Finding the Balance

The past seven months have been the busiest time of my life. I've made it through the first half of my presidency, studied for and took the LSAT, finished another semester of school, and taught swim lessons to lots of precious kids. I'm one of those people who love staying busy and always having something to work for or work on, but some days over the past seven months, I've longed to be far, far away. Out of calling reach. Out of cell phone reach. Out of email reach. And I finally got this wish.

My sister Becca and I went to Cancun for a week with our uncle and aunt. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends who over the past few months have taught me more than ever the importance of finding the balance of work and play. Luckily, last week was all play. Here's a little review of our adventures in Mexico:


We went snorkeling and saw thousands of gorgeous fish.

We lived in a palace...Cancun Palace. Anything we wanted, we got it. Good service: the Palace does it right.

We swam with dolphins, and I conquered my fear of deep water. Yes, I know, I teach swim lessons and I'm afraid of deep water. I don't like swimming in water over 8 feet deep; the dolphin pools were 18 feet deep.

It was a great week filled with fun, lots of laughter, and no schedule. It truly was just what I had been longing for.

oh the sun shines bright, on my old kentucky home

It's hard to capture the beauty of Kentucky; much of it involves movement. Running horses, the rising or the setting sun, the breeze you feel on your face as you walk alongside the fields or sit on a porch swing... You have to see it for yourself to understand; it's something about experiencing the context, I guess. Even the flowers are best left right where they are. There are wildflowers everywhere, but picking them has yet to quite work out for me. They just don't look the same, inside, in a vase or a jar. (Must be called wildflowers for a reason...) These pictures are a poor representation of what I wish I could share with everyone, but I will attempt to show you the view from my new backyard.

[a field down the street that for some reason I especially like]

[another field down the street, of solid buttercups, that I like even more]

[like lilies? pick your favorite color. these line my driveway]

[this is the view from my backyard to the west]

[more backyard - the perfect place for a big frisbee circle of friends]

[I always wanted a willow tree; now I have one]

These pictures are totally inaccurate now that I look back on them. None of them have a single horse! That's kind of miraculous, really; there are horses everywhere. I guess you'll just have to come see for yourself!

I am fortunate to have been able to spend so much time in such a beautiful place this May and June. Tonight is my last night here; that's hard to believe. We leave tomorrow evening for our 3 week trip to Maine, with a detour to visit some of Dad's cousins in Ohio along the way. I have seen so much of the world so far this summer - in the beauty of the nature all around me and in the incredible people I've encountered. I have to admit, leaving is kind of sad! But Maine truly may be my favorite place ever, and I cannot wait to get back. Cross your fingers for a safe drive up there, good weather, and some moose sightings!

One more Kentucky picture before I go; I went back to Shaker Town earlier this week.

Gotta love it. For any friends out there reading, I hope your summers are going as well as mine! Remember that God is good, and that you can see the world no matter where you are. Peace and love, until next time.

to see the world...

"To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour." - William Blake


I haven't journeyed thousands of miles like last summer or ventured across the seas. I haven't fearfully clung to my passport or embraced a different culture. But despite my lack of traveling, I am finding that this just may really be the summer I see the world.

I have one job this summer: to see. While this may sound relatively easy, it's a little harder when you put a giant lens to your face & try to capture something "picture worthy." But I attempt nonetheless, and am finding that when I can't find something beautiful God peels backs my lids & helps me redefine beauty.

Everyday I travel from class to cabin to do the same thing- take photographs. Whether it's horses or rain dripping from a tin roof, children playing or baby birds, He is showing me, with every snap and every frame, that He is working much deeper and further in this world than I could possibly imagine.

Though I find myself in a completely different circumstance than last summer, God is reteaching me the same things I learned this time last year, the thing He constantly has to remind me of everyday. He loves us... rags or robes, rich or poor, hungry or full. He loves us- with the kind of love that not only takes us to the nations but the kind of love that changes the way we see the world around us.

some random shots from the past few weeks...

14 Hours

BUNA ZIUA!!

These are the peaks we climed over going from right to left...this is before the decent probably about 7hrs in.

Some of the girls on the hike

Looking at the peak, theres a valley that goes all the way down to the city next to where they are standing. They are at about 2,000 meters.

On the way to the cross, by the way...that thing is waaaaaayyyy further away than it apears and by that I mean it is on the peak of a different mountain.

On one peak...about 1/3 of the way there...about 5hrs in

Hey frieennnddsssss,

Boy, oh boy do I have news for yall. So, I have been praying that the Lord would sanctify me through the situations that I encounter here in Romania. Let me be the first to tell you, he will be faithful to sanctify those he has justified. With that being said, I have grown more in this past year more than I have in my entire life...this includes the times in Oxford, Brandon, and now Romania.

I have learned so much (so much) about relating to people, understanding the purpose in suffering, and finding the promise of the gospel and the peace we can have when we rest in the fished work on the cross.

I will post later about all the things I have learned through our book studies and our interactions with people but for the sake of this post I want to tell you about the hike I took.

http://translate.google.ro/translate?hl=ro&sl=en&tl=ro&u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBucegi_Mountains&anno=2

Click on the link to get the full story on the Bucegi Mountains the southern part of the Carpathians.

What started out as a planned 6 and a half hour hike turned out to be a 14 hour hike. That's right...14 hours. We had no idea what we were getting ourself into. We went to be around 2am and woke up at 4am to catch the 5:20 train to Sinaia. We began our hike at 7am.

I took 3 sandwiches, some train mix, 3 liters of water, a rainjacket, a pair of long pants, a button down, and my backpack full of other random necessities. I will spare you all the details of the hike (at least until I can tell you in person) but this was waaaaay out of my league. Two of the girls went on the hike for 6 hours then they took the lift down...you have no idea how badly I wanted to go down with them. In my video I think I even mention taking the cable car down. Part of the way we were hiking to this giant metal cross at the peak of one of the highest mountains in Bucegi. At one point I started tearing up because I genuinely LONGED to be at that cross and to be finished with that section of the hike. What a parallel to our longing to be at home with christ and to rest in the cleft of the Rock of Ages forever. That thought took over my body and I have never had the gospel made more beautiful to me than in that moment, in that moment of pain, misery, exhaustion, sadness, I wanted to be at the foot of the cross. The beautiful thing is...one day I will be, only he wont be on the cross, he will be on the throne in the redeemed world in the new heaven and the new earth wiping away every tear from our eyes.

I finished the hike at 14hrs putting us on the 9:30 train back to Brasov. I have never felt so weary in my life. The hike was about 15-20 miles, not flat of course, but up and down the sides of the Bucegi mountains. We had 26 people with us and 24 made the whole trip. I was one of them and that blows my mind.

I tell you all of this to say that I have never felt such a concentraited time of sanctification in my life. I prayed the entire hour before I feel asleep the night before, I prayed the whole way up, I prayed the whole way over the peaks and valleys, and I prayed the whole way down. I continually saw how the Lord was showing me my weakness and his strength. I finally started saying to myself over and over, "The Lord is my strength and my salvation." I know this might seem silly or extreme but I know for a fact that if the Lord had not moved my legs to hike the mountain I would still be up there right now. I wanted to cry but I found myself laughing. I wanted to quit but I kept picking up flowers to remind me of God's goodness, mercy, and redemption. I wanted to get angry at people but I found myself being an encourager. THAT WAS CHRIST AT WORK WITHIN ME...I know this because I know Anna Davis and I know that she would never do any of that.

Katherine-remember that little orange book of Bible verses you gave me? Yep, I read through them the entire time. Providence.

To the rest of you, y'all are my happy thought and I miss you more than you know. I praise God for his goodness in giving me you.

Salerno - Home Of The Best Gelato Cake In Italy

What? Who gets to spend their 21st birthday in Italy? That's ridiculous! Nobody could be that lucky!

Well, I have no idea what I did to deserve it, but I got to do just that this weekend. To celebrate, my American friends and I experienced (and I do mean experienced) a real discoteca. We were a little out of our league, because I totally forgot to wear all black and 6 inch stilettos and everything. It was the kind of place with a very nice pool that you are absolutely not allowed to get in. And, it was a good thing that we wanted to dance, because we found out that only do you have to reserve a place to sit, but sitting down would have cost a whopping 150 euros. But there was a strobe light and they played Shakira. We had a blast.

The next day we spent a wonderful day in Agropoli at the beach. America just doesn't make beaches like this.

The other day, we were talking about how it is interesting how quickly we've started to feel at home here. We've been in Italy for two weeks, only two weeks, and already, walking everywhere in town and taking the train anywhere else seems completely normal. Fried pumpkin flowers are practically a standard side dish, and basically all coffee is espresso. Something I don't think I will ever get used to though, is the beauty I am surrounded by. I look out the window at school and see the Mediterranean and nearly every building seems like a work of art. From the ancient Greek temples we saw in Paestum this week

to a house we saw on the way there

(which had a peacock in the yard, by the way. It was in this tree. How cool is that? And, sorry for the grainy picture.)

to an apartment building in Salerno.

I have to say though, I had never thought about how fluffy towels are when they come out of the dryer, until I used one that dried on a clothesline. I know utilities are expensive here, but I really feel like Italians don't know what they're missing. A fluffy towel is everything in a cold bathroom. A dryer. It's the real American dream.

Lastly, since I'm in Italy, I will end with a list of the delicious things I've eaten lately.

1. Pasta with mussels

2. Grilled eggplant

3. Pizza with sausage, tomatoes, and ricotta cheese

4. Gelato cake (that is, ice cream cake, if you want to be so American as to call it that)

5. Every piece of bread that I pick up

And that was just the weekend. Grazie, Italia.

home is wherever i'm with you

home |hōm| noun

1 the place where one lives permanently, esp. as a member of a family or household

2 a place where something flourishes, is most typically found, or from which it originates

For a large part of this past semester, I thought that my first 2-3 weeks of summer would be spent in Johannesburg, South Africa. Towards the end of the semester, I found out that trip must take place in January instead. Big deal? Not at all. I'm super spontaneous. I can handle changes of plans. But I found myself becoming increasingly nervous about the trip's change of date. Instead of going to Africa, I would be going directly home for the summer. And home, for the first time in 13 years, would no longer be Jackson, Mississippi.

Home now is Wilmore, Kentucky - a small, quaint town 20 minutes outside of Lexington. Think Mayberry. I lived here for 5 years of my childhood, and after 3 weeks of being here I can truly say it is good to be back. Kentucky is beautiful; I forgot what it was like to be surrounded by so many horses, everywhere you look. Pictures of what is now the view out my backyard will come soon, but, for now, here's a small update on two of my most recent adventures.

This is one of the buildings at Shaker Town, or, more officially, the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill - a historically preserved Shaker community. Complete with an inn, an amazing restaurant, a craft store, a living history museum, and gorgeous farmland, this truly is a unique place thatyou should check out if you're ever close enough to do so. Lucky for me, it's only 20 minutes from my house! Mom and I stopped by the other day and walked around the historic buildings, just because we could.

[Location of the restaurant. I really like old brick buildings.]

One of my best summer adventures so far took place this weekend. Saturday night was Lexington's annual Swingin' on Main event - they shut down part of the city, have a live band, and everyone swing dances all night. Amazing.

[Friends practicing some swing moves.]

[Lexington city lights + a whole lot of people getting their dance on.]

[Dancing the night away.]

If the night wasn't good enough already, we topped it off with a trip to a friend's house and ice cream with more toppings than you've ever seen in your life. Oh yes. Life is beautiful.

Jackson is still home to me, just as New Jersey is and Oxford is. But I can honestly say, it is good to be in Kentucky. It is good to be home.