happy one month

so yesterday marked one month

of dating my very lovely boyfriend

we went to dinner

got some frozen yogurt

drove around

laid on the couch and talked in British accents

just a typical day in the life of

Caitlin Brennan

&

Hunter Thorington

(this picture is not from last night... I just think it's cute)

love you poppet

"true love doesn't distract you from your purpose and vision;

it focuses you better.

true love knows you would be friends even if you weren't in love."

popsicles for breakfast

This weekend was great! 

Friday Hunter and I headed home for Easter weekend. He came over and we ate dinner at my house. 

Saturday I got woken up by sweet Aiden and Taylor and came downstairs to eat popsicles for breakfast. Then mom, Sandy, and I went to Old Navy and I got a couple of new dresses and a new top.  We went over to Aunt Amy's to see their new puppy, Wrigley. Named of course after Wrigley field that the Chicago Cubs play at... not Wrigley gum. (Hunter!) That night my mom, John, and I went to a Seder dinner at Metropolitan Church of God. It was one of the coolest things I have ever been too. Definitely a great experience. Jordan and I want to host one next year in Auburn with all of our friends. 

Sunday I woke up and came downstairs to see an Easter basket on the island. I was quite surprised seeing as how I have not received an Easter basket since I was about 10 years old. Well it was from my lovely boyfriend. I went to lunch at Uncle Johnny and Grandma's. Then I came home to meet Hunter and we went over to Nadine's. Then we headed back to Auburn!

Here's a verse that was part of the Seder dinner that I really liked:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet,

and he will turn the hearts of the parents to the children

and the hearts of the children to the parents

before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord."

-Malachi 3:23-24

Prayer from my devotions last week that I really liked:

Lord God, give me open hands and not clenched fists as I walk with you and for you in the midst of this day - that I might be able to live with a true sense of freedom from the need to grasp desperately for love and value from those I come into contact with. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Hope everyone had a great weekend

and a blessed week!

hold fast to what is familiar

so here's another God moment... 

this was in my devotion for today:

"Praying is no easy matter.  It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your being, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.  Why would you really want to do that?  Perhaps you would let the other cross your inner threshold to see something or to touch something, but to allow the other into the place where your most intimate life is shaped - that is dangerous and calls for defense.

The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists.  The image shows a tension, a desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear.  A story about an elderly woman brought to a psychiatric center exemplifies this attitude.  She was wild, swinging at everything in sight, and scaring everyone so much that the doctor had to take everything away from her.  But there was one small coin which she gripped in her fist and would not give up.  In fact, it took two people to pry open that squeezed hand.  It was as though she would lose her very self along with the coin.  If they deprived her of that last possession, she would have nothing more, and be nothing more.  That was her fear.

When you are invited to pray you are asked to open your tightly clinched fists and give up your last coin.  But who wants to do that?  A first prayer, therefore, is often a painful prayer, because you discover you don't want to let go.  You hold fast to what is familiar, even if you aren't proud of it."

(With Open Hands by Henri J. M. Nouwen)

Last night Hunter and I prayed together for the first time.  It was awesome.  Praying with and in front of people is one of my biggest strengths but also one of my biggest weaknesses.  It makes me nervous to pray in front of people and I get scared.  I also feel like when I pray with people my faith is growing that much more stronger.  Opening up and praying in front of people often times helps other people's relationship with Christ grow.  After all, that is how my journey with Christ began.  It says in the passage "a first prayer is often a painful prayer because you discover you don't want to let go."  Well our first prayer together was not painful at all, it put me at such ease.  However the second part is right, I did not want to let go.  It was such a comfortable feeling.  Prayer is really important, and without prayer, my life would not be the same.  That is my one on one time with God, and to be sharing it with someone that I care about so much makes it that more amazing.  Even more ironic... I was looking through my journal the other night looking at my prayer requests from this semester and last and realized how many have been answered.  Anyway, that's all for now! Goodnight!

pinocchio and a hormone

So today in biology we talked about this hormone called oxytocin.  Oxytocin is one of the major hormones in females.  It is responsible for lots of things but two of which are: 1. it's the cuddle hormone 2. it also has a lot to do with trusting people... like if you get a shot of oxytocin you are more likely to trust someone. With that, anyone that knows me knows I love to cuddle and I am very trusting. However, if you give me reason to not trust I will let that go real fast.  I am very understanding and like to think the best of people.  Which often sets me up for disappointment.  Lying is not necessary.  This is one of the first things I will teach my children.  I'd rather someone tell me the truth and me disappointed or upset for a day rather than find out that someone has been lying to me and be disappointed or upset for a lot longer.  Lying only hurts people and it is not acceptable.  I'm not saying I've never lied... because that would obviously not be true.  I have definitely lied to people and I've learned my lesson.
Moral of this story: I have high levels of oxytocin. I don't like it when I'm lied too.

He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions. -Thomas Jefferson


"those little white lies that we think are okay... yeah they add up." 



Lies were like acid, corrosive: They could dissolve trust in a heartbeat. -Rob Thurman

On a lighter note... here's three interesting facts I learned in biology today:
1. The same part of your brain that controls drug and alcohol addiction also controls romantic love... therefore you can become addicted to a significant other.
2. When you are drinking cows milk you are essentially drinking cows blood with the red blood cells removed.
3. There was a study done in Europe where babies wore head phones with classical music playing in the nursery of the hospital and they were less likely to cry and slept better... 

naked

this is a really fast post... I wanted to just share one of the "readings for reflection" from yesterday that is in my devotion book.

Naked. How does that word make you feel?  What is the first response that comes up from within you?  Terror?  Embarrassment?  Anxiety?  Shame?  Or does it bring about more positive feelings?  Freedom? Intimacy?  Delight?  I have to admit that my first response is closer to terror than anything else.  Even the mention of the word makes me want to grab for cover.  Because at my fearful core being naked means being exposed and uncovered - which seems so unsafe.  It means being seen for who and what I really am, not just who I project myself to be.  And surely if anyone were ever to see me completely naked it would most certainly lead to rejection.  Thus the very idea of being naked leads to overwhelming amounts of fear and insecurity.
But there is another side to this story.  Because somewhere deep within me (and really within all of us I believe) there is a longing for nakedness - a nakedness that we were created both in and for.  It is the kind of nakedness mentioned in Genesis where we are told that the man and woman were both naked and unashamed.  They were totally known and yet totally loved.  What a beautiful picture of our deepest hopes and wildest dreams: total vulnerability and total acceptance.  This is the kind of nakedness we were made for.  This is the kind of nakedness that gives us a hint of the type of relationship God longs for with each of us; and the type of relationship God longs for each of us to offer one another.
-Jim Branch

I could share my opinion on this, but I will refrain. This passage really hit me and I think it's awesome. Hope you enjoy.

"The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." - Genesis 2:25

"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." - Colossians 1:24

my hands are holding you

so I went to camp this weekend

I didn't originally plan to go

I really wanted to spend some time with friends in Auburn

but the Lord had other plans for me

and I thought it would be best for me to go and help Sharon out since Mark had been in the hospital

Saturday was great 

I basically hung out and played with the kids, Mark, Sharon, and Mark's momma all day

Sunday we got up and went to church

Mark basically preached the sermon...

and although I have personally realized that  I have not put Christ as my priority recently

Mark really put everything into perspective  

and so I am going to now try to put everything I have into my relationship with Christ

it is SO easy to get priorities mixed up.

putting school, friends, social groups, ministries, relationships, and everything else before Him.

so I have realized that my relationship with Christ has strayed

and He will now be my priority

He is the most important thing and without Him I would have nothing.

here comes one of my God stories...

in all His ironic-ness

He always does these things in my life and it just proves His real-ness

I am of course ready for the semester to be over and camp to be here

last year our Comanche song was By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

(that's where the title of this post comes from)

well last night at YoungLife Leadership we sang it

and we talked about putting Christ as our first priority in our ministry

however, Christ is always by our side

even when we don't put Him first

how crazy is that...

are you always by your friends side when they don't put you first?

well I know that sure is a hard thing for me to do.

but everything is pointing me back to Him

it's so great to have such loving people in my life.

so here's to a week with Christ as my first priority

peace and blessings

"1O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." -Psalm 30

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not  conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy." - 1 Peter 1:13-16

Little Texas and FunLife

Well this weekend was fantastic! But the best day was definitely Sunday! Hunter and I went to lunch with dad, Ann, Carter, and Caroline at Niffer's!  After lunch we were going to go to Chewacla, however we decided to just keep driving past the turn off to go to Chewacla. So we drove and drove and finally we got to this little fire station with a flashing sign that said Little Texas.  But... we kept driving and so we got to this old closed down cafe that looked like it was straight out of an old movie.  It had to have been so precious at one time. (I really wish I had pictures to share... however, we didn't take many but just picture this in your mind) Well, we turn around to go back and I tell Hunter we should turn on this road where the Little Texas fire station is.  So he turns, and we see a sign for this place called The Village at Little Texas.  We are following the signs to get there and we stumble upon this place called the Hillbilly Mall.  Which looked too cool, so we got out and looked around there for a good hour.  There were antiques, wooden signs, old windows and doors, and old bottles.  It was so cool!  So we got back on the road to go to this Village thing.  We finally get there and when we pull into the parking lot we both kind of look at each other like, uh is this where we're supposed to be?  Looked nothing like what we thought it was going too!  So anyway, this is the story: this presh old couple had 3 acres of land. the first thing the old man built on his land was this huge playground for his grandchildren to play on. well then he started building shops for each of his grandchildren. there's a floral shop, a eating place, Easter/candle shop, Christmas shop, antique shop, Halloween barn, a beautiful wedding chapel, and a stage for concerts.  Then we met Morgan and Jenny at Winn-Dixie. Then we went to sno biz to finish off our lovely date!

Moral of this story: 

get a cute boy and go driving one Sunday when you have nothing else to do, it turns into a great date, and you get to discover new places and things :)

So last night Meg, Joy, and I got two new girls on our Capernaum team! Whitney and Hannah! yay! But first, we will not be calling it Capernaum because children with special needs are already so different and have all these labels, so we are going to call it FunLife, it sounds a lot more like YoungLife, plus it is going to be tons of fun! I cannot tell you how excited I am about the journey that Christ has in store for us! FunLife is going to be the coolest ministry ever. So here are some quotes and verses that Meg shared with us last night that I really like.

"But when you have a banquet, invite the poor, 

the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." 

Luke 14:13

"Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. 

All things pass. 

God does not change. 

Patience achieves everything." 

Mother Teresa