The JELL-O Generation!!

Ok, I have a fun task for each of you...

Next time you are at your mother's/grandmother's house, take a look in her pantry. How many boxes of JELL-O does she have??! I bet you will be SHOCKED!! And then ask the question..."what are you planning to DO with all that JELL-O, Mom?!" My mom and I have a theory as to why this generation feels the need to stock up on JELL-O, but I will reveal that later.

Please report back with your findings...:) HA!

God has a Plan and Purpose for ALL

I certainly don't mean to stir up any more negative feelings about our new president (even though this probably will, sorry) and there are a lot of things I do like about Obama....this however, is something I strongly disagree with.

I know this woman personally...she lives in Nashville and has an AMAZING story of how she was aborted and SURVIVED!! If this doesn't make a case for everyone having the right to life...even unborn babies, then God help us.

If I were you...

I would think twice about becoming a Starbucks Gold Member!

Ok so it sounds great at first...pay just $25 a year to get this special card, and each purchase thereafter is 10% off, plus one free drink on your birthday and one free drink the day you sign up.

So I thought...great! I go to Starbucks quite a bit, so this will DEFINITELY be worth it and save me a ton of money. But just in case, I decided to do the math because I'm a math genius (enter laughter).

Let's say you buy a drink for $4.50 once a week for an entire year (54 weeks). That comes out to: $234 a year.

With the Starbucks gold card you get 10% off so doing that same equation, it now comes to $210.60 a year.

That comes out to a savings of $32.40, but then it costs $25 to become a member in the beginning.

Even factoring in 2 free drinks at $4.50, the TOTAL savings for an entire YEAR is only $7.40, and that's if you remember to go to Starbucks on your birthday.

Is that bizaar to anyone else??! I just thought for SURE I would save at least liek 20 bucks a year becoming a "Gold" member. Geez, Starbucks...I feel like you have betrayed my trust in trying to trick me like this. Very dissappointing.

Kingsley's Baby Shower

We had Kingsley's first baby shower for Marlie Jade (baby girl's name!) at my house this weekend. It was wonderful. Here are the pics!

Mom, Kingsley and me

My aunt Beverly, Kyndall(soon to be added to the family, marrying my cousin Grant in March! and her soon to be mother-in-love Renee)

I was so happy Ashley got to come and bring her precious little girl, Milan!

Trying out Marlie's new bows!

Baby Bedding

Aunt Lanie, mom, Kings, me and Jody (my grandmother)

We had a great time and are so excited to meet Miss Marlie Jade sometime in January!!

Finding my Strengths

I took the Strengths Finder 2.0 test awhile back for my job at Mercy, and I have to say the results were very interesting! I'll give you my results, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Some say that others can clearly see your strengths while it's hard to see your own. So tell me my friends,  are these really me?

1. Strategic: (this one was a shocker to me) the ability to sort through the clutter to find the best route. You see patterns where others see complexity. You play out alternative scenarious in your head in order to decide the best path to take.

2. Developer: finding potential in others, helping to stretch and grow them in their gifts. These signs of growth inothers are your fuel and many will seek you out for help and encouragement because they know your helpfullness is genuine.

3. Woo: (stands for Winning Over Others) You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are energizing and you are drawn to them. You love to "break the ice" and make connections with people. In your world, there are no strangers, just friends you haven't met yet :) 

4. Includer: "Stretch the circle wider" is your philosophy. You want to include people and make them feel part of the group. You hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in. You always want to draw them in so they can enjoy the group. You are an instinctively accepting person. 

5. Positivity: You are generous with praise, quick to smile and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation. People want to be around you. Their world looks better because your enthusiasm is contagious. You inject drama in every project (for sure!!) You find ways to find everything more exciting.

I definitely see a lot of 3-5 in me initially. Very interesting. I would encourage everyone to go out and get this book, you can find it at any major bookstore, or here.

Mercy Ministries

I just have to share about what a priveledge it is to work for an organization that is truly changing lives...and I am seeing it first hand! If you are ever in the area you should schedule a time for a tour of the home to see first hand the unconditional love, exceptional living conditions and life changing power of Christ when you walk through those doors. One of the greatest things about this program is...it's completely free of charge!! I have not found another residential counseling program that is free of charge. This is just one of the many reasons why it WORKS! We want the girls to know that we are not trying to make money on their problems and our love is unconditional...just like God's love.

Our founder, Nancy Alcorn has an amazing story of how God led her to start Mercy Ministries 25 years ago. I cannot tell you how REAL and straighforward Nancy is about these issues and getting free from them. She has never let anything persuade her to waiver on any of the principals God gave her to begin this amazing ministry, and so He continues to bless it! Read about Nancy Alcorn and the beginning of Mercy Ministries here.

We rely SOLEY on private donations (through individuals, churches and business) so we can have the freedom to share Christ...the only TRUE live changer. Without that, the program would not be as successful as it is today. There has been an abundance of graduates writing in to tell us how they are doing and just to testify that God has changed lives for the better! You can read those letters here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this...if you have any questions about getting involved with Mercy through either volunteering, donating, or raising awareness among your community or with your church, please contact me!

New Hair!!

Thanks to my brilliant sister who is the best hair person in the world! I'm convinced...

Coolest Feature Ever!!

Ok thanks to the wonderful Anna Morrow:) I have discovered something new about blogger that will change all of our blogging lives forever!! If you will look to the right...you will see that I am adding all of the blogs I read in a new way that will constantly be updated if that person makes a new post! So much time is now saved! Much thanks to Anna for that revelation.

All you have to do is go to LAYOUT and "add a gadget" and I believe it's the first item on the list...add a blog list. SO great!! Enjoy!

P.S. I am not done updating this section so don't be mad at me if you don't see your blog there yet. :)

Our new house, finally!!!

Here's a sneak peak...we have a LOT of unpacking and organizing to do so please disregard the mess! I'm currently taking a break from the madness to do some posting...:)






I love these windows!






My favorite part...the back deck with an amazing view! There is actually a guy who lives behind our trees that has a big pond with a waterfall that he turns on at night...it is SO nice!!



I'll post again once everything is done:) We LOVE our new house!!

Baby Shower for Annie

Last Sunday we had a baby shower for Annie for baby girl #2! She will be named Katie Charlotte, of course after our dear sweet Katie, Annie's sister. 

Annie with her daughter Maggie on the right and Katie's little girl Merriwether on the left.

The hostesses and Annie (Jesse, Me, Annie, Bethany)

Me and Ashley, one of my very best friends from home. I miss her!

Beautiful Merriwether

It was so great to see everyone!

I have 2 new posts below...trying to catch up! So just keep scrolling! :)

Love is in the air!!!

I don't know what it is...but 4 of our best couple friends got engaged within like 2 weeks of eachother and they are all getting married within the next year. It's crazy! Love is definitely in the air. We hosted a fabulous "double engagement party" for 2 of the couples--Clay and Hannah and Mike and Jenny. We had it at Ombi restaurant off of Elliston place, and I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to do a private party! It was fabulous!

The hostesses with one of the guests of honor. (Me, Ty, Hannah and Alyson)

Clay and Hannah, getting married November 14th

Some of our guests enjoying the fantastic food and ambiance:)

Mike and Jenny, getting married October 4th Cheers to the happy couples!


We are so happy for you all!

Trip to Ft. Collins, CO

Over the 4th of July weekend, Michael, Robin and I went to visit our long lost friends, Eryn and David:) It was a fabulous trip and Robin and I soaked up every last second with Eryn:( Miss you! Here are some pics from the trip:

Absolutely breathtaking views! We went to Rocky Mountain National Park


We went to this big open field to watch fireworks with the cute little Ft. Collins community! Here's Eryn and David:

I told Michael that I was just a little bit mad at him for overshadowing me in this picture by being so stinking HOT! I mean really...

Good friends back together again. Nothing has changed when we see each other even though we live far away from Eryn. I love these girls.

Praise the Lord...

We are finally closing on our new house!!! It's set for Monday and I can't believe it's finally here!!! If I have to live in this house for the rest of my life, I would rather do that than have to work with another lender like this again. :)

I'll post pics of the new house soon!! Yay!

My lack of posts...

Is because of one thing...my new job!! I am loving every minute of it, but it is seriously a non-stop all day long series of events and by the time I get home every night it is all I can do to have enough energy to do anything but sit on the couch and rest my weary brain:) Hopefully as I get in the groove of my day to day activities I will not be so drained every day.



Here is a list of updates:



1. My little sister is pregnant!! She is due January 12th (she's about 14 weeks right now) and although things didn't happen in the, shall we say "normal" order...we are all very excited and covering mom and baby in prayer every day. Her name is Kingsley and if you would like to add her to your prayers we would so appreciate it! She will be a great mom:)

2. Still waiting to close on our new house. Hopefully it will be some time around Aug. 15th!

3. Over the July 4th weekend we went to visit our great friends Eryn and David in Colorado. We had the BEST time!! Saw gorgeous breath-taking mountains and had some great quality time spent with some truly special friends that I thank God for. Eryn has posted pics from our trip on her page. I haven't had a chance to post pics so you can look at hers.

4. Michael's birthday was July 11th. He is now 28...and I am so blessed every day more and more to be married to him!!

5. Kelee has a BLOG!!! YAY!! Be sure and show her some love:)



Ok that's all I can think of for now...I will try to do better about posting updates!

Update

Since there is a lot of craziness and transition in our life right now I thought I should give a brief update!

I recently was offered a job at a non-profit organization called Mercy Ministries of America, headquartered here in Nashville, and I accepted!! Mercy is a home for young girls who are troubled with either drugs, abuse, self-harm, eating disorders, depression, unplanned pregnancy and everything in between. Mercy gives these young women freedom from these things through teaching them who they are in Christ and His power to forever change their lives. It's an AMAZING place! I will be Director of Development and will be working primarily with developing donor relationships, and I'll be working mainly with new homes(as far as I know). There are lots of new homes being planted around the America (and also the World!) so my job will be to develop relationships with surrounding businesses, churches, and community leaders in the area of the home to form partnerships with them in supporting the home. I'm SO excited!!

Moving on, Michael and I are in the process of buying a new house! Yes, we did just buy our townhome a few months ago, but the plan was always to use this as a rental property. So we found an amazing deal in a new neighborhood very close to where we live now and are hoping to close at the end of the month! I know this is LONG overdue, but for those of you who have never seen our townhome, and because I want to document our first home purchase, here are some pics.

I will post pics of the new house when we close on it, but nothing is set in stone yet so I'm a little hesitant!! Stay tuned for that.

Our first home as a married couple...

Hallway looking into guest bedroom

Master bedroom (we haven't really done much decor wise to the upstairs, it's been a little neglected!)

So that's our little townhome! We love it but it's already feeling too small for us. We found someone to rent it out for a year in less than 5 minutes! No joke. We put it on Craigs List and within 5 minutes started getting calls and emails!! What a blessing!

That's what's going on in the Cantrell's lives right now! Thanks for checking in!!

I was watching the news this afternoon and saw and heard something that absolutely appalled me. Today is the first day gay marriage is legal in the state of California, but that is not really the thing that has me all fired up. They showed clips of crowds of people opposing this new law and picketing against the gay people who were getting married. They were claiming to be Christians and one woman, ON CAMERA actually said, "They will spend eternity in the flames of hell!!!" and even worse things than that. WHAT?! Can someone show me the love in that sentence and what good saying that could possibly do? It completely burns me up to hear the things people will say in the name of Jesus. I don't believe anyone has the right to say who will be spending eternity in Hell except for the one and only Judge. I believe our number one priority on this earth, as Christians, is to love and serve others in a way that shows God's perfect love, and to be able to testify as to where that love really comes from. People who are so openly judgmental and ugly about certain lifestyles are not showing love at all. That just gives non-Christians MORE reason to want to never learn about God's love. It's a terrible, terrible thing. I just wish I could shut-up all of those people.

Anyway, had to take a moment to vent! How does everyone else feel about this kind of thing? I would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

South Africa pt Deux

Ok for some reason I am having trouble posting pics on this one and I'm tired of trying:) so...if you would like to see the rest of the SA pics you can view them here on my facebook page. Enjoy!

By the way, please keep Kelee and especially her host family in your prayers. 3 days after we left, a mob of 50 people came in the middle of the night and basically ambushed their home. Kelee, Michael and I had already left so none of us were there. They broke out all the windows and rolled burning tires into their house. Everyone is ok, but this is all about them blaming Kelee's host father for something he didn't do, mainly because he is "wealthy" and they are jealous. Everything is so political there. Anyway, Kelee cannot go back there after all those relationships she is built so I know she is just devestated. She is waiting for her next assignment living in Vryburg which is a town about 2 hours away I think. Praise God everyone was alright and that we weren't there when it happened!! I will keep you guys posted on where she will be assigned next. Please pray that God will lead her exactly where she needs to be, and to comfort the family as I know they are very shaken up. Thanks!

Maria Chapman

For those of you who don't live in Nashville and may not have heard, Wednesday night Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter was accidentally killed when one of the sons was backing out of their driveway and hit her. It is so terribly sad, especially for the young boy I think. We need to pray for them. Here's the article from the Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/TUNEIN/80521174/1005/ENTERTAINMENT

Our South African "Holiday" pt. 1

They call all vacation time a "holiday" over there. I like it:)

We had one heck of an adventure last week!! We got to see our great friend Kelee which was definitely the main reason for going, but we also got to do and see some really cool stuff!! I'll try not to bore you with too many details, just a few highlights from the trip.

This was our first night in Johannesburg (Joburg) at this really cool African themed restaurant called "Moyo". They came around and painted our faces! Too cute.

This was the view from our balcony. Really cool "square" of restaurants and bars.

The next morning we left to go on our road trip to visit Phillip, Kelee's boyfriend.
Here's a pic of Michael trying to figure out how to drive on the RIGHT side of the car, and the LEFT side of the road!
A picture of Kelee and her honey! His name is Phillip and he is a farmer in a town called Bray. He owns tons of land there and sees it as his purpose and calling in life to help the oppressed people where he lives have a chance of a better life. He's amazing.

I thought this was just a really cool pic of Kelee The next morning we went out to Phillips farm and went exploring on a four wheeler and a dirt bike! It's about 40 thousand acres of land!!

Us on the four wheeler:)

Phillips goats...

Doesn't this pic look sort of fake?? It's like they were posing! hehe.

More to come...