New Math

It's no secret that I'm not a math fan.

But this is some math I could get into. 

Check out this site by Craig Damrauer. It's fun.

Here are some of my favorites:

May First - Countdown!

We have officially entered the month of May!

You know what that means...we can officially begin counting down to my 24th birthday. :-)

(am I really that old???)

Mark your calendars, May 18th is the big day. 

I'll be in Miami the weekend prior to my birthday for Rey & Lauren's wedding. I'm sure we'll squeeze in several birthday celebrations the few days we will be in Miami. 

On the day of my actual birthday we'll be on a plane headed back to Raleigh. Still not sure if we will do anything once we arrive. But we better! *ahem*

Anyway, if you want to be a good friend...call, text, e-mail, send a smoke signal letting me know you care that I'm aging. If you want to be a really good friend I looove gifts. Cards are great. Gift cards are really great (Target, F21, Urban Outfitters...).

I'm kidding of course...but seriously...I'm just saying.  No harm in putting it out there...after all, Luke says, "Ask and it will be given to you..."

:-)

GreatCommissionResurgence.com

Remember this post I wrote a couple weeks ago about the Great Commission Resurgence in the SBC?

Well, now there is something we can do to get this movement started. It's a small first step, but it's a step in the right direction. 

It's a declaration of what we are committing to with this resurgence and what we are expecting from the SBC'ers. 

Check it out and if you agree sign it here.

GreatCommissionResurgence.com

unexpected verdict

Last Sunday, J.D. (pastor of our church) preached a message that really spoke to me. 

It is something that has constantly been on my mind for years. There will be periods in my life where this topic just consumes my thoughts. And so I wanted to share his sermon with you in case this is an area where you struggle as well.

Open your bibles to Matthew 7:13-27 and click here to listen to the podcast of his message.

Blessings to all. :-)

Miss California and Perez Hilton

I was watching the Today Show yesterday morning, as is my usual custom, and they had a story about the Miss USA contest. Apparently there was some controversy involving the answer Miss California gave to a question asked by Perez Hilton. 

He basically asked her thoughts on legalizing same-sex marriage. The young woman answered honestly. She does not approve. Well, in typical Perez Hilton fashion, he blasted her on his website and called her all sorts of nasty names. 

Does anyone else see how ridiculous this is??? He asked her a specific question, she gave a specific answer, and he has the audacity to be upset? Are we not allowed to have our own opinions? 

Hilton claimed that her answer alienated much of the nation and her answer should be representative of all Americans. Well, Americans are diverse and we all have different ideas, opinions, thoughts, values, and morals. We do not all agree on every single issue. He also said that she should have kept her "politics" out of her answer and given a more "politically correct" answer. Whaaat?! I'm sure that if she would have said she supported same-sex unions he wouldn't be outraged and telling her to "keep her politics out of it." 

Here's an article on CNN's website that speaks to this issue and that I can respect. 

FamilyLife Conference

This past weekend Alex and I attended the FamilyLife Conference at SEBTS. 

We'll soon be celebrating a year in marriage, so we wanted to do attend this conference to refresh ourselves on what God has to say about marriage and family. 

Dr. Akin has a lot of wisdom to pass down in this area. I appreciate his candor and willingness to talk about every aspect of marriage, even the awkward parts. He's direct and and honest and draws his conclusions from Scripture and not his own opinions. He also has a lot of great stories as someone who has been married for about 30 years (I believe), raised four boys, and has just welcomed grandchild number four to the world. 

Alex and I are very thankful we had the opportunity to attend and soak up some godly knowledge on marriage. It's a huge blessing and a challenge, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Can't wait to celebrate our first year! Just 41 more days. :-)

[anniversary presents are more than welcome! *wink*]

spotlight video

My favorite band has done it again!

Check out their new video for "Spotlight." 

Can't wait to see them on tour again. 

MUTEMATH - Spotlight

Great Commission Resurgence

Dr. Akin (president of my seminary) made an address in chapel today. The title of his message was "Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence." 

I've not been Southern Baptist all my life. Even after I joined a Southern Baptist church at the end of my teenage years, I didn't think much of it.  I've never been aware the history of this denomination or its current issues.  Slowly I've been learning more and more, and of course there are good and bad things. Well, Dr. Akin "brought the heat," as one friend so eloquently put it. 

His address was excellent. I will outline his main points below, but you MUST go here and watch the video of his message. Anyone who is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention should listen to this and consider his words. You may not agree with everything, but it's all definitely food for thought. I think many interesting discussions will sprout from this. If you're part of the SBC in any way (and by the way, you may be a member of a Southern Baptist Church and not even know it!) then listen, consider, discuss, pray, and act. 

I. We must commit ourselves to the total and absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives. (Col. 3:16-17, 23-24)

II. We must be gospel centered in all our endeavors for the glory of God. (Rom. 1:16)

III. We must take our stand on the firm foundation of the inerrant and infallible Word of God affirming it’s sufficiency in all matters. (Matt 5:17-18; John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

IV. We must devote ourselves to a radical pursuit of the Great Commission in the context of obeying the Great Commandments. (Matt.28:16-20; 22:37-40)

V. We must affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a healthy and sufficient guide for building a theological consensus for partnership in the gospel, refusing to be sidetracked by theological agendas that distract us from our Lord’s Commission. (1 Tim. 6:3-4)

VI. We must dedicate ourselves to a passionate pursuit of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus across our nation and to all nations answering the call to go, disciple, baptize and teach all that the Lord commanded. (Matt 28:16-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:5; 15:20)

VII. We must covenant to build gospel saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field. (Deut. 6:1-9; Psalm 127; 128; Eph. 6:4)

VIII. We must recognize the need to rethink our Convention structure and identity so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission. (1 Cor. 10:31)

IX. We must see the necessity for pastors to be faithful Bible preachers who teach us both the content of the Scriptures and the theology embedded in the Scriptures. (2 Tim. 4:1-5)

X. We must encourage pastors to see themselves as the head of a gospel missions agency who will lead the way in calling out the called for international assignments but also equip and train all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live. (Eph. 4:11-16)

XI. We must pledge ourselves to a renewed cooperation that is gospel centered and built around a biblical and theological core and not methodological consensus or agreement. (Phil. 2:1-5; 4:2-9)

XII. We must accept our constant need to humble ourselves and repent of pride, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, contentions, lying, selfish ambitions, laziness, complacency, idolatries and other sins of the flesh; pleading with our Lord to do what only He can do in us and through us and all for His glory. (Gal. 5:22-26; James 4:1-10)

cool shot

BJ was the official photographer on the Mexico trip. He works for SEBTS taking pictures and he sure knows what he's doing. He posted a few of his photos on his personal blog. 

Recognize these legs???

first mission trip

We truly had an amazing time in Mexico. 

I'm still recovering...especially because we had a very busy Easter Sunday yesterday. 

The week was filled with laughter, baseball, tortillas, smiling children, gringos trying to speak Spanish, frijoles, the Bible...

One of the Bryans (there were four) and I led team six, the Marlins! We had a team of all teenage boys (most of whom were already pretty talented baseball players). At the beginning of the week I longed to be on a team with some of the younger kids. I'm used to working with little ones. But by the end of the week, I loved my team. They were great guys and I had a lot of fun joking around with them. 

Everyday after training at the different stations and before playing a big game between the teams we would do a gospel presentation. I did it two times. It was a bit nerve-wracking because I lacked confidence. I thought I would just fumble through it and it wouldn't make any sense. Well, God really gave me the words to say and I think it turned out pretty well! It was a great experience and I pray that those boys will consider the message we had for them and find a local church to learn more about God. 

It was really a great week. :-) I'm happy Alex and I were able to go on this mission trip together. We learned a lot. 

Alex put some of the photos on our mobileme gallery. Check 'em out. And if you went on the trip and would like to share your photos, just upload them to the gallery. 

I'll also put some on facebook of course. ;-)

Here's a photo with Javier. He was a good kid. Even helped me out with one of the gospel presentations. He didn't know he would be helping me, but he did well. Nothing like putting someone on the spot!

Mexico

We are packed and ready to go on our mission trip to Mexico!

I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure God has it all worked out already. 

Tomorrow morning (before the sun even rises!) we'll be at the airport with the rest of our group getting ready to board a plane to Texas. We'll stay one night in Del Rio where my mom and dad will meet us for dinner! Haven't seen them in quite some time. The next day we will cross the border into Acuña and spend the week playing baseball with and ministering to a group of kids. 

Thanks to everyone who contributed money to our trip. We appreciate your gifts and faithfulness. And thank you to all who have been in prayer for us and the kids of Acuña. Keep on praying!

See you in a week.

before & after

I'm a big fan of design*sponge. 

They always have great articles on home decor trends, DIY projects, and much much more.

Their style is perfection. 

Some of my favorite blog posts are their before and after projects.

I've not had experience reupholstering sofas or sewing throw pillows or revamping an entire bedroom set...but thanks to design*sponge I feel that it can be possible...someday. :-)

Here are some of my favorite after shots:

P.S. They also have great city guides. They have the 411 on cute shops, restaurants, and hang out spots in many cities in the US and abroad. 

something's hiding in here

These people are so talented. I love reading their blog to see what artistic project they're up to.

Here's a video of their lovely loft in Philadelphia. I'm really into home decor lately and I love seeing how creative people get with their living spaces. 

Check out their etsy shop too.

Happy Anniversary!

On March 29, 2008 my sister and her long-time boyfriend finally made the leap into marriage.

I can't believe it's been a whole year since that beautiful day! They were married at the Church of the Little Flower in Hollywood and had the reception at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. I believe they are staying there this weekend to celebrate their first year of marriage. How romantic. ;-)

Congratulations, Danibel and Manny! I pray that the Lord continues to bless you and that your marriage will thrive as the years pass on by. Love ya!

It's also another important anniversary. Today Alex celebrates four years working with Apple! That's a long time! I am truly thankful for this great job that he has been blessed with. Apple has been good to us and Alex has been a faithful employee...I think this calls for a raise! 

Congrats, love. 

(this is Alex when he first started working with Apple...check out that baby face...glad I came along and made him grow out that beard!)

puma

Anyone who knows me knows that I love and appreciate the arts and creativity. No matter where I see it...when I see something innovative and different I just have to share.

A while ago I couldn't stop raving about this commercial:

NEW SHOES!! from First and last name on Vimeo.

Well, Puma has done it again. This commercial is amazing! The man and woman in the ad are in their underwear and the clothes are projected on to them. !!! 

 

Puma - Lift from rndm on Vimeo.

ethics as worship

It's midterms week here at SEBTS. 

I spent the better part of Friday and Saturday cramming my ethics notes into my brain. I was memorizing Scripture, deciphering the difference between ethics and morality, studying the five main components of a worldview. I just wanted to make sure it was all in there because I really wanted a good grade on my ethics midterm. 

Then on Saturday night Alex and I attended a concert with our friends, Allison and Bobby. The concert was kind of an introduction of this project a young girl is working on.  I wish I could remember her name...Jessica something?? She's recording her first album and it's all about the Gospel. Good stuff. After she and her band played some songs off her album they did a praise and worship set. It was so great. For some reason it really touched me and all my ethics notes came flooding into my head. Except this time, I wasn't just worried about memorizing it all. I was really internalizing it. The Scriptures we studied meant so much more.  The truth about God's grace overwhelmed me. The fact that God has been so gracious with us and has freed us to live a life of holiness...it moved me. Read Ephesians 2:1-10, it'll do you good. ;-)

(photo by: Merari Teruel)

flea market!

Last weekend we had some of the most beautiful weather I've experienced since moving to North Carolina. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze, the temperatures reached the 80s! We just had to head outdoors. 

[unfortunately we're back in the 50s this week...boo]

We decided to go to the flea market located on the North Carolina fairgrounds. It is HUGE and there are so many neat things to look at. They sell just about anything you could imagine. Vintage cameras, vintage furniture, vintage toys, vintage records...vintage everything basically.  I wish I could have bought so many things buuut we just don't have money to be wasting away at the flea market. We couldn't walk away empty handed though. After walking around the entire flea market and visiting every table we went back to the very first table we stopped at to buy the very first item that caught my eye.

 

Check out my awesome bowl:

Well, I think it's awesome anyway. :-)

Here are a few more interesting items that caught my eye:

(I remember reading these books when I was a kid!)

(Love this desk)

(Whaaaat?!?!?)

(We totally had these when I was growing up!!!)

jealousy

It's not something most people readily admit to...at least it's not something I readily admit to. 

But it's true...I'm a terribly jealous person. I often have to close my eyes, breathe, and remember all the ways the Lord has blessed me.

Lately I'm jealous of people who are DONE with school. I've been in school since I was three years old! That's 20 years of school. I've studied, read books, written papers, memorized formulas, worried over exams. I'm kind of ready to be done with all of this. It's not the learning that I mind. For the most part I love learning. I'm just tired of being obligated to read books and memorize facts. I want to read for fun. I want to learn for fun. I don't want to stay up all night writing papers or studying for tests. ::le sigh::

I know, I know, education is a privilege. Believe me, I'm aware. And I am beyond grateful to live in a country where I am allowed and encouraged to increase my education. I am ever so thankful to be in a school where I am enjoying my classes and professors; it just gets a bit tiresome. Really I've got just about a year and a half to go, I'm sure I'll make it through. :-)

women's ministry

I've been having conversations about this topic lately (and other related topics).

When I saw this post it made me smile. 

Maybe some day soon I'll elaborate on the subject...for now, read this. 

the single life

I've been married for almost ten months now...and I'm still not totally used to it. There are still some things that seem strange and foreign to me. 

I've loved getting to know Alex in a whole new way. I've loved setting up our apartment, making meals together, going grocery shopping, working side by side in the office. It's been really great. 

I can't lie though, there are some things that I miss about the single life. I think it's mostly because I never really enjoyed being single. I got into a "serious" relationship when I was 16 (I am now convinced that is too young to be dating!) which wasn't over until I was 19. I spent about a year being somewhat single (it's complicated, lol) and then I met Alex at the age of 20 and we've been together ever since. Now believe me, I love Alex and I would rather be married to him than not, but all you single ladies should enjoy being single! ::insert Beyonce tune here::

I didn't enjoy the freedoms that came along with being single. Too many Christians girls (and boys) are desperate to find the ONE and get hitched. Paul certainly understood the value of singleness. When you're single, you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself and God. When you're single you can go to McDonald's at one in the morning with your girlfriends and do donuts in the parking lot of the church when "Hey Ya" comes on the radio and sit around in Barnes & Noble drinking Starbuck's and reading magazines and art books. You can plan to go to the movies without checking in with anyone and make an impromptu trip to IHOP afterwards. You can drive to Orlando for the Cornerstone Festival and jump in the mosh pits. You can sit on the couch with your best friend eating Captain Jack's Buried Treasure (the best dessert of all time) and crying over when Harry finally professes his love for Sally. 

I didn't enjoy these things as much as I should have when I was single. It makes me a little sad that I probably neglected some great girl time because I didn't realize how special it was. [sorry, loves]

I suppose I could still do many of these things now that I am married...except all my best of friends are in Miami. And sometimes I miss them. Sometimes. ;-)

And making friends in a new place is harder than I imagined. Not that I haven't met some great people...but it's not as familiar or comfortable, and it feels as if "married girl friendships" are different from "single girl friendships." If that makes any sense. When you're married everyone has a busy schedule and making plans to hang out seems to be a more difficult task. 

The point is...being single is a beautiful thing...and being married is a beautiful thing. You should enjoy where you are in life instead of lamenting over what you don't have. Maybe I didn't enjoy the single life as much as I could have, but I am thoroughly enjoying married life! And I hope that I will be able to find a way to incorporate some meaningful girl time into my life. 

[some single girl fun]

[and the day I thought this guy might me someone special...lol]

planting

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future lately. It's hard for me to focus on the present, and I know that I should...but I think it's nice to ponder over what God is calling you to do.

When I began my seminary education, I had NO clue what I would do upon graduation.  Now that I'm seven months into it, I'm still not absolutely certain about anything, but Alex and I have some ideas. 

I've been thinking a lot about culture, big city living, and church planting. I briefly shared my thoughts with Alex one day and he said I just had to listen to one of the talks that Mark Driscoll gave at the 20/20 Conference last month.  When I finally did, it blew me away! It was exactly what had been on my mind the last few weeks. Here's a summary of his talk written by someone who was there. The podcast is available on iTunes if you want to hear it for yourself. Just search for the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary podcast and download Mark Driscoll's talk entitled "Seven Views of Culture." It's dated February 6, 2009 and it's free!

Anyway, I think hearing that podcast really confirmed many of my feelings and clarified a lot of things for Alex as well. We're really thinking seriously about church planting somewhere. Nothing is set in stone yet. We're not sure when or where. But we're headed in that direction possibly. For now, I'll just keep studying and learning all that I can in seminary, and Alex is getting his papers in order to join the College at Southeastern. Big move for him, and I'm proud that he's taking this step. Pray for us to keep seeking God's direction. I want Proverbs 3:5-6 to really be true in our lives. I want it to be something we live and not just something we say.

Believe

Here's a little video from our church. It talks about the new mission expansion project we're doing now. Pretty exciting stuff.

The Summit Church : Believe Mission Expansion Project from Chris Baker on Vimeo.

live music

I love live music.

There's nothing like standing in front of a stage and listening to people share everything they have through song. 

We haven't been to very many live shows since moving here. Between Alex's work schedule, my school schedule, and our church schedule, we have neglected to explore the local music scene of Raleigh. 

So when Alex found out yesterday that Lovedrug would be playing at some small club in Raleigh that night, we had to go.  Three other bands opened and they were all really good! I especially loved this one band called House of Fools.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I would enjoy Lovedrug's show. I have their first record, which I do love...and I saw them live at Cornerstone Festival in Orlando maybe three or four years ago, which I also loved. However, I haven't kept up with them since. Well, they did great! I was only familiar with two of the songs they played, but I enjoyed every song! They are definitely worth seeing live. 

I miss going to check out music in rinky-dink little clubs. There's really nothing like it. I think we'll be making more time for it from now on.

P.S. Bear9 (my favorite local Miami band) played a show on Wednesday that I wish I could have seen. :-) Merari posted about it here. Miss you, guys. 

P.P.S. At the end of the night we discovered our car had been towed...boo... Thankfully, Alex's co-workers were also at the show and gave us a lift to pick up our car. Another life lesson learned.