Haha. Again...

Well, you've heard it before but here goes again:

I just launched my NEW BLOG! Here's a little taste to get you hooked:

Check it out and leave me some comment love!

I will be posting my latest updates and sessions on that blog, so please update your feeds.

Love ya'll!

Cait.

Inspiration and Prayer

Inspiration (adj): 1. the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions; 2. the act of influencing or suggesting opinions.

I love being inspired. I used to get discouraged and put down when I saw other people succeeding; I felt like a looser. Then I realized that I could learn from everyone. Now when I get inspired, it makes me want to DO something. I always want to grow, to improve when I'm inspired. It's the reason I stalk blogs. Why I try to be artsy and creative. I'm always looking to improve.

A few things that inspire me.

1. Lady Vintique. I adore these handmade, one-of-a-kind headbands made my Lyndzee. I just got mine in the mail and I LOVE it. I wear it all the time. Thank you Lyndzee! Not only a genius at amazing headbands, but also an awesome photographer!




2. {grey} likesweddings. Any time I need inspiration, this is where I go. love it, Love it, LOVE it.

3. David & Amy Wenzel. I don't know much about David and Amy. I made a very brief stop at their blogs today after reading Jasmine Star's post about them and here's what she said:

"In a very, very small nutshell, a few days ago David was joking with friends and accidentally hit his head. A few minutes later, he couldn't think straight and had a hard time talking...the following day, he had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors assumed to find bleeding in the brain, but what they didn't expect was to also find a tumor. Doctors want to send David to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for brain surgery and, if eligible, chemo treatment. For now, Amy and David are waiting."

When I visited their blogs, I was deeply moved. This is a very trying time in their life, but through it all they are clinging to God and his promises. Read Amy's latest blog post and you'll see why I am so impressed, inspired, encouraged, and challenged by their hearts. I don't know if I've ever trusted God to that extent and I'm not in a trial near like theirs. I am inspired to live my life, whatever trials come, to the glory of God.

Though they may or may not ever me, nor I them, I know that we serve the same God and the best way I can help them is by prayer. Join me in lifting these two amazing individuals up in prayer.

Graduating Class of 2009

Graduation. Commencement. Baccalaureate. Whatever you want to call it, it's a big deal. It's a recognition and celebration of a 12 year achievement. It's the ending of one thing and the beginning of something else, something new, and most likely, something bigger.

It's a little weird to think that I am graduating this year. Little more than a month, rather! It's crazy. I've always wanted to be here: on the brink of finishing this four-year trial through fire we call high school; what I thought would be the hardest years of my life. In seventh grade, I looked at the seniors and whoa. THEY were awesome. They were the people I wanted to be like, to hang out with, to notice me. So mature, and having it all together, they were starting a life as an adult. I didn't recognize that their maturity and 'having it all together' was because they persevered through high school and had learned hard lessons. I thought they were just like that; just awesome. Haha... Wow. I had no idea. Now that I'm in the place I looked up to, I can see how incredibly wrong I was. I sin now more than I did then. There's no such thing as 'having it all together' and mature? HA! Not. There are so many parts of growing up that I saw as 'secondary' to becoming an adult. I thought being an adult was about being free from the confines of school (what did I think about college?), getting your own car and driving wherever and whenever you wanted (car payments, gas, and insurance?), hanging out with your friends all the time (job? career?), no one to tell you what to do (or guide you) or where to be. Whatever I thought this time in my life would look like, it wasn't too much of a shock when it finally came (other than how fast it came) because I have two incredible parents. They nipped my perception of growing up in the bud. They told me that being an adult is way more than the fun things. It's hard. There's growing. There's stretching. There's trials. There's failure. But. In the midst of all the 'harsh' realities of adulthood, there is hope. There's grace. There's blessings. Because there's a Savior and a helper.

I still don't feel ready to be an adult. I mean, I'm SO ready to be done with high school (and ALL that implies), don't get me wrong. But I'm so immature. I am irresponsible. I don't feel like I've prepared well enough. Instead of laying a foundation that will act as a springboard into my future, I feel like I've just gotten by, by the skin of my teeth. Now I believe these next years will be the hardest ones yet. I have so many habits and character flaws to tear down and then reconstruct. It's going to be hard work. Harder than I think or want. But I know that it's often in the times that seem the hardest that the bear the most fruit, show the most growth. I am so excited about what's ahead. About my future. All that God has planned for me. I'm a little intimidated because I think it's going to be big. I think God has plans for me that I can't even imagine now. THAT is what I'm excited about. Growing closer to God, learning more about Him, affecting people for his glory.

All of that to say I am a senior and senior's need pictures and I got my senior pictures done. Despite the overwhelming number of people who asked me, I did NOT shoot my own seniors. Haha, no. Actually, it was the fulfillment of a dream for me to have the incredible Jamie Delaine come to the backwoods of North Carolina and take my senior pictures. I'm so grateful that she was willing to endure the 17hr travel days to do this for me. I not only had an awesomely fun time with her, but I feel pretty when I look at these images and that means the world to me. So thank you Jamie. It means a lot to me. (And thanks for blogging so I could steal these to blog :D )

Please head over to Jamie's blog to see the rest of the images and make sure to check out the slideshow! Some of my favorite images are in the slideshow. (Gosh, now I feel really vain posting pics of me on my blog... )

It is time

Today, I am legal. I can do a whole number of things that I've never been able to do before. Like get a hotel room, buy things off TV, adopt a puppy, and sign my own legal documents. In the eyes of the government, I am a semi-adult (real adulthood comes at 21... go figure.) In my eyes, I'm just one day older.

You know how you wait and wait for birthdays, assured that you'll feel older, feel different? I have been waiting for this one with such anticipation. I've been looking forward to the 'freedom' that comes with age, the later nights, the keys more often. While I was waiting for more more more fun, I forgot that responsibility comes with age.

There are so many areas where I am failing, miserably. So many sins that are flourishing in my life. But I'm not condemned, or brought low. Though it's going to be hard - like really hard - fighting my sinful nature, I know One stands beside me, ready to tackle these sins with me. It's going to be a year of great growth and change. I'm excited to see where/what God has for me.

One BIG change just happened last night. My dad accepted a job offer... in Charlotte. While Dad will be moving almost immediately, we'll be staying here until after graduation.It's also going to be hard. I've lived in this area for all eighteen years of my life. All my friends live here, all my everything is here! Charlotte is only three hours south, so it won't be like moving to another state, but it's too far to spend time with the people I love and appreciate. God is calling me to surrender my all to Him.

So pray with me. Pray that as I begin to place my future and trust in Him, that I will see His sovereign hand in all that I do.

God bless you all as He has blessed me: abundantly.