I am an "As Is" Purchase

As I traveled to Detroit to meet another portion of the Davis family, I listened to an old podcast from The Bridge in Silver Spring, Md. During his message from the Amazing Church series, Pastor Jumaine Jones mentioned that Christ made an "as is" purchase for my life. That was so outstanding to me!

I love watching court shows, so I am very familiar with the term. I've even taught American Government students about the concept of making an "as is" purchase. In the business sense of the term, it means that the purchaser knows what they are getting into. They are supposed to have an understanding that their purchase may fall apart in minutes or last a life time, either way if they have a problem they can't get their money back from the seller.

This made me uber excited. God knew what He was getting when His Son sacrificed His life on my behalf. He knew my mess, He knew that my exterior was a cover up of a bad engine, faulty wiring and that spare time? woo ? ;-)! But, unlike buyers who don't like what they get, God decided to make the investment. He invested the love, the time, and the energy to make me better. He's working from the inside out, replacing hurt feelings with forgiveness and love, faulty thinking with His word, and changing my outward demeanor with the glow of His presence. The part that truly makes me amped, is His consistency! Even if I haven's talked to Him in days or months even, He continues to provide and protect. When I do things that may make Him cringe, He still consoles and comforts during times of hurt and pain.

I was an "as is" purchase, and despite all that He has gotten with calling me His daughter, He is willing to make me better!

An organized life...

On more than one occasion I have told myself or someone else to get their life in order. Either because they have done something that's completely out of character, unusual or unacceptable. But, in the last few months I have felt like my life is in fact out of order. I feel all over the place... the first thing that comes to mind is watching some of the 5 year-olds that I work with who spin around in circles to make themselves dizzy... they laugh and smile, but at the end of the "fun" they are disorientated and confused.

That's how I've been feeling. I feel like my life is all over the place. I have stuff for my internship. I have assignments for my class, I have this new part-time job stuff, and I have ANQ stuff... oh, and the biggie... I have relationships that I love and would like to maintain. Typically, I've very organized, I'm able to balance it all, however, this semester... yeah... this semester... I just can't seem to get things together. I haven't been able to pinpoint what's off, but I need to find out NOW! I feel overwhelmed, I feel confused and borderline frustrated. I really want to hone in on this issue and fix it, so that I can be productive.

But, I can say that I'm glad to be about half way done with my internship. I was hoping that I would be able to blog more about my experiences at the elementary school, but I haven't seemed to have the time... again, the disorder and confusion... I've had an alright experience, but the babies aren't for me. Give me the high school students, who I can get smart with, use sarcasm and potentially carry... these kids would cry. More importantly, give me my own space... I'm usually a quick learner, I don't like for other people to hover over me while I'm working or try to force me to conform to their way of doing things. I have my own style and my own comfort levels... please don't try to make you any a mini-anything... Let me open my wings and experience the thunderstorms of defeat as well as the sun rays of good times.

Hopefully, I can make it through the rest of this year operating on auto-pilot and the dropping of the NYC ball will give me the push that I need to get my life in order. The 15 credits that I'm registered for... the wedding that I'm planning for... the new element of a long distance relationship that will be added to my life soon enough...

Daddy, help me to live with some order...

Round One

Last night, I began the "journey" of finding my wedding dress! For those of you who didn't know, I have a disdain for trying on clothes and a slightly lesser disdain for dresses. So, even though this experience has been magical for some and will be exciting for others, I could have passed on it. I tried on a total of 9 dresses over a span of two hours. While my mom and Mel looked on, I stepped on that little pedestal thing, twirled around, walked around the store and made faces. Some dresses were nice don't get me wrong, but the price tag that usually hung uncomfortably under my arm, made the statement of... "it's just one day. You can be "uncomfortable for just one day"... silly to me.

Although, I've always dreamed of being married, tossed around the idea of being a stay at home mom, I've never dreamed about my actual wedding... well, I have but those folks who know that plan won't let me have it ;-). Because I'm not the Hollywood described bride, you know the type... have an ENTIRE notebook of what her wedding will be like, minus the husband. They knew exactly what type of dress, when they wanted the wedding, the dj, etc. Yeah, I had none of that... well, I know I don't want to look like Cinderella! Other than that, I have no clue...

But, I can say despite my not so excited out look on trying on clothes or dresses... the one thing I can get excited about is I'm marrying Justin D. Davis... oh, and I'll just have one last name ;-). Filling out those forms and running out of boxes is not the business.

I'll keep everyone posted on the second round of dress shopping.