Prayer of Sir Francis Drake, 1577

Disturb us, Lord, when 

We are too pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we dreamed too little, 

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

with the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision 

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wilder seas

Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push back the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,

Who is Jesus Christ.

excuses, excuses

"Having the reality of God's presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually."  -Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest


This really struck a chord with me when I read it this morning.  So often, I think that "if only I wasn't dealing with this right now, then I'd really be able to focus on the Lord" or "as soon as I'm not here anymore, I really be in the 'right' place."  Somehow in my mind, these momentary problems are the ONLY things keeping me from completely pursuing the Lord.   What a silly excuse.

God has made and kept his part of the promise: to be continually present in all aspects of our lives at all times.  It's our own determination, or lack thereof, that keeps or prevents us from wholeheartedly following our Savior.  Such a great reminder and encouragement to me to truly seek the Lord at all times and in all places.

summer nights

tonight was one for the books.  not because of any one unbelievable thing, but just because it was the best version of our everyday nights.  we've decided that our weeknights are almost always more exciting or memorable than our weekends--not really sure why that is, but it is?

jillian and i tend to be pretty easy to please.  i mean we're generally really happy people already.  but currently, we couldn't love our lives any more than we do.  we spent the entire last year gushing about nashville.....sorry/thank you to our roommates, friends, and family who put up with us talking about it ALL the time.  but now we LIVE here.  what?  that still doesn't seem real.

but the reason tonight was so great was because we did what we loved the most here.  we got to be in our tiny home which now has the BEST back porch ever with twinkly lights all over the place.

we're slightly obsessed.

then, rick and spence were the nicest and came over and were just as excited as we were.  as silly as it sounds, that's what we're called to do.  romans 12:15 says, "be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep."  it's just so much better to go through the ups and downs, simple joys and times of tragedy of life with the people you love around you.

we proceeded to go directly back to their house to jump on their brand new trampoline.  because why wouldn't they have a trampoline?  anyways, i realize that little instance is so insignificant, but it meant something to me.  it made me appreciate (for the millionth time) the unbelievable people i love here and happy to think about all that is ahead of us.  

one month.

so much has happened in just one month.  i'm apologizing in advance on how long this post is, there's just so much to say!

on may 14, 2011, i finally graduated from college.  baylor university will always have a warm place in my heart for all the happy memories there.  my roommates and sweet friends there mean the world to me and i miss them more than words can say.

the strawberry swing graduates

goodbyes in waco were not fun or easy, but we had the hope of knowing that most of us would see each other the next weekend at our dear friend katie leigh's wedding.  we had the best time being a part of such a special time in her life.  we also thanked her for being the only one of our close friends that was getting married that close after graduation.  this way we will have "excuses" to see each other for the next five to ten years (lord, knows we're all hoping only 5!!) to see each other at the various weddings.  all in all, it was a beautiful wedding, and we all wish katie leigh and preston the happiest life together.

katie leigh and preston smith!

a few days after all the wedding festivities, i heard back from an interview that i had in nashville the previous week.  standing in an aisle at target, i nervously answered my phone only to hear the best news i could have hoped for, "hope, we'd like to offer you a full-time position here at propeller."  PRAISE THE LORD.  as nearly everyone who has spoken to me in the past year knows, i have been praying and praying for a job in the nashville area.  i was to the point that i was willing to do anything!  but of course, the Lord had much, much better plans for me.  i only had to trust him.  funny how hard that is for me even though i know he has yet to fail me.  so, i gratefully accepted the position as marketing assistant/office manager/receptionist at propeller, a small faith-based marketing firm in franklin, tn. the only catch was that they needed me there asap.  i was not about to let that stop me, so i began to furiously pack and figure out all that i needed to move in two quick weeks.

the time passed so fast.  i tried to squeeze in as many last minute snowcone dates and dinners with friends and family.

we laugh a lot

then the morning came that our oversized penske truck that was brimming with all of me and jillian's very many belongings pulled away from my forever home.  as i normally bear the unfortunate gift of feeling things both for myself and others very well, i had done really well about not crying or being overly sentimental.  when i pulled away from my home though, i just couldn't help a few tears while my mom and i prayed for our long drive to nashville and all that is ahead of me.

you should've seen how my dad masterfully packed this bad boy!

we made it out of dallas with my trooper-of-a-dad following at the maximum speed of 60mph in the penske.  what normally takes 10-11 hours, an already lengthy, drive to nashville ended up taking nearly 14 hours, but we made it!  that blessed "tennessee welcomes you" sign was a such a wonderful sight!

praise God

after we arrived, my incredible parents along with jill's sweet mama helped the two of us not only unload ALL of our things but also clean and do some much needed renovations on our house.  it was such a gift to jill and i.  we really couldn't be more grateful to all their help and support as their babies move across the country from them.

world's tiniest cutest kitchen

soon after our parents left, i had my first day at my first real job--what a nervous and exciting day!

jilly insisted on waking up to capture my first day hah!

when i got to work, my new team had flowers (one of my love languages) waiting for me on my new desk.  i was so overwhelmed by their encouragement and excitement for my arrival.  while i still have a lot to learn, i'm getting more and more comfortable in my position and with my responsibilities.  i really do work with the best possible people who are fun, easygoing but very successful at what they do, and most of all, they all love the Lord above all else.

the view of my desk

finally, our first weekend in nashville we actually went to our wonderful new friend parker's lake house. it was absolutely gorgeous out there, and we had such a blast!  jill and i may or may not have gotten the tiniest sunburned, but we're looking good now!

happy summery girls

after our friend rick arrived in nashville and completed our little group, we had some celebratory snickerdoodle cake and all felt right.  sorry again for the lengthiness of this first post.  hopefully, i can maintain this thing although i'm not exactly sure how often it will be right now.  we'll see!  anyways, i hope that everyone has the best weekend ahead!

good good people right there