Life of a Journalizm Girl

Out on My Own

2012-01-13T22:38:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to talking about a major, very exciting event in my life.

On November 5, I moved into my own two-story, one-bedroom townhouse!

I've waited and worked and saved money toward moving out on my own for years and the timing was finally right. I love my family and I am very blessed that they allowed me to stay at home, rent-free with few expectations or obligations, for as long as I wanted or needed. But I was very ready to be out on my own. I've always been independent and I had hoped all through college to move out shortly after graduation, but that didn't work out. More than two years later though--here I am!

I love my townhouse. It's one-bedroom and affordably priced, especially for its rather large size (895 square feet). The complex is older, but they've renovated it over the years so the apartments look good. The exterior of the buildings were recently painted and before I moved into my townhouse they put in new carpet, countertops and fixtures. I didn't know they were going to do that so it was a nice surprise.

And the closet space! There are closets everywhere! I went from sharing a small closet in a small bedroom with my sister, to having a large closet in my room, a large closet downstairs, a tiny one in the bathroom and a small one in the upstairs hall that's perfect for storing laundry. And a small storage unit off the back patio. Heaven!

When I looked out my back patio for the first time, I was delighted to discover that one of the apartment complex's picnic areas (grill and picnic table) is located only yards from the my back patio. One of the complex's pools is also super close. That will be perfect for summer entertaining! (Especially since grills are not allowed at individual apartments, per Knox County law.)

Most of all, I love the fact that I am finally at a place to practice hospitality. I've dreamed for years of being able to host girls nights, fellowship gatherings, dinners, parties, etc. I hosted a party and a youth leaders' meeting over the holidays and I look forward to the opportunity to do even more now that we've moved past that especially busy season.

I've also dreamed for years of having my own place to decorate (and my own kitchen). My home is still a work in progress and I've added a few things since I took these pictures a few weeks after I moved in, but here are a few pictures of my place.

The landing at the top of the stairs. I've replaced the pale flowers with a vase of silk red roses that add a nice pop of color to the area.

Upstairs bathroom (the full bath)

My kitchen :)

My kitchen from another angle

I saw that wall decal on Amazon and I had to have it. It's the perfect finishing touch.

My downstairs half bath is lighthouse-themed. It's tiny, so it's hard to show pictures of it. But it's nice to have a downstairs bathroom option, especially when I have guests.

My dining area. The wall decal says "Good company always welcome."

My living room. I've added some other stuff since then. The red curtains hide the white patio blinds and my patio door. I'm not a fan of the look of the blinds, plus I wanted the option to add some color to the room, so my dad graciously agreed to hang a curtain rod up for me.

I love books. And I have a lot of them. Everywhere.

For some reason I haven't taken any pictures of my bedroom yet, but I will try to do that soon and post them as well.

So that's the quick tour!

Hopefully one day I'll get the chance to give you a tour in person, followed up by a cup of coffee and some cookies over conversation.

My prayer for my new home is that it will be a place where people feel the presence of God and feel comfortable and at home as soon as they walk through the door. I want it to be a welcoming place where people leave touched and encouraged and blessed.

So come on over! :)

Stay tuned...

2011-12-30T22:56:00.000-05:00

It's the end of the year. The time when most people, including myself, take time to look back over the past 12 months and ponder the unknown adventures the next 52 weeks will hold.

That state of reflection is where I've found myself for about the past week. While I wouldn't say that I make "New Year's resolutions," I do find it healthy for me to write down some goals I want to achieve in the coming year. I may not be that old, but I've already learned that I flounder around and end up frazzled and confused without vision and focus. I need direction and I have to be working toward a goal at any given time. That's true of everyone to an extent, but my DNA seems to especially require it. It doesn't have to be a massive undertaking, it can be something small, but I need to be working toward something.

So at the start of each new year, I set a few goals. Some very specific, some general. Some for fun and some that will take work, but ultimately lead to improvement in a particular skill or area of my life. Some don't happen and that's okay. Others change and evolve as the year goes on and end up looking entirely different than what I first set out to achieve. That's fine, too. In fact, it's usually better that way. God's plans are always better than mine.

One thing I've decided for sure is that 2012 needs to hold more writing and blogging. Writing is ingrained into the fibers of my being and I did very little of it (outside of work) in 2011. And that's gotta change.

So... stay tuned. I hope to give my blog a makeover and return to blogging on a regular basis in the near future.

Happy New Year!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

(From front to back) My youngest brother, me, my sister and my Dad in March 2011

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there--especially my own!

I am very blessed to have a father who serves the Lord and loves his family unconditionally. He isn't perfect, but I know he strives to be the best godly father and husband that he can be--with the Lord's help.

I could give countless examples of the many ways he has expressed his love for me or made a positive impact on my life, but unfortunately I don't have time at the moment.

My dad has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders in life and I'm very thankful that no matter what, I know I will always have his love. I also have no doubt that I wouldn't be the person I am today, without my dad and his influence in my life.

I love you, Dad!

Hangin' with my little buddy

2011-06-04T23:11:00.002-04:00

My youngest brother and I have always had a special relationship. We're 14 years apart, so we pretty much skipped the whole fight-with-your-sibling drama and settled into a special kind of close bond from the start. It's more like an aunt/nephew relationship--except we live under the same roof. He's my little buddy and always will be--even when he's eventually much taller than I am.

Holidays 2010

One of my all-time favorite pictures with Isaac. It captures his personality perfectly. The picture was supposed to be a "normal" one, but Isaac decided to go for a crazy pose as Mom clicked the picture.

Christmas 2003 (now this is a flashback--braces AND the beginning phase of my crazy hair!)

A few weekends ago, my parents went out of town on a weekend getaway, so Isaac and I got to spend the whole weekend together. I thought about tons of different fun things we could do that Saturday and it took me forever to finally narrow it down.

Isaac has always enjoyed science and it's a subject we connected over early in his life. When I took biology my freshman year in college, Isaac somehow discovered my textbook and lab manual (I can't remember whether I found something interesting and showed it to him first or if he saw me studying and came over to see what was inside the book) and loved to look at them with me--at the age of 4. He would point at the pictures and say things like, "What's that?" and "How does that work?" He even begged me to help him dissect something (the dissection diagrams and pictures were some of his favorite parts of my lab manual). At the end of the school year, I sold my biology textbook but since I couldn't do anything with my marked-up lab manual, I gave it to Isaac and he kept it for years.

I thought about taking Isaac to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga since he would absolutely love it and it's something I've wanted to do as well. But practicality won out and I decided it would be best to stick closer to Knoxville. A strong chance of rain eliminated a trip to the zoo, but then I remembered another "scientific" option nearby that Isaac hadn't experienced: the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Here are some snapshots of the fun we shared that day, starting with a trip to AMSE.

Writing his name in Braille

Exploring the KNEX exhibit

He wanted his picture taken on the model rocket in the Y-12/ORNL exhibit. He surprised me with how much he knew about the history of Oak Ridge. He apparently recently watched a National Geographic documentary about the Manhatten Project on Netflix with my dad.

Having fun with the interactive exhibits

Although Isaac had never been to the museum, he'd seen advertisements for it that included pictures of the "hair-raising" atom generator presentation. So when he heard that they were doing a show that afternoon, attending it definitely had to be a priority on our list. We went and listed to the explanation about how the generator works and when they called for volunteers to try it out, Isaac was first in line.

Of course, I had to do it, too. I let another woman with long hair go first to see if it made her hair static-y and crazy afterwards and when it didn't, I went for it. It was crazy! You can't really feel anything, but it really does make your hair stand on end! But oddly enough, after I pulled away from the generator, my hair flattened back nicely into its former state.

We enjoyed some Chick-fil-A for lunch and delicious frozen yogurt sundaes at Menchie's, then headed down to campus for Game Time in Tennessee. UT's athletic department chaplain, some current and former Vols and Lady Vols and dozens of local churches were involved in the free event. It started in the afternoon with a mini sports camp for kids inside the Vols indoor football practice facility. The kids could take part in football, basketball, soccer or cheerleading training sessions with actual UT athletes. We got down there toward the end so Isaac only had time for one session and he chose soccer. I was impressed with the event. They wrapped up the sports camp with some testimonies and an altar call and the main event that evening included a presentation of the Gospel, some more testimonies and a free Christian concert in Neyland Stadium. But the evening events would have made for a really long day for Isaac, so we headed home after the sports camp and wrapped up the evening after dinner by watching Megamind.

We were both worn out by the end of the day, but had a lot of fun. I know I'll cherish the memories we made for years to come. :)

Local news in high def!

2011-06-02T23:20:00.003-04:00

It's been a crazy, but fun and exciting week to work at WBIR.

After weeks of preparation, we're broadcasting in HD!

The past few months have been a busy and sometimes stressful, but exciting season. WBIR's managers reached an agreement a few months ago with the local FOX station (WTNZ--FOX 43) to power their local newscasts. We started out just doing the half-hour 10 p.m. newscast, but that agreement expanded to a one-hour 10 p.m. newscast and a brand-new morning show from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. along with our HD launch. The new shows necessitated the need for more people, so we've also added several new reporters, producers and photographers to the team. After experiencing the layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts of 2008 and 2009, it feels great to experience the excitement of expansion and lots of positive developments, even though all of the adjustments that come along with that have sometimes been crazy.

So needless to say, Wednesday, June 1 was a very big day at WBIR! We even had a a brief station-wide champagne toast before the first HD show. It's not often one gets to do that at work! We launched in HD, unveiled a new set, expanded a recently acquired newscast, added a completely new newscast (well, technically that was this morning not yesterday) and launched some new graphics. Any one of those changes is enough to be a big deal, but doing them all at once is almost enough to make one's head spin. But everything went about as well as could possibly be expected.

I *love* the newly-renovated set. It looks awesome! Especially in HD. (We have a standard definition TV at home and HD ones at work, so I get to experience it from both worlds.) The old set had needed an upgrade for a long time, particularly the weather center, interview set and kitchen. Our production crews, directors and managers put in *tons* of hours to get everything ready to go and their hard work paid off!

Here's a video tour our promotions crew made that includes some behind-the-scenes looks at the 5 p.m. newscast (our first in HD). See if you can find anyone you recognize. ;)

Speaking of the 5 p.m. newscast, guess who got to produce it? Yours truly!

It made the most sense to launch in HD from our new set on 10 News at Five and I'm producing that show for the next few weeks while our new producer gets settled in. My permanent home will eventually be the 6 p.m. newscast. I felt excited and humbled to be a part of the first full-length HD newscast, even though I know things ended up that way simply because of our current schedule.

I always want the newscasts I produce to look great on air, but I've never wanted a flawless show as badly as I did yesterday! I was super excited, but a little nervous. It reminded me of the way I felt the first time I produced the 5 p.m. or the 6 p.m. newscasts. Thankfully it all went well and God definitely gets all the glory for that! We were all on our A game, but any number of things still could have gone wrong that didn't.

My news director took a moment as the day got started to encourage everyone to soak up the excitement and enjoy the day, even as we dealt with all the craziness. Huge moments like this don't happen often in a journalist's career, but they are very memorable. And even now, only one day removed from the big event, I have to agree. Years from now, I think I will definitely look back on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 as one of the highlights of my time as a journalist. I already feel that way about it!

Anyway, here are a few behind-the-scenes shots, from a producer's perspective:

Our directors getting everything ready to go

And here we go! 4:57:40 p.m. began a new era for WBIR!

Michelle (our future 5 p.m. producer) and me -- the new early evening newscasts power producing pair ;)

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

"The Patience of Faith"

2011-05-19T23:45:00.001-04:00

This morning while enjoying some time with the Lord before work, I felt compelled to open my copy of My Utmost for His Highest and read the devotional for the day. I haven't done that in quite some time, so I figured God must have something to say to me. And He did. As I was flipping through the pages to reach the May 18 entry, the book fell open to May 8 and a quick glance showed me that was what I was supposed to read--not today's entry (although I did read it as well). It both encouraged and convicted me, so I thought I would share it.

The Patience of Faith

"Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says--'I cannot stand any more.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. 'Though he slay me, yet will I wait for him.'
Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs when there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.
God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ's life, and there are to be none in ours. 'This is life eternal, that they might know Thee.' The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power."

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, "May 8" (emphasis mine)

One of the reasons the entry caught my eye is because some of the sentences were underlined and highlighted. So I've obviously read it before--but needed to hear it again today. I love how God will bring the right words into our lives at the right time--if we'll only have our ears open to hear them. Goodness knows I've missed countless opportunities to hear the Lord and converse with Him, but I'm glad I didn't this time.

My prayer for myself, and for each of you reading this, is that we will grow in relationship with the Lord and be "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1) as we live out the gospel of Jesus Christ and find our true foundation in Him.

Grace and peace be with you!

A little April Fools' fun

2011-04-04T22:19:00.003-04:00

(Please forgive the delay in getting this posted--I tried to post it Friday night... and for days afterward...but my computer and Blogger weren't getting along for some weird reason. Those problems finally seem to be resolved.)

Today is April Fools' Day--a "holiday" that usually comes and goes without any true acknowledgement on my part, other than extra vigilance to be discerning on Facebook and in everyday life. It just kind of bugs me that for an entire day I don't feel like I can trust what I hear or see. I'm not opposed to a good, fun prank on April Fools' or any other day--it's the words intended to deceive that personally don't sit well with me.

But... that being said, I'm not opposed to a little playful April Fools' fun that isn't blatantly deceitful. And as those of you who know me are aware, I love any good excuse to bake.

So I made these and took them to work.

I spotted the instructions for these in a cupcake book I own and thought they were too cute. I've wanted to make them, but when is one going to have an opportunity to bake something like that but on April Fools'? So I decided to make some and take them to work.

My co-workers loved them so much that our marketing department took pictures of them and posted them on the WBIR fan page on Facebook!

They look sort of complicated, but they're really not.

The "spaghetti and meatballs" are regular cupcakes with vanilla icing tinted and piped to look like spaghetti noodles, topped with strawberry preserves for spaghetti sauce and Ferraro Rocher chocolates for meatballs. Some thin white chocolate shavings sprinkled on top gave the appearance of parmesan cheese.

The "corn on the cobs" are regular cupcakes with vanilla icing, a combination of Jelly Belly (I used the lemon, pina colada and french vanilla flavors--the buttered popcorn ones have a good "corn" appearance, but I think they taste nasty) and Starburst jellybeans (I ran out of Jelly Bellys, so one of the corn on the cobs looks a little overdone), lemon Starburst candy for a pad of butter and colored sugar for salt and pepper. Arrange the cupcakes into sets of three and stick some actual corn on the cob holders into the outer sides of the trio to complete the look.

For more information on these cupcakes or some other super cute ideas, check out the book "Hello Cupcake" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. These ideas came from that book. "What's New, Cupcake?" is also a great resource if you enjoy making cupcakes.

Flash flooding hits Knoxville

2011-03-01T23:04:00.001-05:00

Anyone who has lived here in East Tennessee through at least one season knows that we experience a wide range of weather elements. And since I've lived here for the vast majority of my life, I've grown accustomed to it. Aside from extended periods of either excessive heat or excessive cold, I like the weather in East Tennessee and there isn't a lot about it that surprises me anymore. I'm used to the roller coaster ride.

But the aftermath of a storm system that moved through yesterday is unlike anything I've ever seen in Knoxville.

It was clear over the weekend and early Monday morning that the system moving through the area would have the potential to produce strong thunderstorms. So when I thought about the possible damage and aftermath from the storm, I was more concerned about downed trees, high winds and maybe even an isolated tornado or two in parts of East Tennessee. As the storm approached, in my mind it seemed those concerns were well founded.

By midday, the skies had turned creepy dark. It looked more like 6 p.m. instead of noon. I haven't been scared of thunderstorms since I was a young girl, but seeing a particularly strong-looking storm brewing can sometimes gives me an unsettled and vulnerable feeling. It's a reminder that some things (actually a lot of things) in life truly are completely beyond our control--and we can only trust God to protect us.

I produced the 6 p.m. newscast so I was at work for the duration of the storm. A number of people in our newsroom noted that the unsettling warm temperatures and dark skies greatly resembled the conditions on November 10, 2002, when another thunderstorm during the winter months sparked a tornado outbreak in Morgan County that killed seven people and destroyed dozens of homes in the Mossy Grove community. I know I wasn't the only one concerned that a similar situation could unfold on the Cumberland Plateau.

But we were wrong. The skies opened up around lunch time and it soon became apparent that the sustained torrential downpours that we were seeing were going to create an entirely different, but very real threat--flash flooding.

We went on air with sustained weather and flooding coverage (we call it wall-to-wall weather) around 1 p.m. and stayed on all afternoon, continuing to include extended forecast information and live reports in all our early evening newscasts.

As the videos and pictures and reports started coming in, I couldn't believe it. Drivers were stranded and having to be rescued from their cars all across the city--not just in the typical flood-prone areas. Students and staff got stuck inside an east Knox County middle school for a few hours because rising waters covered the road to the building. Popular parks and greenways were completely underwater. Dumpsters floated through parking lots near one of my favorite restaurants in Fountain City. Some homes were washed off their foundations. Parts of a busy state highway that I drive nearly everyday were completely submerged thanks to a normally tranquil creek that crested into a raging mini river. It all seemed surreal. Those are the kind of images that I'm accustomed to seeing on national news--not literally right up the street. I've lived here since December 1991, and I don't remember ever seeing Knoxville flood like this.

In typical flash-flood fashion, the waters began to recede within a few hours--leaving behind messes and heartbreak. Fortunately, no one in East Tennessee died in the storm. But Second Harvest Food Bank lost a lot of its inventory and sustained expensive damage when floodwaters swept through its warehouse. Dozens of people lost their cars, belongings--and in some cases, even their homes--while others are dealing with damage. I'm sure there will be many interesting and sad stories to tell in the days to come.

The experience was also interesting from a journalist's perspective. I've been a part of snow coverage several times--but I'd managed to miss out on sustained severe thunderstorm coverage until yesterday.

It was a little bit of new territory, although very similar to other situations I've been in. After two years of working weekends in news, I've gotten used to the occasional sustained winter weather coverage and the live shots, road condition updates, school closings, route changes and flight delays that come along with it. But thunderstorms involve more elements. There are a lot more weather elements to talk about (rainfall totals, winds, storm strength, tornado risks, lightning, etc.) and a lot more potential news elements (flooding, downed trees and power lines, lightning strikes, mudslides, rockslides, potential lightning-sparked fires, etc.).

One thing that didn't surprise me is our station's response. I am blessed to work with a great bunch of people who also happen to be excellent journalists. So even though some of the particulars of the situation were new to me, the general atmosphere was not. It was definitely a little chaotic and crazy at times, as breaking news situations always are. But as always, everyone's focus was on working as hard as we could as a team to report the news with truth, accuracy and excellence, give people they information they need to make informed decisions about their personal welfare and safety and that of their loved ones--and do it all straight from the heart. And as always, our team rose to the occasion. I work with the best!

Lemon Bars

2010-11-18T12:30:00.002-05:00

I love baking!

Most of my "creations" are the result of finding a solid recipe and keeping it around to be used over and over (although I am starting to play around with recipes more than I used to). But today I am proud to share with you one of the first recipes I've ever made uniquely "mine."

A few years ago, I discovered the dessert delight known as the lemon bar and I was immediately a fan. There's just something about the flavor of lemon that is refreshing in a dessert!

Freshly washed lemons, ready to be grated and squeezed

The first time I made lemon bars, I followed a Taste of Home recipe. They were good, but when I bit into them, I immediately knew the recipe could be altered to taste even better.

So I did some tweaking and added and changed some ingredients until the recipe was distinctly different and achieved the taste I wanted.

And here is the result! There's one key ingredient that makes this recipe uniquely different from other traditional ones. See if you can find it.

Liz's Lemon Bars

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

6 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

Additional confectioners' sugar

Cut the flour, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles fine or small crumbs. Pat into an 8 X 13 pan greased with baking spray (the new nonstick spray that contains flour--it works like a dream for baked goods and it's a lot less messy than shortening and flour!). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

To prepare filling, beat eggs and add sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat until frothy.

Pour filling over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars. Dust cut bars with additional confectioners' sugar.

Cut crust mixture, ready to be pressed into the pan

Freshly grated lemon zest

Did you find it? The vanilla extract is my "secret" ingredient! I've looked at several other lemon bar recipes and vanilla is not included in them. But I'm a huge fan of vanilla and think it makes a big difference in this recipe.

I also recently tried changing the recipe somewhat to make it gluten-free, as a birthday gift for my friend Wendy. They weren't quite the same as the regular version, but still turned out well. So here's that recipe:

Gluten-free Lemon Bars

Crust:

2 cups multi-purpose gluten-free flour

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. gluten-free baking powder

6 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

Prepare the recipe the same way as listed above, but use olive oil or vegetable oil to grease the pan instead of the baking spray.

Enjoy! :)

Happy Fall!

2010-09-23T17:13:00.004-04:00

We switched over to fall at approximately 11:09 last night, so this is the first full day of the new season. I hope you had to chance to catch a glimpse of the "harvest moon" last night. It was gorgeous!

Unfortunately, although the calendar says it is fall, it certainly doesn't feel like it around here. We're still pushing 90-degree temperatures. But I know the cooler temperatures will be here soon. (I *LOVE* the 60 and 70-degree temperatures of fall!)

I enjoy the changing of the seasons each time they roll around, but fall brings a special excitement with it. I can't wait for the leaves to start changing! God's creation puts on quite a beautiful show here in East Tennessee during the fall season!

And of course, there are plenty of other perks to autumn: pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, lovely autumn-scented candles, hot apple cider, bonfires, relaxing by the fireplace... so much to enjoy! :)

I hope you have a great first full day of fall and enjoy the entire season to the max!

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park before the leaves peaked in fall 2008

Road trip

2010-09-16T13:30:00.003-04:00

Our first day of vacation started dark and early. Katherine and I had agreed that I would meet at her house at 7:30 that morning, so I loaded up at 6:30 so I would have time to stop by Starbucks and grab some coffee on the way.

I loaded my remaining luggage into the car and turned my GPS on, ready to plug in Katherine's family's new address. As I turned the device on, it flashed a message up at me that said, "No maps available." "That's weird," I thought. I then realized with horror that when the map upgrade I'd tried to download before the trip had failed right at the end, it had cleared everything from my GPS. I had an atlas and had an idea of which interstates we needed to take--and Katherine has a GPS--so I wasn't worried about that. The problem was: I didn't know how to get to Katherine's new house. So our trip started off with me calling Katherine to get directions to their house.

I knew packing lightly didn't fit into my vocabulary (that's the problem with wanting to be prepared for practically anything--you tend to carry around too much stuff), but as we started loading everything into the car, I was embarrassed to realize just how much stuff we had--most of it mine. *laugh* I have got to learn to pack only the essentials when I'm traveling!

I trust technology--but not completely. ;) We followed the GPS, but kept the atlas handy.

Katherine took the first driving shift and we traded out in Spartansburg, SC.

Driving through North Carolina

Katherine behind the wheel

We drove for a while along I-26 and then Katherine's GPS directed us to get off the interstate. I didn't think anything about it at first. It directed us through a small town that reminded me a great deal of my parents' tiny hometown of LaGrange, Ga. Actually a lot of southeastern South Carolina reminded me of southern Georgia. Rural, relaxed and sprinkled with small towns. The highway continued to direct us down a two-lane highway (very similar to Highway 11E in East Tennessee) and then Katherine and I gradually began to realize that her GPS had directed us along a country route. It took longer, but it was pretty. We drove through lots of small farming communities and beautiful countryside.

One good thing about the longer, country route--it took us directly to Savannah, instead of bypassing it. We wanted to stop there and at least drive through the historic district, so that worked out perfectly. We stopped and took a bathroom break, then walked around the Savannah Visitor's Center quickly. The building is gorgeous. It's a restored, former train station and the architecture and design is beautiful. The Savannah College of Art and Design was across the parking lot. By that point though, our trip had already taken us several hours, so we didn't stick around too long. I would love to go back at some point though and spend a least a few days there.

Katherine and I drove through the historic area and then hopped back on the interstate, where we encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic for a good 30 minutes or so. It was around 5:30, so I'm not sure if that was commuter traffic headed out of Savannah or if there was some kind of accident. At any rate, we weren't going anywhere faster than a snail's pace.

We eventually moved beyond the traffic jam and continued down I-95 in southeastern Georgia. I love driving through that area. The landscape is dotted with the occasional Low Country-style, gorgeous homes and small towns, criss-crossed by dozens of small rivers, creeks and swamps. And in a way, I have a little bit of a claim on the area. My dad joined the Navy out of high school and served 8 years, working on nuclear submarines. For the last two years of his military career, he was stationed at the Kings Bay Naval Base in Kingsland/St. Mary's, Georgia. We moved there when I was almost 2 years old and left shortly after I turned 4.

Kingsland is about 45 minutes away from Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, and although I was very young and don't really remember it, we used to go to the beach from time to time. So in a way, I have a connection with Amelia Island that goes back to my early childhood. We drove by the exits for Kingsland on the way down and I was surprised to notice as we drove by that the small, mostly military town now has a welcome center. Kingsland is moving up in the world...

Anyway, back to our journey. :) We finally arrived at Amelia Island and checked into out hotel around 8:30, about 12 hours after our trek began. But before we checked in, we drove out to the ocean for a quick peek.

One of my favorite things about approaching the ocean is looking ahead toward the water and catching that first glimpse of "the end of the road"--that point where the road ends and the ocean stretches out endlessly ahead. It sends a small thrill through me each time.

Katherine and I parked the car and stepped out into a heavenly sea breeze. We both inhaled deeply and smiled and squealed a little with delight as the wind blew our hair and we turned to look at the beautiful, mysterious ocean and the pretty white sand.

After sticking our feet in the ocean and letting the waves wash over them for a few minutes, we reluctantly walked back to the car and drove to the hotel, full of excitement and ideas for heading back to the beach the next morning.

We stayed at Residence Inn Amelia Island, only a few blocks away from one of the beach access points. It is a very nice hotel. Thanks to a nice discount my uncle secured for us at the hotel (he's a pastor and a member of his congregation works there), we stayed in a two-bedroom suite, complete with a full kitchen and separate bathrooms attached to each of the bedrooms (it was really nice to not have to take turns in the shower or getting ready!).

After unloading our stuff, we took a quick dip in the hotel's hot tub before settling in for the night and heading to bed.

Well, this is more than enough detail about our trip down to the beach! I'll start sharing about our adventures on the island in upcoming posts. :)

Long-awaited vacation

2010-09-09T23:09:00.004-04:00

I'm typing this blog post while lounging on a couch (with my feet stretched out irreverently on the lounge chair a few feet away) in my vacation suite, only three blocks away from the beach.

That's right. I, Liz Overton, am at the beach. *happy sigh*

My friend Katherine and I traveled 9+ hours to lovely Amelia Island, home of Fernandina Beach, Florida. We arrived too late tonight to head to the beach, but did drive by, stick our feet in and inhale the sea breeze.

I haven't been to the beach in 12 years, despite the fact that I LOVE the ocean. (When I was about 11-12 years old, I was dead-set on being a marine biologist when I grew up. That dream didn't last long, but I still love the ocean and ocean animals.) And I haven't been outside of East Tennessee in years, let alone on a "real" vacation. So I am beside myself with excitement to be here!

I will post more about our road trip adventure down here, including pictures, tomorrow. But for now, we're here safe and sound, ready to hit the beach in the morning!

Faith to believe he can do what we ask

2010-08-17T17:15:00.001-04:00

I'm currently reading through the book of Acts, and my bible study this morning found me in chapter 12. Although I've read and heard the story of Peter's escape from prison via angelic intervention many times, a few things jumped out at me today that made me stop and think.

I'll give a quick summary of the story just so you'll know where I'm coming from. As the chapter opens, the persecution of the early church is in full force and King Herod had just arrested several members of the church. He even had James, the brother of John and one of the 12 disciples, beheaded. Herod saw that this pleased the Jews (and would therefore help him earn and keep their support), so he kept up the arrests and had Peter seized and thrown into prison.

Not only did Herod throw Peter in prison to have him await trial, he also assigned four-soldier squads to guard him at all times. Peter even had to sleep between two soldiers, while bound with two chains, as the other two soldiers guarded the prison door.

But as Peter sat in prison, the early church prayed earnestly for him. (We'll come back to this later.)

The night before his trial was set to begin, an angel of the Lord appeared, struck Peter on the side and woke him up. The chains fell off Peter's wrists and the angel basically told him to get dressed quickly and follow him out of the prison. Peter had no clue what was going on and thought he was having a vision, instead of actually being set free from prison.

After the angel walked him out of the prison and down a city street, he left Peter. Then Peter suddenly realized what was happening. It wasn't all a dream or a vision--God had answered his prayers and those lifted up by the church on his behalf. He had just walked away from a heavily guarded prison cell without any interference. He was a free man again! Herod's expectations, and those of the Jews who hated the early church and were no doubt looking forward to seeing Peter executed, had been thwarted.

So Peter went to a home of one of the members of the early church, where a group of Christians were actually gathered at that very moment, praying for him. And they were so shocked to see him outside the door that they accused the servant girl who answered it of being "out of [her] mind" (NIV). When they all finally saw him, they couldn't believe it.

There are a number of different lessons that can be drawn from this story, but the one that jumped out at me today is: where was the faith to believe that God hears and answers prayer?

The church had clearly been praying for Peter--hard--and I imagine Peter said a prayer or two of his own.

Yet I think the Scripture implies everyone expected Peter's death to be imminent. James had just been martyred and I think even Peter himself expected to meet the same fate. I don't think it's a stretch at all to believe that Peter sat in that prison cell thinking he had met his end. Why else would he be so shocked when God rescued him? And why would the church be so amazed to see him out of prison alive and well?

As I read that story this morning, I thought, "Where was their faith? Here they were, praying earnestly for Peter's life to be spared, and when it actually happens they're shocked. God had performed all kinds of miracles for the early church, so why were they amazed when he answered their prayers?"

Those thoughts quickly reminded me of the countless times I've prayed earnestly for something I knew to be in line with God's will and then been just as amazed when he answered my requests--usually above and beyond what I had asked.

God keeps his promises and assures us that he will meet our needs, protect us and answer our prayers, so where is our faith to believe that he will do what he says he'll do? Our circumstances don't dictate the outcome of the situations we find ourselves in--God does (and I'm preaching to myself here).

"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.'" - Mark 11:22-24

In John 15, Jesus says that if we abide in Christ (he is the vine and we are the branches) and remain in his love, "then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (verse 16).

And just as most of us wouldn't have any problem approaching our earthly Father with a simple request if we needed something, we can approach our heavenly Father, who loves us far more than our earthly parents ever could, with even more confidence that he is eager to fulfill our requests and meet our needs.

For example, if I needed to have some work done on my car, I would not hesitate to go to my dad and ask if I could borrow one of my parents' vehicles while my car is in the shop, fully expecting him to quickly agree to let me use the older minivan. (I've made such a request more than once.)

If I have that much confidence in approaching my earthly father--who, while he is loving, is still human and make mistakes--then why does it seem so hard sometimes to go to God confidently in prayer? God is eagerly waiting to meet my needs and even the desires he has placed in my heart, if I'll only ask and trust him. The answer may not come right away, but that doesn't mean my faith that he heard my prayer and will answer it in his timing and in his perfect way should decrease.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

My prayer today is like that of the man with a demon-possessed son in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Lord, increase my faith to trust you completely in all things and take you at your word!

May we approach his throne with confidence out of an awareness of his grace and an intimate relationship with Him and be filled to overflowing with testimonies of God's goodness and faithfulness!

I'm still alive....

2010-08-17T13:42:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been more than two months since I last posted anything here! Despite what my shameful negligence as a blogger would insinuate, I am still alive and well and still enjoy writing.

It's been a crazy summer, but things are beginning to return to "normal" again (whatever that is). And with that, I'm beginning to miss blogging enough to make time for it again.

I don't pretend to have anything earth-shattering to share here or a large following by any means, I've just always enjoyed writing and it helps me process things. I would write here even if no one ever read it. But if you do happen to stop by every once in a while, stay tuned... more posts are coming.

Sweet memory

2010-06-15T13:59:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I decided to look through our big box of old family photos, just for fun, while I was watching a TV show with my family. That's always an entertaining activity. It's amusing to look back over all the old funny pictures and crazy hairstyles of the past, exclaim over how young we all look, and smile in fond remembrance about some of my favorite memories, depicted in a picture.

This picture falls under the latter category.

I'm not sure that I've ever noticed this picture before, but I found it that night and I love it.

It's a picture of my brother Andrew, my grandmother Violet Martin (my mom's mom) and me. I'm not sure exactly when it was taken, but my guess is that it was the summer of 1991. I would have only recently turned 4 years old and Andrew would be almost 3.

I've always loved to read and before I could read on my own, I enjoyed being read to. This is one of those moments. I'm not sure what we were reading, but I do remember that I enjoyed reading with my grandmother--or Me Maw, as we called her.

Obviously, at that age she would have to read to us. Reading aloud would often make my grandmother sleepy, so a couple of years later, when I could read on my own, I came up with a plan to keep my grandmother awake and still finish the book. We would tag team it. She would read a page, and then I would read a page, and so on. It usually worked. I still remember how proud I was of my "reading plan," especially when we pulled it off.

Me Maw went to be with the Lord suddenly on the morning of January 30, 2000, when I was only 12. Unfortunately, as you can tell from this picture, her size contributed to health problems that took her from us at too young of an age (she was only 59). But even though I didn't get to make as many memories with her as I would have liked, I still cherish the ones I do have. And this picture captures many of them perfectly. :)

New musical delight

2010-06-09T12:58:00.004-04:00

I've always had a marked fondness for piano music. I first learned how to play the piano when I was 9 years old, but wanted to for years before that. I took six years of lessons before I eventually had to stop amid the demands of working part-time and finishing high school.

Unfortunately, I rarely have time to play anymore (I really need to fix that and make it more of a priority--I still love to play), but I will always have a particular love for music with strong piano elements and a noteable weakness for music arranged specifically for solo piano. I also love classic hymns. Thus, I am absolutely in love with a new album I've stumbled upon (well, actually it's been out for nine years so it is not new at all, just new to me) and it's so lovely I thought I would share my new discovery: Chris Rice's album The Living Room Sessions.

The album is absolutely beautiful! It is completely made up of instrumental hymns, arranged specifically for and played solely on the piano. The music is lovely and so peaceful. So lovely, in fact, that I bought the sheet music and I am going to learn to play some of the songs. My favorites are Rice's arrangements for "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," although all the songs are beautiful and the album includes other excellent arrangements for classics like "How Great Thou Art," "Fairest Lord Jesus," and "For the Beauty of the Earth."

So if you're looking for some new instrumental music to enjoy, this album is worth checking out!

P.S. When I was just searching for an image of the CD on Amazon to use in this blog post, I discovered Rice also has a "Living Room Sessions" Christmas album. *big grin* My love of Christmas music is even greater than my love of piano music--particularly when the two go hand-in-hand--so I think I might have to wander over to iTunes and download some new music for my iPod soon. :)

Aquarium cookies and massages

2010-06-07T15:21:00.004-04:00

Interesting title, hmm? :)

But it nicely sums up some of the simple joys I have found in my day.

There aren't many perks to working an early morning shift--especially an extended run of them--so I try to make the most of the ones that come my way.

Every few months or so, the public relations guy for the Tennessee Aquarium comes to our studio for an interview during the 6 a.m. show. He always talks about the latest news at the aquarium and usually mentions some of the best things to do in Chattanooga during a given season. He's a great interview and a genuinely nice guy. By the time he wraps up his interviews, I'm usually itching to take a trip to Chatty.

But the real reason everyone at the station awaits his interviews with anticipation is because he always brings in a box full of the *best* iced cookies. His wife owns a bakery in Signal Mountain and she always makes us the cutest, tastiest aquarium-themed cookies you'll ever see (or eat). The icing is smooth and stable, the cookies are nice and even, both taste great and she always packages them beautifully.

Someday I want to be able to make iced cookies that look and taste that amazing.

The next highlight of my day came when I realized that tomorrow is the day the massage therapist/reflexologist who comes out to the station once a month is scheduled. I don't usually work Tuesdays and when I am scheduled an extra day (such as this week) or called in, it's never on the weeks she is here.

But as I was getting ready to leave this afternoon, our newsroom administrative assistant sent out an e-mail reminder about reflexology tomorrow. And guess who has to work an extra shift tomorrow morning? Yep! I signed up for a 15-minute massage/reflexology appointment as soon as my shift ends at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I can't think of a better way to end an extended work week, particularly one with extra morning shifts. :)

Working an extended work week with extra early morning shifts is my least favorite and I'm usually utterly exhausted by the time I reach the end of it. So sometimes it's hard not to have a negative attitude about it or at the very least dread it, which obviously only makes it worse. I've approached schedules like this from both angles before, and this time I was determined not to let it get me down. So I've been tickled pink to find these little unexpected joys that have come along to brighten my day. It shouldn't have surprised me though. God's grace is sufficient to give me the rest that I need and make me smile and laugh at just the right moments to help carry me through my day. He is always looking for ways to express his love to us--even if it something as simple as a cookie to put a smile on our face.

A song I've been listening to off a new worship CD I bought recently keeps running through my head, "He loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves us! Oh, how he loves!"

Days like this always make me wonder how many other little blessings I fail to notice on a daily basis, simply because I'm not paying attention. God is always speaking and always showering us with his love. Maybe it doesn't always manifest itself in such a tangible way as cookies and massages, but his presence is always with us and examples of his love for us abound. His loving-kindness is new every morning.

Isn't God amazing?!?

Five years later...

2010-06-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

My high school senior picture

I recently realized that it has been five years since I graduated high school! Wow! That anniversary kind of crept up on me.

As that thought hit me, I paused to remember what my life was like five years ago as a starry-eyed high school grad full of big hopes and dreams. Those thoughts inevitably led me to look back over the journey that has led me to where I am now.

And you know what I found? Pretty much nothing about my life now is the way I would have imagined it would be like then. But believe it or not, I'm totally OK with that. Yes, me--Miss I-Want-to-Have-All-My-Ducks-in-a-Row-and-Plan-Everything-Out. And that is all thanks to the grace of God--certainly not courtesy of my own ability to "let go and let God!" It is by his power alone that I have learned to be content with not knowing what the future holds and happy to live my life in the present.

If there's one thing I've learned with certainty over the past five years, it is that God is good and he is faithful. Even when his plans are very different from mine. I still have big hopes and dreams, but some of them simply look a little different now.

As I graduated high school, if you had asked me what I thought my life would be like in five years, I'm not really sure what I would have told you. Probably something general like, "I will have graduated college and be working full-time in my field." That much has happened. It's probably about the only thing that has, but it's taken place in a different way than what I would have imagined.

As a newly 18-year-old high school grad, I would have laughed out loud--hard--if anyone had told me that at age 23, I would be a journalist working in TV news, still living at home, still completely single, attending a different church from the rest of my family, with pretty much a completely new set of friends.

But all of those things have happened and I can't imagine my life any differently than it is now. I am very happy with where God has me.

It's been quite a journey to reach this point, but life is and should be an adventure with God. Yes, there were many uncertainities along the way that drove me absolutely crazy, and to be perfectly honest, there still are. I'm still not exactly sure why God has me where I am. But isn't that what faith is all about? Trusting when we can't see? :) I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that there will always be uncertainties as long as we're here on this Earth. But what is and always will be certain is the fact that I can rest in the joy and peace of mind that comes from knowing that I am where I am supposed to be, and that God is in control and he has a plan in mind, even if I can't see the big picture. I just have to trust Him. Easier said than done in most situations, but true nonetheless. :)

I know several graduating seniors this year and as I watch some of them stress out over deciding what to do with their lives, I can't help but smile. I remember those frustrations vividly. And if I could offer one piece of advice to them, it would be this:

Yes, you should definitely have a goal for the future in mind. Seek God intensely about what he would have you do with your life, then start walking in it. Don't waste any time in living out his plans and purposes for you. BUT... be ready for those plans to look different than what you expect. And know that is a good thing. God knows us better than we know ourselves and his plans are always for our good. What he has in mind for you will be far better than anything you could plan or work out for yourself. He is ALWAYS faithful. Follow God's leading for the next step, even if the steps beyond that aren't clear. He will see you through to the end and meet your every need, even when everything in this world would try to say otherwise. Go be a shining light for Jesus and win others for His kingdom!

My prayer is that when these seniors look back on this season five years from now, that they will have countless testimonies to share of God's faithfulness and goodness at work in and through their lives as they follow his direction.

It's amazing what can happen in five years. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next five!

Graduation Day, May 28, 2005

He was pierced for our transgressions

2010-04-01T10:45:00.004-04:00

In my quiet time today, I took some time to reflect on Christ's death on the Cross and his resurrection. Easter is only three days away, and I enjoy taking time to revisit the events of the most pivotal moment in history in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday. The Cross is something we should be mindful of all the time, but there is something special about reflecting on Christ's incredible sacrifice in the week leading up to Easter.

Part of my meditation on Christ's death always includes the eyewitness accounts of the event written in the Gospels, but I also enjoy reading Isaiah's completely accurate prophetic account of Christ's life, death and resurrection as noted in Isaiah 53--hundreds of years before any of it came to pass.

As I re-read the familiar passages and pondered Christ's incredible sacrifice once again, tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. Jesus, the only truly innocent person to ever walk the earth, took on the sins of every person who has ever lived or ever will--and didn't even so much as utter one word in his own defense. He died a cruel, excruciatingly painful death on the Cross for me. And for you. He took on the punishment we deserved--death--so that we wouldn't have to endure it.

And the best part--the Cross wasn't the end of the story! Christ rose again on the third day and descended into heaven 40 days later to prepare for his still-to-come triumphant return to earth. And through his sacrifice, we are completely redeemed and justified through God's grace. Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 53

¹Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitted by him and afflicted.
⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
⁷He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
⁹He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
¹⁰Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
¹²Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Lovely day, lovelier bride :)

2010-03-31T13:12:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, March 20 one of my dearest friends was married to her Prince Charming. The very skies seemed to smile their approval of the joyous occasion. It was a perfectly glorious day--sunny and 70 degrees with a slight breeze--on the first day of spring. The kind of day you simply want to step outside, stretch out your arms and inhale deeply. And maybe spin around in circles, soaking in the delightful early spring sunlight. Given how entirely unpredictable spring is in East Tennessee--especially early spring--I have no doubt our Father hand picked the weather just for Sarah (and Jonathan). It was perfect. :)

It has been a joy to watch their love story come together over the past year and it was truly a pleasure to watch the culmination of that as the two became one. I know God has great plans for them--as individuals, yes, but also as a couple. And I can't wait to see how he uses them together! I felt the presence of God strongly throughout that entire day. There was truly a tangible joy and peace present in every element of the day. I know that God was looking down from heaven, smiling.

And I have to say, Harvest receptions are the best I've ever attended. They are so much fun! My friend Wendy does such a great job of coordinating the refreshments! I've been to weddings before that featured catered meals or buffets at the reception, and if you can afford that, that's fine. The food is great and I'm sure it is much easier to handle. But honestly, I think it is more fun to pitch in and throw a reception as a church. I love to bake, so preparing baked goods for the reception is a joy to me. And I like feeling like I'm helping my friends achieve the special day of their dreams.

The entertainment also is great. The dancing is fun to watch and participate in (even if I'm not the greatest dancer). Some people at Harvest can really bust a move!

It truly was a God-kissed day. I know that God has great things planned for Jonathan and Sarah and I can't wait to see what he will do in and through them in this next chapter of their lives!

True beauty

2010-03-03T22:59:00.002-05:00

I found this quote in a book I'm reading and it is simply too good not to pass along.

"How beautiful are the arms which have embraced Christ, the hands which have touched Christ, the eyes which have gazed upon Christ, the lips which have spoken with Christ, the feet which have followed Christ. How beautiful are the hands which have worked the works of Christ, the feet which treading in His footsteps have gone about doing good, the lips which have spread abroad His Name, the lives which have been counted loss for Him."

- Christina Rossetti

In a world full of false beauty ideals that many women blindly try to achieve, these are the "beauty routines" we should desire and implement in our lives!

Winter doesn't last forever (thank God!)

2010-02-15T23:19:00.011-05:00

It snowed in Knoxville yesterday. Again. In early March. And while I still find the fluffy white stuff pretty, I am officially over it and have been for a few weeks now.

I have to confess that I am not a big fan of winter after the holidays. I love, love, LOVE Christmas and enjoy all the lovely wintry elements associated with it. And I even enjoy the first couple of snowfalls (as long as they don't make my job drastically more stressful). But after New Year's, winter gets old pretty quickly.

January is "the Great Letdown" month in my mind. I'm coming off a big "high"--if you will--after the holidays and after the first couple of weeks winter begins to lose its charm. February is then the month of being "in the bleak midwinter." The second month of the year is generally still cold (although not nearly as cold as this one was--February 2010 was the 11th coldest February on record in Knoxville), but I'm ready for spring. And it never seems to be in any hurry to get here at that point.

February also is usually the point during the winter months where I have to ask the Lord for help to avoid "the winter blahs." Weeks of dreary, cold weather eventually starts to get to me and almost always has. This year's cold winter has made staying cheerful and avoiding a semi-depressed state even harder.

I really am trying to find ways to stay upbeat about winter. So lest you believe this blog post is all whining, I'll share a list I recently made of the things I like about winter. It may be short, but here it is in no particular order:

No mosquitoes, bees, wasps or other pesky bugs to annoy me or make my life miserable

Snuggling up under a blanket near the fireplace and enjoying the occasional cup of hot cocoa
the Winter Olympics (every four years)

The beauty of snowfall (even if it makes my life crazier at work, I do find the snow and ice pretty)

Winter also is beneficial to nature and the lovely flowers I enjoy so much in the warmer months:

Winter allows trees and other plants to take a break from producing leaves and flowers and focus on resting and deepening their roots

Snow, particularly if it sits on the ground for a few days, really adds lots of extra moisture to the earth (although that's more of a problem than a benefit this year coming on the tail end of last year's crazy surplus of rainfall!)

A really cold winter, such as the one we're experiencing, tends to kill off more pesky bugs than normal, leaving less of them to annoy me during the summer :)

In another recent effort to shed myself of the winter blues, I bought a lovely African violet and placed it on my desk at work. :) Its pretty purple blossoms have succeeded in bringing numerous smiles to my face. (My next mission: keep it alive. I don't have the greatest track record with sustaining little potted plants like African violets long term. Hopefully I can manage not to accidentally kill it this time.)

And if those positives aren't enough to cheer me up on a cold, overcast winter day, I remind myself that God made winter just like he made spring and fall, and everything he created is good.

"It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter." - Psalm 74:17

But with March comes the hope of spring. And after growing up in East Tennessee, I know I can rest assured that even if it snowed on March 2nd, by March 31st it will surely be getting warmer around here and we will probably have enjoyed at least a few mild and pleasant days.

The anticipation of spring after the long winter months is one of the many reasons why I like the season so much. I appreciate the warmth and beauty more after coming out of months of chilly gray and the world simply feels like a happier place. There are many other reasons I like spring, but I'll probably save those for a jubilant "spring is here" blog post celebrating the first warm stretch we have in late-March/early April. :)

But for now, I'll simply keep reminding myself that winter isn't really that bad--and better yet, like everything else in life, it is only temporary. Spring really is right around the corner. :)

"To everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-12T00:03:00.003-05:00

I love Christmas. And not just a little --a lot! And one of the many things I enjoy about the holiday is the decorations. The world is simply more beautiful this time of year. The wreaths, garland, lights, holly, reds, greens, etc. that pop up everywhere put a smile on my face.

And I love adding touches of Christmas beauty or fun to my surroundings wherever possible (in tasteful moderation, of course) and soaking up those others have placed in my path. I don't have a lot of space or resources to indulge in as much Christmas decor as I would like, but I work with what I have and dream of having an apartment or home of my own to decorate someday. :)

So here's a sneak peek at some of the Christmas delights in my world.

My snowman tea light candle holder

My slightly cluttered bookshelf, aka holder of most of the Christmas decorations I put out in my room

My grandmother gave me this Christmas tree when I was a little girl. I can't remember exactly how old I was, but I've probably had it about 15 years. I'll treasure it always.

A reminder of Christmases past... and yes, despite the fact that I worked at Chick-fil-A for five years, I still think the holiday cows are cute.

Photo of friends... and yet another Christmas candle (can you tell that I love candles, but don't have many places to put them lol)

I hang lights around my walls each Christmas, although this year I'm seriously considering leaving them up. I like the extra light they add.

Our Christmas tree--the picture doesn't do it justice :)

Our tree tells the story of our family. In addition to the ornaments my siblings and I made as kids, we add a new ornament to the tree annually that symbolizes something significant to our family from that year. This ornament is from 2005, the year I graduated high school.

A picture of my MeMaw (my mom's mom), our ornament for 2000, the year she died.

A Kansas ornament for 2007, the year my brother Andrew moved to Kansas City, Mo. (Yeah, he's really in Missouri, but we decided it was close enough.)

I've admired this ornament since I was a little girl. It doesn't have any particular significance, but I like the way the "stained glass" lights up when you stick a Christmas light inside the church.

We have too many "kid-crafted" ornaments to fit on the tree, so my mom rotates them out. This year, a stocking ornament with my five-year-old fingerprints is one of the few that made it to the branches. My brother has one like it, but I think he has it with him. We made them (or more accurately, stamped them) at the Fantasy of Trees.

A nice reminder :)

I've started my own "ornament of the year" collection and I was tickled pink to find this one. I thought I would end up having to pick either a UT or a graduation ornament, but this one combines both perfectly! :)

My car's Rudolph costume. Okay, I'll admit it, this may be a little over the top, but I thought it was simply too cute to pass up. I first saw this on a car a couple of years ago, and I've been searching for my own set ever since. I finally tracked one down this year and I was so excited!

My desk at work

Pictures of friends and family

My miniature Christmas tree

A couple of the directors decked the walls of the production booth with Christmas lights and I love it! They add a very cheery, festive touch to the booth.

The producer's area

And finally, I don't own this Willow Tree nativity set, but I dream of having one some day!

Perfectly saved by His grace!

2009-12-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

My pastor has been teaching on grace--the heart and message of the gospel-- for the vast majority of this year. And while some people might get tired of hearing a seemingly recurring message for several months, I haven't. The heart of those messages isn't something grasped overnight, and listening to those truths week after week has been a life changing experience. I seem to understand God's grace more and more as time moves on--and I know I have only started to scratch the surface of it!

This is going to be my first attempt to write about some of how this message has changed my life and perspective. Writing has always helped me sort things out, so this blog post is probably more for my benefit than anyone else's, but I'll post it here for general reading anyway.

I've grown up in the church and pretty much only remember serving the Lord. I was saved at the age of six and have never strayed from that commitment. Obviously, I've progressed and matured a lot in my faith as I've grown up, but one thing I have never doubted is my salvation. I know and believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and rose again for my sins, so that I can spend eternity with the Father in heaven. However, I have discovered this past year that my understanding of God's grace has been skewed at best and I have been held captive in the chains of legalism for most of my life.

I knew I was saved, but I lived with the mindset, whether consciously or subconsciously, that I had to strive in my own strength to live a godly life and please God. Now I recognize that it was like I was trying to somehow claim to stay in God's good favor by being a fairly decent person. I was essentially trying to say, "God, I deserve at least some grace. Your love and mercy weren't wasted on me. See--I can be a good girl, a good daughter--at least most of the time." I tried to earn his grace, instead of accepting it as the entirely free gift it is, bestowed on a completely undeserving sinner.

Furthermore, I failed to realize that my attempts to "earn" God's favor were pretty much a slap in His face, calling the sacrifice of His son insufficient and not enough.

I knew in my head, but didn't understand with my heart, that God's work of grace on the Cross is a finished work. The Law was fulfilled and we are completely redeemed and justified by accepting God's grace through faith. We are made perfect and completely righteousness in God's eyes through the blood of His Son. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."
- Ephesians 2:5-9

As a perfectionist who has always had a drive for excellence, the idea that I could be made perfect and completely redeemed, simply by believing in Christ--no further "works" required--was hard to wrap my mind around. It's so simple, yet so unnatural. My pride didn't want to accept that I did absolutely nothing to deserve God's grace, love and forgiveness and could never earn it no matter how hard I try. Jesus did it all. I did nothing. Yet I receive everything!

I also spent a lot of time feeling guilty or under condemnation for the many, many ways I would fail regularly in my attempts to live a godly life and please God. I have always been painfully aware of my own flaws and mistakes. So while on the one hand, I was trying to earn God's favor through good behavior, on the other, I knew I didn't deserve God's favor. I had a hard time understanding God's love. Because I knew that if love could be earned, I didn't deserve it. So I often felt unloveable. How's that for a confusing mindset?!

But thanks to God's grace, I am completely covered--human flaws and all. Nothing I can do can take that away. And God is so crazy in love with me that he loved and accepted me, even when I was a despicable sinner. Now he sees me as his redeemed daughter, made holy and righteous through the blood of His Son, and still adores me. And even though I am saved by his grace--my salvation is a done deal--he still continues to lavishly pour out his grace into my life, day by day, hour by hour. How awesome is that?!?! The very thought of how much he loves me is overwhelming. We could spend a lifetime of loving God and learning to understand his love through an intimate relationship with Him and still never even scratch the surface of it.

I would be utterly lost without his love and his grace. Lost for eternity, certainly, but also lost in the chains of legalism as I try to live my life for him here on this earth. And the more I realize how much I need his grace to get through even the most mundane days, the more I realize how important it is to keep going before God to ask for His help and guidance in my life, with the assurance that he is not just willing, but eager to be all that I need.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
- Hebrews 4:16

God wants us to turn to him with everything, instead of thinking that we can handle some of it ourselves. The truth is--and we all know this deep inside our hearts, our pride just won't let us admit it most of the time--we can't do anything on our own. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Like the old hymn says, "I need thee every hour." God is waiting for us to turn to him, and when we do, he is eager and ready to pour out his grace and help us in our need.

This concept is one I'm still trying to fully grasp and apply and I still fail continually. While I may do it more often than I used to, I still don't go to God with everything as I should or fully rely on his grace in every moment. But I no longer feel condemned when I mess up, because I know that I'm still covered by his grace, even when I fail. Blowing an opportunity to obey God, pray or witness isn't counted against me--but I do try to avoid missing the chance the next time, because I want to spend time with my Lord and I do want to tell others about Him.

There's much more I could say, and perhaps I will write more later in another post, but for now, I'll try to wrap it up. This post is long enough.

If you want to understand more about grace, I would encourage you to really dig into Galatians, Ephesians and other books in the New Testament written by the apostle Paul. He wasn't the only one to address grace, but he did it the most extensively. You can also listen to my pastor's messages at our church's web site. Another good resource is the book Grace Plus Nothing by Jeff Harkin.

And finally, some of you may have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. I named it "The Life of a Journalizm Girl" years ago as a fun play on my name and profession, but now that I'm in a different season and have a new perspective on life, it only seemed appropriate to give my blog a new outlook as well. Thus, the new name of my blog is also the title of this post: Perfectly Saved By His Grace.

Thanks for reading, and to quote the apostle Paul, grace and peace be with you!

The sign of a faithful promise

2009-07-28T09:25:00.008-04:00

God is faithful to His promises. Every single last one of them. Totally faithful. Beyond our comprehension.

But sometimes I'm sure that you, like me, have moments where even if you know--at least in your head--that God will keep his promises, the heart needs a gentle reminder that he does.

And what better reminder than some time in the Word... and a beautiful rainbow in the sky?

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ... Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind of the earth."

Genesis 9:13, 16

On Sunday night, I was relaxing at home when I heard thunder rolling in the distance. Not unusual for this time of the year. In fact, we've had many storms this summer.

But Sunday, I waited for the storm to start then ran to my room and grabbed my camera. I took several pictures out the front and back door, until it started raining so hard our gutters began to overflow and I had to close the doors to avoid flooding the house. ;)

As the rain and winds slowed down, I tried again. And I noticed that the sun didn't wait for the storm to completely finish before it came back out. It was beginning to shine brightly, even as the rain was still moving out.

And I immediately thought, "A rainbow! Maybe there will be a rainbow!" In that moment, it was almost like I suddenly *needed* to see a rainbow. Something in my spirit just responded to the desire to see a reminder of God's promise.

I searched the skies, but didn't see anything. So I went inside and waited for the rain to completely stop, so I could go outside and take some "after the storm" shots.

After a few minutes, the rain had stopped and I went to the back door again and snapped a shot off to my right. And then... as I turned to my left, there it was!

From what I understand, the rainbow was visible across several parts of West Knox County, and was even more prominent a little further west than my house. But I like to think that God put it up there, right behind my house, just for me. :)

Isn't God good? That totally made my day.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:23

"The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made."

Psalm 145:13b

A welcome sight

2009-05-22T22:05:00.004-04:00

It came! My diploma arrived yesterday--exactly two weeks after graduation (sooner than I expected).

And after four years of working hard for that piece of paper, I must say, it looks quite beautiful! :)

Proud to be a UT grad!

2009-05-16T20:33:00.008-04:00

I'm done! Actually, I have been for over a week, but I'm just now writing a quick little summary about it. I am officially a college grad! I graduated bright and early last Thursday (whose idea was it to hold a graduation ceremony that early--and on a weekday?) from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications in Journalism and Electronic Media. It was definitely one of the happiest moments of my life.

I still don't think it has fully sunk in yet, although it does feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders! Graduating is one of those moments that isn't measured and experienced strictly during the hour and a half ceremony or thirty seconds of walking across the stage. One of the first times I really started to realize I was really truly about to be finished, was when I walked out of my third astronomy exam two weeks before graduation. It was a difficult course and thanks to some issues with the way my instructor taught and structured the class, those last few weeks were very frustrating and stressful. But after walking out of that exam, which was much easier than I expected it to be, I knew everything was going to be okay. Since I got to drop one of my four exam grades in that class, and the rest of my final exams were going to be pretty easy, in that moment it felt like the semester might as well be over. I think I smiled, laughed, and felt like I was floating through the rest of the day!

Another notable moment came during the rehearsal meeting. I found myself wiping away happy tears on the way back to my car as I remembered the ups and downs of my college experience: My first two years at Pellissippi and earning my associate's degree. The last two years at UT. The people I've met along the way. And some of the fun and inspiring classes I've had, like American Literature II with Edward Francisco at Pellissippi. Professor Francisco is absolutely awesome. I LOVED our two big projects in that class. I still have the children's book I wrote and the outline for my research project and class presentation on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War in East Tennessee. It's like he knew I love to write and love history and intentionally planned our class assignments around that!

And of course, I can't forget Lauren Spuhler's Online Journalism class at UT! I really believe the class was a pivotal point in my pursuit of journalism. I knew not long after beginning that course that online journalism would play some role in my future (it does). More than anything, I believe the class provided a means for me to put all the skills I had learned up to that point in print, broadcast, and online journalism to use in practical, meaningful ways--with a wonderful teacher to provide guidance and encouragement along the way. And I loved it.

Bonnie Hufford's Editing class was challenging, but inspiring. I've always loved grammar and that course called on me to use everything I already knew and pushed me to learn more. There were times I thought I could recite grammar and AP style rules in my sleep, but I loved it. And Ms. Bonnie was an awesome teacher! I think her class sealed my fate as a grammar nerd!

I also couldn't help but remember some of the lower points. Like the sheer (and self-inflicted) torture of taking economics and probability and statistics over the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. The cruel and unusual punishment of Mass Communication Law and Ethics with Dr. Teeter and Dr. Leiter as an evening class once a week for three hours. The frustration of astronomy this semester. The horror I felt when I realized the 5-credit-hour precalculus course I took my first semester didn't count toward my major (I hate math. So not only did I take a math class everyday for nothing--it also meant I had to take an additional class to satisfy my requirements! So this math-hater took three college math courses.)

And of course, other outside events tied to college, like connecting with the Harvest CCA group and eventually ending up at Harvest Church. :) I pondered all of those thoughts and more.

The past four years have been quite a journey. An adventure that has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience overall, but certainly not without its challenges. More than anything, my college experience has been a step-by-step journey of learning to trust God on a deeper level and follow his guidance--even when I only have just enough instruction to take the next step, with absolutely no idea what the big picture looks like. *laughter* As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I ever had a glimpse of the big picture. I still don't know exactly why God has me doing this, I just know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is what I'm supposed to do in this season of my life.

I'm very much a planner who likes to have all my ducks in a row, so at times the "not knowing" aspect of the journey felt like it was going to kill me. But God was there with me every step of the way--guiding my steps, calming my fears, putting up with my whining, and reassuring me that he loves me and has a plan for my life. And God has faithfully kept his promises.

I love, love, love learning. So even if school drove me crazy at times, I enjoyed the majority of it and thrived in the academic atmosphere. However, I have been very ready for quite some time to embark on a lifetime of learning outside of the confines of an institution. I was definitely happy to graduate! Even though I'm done with school, I will always be learning something new, whether I'm reading a book, learning a new hobby, etc. The day I stop learning is the day they bury me in the ground!

But all in all, I'm overwhelmed at God's grace and goodness. His grace has been more than enough and he has blessed me far more than I deserve. And I am so thankful!

I also want to take a moment to thank each of you who have supported me, put up with me, prayed for me and encouraged me through this journey. I couldn't have made it without you guys. Love you!

I'm back!

2009-03-31T10:39:00.004-04:00

Wow! It's embarrassing to me how long it's been since I wrote a blog post! And I'm honestly not really sure why I haven't written. Yes, I've been busy, but not necessarily any busier than I was last semester. This has just been a very different season. I tried to blog occasionally, but when I would sit down and look at my computer screen, my mind would go blank and I just wouldn't "feel it." A great deal of that could relate to where I was emotionally for a while. I'm not sure what happened, but at some point after the new year (and maybe a little before), I found myself feeling really down. Consequently, I walked around for months with a semi-depressed, indifferent attitude in many areas of my life.

It often felt weird to me to feel that way. School and work were going well. I genuinely enjoy my job and I'm very blessed to have it, and it's my last semester of school. So why wasn't I more excited and happy? As a matter of fact, if anyone had asked me about it, I probably would have either denied that I was feeling down or at least downplayed how I really felt. It just didn't seem right to me that I should be feeling that way.

This has just been a very different chapter in my life. The season I've been in has required me to work a different kind of schedule, going to school full-time is crazy as always, and as a result, I've had an almost nonexistent social life and have been able to spend precious little time with my close friends and family. Over time, that really began to wear on me. I missed the interaction and fellowship more than words can express, and the feeling of disconnection that comes with being away for a while often hurt me to my core.

But...I'm bouncing back. :) For the past month or so, especially over the past couple of weeks, I can feel my joy returning. :)

One example is in the area of school. "Senioritis" hit me much harder than I thought it would this semester. Before spring break, I really struggled to stay motivated to do my school work. And coming from someone who used to spend her breaks trying to get ahead in school work (early in my college days--I have since reformed and taken on the normal student's abhorrence of even looking at a textbook while on break), that's saying a lot. Knowing this, I expected to come back from spring break to spend the remaining six weeks or so agonizing through the rest of the semester. Instead, I've returned with a renewed zeal to hit the books hard, enjoy it, and finish out stronger than ever. What?!?! Where did that come from?? I've been pleasantly surprised by my new attitude and thankful for God's grace and faithfulness to help me finish strong.

An even better example is my recent big news. I will move into a full-time producer position at work at the end of April! I'll have a full-time job--doing what I want to do--in this tough job market--before I graduate!!! Now this really is a testimony to the grace of God! As much as every graduating senior wants things to happen like that, it wasn't supposed to work out that way for me. I was mentally prepared to have to stay part-time for an undetermined amount of time. But a sudden change in circumstances allowed the situation to work out even better than I had dared to hope. God is SOOOOO good!

This new opportunity will also allow me to attend church on Sunday mornings on a somewhat regular basis. Yay! I seriously can't wait. I'm not so naive that I don't realize that my new schedule won't be easy and will still make for a challenging social life. I'm also well aware that there is certainly nothing glamorous about working overnight and super-early shifts, but I'm excited nonetheless. This is an incredible opportunity and I'm praying that God will help me to do well as I move forward. God clearly has me where I am for a reason (which only he knows), and whatever it is he has for me, I want to do it and do it well.

I also realize that although the past four years have often been challenging, I've been crazy blessed when it comes to school. God's met me every step of the way, provided for my needs, and allowed me to do well--much better than I deserve. Seeing the culmination of all that as I prepare to close this chapter in my life is almost overwhelming. As I look back over the past four years, I stand in awe of what God has done in my life. Yes, I've worked hard, but my college experience is certainly not the fruit of my efforts, but rather God's on my behalf!

So even though this season is still different and the one ahead will be too, particularly as I begin to focus on working toward moving out and beginning life on my own as an adult, I'm happy, excited, thankful, and joyous anyway. I can't wait to see what the next chapter of my life will hold. God is good, his grace is more than enough, and his faithfulness is never-ending. We serve an awesome, awesome God!

A white surprise

2009-01-20T21:16:00.012-05:00

Sometimes I think God likes to keep us guessing what the weather is going to be like around here.

I was startled this morning to stumble out of bed and start getting ready for class, only to look outside the back door and see a blanket of white! We had about 3/4 - 1 inch of accumulation at my house in West Knoxville.

UT didn't cancel or delay classes (surprise, surprise--it takes an act of God to shut that place down!), but I made the decision to delay my classes by skipping my first one. The roads near my house were reportedly messy, so since my voice instructor doesn't take attendance, I decided to stay home. I enjoy the class, but with snow and an inauguration to watch, I decided to skip today.

My health instructor kindly canceled class because of the snow and the inauguration, so I didn't have to go to class until this afternoon. I'm glad she canceled class, because *sheepish grin* I was going to skip it anyway. I never skip class--but I decided yesterday that I was willing to skip class to watch the inauguration. They only come once every four years, after all--and this one has even more historical elements to it than normal.

So I got to enjoy the snow a little bit this morning. :)

I love the special touch snow gives everything. That blanket of white adds a serene, pleasant feel to everything that gives the entire day a peaceful air. I also enjoyed watching the wind blow the snow around. It looked like tiny grains of sugar were swirling around in my backyard!

Here are some of the photos I snapped in my yard while the snow was still fresh (my mom took the pictures I'm in).

My car covered in snow

Some trees and plants in our yard

The front yard and the street in front of my house

My little brother and me

I tried to throw a snowball at him, but the snow was too powdery

Watching history with mixed feelings

2009-01-20T18:15:00.002-05:00

Today, Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the United States. His swearing-in was definitely a moment for the history books, particularly with our country's not-so-distant history of racial discrimination and segregation. I was proud to see that many people in our country have set aside the past and embraced our new leader, regardless of the color of his skin.

But despite the historical significance, I watched the inauguration today with a somber feeling. While I'm proud that our country has made a large step toward healing some of the grievious past racial sins we committed, I simply cannot agree with many of President Obama's policies, particularly on issues such as abortion. The thought of what his election could mean for the unborn in our country is sobering.

However, I don't have a woe-is-me or this-is-the-end-of-the-world feeling about it all. While I don't agree with President Obama on many key issues, that does not mean he will not have my support and respect as the leader of this country. More importantly, he will be in my prayers. My God is a God of miracles and it is certainly well within his power to change someone's heart. God wasn't surprised when Obama was elected and the Bible makes it clear that God establishes leaders in the positions they are in (Romans 13:1). God can use anyone--even leaders not living for Him--to accomplish His purposes.

Sadly, I must confess that I have not prayed for our country's leaders in the past as much as I should have. I think having a president in office for the past eight years who professes to be a Christian and supported many Christian values, unfortunately, led me to relax some and not pray as I should have. Some of our nation's recent events have served as a wake-up call in my life to be on my knees daily--multiple times a day--for our nation and its leaders. The Bible makes it very clear that we should be praying constantly for all of our leaders and I've asked the Lord's forgiveness for failing to do that. In an election year marked by a cry for change and new beginnings, it is my prayer that this "change" and reawakening in my prayer life will stay with me and that I won't make the same mistakes again. I want to stand in the gap and serve as a watchman on the walls for our nation, not simply be part of the crowd, oblivious to the potential dangers around me.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and for all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-2

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14

Rain, rain, go away!

2009-01-11T15:30:00.001-05:00

I've tried to keep a positive attitude about it, but...I'm sick of rain!

Granted, we need the rain. (My attempt at a positive outlook.) Even though we managed to break even in rainfall for 2008 (thanks in large part to a very wet December!), experts say we really need a couple of years of surplus to make up for the nearly 14-inch deficit in rainfall we experienced in 2007. Although they do caution that to be most effective it really needs to come in the form of a slow, steady shower--not the heavy downpours we've experienced of late.

But in my opinion, the overabundance of rain we've seen lately, while it has its purpose, needs to move on. I need some sunshine! (Actually, the earth does too, to avoid more flooding problems.)

The world simply seems like a happier place when the sun is shining. Winter is usually dull enough after the holidays without the added frustration of days of cloudy skies and perpetually wet conditions.

So I'm thankful to finally see a seven-day forecast predicting at least a few of days where we'll have a high chance of seeing the sun. It doesn't look like the sun will provide any warmth...but hey, beggers can't be choosers. It is winter, after all. I'll take the cold conditions as long as they're paired with sunshine! :)

Dancing with Jesus

2009-01-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

I like to dance. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not that great at it--I don't have the natural grace and agility some possess and can't seem to sway my hips just so--but nevertheless, I enjoy dancing. My philosophy on dance is: As long as you're having fun and not stepping on your partner's toes--who cares?

Every once in a while, it's fun to just relax, cast your cares aside and dance. Who cares how stupid you may look. If you're having fun, that's all that matters.

I had a blast dancing around tonight with some of my friends at a wedding. Did I know all the moves some of my friends did? No. Was I one of the better dancers there? Not by a long shot. But was it worth it? Absolutely! I simply enjoyed laughing with my friends as we moved to the beat of the music.

I designated the rest of the evening to just relax, so when I came home I sat down on the couch and started to unwind. As I thought back over the night's events, I heard the Lord gently whisper, "Come dance with me."

Then once again, "Come dance with me. Let me hold you close and lead you through the joys and the sorrows of life. Feel my strong arms around you--gently holding you close, yet firmly guiding your steps. It won't always be easy--but I'll never let you go.... Come dance with me."

So I did. Responding to the moment, I began to gently waltz around the room, basking in my Jesus' presence, savoring his nearness.

But it it goes much deeper a simple response like that. I've taken a "social dance" class (basically ballroom dance with some Latin dances added as well) and I know that while some dances are fun and easy--others take work and practice. In fact, when one is first learning the steps to some dances, it is easy to become frustrated and think one isn't capable of doing the moves correctly. But given time and experience--it becomes second nature. Anyone can dance.

And sometimes, it's hard not to unintentionally try to lead. Just ask me how often I got yelled at for accidentally trying to lead in class (I had a *very* strict teacher and that was entirely against the rules--women are *never* supposed to lead!)! But no matter how tempting it is to try to control the next steps, the dance always goes best when the man leads and the woman follows.

Similarly, there are times when life with God is fun and easy. Life seems effortless and full of pleasure. But other times, when God changes the music and introduces some new steps, it isn't always so easy. It takes work. Lots of hard work. And trust. We have to allow Him to lead us, no matter how much we want to control the next move and determine where we're going and when. It often becomes frustrating, and it's easy to feel like it's impossible to ever learn the dance.

But when we allow the Lord to lead us and teach us--we will eventually emerge victorious and glide easily across the floor with our ultimate lover and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can rest in Him arms, knowing that through it all, He will never let us go.

Are you dancing with Jesus? Are you letting Him take the lead, even when the dance involves new and maybe even intimidating steps? His call to dance isn't just for me. He's beckoning to you, too-- anxiously waiting to lead you onto the dance floor. Will you let Him?

Bring on 2009!

2009-01-01T19:56:00.001-05:00

Happy 2009!

I've heard several people say that they are very thankful to see 2008 come to an end, and I have to agree. While I didn't face challenging circumstances on the scale of many others I know, I still dealt with enough personal struggles and interesting circumstances to make me happy to see 2009 come around. 2008, for me, was a year filled with the good, the bad, and a whole lot of the confusing.

My personal word from the Lord for 2008 was to intensely seek after the Lord for direction. I felt like God told me to persistently seek after direction from Him and keep pressing in. Yes, we need to do that all the time--and I do--but this was different. I felt like this was on a deeper level, specifically for 2008. God told me I would receive the direction I need, but not as the result of a quick five-minute prayer. It would be the result of persistent prayer, digging into the Word and seeking God. A few weeks into January, Joe Ewen gave me a word that confirmed this to me.

And God wasn't kidding! I really needed direction from the Lord in a number of areas this year, and I received a great deal of it. Some of it I've been able to act on or see God move in, a lot of it I'm still waiting for God to orchestrate and act on. Most of it is all Him anyway! I just follow along and let Him lead.

And that's not to say that throughout the entire year I sought his direction intently and instantly took everything He said to heart in faith. I slipped up numerous times, but overall, did keep it a top priority for the entire year.

Consequently, 2008 was a year of learning to trust God at a whole new level and have faith that He is going to move--in His time--even when in the natural it seems like I have nothing to go on.

And some of that ties into what I believe God is saying to me about 2009. As I began to seek the Lord about 2009, I felt like he told me to work on what my mouth is doing. That obviously needs to be expounded on and God did give me a better idea of what he was talking about. Yes, I believe that means I need to work on less whining, complaining, pointless conversation, etc.--but more importantly, I feel like God is telling me to cultivate a thankful heart and use my lips to joyfully bring Him praise at all times. Even in those circumstances where He has yet to move. I even believe praise especially needs to be my response in those circumstances. I need to be praising Him in faith that He will keep His promises, even before they come to pass. I need to praise Him for His grace, faithfulness, and goodness in my life and for who He is, with a particular focus on thankfulness. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks--so cultivating a thankful heart will be a top priority. As with last year's word, this is obviously something I need to be doing and continually working on at all times. But I believe I'm supposed to make it a top priority and take it to a higher level in the coming year.

The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
~ Psalm 28:7

I share a lot of this with the hope that those of you near me will hold me accountable to this. ;) If you catch me whining or acting depressed and frustrated, please don't hesitate to knock some sense into me and remind me to praise the Lord no matter what circumstances I may find myself in. I mean that.

And that's a summary of some of what God has been speaking to my heart for 2009. I am really believing that 2009 will be a great year and I can't wait to see what God does in and through my life--and the lives of those around me--in the coming year. :)

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.
~ Psalm 13:5-6

Excitement over what Christmas is really about

2008-12-24T22:22:00.004-05:00

Here is a portion of a note I wrote last year on Christmas Eve. One year later, it still describes how I feel.

An excitement and a cry of gratitude rises up within me at this time of year. God really gave us the ultimate gift on Christmas--his one and only son. And he knew from the beginning that he was sending Jesus to earth only to have him die an excruciating death on the cross. Yet he did it anyway out of his love for us. Isn't that amazing?!

As I was reading the story, I thought, "What must it have been like to be alive in that moment--when Jesus took his first breath? The moment all of creation had been eagerly awaiting and preparing for since the beginning of time? Did it feel different? Was there a change in the atmosphere? Did some of those asleep awaken for no reason at all, and feel that something had changed? Were the animals suddenly alert? Did the rivers seem to dance with excitement?" I wish I could have been there. I was reminded of the song "2000 Decembers Ago" by Joy Williams which is pretty much a cry of these thoughts in musical form.

Jesus wasn't a plan B--he was part of the only plan there was all along--God doesn't have "back-up" plans. He had every detail planned out before he even created the world. As a very detailed-oriented person, I am constantly amazed at how God executes every tiny, seemingly miniscule detail of his plans perfectly. Matthew 1:17 reminded me of that, "Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ." I've read that verse before many times and in all likelihood, have even noticed what it was really saying before, but forgot.

But either way, our God is a God of details and perfect plans. He wasn't surprised when Caesar Augustus ordered a census to occur near the time of Jesus' birth. It didn't startle him when there was no room in the inn. He wasn't worried when Joseph's first reaction to the news was to quietly divorce Mary. It didn't catch him off guard when Herod found out where he was born and ordered all infants under the age of two to be killed. He was ready. And I'm sure that when Jesus took his first breath, God smiled and laughed with joy; his son had arrived on earth, God in flesh, to save all mankind. What a joyous moment! The earth will never the same.

Okay, so you don't think I'm preaching a Christmas sermon (and I know that you are all busy and don't have time to read a long note), I'll conclude. I hope you all have a merry Christmas, and if you haven't really been excited by the true meaning of Christmas yet this season, I would encourage you to take just a moment and read the Matthew and Luke accounts of the story (they're not long) and ask God to speak to you out of his Word. It'll work, I promise. ;)

Merry Christmas!

Santa Cow is comin' to town!

2008-12-09T19:27:00.002-05:00

For my final broadcast journalism project this semester, I covered the Santa Cow Kids Night event at my former second home, Chick-fil-A at Kingston Overlook. For the assignment, we couldn't just cover the event, we also had to take either a personality profile, problem-solution, or issue-oriented angle to it. So I chose to interview the Kids Night hostess and try to write a personality profile event package.

I also had to shoot two as-live stand-ups as my intro and outro. My lead-out is kind of dumb, but when I shot it I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to script the package yet. So I had to keep it general and simple. In addition, I also had to shoot man on the street interviews. Let's just say it gets interesting trying to interview kids (It was fun though! They're so cute!) without intimidating them with the microphone and big video camera/tripod ensemble.

But despite the additional requirements, I had a blast reporting and interacting with some of my friends and former co-workers. I always enjoyed working Santa Cow night. Yeah, it was busy and crazy, but we always had more employees scheduled to accommodate the additional customers, so (in theory) we could handle it. It was usually my night, so I always got excited about seeing how much extra business we could do. I'll have to pull out some of my Santa Cow pictures from last year. My crew and I had a little fun. :)

Here's the video if would like to watch it:

Santa Cow comes to town from Liz Overton on Vimeo.

It's Christmas time in the city

2008-12-04T19:40:00.002-05:00

I've got to give it to our city's leaders. Over the past several years they have really tried to come up with ways to make the city more festive and have planned some nice holiday events for Knoxville to host. Here's a list of many of the key Christmas events going on around Knoxville throughout the rest of the month. I particularly enjoy the ice skating rink and holiday decorations in Market Square.

Another good local event to check out if you can is the Clarence Brown Theater's production of A Christmas Carol. I went to see it last year and plan to go again this year. They do an awesome, awesome job! Definitely worth going to see (if you're a UT student you get in for $5 with your student ID).

So if you're looking for something to do to celebrate the season over the next few weeks, check out some of these events!

Thanksgiving traditions

2008-11-25T11:24:00.004-05:00

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches (only two days away!), my mind inevitably begins to ponder the things I'm thankful for and my family's Thanksgiving traditions.

Thanksgiving in my family is a day to spend being thankful while enjoying a low-key day together as a family. We don't have any extended family in the area, so it's usually just us. My grandmother joins us every other year (this is an off year--she'll be up here for Christmas instead), but that still doesn't constitute a crowded, busy Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving, my mom and I (and now my sister) will be busy in the kitchen, preparing a large Thanksgiving meal. Although in recent years, my mom has started preparing as much as she can the day before, so there isn't quite as much to do on Thanksgiving.

I've made the pumpkin pie for the past several years, but this year, my sister will make it. I'll make something else. I think I'm going to make a peanut butter pie from a recipe I tried a couple of weeks ago. It's simple enough. Mix everything together, pour it into a chocolate graham cracker crust, and refrigerate. With everything else going on around Thanksgiving, simple is great! I'll also probably help make some homemade rolls (Yummy! My mom has the best recipes for homemade bread!), set the table nicely, serve up the food, etc.

Then comes the meal. We always have way more food than we can eat (hey, something to be thankful for--provision), but it's delicious! Staples for the Thanksgiving meal in my family include: turkey (duh! Either oven-baked or deep-fried. I'm kind of partial to the fried kind myself. It's so tender and flavorful! Especially when my dad uses a Cajun rub on it!), cranberry salad, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, corn, and pumpkin pie. We also vary it up some years with dressing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and other dessert options (in addition to the pumpkin pie--we always have a pumpkin pie).

This year I think we're going mostly traditional, and I believe my dad is going to fry a Cajun turkey! Yay! That's my favorite. I'll eat a little oven-fried turkey when that's what we decide to serve, but it's not my favorite. However, I love my dad's fried turkey--and I will totally enjoy the turkey at those meals. ;)

When we sit down to eat, we usually go around the table and each person shares a few things they're thankful for, then we pray and bless the meal, taking extra time to express our thanksgiving to God.

Then, it's time to dig in!

Afterwards, when we're all stuffed and just want to lay around, we'll play some games, maybe watch a movie, and just spend some low-key time together as a family. And my mom and I will browse through the ads in the paper and map out our Black Friday shopping strategies. This is actually something we've just started doing recently. I *never* went shopping on Black Friday till just a few years ago. You couldn't pay me to get out in those crowds! But now, I've found that if you know exactly what you're looking for, know what order you need to get to stores in, etc. it's actually not that bad and you can find some really good deals if you know where to look. Granted, I'm never after the big ticket items. That can get a bit crazy. I'll usually go to stores like Kohl's, Old Navy, Lifeway, etc. that are definitely busy, but aren't as overrun as Best Buy or the mall. My mom and I don't usually shop together (we may end up at some of the same places, but in order to get what we want before the stores sell out, we go alone. I did take Andrew with me one year...he was trying to get out of having to clean the garage...).

As much of a Christmas fanatic as I am (which if you've read some of my recent blog entries you should have figured out by now), I will put the brakes on and focus entirely on Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving, too. ;) And on that day, it isn't about Christmas. Now the day after Thanksgiving, it's back to Christmas full force...even more so than pre-Thanksgiving. But on Thanksgiving, my focus is on Thanksgiving.

And that's really what Thanksgiving is all about to me (I'm not referring to Black Friday shopping here)--spending time with my family, taking the time to really think about all that I have to be thankful for and expressing that to the Lord. Yes, we should be thankful all the time and continually thank the Lord for all He does for us. But there's still something very special about setting aside one day out of the year to really go all out in being thankful. I'm glad that our country--no matter how commercialized the day has become--decided years ago to set aside a day to be thankful and make it a national holiday.

So that's a glimpse of Thanksgiving in my family. How do you and your spend your Thanksgiving? What are your Thanksgiving traditions? What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

It's up!

2008-11-24T19:53:00.005-05:00

Our tree is up! :)

We don't have all of our Christmas decorations up yet, but we're starting the process. Hopefully by this weekend we'll have it all out! :)

These aren't the best pictures, but I'll try to post some better ones later when our house is fully decorated. :)

Giving thanks: Psalm 118

2008-11-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while because I've been tied up with school projects, but I wanted to take just a second today and post a quick little something.

With Thanksgiving only a little over a week away, many people are busy with holiday preparations, approaching finals and final projects in school, etc. But are we pausing in the midst of the chaos to give thanks? I know I haven't been as much as I should have--but it's never too late to start! :)

The book of Psalms is full of passages expressing thanksgiving to God. Psalm 118 is one example. I would encourage you to take a moment to read it today (it's not long) and give thanks to God for all He has done--and is doing--in your life. I will take some time out to do the same. If you're having trouble finding things to be thankful for, start with the basics: life, salvation, food to eat, a roof over your head, etc. Once you start, other things will come to mind.

Giving thanks should be a regular part of our lives--not just something we do once a year on the fourth Thursday in November.

UT students face problems registering for classes

2008-11-12T15:32:00.001-05:00

For my latest broadcast journalism class project, I had to package a problem-solution story. I decided to do a story on class registration and show how it is becoming increasingly difficult to get into many core classes. With the recent budget cuts, this is a problem only expected to grow worse before it improves. I'm really thankful I'm finished in May! By the grace of God I was able to get into the classes I needed without being forced to stay an extra semester! I had a close call my first semester at UT where I was only able to get into a couple of the journalism classes I needed, but God graciously got me into the rest of them on time.

Story summary:

Budget cuts and an increase in the number of undergraduate students have combined to cause classes to fill up early. Many UT students are getting online to register only to find the courses they need are already full.

Suggested anchor lead-in:
The fall semester isn’t finished yet—but most University of Tennessee students are already thinking of spring. TNJN’s Liz Overton has more.

UT students face problems registering for classes from Liz Overton on Vimeo.

Suggested anchor lead-out:
McMillan recommends that students meet with their advisors regularly to learn which classes to take and find out if they’re on track. Students are required to meet with their advisors once a year.

Unspeakable joy

2008-11-07T21:59:00.003-05:00

How sad that we should so need to be reminded that as God alone is the fountain of all joy, "God our exceeding joy," the only way to be perfectly happy is to have as much of God, as much of His will and fellowship, as possible! Religion is meant to be in everyday life a thing of unspeakable joy. And why do so many complain that it is not so? Because they do not believe that there is no joy like the joy of abiding in Christ and in His love, and being branches through whom He can pour out His love on a dying world.
- Andrew Murray

The morning after election day

2008-11-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

The results of yesterday's election may not have been what I, and many of you, may have wanted. But nevertheless, as citizens of this nation and more importantly, as God's children, we all have an obligation to support our new president-elect, give him the respect he deserves as the future leader of our country, and most important of all, pray for him and our government.

I've included an e-mail below that was sent out this morning by the pastor of my church, Tim Atchley. He addressed this topic very well and gave me permission to post the e-mail on my blog. I hope you will read it and take its message to heart.

Thanks for the reminder, Pastor Tim!

1Timothy 2: 1 ¶ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

This instruction was given to a generation of believers under the rule of tyrants. Some of them may have even witnessed the persecution of a loved one or themselves at the hands of the ruling authorities and yet here is Paul moved by the Holy spirit telling them to pray for these rulers.

The election may not have gone the way many of us might have hoped in our hearts and there is great speculation out there as to what awaits this great country of ours now. But for me the speculation is over. Leadership has been elected according to the process we as Americans cherish. As believers we will do ourselves and others no good if we complain and curse the new leadership. We must pray for God to guide them just as we would any other leaders. God changed the hearts of pagan leaders in favor of the Jews in Old Testament times. He caused evil leaders to turn and give favor to them for reasons they themselves did not understand. It appears that rather than satisfy the logical presumed needs of believers to have a person they think is closer to being devoted in relationship to Him, God has chosen to call His people to a place of prayer and trust that no matter who holds the highest office in our land God is still in control.

The church is called to intercede perhaps now she will do so even more. I challenge you to daily lift our new leaders up in prayer and ask for wisdom from the Almighty for them, restraint where it matters, and vision not their own but graciously imparted from the Lord Himself. If we are to continue to lead a peaceable life in all godliness and reverence this is a must for all of us. Personally I will make it my aim to eliminate remarks of a negative nature and engage God about my leaders. This is not to say that if they should choose to act immorally they should not be held accountable, I will most definitely speak the truth with regard to sound Scriptural instruction as it pertains to our leaders, but I do not wish to join in leader bashing and dooms day discussions. I think these will dishonor the Lord in that they would reveal a lack of trust in Him.

Our elections did not affect the throne from which He rules the nations, He was not taken by surprise, just as He wasn’t when Israel asked for a king. Our God reigns and is still on His throne. It is He alone who can move the heart of kings. Therefore let’s give ourselves to prayer and intercession for our leaders. God bless!

Election Day 2008

2008-11-04T15:13:00.003-05:00

The big day is here! Don't forget to go out and vote (if you haven't early voted already)! :)

Here are some neat tools for following election coverage tonight:
NBC Electoral College Interactive Map
Printable blank map of the U.S. (good for coloring in the results as they come in)
Explanation of the U.S. election system
WBIR's election coverage

I get to cover the election tonight from the Knox County Election Commission. I'll be the eyes and ears down there and call in updates as they come in. I'm excited that not only is this the first presidential election I get to vote in, but it's also the first one I get to be a part of as a journalist! :)

Oswald Chambers: Faith

2008-11-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

As I was reading Thursday's entry in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, it really made me pause and ponder some things, particularly the second paragraph. It seems like I can always use a good reminder/challenge in the area of faith. So I thought I would pass it along.

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him."
Hebrews 11:6
Faith in antagonism to common sense is fanaticism, and common sense in antagonism to faith is rationalism. The life of faith brings the two into a right relation. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual; of impulse and inspiration. Nothing Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, it is revelation sense, and it reaches the shores where common sense fails. Faith must be tried before the reality of faith is actual. "We know that all things work together for good," then no matter what happens, the alchemy of God's providence transfigures the ideal faith into actual reality. Faith always works on the personal line, the whole purpose of God being to see that the ideal faith is made real in His children.

For every detail of the common-sense life, there is a revelation fact of God whereby we can prove in practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle which always puts Jesus Christ first--Lord, Thou hast said so and so (e.g., Matthew 6:33), it looks mad, but I am going to venture on Thy word. To turn head faith into a personal possession is a fight
always, not sometimes. God brings us into circumstances in order to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make its object real. Until we know Jesus, God is a mere abstraction, we cannot have faith in Him, but immediately we hear Jesus say--"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father," we have something that is real, and faith is boundless. Faith is the whole man rightly related to God by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year

2008-10-31T10:00:00.004-04:00

I *love* Christmas.

So much so, I'm a firm believer that it is too good of a "season" to be celebrated strictly in late-November and December alone.

Inevitably, mid-October--if not sooner--I start getting excited about Christmas. Yep. Call me a freak, but I really do.

I listen to Christmas music pretty much year around. Well, at least some of it. The more traditional or strictly winter-related carols I tend to save for the actual Christmas season--as well as some of my favorite CDs. But I listen to a lot of non-traditional Christmas music pretty regularly throughout the year.

I walked through the Christmas section in Target on Sunday and could feel my excitement growing. I love the decorations, the lights, the music, the focus on our Savior's birth (or at least superficial focus--it's debateable how much focus people in our nation really have on the birth of Christ) --it's all wonderful! So I could feel the smile on my face growing as I took it all in while I strolled down the aisles.

This is about the time of year that I begin to dream of curling up with a warm blanket and a cup of cocoa and watching "It's a Wonderful Life." Or other classics such as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "White Christmas." I also look forward to watching newer favorites such as "The Nativity Story" and "The Christmas Shoes."

I'm already excited about Christmas celebrations with friends, putting up the tree, decorating the house, Christmas gift shopping, and the list goes on. And this year, because I have a Dollywood pass, I have at least a couple of trips to the Dollywoood Christmas Celebration to look forward to. I *love* going up there during that time period. It's so beautiful!

Ah, so much Christmas joy to look forward to! It'll be here before we know it!

Me standing in front of our Christmas tree last year

Be watching for more blog entries related to Christmas as the actual season arrives! :)

I voted today!

2008-10-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

I voted in my first presidential election ever today! I've waited for this moment for years.(God bless early voting--I'll be too busy to vote on actual Election Day. I have classes all day and I'm working election night.)

I've been taught--and believed--my entire life, that voting is a privilege and it is our civic duty to search out the issues, make a rational decision based on your values and what you believe to be true (who cares what the mainstream media says--think for yourself!), and then VOTE!

I can remember being excited as a Kindergartener in the 1992 election when I was able to cast my vote in a class kids' election. I thought it was so cool to "vote" in class and then tag along with my mom as she voted in the real election. I have followed each election closely ever since.

So voting today was the fulfillment of a long-held desire. And as long as I am able to make it to the polls and think clearly enough to make my own decision, I will vote in every election I can until the day I die.

Too many Americans today sit back and passively expect our system to work as designed--without ever participating! The very foundation of our government is based on active citizen participation. In addition, thousands of lives have been sacrificed over the years so that we could have the freedom to vote (among other freedoms). We would be foolish to cast aside the privileges we've been given and not play an active role in our government. Voting is a simple, yet powerful way to do that.

Sarah the construction worker

2008-10-29T15:10:00.007-04:00

As many of you have heard, I interviewed one of my best friends, Sarah, for my personality profile assignment in my broadcast journalism class. We were assigned to do an interview with someone who does/has done something out of the ordinary. Because Sarah works construction and that's not something most girls typically are interested in, I decided to interview her. It was fun.

This is the first time I've conducted an actual interview with a camera, so please forgive any amateurishness. I've shot video for four or five projects now, but I never had to include an interview in any of them. So I'm glad she was my guinea pig. :) At least I know she didn't think I was an unprofessional idiot when I messed up some during the interview/shooting process or took a little bit longer to get things set up. ;)

The interview turned out great. I had so much material to work with it was hard to cut it down to only a minute and a half.

After hours of editing (I've gotta learn some shortcuts in FinalCutPro), here's the result:

Knoxville construction worker defies gender stereotype from Liz Overton on Vimeo.

And for those interested, here's the entire interview. I didn't have time to edit it, so here it is in raw form. I might go back and edit it some later, when I have time.

A big thanks to Sarah! She did a great job and very graciously allowed me to interview her and follow her around with a camera as she worked. You did awesome, Sarah! Thanks!

CCA fall fun

2008-10-23T18:27:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous post on autumn in the Smokies, this past Sunday, I spent the afternoon/evening in Cades Cove with my best friends. It was a blast!

We ate a picnic lunch (well, everyone else had a picnic--I had to join in later because of my work schedule), played games, made s'mores, played with lighter fluid (our poor fire was dying by the time we were ready to roast the marshmallows), and went on a hayride.

I treasured the time to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the beauty of friendship with the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for.

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival.
- C. S. Lewis

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Autumn splendor of the Smokies

2008-10-23T14:02:00.011-04:00

Each season has a beauty all its own, and the glorious colors of autumn are truly a sight to behold. This Sunday, I went to the Smoky Mountains with my best friends and we enjoyed spending time together with the beauty of autumn in the Smokies serving as a glorious backdrop. The colors haven't peaked yet, but they were beautiful nonetheless. You can just see some of the colors beginning to turn.

In my opinion, you haven't really experienced autumn until you've seen its transformation first hand in the Smokies. Doesn't it just make you want to stand in awe of God's breathtaking creation?

The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
- Psalm 97:1

O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you....The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
- Psalm 89:8, 11

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
- Psalm 90:1-2

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
- Romans 1:20

P.S. I couldn't actually take any close-ups through the Cades Cove loop like I wanted to because I was on a hayride. I had to grab whatever pictures I could as we were driving by!

It's not about us

2008-10-09T17:30:00.002-04:00

The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you--your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything--then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it.
- Ian Thomas

UT students prepare to take on the world

2008-10-06T13:33:00.003-04:00

This is my first "real" Broadcast News class assignment. We had to cover a local event and write a VO (voice over) for it.

UT students prepare to take on the world from Liz Overton on Vimeo.

All self-respecting political junkies...

2008-10-02T13:39:00.006-04:00

...will have their TVs tuned to the vice-presidential debate tonight at 9.

And I, for one, can't wait to watch it.

I've had tonight's debate marked on my calendar since I could find out the date.

I'm sure the ratings numbers of people tuning in tonight will be through the roof. My prediction is that this vice-presidential debate will draw an exponentially larger audience than any of the presidential debates. Especially after all the recent talk surrounding Gov. Sarah Palin's interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric.

*Warning: I don't think I've really mentioned any of my political views, at least openly, on this blog yet. But I'm about to. So be forewarned: the next paragraph contains blatant personal opinion and venting. Ignore or read as you please. Feel free to agree or disagree.*

In light of that, I can't wait to watch Gov. Palin kick Sen. Biden's tail tonight. Just because she doesn't have a scripted, carefully crafted answer to immediately spit back when asked a question doesn't make her unintelligent or ill-qualified! And don't even get me started on "dodging questions!" Have any of those outspoken Palin critics ever watched Sen. Obama give an interview? Puh-leeze! Talk about dodging questions!

*end of venting*

So anyway, I'm looking forward to watching the debate tonight. In all seriousness, it will no doubt be an important mile marker in this year's election race.

Happy Autumn!

2008-10-02T12:32:00.002-04:00

Photo courtesy of Ferran., Flickr.com

Fall is in the air! :)

It is finally here--in my mind at least. Despite the fact that the autumnal equinox is always on either September 22 or 23, it never really seems to be fall in my mind until October. Maybe because that's when it usually starts to look or feel a little bit like fall in East Tennessee. Sure, fall actually begins in September. But to me, September has always seemed to be a transitional month. Not really summer, yet not really fall. Maybe I hold that view because I've spent most of my life in school. September is always the month of getting settled into one's new school routine, adjusting to new changes, etc. But by October, things have kind of settled down (usually). Thus, my mind switches over to fall.

So I was delighted yesterday to discover that the first day it really *felt* like fall here in East Tennessee was October 1. How perfect! I mentally shift over to fall in October, and this year the weather actually shifted with me (at least for a few days). So let the fall fun begin!

Fall has many fun, lovable characteristics: crisp temperatures, beautiful fall foliage, apple cider, pumpkin spice frappuccinos, Starbucks caramel apple spice (the stuff is heavenly), corn mazes, bonfires, cozy fires burning in the fireplace, football games, and just the promise and living example of harvest.

To celebrate fall, I made some pumpkin bread Tuesday night that I munched on and shared at church last night and I plan to enjoy a Starbucks pumpkin spice frappuccino later today (Mmmm! Can't wait!). I also intend to stop by Yankee Candle today and pick up some fall-scented votives to put in my autumn candleholders, which I hope to pull out next week. My goal is to clean my room this weekend, and help clean the house in general, so that I can pull out the fall decor next week. :)

As a season, fall has really started growing on me in the past few years. Spring has always been my favorite season for a number of reasons. (Well, favorite actual season. Christmas is by far my absolute favorite season. But that's another--forthcoming--blog post.) Namely, I love to see all the flowers and trees in bloom, warmer temperatures (ironic that one of the things I love about fall is the cooler temperatures!), my birthday, wrapping up another school year (you better believe this coming spring will be huge in this regard as I graduate!!), looking ahead to summer, and honestly, just the new beginnings and new life everywhere.

However, I can honestly say that fall and spring are close to being tied as my favorite seasons. Spring will always hold a special place in my heart, but fall is quickly becoming a treasure as well. Happy autumn! :)

There is a harmony
In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,
Which through the summer is not heard or seen,
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!
--Percy Bysshe Shelley

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower.
--Albert Camus

Natural sounds tour of UT

2008-09-25T18:23:00.003-04:00

In one of my journalism classes this semester, we are training to be "backpack journalists." Backpack journalist is a newer term for "one-man band." And that pretty much sums up what BPJs do. They report the story, shoot the video, and edit the package--the whole deal.

This is my first "practice" assignment. We had to make a 60-second video tour of UT with only natural sound as audio. I worked with my friend and classmate Brittany Hodge on the project. We had fun working on it even though it took a lot longer than we anticipated to shoot all the video (but hey, we have plenty of campus b-roll that we can use for future assignments). We went out as a team to help each other with finding shots, using the camera, etc., but shot our own video and edited our own assignments. And as I discovered when I was shooting another assignment on my own yesterday, it helps to have an extra set of arms to carry equipment across campus. ;)

Thankfully this assignment was ungraded. The purpose was to give us some experience in shooting video and editing with Final Cut Pro before our graded assignments (working on my first one of those right now). And the video isn't perfect. Somehow we managed to change the setting from full-screen to widescreen, thus the last few frames in my video are in widescreen when the rest of it is not (we're supposed to record in full-screen). And I lost some good video shots because our audio either wasn't plugged in properly or wasn't turned up enough.

But anyway, if you're curious to see some of what I'm learning, here's a sample of my work as an amateur videographer.

We the people...

2008-09-17T10:45:00.002-04:00

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
- Preamble of the U.S. Constitution

On this day, 221 years ago, our forefathers adopted the Constitution. It was later unanimously ratified by the individual states in the union through separate conventions. The Bill of Rights was added four years later in 1791.

Today is known as Constitution Day in honor of this historic event. To be honest, I didn't even know Constitution Day existed until my sophomore year in college. I found the day particularly interesting this year because I am currently studying the Constitution in my political science class.

It is truly nothing short of remarkable that our Constitution has withstood the test of time and remained the framework of our government since 1787. I believe that even our forefathers would be amazed that it is still alive and well. From the readings I have been studying in class, it is evident that many of them viewed the endeavor to write a constitution as a grand experiment. No one had built a government like ours before, so all they could do was build a framework to the best of their abilities and hope it would work. They no reassurance that it would.

Writing a constitution really wasn't even the original agenda. The delegates met to try to repair the flawed Articles of Confederation established after the Revolutionary War and determined that the Articles were beyond repair. (And yes, they wrote the Constitution with utmost secrecy and entirely behind closed doors--this was pre-Sunshine laws. But I would argue that considering the volatility of the times, they did what they had to do and it worked.)

Some of the greatest minds our country has ever produced, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams, were all involved with the process. The mixed government (a cross between a republic and a democracy with a part federal-part national unifying foundation) they created is truly nothing short of ingenious. Sure, our government isn't perfect and never has been, but the Constitution has done an excellent job serving as the foundation of America.

So, on this Constitution Day, I would encourage you to pause for a moment and be thankful for all the many blessings this country has to offer, including a constitution that guarantees us many freedoms that many people around the world can only dream of having.

Also, with this being an election year, I would encourage you not to throw away your right to play a role in the government, which our forefathers fought so hard to earn and protect. Go out and vote. And most of all, pray for these elections. Pray that the eyes of the American people will not be blinded to the truth in the midst of all the lies and the mudslinging, and that the people God wants in office would be elected.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

2008-09-17T10:12:00.001-04:00

Today is my sister's 15th birthday.

I wanted to take a moment to wish her a happy birthday and let her know how blessed I am to have her as a sister.

Hannah, I know that we have very different personalities and don't always see eye-to-eye on everything--especially as it relates to sharing a room ;)--but even though we occasionally have our "moments," please know that I will always love you and always be thankful that you are my sister.

I hope you have a truly awesome day. Enjoy being allowed to wear makeup now! :) Love you!

Please pray for Cambodia

2008-09-16T22:14:00.000-04:00

Four of my friends from church are currently on a mission trip in Cambodia. They left on the 9th and will return on the 23rd. I meant to post a blog about this a week ago, but I wasn't able to get it up until today.

Please be praying for the entire team (there are people from other churches on the team as well) as they serve as the hands and feet of Christ in Cambodia. They will be working hard to help move a children's home from one city to another. In addition to assisting in moving the children, they will be doing a good deal of cleaning and making repairs to the old home and the new one. The team will also be doing several prayer walks in the area.

To follow the team's progress, check out To The Ends of the Earth to read a firsthand account from the field.

Here are some specific prayer requests for the trip from members of the team:

Heritage House (the home for children the team went to help move)

All of these children will be moved to a new city, a new school, a new everything. Please pray for a smooth transition.

Please pray for favor in leaving the old building. The landlord is trying to cheat Heritage House out of a lot of money.

The staff need prayer for a continued compassion for the children and each other.

Please pray for the salvation of the children through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Church

The area where this church will be does not know of our Savior, please pray that the Holy Spirit will move in that place.

Lewis (the team leader) and a few others have been training a young man to lead this church, please pray that he allows God to work through him for the salvation of Kampot.

Please pray that hidden believers will rise up and join in the fellowship and family that is the Church.

Please pray protection against anything that would hinder the growth of God's kingdom.

Kampot and Cambodia
Please pray...

That the church will grow strong and fearless

That the government will grow soft to the Word of God

That families will seek to grow stronger

That love would fill the streets, driving out fear

That the monks and following Buddhists will hear the word of truth and turn to God

Missions Team

UNITY

Spirit of love and obedience

Focus

Productivity

Increased faith and strength for spiritual warfare

Health and safety

Glorious times of worship and praise

PROVISION

New revelations of God and His Kingdom

WISDOM

Open ears and eyes to hear and see with clarity whatever God may wish to speak to them

Hearts totally in tune to what the Father is doing and saying

Thank you for joining me in praying for the team! I can't wait to hear all the accounts of what God has done when they return!

Meeting with God at Panera Bread

2008-09-14T23:25:00.003-04:00

Every time we read the Word, pray, worship or converse with God, we meet with Him. However, there are those times every once in a while, where I can walk away from time spent in God's presence and say, "Wow, I really met with God today." Really, it's no different from any other relationship. There are times when I hang out with my friends and it's fun, but not extraordinary. And then there are those times when I spend time with my friends and I walk away thinking, "Wow, I made some memories today that I'll treasure the rest of my life."

Friday was one of those days.

Thursday, while I was thinking ahead to the plans I had for Friday, I felt prompted to skip my workout and go straight to Panera Bread after class. Usually, on Fridays, since I get out of class pretty early in the day, I go to class, go workout at T-RECS, and then head to Panera to study before going to work. I usually only make it to the gym on Wednesdays and Fridays, so I try to protect that time and stick with my commitment to exercise at least a couple of times a week. I've never been much on an exerciser, so since last fall, when I finally started exercising on a regular basis, no matter how busy I am, I at least try to exercise some. I don't want revert back to my no-exercise habits.

But Thursday, I felt like God told me to scratch my exercising plans, head straight over to Panera from class, and use the time I would have spent exercising to extend my quiet time with God. I felt like God told me if I would do that, he would meet me there. It was like God was saying, "Hey! I miss you. Come spend some time with me."

The past week or so have been pretty busy for me, so I haven't spent nearly as much time as I would have liked to in the Word, in prayer, and in God's presence. So I've found myself desiring more time with the Lord over the past couple of days. Thus, it didn't take much convincing to get me to change my plans for today so I would have a little more quiet time with the Lord.

And God did meet me at Panera Bread, just as he said he would.

I started by praying for the team from my church that is currently on a mission trip in Cambodia, and then I started into Friday's My Utmost for His Highest devotional. Nothing different there, that's my normal routine. I typically start my quiet time with Chambers' devotional for the day. And I immediately saw that God was going to have a lot to say to me through Friday's devotional. Here's what it said:

September 12
"Ye know not what ye ask."
Matthew 20:22

There are times in spiritual life when there is confusion, and it is no way out to say that there ought not to be confusion. It is not a question of right and wrong, but a question of God taking you by a way which in the meantime you do not understand, and it is only by going through the confusion that you will get at what God wants.

The Shrouding of His Friendship. Luke 11:5-8. Jesus gave the illustration of the man who looked as if he did not care for his friend, and He said that that is how the Heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think He is an unkind friend, but remember He is not; the time will come when everything will be explained. There is a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller communion. When God looks completely shrouded, will you hang on in confidence in Him?

The Shadow of His Fatherhood. Luke 11:11-13. Jesus says there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father, as if He were callous and indifferent, but remember He is not; I have told you--"Everyone that asketh receiveth." If there is a shadow on the face of the Father just now, hang onto it that He will ultimately give His clear revealing and justify himself in all that He permitted.

The Strangeness of His Faithfulness. Luke 18:1-8. "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Will He find the faith which banks on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand off in faith believing that what Jesus said is true, though in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you ask.

Wow. That grabbed my immediate and full attention.

And God wasn't finished yet.

I opened up The Power of a Praying Woman, which I sometimes use as a guideline to get me started in my prayer time, and here is some of what the next prayer said:

Lord, I put my future in Your hands and ask that You would give me total peace about it. I don't want to be trying to secure my future with my own plans. I want to be in the center of Your plans, knowing that You have given me everything I need for what is ahead. I pray You would give me strength to endure without giving up."

Then, through time in His Word and some entries from Come Away My Beloved, God reminded me that he hasn't forgotten me and left me to handle some issues alone. I'm still very much on his radar, so to speak. He is very aware of every detail in my life and every promise he has made, and he won't forget about me. As crazy as it may seem sometimes to trust Him, he's far more trustworthy than anything I could ever have faith in here on this earth!

So I would encourage you, if you're like me and slipped a little bit in spending quality time with the Lord each day, get back on track. It really isn't as hard to do as it sometimes seems. Make the sacrifice. Take some time to be alone with the Lord and spend time in His presence. Go meet with Him. He'll meet you there. I promise.

Welcome, Hannah Grace!

2008-09-10T17:30:00.005-04:00

Hannah Grace
Born Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 6:33 p.m.
7 lb. 14 oz., 21 ½ in. long
Proud parents: Matt & Kelly
Excited siblings: Lydia and David

Miss Hannah Grace made her long-awaited appearance yesterday! She is absolutely precious! So adorable!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

- Psalm 139:13-16

As the rain comes down from heaven

2008-09-09T21:07:00.000-04:00

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

- Isaiah 55:10-11

"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants."

- Deuteronomy 32:2

"He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills."

- Psalm 147:8

"How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Rain in Summer"

I'm glad that God is God...

2008-09-06T22:49:00.002-04:00

...and I'm not!

I realize that the simple truth that I'm not God should be an indubitable fact of life, but...sometimes I act like I am.

I try to tell God what he needs to do in my life and when, how he needs to work in different situations, and essentially try to put God into a box and force him to work in my life on my terms.

Heaven help me. Thank the Lord that when I slip into that mindset, God, being the sovereign being that he is, gently or firmly (whatever the situation calls for) reminds me that he's God and I'm not.

It certainly doesn't help that I've always been a bit of a control freak. I like to know what's going on and have a grip on what's going on in my life. And as those who have known me for a decent amount of time can testify, whenever I'm put in situations that are entirely beyond my control, I don't like it at all. So often times, living a life of faith, especially when I have no idea what's around the next bend, is incredibly difficult for me. When it seems like God isn't doing anything, or isn't working fast enough to satisfy me, I have this tendency to try to take over.

I'm also a planner. I'm constantly thinking ahead to the next thing in my life, trying to prepare for it. That's actually rather amusing, because nothing ever really happens like I think it should (God, through his grace and mercy, does things so much better!). You'd think I would learn...

I could try to blame my doubt and lack of total surrender on being a control freak and say, "Well that's just the way you made me God." But that's no excuse. Following God requires total surrender--not partial surrender whenever it's most convenient for me. God calls me to trust him to work in my life. Who am I to doubt that the omnipotent, omniscient God, Creator of all things, knows exactly what I need and when I need it?

I'm also thankful for God's patience. Yesterday, I had another of several conversations with God lately that have consisted of *guilty look* a good bit of whining mixed in with other bits of conversation. And with each cry of my heart, God has gently reminded me to simply trust Him. That's much better than I would have done at this point. I think that by now, if I was God and I was having to deal with someone like me, I would have hit him or her over the head with something hard and yelled, "Would you just shut up and trust me!"

Now that's not to say that I don't need to be put in my place from time to time--and God has done that when I've needed it. Usually a Job-style "where were you when I created the earth?" type of reminder works quite well. ;)

But yesterday I was glad that instead of a firm reminder that God is sovereign and I'm nothing, God chose to speak to me with gentle, comforting reminders to simply trust Him--even when having faith in Him seems totally irrational. He knew that's what I needed.

I needed to hear his whispered reassurances of love and promises of faithfulness as I rested in his embrace.

I'm glad that God is God and that he knows far better than I how to write the story of my life.

Food for thought

2008-09-02T22:10:00.001-04:00

I've been re-reading this Oswald Chambers devotional over the past few days and it still hits me hard. Especially the last sentence. I'm going to need to chew on this one for a while.

August 29

Every time you venture out in the life of faith, you will find something in your common-sense circumstances that flatly contradicts your faith. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture heroically on Jesus Christ's statements when the facts of your common-sense life shout--"It's a lie"? On the mount it is easy to say--"Oh, yes, I believe God can do it"; but you have to come down into the demon-possessed valley and meet with facts that laugh ironically at the whole of your mount-of-transfiguration belief. Every time my programme of belief is clear to my own mind, I come across something that contradicts it. Let me say I believe God will supply all my need, and then let me run dry, with no outlook, and see whether I will go through the trial of faith, or whether I will sink back to something lower.

Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict. What is your faith up against just now? The test will either prove that your faith is right, or it will kill it. "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." The final thing is confidence in Jesus. Believe steadfastly on Him and all you come up against will develop your faith. There is continual testing in the life of fatih, and the last great test is death. May God keep us in fighting trim! Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us."

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Quote of the day

2008-08-19T22:28:00.001-04:00

"It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which He creates."
~ Amy Carmichael

Are we ready for action?

2008-08-06T13:40:00.003-04:00

Can you tell that one of the many things God has been speaking to my heart lately is related to action? I blogged about actions speaking louder than words last week, and Monday, while reading through 1 Peter, I just couldn't get past the number of verses in that short little book that deal with being alert and prepared for action.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
- 1 Peter 1:13

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action..." This introductory portion of the verse stayed on my mind as I continued reading. Our goal as Christians should be to live active lives focused on Christ and spreading His gospel, but Peter continually cautions us that such a lifestyle requires focus and preparation.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
- 1 Peter 3:15-16

This is probably by far the biggest action we need to be prepared for. We should always be prepared to tell others about Jesus and share what he has done in our lives. Sadly, this is an area where I don't feel like I am adequately prepared. I am certainly trying to become better prepared to explain the gospel to those who don't understand it and answer their questions, but I still feel largely inadequate for the task. The biggest issue here, and I am fully aware of it, is that I don't practice nearly enough. The more I witness, the easier it will be to speak up and to know what to say.

Peter also constantly drives home the concept of remaining focused and self-controlled.

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray."
- 1 Peter 4:7

In our crazy busy society, it is depressingly easy to get so wrapped up in the noise and the chaos that we don't allow our minds even a few precious moments to stop and be quiet before the Lord. How are we supposed to hear God's voice and listen to the Spirit's promptings if we won't even take the time to listen? And trust me, I am totally preaching to myself when I say this and ask these questions.

Perhaps now more than ever before, it is vitally important that we learn to focus and stay clear minded so that we can hear God and truly engage in conversation with Him in prayer. If we allow the craziness of this world to fog and pollute our minds, we won't be nearly as effective in our walks with Christ as we need to be. Our minds need to be cleared and focused on the Lord.

Remaining self-controlled is also important. We need to live disciplined lives centered around Christ, not careless lives open to temptation or reckless indulgence. A vital part of our preparation as active Christians needs to consist of regular, disciplined times with the Lord in His presence, His Word, and in prayer.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
- 1 Peter 5:8

Yet another reason we need to be alert, focused, and self-controlled. Satan wants nothing more than to cause us to stumble and render us ineffective. Unfortunately, I believe we often make his job incredibly easy by staying so distracted that he doesn't even have to go to great lengths to injure our effectiveness.

These verses have caused me to pause a moment and really evaluate my life. Am I really focused on centering all of my life around Christ and being ready for action at any time? Am I staying disciplined and alert so that am not quite as easily led astray? Or am I allowing myself to be distracted, ill-prepared, and unfocused? Just some of the many thoughts that have been rattling around in my mind lately...

Good words to live by

2008-08-04T23:40:00.001-04:00

"Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."
- 1 Peter 2:11-12 NLT

Thought from today's My Utmost for His Highest reading

2008-08-01T19:35:00.003-04:00

"Wait on God and He will work, but don't wait in spiritual sulks because you cannot see an inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our own spiritual hysterics to wait on God? To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told."
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

2008-07-31T12:53:00.003-04:00

On this day, twenty-one years ago, my dear friend Sarah entered the world (yes, she and Hannah are twins) and it hasn't been the same since!

Sarah, I treasure our friendship. You have been a blessing to me since the moment we met and a true Godsend, especially in this season. I think I would have gone crazy by now if it wasn't for your prayers, listening ear, and words of truth and love. And, as I noted in Hannah's post, I truly am forever grateful to you two for introducing me to Harvest and helping me become part of the group.

Thanks for encouraging me to branch out and be a little crazy sometimes. There are definitely times in my life where I need friends to tell me to let go of whatever is going on in my life, let loose and have a little fun. And thanks for being there to have fun with! I love you dearly and I hope you have an incredibly blessed day that is far better than you could have imagined.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

2008-07-31T12:51:00.002-04:00

On this day, twenty-one years ago, my dear friend Hannah entered the world, changing it for the better.

Hannah, I am so glad God brought us together. I treasure our friendship. I'm forever grateful to you and Sarah for introducing me to the CCA and thereby introducing me to Harvest Church. You have been such a blessing to me. Your calm, mature manner mixed with your bold, strong stand for the Lord and your family have been a blessing in my life and an inspiration to me. Thank you for always being there when I need prayer, a listening ear, or words of truth and encouragement. I love you dearly and I look forward to our friendship growing even closer as the years go by! I hope you have an absolutely awesome birthday!

Shakin' up Judge Judy

2008-07-30T13:24:00.005-04:00

Okay, so while it isn't funny that southern California was rocked by an earthquake yesterday, the effect it had on this taping of Judge Judy is rather humorous.

Actions speak louder than words

2008-07-30T13:23:00.002-04:00

As I was reading 1 John 3 last night, verse 18 reminded me once again of the importance of making sure that what we do backs up what we say.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

There are a myriad of Scripture verses and quotes that I could support this with, but there really is something to the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words."

What good are our words if our actions don't reflect the same ideas? They are absolutely empty and worthless.

Throughout the Bible, and repeatedly in the books John wrote, we are told that if we truly believe in God, if we really mean what we say when we claim to be followers of Christ, we'll love one another. Which means loving everyone with the love of Christ. I try, but wow, I fall so short. God, help me to love as you love.

And I think it's interesting that John points out the need for us to love in truth. False affection doesn't work. Nobody likes to be loved insincerely. People usually aren't fooled for long (if at all) when someone puts on a loving facade.

Sometimes loving with the truth hurts; the old "tough love" situation. And honestly, I think there needs to be a lot more tough-love truth dished out today than there is. Especially as believers, if we see our friends, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, in trouble or slipping away, we have an obligation to be bold enough to say something, even at the risk of the person's anger or the loss of the relationship. If we just stand by and watch, then we are only contributing to their fall. Scary thought. To any of my friends reading this, please don't ever hesitate to speak the truth to me in love! If I'm off track somewhere I want to know.

James brings up an interesting concept as well when he discusses faith in chapter 2.

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
- James 2:14-26

Faith without action is nothing. Actions really do reflect what's truly in the heart and the mind.

Wow. If I'm really trying to live a life of faith, my actions should back up what I claim to have faith in. If I believe that God is who he says he is, then every part of my life, which includes my words and my actions, should reflect that. Our actions prove our true feelings, no matter what we may say.

I could keep going with this topic, but I'll stop for right now. This post is long enough. ;) There are so many different directions this discussion could go in that I might come back to it at a later date.

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

2008-07-29T10:45:00.001-04:00

On this day, twenty-one years ago, my dear friend Katherine entered the world and blessed it with her presence.

Katherine, I consider myself privileged to call you one of my best friends. Your sweet, loving spirit and heart for God shine through in everything that you do and you are truly a blessing to everyone who knows you. I am so glad God allowed our paths to cross. I treasure our friendship and look forward to growing even closer in the years to come! I love you and I hope you have a truly blessed, God-kissed day.

Happy 21st Birthday!

Katherine and me in December 2007

During my quiet time today....

2008-07-28T11:43:00.003-04:00

Here are some key thoughts from my quiet time with the Lord today.

The cry of my heart...

"Lord, I bow before you this day and declare that you are Lord over every area of my life. I surrender myself and my life to You and invite You to rule in every part of my mind, soul, body, and spirit. I love You with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. I commit to trusting You with my whole being. I declare You to be Lord over every area of my life today and every day.

Enable me to deny myself in order to take up my cross daily and follow you (Luke 9:23). I want to be Your disciple just as You have said in Your Word (Luke 14:27). Help me to do what it takes. I want to lose my life in You so I can save it (Luke 9:24). Teach me what that means. Speak to me so that I may understand.

Help me to say yes to You immediately when You give me direction for my life. My desire is to please You and hold nothing back. I surrender my relationships, my finances, my work, my recreation, my decisions, my time, my body, my mind, my soul, my desires, and my dreams. I put them all in Your hands so they can be used for Your glory. I declare this day that 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me' (Galatians 2:20). Rule me in every area of my life, Lord, and lead me into all that You have for me."

- Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Woman

Lately, at the suggestion of a respected guest speaker at our church, I have been spending a good bit of time in John 14-16. My desire is to abide in Christ every moment of every day, so I've paid particular attentions to verses such as John 15:4-11:

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

Today, the Lord led me to 1 John, and I caught some parallels in 1 John 2 and John 15. Namely, it reinforces the idea of abiding in Christ and the importance of God's Word and obeying his commands as a vital part of abiding.

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
1 John 2:3-6

"See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father."
1 John 2:24

"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him."
1 John 2:27

Abiding in Christ is obviously closely intertwined with obeying God and being avid students of his Word.

Lord, may I hunger and thirst to spend time in your Word and obey what it says. May your Word become such a part of my life that it is hidden away deep inside my heart, a vital part of who I am. May each moment I spend in your Word provide new revelation and insight and only serve to draw me closer to You. And may I obey your Word and your commands immediately and eagerly out of my love for you, not reluctantly or out of compulsion. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A thought for today

2008-07-25T11:06:00.003-04:00

Nothing is more needful at this present hour than prayer that draws its power from full operation under the direction and unction of the Holy Spirit.
-Frances Roberts, Come Away My Beloved

25 things that make me smile

2008-07-24T18:52:00.003-04:00

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:11

Joy. Not only is joy a fruit of the Spirit that should be evident in our lives, the joy of the Lord is our strength. And often, in my own life, I find that one of the more effective tools of the enemy against me has been an attempt to steal my joy.

Several weeks ago, after a few weeks of riding an emotional rollercoaster ride and going up in down in my moods, I finally grasped the concept that sometimes living in the joy of the Lord is a conscious decision. I have to chose to be filled with joy, even on the days when I don't feel like it. Even if it means I wake up and say to myself, "I will have a good day today if it kills me! I will choose to be happy and delight in the Lord."

One great tool for bringing joy into one's day is remembering all of the many great things God has done and is doing for us. "For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands." Psalm 92:4

So one days when I wake up feeling unjoyful, I have learned to ask God to fill me with his joy and I try to take a moment to remember some of the many things God has done for me--which brings me to reason for the "25 things that make me smile" title.

The other night I decided to sit down and make a list of things that make me smile/happy and bring joy to my life. And really, I think it's something I should do more often. How can you continue to feel down when you're staring at a long list of things that bring you joy? I started out with the goal of listing 25 things but soon ended up with 50. I thought I would share some of these things with you. Although I made a list of 50+ things, I decided to spare you all the trouble of reading all that and shorten my list to 25 for the blog. So...here are 25 things that make me smile, in no particular order.

the presence of the Lord

my family

my friends (the best ever!)

my Harvest family

a beautiful sunset

mint chocolate

a clear, sunny 60-70 degree day with just a slight breeze

coffee

seeing something I wrote published

a friend's smile

the feeling of accomplishment that comes from a productive day

reading a good book

finding a really good deal when shopping

the wonderful aroma that greets you when you walk into a Starbucks

learning something new and fascinating

Christmas music

baking and sharing my baked goods with others :)

the sound of a loved one's voice

encouraging words

seeing the night crew (the people I work with most closely) excel at work

conversations with God

the color purple

talking with friends about what God has been doing in our lives

seeing redbud trees in full bloom

fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-19

Changes at WBIR

2008-07-23T23:18:00.005-04:00

Big changes are in the works at WBIR. Read more about the new plans here. The new ideas sound like a bold move, but I think WBIR is certainly capable of pulling it off. It should be interesting to see how the new programming works out.

Not to worry

2008-07-23T14:04:00.001-04:00

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."
John 14:1

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
John 14:15

Over and over throughout Scripture, we are commanded not to worry. We are told to simply trust God, not worry about what tomorrow may bring, and not be afraid.

This is one of the many things God has been speaking to my heart over the past few months. Basically, if I'm truly living a life sold out to God, I shouldn't be worrying about anything. Period. God promises he will take care of us, so I should take him at his Word and not sweat it. I have to trust, even when I can't see.

When I worry, not only am I calling God a liar (because he promises to meet our needs), but I'm disobeying his command to not worry. And, if I'm worrying about something, it's a pretty good indicator I am trying to have some degree of control over the situation, instead of leaving my life surrendered in God's hands. Worrying is also kind of pointless: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27). So true, yet so easy to forget in the moment.

Basically, when I worry, I'm just messing up left and right.

This isn't an easy lesson to learn and I know I'll never completely grasp it, no matter how hard I try. But nevertheless, I am going to try my best to live my entire life in this way. I do love the Lord, so I want to obey his Word. Which means no worrying. No matter how tempting it may be.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Tree collapses in South Knoxville

2008-07-22T15:02:00.003-04:00

During yesterday's crazy storms, a huge tree collapsed near a home in South Knoxville. You have to watch this video on the incident. The sound bites are absolutely priceless. I dare you to watch it without laughing...

Farewell, Jason

2008-07-22T14:35:00.009-04:00

Jason Dane Hovater

August 10, 1983 - July 13, 2008

Last Sunday our country lost one of its best.

Army Weapons Specialist Jason Hovater was killed in action in Afghanistan early Sunday morning, July 13, 2008. His body was laid to rest today with full military honors in the Tennessee Military Cemetery in Knoxville.

Some of the soldiers with him said he died trying to save his friends. Apparently he was in a safe location, saw three of his friends in a dangerous spot, grabbed his gear and went to help them, sacrificing his life in the process. Jason is truly a hero.

This hits close to home for me. This isn't simply another East Tennessee soldier killed in action (and each soldier lost is a great loss). Jason was a soldier with a passionate love for the Lord and a personal acquaintance of mine. I went to church with Jason at New Covenant Fellowship for about three years. While we weren't close friends, I still knew him and have been truly saddened and touched by his passing. I still can't fully wrap my mind around the fact that he's gone.

And I can attest that everything I've heard about Jason in the various reports and tributes following his death is true. Jason loved the Lord, he loved Jenna, he loved his family, he loved music and worshipping the Lord, he loved his country, he loved to laugh and make others laugh, he flat out loved life. And he was full of life. I think that's one of the things that seems so hard about his death. One can't help but ask, "Why?" He was so full of life and had so much going for him. The only answer to that is simply to trust that God has his reasons. He is worshipping in the very presence of the Lord at this very moment. I firmly believe that.

As a news intern at WBIR, I was able to help behind-the-scenes in the initial story we did on Jason's death. While it was sad and sometimes difficult to work on a story on Jason's death, it was also a privilege to be able to help show people who Jason was and help them see that Jason wasn't just another Army number. It was our hope that our story would show people the real Jason. It was and is my prayer that God will be glorified through Jason's life and death.

Here are some links to learn more about Jason and his story:
"East Tennessee soldier's body returns home"
"Friends and family say goodbye to soldier killed in Afghanistan"
"Hundreds gather to lay to final rest fallen Lake City soldier"
"East Tennessee soldier killed in Afghanistan laid to rest"

I also want to encourage people to watch this interview with Jason's wife, Jenna. I thought Jenna did an absolutely outstanding job with the interview. I am so proud of her. I can't even begin to imagine the pain she is going through right now, but she's standing strong and clinging to God to help get her through. My prayers are definitely with her and Jason's entire family.

Farewell, Jason. You are a hero. Although it seems to us that your life was cut short way too soon, you made a difference here and you will be greatly missed. I will see you again someday.

For the love of rain

2008-07-12T00:51:00.001-04:00

I'd never been a big fan of rain...until recently. I've always preferred the sunshine. Last year's drought has given me an entirely new appreciation for rain. As the earth became incredibly dry last summer, I found myself welcoming any forecast of rain and enjoying it when it came. When we were nearly 14 inches below normal rainfall last year, I would have welcomed a particularly rainy year for 2008 in order to help repair some of the damage from the drought. This year's below average rainfall has only increased my joy at seeing rain. I guess there is some truth to the old adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

I now love to watch the rain fall. Even if it means that I have to walk around campus in it or rearrange outdoor plans. So what if I have to get a little wet or be a little flexible? At least the earth is getting some of the nourishment it needs.

So while I still love sunshiney days, I don't mind if there's a rainy one mixed in every once in a while. ;) It takes the sunny days and the rainy ones to achieve the balance needed for things to grow.

And really that could apply to life itself. It takes the seasons of joy and "sunshine"--the good times--and the times of gray skies, rain and storms--often the not-so-good times--to help shape us into the people God desires us to be. And just as we should learn to appreciate both sunshine and rain here on the earth, we should learn to welcome the good and the hard times in our walks with Christ and not let anything steal our joy. We should praise Him at all times and in all circumstances.

In a writing mood

2008-07-10T22:17:00.003-04:00

So why am I suddenly publishing three new blog posts in one day after weeks of silence? I'm in a writing mood. I can't even put my finger on what I want to write--I'm just itching to put my fingers to the keyboard or pen to paper. I like blogging, so hopefully I'll get back in the habit of frequent blogging and really put my page to use. My mind is quickly coming up with new ideas for blog posts, so hopefully I'll actually have the time to turn those ideas into posts when inspiration hits. Any suggestions on what I should write?

Music on my blog!

2008-07-10T22:11:00.003-04:00

I've finally figured out how to add music to my blog! Not only will the music actually play while you're reading the material on my page, but it will play the entire song! Definitely a step up from the little iLike song snippets on Facebook! I chose some of my favorite quieter songs to provide a more soothing background. As most of you know, I love a good loud and upbeat tune, but I figured that might be a little bit of a jolt when you first arrive at my page. ;) So...I hope you enjoy the music while you're reading!

Surrender

2008-07-10T11:49:00.004-04:00

Surrender.

The word itself sounds simple enough. Yet its meaning packs a powerful punch.

According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, surrender means:

Verb:
1) To relinquish possession or control of to another because of demand or
compulsion
2) To give up in favor of another
3) To give up or give back (something granted)
4) To give up or abandon
5) To give over or resign (oneself) to something, as to an emotion
6) Law To restore (an estate, for example), especially to give up (a lease)
before expiration of the term

Not an easy task.

As a follower of Christ, surrender must not simply be part of my vocabulary, it should be an active part of my life. My life is not my own, it was bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). My daily activities should reflect that.

In the above definitions, the act of surrender is a one time deal. For example, if two armies are fighting in a war and one surrenders, the war is over. Finished. The general of the surrendering army does not have to come back the next day and say, “Hey, we surrender again.”

However, for the Christian, surrender is not just a one-time experience. It must be a daily thing. So often, as Christians, we fall into the trap of living in past events. Sure, one may have surrendered every particle of his or her life—all their hopes and dreams, everything—to God years ago at church camp or at a church meeting, but does that still play an active role in his or her life today? Yes and no. Yes, it was a valid experience with God and one can wholeheartedly surrender everything to Him in that moment, and I’m not discounting that in any way. Been there, done that. But how many times since that moment have I re-seized control of my life? And how many new dreams and desires do I have that need to be surrendered? Or what about something as deceptively simple as the agenda I have for my day? The answer is yes, I have plenty of new dreams, plans and agendas to surrender, and unfortunately, I have taken back control of my life countless times, more than I care to remember. Surrender is not a one-time event.

Daily surrender is definitely Biblical. It is a form of dying to self. And this isn’t just about dying to the hopes and dreams we hold closely in our hearts. What about our time? Are we willing to surrender our day to the Lord and let him structure it for us? Heaven forbid we have to be inconvenienced and set aside some of our plans for the day because God has something else in mind. And what about dying to the fear of man and being a bold witness for Christ? Often, that can factor into our time as well. Are we willing to stop in the midst of what we’re doing to share the truth with someone, regardless of where we are and who might be listening/watching?

Jesus discusses this in Luke when he says:

Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
- Luke 9:23-24 NIV

I also liked the way these verses are worded in the Message translation:

Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?

In the same way that one should make sure his or her spiritual armor is in place or be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit, one has to die to self and surrender to God on a daily basis.

Paul urges us in Romans to offer ourselves as “living sacrifices” to God:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
- Romans 12:1

Once again, I love the Message translation as well:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

This also brings up a good point. It takes God’s help for us to completely surrender to him. We have to make a conscious decision to do it—but God meets us at that place. When we humble ourselves and let him take control, he gladly helps us to follow his lead. God wants all of us, every day.

The many synonyms for “surrender” listed on thesaurus.com also raise some interesting points. Some of the synonyms include: abandon, comply, resign, concede, relinquish, submit, vacate, waive, yield, abdicate, give over, give up, lay down. Almost all of these involve, to some extent, the giving up of one’s rights, which is exactly what God wants from us. When we surrender our lives to him—at salvation and every day—we are declaring that we have given up our rights to live our own lives. Yes, we certainly have rights as sons and daughters of God—but we relinquish our “right” to control our own lives and live them for ourselves.

I am preaching this to myself probably more than anyone else who might read this. God has really been working with me on this over the past week and a half, thus the inspiration to write. ;) He started the process by asking me to let go of the tight hold I had on the hopes and dreams buried deep inside my heart, and then challenged me to be willing to surrender my time and reputation—everything—for Him, every day. God has also really been stretching me in the area of waiting for Him. Just because he plants desires in my heart and gives me a tiny glimpse of what He has planned for the future, does not mean that the future is now. And I can’t—and shouldn’t try to—box God in and try to tell Him how He needs to work in my life.

I can be a bit of a control freak at times, so this is often difficult for me (and I’m not using my personality as an excuse—far from it). I have often found myself .tricked into believing I am completely surrendered to Christ, only to find myself clinging tightly to small areas of my heart that I don’t want to relinquish control over. Typically, the control is motivated by fear. I’m afraid of what might happen if I release control. In reality, that’s ridiculous. Even in my short twenty-one years on this earth, I’ve already learned time and time again that God definitely knows better than I do how to run my life. Left on my own, I only mess things up. But God, in his grace, can take my messed-up life and do something beautiful with it, in it, and through it.

God has particularly been working with me on the day-to-day act of surrender. I’ve discovered that daily surrender is a very conscious decision. At least in my own life, it simply hasn’t been enough to just say that I’m surrendered to God and not deliberately re-surrender myself to him everyday. If I don’t, I find myself unconsciously taking back control. So for the past week and a half, each day has involved an act of surrender. Goodness knows I don’t have it down yet, but with God’s help, I’m working on it. And I’ve found that although surrendering is a difficult and often scary process, the rewards far outweigh the pain. I’m never as at peace as I am when I’m surrendered to God. I want my life to be fully surrendered to Him at all times and in every way.

I'm an intern!

2008-06-10T22:43:00.004-04:00

Today marks the first day of my summer internship with WBIR. I am already firmly convinced that this is going to be an awesome learning experience for me. It should be a lot of fun.

I began the day by watching the Style producer write intros, outros, and teases and plan the order of the show. Then I tagged along with Michele and April on a video shoot and interview for a future Style program. I spent part of the afternoon watching April edit packages for upcoming Style shows and attended the afternoon editorial meeting. I concluded the day by watching the Style, Live at Five, and 10 News at 6 shows either from the production booth or the studio.

It was a full day, but I enjoyed it.

This all still seems a little surreal to me. I've grown up watching WBIR and now I'm actually working with some of the anchors and reporters I've seen on-camera for years. And as eager as I am to be finished with school, I'm realizing just how fast time has flown. It doesn't seem right that I should already be an intern about to enter my senior year of college. But it is definitely exciting.

I have no doubt this will be an absolutely invaluable experience in my pursuit of a career in journalism and I can't wait see what adventures this summer will hold. I plan to make the most of every minute.

I'm still alive

2008-05-11T21:49:00.004-04:00

I realize that it's been a month since I last posted a blog entry, but I am still alive out here. ;) With finals and a host of other things going on in April and early May, blogging was not my top priority. However, now that the semester is over (*hallelujah chorus begins to play*), I will have more time for blogging and plan to make it a priority over the summer. I intend to sit down and list my goals for the summer over the next couple of days and create a summer routine. After finishing my last final on Tuesday, I spent the majority of last week just relaxing when I wasn't at work (summer break means more hours--but at least that leads to a bigger paycheck). But I'm not one to sit around without any real plans for long, so I plan to fix that this week.

Probably the most exciting plan for the upcoming summer that I have at the moment is a journalism practicum (basically, a fancy word for a part-time internship). Beginning in June, I will be a summer intern with the news department at WBIR. I am thrilled to have the position and look forward to the opportunity to gain real-world experience in the journalism field. I am also excited about working with the people at WBIR.

I also plan to spend as much time as possible with my friends over the summer simply hanging out, having fun and relaxing. :)

I'll probably post more of my summer plans later, but for right now, this is all I have beyond the beginnings of a summer reading list.

I now own a video camera!

2008-04-14T11:17:00.004-04:00

Yep. I finally bought a digital video camera Saturday night. I've been eyeing it for a while so when I noticed it was on sale, I bought it with my income tax refund money. It's pretty sweet. :)

I've been playing around with it some, but haven't had too much time to do a lot of exploring with it. After the next couple of weeks of school are over, I hope to get out and do more with it.

I have discovered, however, that my outgoing younger brother is a budding movie star and producer all in one six-year-old package. ;) If my camera is out, he is in front of it. And if I'm recording him, and he knows it, he will not hesitate to say, "Hey, Sissy, film this. Now film me. Now film this." I have some funny videos of him--some where he knows the camera is on and some where he doesn't--that I will try to post to YouTube in the near future. When I do I will also post an entry on the blog.

My sister also enjoys the spotlight. She loves drama and acting, so she's not one to run away from my camera either. I filmed a hilarious video of her lip-synching to a Relient K song and totally dramatizing it. I plan to post that one as well.

Owning a video camera is going to be fun and I can't wait to see what memories I'm able to capture and preserve on film.

Lady Vols make it to eight

2008-04-09T23:07:00.008-04:00

The Lady Vols won their second consecutive national championship last night in a decisive 64-48 win against Stanford, bringing them to a grand total of eight national titles. Go Vols!

I am so proud of my team! They played a great game last night and have had an awesome season. There is no doubt in my mind that they've earned their back-to-back titles.

While most of the attention given to the team seems to center around team superstar Candace Parker, the entire team has played well all season to get them to where they are. And that's not to make it sound like Parker hogs all the attention--I think she does a great job of working with her team and not drawing all the attention to herself. Someone with her skills and the long list of accolades she possesses just naturally attracts more attention. But I think one of the key factors to the Lady Vols continued success is that they work together well as a team. Pat Summitt doesn't just coach a few players, she builds and guides a team and does a darn good job of it.

So congratulations, Lady Vols!

Also, congratulations to the five graduating seniors. In addition to winning a second national championship title,. they all had a great day in the WNBA draft today. Candace Parker (first pick in the first round) and Shannon Bobbitt (first pick in the second round) will play together for the Los Angeles Sparks, Alexis Hornbuckle (fourth pick in the first round) went with the Detroit Shock, Nicky Anosike (second pick in the second round) signed on with the Minnesota Lynx and Alberta Auguste (seventh pick in the third round) will join the New York Liberty. I wish them all good luck as they embark on their professional careers. They will definitely leave behind quite a legacy.

Give me, O Lord, a thankful heart

2008-04-09T10:19:00.004-04:00

That has been the cry of heart lately. Help me to be more thankful, Lord.

I'm not nearly thankful enough. When I stop to think about it, I am so blessed it's ridiculous. So why is my heart not overflowing with thanksgiving all the time (as it should be)? Why have I caught myself whining more than giving thanks lately?

I am thankful that God has been opening my eyes to my lack of thanksgiving. I'm starting to really hear what I'm saying when I'm whining or complaining--and I don't like it at all.

Instead of being thankful that I am able to go to school--and even able to do it at very little monetary cost with no loans of any kind--I've found myself whining about wanting to be finished, how much I don't want to do my assignments or UT's policies. Instead of being thankful that I have a well-paying job (for a college student) with a flexible schedule, good atmosphere, and a good boss who thinks highly of me-- I whine about the things that don't go right at work. I've whined about the weather, fatigue, etc.

So I'm asking God to help me be more thankful, a prayer he seems all to ready to answer. And he is. Also as my friends, if you notice me whining, don't be afraid to bring it to my attention and gently tell me to stop. I won't mind.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5

Spring fever in full force

2008-04-02T14:30:00.003-04:00

Well, it's that time of year. Spring is finally here! But this year, along with the joyous excitement of spring, I just realized I am suffering from an acute case of spring fever. I think it's been years since I've had it this bad (one of the reasons why I haven't blogged in a while--just too darn restless). As I was staring blankly at my computer screen a few minutes ago, the thought finally occurred to me that maybe the restlessness I've been fighting since spring break has a name: spring fever. So being in a bored state of mind, I decided to Google "spring fever" and see what I could find. I found an interesting definition of the malady on Answers.com. It describes me to a T right now, with the exception of the laziness. I'm still getting things done, I'm just really restless and not quite as productive as I usually am. So maybe that makes me a little lazy, but at least I'm not skipping class, ignoring assignments or calling in to work.

I guess I'll just have to keep persevering through the next few weeks and fight my way through this. Summer will be here before I know it...

Spring Break is over

2008-03-25T08:58:00.004-04:00

Yesterday marked the return to school after a wonderful Spring Break. *sigh* I had an absolute blast. I didn't travel anywhere and didn't do anything "spectacular," yet this was the greatest spring break ever. So what was so special? I spent lots of time with the greatest friends on the face of the earth. With an extra Friday on break this year, I was able to spend the majority of two weekends, and some time in between, with my closest circle of friends. I savored every minute of it. It felt great to be able to meet a friend for dinner, watch a movie, walk around downtown with a group of friends, and so forth without having to worry about assignments. What a godsend! I really didn't want to come back this week.

Also, it seems that in recent weeks I have grown closer to a few of my friends and felt a stronger connection with them--making the quality time I spent with them over spring break even more precious. That is the primary reason I did not want to return to school. Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love learning. I really do. I always have and I always will. But I'm ready to take it outside the confines of a university and begin real-life learning. I only have one more year of school left and only six more weeks in this semester, but I am so ready for it to be over. I'm ready to take what I've learned in class and actually apply it. But I'm also ready to be able to spend my spare time with my friends and family, not poring over books for class. While doing well in class will help me in my future job, it's not my GPA that will matter at the end of my life. It's my walk with Christ, the relationships I've formed and the people that have been by my side throughout this crazy experience we call life. That's what counts. And that's what I celebrated over break.

Life-saving dolphin aids whales

2008-03-12T15:17:00.004-04:00

The dolphin is my favorite animal. A quick little known fact about me: I wanted to be a marine biologist for a couple of years as a preteen. I love the ocean and ocean life, so I thought it would be cool to study it for a living. Those of you who know me can go ahead and laugh. Don't worry, I changed my mind about marine biology. While I like studying marine biology (and general biology as well), I figured if I couldn't stand the thought of being out on the ocean in a small to medium-sized boat then I probably shouldn't major in it.

Crushed career dreams aside, I still think dolphins are amazing creatures. Not only are the cute, funny and intelligent, but occasionally they have been proven to save lives. As I was browsing through MSNBC.com earlier trying to see what was happening around the nation and the world, I stumbled upon this article. Apparently a dolphin in New Zealand helped lead two stranded pygmy sperm whales, a mother and her calf, to safety. How sweet. Dolphins prove their intelligence and compassion once again!

UT Today airing on Saturdays

2008-03-11T10:42:00.003-04:00

I have to post a quick little plug for my fellow UT journalism students. For eight consecutive weeks students will be writing, producing, and broadcasting a 30-minute newscast, UT Today, as part of the Electronic News Operations course. The shows will air Saturdays at 1 p.m. on WBIR Channel 10. They began broadcasting last Saturday and will run through April 26. Check it out and see what the journalism students at UT are learning about broadcasting.

Way to go, News-Sentinel!

2008-03-07T23:08:00.007-05:00

Way to go, Knoxville News-Sentinel! The newspaper has won two national journalism awards for its coverage of the Knox County Commission's violation of the Open Meetings Act and the subsequent law suit it launched against the commission. And deservedly so. Hats off to the staff at the News-Sentinel for fulfilling their role as a government watchdog and for looking out for the citizens of Knox County and the First Amendment. Also, thanks for being a living example to journalism students like myself of how important that role is and how it works.

Thoughts on Candace Parker leaving the Lady Vols

2008-03-05T13:46:00.003-05:00

In my online journalism class, we are currently learning about the basics of shooting and editing video. Last Thursday we divided into groups and went across campus shooting video for a man-on-the-street assignment. My classmates Emily and Todd and I asked the people we interviewed to respond to the question: How do you feel about Candace Parker opting out of her senior year to enter the WNBA draft?

We edited our video in class yesterday and loaded it onto YouTube. Sadly, the quality isn't that great since we used a digital camera (and it was really windy), but hey, it was the first attempt at video for all of us. Here are the results if you would like to check them out. (I shot the video on the first and last clips.)

Leap Day

2008-02-29T09:52:00.003-05:00

Well, it's Leap Day! The day that comes only once every four years. Yet with the exception of writing February 29 on everything, it strangely feels just like any other day to me. However, I do think it's neat for the people who were born on Leap Day. How funny is it that someone turning 20 today is only celebrating a birthday on their actual birthdate for the 5th time? Here's an interesting article I found on MSNBC.com about Leap Day and its origins.

Snow pictures

2008-02-27T21:30:00.011-05:00

Here are the snow pictures I promised earlier. I snapped a couple before leaving the house for school this morning and then took several more on the UT campus.

A view of the side of my yard.

It seems like a stretch to call the tiny bit of snow accumulation at UT a dusting, but I did come across this beautiful bed of pansies covered in snow.

The Torchbearer at UT stands strong and proud as snow swirls all around it.

Snow!

2008-02-27T10:44:00.004-05:00

It has actually snowed in East Tennessee! I took a few pictures of the pretty white stuff this morning, which I will post later this evening when I get home from school. In the meantime, check out the news coverage of the snow at WBIR.com and knoxnews.com. They are posting continual weather and traffic updates, lists of school closings and delays and pictures of the snow submitted from viewers and readers across East Tennessee. Check it out!

"Give Our Georgia Friends a Drink Day"

2008-02-27T10:16:00.004-05:00

As someone who is closely following all of the news in the Georgia/Tennessee border dispute, I found this newest twist in the story interesting. According to knoxnews.com, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield is sending a truckload of bottled water down to the Georgia legislature along with "a declaration offering a 'cool, wet kiss of friendship.'" Littlefield said he means it all as a joke, although I believe there may perhaps be a subtle message as well. Namely, Tennessee is sorry for the serious lack of water Georgia is facing as the result of the drought, but don't even think about messing with our border.

Sleep is a rare and precious commodity

2008-02-23T00:46:00.006-05:00

Ask a college student if they get enough sleep and he or she will probably laugh at you. I know I would. Sleep? What's that? You mean people actually get enough sleep?

I live in a state of almost constant sleep deprivation. How are you expected to get 8 hours of sleep a night AND keep up with a 17-credit-hour school schedule, work nights at a part-time job, complete enough out of class work to make good grades, hang out with your friends enough to convince them you're still alive and try to catch a few precious minutes every once in a blue moon to yourself? It's impossible.

So, being the curious (or nerdy) and really tired person that I am, I decided to Google "sleep deprivation" and then "sleep" and see what I could come up with. The search garnered some interesting results. First of all, apparently there's a non-profit organization called the National Sleep Foundation. Who knew? I never would have guessed such an organization existed. There's actually some pretty neat information on their site about sleep needs for people of all ages, sleep disorders and treatments, tips on sleeping better and more. You can also find out how sleep works.

However, I cracked up in the middle of the computer lab at school when I saw this: March 3 - 9 is National Sleep Awareness Week. Sleep Awareness Week? There really is such a thing? I always thought that was a synonym for spring break. Yet apparently there really is a Sleep Awareness Week, and the NSF hosts activities such as a Great American Sleep Challenge, learning conferences and the 2008 Healthy Sleep Community Award presentation. So the week of March 3-9 be sure to appreciate the sleep you get each night and try to get plenty of it! Sleep is important and for many of us it is a rare and precious commodity.

Look out blogosphere--here I come!

2008-02-21T22:48:00.002-05:00

I have finally entered the blogosphere! I know, I know, it's about time. I'm ashamed to admit that I've had this account for a while but have yet to post anything. So here's my first of hopefully many posts! I will try to update this frequently with whatever happens to be on my mind or going on in my life at any given moment. Thus, I decided to subtitle the blog "Random musings from the mind of Liz." I almost included a "read if you dare" warning. If I seem random or off my rocker at times, just tell yourself that the words here are just the rambling thoughts of a girl trying to process her day. Maybe that can rationalize occasional madness. :)

Hopefully, what I share in this blog will give you a little glimpse into my life. I plan to share information on here such as what God has been teaching me lately, thoughts on recent news and political issues, book and movie reviews, new recipes, photos (and hopefully soon, video!) and perhaps even links to some of my articles for class assignments. We'll see what happens. Maybe something that has touched my life recently will have a positive impact on you as well.

Well, off to continue more web design homework. Welcome to my blog and thanks for reading!

Life of a Journalizm Girl

Out on My Own

Stay tuned...

Happy Father's Day

Hangin' with my little buddy

Local news in high def!

"The Patience of Faith"

A little April Fools' fun

Flash flooding hits Knoxville

Lemon Bars

Happy Fall!

Road trip

Long-awaited vacation

Faith to believe he can do what we ask

I'm still alive....

Sweet memory

New musical delight

Aquarium cookies and massages

Five years later...

He was pierced for our transgressions

Lovely day, lovelier bride :)

True beauty

Winter doesn't last forever (thank God!)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Perfectly saved by His grace!

The sign of a faithful promise

A welcome sight

Proud to be a UT grad!

I'm back!

A white surprise

Watching history with mixed feelings

Rain, rain, go away!

Dancing with Jesus

Bring on 2009!

Excitement over what Christmas is *really* about

Santa Cow is comin' to town!

It's Christmas time in the city

Thanksgiving traditions

It's up!

Giving thanks: Psalm 118

UT students face problems registering for classes

Unspeakable joy

The morning after election day

Election Day 2008

Oswald Chambers: Faith

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year

I voted today!

Sarah the construction worker

CCA fall fun

Autumn splendor of the Smokies

It's not about us

UT students prepare to take on the world

All self-respecting political junkies...

Happy Autumn!

Natural sounds tour of UT

We the people...

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Please pray for Cambodia

Meeting with God at Panera Bread

Welcome, Hannah Grace!

As the rain comes down from heaven

I'm glad that God is God...

Food for thought

Quote of the day

Are we ready for action?

Good words to live by

Thought from today's My Utmost for His Highest reading

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Shakin' up Judge Judy

Actions speak louder than words

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

During my quiet time today....

A thought for today

25 things that make me smile

Changes at WBIR

Not to worry

Tree collapses in South Knoxville

Farewell, Jason

Jason Dane Hovater

Excitement over what Christmas is really about