What a week it's been! Had Sweet Frog for dinner with my very dear friends LG and NR on Monday...yes, you read that correctly...Juliana, the health fanatic, ate FroYo for dinner...but in my usual fashion, I only put fruit on top, so at least the dairy and fruit groups were covered. ;) Then, after work on Tuesday night I headed to Charlottesville's lovely Downtown Mall, met my friend Denise for dinner at Eppie's (and unexpectedly ran into my friend Ryan on the way!), enjoyed delicious food and perfect weather in the outside dining area, then headed to the Jefferson Theater for the long anticipated Mat Kearney concert!!! As expected, he put on an AMAZING live show, and I have been listening to his newest album nonstop (at the office, while driving around in Sunny II, while typing this blog post, etc.)! Despite the fact that I had already been listening to it quite a bit to psych myself up for the concert, it still hasn't gotten old yet! Don't you just love albums like that where you can just play them straight through and don't even have the desire to skip any of the tracks? Albums of that caliber are usually a rare find, but in my music collection, Mat Kearney joins the ranks of Daughtry, John Mayer, Parachute, Jon McLaughlin, and One Republic. Good stuff!!!
Wednesday was an especially wonderful day which included lunch with several friends from the office and a surprise visit from my fave cigar aficionado and fellow ice cream/FroYo lover (which obviously resulted in my 2nd Sweet Frog excursion of the week...I keep forgetting that I need to cut back on my caloric intake since I haven't been able to go for a legit long run for over 2 months. It's bound to start catching up with me soon!). Then, I met up with my friends Mary Ruth and Andi to continue planning the YPG alum small group! MR made a fabulous dinner AND surprised us with Pearl's cupcakes for dessert! They were insanely delicious and I could feel the delectable chocolate buttercream icing going straight to my hips... (Despite the fact that this entire paragraph mentions food, I promise that I do occasionally do things that don't involve eating hahaha...but seriously :P). On a more serious and positive note, our planning session went very well and we are getting super excited for the awesome things that God is going to do through the group!
Okay, so those were some of the highlights of my week, but I figure you guys don't want to read every detail, so I'll move on....well, kind of.
Is anyone else totally amazed by the fact that October will be here this weekend??? Craziness! But I'm especially excited for this weekend b/c I'm gonna be road-tripping to Alabama with my bro and a few of his friends for our mutual friend's wedding! I'm super stoked about it because it means quality time with my bro, plus roadtrips and weddings are always a blast, and since this is a double whammee it should be extra fun!
Speaking of weekends, this past one included a short roadtrip to Williamsburg to watch my DUKES take on the William & Mary Tribe for their family weekend game last night. The skies were looking kind of ominous when we left Richmond, but by the time we arrived on campus and parked (I would just like to point out here that JMU's visitor parking at the convo is FREE, but W&M charges $10...I knew that in advance, but still think it's lamesauce :P), the sun was trying to peak out from behind the clouds. We stopped by a friend's tailgate to say hello, meandered across campus and grabbed dinner at The College Delly, then walked around campus for half an hour to work off some of our dinner before heading to Zable Stadium for kickoff. Both teams went scoreless in the 1st quarter, but JMU was the first to get on the board with a touchdown early in the 2nd quarter. Then, the Dukes also put up a field goal, giving us a 10-0 lead going into halftime. In addition to JMU scoring, the 2nd quarter also brought rain showers. Having experienced the monsoon at Lane Stadium during the epic JMU victory over VT last September, last night's rain wasn't too bad, but lasted long enough to leave my Madison Football hoodie significantly soaked (yes, leave it to me to bring a non-water repellent hoodie instead of a poncho to a game when rain is in the forecast...I did the same thing for the VT game. Maybe I'll learn one of these days! Haha). Anyway, the rain clouds finally moved on sometime during the 3rd quarter (or maybe early 4th quarter, I don't remember exactly), and after a nerve racking 2nd half with several questionable calls and penalties that got us JMU fans riled up, the DUKES knocked off the Tribe 20-14!!!! As I was walking back to Sunny II, I obviously had to call Mom so we could share in each other's excitement over the win! :)
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| Our beloved DUKE DOG!!!!! |
The conference win was definitely a great morale boost for the players and fans alike, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going for the big homecoming game against U of R next weekend.
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| DUKES win!!!! :D |
In other college football news this weekend, VT won, UVa lost, and U of R also lost. So, all in all, as I discussed with Jon last night, it was an awesome football weekend that could only be made better with a Redskins victory over the Cowboys tomorrow! :)
Okay, since I can't come up with a good segue, I'm just going to totally switch topics from football to spirituality...This has been one of those weeks where several "God moments" have occurred where the Lord's handiwork has become blatantly obvious to me. For starters, I realized how incredibly blessed I am that God has put so many wonderful Christian friends and influences in my life. Looking back over my lifetime, I am so thankful to my mom and dad for raising Jon and me in a Christian home and making church a priority from day one. I regret that I never properly thanked Dad for that, but Mom, if you're reading, please know that I am forever grateful to you both! The past year has been an incredibly difficult one, but despite all of the sadness, pain, and trying times, there have been SO many blessings! As my blog posts over the past year demonstrate, I've learned to be more open and honest about my feelings and personal struggles. I used to put up a facade to try to convince myself and others that I was strong and independent, and didn't want to burden anyone else with my problems. Now, I finally understand that God intended for us to lean on and support each other during difficult times, and celebrate together during the good times.
God led me to the NEM YPG group when I was in serious need of a spiritual rejuvenation, and He used the group to provide just that, in addition to fostering some wonderful friendships that I treasure dearly! I'm optimistic that God will continue to work through our new group to make those friendships blossom even more, and also to establish new friendships, as well as the accountability and support that we all need in our individual circumstances. On another positive note, I'm starting to feel like the church I've been attending recently might be the right fit for me, so that would be a huge blessing!
Finally, the past year has also taught me to trust God's timing for our lives. As I've mentioned plenty of times, I'm a naturally impatient person and don't like waiting very long for things to happen. I always push the envelope when it comes to injuries (as I proved again last weekend when I ran 3 miles, which was my version of the doc's orders to "start running again very gradually." Unfortunately, my foot didn't agree and hasn't let me complete a run since then...I really will learn eventually.). On a deeper level, I never fully understood how important it is to take ample time to let our spiritual and emotional wounds heal, but now I know that it can be an ongoing process and different hurts take different amounts of time to heal. And sometimes, the results of our own actions can cause us just as much pain as (if not more than) others' actions toward us. These instances can be especially difficult, since they often cause us to harbor feelings of self-blame, guilt, and regret. But in my experience, admitting this to yourself, praying for forgiveness (from yourself and anyone else who may have been hurt in the process), and talking about it with trusted confidantes are all ways to help the healing begin.
I've also become more acutely aware of the timing of seemingly little things that really mean so very much. You know, that phone call or text from a good friend that makes you smile and lifts your spirits just when you need it most. Or, as was the case for me at church this evening, hearing a sermon that speaks directly to something you are currently dealing with and wondering if the pastor can somehow see through you and your struggles. Nope, that's another case of God actively working in your life. Again I must say, good stuff!
I could certainly keep going, but alas, it's getting late and I'm already down to a potential 4.5 hours of sleep tops, so I should probably at least attempt to get that much so I don't have to run entirely on caffeine tomorrow. :)
Wow, that was a deep topic to tackle right after football...I really should work on a better segue next time. Haha. But as usual, thanks for reading, and sorry this was kind of a long one. Maybe one of these days I'll start posting more regularly instead of trying to recap for all of the time I've missed.
Have a wonderful and blessed week, y'all!!!! :) Nite!
