Tim Tebow, another hero :)

I recently posted about my heroes - my family - but to make this blog complete (to write about all of my bucket list items in full detail), I'm gonna put Tim on here too. I wrote this post for my 30-day photo challenge for my Fun and Faithful Tales blog project ... a photo of someone who inspires me. And yep, Tim Tebow is definitely one of the people who inspires me. :) And the way I look at it ... inspiration comes from admiration, and admiration goes hand in hand with heroism. So I have to consider Tim to be one of my heroes. :)

I've been getting some flak for being such a big fan of Tim, but the way I see it ... who better to root for than someone who loves and promotes Jesus??? And he does! :)

I am so incredibly excited to watch Tim's life. He genuinely loves Jesus and wholeheartedly lives his life for Jesus. And not only that, but he's so constant, unwavering, and humble! He doesn't get worked up about all the negative, and even down-right mean, responses he gets. It all rolls right off his back. He just loves Jesus. The end. And he doesn't care who knows it. In fact, he wants people to know it! His passion, humility, kindness, and genuine love for Jesus are incredibly inspiring and just a flat out gift from God.

Go, Tebow, go!!! :)

Home Sweet Home :)

"Back Home in Indiana" ... ha! I don't know that song. Tiff always sung it when we rolled across the Indiana state line on our way home from Pastor Mike and Shelley's. I tried to sing along with her, but I never knew the words.

Indiana definitely is my home! Gosh, I love this place. The wide open spaces, the changing seasons - yep, we get all FOUR here - love it!, my town, Calvary, and my house. So many good things about Indiana. ... Now, I'm pretty sentimental, so I have a feeling that no matter where I lived growing up, I would've loved it completely the way I love Indiana, the way my town, the way I love my house. But ... God put me here. And so I love it!

And so Indiana was the easiest state to fill for my "50 States Adventure" - it's my home, my refuge, my most treasured place. Too many stories to tell ... so I will just say ...

I love my home in Indiana. :)

Crosses, Rest Stops, and Youth Conferences

My three favorite things about Illinois ...

#1 - The huge, white cross you pass as you drive through Effingham.

#2 - The Rend Lake rest stop as you head south on I-57 ... it's the prettiest rest stop I've seen so far. I love rest stops! :)

#3 - SoZo went to the Christ in Youth summer conference a couple of summers while I was still in youth group. CIY was one of my all-time favorite events in youth group. Getting to hang out with the Common Ground churches, being with Pastor Mike and Shelley for an entire week, and lots of great Jesus time. Lots of good memories from those conferences.

Biked it; Liked it!

Yep, it's still 2011 ... I can say "last year" still.
Last year, Hannah and I took a CCF SLU trip to Mackinac Island. CCF SLU means Cookie Cutter Friend Single Ladies Unite ... just in case you were wondering. :D We thought we were gonna make CCF SLU into an annual event, but alas, 2011 is over in about 2 hours ... don't think we're gonna make it. But anyways ... we planned a trip to the beautiful northern tip of Michigan. We stayed in Mackinaw City for 3 nights. And during that time, we took the ferry to Mackinac Island, rode our bikes around the Island (8 miles - biked it, and liked it! - I've even got a t-shirt to prove it), and visited a bunch of the cute shops - got me a deck of cards just for kicks! On day two of the trip, we stayed on Michigan's side ... walked along the beach, rode our bikes around town, went out to eat, relaxed. And one day three, we headed home - 9-hour drive. It was one of the coolest things I've done. It was awesome spending so much time with Hannah ... and between the ferry ride, ice cream stops, and getting a cute guy's phone number, it was a super fun trip!

Mammoth Cave and the Cutest Kids Ever

A few years back ... I think it was November of 2008 when I went with the Nilsens and the Beards to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Ben was planning one of his trips again ... and thankfully, he invited me along. We camped out in the cold, fall air. Actually, the guys camped out. The girls got a hotel room. Yeah ... we wimped out. ;) And then we went on a cave tour the next day. I had a ton of fun chatting with Ben and hanging out with Barrett, Mason, Corinne, and Silas - some of the cutest kids you'll ever meet! We had a ton of fun, and I was so grateful for a weekend with some really great people from my second church family - Grace Fellowship. :)