Stop! In the Name of Love!

(As I'm sitting here in a hotel room in New Jersey because my flight got in early, I wanted to finally finish the post that is about being too busy that I've have been to busy to write! Talk about ironic! So below is the actual post, but I just felt the need to share the irony!)

Lately I've been feeling very stressed, overwhelmed, and lonely.  Part of this is due to the fact that it is a very busy and crazy time at work right now and part of that is because I have made my job my idol.

I have made my job so important and forefront in my mind, that I have let it consume me. I have become so concerned with getting everything done every day and letting it stress me out when something is not complete that all I want to do when I get home from work is eat and go straight to bed. Now, let me clarify: I love my job. I love the people I work with, the relationships that have been created, and the many new opportunities that it has presented to me. But I've realized it's not my mission in life. God has brought me into this world for a greater mission to bring Him glory. How am I'm going to be used or what is my mission? I'm still not sure, but I do know that my mission is not being benefited by me working myself to the point of exhaustion.

I keep thinking to myself, if I can just get to this date, or just finish this assignment, I'll be able to rest or slow down. But, the reality is that every time one thing stops, something else starts. And no matter how much I try to slow down myself, it won't happen. I'm depending on myself to be able to rest and bring peace, when clearly I'm not capable of doing that on my own.   As I now have a moment to catch  my breath, I think of a verse that I haven't put into practice for quite some time:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

I have created this burden for myself that in the span of eternity is useless. In this great big world, I am so small and in my mission in life, my job is a small aspect of it. I'm not using my job to spread the gospel, and I'm not growing in faith or community by working so late that I'm so tired I just want to eat and sleep.  I have come to recognize that I've been consumed with the things of this earth through my busyness and my prayer is this: that I learn that true rest and peace can only come by seeking out the Lord and being satisfied by Him alone.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." - Isaiah 28-31a

During this entire busy season, I have felt God constantly reminding me of his presence- whether a song that I hear or by His words that I read. I thought it was fitting that the closing song at church yesterday was "The One Who Saves" by Hillsong. So I leave these words from the song with you to remind you that true rest and peace come from the One who loves us, even when we feel we are too busy for Him.

"We have found our hope
We have found our peace
We have found our rest
In the One who Loves"

Hello, Roxie!

On a sunny Saturday in February, I made my first official "adult" purchase. I bought my first new car!

I knew I was going to buy a car at some point this year so that my dad could buy my old car from me for Jacob. I started researching cars in December/early January because I knew I wanted a small SUV, but I didn't know what kind.

I had always said, that I would just get the new Ford Escape whenever it was time for me to get a car because I had always liked them, however I did NOT like the new ones, so that threw me for a loop when it came time to really start looking. I was leaning more towards a Jeep, until one of my best friends bought a Nissan Rogue.  I have never really looked at the Rogue before because it was a little too small and round for what I thought I wanted.

Well, once I started researching, I found out that for the midsize SUVs, the Rogue had the best fuel economy- better than my Civic got! That, plus the safety features and price and it became a clear front runner!

On February 1st, the other KB and I went to test drive cars. First we went to the Nissan place and I knew as soon as that test drive was over, my decision was made. I loved everything about it- how well it drove, the features, the price- everything!  But to confirm my decision and just make sure, I still went to drive two other cars. Next we went to the Toyota place to look at the Rav4. As soon as I sat in it, it felt too small. So we went and test drove the new Highlander instead. I definitely didn't like it as much as the Rogue.  And finally, we went and drove the Ford Escape.  The Escape drove very similarly and had comparable gas mileage. After driving it, I felt like it could be a close second to the Rogue. However, there were some things that I wasn't sure about so immediately after leaving the Ford Dealership, we drove back to the Nissan Dealership to compare the Escape and Rogue back to back. Again, there were just a few more features that I loved about the Rogue!

I will say this though- I had the best time at the Ford Dealership. The Escape I was test-driving had the lift gate you could open with your foot. For 10 minutes, I was convinced I had the magic touch because between me, the other KB, and the salesman, I was the only one that could get the lift gate to open the first time. We finally figured out it was because I was the one with the key fob! We laughed and laughed because we all looked like fools kicking every which way, sliding our feet under the car to try and get it to work!

When we left the Nissan Dealership, I told them that if they could find me a Gunmetal Gray with black interior and a moonroof, we could make a deal! By Wednesday, they were finally able to find one, but by the time they called me to confirm it was what I wanted and then called the dealership back, it had been sold!  At that point, they asked me my second color choice because they were having a hard time finding a gray one. I was ok with black so I sent them on the hunt for that.  But then, Nissan called me on Thursday afternoon saying they found me a GRAY one! Yay!  However, to get my car they had to trade one of the Rogues from Greer plus buy a truck from the dealership in Orlando! So BIG THANKS to Nissan of Greer for going through all of that to get me exactly what I wanted! They put it on a truck that night so it would be here for me by Saturday!  On Friday, we switched over my insurance and got all the financial stuff squared away so that I could purchase it on Saturday! Friday night felt like Christmas eve- I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could go get my new car on Saturday!!

My parents came up on Saturday morning to bring all the insurance documents and everything else that needed to be in my name. They came up for as they kept saying- "emotional support and to watch me sign all the big checks instead of them!" Once we got to the dealership, we did a final test drive before we signed all the paperwork. I loved it! It was exactly what I wanted!  Although, the car did not meet the clean standards of my salesperson so they cleaned it three times! I'm surprise I didn't hurt my leg or ankle with how much I was bouncing my leg waiting to get my car!  I just like to think the anticipation made the moment that much sweeter!

Finally, it was ready!  I think I almost ran out the door I was so excited! So world, I'd like you to meet Roxie the Rogue!

Can you tell I was a little excited?

Although, the day was a bit sad as I had to say goodbye to Cindy the Civic. We've had a lot of great memories since I got her on that October day during 10th Grade! We've survived many accidents (some my fault, most of them not), and gone on many great adventures together. She's been a great little car and Jacob is lucky to have her! (Although I will concede to a name change as he refuses to call her Cindy!)

So Long Cindy! You were great!

Free at Last!

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm free at last!"

2013. The year I finished my extra year of school, babysat a lot, started my new job, paid off my student loan debts, got a new microwave, and caught my blog up! Exciting stuff! Wait a minute, what was that thing in the middle?!  That's right- I'm starting 2014      

DEBT FREE! 

In 10 months, I was able to pay off my student loans while still being able to put money up in savings and to continue tithing!  Each month I took money out of my paycheck towards the loans, and anytime any extra money came in - tax returns, bonuses, it all went to my loan!  However, before I put any extra payments towards the loan, I always tithed and put some in savings.

Ever since I was a little girl, my dad taught me about the importance of tithing and how it was serving the Lord. Growing up I had three peanut butter jars, each with the label "God," "Savings," and "Mad Money."  Dad would give me my dollar allowance and then we would break it down into 10 dimes so that I could tithe 10%, save 10%, and use the rest of what I was given.

"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all you produce..."     - Proverbs 3:9, ESV

As I got older, I continued to practice the money management skills my Dad taught me. I did finally get rid of the peanut butter jars and switched to envelopes (and added a few more) once I started working/babysitting in middle school. Looking back I am so thankful that my Dad taught me to tithe at such a young age. It became something I looked forward to doing each week. Emptying out my God jar on Sunday morning was so exciting! I got to give something to God! It was funny- my grandmother remembered that one of my cousins got very upset because my "God" jar was empty and the other ones had money in them when he visited. Once she explained it was empty because I kept giving it to God, he was ok with that one being empty.

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. " - 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, ESV

Since February of 2013, I have been steadily paying off my loans. The Lord has blessed me tremendously this year not only through a new job and new friends, but financially as well. My job has been very good to me- a great environment, fun coworkers, and very generous bonuses!  Our last bonus came two weeks before Christmas.

As soon as the boss told me the amount, I almost jumped out of my seat. I knew that amount, plus what I normally pay from each paycheck was about $200 short of the total left on the loan. However, I made the decision right then and there to pull that amount from my savings because it would be worth having it all paid off and done with before the new year.  I was so excited I texted my parents and best friends, but of course, like what always happens when you have big news, nobody answered for hours!  (No worries though, I was still pumped by the time they answered).

In all of my excitement, I forgot about that wonderful little thing called taxes. Once I actually received my paycheck, the taxes were A LOT higher than what I was expecting. Because of this, I was going to have to take more out of my savings that I wanted to. I was still determined to pay the loan off before the year was over so I had some decisions to make. While weighing whether or not I should take more out of savings, or just wait to pay off the loan in January, I had a split second where I thought to myself, "why don't I just take my tithe amount and put it towards the payment and then I can just tithe twice as much on the next paycheck." Immediately after I had that thought, I felt horrible. I don't tithe because its an obligation, I tithe to serve and worship the Lord. I wouldn't even be pondering this decision without the Lord's provision. Any and all money I have received is His, not mine. For me to even consider not returning anything back to Him was absolutely preposterous.  I immediately pulled out my checkbook and wrote out my check to the church for my tithing. While writing it out, I was praying and giving thanks to the Lord for all he has blessed me with, even though I don't deserve it.

"Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to you fathers, as it is this day."    - Deuteronomy 8:17-18, ESV

 On Thursday, December 19, 2013, I submitted the final payment on my student loans. I knew it took 2-4 days to process the payment, so I waited and waited to see that zero balance. Finally, on the morning of Christmas Eve, I received the email that my payment had been processed. Because of the time it took to process the payment, it was showing that I still had a balance of $0.75.  As soon as the loan company opened for the day, I called them to check on my status.  The person I spoke to assured me that my account was showing a zero balance, but because of the holiday it would not show the zero balance until probably January 8th at the earliest. She also told me that it takes about 30 days for the official notice that my debt was paid in full and I wouldn't receive that until the end of January. That made it feel a little less exciting because I wanted everything to be official, but I was still pretty pumped. I knew it was paid in full and the system did too! Now it was just a matter of time before it was official in every which way!


Much to my surprise, when I woke up on December 31, I had this email waiting for me in my inbox:

AHH! It happened before the end of January! I even went to the website- nothing was there except more congratulations for paying off my loan! I couldn't believe it. The Lord continued to bless me even more.


Needless to say, this girl had a very good 2013. Here's hoping to a 2014 that's just as good! Happy New Year!

"I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs." - Psalm 69: 30 -31, ESV

Turkey Trottin'

This Thanksgiving, my family went to Myrtle Beach to celebrate with Dad's side of the family.  His aunt and uncle have a big, beautiful house where the entire Burns-McCoy-Skinner clan (yes I said clan as a nod to our Scottish-Irish roots) gathered for a delicious meal and time of thanks!

This year we did things a little differently. Back at the end of summer/early fall, I got an email about a Turkey Trot in the Myrtle Beach area. They had a 5K and a 10K, and if we signed up then we could sign up for a (very) discounted price. I tried to convince Jacob to do the 10k, but he didn't want to run at all so we settled on the 5k (looking back - thank goodness!).  I figured I would definitely be back in shape by then, I mean I was going to be running in the 34-mile Hope Relay two weeks before that! Easy Peasy.

Well, if you've read this blog at all, you know the Hope Relay wasn't my best and neither was my shape! The whole family woke up early on Thanksgiving to drive the 20 minutes to the Surfside Pier where the race started. We were all quite tired and COLD! It was freezing that morning. And of course, neither Jacob nor I brought cold weather running gear. I don't know what we were thinking. I even looked at the weather channel to check the temperature when I was packing!
                      
We got to the Pier and got there about 30 minutes before race time. After we checked in and got our race packets, mom ran Jacob and me over to the beach near the pier to take pictures. They were great- no makeup, sleep still in our eyes and trying our best not to shiver long enough for her to take the pictures.  Finally, an announcer came on saying the race was getting ready to start.

 So, Jacob and I headed over to the start line and got in the back (not the very back but close enough).  I had my Garmin watch, although I had forgotten to charge it so it died before the race even started. Whoops. At least I had my running ipod. Thankfully, mom let me wear her gloves because I was slowly losing feeling in all my extremities. Again, it was COLD!  Poor Jacob, shorts and a t-shirt. I think he did finally put on a sweatshirt.

While we were waiting on the race to start, I kept saying over and over in my head "Keep Running. Don't Stop. Its just a 5k. Run the whole thing."  I am determined to run again so I wanted this to give me the boost I needed to get back into things. Well Jacob, the sweet kid that he is, decided that since I made him run this race with me he would run with me at my speed. To paint a pretty picture, my "little" brother is a 5'11" cross country runner who ended up running Varsity his freshmen year of high school.

Finally the race started. Jacob took off before he looked back and saw I was way behind him. He jogged back to me and fussed about how slow I was going. I had my headphones in and was just focused on going slow and steady. As Jacob kept pointing out how slow we were going, his favorite phrase at the beginning was "We're never going to get warm if we keep moving this slow." Mostly I just rolled my eyes and kept on chugging. Every 2 minutes or so, Jacob kept asking how long we had been running. By the time hit the mile and a half point, Jacob kept telling me "I'd be done by now" and five minutes later "Id've been done for 5 minutes now" and so on. Not only was he telling me that, he was giving me a running commentary of his life. I mean the boy never stopped talking! As he says, he was going so slow talking was not a problem!

We finally hit the 3 mile marker and it was a straight stretch of road to cross the finish line.  Unbeknownst to us, mom and dad got so cold they went and sat in the car in with the heat on! Luckily, they got out in time to see us finish. Anyways, because I had been going so slow (without stopping), I was determined to cross the finish line before Jacob. About 100 yards away from the finish line I started sprinting. It only took about 10 steps for me to realize that was too far out to beat a kid with legs that are twice as long as mine. So I went back to my jog/run speed a little bit further. Well at this point Jacob starts running backwards. "Oh no he didn't" was all that went through my head before I took off sprinting again. He continued to run backwards for about 4-5 more steps before he turned around and took off in a sprint as well. I'm still not sure who crossed the finish line first, but we were duking it out all the way across!
                           

                      

Well, I did it! I may have literally been "trotting" I was so slow, but I did it. Three point one miles without stopping. It's not much but its a start. And to reward us, the Myrtle Beach running club had Krispy Kreme donuts they were dipping in chocolate on site! So what better way to celebrate all that I had accomplished by erasing it all with one donut!

It was my first Turkey Trot, but it won't be my last! However, it will be the last one where I "trot!"

Tonight, Anything Goes

"In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking but now God knows, anything goes!"

From November 12-17, the musical "Anything Goes" was playing at the Peace Center in Greenville.

For those who know me, I love musicals! I was so excited when I saw this one was coming to the Peace Center.  I didn't know too much about it beforehand, but what I did know made me super excited to see it! It had recently won 3 Tony awards so I knew it was going to be great.

The other KB and I went on Wednesday, November 13, and had a blast! The music and dancing were absolutely phenomenal! The performers in this show are absolutely amazing and in great shape! There is so much dancing and simultaneous singing and nobody ever loses their breath- amazing!! The storyline was fun and cute as well! I fell in love from the very first song! We had great seats- smack dab in the middle of the lower balcony! The view was great, the company was great, and the musical was great!  If you ever get the chance to see it, I recommend you do!


(something neat... a couple of days later, I was watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and lo and behold, what is she singing in the opening number... Anything Goes! I've seen that movie so many times before and never paid attention to what she was singing. But now you better believe I'll be singing along!)

                   

Running is Easy. Names are Not.

Saturday morning, November 9, 2013, dawned bright and COLD!  I had my thermal leggings on and my favorite running tank and I was ready to go. It was HOPE RELAY day!

The Hope Relay is one of my favorite races! It is a relay run that benefits my former employer, the Project Hope Foundation. Project Hope serves the autism community in the upstate of SC through many different services such as ABA Therapy, an award winning alternative inclusion school, a program for teens and youth who need continued support in daily life activities, and supporting families dealing with the challenges of autism.

The relay was redesigned for the 2013 race and it was a blast!  Like before, there were two relay races: a long course and a short course. Teams could be made up of 2-4 runners, each running at least one leg. For the 14 mile relay, each runner would run one 3.34 mile leg.  For the 34 mile relay, each runner runs 2 legs: the first being 3.34 miles and the second one being 5 miles.  The course was designed for runners to explore a scenic route through beautiful downtown Greenville, SC.  Each runner started at the Kroc center, ran their leg (which was a loop), and then handed off the slap bracelet to the next runner.  After all legs are completed, all four runners joined together and run the tunnel together to cross the finish line. 

All in all it is a fun day! This year we added two new members to the relay team! Since we were no longer just Tigers and Hokies, a new name was needed. After much thought, nothing came about so we became "Running is Easy. Names are Not."  A great name for us, however it was a bit long for the official race documents. The names on the bibs have to be short so our bib names only said "Running is Easy."  Whoops. For three of us, that name still worked (me, not so much).  

I am still not quite back in shape from the back problems sustained during the marathon in 2012. So, when deciding our running order, I kept joking about doing it "Olympic swimming relay" style. We had our Ryan Lochte (second fastest runner) go first, our third fastest runner go second, the slowest (me) go second, and our Michael Phelps (aka the fastest) go last.   Because we were no longer driving from leg to leg, all the teams got to hang out in the field. It was a great day to catch up with old friends and new! While each runner ran their leg, the rest of us hung out on our picnic blanket, filled up on PB&J sandwiches from Whole Food,s and just got to catch up on each other's lives.  

That part of the day was really nice. For me, the running... eh, not so much. I was still out of shape and the first leg was awful. I ran the first mile and was struggling from that point on. Then between mile 1 and 2, we ran uphill for a nice little chunk. I knew I needed to save energy for the second leg, which was even longer, so I did a lot of walking.  After our first runner came back from the second leg she said it was much easier: curvy, but much flatter. That made me feel a little better, but at that point I was starting to wish we were doing the 14 mile relay instead of the 34!  Well it came time for me to run my last leg and it started out ok. Then it became clearly evident I was out of shape. And when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I started having back spasms. I ended up having to walk all the way from mile 4 to 5. Finally, because I'm stubborn and prideful, I ran the last 0.1 mile to pass off the slap bracelet to our final runner. Some friends of mine were manning the chute and cheering me on. Afterwards they wanted to know why I looked so mad when I finished!  Needless to say, I don't like people watching me run, especially when I'm in pain. After my leg, I found a bag of ice and just laid on it.  Oi. When our final runner came in, the rest of us met her at the beginning of the finish line chute to run (more like sprint) with her across the finish line.

We may have come in last in our division (my bad, ladies) but we definitely had a blast! Everyone who participated (and came out to cheer us on) said they wanted to do it again next year! And I will be in better shape by then for sure!

For more information on the Hope Relay and why we run, check out www. hoperelay.org and join us next year at a great run for an even greater run!

Mum's the Word!

Back on a wonderful Wednesday evening in September, I went to a concert for a group named Mumford and Sons. You may have heard of them (NOTE: if you have not heard of them, stop reading. No really, stop reading this post and go listen to them. You'll thank me later).

It could not have been a better night for good music and good friends. The weather was great and the music was phenomenal.  I went with my friend MM and pretty much the entire city of Greenville.  

Because I'm me, I took the opportunity to sing the chorus of "I Will Wait" anytime we had to wait that night... in the parking lot, for the bathroom, for meeting up with friends. I know, I'm so cheesy.

MM and I got there about a hour before the show, got a good parking spot and headed on over to the Amphitheater. Once we got into Heritage Park, some of MM's friends called and we waited (guess what I sang) on them to catch up to us.  MM introduced us and we all walked in together.

Now, the funny thing about the tickets is that I knew a friend of mine loved Mumford, yet had never been to one of their concerts. Well, as soon as I heard that Mumford was coming I texted him. The tickets for this show were lottery based- you had to register for them and not everybody got them. Well I never win anything, so I didn't even bother signing up for the lottery. However, my friend did and they had two extra tickets! Guess who got those? So, I bought those from him for me and MM.

So as we were walking to the gates of the show, I was telling MM all about the awesome people who got us the tickets and who do we see? The people who got us the tickets! That was pretty cool because we got to thank them in person!

Once we got through the gates, we all got some snacks and drinks and went to find spots. MM and I had general admission tickets so we were on the lawn whereas her friends were down in the standing room only area right below the stage. MM and I were happy with our seats, we got to sit (it was hot!) and listen to some awesome music with a pretty good view. Mad props to the Charter Amphitheater in Simpsonville for giant screens everywhere!

While the second opening act was playing, MM's friends texted us saying they had two extra tickets for the standing room area under the stage. I think we were headed down there before she even responded back "yes!" We kept joking all night that "my friends got us in the door, her friends got us on the floor!"

And then we got to enjoy the great music of Mumford and Sons. We even got to see some of it too (until some 6'7" guy stood in front of us). The pictures don't do justice to where we were standing or the wonderful things we heard. 

Overall, it was a great night with good music and awesome friends! Can't wait to do it again!