Taylor's Mind in a Nutshell

Naturals Baseball For Work!

2009-07-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

Aubrey and I in the HOT HOT HOT sun, enjoying the World's GREATEST sport, Baseball!
Dana, Tammy, and I getting burnt and having fun!

Had to get a hat because I couldn't see!:)

It is Amazing How God Blesses...

2009-06-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

For a while, I was in what you could call a "dry-spell". I wasn't really enthusiastic about ministry and really just not excited. That all changed recently! I've been in my house for a month, today, and ABSOLUTELY love it!!! I am one block from the park, two blocks from downtown, and one mile from work. It's just been so great to be where I am! On what God is doing in my life lately... I am now helping with the Children's Ministry at church with 2 & 3 year old's Wee Worship. I did 3 & 4 for two years at Harvard Avenue and those were the best ages! two's and three's are such a wierd age group! Two year olds are just learning to talk and really express themselves, where three year olds are where they want to be a little more independent and they know how to do a few more things. Haha, try playing duck-duck-goose with two's and three's... Not the easiest task in the world! I am also helping run a girl's Bible Study with my friends, we are going through James right now, and I think it is going to be a major blessing for our group!!! Finally, singles group at church has been on the down-slope for a while and I've volunteered to help try and bring it back to life. So, that is hopefully going to be taking up some of my time pretty soon. I think it'll be really great, it just takes time and commitment from my fellow singles! So, if you're a Cross Pointe single, COME ON!!! God is just doing amazing things and blessing me on a daily basis. I hope I can love and honor him just an ounce of how much he loves me! Hope all is well with everyone! Blessings!

It's almost here!

2009-05-29T07:43:00.001-07:00

So, today is Friday, May 29, 2009... Not only is this my dad's 66th birthday, but it also is the day before I will get to move into my house!!! This has been a journey that has taken almost a year to complete. Let me start you back at square one. In August of last year I was in search of a place to call my own, I looked high and low, on the internet in the news paper, everywhere! I finally came across a house that I felt was PERFECT for me!!! It was newly re-done, two-bedroom, two-bath, great kitchen, back porch, a yard, and a laundry room! It was everything that I wanted and I put a bid on the house. The day I found this house I also ran into Don Bunker, across the street as he was finishing up on his daughter's newly built house. He told me about another little house that I was not interested in and wanted nothing to do with it because I had found MY house... Two days later after my offer had been refused with no counter-offer, I called Don in defeat to go and look at the house. Well, I walked in the front door and it was over. I had found THE house! It was three-bedroom, 1.5 bath, dining room, large living room, storage, huge laundry room, big back yard, front porch and back patio, garage, and located in one of the greatest neighborhood's in Siloam Springs, AR! We worked out an agreement and a price was set. The down-side was that there was a renter in the house for another 10 months... 10 MONTHS!!! I could not wait that long, but I had to, since this was THE HOUSE! Well, it is now 10 months later and God has blessed me SO much with waiting to purchase the house. I have gotten huge tax credits that I would have had to pay back last year, it has given me a lot of time to get everything I need little-by-little, and it has made me fall in love with the house even that much more! I cannot wait to step foot in the house and it be all mine! I have been dreaming about how I will decorate, where I will put this rug and that table. It is all set in my mind and the move-in is less than 36 hours away!

I just cannot explain how much God has blessed me in the past year... One year ago this month, I graduated from University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, AR with a degree in Strategic Communication. I had been searching for a job since the previous year in October and had nothing. I had sent my application to around 50 places and had no idea what I was going to do, so I moved home to live with mom and dad. In June of 2008, I submitted an application to John Brown University to be an Admissions Counselor because my friend Chad had mentioned that would be a great job for me. I received a phone call the next day and I was hired after two very long weeks! I have now been working at JBU for almost a year and love what I do. Right now is our slow season and I am going a bit crazy, but it's ok because it is made up for in other parts of the year. I now sit at my desk, praying for an e-mail and thinking of what I can do differently in the coming year to bring students to JBU from the great state of Texas. This is my day... I was dating a great guy last year, but the Lord showed us both that we were not ready for each other now, if ever. We are at two completely different points in our lives and it would have been the hardest year to maintain a relationship and work (especially when your job requires a great deal of travel). He and I are now friends and both feel that if God has us together, it will happen when it is the right time. But, I'm not looking for anything I have too much to juggle, as it is!:)

God has given me an amazing black lab named Maddy who daily makes me laugh and daily makes me scream:). Yesterday, I took her to my cousin's t-ball game and for a walk around the baseball fields. As we were getting ready to go, she was crazy with anticipation. Everytime I would say "Maddy, do you wanna go for a walk?", she would jump up in the air and land on her two front feet as though she were going to pounce with her rear high in the air waving like a flag. As I grabbed up her toys, leash, and tennis ball, she waited at the door jumping in circles and waiting for me to open the front door to let her lose on the world. My dog resembles a gazel when she is excited, she takes a running start then flings her self through the air as though she is bounding through tall grass. There are few things in this world that I find more adorable than her "gazel" jump. As we drove to the baseball fields, she got so frustrated with hoolding herself up, she flung herself down on the seat with a big sigh and it was then, that I realized how big she has gotten! She use to curl up next to my leg, in the front seat of the truck and be able to put her rear against the back of the seat and lay her head on my lap. Now, she takes up most of the front seat when she lays down and she is only about 2/3rds as large as she will get. Oh I love that dog with most of who I am. I use to find it funny that people would act like their dog was a person, but now I understan 100%! If something were to happen to Maddy, it would no doubt be like losing one of my best friends. She has brought such joy into my life that I cannot explain to those who do not have animals. God is blessing us in every aspect of our lives!!! I will post pictures when I get moved in and have a chance to breath! Check out this crazy schedule I have in the coming weeks...

May 30-31st - Move-In
June 2-5th - Ohio for NACCAP Conference
June 6th - Ramsey and Aubrey's Wedding
June 12-13th - ERP at work
June 13th - Baby shower
June 18th - Housewarming Party
June 20th - Garage Sale & Bridal Shower
.... and the list goes on!:)

Obama's 100th Day

2009-04-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have watched Obama's lovely address to the nation. To me, I was not impressed and I felt like it was a substance-free speech. I did not walk away feeling confident, nor did I walk away feeling angry. It was just a shrug my shoulders and keep going type of speech. The thing that got me the most in the news last night is the video where Obama flat-out makes fun of people who attended the Tax Day Tea Parties. I am sorry, but this causes me to lose a great deal of respect for the person Obama is. I cannot believe that the man who is suppose to stand up for my rights as an American Citizen, completely did not understand what our protest was about. Once I find the video, you bet I will be putting it on here! I was also informed last night that based on my age, I will be paying $112,000+ to the government due to the Stimulus Package. Something I did not support in the first place, but who cares about what the people really want, it is all about what a few people in Government want.

Obama Tea-Bag Comment (Coming Soon):

Obama and Biden on Same Page?: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/30/biden-avoid-planes-trains-automobiles/

Today is just another day... and Obama's 100th Day in Office...

2009-04-29T10:09:00.001-07:00

Today started off like any other day. I woke up around 7 am, took a shower, and let Maddy out. Lately, I have had a lot on my mind about many different areas of my life and other's.

SPIRITUAL:
The biggest area I have thought about is my relationship with God. Where can I improve? How can I become the Woman that the Lord wants me to be? Does this start with praying more and for everyone I know? Or... does it start with letting God know WHO I am? I have to learn ot let God into the depths of my heart, where nobody else will ever be able to go. I have started with reflecting on whether the person on the outside is truly reflecting the person on the inside, or is it some huge game where I am one person to others and only I know the real me? I think where this journey begins is being Genuine and letting others really know what is going on with me.

JOB:
So, this is the toughest time of the year where the numbers really matter. This is the time when students call you and tell you, "you are so amazing and have done SUCH a great job... BUT... I'm going somewhere else". It is a time when you start to question if you are doing all you can or if what you are doing is all you can do? What do high school students want that I don't seem to be able to connect with? It can definitely be stressful to have so much on your shoulders and not really know how to fix it. This relates to my Spiritual Walk with the Lord. I have to let go of my expectations and let Him do what he is suppose to do! "Let go and let God".... this quote seems to go through my head quite often these days.

POLITICS:
Yesterday could be one of the great days for the GOP or one of the worst. A very liberal Republican Senator from PA has switched parties. Some may see this as bad because this could give the Democrats an upper hand and allow them to pass anything that they want to. Some may see this as good because he has been on the far left of the GOP for over twenty years. He gave the GOP one of the highest compliments yesterday by saying that, "The Republican party has gone too far to the right". Why thank you SO much!!! I also heard that because I was part of the Tax Day Tea Parties, that this has automatically made me a "racist red neck". Unfortionately... that is as far from the truth as possible. I could honestly care less about somebody's ethnicity and the last time I checked... I am definitely not a "red neck". If you are reading this blog and still think that the participants of the "Tax Day Tea Parties" were just some dumb group of people trying to cause problems, turn CNN off. The reason I attended and supported the Tea Parties was because it was a way for me to express my opinions and hope and pray somebody was listening. I don't know about any body else, but I barely have enough money for the taxes I have now, much less the taxes that the new Administration is trying to put on us. It has been very sad to me, how many people only listen to CNN and form their opinions off of that station. Over the past election, I have been able to flip back forth between FOX and CNN and see an obvious difference in the material that each station is allowing to be placed on their television. Below is an example of what CNN's agenda really is...

CNN Coverage of Tea Party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G3fvNhdoc0&videos=FMz6-nTd0Mw&playnext_from=TL&playnext=1

FOX NEWS Coverage of Tea Party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyacTyjmV6o

So, here is a question for you. How do you think Obama has done for his first 100 days and what do you think is to come?

Liberal Political Media Strikes Again... and other News

2009-04-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Waterboarding of Terrorist 183 times = False:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/28/despite-reports-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-waterboarded-times/

At least some of our officials have morals. Television Stations can now be fined if a single cuss word is said on Live TV:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518233,00.html

Somebody forgot to put on their thinking cap this morning:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/28/new-york-city-jet-flyover-photo-flop-triggers-recriminations/100days/

Here is Where it All Begins

2009-04-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I have jumped onto the "blogging" train. I began blogging about 5 years ago with the "Xanga Craze" and then fell off of the excitement of it all! Currently, there are so many things going on around me that I feel if I do not record them, I could forget them very soon. Within my blog you will find all of the following: personal experiences, political views, athletic events, and a lot about my relationship with Jesus Christ. This post has to be short, but as I think and go about my day there will be more and I may step on people's toes, but honestly people do not do that enough these days. We are all too afraid to offend someone so we do not say what WE believe, if we cannot say what we feel then who are we really hurting in it all? ...Post more later!