life and chicken

hey there. Not going to waste words telling you about how busy life is which is why I haven't blogged in almost 2 months. But here's life in 5 little bullets just to keep you up to date:

1. Campers arrive at Windy Gap Sunday. SUMMER IS HERE YALL.

2. I've been weaving a lot. I love it but it sucks up all of my creative juices.

3. Marcel leaves in exactly a month tomorrow. Love him. We'll miss him. 

4. Albus weight over 100 pounds now.

5. I'm growing my hair out. Because we've been talking about babies. Not right now. But I want to be a long-haired mommy so I'm growing my hair out.

Here's some good chicken I made:

maple dijon chicken

ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup organic maple syrup (or whatever kinda syrup you wish)

a lotta lemon pepper

sprinkle of garlic salt

directions:

Throw it all in a big ziplock. Leave it in the fridge all day. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on how big your chickens are. Add some more dijon and maple syrup to a pan and thicken it with some tapioca flour (or cornstarch or regular flour) if you're feelin fancy. You don't have to. But I did.

short and sweet. hopefully I'll write again soon

that time Jesus spat my Young Life talk back in my face

Tonight I gave a Young Life talk. I've given a lot of Young Life talks. I've gotten to the point where I'm decently comfortable with them. I still get nervous beforehand every time. But I've gotten comfortable with that nervousness and grown confident in the rewarding feeling afterwards.

But tonight was a little different. Tonight, as I started in with my story, the room didn't hone in. There was a lot of side conversations. That part was sort of normal. But then, as I made my transition to start talking about Jesus, to take the story from light hearted funnies to something a little deeper, those heads didn't turn back to me. They kept talking. They joked about what I was saying. They interrupted me. And not just 3 of them in the back corner. But half the room. Even people on the front row.

And I crumbled a little. I got off track. I forgot what I was talking about and started in a nervous ramble for a hot second. I pulled it together and got out what I meant to say. I said my ending lines and delivered the main point. But it was the first time I've ever given a talk where I walked away from the front of the room and could have cried instantly. I was so frazzled.

I felt disrespected, uncared for, unloved, overlooked. I felt like marching back into the room and telling those that had been so rude to not come back anymore, to stay at home if they were going to be so distracting.

But then...I remembered what I had just given a talk about.

I'd just told them a story about a time where this lady Mary broke open what would be the equivalent of a $40,000 bottle of perfume and poured it on Jesus's head and feet. Which is weird but stay with me. She gave him a gift, the most valuable possession she owned. And when people rebuked her about how she could have sold that and used the money for so many better things, Jesus stopped them. He told them that Mary had done a good thing, that her story would be told for generations to come because she understood what He was worth. He was worth giving everything to. Her best. Everything.

Her dignity, her pride, her life.

So 20 seconds after I gave this talk, Jesus gave it right back at me.

Is He worth it? Is He worth giving up your pride? Is He worth feeling embarrassed, getting frazzled, getting nervous and fumbling out words? Is that message worth telling? Do you still believe that that message holds the power of LIFE even when it's delivered to closed ears? Will you keep on sharing the story of Jesus even when the people you're telling it to don't give a crap? When the crowds stop cheering and the feedback turns negative, will you still stand in the truth that you were born for this? Made for this? Chosen for this?

Yes. A thousand times yes. I forget it, but yes, it's worth it.

And also, would you rather have a room full of people who already love and respect the stories you tell? No. Bring on the crazies, the unbridled, the wild, the lost.

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

twenty three

A weekend with my mom is a good weekend indeed.

She's a beauty. And the picture of a servant. And naggy because she loves me. It took me a long to realize how she does everything, even the most annoying mom things, out of love.

 

We spent my birthday doing my favorite things: eating good food, shopping, exploring windy gap, eating a homecooked steak dinner, Settlers of Catan, drinking foo foo drinks and hanging out with a few friends. My birthday gets more fun every year!

 

 

 

This week's goals:

1. EXERCISE BEFORE WORK. Done and done on a Monday! My goal was to go at least once. Maybe I'll go for twice. All you need is 30 minutes if you go hard.
2. ACTUALLY EAT MY LUNCH I BROUGHT TO WORK. Don't live off of camp food. Don't be a loser.
3. MAKE GOOD USE OF MY COMMUTE TIME. No listening to Friends on Netflix on my way to work. Spend some time with Jesus.

What are your goals for the week?

 



#freakoutfriday part 3

Hey! Remember me? That girl that writes this blog? Life has been weird lately. For starters, Casey and Marcel have been on a cruise (that I was obviously invited to but don't have the vacation time for) and I've been all on my lonesome this past week. That means nobody has been here to kick my butt out of bed when I get off of work and make me not be lazy. {So I've been lazy and unproductive} Coincidentally, the Lord has been walking me through some sadness the past few weeks. I haven't been sad about anything in particular. Just sad. Unmotivated. Lonely. With no obvious reason why. I've hit a break through this week though. You see, He's made me realize this past week that I'd been doing this whole "self sufficient" thing. With my dream job, my dream hubs, my fun foreign exchange kid and so many Jesus loving, interesting friends, I've been relying a lot on that and just a little on Jesus. And so, my heart grew sad without reason. My hope grew dimmer and my confidence shattered. And then BAM. He revealed in a moment that He's been leading me through a place where He is is so quiet so that I could see what I become without Him.

So I haven't been writing because I didn't know what to say. Maybe that's more than you wanted to read tonight.

Want to hear a little more of my silly thoughts from back in the day? Tonight's installment is a happier one. Casey and I had been dating for around 2 months. During that time, I broke up with him...and we stayed broken up for a whole 24 hours. You don't need to know why. Just remember that I was a mess at that point in life.

December 3, 2011              11:53 PM

Quite a bit has changed since I wrote last. I really wish I'd been documenting because I would have had alot to say the past couple weeks. I guess I'll just catch you up now, reader. 

First off, I'm totally helplessly in love with Casey. Yea, shocker. I'm not really sure when it happened. It just kind of grew on me and before I knew it, the words just popped out of my lips one day. It was the night we got back together after breaking up for 24 hours. One might look at a 24 hour breakup and say I'm silly for doing so, but really, it needed to happen. We all know I'd been wanting to run since I first agreed to date one with Casey because I was scared and didn't want any more " complications" in my life. And we all know I typically have to learn the hard way. So I needed to break up with CAsey to satisfy that desire to run away. And I needed to break up with him to realize that's not what I wanted at all. And that CAsey wasn't someone to be scared of and that I didn't want to handle my problems like that. I wasn't going to let my current situation rob me of my joy. I wasn't going to just quit life and hide just because things are hard. I thought I wanted the easy way out, but I'm learning there really isn't one for me. I just have to choose which struggle to battle through. So the day after I broke things off, I battled this dilemma in my mind all day and ended up at his house after work, spilling my guts and telling him I'd learned my lesson. Side note: he was supposed to be in Austin that night, but ended up not going because he was so bummed. We went back and forth for a while but in the end we hugged it out and later that night, he dropped the L bomb. And it feels so good to be in love with him. I adore him. I want him to be the one. I wouldn't say I'm positive I'm going to marry him one day, but that doesn't mean I'm not rooting for him.

YL Mr. Christmas Tree pageant is this Monday and it's going to be great. I can't believe this semester is already over pretty much. I'm not really looking forward to going back to school {I'd stopped going to classes a few weeks into the semester...} in the spring but I need to at least take a class or two. I don't want to fell too far out of the swing of things. My heart still yearns to be back at Crooked Creek every day. I dream of it at least once a week and I'm seriously considering a way to move down there or at last to Colorado. Anyways I'm off to bed. I'll update more tomorrow.

______________________________________________________________

Remember that whole Colorado thing for next week. It gets good. 

#freakoutfriday :: the part where I freaked out after our first date

So continuing the series I started last week...here is what I wrote from our first date. After calling me on the 6th, he called me later that weekend to asking if going rock climbing that next Monday worked. Young Life had been cancelled so I was free. Notice this is two different entries. One was waiting for Casey to pick me up for our first date and one was me recapping it afterwards.

 

Take a look into 19-20 year old Ashton's mind. She's irrational, over-analytical, and very very sad. Her parents are split up but not divorced. Her stress level is making her sick. She throws up most mornings because there is so much acid in her system. Sometimes there's blood in there so the doctors are running all sorts of tests. Turns out it's just acid reflux. But she doesn't know it yet. Her sister is very sick too. Later, they would find out she has Systemic Rheumatoid Arthritis but it took a very long time for them to figure out what was wrong. She works a lot.

{I have copied this directly from my journal completely unedited. Words written in red are my commentary}

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

Date: October 10, 2011                                 7:43 PM

 

{waiting for Casey to pick me up}

 

I. AM. STINKING. NERVOUS.

I kind of hate this.

I kind of wish this wasn't even happening.

Because I'm scared.

I'm scared I might decide I really like him after this and he might not. And I almost feel guilty because the poor guy doesn't even know what he's getting into if this works out. NO ONE deserves to be dragged into my mess of a life. I hate this feeling of nervousness! I haven't been this nervous in a very long time. I think I might vomit.

 

{AND THEN in a moment of genius I decided to spend some time with Jesus}

 

8:00 PM

 

From Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by Sarah Young: "Trust me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them...when you project yourself into the future, rehearsing what you will do or say, you are seeking to be self-sufficient: to be adequate without My help." Psalm 37:3-6, Phillipians 4:29

 

Seriously Jesus? Thank you. Thank for knowing me so well. I needed that and you knew it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

 

October 11, 2011                     12:05 AM

 

Dear Ashton,

Your expectations are stupid. You should probably try not to have those anymore.

Love, Ashton

 

Date with Casey was GREAT. Conversation flowed well. We never had that awkwardly silent moment where I strived to think of something to say. Conversation wasnt too deep but it wasn't completely surface level at the same time -- which is a GOOD thing. I don't know why I assumed we would immediately go to topics I wasn't going to want to talk about. Maybe it's because that's how Summer Staff was. Deep conversations were had pretty much immediately upon arrival. Overall, it was a very successful date and I would definitely go on a second date with him. Here's a play-by-play:

He picked me up at 8:10 exactly -- gave me a hug (two-armed) and opened my car door (check). Drove to where he thought a burger place was but he couldn't find it so we decided on Jack-In-The-Box because we wanted somethign quick in order to guarantee us maximum climbing time. This might sound like a negative set back but I actually thought it was awesome. The fact that he chose rock climbing was enough to impress me that I didn't need a fancy restaurant. I was very comfortable around him the whole time. I never felt like I couldn't completely be myself with him and I never felt the need to impress him. We only climbed for like 30 minutes before we called it quits and sat down on some couches that were there and talked. Turns out rock climbing takes alot more endurance than I remember it taking. I think I'll defintely be sore tomorrow. Carrying a tray at work may be a little difficult. {I was a waitress at Pappadeaux at the time} Anywho, I'm not walking away fro mthis thinking he's going to be my husband {hahaha}, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in seeing him again. I think the fact that I'm feeling so casual about this is confirmation that this is okay to be doing. So many times with guys, I've gotten so excited so fact to where it's consumed me and well, none of those have worked out obviously. I'm excited to see where this ends up but I'm not anxious anymore and that's exactly where I think the Lord wants me. See that? I'm growing :)

 

End Time: 12:45 AM

__________________________________________________________________

 

Hilarious and sweet. I was such a mess! Thank God the years of dating are over. Also, I'm not quite sure why I feel it's neccessary to write the beginning and end times on my journal entries but it's kind of funny. I know I would have gotten home around 10 or 10:30 so this was a good 2 hours later. Rumor has it that Casey might just let you all into his journal next week...stay tuned!

#freakoutfriday :: the part where Hubs asked me on our first date

I've had a brilliant idea.

I've been rereading my old diaries the past couple weeks and they're hilarious. Because I'm incredibly stupid. And dramatic. And I suffer from the plague of a mind gone mad in trying to see the future. And then I thought, if I am reading this and crying laughing, surely someone else will think it's kind of funny. And so I've decided to let you guys have a look in.

Take a look into 19-20 year old Ashton's mind. She's irrational, over-analytical, and very very sad. Her parents are split up but not divorced. Her stress level is making her sick. She throws up most mornings because there is so much acid in her system. Sometimes there's blood in there so the doctors are running all sorts of tests. Turns out it's just acid reflux. But she doesn't know it yet. Her sister is very sick too. Later, they would find out she has Systemic Rheumatoid Arthritis but it took a very long time for them to figure out what was wrong. She works a lot.

{I have copied this directly from my journal completely unedited. Words written in red are my commentary}

 October 7, 2011              1:10 AM

I got asked out on a date tonight.

A date.

A real date.

A formal proposal.

Like the big kids do.

And I said yes.

And now I can't sleep.

It all started Wednesday night when I came home from work to find Stormye {my roommate} and her friend Casey waiting for me to watch one of me and Stormye's favorite shows, Revenge. I couldn't help but notice Casey glancing over at me quite a bit as soon as I entered the room. He asked me all sorts of questions about myself, but nothing too personal. From the way we sprung into conversation, you would have thought we had planned our encounter ahead of time, instead of him coming to actually see Stormye, and me just so  happening to be her roommate. At some point, YL was brought up and we talked about how I got involved and how he would go about getting involved if he chose to. We then talked about how he was thinking of interning for a summer at one of the camps. Ummm what? Yea, crazy. So I then of course have to brag about the fact that I pretty much already have my spot as a kitchen intern {even though I totally didn't!} and went on and on about my amazing experience over the summer {being on Summer Staff at Crooked Creek}. Anywho, we really didn't end up paying very close attention to Revenge between us talking and Stormye playing fantasy draft hockey. He left around midnight and gave me a side hug and said he hoped to see me again. 45 minutes later, he requested to be my friend on FB which I giggled about. I had a really relaxing day today. slept in until 830, showered and went to school. Sat through chapel and had lunch with Kate and Phil (new guy leader) at the Taco Joint and then had NTS {New Testament Survey} at noon-230. Once I left school, I stopped and picked up a few things from Aldi's for dinner. I started to rewatch Revenge when Alex {my cousin} knocked on the door. He did homework and I made us dinner until he had to go up to the school for his football game. (He had to take his dinner to go) Then, I went to watch his game at 6 after doing a sink full of dishes with Stormye. Love her. I was going to stay through the JV game but felt awkward when no kids were there that I knew so I left soon after it started {YL leader fail}. No one even noticed. 

When I got home, I talked with Kristin {another of my roommates} for a while while she made herself dinner and I made a snack since I'd had my dinner so early. We were starting to watch Revenge (for the THIRD time) when Stormye walked in and asked if she could give my # to a certain friend her hers who wanted to ask me on a date. Yep. I'm pretty sure my eyes popped out of my head from surprise. After I pause from my shock, a peep of a "yes" exited my lips and then my heart exploded. I almost regretted it immediately when Stormye started reading me the conversation they were having about when he should ask me, when I would be free to go on a date, what we would do on on such date (she didn't actually tell me that part) etc. Because once I said yes, it was really going to happen. He was really going to ask me. I would of course say yes. Because who actually asks people on dates anymore?And that would mean putting myself in a situation that has potential to actually turn into a relationship and that scares the crap out of me. Literally. I pooped 3 times before he called 45 minutes later {BAHAHAHAHAHA}. (Sorry for the TMI, reader). You're thinking, "Why would that scare you?" Because I don't know if I could handle it if I actually end up liking him and then he ends up deciding he doesn't like me. I don't know if I can handle anything else going wrong. And the poor guy doesn't even know what he's getting into. Surely, I'll have to tell him if this thing takes even the slightest turn towards something serious. So this next part is to you, Casey. If you really start thinking of seriously pursuing me, you should know: I am going through the hardest season of my life thus far and it's full of pain. My sister is really sick. I am too. I found out just less than 2 months ago that my picture perfect home I grew up in is officially split in two and my dad has a mistress he's in love with and I don't know what the heck to do about that. My mom is a basket case now a days. I am used goods with newly found trust issues and confidence issues. I am a ridiculously busy person trying to balance all of this. You will have to fight me tooth and nail if you really want to get involved with this mess through pursuing a relationship with me and for your sake, I almost wish you wouldn't. At the same time, I can't help but hope that you do. {Spoiler alert: I never actually delivered this oh-so-eloquent speech}

It's a crazy battle in my head right now between what I want and what I'm afraid to want. I need to pray. I need to offer this up. 

Final time: 2:13 AM

SO DRAMATIC. Kinda sad. Mostly just really dramatic. And long-winded.

Stay tuned for next week's #freakoutfriday

this week's adventures

This past Saturday, I went hiking with my friend Amy. Amy was at one point both Casey and my boss. She had a big hand in promoting Casey through the YMCA and also promoted me a few times as well. Needless to say, she has been a huge part our success here in Asheville. She even gave me a glowing recommendation for my job at Windy Gap even though that would mean losing me as an employee when she had invested and trusted so much in me. I loved hanging out with her because I was reminded of how well she loves her work and employees and how much I want to be like her in that way. She looks more like Jesus than most Christians I've met. And she's one of my best friends here!

Then later on on Saturday, Hubs took me on the cutest surprise date. He left a note as a clue to what we were doing (left picture) but I couldn't figure it out until we got there. He took me to the Pinball Museum in downtown Asheville and it was so much fun! I'd never actually been there before but we've walked past it countless times. Basically it's like a Chuck E Cheese for adults minus tokens and pizza but plus beer availability. It's awesome! 

That's it. Just a little update on what's been going on. I promise to post again soon!

a weekend away

This weekend, we spent the weekend at a "cabin" in Hot Springs, NC. We thought we rented a cabin...but when we got there it was actually a beautiful, spacious house out in the middle of nowhere! We had it all to ourselves and it was so peaceful to have nobody else around. It was quiet. I was dancing on my toes with excitement when the Moose's (Mooses, Meese? I'm not sure what to call them) pulled in, with baby Merritt packed nicely in the womb. I am already so in love with baby Merritt already! Casey and I thought for sure that Matt and Aly would decline our invitation to our weekend getaway seeing as Aly is 8 months pregnant, but nope. Turns out Aly is the coolest, most low maintenance prego lady I've ever met. #teamAly

We spent the weekend playing games, sharing life, eating great {whole30} food together and laughing. I didn't get out of my pajamas all day yesterday and it was glorious. I also drank 5 cups of coffee simply because I could sit and drink it before it went cold. We talked about babies and the fever is boiling y'all. But we will continue to wait! We missed Albus and Marcel a lot but it was nice to have some "adult" time. 

It was so much fun to spend so much time with our closest friends who have walked with us through our marriage and to look at all of the stories and adventures and happiness the Lord has brought us through these four. We are truly blessed.

5 things I learned in 2014

5 things I learned in 2014:

About being a wife:
Trusting the Lord means trusting your husband. When the idea of inviting Marcel to come live with us FOR A FREAKING YEAR was presented to me by my dear husband, I thought he was insane. No way could I handle having someone else in my house, in my space, taking up my time, my precious private time for a whole year. No way could I trust myself to be in charge of someone else's life. But you know what I could trust? That my husband is a man rooted in the Bible. That he seeks the Lord's wisdom every single day. That he loves me sacrificially and never looks at life without taking me into consideration. And so when Casey said he thought it was a good idea, I let him make that decision for us. Sometimes trusting the Lord means trusting your husband.

About chasing your dreams:
Don't let anyone but Jesus tell you no. Give your whole self to the mission of pursuing your dreams. If it's your dream, you can't just get sad that it's not working out and find a new dream. I applied for a job at Windy Gap 4 times before they told me yes. Unqualified, undereducated, unexperienced as I was, I had faith that if I kept chasing hard enough, it had to work out. And it did.

About health:
That I am and will always be a food addict. But that skinny and healthy tastes better than that second helping of mashed potatoes. That a day without potato chips or Chick Fil A or bread leads to a night without interrupted sleep. And that leads to me having way more energy. And that sometimes means I'll actually get up that extra 30 minutes earlier to read my Bible. Which leads to me being a WAY more gracious and loving wife and fake mommy. But that living a healthy life, eating good food and exercising is a journey not so smooth at times...because I am a food addict.

About Young Life:
To be an interesting person, do interesting things. My friend Leslie said this to me a long time ago and it's rang true in my head every since. This mission of pursuing high school kids can be more than coffee dates and campaigners. Living life with Jesus is fun and exciting. Show them that. Show them what a life without fear of being weird or failing looks like.

About tragedy:
The Lord is bigger than it. Bigger than Gatsby dying. Bigger than my parents divorce. Bigger than Casey getting laid off the week before Christmas. He's louder than the Enemy that whispers lies through pain and brighter than the sun that seeps through the darkness. He is.

new year

2014 was a sweet year, probably the best year of my life. Casey and I had our first full year married. We became fake parents, moved into our house and got Albus. I landed my dream job. We found some of the best friends. It was a good year.

Casey and I went hiking yesterday with our friend Kathleen as a great way to start our new year off right. This year we want to do more things outdoors so we thought it only appropriate to use the day to do just that. We talked a lot yesterday about our resolutions for this year and I'm so excited to start putting them into practice. Here's what we came up with:

Ashton:

lose 25 pounds

brush my teeth more...and start flossing

make our bed every day

read two books that aren't harry potter or the Bible

Casey:

lose 25 pounds

read even more than last year

exercise for fun

Us: 

peak 3 mountains

go camping 6 times

stick to our budget

have more quiet time

What are some of your resolutions? I'd love to hear them. Now that the holidays are over I'll definitely be posting more frequently again! Oh, and did you know that Albus made himself an instagram? He's a pretty good follow @albusgatsthegreat

16 gifts for guys that aren't clothes

Boys are hard when it comes to gift giving...I always struggle to find gifts for my dad, uncles, etc. way more than I do the women in my family. So to help, I've compiled a list of items approved by Casey and some other guys that are worth looking into! Christmas is just around the corner but it's not too late to snag one of these great gifts!

1. Wireless iPhone Boombox Speaker $40
2. REI Flash 18 Pack  34.50 $26.93
3. For the man who loves a good shave $60
4. UGG man slippers  $109.95
5. Leatherman Wingman Multitool $34.95
6. For the guy who's into working out $39.95
7. The best thermos in the world $25.99
8. waterproof flashlight  $14
9. sexy man blankey $178
10. for the man who doesn't ever shave $45
11. for absolutely no reason $24.95
12. for the man who loves camping  $130
13. pocket rocket camping stove  $39.95
14. charge/sync portable cable $25
15. nike+ gps watch 199.95 $165.95
16. beer of the month subscription  $39/month

december visitors

These two cuties have been at our house since Friday and left yesterday morning! It was so great to see Allen again and meet Mia. Allen was Casey's best man in our wedding and they lived together for 3 years in college. He was there when Casey and I first started dating so it's been a treat for him to visit us the two times he's come. We played a ridiculous amount of Settlers of Catan, laughed, played, reminisced and explored Asheville. We love Allen and Mia!

the best friendsgiving there ever was

Yesterday Casey and I invited our Young Life kids over for a friendsgiving meal and it was so much fun! I bought a smallish turkey and asked the boys to bring leftover side dishes from their Thanksgiving and the girls to bring desserts. We were expecting to only have like 12 kids accept our invitation, thinking most of them would be out of town for the holiday. We were wrong! We ended up having 25 kids show up and had to have them bring fold up tables and chairs that spilled into our living room. Our little 1200 square foot home was bursting. It was incredible! Best idea we've ever had and it was so easy! This will for sure be one of our new traditions we do every year.

1 Thessalonians 2:8
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

turkey day 2014

This year we spent Thanksgiving with our good friends Graham and Olivia. Olivia was a yearlong intern at Windy Gap last year but we met Graham first. We were placed in the same training group last fall when we were going through wrangler training to be able to run the ropes course on the weekends at WG. The Lord definitely knew what he was doing when he placed us in the same group! It's been so fun to walk with these two this past year while they were engaged and now we get to be married friends!

Yesterday morning, Casey and spent some time going back and forth talking about things we were thankful. It was amazing to look back on the last year and see all of the things the Lord has brought to us in just one year. At this same Thanksgiving last year, we were both part time in our jobs, we had a few friends and fewer deep relationships and Asheville still felt like a weird vacation that kept on going. Since then, Casey's been made full time at the Y, we moved into our house, and developed deep relationships with people who feel like family. We lost Gatsby, gained Marcel and I started my dream job at Windy Gap in the same week. We figured out this great juggling act of full time jobs, full time loving on high school kids, and full time being in charge of a teenager. Then, we had added another teenager/man to live with us. I've grown so much as a person and wife and watched Casey evolve into a man greater than one I could have cooked up in my dreams. The Lord has blessed us so much. I can't believe my life has turned into what it has.

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

xoxo

The Zagspersens

the point of carolinas

What a privilege. It was incredible to look at this cabin of girls and see how much my relationships with them have grown in just 1 year. What a mission! What an amazing purpose I've been given by the Lord, to have the opportunity to walk through high school with these girls and love them and watch them grow and mess up and succeed and everything in between. As I lay my head down Saturday night I was overwhelmed at how much I love these girls and how much I feel honored to be able to hear their stories -- especially the parts of their stories that very few people know.  

As Jesus sacrificed everything to be in relationship with us, he has called us to love others in this same way. He's given me eyes to see and a heart to love these girls whole heartedly, without strings or conditions.

1 Thessalonians 2: 7-8

We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

family weekend

Such a sweet weekend. I wish it could have lasted longer. My dad and sister made the long drive to Asheville from Dallas on Thursday night. We went to lunch on Friday at the epic Tupelo Honey and were full for the rest of the day. Seriously. We didn't even eat dinner. That night we dressed up in our Halloween costumes {Marcel was James Bond} and waltzed around downtown. AND THEN on Saturday we woke up to SNOW!!! It was our first snow of the season and it was a really good snow. I think it snowed at least 8-9 inches. Dad, Casey and Aerica came to the wonderful Windy Gap and worked in the bakery with me once they woke up on Saturday and we sled there once I got off of work. It was such a full but relaxing weekend and I'm so glad Dad and Aerica got to come and see my life here in Asheville.

Come back soon please!

 

xoxox