A Very Lucky Girl

I went on a rainy adventure on Sunday. I got on a moving vehicle for the first time in two weeks! We walk everywhere in Scotland. Literally EVERYWHERE. I'm going to have killer legs when I return to America. We paid 6 pounds return to board the bus headed to St. Andrews and I tried not to think about the cars coming toward us on the wrong side of the road. Seeing backwards traffic literally makes my brain hurt. I've lived with the other way for so long! Someone is going to need to teach me how to drive again.  We arrived in St. Andrews around 11 AM and went straight to the beach. We did pass the St. Andrews Links golf course, the oldest in the world, but I went back later in the day to get proper pictures. I found a few seashells on the shore of the rocky beach and pulled my hood up to stave off the wet wind.  From there we wandered down the street until we found an alley that led us to the  University of St. Andrews! It was so amazing to stand in a quad that was 600 ye...

I wholeheartedly blame BayLeaf Baptist Church for ruining all other places of worship. I loved BayLeaf. I still love BayLeaf. If I could fly back every Sunday to attend, I would. It's the most genuine place I've ever been. It's small enough for people to know your name and, when I was growing up, it had the best youth program. I can't speak for it now that Justin is no longer there, but I'm sure it's still pretty fantastic.  And now I'm older and have gone to several churches since leaving the safety and comfort of BayLeaf, but I still am looking for the environment I felt when I walked into the red-carpeted sanctuary.  So when I visited my dad in Houston, I opted out of going to First Baptist with him. I don't want to get lost in another church. So I decided Joel Osteen's pad was the place for me! Just kidding, I actually can't stand him. We can talk about that issue another time.  Instead, I attended New Song Fellowship on an invitation from...

Justin Buchanan and his wife Sarah entered my life when I was in the 6th grade living in Raleigh, North Carolina. Justin was the middle school youth pastor at BayLeaf Baptist church and he still remains the best youth pastor I've ever had. Famous for his pranks and silly shenanigans, he still made sure that we were constantly growing and learning in our faith. My first youth group trip at BayLeaf was the winter ski trip as a 6th grader trying to fit in with all of the macho 8th graders. We caravaned to South Carolina in stereotypical church vans and stayed in giant rooms with multiple bunk beds. I don't remember whether I was selected or if I volunteered for the chopstick game, but either way I found myself blindfolded and then led into an ominously dim room. I took a seat in a metal folding chair, face-to-face with Justin, with the rest of the youth group behind me, and a set of oversized chopsticks in my hand. After Justin swiped warpaint on my cheeks I learned the rules...

On the last Sunday of 2012, Life Church recruited a guest speaker to come and speak to our heathen souls about leadership. Whaaaaaa? Right? Leadership isn't exactly a cookie cutter, Sunday School, bible-beating topic. But excellent leadership is scarce, so it actually makes perfect sense to instill leadership wisdom into Christians. Because, NEWSFLASH, believing in Jesus doesn't automatically make you someone worth following (even on Twitter). You need common, worldly sense, coupled with spiritual maturity, to effectively influence people.  The guest speaker also refreshed my memory on the ACTS acronym (a useful guideline when you are lost about how to pray). But during said speaker's heartfelt advice about prayer, my mind started to wander. The ACTS acronym is honestly great for any tricky conversation. A is for Adoration. Suck up. "You've been looking so great recently! Have you been working out? I love that color on you!" C is for confession. Humbl...

You could say I'm a little bit passionate about gender equality. In fact, people have labeled me a feminist in some respects in the past. So Sharbear wasn't surprised when I leaned over, harshly whispering in angst over the wording of a particular Life Church bullet point during the final installment of the series, "Strapped." Is that image big enough for ya? I went with extra-large photo sizing to encompass my extra large problem with this phrase. To be fair, the finale of the financial sermons was a Q&A wherein Craig Groeschel and money guru Dave Ramsey addressed concerns that had been sent in throughout the entire 5 week series. So I'm going to give Craig the benefit of the doubt here and assume that a masochistic jerk in the congregation sent in the loaded question.  I don't have a problem with the concept behind the querie. However, the phrasing can be much improved upon. For example, "What is the best way to correct your SPOUSE IF they spe...

Life Church has been doing a series on money management for the past 4 weeks. Certainly not a bad thing for a college student like myself to learn more about. Paul and Shari did a wonderful job of instilling the value of saving in me at a young age. From the time I began to receive an allowance (a monthly stipend of my age at the time didn't really go that far...), they required that 10% be placed in the offering plate on Sunday and 20% went to my savings account. That left 70% for me to do with what I pleased.  I'm still a great saver. I've saved up enough so that I won't be stressed out when I have an insurance bill for my car and the financial pull of a gas tank next year. I'm comfortable. But I fell off the tithing bandwagon probably a year ago. I owe God a lot, not just in the way of money, but also in the way of abilities and talents.  Craig Groeschel's comments about the importance of tithing and what I've been reading in Steven Furtick's ...

Flipping through my Bible the other night, I came across something I wrote a while ago, actually dated from April 2009.  I don't care what you think of me don't care if you can't see the change I'm trying to be. But I have to say it'd be  nice if you thought of me. If you'd cease to be  someone that I can't wait to  leave. Change is difficult, surrounding or within though you may not know  that because here you've always been. But maybe, just maybe, you should think of others once. Give out perhaps an ounce of trust. But on the other hand who needs you, unless you change too. Lots of emotion packed into those lines. Let me fill in some background. The year 2008-2009 was rough for me, though that doesn't excuse any of my poor decisions. Paul announced in August 2008 that we would inevitably be moving away from Beaumont the following summer, just prior to my senior year of high school. I vowed to make my remain...

On Sunday I went to Life Church with two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Megan and Tyler. All was fine and dandy until Craig Groeschel (the pastor) convinced me with sucker punch wisdom that I don't open my Bible enough. Let me explain. You see that blue book leaning against the wall in the corner? That's the Holy Bible. Want to know how long it's been sitting there unopened? YEAH, I'LL BET YOU DO. I'm not telling. I do read the Bible regularly, Tyler and I do daily verses from the YouVersion Bible App that Life Church produces (yes, we are the cutest couple in all rooms at all times, how'd you know?) But I don't read it in print. I have been known to rant against the atrocity of all books being available digitally now, classics such as Little Women and Anne of Green Gables should stay page-TURNERS, not page-swipers. But what's the most classic of them all? The Bible. Do I treat it like my worn copies of my favorite reads? No, it sits ...

I've attended LifeChurch the past two Sundays (with a really cool guy, might I add--I'm a definite fan) and loved every minute of it. I've had an up and down relationship with the institution of church throughout my life, especially recently. It was never an option when I was growing up (still isn't when I'm at home) and for that reason my natural obstinacy would kick in. If you're going to make me do something I automatically lose all motivation...not the best character trait I have. A lot of churchgoers I have interacted with have turned out to be some of the most judgemental people (myself included). And that is why I have problems with a message like the one I heard this most recent Sunday. The basic idea was that we are tortured beings. We are tortured by our past mistakes and by the lies that perpetuate their existence that we believe. To be free from the burden of a tortured soul we confess to God (1 John 1:9) and (this is where I waver in my agreement)...

Who should be studying for her giant geology midterm tomorrow morning? This girl. Who is pinteresting/facebooking/blogging instead? This girl. (Don't worry Mom, I'll get it together). Quick: pop quiz time! How do you pronounce my last name, Arceneaux? (even blogspot doesn't believe that it's a word...) a. ahh-sin-no b. are-sin-ox c. arson-ee-oh d. are-suh-no e. I try to never say your last name for fear that I'll mispronounce it or spell it wrong. In fact, you are only Taylor A. in my phone. I'm too intimidated. Now for the best part: what do these answers say about you? (I'm like a Cosmo quiz! But without inappropriate questions: BONUS!) If you said A...you are probably Paul. That's how he says my name when he wants to annoy me. Which is all the time.  If you chose B...you are in good company. 97% of people that attempt pronunciation decide this is correct. 97% of people are wrong. If you went with the ever-popular when in doubt pick C....

Growing up, my parents took me to church all the time. Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, the doors were open? The Arceneaux's were there. The churches I remember attending are Brentwood Baptist, Bayleaf Baptist, Westgate Memorial Baptist, etc...notice a trend here? During my 4th through 9th grade years I attended an Episcopalian school, so the liturgies are not unfamiliar. However, when Savannah invited me to Ash Wednesday Mass to kick off the start of Lent, I knew I'd be out of my comfort zone. First, let me preface by saying I don't intend to offend anyone. These are merely my observations, some perhaps incorrectly based on social cliches. From the very start Savannah and I joked about the connotations of a baptist in a catholic church. I had partaken in a chicken sandwich only an hour earlier and I confessed my sin to Savannah while she rolled her eyes and said, "yeah you better watch out..they might breathalyze you for meat. good luck getting th...