Wifey Wednesdays

I am very new to the blog world, but I had seen a friend post something called "Wifey Wednesday" and I decided to check it out. It really is a good read, and here's today's topic:

So today, whether your marriage is a good one or not, ask yourself: what do we do well together? Ski? Camp? Play games? Plan? Hike? Drive? And whatever it is, make a point of doing it together at least once a week. You just may find that your attitude, and his, takes a dramatic turn!

What about you? What do you do well together? Leave a comment and tell me! And, if you have a blog, do post on this topic. Have you ever focused too much on the negative? Has doing something together changed the dynamic in your relationship?

What do we do well together?

At the very beginning of our relationship (before we even dated), Jordan & I were very good friends for about a year. So before being romantically involved, we were able to be friends first - we knew we actually liked being around one another just as people. Then we liked each other so much we fell in LOVE! Doing things well together is not really an option for us right now since we don't really have any friends here in Ruston. If we don't do stuff well together, we would be some LONELY individuals.

We always say that we "roll good together". By that we mean that we just do life well together. We don't really have the same hobbies, or like the exact same kinds of music, but we enjoy being together. So if we are riding bikes (his idea) or going to a Celine Dion concert (my idea) we have fun because we like to see each other happy and enjoying something the other person likes.

There are certain activities we do better alone too - he likes to do computer "stuff" (I say "stuff" because I really have no idea what all he does) and he enjoys that, so I go do something else while he does that. How boring would it be for me to just sit there and watch him type??? And I like to go shopping and just walk around the mall - he isn't a fan - too hot, too many people, why are you just looking if you aren't buying kind of thing. So, I'll go by myself, or if I'm in BR I go with my Mom! That works for us!

So that's it, we do life well together. Good thing because, Lord willing, we have a long life ahead of us, and I'm glad we'll be doing it together!

Sorry to all of my 2 readers for my lack of posting. I think of blog topics then sit down to type and my brain is BLANK. I have a mentally exhausting job, so the end of the day, my brain is kind of jell-o-ish! Hope you're all still there :).

XOXO-Linny

P.S. I got a blog AWARD! But we'll talk about that later, k?

5 Questions

I'm stealing this blog idea from my friend Melissa. I love question & answer kind of things!

Question #1: What is your dream job?

An Image Consultant/Personal Shopper/Stylist. I pretty much want to be Rachel Zoe. She has my dream job. I started at LSU in Fashion Merchandising with dreams of going to NYC & Paris learning fashion, and moving up in the world. BUT I realized I didn't want to be married to my job, so I opted out and moved on to Elementary Education, because I LOVE children!! Then I realized I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that either, I also realized that I HATED school, like seriously HATED it - so I quit & got married! Now I work in the commercial insurance industry and I really like it. I'm glad to say that I enjoy my job!

Question #2: What song could you play over and over?

Oh wow. This is a tough one. I love music - all kinds. (Worship music is my favorite though) My fave worship song right now is a Hillsong worship song, "I Will Exalt You". We sang this at LTD 09, what a beautiful sound to hear over a thousand women lifting up this song of praise - changed my life. Here are the words:

I will exalt You.
I will exalt You.
I will exalt You.
You are my God.

My hiding place.
My safe refuge.
My shelter, Lord, You are.
My friend and King
Anointed One
Most Holy

Because You're with me.
Because You're with me.
Because You're with me.
I will not fear.

Have a listen...it's angelic.



The girl singing is Brooke Fraser. If you haven't heard of her, please do yourself a favor and look her up. INcredible. She has a song I could listen to over & over called "Albertine". It's about a child she met in Rwanda - change your life kinda good.

Question #3: Do you prefer to talk on the phone ot text (or email)?

I prefer text unless I'm telling a story to someone or their telling me a story. I don't like to have to type something that long. I talk to my Mom on the phone and that's about it. I don't know why, I just don't like to talk on the phone. It is probably because I'm on the phone all day, and after that I've just had enough. If you call I'll answer the phone and talk to you, but I'd prefer a text. :)

Question #4: What is your must have beauty product?

Well, I have 3 actually. They all work together though.



The first is Blonde Bombshell by Brocato. Spray very generously all over. It swells the individual hair strands, and makes your hair feel thick.

Next...



Second, Big Sexy Hair: Root Pump. (I kinda had trouble finding a picture of this one, hence the name) This is an aerosol spray; spray it at your roots wherever you want volume (I spray a few lines on the sides and a few on top). Then I spray it all over. This stuff is like magic - major "OOOMF"! Then I dry my hair, and then....

Then finishing touch...



HAIR SPRAY!! Sebastian Re-Shaper Hair Spray. I LOVE this stuff. It isn't sticky or make your hair feel like straw. The hair feels moveable and it smells really good too!

All 3 of these are "must haves" for me!

Question #5: What is your favorite Michael Jackson song?

Hmmm...well, vocally, my favorite song of MJ's is actually a Jackson 5 song, "Who's Lovin You". When he hits that "...I treated you BAAAAAAAAD" note - OMG, FLAWLESS. And he was what, like 10?

But my favorite Michael Jackson solo song....it's a toss up between "Dirty Diana", "Human Nature" and "Bad". If you watched his memorial service, when John Mayer played "Human Nature" - wow, that was awesome.

OK! There you have it. That was fun :).

XOXO - Linny

Africa

In the summer of 2006 I had the priveledge to go on a missions trip to Swaziland & Mozambique. They are 2 countries in Africa - waaaay down at the bottom right.


I was told before I went, "When you come home, you will return to Africa everyday in your mind." - very, very true. Still, 3 years later, not too many days (if any) go by that I don't think about the time when I was there. It is something I almost cannot even explain, but since you are reading my blog and not my brain, I'll do my best to put it into words.

When I would tell people I was going to Africa, I would get the usual response, "oh you are going to see how blessed we are to live in America because the people there are so poor..." or "wow, you will apprecaite all the things you have even more..." etc. While those things are true - we are immensely blessed to live in America, and all the people I came in contact with were indeed poor, my "take away" from those 2 weeks was a lot different. LIFE CHANGING different.

Lesson #1 - Never let go of your joy.



The Bible talks alot about the "last being first, and the first being last" and the greatest is the "servant of all" - these are the things I learned in Africa. The people I met were poor - as in, they lived in a mud hut - but those with Jesus inside of them were far richer than a billionaire without Jesus. The JOY in their smiles, the sincerity of their laughter - I still think about these things to this day. I want that kind of joy - the kind that no one can take away from you. The joy of the Lord cannot be manufactured, it is His gift to you, it is your strength. Life can try to take that God given joy away from you, but it is only gone if you let go of it.

Lesson #2 - We serve a really, really BIG God.



We traveled what seemed like forever to get to Swaziland. Flight schedule = New Orleans to Atlanta to London (6 hour lay over) to Dubai (another long lay over) to Johannesburg, S. Africa (another lay over) FINALLY to Manzini, Swaziland. Oh my goodness, my body was so out of sorts. I didn't know whether it was time to go to sleep or wake up or what! I do know that I got some good sleep on the floor of the London air port.


Yeah, that's me, asleep on the floor :).

This was my first time to travel internationally. Our flight schedule may have been wierd, but I got to see some cool places along the way. And just like God created me in Baton Rouge, LA; He created all of these other people and places that are FAR away from me, my culture/way of life - AND He loves them JUST like He loves ME! I know it is a really simple thought, but my eyes were so opened to others around me. I've had a very blessed life, which is something I have taken for granted many times. Not everyone grows up in a Christian home, with both of their parents in the same household, go to school, play sports, etc. There are others who have no idea what that is like. I learned God is all about serving OTHERS. Even the landscape was huge, and God created it ALL. AH-MAZING! You might be thinking, "uh, DUH, did you not read the part in the Bible where it says 'God created the heavens & the earth'???". I've read that, been taught about it, but God SHOWED it to me. I don't even have a picture to put with this lesson that even comes close to doing it justice; but I'm telling you, God is big, He loves everyone the same - the redeemed and the not redeemed yet. I'm sure there are countless times I could have seen and learned this lesson in my own backyard, but I guess I was just too consumed with my own self that I wasn't listening or looking. Ouch, I had to do and still do some praying on that one. I can be one selfish chick. Look around, God is BIG.

If I were to try to type all the things I learned, and the things God dealt with me on in those 14 days, I'd never stop typing. So there's just 2 very small things. If you EVER get the opportunity to go on a missions trip, GO. Please GO. It is amazing what God will speak to you and show you when you get away from your familiar surroundings with the intent of serving someone else. It doesn't have to be Africa, it doesn't have to be outside the USA, God is SO big. He is everywhere, even right where you are sitting at this very moment.

One more thing...

When the team I was with went to Mozambique, we helped prepare the foundation for what is now Healing Place Church: Mozambique. When I see pictures of the completed building, I just am in awe. There were tons of beautiful kids around, and we all (kids included) surrounded the church and prayed. It was another one of those moments I will never forget.



Here is a picture of what the church looked like 3 years ago...



Here it is now...



WOW. Thousands of kids are fed here everyday. They attend church here, reach out to the community from here, learn here, etc. It is incredible how God has used the church. I'm so honored that I had just a very small role in this amazing work that God has done and is doing in this community.

There is a song that Elton Veals (one of the worship leaders at HPC) wrote. It is called "The Response". Get your Kleenex box because without a doubt, this will touch your heart.



Here I am again, for the millionth time, amazed at what God has done & is doing, and going back to Africa in my mind.

XOXO - Linny

Do You DIE?

Oh yes, I am a HUGE Rachel Zoe fan. One of the many things I miss about BR is the Bravo channel. We don't get it here in Ruston, and Bravo was my favorite network! So many great design shows, including The Rachel Zoe Project. Who is RZ? She is a celebrity stylist. Her clientele includes Cameron Diaz, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Anne Hathaway (since Devil Wears Prada), etc. RZ is known for coining a few phrases such as "I DIE...I mean, like, seriously, do you DIE?" and "That is BA-nanas!". Love her. I am no Rachel Zoe, but I do LOVE fashion.

I LOVE fall fashion. Especially this year, so many great things going on. Layering, scarves, plaids, sweater dresses, jackets, boots, & all kinds of things are totally in. My fave - BOOTS! Boots with jeans, jeans tucked in boots, boots with leggings...oh I'm so into it. I've been wanting some cowboy-ish boots. I like to try new trends, and wanted to go for the cowgirly trend (minus the table cloth looking top). So, when I saw these on the Coach web site, I HAD to have them. As RZ would say, "I DIE" for these boots. I stalked them for a few months. I'd just go to the web site and stare in awe. A little riding boot meets cowboy boot meets class. Have a look.



Only one problem with this boot - the price tag. $348.00! I do not have an extra $400 lying around, so when I walked into the Coach store and saw that they were majorly on sale, my heart did a little flip flop of JOY! My Mom & I happened to be in the mall Christmas shopping on this day, and when I saw that they were on sale AND my amazing shopping partner (my Mom!) had a 25% off coupon, I knew they had to go home with me! I tried them on, and they fit PERFECTLY. There's something about a well made shoe that just feels so wonderful. And so they went home with us. I won't tell you exactly how much the final total was, but trust me, it was not even close to $348.00. :)

My Mom is usually a stickler for waiting until Christmas Day to give a Christmas gift, but she let me have these early!! Merry Christmas to me in OCTOBER!! WOO HOO! Me & my Mom are great shopping buddies. We found a bunch of really cute tops & leggings that go with my new boots! (They will have to wait till Christmas, except for one top that she let me have now :))

Plaids are big this year, and I wore the boots yesterday with a red plaid shirt dress & black leggings. It was a cute ensemble, if I do say so myself, ha!

What trends are you going for this fall? What do you "DIE" for in fashion? Please share, I love to see what others are into!

XOXO - Linny

Hello World

Oh Lord, here I go...

I'm finally taking the plunge and starting a blog. I love to read other people's blogs and have wanted to start my own, but to be honest I was kind of intimidated. Silly, right? BUT...What if I have nothing interesting to say? I'm not that good with grammer/punctuation/spelling, so what if my blog is full of errors? I don't know how to put pictures or links or any of that cool stuff. What if the first time someone reads this blog that I'm typing RIGHT now is ALREADY bored??? SO MUCH PRESSURE!!!!

I started blogging on MySpace a few years ago, but I cannot even tell you the last time I was on MySpace since I joined "Team Facebook". But I really liked blogging, it was a good outlet for me to express what I'm doing, how I'm feeling about what I'm doing, etc.

I'm a little nervous, but I am vowing to be completely honest, open, and real with this blog, so here I go...

I love weekends - one of my favorite things about the weekend is waking up on Saturday morning, realizing it's Saturday and going back to sleep. AHHHHH, so lovely. This particular weekend I've done a lot of resting, LOTS of resting. I've stayed in my PJ's since Friday night - I even went to pick up Jordan's dry cleaning in my PJ's, HA! (it's a drive-thru) I was even at church this morning in my PJ's - ok, don't freak, I attend church online - I'll tell you about that soon. I intend on maintaining this attire until I am forced to get up & get dressed on Monday morning.

Now let me tell you about last weekend. It was verrrry different. I was in BR last weekend, attending/participating in HPC's Live the Dream Women's Conference. WOW. There are no words. My soul has missed that house. I felt like a dry sponge just diving into a huge pool of water, and becoming saturated in the Word and the worship. I love worship, it is the best way that I connect with God. I love to sing praise at the top of my lungs. I was "that girl" singing loudly, tears streaming down my face, completely connecting to my King. It was beautiful, a sea of women, hands lifted high, singing "I will exault You" - no doubt a moment in my life I'll remember forever. We had some incredible speakers bring incredible truth - truth that I needed to hear. The first night, Charlotte Gambill spoke about "Why are you here....are you ALL here". I couldn't help but think about conference last year, it was great, but I know that I wasn't all there. I simply took it for granted. I was there because I go to HPC & I'm a woman; it was church as "usual" just a little more glammed up with peacock feathers everywhere. But this year was completely different, I had to repent for my complacent attitude, and decide in my heart that regardless of where in am - front row in HPC's sanctuary on a Sunday, or in my PJ's attending via online - I will praise Him, I will dive into the Word, I will be ministered to.

Since we moved to Ruston (11 months ago) we haven't really found a church we connected with. I think God was wanting to show me that regardless of where I am, He is everywhere, it is just up to me to turn my heart towards Him. I'm a quick learner, huh? Only took me ELEVEN MONTHS to figure this out :). Oh well, looking forward....I'm already registered for Live the Dream 2010. Joyce Meyer & J. John will be speaking next year AND we will be in the HPC Arena!!!!!!! You don't want to miss it. If register before Nov. 1, it's only $75, so go register NOW! Register at livethedream.healingplacechurch.org

Here's a pic of me & some great girlfriends at Live the Dream! (I'm the blonde)


Ok, that's all for now. How was that????

XOXO - Linny