six months later... and counting

Photo by Ica Images

Wow... Once upon a time I thought I could be a blogger. At one (brief) point I was even writing three blogs a week and in 2011 I wrote 88 blogs. And yet this is blog number 13 in the last two years. I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging, but that doesn't mean I haven't had things to say.

My last blog came out two days before one of the biggest days of my life. I got married May 30 and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. Maybe I should've blogged about it as soon as I got back from my honeymoon to really capture my emotions, but instead I've been soaking it all in. When you want something for so long, it takes awhile to trust it's true.

Some of the highlights from our wedding weekend in no particular order...

1. We didn't have a runaway bride or groom! Before 4:30 p.m. on May 30, Steve and I were husband and wife. I've heard so many horror stories of weddings gone wrong that it was a relief to know we made it to the finish line.

2. The weather was amazing. I was too chicken to have an outside wedding for fear of crazy weather, but I also really wanted photos taken outside. The guys may have been sweating a little, but I could not have asked for better weather.

3. Everything worked out at Camp. Don't get me wrong... there were glitches or maybe hiccups... but none of it really mattered. They were not used to hosting weddings, but in the end I feel like I was able to embrace the full experience of another weekend at camp. On my wedding eve I slept in the first cabin I ever spent a week in when I was nine years old. I stayed up talking to some of the best friends a girl could ask for and woke up to take a morning walk around the camp. I ate breakfast in the dining hall and got married in the same building where I felt God take a hold of my heart when I was 12 years old.

4. No one got hurt. Steve tripped down the stairs after we were pronounced husband and wife and it still makes me crack up. We can laugh because he wasn't hurt and he is just so graceful. By the time we made it to the door and greeted all of the guests, he was telling everyone that I had swept him off his feet. Everyone close to me was relieved it was him and not me knowing he recovered better than I ever could have.

Photo by Ica Images

5. I may be biased, but the ceremony was awesome. Everyone told me to soak it all in because it goes by so fast and I really worked hard to take in each moment. I tried to see everything around me and experience the wedding and not just rush it away. We had some amazing friends and family support us and we will be forever grateful. I loved taking communion with Steve to start our marriage and our pastor did such a good job of putting God first on a day that keeps trying to pull your attention to each other. Not to mention... I have friends that can sing! I can't stop playing the video of Kenny and Zoe singing. At that point in the ceremony, I had finally composed myself during communion and then Steve and I turned around to face Kenny and Zoe while they sang.. just in time for me to lose it again!

Photo by Ica Images

6. My parents are uber generous. The day wouldn't have been possible without them. I know there are stories of people getting married for super cheap, but it's really hard to do. I tried to be so conscientious of my parents' pockets and Steve and I took care of some little popup expenses here and there, but no matter how you slice it... the wedding was expensive. I can't thank them enough and I'm so grateful for everyone else that thanked them. We always joked that I would have to wheel my dad down the aisle by the time I got married, but we walked it together.

7. My "vendors" took such good care of me. I had the best photographers in the world with Ica and her husband Tim. Jenna was so patient with my hair and took care of a bunch of my bridesmaids with time to spare. I never even met Angie who did my flowers, but she took glimpses of a vision I had and made everything look great. Rich kept the party hopping even if he did shut down some of my friends' requests. He managed the music and I just kept dancing! Julie and her crew at Sterling Caterers was so good. They even valeted our car and made sure our wedding party was taken care of before the reception. I left them boxes of decorations on Thursday and they ran with it. Six months later and I'm sure I've forgotten someone, but I'm really just grateful for the people who went above and beyond a contract to make our day so special.

Photo by Ica Images

8. So many people trekked a long way to attend our wedding. We had family and friends at the wedding from at least five different states and most people had to drive at least an hour let alone all of the people who came from NC and beyond. After all of the weddings I've been to, it is not lost on me how expensive and time consuming weddings can be. People paid gas or plane tickets and hotels and gifts and dresses or tuxes or a new outfit... I'm so grateful. Managing the guest list was probably one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning for me and it meant the world to me have so many of my favorite people all in one place for a day. I just wish I could have spent more time with everyone.

Photo by Ica Images

9. I had two cokes! Leading up to the wedding I cut out soda and french fries in order to make sure I could fit in my dress. Once we knew we could get the dress zipped my friend Sarah bought me a coke from a camp vending machine and it had never tasted so good! Steve was also kind enough to stop at McDonald's on our way to the hotel after the reception so I could get another one.

10. Did I mention I got married? For a girl who had dreamt of her wedding since she was a little girl, there were a lot of expectations riding on this one day. I don't know that I had picked out wedding dresses or flowers, but more than anything I looked forward to a day when I could promise myself to the love of my life. It wasn't an easy road for Steve and I to get here, but it was worth it. I could not have found a better man and I just pray every day that I can love him more.

why camp wo-me-to

Camp Wo-Me-To is one of my most favorite places on earth. If my memory serves me correctly, I first went to Camp in 1991. I spent seven summers as a camper and another four as a counselor. I celebrated a bunch of birthdays there and owe a ton of who I am to Camp. I've been talking about getting married at Camp for years. It may not be the easiest place, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The biggest reasons why I chose Camp Wo-Me-To for my wedding... 

1. My faith

I became a Christian when I was eight years old, but it didn't become real to me until I was 12. Camp Wo-Me-To had a missionary speaker from Burkina Faso, a small country in Africa. It was more than 20 years ago but I can see her and hear her speaking vividly in my memory. That hot sticky night in the chapel I tried to ignore Barbara and her crazy Africa stories about God working in her life and my friend Nicole will tell you I was trying to distract myself with anything other than what I was feeling. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you're not a Christian, but at the end of the service they asked if anyone wanted to become a Christian or renew their commitment. I tried to fight it, but I felt this unbelievable urge to surrender. Nicole said when I stood up, it was like this huge weight was physically lifted from my shoulders. I felt like I had a renewed purpose. 

Two years later I started working at camp. I'll never forget the first girl I prayed with as she made a decision to become a Christian. My faith continued to grow each summer at Wo-Me-To and I know that my faith journey would not have been the same without it.

2. A second family

Each year I tried to recruit a friend or two to go to Camp with me. After camp I'd exchange letters with the girls in my cabin and any counselors I wanted to stalk. The letters usually didn't last long once the school year started and everyone fell back into their normal routine post-summer camp.

During my last year as a camper, my friend Nicole and I met Laura. Nicole and I had been in a cabin with Laura's sister Sarah a couple of years prior and their older sister Kim was a counselor favorite, but we didn't really know Laura. We were in different cabins, but seated next to each other during a not so exciting missionary speaker. We may or may not have made a few jokes that opened the door to a camp friendship. (Sorry Rose!)

When Nicole and I had to say goodbye to Laura on the last day of camp, we were all in tears. Knowing camp friendships all too well, we really didn't know if we'd see each other again. We wrote letters and had to rely on our parents to let us make the occasional long distance phone call or make the hour and a half drive up and back to drop us off for a weekend. We eventually got e-mail and instant messenger and somehow we survived high school with our friendships intact. In college we all went our separate ways and it was harder to keep in touch even though (and maybe because) we had more independence and access. Somehow we were stronger than the distance. Over the years I became friends with Laura's entire family and was in both Laura and Kim's weddings in 2005 and then Sarah's in 2006. This summer marks 19 years since we met and I never take it for granted. Laura is one of my biggest cheerleaders and is always there to encourage me, but she's also the first one to let me have it when I'm being an idiot. There's a whole network of Camp friends that I know I could rely on even if I haven't seen them in years. There's something about the place that bonded all of us. 

3. My fiancé

In 2006 I took a guy to Camp Wo-Me-To. I wasn't even officially dating him and he turned out to be a real dud, but I definitely jumped the gun on showing him my favorite spot. He wasn't impressed and I essentially wrote him off forever at the first moment he turned up his nose upon arrival. 

Fast forward eight years and Steve was on his third or fourth visit to Maryland, but the first since we were seriously considering dating. We had Saturday morning free and I was debating what we should do. We settled on a hike to the King and Queen Seat in Rocks State Park. In the back of my head I knew the hike was 5-10 min from Camp and I was hoping I could take a side tour. Sarah said she knew then that it was big when I was willing to take a guy to Camp after the last debacle. I always knew that if I wanted to get married at Camp, I'd have to get my future husband on board. I wanted it to mean something to us and not just me. I knew we still had some work to do, but I was secretly hoping I was giving him a tour of our ceremony venue way back on July 26. I must have done something right because on July 30 he was writing a letter to John Harbaugh to start working on his proposal plan. That weekend was the real start of me and Steve and it will forever be etched in our memory. 

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There's just something about this place. I think it's beautiful on the outside, but the memories it holds for me just make it incredible. I can't wait to make new memories at Camp Wo-Me-To this weekend. Let's get this party started! 

another national championship...

The Methodist University men's golf team won its 11th NCAA National Championship on Friday. Methodist as a whole has won 36 National Championships in golf. The success is helped by the fact Methodist has a PGA Golf Management program, one of 19 in the country, where students can concentrate in "golf," earn a degree and graduate as a PGA Professional. There aren't a ton of small colleges or universities with an 18-hole golf course on campus and a couple hundred students there for golf giving MU a niche market. 

I had no idea Methodist was a "golf school" when I decided to attend in the fall of 2000. Little did I know that the women had won 10 of the last 12 titles and the men had brought back nine of 11 National Championship trophies. Unfortunately by the time a team won  a trophy, they came back to an empty campus with not a lot of fanfare. Social media was limited to AOL Instant Messenger so maybe there were a few congratulatory messages, but I know the student-athletes didn't receive their due. 

I was fortunate enough to work in the athletic department for seven of the 36 championships and witness one in person. The feeling is like no other... and I was just watching. They never let me hit the ball or even put the ball on a tee, but I took ownership. "We" won that championship! It's even better when the student-athletes are men and women you know. Don't get me wrong... I loved watching the Lady Vols win a NCAA Championship and the Ravens win the Super Bowl on tv... but it's a different kind of love when you can see people you know and care about win it all. 

This year I saw the Championship from a different perspective. We were working hard in the office on Friday of the final round of the tournament, but tried to keep up with the live stats in the background. Methodist had started the day five strokes back... not an insurmountable lead, but not a cake walk either. After lunch we turned to the live video feed and there was a slight echo around the office with four different computers trying to follow along. Methodist had the lead and then didn't. We were tied and then we fell back and then we had the lead. It took forever for the other teams to finish before we knew that Methodist had won. They clinched it just after 3:00 p.m. and my social media feeds erupted for the rest of the night. 

The @methodist_monarchs instagram account posted a celebration video that we shared on the Methodist Alumni Facebook page and it took off. Just on our page, we've had nearly 6,000 views, almost 200 likes and 83 shares not to mention all the likes and comments on the pages where it was shared. 

My favorite part of the day was watching the reach of this championship. The team still came back to a quiet campus Friday night, but social media was buzzing all weekend. People who have never played golf were sending congratulations. People who are usually complaining about something MU did or didn't do, were sharing the video. The excitement was contagious as my feed was full of people taking ownership of the championship. Alumni especially were bleeding green and gold, anxious to claim their alma mater.

Methodist does a ton of great things besides win golf championships, but winning definitely had Monarch Nation overflowing with pride this weekend. Congratulations to Coach Conley and the guys and thank you for letting us share this with you!

strengthen your brothers...

Easter was nearly a month ago and I haven't blogged in ages, but Peter's role in the Easter story still has me thinking...

Not long before Jesus was arrested, he predicted that one of his main guys, Peter, was going to deny him. That in itself is hard to swallow. I can't imagine being wrongly accused, arrested, and then one of my closest friends won't claim me. But what if I was Peter? If one of my friends is in the news, accused of something... will I stand by them? Or run away for fear of guilt by association?

Either way, Jesus is calling Peter out on it. And of course Peter thinks Jesus is crazy. No way would he deny Jesus. That's the crazier part to grasp when you're reading it. But have you ever been in that situation where you were so sure of something and then you found yourself in the middle of temptation or in a state of fear and you caved? I try not to even drive by Bojangles these days to avoid caving. Resistance is harder than it sounds when you're in the middle of temptation.

But even more than denying your BFF and even more than denying him after he warns you... Jesus told Peter, "But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:32)

I love this verse because it shows so much about who Jesus is...

1. Jesus knows Peter is going to deny him and yet he's still pleading in prayer for him. Sometimes I've really struggled with prayer, but it's so reassuring to me to know Jesus was still praying even when he knew the outcome wasn't going to change. Sometimes I can't change the outcome, but I can pray for the impact the outcome is going to have.

2. Jesus knew Peter was going to turn back. Peter denied Jesus three times... not just once or twice... but three times! Even after he was warned. And not only did Jesus take him back, he knew he would come back without Peter even asking. There's nothing too big to keep us from turning back.

3. Jesus told Peter to strengthen his brothers once he turned back. Sometimes we get caught up in our failures and think God couldn't possibly use us. We're trained to clean up our resumes or we won't get hired. If the potential employer finds out about the employment gap or sees that questionable social media stuff, we may not get the job. God doesn't work like that. He doesn't even look at your employment history. He's already hired you! Peter is going to deny Jesus three times... and yet God is going to use him to strengthen his brothers. It's not over when you mess up.

How can you use your denial or your weakness or your mess up to strengthen your brothers or sisters? Don't let your mess up be an excuse for more messes, but turn to Him and let that mess make you stronger.

believe it...

A year ago today I wrote Steve a letter and mailed it. Yes, through the United States Postal Service. We like to keep our sisters employed so we do that occasionally. We had reconnected over the weekend and after a bad start in November, I was paranoid. I wanted to get to know Steve and I was thinking I should probably let him get to know me, but there were some timing concerns and this just felt like a big deal. 

I know it's easy for me to say that now that we're engaged, but I re-read the letter this weekend and I remember just feeling so much pressure. I had dated some douche bags, but I had also dated some really nice guys that I just ended up hurting. I was trying so hard to open up, but yet I wanted to protect both of us in the event things didn't pan out the way we wanted. 

I have always known Steve sees the best in me, but that was scary for a couple of reasons. First, I was sure I wouldn't live up to his expectations and he'd be disappointed. But it was also scary to think enough of myself to believe what he saw in me. Cockiness is such a huge turn-off, but confidence is so attractive. I know it's not as easy as flipping a switch and believing in yourself, but there is something to be gained from knowing who you are and owning it.

I'm so grateful for the people in my life who encourage me and remind me of who I am. My worth is in Christ, but sometimes it is too easy to feel like I never measure up. It is reassuring to see where I was a year ago and know that my value is not tied up in Steve or another person, but to still rest in knowing Steve sees the best in me and I can trust him. 

finding the good in college athletics...

Landmark SAAC representatives at the NCAA Convention with
Dan Dutcher, NCAA Vice President for Division III

Every January, the NCAA holds its annual Convention. There are educational sessions and conference meetings, but the primary purpose is to vote on legislation for the Association. While working for the conference office, the Convention has been one of the annual highlights for me. Around this time last year, our office started making plans to bring student-athletes to the 2015 Convention. Other conferences have done it in the past so we stole borrowed another conference's materials and set aside grant funding to make it happen. I became the point person on the project and spent nearly a year coordinating everything... 

And then I accepted a new job back in North Carolina, outside of college athletics. When I decided to take the new job, there were a bunch of moving pieces to figure out the transition, but I'm so grateful both employers were willing to help me still attend the Convention. There are definitely some perks to attending, but I also felt an obligation to see the student-athletes' trip through to completion. 

I started my new job January 6 in North Carolina and then drove back to Maryland on January 13 to attend the Convention January 14-17 at the National Harbor just outside of DC. I had spent a ton of time over the previous year trying to figure out how to make sure they all got along. I was about to put nine people together who attend different colleges and universities in the same conference. They compete against each other's institution every year and have developed rivalries that I hoped did not carry over off the field or court. A few met during our SAAC meeting in November, but they were essentially strangers and eight of the nine had to share a hotel room with one of these strangers. 

I won't bore you with the details of the trip, but I have to tell you I couldn't be more proud of this group of students. I'm so grateful to their advisors and administrators for recommending them and I owe the student-athletes a ton of thanks for embracing the experience. We went to a Convention with a ton of conversation centered around the Division I, "Big 5" and all of the discussion about paying student-athletes and providing them with extra benefits. Meanwhile, I spent most of my week with a group of student-athletes who are proud to be a part of Division III and they are soaking up all of the opportunities that come with it. They participated in the sessions, asserted themselves when appropriate and left with great relationships that spanned across sport and institution boundaries.

I left on Saturday reminded of why I love college athletics, but especially Division III athletics. I met a group of college students who are smart, talented, absolutely hilarious and they're going to be extremely successful in the "real world." I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet them and thrilled to let this experience be a bookend on my time at the conference office.

#commonsense