#Ryansthebest

Reason No. 36 why I am a lucky, lucky bride-to-be: Ryan has spent two Saturdays in a row taking care of the pups and unpacking at the new house alone so that I could be out shooting (photographs that is). I absolutely LOVE photography, but for as long as I can remember, I haven't had time to truly put my heart in to it - mostly because I was working weekends. This is the first time in my life I have a solely Monday through Friday job, and it has been GREAT for my photography. Ryan is SO incredibly supportive of my passion, and is always encouraging me. Here is a little bit of what I was doing the last two Saturdays...

Also, Ryan has decided he is going to be my new business manager. So if you are interested in photos, e-mail either of us. :) 

xoxo - Becki

Happy National Cupcake Day!

Thanks to Yahoo News, I now know that it is...

National Cupcake Day! 

(Yes, I actually made these rainbow beauties... In 2010 I believe! I can't lie though, they were out-of-a-box cupcakes. I really just wanted them to look cute so I could take these depth-of-field photos for a project.)

In honor, I will definitely make a batch or two tonight. Here are some that look amazing... 

Nutella Filled Cupcakes

Drumstick Cupcakes

Butterfinger Cupcakes
(This will probably be Ryan's vote!)

If anyone else is baking tonight, I would be ABSOLUTELY up for a cupcake swap!

5 Reasons to Love Chick Fil A

All right, I'll admit it, I'm obsessed with Chick-fil-a. There is a close tie on my credit card bill for most transactions between CFA and Starbucks. Why do I love it though? Here's my top five reasons.

1. The Food

I figure we will go ahead and put this one on the board. I'm obsessed with CFA's food. It is my most frequent craving, and I ask Ryan to take me there way more than any grown woman should. But, the next few reasons make it okay.

2. The Employees

I could tell numerous stories of great service, friendly greetings, and just overall a staff that goes above and beyond. But instead, I will only mention one woman today - Sonja. She works at the location on Kirby, and I have never met someone who can make a stranger feel special and valued within a 3 minute window of ordering. She is constantly pouring out blessings onto customers, and she is unbelievably great at remembering names and faces. I had only been in there twice before she remembered my order!

3. The Values

I said this quite a bit during the "Great-Gay Chick-fil-a Controversy" (I just made up that title, but I think you all know what I am talking about) : regardless of whether or not you agree with their Christian values, you have to give them credit for being unwavering in what they believe. Who would you rather support; someone who changes based on peer pressure, or someone who stands by their beliefs regardless of what others think of them? I'll go with the latter.

And beyond the steadiness of the companies beliefs, I tend to agree with what they put forward. This shouldn't be any surprise if you read my last blog post about unconditional love. CFA is an incredible example of Christ - serving all, regardless of status or sin. I have never had an employee, or another customer for that matter, act with anything but kindness inside the restaurant. I mean, let's be honest, how many places can you go to that don't have a true "line" and not have brawls break out? There is something about the atmosphere, which is set by the employees, that encourages customers to display kindness and patience to one another.

4. The Free Stuff

What? You didn't know about the free stuff? You must not go to CFA enough...

But seriously - they truly reward their customers.  Between treat receipts (free sandwich for survey on the bottom of your receipt), text messages about give-aways, and free-breakfast weeks, there is always something going on! For instance, I just received a text message for a free milk-shake. Was I planning to go to CFA for dinner? Nope. Will I probably go to CFA for dinner and get that free milkshake? You betcha. They are social marketing geniuses.

5. The Patrons

I often go to CFA for lunch on work days. My office is generally a cool 62 degrees, so I use lunch as a time to defrost before putting in the second half of my day. Not only is CFA conveniently close, it also has a patio, so it is perfect!

More than a few times have I had other CFA customers join me for lunch. Folks will sit down with me and enjoy the humidity and heat that Houston so kindly offers us at this time of the year. I have learned the stories of others, gotten book suggestions, movie suggestions, restaurant reviews, and even been prayed for!

Convinced yet that CFA is wonderful? Or are you at least hungry and craving some waffle fries?

Love Her.

When I found out that Nicole had been in a car accident, I was out-of-town leading a group of high school students on a construction site. I listened as a mutual high school friend told the story, weaving in and out of sympathy and judgment. We had no idea what to think, what to do, what to say.

As I returned to the church where we were staying for the week, I noticed the sign out front had been changed while we were gone for the day. It now read, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Romans 8:28". I wish I could say that after reading this I had some immediate peace or knowledge of what to do, but I didn't. I knew that I needed that verse as a reminder, and in the days, and weeks, and months that followed, I have often found myself saying the verse over and over to myself.

I put myself in an awkward place when I returned home at the end of the week. I made up my mind that I would stop by her house to see her parents, or her if she was home. But as I drove, I couldn't bring myself to take the exit. I hadn't seen Nicole in over a year. Are we even friends anymore? What would she think if I showed up now? What would I say when she opened the door? What was my motive for going? The questions went on and on.

So, as I am often guilty of doing in awkward situations, I took the easy road - I went home that day instead of going to see her, and I have followed that same easy route many times since. I have prayed intermittently, and thought of her often - but mostly, I have gone about my life.

I have been a bad friend - and an even worse Christian.

As I have read article after article this week (written by a man whom I am truly not sure how he keeps his job based on the number of spelling and grammar errors), my heart has been torn apart. I see comments filled with harsh words at Nicole's expense, and my instinct is to jump to her defense. If I hadn't years ago made myself the promise to always double check my controversial topic comments against what Jesus would do, I certainly would have gotten in a few fights this week.

But luckily, I did make that promise to myself - and now, everyday this week, I have sat and wondered what would Jesus do if he were here right now? What would he say to Nicole? How would he behave?

Then it hit me.

He would love her.

I know that is the absolute truth - but it sounds way more simple than it is, right? Maybe not. Maybe loving someone, no matter the scenario or the sin, is truly that simple.

"For this reason I say to you, her sins,

which are many, have been forgiven,

for she loved much; but he who is

 forgiven little, loves little."

Luke 7:47



The world always depicts love as a grand gesture, a phenomenal feeling. But (as I am learning everyday as I prepare to be a wife, and love someone for the rest of my life) love is none of those things. Love is a choice, in every moment, in every action.

This means I need to forgive her. You're right, I wasn't the one who was in the other car, but I have judged her. I have wanted to hold her accountable. I have held a grudge against her. And therefore I need to forgive her. This is truly more about me than it is about her - I often forget that about forgiveness.

This means I need to choose love in every word. Again, this is just as much about me as it is about her. When we speak out to friends, or post on Facebook, our words reflect who we are. When we choose hateful or judgmental words, even if we somehow convince ourselves that they are warranted in the situation, we are allowing death into our own lives and the lives of whom we are speaking about. Not to mention, we come across as extremely hypocritical, which is often why people hate Christians in the first place.

And lastly, this means I need to choose love in every action. I certainly did not choose love when I avoided going to her house because of my own reservations and potential embarrassment. I should have, and wish every day that I had, but I can only choose differently going forward.

I have come to realize this week that you never stop being friends with someone. My past is intertwined with Nicole. I am who I am today because of her. Regardless of where our friendship is, or of where her walk with Christ is (and just for the record, I do know that she has one). Nicole is my friend. My best friend. She loved me, supported me, challenged me, cared for me, and fought for me - just as my own sister would. She was never perfect, nor tried to portray such an image, but she loved deeply, and anyone who has ever been loved by her knows what that feels like. I owe nothing to her, and she nothing to me, but I owe everything to Christ, and for that I will love her (and all my other brothers and sisters in this world) - regardless of sin.

 

"And we know that in all things God works for

the good of those who love him."
Romans 8:28

I will resist speculating on what that good is. I truly wish I knew as it would probably comfort many people. But God is so big. I know He is working for good, I will trust His plan, and do my part - love.

*I will not pretend to know what should be legally done in this scenario. I understand actions have consequences, but this post is not about that in the least. This is solely about being a non-hypocritical Christian, withholding judgment (for I am not better than her - I also have sinned), and loving her as Christ would.

*With that being said, any degrading, rude, or otherwise unwarranted or unrelated comments will be deleted.

Mr & Mrs Robertson, The Wedding of

We were so blessed to attend the wedding of these two love-bugs this weekend.

 

 

I am so lucky to call Nicole my friend, and Logan is lucky to call her his wife! She is the most loyal person I have ever encountered. She is an incredible friend; anyone who has ever met her can attest to that. And, she was a BEAUTIFUL bride.

 

 

Thanks so much for having us - we had a great time!

 



In or Out?

One of the things I have come to realize about the Lord is that he speaks to us all in a magnitude of different ways. One of the best ways he speaks to me is through visuals. Sometimes they are visual representations that he places in my mind as I am trying to understand something (for instance, when I was teaching in El Salvador about why it is important to have your own relationship before trying to help others, I used the metaphor of putting your own air mask on in an airplane before you put on others - totally from God because until about three minutes before I spoke, I had no idea what I was going to say). Other times, God literally places something in front of me that I need to see.

At church on Sunday, a young man sitting across the aisle from me caught my eye during worship. He was raising his hands to the Lord, even dancing at times, but every few minutes was interrupted by a text on his cell phone. He would read, respond, and then dive right back into worship. I feel like that is a perfect picture of my life (and probably not just me).

 

There seems to be this in between place that I live in. I'm half in and half out - like when I can't decide if its cold enough for covers or not, so I have one leg under the blanket and one leg on top. I know the Lord, and I trust the Lord, but I still struggle with how to fully and completely hand my life over to him. I still want to step outside of Jesus every once in awhile and live here on earth even though I know living within his will is a much better place to be.

 I wish I had some big realization or piece of encouragement to end this with, but I don't. I simply wanted to share, and maybe challenge you to think of what things pull you away from Christ (as that is what it caused me to do).

And because I couldn't think of any good graphic to go along with this post, here's a puppy.

Blue or Pink?

 We found out just before we got engaged that Ryan's sister, Lindsay, and her husband George are expecting
their fourth baby! Today, they hosted a gender reveal at Kyle Field. (I thought Lindsay was going to save me from the Aggies!)

And... It's a girl! 

So excited for them, and excited to gain THREE nieces and a nephew in November.