So one of my sweet and hilarious youth group friends, Meghan, has her own blog. She kind of knew me back in the day, the days when we kissed mannequins for fun.

Pretty sure the one in the back is better looking.

And she's still hilarious, and sweet as ever, but she's also got this amazing deep side to her, where words just flow out of her like a song. Somehow I get transported to exactly the moment, the feeling, the place she describes, and I can't help but have a huge immense respect for her and the lady she's become.

Plus she's been through a lot, and instead of whining about it, she lets Jesus teach her and lead her through it. Because of that, God radiates from this girl and her story.

She's a beaut.

So she's got this great little blog, and she's doing the Blogtember challenge. I'm late to the game, but maybe try a few?

5 Things That Bring Me Joy

The rain pattering against the window pane outside my bedroom. Sitting in the bed, checking the last few posts from Instagram or reading a few more pages of my novel, as I can hear the rain beating down on the roof. A rumble in the distance, and I'm out like a light.

A cup of coffee in my hand just as the sun is creeping up, and there's that weird yellow glow casting itself through the entire room. It's the middle of winter, which in South Carolina doesn't come till February, and somehow taking that sip of hot coffee warms up not just my insides but my heart too. The dead of summer, and I don't want to have to wake up so early to make it to work today, but that iced coffee mixture that reminds me of Greece melts away any anxiety about the day before it begins.

Unexplored roads and small towns keep popping up as Stephen and I roll through the country side on a random whim to just "get out of the house". Somehow doing that in Lexington County means you'll always wind up on Two Notch Road again, but we set out to map a new course anyways. Or the times we take bigger trips that require flying instead of driving--like Greece and Las Vegas. Just exploring the unknown and new sends a new breath of life through me each time. Vacations are required for this chick to survive.

Hearing from God rejuvenates me in a new way every time, and it's like I forget how incredible it is to realize God is speaking right to you. The way some people talk about how God spoke to them, always makes it sound like they heard this distinguishable voice, and without a shadow of a doubt they knew it was him. Although they will swear up and down they didn't "audibly hear Him", it always leaves me wondering "God was that really you? Or did Brittany's crazy voice just start talking again?" And then over the course of the next few hours, days, weeks, God keeps showing up and knocking on my door saying "Idiot! Of course it was me". Every time. And I'm always surprised when I too know without a shadow of a doubt that I heard Him.

Stephen's crows feet all scrunched up as he cracks himself up at his own jokes. When his head throws back uncontrollably, and a big belly laugh comes out of him. I love being there with friends around when he does this. He laughs. They laugh. I get to see the same joy he brings me on a daily basis, also affect other people. He's contagiously joyful, and his permanent crows feet and beautiful smile tell a convincing story of the happiness he has.



And you get a bonus joyful thing... this song...