Sunday, August 30, 2009

Weekend:
~Friday night out on the town with "The girls" for a dear friends 21st birthday!
~Saturday, Amazing weather!
~Saturday morning Grandy's breakfast
~Saturday Afternoon going to see Britt's family
~Saturday evening old friends lovely wedding
~Sunday, amazing weather!
~Sunday morning lazy morning
~Sunday afternoon Target, Sonic, NCSI, In Style Magazine and chocolate pudding
~Sunday evening Church and fellowship.
It has been a good weekend!


I start subbing tomorrow. I will sub at CHA 3 days this week.

Friday Britt and I leave along with Todd to go to St. Louis, MO for Labor Day weekend. We are really looking forward to that.

Hope you had a great weekend too and a great start to this new week!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

.Photos.

Two of my friends, Hannah and Alisha, and myself went to downtown OKC for our third year in a row to go eat, be girls, laugh and have our ever famous "photo shoot". It was so much fun. My dear friend Hannah is super talented when it come to photography and she took some pictures of me and Alisha while we were downtown. I just love the way that some of them turned out.

Hannah is actually starting her photography business back up and she is specializing in "Girls". Her sister Lydia is teaming up with her and doing the make-up for the girls. The whole package: Pictures, clothing changes, a CD of your pic's edited and Make-over is $200. I don't know about you but I cannot find a price like that and get a package like that anywhere these days. You should really check it out!

Although Hannah specializes is "Girls" she is also willing to do couples. I know that as Christmas approaches I would consider something like that for sure for Britt and I. Everyone likes to receive a Christmas card in the mail with a pretty picture on it! ;)

So - If you are interested and have a facebook you should search "Life Encapsulated Photography" and become a fan. If you do not have a facebook and want more information then ask me or email Hannah at: life_encapsulated@yahoo.com

Now... take a look at these rockin' pictures she took! ;) hehe...






























Sunday, August 23, 2009

hello

Hi everyone! This is Britt, the other half of the Clay family. I normally don't post on here, but I thought I would for a change and give Lauren a break.

God has been really good to us. He has provided a job for me at the Hobby Lobby Corporate offices doing security, which is not my ideal job by any means. But it is a job and where God has placed me for the time being. For that I am thankful. Basically I walk up and down halls a lot. All day actually, and it ends up being about 10 to 12 miles of walking a day. So my legs get a good workout every day. But since I walk all the time I have plenty of time to think. So I thought I would share some things that I have thought about.

One thing God has pressed on my heart this past summer is that after we get out of debt we need to be generous with our money. We will never be rich. I don't want to be rich, and I don't think Lauren does either. But what God does entrust to us I want to be a good steward of. I listened to some sermons by a man named David Platt from Alabama, and he spoke on this topic. A lot of Americans have the wrong view of money and what truly being rich is. And a lot of Christians have the wrong idea of how to be good stewards of what God has given them. As Christians we are to store up treasure in heaven, but a lot of the time we end up trying to store up treasure here on earth. But too many time we invest in things that we really don't need.

For example (I don't know if these people are Christians, but this bothers me) Lauren cleaned an 18,000 square foot house this past month, and only two people are going to live there. What is wrong with this picture? A lot. Think of how many people that this couple could have helped if they would invest in something that actually has eternal value. There house is going to burn down and rot some day. But investing in people, feeding the poor, and providing clothing or shelter for those who truly need it is far more rewarding if one is a Christian.

Another example that Dr. Platt talked about was how much was spent on church buildings in the US in 2007. It was around 2 billion dollars that churches spent on new buildings. One church spent 25 million on their building, and the organization that they are a part of only raised 25 thousand dollars to send to a 3rd world country in Africa that struggles with starvation, aids, and poverty in general. It's like, can we really be that selfish? But we are! And a lot of people are blind to it.

So, Lauren and I are going to be the stewards God has called us to be and find a way to give to the poor as God has commanded us to do. But first we have to get out of debt ourselves. :)

Another thing God has really been teaching me is not to worry. I worry by nature. It is something pretty much everyone in my family comes by naturally. And everyone worries about different things. But I tend to worry about just about everything possible. But I know I worry about relationships the most. But I also worry about the future, and finances, and I could name about a thousand other things. But since I have the time I am memorzing verses about faith and trusting God with every area of my life. There are two verses that I already knew that came to mind when I decided to battle worry. The first was Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path." The other was Phillipians 4:6-7- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind." (I think that is a Britt version) These verses made me realize how small a view of God I have. If I had a bigger view of who God is I would trust Him more. I mean, He did create the whole universe, and we don't even know how big it is. But I don't think of that, I am too stuck in my own little world. But when I think of God as the creator of the whole universe, it makes things better. I know that I can trust Him with every area of my life when I think of Him in that way.

Another thing that helps me is having a more eternal mindset. Matthew 6:33-"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Colosians 3:2-"Seek what is above, not what is on earth." Hebrews 10:19-25-"But since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way he has opened for us throught the curtain, that is, through his flesh. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." And several other verses from Hebrews have really encouraged me in this matter. Our new church has really helped with this, too. I love my pastor, is has an incredible eternal mindset. And it really challenges me and Lauren. But focusing on what is in store for me in Heaven really does make trusting God easier because I have hope in a better kingdom (Hebrews 11:16).

Well...I think I have posted enough for now. But I hope that even though this feels really long that it was encouraging to you as you read.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Mom and Dad are out of town...

...so Britt and I are staying at their house to help out with things. We have been here since Wednesday and will stay until this coming Friday.
Safiya, a girl from Korea, came to Oklahoma to do a semester of school at SNU. School does not start until next week so she is staying with my family until then. That is the main reason Britt and I are here. To help out with things and to hang with Safiya until school starts.
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Friday night Safiya when to the church with Jon and Nathan and they played a little basketball. She hurt her ankle. We thought she twisted it but learned this morning that it is actually a break. I will be taking her to the Dr. tomorrow. It is difficult to figure out where to take a national, to the Dr., who doe snot have insurance that works here in the US. It should be a good time. :P lol... I have asked a few people what they think I should do and got some good council. We will see what happens. Life is never boring around here, that is for sure.
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Tonight is church. I love our church! We actually have service on Sunday night instead of Sunday morning. The Church we go to is new (2 and 1/2 years old) and when they first started the used another church building that did not have service on Sunday night so our church used it then. After moving from that building they decided to keep the same evening service time. It is so nice. It really makes Sunday feel like a day of rest. We also love the people there. It is a great place to be. We are also going to Tea Cafe' tonight after church!
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I feel like I am rambling. Probably because I am. haha... But I also can because this is my blog. :) I will stop though. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I don’t like conflict.
I don’t like argument for the sake of argument.
I don’t post things to rub them in people’s faces.
I give a point of view. My point of view. Period.
I don’t claim to be God or that what I say is the bible.
I won’t.

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Life is crazy right now but good. I will have to write more about it later but so many thoughts are jumping around in my head that I don't think I can put them down and it all make sense.

Happy Wednesday to you all! :)

Monday, August 10, 2009

New Hair Color!

So - I have been ready for a change for quite some time and I really don't want to cut my hair short or anything. Then I decided to color it! I got a change for sure. It was a lot of fun though! Two friends came and helped me do it and we had a lot of fun! Not to bad for a "do it yourself" job!









Sunday, August 9, 2009

Our Children! haha...

Britt and I went to a website and uploaded pictures of the two of us and it gave us "What your children will look like". haha... Too funny! We had fun doing it. Although it may not be accurate it was still a lot of fun! :)


So, what do you think of our kids? Aren't they just the cutest thing you've ever seen? haha

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Take Action. Take a Stand.

You should go here:

http://www.blogger.com/Here

And then you should contact your Federal Representative and do something about it!

Don't remain ignorant!