i got da best fam

i love my family and i have the best family in the world.  i would not change them for the world.  they bring me joy, love, frustration, laughter, peace, anger(at times), etc.  and when i say i have the best family in the world, i'm talking from mama and daddy to aunt and uncle to cousins.  i love every single one of them.

this past weekend i got to spend time with my whole family.  as you know it was easter weekend so i was able to go back home and celebrate that awesome day that Jesus Christ rolled away the stone with all of my family.

so my mom's side of the family is who i spent the afternoon and evening on sunday with, and let me tell you i could spend 24 hours 7 days a week with them.  simms, sara scott, uncle g, aunt dana, my tanmama they all just are such a joy to be around.  if i want girl advice or any advice at all let me tell you simms and sara scott are right there to tell me what's up.  i think i may laugh the hardest when i'm around them.  not only that but i learn so much from them with there honesty and bluntness.  what a great trait to have when you need someone to shoot you strait.  aunt dana is always there talking about how i can get into the school system and what i need to do to become a future principal or administrator which has become more and more of an option.  and i can always count on uncle g to agree on how bad the ole miss baseball team is playing or how i can't stand the st. louis cardinals.  and my sweet grandmother (tanmama is what i call her) has such a special place in my heart for the push she gives me in my schoolwork and job hunt.  she has such a kind heart and a want to for all of her grandchildren to succeed. i admire her so much.

okay so on to daddy's side.  it's like night and day when it comes to this side of the family.  when we all sat together at church on sunday, i'm sure half of the church was like "oh goodness, what's the stewart clan gonna pull of this time?"  it's different because apart from my sister dorie, it's all guys and we all like to be loud and make people laugh (each other especially).  i don't have the time or the energy right now to break down all of this side of the family since my dad's side is a bit larger than mamas.  nonetheless, everytime we get together it is a treat in itself.  and recently one girl has been added as one cousin just got married, and as of friday night another one is tying the knot.  exciting times in the stewart family.

now for my immediate family, that's a different blog for a different day.  once again i could write a book on how much each family member means to me: mom, dad, adam, and dorie.  wow is all i can say.  i'm so lucky to be able to consider each and every one of them my best friends.  i can share anything with them, and i know they will support, criticize, and help me with anything i'm going through.

i am so blessed to have the family that i do.  sometimes it takes a weekend like this past one to actually realize that.  i didn't even really want to go back home this weekend but am SOO glad i did.  it's these little things in life that are so great and i am so grateful for these people that have been implanted in my life!

i hope each and everyone of you reading has a family that's close like mine and if not.....there is always room for one more in the stewart/haguewood clan!  we all know you'd love us!


who wouldn't want to be a part of this??

deep breath...and exhale

patient is defined as bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger.  having patience is the act of doing the previously described definition and man is this tough sometimes for me.

i like to consider myself a pretty patient person.  i don't mind having to wait to get certain things but more recently i would have to say i'm growing more and more impatient.  so here i am 3 weeks from officially having my master's degree and still have no job lined up.  this has been a growing concern for weeks and months now and i in turn am getting very irritated and impatient.  it seems like every job i apply for, i'm not getting a response and i want answers.  little do i know about my future and i struggle with it every day.  i keep telling myself there is a reason you aren't hearing back from these jobs you have applied for, God has a plan for you.  that plan seems so distant right now. 

sometimes it just feels as though the whole world is against you and the only thing you can do is wait it out.  in undergrad i was under the impression that i was going to graduate, have the girl picked out that i was going to marry, and have a job lined up(being a big time investment banker).  well i've heard it all along that if you want to make God laugh just tell him your plans.  well good grief i'm sure the Lord is rotfl (rolling on the floor laughing) at what i had planned out.  going back to school is not something i had planned out, but it was the best thing that has happened to me.  my job still situation seems bleak but at least i have an idea of what the Lord wants me to do.  it's all about following His plan and this sometimes requires much patience.  this has been the case with me even though it feels like it will never end.  eventually i will land where the Lord wants me and what was meant for me but until then all i can do is ask Him for guidance and patience along the way.

to all, take a deep breath and exhale, the Lord knows and always has so let Him show you.

the "what if" game

yeah it's actually happening, i'm blogging on back to back days and i'm blogging while at work again.  oh well what's the worst that could happen?  i get fired..ha yeah right these people love me.  and while i'm at it i've got justin bieber playing in my ears.  what a wonderful spring day.  and now on to the real point of my blog today which is the "what if" game.

many times in my life i have caught myself thinking or saying to myself, what if _____ would have happened? or what if _____ wouldn't have happened?  i've eventually come to a point where i'm not asking myself that anymore because whatever happens happens and really most of time you can't control it.  back in the day i would sit and ponder what if i was 6 foot 3 and weighed 210 pounds and was a stud athlete.  now i say thank you Lord for making me the little 5 foot 9 150 pounder that i am.  i wouldn't have it any other way. 

instead of asking those difficult "what if" questions, i have rephrased my way of thinking in a way that says this happened because ....  it is very relieving because i'm not constantly beating myself up over what i think should happened or think will happen. 

as the old cliche goes, everything happens for a reason, and you know it is the absolute truth. during my short time that i have been here on earth i am a firm believer of this.  it's so comical to me when people think that everything should be in this certain type of order and things should go as the world wants them to go. 

i've recently been concentrating on following the road that the Lord wants me on and this "what if" scenerio/question is the furthest thing from my mind.  i know and am comforted by the fact that whatever happens is for the best interest of me. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says:  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Pretty comforting huh!

and these are a few of my favorite things

first of all i can't take complete credit for this blog entry.  she doesn't know it but leah hand and her blog motivated me to write something similar to something she did on her blog.  if you haven't read it....start! thanks leah! 

the title pretty much says it all about this entry.  spring is one of, if not my favorite time of year.  spring weather, spring football, baseball(my favorite sport), the nba playoffs, girls at the pool, etc, etc, etc.  i could go on for a while about the reasons i love spring but i'll spare you and begin with the reason of me writing this blog.  take a minute for yourself and think about all of your favorite things.  i bet that list will multiply greater than you may think if you take everything into account.  i will go ahead and start with my list and feel free to stop reading now if you have no care in the world about what i like to do or do with my free time.

My Favorite Things:
Jesus Christ
Church
Worship Songs
Isaiah 30:15
The book of Matthew
My Family (yes all of you!)
My Friends
THE Ole Miss Rebels
UAB athletics (hey they gotta be a favorite if you work for them)
coffee shops
coffee
shopping
watches
antique clocks
vintage art
pandora radio
mumford and sons
hearing a new song come on pandora i like
my bed
wine
beer (don't judge me)
the atlanta braves
sports
running
reading
blogging even though i should do it more
the square
the grove
summer rain
attending any sporting event
dancing my butt off
singing
thinking about the day i will actually have a valentine
shoes
kobe bryant
thinking about what i want to do with my life
knowing God already has a plan for my life <--- THIS
apple products
dessert
laughing
my accountablity partner
random texts
thinking about getting a tattoo but never doing it (don't worry, i'll never have one)
leah hand's blog
glee (yep i'm serious)
making other people smile
friendliness

okay okay i'll stop there! from this list you may or may not think of me a little different but i couldn't care less.

The verse is "...in quietness and confidence lies your strength"  gotten me through a lot!!

and for now my favorite song for the time being:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjFaenf1T-Y

hahahahahahaha

well whats up to my readers whoever you may be. it's been a while and i'll take full responsibility.  duties at work and school have picked up recently so i haven't gotten around to blogging recently...or that's what i'm telling myself anyway.  so i wanted to write this blog about one of my favorite things to do...and that my friends is laugh.  if i could i would sit around and laugh all day long. i tell myself i'm funny and sometimes even laugh at myself.. yeah i know what you're thinking..this guy is freaking weird, but i mean hey i am what i am and maybe funny describes that.

we have heard all the sayings:

"a day without laughter is a day wasted"
"laughter is the best medicine"
"an apple a day keeps the .... wait that isn't about laughter but you get the jist. 

what is my day like without laughter?  pretty lame and dull if you ask me.  laughter relaxes me, refreshes me, and heck even burns calories.  it's probably the coolest thing to do and guess what...it's free.

laughter is even mentioned in my favorite book..the bible. in proverbs 17 verse 22 it says a joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up bones.  in job 8 verse 21 job is directly told the lord will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouting.  heck even the lord wants us to laugh and be enjoyable. 

if you need a good laugh hit me up, i'll give you some good jokes or refer you to some good tv shows or youtube videos that will have you rolling. 

until then laugh on my friends and for goodness sake lol (laugh out loud)
 

so what..

what a monday this has turned out to be...i wake up this morning just as i normally do and head to work to find all the doors locked and no cars in the parking lot.  what the heck i kept saying to myself before i tried to get in touch with my boss. of course no answer from her work number and no cell phone number. so of course i call momma to see if i had missed something. i asked her what today was and she preceded to think i was insane as if i had lost my mind and she was worried sick. quickly i let her no i hadn't lost my mind yet but that no one was at work. ohhhh she says it's president's day and the banks are closed. thanks boss for the heads up but hey i'll take a day off anyday. and yes mom for the record to my knowledge i AM sane for the time being. 

alright so this is the first time i've written since i ran the mercedes half marathon last sunday. i was pleasantly surprised with my time as i posted a 1:44:54 in lehman's terms that's one hour, 44 minutes, and 54 seconds good for 313 overall out of about 7000 and 42 in my age group. ok ok enough about me and my awesome time, even though that is pretty good for my first half right? 

so here i am running my heart out counting down the miles until i see the finish line in sight when i reach something that really touched me.  between about mile 11 and 12 i can see nothing but runners ahead of me and really no end in sight.  people had lined the streets to cheer on for about the entire race, however, during this stretch there weren't many people on the sides of the streets.  all of the sudden i take a glance to my right desperately needing a cup of water, powerade, banana, or something for that last stretch, and i saw exactly what i needed for that last push.  to my right a see a boy around the age of i'd say 13 or 14 on a walker cheering his heart out with a friend helping him stand and root us on.  talk about heart wrenching.  i wanted to stop right there, put him on my shoulders and carry him to the finish line.  this boy whom i have no idea who he is had so much energy and passion out there and in the split second i saw him i could see his energy and passion he had for his life no matter what was wrong with him.  i don't know his exact condition was, but i do know it was one where he hasn't been blessed with the capabilities and abilities someone like you or i have and to my eyes it seemed as though he could care less.  the joy that kid put on my face was like something i'd never experienced.  it was just incredible.  i wish i could meet this kid just as i'm sure he wished he could put on the asics and run.  to say the least that was all the motivation i needed to get through that last leg, and what a way to finish; with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye.  so thank you to you, whoever that boy was that carried me through!

so...so what, i finished a half marathon. moral of this story be content and take advantage of EVERY gift and ability the Lord has given you because not everyone is as blessed as you may be

How you spell fun...

shhhhhhhh......don't tell anybody but yes i'm blogging at work. to many ole miss fans my title may take on a different meaning as well all know the way you spell fun is W-I-N! and hopefully that will be spelled out shortly.

anyway before this blog entry gets all about my passion and intensity for ole miss athletics, i'll move on to what i really want to get across.

not that i have my life figured out or even have a clue what is going to happen in the next week much less the rest of my life, i heard a sermon this past sunday that really just left my smiling and upbeat all week. i have been going to church of the highlands in birmingham pretty much since i have moved here.  at first, i was skeptical because i really wasn't open minded about the whole reformed/new age or whatever you want to call it church. little did i know that about a year later i would still be going to this church and absolutely in love with it. i have found my "fun" in this church!

the sermon this past sunday really hit home to me.  it wasn't anything mind blowing or radical, just a simple message on the ten year anniversary of the opening of the church.  i grew up as many of my peers going to a "traditional" church.  in doing this, i got the impression of church being a strict, serious thing. since going to church of the highlands i realized that's not the case at all.  jesus wants the best from you no matter how you worship.  i have found a church that fits who i am and what i want.  i'm not the most serious or uptight person as many of you know.  i prefer to be laid back and carefree and let life come, though when the going gets tough, i'm the toughest there is (in my opinion).  the basis of this past sunday's sermon was broken into three simple parts:

1. Love life
2. Love people
3. Love God!

what a simple yet totally true rendition of what our lives should be. however, it's not the order that is important in that if you love god first, the other two will fall into place.  if you don't believe me try it, and if you don't want to believe it let me know and i'll tell you why you should!

in closing today, oh how i am grateful for the lord jesus putting a church in my life that i can call fun! and as pastor chris said sunday the lord wants us to be joyful and "fun" in everything we do.

and that my friends is how you spell fun!