Look for Less

It has been awhile since I blogged. It has been crazy! However, even though it has been awhile since I have blogged I really don't have much in my head that I would want to write about. So, I decided to share with the ladies out there a few of my fave online fashion stores. Now, I haven't bought anything from any of these stores, but I sometimes gaze at their clothes imagining what I would buy if I had some spare clothing cash.

Here they are:

http://www.wetseal.com/

This is kind of teenager/early 20s. At least that is what I am calling it. I especially love their fashion tops and dresses. And it actually looks like they got some new things up since I last looked.

http://www.gojane.com/

Kind of weird, but cool. It seems like this site would have some interesting finds so people would comment that they love your style because it is different. It actually feels pretty 60's to me. I like the shoes area and the stuff area. Some of the shirts and dresses are cute. But the denim section looks weird to me.

http://www.oldnavy.com

This site is impressing me so much. I am so bad at picking out which things will look cute together and Old Navy has outfits that even include a purse, shoes and jewelry. You gotta love that.

http://www.forever21.com

This has the same feel as the top two, but has a men's section as well. We must be going into a 60s-70s era with our tops. Everything has this groovy vibe.

And what sent me to these sites? This did.

It's the Look for Less section on InStyle's webpage.

I actually like Christina's look here. I want to try to do some black with red accents.

The Blog World

Sometimes when I have a moment I go to Technorati and search things that I enjoy and see if someone blogs about it. Words I have searched in the past are: 24, church, modern furniture, graphic design, animals...you get the picture. And every now and then I see a really cool blog. Maybe someone who talks about the way they are decorating their house with some cool couch from Design Within Reach or a pastor talking about his recent series. I recently found this girl who was from Columbia that was the foster mom of Dazzler the dog that I would see at PetSmart and always wanted to take home. It is just weird. Like I should know her, but I only could only see her through her blog. I mean Technorati and Blogger give us ways to look at other blogs, actually encourage it, by posting the most popular/ interesting blogs. Do you do this? Do you look through random blogs?

Poor Scooter

The time has come for Scooter to become less of a man. He is scheduled to be neutered tomorrow. So I am going to have to leave work a little early to give him a bath and to get him food because he cannot have food or water after 6 in his preparation for surgery. I feel sorry for the little guy. He is so energetic and wild that it will probably be difficult for him to stay chill long enough so his wound heals. I came home yesterday and it seemed like he was a little more loving, showed a little more of the sad puppy face, and just a little better behaved. Of course, I am imagining all of that because I feel sad for him. But maybe it will lessen his desire to sniff other male dogs in a rather odd spot.

ooooo. IKEA!

It was about time to blog about something in the design realm. Right before our trip I got my IKEA catalog! I actually haven't had much time to look through it, but I already have some of my fave things picked out. The pictures to your right are things that I just love the look and feel of. My wishlist contains that orange couches at the top (and they are also featured in the bedroom below it) and bascially the entire kid's room. Now I know I have to actually have a child before I can have that room, but I am just getting ideas so it will be awesome when the time comes. It is a lot of blue, but I would do a little more of the oranges and lime greens to make it unisex. Then when I have my 3 to 4 kids they will all enjoy it! I mean I never had something as cool as that room. There is even a surfboard rug and chairs that hang from the ceiling. The two bedrooms in the middle aren't really rooms that I want things from (except the couch) but I think they have really awesome vibes. I am having to work on Wade about the couches. He wasn't there when I got our last couch and it is a tight squeeze when we both lay down. He said he would have gotten a better one if he had been there. So, we have to test that out first before buying. I don't know if he is excited about the color or not. But since I am the graphic designer I will probably have the final say. Oh, and I have no idea when we would ever get this stuff. We don't have extra money to buy it so who knows. It is just really fun to wish!

Back from Florida

Some crazy things:

1. Getting lost in Tampa and having to ask the Pepsi truck guy how to get to our hotel.
2. Asking the same Pepsi guy if we were close to the hospital and hearing him say, "You are so far away from the hospital that I can't even begin to tell you how to get there."
3. The receptionist at our hotel giving us the wrong directions to the hospital.
4. Driving around for an hour trying to find out how to get to the hospital from our hotel.
5. Realizing there are two Hilton Garden Inns and we accidentally got the furthest one away from the hospital.
6. Wade having his grape sized parathyroid removed when it is supposed to be the size of a grain of rice.
7. Wade being able to go out to dinner the night after he had surgery (although he did get really tired and his throat was pretty sore)
8. Getting to feed and pet gorgeous dolphins.
9. Watching amazing dolphins, whales, and killer whales leap into the air and do tricks.
10. Witnessing Bev's radar for Dairy Queen and never passing it up.


Anyway, we are back from the surgery trip. Wade is doing great. We are SO thankful that we went to Tampa with Dr. Norman being the doctor. Thank you for all the prayers and support. Thank you for the phone calls and cards and care packages. Mt. Horeb you are amazing! Megan Venters thank you for the blog love. And thanks to Brian and Cassie (I'm pretty sure they have never read this blog) for keeping our crazy dog Scooter while we were away!

Check it Out

So I know you can look at my links on the side and see what blogs I read, but I wanted to give this new blog a special entry. My sister has her own blog now and she gives updates on my niece and she also has some little extra fun things thrown in. So go visit her blog: Baby Makes Three
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my niece. I miss her so much. I shouldn't live this far away from her.

Unloading my Brain

So, after this weekend I need to just unload all of the things that happened since I last posted.

1. Wade gave me the rest of my Valentine presents Thursday night. I received Godiva chocolates (YAY!) and he wrote me a beautiful song. I absolutley loved it. I told him he needs to make me a CD that has all of the songs he has written me. I am so blessed!
2. Friday night Wade and I celebrated our Valentine's dinner (yes we did make it a 3 day celebration) at Pasta Frescas...I think that is how it is spelled. It was wonderful and then we headed to the movies to watch "Music and Lyrics" and I will tell you Hugh Grant is one funny guy.
3. We sent the dogs (Scooter and our pastor's beagle that we are keeping) to Wade's parents so we could head to Charlotte, NC. It was good to have a break from their crazy fighting.
4. We went to Charlotte and tried to get to Cheesecake Factory early so we wouldn't have a long wait, but at 4:30 there was a 70 minute wait. So we bought some cheesecake and headed to a pizza place.
5. Sunday morning was CRAZY. We had to be up at 5:00 am for Wade to get to the church in time to practice with the band. However, Wade couldn't fall asleep so we only got like 3 hours of sleep.
6. The service at Elevation started and the band played. It was awesome! Wade and Mack shared leading songs and it was so powerful. I was so proud of Wade. He looked really into it and energetic and was leading the people into a special time with God. I absolutely loved every second of it. We have some of it on video and I can't wait to watch it. Andrew, Michael, Brian, and Reid came to watch and that meant a lot to me and especially Wade. We also got to eat lunch with them.
7. Steven Furtick had an awesome sermon about dating/sex/love. It had a new spin on it that was very fresh.
8. We came back home and were exhausted. We went to Ignite and it had a low key feel to it tonight. Wade did some acoustic worship and Meghan did a talk on dating relastionships that was great. I barely made it through and then me and Wade headed home to get some much needed sleep. I am now rested and able to take on the week.

Keep us in your prayers. Wade, his mom and dad, and I leave Tuesday after I get off work to head to Tampa for Wade's surgery. It will be a nice break from the regular schedule, but also Wade is having surgery so that isn't fun.

New Additions

Wanted to let you all know that I have now added the design sites that I visit frequently as links on the side. I am sure I have missed some so it may have a few additions over the next week. Also, while I was thinking about my awesome poetry (see previous post), I managed to find this one poem that I wrote when I was in tenth grade. It definitely isn't about love, but it was probably my first real poem. See if you know what is happening in it.

Evil

The glassy surface, spots as black as sin
Awaits a young child so it can be invited in
A naive mind, a confident walk
Eliminates the danger that would make him stop
Fun and games soon end, playtime over
The surface wins
The white, the purity, the virgin color
Covers the deeds of nature's lover
The evil, unknown from that day
Lays with the boy at the bottom of his grave.

Update: After Wade read this he reminded me that this poem is kinda scary. So, I wanted to let you know that I am not some sad depressed person who writes unhappy poetry. I actually wrote this one day when it was snowing in Belton. I looked out the window while I was on the computer and saw our little pond kind of frozen and dark looking. I decided I wanted to write something that talked about how beautiful winter and ice can be but also how dangerous. So out came Evil. I guess the ice has more bad qualities than good in my head.

Valentine's Day Ends

So the day of love from our calendar is officially over. Wade sent me flowers while I was at work. They were beautiful and it had an adorable stuffed animal on the side. But we didn't get to spend much time together. We had church stuff to do and we decided to celebrate either tonight or Friday and would give our little gifts to one another. However, I tricked Wade and had a little display of his gifts set out for him when he got home. He got a card and 18 cupcakes that were valentine themed. And then the longest poem I have ever written. Wade said it made our love sound "epic." I like that.

Some serious props

I want to take some blogging time to give some SERIOUS props to my husband Wade. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Oh no, she is going to get mushy." But I assure you this is me trying to take my brain out of my head and analyze something that is before me. Here it is: My husband is an extraordinary worship leader. He is actually the best worship leader I have ever seen. This past Sunday we got our new sound system and the praise band sounded GREAT! Wade led the people and seemed so comfortable on stage. He seemed excited to be there and was ready to lead people into a celebration of God. However, it gets even better. This past week our youth band played at our high school gathering, but normally Wade and his band peeps play and let me tell you this is AMAZING. It is one thing to just do a song like it is on the CD or the radio, but Wade and his band guys frequently change up the songs to fit different moods. I mean there are times when a song has the perfect words but doesn't fit the mood you have set, but Wade can do something with it vocally or musically and I am speechless at how wonderful it is. I am in absolute awe of how he is so talented. Also, for a long time Wade traveled with the Wade Joye Band. It has fewer shows these days because of the committment to our church, but in this band he leads worship and plays his own original songs. The songs he writes are so inspiring. And I get so excited when he has a new song and plays it for me. I know that God gave him the words to write the music. The lyrics always bring me in a moment that is solely focused on Jesus. But finally and most importantly, Wade is a incredible worship leader because of his heart and desire to follow God. I am his wife and therefore know him better than anyone on this earth. And I know that he is striving to walk as close as he can to Jesus. I think God is really using Wade and showing him how to lead His people with music. And I truly believe God is going to do something radical with him. I believe God is going to use Wade for something we never thought even possible. So even though I gave Wade some serious props, it really only matters if continues walking close to Jesus because God is the one who makes Wade awesome.

Lion Chaser's Manifesto

I know I just posted a blog, but I had to put this up as well. It seems like I have been visiting some blogs today and a lot are about taking risks and going after things with passion. So I saw Mark Batterson's blog and figured that I needed to post his manifesto.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

Open the Door

So last night I was thinking about the phrase: "If it is meant to be, God will open the door." I wondered where this came from. It seemed like I heard something like it in the Bible, but where was it. I asked Wade and in his half asleep state he said "keyword search on biblegateway." So I did a little biblegateway search and found these verses.

Matthe 7:7-8
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Now there may be some other place that this phrase comes out of in the Bible, but I am just going to assume since nothing else jumped out at me that this is all we have. Now, I have said, "If it is meant to be, God will open the door" many times. And the best way I can think to tell you how I use that phrase is to think back on my old track days.
Here is the scenario. I ran the 800 meter race (half a mile). Now I was pretty good. I usually came in the top two places that is until one of my bestest friends Ashley started running track. She ALWAYS finished before me. So for awhile I was jealous, but then I just accepted it. I probably said something like this, "She is just faster than me. There isn't anything I can do about it. I will just be second or do something else that maybe I am good at." I don't know if you have made a connection to the phrase yet or not, but I use the open door phrase as an "oh, well" statement. I am not going to go above and beyond to make a dream happen because, you know what, God is in charge of it and he will open the door for me. But the verse says KNOCK and the door will be opened to you. I think of that as being really involved. I mean there are times when I have knocked A LOT on the door because I know someone is in the house they just haven't come to the door yet. Maybe God just wants to see how much you want it. How hard will you knock for it? What things will you knock out of the way to get a chance to push open a door that is only open for a few seconds. At least then if the door still doesn't open, I know that I did everything I could to show God how serious I was about it. God does control the doors. He isn't going to open it unless it is right for us, but I can't use the statement anymore to get a free ride. I have to do my part. I have to knock.

More of Baby Pressley

And here are some more.

Here I am with my new niece!

And Wade gets to hold her too! She loved Wade.

Proud dad holds litttle Pressley.

The funniest face I saw her make. I think she was kinda squished against Benjamin's arm or at least I hope so.

Well, that is all of the really good pics of my new niece, but since I am getting more into photography I am sure Pressley will end up on this blog a lot. She is so adorable. I can't believe I am an aunt.

Baby Pressley

Here she is in all her glory!

This is of Pressley right when we got there. She was sleeping soundly.

Here is mom and daughter. My sister looks at Pressley with such love.

And her tiny toes. They are actually really long and she was grabbing my finger with her toes.

I MUST wait

If you haven't seen Wade's blog yet, then let me be the first to tell you I am an AUNT! I am so excited, but as you can see the title of this blog is "I must wait." This is because I have some beautiful pictures but not with me!! So I will wait until I get home to tell you anymore of my little niece so then you can see the baby girl's precious face.

Instead, for this blog I am going to answer some more questions about myself so that if you want you can answer them on your blog as well!

I'd never...at least I don't think I would ever:

1.List two items of clothing you would never wear again.
a. First, it would be the double mismatching socks that I would wear when I was in like 3rd grade. It was hot pink and black and you would have to switch which one was on top for the other foot.
b. The bodysuit things. The snapped at the bottom. Kind of like a adult onesie. That is weird. Although I am seeing them again.

2.List two food items you would never eat again.
a. I don't know if I would never eat it again, but I threw up after eating some Chunky soup and now I have a taste aversion to it. I mean I can't even stand smelling it if Wade heats it up.
b. Carraba's calamari. They say it is supposed to be good and it isn't bad, but it was just chewy.

3.List two types of music you would never intentionally listen to again.
a. I am not proud of it, but I listened to ghetto rap in high school. People could hear my jeep coming into school because my rap was so loud. I would never get back into that. So many things that are too sinful in that music.
b. I would actually listen to it, but just to make fun of it. This is for Wade: Stings solo stuff.

4.List two TV shows you would never watch again.
a. I used to like Real World, but something about it made me stop wanting to watch it.
b. I used to LOOOOVE America's Next Top Model. Well, actually only the first season. After that it seemed lame-o. It was probably lame-o first season, but I refuse to believe that.

5.List two beverages you would never drink again.
a. Coke Zero. Gross. I felt like I was drinking salt. It was so nasty.
b. Hot tea. I don't remember where or when I had it, but I remember thinking why would you choose this over sweet tea?

The Scoot

I know I have been posting a lot of pictures lately, but I like pictures! And since my gorgeous husband got me the Canon Rebel, I am now going crazy taking pictures of whatever I can.


Now some of you may not know our dog Scooter. The reason for this is he is so psycho when people come over that only those who can get passed his crazy hyper self make it through our door. Now Scooter is only like this because he gets so excited about having new friends come in. So I have some pictures of Scooter to share with the world in case you haven't seen him.

While waiting on 24...

We all know that Jack Bauer is the coolest person on TV and it is hard waiting an entire week to see what is going to happen next. Even though you can't watch the new episode right now, you can check out some Jack Bauer's gear. Some of it is from previous seasons while others are this season. And best of all Uncrate has links where you can buy some of it!!! It doesn't get better than that!

A Lion Kiss

I love animals a lot. I get this from my mother who if watching a movie and a man and his dog get injured she would say, "That poor dog. I hope he is okay. They shouldn't have animals doing stuff like that in a movie." So needless to say I love animals! However, in looking through the outrageous news of the past couple of weeks I came across this. I would never, I repeat never, do something this stupid.

She is so going to get eaten. Just kidding. It kinda looks like the lion is enjoying it a little too much. Apparently, she saved the lion six years ago and they developed a special bond. I still would NEVER do this though.

See that mountain...I tossed it.

I am still Following my Rabbi and I am now on the last chapter of Mark before I start Luke on Thursday. I am loving it! Not only am I getting to see the teachings of our Lord, but it is also amazing to have those teachings repeated over in a different way with each book. Like the passage I am referencing in a second was in Matthew, but once I read it in Mark it seemed to jump out a little more.
So, normally I just have been going through and telling Wade what I learned that day from my gospel readings, but for some reason I read the following passage about a week ago and I can't get it off my mind. I have already described this passage to a couple of people and I feel like it is a good reminder to some others out there.
This is the passage:

Mark 11:12-14, 11:20-25
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
"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. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Now I have two major thoughts about this verse.
1. In Christ, we have the power to do some mighty things. I think sometimes when we pray for something to happen we are afraid to ask for it with authority. I think this is a tricky subject because we do want to make sure it is God's will, but at some point you have to know that what you are asking is a holy request and through Christ we have power to make it happen. However, that being said I know I would still have doubt in my heart that I could toss a mountain so I must continue to exercise my faith.
2. Jesus added the little part at the end. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." I mean Jesus was talking about mountain tossing and then he goes back to forgiving others. This must be very important to our Lord and even if you are at a 10 on the faith scale, but have someone in your heart you haven't forgiven then you won't be able to do the mountain toss.

So, maybe this verse helped someone. I don't think I would ever need to actually hurl a mountain into the sea, but it does seem amazing to think that something I think is too big for me to do anything about can turn into something small with prayer. And that is only because of Jesus...NOT because of me.

Questions to make us Smile

Inspired by Daily Meme and Rachel's blog, I decided to share the answer of these few questions. If the questions make you smile answer them on your blog!


Have you ever danced under the stars?
Yes, when Wade and I were dating we drove around Columbia and then he took me to a place that we designated "our spot" and prayed. Afterwards, he played Sarah McLachlan and we slowed danced under the our starlit sky. It was an amazing moment!

Have you ever listened in on a private conversation?
There is probably more than just one instance, but my sister told me I was an annoying little sister. Apparently, I would sit at her door while she talked on the phone and then tell our mom everything. I am sure I picked up the phone to listen in as well.
(By the way Sharlie, you definitely need to get a blog. Two of the blogs I read are about mothers who have young children and what crazy things they go through. Check them out here and here.)

Have you ever splurged on something you normally wouldn't purchase? What was it?
This is one area that I defy all girly things. I am super cheap! I have gotten more spoiled since I married Wade who dotes on me all the time. If I get something super nice then it is usually from Wade not a gift to myself.

Well now you know a little more about me! Have an amazing Monday.
JACK BAUER TONIGHT!

Technorati owns me

Technorati Profile

I was looking on Blogspot's things to do for your blog and they said to tell Technorati that I own this blog. Then I had to post this link. So there you go.

ski trip pics

my viewers

I want to thank everyone for commenting on my phrase! It is kinda funny knowing that I attempt to write a blog every day or at least every other day and it is for about 5 people. I think I can name everyone who reads this site...Wade, Megan V, Rachel O, Andrew, my mom, occasionally Wade's mom and I think that is probably it. But for some reason it is like this growing urge that I MUST type a new blog. I can't let my readers down!!

I think blogging will definitely help me out one day...I have the tendency of forgetting what I did a day ago, so I really do think this will be an amazing way to have all of my little adventures recorded somehow. I mean I have a lot of stuff coming up that really needs to be written so I don't forget how I felt and I don't think if I would quite enjoy writing a diary like I do the blog. There is something about checking your site the next day to see if someone commented...you can't get that from a diary. So hopefully I will still be writing this blog when it is time for me to tell the world a little Joye child has said their first word or when we finally get Scooter a friend or when Wade and I take our exciting vacation! But I also want to remember what random stuff I did when I was bored (aka making weemees)!

Speaking of...it is Wade's and my date night tonight! He got to eat at Longhorn today with his fam but without me...sad. So he said he will make it up to me with dinner and any kind of desert I want. It will most likely be something with chocolate. So in honor of date night, my weemee is getting a little dressed up. And weemee world made a beagle so it looks more like Scooter. Check out the profile pic at the top.

being a designer

Hello everyone! I go to so many sites about the new design trends and the hottest websites and portfolios of famous and not famous designers. So, today as I was doing the scan through all my sites and I started thinking...I don't have an online portfolio. This may not seem like a big deal but just think about how everything is going to the web nowadays. I can just imagine a scenario now.

(my characters are made up and not based on anyone)

Anne: WOW...that is one killer brochure you have their in your hand Sam. What is that for?

Sam: Oh, this is the brochure for our church's outdoor ministry. I am handing some out for people who want to join.

Anne: That's really cool! You know I am starting a new business and it would be really great to have a brochure that I could give to new clients. Who did yours? Maybe I could get them to do mine.

Sam: Oh yeah! This girl at our church whose name is Ferris Joye did it. I only know to get hold of her through church but I am sure you could probably go on the web and see her website. Just google her name.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! See I just lost a customer. I don't have the website. Instead she will see Wade's blog talking about me being his wife....which is amazing but doesn't show my sweet design skills.

Now that I have established the importance of a designer's website; I want to run something by you. Now I think I have a interesting personality. Well interesting is a nice way to put it; I am actually just plain weird. So in my attempt to try and learn Dreamweaver and see if I could make my own site, I want to show you the baby stage of my site. AND I want you to comment on my opening page phrase...I don't know if it is too weird?!?

I like the idea of the orange. The last name Joye makes me think orange. So I think an opening page with an orange would allow me to place a photography image in there. And I want a little catchy saying. So I am asking if YOU think the phrase "a designer whose got some juice" is cool or lame.

Please comment your thoughts!

Show the Love

Get ready for a long blog while I let out some feelings. Okay, so today I started looking at some of the links that Wade had on his blog. Eventually after looking at several I ended up at Perry Noble's blog. So I start looking around and saw he had posted a response to someone who is criticizing their way of doing church. Now, after seeing this I thought, "hmmm, how many other people who have blogs out there are criticizing Perry?" So I do some hard looking (typed in Perry Noble at Google and clicked some links) and I found some other places where people are putting him down. And I came to the realization (through some context clues) that most of these people have never been to NewSpring and most are also part of a small church.

Now let's rewind to 2001, when I was a senior in high school in the neighboring city of Anderson which is Belton. My best friends (Alyson, Amber, and Meagan) and I witnessed a lot of people leaving our "small churches" to go to the new hip feeling church called NewSpring. This is when they met at Anderson College...hadn't become University yet. I had a couple of friends that decided to go there instead of the church they grew up in and I held a little grudge against NewSpring. It didn't help that my pastor also said that these "contemporary churches" aren't preaching the word and are out to just entertain them instead of letting Jesus alone change the people. So let's just say I vowed never to go there and decided they were not helping Jesus they were only helping themselves. They were the big bad church.

Now jump to the next year when I was a freshman at the University of South Carolina. I went there and none of my friends were with me. I was on my own. I even decided to room with someone I didn't even know (although Carolyn was freaking awesome)! However, two of the guys I went to high school with that were in my outer network of friends went to USC as well: Jay Harper and Michael Marshall. And guess what their home church was…yep, NewSpring. So even though I vowed never to go I started hearing their conversations about how awesome it was and how it had changed their lives. And I really had seen a change in their lives. So now I was thinking, “I thought this was the big bad church...how can it be helping people and how can they actually be learning biblical truths (it was watered down remember)?” So finally, one week when I was back at home I pulled one of my girl pals (love you Meagan) into going with me. And although it was totally different then anything I ever knew…I actually liked it. I felt like Perry preached from the Bible and the worship felt passionate. It definitely wasn’t the feeling I got when my church would sing hymns. And everyone wanted to be there and they were excited so it got me excited.

Okay, our journey brings us back to the present. Now I have probably gone to NewSpring about 4 or 5 times and each time I really love it. It did take me awhile to adjust to Perry’s personality while preaching because he was so energetic and loud (unlike other pastors I had listened to). Now seeing that all these other people have criticized him it makes me upset. NewSpring isn’t even my church, but I feel like sometimes people who see something different immediately think it is bad. I mean my preacher growing up was an awesome man and pastor, but he had never even been to NewSpring yet he insulted it. And all these people bashing it on their blogs have never been there either. I just don’t understand how we can call ourselves Christians and chide something we have never been to. I just think the ultimate way to do things when we are Christians is to do things in love. I mean why couldn’t someone say, “Really, Perry/NewSpring, I don’t agree with some of the things you do at your church or what you said on this blog, but it seems that you are a man of God so I would like to hear your side of the story.” Or say, “This church seems so watered down or they just use media to distract people from hearing the truth that hurts…maybe I should check it out or request a video of their service to give them the a look-see.”

Technically, NewSpring has just been a personal example (there are countless other places that I am sure get the same thing) I can identify with because I saw what it is like to be on both ends and when you aren’t knowledgeable about the subject then you really can’t throw insults. And even if you are knowledgeable I still don’t think you should throw insults it should be more of a communication between two followers of Christ who care deeply for one another. And if we are the ones being insulted then we should remember the same thing. I think James 1:19-20 is perfect for this. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Anyway, this blog is SOOO long. The thing is that the small churches are for a lot of people and I am sure a lot of them reach their community and shower love on them. And then these larger churches are doing the same thing. It seems to me we shouldn’t be making excuses as to why it is wrong, but asking ourselves what are they doing to reach so many people? I think when we find that out we will see we are all doing God’s work just with different thinking and different perspectives. And I think God isn’t set on how we get there but are we actively bringing people to Christ. That’s definitely something I need to do more of. Let’s always make sure we are showing God’s love…to the lost and to other Christians.

Back from skiing

So today I am back at work from my weekend of on the youth ski trip. It was fun although I get really frustrated with it sometimes. I am REALLY BAD, so Wade tried to show me the ropes. And you should know he is REALLY GOOD. Anyway, it started well until I had to go up this small incline and I kept sliding backwards. I got so irritated that I kept saying, "TAKE MY SKIS OFF!" Finally Wade realized that I couldn't handle it so he took them off. After I calmed down I put the skis back on and got on the ski lift. Then it went a lot better. I think something in me was impressed that Wade didn't give up on me. I had this fear that since Wade was really good that skiing with me would annoy him. At the moment when I threw my adult temper tantrum and saw that he STILL wanted to ski with me I gained a little confidence. So I went down on bunny slope very slow to learn how to stop and did okay. Then we went down the next one but it was getting icy and there were tons of people. (Sidenote: I noticed a whole bunch of people just sit there looking upwards at the slope...right where I should be skiing but then I have to do some little maneuver to not hit them. So if you are one of those people then you shouldn't do that anymore.) So I fell a lot on the slope and finally there was one that I couldn't get back up from. So this time I took off the skis to walk down the mountain so I wouldn't hurt myself...not because of a temper tantrum. So even though I am still HORRIBLE, I could do it again but only if Wade is with me.
Also, on the ski trip I took a bagillion pictures since I had my new camera. They aren't of anyone skiing but basically random shots. I will post of few later.

Wade is officially in Michigan at the Rob Bell conference. I miss him so much. It is so weird being at home by myself when Wade is always with me. I DON'T like it at all! He should come back. But I think he is getting a lot out of it. The plane had lost their luggage, but it is back now. So Wade, if you are reading this then I hope you are having fun and know that your wife is very sad without you!

On another note, my mom gave me the honor of making a weemee for my dad. So I am unveiling Neil Ivester as a weemee.

WeeMee

So Rachel's blog made me go and make my own. Now I don't want to boast but I started out wanting my weemee to look like me and I think it really does. Tell me what you think.

I think it is pretty awesome. I mean I even have Scooter sitting beside me. I think my next mission is to make Wade. (goes to weemee world and slaves over making the perfect Wade)Okay I'm back and now I will reveal weemee Wade.

I think I am pretty good at this. So if anyone wants me to make them a weemee then you can just send me an email or comment here!

In other news...the ski trip is this weekend and I have to leave early from work. I think it is going to be a lot of fun although I don't really ski. I am guessing I will just be able to hang out with the ignite ladies and we can have some good quality time together.
In sadder news...wade leaves the ski trup to go to a Rob Bell conference and won't be back until Wed. I mean doesn't he know he can never leave my side. He should probably get weeWade to take his place.

I feel like this has been the weirdest blog ever. I must be drinking some funny Diet Pepsi right now. And since I brought up Diet Pepsi. If you read this and want to make this a fun blog then how about a poll.

Do you prefer Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke or would vomit both of them if forced to drink it.
Comment your thoughts.

RECENT UPDATE: My mom read my blog and decided to make her own weemee. So I now introduce Terry Ivester as a weemee!


She looks so good! Keep coming up with your weemees. I wonder how we can all become weemee buddies or something. That would be cool.

My fuel cell and 24

My fuel cell starts up tomorrow night at 6:15! I am so excited about hanging out with my girls again. They are the most amazing girls ever and I get the privilege to hang out with them once a week. I just want to thank each one of the girls for impacting my life...this includes the ones that still come and the ones that used to be part of it. You all really mean a lot to me. And I want to thank Wendy (the co-leader) for being so awesome! You are the best co-leader for me and you are so amazing with the girls. I think it is a great combo we have and you bring so much to the group with knowledge and experience and then this incredible personality that not only goes great with mine but also helps the girls and any youth for that matter gel with you! I am so thankful for you.

Also, I am so excited about getting off work today. Once you have that long weekend it is hard to get back into the swing of things. I just can't wait to hang out with Wade and hear all about his day! By the way, I am sure everyone in the world who watches 24 posted about it so I won't do that, but I do want to say if you aren't a regular watcher then you should start. It definitely is the most exciting television show I have ever seen. And if you missed the first four episodes then on Jan 16th they are releasing those episodes on DVD. So you could buy (or rent?) them.
And for all of you who love the show...here's something for you.

iPhone

Well, I was wondering what I could blog about today. And then on another blog I found it!!! The new Apple iPhone that they just revealed at the Mac Expo!

This thing looks amazing and I can't wait until I have one. Although I know I will have to wait a really long time since it is crazy expensive. I think it is definitely the coolest phone out there. If you want to know more about it and see some sweet pictures then go here.

random thoughts?

I haven't posted a serious blog in a while or one that at least lets you know what's going on in my life. I feel like I kinda hit this blog wall where I didn't know what to write so I just posted random stuff or nothing at all. But I am just going to say the only thing I am thinking about. Wade. I love my husband more than anything in this world. He is my hero and my rock and I think when God was making each of us he smiled at how we would be when we would finally be together. Apparently, God waited 8 years after making Wade...I guess he had to make me perfect...haha. Anyway, it is just wonderful to know that whatever happens I have this amazing man to take care of me. Even when I randomly go into sad mode, he is there to just comfort me and is careful not to try and find the quick fix. He makes me feel like a percious jewel that is handled with care and pride. I know that this has been all mushy but I just needed to say it.

Also, Wade and I were at Ignite last night (our high school group time) and I just loved hanging out afterwards with everyone. I have missed talking to Megan Venters and we got to catch up. And since small group was on break I haven't had some Bianca time and I loved getting to hear about her life. And of course Annie is always funny and a delight to be around. Then there were all the guys trying to guide our young girls through the mind of guys. I don't think girls ever really learn a guy's mind though...or at least we end up complicating it more. So all in all it was an awesome night back. Wade totally rocked out on his new song "Near." I absolutely love it and I can't wait until the band does more original songs. Ok that's it for today!

Whose Fish?

So I found this puzzle today on a design site. I haven't figured it out but I thought that some people might like to try out the puzzle. I will put up the answer to the puzzle on Friday as an update to this entry! Enjoy!

This brainteaser, reportedly written by Albert Einstein is difficult and Einstein said that 98% of the people in the world could not figure it out. Which percentage are you in?

There are five houses in a row in different colors. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The five owners drink a different drink, smoke a different brand of cigar and keep a different pet, one of which is a Walleye Pike.
The question is-- who owns the fish?

Hints:
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The green house owner drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Malls keeps birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk.
9. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
10. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the one who smokes Dunhills.
12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Princes.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

There are no tricks, pure logic will get you the correct answer. And yes, there is enough information to arrive at the one and only correct answer.

Here is the answer: Highlight it and see!
And now the answer:
the german owns the fish
and here's how:
First House:norwegian,yellow, water, dunhill, cats
Second House:dane, blue, tea, blends, horses
Third house:brit, red, milk, pall mall, birds
Fourth house:german, green, coffee, princes, FISH
Fifth house:swede,white, beer, bluemasters, dogs

Building Blocks & Special Advice

So apparently someone had too much time on their hands and they loved google maps. So they created this really awesome website where you can type in anything and get buildings around the world to spell it. Check it out!

NEW ADDITION: I have a very important piece of advice for you over this Christmas holiday.

A Brother Who Sins Against You

So I was reading Matthew 18 today (still following the rabbi) and I came across this part of it:

15"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

This jumped out at me because when we were at the youth conference a speaker brought this passage up. He mentioned how when we see our brother or sister sinning we usually think to this verse but we don't follow it exactly. As we can see you handle a problem by you alone talking to the person first. If that doesn't work then you bring some witnesses. If that doesn't work you tell the church. And if that doesn't work you treat them like a pagan. What I had always thought of the verse at the end was to kind of kick the person out of church or something because who wants a pagan messing up the church....BUT this speaker brought new light to the verse for me. The question is, "How did Jesus treat the pagans and tax collectors?"

Well this verse helps us answer that:
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.
11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

So from the passage it seems that Jesus wouldn't kick the sinning brother or sister out. Instead he would be having dinner with him. He would act like they did not know God and love them and have compassion on them. He would act like a doctor who cares for the sick. So even when our brother or sister sins against us and even when we go through the whole process to correct them if they still don't listen to us we treat them with love and we begin to show them the love of Jesus Christ like we would do to a non-Christian.

Line Rider

So today's post is something fun! I had some not so fun news today so I needed something to lift my spirits and hopefully something that might make you chuckle a little. So here it is: LINE RIDER. Man this thing is cool. I think that you can get the guy to do a flip or something if you get the right aerodynamics. I had one where he actually fell through the slope and lost his tiny sled. Anyway, try it out!

Tears of the Saints

If we really look at these lyrics I think a lot of us will realize there is a lot more we need to be doing. Wouldn't it be amazing if every person you ran into that a burden for their well-being and their soul came over you. So let's make an effort to help our brothers who are poor and those that do not know Jesus. Let's lead them home.

There are many prodigal sons
On our city streets they run
Searching for shelter
There are homes broken down
People’s hopes have fallen to the ground
From failures
This is an emergency

There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved
We’re crying for them come back home
We’re crying for them come back home
And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

There are schools full of hatred
Even churches have forsaken Love and mercy
May we see this generation
In it’s state of desperation For Your glory
This is an emergency

Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children in Christ you stand!

And all Your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man
Father, we will lead them home
Father, we will lead them home

Leeland
Tears of the Saints

Matthew 6:1-4
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Follow the Rabbi

I learned so much this weekend at youth specialties. And I could literally talk forever how each session and seminar spoke to me and how I am going to do things to change the world now! However, that seems like those things could be a distant memory in a month. Instead I am going to tell you the one piece of advice that I felt like everything kind of fell under.

Wade and I attended "Jesus as Rabbi" a seminar led by Ray VanderLaan. He is an American Christian who decided to learn just how Jesus and the Jews did...by following a rabbi. So after instense rabbi learning things he is now a rabbi who can teach other rabbis. And although his seminar had some amazing things of the culture and times of Jesus there was one main thing that stuck to me. Am I doing everything I can, to do exactly what my rabbi (Jesus) did?

Well, I feel like I am taking steps to do that. I recently started trying to read through the Bible. I started over a month ago and I am starting the book of Leviticus today. Wade told me if I can get through this I can get through anything. But Ray gave me something else that would help me follow my rabbi and I think it might be something that anyone reading this should think about doing. Read one of the gospels each month for 3 years. So this December read Matthew, Jan. read Mark, Feb. read Luke, March read John and repeat that for three years. Each day you will be following what we know of our rabbi's life.

If you have a dedication to the word like that and you begin to do what Jesus did then I really think that all of the "other" things will fall into place. Even though I heard an amazing Christian at the convention talk about helping the poor I know that should just fall into place when I am really following my rabbi. And I heard someone say to put God before your dreams...but Jesus always did that so if I am following Him then that should fall into place too.

Wade said one of his seminars had this quote: God cares more about who you are rather than what you are doing for him. God wants to know us personally not just see us doing busy things because we think that is the next logical step in order to serve Him.

Really...think about doing the gospel thing. I am adding it to my Bible reading. This month I got Leviticus and Matthew!

Youth Specialties

So Wade, the youth staff, and I are going to be at the youth specialties conference this weekend. I think it will be really awesome to learn how to be a better youth worker so we can come back and use the practical tips to enhance Ignite.

I am also really excited about getting to spend an entire weekend with my wonderful husband. No work for me on Friday, Wade's cell phone completely bombed so he can't get calls, and we get to go to the twinkling city of Charlotte. It is our mini-vacation!

I think it is awesome when your husband does this stuff. Technically I knew about the conference but had not said anything about going and sure enough I found out we had our own hotel room and all I needed to do is take off one day from work. I will say Wade is amazing at making sure that he never puts ministry above me. I know that God is first in his life and that the things he is doing for God through ministry are extremely important to him. But he wouldn't honor God by putting ministry above me...instead he would have a lonely wife.

And I will tell anyone that I am extremely blessed to be married to Wade. He is the most loving, humble, patient, romantic, passionate, humorous, nurturing, exciting, and adventurous husband that God has ever placed on the earth. I don't think any wife has it as good as I do. I can't believe I got to marry him. And I will always see Wade as my hero and best friend. How can it ever get better than that?

Rescue an Animal

I was having another day of researching a totally random topic and decided to look up animal shelters. I found this documentary about a Las Vegas animal shelter that was pretty cruel. I got about 3 seconds into it and the camera zoomed in on the dog and the dog puts its paw on the cage door and then gets on its hind legs and paws for the camera man to let him out. So of course I begin to get teary eyed and I have to stop before I begin weeping in front of everyone. But soon I am going to finish the video. Video: Born to Die

I have no idea how many people look at this blog but I am hoping at least one person will read this who wants a pet and is making the decision between buying a dog from a breeder and adopting one that has had a shelter life. PLEASE pick adopting. There are so many of God's creatures out there that are in desperate need of a home and searching for a family. So if you aren't a show dog person then what better way to save a little life than adopting the shelter pet.

Just look at these adorable faces who need to be adopted here in Columbia, SC. I found all of these pets on the Project Pet website.

da hot tub

Over and over again I hear these words from my husband..."I wish we could have a hot tub." Well Wade (and any others who love hot tubs), I have found a hot tub that our friends the Dutch have made. Check this out to see how our life would be better with this amazing invention!

Well, hopefully you checked it out. I guess it isn't what we think of when we hear hot tub. It looks so weird and massive, but hilarious. But I do have respect for people who make these new modern inventions. If you check out core 77's other photo galleries you will find endless inspiring products that people are coming out with. And since I love everything modern it makes me wish that I could go to these shows and buy furniture...I will just have to check out photos instead.

Missing Out

This weekend I went to visit the Ivester clan. We celebrated my mom's 50th bday! (HAPPY BDAY MOM!) And I got to see my sister who is pregnant with her first baby: Pressley. It was so fun to be there. You never really realize how much you miss your family until you get to experience being there and then have to leave. It is hard knowing that if I want to go see my family I have to plan this big event. I mean Sharlie is having all these baby things happening that I want to be part of but I miss out on a lot being here in Columbia.

I kind of had a realization with my relationship with God too. It had always been hard for me to just read the Bible through. I would start with Genesis every time and by chapter 5 I lost interest or forgot to read for a few days and then got in this cycle of trying to start over. However recently for some reason since it had been awhile since I had gotten in His Word hardcore I decided to give it a try again. And this time once I started reading I realized how much I was really missing Him. So now I am trying this reading plan that goes through the Bible how we believe it chronologically happened. So I finally finished Genesis, got through Job and I am now a little ways into Exodus. I am so excited that I am really getting into it. And I feel like God is really helping me retain what I have learned. It is so exciting. And on that note I am going to read some more of Exodus!

Small Group

Well, it has been awhile since my last entry but I meant to write something in here after I had my amazing small group last Wednesday. I have been with this group of girls for 2 1/2 years along with the best co-leader ever...Wendy. Over the past few weeks we were having great small groups (discussion wise) but I felt like the group had lost the feeling of unity and knowing that they were all part of the body of Christ. So we had a foot washing. Wendy and I washed each of the girl's feet to show how much we love them. We read these verses twice to show what it means to be a true christian:
Ephesians 4
Unity in the Body of Christ
2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

I felt like it really helped our group a lot. I then read the passage from John of what Jesus said after he washed his disciples' feet. Because Christ forgave us for so much it is our job now to forgive our brothers and sisters. Then the girls asked for forgiveness from one another and thanked each other and Wendy and me. They actually asked to wash Wendy's and my feet. I was so proud of them. It was a special moment and just reminds me of how much I really love each of those girls. If I was old enough I would think of them as my own children but since they are only 6 years younger than me it is more like a big sister!

So I just want to give some love out to my small group!
Wendy, Lauren, Leander, Olivia, Bianca, Brooks, Kathryn, Alex, Lexie....and Taylor who had to move but WE MISS HER SO MUCH!

I love you all.