End of the Summer Bucket List

Funny how we throw around the term "bucket list" since that movie hit theaters!!!! I remember seeing it with my dad and trying not to cry at the ending because I didn't want him to see me cry.
So, here is the bucket list that Stuart and I have made for the rest of the summer. We realized recently that we haven't done half the things we said we would, and because I'm a list-maker, here is the rest of our summer for you all to see.They're all very simple since we only have two weeks left of summer, but I think they're doable.

• Eat at The Coffee Shop in Sylva
• Eat at The Ice Cream Cafe in Sylva
• Walk through downtown Waynesville
• Make a fire pit in the backyard
• Finish the Joshua devotional pdf
• Eat crepes at The City Lights Bookstore Cafe
• Go river rafting without losing my car keys in the river
• Finish "Friday Night Lights" series on NetFlix
• Write a final letter to my adopted soldier pen pal in Afghanistan

I think that's it. There's the rest of my summer... plus all the seminars and staff bonding activities with The Western Carolinian staff next week! It's going to be fun!!

The Must List, July 15

This week's Must List has a little Christianity, a little book reading, and a little romance.

1. Bethlehem Baptist Church podcasts
I couldn't get by without these!! I still haven't found a church for me in my new community, but I can always rely on these podcasts. Rev. Dickie Spargo preaches nearly every Sunday at the church where I found the true meaning of Christ and through these podcasts, I never miss a sermon. They download directly to my iTunes every week. I would definitely, definitely recommend the "Why I..." sermon and my absolutle favorite "Marry Well" from September 2010.

2. Surprise flowers
Yesterday, I had a down day. I was consumed by this horrible mood swing that lasted all day. I got nearly nothing done and basically spent my entire time rebuilding my unhealthy relationship with my Instant NetFlix account. I sent Stuart a warning text that I was having a horrible day and that to bring home something nice would be very much appreciated. And, that boy delivered! I got a small Cherry Berry Chiller, Bojangles for dinner, sliced watermelon for dessert, and a beautiful, vibrant bouquet of flowers!!! :)

3. The Devil Wears Prada, the novel
I can't put this book down! It took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did... it's addicting!!! I even had a dream that I had an evil boss who called my cell phone constantly with absurd and rude requests on her behalf. You definitely want to read this. Then, go out and rent the movie even if you've already seen it.

4. Homemade pizza
Stuart and I made homemade pizza the other team, and it was DELICIOUS!! Get yourself a can of Pillsbury pizza dough in the refrigerated section, mozzarella cheese, whatever toppings you want, and sauce. Since the official "pizza sauce" is usually too sweet, Stuart tried our usual spaghetti sauce: Ragu Robusto! Parmesan & Romano. It's the perfect spaghetti sauce, and I say that with the full knowledge that Stuart enjoys it and he knows that it comes out of a can. Still, I was skeptical that it could work as a pizza sauce, but hey...  it did! It had a familiar taste with a restaurant pizza that I can't place. Success!

5. A-Team on DVD
Both Stuart and I were skeptical about the quality of this movie, but once again, Liam Neeson didn't let us down!! It was incredibly witty, intense, action-packed, and surprisingly intelligent. Even Stuart had very few criticisms about the weaponry use and tactics that occurred on-screen. Check it out!!

6. Wii Sports Resort game
This is the latest purchase Stuart and I plan to make!! Our choices of Wii games have grown a bit stale, and two of them cannot be played by more than one person, and one has games that are only single player as well. So, we have decided to pool our money together for the action-packed, intensely fun, and gets-you-off-your-butt game of Wii Sports Resort!! We haven't been this excited about spending money since purchasing a hamster... and I do believe that excitement was mostly one-sided. But seriously, how can you not be excited about a video game that lets you throw a Frisbee to a dog? That's just awesome!! Stuart and I desperately want a dog, and here's a video game that lets us have one for as long as we want to play without making our landlord upset. Plus, archery!!! WOHOO! Seriously, we're excited!! Wii party at our place!

Prosperous and Successful

Joshua 1:8-9

In today's devotional, the reader is supposed to focus on the phrase prosperous and successful. In these verses, God is speaking directly to Joshua about his new role as the leader of His people.
"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
God has no problem with us wanting to be successful... we just have to do it based on His definition.

Joshua Devotional

This month, my church at home, Bethlehem Baptist in Gastonia, is studying the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. I have decided to join the challenge in studying this book by following along with the devotional pdf available for download.
The devotional centers around a very important and repeated phrase found in the first chapter in Joshua: "Be strong and courageous."
December 2013, the month I'm supposed to graduate from Western Carolina, does not seem that far away. And, I am trying to be strong and courageous in planning for my future. Already, I've made the most important step I can in preparing for it: I've brought God back into my life.
I am looking forward to diving deep into this book and studying the Bible with a guide. Before, I have been reading a passage a night before going to bed. A lot of times, though, I'm confused and get absolutely nothing out of my reading!! With this guide, I will be able to better understand God's Word with the help of a skilled pastor.
If you would like your own Joshua devotional pdf... go HERE and join me in this study! You can download it and put it on your computer desktop or print it out and tape it somewhere to look at every day!

Heart of Worship

I'm rather shy of this topic because Christianity has a tainted view in today's world. People look at the Bible thumpers and the haters who beat up gays and pregnant women walking into an abortion clinic. They don't look at and respect the Christian who doesn't preach and force their religion on someone else. And so, I've kept my mouth shut...

But today, I was listening to the podcast of Reverend Spargo at Bethlehem Baptist in Gastonia where I used to attend church in high school. And, I've realized I've made a huge mistake in my life in forgetting where I once was in my walk of faith. Finally, things are starting to come together, and I have so many blessings in my life. While that's been going on, I've been ignoring the one whose given me all of those blessings. I've put God on the back burner. Yeah, I read my Bible every night without fail, but it's only a quick passage and usually I'm not focused on what it's talking about. I read it to say that I read it, but that needs to change... now!
I'm tired of making compromises and quietly standing by letting my faith go unnoticed. It's definitely time to change.
As the sermon was coming to a close, I renewed my vows to God. I asked Him to help me change, force me to change, and I want to strengthen my relationship with Him. I want to pray like I mean it and not when it conveniences me or when I need something. I need to build a relationship with Him because we're not just talking about an amazing creator who has greatly blessed my life; we're talking about how to spend eternity.
But, I'm not just doing this because I'm scared of what happens after death... I actually want this, and I think I'm finally old enough now to understand it better.

Now, comes the difficult part. I don't know how Stuart is going to react to this. On several occasions, we've hit a brick wall when it comes to discussing my faith. He's agnostic, and I'm not educated enough on the topic to answer the questions he has about my faith other than to say over and over, "It's what I believe." I wish that were enough for him, but I know I'm not going to change him, and even if I ask nicely, he doesn't want to try out a church service. That may sound like I'm "forcing my religion" on him, but if you ask him, he'll tell you that I rarely ask. I just hope this change doesn't drive a wedge between us.
Now, I must ask for your help because I can't do it alone, and I can't do it without earthly support. I need someone to chastise me for cursing and encourage me to get up Sunday morning for church. Podcasts are great, but you can't get the right kind of fellowship by sitting alone on your bed listening to a podcast.
I've made a lot of decisions in my life that I've either not carried through or gone back on. I'll change for 24 hours then forget or not feel like continuing anymore the next morning. This has to be different!! This has to be real, and I mean it.
So before you all, this is me saying I am a Christian, and I'm going to live my life that way. And if I lose a few of you along the way because that's just not what you're into then I'm sorry... I hope someone else helps you find your way back to the right path.

56. Longing

Book 56: Longing by Karen Kingsbury (A)

Hooray!! I'm so excited for the character development in this next novel of the Bailey Flanigan series!!! Bailey, Cody, and Brandon Paul are back for the continuation of their complicated young lives. Bailey's Broadway musical run is in trouble because audience members no longer want to watch Hairspray. She also is still dealing with conflicting feelings about Cody when she's dating Brandon. Brandon is completely in love with Bailey and will do everything in his power to convince her that she deserves more than the runaway-when-things-get-scary Cody. In fact, he wants to propose...soon! And, Cody has realized he's truly in love with Bailey and is about to break-up with his new girlfriend Cheyenne when she is diagnosed with brain cancer and needs all the love and support she can get. It's a Christian soap opera, folks!!!
I am all about Team Brandon!! I used to root for Cody all through the Above the Line series and into the new Bailey series, but now I'm done with that boy. He had his chance! Now, leave Bailey alone! I want her to be with Brandon, and he's doing a great job of keeping her with him!
Once again, Kingsbury does an amazing job of making these characters relate-able. My favorite scene is the one between Bailey and one of her Hairspray cast mates in the Starbucks. The transformation of the cast mate from when you first meet him in Leaving is worth getting teary eyed! That scene alone is worth reading the novel.

31. Learning

Book 31: Learning by Karen Kingsbury (A-)

You really can't give a Kingsbury book anything lower than an A-. They're just naturally good. The characters are inspiring. The stories can change lives, bring people closer to God.
I liked Learning better than Leaving because it was bit more realistic and darker. Things are really are going wrong for Miss Perfect Bailey Flanigan, and Cody Coleman is finally moving on with his life!!
Bailey's life has always been so perfect - perfect family, perfect faith. Now, she's facing the tough realities of life in the brutal setting of New York City. Her faith is tested and strained, and she faces a case of depression when she feels she has failed God. It's a lot for a young girl who had that perfect bubble to take.
On the other side of the character spectrum, Cody is finally getting a break from his life of a drug dealing mom and running from her threatening ex boyfriend. He's found a new girl to take away the pain of his Iraq flashbacks and losing Bailey to perfection. Now, he's the coach of a small town high school football team and is leading them to success on and off the field.
I'm so looking forward to the next book that will be arriving in stores soon! In the meantime, I'm going to have to find more Kingsbury.

29. Leaving

Book 29: Leaving from The Bailey Flanigan Series by Karen Kingsbury (B+)

This was a tough book to get through... mostly because in three days, Stuart and I are starting our long distance relationship again! It's tearing me up inside.
This book is a continuation of the Take One series also by Kingsbury but focusing on the Flanigan and Baxter families from the original series. Bailey Flanigan, aspiring Broadway actress, is planning for her future in New York City and how it will be leaving her large family who has always been there for her. Meanwhile, the love of her life Cody Coleman is hiding away from her because of his mom's recent jail stint, her ex's death threats against him and anyone near him, and the torment of being an ex-soldier in the Iraqi war. He's a dude with deep issues and he believes Bailey shouldn't have to deal with them.
The book is a religious one, extremely Christian. Often I find it hard to read because I find it unrealistic that so many characters pray that often and about everything. While being a Christian myself, I find it hard to relate to them because their personal bonds with Christ seem overly sold and commercialized. One of the best books I've read by Kingsbury was book 3 of the Take One series where several of the characters lose their way and find themselves lost in dark pits of despair and anguish. After many trial and errors, they find their way back to God and back to the lives they led before their mistakes. Still, I can never put down a Kingsbury book, especially one with such a delightful character as Bailey. Up next in the series is Learning.

May 21st

So it's all over the news that tomorrow, May 21st, is the official Christian Rapture. According to a man and his followers (who predicted once before then said their calculations were wrong), the Rapture is tomorrow due to Biblical calculations and number crunching. For someone like me, a Baptist and true believer, I find the whole thing to have lots of holes and just another frenzy of trying to predict what we do not know and what frightens us. If you've read Matthew 26:42-44, then you're in the know. Still, the craze and the hubbub over the whole thing, like December 2012, is a bit daunting and freaky! As soon as I heard about it on Facebook, I immediately hit Google News and looked up different news feeds of where this information was coming from. One website I found was quite a catch. It had 21 reasons why it couldn't be the end, including "they haven't made a movie about this date yet" and "the iPhone 5 hasn't been released yet."
While I believe the prophesy that us Christians are going to be taken tomorrow at sunset is a hoax, I sat in Raleigh wondering what would I want to be doing if it was actually the end. I sat there on Morgan's couch watching another epsisode of "Brothers & Sisters" on NetFlix and thinking... this can't seriously be how I spend "my last day on earth!!!"
So I texted my mom and told her I'd be down in Charlotte in about four hours. And now here I am... where I grew up, the home that is the love of my life, with my family and the cat I never get to see, going to lay out in the sun tomorrow and go swimming. It's where I want to be.
Now, don't get too flustered or concerned about Morgan. I didn't choose my family over him. Tomorrow, Morgan will be spending his "last day" working a 16 HOUR shift at The Angus Barn!!! Even if I had wanted to spend my hypothetical last day with him, he wouldn't have been available to hug. I would have been watching more NetFlix at his apartment bored out of my mind while he raked in the overtime pay. While I want to be with him, no, I'd rather be here surrounded by my family.
The trip down here has already been worth it. While driving on I-85 near the Concord exit, the sky lit up with white light. At first, I thought it was lightning and I was going to be driving through a storm. But no! As I rounded the bend, fireworks lit up the night sky while Adam Lambert sang "Come Home", a song about a woman singing to her husband in the army to come back to her, on my iPod. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, and purples took up the majority of my windshield as my speed slowly drifted and slowed to catch as much of the show as I could. Even if the rest of this trip is a complete bomb, at least I got that beautiful surprise!!
So what do you think? Do you think your religious family members or you yourself will be taken in the Rapture tomorrow?

But more importantly.... what do you want your "last day" to be like????