photo blog, episode 1 (henceforth known as a phlog)

hello world!

well, that is the 7 or 8 of you that read this. I don't think my blog is quite world famous yet, or ever will be for that reason.. but that is totally okay with me, cause God is listening, and family and friends are reading, and that's all I need! actually, that's what I prefer.

anyway, got a little off track.. I am doing something different in this blog.. it is going to be a.... (drum roll please!)... a photo blog! I figured it would be really fun for those of you family (and friends) reading this that have never been able to visit me here (like you guys, Dad and JoAnn and Nana and Nonnie!) to see some pictures of my apartment, my kitty, the area, and just other activities and things that have been going on in my life. I know it's great every now and then to be able to see some actual pictures instead of having to imagine everything in your head! so, here goes!



My Apartment!
It is in the University area, which is just the informal name of the section of the city of Charlotte where UNCC is.

Here's my apartment! This is the living room area. Kitchen table to the right, super comfy couch to the left, and my awesome tv in the back corner. And you can see my wonderful balcony! The coffee table was the most recent addition to this room, $20 at Ikea! I love Ikea!

Here's another view of the living room. The walls are so plain and boring.. I can't wait until I start working and can afford to buy fun things to decorate the apartment with!

And here's my nice little kitchen.. it's small, but nonetheless the perfect size for me! And that's the entrance to the apartment to the left.

Here's my oh-so-fancy hallway (more like plain boring hallway.. again, can't wait to be able to buy decorations!) that leads to my bedroom (on the right) and my bathroom (on the left) and also the coat closet. The entrance to the apartment is behind me, the kitchen to the left and the living room to the right.

And here's my bedroom! You can see my bed, my fancy tv dinner tray nightstand, and then my desk. My box spring looks so ugly showing from under my comforter, I really need to get a dust ruffle. (that's what they're called right? haha). Actually, I just had a brilliant idea! I just ordered a new sheet set because coby ripped a hole in my current sheets.. but when I get my new sheets, I can put the fitted sheet with the rip onto the box spring, cause you won't see the rip since it's the box spring, but it will make it look much better! genius!

The other side of my bedroom, my dresser and the door out to my balcony. I also have a nice big walk-in closet that's right behind me from where I'm standing in this picture, opposite of my bed.

Andddd here's my bathroom, I'm sure you all really wanted to see it! Just kidding. It's actually a lot bigger than it looks in this picture, that area to the left is a nice sized closet, and the shower is to the right, you can see the reflection of it in the mirror.

Finally, a close up view of my balcony.. I love it! It's the best place to sit and have a cup of coffee, or write in my dbook, or just hang!

Meet Cobra Commander (Coby) my kitten!

Here he is, Cobra Commander! This is when I got him, and we were riding home. (This is also right before he got carsick and threw up in his crate. Poor guy, he gets taken from his mommy and then gets put in this big moving thing that makes him sick to his stomach. He was probably so confused! but he couldn't be happier now).

Coby playing with his favorite dangle-y toy. The pink park broke off, but I just tied a toy mouse to the end and he loves it just the same! (I can't believe how LITTLE he was! this is the first night he was home).

Coby stretching out on his blue bed that Mom bought him. He loves his bed!

Another shot of him on his bed. He used to be so small! He only takes up half of his bed in this shot, now he is nearly too big for it!

Here he is being adorable! His ears are so disproportionate to the rest of his body, haha.

Here's Coby sitting on Garrett's legs. He's getting bigger! I think he likes the heat of the computer.

Isn't he so cute?? Hiding behind a bag.

Well I'm apparently not the only one in this apartment that is a Fox News addict. Coby is taking after mommy!

Coby has discovered a lot of silly new places to hang out lately.. he loves to snooze in my drawers if I happen to leave one open by accident. I would guess this one is his favorite, it's got all of my comfy pjs in it!

His very favorite new hangout spot.. the top of the cabinets in the kitchen! He's been making trouble up there though, attacking those paper lantern lights that I have hanging up, so I haven't let him up there for a few days. (in case you are wondering, he jumps onto the counter, then onto the top of the fridge, then up to the cabinet tops).

And here he is in his favorite annoy-mommy-while-she's-trying-to-get-ready-in-the-morning-spot. the sink! and if I turn the water on, he doesn't even move! he's the first cat I've ever seen that likes water.

Miscellaneous Pictures
Here's a bunch of random pictures of all sorts of things!

Here's Garrett and I at a lighthouse in Maine. We made a day trip to Maine during our missions trip to Boston, and we visited the lighthouse, the beach, and ate some Maine lobster! It was a lot of fun.

Here's me and my big fish that I caught last spring! We were at this really neat catfish farm. As you can see, I had to hold my fish using the net because I wasn't brave enough to actually hold it.

Here's Garrett with his big big fish! This place was really neat, owned by a really nice older man and woman. It is only open in the spring, sadly.

Hehe! Here is Ally when we were at On The Border the night before my birthday when Mom and Ally visited. The balloon man came to our table (it was unavoidable) and made Ally this alien hat thing. I think she rocks it!

On campus one day, the Concord K-9 unit did a neat demonstration with their drug-sniffing dogs. They had a whole demonstration with a bunch of suitcases with one containing marijuana, and then after that they let us pet the dogs and ask questions. The dogs were so cute!

Here's a view of uptown Charlotte when I was on my way to the elementary school that I do my clinicals for school at. It was cold and rainy that day! In Charlotte they call the city Uptown instead of Downtown, silly right?

I love cooking stir fry, and Garrett and I love to cook stir fry together too! This was a stir fry I made when Garrett was out of town for the weekend and I wanted to cook something yummy. It's chicken, onions, zucchini and yellow squash, yummm!

And here's the subject of my latest blog, the big spike in my tire! Not sure how the spike got in that part of my tire, and I probably will never know!

This is the view of campus from one of the parking decks. Fall is so pretty and the UNCC campus is beautiful. I am so blessed to go there!

This is the view from my balcony, it is so pretty! I am so blessed to have a view of the woods instead of having an apartment on the other side of the building with a view of the parking lot!

I think that fall in North Carolina is the prettiest fall I've seen out of anywhere I've been. Especially up in the mountains! Did you ever get to see the North Carolina fall up in Asheville, Nonnie? It's so beautiful.

Well, that's the end! I hope you all loved my phlog! It took me a really long time.. I'm not kidding, like 3 hours! haha. But it was worth it! I'm off to relax for the rest of my Friday evening, I hope you all are doing the same! God is so great, and I will update soon on the awesome things He's doing in my life, and the things He's teaching me.

God bless you all,

xoxo annie

dbook//flat tire//&steak

I've started something new today. I bought a composition notebook from the grocery store and I am calling it my "dbook", which stands for devotional book. I was inspired (this is silly, I know) from the book Harriet the Spy. I loved loved loved the movie when I was younger (remember mom and dad how the VHS case was bright orange and had that cover insert that could be flipped around and made it look like a composition notebook?? I remember thinking that was the coolest thing, like.. ever!! I'll never ever forget that.) and just this week I had to read the book for my Children's Lit class. The book, naturally, was better than the movie.. but, alas, nothing could replace the memories of that movie from my childhood. who knows how many times I watched that movie. anyway, I digress. For those who aren't familiar, Harriet has decided she is going to be a spy. She carries around this green composition notebook with her EVERYWHERE, and she literally writes in it nearly every minute, just writing down things that she sees and what she is thinking and how she is feeling. Anyway, I was inspired because I thought that would be something really interesting for me to try out. Except, instead of writing things like observations, I am going to treat it like a never-ending devotional prayer journal type thing..it is small enough to fit in my bag so I will carry it around with me. I have already begun writing, and I am treating it just as another form of communication with God, everything that I write is addressed to Him. It is, I hope, going to be a place that I can constantly record my thoughts and feelings and anything that I would want to talk to Papa about. And hopefully, it will help me maintain a more constant and closer relationship with my Father. It is really, essentially, just going to be a journal.. because that's what a journal is, in my perspective anyway, just a log of all of those things that I would want to talk to my Father about. So that's what it will be. Just a place for me to put anything, even to doodle or print and paste scripture that I want to focus on. I will write in it diligently every morning, and then just throughout the day whenever I get a chance. I am excited about it, and will keep you all updated on how it goes.

It's been a busy week so far. I had a mini disaster on Tuesday.. somehow a huge spike managed to find its way right through my tire (what wonderful luck I have) and caused a slow leak (that is until it was pulled out, and it went flat) and wrecked my tire. BUT, God was good to me and it was during the time that I was nannying, and so because the Moyers had AAA, he called and they came over and changed out my tire free of charge. AND.. the Moyers invited me to stay for a delicious steak and mashed potato dinner. So, all was well in the end. And I am very blessed because since I drive a jeep, I don't just have a low-quality, only-safe-to-drive-with-for-a-few-miles spare tire.. I have a fifth tire on the back of my car that is no different from the other four already on, even with the same nice alloy metal rim and everything. (which I was not aware of until I came out and saw it after AAA had changed it). So thank You Lord, for working everything out okay. I can never seem to place my full trust in God, and when things like this happen I become a worry wart and get myself all worked up. ("I don't know what I'm going to do.. I can't afford a new tire, then I can't drive my car, and then I can't get to class or work.." etc etc..) And then God gives me that same old nudge that He always does and says, "My Annie, why do you worry like this? Learn to trust me, child, I will always be here, I would never let you go through this alone. Remember those times there was only one set of footprints in the sand? That is when I carried you, little one, and brought you safely through the storm. Don't you remember what I told you, daughter? 'Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you'. Don't you ever forget that." And then it leaves me, as always, my head hung low with a quiet "sorry Papa", and Him embracing me in His arms as He always, always does. How sweet it is, the love of our Father.

Anyway, I'm off to bed (I think.. I always say that and then get caught up doing something else).. it's up at 6:30 for me tomorrow, for a shower, devos (on the balcony with a cup of coffee, mmm) and classes, and then work. And then begins the weekend! and not only is it just the weekend, but it is fall break! Hooray! Which means that I not only have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off as usual, but I also have Monday and Tuesday off! Yay!

wishing many blessings for anyone that stumbles along to my little blog,

xox Annie

first love

"God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love." -C.S. Lewis


meditating on that beautiful thought today. more to come later.



xox Annie

idolatry: are you guilty as charged?

Idolatry. I am guilty. In fact idolatry is probably one of the commandments that I break the most often. As promised, I've got much more for you guys about the path that God lead me down last night. God made it very clear to me that for the month of October, He would be stripping me of the things that I have made as idols in my life. So far, there are three things on that list. Just because October began today does not mean that I won't be adding things to the list as it goes on.. but for now, there are three things I will be fasting from this month. Facebook, sugar, and sleeping in on weekdays. Well, let's jump in!

"Idolatry (noun): the religious worship of idols". Okay.. let's be honest here. No, I do not bow before facebook, cookies, candy bars, or my bed and worship them as gods. But, when people think of the term "idolatry", that is the definition that comes to mind. But, there is a whole other side of idolatry, a side that I think you will find, you are a little TOO familiar with. "Idolatry (noun): excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc." ...Okay, sounding more familiar? Ever find yourself obsessing over that TV show or sports team a little too excessively? Or ever find yourself relying on that morning cup(s) of coffee just a little too much? That is exactly how I've found myself beginning my month long fast. Devotion and blind adoration are definitely words that I can use to describe how I am with facebook. In fact, deactivating my facebook and staying away from it for a whole month is going to be a real struggle for me.. and that's exactly why I need to do it.

First of all, let's take a look at the rules God gives us as far as idolatry goes. It's something that comes straight from the Ten Commandments. The very first two commandments, in fact. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. (commandment #1) You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. (commandment #2) For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God" (Ex 20:2-5). There it is, plain and simple. I am 100% guilty. 'You shall have no other gods before Me'. I may not consider Facebook to be a god, but I certainly tend to put it before God. When the choice arises to go look at Facebook, or go look at my Bible.. yep, I've been choosing Facebook. That is clue number one that I need to change things. Now, I also have not carved any statues or anything like that, but let's be honest.. things were a bit different back then. God commands us to 'not bow down to them nor serve them'. Like I said earlier, I'm not kneeling in front of my computer and worshiping Facebook.. but do I serve it? Absolutely. I can barely go an hour without having to check my Facebook, see what every one is doing, check my email for Facebook notifications. The same can be said about sweets and sleeping in, I definitely serve both of those things. They have dominion over me.. I cannot control my craving for sweets nor my desire to sleep in. Thus, I am serving them. They are a god over me. That is unhealthy, and that is clue number two that things really need to change.

Worthless. That's what these idols are. God is very clear about that in the Bible. "All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless." (Isaiah 44:9). Blunt, but so true. When my life is over, what's going to matter? The hours I spent on facebook, the hours I slept in, and the sweets that I ate? Or the time that I spent in prayer, studying my Bible, or just spending time with God? The answer to that is crystal clear. What would become of me if I kept choosing my idols over God? "They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless." (2 Kings 17:15) Worthless. That is what I will become. What meaning is there to life if I spend it sleeping and staring at my computer screen? NOTHING. nada. zip. zero. There is so much more to this life that God intended for me! I have the privilege to be a part of this AMAZING story that God has created, and yet I choose to sit around, sleep, and stare at my computer? "[There's a] six-lane-wide-freeway-sized God story that you and I are running down the middle of every day. It's a place that requires a constant choice. We can choose to cling to starring roles in the little-bitty stories of us, or we can exchange our fleeting moment in the spotlight for a supporting role in the eternally beautiful epic that is the Story of God. Think of it as trading up. Abandoning the former and embracing the latter will allow our little lives to be filled with the wonder of God as we live for His fame and the unending applause of His name. And joining our small stories to His will give us what we all want most in life anyway: the assurance that our brief moments on earth count for something in a story that never ends." -Louie Giglio (i am not but i know I AM). Nothing else needs to be said. That awesome quote speaks for itself.

So then it hit me as I read these two verses. "Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless." (1 Sam 12:21) and "Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save". (Isaiah 45:20) Here comes that pit in my stomach. Why am I serving Facebook and sweets and sleep and letting them have dominion over me? Because I am using them to fill a hole and a craving that should be filled by GOD. I can look at Facebook all I want, I can sleep all I want, and I can eat all the sugar I want.. but it will never last. I will only come up thirsty, craving more and more and more and my obsession with those things will only grow. Because they are merely temporary satisfactions. In the end, they will leave me empty and wanting more. But with GOD I can quench the otherwise unquenchable thirst! It is only through HIM that I will ever be satisfied! It makes me think back to a sermon Pastor Ben gave, about how each of us have a God-shaped hole in our heart. we try to fill it with all sorts of things.. in my case, facebook, sweets, extra sleep, and plenty of other things. but there is nothing.. NOTHING.. that will fill that gap, other than God.

So, now begins a month of some serious learning I am going to be doing. What I want, more than anything, is for the only desire of my heart to be God. And for that to happen, I have to remove all of those things that I have an unhealthy desire for. I have to learn that those things can, and must, be replaced by the desire for God, or I will drink and only ever come up dry. So I'm starting over. I'm going to read Mark Cahill's book One Heartbeat Away, and I think I'm going to read Louie Giglio's i am not but i know I AM again. accompanied by both morning and evening time in devotion with God.. just speaking to Him, listening to Him, and just spending time with Him. I'm going to chronicle my journey here. I hope you all will enjoy it and will learn along with me the things that I am going to be learning.

"Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

Jesus, I'm ready. I'm ready to replace my earthly desires with the desire for YOU and You alone. I want to thirst for You more and more every minute of every day. I want to fill that hole with You, I want to be embraced in Your arms, I want to want You and everything about You, Lord!! Amen.

xoxo, Annie