"The Everyday Me."

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

I wrote a bio a few months ago for the church website. Bios are supposed to make you sound good and are usually formatted in a formal way. That's great and all, but let’s be honest...I'm just a normal person. So can I tell you a bit about me informally? You might be able to catch on through my posts, but let me just lay it out for you.

• I love rainy days. (Much like the one today, while I'm writing this.) I think it's cozy.


• Laughing is my favorite activity.
• I love to travel, and especially cherish the summers I've lived in South American countries. Chicago is another favorite traveled place.
• Also, I have a fetishes with the Spanish language, tea cups, pearls, and purple. (gift hints, yup...just kidding)


• I'm currently living at home with my family. And it is fun. We're not perfect, and it's not ideal for a post-grad, student working on a master's degree to be living with her parents, but it's where God has me right now, and I really love my family. I have two brothers, a loving set of normal parents, and an old golden retriever named Molly.


• I just moved back to Frisco from Arkansas and I'm dealing with a bit of culture shock. I mean, really, who doesn't shut down the town for lunch breaks? And the traffic!! I count my drives a success if I get out of the car and am not stressed or angry. I'm working on it. With that said, I left a wonderful adopted-family, church, friends, and university in Arkansas. I am who I am today because of what God did while I was there.


• Squirrels are my favorite animals. I know, most people think they're gross, but I just think they're really cute. Not that I want to own one, but I sure like to watch them. Bats are another fascinating one to me.


• I'm bad about cleaning up my room or car...I'm working on it.


• I love old-fashioned things: Antiques, old barns, real honey from beehives, tea cups from my grandmother's China cabinet, etc.


• My favorite time of the day is that moment when the coffee cup and I become friends while listening to God's daily whisperings.


• I have insecurities, I have doubts, I have attitude issues; I'm impatient and I distrust; I forget to be thankful. But more importantly, I know that I can give my flaws to God to fix, and I know that He uses my weaknesses for His Kingdom.


• The grace of God is more than I can wrap my mind around. And because of His great love, I have freedom to live rightly and completely.


• I was called to missions in the 9^th grade, but God decided that it was only for a time. In college he placed a love for youth ministry on my heart, and here I am…doing girls ministry.


• I love teaching truth to younger girls. I was fed so many lies as a teenager and struggled with so many things of the world; I think it’s important for me to share what I have learned with those around me.


• Middle school girls don’t annoy me. Most of my friends think I’m crazy for spending weekends with 13-year-olds, but I think it’s a blast! The drama that goes on is silly, but I never tire of hearing it. Maybe God has me in the right ministry.


• My favorite weekend pastime is to watch movies! In my mind, movie nights should happen every day. And I’m pretty open to every type of movie except horror films. Chick flick, comedy, action, cartoon. You name it and I’ll probably enjoy it.

So there’s a little about me. It’s not a complete list, but you get a picture of what I’m about. I read this quote by an author, and I think it sums up my daily life.

“I feel like a success in my everyday life if I get through the day having spent time with the Lord, exercised in some way… and made a friend smile.”

Until next time, Brittany

"Weddings, Brides, and Refreshing Symbolism"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

I’ve spend the past weekend in what feels like my hometown. Really it is my college town, but if you knew how much God changed my life while here, and the lovely relationships formed, you would see it as home too.

It was so nice to be back, to be surrounded by friends, and to have a beautiful reason to celebrate – a wedding!

It was the most beautiful wedding I’ve been privileged to be part of – and I’ve been part of some really great weddings. This wedding was special not only because Becca and Adam are so in love, but mostly because Christ was the center and reason to celebrate.

It was so beautiful to be reminded that life is all about Christ. this weekend, I was able to be part of conversations that I’ve missed in Frisco. Conversations that are centered on Christ, not the next fashion or money or tv. But Jesus. That’s all that matters, and all that we need to center ourselves on.

As we prepared for a wedding, we were reminded that Christ, our bridegroom, is waiting for His Bride – the church. As Becca came down the aisle, and Adam waited for her, Michael (the preacher) said, “Adam, your bride has arrived; Rebecca, your groom is waiting.” What beautiful symbolism of Christ and the Church! Such a good reminder that Christ is coming to heal this world and make all things new, therefore we shall run to Him. So edify Christ, edify the Body, cherish the Church, nothing else matters.

Spring Break in Chicago!

Spring Break has come and gone for the last time in my college career. That's a sobering thought. But what I did for spring break is anything but sobering! Each year as spring break comes around, my friends and I have tried to get trips together but it never seems to work out. Someone always has a doctor's appointment or plans with other people, so usually I just go home or to my grandparents. Well this year was different! My friend Kim and I had talked about going somewhere in early February. She has family all over the States, so we figured we could just go crash with them and enjoy a roadtrip. We sort of left plans at that and due to stressful school didn't plan anything for a while. As spring break drew nearer, we realized that we should probably plan something, and Kim realized that depending on where she was going to grad (or possibly med) school, she might need to visit there. After a    l   o   n   g   decision process, she decided on grad school at Wheaton College in Illinois.  So for spring break, we were headed to Chicago!

Our other former roommate, Leasha, couldn't make it up to Arkansas until Sunday so we had a few days to relax around Arkadelphia. It was wonderful! It felt like the summer I stayed in town all over again. Nate and Sean were around, we went to the lake and watched movies. It was lovely! That Friday, we saw our friend (Last semester's suitemate), Alyssa, married off, and I made her wedding cake (A lemon cake with raspberry filling and lemon icing. So tasty!) It turned out wonderfully!

After our relaxing, celebratory weekend, Leasha, Kim and I loaded up too early and hit the road.
We stayed in the town of Wheaton and went into Chicago all day Wednesday. Our main goal was to find K/L a place to live, so we looked at many apartments.

We had the opportunity to shop. A lot. Which is very uncharacteristic of us, but we found that we enjoyed it.
Our day in downtown Chicago was a blast! We saw every major attraction except Wrigley Field, and we were ok with that. Here's a few pictures of our trip. They probably explain things better than I can! (:

Chicago from the John Hancock
Building on the 96th floor.

"The Bean" at night. We had a lot of fun here.

More from the 96th floor

Kim and the Wardrobe from the Narnia movie.
Wheaton has a C.S. Lewis museum
that we caught just as it was closing.

C.S. Lewis head with the battle mask from
Narnia 2 in the background.

Wheaton College

C.S. Lewis' desk, where he wrote part of the Narnia books!

J.R.R. Tolkien's desk where Lord of the Rings was written!

A dinner of Thai food!

Picnic in John Q. Adams Park where
John Adams once lived. Neat!

We met this sweet puppy on the train.

Her name was Gracie. She had to get
off right after this because apparently
you're not allowed to have dogs on trains.

Our train ticket into Chicago

We met the Cake Boss!! Buddy was filming part of his
show and we got to take a picture with him.
(and we might be on his show! So, watch out
for the one where's he's in Chicago!)

Navy Pier

Chicago from Navy Pier

One of our favorite moments: Exploring the American
Girl Doll Store!
It was so cool! I'm sure the people around us
thought we were crazies.
Oh well! It was a blast.

It was good to be away from school for a while, but I still learned so much while I was in Chicago. We had the opportunity to spend time with many intelligent people.  It gave me a new appreciation for learning.
I also learned how thankful I am not to be moving to a city where I know no one and searching for a place to live, work, and getting acquainted with new culture.
Hope your spring break was as relaxing and fun as mine! (: