26 Baby!

In honor of my 26th birthday I've decided to either bless or bore you with 26 random facts about me. I'm actually stealing this idea from Kristie. I loved it when she did it for her 25th birthday...so entertaining! Now don't expect anything life changing or super deep...so just have fun and enjoy!



1. To this day, the happiest place on earth is Aggieland on Ring Day. While Disney World does come in close second, it's just not the same.


2. Speedos....eew, gross!


3. The red gummy bears will now and forevermore be my favorite...and the white ones still don't get a second look from me.


4. I have a better group of friends than I could have ever dreamed of. They continue to love me in spite of the ridiculous things I do.


5. I'm extremely obsessive compulsive about brushing my teeth and checking my alarm clock every night.


6. My biggest pet peeve is when people leave their shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. The tahoe has received a few too many dings because of people who do that.


7. I think I could live off of Dulce de Leche cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory for the rest of my life.


8. I became a believer when I was 11 years old. Yay Jesus!


9. The one place I want to visit more than anyplace in the entire world is New York City.


10. Thus far there is a tie for my two favorite birthdays. As of right now they would be my 18th birthday and my 25th birthday....both for very different reasons of course.


11. Road trips with friends are probably the greatest thing in the world. Especially driving to Austin and Corpus Christi to gamble with Stephanie...oh the trouble we got in that trip!


12. Mowing the lawn is the bain of my existence. That is the one thing about being a homeowner that can bring me to my knees in the front yard...or maybe it was the fetal position (I'll have to ask my neighbors who stand as witnesses).


13. I was named after a cow. Well technically I was named after my aunt, but there really is a cow in our name lineage.


14. Jury is still out, but I think Alias is still better than 24. We'll see if Jack Bauer can change my mind.


15. My ipod is currently playing Donna Stuart's new cd. Download it! You won't regret it. Oh and in light of the pending Christmas season, I think I could listen to Christmas music year round and never get tired of it


16. My favorite nickname ever given to me is definitely Fitzy, and my favorite thing to say is "Hi Sunshine!"


17. I think I'm starting to live vicariously through my junior high girls. They're so fun!


18. I LOVE hugs.


19. I never would've guessed this but my love language is definitely physical touch and quality time. Who knew!


20. I'm currently addicted to the Twilight series. I don't remember the last time I read a book that I just couldn't put down.


21. Accountability really is sweet.


22. Dublin Dr. Pepper is the best drink on the planet.


23. I do not now, nor do I ever think that I will like coffee. I just don't understand how people can drink that stuff and be so addicted.


24. I have a dream of being able to play the guitar well. Not just knowing a few chords.


25. I have had some of the best roommates, but oh was the first one a doozie! (Fun story by the way)


26. Each year just keeps getting better in spite of the trials and struggles, but what the Lord teaches me through it is so sweet.



Wow, thinking of 26 things was much easier than I thought it would be. Anyways, Here's to 26!

Change of Pace

Yesterday Sharon and I decided to shake things up a little bit in our 7th grade girls small group. On any given Sunday night we'll have about 7 or 8 girls who will show up regularly for Bible study, but there are a few nights during the year when only two or three will grace us with their presence. Last night was one of those nights. Earlier in the year we decided to institute a "roll for cream" rule whenever we have a very small group of girls show up. Basically we let the girls decide if they want to go get ice cream or starbucks or some other special treat during small group. Since our sweet Mary and Elaine were the only two to show up last night, we decided to treat ourselves with Cheesecake Factory. So fun! We also invited their moms to join us for this special field trip. I have to say we probably have some of the greatest parents and some of the cutest girls ever! Here are some pictures from last night and some of the highlights from our Cheesecake Factory experience.

Highlights:

• Mary and Elaine teaching our waitress David Penuel's "OH MY GOSH" from Pine Cove.


• The girls asking random people if they wanted hugs and yelling that their arms are wide open.


• Elaine screaming at the top of her lungs when a balloon popped at the table next to us.


• And then of course the girls having an in depth conversation deciding which one is loved most by Sharon and I (we love them both equally of course).

Time to Getaway!

This weekend was probably one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in a long time! It was so good. Every year the girl leaders in student ministries take a weekend to go to the lake and just spend time together building community and spending time with the Lord. This year we went to Lake Cypress Springs and stayed in Davis Family's lakehouse. So nice!

Friday night we spent some time evaluating and being honest about what our relationship with the Lord looks like right now. I love that we have that time each year to hear each other's hearts and to know what everyone is going through. Saturday morning was a continuation of that time, but it was time to get alone with the Lord around the lake and the house. All I can say is that it was probably one of the sweetest times I've had with the Lord in a long time. Melissa Miller had given us several things to read through during that time and to just reflect on. The two things that had the biggest impact on me this weekend were reading through the PAPA prayer and then a long list of God's promises to me. I think this was probably one of the first times I was real and authentic before the Lord in so many different ways...too many to list. I do however think that you can get a good idea of what the Lord taught me during this time by this paragraph.

"God never meant for our security or value to be defined horizontally (by achievement, appearance, relationships, a man's love, success/performance, being well thought of by others, wealth/financial security, etc.) but vertically by Him and our identity in Christ. These horizontal sources of our worth and value are shaky and unstable, and can lead to insecurity when we trust in them rather than in Christ's love."

After our morning with the Lord, we just spent time hanging out getting to know everyone better. It was so good! We played so many random games...it was great. And then of course we watched the Tech/OU game. I would've preferred it if it were the Aggies who were playing...but no such luck for me. It was still fun though. Anyways, that was my weekend. So much fun! I just love the girls I serve with at Watermark. They're all wonderful!

Road Trip

Have you ever felt like you're sitting in a season of your life where all you do is wrestle with the Lord? In Genesis it talks about how Jacob wrestled with the Lord and He finally touched his hip, and I can't help but say that I feel like that's a place where I'm sitting now. There are so many things the Lord and I are wrestling through and I'm just waiting. Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time in the car driving back and forth to Longview with a lot of time in between meetings...meaning lots of windshield time and time with the Lord. I love that time but when I finally got home I felt refreshed and frustrated all at the same time. Why is that?

The past eight months I've been going to CR (Celebrate Recovery) at Watermark and I've been going through the process of creating a spiritual inventory. Basically I'm looking at all of the people/events in my life that have had some sort of an impact on who I am today...both good and bad. I must confess that as I've gone through this process I've spent quite a bit more time focusing on the bad things, thereby believing the lie that God doesn't want good things for me. Not good and so not true! In James it talks about how the Lord is the giver of every good and perfect gift, and how He wants good things for us. Why in the world is this so hard for me to believe? This is where the windshield time with the Lord began for me yesterday and as I was driving "Blessed Be Your Name" came on the radio. Of course this is a song that I've been singing at church and at Breakaway for years now, and is so familiar to me that unfortunately I've become numb to the words and what they're talking about. As I was driving, two of lines stuck out to me in a very big way.

Blessed Be Your Name on the road's marked with suffering,

though there's pain in the offering

Blessed Be Your Name.

When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Umm, guilty! In that moment, as I was singing along to the radio, I realized that that's not very true for this season of my life. I've been so guilty of saying "Lord, why did you make me go through that?" instead of saying "Lord, look at what You did through that!" It's unbelievable how quickly I can forget what the Lord has done in my life and forget all the good things, but spend so much time focusing on the parts I don't like and don't understand.

Lord, thank you that You are sovereign and that You have a purpose for me!

26 Things....26 Years (almost)

So in an effort to waste a little bit of time the past two days at work, I've decided to join Sarah Welch in creating a "life list." Well, technically we took the idea from Jen Lewis. Anyways, it's a little bit harder than you would think. I decided to stop at 26 things in honor of my almost 26 years of life, but mainly because I'm at a standstill.

So here's my list thus far! Enjoy!

http://www.43things.com/person/lfitzsimmons05

Oh you should also read Jen and Sarah's life lists as well! They're super good :)