"Georgia On My Mind"

Before you start reading this blog, turn this on in the background!!!

Okay, now that you've done that, you can read this post in style. As you may know, Jeff and I are in Douglasville, Georgia right now, which is about 30 minutes from Atlanta. As you may also know, there was a snow storm that rolled on through here! Let me just say that the storm only brought 3 inches of snow. It's been really fun for me, but for the Georgian people, not so much. Talking to the locals, seeing the chaos on the streets, and the fact that the only place open is McDonalds has made me realize that, apparently, they don't like snow. 

When the snow began to fall

Once the snow stopped.

I always thought Georgia was one of the colder states, but I guess not. One man I talked to said he hadn't seen snow in Georgia in 3 years! Crazy. As much as I love the locals and how easy it is to have a conversation with them, I must admit that they kind of brought the craziness upon themselves. ((And I don't want to sound mean, or judgmental, I just want to update my Californians.)) The news doesn't help either, they are so dramatic! Yes, this storm was unexpected. No, Georgia is generally not prepared for it, but it didn't have to be as crazy as it now is. Literally everyone just started freaking out, abandoning their cars on the sides of the highways, driving 2 mph, staying in hotels because they didn't want to drive 10 minutes home. It was like living in a twilight zone, and today it's like we are the last survivors after the zombie apocalypse. Almost every store, restaurant, etc are closed, and the streets are dead. It's pretty amazing what 3 inches of snow can do to a state that isn't prepared for it. 

On the other hand, it's been a fun little adventure for me! I've enjoyed the snow so much, as well as the realization that I am here while history is in the making. My daddy said that, and he's right. How often does Georgia get snow? And how often does the entire area of Atlanta shut down? Not very often. Not to mention that this snow storm came out of nowhere. So, as much as I don't want to admit this, I'm having a wonderful time while the rest of the Atlanta area is unhappy. I hope they find a way to make it a joyful experience! Here are a couple videos for you to enjoy. They are sort of cut off towards the end because I couldn't email the whole thing, but you'll get it.

On my walk back from CVS.

The very light footsteps are mine from when I walked to CVS, the deeper ones are mine on my way back.

<3 Em

New Orleans

You may be asking yourself, "Why did Emerald put a picture of a toilet in her blog?" Well, let me answer that for you...

Because it was the coolest toilet I've ever seen!! At least until the future toilets arrive, at which point this toilet will seem very lame, and old. Anyways, this was at the New Orleans airport! You press that green button, and it changes out the seat cover for you! No mess, no seat covers falling into the toilet right before you sit down, easy-peasy green button. I loved it! Leave it to me to be the one excited about a toilet...sorry folks, that's what you get to read about in the adventures of the Sparrow's. 

Enough about toilets. New Orleans was great. I am no longer the partier I once was, so I didn't really care for the French Quarter at night other than people watching. However, walking down the famous Bourbon street was a spectacular experience! It was a random Saturday night in late January and the street was packed!! Full of drunken laughter and people. We trekked it over to a pub called Spirits, and we sat and listened to dueling pianists! For those of you who grew up in the 90's this video is for you! <3

While we were walking to Spirits, we stopped to try some famous beignets desserts. They are the tastiest little guys I've ever had! I'm craving them as I write this, in fact my mouth is now watering...great. A tasty french treat made of sweet fried dough, and powdered sugar. Add milk to the equation and you have perfection in the yummiest form.

If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, Cafe Du Monde is a MUST see! It is a bucket list item to check off!

New Orleans has so much history to it, that once again I found myself wishing we had more time. Fortunately, our friend, Chris was nice enough to take us for a short drive around the Garden District, and through the French Quarter. He gave us a littler history here and there, and it was fantastic! Not only did he take us on a drive around New Orleans, but he took us to a local breakfast spot, and gave us a book that was written in the 1940's about the history of New Orleans. I can't wait to start reading it!

This is the oldest known apartment complex built in the US. There is a 20 year waiting list to live there!

This was just a pretty home built in the late 1800's

Most of the cemeteries in New Orleans have the grave built above ground. It's a beautiful sight to see. We didn't get to, but they have tours that will take you to the cemeteries & tell you about the history of them.

This house belonged to Anna Rice, until she sold it and moved to California.

And this beautiful mansion is home to none other than Sandra Bullock!!! I love her.
Overall if you are looking for history, New Orleans is your place to be. If you are looking for a party, Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is where it's happening. And if you're just looking to make new friends, everyone in New Orleans is ready, willing, and wanting to strike up a nice conversation with you.

View from our hotel room..which also had a balcony

Another view from our hotel room.

This was a pub called Cajun Mike's Pub & Grub. I found a groupon for it, and the food was amazing! I highly suggest trying it out.

Pretty buildings with the famous Roosevelt hotel sign.

The Mississippi!!! So cool!

Walking in the French Quarter.

French Quarter.

Me and my handsome hubs at the dueling piano place!!

Random police on beautiful, huge horses!! The other horse turned it's head at the last second...my hubs looks hot though!

This is where our friend, Chris took us to breakfast. SO tasty!!

You can't really see it, but the church in the background is really famous in New Orleans!
As I bid you farewell, I'm going to listen to 'La Vie En Rose' By Louis Armstrong, and leave you with these videos to enjoy. :) 

<3 Em

The Pioneer

When I think of a pioneer, the image of a strong, rugged looking man, with scruffy hair, a gun, and a serious look on his face comes to my mind. I also think of an admirable leader, one who breaks tradition, and takes care of the people he's leading. Like a shepherd that looks like a soldier...if that makes sense?

Why am I talking about a pioneer? Well, recently I came across another blog that talked about running the race with Jesus. If you'd like to read more about the blog post you can click THIS. I loved the blog topic, and it was very encouraging, but what stuck out most to me was a verse quoted. 

Hebrews 12:1-3

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

For some reason the word 'pioneer' stuck out to me. Immediately I saw am image of Jesus as a pioneer, which is kind of funny to think about. Regardless, I had a moment, as I often do, of being even more awe struck by the Lord than before. I've known Him to be the Lord of all things, the creator, the Alpha & Omega, but a pioneer? That had never crossed my mind until I read that verse today. The definition of pioneer is as follows:

1.  inventor or innovator: a person or group that is the first to do something or that leads in developing something new
2. first person to explore territory: a person who is one of the first from another country or region to explore or settle a new area
3. soldier who builds things: a foot soldier whose duties include going ahead of the main company to construct things to pave the way for them
   
   Jesus is the epitome of not just a pioneer, but THE Pioneer. Wow.

 Take a moment and let that sink in. He is The Pioneer of all things. How amazing is that?! I love that every day, every moment, the Lord reveals different things to me that I haven't thought of before. And I can take the idea of Jesus being The Pioneer even smaller to the point of me and Jeff traveling. Jesus paves our way, He was, and is The Pioneer of our lives. What He sets forth no man can break. From now on my travels will be seen in a different light. I'm going to be even more thankful. I'm going to enjoy the places I go even more. I'm going to feel more connected to the Lord's creation. I'm going to remember that before I was here or there, He was here and there. I get to step foot on the paths that He walked, and still walks. Jesus was the Pioneer, is the Pioneer, and will always be the Pioneer of this universe, this planet, this country, this life, this day, this moment. I will forever be in awe of Him.

Ironically, I took this picture before reading that verse or writing this blog, of a path we walked in New Orleans. It's things like this that make me giggle because I know the Lord has a funny sense of humor. He likes to surprise us. 

Have a wonderful Sunday!

<3 Em

Defy

"You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do."- Psalm 139:3

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake." - Robert Louis Stemerson

I love that the Bible has scripture for things that would seem irrelevant to things we need to know about life, like travel. The Lord makes sure to take care of every aspect of our life and it's just mind boggling how much He truly loves & cares for us.

((Our video from Denver this morning))

As I'm sitting here in St. Louis, Missouri waiting for our flight to get in (our flight was delayed 4 hours), I had to take a moment to talk about something that I was able to hear about while Jeff and I were in Utah! 

When Jeff and I were in Utah we decided to try out one of the Christian churches in town. We went to the K2 Church about 10 minutes from our hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. While we were there, they had a guest speaker named Catherine Hoke (Rohr) who has a fantastic testimony & story about how the Lord has worked in her life, and still is. She recently started a non-profit organization that works with prison inmates who want to change their lives. There is a lot more to it, and at the end of this blog I will include their website, but I just had to share about Defy because of the amazing work that they are doing!

Catherine's testimony and a couple of the ex-inmates testimonies brought me to tears. Catherine brought her team, her husband, and two of the men her non-profit is currently working with. When those two men shared their stories I could not hold the tears in, they were so touching. They were both men that had made mistakes, paid for it, took the second chance the Lord gave them, and are now utilizing their skills to better their lives, and their family's lives. 

Hearing their stories, and understanding what Catherine has started with Defy made me realize how overlooked prison ministry is. WE NEED MORE OF IT! We all make mistakes. Look at some of the most famous people in the Bible. Paul, for example, murdered Christians before God called him into a life of ministry. Sure it may seem as though some mistakes are worse than others, and I have trouble with that myself; but the Bible says no sin is greater than the next. The mistakes we make are not excusable, but through Jesus we are saved by GRACE. Not by works. Not by trying to be perfect. Not by pretending. But by grace. Jesus restores lives everyday and Defy is another small non-profit that is taking that step to bring restoration to this world. 

Prison ministry is not for everyone, and some of you might be thinking that I'm crazy for believing in a cause like this, and I understand. But for those of you that are touched by my blog, and Defy's website, please consider donating, or helping out, or connecting Defy with companies or people who might be willing to support them! I don't have many connections, but I do have this blog. I asked if I could mention them in it, and they said, "Of Course! We will take anything you can give us." So here I am telling you about Defy, not because they asked me to, but because I believe this is a GREAT ministry. 

Defy's website: Defy Ventures 

Until next time,

<3 Em

The Beehive State

I'm going to keep this short & sweet & just let you scroll through all my pictures. Jeff & I have left the beautiful Beehive state, aka Utah. It was truly one of the most amazing places I've ever been too. Beauty is everywhere, and it really made me wonder how people see places like that and still deny that the Lord is alive and well. Anyways, I have 3 videos I'm including in this blog along with a bunch of pictures of our adventures in Utah.  The first two videos are one that I had to split in two in order to upload it. We only had 5 days to explore, and Jeff worked 3 of them, so I'm hoping we can make it back in the near future and stay for two or three weeks. The Beehive state sure is a wondrous place to explore and take it the masterpiece that God created. Enjoy <3

-Em

The night we left from Las Vegas to Utah, the moon was amazing!! I wish I had a chance to take time to take photos of it, but it was the most extraordinary moon I've seen in my life. It was huge and beautiful.

This Cafe was a lot like Panera Bread, super tasty!

The Salt Lake City Mormon Temple (reflection from the water)

I had to post this because I was getting dressed for the day and realized I looked like 'Where's Waldo', I quickly changed. LOL

The Mormon Temple in day light. SO beautiful!

This was a beautiful park on our walk from the Temple to the Capitol.

My handsome hubby <3

There was sooo much history in Salt Lake City, Utah..I wish I had more time to learn about it all!

This photo and the next few are the outside and inside of Utah's Capitol building. We were in awe.

Panorama from outside the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah.

On our way to Park City, Utah. It was a winter wonderland.

Anytime I've been in the snow, I've seen these plants and I think they are beautiful!

In Park City, Utah (only 30 minutes from Salt Lake City), all over the various hills/mountains they have trees lit up like this. I wish my camera would have been able to capture how breath taking it all was...but this will have to do.

These two photos are pictures of our trip from Salt Lake to Denver which is where we are now. We are only staying here for a night to fly out in the morning to New Orleans!!

Until Next Time...