From High School Reunion to High School Musical...

Okay, I am admitting this because I am not ashamed...maybe I should be but in my line of work, I think it is absolutely imperative that I see the movie I watched last night....



Let me first say, I did not go alone. I did not go opening weekend. I did not go with students. I went on Monday night at 7:00pm with 2 of my middle school leaders, who have asked to remain nameless, but they are girls between the age of 21 and 35. We are all fans of the previous 2 movies and were dying to see this new one....So we could discuss it with our girls in our groups, naturally! :)

Here are some of my observations of HSM3:

1. You can be alot more obnoxious as an adult watching this movie when you are in the theater alone! Which we were...only the 3 of us.

2. Our favorite scenes of the movie had Zac Efron in them...1) Troy in the junk yard with Chad and 2) Troy's solo late night at the school in the gym with his Wildcat Jersey on.

3. This third one pushed alot of the limits that they haven't before...Zac Efron and several other guys shirtless multiple times in the movie. I did giggle a couple times...

4. I liked the music in this one much more than the other two...catchier songs and better dancing for sure!

5. Were there cheesy lines? Yes. Were there weird, unrealistic dance numbers in the middle of the cafeteria? Yes. Is 21 year old Efron a believable 18 year old Senior? Yes. Do I want all of Gabrielle's outfits? Yes. Did I shed any tears during the movie? Yes. Will I be seeing this movie again, on my very own DVD? Yes. Will I justify going to see this movie as research for the girls I work with? Absolutely YES!

Unpacking the Suitcase for a while...

I am back in Charlotte after being gone what seems like the entire month of October so far...it feels good knowing I can spend multiple nights in my own bed for change! Here are some fun highlights from my 10 year High School Reunion! It was a fun time and great to see everyone and what everyone is up to now....10 years later! Good times...most of all it made me grateful for the choices I have made by following God's call into ministry and then all the way out here to Charlotte! God has definitely blessed me with a great job, sweet and true friends and a great place to live (pics to come soon)! So, 10 years after graduating from high school, I gotta say I am pretty happy and grateful!

sweet Kennedy (Ali's baby girl)
My friend Bethany
my "oldest" friend Matt Brennan who I went to elementary school with before TCA
my friend from school and church Timmy Nutter

some of my favorite girls from high school
just a few of the '98 grads at the football game
my best friends from High School - the infamous Yayas!

Still on the Road...

One more trip...this weekend is my 10 year high school reunion in Dallas! Yippee!

Here's some highlights from last week and weekend!
On Wednesday night around 9:00pm a group of 6 six of my staff and volunteers headed to Atlanta for Catalyst! We rolled into town and to our hotel around 1:30ish and then woke up around 6:30am for the conference! The lack of sleep was well worth it! The speakers were awe-inspiring and the worship was excellent! My favorites were Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great; Craig Groschel, the pastor of LifeChurch.tv and
Andy Stanley, pastor of NorthPoint Church. I met one of my favorite worship leaders, Kristian Stanfill and 2 of my favorite bands did a "private concert" for about 75 of us on the first night. Robbie Seay Band and Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot! It was so sweet to get to meet them and talk after the show! They say that the experience of Catalyst...amazing speakers, intense worship, 12,400 people in one place is like drinking out of a fire hydrant...it always takes me a little time to process through everything i heard and experienced!

We drove back to Charlotte early on Friday so a couple of us could get back for the Heights Beach Trip that night. It was a great weekend, not a lot of sleep and a bit of rain...but it was alot of fun and went really well!


meeting Jon Foreman...he was so nice!


Jon Foreman doing his thing!


Our high school group! (Gotta love Chandler in the scarf in the middle! :)


the bus driver took these shots! :) (i'm in the green on the left)


me and my sweet college friend Alexis!

Hanging out with some girls!

1 more trip and then i am here for a while! At least a couple weeks in a row! Get excited for more pictures!

Out of the Office in October!

This past weekend was my first of 4 trips out of Charlotte this month! I am going to be living out of a suitcase until the end of October...here's some pictures from our Emerge (middle school) Beach Trip this past weekend...


Our fun group...see if you can find me in the picture! :)

Me and my friend Sarah

So, I leave for Catalyst Conference in Atlanta on Wednesday night til Friday and come back in time to jump on the bus to the Heights (high school) Beach Trip...Pictures to come...

Then after a couple days back in Charlotte, I head to Dallas to go to my 10 year High School Reunion...has it really been 10 years? It doesn't feel like its been that long!

So, here's to traveling all over the place this month!!!