Day 19: A talent of yours

I don't like this post very much. . . I'm not for picking out stuff that makes me sound high on myself. I don't want people to think I'm stuck on myself. And for talents, I am talentless. trust me. I don't think I have one talent ( and I am not exaggerating ). Like I can say my sister Katey's talent is photography, some of my friends have some talents such as impersonating actors/actresses very well, always being able to make me laugh, and reading books in such a short period of time (yes, I call that a talent ;-) ). . .I had such a hard time on this one, I went to Katey and asked her if I had any talents she could think of . haha...Yes, I was desperate. So she said I should put "baking" as my talent. I don't think it's a talent to follow recipes ( and when I mean follow, I follow it by the "T". ) I do like to bake, but it's not something you want to do all the time. When you bake, of coarse you wanna eat it. haha..But yes, I do like to bake. :) 

Here are a few things I like to bake..just a few

I will first start out by saying that our Kitchen-aid mixer makes baking "So Fun"

Chocolate cake  :D

Thumb print cookies (raspberry's my favorite)

Oatmeal chocolate chip, raisin cookies. . . 

Italian fig cookies

Red velvet. yum

So those are a few of a lot I like to bake. :) It's not the best thing to be good at though, all the time. haha

Day 18: A time when you felt passionate and alive

When I read the title of this post, I thought back. Thought back throughout my whole life. I came up with plenty :) but I'll tell you which is probably the one I kept going back to. . .

~ ~ ~

When I was five years old, something happened to me. Something very great!. . .I became an older sister! My mother had an adorable baby girl! (although I won't lie, I did ask God for a baby brother when my mom was still pregnant), but I wouldn't change having Emily as my little sister for the world! She is that little sister I always wanted. I remember seeing Katey as my big sister and I was thrilled that I could do the same for Emily..I don't remember ever being jealous that I wasn't going to be the baby of the family. I do remember before she was born, being the center of mommy's attention. Her always calling me her "baby girl". But I was just so excited to be having another baby sister or brother in the house. The day Emily was born is crystal clear in my mind to this day. Seeing her for the first time, touching her tiny pink little fingers and remembering that I couldn't wait for her to get home so we can have her all to ourselves. :) I'll never forget that day! 

~ ~ ~

I love you Emily and am so proud of you. You've grown up to be a wonderful sister than I can always trust and hope you put God first in all that you do and think! He blessed me with the most wonderful little sister! I love you!

...( I wanted to put some pictures of my baby sister but I'll apologize before hand that they are really not clear..at all. :-)  )

Haha, my little diva! ;) even then. . 

Big smiles. :-D

Daddy's little helper!

And. . She starts to grow up. :( she's so beautiful!

I know I used this photo others times on my blog but she is just gorgeous! And I love this picture of her! :D

~ ~ ~

So. . a time I felt passionate and alive was when I became an older sister!

Day 17: An art piece

I'm not someone who really loves paintings or art pieces. I get into photography more than checking out someones old paintings ( sorry all you art lovers ;)  ) but some I think are pretty and would look good on my wall...My mother has this painting above her awesome Jacuzzi bath tub.. It looks very good with all of her decor..It's by Nydia Lozano. it's just a peaceful painting with soft colors. I like that! Tell me what you think? I know the picture is really blurry. This is a real quick post and I just got this photo from bing images. hehe..so do excuse the quality of the photo. :) Thanks!

Day 16: A song that makes you cry

A song that makes me cry..hmm. Well, I can think of a lot of songs that make me cry..cry both sad and happy tears. But you would probably rather know what song that makes me cry happy tears! so I chose "You're Not Alone" by Meredith Andrews. This song always brings tears in my eyes. :) 

..I'm a pretty emotional gal. (ask someone who knows me well enough) ;) but the lyrics in this song are so beautiful and inspiring. I listened to this song when I went through hard times in my life and it always helped me through it  :) 


Love to all my friends!


God bless. . .

Day 15: A person you admire

Alright! This was going to be a little tough for me. :)  there are plenty of people that I admire and for different reasons. I would really love to say something about each and every one of them but I don't think that's the point of this post. but this is also going to be easy in another way. When I first saw the name of this post, I thought of my dear, older sister Katey!

Here, let me exemplify what I mean when I say I admire my older sister! First of all, she has a heart to serve her Lord! She tries to always put Him first in what she does. I love her passion to want to go out and tell people about Him. . . When ever there's something wrong with me, (I don't know how she does it) but she'll know, and try to get it out of me. and if she succeeds (ha), she tries to make everything better and help me go through it. . . Sometimes, I'm not sure if she's trying or if it just comes natural to her, but she has a distinctive sense of humor! No matter where we are or what we are doing, she has gotta make me laugh in every situation! hands down! :) She is an amazing photographer..I love her work and would love for her to teach me some of her "ways" she takes beautiful pictures. God has blessed her with a wonderful talent! . . .When we were two tiny little kiddies, we were, as my mother called us, siamese or identical twins. :) we were always there, side by side. We went everywhere together, did everything together..everything she had or wanted, I wanted the same. That's how I know I admired her even when we were young. Now that we're older, I'm admiring her from a different way in some aspects. I still don't want to dress exactly like her and eat everything she does, but in a lot of the same ways, I would like to be like her. :D She's a beautiful, encouraging older sister, and I'm glad that we shared each others lives so far with each other..

Love you Katey!!! 

And some pictures to sum it all up!

Isn't she so beautiful?! . . the rest of the pictures are ones from Katey's camera. you probably saw them already on her blog but they're the only ones that I thought Katey wouldn't mind me putting up! :)  

Well that ought to sum it up for today! Hope y'all enjoyed visiting my blog and seeing Katey as an adorable little kid and beautiful woman! Oh, and I just realized that I'm half way done the 30 Day Challenge! :D yay! Hope everyone has a great week! 

God Bless!!

Growing Spiritually. . .

So the other day I was reading through my daily devotional..It was quite encouraging, and got me wanting to look up more scripture that really went with what I was reading. 

~~~

As believers, we know we are complete in Christ and our position is perfect in Him. - Colossians 2:10 says "And you have given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority" . . .Even though we know we are complete in Him, we still need to progress and grow in our every day walk with Christ. We need to be continually growing knowledge in Him, and by doing that, we are glorifying Christ! These following verses explains it perfectly. - 2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever" . . also - 2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence" 

We shouldn't let things in our busy lives interrupt our walk with the Lord. Trust me, Satan uses things (even the most simplest or smallest things) to distract me all the time from growing spiritually in the Lord. Because Satan will use ANYTIHNG to distract us from becoming more close with Christ. - Colossians 3:1-2 says "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." . . .

Well I thought I'd share this with all my friends. it was very encouraging and really neat to find all those Bible verses that matched up with what I was learning! And for those who noticed the difference with my blog design :) . I went to go do this post earlier and found that my blog header had a big black box and explanation point in the place of it. I was confused and found out that the website I got it from deleted it headers and the ones that people got from the. grr. ;) so I decided to go head and change things up.  I also liked Katey's picture of the flower and it went pretty well with the background I found, so I thought I'd keep it as my header. It may not be perfect and all, but it's better than one big black scary box with an exclamation point!!!


 God bless to all my dear friends and family! Enjoy the rest of the weekend! :)

Day 14: A vacation you would like to take

So This week I've been out of commission. My lower back has been giving me a lot of pain so I haven't been able to walk, so that means I've been spending a LOT of time on the recliner/couch. :( So that's why I've been doing more posts than normal this week. It's probably not going to stay like this because this next week I have to go back to work. I really don't have time to do posts on days that I work..I just wanted to update y'all before I get on with the 30 Day Challenge. :)

~ ~ ~

A vacation I would like to take would definitely be a vacation to Colorado in the winter with all my close friends. I always wanted to learn how to ski with my friends and I love the snow! ( That's if you get a bucket load and it starts to accumulate). . .I don't really like it when it starts to snow but only enough to make the roads a little dangerous. it's either a ton of snow or no snow at all for me. :D Any way, I'll add some cool pictures of Colorado I found and really hope that some day I'll be able to make this vacation come true!

I know the picture is horrible but you know what Colorado Mountains look like with snow covering them. ;)

And stay with my friends at a cabin like this! Oh yes! 

Of coarse I wouldn't look like this while I first learn to ski. ;)

And drink up LOTS of Hot Chocolate and Coffee!

Now that would be an awesome vacation I would love to take one day! Well there you go folks! Hope y'all have a nice rest of the week! 

Day 13: A guilty pleasure

This is gonna be a breeze! Although, I have many guilty pleasures. And when I say many, I mean many! :D If you haven't known this about me, Oreos are my ONE weakness. ( I'm dangerous around um) ;) Give me some original Oreos ( not some weird flavored ones, or double stuffed) just delicious, perfect original Oreos and some milk and I'm the happiest person to be around.! Ha..No, I'm serious, eating those cookies are like, the best thing you could for me if I'm in a bad or cranky mood. Or even if you want to make me happier! So there you go! My guilty pleasure is eating Oreos! :D 

Day 12: A song that you want played at your wedding (or was played).

Oh! This is going to be fun. I love talking and thinking about weddings. If you didn't know that about me. ;) They're supposed to be one of the most happy moments in your life. When you and that one person God chose for you to be united with become husband and wife!. That moment when your daddy walks you down the isle, then gives you away. That first moment when your husband to be looks at his bride all done up for the ceremony( and makes him tear up). Those are things that really excite me. And it is very interesting seeing how God works in each and every ones life. I long for the day when I will become "his mrs." . To see how God worked everything out in the end. . .but on to the point of this post! ;) I want you to know that all who saw Katey's post on day 12, I am not trying to copy her. I really have always loved this song. It makes me tear up almost every time I hear it. It is so beautiful and I love the lyrics! This would be that one song I would dance my first dance with my husband. :) 

Newsong (ft. Natalie Grant) -When God made you

And also, I thought I would add another song! This song really tells what marriage should be about. Personally, it's a little up-beat to be played at my wedding, but I do love the lyrics of this song. It's pretty and so true! hope you enjoy!

 

Well I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. ;) 

God bless!

Day 11: A photo of you taken recently

Can't y'all tell I wanna speed up this 30 day challenge! ;) I mean, 2 posts in one day. I call that a record! It just feels like it's taking forever. But now I can say I am a little over a third of the way finished! This one is going to be really simple. Lately, we have been doing a lot of stuff that required me to pull out my camera or Katey pulling out hers. So we have quite a few. So I'll put a few that's most recent. Most of you who know me well enough, know I don't care for my picture to be taken. So be happy I'm putting any on. ;) anyway...here ya go. A couple photos of myself taken recently!

Not the best photo of me..this was taken almost two weeks ago when leaving the plantation home from my brother's wedding. I still had bed hair, and no makeup.. all-natural photos.. :/  ha

How do I look as Katey's assistant photographer? I love the feeling of holding a big camera!

This was weeks ago..but I wanted to add one of the most recent ones with my favorite cousin! ;)  

Can you tell I'm in a bathroom? ha! Katey hurt her foot so I was in there helping hr bandage it and have a little fun with her camera in the mirror...AND advertising Canon..Awesome

Alright! So there you go..I don't have to worry about day 11 any more. ;) I'm just joking...it wasn't that bad...Well anyways, y'all all have a nice Thursday! 

Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago.

I have about 20 minutes before I leave for work but thought I might squeeze in a post of the 30 day challenge because I thought that might be quick...so yesterday I was looking all throughout our home for a photo album of when I was little...I had about 10 minutes to spare...So yes, I didn't have enough time to scan them on the computer..so I just took pictures of "glossy might I add" photos...I hate doing that because there is always that glare on the photo or a shadow...So please excuse any weird looking bright objects or shadows on the pictures below... :) 

A photo of of me taken over ten years ago...well, every kid has that awkward stage, right? mine was like when 6-now..Lol.. yeah, or at least I think so. So i'm going to post pictures of when I was like, a lot younger... :D

That's Katey to the left..she's cuter than me right there..

I was turning two, not five. ;) . . . and the evil bright glare.  :/

Can't you tell we're on a sugar high! ;) we were dangerous around chocolate milk when we were little.  (katey to the left, me to the right)

Aww. we WERE so cute.. ;)

I didn't realize till just now that all of these pictures are of Katey and me..I'll have to do a post on my little sister since I left her out. oh well. Can't you tell were were the best of friends when we were that small.. until next time, God bless!

Day 9: A photo you took

I'm no photographer like I said many times before. :) but I do hope to learn a bit of photography from my sister. She said, when she starts her business, she hopes I'll be open to being her assistant. I took this picture before my brother's wedding. Emily is such a good model. I don't have to bribe her with candy or toys. ;) She just likes getting her photo taken! Anywho, here is a picture I took recently! :)

Day 8: A thank you letter to someone who has changed your life

So Day 8...A thank you letter...I was always fond of writing letters...or notes. It's so hard to pick a single person to thank. There are so many people in my life that have done so much for me..and I'm grateful for every single one. :) but this one, I'll write to my dear friend. . .


  Dear Emma,

    I would like to start this letter out by saying how grateful and blessed I am to have such a great and close friend as you. The Lord really knew what He was doing when He brought us to meet each other. You've have become like a sister to me over the past ten years. And yes, I can't believe we have known each other that long. I want to take this time to thank you for always being there for me in my life when I had no one else to talk to. We've become closer over the years, and even though we have had our quarrels and disagreements in the past, that has only made us to become even closer...Thank you for always having an open ear, and being my shoulder to cry on in my tough and hard times. I now know I can trust you with everything I have to tell you.. I remember reading this somewhere and writing it down.. "Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what" . . That is so true.
God really did something special...when He blessed me with a friend like you...I love you so much Emma! Thank you for everything you've done for me and all the times you were there for me. You know I'll always be there for you! And always be your true friend.


                                                                                                  Love always,
                                                                                                                  Rachel Pursell