Unsettled to be Settled.

Our last day in St. Louis we went to the Cheesecake factory.  It was soo good! The cheesecake was wonderful and I was just so happy to be there with Trey and Madison and Taylor.

These were the cheesecakes at the front - I mean just soo tempting!




Me and Taylor in our booth - check out his hand on my arm.  I mean if that doesn't make you sad to leave and go to Baylor - I don't know what does.  I mean seriously is that not the sweetest thing in the world!  I am in love! and let me tell you one thing about it - I am so in utter bliss right now.  There is no doubt in my mind that everyone needs to feel like this in their life.  Everyone!  And I am so happy that I get to feel like this with Taylor.




We split the Key Lime cheesecake - it was really good - but even with both of us - we didn't and couldn't finish it all!!  It was soo good!





We went to the Arch and waited for 2 hours to get up in it!  It was so fun - while waiting we went to Bass Pro Shop.  I have NEVER been an outside camp kind of girl - but I walk in that store and I'm happy.  Why?  Because my man likes that store.  I felt like I was in Heaven - yah don't ask me why it was so weird.  But it was fun!



Here we are standing in line for the arch - I had so much fun with him this day!  It was amazing.  I will never forget it!





And here he is being goofy with the Park Ranger - He wanted to try on the hat so he let him!  How precious - I think it kind of suits him.





Long Story short - I had a blast in St. Louis and I am blissfully happy with Taylor!  I am so excited!!

Now for the real deal...

I am supposed to be moving to Baylor for Grad School on Monday.  How do I even begin to describe to you the knots, pain, and sadness that are in my stomach right now.  I miss Taylor and I am with him every night.  I don't want to be 8 hours away from him right now.  I want to be home.  My sisters are growing up and one day I won't get to watch Laura Leigh on the sidelines cheering or Molly Anne on Pom Squad.  There have got to be opportunities here right?  There has to be another way.

I have been praying and searching and begging God to give me an answer.  Actually, I have been praying all summer for the answer I wanted, Abby stay in Little Rock.  That is not the answer I got.  God has been laying it on my heart to go to Waco and it has been very evident.  However, I do not want to go.

I feel like Jonah (sort of).  God asked him to go to Nineveh and he turned the other way and instead of going where God wanted him to go, he fled, and God got his attention big time!  I do not want to be swallowed by a whale I can tell you that much.

Jonah 1:3 said and Jonah ran away from the Lord.

First off - how are you going to run from the Lord!  He is omnipresent - pretty sure that means he is EVERYWHERE!  But how true is that.  How many times do we run from what the Lord wants us to do.  I know I have done it and it's ended in destruction.

I don't want that for my life - so I will go to Waco.  But it is with an unsettled heart and a torn stomach that I go.

How are you supposed to feel joyful and at peace with a decision that rips you apart from the people you love most in your life?  How do you cope with that?

Nehemiah 8:10 says:  Do not mourn or weep, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

WOW!  can you imagine Jesus' joy?  Can you even fathom the God of the universe and how great his joy is.  When I think about how great God's joy is and how that is our strength - for some reason I think of Monster's Inc and the laugh-o-meter at the end.  The children's laughter brought the whole city energy and power.  That might be a silly example, but that is what came to my mind.

A good friend of mine from school recently wrote on my blog, so I decided to go read hers and then call her.  you can read it here.  Beware!  It could be crazy haha.  She has so much joy in heart and she was my roommate, a great one at that, freshman year.  Well, she has been praying about her next move in life - and she is headed to Australia.  I mean I'm crying about WACO - she's halfway around the world.

She gave me some good advice:

When you first learn to walk - you fall.  When you first learn to ride a bike without your parents holding on - you fall.  When you first try and do anything: play a sport, draw a picture, sing - it's not going to be great.  You have to continue to work at it and try again - but you always get up and start again.  Thats how you can run now, and you can paint a picture, or you can ride a bike up and down hills.  Going to Baylor is like that.  You are starting something new.  You are learning a new "trade".  And with that new thing - you might fall.  You might hate it.  But you might surprise yourself and succeed.

So I have two verses for you:

Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.




And Also:
Phillipians 4:6-7Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



I can tell you one thing - I have been praying and praying and praying about this decision.  I do not want to go - but I am going to rejoice in the hope that something better is right around the corner.  And I am going to patiently get through this time in my life and with that I'm going to be praying that something happens that brings me home.




I am going to miss this little girl right here!  A lot.  I do not want to miss out on my sister's growing up.  I don't.  





I might just stay.  
Have some bliss for me,Abby

The Wait Is Over!!

Taylor and I finally took a picture together and how I'd love for this to be an entire blogpost about how cute and precious he is or how perfect we look together.. I'll refrain because it will probably sound like Delilah and I don't know about you but when I hear Delilah on the radio I want to gag. So I'll jut show you pictures! And if you want to comment.. Feel free!


Did I tell you that Taylor brought me to St Louis this weekend? We drove up after he got off work on Friday and brought my cousin Trey and his girlfriend Madison. They are juniors in college. It's so wonderful how Taylor was thinking about us and our witness and how we should NOT come alone to a city! Taylor is great and always takes the high road with me! Love it!

We got up today and went downstairs for hotel breakfast and it was $12 a pop so we went to McDonalds!!

Then it started raining so we chilled in the hotel room for a while and finally left and went to the Galleria where we had Panda Express - I do not know what it is about mall foo courts but they rock! We saw several cubs fans and because Taylor is a Huge cubs fan he had to talk to them all!

When we came up here Dad was still trying to get us tickets.. Well we got them around 1:30! They were great seats behind 3 base line! however, it would have been nice if i would have known the game started at 3!  at 3:30 Taylor received a text from a buddy asking where we were sitting.. hey guess what!  we were still at the mall! So we rushed to the stadium (about 15 minutes) made some great friends at the parking lot and then ran inside!  Our seats, again, were wonderful and we had just the most wonderful time.





Here we are at the food court!  First official picture together!! Adorable!





In the suit store waiting on our boys - this is Madison and she is dating my cousin Trey! She was so much fun to hang out with this weekend!






This was Maurice and he helped Taylor pick out a suit for next weekend.  Okay let me let you in on a little something special in Taylor's life (besides me haha joke!)  Taylor is getting the honor to perform the wedding ceremony at one of his great college friend's wedding's next weekend.  How awesome is that.  So he had to get a suit - which is a great purchase for a 22 year old. He needed a suit.  Well, this suit was wonderful. and Looked very handsome on him.  I am getting to go to the wedding and I am wondering what I should wear - I will probably call my friend Amy, she is the best dressed... EVER!  I wish she lived with me!  She should most likely come over this week to check out my options.  I will give her a call.





Taylor in his suit!  Love it!  OKay - can i just state again if I haven't before how crazy I am about this boy and how excited I am to see him do his job.  He has been going over notes and praying about this sermon for a while and I am thrilled to see what God has in store for this couple - And I get to be there!  Have you ever been with your family, boyfriend, or friend and just been in utter joy that you were with them... that is called BLISS my friend! And I have a ton of it right now!  This boy makes me soo happy.  Oh, and I am excited to sit and watch him do a great job... can you be excited for that?  I am.





Here we are at the Cards Cubs game.. which the Cubs lost MISERABLY at.  However, the cubs came back today and won 6-3.  Touche Clark!  Taylor does not meet a stranger so everybody we saw ALL DAY that had a cubs shirt on, he had to talk to!  We got some crazy stories, but for the most part - I have learned that Americans are very friendly people and if you are being authentically genuine - they will be the same back to you and it will all work out!  Be inspired to be authentically genuine to a stranger tomorrow.. whether that be in the gym, at the store, or even driving - wave, say something nice, ask about something positive!  You will find bliss.





The gang at the game!  We had so much fun altogether and let me tell you something - madison can talk some smack!  The cubs were not playing veryw ell, the GM got kicked out, bad play at third, lowsy call at second - and they could not hit - 3 up 3 down every inning but the first.



After the game we went to Cheesecake Factory and there was an hour wait to get a beeper!  and then a 2 hour wait after that.  we said - no thanks!

and headed to red lobster -

Rules of the trade:

1.Get the Coconut Shrimp!
2. Get the Lobster Pizza
3.  DONT FORGET DESSERT _ CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE AND ICECREAM!



No lie - it was gone in a blink of an eye - and it was GOOD!




Me and Taylor - Still with that silly hat on - At least I know he is faithful and loyal!!  :)






So Today - with everything going on... I have decided to sit in peace in the knowledge that God sees everything, he knows everything, and he holds me together!  He knows what is coming up and what shall pass!

Deuteronomy 32:3-4 I will proclaim the name of the LORD.  Oh, praise the greatness of our god!  He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all His ways are just.  A faithful God who does no wrong, upright, and just he is!

I am sooo impatient!  I want the answers NOW!  However, I bet God is laughing.  He is probably saying oh my child - have you learned nothing.  How many of us wander in life and think why isn't this working out - why isn't everything happening like it should.  It's because we don't have the missing puzzle piece - JESUS.  It is so bard sometimes to see God's hand and his plan at work, but walking daily and praying daily for his hand and his help and guidance in faith knowing that HE HAS REASONS AND HIS PLAN IS PERFECT!

Psalm 33:11 - But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Yes sir, that is a true verse!~  As everything in life starts wokring out again, and everything begins to unfold - I always feel so silly - like Look at your perfect plan jesus!  Your wonderful timing - WOW!!   Every curve, every tear, every bump and bruise had a purpose - and that purpose gave me a divine conspiracy.  He formed me - he knew what would happen!

I hope you are encouraged to slow down and be patient!  God does have a plan - and if you are unsure what that is right now... GET EXCITED!! that just means the best part of the story is yet to come!!  YAY!

Have bliss in a charmed way!

Abby