Mom

If you know me, you might know that as a teenager I hated being told that I was like my Mother.  I think it's something that most young girls may not necessarily look forward to hearing; however, recently I have realized how much I hope I am like my Mom in many ways.

My Mother, Alisa Jo Brackney, beautiful, hard working, and driven. I am just beginning to realize how hard she works and how much she loves us and strives to provide for us. She cooks (amazing food), cleans, home schooled me, Leneigh, and Hannah (and got us all off to college) and still home schools my youngest sister, Grace, keeps many beautiful gardens (to provide fresh food and a beautiful yard), she is up late ironing my Dad's shirts as we speak, among many other things. I can only imagine how much energy this takes, and as I begin to think about taking care of my own home I am beginning to appreciate more and more what she does and who she is.

Not only does my Mom keep us all taken care of, but she (with my amazing Dad) has raised me and my sisters in a way that I think has greatly equipped us for life - spiritually, mentally, and socially. My Mom and I haven't always seen eye to eye, and we've not until more recently become close, but looking back I know that my Mom has always had my best interest at heart and was right sometimes too. (That's the thing that most kids, including myself, promised we'd never say). Crazy.

Unfortunately this is the only recent picture I have of my Mom and I, but even so you can see that she's a beautiful person; or at least I think so - inside and out. She has a beautiful smile, a contagious laugh, a servant heart, a love for God, her family, and her neighbors and friends. I have seen my Mom change over the years into even more of a confident, loving, and joyful person and I am so thankful and blessed to be her daughter.

I can only hope and pray that I continue to remember the things she has taught me over the years and what continues to teach me. Not only is this because she has set a great example for me, but also because now it is my turn to become a wife, eventually a mother, and continually a daughter. I want to show love, patients, forgiveness, and joy the way my Mom has shown these traits to me.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me, trusting me, loving me, instilling confidence in me, putting up with me when we didn't see eye to eye, and continually encouraging me follow God in everything I do.

I think this Proverb describes my Mom well and is something I will also strive toward.
I picked The Message for a bit more of a modern setting, but with the same NIV (or whatever other translations) standards and meaning.   ;)

Proverbs 31:10-31

The Message (MSG)

Hymn to a Good Wife

"A good woman is hard to find,
    and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,
    and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously
    all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
    and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
    and brings back exotic surprises.

She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
    for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,
    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work,
    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
    diligent in homemaking.

She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
    reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing,
    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected
    when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them,
    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
    and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
    and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;
    her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
    but you’ve outclassed them all!”

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
    The woman to be admired and praised
    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God."

(I like the NRSV better for this part...)

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Home sweet Pontiac

Well everyone, Clay and I have officially picked where we are going to live once we are married. Today we put the deposit in on a duplex house in Pontiac, MI right next to the Micah 6 House (check out the link! We're super excited to be living next door to these people and the ministry!).

A little glimpse of our home-to-be :) 

It's a bit of a fixer-upper but our landlord is ready to start construction (i.e. new carpet, new appliances, fresh paint, etc...) on Monday!          I cannot tell you how excited I am (we are) to have a place picked out - especially in a neighborhood where we feel called to work in and help make a difference in.

Since we will be living in Pontiac/next to  Micah 6, Clay and I will be helping out in a community building project focused on improving the neighborhood, helping kids do better in school, and planting community gardens. If you haven't heard of Micah 6, you should definitely look into it some more; it's a ministry that I think has already and will continue to make a big difference in Pontiac!

This house/apartment/duplex, whatever you want to call it, is a God send for sure. Clay and I were just days away from signing on for an apartment to rent when my friend Coleman contacted me and told me that he had a friend that was looking for reliable renters. A couple conversations, a look at the house, and several prayers later here we are with plans to move into Pontiac. Crazy how God works!

So here's to the beginning of a new adventure! I can't adequately share my excitement through my words yet, but I will definitely be keeping whoever wants to read my blogging/rambling in the loop on this new chapter. It continually amazes me how God keeps on providing and opening doors - I'm excited to see where this door takes us.

Breath.

I am one of those busy people that don't know how to sit and just breathe. Someone usually has to remind me that it is okay to relax and take time for myself. I love being busy and constantly on the move. That being said, this post is a reminder to myself of the importance of breath and rest. May these thoughts be a blessing and reminder to you the same way they have been for me.

Last semester was the busiest semester I have ever had. I was involved in two theater productions, chorus (both as a member and V.P.), Autumn, an on campus job, babysitting, helping lead worship, and I was a New Student Orientation leader on top of my 16 or 17 credit hour class load and beginning to plan Clay and I's wedding. Whew. Praise God I made it out alive and with good grades, right?

This semester is slightly less crazy in that I'm only taking 15 credit hours and I am not involved in quite as many things. But, that does not mean I am not busy. Just not as busy.

Throughout this semester my roommates, Katy B. and Katy P. ( yes both Katy), have been attending some yoga classes at Life Time Fitness. I have not been able to go due to either scheduling conflicts or choosing sleep over yoga (shocking right?). Well, last night I decided I would go with Katy P. and try it out. It was a little difficult. I sweat a lot. I almost fell over once or twice. But. It reminded me the importance of breathing. Yoga focuses a lot on your breath - inhaling and exhaling through your nose and focusing on that. While trying to keep my breathing normal in the midst of some crazy yoga moves I thought, "thank you God for the reminder to breathe." I have breath in my lungs, the ability to be still and just breathe; something I forget far too often.

Breath, the air we breathe, being still...these are all things that God has given us. Things God is in. I firmly believe Yahweh is in every breath we breathe and every prayer we pray. Just think about it. Even His name, Yahweh, sounds like air being exhaled from a person's lungs. He is the very air we breathe, the thing that sustains us and gives us the energy we need to live. He is our constant source of life.

Something I try to remind myself of from time to time is to say breath prayers throughout the day. Praying God's name and just quickly saying a prayer for whatever may be on my mind in that moment. It is nothing drawn out or profound, just a short little prayer said in one breathe connecting me with the Father and reminding me that He is the air I breathe, Yahweh, life giver, and listener. A simple moment and reminder to just breathe.

Sometimes we need to just stop and breathe. And that's okay. I pray you take time in your day to breathe, even just for a moment.

May the air from my lungs every praise your name, Yahweh.

It's a Katelyn (Kaitlyn) thing.

You know those people in your life that just seem to always be there and know exactly what to say? The people that you can be goofy with, laugh with, cry with, and be honest with?
If you're like me, when that question comes to mind there are a few people you think about...

As I approach the end of my undergrad education, continue planning my wedding, look for a job, and try to figure out where Clay and I will be living there have been some constants in my life that I am beyond thankful for.

We've grown up a bit since then...

To be honest, there are lots of people I could talk about in this post; Mom, Dad, Clay, my sisters, grandparents, several close friends...but I think I'm going to just focus on one - my dear friend Katy. Miss Kaitlyn Bodine. My roommate, encourager, big dreaming, adventure seeking, maid of honor, junk food eating/workout buddy, best friend. This girl is a rock for me. I can't tell you the number of times we have laughed, cried, adventured, and dreamed big dreams (or crazy dreams) together.

I told Clay last week that he has one half of my heart and Katy has the other half. Maybe it's a bit of an exaggeration (because obviously I love my family and other friends as well ;) ) but Katy has a special place in my heart. We've been around the world together, encouraged each other, lived together, suffered through many a Chartwells meal together, gone through happy and sad times together...She is quite literally an answer to prayer.

Backstage of "A Pilgrim's Progress"

My sophomore year of college Katy transfered to RC. I knew who she was since our paths had crossed randomly throughout the years, but we were by no means close, or really even friends. I knew that she didn't have many friends on campus yet and so I prayed that God would allow us to be friends, and maybe even best friends. And boy, did God answer my prayer. That fall we both were in the musical "Into the Woods" - we bonded over eating a box of donut holes by ourselves while waiting to go on stage. It wasn't hard to tell that we'd be close after that moment.

Since then our appetites have gone from donuts to African adventures, Earth Science Field Studies, wedding parties, music, dancing, deep discussions, and more.

As Katy and I grow closer, we unfortunately also draw closer to the end of our college careers, the end of a chapter in our life book. I hope and pray that she continues to stick around. Katy is one of those people that I pray never leaves my life. She is far too important. I am honored to be her friend and to additionally have her as mine. No matter what happens I know we'll stay close no matter how far apart we may have to move from each other.

Thank you, God for my sweet friend. You have blessed me richly through her.



These two quotes sum up a bit of our friendship:

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” 

                                                                                              ― C.S. Lewis

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” 

                                                                                            ― Linda Grayson

Give Thanks

As always, I have sadly fallen out of my writing routine. But since I am now (thankfully!) on Thanksgiving break it seems only appropriate to write something since I, for once, have time.

This semester has be absolutely insane for me. As the first semester of my senior year I have successfully over booked myself more so than I ever have before. This semester I have been involved in two shows (Pilgrim's Progress and Seussical the Musical), Chorus, Autumn (a smaller vocal ensemble), and The Offering ( a time of instrumental worship that happens a couple times a month), an on campus job, trying to begin planning my wedding, being a friend, fiancee', roommate, daughter, sister, etc... PLUS all my senior level classes. Sound busy enough? Whew. However, in the midst of all this craziness I have continually been reminded of how blessed I am and how much I have to be thankful for, even in the midst of my chaotic semester.

I know talking about being thankful seems pretty cheesy this time of year, and maybe it is, but I think it really is important to stop and think about what we are thankful for. So, this post is not going to be an enlightening, super amazing, post about being thankful, but rather a simple list of things and people I am thankful for. I don't know if you've ever tried this, and I have not done this recently, but for about a solid year at the end of every day I would write down a small list of all the things I was thankful for in that day. It helped remind me that even on the worst days there is always something to be thankful for, even if it's "just" the sun in the sky or the breath in my lungs. I encourage you to try it sometime, it's amazing how it seems to put things in perspective. At least for me, anyway. So here, goes. 

I am thankful for:
* My sister and her inspiring adventures in Thailand and the fact that we can communicate while she's away
* My sweet roommates, "the Katys," who have helped me stay sane this semester
* My parents and sisters who are always a joy to see and be around when I have a chance to see them
* My wonderful fiance' who encourages and strengthens me
* An education (even when it's nearing its end)
* Music. Singing, instruments, musicals, all of it.
* Breaks from school
* Good food
* Sunshine
* Motivation (when it happens)
* Things to look forward to
* Future, and hope for a future in God's hands
                                                   
Just to name a few. God bless you during this Thanksgiving season. I pray that you are able to see the little things and the big things in your life to be thankful for, all year round.

Engaged!

Well, as of 2:55pm yesterday I am now engaged to my boyfriend of 2 years and 9 months, Clay Hargrave! I cannot tell you how excited, blessed, and happy I am. A lot of people have been asking the story, so I figured blogging and sharing the blog may be one of the simpler ways to share our story. Here goes!...

So, the story begins with Clay telling me a week or so ago that he doesn't think that we are going to be able to get engaged until the end of this year or the beginning of next year because he wants to save more money and such... I was bummed but had accepted it and really started to be like "yeah I think that's smart." Then, Clay, my Mom, and my Aunt Julie start planning a surprise going away party for my sister Leneigh (she leaves for Thailand on Tuesday). This party had been in the plans for a couple weeks and yesterday I was bragging on that fact that Leneigh had NO idea that we were planning a surprise party for her.

Yesterday after church Clay and I left a little earlier than everyone else because I wanted to stop by the store to buy some pens for the journal I bought Leneigh for the party. So we're on our way to the store and the entire time Clay is saying stuff about being nervous we're going to be late for some reason, I'm thinking he's crazy because as far as I know the party starts at 4:30, we are going to get there at 4:00 and it was only 1:00 something. So we get the pens and start heading over to Rochester College, where we're having the surprise party. Since we had so much extra time Clay suggested that we take a walk, so we park the car on the opposite side of the campus from where the party is happening and go for a walk.

On this walk we start heading toward the river behind the school and a bench that sits just past the river that we like to go to.  As we start walking toward the bench there are a couple people sitting on it and the bench next to it was in the sun so I said I wanted to just keep walking. A few steps past the bench Clay goes, "I feel really dizzy I need to sit down." I'm thinking he just hasn't drank enough water. So we start walking back toward the benches, as we start doing this the people start getting up and walking away from the bench in the shade. Once we get to the bench we sit down, Clay says he's feeling better and then goes "well I guess now is as good a time as any..." I look at him and I said "for what?" Clay then says, "Well, I have been lying to you about something for the past few weeks." I go, "Oh really?" He then proceeds to tell me that this bench is one of his favorite spots and that he doesn't want it to be remembered as the place where we broke up (because it had been the place where we broke up for a while about 2 or so years ago), he wanted it to be remembered as a happy place. He then told me that he had been lying to me about not being ready to be engaged and so on, he then slowly began to move down on one knee. I think as he started to get on one knee I said "No. Oh myy...." And then as he started to ask me to marry him I said "Oh my gosh" about 14 times. He counted. So obviously I said yes somewhere in the midst of the oh my gosh's. I was completely surprised.

By this time it is a bit after 3:00 and I still think we have lots of time to get to Leneigh's surprise party, but by this time he is saying we can take our time a little bit but that we still need to start heading toward the party. So we slowly start walking toward the field where I think Leneigh's party is taking place. As we start walking into the field I see a bunch of people already there with cameras looking at us as we walk up. Clay yells, "She said yes!" and everyone starts applauding and cheering - Clay had planned this party as a surprise engagement party for me. His Dad even came up from Ohio to celebrate with us. I was completely in shock. So many of our friends and family were there to support us and I have been helping plan my own surprise party. I even stayed up late the night before making cookies for it! It was such an awesome, surprising, and wonderfully planned day. I could not have been happier.

I am so extremely blessed.

A Summer O' Fun

It's weird to think that summer is almost over for me...not that I'm going back to school next week or anything, but I have been working at a youth camp for the past 4 weeks and it has flown by and now I only have 3 weeks left. Once camp is over I have about 3 or 4 weeks of "freedom" and then it's back to school for my senior year! Crazy. Without a doubt this summer has been the busiest I have been through. To sum up a bit of what this summer has been full of for me here is a list:

• RC Chorus Tour
• One week long family camping trip
• My friend's out of state wedding
• A two week trip out west
• Working at Michigan Christian Youth Camp
• Helping my family move

All of these things plus other odds and ends have kept me pretty busy, but in the midst of it all I have thankfully been able to find a bit of time for my wonderful boyfriend and friends. 

A few weeks ago Clay and I got to go to a Tigers game, which was my first time to go. 

Sad, but true. Not only did I get to go to a Tigers game with Clay,

but I also got to see them win! Oh yeah. 

I think he's pretty awesome...and the Tigers game was pretty cool too ;)

Now, as far as time with friends goes that really starts tomorrow. Tomorrow morning me and a group of my girl friends from college are all getting together and watching all of the Harry Potter movies. Yup, all of them. A Harry Potter MARATHON. This is a big deal for me because like with the Tigers game, this will be a first for me. I have never seen all of the Harry Potter movies and I have never read the books, so this weekend will be a very educational one for me - especially since the majority of my friends are pretty big fans. We all got acceptance letters to Hogwarts for the invitation and everything. It's a big deal. 

 

My fantastic weekend, however, does not stop there. On Sunday I have graciously been given the day off at camp so I can go to Cedar Point with Clay!! I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. I have not been to Cedar Point in at least four years. SO excited.

Then in a few more weeks, me and a group of friends are going to Columbus, OH to run a 5K. But not just any 5K, but the Color Run! Five kilometers of tye dye-tastic running. Seriously, this is going to be amazing. 

I think that's about as far in advance as I'm going to think right now, beyond that we get into Leneigh leaving for Thailand and that's just a bit too much to think about. For now, I have several wonderful weekends of fun coming up ahead of me and I can't wait. I am so blessed to have a job that allows me to still spend time with my friends and boyfriend on the weekends along with the blessing of having such a great boyfriend and friends to spend time with. So far, an absolutely wonderful, crazy, full summer.