Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

Last night I was listening to the Disney station on Pandora–Yes, I know. I’m a hopeless romantic who loves to listen to Disney songs. I thought it was just a phase when I was younger, but I still get a thrill out of singing along to those classics. A song came on from the film Mulan–which I don’t consider a classic, but it was still a good story.

The song was called “A Girl Worth Fighting For” sung by the deep voices of the men going into battle. They needed something to keep them going, something to think about when the battle got too hard or overwhelming. They found their motivation in imagining a girl worth fighting for…

That got me to thinking. Am I a girl worth fighting for? Even though I’m married and I found my warrior, shouldn’t I still live in such a way that makes my husband want to fight for me?

What about you beautiful single ladies? Instead of pining for a husband, wondering if it will ever happen, ask yourself: “Am I a girl worth fighting for?”

Well, before we can answer that question, maybe we should ask ourselves, “What does a girl worth fighting for look like?” Here are a couple of my thoughts, I’d love to hear what you think as well:

A Girl Worth Fighting For:

• Is always concerned for others. She is not self-seeking, but always has others on her mind.
• Sacrifices for the needs of others. A girl worth fighting for will sacrifice what she can to help meet the needs of those around her. Sacrifice is attractive.
• Isn’t afriad to fight for herself. A girl worth fighting for isn’t just waiting around for someone to come along. She is strong, confident and can fight for herself if she needs to. However, when/if that someone comes along who is willing to fight for her, she knowingly steps out of the way–even if her warrior doesn’t do it the way she would!
• Is beautiful from the inside out. Beauty is never just one sided. A girl worth fighting for is beautiful from the inside out. That means she cares enough about herself to take care of the outward appearance but also knows the importance of a beautiful spirit. You can’t have one without the other.
• Builds others up. A girl who is truely worth fighting for will always take an opportunity to encourage others. She would never use her words to tear others down or make them feel inferior.
• Knows who she is. A girl worth fighting for doesn’t need a man, a job, friends, or anything else to validate who she is. She has a strong sense of confidence because she knows she’s already been faught for by the One who matters most.

What other characteristics would you add to a girl worth fighting for? It’s never too late, whether you’re married or not to start living your life in a way that someone would fight for you.

I wrote this post about a year ago, but it’s always a great reminder:

I read in a book recently that, “Often in the real world its not the smart that get ahead, it’s the bold.” Which I’ve seen to be so true as I continue to get older.

“We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt.”

“…excessive fear and self-doubt {are} the greatest detractors of personal genius.”

Most people “know the answers, yet lack the courage to act on the answer.”

That’s why… “Often in the real world its not the smart that get ahead, it’s the bold.”

What about you? Could you use a little more boldness? Is God calling you to do something and you’re held back by fear?Would you rather be smart or bold? 

–Quotes taken from “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”—Robert T. Kiyosaki

Late last night marked the arrival of my newest nephew, Beau Wrightson Meadows. Why is this particular arrival so surprising? None of us knew if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl! We waited, gathered in the hospital waiting room until 11:15pm when he graced us with his presence. This is the very first male Meadows grandchild. Finally, the Meadows name will be carried on!

Right after he was born!

The happy family!

So I didn’t get a chance to blog all week. It has been a crazy, busy, long week. So I decided to wrap up all the blog posts I would’ve written into one. Don’t worry, it won’t be too long. Some awesome things are happening, check it out!

Monday, June 7

Cody and I celebrated 10 months of marriage. (Yes, I know, counting months is very Jr. Highish of me, but until we reach one year, we count months. It’s just more fun that way!)

 

 I started working out with a trainer this week. We meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She is kicking my booty, but I’ve already lost 2 pounds this week! My goal is 10-15. I’ll keep you posted.

Tuesday, June 8

I spent this whole day at the hospital, waiting for my new niece, Olivia Grace to arrive. My sister-in-law, (Cody’s sister) Madi labored all day. I was there from 9am-9pm and she finally arrived around 7:55pm. She is a beautiful baby girl, with lots of hair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 9th

After another booty kicking workout, I spend the rest of the day at our Central campus learning about coaching. Biggest take-a-way:

“Mentoring is about what I can teach you, coaching is about what I can pull out of you that’s already there.”

Learned a lot and got to see some old co-workers from different campuses.

At SWITCH, we celebrated Tony’s last night at the N-Dub. He is moving on to be the youth pastor at the Edmond Campus. We’re still looking at possible new roles to fill, but it looks like I’ll step into the position of youth pastor in the next few weeks.

Thursday, June 10

I spent the morning shut up in an old office building, with other members of the SAG board. We listened to 15 different groups come and present their programs. We had $250,000 to award to the top 5 programs. We listened and discussed from 10am-2pm and finally came up with our top 5. Getting to work with the SAG has been an amazing opportunity, and I have learned a lot!

Friday, June 11

And today… I’m at the office, filling in for one of my co-workers. I have a four week series to write for the LOOP, called “I AM” it’s an identity message and we’re taking our scriptures from Ephesians chapter 1. Here is the rough outline of the four weeks.

• I AM Blessed (Eph. 1:3)
• I AM Forgiven (Eph. 1:7)
• I AM Included (Eph. 1:13)
• I AM Secure (Eph. 1:13-14)

The guys worked on the deck Sunday from 11:30am to 9:30pm. It started out looking like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And turned into this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll show you how we did it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sonray Enterprises (a wielding and fabrication company) came out and wielded pipe from the gas line of our house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He wielded pipe underneath the deck so that we could have a gas fire pit, instead of a wood burning fire pit. This cuts down on smoke, and always having to have fire wood on hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this little gas pipe sticking up from out of the deck is all we needed to make this happen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We added a few details:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upgraded the aesthetics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Used a little spray paint to fix up an old table and chairs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lava rocks for even more eye catching fun:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a little pop of color:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For an amazing outdoor oasis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Memorial Day, I’d like to take the opportunity to tell you about my hero.

Srgt. Cody Light

Or as I like to call him: Babe.

Cody joined the Marines after graduating high school. After graduating boot camp, he served four years as a United States Marine, taking two tours to Iraq including the Battle of Fallujah and the 20,000 Troop Surge.

The Marines’ core values are Honor, Courage and Commitment, and I can tell you, these core values have not left my Marine.

But perhaps the most inspiring thing about my hero is the USMC motto that he has modeled his life around.

Semper Fidelis which means “Always Faithful.”

These simple, yet powerful words are etched into my hero’s forearms, as a constant reminder to me, that the motto is more than a cool tattoo. It is his life’s purpose, his calling, not only to God and country, but to his wife, family, friends and anyone who might be in need, to lay down his own life and faithfully serve another.

That is why I fell in love with him. That is why I will love him till the day I die.

This is a tribute to my hero. Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for loving me. I am truly blessed to call you mine.

We love doing home improvement projects around our house. This particular one started in mid April. If we’re lucky, I’ll have an updated post in a couples days with the completed project. A big thanks to Andrew and Jon for helping get it done!

With summer around the corner I feel the kid in me come out. Unfortunately many adults can lose sight of the kid inside. Sometimes I think adults can just be too adultish. Here are 10 things that we used to do as kids that we should never become too old to do as adults:

1. Laugh until our sides hurt

2. CANNON BALL!

3. Play a practical joke on someone.

4. Drink Koolaid.

5. Share your biggest secret with your best friend.

6. Build a fort!

7. Use your imagination.

8. Run. (For reasons other than exercise.)

9. Eat a pop-cycle

10. Always expect the best.

Want to add a few of your own?

You can’t miss something you never had.

My husband is out of town again. This happens more often than I would like. I was complaining about it to a friend of mine yesterday, admitting that I had teared up after talking to my husband on the phone. My friend looked at me like I was crazy.

“It can’t be that bad,” he said. “Life before Cody (my husband) went on, right?”

“Right.” But that was before life with Cody…. ”You don’t understand. When he’s gone, a piece of me is missing.” This response of course seemed dramatic and irrational to my male friend’s brain. But he just didn’t get it. Because you can’t miss something you never had.

I can’t say I ever missed Cody before I knew him. I didn’t know what I was missing. But now I do.

You probably don’t miss my husband, but I imagine if one of your loved ones was gone, you’d feel the same way I’m feeling right now.

When someone is away, there’s something missing. All is not right in the world when you’re apart, but then everything seems to find it’s perfect place when they return. I’m looking forward to Thursday night when he gets back because,

You can’t miss something you never had.

Yes, you read that right. I don’t want to write a blog. But here I am, sitting on my couch, writing a blog. Why? Because I have to. Because it’s what God wants me to do.

I’ve been pretty transparent with you, my readers, about my own self-sabotage–particularly pertaining to this blog. I’ve found myself again getting inconsistent in my posts. Why? Because I’m disobedient, a procrastinator, lazy. I’ll admit it. I know my weaknesses.

But I have hope. Because here I am, sitting here, writing a blog.

It’s hard to do things you don’t want to do. But usually it‘s in those things that you find the most satisfaction, the most reward.

What about you? What do you not want to do? Are you doing it, or are you letting it beat you? I promise to keep you accountable if you promise the same for me. What could be on the other side of our obedience? Only action will tell.