Famous Former Natives: Bill Belichick, Matt Cain, Johnny Cash, Kenny Chesney, Aretha Franklin, Morgan Freeman, Megan Fox, Al Gore, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley
Home to: Davy Crockett, the Grand Ole Opry, Beale Street (the birthplace of blues), the Appalachian Trail, Graceland, FedEx
Random Facts: was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, and the first to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war; Memphis was home to Sun Records where Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash began their recording careers; the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world and has been broadcast every weekend since 1925
When I was young, I loved to read! My favorite stores were book stores. I used to spend hours browsing Barnes & Noble looking for a great adventure. Life got busy and I found myself slowly fading away from my favorite hobby. Though I'm busier than ever, I still try to find time to curl up with a good book. And by "curl up" I mean hunker down in my seat in between two strangers on whatever flight I happen to be on at the time. Call me old fashion, but I would much rather have an actual book in my hands than use a nook or kindle. I know...slightly pathetic! Here are a few of my all-time favorites!
Nicholas Sparks "The Last Song" Ann Brashares "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" Mildred D. Taylor "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" J. K. Rowling "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby" Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird" Mark Twain "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" Sarah Dessen "That Summer" Judy Blume "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" Joseph Heller "Catch 22" Katherine Paterson "Bridge to Terabithia" Toni Morrison "Beloved" Wilson Rawls "Where the Red Fern Grows" Shel Silverstein "Where the Sidewalk Ends" Christopher Paul Curtis "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963" E. L. Konigsburg "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" Louis Sachar "Holes"
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11. Raise your hand if you've heard this in at least 2 out of every 3 graduation speeches you've listened to...yep, right there with you! In fact, I'm guilty for using it in my own speech at graduation in high school. It sounds overused but in reality, it's a reminder we should be praying through daily. When we're scared of the future, trying to make a big decision, unsure of what job to take or city to move to. It brings this verse back into reality. Choosing to pray through our futures and plans enables us to hand over the decision to the Lord, taking the pressure completely off! All we have to do is yield our decision to Him, knowing He will prosper us, not harm us. He wants to give us a beautiful, prosperous future. That doesn't mean life will be easy and worry free, but we will be walking in His will. Life is much better when we allow Him to direct our path.
We usually stop at verse 11, but I love the following verses: "'Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:12-14a. When we seek Him with everything we are, everything we have, we will find Him. Beautiful passage! I think many times we're wrapped up in ourselves, so much so that our prayers and desires are half-hearted. We "seek" Him at our leisure or convenience, only when we've tried everything else. We think we have all the answers, but in reality we've just prolonged the path to get to Him. We've taken the scenic route, full of potholes, flat tires, wrong turns down dark alleys, and breakdowns. He's provided us the best path, we must choose to accept it. Trust Him to guide and direct your future!
Entertainment: the beach, whitewater rafting, hiking
Sports: no professional franchises
Famous Former Natives: James Brown, Andrew Jackson, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Melvin Purvis, Ray Allen, Ben Bernanke, Chubby Checker, Stephen Colbert, Joe Frazier, Kevin Garnett, Brett Gardner, Orlando Hudson,
Home to: Sassafras Mountain, Clemson University, Happy Cow Creamery, Sonoco, Fort Sumter
Random Facts: first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation in 1778, first state to declare its secession from the Union in 1860, nation’s leading peach producer and shipper east of the Mississippi River, the walls of the American fort on Sullivan Island in Charleston Harbor were made of spongy palmetto logs which helped to protect the fort because the British cannonballs bounced off the logs
Sitting in my old apartment with two of my favorite people, Amy and Sarah, we fell in love with an amazing idea based on a single question posed by 4 guys on a tv show: "What do you want to do before you die?" The Buried Life became one of our favorite shows. These guys created their bucket lists and went on an adventure to cross off each item while also helping others achieve something on their bucket lists. What a cool idea!
We all decided we should make our bucket lists. I started to make mine almost two years ago and am just now deciding its time for action!
Amy, Sarah, Jen and I decided a girls' weekend was just what we needed. We have all graduated from college and live in different places doing different things. We met up and went to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. The first order of business...I wanted to conquer something on my bucket list. The item in question...#10: Conquer a Fear. When I was younger, my family would spend almost every weekend during the summer in Branson. We loved to camp with family friends, spending days on the lake and nights shopping and go-karting. Steve and his son John decided one night they would take on the Ozark Mountain Sky Coaster, a 100-foot tall super swing. The swing is a combination of skydiving and hang-gliding. Oh, and did I mention you have to pull the ripcord at 100 feet in the air and plummet to the ground below at 70 miles per hour?!?! At the time, I was mortified. I thought they had lost their minds! Ever since then I told myself I could never do something like that…that is until I made my bucket list. I decided I wanted to conquer a fear and the first thing that came to mind was that stupid 100-foot swing! So I decided that to cross off #10 on my list, I must conquer the swing.
The first ride we came to at Worlds of Fun was the Rip Cord, the exact super swing I was so scared of when I was a kid. So Jen, goodness knows I love her to death, said she’d go with me! Bless her soul. So, was I able to cross off #10? Well, check out the video:
We did it! It was one of the most fun, scary, crazy moments of my life! It was amazing and I would definitely do it again. Take that #10! Now, just 35 more to go…
For pictures of our Worlds of Fun (a.k.a. brush with death) adventure, click here.
