Realizing Blessings

Wow! What a week this has been! Now, I realize that God bestows plenty of blessings on us all of the time, but for some reason, this past week has seemed to be very noticeably spilling over with blessings! First, I got to spend part of the weekend with some very good friends who came down from Winchester and NOVA to visit me. Then, had an absolutely wonderful Sunday, which included meeting the Plain White T’s/getting a private concert with them, spending the afternoon enjoying awesome fro-yo and great company at Sweet FROG, talking for nearly 3 hours while getting super excited about potential video projects, and finally the PWT’s & Parachute concert, all with someone who is very special to me, but whom I haven’t been able to spend much time with for quite a while, so I was soooo ecstatic that we got to spend most of the day just hanging out and catching up. Also on Sunday, an adorable little girl and her family came home from Philly after she had heart surgery and spent a couple of weeks recovering at the Children’s Hospital (and I just received an email update from her Dad that her follow-up appointment at UVA also went well, so praise God for that!).

On Monday, I went for a nice run through the Fan without any serious knee pain, then came back and had a great phone convo with my Mom. I was so thrilled to hear that her arm is starting to get a little bit better and that she’s starting to see improvement from her physical therapy and home exercises. On Tuesday evening, I went to the second meeting of my new small group, the Needle’s Eye Ministries Young Professionals group, and something I shared with the group ended up sparking a really in-depth discussion that really helped us to connect with each other and I think we all benefitted from it.  It was just such an awesome feeling to open up and share our personal/spiritual struggles with a group of people who have only known each other for 2 weeks. Just wow. Everyone offered some really insightful advice, and at the end of the night, I drove home feeling spiritually rejuvenated and praying that I would learn to accept God’s will for my life and be content with His timing and whatever He sends my way, instead of asking for my own selfish desires to be met. It’s funny how you can be totally missing something and then someone else shares their thoughts and/or advice with you and it gives you a whole new perspective on things.

Now, continuing on with the incredible list of blessings that became so obvious to me this week: One of my best friends, who moved to Connecticut after graduating from JMU last year, had been working a part-time job for about 9 months since moving up there last summer. She told me on Wednesday that her company offered her a full-time position, which means that now she’ll have benefits and won’t need to worry about exploring other job options anymore! Then, I had lunch with another good friend on Wednesday who informed me that she just got accepted to VCU’s Pharmacy School! This comes after several years of seeking God’s direction for her life since finishing undergrad. Then this morning, as soon as I put my things down at my desk, a sweet friend from here in the office came in to share the wonderful news that she finished her last chemo treatment yesterday, then proudly showed me her certificate of completion. I was so overjoyed at this wonderful news that she shared with me! I gave her a huge hug and we had a mini celebration. She is the most positive and optimistic person and it’s just contagious when you’re around her. She is definitely a shining example of someone who fully puts her trust in God and hasn’t let the cancer get her down.

Wow, what a refreshingly positive way to start the morning by reflecting upon what an incredibly blessed week this has been! This has put me in such an amazing mood now! I hope you also will reflect upon the blessings that God has placed in your life this week. Have a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend, y’all! :)


Already getting super excited for Carbon Leaf tonight!!!!

Springtime = Concert Season!!! :)

Happy May!!!! In addition to flowers, May also brings about the beginning of spring/summer concert season!!!! :) As most of you probably remember from some of my posts last year, going to concerts is one of my absolute favorite things to do, so I get excited about the influx of opportunities to see more shows. What makes a show even better is when you get to go for free...and what's even better than that is getting to attend a private meet & greet/acoustic jam session with the band before the show! Thanks to the wonderful 103.7 The River, I got to do just that on Sunday! The Plain White T's were in town for a show at the Hat Factory with Parachute and Andy Grammer, so I was super excited when I received a phone call on Thursday telling me that I had been selected as a winner! 

After enjoying a complimentary late lunch at Blackfinn, the winners, guests, and radio crew gathered 'round as Tom, Dave, Tim, De'Mar, and Mike entertained us with a phenomenal acoustic performance. They opened with "Rhythm of Love" (I was super excited about that, since it's one of my faves). I even shot a short video with my digital camera:

Next, they impressed us with their current single "Boomerang," and of course finished with Tom belting out their most widely known song, "Hey There Delilah."

It was a blast to be a part of this little get-together. The guys were awesome and so much fun! They answered any questions we had, took time to sign our souvenirs, and posed for photos with us.

Several hours later, a line started forming outside of the Hat Factory as eager fans anticipated the stellar performances from the Plain White T's, as well as opening performer Andy Grammer, and Charlottesville's own Parachute.

As anticipated, it was a total blast! All 3 bands were fantastic and definitely put on a show to remember! I took wayyy too many pictures, but will spare you and only post a select few to give you a taste of how amazing the show was!

Andy Grammer opening the show.

Will Anderson of Parachute

Will jumped off the stage into the crowd and I managed to snap a few pics before I nearly got trampled by adoring fans, lol!

Many thanks to Parachute and the Plain White T's for putting on a high-energy, crowd-pleasing show, and for kicking off May with a bang!

Alas, my springtime concert series continues on Friday with Carbon Leaf at Friday Cheers at Brown's Island. Not too shabby for the first week of May, huh? :)

Okay, time to head off to work....have an awesome one, y'all!