Moments a cherir

Well, obviously blogging hasn't been on my list of new years resolutions. Needless to say, this is the first blog in a while and it's going to be a fun one!

I needed to write something lighthearted; something celebratory of friendship and fun. Yes, a lot is certainly going on underneath layers of brain cells, tough conversations, truths I don't understand, and tear stained journal pages, but those thoughts aren't quite eloquent enough to publish, even with viewer discretion.

Thus, a fun blog!

MLK day was one of the funnest days I've had in a while. Since we don't have class on MLK day, my three best friends and I spontaneously decided to jump in the car, split the gas money, and road trip it to New Orleans.

After stopping at Chik-fil-a, the bank, Smoothie King, and Kroger we finally got on the road about an hour behind schedule (typical). I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of being in a car with your best friends for three hours, but if not let me assure you, it's awesome! With the girls who know me better than I know myself, we shared the shameless freedom of singing obnoxiously loud and eating as many cheese-nips as we wanted. 

We finally got New Orleans around 2pm (an hour AHEAD of schedule...Emma...) and parked next to another MC car. After interrogating the car from the outside finding an ENO, Explicit Gospel, a long board, and a Passion 2013 bumper sticker, we confirmed that this was indeed a cool person (We will find you random MC student, we will find you).

With Starbucks lattes in hand, we oohed and ahhhed over the unnecessarily expensive items in Anthropologie, wrecked the jewelry sales in Francesca's, discovered our inner hipsters in Urban, took pictures of ourselves on the escalator, did Ellen's Dance Dare...the usual.

We walked on to the outdoor French Market and Farmer's Market, passing street musicians along the way! In particular, one bearded saxophonist played Amazing Grace over the noise and movement of the market. This musical reminder of grace in a culturally dark city was certainly refreshing. A little further down, on the outskirts of the market we met a Jamaican vendor selling shoes Emma recognized from her trip to Togo West Africa. We had a nice talk with him. Even making friendly connections with strangers is a glimpse of the goodness and grace of God. It was here that I turned and told my girls I was going to write about today.

We had an early dinner at a quaint Louisiana Pizza Kitchen on the corner. Lindsey and I split a crawfish etouffee pizza; savoring the Cajun flavor was like coming home. A nice British couple introduced themselves and we chatted about life in England, their grandkids in Houston, and they offered to take a picture for us. Again, God gracefully shows His goodness in the fallen bearers of His image.

Cafe du Monde was the last and most anticipated stop. Beignets and Cafe au Lait is the perfect way to end a day trip. I loved being able to look around the tiny, sugar and saucer covered table and cherish the four of us enjoying life together.

Friendships like these don't come often. They are a gift given in grace by the best Gift Giver. I don't claim to understand everything about the Almighty God, I never will, but I will humbly say that blessings like friendship are given to us for His glory. I'm so thankful for these girls, but it is our Creator who is to be praised. Friendships and relationships are an avenue to worship.

To God be the glory, forever and ever.