mamma's don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...

...or do. it's kinda manly. i mean, have you seen 8 seconds? cowboy up.

lately, i've been re-embracing my southern roots. aaand i love it. 

keep me below the mason-dixon line, please.

anyway...as of late:

for halloween i was Luna Lovegood and my friend was Harry Potter:

Photo by: GrantLHarrison - check him out. so good.

--i also made the same cake again that i made last year.

--me and my sister went to see Wicked at Robinson...so good! wish i could see it on broadway!

--it's competition season again: my squad won 1st last weekend, we have the last one this saturday, but that means i have to miss the church retreat - sad.

listening to: if i die young - the band perry (re-embracing being a southern girl, remember)

drinking: v8 v-fusion light-pomegranate & blueberry

student quote: child development unit-talking about feeding infants and burping them after..."do humans have to do that too? do we burp so we don't get belly aches & gassy?" my response "babies are humans."

current love: new rain-x wipers - it's like putting contacts in for the first time. for real.

that's all.

loves! leah marie.

goodness

it's kind of great how the Lord knows exactly WHAT to teach you and HOW to do it.

my year (a vague synopsis): 

lesson one: aha moment - women's retreat, listening to kari jobe's the more i seek you (last spring)

lesson two: aha moment - reading psalms under the mosiquito net on my bed in haiti (july)

lesson three: aha moment - reading james at home (early august)

lesson four: aha moment - learning about the same psalm from months earlier (mid september)

lesson five: what's next??

...it's neat to look back and see the perfect process (even before it's finished). lesson two couldn't have been understood without the prior realization of lesson one...and so on. really...i love it. 

goodnight. loves!

leah marie

dooon't stop BELIEEEEVING

be·lieve [bih-leev]

1. to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so

2.to have confidence or faith in the truth of 

3.to suppose or assume; understand 

4.believe in: a.to be persuaded of the truth or existence of b.to have faith in the reliability, honesty, benevolence of, etc...

James 1:5-8: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 

Highlight of the day: i'm walking around my classroom "monitoring" - i stop and look up. what do i see? one of my students leans over, grabs her shirt and kisses it. yes ladies and gentlemen...one of my students kissed justin beiber right in front of my eyes!!! she looked up and made eye contact with me...needless to say the next 5 minutes were anything but productive for the entire class. 


night! loves.

HaitiLove

Well...it's been a while since I got back from Haiti but the country and the people there are still very much in my heart and on my mind. I thought I'd share a few photos from my trip.

This is where we slept. There were three of these buildings. We arrived on the 4th of July, so the Haitians hung an American flag for us!!! This was definitely a foreshadowing of how awesome these people are!

Here are a few more pics from the place we stayed:

These were the bathrooms they had built on site. There were 2 toilets and 2 showers.

The picture on the left is of the ditch they were digging in front of our buildings after the first night's monsoon. The rain completely flooded one of the buildings. So they're working on fixing that problem. The picture on the right is of the water tank that provided water for the toilets and showers. FYI: in order to get water in the tank they fill up a five gallon bucket at the well, then carry it to the tank, climb up the ladder and dump it in. Repeat. These people are amazing.

These are just few of the sweet people I grew to love:

I miss these ladies!!

This is Zophonie. She's awesome!

This is Nikenson. He's 11. And a cool dude.

This is Roody. This man is amazing! He was such a huge blessing to us and our trip. Not to mention the huge blessing he is to his family, Haiti and the church there!

One day we got to visit a local orphanage:

These were a few of the girls I got to hang out with.

Here are few pics that show the real potential and beauty of this country:

 

I have more pictures but I don't want to get too carried away. If you want to see more (really good) pictures check out http://epochchurch.org/haiti/ Grant (who is a professional) put some pictures up there from our trip. You can also read the entries that were posted for each day we were there.

My prayer for the church in Leogane and the people we met is Ephesians 1:15-19. 

that's all, I suppose. 

love!

leah marie

We're Back!

I can't even begin to explain my time in Haiti. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced (in a good way). I have no appropriate words to describe it. It was tremendously encouraging. It is a dark land but the Lord is at work and so very present! The people there are amazing. The toughest, hardest working people I have ever encountered. They have so little, but many of them have so much! So much loss and yet so much hope, so much pain and and yet so much joy, so much love! I am still learning and processing everything from the trip so maybe more will be shared later. But for now, this will do.

Please pray for the church in Haiti! :)

PS-The stomach hasn't been the same since, but it was so worth it! I'm hoping to see the doc soon.

loves!

leahmarie.

less than a week!

I can't believe it's less than a week away!

the hat I got for Haiti...I don't want a sunburn!!!

you can follow our group while we are there here:

http://epochchurch.org/haiti/

Todays music mood: Coldplay. Lovers in Japan.

Night loves!

leah marie.

mission update!

May! Summer is well on it's way. 

Update:

Instead of Peru this summer...Haiti.

Please pray! Thanks :) 

loves! leah marie :)

March? Where did you go??

AHHH! it's already April! the month of March flew by me without posting. my goal for blogging (that i just made up 3 seconds ago) is to post at least once a month. 


i regret to say that spring break is over. boo (radley). i guess this means that summer is slowly creeping closer! yay!


Peru Mission Trip Update: Doors have been closing for our church to go to Peru, so now we are looking at Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Chili (and still Peru-kinda). If anyone actually reads this I just ask you pray for our trip - wherever it may be - for direction and open doors. 


LOVES!
leah marie.

Post-Olympic Depression

So, tomorrow is March. This year is flying by! Tomorrow will also be the day that I go into post-olympic depression. I have LOVED these 2010 winter olympics! It's so exciting and cool how a little bit of the whole world is in one place at the same time. Has anyone else noticed that all olympians are absolutely beautiful people? I'm telling myself it's because they're so healthy. Vigorous exercise and a healthy diet surely does good things for your skin and body. I mean, even Shaun White's skin looks a little cleared up since the last winter olympic games...

This Tuesday night is the first meeting of a book club my friends are doing. We are reading "Hinds' Feet on High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. I'm a little behind on the reading so I better get on it quick! I've never been in a book club, but I hear this book is pretty encouraging so I'm really excited.

I'm typing this post while I'm supposed to be studying for my CDL. I'm taking the test at 8:30 in the morning. Wish me luck! I hear there are four parts. One part is completely on air brakes, and I don't even know what air brakes are! 

By the way, we had our 2nd fund raiser for Peru tonight. We had another pot luck, I made brownies and graham cracker cookies...both seemed to be a hit. I'm really excited to see what all I'm going to learn through this entire experience, from the fund raising in March to the actual trip in July!

loves!

leah marie.

obedience

Last weekend was the women's retreat at church. We went through a 4 part video study. (can't remember the name of it or who did it.) HOWEVER, it was a really great weekend. The video was cheesy but had truth to speak no-less. And my small group was awesome - such encouragement! Something I was reminded of was obedience. This seems to be a re-occurring struggle of mine. Sometimes (not always) it's a vicious cycle: disconnect - longing - light bulb! obedience - the "flame is fanned" - new found passion - repeat. Something has to be said for obedience...we seem to always listen to Kari Jobe..."the more I seek you...the more I find you". I realized that I wasn't exactly seeking. I was just sitting around hoping...waiting for that passion to show back up. Duh, Leah. Obedience.


o·be·di·ence (oh-bee-dee-uhns) [noun]
1.) the state or quality of being obedient
2.) the act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance
3.) a sphere of authority or jurisdiction, esp. ecclesiastical


Last Sunday we had our first fund-raiser for the Peru mission trip. Instead of going out to eat as usual after church we had a pot luck. Everyone going on the trip made Peruvian dishes (thanks to a cookbook that actually came from Peru) and everyone donated money to the trip in exchange for dinner. All I had to do was make about four pounds of white rice. It was a fun and successful fundraiser and I hope the rest of them go as well!

PS - there was no school Friday due to ice...YAY! I'm still a kid at heart in many ways.

PS again - I typed this with a kleenex shoved up my right nostril because my nose won't stop running! UGH and GROSS!!

loves.

Happy MLK Day!

Happy MLK day everyone...

UPDATE:

I'm trying to go to Peru with my church.

We are a young church and this summer we have the opportunity to take our first international mission trip. I'm really excited about this. 

My request for YOU: 

Pray for our trip, our team, the missionaries there, and the Peruvians we will meet! 


Loves!

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

(I am not paid to review products-as a matter of fact, I've never done it before, HOWEVER...i love this stuff, so I feel the need to tell my [many] blog friends about it!)

I am currently IN LOVE with this lip balm. It is soooooo great!! It isn't sticky or thick. It  feels like the balm actually absorbs into your lips to really moisturize them! It kind of reminds me of Vaseline...but in a good way. It's not a lip gloss, it's a lip balm, but when you put it on it does give your lips a little shine. The balm also comes in different scents. I'm currently using the original, unscented.

Check it out at www.kiehls.com

I won't lie, I've kind of been obsessive about it, I've practically forced my friends to try it out. Some told me I should be the spokeswoman for it...so here I am. Plugging a new found love to all 3 of my readers!!

Also, they have a chapstick for men that has a hint of mint and is no-shine, the lady described it to me as similar to Burt's Bees...just not as waxy. (That's some info for you RJ, haha). 

I guess that's all for now.

loves.