say whatcha need to say

Apart from being a catchy song by John Mayer....today's post is about saying what needs to be said. I think it's pretty easy for me to just "talk" but not say anything important. Or sometimes even talking about "important matters" but never saying the truly hard things. Part of this is confrontation. I am scared to death to confront certain issues or certain people. I am mostly afraid of what they will think of me or losing the relationship altogether. The more life I live, the more I am challenged with how and when to confront, what to say, how to approach with love, etc. This can play out day to day in marriage, with friends, co-workers, etc. 


Recently, my church- Christ Central Church, has been doing a sermon series entitled "God _____ America". Howard Brown, our senior pastor, is preaching on issues that aren't usually addressed from the pulpit, but surround us everyday. The past few sermons have been: Freedom of Speech, Race and Ethnicity, Women's Rights, and Ageism. I would have never heard these sermons growing up, which is part of the reason I love this church. They have all been personally convicting and have started great conversations among the congregation. They are bold and his words are blunt, but I am proud that he is addressing these issues and has the courage to say hard things....things most of us don't want to hear. 


So in light of these sermons, I have been challenged and want to challenge others. Life is too short to NOT say what is needed to be said. 


Sermons can be found on iTunes or soundcloud. 

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

We just finished the best TV series EVER- Friday Night Lights. A lot of our friends have watched it and now my brother and sis-in-law have too. All recommend it. I haven't heard a negative thing about it yet....except for wishing it lasted longer!  If you have never seen it, WATCH it! You will thank me :) All 5 seasons are on Netflix. 

Here is a brief synopsis- 

Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family. The show uses this small town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary American culture, including school funding, racism, drugs, abortion, and lack of economic opportunities.

Coach Eric Taylor

Riggins

Tim Riggins is Robert and I's favorite character. Don't be surprised if a pet or child is named after him at some point-- we love him that much. Riggins is reason enough to watch the show. 

"Moving, life-changing, Texas Forever"- Robert Akin

You Never Marry the Right Person

Don't get me started on Tim Keller.... he is AMAZING and can be quoted all day long. Here is an excerpt from his newer book The Meaning of Marriage. Enjoy!

You Never Marry the Right Person

New Year, New List?

New Years resolutions are NOT for the lazy (like me). Every year on January 1st I become all to aware of all the things I need to "do better" for the next year. Usually this list is EXACTLY the same as the list the year before. I feel defeated even thinking about it. Ughh... Does anyone else have the same resolutions every year? You would think I could conquer one and move on to the next. But every year around January 7th I say, "the heck with it, maybe next year?" Here are a few repeats on my list:

1. Floss-- why is this SO hard!!!

2. Eat better

3. Work out more

4. Read my Bible (I'm not even going to pretend like Bible makes #1 on the list, the fact that I forget it before flossing shows you how much I need to read my Bible)

5. Cook REAL meals...mac and cheese/cereal doesn't count

I also make statements to myself like "This is the year I will make more money/finish that project/ find the perfect job"! Am I setting myself up to fail? And why do we always have to "completely change" when the ball drops?  Why don't we wake up on June 15th and say, "Starting today I will give up __" or "This is the year I will ___!" 

Don't get me wrong, I don't think its completely a loss to have resolutions. Deep down, I think there is something inside of us longing for that chance to be better... to change something "negative" about ourselves. I think that longing is good....but I'm not so sure setting unrealistic goals on one day of the year is helpful. Not to me anyways!! 

This year I think I might try to set one realistic goal- something I know on the front end that I won't have a hard time doing. Once I get into that routine, maybe I will add something else to the list? Maybe something harder...like flossing! 

So 2012....my first little resolution is to BLOG! At least once a week. It might bring me sanity to write something. Plus, you can read about our life since we are so horrible at calling people. Yes, Robert, you are included in this part :) 

I am also going to start a Bible Reading Program for slackers...no seriously, it is a program for slackers...it's in the title. Since it's designed specifically for slackers, I feel like I can participate. The best part is the readings aren't assigned to dates...so when I fail, which I will, I won't feel overwhelmed and behind :) Yay! 

What are YOUR resolutions for 2012?!

eleven seven

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my husband Robert!! 

Can't believe it has been 2 years! Sometimes I can't remember what life was even like before we met. He is my very best friend and I wouldn't want to "do life" with anyone else. I won't get too sappy- so here are a few pics :)  

wedding day 11-7-09

first dance

the best wedding EVER :)

1 year anniversary in Asheville

2nd year

Hoping to spend many more years together. Love you!!

gal pals

This post is dedicated to the sweet girls in my life here in Charlotte. When we moved here, we were fortunate enough to already have a few friends from the RUF internship. Over the next year, we made other friends through seminary, church, work, etc. All of them have meant a lot to us. For the time being I am just going to focus on a small group of girls that is very special to me...

We were pleasantly surprised when a couple, The Gregory's, moved right behind us. They were from Mississippi and attending RTS! Yay! Holley Gregory has become one of my best friends in Charlotte and it has been really fun running back in forth between our houses. Holley started a girl's accountability group that I meet with once a week. It has been between 5-8 girls this year- not sure what the past year would have looked like without this group of girls. They have been a great encouragement to me. Here are a few pics of some of my favorite times over the past year :)

Sedge-hood snow day

Holley and I frolicking in the side yard

RTS girl's night

watching the Bachelorette at Katie's- always a fun time!

girl's accountability group last May 

Barnabas Center benefit

Love ya'll!!! 

revisiting a disney classic

I have been reminded of the Lion King a lot lately. Now that it's out in 3D, a whole different generation is experiencing it for the first time. I haven't seen it in forever, so when the kids I was babysitting for begged to watch their favorite parts, I was excited :) 

They only had a few minutes before bedtime so I told them each to pick their favorite part and we would watch them before bedtime. If someone had asked me that question (as a child) I would have picked the Hakuna Matata song or maybe another light-hearted scene. However, this 6 year old boy and 3 year old girl picked the scene towards the end where Simba fights his uncle, Scar. They loved it! I was slightly confused why they would pick such a dark, dramatic scene. But as we watched it, I was reminded of some of the beautiful themes in this movie. I understand that not everything in the Lion King is correct...and certainly not biblical. However, I couldn't help noticing little pieces of truth scattered in. In this scene where Scar is killed, there is a sense of redemption. Evil is gone and Simba can take the throne as king. Even as a child, we are glad when the bad guy gets the justice he deserves or when the good guy finally wins. Here are a few of my (new) favorite parts:

Simba, now an adult, is struggling with his guilt and his future- 

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long. 

[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick] 

Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for? 

Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past. 

[laughs] 

Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts. 

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it. 

When Scar dies and Simba takes the throne, a physical change takes place across the land. The dry, dark land becomes lush and green. This part was a sweet reminder of how creation will one day be restored-- the new heavens and earth. 

It's fun to watch these movies that I loved so much as a kid. I pick up on so many things I missed! 

Supermarket Sweep

Ok, so most of you have seen the Extreme Coupon show or at least heard of it. These (let's be honest...crazy) people get grocery carts full of things for under a dollar with their coupons. It's usually 230 mustards, 115 laundry detergents, and 300 packages of bacon....always ridiculous amounts. Some give the excess items away---great idea, some hoard it in their basements--

this is not the cold war....

I have been cutting coupons to save money on groceries this year and try to only use them on items that I would normally buy anyways. Also, I try to use them when they count for more savings. Example-- Harris Teeter's super double coupon week or triple coupons. If you are lost in the language, don't worry. You can go to Southern Savers and get all things "coupon" figured out. I digress....so I have saved a lot of money on groceries by using coupons I've found in the newspaper and online. It takes time- even to use coupons minimally, but the savings are worth it to me in the end.

Yesterday started one of those weeks at Harris Teeter that doubles coupons up to $1.98. I don't even bother with coupons under $1 on these weeks. The coupons that are $1.50 are the best because you save $3.00 at check out. I'm realizing how big of a dork I sound right now.... So yesterday I went when the store opened, 7am. I have never done this before. I usually go later in the week but a lot of the items are sold out. Also, I couldn't sleep because I thought I saw a ghost-- I'm saving that for a later post, don't worry :)

So here I am, rollin in with my shopping cart at 7am, half expecting to be participating in a Supermarket Sweep moment with other crazy coupon participants. I enter the doors, in sweats, pony-tail, and no make-up and I realize... "I look like the crazy mom on Extreme Coupons" I literally look like her. Who does this? Gets to the grocery as it opens? Instead of being in the company of other weird shoppers, I find myself in the company of the produce man and inventory stocker. In fact, most of the sale signs for items haven't been put up and the lights are only half-way on (I'm thankful for this b/c I hoped I might not be spotted in the darkness). So, like a hunter, getting up early to stalk and kill its prey....I go in for the kill. I suck up my pride and I roll down the lonely aisles while pinching my pennies and sorting through my coupon book.

As I check out, the clerk says "Wow! Do you know how much money you saved? Where do you find these coupons?" And beaming I say innocently, "the newspaper." I have succeeded. I managed to buy over $80 worth of groceries for under $30. Some items I even got for free!

I went home and laid out my loot on the kitchen table. This has become what my husband expects on these trips. I like to stack it all up and display it like a trophy...and then go down my receipt and list of all my savings, and end with my grand total. I realize, again, this is silly...but in that moment I am proud. Proud of saving money and seeing his face look shocked as I tell him my grand total savings (it's the little things haha). Then I put my items away with a smile on my face.

This isn't something you are born with skill in. As any athlete does, you must train. My mother was grooming me at a young age. I recall many car rides to Kroger when I carefully sorted my mother's coupons into her filing folder. "Mom, does this one go in baked goods or paper products?" My brother and I watched Supermarket Sweep and dreamed that one day we could run around the grocery store stuffing huge cheese wheels in our cart and winning money. Seriously...we did. We would go on that show in a heart beat. Sad, but true. Shout out to my sweet money-saving Mom, who made all of this possible-- Thanks Mom! :)

confession of a negligent blogger

Ok, so the Akin blog has officially been abandoned for a whole year. Once I got behind it felt too overwhelming to try to catch up. It has been, to be quite honest, a hard year. And when things aren't going great, I find it harder to be open with people about life. It seems like the world of online posting- blogs, facebook, etc. can shed this unrealistic light. Everyone's life is great! I see posts about the great recipe someone tried, how marriage is awesome, pictures of "put-together houses"....it seems exhausting to keep up. Does anyone else feel this way? Anyways, I didn't feel like "pretending" on the blog but I also didn't want to be negative either....thus, the abandonment.

To be fair, I should give you a little recap on our lives over the past year...

Robert started and finished his first year of seminary! Woo hoo! Greek was his least favorite-- I've never seen him dislike something so much. He had 3 classes of Greek over the last year and we are BOTH glad that's over! There is a lot of reading and studying in seminary and that was a hard adjustment after no school work the past few years. I do not envy him at all! This year he is taking Hebrew and he likes it a lot better. He is also taking some great classes that he enjoys- Missions, Pastoral Counseling, etc. I'll let him post on his world some other time- he would do a much better job :)

During exams- poor thing!

Robert also stopped working at Dilworth Coffee and started working part-time at FedEx. He loves it! The hours can be hard sometimes- he works at night- but he gets health insurance and gets to throw boxes :) It was a huge answer to prayer that he got this job and that he enjoys working there.

I worked as a Teacher Assistant at an elementary school close-by last year. I met some really great people and loved those kids. I also froze my butt off doing cross-walk and car duty every morning and afternoon and became an expert in "lamination arts" as I like to call it :) I received a very sweet honor as Teacher Assistant of the Year for the school. I don't like to share that piece of info... but Robert made me haha. 

My parking space :)

Right now I am balancing a few small jobs and trying to figure out what's next. I've really missed being an RUF intern. I loved doing that every day and its been hard knowing I may never feel that way about a job while I'm here. 

Now that we've been here over a year and things have settled down, we are really starting to enjoy it more. Having a lot of transitions all at one time was hard. We are learning and growing everyday-- sometimes that is a painful process-- but in the end, a good one. Hope to be sharing more with ya'll this year!!

cranberry muffin surprise!

I love packages no matter what's inside- but especially when they contain something that I love, from someone I love. Today was one of those days....I got home to see a Fed-Ex box on the front step. I'm already excited! Then, I find out it's from Nav, Robert's former boss in Starkville and one of our very best friends. He really may be the sweetest and most thoughtful person we know. Then I have to wait the agonizing 30 minutes for Robert to get home to open it.

This is what we found!!!!

a dozen cranberry muffins!!!!

this is my absolute favorite food at "the bakery" on MSU's campus. there was rarely a time that I met with someone at the bakery that did not involve this muffin accompanied by some hot coffee. this muffin encompasses all my warm and beautiful memories of being an RUF intern at State. i have already eaten 2 and am excited about eating another for breakfast!

the guy on the left is Nav. we love and miss him A LOT!

we're here....I promise

It's been over a month since our last post- sorry! A lot has happened in the last month or 2.... Here's what we've been up to!

Robert: finished and passed Greek 1 YAY! Those 3 weeks were really busy and hard but we both successfully got through it and are now stronger because of it. It sounds silly...because it doesn't seem that bad when you aren't in it....but during it you really aren't sure if you will get out alive. And I wasn't even the one taking the class! Robert is now a few weeks into his regular semester. He is taking Greek 2, Gospels, History of Christianity, and Intro to Theological Studies. He is also busy with working 2 part-time jobs.

Jessica: has finally found a job! I had a nanny position that came up in July but proceeded to fall through in August. I was applying to anything and everything and nothing was working out. Finally, I was asked to interview for a Teacher Assistant job at Dilworth Elementary and I got it! I had orientation today and will start tomorrow!

Some other highlights include- settling on a church home, yard sales and the farmer's market on Saturday mornings, Jess's trip to Starkville over Labor Day, watching FRIENDS -we started season 1 in July and are already on season 10 :), running into old friends around town, finally getting internet at our house, and enjoying our new life in Charlotte.

Here are a few pics around the house

the back of our duplex

we have a clothesline!

our view from the backdoor- the gregory's house! so fun to have friends as back-door neighbors :)

Our sink

looking out sink window- our side yard! lot's of room for frisbee and parties

My little brother is married!

On August 7th my little bro Peyton and his new bride Emily were wed. It seems like just yesterday that Peyton and I were building forts and jumping on the bed. Now we are both married and our conversations seem to be more about jobs and health insurance instead of name-calling and cartoons. So it is with great pleasure that this post is dedicated to the newlyweds- Mr. and Mrs. Peyton Merriam :) Enjoy some old and new pics of the happy couple.

lil P

sweet Em

the wedding day!

It's all Greek to me

August has always marked the start of another school year in my life. For 16 years of my life it was me that was starting school. The year after I graduated college- it was the beginning of teaching at a school in Ethiopia. The following 2 years were the RUF internship at Mississippi State. August in Starkville, for me, meant moving in the freshmen girls, getting ready for tailgates and fun fall events, and of course- sorority rush....a different kind of Greek than I am dealing with this year.

Robert has started his first seminary class this week- Greek 1. Our friend and fellow RUF intern, Paul, is staying at our house while looking for a place to live and taking Greek with Robert. This intensive class is only 3 weeks and crams in everything you need to know to read, write, translate, and study the New Testament in its original language. Every day, they go to class from 9-12 then they study the rest of the hours in the day. I get to just enjoy Greek as a spectator. While my husband and Paul are studying- I play the part of making flashcards, quizzing the boys, cleaning/doing the dishes, chef, and overall encourager (or I try at least). I'm starting to sympathize with mothers this week. Major props to my awesome mom who cooked, cleaned up after me and the fam, and was always there- even when I wasn't. This is only the beginning of understanding I am sure! Here are some pictures of Robert and Paul during the first week of Greek.

1st day of school- they are growing up so fast!

study sessions

"Oh my sweet Carolina, What compels me to go?"

There are no words more appropriate to start our blog than with these lyrics by Ryan Adams. Robert and I are excited to start this blog as we begin this new adventure in Charlotte, North Carolina. We hope that this will serve as a place to keep our friends and family updated on life (since we are obviously bad at phone calls), to share our random thoughts and ideas, and, of course, expand my horizons in "technology". It has taken me over a month to even figure out how to go about creating the background of the page! Hopefully we will keep you entertained along the way :)

A quick update on us to catch you up to speed:

Robert and I got married last November and have lived in Starkville, Mississippi, where I was serving as the RUF intern at Mississippi State until May. This summer we moved to NC so that Robert can pursue his Masters of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He starts school August 2nd. I am currently looking for a job in any field that pays the rent :) We miss our friends in Starkville but are loving our new place and our Dilworth neighborhood.

this is our street- we love the trees!

We have been so blessed to already have a few friends here. There are several people from our RUF intern class who have moved here this summer to start seminary as well. We already loved them- but they have been so encouraging and helpful through this transition. Whether it be helping us move in, a bag of groceries, learning the art of couponing, letting us use internet and a washing machine- we have been WELCOMED far beyond what we could have expected. We are very excited to see these friendships grow as well as make new ones this year. Here are a few photos of our Charlotte friends at Mary Grace and Trey's engagement party.

Anna and Michael Whittam

Randi and Josh Meyer

the newly engaged Trey Bundrick and Mary Grace Giles