Things We Don't See Coming: More Parrish Announcements.

Good morning everyone! It's July! Can you even believe it?! I have to mention it every single time, but I LOVE wake up to overcast chilly foggy Napa mornings. It gives my morning routine just a little something special. I don't know, my coffee tastes just a little better.

ANYWAYS! Thats not what I wanted to blog about! I don't normally blog on Saturdays, but today I have not so normal news... or maybe it is... I don't know.

I don't think we really understand our absolute inability to know the future. We make plans, and we think we might know how things are going to go down, but we literally have no idea. At this time last year we were really excited about Nate joining a band called Kutless. This past year with them has been nothing short of adventure, and we are looking forward to as many adventurous years as the Lord allows. But if you've followed the Parrish's on social media, you have seen that this past year has also handed us it's fair share of serious challenges (you can read about that here if you're curious). These past six months have forced Nate and I to really look at our life and seriously pray about what God has for us. For most of that time, I never once gave a single thought to the fact VCS may not be the plan for my entire life. I loved my kids, I loved my co-workers, I loved my principle, I loved my classroom, I loved literally everything, and I rocked at being a teacher. There was no thought of leaving. Until Nate said that we should put out a resume´, so thats what we did.

We thought we'd get some feedback, but we really had no idea that God would put Hingepoint Church in our path. Our first interview with them was weirdly great. We knew that this wasn't a chance meeting, we knew that God was up to something. Our three Skype interviews were more like conversations (I've never laughed so much in a job interiew). But the deal was sealed for us when we actually met them all in person. Hingepoint people were our people, and without even knowing it yet, in the hard times, God was actually molding us and making us into Hingepoint people.

So, the original idea in the beginning was that Nate would be "the" guy and I would help. BUT our actual position is a gift that only God could have given us. What sold us and confirmed in our mind that God was putting these pieces together, was that we were BOTH being hired. We were offered the position of Worship and Creative Arts Directors of Hingepoint Church on June 20th, and with happy and grateful hearts, we have accepted :)  Nate and I are for reals walking into our dream job. Our deepest desire forever has been to make music and lead worship together. yay!

Finally, the last piece of this CRAZY puzzle, is that Hingepoint is in Bakersfield CA. So while we are CRAZY excited, we are so so sad to leave our loved ones in Napa, Vacaville, and Sacramento. Bakersfield is about 4.5 hours away. We are embarking on a WHOLE NEW ADVENTURE. New people, new city, new house, new church, new everything. We would absolutely appreciate your prayers as we go forward into this next step. We leave Napa July 16th, and will be in Bakersfield early August.  These next few days will be such whirl wind. Packing, Getting dinners in with good friends, Kim Kardashian level ugly crying, so much to do...

Wow, guys. Who knew? WHO. KNEW?!  See you soon!

Women in Worship: Molly Broomer

Hello there everyone! 

I cannot wait for you to read today's column. Molly's heart worship is so sweet and genuine. For more info about Molly and her ministry, you can check out her blog www.itsallrightthere.org.

I love being a woman. I love everything about it. I love femininity, I love relationships and all the “lovey-dovey” stuff we get stereotyped for, I love the chick flicks and the flowers and the dresses and the makeup. I love the strength of a woman - the ability to overcome great obstacles, to fight fiercely for the ones she loves, to rise to any occasion, and to do it all with grace and beauty. It has saddened me to watch our society slowly, but surely, change the expectations on women. We are, in short, being forced to be just like men in order to feel equal and look equal and to be respected by our female peers. The message I feel I am receiving is this: If you don’t want to be just like a man and have all the things a man has, you’re failing as a woman. I know this has leeched into every area of life already - I fear it may leech into the worship/church leadership area of our lives as well. 

I am not a feminist in the traditional sense of the word. I am comfortable with the differences between men and women and I want to keep it that way. On the other hand, I’m not a person who claims that “women belong in the home and nowhere else.” I believe women have a lot to offer the Church and historically we have been called on to fill gaps and lead where there has been desperate need. I also believe that what a woman brings to the worship table, specifically, is really beautiful and unique. My dear desire for women everywhere is to experience the freedom to be exactly who God made us to be, as females and as leaders. It can be both. We can be both gentle and strong. We can be both relational and visionary. We can be both humble and confident. 

In my experiences of leading, both on and off the stage, the struggle has been coming to terms with who I am and what my gifts can offer to a group of people. We each, as individuals, have to learn to love our own gifts and personalities and to be confident in who God made us. We also have to come to terms with our weaknesses and address any issues that may arise because of them. On top of this, women have a little extra work to do. We need to be confident that we are where God has called us to be. We need to be aware of the environment God has put us in, the challenges that may exist with our co-workers and the volunteers under us, etc. We need to be sure we know who we are and what we’re about. I feel that because there’s often already a hidden (or maybe not so hidden!) attitude about whether we are right for the job and whether we can handle it, women need that extra dose of confidence and grace under fire. This comes from being deeply rooted in the Vine, tethered to His will and drinking directly from the Source of life. Keep in mind, confidence and servant leadership are different than defensive, territorial guardianship of your position. It may feel like you need to be on guard with your fences up, but I promise - serving is better. Grace is better. Humility is better. It pays off in the end, even if only to save you from sinking to the level of those who would see you fail. 

Remember that while women have struggles and strengths unique to being female, our male counterparts have struggles and strengths as well. Neither side should be seeking to put the other down or become the better sex. Being a confident female leader should include blessing the men in your life, offering them respect whenever you can, and choosing to build them up. Men have a unique calling from the Lord and they also have unique weaknesses which make them vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy (as do we!). You can choose to celebrate them for who they are, just as we so often wish to be celebrated! I believe if women are to be “equal” in all eyes, it will be because we chose to be gracious, while not being ashamed or chased away from leadership. I believe it will be because we served well and built up those around us, not because we competed and beat them in every arena. That is not how the Kingdom of God will advance. That is not His design for the Church or for the sexes.  

On stage, I know that aspects of my femininity, the things about us that make us different from men - these are often the very things I rely on to be effective and these are the things that I know God uses so often to reach the congregation. When it comes to music, especially worship music, nothing can make me cry faster. I am relational and transparent - I love to share! And don’t we all? Isn’t that what makes our women’s retreats and our girls’-night-outs so great? I am also strong in what I believe and know is true. So I use that on stage! I share my heart, I share what’s been true for me the past week, I encourage people to lean into Biblical truth, I cry so often, it’s become a running joke at our Church! But I wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would my people. They feel comfortable opening up with me, the feel comfortable being vulnerable in worship because I have gone before them. That is the job of any worship leader, and I feel as women we have so much to offer in this area! 

In wrapping up, I suppose my encouragement is this: be who you are. Be who God made you to be. Be strong & confident in your gifts and your talent and your leadership. Don't try to be a man, don’t try to be like another leader you admire. Find what makes you you and go for it. Focus on loving God and the people around you, becoming more like Jesus each day and giving His love away to the world. I believe God created us male and female for a reason. I believe that together, we reflect the wholeness of a perfect God. You have a purpose - to reflect a beautiful part of who God is. Being a woman is a fierce and wonderful thing. We have so much to offer the worship world and the world at large. I am so blessed to be part of that.

Valentine's Day Adventure

Hi Everyone!

I hope your Valentine's day was nice! Nate and I were leading worship at Church, so we didn't really get much of a chance to do anything on the actual day of Valentine's day, though we did get a nice hearty Sunday afternoon nap in. Instead we tooka advantage of my Friday off and went up the valley to the little town of St. Helena. 

Napa Valley is postcard perfect. Every single thing is beautiful, so even just a little drive is romantic. It's wonderful. Also, Napa CA proper, doesn't really have all the wineries and restaurants, there are a lot of them of course, but the really big nationally known ones are up the valley in Yountville and St. Helena. Of course, we have never been to any of them, they are crazy expensive. BUT St. Helena has the cutest downtown, and it really is just fun to walk and see and look at all the shops. Here are some of the pics of our outing.

This really is what Napa looks like. Right now. It's a dream world!

I wish my slip hadnt been showing in this picture, but I really dont care all that much. This  old church that Nate and I parked by was so beautiful. It was built in 1859. Our walking date consisted of walking around downtown, and stopping to look in some of the shops here and there. It was just nice to be outside. It was a perfect 70 degrees as we were walking. You couldnt have asked for better weather.  It was such a fun date.

We'd never really been there on a date before, but we'll definitely be going back. This was more like a scoping out, rather than really taking it in. Can't wait to go back! How was your valentine's day? Did you do anything fun or romantic? Do you have valentine's day tradtions? 

Weekend update

Hello folks! Happy Sunday afternoon to all of you! Other than having a great morning at church, It's been a great weekend just doing a lot of nothing. Finally got to whip out some of my sandals! Also, I finally got a new camera! I had lost our old one, and had been using the sorry camera from the IPad... Also, I don't have a smart phone (thats another post all together), so taking pictures is a really intention thing for me. Anyways it's very nice to have a new one. It's nothing fancy, but that's okay, because I'm not a photographer, and I'm not sure my pictures would look any better with a fancy camera. Here are a few pictures form the weekend.

This is the weird side room of our apartment. It has such beautiful natural light. It really is one of my favorites spaces. 

 Just a little Saturday afternoon inspiration happening here. I'm not really much of an artiste, but it really is very sweet to sit with my worship music on, and reflect, and paint. Also I'm a chronic cursive writer, I hate printing, so I invested in ($3.99) in a caligraphy pen. It has instantly made everything I write look way more fancy!

A friend of mine, Gennean, from college wrote in her blog about an app she had been using called She Reads Truth  its a Bible study app. It really is one of the most beautiful apps, and I've been obsessed with it since I got it. There is a "Bible in a Year" track that isn't as intimidating as some of the ones I've seen. I read Psalms 5 today along with another Old Testament portion of scripture, and This just stuck out to me so much as this is how I've been trying to start every single day with God. 

What inspires you on the weekends? Do you need a little push? Do you need to hear from the Lord? Scripture is the best place to look. Pray about it! Take a walk! Listen to your favorite music! Right now I've been listen to Stephanie Frizell Gretzinger's The Undoing, and Bethel Music's We Will Not Be Shaken if you need a little suggestion :)

And I Thought To Myself, "I Can Do That!"

When I was in high school, I was told by a Choir Director in passing conversation that he never gave solos to anyone who asked for one, because it meant their heart wasn't in the right place. He also said if you were good enough, you would just get asked to be in leadership/get a solo/get to lead worship. At the time I agreed, and acted in accordance with what I thought was a really righteous way of selecting leaders. This eventually formed me into a person so scared of looking prideful, I never ever put myself out there musically. This lead to me to being overlooked (not in a mean-spirited, or poor-leadership kind of way), wondering why I wasn't moving forward, then ultimately wondering if I was good enough.  I was at the point where I was thinking that maybe I had been fooling myself my entire life. My senior year of college was a time of questioning, and a lot of soul searching. 

The point of that weird anecdote is this: I was holding on to a lie, and it grew in my heart into debilitating fear. It wasn't until very recently that I began to pray in earnest for the Lord to change my heart and my thinking on this. 

Music comes very naturally to me. My piano is an extension of my arms. I can't not sing a song I know while riding in the car. God doesn't give us gifts and talents, so we can hide it away. I had a little light and I was hiding it (under a bushel...no!).

It was being at Desperation conference in CO where God really broke the chains in my heart. I had honestly thought that song "Break every chain" was silly emotional crap until then. It was watching people doing what they were obviously called to do, and doing it confidently and unapologetically. 

My stream of thought went a little like this, "Oh my gosh, Lord please forgive me, I have been so wrong. I have been so resistant, and so falsely humble.... I can do that, Lord, I'm gonna do it....(tons of crying)." 

So, here I am now. I'm not doing it on a huge stage with thousands of people. I'm not writing instant hits with viral Youtube videos. But I'm doing it. Nathan and I are writing for real for the first time. We are leading together for real for the first time. We are as poor as we were in the beginning and there is fear in stepping out...but there is provision. I guess the ultimate point of this blog is this:

There is peace in obedience, and no money can buy that.

Find You When I'm At My End

Hi Everyone!

If you follow me on the social medias, you've seen that I participated in 3-day fast with my church. I've done fasts before, and for much longer, but I've never fasted all food before. If you've never done a fast, read the Word and see what it says. God actually tells us to. Now I know why!

What a sweet thing it is to be desperate for the Lord.

That's what I took away from this fast. Besides the fact that I am in prayer for some very specific things (I'm praying about being ready to share them with you here, I should probably tell Nathan first!), the biggest take away, and the most important lesson I learned was absolute dependence on God. Depending on him to help me resist temptation; depending on Him to be my physical and emotional strength, depending on Him to help me keep going. Fasting is hard (who knew!).

I was hungry sure, but really, for the very first time, actually hungry to be near to God, and to hear from Him and really obey. I've never wanted to just read and rest in the Word like I do now. I can't say it enough, it such a sweet, sweet thing.

Could all that is lost really be found? Spiritual Resolutions.

Hello there!
Happy Friday to you! My last post was on my New Year's Resolutions, so I thought I would share  my Spiritual Resolution. I only have one, because I feel like everything starts there, and over the years, I've kind of forgotten.

Worship for real. Sunday morning worship isn't my time to intimately worship God. That sounds really awful at face value, but being on stage it's not really my job to lead myself, it's my job to lead others. So my spiritual resolution is worship God by myself. Not with our worship band, not even with Nathan. Just me, my instrument, Jesus, and my Bible. Everything starts with worship. It's not that I dont worship when I lead on Sundays, or Fridays, but there's so much more going on in my mind. Can I hear the monitors? What is the congegation doing? Are they engaged? Am I being consious not manipulate? What are Nate and Jordan doing? Who is doing announcements? Whats the song order? Whats going on with the other harmonies? When I worship by myself, all of those things go away. I know that if I start with worship, for real, for me, for Jesus, the rest of whatever it is that the Lord has will come, and whatever that is, it's what I want.

see you soon! have a fabulous weekend!

Countless Second Chances We've Been Given

Hello there everyone!! It's been way way way too long since I've updated my blog, I realize this. It's also been a very crazy time of transition life change. I kinda kept my blog up over the summer, so it's not really news that Nate and I are no longer in the Sacramento area. We now live in Napa CA. We moved in June, so we experienced the earthquake. If you saw the news on the quake you saw a lot of damage. Nate and I were spared...big time. We didn't have to move, we didn't lose anything expensive or special, and most importantly we were completely safe. It was scary, but we survived.

With the new year already in full swing, I actually have thought of a few goals I'd like to accomplish to this year! Here they are:


1. Write more songs. In my former life I was a singer/songwriter and did a significant amount traveling/performing. I'd like to do more of that. Nate suprised me by getting me the ukulele of my dreams for Christmas. I had bought a cheap one online so I could learn to play, but the one Nate got me is so beautiful and sounds so much better. They're also a lot easier to travel with than a Piano; which is my primary instrument. I've been playing for about a month now... I'm okay. I'd really like to get super good. As you can see, Oscar is way impressed with my rendition of "Rainbow Connection".

Nate an I did some recording this year. This has been an awesome addition to our married life. Being creative together has helped us learn stuff about each other we didn't know before. It's been really fun, and challenging writing and playing together. I've never wanted to punch someone I loved in the face before :)

2. Take more pictures!
I found an old Polaroid land camera in my Grandma's stuff after she passed away this past year in November. I also found this little green camera at an antique store. I wasn't sure if it worked or not, so I did a research and bought some film for it. Turns out this little camera is broken, but it sparked a new interest/hobby in vintage cameras and film photography. Don't expect any "Parrish the Thought Photography" instagram account or anything, but I do need to get better at taking pictures of stuff that matters,

3. Get a hair cut. A real one.

This is a screenshot of my iPad. It has taken me 5 years to grow my hair to this length from a close-cut pixie cut. I've endured the shaggy Justin Beiber phase (featured here). I venteured away from my very trusted hairstylist and received one of the WORST haircuts ever, and recovered. 

Sometimes my long hair looks awesome, like this:

but usually it's really dirty and gross and looks like this:

The truth is, I really just don't have the time necessary to have long hair. Not to mention that my hair just isn't healthy, and it needs to start over. I'm thinking bob with baby bangs.  It would be easy and still way stylish. I dont know. But my goal is to get a significant cut. I like this one... we'll see...maybe not so short. See, there I go.

4. Blog more. This has been my goal for a long time. I love Parrish The Thought. I know it doesn't really seem like it. But I do. I don't have a lap top or the internet, so finding time and resources is hard. But I think if I were to have a lap top it might be easier to get this kind of thing done.

Anyways, lots of new things on the horizon. New music, new hair, new... everything! I have spiritual goals as well, but that is post all it's own. See you soon!

When I was 11, I Audited My Parents

Hello everyone, Happy tuesday to you. It's been a pretty dull day. I haven't even had my coffee yet. So besides being dull as of now, everything is kind of a blur. I did however manage to watch The Other Guys and beat my high score in Solitaire. Yes. Very exciting things happening with my this morning. 

But lets get something out in the open here, Emily chose Jef!? Weird. I've always been pretty good at decifering which guy the bachelorette was going to pick, but I have to admit. I never saw that coming. My pick was Sean, I knew he couldn't win. He was too nice, too American. So. American.

Anyways, here's what I decided to wear today. I've be wearing my hair in a bun every single day for the past 6 months I feel like. I dont enjoy my hair down right now. It desperately needs a little bit of a styling. Thursday can't come soon enough. However, I did attempt the center part today. It's never too late to be late to the party I guess.

 I am obsessed with the color Coral these days. One of my dearest friends chose it as her wedding color way back in 2009 (our anniversary is 5 months apart, and she flew alllllll the way from New York to be in my wedding. What a blessing to have lifelong friends), and I was skeptical, but I was proven wrong when every single. very different looking, girl looked absolutely glowing in their dress. Whit was so ahead of the times :) She still is.

 Are those blue cherries? I can't really tell, but I dont care. Also, here's some lacey-lace for your delight. Just a little bit of trend over-load. What of it.

 Here's a few pictrues of our weekend adventures. When my parents came for the weekend they took us to Thai Food, Freestyle, and then last but not least, arguably the best ice cream on the west coast: LEATHERBY'S. If you are ever ever ever in the Sacramento area, you have to go there.  The ice cream is insane!! They also have food, but who cares about food when there's ice cream? I sincerely believe that.

 This is a lovely picture of my parents...behind my tower of ice cream. I shared (meaning I totally ate most of it myself) with my wubby. This creation is the chocolate sundae with Peanut Butter sauce. Yes this does exist, and I do now have type 2 diabetes.

 Sunday after church, we went to Lucille's for lunch. good food and obviously, better company. This is my best friend, June. We're best friends.

Also, I thought I would share with you this picture. This is my husband. At work. Holding a Thor hammer, and his best buddy, Jordan, In...I honestly don't know. The Puffy shirt from Seinfeld? Either way, they get paid to do this. Lordy...Look at those ridiculous boots!!

Well thats about it for me today!! I gotta check the mail and somehow be productive. There's dishes in the sink...I could add that to the list of very exciting things to do today :) See you soon!

the great charm of all power is modesty

Clothes are such a funny thing aren't they? They say so much without us even knowing. That's why it's so important to really think about the things we put on. There are people who think that it's shallow to care about clothes, but let me discuss why it's not.

Our clothes communicate so much, and they can sometime dictate how people respond towards us. There's so much to consider when thinking about dressing your body. Like, what might look great on someone else may or may not look good on you, and vis versa. OR, what I would wear on a date with my husband would not look at all like what I would wear to lead worship on a sunday morning. Or even what I would wear to lead worship at school, would look different from what I would wear to lead worship at church. Your outfit communicates so much!

Our clothes need to be an extension of who we are, bringing out our very best, not distract people from it! 

Here's an example that speaks volumes. Here's Nicole Richie. Now, while I wouldn't necessarily endorse her initial method of weight loss, or her relationship with the law, I am convinced that since having her baby and getting married, she's a different woman, and I'm a big fan of hers. But here's what we used to know of Nicole Richie: Paris Hilton's wild friend with fried hair. Yikes. If you told me that she was going to be one of my favorite fashion icons, I would laugh in your face. What does this outfit say about... anyone? How would you expect a man to treat you? What kind of friends would you attract? What type of Boss would be likely to hire you? I'm actually saddened by the fact more people dress like this than the latter...

 But look at this!!! Is she not totally gorgeous? What does this outfit say? She looks like, and I believe, she actually is a different person now! Look how much more confident she looks! More sure of herself. This is the Nicole Richie that guest stars on Project Runway with significant influence. I want everything in her closet.

 Soooo.... all this to say, when you have a public speaking engagement (even if its just a high school presentaion), think about what you're communicating!! when you put your booty shorts on before you go to the mall... think about how many people will be there, and the fact that creepers are everywhere. You can look totally cute, HOT even, without your booty shorts. What do you want your clothes to say about you?

Light Morning Conversation

Good morning wonderful blogging community! It's almost 10:00am, so thought to kill time before my next class at 12:30, I would fill you in on how school is going.

School is going great thus far! I tend to be an extreme worrier. So the night before the first day of classes was not a very restful once for me. But alas, my day went fine. I'm in so very very very interesting classes, so I'm speaking life into this semester by saying that I think I really going to love soaking up all the info I can. I have lots of psych classes, which are going to be sooooo awesome! I also have a class at 8 in the morning that I've decided that I'm going to love: Christian Perspectives. . It wasn't what I thought it was going to be at all, and that makes me so really excited.

I've grown up in a Christian home my entire life. The little old ladies at the church I've grown up in my whole life are all like my grandmas, and my church friends growing up are more like family than friends. I've been surrounded by this type of culture my whole life, and I continue to live in that culture voluntarily, I really love beign around church, and church people. the only bummer is, I really dont hear a lot of other worldviews, and thats why I'm so excited about this class.

The couple behind me was like on a weird first date or something. Their flirtatiousness was really uncomfortable. Oh Starbucks. I'll bet the employees witness lot's of strange dates! Also, I really wish I knew what my bangs were doing. They really need a trim.

Christians should be thinkers and learners, and they should know, like really know our world. But do we? Do I? After just two days of Christians Perspective, it's pretty clear that I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. How can I be all things to all people, when I only know the people who are like me? How can make disciples of all nations, when i'm a disciple of just my own? I'm really excited about this year. I'm going to be made uncomfortable, and I'm going to have my feelings hurt (I tend to take everything personally, it's one of my bajillion flaws), but I'm going to stretched and grown so much, and it's going to happen between 8:00 and 9:30 AM every monday and wednesday!!! I can't wait,

I'll Lock My Heart In My Tower

Hello Everyone! I’m blogging on a Sunday! Is that allowed? Heck yeah it is. I guess if you’re really stiff, I shouldn’t tell you that I’m also watching Harry Potter! AND since my wubby is so sick, I’m also not going to church this morning! Oh my goodness. Just kidding. While I sincerely love the Lord, and love going to church, I don’t believe that Harry Potter is evil in the slightest! In fact I love Harry Potter, and I cried in Part 2 of the Deathly Hollows, and raised a fist of victory when Neville triumphed over evil. I have a special place in my heart for Neville. I don’t know why, I’m such a person my mystery. Ha.

ANYWAYS! I wasn’t sure if Nathan was up to going to church, and since I wake up much earlier than him anyways, I got ready for church just in case. If we had gone, this is what you would have seen me in. I’ve had this dress for years. Its probably the most flattering dress I own. Obviously this is a summer dress, because if I were to wear this in the winter, It would be the same color as my skin!! I have to have a little bit of a summer glow in order to wear it.

 I really love how long the bow is in the back. And on a funny note, look at my eagle claw hand clenching onto that pole... what the heck was I doing?

When I first bought this dress, I was buying it for a photo shoot for when I was a full-time musician. What a little baby I was!! Cute little 21 year old Rachel. Look at that hair! Where have those past 5 years gone? Crazy. I think I was going for a Pride and Prejudice look… when am I not? Anyways, I don’t like wearing the dress with the tie in the front anymore because I feel like it looks a little bridesmaids-y. If you're curious as to what my music sounded like, you can go to my old myspace page: www.myspace.com/rachelbishop. Wow, these pictures seem ancient.

both photos: Caleb Kuhl

PS: How funny is this: the guy who did my photos was a contestant for the Bachelorette Season 5!!! How crazy is that?! I had no idea. He truly is a great guy. Obviously he did not win. But he is a very very talented and driven photographer. Yay! I kinda feel like I know a celeb (even though I clearly do not). haha.

Well everyone, that’s about it for me today. It’s my Grandma’s birthday today, so my parents are taking her to the State Fair. If it weren’t so expensive to go, me and Nathan would so be there! As it is, we’re gonna meet up with them later for dinner. Hooray! Well everyone enjoy this beautiful Sunday afternoon. See you soon!!

If I want to wear a dress, I'll wear a dress

Good morning everyone! Back to blogging away with vigor! I'm so glad to be back on here and doing my thing. I know it wasn't a super long time, but still, I missed it. I still have a ton of homework this week, but I have more peace of mind about it. I've discovered the art of the to-do list. My poor husband had to deal with my extreme anxiety all week long. He's a very patient man. My weekend was super fun. As I always do, I went to the thrift store with my mom. I forgot my debit card (I honestly forgot it!), and so my mom foot the bill (which was probably a grand total of $15). I found the best stuff! Just wait a few days, you shall see the glory for yourself:)

This is what I decided to wear today: The sun was shining nice and bright, and all I heard was about the 70+ weather, so I decided to wear a dress. I so love wearing dresses, they just make me feel so great! I love being a girl, and being girly. This dress is from Superior Thrift in Stockton, It's really full and flowy, and shapeless, so it's absolutely critical (yes, it's ciritical) that I wear a belt. I think it was handmade a long time ago, but that adds to it's charm!!

 These little guys were one of my finds over the weekend. I'm so glad to not be wearing heavy shoes today! I LOVE LOVE LOVE a great boot, but my little toes are begging for freedom!

 Sunday we had a Choir concert in Rancho Cordova, it was super fun. I love Choir concerts. Even though the ministry is really for the people in the audience, I'm always ministered to by our group, our conductor, my friends, the music, it's just an all around great thing to be a part of. I often thing about what my life would be like if God hadn't brought me back to Jessup... and then I stop thinking about it, because I would be missing out on so much!

Anyways, this picture is me looking like a crazy-cat-lady. This glorious sweater is soooo cute...when I'm not wearing my Choir dress with it. Our choir dresses are actually very attractive as far as Choir dresses go, but not with this gian sweater. The combo of the two with my little tiny bag...not cute. AND to top it off my eyes are closed! hahaha. Anyways, the outfit that I had on before I changed totally worked with the sweater, but at this moment in time... not so much.

ANYWAYS!! Thats about it for me today. I hope this sun plans on coming back out...I dressed for warm weather... I'm so tired of this happening to me! Perfect timing for me to end this post, there is a VERY loud "study" group in the commons coming in right now that I can't wait to walk away from. Have a great day everyone, pray for sunshine!! See you soon!