It's a Good Thing

"It sure is hard getting old.. but I sure had a great time getting there!" is what a little lady said to me the other day at work. Ever since then, I have not been able to get it out of my head. What a great, positive way to look at things.

It seems like all around us these days is nothing but negativity. Whether it be from all of the recent events in the media or in the everyday lives of those around me, negativity has taken the front seat and seems to be the new, cool thing. And I can't say that I'm not guilty of jumping on the bandwagon. I'll be the first to admit that the last year or two of my life haven't been quite as peachy as the 27 before them. I've felt sorry for myself. I've complained. I've cried. I've questioned. I gave up writing. I quit laughing.  I've done it all. But at some point it all had to stop. There are too many "good things" in this great life we've been given to remain focused on the negative. The good far outweighs the bad.

On one of my down days, I was sitting Indian style in the middle of my bed reading a devotion. I was desperate for God to tell me something, so I grabbed a Bible that I had during college. I knew it was a completely different version than anything I read on a regular basis. It reads in a much more modern dialect. I thought maybe a new perspective, a new take on what the words said, would help me see things differently.

And I was exactly right. I reached for the Bible and tossed it onto the bed. I had no particular verse or page I intended to read, but God sure did. When it landed on the bed, it opened strait to a page with a title of "It's a good thing to hope from help from the Lord." I was immediately intrigued.

I read the page. I read it again. And again. And again. I shared it on Instagram. I shared it on facebook. I've shared it with numerous friends that I knew were going through a hard time. I still read it often.. And now I am sharing it here. We all need a little positivity in our lives.

It is from "The Message" Bible in the book of Lamentations and goes like this.

IT'S A "GOOD THING" TO HOPE FROM HELP FROM THE LORD.
I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all. O, how well I remember. The feeling of hitting rock bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.

God's loyal love couldn't have run out. His merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great Your faithfulness! I'm sticking with GOD. I say it over and over. He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.

When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter in silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions. Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.

Why?? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return.
Lamentations 3: 19-31 (The Message)

Have a great weekend!
HE FILLS MY LIFE WITH GOOD THINGS.
Psalm 103:5

It's Been One Week..

"It's been one week since you looked at me. Cocked your head to the side and said I'm angry"..
Kidding.. Kidding. Y'all know I always turn everything into a song, and now I shall have Barenaked Ladies in my head (and yours) for the rest of the day. You are welcome.

I had to have something clever to "break the (year long) ice."

But really!!
It's been one week since our little house was no longer "our" little house. One week since we have had our lives flipped upside down and went from a house to one bedroom/bathroom. One week since my sister (for the first time in my life) is not right down the street/hall. One week since we had our last beer sitting on the tailgate of our cute little driveway. One week, since we moved to a completely different town. One week... and I haven't broken down yet.

I can't decide if I'm really sad or really excited. Is it possible to be both? I can only pray that the man we sold our first house to loves it even half as much as we did. I cannot even begin to reminisce on all of the wonderful times we had there. But I also pray that our new "home" will be even more special than we can imagine at this point.

Construction has begun. Dirt work is complete. Foundation is poured. Stay tuned for more updates from "The Stump."

Y'all....

Y'all... It's been nearly three months. THREE MONTHS... that's absurd. So, I'm just going to kick it off with a little recap.

1. First and foremost... Mississippi State won the Egg Bowl! Instead of freezing our booties off, Kendol and I opted to tailgate with my family. The tailgate was complete with awesome food, a big ole' pallet and a fire in the fireplace. Genius decision, I'd say!

2. We celebrated our last Christmas in our first house (if all goes as planned). This Christmas was a bit of a struggle to me, but it was a good one. Not only was it possibly our last Christmas in this house, but it also came amidst unemployment... And that meant Christmas had to be on a budget. Christmas on a budget?? That just seems absurd to me (ha). Christmas is the one time of year that I blow it out, so it was tough, but I made it through! (the struggle is real.. y'all)

3. I started back running in January after an embarrassingly long hiatus. We won't get into the specifics... Any who, I set myself a goal for 31 miles in 31 days in January and surpassed it.. BOOM. I even busted out two 4+ mile runs. High fives all around!! Contemplating another half.. Perhaps I'm crazy and I'm getting a little ahead of myself.. Moving right along.

4. Mallory and I made our annual girls trip to Memphis a few weeks ago for the Lisa Lassandrello 5K and weekend full of fun!! This year was pretty legit! The Grizzlies were at home, so we got to attend our first NBA game. And.. it just so happened to be $25 hoodie day... Jackpot! (I'm a bit of a hoodie whore) We also celebrated over drinks, dancing and some late night soul burgers at Ernestine & Hazels.. duh!

5. And lastly, we received a little snow last week down here in Mississippi! While it didn't really stick to the ground, it actually snowed consistently over the course of a day. I don't recall ever really seeing it snow. It's always happened while I was asleep.

Besides coordinating the best little southern wedding blog around and slinging crawfish beer at Mudbugs, that's my little life lately summed up in bullet points. You're welcome! Now let's see if I can maybe do a better job this go round... or maybe I'll see you in another three months.