the aftermath.

Here are just a few pictures from my wonderful birthday weekend.
 ♥



Rebekah, me, Deborah and Sammie at the Windsor.

  



self timer on a trash can..

 


Rebekah! right before she left:(

 



so many retakes..

 



Deborah, Sammie and me. Finally, a decent picture of all three of us.

  


Sammie!

  



darling Deborah!

 



the most awesome shoes that my grandma gave me. Love you Mina!

  



the gorgeous watch that my parents gave me, that I've wanted for months:) absolutely love it.

 


Hello Kitty cake for the eighteen year old? oh yes.

 

 perfect birthday:)









a day of celebration.

Today is my eighteenth birthday!!!

It’s a crazy thing to think about, to be quite honest.

 I can vote, buy a lottery ticket and join the military...which is a funny mental image.

But as my family and friends celebrate my birthday with me today, I’ve been thinking about the blessings God has showered upon me in the past eighteen years. I was born into an amazing family who cares about me more than I can describe - parents, brothers, grandmas. Always encouraging, supporting and loving, even when it’s hard. I have been given friends who I can depend on, from all around the country, who encourage me in my walk with Christ. And God has always provided for me, far beyond what I would have imagined for myself.

Most importantly, God chose me as His child, one He calls His own.  

I love Paul’s take on this in Galatians 1:15: 

 “. . .God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal His Son.”

Despite my sin, and not because of anything I've done, God chose to send His Son to die for me. Before the creation of the world, and way before my entrance into the world a measly eighteen years ago, God knew me and chose me as His beloved daughter.

I remember as a little kid, my parents talking to me about how much God loved me. They told me that God loves me even more than they do. And to this day I can remember that conversation, sitting on the bathroom counter, with my feet dangling off, being amazed that anyone could love me more than Momma and Daddy.

So as I celebrate my life today, surrounded by God's love through His blessings to me,

what more could I ask for?

God has claimed me as His own! I am His.

happy birthday to me:)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:13-14

Mary Catherine

senior moments.

And so starts my blog.

This past weekend I had the opportunity and privilege of taking one of my best friend's senior pictures. I was absolutely thrilled when she asked me! I took over five hundred pictures of Sammie, lucky for you I'm only including a few of my favorites. From peach and pecan orchards, to churches and barns, we traveled all over the place to get some awesome shots. Many people would consider taking pictures for almost six hours torture, but we had an absolute blast.

My dad has challenged my to stick to my purpose and to consider what true friendships are in this post. And it really got me thinking about the relationships that God would have of His children. Being created in the image of God means that we were made to have and develop relationships with others. As friends are a gift from God, we are to encourage one another in Christ, as it is the most important aspect of any relationship.  God tells us in His word how we should describe our actions towards others - it is, of course, love –

"Love is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud; it is never rude, nor self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres."  

Jesus talks about friends in John 15.  He says,

 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command."  

While the Lord gives us earthly friendships, Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. Earthly relationships will fail and disappoint us time and time again, but Jesus is the only one who will never leave us. Just as John 15 explains, a true friend is one that would die for those he cares about.

Jesus did.

If we think about it in terms of our own earthly relationships, dying for our friends, the fact that Jesus gave up His life for us should never cease to astound and amaze us. Once we grasp hold of this truth, our earthly friendships will be forever altered, and our relationship with Christ will grow continuously. Friendship in the biblical sense must flow through what Christ has done for us and what He is doing now on our behalf.  As we develop our "friendship" with Christ we truly can become friends with others who also know and love Christ. Jesus will always be our best friend.    

Mary Catherine



my personal favorite.