I sat down with Alex & Brett for a brief recap after the conference…

Gaithersburg, MD was the final stop of the Rebelution ’08 conference this past Saturday. 3200 people filled the sanctuary and spilled into the aisles of Covenant Life Church. And I was so blessed to be one of them!

It was a special day of challenge, conviction, and inspiration. You can’t listen to these messages – to Alex, Brett, & Mr. Harris sharing passionately from their hearts – without feeling the truthful impact anew in your own.

“We think we’re getting away with something, but we’re actually being robbed.”

“God is not glorified when people limit themselves to what comes easy.”

“Every command of God is a delivery system for something good He wants you to have. It’s also a protection from something bad.”

“To actually change something requires that you actually change something.”

There was also the happiness of being reunited with friends and familiar faces, and conversations with new ones, along with plenty of laughter, flying foam rockets, and mad twin skills. *smile*

Most importantly, it was a day woven with moments, and tears, of humble gratefulness to God for His truly Amazing Grace.

And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

:: View More Photos Here ::

[photos by me unless noted]

Friday morning we loaded on the metro for our big day to see the sights of downtown DC. While there simply wasn’t enough time (or leg energy) to see all the wonderful places we wanted to, we thoroughly enjoyed what we were able to experience. The sheer amount of history and amazing architecture found on every corner just blew us away and kept us stopping to snap pictures almost constantly. Being face to face with places and things I have only read and heard about my entire life brought our Nation’s history into awe-inspiring proximity. It was unbelievable.

My personal favorites were The White House (no surprise, huh), The National Archives, and the Lincoln Memorial. Without a doubt, viewing the founding documents in the rotunda of the National Archives was the most incredible moment of the day. To be inches away from THE Declaration of Independence is enough to give a person the chills! When you think about who touched that piece of paper, and where we would be if those words had not been written…WOW.

Over 12 hours later, with Murphy’s law relentlessly bearing down in the most annoying ways and our legs aching in agony with every slow step, we ended our day in refreshingly cool darkness next to the shining column of stones known as the Washington Monument. We had survived DC. And look at the memories!!

:: Complete Photo Album Here ::

(photography by Christopher, with a few shots by me)

Day one of our whirlwind brother-sister weekend road trip…so many sights, so little time! It’s been GREAT. Here’s a peek at what we saw today…

Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home…

I was a little awe-struck to be walking around where this incredible man once lived!

George & Martha Washington’s tomb

Arlington National Cemetery – Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. Standing there really brought out the reality of how much so many have sacrificed…people I never knew, but who made all the difference…it was humbling and touching. I am so thankful!!

After 8 hours in the car and 4 more on foot…yeah, you could say I was tired…

:: Complete Photo Album Here ::

‘Cause I have fans!!! They’re so amazing, they even hold signs when I’m not there! Celebrity life couldn’t get much better…

[special thanks to my friend Linda!]

Just when single life among me and my (likewise) single girlfriends seemed to be continuing on it’s ordinary, pleasant way this year…one of my dear friends goes and falls in love. Not that she actually did it on purpose, mind you. Sometimes these things have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

Love is a funny thing. I used to think I understood it… that I knew how it worked… that it could never take me by surprise. I was levelheaded, I was logical, I was cool, I was calm, I was collected. I was in no danger of falling. Yes, I certainly would have liked to, but I didn’t think I had what it took. I wasn’t among those so lucky.

But you know how God loves the unexpected…and I’m pretty sure he had his finger in this one. Wow.

I’ve been saying that a lot lately. Each time my friend has called – first to tell me of the beginning relationship, and the second time to tell me she was engaged – my first response was something akin to a series of wide-eyed “Wow”s. And when the wedding invitation with her name on it arrived in my mailbox this week…Wow again. If it’s this surreal for me I can’t imagine what she feels like!

As girls do, we often shared our dreams of the future “someone” together over wordy emails and late night chats. We encouraging each other to trust God and wait on His timing. But still we wondered… “Will it ever REALLY happen?”. Now that the fog  has suddenly cleared away and the dream really IS reality for my friend, it’s truly amazing. And SO HAPPY.

Things like this sure do prove God’s faithfulness – He has been oh so good! I am truly excited and blessed for Britt. Watching God write her beautiful story only affirms in my heart that He will do the same for me…and for YOU.

:: Read the rest of “Our Love Story” ::

I’ve touched on this subject before, but I’d like to return to it again. I am at the place where I need to be moving forward with decisions, answering the age-old question of “what is God’s will?” for this season of life. It’s tough. I’ve been feeling some pressure, not intentionally placed on me by anyone, but there nonetheless, to be involved in ministry of some sort.

The question is, do I HAVE to be in a quote, “ministry” to make a difference?

I am the girl who loves to laugh, hug on my friends, listen when someone needs to talk, cry at a song on the radio, go running beneath blue skies, and chop veggies with my chef knife just because it’s cool. Basically, I just want to love God, live the beautiful life He has given me, and see other people happy. That’s it. That’s how I want to make a difference – by being me.

There are many people – including friends of mine – with ministry dreams like a missionary or gospel musician, or having an outreach to young people. And I cannot match that. My dreams are of a more domestic sort. I definitely believe in living in view of eternity and what will really count in the end. But does that require our involvement to be what is deemed as specifically spiritual? Everything we do can be spiritual in the sense that God is everywhere with me. I am His child and I bear His likeness, and even though I falter at times, I believe that people will see Him whether or not my work label is expressly that of “ministry.”

The other night I read this blog post by Tom Neven at Boundlessline.org, and I was very encouraged.

As far back as I could remember, I’d wanted to be a writer. But I thought the only way I could serve God was as a minister or maybe as a missionary to Africa. (I’d already lived in Africa for several years at that point, so I had no romantic illusions about the continent.) I was genuinely torn between my desire to serve God and my desire to tell stories.

:: Read It Here: Butchers, Bakers, and Candlestick Makers

To do something for the love of doing something…is that not God-given? That’s why we sing, why we write, why we paint, why we grow amazing flower gardens and design intricate skyscrapers and do crazy things to get the perfect photograph. It is within us to love doing what God has uniquely given us us a passion for, and in following that passion we glorify Him. And I’m so glad.

Just some honest thoughts from my heart…