REcreation

My first REAL interaction with a person with an intellectual or physical disability was in High School on a mission trip to Nashville, TN. It was called Mission Fuge, and we spent a week doing several different service “tracks” they called them in different areas. The track I chose was “Sports and Recreation” because, well, I'm me. We went to a middle school every day and played games with youth with disabilities. I remember thinking that’s not what I wanted to spend my week doing because I was SO uncomfortable and didn’t really know what to say or do. By the end of the week, as you can imagine, I was hooked on those kids. That one week isn’t the reason I chose adaptive recreation as a career path, but it did help me get a head start for when I got introduced to Camp Arc in Rock Hill. Working in Rock Hill has been and always will be my favorite job, and working with our special needs adults and kids was the reason I loved it so much. I just never thought I would have as rewarding of a job as I do, and the more I can share about it, the more I hope others will get involved in these people’s lives too.

I love my husband. This guy is my opposite as far as being annoyingly social. I drag him to events with people he doesn’t know, I sign him up for EVERYTHING without asking, I talk to everyone within eye’s distance, and he just stands beside me and deals with it.  I remember taking him to the dance out at Camp Arc one summer. I don’t think he knew quite what he was getting himself into. Fortunately, when you walk into a special needs dance, you are a rock star. Everyone needed to know his name, his birthday, his connection to me, and why he was there. They immediately made him feel comfortable; I had nothing to do with it.  Over time I’ve made him volunteer or accompany me to a million Special Olympics things. He’s even volunteering with the Special Olympics golf program this summer, in which neither of us can swing a golf club correctly. Since the first day I met Eric, I knew he had a big heart. It’s why I married him and why he still puts up with my junk on a daily basis. This past weekend, he led my Miracle League Skills Clinic for me. I asked him for some baseball drills we could do with the kids, since he’s a baseball guy and helped his dad coach a bit in college. Not only did he give me some ideas, he ran the entire thing. He was teaching our kids how to hold a bat, how to not use it as a weapon, and really took the time to explain everything so that they would improve. His interaction with folks with special needs has come a long way in three years and I've loved watching him grow. He had a huge smile on his face when we left the field, not because I made him come out and help me or because he felt like he had to. It’s because he wanted to. He enjoyed it. He was in his zone. He now asks me when my next adaptive recreation dance is so he can be there. I can brag on him all day long, but I won’t, because if you know Eric, you know all this. He’s the coolest.

This is the kind of family I envisioned having some day. With a husband and hopefully kids who see people for their similarities, not their differences. Who see kids as kids. Who play baseball, who dance and sing karaoke, who go to summer camp. I want my family to love Jesus and to love people. This is a good start. And my husband is a good model.

RVA

We've now lived in Richmond for a year. All in all, it hasn't been the best year of my life. I loved everything about my gig in Rock Hill, SC -- my job, my co-workers, my church, my community. I lived there for 11 years and there was nothing special about it as a city. I just grew a lot there, in and out of college, and I was only a couple hours from all of my best friends and family. Moving to Richmond showed me one of the biggest things about marriage. It's about sacrifice. If I had it my way, we would live in Rock Hill forever and I would be the Parks and Rec Director or Mayor or something awesome like that. If we had it Eric's way, we would live in Indianapolis forever and he would be some director at the NCAA. But both of us are willing to give up our "dream jobs" and comfort for what's best for our family. I love him for that. Five months after we moved, I got a blessing of a job and get to work with special needs adults and kids, which are the coolest people I know. I never thought when I moved into Winthrop as a freshman 12 years ago that my sport management degree would take me into recreation and public service but I'm so happy it did. It's an extremely emotional and annoying and tiring job, but I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Eric and I both know we won't live in Richmond forever. It's not home for either of us and eventually when our own kids come along, we want family to be around. I remember telling him a few months ago when we were talking about that that I didn't want our time here to be a "dry" time for us, just buying our time and not investing in people while we were here. Our Remedy Church family and community was the best we have ever been a part of in Rock Hill and we'll always miss them. The first Sunday we visited a church together we both cried on the way home. Every Wednesday night we had community group and every week my friend Elizabeth and I would hang out together and pray for each other throughout the week. Wondering if I would ever find that again or wondering how long it would take to find that again was a lonely feeling on that first Sunday morning. But then we visited Remnant Church. As soon as we walked in, a couple invited us to their community group that was about a mile from our house on Monday nights. And that's where we've landed. The Cowgill community group has been our family away from our family and friends. And that is the point of the church. To point each other to Jesus, to grow together and love each other (and everyone) with the Gospel. Last week I walked around the lake with Cali and my friend Claire and we talked about these exact things. How moving here was hard for both of us, but how our community has been such a blessing. I look up to the way she loves Jesus, raises her kids, and I have no doubt she prays for me every week. God is good to give me her wisdom and my community here in Richmond.

God isn't good for taking a crappy situation for me and making it better. He's good because of His grace and mercy. Because I've done nothing to deserve anything I've been given. In a tough year, where I've pouted and complained to Him for most of it, He shows me how rich His mercy is, when I don't think He even cares. My growth in the Gospel doesn't depend on the people around me or the city that I live in. He goes with me and He never changes, so everything else doesn't really matter in the bigger scheme of life. When I stop and think about that, about what all I DO have here in Virginia, I have no need to complain.

Our Duke Family

My Mom would've been 47 years old this coming week, on the 18th. My best moments with her have nothing to do with sports, but we are definitely a sports family, especially her. Since I can remember, her favorite team was Duke basketball. She sat on the smaller couch in our den wrapped in her Duke blanket and watched every game as a nervous wreck. As the years went on, she would inevitably fall asleep during every 9pm game, but my Dad kept it on TV for those times she would wake up and ask what the score was. A whole shelf in our den was dedicated to Duke stuff, including Coach K's books, National Championship articles, and all the things our family would give her for Christmas with a Blue Devil on it. I remember Scott and I coming home from school one afternoon to a black Cocker Spaniel puppy sniffing our feet under the kitchen table. Mickey was the newest addition to the family, named after Coach K's wife. She was a great dog, and maybe even a good luck charm as I know they had some pretty memorable teams and a couple Final Fours during Mickey's life. The four of us would agree that some of our best trips we took together was to Clemson for the Duke/Clemson game. We could never get tickets to a game at Cameron Indoor, and Clemson was right down the road, so that was our Christmas present for a few years as kids. It was in January every year and sometimes even a school night but we loved going to see them play.

If you know my sports preferences, I'm more of a football girl, and it would seem that I'm a fan of several basketball teams throughout a season. Marrying a Kansas grad and one trip to Allen Fieldhouse has turned me towards the Jayhawks, and of course, the hope that my Winthrop Eagles will make it to the Tournament is there with passion each year. But Duke basketball will always have a special place. It will always be one of the ways I remember my Mom, staying up and watching every game with her and living to watch them in the Tournament each year. I know if she were still alive I would be calling to find out who her "favorite" player is this year. It's usually the young guy with the baby face or the "best hair." I've started picking a favorite each year, as Eric can tell you. Truth is, I don't think we have any idea why we're a Duke family. Sure, they win a lot, and maybe that's why. I just remember growing up loving the Blue Devils and pretending to be WoJo out in the driveway playing basketball with Scott and my neighbors up the street. We burried my Mom with two things: Scott's football jersey that she wore on Friday nights to watch him play, and her Duke blanket. So I'll probably always cheer those boys on. And hopefully build some fun sports memories with my kids someday too, no matter what team we choose to watch with them.

Please Stop Tweeting

Is what everyone that follows @ktothes is saying right now. Sorry (not sorry) guys. As you ALL know, the Kansas City Royals had a baseball season. They won the American League Wild Card game, three American League Division Series Games and then three American League Championship Series games, making them unbeaten in the postseason. About 6 months ago, the Royals opened up their season in Detroit and lost. They would lose several more games after that. And then several more after that. We all hoped, but I don't think any Kansas City fans really thought they would be going to the playoffs this season. That wasn't news to anyone who has been following them for the past 29 years, though. The Royals had the longest postseason drought of ANY American professional sports team until a couple of weeks ago. Think about the one team in America that sucks REALLY bad. We can all think of one. Even THEY have gone to the postseason since the Royals were there last. I wasn't even born the last time the Royals went to the postseason, and that was when they won the World Series in 1985. My husband, who is the reason for all these social media posts, has never watched them in a playoff game, as he was 1 month old and has been a fan ever since. While he grew up going to the K to watch games, living in the City who loves this team even though they've given it no reason to, I have only adopted them through marriage. My second home is Kansas City, part of my family lives there, and this team has rekindled my love for baseball that I had when I was a kid, doing infield practice with my Dad, wearing my Chipper Jones Jersey.

Over the past 4 months, moving to Richmond, VA hasn't been the easiest transition for us. It has taken us some time to find community and we don't have quite the schedule we did before we moved, where we were busy or working or being social most hours of our week. That has been a hard transition, but it's also been good for our marriage because we actually spend time with each other. So with all of our free time in the evenings, we watch the Royals. They played 163 games this year. The Wiebergs probably watched, in some capacity, 140 of them. Everyone loves a good underdog story, and the Royals are certainly that. But it's not just a "Poor Royals, this is cute" story. It's a small market team that was able to win with very little team salary, no Derek Jeter type of star power, no national recognition. I will never argue with the whole "the Yankees just buy all their wins!" comments because, well, wouldn't you if you had the money? It's just good business. Pay the best players, win the most World Series Championships. But it is a breath of fresh air to watch these little guys win, with their small ball strategy, speed, and a bullpen full of Cyborgs. (Seriously, Wade Davis isn't human). Kansas City has stuck by this team (and their questionable Manager) for years waiting on this. This World Series really is for the fans, so I'm going to keep hash tagging. Let's Go Royals!

From God, For Good

Last weekend I got to be a part of one small day, a few short hours in Avonlea Powell's life.  She was dedicated at Remedy Church last Sunday and it was a great time of rejoicing over her life.  The doctor's told Brian and Melissa that she wouldn't make it to birth, or if she did, she wouldn't make it but only a few hours after birth.  Being born with Trisomy 13, she still isn't completely out of the dark, but she is alive. She's healthy and beautiful and we got to go to her baby shower last Sunday, something that was never planned because of her diagnosis before now.  All day I would look at little 3 week old Avonlea and just say "What?" in wonder at God. Our church is praying like crazy that she makes it to her first birthday, and I'm liking her chances.

Back in the fall, my best friend Erin had a diagnosis very similar for their girl, Hope, but she didn't make it out alive after giving birth at 22 weeks.  This sounds kind of weird to say, but I've never grieved for a friend like I did for Erin the day I found out she had died in the womb. I had never felt weight like that for someone else before.  I wake up every single morning to proof of God's faithfulness, but in the moments when Erin was sending text after text of bad news, I said "What?" in wonder at God. How could He let that happen? My best friend, who is one of the most gospel-loving people I've ever known was going through the worst moments in her life for what seemed like no good reason.

So I've felt two very contrasting sets of emotions over two friends in the past eight months. One little girl got to live, and the other one didn't. That afternoon at the baby shower, Phud read Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God has chosen Avonlea to live for a purpose, while He chose to take Hope for a purpose. And it's all good. Not because He is a God who just gives good parking spaces and helps us pass our tests, but because He's sovereign and sees the whole picture (a better one). And what He chooses to do has nothing to do with us. We'll never work hard enough or fail bad enough to make God decide to work in the ways He does. We don't earn anything that happens to us, good or bad. Melissa's Dad told us that day that someone who has been following Avonlea's story through Melissa's blog and on Facebook said in a comment: "I think Avonlea is leading me to Jesus." The lives of these two little girls sure has gotten me closer to Jesus, it has strengthened my faith in Him and in his really good work. A reminder that we are ALL put here on loan to God. Jesus uses life for his good purposes no matter the length of time we get here on Earth and that's awesome. When I still think about my friends who lost their Hope, it just sucks that they didn't get to keep her. But the Lord has just as many plans through Hope's life as he does for any life: for good.

Check out the awesome life of Brian, Melissa, and Avonlea : www.lovingavonlea.com

When I Lose My Husband (and it's ok)

It starts around the second week of March. I lose my Husband. March Madness is his favorite thing ever. He's a HUGE basketball fan and it doesn't help that he used to work on the basketball staff at the NCAA. This is my third tournament with him, and every day from here until the first weekend in April, we will have a game on the TV, a game on the computer, and he'll be on Twitter, tweeting things that don't even sound like English to me. I do love March Madness, too. The upsets, the Duke wins, the Kansas wins, the bracket challenges. I will be right there with him on the couch most days. He could literally sit and watch every game, back to back, for an entire 2 weeks and be happy. I'm not quite that way, as I have to have other human interaction, go outside, eat. You would think I would say he needs to stop watching what he loves, pay more attention to me, and who cares about a stupid game? But I love that he gets so passionate about it. It's something that he really nerds out about and I think it's cool. He pays non-stop attention to me every day (unless our dog is doing something really cute), serves me, cleans our house, cooks dinner, takes out the trash, feeds the dog, and a ton of other stuff that he doesn't have to do. So when March Madness comes around, I want him to watch every second of it. It's ok that I lose my husband to TV for a couple of weeks. He has enjoyed watching games since he was a kid, and just because he has a wife now, doesn't mean he should care less about it. Kind of like how I will always need to go camping with my girl friends. He's not invited and never will be and it's ok! Just thought I would share this small word about marriage, since of course I am an expert. It's ok that your husband/significant other watches sports or movies or goes hunting or whatever. Mine watches (and actually likes) stupid girl shows with me and my friends while we scream at the TV and then talk about it for hours. That's some love.

The only thing I will make him do is watch Winthrop play in the Women's NCAA tournament against Duke on Saturday at 11. This might be torture to watch women's basketball, but it's history for all Eagle Alumni out there. Bring on the Madness!

A Month of Marriage

They said we wouldn't make it, but here we are.  The Wiebergs have hit the one month mark of marital bliss!

The question I got asked over and over the week of our wedding was "Are you freaking out?" Most of the time my answer was, "No. We've talked about getting married for a while" so I really didn't appreciate that question.  Like I hadn't REALLY sat down to think about how drastic of a life change this would be and how commitment is absolutely ridiculous.  Along with that, several people I know that have been married for a while obviously tried to give me their best advice, be funny, and be completely honest with me all at the same time.  Sometimes this didn't work.  Other times it was great.  I've found that most of the things people say about marriage come from being someone's best friend/roommate for 15, 30, 50 years. Since we're not quite there yet, I'll just go off of what I know right now.

What I've learned about myself over the last 30 days is that I'm selfish.  I knew that already, and knew this characteristic would carry over into our marriage, but I didn't know just how much.  The amount of time spent thinking about myself, my comfort, my idea's, my priorities is way more extensive than I thought before I got married. I constantly need to be reminded that someone else's good is more important than my own. Not because I don't matter or that Eric never serves me so I have to do everything FOR him, but because it's better to love him first and above stupid, other crap. We've had some bumps and our share of fights over the past month, and since Eric is the most patient person EVER, he's a good one to watch and learn how to deal with difficult stuff.  I have to remember (just like I did when I was single) that I need Jesus and that bringing Him glory is the most important thing in life. Nothing we face in marriage, in life, will ever be too much for Him to handle with us.  We had a quote from a book by Tim Keller on the back of our wedding ceremony programs:

“The reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 

I haven't become an expert on Eric or marriage during this small amount of days, but I've found these words to be more true and comforting than any advice I've gotten.  I can't do what Jesus can do: be the perfect example of forgiveness and love.  My husband is a big ole sinner. He's cute, but he's a sinner. Being married is certainly not the only way to experience forgiveness, to practice it, and to love through a whole pile of sins with someone. But it sure is a great way to do it.  And Jesus is so good to do it every single day towards me. He is our example in marriage, so I think the Wieberg's have a lot more months to go with each other.

Weekend Update

These are the 5 most awesome things that happened all weekend:

The NFL started.  Amazing things happened: Cowboy fans (post one win) once again think "they're back", the Jaguars scored 2 points, the Chiefs actually won a game, and those idiots who didn't pick Peyton Manning in their Fantasy Draft lost their first game. (I lost my first game)

Eminem. Remember that guy? I didn't until he showed up during halftime of the Notre Dame-Michigan game Saturday night. Him talking about the game he clearly knew nothing about with two well-known college football analysts was the most awkward thing I had ever seen. Until they showed a clip of his new music (?) video which was then the most awkward thing I had ever seen.

Week #2 is over.  This can only mean that week #3 in college football is upon us. What does that bring? ONE THING and one thing only: Johnny Football vs. himself vs. Alabama vs. the media. I don't know if anyone is ready for this circus of a game.  A&M beat the #1 Alabama team last year in major news and this year they're calling it "revenge" or whatever. Two top ten teams, the most hated/loved (?) athlete in America and the most loved/hated (?) college football program in America all on one field! Also, Johnny Football will have his own personal camera attached to him the entire game. If only that camera could tweet his thoughts as he throws a touchdown pass.

Clemson fans got excited that they beat South Carolina State. 2-0 baby! That win against Georgia, that was good stuff. Good game. T. Boyd is all over the Heisman hype and they're up on the top 25 poles. Just keep beating Duke and Wake Forest, you guys. And if you don't, you'll have tons of other solid stuff to brag about:

@ClemsonFB: Slow wave perfection. One of the many reasons #ClemsonNation is awesome. http:/

Halloween Oreos. The five boo-rific shapes are out early this year. Make your Target run RIGHT THIS SECOND, and you too can feel the first hints of Autumn.  Even if the outside temperature is still 90 degrees!

Keep Calm and Jadeve-ON

That was the best T-shirt I saw all night at the S. Carolina vs. N. Carolina game. At the 6pm kickoff and touchdown three plays later, Williams-Brice was as rockin' as I've ever heard it. But this post is when I discuss something as shocking as Miley Cyrus's latest (musical?) performance....

...but not really though. Don't tell me that surprised you. I saw that meltdown coming as soon as the Hannah Montana series finale happened. 

Anyways. We all know our Rock Hill native Jadaveon Clowney is the MAN right now. From his All-American 13 QB sacks, to Defensive Player of the Year, to "The Hit", he has gotten every Gamecock and really just college football fan drooling with anticipation for 2013.  I think this article in Yahoo Sports, this sentence referring to the famous hit, says what I'm thinking pretty well:

"But that's a once-in-a-career play; it's not going to happen every game. It may not happen ever again. That doesn't mean Clowney isn't the most outstanding player in college football. It just means Clowney is caught between inflated expectations and an even more inflated standard for a defensive player to get an invite to the Heisman ceremony in December."

The Heisman Trophy is all about stats.  That's why you (typically) have super model quarterbacks that can get thousands of yards both passing and rushing while smiling beautifully at the camera with barely any injuries. Nothing wrong with that, I mean that's what it is.  It's just why I don't see Clowney as the winner at the end of it all.  Just his defensive end position puts him at a disadvantage. Last night he had running backs blocking him and it was about 95 degrees. So the fact that all UNC helmets stayed on their players heads, really isn't all that surprising.  Us fans all just need to take a step back and breath. The kid is good and if healthy, will most certainly go round #1, maybe pick #1 in the NFL draft next year. He won't knock players unconscious every snap of the ball, steam won't come out of his helmet, and he won't save babies from burning buildings. I'm not usually wrong, and maybe I will be this time, but I think he's under too much hype to satisfy our cravings. However, as a lifetime Gamecock fan, I won't say it's unrealistic to get completely stoked out of our minds for this season. This is the potential SEC championship year, and if my dreams don't come true this December, I may never see it in my lifetime.  Best defensive player in the country, veteran QB(s), easy schedule, and fans are as jacked up as I've ever seen them. There is no chance of losing a game at home. We have every right and reason to tune in every Saturday if just to watch #7. But I WILL sleep at night if our defense gives up a couple touchdowns throughout the season. Maybe.

The Bachelorette

I have to admit, being single is awesome. I would know, seeing as how I lived it for 26 years. I had plenty of those girl times when I complained about not being in a relationship, but that was probably just because everyone else was doing it.  I just felt left out, really.  When you're single, you don't have to schedule your life with anyone else. You cook for yourself, no one cares if the dishes are done, you kill your own bugs, your bad day only affects you (and maybe your pet), and you can go out with any friend anytime you want or go on girl trips to the beach anytime you want. I went on one of those girl trips to the beach this weekend, but it was because I'm not single anymore. Weird. It's weird that the tradition of the "Bachelorette Party" is what it is. It's like your life is ending and you need one last crazy trip or night out before you get sold into the last form of slavery.  I'm glad this isn't the case for me.  I'm glad that some of my best friends from all different stages of my life wanted to risk their lives to the raccoons and tornado warnings to go camping with me this weekend.  And they did it to celebrate my upcoming marriage.  It was a celebration of a new stage in my life.  Not a bad one, and not some super magical one.  I didn't have an incomplete life before I met Eric, and I certainly won't have a complete life when we get married.  Singleness isn't near as good as my life with Eric will be (that's why I'm marrying him) but it was really awesome. And the cool thing is that the Lord was and is faithful in both and I need Him desperately in both.  If you've spent any time with the different variety of my friends, you know that I will ALWAYS need time with them.  Girl time is this weird sacred thing that we all need in every age and stage of life and can only be illustrated in movies I think. Good thing Wiebs knows this and supports it ;) It was a lovely weekend and I'm beyond blessed to have a group of friends who love and support me as a person and accept Eric as worthy of the rest of my life.  That's just how us girls look out for each other. I'm really thankful for that. #wiebergwedding

Marriage and the Royals

Eric and I learned a ton of cool stuff in marriage counseling with Phud.  We went through Tim Keller's "Meaning of Marriage" and there were things in the book that I have never thought of, things that were hard to swallow, and things that I think me and Eric have a pretty good jump start on.  He did mention this one thing throughout the book that I have noticed recently:

"If your purpose in marriage was to aquire a "soul mate"-- a person who would not change you and would supportively help you reach your life goals--then this particular reality of marriage will be deeply disorienting." 

He's talking about how your spouse will change. Age, jobs, children, everything will change us in some way and the spouse you first married won't be the same person in several years.  We change, and it's a good thing.  At least I hope I get more sanctified, get better at becoming a good wife, be more loving and selfless than I am now. So let's talk about a change that Eric has been instrumental in helping me with: the Kansas City Royals.  I used to not care that much about baseball.  I mean when you got 300 games a season and almost all of them are played during the hours you're at work, how can you follow that?  Well last week, he took me to my first (of many more I hope) Royals games.

And it was AWESOME.  It was a beautiful night (so that helped) and the stadium with all the fountains in the outfield was super cool.  And they won the game, so that was even better.  But why the Royals?  WHY is anyone a fan of this team? That's a great question and I'm not sure how anyone would answer it.  But I like that.  They suck, they don't have any superstar players, and apparently their management is a bunch of morons.  Listening to Eric and his Dad argue about this team for hours has done two things: make me wish I was in a different room when it starts, and really root for the guys in blue and white.  Royals-lovers for the past at least 20 years have gotten no rewards for being a fan.  The team does not pay them back with wins or really any kind of good decision making. But I kinda like being a part of that.  No stress, no pressure, no hiring and firing overnight.  And I like the players.  I like the way Eric Hosmer looks, I like Billy Butler's nickname, "Country Breakfast" and I like Alcides Escobar, their shortstop who I researched and decided to be my favorite player.  I'm partial to South Americans lately. I've mostly been a Yankees fan, and Derek will always have the #1 spot in my baseball heart, but I must say....my really hot fiance has got me cheering for the losers. Maybe it's because I love him so much.

You thought this blog post was about to get deep, right? Sorry, it didn't. Go Royals!

Back the Buzz

Sometimes the world of sports makes me sad.  Lots of corrupt players, money-hungry owners, stupid decision making, lawsuits, horrible injuries.  But sometimes the world of sports makes me want to buy a ticket.  Like when the Charlotte Bobcats disappear, bringing back the epic CHARLOTTE HORNETS.

Ok, before people get all on my case about caring about this too much (aka my fiance who I love more than anything) just know that this isn't world news.  No one cares about this mascot change except children of the 90's, Charlotte area natives, and rappers.  But since I'm all of those things, I care deeply.  No team in the history of teams has ever been worse than the Bobcats.  That orange and navy blue that within the past couple of years has changed to sky blue (I guess to please the UNC fans) doesn't even match.  They haven't had a single celebrity player, not even bobble-head worthy since the name change, and we all know that in the NBA, this doesn't fly.  If Jay-Z isn't your homie sitting court-side at your games, you're a nobody.  And don't even get me started on that mascot.  RUFUS?  Even if the guy were a REAL bobcat, he wouldn't be cool.

But THIS GUY.

I'm not saying bringing back Hugo in all his glory will turn Charlotte into some power house NBA town.  That will certainly never happen in my lifetime.  But what I'm excited about is having the good ole team back. I'm glad Air Jordan finally did something (anything) with his money. If you won't spend money on players, at least spend it on potential cool throwback merchandise.  Us Carolinians loved the teal and purple, the Charlotte Coliseum, and Muggsy Bogues in pinstripes.  They won a sad 20 games in their first season, but sold out 364 consecutive games.  Will that streak of popularity reign again? Will Charlotte be the same NBA town it once was? Maybe not.  I agree that if they don't win games, no one will give a crap about their team colors or mascot.  And given their recent 4th lottery pick in the NBA draft for 2014, they're still losers.  Either way, welcome back to the Queen City, you guys.  This is where you belong and I hope you never leave us again.  I also hope Starter Jackets come back into style. I'm just going to give the City of Charlotte credit for that one, too. If you were cool in the 90's, you know what's up.

How to Plan a Wedding

When I said yes to marrying Eric, that lead to then planning a wedding. Which I knew. The only thing I didn't know is how many shades of red there actually are in this world. Is there any way to get "garnet" to be a nationally recognized color? Because I don't think it is yet.  Anyways, I can't tell you how many people told me to elope on January 16th (the day after we got engaged).  Actually, people are still telling me that.  On August 16th (the day before we get married) I might wish I had listened to them.  But that idea is selfish. This wedding is obvs about me and Eric, but it's just as much about our families and friends who we would be completely lost without growing up in this world.  It's about my 4 bridesmaids who have stood beside me every difficult and ridiculously fun moment of my life, and not just in a black dress on August 17th.  It's about celebrating marriage because marriage can actually be a really great thing, something I haven't always been convinced of.  It's about having the party of the century because, well, parties are awesome and marrying my best friend is a HUGE reason to party for many hours.  So am I stressed about planning this one day? I'd be lying if I said the price of everything doesn't make my heart want to die a little bit (sorry Dad!) or that selecting a venue didn't keep me awake a night or two.  But planning this day so far has been really fun.  Every time I think something or someone is stupid, I just think about the future moment when everyone is dancing to early 2000's Flo Rida songs and I'm cool.  I also have the perspective that marrying Eric has very little to do with one day of our lives.  Pre-marriage counseling, which will probably be a set of more blog posts to come, has really shown me what marriage is and what it isn't.  Very little of it (actually none of it) has to do with this period of being engaged and planning the big day.  This one big day is a celebration.  Not a burden, not dependent on the rest of our lives, and certainly not a fairy tale.  I'm gonna let Disney handle the fairy tales.  August 17th is the day where Missouri and South Carolina eat, drink, and dance in the same room and me and Eric officially start fun adventures.

On the other hand, guys, I'm not dumb.  There will be things I hate about planning a wedding.  I've already experienced some of them.  And a wedding and marriage is a HUGE deal, I'm not trying to make it sound like it's all whatever.  Like I said, Jesus has been teaching us a lot about marriage.  Stuff that will take me years to experience and process.  But for now, my best advice on planning a wedding is to just plan it.  It's a miracle that a day like this comes together perfectly, but it always does.

Last Week's Current News

Last week could've been better.  But by Friday, things were looking up.

The dark knight got into more trouble than she ever has on Wednesday night, which is saying a lot.  She got loose from the yard and ran straight into the road and the side of a car.  It sounds funny when you say it like that, but at the time it was anything but funny.  She was limping on her left leg for a couple of days and after a few x-rays, the doctor says it's just a muscle thing.  She's on some good meds for this week and given her soccer ball session yesterday where she ran and jumped completely normal, I think it's safe to say she's on the way to a full recovery.  Now if I could just get her to look both ways. 

The Boston bombings.  What the crap was that? I was immediately glued to the TV, as I had a good friend who was running the marathon and her husband was there with her.  Luckily she is fast and had finished the race before anything happened.  Then watching all the manhunt footage was like watching a Chris Nolan movie.  All I know is that April seems to be the popular month for crazies to carry out their mass killings.  Now instead of supporting Boston and looking for some encouragement in all this, it's about to turn into some huge immigration reform discussion.  Just like the gun thing did a couple months ago that got everybody all mad at everything. I mean I get it, people hate America.  We can't help that we're the best, we support freedom, we have money.  This is my all-time argument as a Yankees fan, too.  What if your team won 27 World Series titles and bought the best players because they had the money to do it?  You wouldn't hate it.  But that's another discussion for another blog post.  You don't want to do that battle with me.

This is happily how my week ended though.  HUGE props to my community group who volunteered their help on tailgate & fireworks night. Way to serve our City, groupies!

Colombia (Part Dos)

So I went to Colombia. And the best part was that I made it out alive (if you ask the right people, they weren’t sure if that was going to happen).  I didn’t see or take any drugs. And I didn’t get robbed (ironically that happened to me in America).  But I did talk to strangers.  A lot of them, actually.  We met with people in a town called Cienaga, about 40 minutes south of Santa Marta.  Every day that we drove through that town, I was kind of ashamed to admit I’d never seen poverty like that before.  The people whose houses we visited were barely houses, everything was dirty, and most people who lived in Cienaga really had nothing.  But what Jesus taught me through seeing that every day and meeting with those people is that He levels the playing field.  It wasn’t a typical trip where I wanted to just go and build them another house or give them all my money.  Sure, I would love for every one of my new friends to have a clean house with air conditioning and clean water and food.  But I want them to have Jesus more.  I want them to have a better life after this one, because this one doesn’t take any of us very far. 

God sent six of his people, people like an engineer, a recreator, a student, a Starbucks barista to share the gospel with Colombians.  About one and a half of us knew any Spanish words.  As we walked up to stranger’s doors, really cool things happened and at least 20 people came to know Jesus in our 10 days!  The long-term missionary serving in Colombia, Jon, and I went to several people’s houses throughout the week and I got to talk to people who were hurting financially, physically, spiritually, emotionally.  I got to share my testimony probably 15 to 20 times and it was crazy to see grown men and women come to tears over what God has done in this one white American girl’s life.  One man in his probably late 40’s, (a linebacker-sized, big dude!) cried and told me how grateful he was that I shared what God has done in my life.  I was blown away by that.  Why a complete stranger who was listening to my little life story through a translator got brought to tears, I’ll never get that one.  I also talked to another 26 year-old girl, who as I told her my testimony, she had pretty much the exact same life story.  She was unsure about why she ever went to church growing up and now she just didn’t feel like she fit in so she stopped going.  We talked a lot about how our stories were similar, and I was stoked to see her and her husband come to the worship night we had at the church the last night we were there!  God did some cool stuff, by just calling us to step out and talk to people about the gospel.

It’s awesome what He taught me about missions and about myself through those days.  When Christians yell at me to care about missions, I got nervous because I used to think it meant I had to sell everything and move to the mountains of a country I can’t pronounce.  Maybe that will be the case someday.  But until then, I’ll be obedient to caring about missions in the exact way that He calls me to care about missions.  I won’t get to go on a trip like this every year for the rest of my life, and I may not visit South America ever again (although I sure hope I do!)  As I got back on the plane headed north after 10 days, I was happy to.  I have a great life here, a great fiancé here, and a great job that I believe God has absolutely gifted me for.  With that job, I’ll give every cent that I sacrificially can so that someone else can go overseas on mission. I didn’t come back from Colombia thinking that the six of us changed the world or feeling like we would when we got back.  But I did come back with a burden for people’s souls, that they know who they are because of the gospel. Jon asked us on the first day, “What would be a successful trip for you?” It was to be obedient in sharing the gospel, no matter the outcome.  That’s all we can do, and it’s what He’s called me to do with my life, in this country or in one really far away.  Ready to do it all again next year!

Colombia

You may or may not know that I’m going to Colombia (the South America one) in a couple weeks.  I’m not writing this because I have to give reasons why I’m going or to convince everyone that I’m a good Christian.  I guess I’m sharing because the Lord has been teaching this white American mid-20’s girl about foreign missions, a little something that has never happened before recently.  So let’s chat.

There was a time in my life when I let certain articles that I would read or certain people’s opinions make me believe that short-term missions weren't effective.  When I hear that, I just assume I’m out of luck because up until this point in my life, God hasn't called me to go overseas for a long period of time.  If you set aside the fact that God loves PEOPLE, little week-long trips such as this one don’t matter much. The typical short term trip to another country goes like this: a group of really rich Americans (because we are) head over to an underprivileged country, play with some kids we will never see again, those kids love us, we maybe fix a house or build a new one, we observe how dirty and poor everything is, and we return home to be changed for a couple months.  Sometimes we even get rid of some of our junk because we feel “too American” and rich and now it’s time to go live in the ghetto because Jesus has changed our standards on how we should appreciate our “stuff.”  These are the short term effects of a short term mission trip.

But that’s when we set aside the fact that Jesus loves PEOPLE.  This includes a white American mid-20’s girl and a Colombian child who don’t speak the same language.  Our skin is different, our culture is different, our standard of living is different, but we are loved the same.  I have an obligation to speak and show the Gospel.  To the nations that I get a really sweet opportunity to visit, and to my neighbors on Myrtle Drive in Rock Hill.  Sure we’ll fix up a yard or paint a house while we’re there.  We’ll play soccer with some kids. We’ll come back loving hot showers and looking at our lives as though we've been blessed with more than we could ever ask for, because that’s true.  But that’s not why I've been called to a mission trip overseas.  Jesus has been changing my heart little by little for foreign missions in a way that I've never looked at over the past year or so.  He wants me to care about the nations because He does.  He cares more about the souls of the few Colombians we’ll meet WAY more than we ever will and He wants the 6 of us to go.  He wants us believers to say yes to the nations from our couch in America by giving or praying, and if we get called to GO, then even more yes.  I’m going to Colombia because if I say I love Jesus then I have to love my neighbor, and I don’t get to choose who that is.  Those who are fortunate enough to give their life to serve overseas for several years are awesome, but they aren't the only ones who are called to love other countries.  I've been given this 8 day opportunity, so I’m taking it.  Not for a pat on the back, not for an extra batch of rewards in heaven, and nothing good that may come of it will be to our credit. I don't want God to change the way I view my stuff.  I want him to constantly be changing the way I view other people because they have souls, they're loved just as much as I am, and they're far away without the Gospel.

Also, the temperature will be in the 90's the whole week, so, that's reason enough to go. See yall in a week. 

quote of the day

Youth Council meeting.

Alex: "OH I have that tumbler too!"
Jeremy: "What's a tumbler?"
Julisa: "It's this cup."
Jeremy: "Oh black people don't do that."

quote of the day

Sarah: "I thought, 'I'm fat and ugly!' And then I took a nap."

Sarah (completely separate conversation from above): "My back muscles hurt from trying to throw up."

2013 Cute Quarterback Showdown

This Sunday, the AFC and NFC championships go down.  It has been a long NFL season for me, a Panthers fan, and I couldn't care less who wins the Super Bowl if it's not Super Cam.  With that said, it's important that I still write about sports.  It's even more important for most of my friends (who are girls and care nothing about football) that I give you this:

(1st Annual) The Cute Quarterback Showdown. Will it be the Falcons or the 49ers? The Patriots or the Ravens?  Let's take a LOOK.

Matt Ryan vs. Colin Kaepernick

To quote Jermaine Dupri: "Welcome to Atlanta where the players play."  Matty Ice is the Boston College grad who got picked third overall in the 2008 draft.  He doesn't know what it's like to not be in the playoffs, but hasn't gone to a super bowl.  He's the good ole American boy type, stays mostly out of the media (trouble), and has no visible tattoos.  Now on to Kaepernick.  This guy came out of nowhere (literally, he's from Wisconsin) and straight stole the starting QB spot from Alex Smith. He was an even better baseball player in his day and was recruited by the Chicago Cubs first, but chose football.  Smart move, pre-Super Bowl champ.  I guess the entire sleeve of tattoos on both arms hasn't taken away a bit of his arm strength.  If it's a tight game, I call Colin's number to get that rushing TD.  If it's a Friday night, I just give Matt my number.

Tom Brady vs. Joe Flacco












If you are a human, you've heard of Tom Brady.  If you're a sports fan, you're tired of him.  If you're a male, you're jealous of him.  And if you're a super model, you've dated him.  Let's look past the fact that when you google image Tom, you get more pics of him in scarves than his #12.  The dudes got major game.  That's why he's got Super Bowl rings for days.  It's also why he'll beat the Ravens on Sunday.  Joe Flacco aint half bad either.  Looking past the fact that purple really isn't anyone's color and ONLY Maryland natives will ever pull for these birds, I would want him as my QB.  But not more than Tommy fresh.

To make this post more reliable and less like an episode of the Bachelorette, I pick the 49ers and the Pats to finish out the road to Super Bowl Sunday.  The Niners are too good and the Ravens just aren't good enough.  I'm not sure the last second field goal win in Atlanta will get them through another game.  Maybe I'm wrong about these game predictions.  But if I'm wrong that Matt Ryan isn't the HANDS DOWN winner of (1st Annual) The Cute Quarterback Showdown, I don't want to be right.

Incase you missed it

Just some highlights as they relate to nothing, really.

 Movie Review: Les Miserables. The Christmas day debut movie/musical/cry fest was fantastic. That goes for the cast as well, however, maybe they casted it so that Joe Smith citizen would go see it. I think they could’ve found more musical talent and it would’ve been just as good (if not better) than hiring all the hotshots to give their best go at it. Do Wolverine and Cat Woman have great voices? YES. And not that I know that much about the pool of musical talent available (let’s be honest, I think Glee kids are crazy talented) but maybe some better voices with just as pretty faces are out there somewhere? I did cry when Anne busted out “I Dreamed a Dream” because it’s ridiculous and death was looming. I’m pretty sure I heard a few sniffles from the male audience as we left too. So bravo, Mis.
Side note to Russell Crowe: stick with action films. Love you though.

 Football Review: The Miserables. The BCS National Championship game turned out exactly how none of us planned. Of course we all expected Alabama to win, but we at least expected Notre Dame to give themselves a fighting chance. I don’t think anyone would argue that it was a pretty big embarrassment given all the hype that Notre Dame was given throughout the whole season. Eddie Lacy for Alabama rushed for 140 yards and McCarron threw for 264 yards, right past the apparently best defensive player in the country, Monti Te’o. A game like that just isn’t good for ratings either, as I was probably in the majority who stopped watching it at halftime. Not the best way to end a pretty good college football season when even I gave Notre Dame the benefit of the doubt. Oh well. They dreamed a dream.

 TV: Pretty Little Liars. The winter premiere of PLL debuted this week, giving various tweens and 20-somethings purpose in life once again. This review will be short, as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED. We are no closer to finding out who the total A is, who killed Allison, how many teenagers Aria’s Dad actually hooked up with, and why Spencer even thinks #Toby is cute. I’m going to need the writers at ABC Fam to kill some storylines, or kill some people off, and let’s move on. Too many lies inside of lies inside of secrets inside of hot tubs. Straight Inception crap.

 The issue of BBQ: After extensive research, Kansas City BBQ is better. But let’s not compare apples and oranges, folks. It’s just different. It’s all about the sauce out there, which is cool. Here in SC, sauce is one of those “it’s on the table if you need it” type deals and it’s really all about how it’s cooked, which is also cool. Don’t assume I’ve been brainwashed or question my salvation. Just trust that I know good food.
Note about the Midwest (and anywhere other than the south): When you fire up the grill (say on July 4th for example) put some hamburgers and hotdogs on it, and go out on the lake….this is called a “Cook-out.” Others call it a “ Barbecue.” This isn't right. BBQ is a type of food you eat. A cook-out is an event (can also be a restaurant). The south will always be right on this.