facebook

With the title of this particular post, I am sure you conjuring up the many arguments I could make for and/or against the over-used form of social media.  However, this post is more about memories than arguments.  Every now and then, something sends me drifting back to years gone by, and I get a little nostalgic.  It could be a smell, a phrase, an event - anything really takes me back to some of the experiences in my life.  So I went to my page and used that handy little timeline thing, and it took me back all the way to my beginning.  Well on facebook anyway.  In honor of my memories, I thought I would share with you some of the things I remembered/learned about myself and a few other people through facebook.

Enjoy!

This is from my sophomore year at JCJC - these people became part of my family!  Oh by the way, my hair was blonde - it was BAD!!!  College is where I learned a lot - like the importance of coffee and to stay away from blonde hair! The second is from a couple of years later - still love them crazy people!

Friends, suite-mates, fun times on the Mountain!  Love those girls - we need a reunion!

This hat looks cute on me - and I thought I was DIVA in college!  Not that you could tell or anything!

Pizza and mexican train dominoes come before furniture!!! Oh and I can give a GREAT death stare - I sincerely apologize to the person on the receiving end of that.

Girls can be groomsmen too!  Although, I prefer "groom's person." Haha

Who knew we originated all of those irritating bathroom self-portraits?  Oh and everyone needs a girl trip to the beach at least every other month!!! 

Best friends grow up, move to different cities, graduate from college, get married, and have babies!  But nothing can take the memories, and you just have to go with time.

Okay I will admit it, this post was mainly for me to take a look back and reminisce!  It was really fun to look at old pics on facebook.  

Have a great weekend,

coffee and Bibles

Okay friends, well Candace and I have entered the crazy hectic haze that is known as the 2 months leading up to Christmas!  You know what I am talking about - you dig your heels in, put on your running shoes, attach the coffee I.V., and prepare not to breath until after New Years - we are almost to the I.V.

However, that is not the point of this pretty post!  I have to tell you a story - I know right, it's so exciting!  So, a few months ago I volunteered to lead a small group in our home for our church, and this particular group is geared towards the female of our species.  This particular small group is one I am pretty excited about which is why I was a little sad when no one came.  Then Shelly Reid, our Small Group Coordinator Extraordinaire, shared with me that statistically the small group that is the most difficult to establish is one for single women.  How crazy is that?  Then, because I am a nerd, I googled some statistics about small groups and found that people in America in general have become less social, even stating that active membership is local clubs and organizations has decreased by almost HALF! That seems a little crazy to me, and believe me, I know the importance of time at home and just with your family!

So I say all of that to let you know that I really, really, really want you to come to our small group or to a similar small group in your area.  However, I know that you probably don't care about the statistics but about the story so here it goes...

I became a believer at a very young age (5ish), but I was never really discipled.  People in my church and my parents encouraged me to study the Bible and to live a godly lifestyle; however, I really didn't know where to start or what a godly lifestyle looked like.  I mean I tried having a "quiet time," but that didn't really work for me because once again, what the heck is a "quiet time?"

Things changed for me when I was in college at Jones County Junior College.  The wife of the director of the Baptist Student Union asked me and a few other girls if we would like to be involved with a girl's Bible study in her home.  I tried it out, and it completely revolutionized my world.  Oh, it was like she gave me a key that opened so many doors in my world.

She taught us a way to study the Bible - she used studies written by Kay Arthur, and by learning more about Christ through the studies, I did not find simple answers but a place to find answers and a method to gather answers.  I also learned that I dislike quiet times and benefit best from an "un-quiet time" as I study best when the television is on and music is playing, and I learned a study method that provided, predominantly, direction mixed with some valuable insights into Scripture.

I must tell you it changed my life.  And it was not just the studies - the community I found in that group of girls is still one of my fondest memories from my entire college experience.  We laughed and cried together, we supported and challenged each other, and we prayed together and for each other.  We lived life together - we knew things about each other that no one else knew.  There is something so precious about gathering in a home with a cup of coffee and opening up the Scripture with people who are experiencing some of the very same struggles and joys as you are or who have already walked that path and can offer priceless, godly advice.

This is my prayer for our small group - that we experience that balance of garnering knowledge of our God and gleaning the many benefits of living this life in community with other believers!  And along the way I hope we laugh, cry, pray, discuss, agree, disagree and drink lots of coffee!

I pray to see you in small group this Wednesday at 6:30 at our apartment!!!

a little adventure

Have you ever woke up one day and not remembered anything important that happened in the past week? Or the past month?  Well, that is exactly where I found myself recently.  I read this book a few years ago by Donald Miller named A Million Miles in a Thousand Years about living a good story.  He challenges readers to live an abundant life and live on purpose - to make deliberate choices to have an interesting life.  This resonated with me as I become very comfortable in a routine and within my same four walls.

I was reminded of Miller's book by our Pastor in his recent challenge to our church to go from people far from God to being kingdom catalysts.  The steps along this journey he is challenging us to include connecting with our community, getting out of our spectator mentality in service, and moving outside the four walls of our church in mission.  All of the steps have challenged me in different areas, but I think my journey has to begin by becoming okay with being uncomfortable.  Getting out of my comfort zone and simple interaction with other people seem to be the initial steps.

So I decided that I needed a little adventure in my life, and I roped Candace into going along with it.  Now, we are working on a next to nothing budget so these little adventures I am about to share with you are just baby steps.  But, they are baby steps in the right direction...

Here are a few pics we snapped during our little adventures!

We got some pizza and went to the park.  It may not have been the smartest idea to be out there at night by ourselves, but it was in the name of adventure!  We also watched a movie at some of our friends' house on a school night (gasp) but my phone died - so no picture!

We met Mr. Sawyer Allen Clark!  Isn't he just precious!

Quality sister time and breakfast at Shipley's!!!

Woke up in a pirate ship!  Not really we decorated the balcony for Halloween!

Dinner with the girls!  Round table therapy after the week we all had!

Knocked out all the bouts and corsages for the wedding we are planning in November!  I am kind of in love with the bouts so you cant hate!  The best part was that DeeDee and Debbie(bride) came over and we all worked on different tasks at the same time.  I work best with music on, the t.v. going, and 30 other people working around me - call me crazy, but a quiet room drives me batty!

Calendar meeting of the next month in the "beaty girl" household... If you think sitting down with my sister and a calendar is not an adventure, you clearly do not know Candace!

It was really fun figuring out things to do every day to break up the monotony of work, tv, sleep.  So in honor of our slightly adventurous week, we have decided to do at least one thing we would not normally do every week!  This should not be difficult as the weeks coming up should be quite interesting!!!  

I will keep you posted, and as always...

hair, nails, and clothes

Hello friends!  So there are a few things going on this week around the Beaty girl household.  A few I will share next week, and a few I thought I would share with you now!

So I need a hair cut like two weeks ago, but alas I must wait on the paycheck.  Trust me though, very soon I will be sitting Mrs. Alice Cash's chair at Studio B!  So preparing for that glorious day, I began looking for inspiration for what the new do will look like, and here is what I like best!

Maybe mixed with the length of this one (below)

Also, I have been wanting to experiment with my nail color so I tried this...

forgive the quality of the photo, please

Finally I am super excited about fall...

and wearing clothes like this!

both photos via Pinterest!

         

roles

I have to admit something.  I am a romance junkie.  I love all those sappy ROM/COM movies, and yes even those quite unrealistic vampire movies.  (Although, the books are MUCH better than the movies.)  I am also a big fan of The Hunger Games books and movie.  My parents raised me to be a strong, independent woman so I love all the stories of the girl taking care of herself and still finding the romance.  Now I know these are just movies and completely fake, but I am seeing something in the movies and in our world that I don't like.

Many of the movies today feature a strong woman who does not need a man to come and rescue her, but the strength in the female lead often leaves the male lead weak - both physically and intellectually.  Since when has a weak man been a good thing? Ever?  Personally, as a believer the man is to be the leader in the household, so I expect him to fulfill that role.  Maybe it is just me, but I like for people, in general but especially men, to have opinions, to be strong, to be intelligent, and to take their responsibilities seriously.  A sense of humor is awesome, but there is a time and a place to dial back the comedy and put your big boy breeches on and be the man you are called to be!

Now if you are male and reading this, don't get aggravated with me just yet.  Ladies, it is time that you and I do the same thing.  I do not feel that the man is strong at the expense of the ladies' strength.  Throughout my life, my Dad has been the head of our household, and my mother was and is the submissive partner she is called to be.  However, the strength and position my father held came with the confidence in that strength and position that allowed my mother to be strong and independent.  Conversely, my mother submitted to the position God placed my father in and believed in His ability to fulfill that position.  So ladies, it is time to be the mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends that allow men to be men.  Men can step up and assert their leadership all day long, but ladies, we must recognize that leadership and believe in their ability to be a leader!  In case you missed it ladies, it is NOT our job to be the one who wears the pants!  I am all for and believe you need to be strong, but it is an idea of bridled strength.  We must choose not to assert our lead.

What have been your experiences? Why must the female lead in a movie be strong at the expense of the male and visa versa?  Do you see this transfer into the real world as well?  Just something to think about, and let me know what you think!