Go Shoeless with me this Thursday!

I own a pair of these shoes and I absolutely love them and am 100% behind this company and the guy who started it, Blake Mycoskie (who i follow on Twitter). They had this cool commericial during the Masters this weekend: check it out Here
and then go buy a pair of these shoes!!!!

Good Friday thoughts

This video has been so powerful to me and especially on this day as we reflect on what Jesus went through for us because He loves us so much!




We sang this song last night at our service of darkness and what is so powerful to me are the words..."nothing but the blood"...how I desire for that to be true in my life and that I would stop trying to put other things in that place in my life! Hillsong United finishes this version with the chorus of Hosanna...one of my all time favorite worship songs!!!



May you join with me as we remember what God did in sending His precious Son to die on that cross for each and every sin of each and every one of us!!! I am reminded today of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 118

As we go through the next couple of days leading up to celebrating the fact that we worship a living Jesus through the resurrection...may our thoughts be on the work of salvation on the cross and the rescue that Jesus came to do for each of us!

It's Friday....but Sunday's comin!

A picture of Heaven for me..

So, the last 2 years I have had the privilege to travel to Brazil with our high school students and spend 10 days ministering to the people there, but more importantly building life long relationships with our Brazilian brothers and sisters. There are so many amazing memories from the last 2 years, but one that sticks out to me is of the times we spent singing our favorite songs with the Brazilians...us singing in English, them in Portuguese. One instance when this spontaneous singing happened was on our long bus ride to Iguaracy, a community inland that we went to put on VBS and a church service for 2 days. It is a 10 hour drive and we got lost this last time...that's another funny story. But to pass the time on the bus, we would put in Hillsong DVDs and sing along to the music. It is amazing to hear 2 languages singing the same praises to God at the same time in confined space. To me, that is what Heaven is going to be like on a much bigger scale! I can't wait!!! I found this video below and it brought me to tears watching the worship leaders from Hillsong United who speak/sing normally in English engage this huge crowd with their own language and create this worship party!!!




Hillsong United's new CD comes out this May and I can't wait!!! We sing at least one Hillsong United song a week in our Student Services, so it will be a preview of what we will be singing this summer and fall!!!

Gone too long?

So, the other day I was driving downtown to Charlotte One (more on that later) and a car started honking at me from the side. I turned and looked to see a dad and daughter trying to get my attention with their hands. They were giving me a thumbs up and smiling at me. It literally took me a couple minutes to realize they were giving me the international sign for "gig em". I have become accustomed living up here in Tarheel/Blue Devil land that I didn't even recognize a fellow alum and Aggie "gigging em" at me! I have officially been out of Texas too long!!! I must get back and get my fix!!!

Another story about how I have become desensitized in these 3 1/2 years I have been living here. Shortly after I moved here, I got to know my former roommmate, Cori and we started playing golf together on my day off. We were leaving the driving range one day and there was a car parked in front of us with a Texas A&M sticker on the back window. There were two guys getting in their car leaving and I told Cori (who I might add does NOT talk to strangers) that I would be right back. I proceeded to introduce myself to the guy who was driving and had a very awkward conversation about us both being Aggies. He was so not into the conversation and I could tell did not think it was a big deal that we were in Charlotte and both were from a place that is 2000 miles away...

well, I have become that guy...not entirely sure what kind of face I made at the car who honked at me the other day, but by the time I figured it out and smiled...it was too late!

Gig Em to all those Aggies living in Charlotte! I'm sorry I am not representing very well these days...

Is Anyone Out There?

This is a favorite line from one of my favorite bands, Anberlin in their song Hello.Alone.

This blog today is going to be 1 simple question with 2 parts.

Who are you reading my blog? and why?

Here's the deal...I get caught up in blog stalking (reading people's blogs who I don't personally know) and I get inspired, challenged, empathetic, etc. when I read them...so here's my question, whether you know me or not, please leave a comment telling me A) that people actually read this thing and B) I want to write things that are more relevant to those who are reading this...hope that all makes sense...

If I get no comments, this blog may soon disappear!

LU

Missing Texas...

Well, I am currently in a drought of trips to Texas...praise the Lord I am out of debt, but that means I can't just put a plane ticket on the credit card and pay it off later...therefore, I won't be going back to Texas until the end of May for my brother's wedding. This has inspired a blog about some of the things I miss most while I'm living up in the land of College Basketball, sweet tea and Nascar!

1. I miss alot of people of course...so if you are reading this and you live in Texas and I know you, then I miss you!!! I'm just posting one of the littlest people I miss seeing and loving on!!! Miss Kennedy Wood, Auntie Lor misses you!!

2. Food is a big part of my life...I love to eat! These are a few of the things that I can't get up here and am dreaming about having someday soon!!!







3. Watching Texas high school football in person...the best I get up here is Friday Night Lights on DVR!

4. Wearing my Aggie Ring and having people not mistake it for a high school ring...therefore, I do not wear it up here!

5. Going to the movies with Ali and running random errands with Sarah!!!

6. Access roads...don't ask about this one...just be grateful you have them there!!!

7. Knowing my way around town like the back of my hand...last night I led a group of people to the wrong house (way out of the way) for a St. Patty's Day party because I trusted Google Maps and it failed me!!!

8. Getting to hug people I love anytime I want to!!!!

So, I'm missing Texas and all the people in it tonight, but am praying God would continue to use me up here in North Carolina!

On an exciting note, 8 high school students accepted Christ this morning at church and about two dozen middle schoolers rededicated their lives to the Lord and vowed not to continue following a religion but live in a Relationship!!!! Praise God!!!

now that I'm thinking about that, it doesn't make me hungry for Texas food as much!!! God is good!!!

Surprise appearance by Nick, Joe and Kevin

If you are over 18 years old, you might not know who this is referring to...but if you work with teenagers, like I do...these boys are a household name and their last name is Jonas...as in the Jonas Brothers. When I saw on Good Morning America the other day that they were making "surprise" appearances all over the country at movie theaters showing their movie, I had this weird feeling that Charlotte might be on that list. Why would I think this? There has been this strange phenomenon here in Charlotte that people have ties here or connections to this place in some way and big things happen. Michael Jordan playing with Tiger Woods a couple of years ago in the Wachovia Championships, talking to Sergio Garcia on the links this past year, Pat Green loves coming to play here because he has family nearby,Davidson College was the cinderella story in the NCAA tournament last year, Will Ferrell played Ricky Bobby and lit himself "on fire" at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and now we can add the Jonas Brothers appearing at a movie theater to shocked and amazed teens here in Charlotte this weekend!!! Check out the story HERE
So, I have gotten to witness some awesome things while living in Charlotte, but this was not one of them. I instead chose to go see Slumdog Millionaire and I can honestly say, I don't regret my movie choice one bit! This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and I encourage everyone to go see it and open your eyes to the reality of what children experience in the slums of India! Hopefully it will touch your heart and remind you to pray for these children, as it did for me! So, while I didn't get to meet the Jonas Brothers (they are WAY too young for me anyway!) :), I did get to be reminded of what God tells us in His Word.

LoveMercy
Lu

P.S. check out this. But because of this I am just going to say that these guys are hilarious and are friends of friends in Dallas!