. She was letting me drive in the driveway and as we pulled in, I accidentally pressed the gas instead of the brake. There's pictures if you're really interested but it was pretty terrifying. 

14. I have high standards for my future spouse. I don't think they're ridiculous things and I have no doubt that I'll find a guy that meets those standards.

15. I love driving. If gas prices weren't so stinkin high, I would get in the car and just drive somewhere. 

Hopefully you learned something about me that you didn't know before. If not, I sincerely apologize haha. Also, if you have an idea of what I should blog about, please share! As you can tell, I'm running out of ideas.

This video cracks me up. Poor girl!