running over boulders and fires in the oven!!

Just a little note to explain the title of today's post. First is running over boulders. Well, over the past two months i have ran over 2 huge rocks in two different driveways/yards! I am incredibly thankful that my car was not harmed or a tire busted! (my track record with tires is not clean!)
Secondly fires in the OVEN! Well, yesterday was the bring your favorite food to fight club. Alicia and I were making a strawberry cake...in this bunny shaped pan(just to be silly.) We filled the pan to much and the batter overflowed in the oven....causing it to burn...causing it to catch on fire! Oh my gosh!! there were small flames in the oven!! It was insane! but don't worry it was put out quickly! So yes to start this post off....I am thankful for all of my crazy crazy times and memories!!

Pre-thanksgiving thankfulness...
50 things/people I am thankful for in no particular order:
1. Asheville, North Carolina and all of the uniqueness that comes with it

2. The prayer gallery (i was just there tonight...so it's fresh in my thankfulness file)

3. Candles in the prayer gallery

4. friends who are my sisters!!

5. Lacy (my best friend since 4th grade)

6. Hailey (my BFF/sister friend)

7. Hope (my soulmate best friend....who has a unique way of making me laugh)

8. Tory (my best friend who I am so so thankful we have only gotten closer over the past
several years and we met b/c our parents forgot us at school)

9. Becca (my best friend who no matter how much time passes in between us talking or seeing each other....we instantly pick right up and fill each other in on life)

10. Christy (the best mentor in the world!!/another best friend/2nd mom/older sister...who always listens to me share my heart and then shares her heart with me)

11. Basically instant communication through technology

12. Modes of transportation

13. Jesus' great commission

14. Highland Christian Church

15. Jason and Doreen Garris and Zeke and Jude Garris (Zeke is possibly the cutest/funniest 2 year old I have ever met.

16. The Highland staff

17. my new friend Megan Coss(who I am really thankful for and know that a special friendship is
forming)

18. My semester in Colorado

19. My two friends who I discovered LOST with

20. Savannah

21. Elise

22. The TV show LOST

23. The new kids and people I am building relationships with at Highland.

24. My favorite kids in the world who live in Nashville, Haylee and Jack Gold, they my unbiological little sister and brother!!

25. The precious little girls who dance in the front of the orange peel each sunday morning. They are so purely worshiping Jesus!

26. My time with Youth With A Mission

27. Hononlulu Hawaii

28. My DTS family

29. My outreach team

30. The 2 1/2 month adventure that outreach was in Fiji and Vanuatu!

31. My mom and dad (who I know I am only going to appreciate and love more as I get older) I
love them and their unconditional love for me is such an amazing picture of Jesus' love for me.

32. My nana

33. My grandad

34. My grandma

35 My Pa

36. My Ma(great grandmother)

37. My Papa(great grandfather)

38. Kelsey (who I seriously can not imagine my life without her! She is such a great cousin! I am
thankful for all of our time together!)

39. Chloe and her cheerful HELLO when she answers the phone

40. basically all of my family and all of our crazy memories!

41. The Father

42. Jesus

43. Holy Spirit

44. The freedom that only comes from JESUS!!

45. God's living and active WORD!

46. Different weather seasons

47. Snow

48. Snowboarding!!

49. Family Vacations

50. Growing up going out on the lake, knee boarding, tubing, and wake boarding.

51. one additional thankful thing...my job at starbucks

traffic traffic

I must say working at Starbucks is bringing out my inner freak a person out enthusiasm. When meeting new people sometimes in my mind when I am going through the very first introductions I am thinking "okay Brittney calm it down a few notches you are probably freaking this person out." The person I am meeting is probably like "whoa okay back off." Tonight I learned when I am behind that counter and a person walks in...'I am the one to take the initiative and go for it!" The more I freak them out with enthusiasm the better.

Also, this is another note:
ABOUT 6 WEEKS TILL I GO TO INDIA!!!
The closer it gets the more excited I become. Especially when talking to Hope and Tory who have already been there! Oh Jesus THANK YOU for the the chance to go!!!! My heart is so so exicted and ready!

Four generations in ONE house??

In my heart I really long and desire to live in constant community with people. I am praying and asking God to make this dream and desire of living in community with others a reality. I know I have talked to several people who have the same desire and in my mind I am like "why can't this just happen now!! Let's find some land buy it and start building!! or shoot even bust out tents! (well scratch the tent idea the winter month's are ahead...and it's cold)"
When I was little and even now sometimes I tell my dad I wish everyone I love, all of my friends and family could live together. And He would tell me "I know I used to wish we could have a big hotel and everyone live there together." Okay, well I guess having every single friend and family member living in one place is never going to be a reality because we are not all called to live in the same part of the world. But the idea of living in an intentional community with others where ever I am can be very real. When I was in Hawaii doing my DTS with YWAM I lived in a house with about 20 other girls. It was so great! It was so simple. I am experiencing an amazing community with my church family at Highland Christian Church and it is wonderful. But I long for more.
Anyways...i just wanted to do a post about this b/c it is something that has been on my mind for a while.

I tried to get this song on here but it wouldn't work. If you want to listen to it you can look it up, but I really like the last several verses of this song.

Every Minute by Sara Groves
I am long on staying.I am slow to leave,
Especially when it comes to you my friend
You have taught me to slow down,
And to prop up my feet.
It's the fine art of being who I am.

And I can't figure out why you want me around.
I'm not the smartest person I have ever met.
But somehow that doesn't matter,
No it really never mattered to you at all.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.

And I can think of a time when families all lived together,
Four generations in one house.
And the table was filled with good food,
And friends and neighbors.
That's not how we like it now.

'Cause if you sit at home you're a loser,
Couldn't you find anything better to do?
Well, no, I couldn't think of one thing
I would rather waste my time on than
Sitting here with you.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.

(Instrumental)

And I wish all the people I love the most
Could gather in one place,
And know each other and love each other well.
And I wish we could all go camping,
And lay beneath the stars,
And have nothing to do and stories to tell.

We'd sit around the campfire
And we'd make each other laugh,
Remembering when...
And you're the first one I'm inviting.
Always know that you're invited, my friend.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.
Every moment, and every minute that you give me.
Every moment, and every minute that you give me.
Every minute...

**if you don't have any of Sara Groves music I highly recommend it. Her lyrics are really creative and genuine.

Just do it....come on....do it.

Round One

1. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
Tania, Sue, and Julie....we spontaneously went to see a movie for a dollar!!! Momma Mia!

2. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
general psych class ending, the potential chance of snow....which means the potential chance of snowboarding!!!, Jesus' Birthday Celebration!!!!!!!!!!!! The next 3 Sundays at Highland, The Secret Place series
3. Who was the last person you called?
my mom

4. What were you doing at 12am last night?
talking on the phone to one of my best friends Tory

5. What did you fear was going to get you as a child?
Seriously every time I would take a shower I was always conscious of the drain. B/c for some reason I thought something would get me. So I would not get close to it at all.

6. When did you last see your mom?
sometime in October i think

7. What are you wearing right now?
A t-shirt and jeans

8. Where is your favorite place to be?
okay i can't pick one so i am going to list several favorite places to be...b/c i love to think and dream about each
-the beaches in Hawaii laying in the sand and soaking up the sun
-snowboarding in powder snow
-Old Hickory Lake after being out all day and feeling kind of sun burnt but not too....and it being about sun set....and the water is so calm. And your getting in the last few wakeboard and tub runs in for the day
-The Orange Peel on a Sunday morning
-In other countries
-In my friend Nastinka's living room with her and Hope and her daughter Simene
-In my 2nd families living room watching sports and spending time together
-With my whole family:(mom,dad, grandma, pa, vonda, greg, kelsey, chloe, fudgie & kristie) together in Destin,Florida all laughing and telling stories...we have told tons of times, but still are funny every time we tell it

9. Where is your least favorite place to be?
school

10. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
I am not sure at the moment.....some where in the 10/40 window. Maybe some really really remote village, but I am not sure in what country.

11. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years?
There is no telling!

12. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
a movie

13. What cities/towns/villages have you lived in?
In order from birth to now
Lebanon, TN
Columbia, TN
Nashville/Old Hickory/Mt. Juliet TN
Honolulu Hawaii
Fiji
Vanuatu
Denver, Colorado
Asheville, North Carolina

14. Are you a social person?
very much so

15. What do you like about winter?
Snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding

Celebrating the Birth of my Savior Jesus Christ

Round Two -
Unconscious Mutterings:

I say … and you think … ?

Coverage :: clothes....is good
Cynical :: people
Gust :: a boy that I knew in elementary school named gus
Improvised :: any speech i have done
V :: is for Vendetta
Guests :: Be OUR
Brutal :: really really really cold wind and snow
Grant :: money
Pull :: tug of war
Streaming :: popping a squat and peeing in a parking lot.....and then trying to avoid it getting onto your feet

Starbucks community...

Today was my first day of training at Starbucks Coffee Company. Soon and very soon I will have become a coffee expert, or at least will be spending a lot of time around fellow partners who know a ton of information about the lovely coffee, so many of us intake. I am excited about the new job. I will be able to meet a lot of people who visit our store on a regular basis. I am looking forward to the new friendships with the other employees and with the Christmas season coming up an ample amount of time will be spent behind the counter serving frantic shoppers, who desperately need their caffeine fix for the moment.

Pray for the Persecuted NOVEMBER 9th]

The International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church is this Sunday 9th November*. Please join us and hundreds of thousand of others to intercede on behalf of those who live in nations which are restricted and hostile towards the gospel.

The time that we spend in prayer has an eternal impact on the lives of people throughout the world. Through prayer, circumstances change, closed doors are opened, resistant people are made receptive and leaders are installed or removed.

Please pray:

The Lord will give courage to His people who are enduring persecution for His Name

The Lord will place His restraining hand on those who seek to harm His people

Churches facing government opposition will stand firm in their ministry

Christians will have opportunities to reach out with the Gospel without fear of intimidation or harassment

Servants of the Lord will be able to deliver Bibles and Christian literature to places where they are most needed

Christians who have been left without pastors and teachers may be kept strong in their faith

Christians who have been imprisoned for their faith will be released safely

The Lord will restrain the callousness and brutality of prison guards in their treatment of Christians in prison

Pray against the increasing problem of young Christian girls being kidnapped, raped and forced to marry

Those who have lost loved ones by martyrdom will be comforted and strengthened by God during their grief

Christian pastors will be kept from danger and strengthened in their faith as they care for the people of God

New converts may be protected and provided for should their family turn against them.

The current laws in many restricted nations forbidding evangelism, missionary activity and religious instruction, will be repealed


"In the death camps I knew that there were people praying for me. It gave me the spiritual strength I needed to live as a Christian and to trust God. It is the same for everyone in the camps and prisons today." Underground Church pastor, Cambodia

My Utmost for His Highest November 3

A BOND-SLAVE OF JESUS
"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20 These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to the point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot put me through it. It means breaking the husk of my individual independence of God, and the emancipating of my personality into oneness with Himself, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Jesus. There is no possibility of dispute when once I am there. Very few of us know anything about loyalty to Christ - "For My sake." It is that which makes the iron saint. Has that break come? All the rest is pious fraud. The one point to decide is - Will I give up, will I surrender to Jesus Christ, and make no conditions whatever as to how the break comes? I must be broken from my self-realization, and immediately that point is reached, the reality of the supernatural identification takes place at once, and the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable - "I have been crucified with Christ." The passion of Christianity is that I deliberately sign away my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I do not begin to be a saint. One student a year who hears God's call would be sufficient for God to have called this College into existence. This College as an organization is not worth anything, it is not academic; it is for nothing else but for God to help Himself to lives. Is He going to help Himself to us, or are we taken up with our conception of what we are going to be? Wow, I think lately I have been taken up with my conception of what I am going to be. Sometimes I am so quick to forget God is in total control of my life. He has directed me every step of the way. I tend to play the what if game. What if I would have gone here, done this, stayed here....so on and so on. This journey I am on with Jesus is unique and it's about walking daily with HIM! I am constantly reminded to turn my eyes back to Jesus. It is like he gently reaches for my face and directs my eyes and gaze back to him. I am thankful that it is Christ who lives in me. Like the verse Galatians 2:20 "nevertheless I live; yet not I, But Christ liveth in me." Thank you Jesus that the pressure is not on me.

Come on in and sit right down....If you want to just get up and shout.....yeah...yeah...yeah...come on down! (yaya for the Kid's moment song)

I just want to say how thankful I am to be apart of the body of Christ. Today at Highland it was a simple message from Shannon along with several people sharing their heart about service, gel groups, and fostering children. My heart is so full to know that at Highland Christian Church I am journeying alongside a team of Christ followers whose hearts are on the same page. I am so thankful one of our key goals is to pass on the baton of faith and leadership from one generation to the next. I am thankful to be a part of a non compartmentalized church. It is powerful and life giving to be in a group with children to senior adults sharing their hearts with one another. I am thankful for the creative arts used to worship Jesus each week, whether it be video, drama, the dancers, or a special song. I am thankful for the freedom to worship Jesus!

Jesus thank you thank you thank you for allowing me to be apart of your precious beloved, Highland Christian Church. Thank you for the diverse group of people you bring through the doors of the Orange Peel each Sunday morning. Thank you for the smaller more intimate groups that meet in homes throughout the week to encourage and support one another. Thank you that in your name, Jesus, we can gather to worship you. You are our King! Thank you for your love, loyalty, and friendship.