Holy ground

My heart is so full after a weekend at Sharp Top Cove! I got the opportunity to go to weekend camp with some awesome Farragut senior girls. I was so excited to go with them, because I had been praying for each of them by name leading up to camp. It was so neat to see God's faithfulness be unveiled time and time again. Those girls are full of energy and so much fun! I am so thankful that I get to be apart of their lives- especially during their senior year. Senior year of high school was such an impacting year in my life, and It really shaped who I am today. {Thankful for Laura Reed who painted such a clear picture of Christ's unconditional love for me, and for being so present in my life! Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the foot of the Cross to experience Jesus's love for me!} I am such a fan of weekend camp- especially in the fall. The leaves were beautiful and the weather was perfect. We got to hang out outside all day on Saturday, and enjoy God's incredible creation. Young life camp is such Holy ground. The Holy Spirit filled that camp last weekend, and it was so evident to every one of us there. I am so grateful that the Lord allows us to be His hands and feet. Thankful that he lets us be apart of the story, even though He totally does not need us. How awesome! Often times I feel so inadequate to do Kingdom work- what if I don't have the right answers? How can I lead others when I have my own brokenness? Our sweet Savior quickly reminds me that His Holy Spirit lives within me, and He is going to give me the strength to fulfill the calling He has given me.
 I am so thankful that the Lord loves me for who I am, rather than who I should be. Sometimes, it is so hard for me to love others in that way. I have to pray, daily, for the Lord to help me see others through His eyes & with His love! Why is that so hard at times?! Thank you Lord for your infinite grace! Thank you for sweet moments with my high school friends at such a God-filled place. I pray that my relationships with these girls continue to grow and reflect God's love for all of us. I pray that they will see Christ in me. I am so thankful for young life, and the impact it has had on my personal walk with the Lord. Thankful that the Lord has chosen me to share my story with other high school girls in order to better His kingdom. God is so GOOD, ya'll! 

Happy Fall Ya'll

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! It is definitely starting to feel like fall in Knoxville, Tennessee. I absolutely LOVE it. I love the cool weather, football season, sweatshirts/jeans/boots, the leaves changing colors, camping, etc. Everything about it is simply wonderful.

 My weekend started out with a little Ben Rector on campus. He did a short but sweet concert Friday night. I thought he was great! He is so talented. I love when you people sound the same in person as they do on the radio/CD. 

Ben Rector :)

After the concert my young life team overnight began. I love overnights with my team. They are full of energy and laughter. Even though I was one of the first people to fall asleep (OOPS), it was such a sweet night with friends. I am so thankful for each of their hearts, and their presence in my life. 

This is a little sneak peak of a typical Farragut team overnight..

We eat lots of food

Apparently we like to pick a person and tackle them.. this is something new

We dig into the costume closet at the Carlton's

This is our team "Dad." He's pretty cool I guess.. :)

Overall, we are pretty goofy, but we have alot of fun!!

On Saturday, I worked for a little bit, and then Trevor and I went to the UT game. We decided to sit in my parent's seats rather than the student section for this one. We were kind of glad that we did, because we got to sit down the whole time. Sometimes its nice to be able to just sit down and enjoy the game. (Not to mention the student section was pretty bare..) I love football season, even if the team does struggle every now and then. VFL! :)

Now, it's time to tackle some homework/studying to prepare for another week of school (while watching the Emmy's... we'll see how this goes)! Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday evening!

Busy Busy Busy

Happy Thursday!! :) Sorry for my long absence once again! Between school, young life, work, planning a wedding, and trying to maintain the relationships around me it is safe to say I am a pretty busy girl these days! A good busy though! I love when my planner is full, but don't get me wrong I also love to have days to RELAX.

Well I have survived the first month of school..WHEW!! One full month is already over! It has already gone by so fast. Some days I just don't even know how I will fit everything in, but I always find a way to get everything done. The Lord is teaching me to appreciate rest in this season of my life. Not just a good night's sleep, but resting in the arms of our Savior. Resting in his perfect plan for my life. Resting in knowing He is greater than any "obstacle" that may come my way. I am so thankful for God's faithfulness, and his reminder to rest in Him. 

Quick wedding update! Planning is going well, and coming together pretty quickly! The most recent thing I have done is designed my wedding cake. That was fun! We got to taste several different kinds of cake before we had to choose our favorite. They were all really yummy, so we found it hard to choose just one! We have also found an AWESOME band. We haven't booked them yet, but hopefully that will all work out. They are so fun and high energy! I am really loving this season of being engaged, and everything that comes along with that. Although, sometimes it is hard not to be anxious, because I am just so excited to marry my best friend! I. cannot. wait. Only nine more months and fifteen days, ya'll!!!! It is going to sneak up on us fast!

Oh and we got our engagement pictures in the mail yesterday!! Tracie Ancelet is so wonderful at what she does. We are SO grateful to have her photographing our wedding. She. is. INCREDIBLE.

Here are a few of them..

That's all I've got for now friends! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!! Only one more day until the weekend- that's something to get you excited :) Go Vols!

"I have found the one whom my soul loves!!" Song of Solomon 3:4

Have I mentioned that I am getting MARRIED?!!!

 Well, In 10 months and 25 days I am marrying my best friend/ the man that have prayed for my whole life!! Trevor popped the question May 31, and I haven't stopped smiling about it ever since! I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am!! The Lord has blessed my relationship with Trevor since the very beginning- when I was so hesitant to let someone love me. The Lord is so faithful when you trust in His plan and His timing- seriously, He is! I felt like my time would never come, because I was 19 and had never had a boyfriend and never been kissed (which is silly now that i look back on it, but it felt like a huge deal at the time). Holy moly was I wrong. Little did I know, the Lord was (and still is) molding Trevor Brown to be my husband. A husband that loves Christ FIRST. A husband that is so kind, patient, loving, honest, generous, selfless and so much more than words can express. The Lord was also preparing my heart to be a Godly wife to Trevor. He was teaching me to love who He created me to be, so that I could love Trevor well. How cool that the Lord was up to something so big when I least expected it?! I am so thankful that I waited on Trevor, and that Trevor waited on ME. I pray for the journey that's ahead of us every day. I pray that the Lord will use us, as a team, to do big things for His kingdom. I'm excited to see what He has in store for us!

(I had a death grip on his knee the whole time haha!)

Oh and other big wedding news: I got my wedding dress today!!!!!  I ended up getting the first one I looked at/tried on! How does that happen?! I tried on just about every style they have out there, but kept going back to this one in particular. It is totally different than what I ever imagined myself wearing, and I absolutely love it!!! SO.EXCITED!

July in a nutshell

I so enjoyed the month of July! It was filled with some of my favorite things: birthdays, alot of time with friends/family, and traveling. The month started out with several birthday celebrations. I love celebrating sweet friends' birthdays, and helping them to feel extra loved on their special day!

Happy Birthday to McLean!!

Happy Birthday to Katie!!

Happy Birthday to Carrie AND Sarah!! (Yes, Bekah and I do match. Totally by chance haha!)

I am SO thankful for these sweet friendships! So glad they were born :)

Next, I was off to the big apple with the Browns- my soon-to-be family! They are SO.MUCH.FUN to travel with! They don't miss a thing. Ya'll, we even had an itinerary for the trip, so that we didn't forget to do/see something. I'm tellin' ya, this family is so fun! We had an absolute BLAST! I am so thankful they let me tag along on this family vacation. I am one blessed girl to have such sweet future in-laws!! I cannot wait to become apart of the Brown family :)

I took over 400 pictures on this trip! So I'll spare ya all 400, and just show you a few of my favorites..

We stayed in Times Square- loved all the action & people watchin' here!

Top of the empire state building-Does this even look real?! 

Top of the Empire State Building

I have a new love for Broadway plays! We saw Sister Act & Lion King- so.much.talent!

Radio City! Going up to the top of the Rock

Grand Central Station- literally

Chinatown purchases! This wasn't my favorite place- they took us in the back of these massage rooms, through a door, and then locked it while we were in there looking at the purses. A little bit too sketch for me!

 The Brown family & me before the Lion King! :)

The girls!

Subway!! I thought the subway was the neatest thing. I am excited that Atlanta has a smaller version, so I can use it next year!

Carriage ride through Central Park for breakfast

Times Square at night is beautiful!!

Ferry Boat ride to the Statue of Liberty- the weather could not have been any better for this!

Love this of Trev and his sister, Kelsey!

I love this city!!!! Isn't it so beautiful?!

Today Show with my sweet sister's sign!

Cirque du Solei- neatest show ever!!! Those people are so stinkin' talented!

Carlos Bakery! We had some delicious pastries that morning!

Trev and I :) View of NYC from New Jersey

Jumping pictures resulted in alot of laughs! Love these people!

Then we had a few days in Knoxville to relax, catch up on some sleep, squeeze alot of hours in at work, and pack before we were off to Hilton Head with my family!

We were able to meet up with sweet friends (Taylor and Stacey) to play some putt-putt. I won't tell ya which couple won ;)

Trev & I after my birthday dinner :) So thankful for everything he does for me!

My sweet little cousin, Bennett

Bennett LOVED getting to hang with Trev for the week

The boys

My sweet brother, Charlie! LOVE this boy so much. I cannot believe it is already time for him to leave for college NEXT WEEK! AHH. Knoxville will miss him alot (mostly me!)

Love my sweet Pap Pow! (I didn't get a picture with he and my grandmom, but they are both SO wonderful. I am so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents that have been so involved in my life!)

What a beautiful reminder of God's unfailing love for us!

Trev is a rockin' gift-giver!!

My family! :) I am so blessed to have such a loving family.

Old Oyster Factory for the grand finale :)

The Baine girls! Love my mom and sister!

Well that's a wrap folks- that just about sums up my July! I am so blessed with the life the Lord has given to me. Seriously. I find myself on my knees thanking the Lord over and over again for surrounding my with such loving, encouraging, and patient people. I am so undeserving, but so grateful.

If you are still reading this, I am impressed! I will do a better job of keeping up with this more often so that my whole month isn't thrown in here altogether :)

-C