what do i know of holy?

This past week has been such an exhausting, rewarding one. I haven't blogged as much as I would have liked, so here's a little recap of what I've been up to.

*For starters, I've been fighting a sinus infection since last weekend. I've had good days and bad, but I think I'm finally getting over this sickness. (Thank you God and Zyrtec-D!)

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*A few days before our wedding (March 7) I moved most of my belongings and myself into Keith's house. I left a bunch of stuff at my apartment, and I had until today to move everything out because my lease has ended. (Wooo hooo) Of course I waited until the last minute so this week was spent moving things out and cleaning. (Thank you to my awesome husband and sister for all of their help!)(source)

*This week was also the last week of school for the Spring semester. I'll take my last final today after work and then I am a free bird until August. I've really enjoyed these two classes and am happy I made the switch to Criminal Justice. :o)

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*Last Friday God gave me my "AH-HA!" moment with Serenity Self Defense. This past week I've been researching tons, and I am happy to share with you guys that I will become a certified R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) Instructor in October! Once Serenity gets started I will be the one actually teaching the self defense classes! Praise God!

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*Finally, I've discovered an amazing song that I have been listening to non-stop. It's by Addison Road and is called "What Do I Know of Holy." After listening, I was so convicted and felt challenged to dive deeper into my faith.

The person who posted this video on Youtube wrote the following:

"What a fantastic song by Addison Road! Beautiful and challenging. Are we just going through the motions, or do we deeply worship God and place Him at the center of our life? Do we study His Word so that we can know Him more intimately? Do we look for evidence of His holiness? This is what He calls us to do. Lead vocals on this song by Jenny Simmons, who co-wrote the song with Alli Rogers."

I hope you all have a marvelous weekend! Be amazing and stay safe!

wordless wednesday

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I am so happy for Sandra Bullock! She has been through so much recently, and I am just thrilled that she has been blessed with a beautiful baby boy!! :o)

Top Two Tuesday

This Week: Favorite things about summer

1. The adventurous spirit that comes over me.

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Even though I technically don't have too much freedom during the summer (thank you, grown-up world) I still love the weekend spontaneity that happens in an instant. For me, summer means lying in the grass or on a hammock and getting lost in a good book. It means that I can get a naturally beautiful sun kissed tan. It means that baseball season is in full swing and that I get to watch my Yankees. It also means that it's my bay's birthday and that we get to celebrate. Summer is without a doubt one of my favorite times of year.

2. The beach!!! This has to be one of God's most gorgeous creations. :o)

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**A life without love is like a year without summer**

single sentence sunday

"If you can't feed a hundred, feed one"
-Mother Teresa-

I found this quote last night at church in my new wonderful Woman's Study Bible. This Bible has re-lit a fire in me for my Lord and I am so happy. So thank you, you beautiful pink Bible. :o)

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Eureka!

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So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Luke 11:9

Last summer, God planted a strong desire in my heart. He used a terrible tragedy to mess me up for the good. Not only that, but He orchestrated everything to come down to that moment.

That was the night I "accidentally" found out about the murder of Melanie Goodwin. Instead of summing that night up, you can click here to read about it. Here's an excerpt from that post:

"God is doing amazing things in my heart and is stirring up an idea so big, so wonderful that I could burst. I can’t do anything to bring Melanie, Anne, or Eve back, but maybe I can help prevent this from happening to someone else. The Lord is moving in me with this idea and I am as excited as ever to tackle it head on. Last Sunday Pastor Fred told us that “God plants a dream in our heart with a thought in our head” and boy was he ever right."

That big, wonderful idea has turned into Serenity Self Defense. Serenity is an organization that will provide self-defense training and street smart classes to the public at no cost. (I am hoping that we can established non-profit status sooner than later.) For a while now the name and overall plan has been in place, I just didn't know exactly how I was going to get the ball rolling.

For so long I've been trying to do this on my own. I racked my brain so many times for a solution. Nothing happened.

A few days ago I was feeling so helpless, and I began telling Keith about my dilemma. His response was "Well have you talked to God about it?" I responded with "Psht. Have I talked to God about it?!?!? DUH!! Of course I have!! Well, haven't I? Wait, maybe I didn't..." I have spent so much time thinking about my next step with Serenity that I forgot to talk to my Father about these plans! HE is the one that planted this desire in my heart. HE will guide me in the direction Serenity will go!

So, the other day I asked Him what to do. I asked Him to take Serenity and lead us. And you wanna know what? He did! The day after I asked Him for help he planted more ideas in my heart...more ways to really get this show on the road! I've had my "AH-HA!" moment and am so thankful. Once I realized what He had done I couldn't help but feel so safe and loved and completely overwhelmed by His grace. He. Is. AMAZING. And I feel so undeserving.

Alright, so I said all of that to say the following:

Don't try to do things on your own -- go to Him for guidance. When you feel helpless, let Him help you. When you feel hopeless, let Him give you hope. HE knows you better than you'll ever know yourself. And He's always there for you, even when you try to do things on your own.

Side Note: Since I've had this revelation, I will be more focused on what God has spoken to me and persistently trying to live it out. I may or may not be blogging as much as I have been. Just know that everything is more than okay. :o) I'll keep you guys updated on this journey. I'll post soon to let y'all know about my plans!!

wordless wednesday

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You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14

Top Two Tuesday

This week: Top Two Items Under $15

1. Contour Clubbing Waterproof Eyeliner by Bourjois Paris. Ulta - $13.50. This is my absolute favorite eyeliner! It goes on so smooth and doesn't fade off throughout the day. I've worked out a bit while wearing this and it doesn't run - definitely sweat proof. Personally, I think it's a bit pricey for eyeliner, however it has lasted almost 3 months and I think it's worth every penny!(source)

2. Naturally Fresh Jalapeno Ranch Dressing. Bi-Lo - $4.50 approximately. I know this probably looks really silly, but this is one of my new, favorite things. I eat this Jalapeno Ranch dip with practically everything! I've yet to try it with ice cream, but hey I might just do that sometime soon. If you love spicy food and love ranch dip then you must give this a try! :o)

temporary home

The American Country Music Awards were held last night, and I was very pleased when I stumbled upon them. (I completely forgot they were on!) I was able to see Carrie Underwood perform and win her second Entertainer of the Year award. I am so happy for her!

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If you've never seen her music video for the song "Temporary Home" then please watch below. It's a bit sad (and by a bit I mean I cried like a baby) but it's so wonderful.

And the winner is.....

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I'd like to announce the winner of the $50 TOMS gift card!

Congratulations to Cait at The Blessed Life!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway! I'll be doing another one very soon! :o)

**Cait, please contact me at lindseychristmas@yahoo.com with your shipping information!**

last day!

Hey guys!! I just wanted to remind y'all that today is the last day to enter for a chance to win a $50 gift card to TOMS shoes! I will be choosing a winner via random.org tomorrow! Good luck to everyone!

I wanted to share a few pictures that I've taken over the past week of my new little family. Today we are heading to the beach. :o) I hope you guys have a wonderful day!

they're here!

Yesterday, my awesome photographer Nicole uploaded some of our wedding pictures to Facebook! I am so excited and wanted to share a few with y'all! (I'll share some from the reception in a few days!)

*Sigh* This one makes my heart melt.

Sneaking a peak of my groom before the ceremony.

My girls.

Getting ready....

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Being the big kids that we are, we decided to take off running...

Mr. and Mrs. Christmas

I love my mais sha. :o)

Check out our matching shoes/socks!

I love this one.

So happy that I decided to go with this dress!

On this day, I was a princess.

to run or not to run?

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That is the question.

Back in January I wrote about my decision to re-join the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training in May and begin my training for a marathon in October. (I'm going to steal a little from the January post to catch you guys up on my history with TNT)

"In 2008 I received a random brochure in the mail one day from an organization named Team In Training. TNT is a sports training program that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Basically, they will train you for a marathon, half marathon, or triathlon and all you have to do is raise a certain amount of money for charity. I had no clue how they got my name and address, but I was intrigued. I researched TNT and they seemed like a great organization. So, without hesitation I signed up in October of 2008 for the Disney World marathon held in January of 2009. I figured if I was going to run something, I might as well go big and choose the marathon.

When I began training I couldn't even run a mile. When I finished training I was running 10 miles at a time! Unfortunately, I never made it to the Disney marathon. In November '08 I hurt my iliotibial band in the my left leg. This is a common runner's injury, and in my case was caused by not enough cross training. Alright, so what's the point of this story? The point is that I have never forgotten about Team In Training. In 2008 I raised over $2,000 for TNT and I am ready to tackle this challenge again."

Alright, so here I am in April thinking about re-joining the TEAM next month and I've hit a bump in the road. I have some concerns about committing to train for a marathon (or half marathon) and raising a few thousand dollars as a newly married lady. My new life has just sorta gotten back to normal and I am worried that this adds too much to my plate. In addition to being a new wife, I'm also a full-time Criminal Justice student (online classes), work full-time, edit/film weddings part-time, am trying to develop Serenity Self Defense...not to mention that my heart is sold out for Jesus and I am desperately trying to strengthen my walk with Him. I also have the strongest desire to volunteer at a nursing home sometime soon.

Now, while it may already sound like my plate is loaded, I really believe that with a little lot of time management I could join TNT with no problem. I would love to begin running with a TEAM again, and supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society just feels right. Numerous family members have had cancer, with the most recent being my Pe-Paw. What do you guys think?? I would either be running in the Disney Wine and Dine Half marathon, or Nike's San Fransisco Half/Full Marathon. (Both are in October) Would it be irresponsible to commit to this? Or should I just do it?

wordless wednesday

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

*beautiful blogger award*

I'd like to send a big thank you to Bree over at Simply.Girly for giving me my first blog award!

Here's 7 things about myself, and I'm also passing it along to 7 ladies!

1. I am a huge procrastinator, but I hope this is just a phase. I hate the feeling I get when I wait to begin an assignment the day before its due.

2. My hubs and I are addicted to Chuck. (Mondays, NBC)

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3. I've eaten almost a full bag of candy (a huge one from Easter) today. Can we say sugar rush?!?!

4. I am absolutely terrified of roaches.

5. One day I would love to have a ministry that has a hotel-like place for homeless people. This "homeless hotel" would help those there get back on their feet. It baffles my mind that there isn't something like this already.

6. I feel like a hypocrite sometimes, because I have a "3 strikes and you're out" rule with people. Not just like, oh you were mean - GOOD BYE! It takes 3 big things, but after that I just cut them out of my life. I hate this about myself, because I know that God gives me chance after chance....I'm working on me. I'm a work in progress.

7. I love being a wife and discovering new things in life with my husband. :o)

The 7 ladies I am passing this on to are:

1. Anna at Small Things With Great Love
2. Melissa at With All Creation I Sing
3. Chelsie at Chelsie Denson
4. Sarah at Sarah Ann's Bon Mot
5. Jessica at Domesticated Bliss
6. M at The Life & Times of Mrs. Blimes
7. Mrs. Hesson at Meet the Hesson's

time to spill the beans

Okay, so I know that I've been driving a few of you guys crazy with my little secret. Well, I'm ready to share it! For starters, I am not prego, we didn't win the lottery, and we are not moving. I apologize in advance if this secret isn't amazingly crazy wonderful, but to me and Keith it is. :o)

On Saturday, we welcomed two new guests to live at our house!

See that face? That's my sweet nephew, Baby Joe.


And this pretty lady? This is my beautiful sister, Lauren.

The reason I didn't want to say anything over the weekend was because we wanted to make sure Lau and Joe would make it to SC okay. I won't go into details, but they just weren't safe where they were living at and decided to come live with us. As newlyweds, we knew that having two guests in our home could add a strain on our relationship, but we felt in our hearts that this was the right thing for us. They've only been with us a few days, but we are loving life with them. Keith and I still have our privacy, but now we have a bigger family in our house, too! I've changed two diapers (woooop wooop!) and Keith and Joe play all of the time.

Once again, sorry for the delay with my secret. Promise I won't do that too often. :o)

hello monday

Hi guys! Hope you all had a marvelous weekend! I'm sorry to leave y'all hanging with my crazy secret post from Saturday, but I am happy to report that tonight I will be writing all about it. :o) There are two things that I discovered over the weekend that I wanted to share. The first is tragic, the second is inspiring.

• Saturday afternoon I was wasting a little time before my secret arrived and decided to visit Foxnews.com to see if there were any new stories. What I saw completely shocked me. The title of the main story said "A Nation Mourning" and there was a picture of this cute man and his wife. The man was the President of Poland, and the story explained how the plane that he was on crashed in Russia. There were no survivors. Not only did the President and First Lady of Poland die, but 94 others as well. This included the president of Poland's national bank, the Deputy Foreign Minister, the head of the National Security office, and many more political, military, and church leaders. I do not understand why things like this happen, but all I can do is trust our Lord. At this time we need to come together and pray for Poland and those lost. May they rest in peace.

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• On Sunday Keith and I decided to watch the end of The Masters golf tournament. While I don't really like golf, I did enjoy watching this. It wasn't the playing that inspired me, but the story behind the winner, Phil Mickelson. Phil's wife Amy has been fighting breast cancer since last year. While she was able to make it to Augusta, she had been bedridden all week. Yesterday she finally had enough strength to make it to the course and watch her husband win it all. Since being diagnosed, Amy hasn't been on the course at all. The embrace Phil and Amy shared after his win made my heart flip. In a time where golf has been tainted by a man named Tiger, it was wonderful to see these two.

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Hope you all have a fantastic Monday! I'll be back later with more on my little secret. :o)

my lips are sealed

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Today is such a big day! Unfortunately, I can't say much about it yet. I've been awake for a while now getting things in order, but I just wanted to tell you guys that I hope y'all have a wonderful Saturday! It is absolutely beautiful outside! Go enjoy it! :o)

i'm not gonna write you a love song...

Lately it feels like I've been listening to tons of songs that are completely irrelevant to my life. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but I have been having some serious rock out sessions to the following songs. They all make me want to roll the windows down and sing at the top of my lungs. :o)

Take a Bow Cover by the Glee Cast. (I stinking LOVE Glee!) This song came on the other day while I was listening to the Norah Jones Pandora station, and WOW! I can't get enough of it!


Love Song by Sara Bareilles


Your Not Sorry by Taylor Swift. (This song actually could be a tad relevant, but it's definitely not about my hubby)


I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat


Since You Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson

Can you guys relate, or am I just crazy? Which songs do you rock out to??

A Day Without Shoes **Giveaway**

Many of you guys have heard of a company called Toms Shoes. If you haven't, let me fill you in. For every pair of shoes you purchase from Toms, they will donate one pair to a child in need. So many children in developing countries grow up without a pair of shoes. Have you ever walked in your yard without shoes on? Those pickers do not feel too good when they get stuck in your feet. Or how about the beach? When the sand is hot and there are 4329578 sea shells stabbing you. Not. Cool. Here are a few facts from Toms.com:

*In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, clean water and to seek medical help.

*Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.

Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.

*In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.

*Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.

Tomorrow is One Day Without Shoes Day. And while I'm not going to be barefoot, I will be wearing my pair of Toms. (I tried to explain why I wanted to come to work barefoot tomorrow, but I didn't have much luck. It was quite funny, really. I was told "Shoes are required, as so are shirts." He, he.) I've been wanting to do a giveaway, and this just seems perfect. So without further adieu...

I will be giving away a $50.00 gift card to Tom's shoes!

Here's how you can win!

1. Follow my blog publicly. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway and Toms! (3 entries)

3. Grab my button and add it to your blog! (2 entries)

Please comment on this post and let me know what you've done so that I can keep track of all of your entries! You could have up to 6!

The winner will be chosen on Monday, April 19th, so be sure to check back!


Good luck y'all! :o)

wordless wednesday

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This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24