3 Freaking Years Later.

There's a date on the inside cover of my Bible, "November 8, 2009." In all honesty I don't really remember why I wrote it down, I'd never done that before, but in hindsight I'm pretty darn glad I did.

Carly and I at Rockbridge in 2009

Three years ago a life saving friend, Carly, invited me to our high school's YoungLife fall weekend at Rockbridge literally days before the bus left. I was in a bit of a tough and friendless spot so I jumped on the idea of hanging out with some new girls for the weekend. That weekend was this same weekend three long years ago. And that weekend I sat in the club room and heard God described in a way I'd never heard before, heard about a God that I WANTED to love and be in a relationship with, so I did. Three years later thanks to lots of encouragement from the awesome people that surround me and hard work I'm proud to say that I've stuck with that relationship.

The neatest part about this particular anniversary is the opportunity I have next weekend. My YoungLife here at Tech is heading to Rockbridge on Friday to serve as the work crew for a Fall Weekend, my old high school's fall weekend none the less. Getting to return to the place where Christ changed my life, with some of the people who were there with me then, and serve other high schooler who are just like I was as they explore entering a relationship with Christ is just about one of the most exciting things I can think about doing. And this is only coincidence of timing is only the work of God, and I can't wait to see how he using all of this perfect timing to further his kingdom (:

November 8, 2009 was the start of the weekend that changed the path of my life forever, and I will be forever glad of the reminder I gave myself in my brand new Bible that weekend.

xoxo,
Abby

Ask. Listen. Yield.

Welcome to America. Where if it isn't fast and you aren't first the world might as well end. Yup, not a fan. My bible study has taken a few weeks to hang out with the amazing Beth Moore (via a DVD, meeting her in person would be totally awesome though!) and working through James chapter 3 - a pretty awesome book that I recommend taking a gander at. Thanks to Beth we've been learning about "The Good Life" and what that actually like with and through Christ.

The main aspect that stood out to me is that the good life is one with a track record of yielding. Holy heck what does that even mean?! Yield signs are a pretty sucky traffic sign (who actually yields at them...?) so that automatically makes me think this is gonna not be awesome. But then of course Beth Moore defined "yield." It's not to give up or give in but to give OVER to Christ.

So what does that mean? That means that our motivation for yielding is not the fear from the world will live in, but from the wisdom we have gained from above. James 3:17 says "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." In a sentence that is the essence of the wisdom we receive from our relationship with Christ.

Alright, so if you're anything like me you know what wisdom is supposed to look like, but how to actually attain it is a little fuzzy...well that's when we rejoice that God provided us with the Bible. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." Just ask! God's pretty great about that.

Once we have attained this awesome Godly wisdom we will be able to yield to the world around us. To be aware of those God brings into our path that need us to put them first and share His love with.

Ask for some wisdom, be aware, and employ some Godly yielding.

xoxo,
Abby

Election Day.

I am a 19 year old extremely uninformed voters who, in all honesty, debated not even voting tomorrow. Why? You might ask...1. It takes time and effort to get to my polling place and 2. I didn't feel like I would be able to make a good decision on who to vote for...the President is kind of a big deal! Basically I came to the realization that I was being a HUGE brat about the whole situation!! Dang.

I made the mistake of complaining about the "hassle" of voting while sitting between the most political kid I know and a future Marine officer...let me just tell you never to do that. After a short berating I realized how stupid not voting was. Thousands upon thousands of people; men, women, soldiers, civilians have all gone through hell through out history just so that weird little 19 year old me could drive to a church on Prices Fork Road to send in my vote. Dangggg. It's really intense when you think about how much work has gone into that short drive tomorrow.

So tonight I took some time, looked up platforms, and got as educated as one can the night before and election, and got stoked to be able to vote for the President for the first time. Cause it is a very big and awesome deal.

Take the time tomorrow to go out and have your voice heard!

xoxo,
Abby

Bless the Food.

My mom has always been really hardcore about saying grace before meals. I mean to the point that she would force us to say it before every single meal we ate when I when I was younger. In all honesty I never understood the purpose of grace before lunch or breakfast...in my young mind dinner was the only one that needed some extra blessing. But worst of all was saying grace in public.

Basically until I got to college saying grace at a restaurant with my mom always made me feel super self conscious and like EVERYONE was watching me and judging me. Looking back this doesn't really make sense, I love the Lord and I want everyone to know about Him, but for some reason this "spectacle" as I say it wasn't something I could handle.

And what a surprise, college changed that! Through the unknowing help of some awesome, Jesus loving friends, and my new found love and understanding of prayer I've gotten over my weird adolescent fear. I've learned that yes, people may look at me like I'm a weirdo...but at least they are looking and are somewhat curious as to what I'm doing. It's just another easy way that I can be showing the Lord to my peers here at college.

So don't be freaked out, and bless the food!

xoxo,

Abby

Simply Spend Time.

Prayer. Basically until I was 18 I didn't really understand what it was, and in all honesty I'm still trying to fully figure it out. But I've learned a lot that past few months that I really changed my view of what it means to pray.

Prayer used to occur at two separate times is my life:

1. Before dinner (and sometime breakfast or lunch if mom was feeling feisty)

2. When something really bad was happening

Other than that I didn't get prayer at all. It was too abstract of a concept for me to understand so I kind of just gave up on it. I knew my food was holy on a regular basis and that's all that really mattered to me.

However I recently learned that the real meaning of prayer is not to make my food holy or magically solve all my problems (although it still comes in handy for that) but that it is one of the key ingredients to building an INTIMATE relationship with the Lord. Of course the idea of what to pray about still kind of scared me and was an aspect of my faith that I tended to stray away from because my ADD would kick in a cause my wandering mind to jump to something "more important."

Then I read this quote:

"Prayer is simply keeping company with God." - Clement of Alexandria.

Mind. Blown. It's just sitting in a me-and-God setting (Matthew 6:6) and just TALKING to him, about ANYTHING. Mind blown again. Jabbar from the show Parenthood puts prayer in a way that I really love - "You start with 'Dear God' and then just talk to him like you're talking to our friend." Leave it too a pop culture TV show to completely change the way I pray. God is my nearest and dearest friend so why to I always talk to him like I don't even know who he is? All I know is that is wrong, and right is using prayer as a really awesome tool to build an awesomely intimate relationship with the creator of the universe.

Simply spend time with him.

xoxo,
Abby

Perseverance, Hope.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

On of my biggest and often most disappointing flaws is my unwavering optimism. Negativity drives me crazy and I always, always, always assume that things will turn out for the better even in the worst of situations. Unfortunately life usually has different plans and reality often punches my optimistic self in the throat. It's not at all pleasant and it happens way too often for my liking.

Last night, a family friend from when we lived in Guam, lost his long and youthful battle with cancer. It was a battle by optimistic self for sure thought he had, thought he could win. God, obviously, had other plans. I know that Robby was a man of Christ and lived out his faith in the Lord exceedingly well during his fight. By all the sweet posts on his Facebook page I can tell that he inspired all those around him with his unwavering smile and positive attitude toward life. In my eyes he personified Romans 5:2-5 And we boast in the hope of the glory of the world. Not only so, but we also glory in our suffering, because we know suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Instead of letting his sufferings plummet him into depression and despair he chose perseverance and hope.

I hate that his was taken too soon. Deaths like Robby's are one's I will spend my entire life trying to comprehend but will never be able to. In an Intervarsity worship meeting that I went to tonight we sang a song called "Heaven Song" by Phil Wickham and the amount of joy this song filled be with literally brought me to tears. It talks of singing with angels and rejoicing about coming to live with the Lord; knowing that this was the song Robby was singing yesterday, and will be singing for the rest of his life brought a small amount of peace to this tragedy, and thank the Lord for that.

xoxo,
Abby

James.

Being away from home is A LOT harder than I expected in all honesty. So much has changed since I graduated from high school that sometimes I can't believe it. One of the biggest changes in leaving my awesome church community back at the beach. And not only that, but my youth pastor and his wife (my small group leader) packed up their lives and moved to Florida to work at his parents' church, so going home to Trinity just isn't the same and that's rather depressing at time.

But of course God is awesome and places things in our paths to reassure us and encourage us as we live for Him. The Younglife bible study that I joined started up two weeks ago and we spent our first meeting together discussing what to dive into this semester, to no avail might I add...And at our meeting last night our leader told us the verdict: JAMES! I almost wanted to cry. For me and the three Trinity girls in our group James holds a special place in our heart because it was our youth pastor's favorite book in the Bible. Getting to explore and dive deeper into a book that is so familiar and so special to me is really a true blessing, I can't wait to discover my own reason to love what James has to say.

xoxo,
Abby

P.S. My youth pastor started a blog about pursuing Jesus, it's really awesome so you should check out because it's a super awesome topic written about by a super awesome man! http://keeponpursuingjesus.wordpress.com

The Power of Pancakes.

It's been exactly one month since Rene and I moved into our dorm, and exactly one month that we've spent eating our lunches alone and Friday nights curled up asleep in bed at 10 because we have no friends. It was something that kind of sucked, but it forced us to grow closer and become pretty good friends which is totally awesome. And although we weren't really fans of being loners we were starting to come to terms with it.

But behold, the power of pancakes!

Last week our AWESOME RA decided to organize a pancake night for the hall, and living right across from the kitchen we naturally volunteered to help out. It turns out that our RA doesn't know how to make pancakes, so Rene and I took the reigns. We spent a solid 30 minutes mixing, baking, and flipping two boxes worth of pancake mix. And this week, we did it again, and made some friends along the way. We actually had more than "Thanks for the pancakes" "You're welcome" conversations with FOUR people on our hall! And have dinner plans with three of them!

I am always amazed at how the Lord uses the situations we're in. If Rene and I had made a ton of friends right away we would not be so willing to converse with these sweet girls for so long tonight and make plans with them. It is really refreshing to watch Him work even if His presence feels on the verge of dormant. I cannot wait to see what else He will bring along for Rene and I! (:

xoxo,
Abby

P.S. If you go to Tech and are ever craving pancakes we make them every Sunday night!! (:

Back to School = Back to Football.

To be completely honest Hokie football was a huge reason why I chose to attend Virginia Tech over South Florida. There is just something about being in Lane Stadium during a game that is totally magically. I've been coming to Hokie footballs games since I was barely a year old, and as the guy next to last night put it "You're born into fandom."He was completely right in saying that, and you're either a Hokie fan or you're not there's no in-between.

Last night was my very first night attending a Tech football game and cheering on MY school. I don't know about you but there isn't much else around that is cooler than feeling concrete shack under your feet as 66,000+ fans jump to Enter Sandman and yell LET'S GO HOKIES! I'm a firm believer that everyone should attend a football game in Lane Stadium before they die cause it's just that much fun.

My roommate and I also got the immense blessing of not only being at the game but also being able to sit with the Corps of Cadets (10 rows from the end zone) for the last quarter. And while just being in Lane Stadium is exhilarating, sitting with those guys is even more so! So excited for the rest of football season and the crazy experiences that come along with it (:

xoxo,

Abby

Georgia Tech warming up for their defeat.

The view from our first set of seats (didn't get a pic of how close we were at the end).

Roomie love in Lane Stadium.

College.

Right now I'm sporting a maroon shirt that simple says "COLLEGE" on it in orange letters. It's been just over a week now since I moved into my dorm and its amazing how much meaning has already been put into the simple word of COLLEGE. In the past week our room has already been set up two different ways, we've managed to make messes and clean them up too many times to count, laundry has been done, studying has been attempted (mostly by my roommate), and we've managed to take part in something different every night. 

One of my favorite experiences so far took place over the span of Thursday and Friday. In Squires Student Center there's a room called Colonial hall. On Thursday afternoons I sit in that room and listen to a sociology lecture, Thursday night it hosts a Cru worship service 400+ strong, and this Friday night it became a temporary home for an exotic animal exhibit where I held a python and a parrot. What I absolutely love is how much this one room symbolizes the entire college experience. How so many seemingly different things and people can share such a common bond, and that bond is college, Virginia Tech in this case. 

I've still got one week less than four years ahead of me, but seeing how well this first one went I can only imagine the greatness that is to come (:

xoxo,

Abby

Un Año.

One year. It sounds like forever, but feels like yesterday. Today marks exactly one year since the passing of my friend and classmate, Eric "Big Cat" Sorg. August 21, 2011 marked the start of a journey into a new and different chapter of life; senior year, and senior year with out a dear classmate at that. August 21, 2012 marks yet another passage into new and unknown territory; tomorrow I leave to move into my college dorm.

One year is a big land mark if you will for any event, it's a passage of time that we as humans have allotted to mean a substantial amount. As this big day approached sad doesn't even begin to describe my emotion. Today is a reminder of a terrible fate that overcame an amazing young man.

As I thought about all my peers spilling tears of sorrow and grief on this day year after year I thought of this verse: Job 1:9 reads, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Eric's nickname was Big Cat, strong and courageous are definitely adjectives that come to mind when describing a big cat. He would want us to strong, courageous and to live life fully. His too early passing is a solemn reminder to all of us that death is lurking behind every bend, but we have no need to fear that because not only is our God with us wherever we go, but as Jeremiah 29:11 says He has "plans to prosper" us.

Today I cherish the few memories I had with Eric, and I also cherish that fact that I'm not alone in this journey. God's always right by your side wherever you go, and Eric's spending eternity at His side now too.

We'll always love, and never forget you Big Cat.

xoxo,
Abby

Little Things.

It's been five weeks since I left the states now, and just 2 days before I return. I knew from the get go that this summer was going to be light years different from the rest of my summers. For one of course I'm not going back to high school after this one, and for two I spent it in a country that was foreign in every way, shape, and form.

Over these past five weeks I've learned to really appreciate a lot of the things that I took for granted in the past:

1. English - being able to speak my native tongue with other who speak it like I do is a luxury that you don't find in Germany. They speak pretty good English here for the most part, but being able to really describe and explain things to people with a limited vocabulary in either language is rather difficult.

2. Air Conditioning - I was told that it was supposed to be relatively cold here, hence the fact that nothing is air conditioned. Well, the last week has been hotter that it is back home which is ridiculous. I have really learned to love my little bedside my bed and hanging out in our semi-cool basement.

3. American Food - it's fattening, high in cholesterol and all around terrible for you, but there is nothing I have missed about America more that a hot and juicy burger.

While I've missed a lot about the states I've also learned to love a few things about Germany. Everything here from the bread to the veggies you can get fresh on a daily basis, and man oh man! do the German's know how to bake bread! The scenery here is also a whole heck of a lot prettier than the States. But my time here has come to an end and its time to miss some things about Germany and embrace the great American quirks!

xoxo,
Abby

Hokie Pokie.

The Food Court at the BX on post seems to be a major hang out spot for Hokie alum, and it seems like I've had the privilege of getting to meet every single one of them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I end up wearing a Tech shirt every time I'm in there, but hey there's no shame in that. It never ceases to amaze me that all these people started there career at the same place at one point in time, share the same love for a really buff turkey, and ended up in the same place again half way around the world. In just four days I'm off to begin my journey in Blacksburg and I couldn't be more excited! I have the world's best roommate and the best of friends heading there with me and it's nearly time for a serious adventure!

xoxo,

Abby

A Weekend in Paris.

Going into my short summer in Europe Greece was definitely on the top of my list of places to travel to, followed very closely by none other than Paris of course. We got to ride first class on the bullet train from Stuttgart to Paris, which included a meal both ways - the most gourmet travel food I've ever had in my entire life, probably because the Parisians do not do anything (including train food and street lights) half ass.

Our first day was spent exploring the Louvre and surrounding gardens, a dream of mine since I've been little. Almost an entire room in the Louvre is devoted to the master pieces of French painter Jacques Louis David. In the 10th grade I did a research project on David (one where the teacher made us use books for research instead of the web, so I got to know David pretty well) and getting to see his HUGE painting up close and personal was a real treat. And of course, there's the Mona Lisa which was surprisingly bigger than I expected her to be - opposite of most people I think.

Day two was devoted to a visit to the Longchamp store and Fat Tire Bike Tours (they have tours in Paris, London, Berlin, and Barcelona if you ever go to one of those cities go on the tour, just take my word on it). Although my bottom still hurts from taking both the day and night tours, it was an absolutely great day and such a neat and informational way to see the city. Great, great, great!

Hanging out in the really long line to enter the Louvre through the pyramid, which is obviously not original to the actual rest of the building.

The Venus de Milo, not entirely sure what's so special about her, but she was a starred attraction.

Napoleon's Coronation! One of David's biggest masterpieces.

Why yes, I stood in the huge throng of Asian tourists to get a front row look and snag a picture of the Mona Lisa, who ended up being a tad bigger than I expected.

Winger Victory, one of my favorite statues in the whole museum.

We bought Longchamp in PARIS!!!!

This was given to Napoleon as a peace offering, but it laid in this square on its side for 30 years before they figured out how to put it upright. Napoleon died before they figured it out.

Napoleon's tomb, he's buried there with his wife and fourteen of his closest army officers. 

My favorite way to see the Eiffel Tower, lit up from the Seine.

Night bike tour = über fashionable neon reflective vests.

Got bikes? A pretty neat way to tour the city.

And now: the obligatory silly pictures with the Eiffel Tower. I'm pretty sure its illegal to leave Paris without taking at least one, so we took three!

A lovely sunset from a pedestrian bridge lined with hundreds of "love locks."

Going into this trip Mykonos was my favorite place in the world, but after this weekend Paris is definitely it! Such a rich and gorgeous city. Also, being able to walk through the streets and say "I'll be back soon" is something I never thought I could say truthfully, good thing its only a three hour train ride from Stuttgart!

xoxo,
Abby

Mykonos.

Forget the Outer Banks, Bethany Beach, even California when it comes time for a beach vacation; just spend a week on Mykonos instead! Located just 3 1/2 hours from Athens by ferry my family and I got the privilege of relaxing on this "party" island as part of our Grecian vacation. Though the island is crowded with noisy, young and rich Australians and Italians our hotel (owned by friends of my dad's co-worker) was the complete opposite and one of the coolest little hotels I've ever been too. I decided that Mykonos (or any Greek island) has become our families new yearly summer trip, we'll see how my parents take that...

The streets of Mykonos just wind around and around like crazy. The entire town in basically a maze which makes re-finding any of the tons of shops pretty much impossible.

Somehow this pelican ended up here and decided he liked it so much he didn't want to leave! So someone named him Petros and he became the town mascot.

Our view for dinner on our first night, Little Venice. It used to be where all the ship captains lived, now its just a bunch of restaurants.

It's kind of hard to tell, but those are some octopi hanging from the ropes to dry. They really like seafood in Mykonos!

The town by night, pretty cool.

A picturesque view of a Greek island if you ask me!

The beaches on Mykonos were GORGEOUS! They were all secluded lagoons filled with chilly, clear blue water. Breathtaking and refreshing. We spent almost everyday at one of the many beaches.

Mykonos is known for these windmills, and here they are!

Be on the look out for an update from our weekend in Paris! Thankfully our two straight weeks of traveling are over and now its time to relax at home for a week before heading off to Blacksburg for the first day of school (:

xoxo,

Abby

Athens Day One.

Day 1 in Greece and we hit the ground running! Starting off with a tour of the Acropolis, which was stunning and one of the things I have ALWAYS wanted to see, checking out the Ancient Agora and meandering through the new Acropolis Museum it was a day packed with history. It amazing me to think that the same paths that I walked through the Acropolis and the Agora were all paths that some of the most famous names in history once walked (Plato, Homer, Socrates, Pythagorus, etc). The construction of the Parthenon is amazing too, the pillars are all tapered at the top and tilted slightly inward to force the perspective of a straight line, how they could even come up with that back then is amazing! Walking through the museum however it was quite sad to see that empty spots that are serving as place holders for artifacts that were taken by the Brits many years ago and have not yet been returned (those darn brits!).

The Acropolis is still an active archaeological dig, so there's "construction" going on everywhere!

Parliament guards in traditional uniform. Yes, those are cotton tights and long sleeves and its around 100 degrees most days, poor guys.

The front of the Parthenon. Apparently the scaffolding has been there for the last 30ish years.

You can clearly see all of Athens from the top of the Acropolis!

The Ancient Greek Agora.

A headless and limbless statue of Hadrian, I'm sure this is how he wanted to be immortalized....

Back of the Parthenon sans scaffolding.

Greek cat! They are EVERYWHERE and I think I have picture of almost all of them.

A cute little bottle of Greek Coca-Cola Light.

These pigeons cracked me up! Even they thought it was too hot out and needed a nap in the shade.

You can check out more pictures from our adventures in Greece here.

xoxo,
Abby

Traveling Pants.

Every since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants came out when I was in the 5th grade I've had one dream: go to Greece. And tomorrow that dream comes true! We head off on the McGrath whirlwind tour of Europe tomorrow and I can tell you its going to be exciting. 

I'll be posting pictures and stories daily as internet connection allows.

xoxo,

Abby

Adventures Courtesy of Apple.

A few days ago the unthinkable happened - the charger for my Macbook went kaput. That meant that we now had only one charger for the three Mac's in our house which could possibly be considered as the end of the world. Being a smart consumer I got on the phone and spilled my dilemma to William from Apple. He pointed me in the direction of the nearest retail store and that was that.

Today my dad and I decided to finally make the trip downtown to replace said charger. Now, downtown Stuttgart is rather confusing when it comes to driving and finding a place to park is even for difficult. Today for some reason more than the usual number of roads were either closed or one way (Germany seems to be doing construction EVERYWHERE all at the same time so driving is ridiculous). After driving and walking through a bit of a maze we finally spotted our destination, Compustore. Thankfully the man behind the counter spoke fluent English and knew exactly how to fix my charger problem. Five minutes later problem solved.

Seeing as downtown is not a place we get to often there was no sense in just turning around and going home from there so we ventured down the shopping street a little farther. We stumbled upon probably the most exciting shop I've encountered in all of Stuttgart: a cupcake boutique!!! Didn't get a chance to try that out, but I will be returning ASAP for some cupcakes and froyo. I have to say, it was a bummer that I had to trek all the way downtown to replace a dead charger, but it led to a VERY exciting discovery!

xoxo,

Abby

Fast Forward.

As a rising college freshman anything and everything to do with college excites me. Dorm room decoration, classes, dining halls, all of it. And since pretty much all of my contact with other human beings for the past two weeks has been limited to my immediate family (that gets boring fast) and people who don't speak the same language as I do (completely frustrating), I've gotten the chance to think about college a lot, and being that the first day of classes is only a month away things has reached a whole new level of excitement. 

My days lately have been spent surfing Pinterest and missing my friends, but here's one of the really cool things about going to college: my friends will be there too! Fast forward to August and 75% of the people I've spent my entire summer missing will be with me in the same small town, just like old times (well, Blacksburg is a little bigger than VB but that's beside the point). It adds another layer of something to look forward too and another reason to be thankful that this is the time in my life that my parents decided to live in Germany. I get to travel Europe during breaks (we leave for Greece and Paris in 4 days!) and hang out with all my really awesome friends at Tech the rest of the year. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me! (:

xoxo,

Abby

Switchin' It Up.

You may have noticed that the blog looks a little bit different today. Well, I am happy to inform that you're not going crazy and it is the same site. For a while now the layout that I had was kind of driving me batty, so I took action, found this one, and cleaned up the look a bit.

Let me know what you think!

xoxo,

Abby

Thank God for the Golden Arches.

One of the things I find most frustrating about living over seas is the language barrier. I hate that I expect everyone to be able to communicate fluently in English but I also don't have the drive to fluently learn the native tongue (if I could be a multilingual person I totally would, but my brain only operates in English and broken Spanish). Often I wish that I could time travel back to the Tower of Babel, keep that event from happening, and then we'd all speak just one language again. But unfortunately time travel is not successful yet, so that's out and language barriers are in.

For some reason I'm finding the German language barrier made out of a few more layers of cinder blocks than others I've encountered. That may be due to the fact that for some really strange and unknown reason my version of German is actually Spanish, but that's just me and probably has to do with the fact that I've spent so much time in Latin countries. Therefore I have learned not to speak, because people understand Spanish far less than English. 

After a long day with the language barrier the other day my mom and I decided we wanted a taste of America and searched out the McDonald's just outside the mall (I hardly ever eat Mickey D's so this was kinda strange). As we gazed the menu, still confused, a kind little cashier called us over to her. When she started to speak to us in English (it doesn't take long to figure out we don't speak German) a huge sigh of relief swept over me - she was Filipino and spoke perfect English! I had never been so happy to venture into McDonald's and have a conversation with someone other than my family who spoke English. So thanks for that Mickey D's!

The tastiest McDonald's meal we've ever had!

More European adventures to come! It's finally warm and sunny here (:

xoxo,

Abby

A Prayer for Friends.

This time last summer I was on a plane headed straight for Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It was my second time getting to serve there. I know I've posted about my trip to Nicaragua before, but today it holds a special place in my heart, so I'm going to talk about it about it just a little bit more (:

Yesterday some of my very closest friends and mentors back home headed on that very same flight I took last year and made their way to Managua and Casa Bernabe orphanage. I have no idea what kind of work they will doing there this year, but I know it will be God's work. They have set out on a path to change the world by sharing the gospel with lost souls and have chosen to start with this small community in Nicaragua. I know that they will accomplish greatness and turn so many from death to life. I ask that you pray for their health and ability to find rest in the Lord as they pour themselves out daily for Him, and also that they can share His love for the people around them with clarity through their actions and the language barrier.

Although I am saddened by the fact that I couldn't make this years trip I know I stayed behind as a prayer warrior to support them from back "home" as they do great work.

Here are a few of my friends on the their trip and the scriptures our youth pastor asked to prayed over for this trip:

(Photos courtesy of Wayne Patterson's and Hannah Czerlinsky's Instagrams. Thanks guys!)

Evin, Lauren, and Steven boarding plane #1!

Lauren waiting in Miami for plane #2

xoxo and thanks!

Abby

1 Month.

Today and yesterday mark one month until a very exciting event: flying back to the states and moving into my dorm! And I have to admit that I am more excited and ready than ever to find out where I'm living and move in! I've checked the school's room assignment page everyday for the last week hoping that assignments will come out closer to the "around" part of on or around July 30th. My roommate, Rene, and I have been planning away for months how we're going to set everything up, the colors of everything, etc etc etc, all the normal girly dorm things and knowing that we are now soooo close to actually moving in is really exciting. ONE MORE MONTH! 

Yesterday not only was I decked out in orange and maroon, but I was so excited that I couldn't help creating a Hokie doodle!

xoxo,

Abby

Craving.

Well, it's happened. The wall of craving anything and everything American that my dear friend Alex (he took a few week European expedition just before I moved here) that occurs at about one week in has hit. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I've basically sat in my empty house and watched Mad Men all day for a week, but still, America please? Now of course I know that's not really a reasonable request, I still have 4 weeks here, so I will revert to doing what I can: eating cheeseburgers and pizza, making cookies, and messaging a ton of my friends back home on Facebook. I'm starting to realize that THIS is home, Germany is home, at least for the next 4 weeks so I guess I better get used to it! 

xoxo,

Abby

Shop Til Ya Drop.

Or at least until you feel your mom might murder you for all the money you spent. And that exactly was my first experience strolling down the main shopping street of Stuttgart. Things here in Europe tend to be a tad bit more expensive than in the states due to a sales tax of 19% that is added to just about everything. Therefore I have learned the key to shopping here in Germany and not feel like you're spending oodles of cash - don't convert prices from euros to US dollars, all that does is make you feel more horrible about yourself.

The great thing about German shopping though is that as you walk down the main shopping street in Stuttgart it feels a lot like you're shopping in New York or Chicago, which is a HUGE change of pace from the shopping in Virginia Beach. Thank goodness that it's all a decent length train ride away because I'm not sure my bank account could support my becoming a shopaholic.

The rest of my days here in Germany have been rather uneventful and rainy and I've come to the realization that the company of friends is not something to take for granted. More on being German comes tomorrow after my mom and I take a gander at our local market (pictures to accompany!).

Tschüs!

Abby

Tag Zwei.

For all of you like myself who are not fluent in duetsch, tag zwei is German for day two. Which is basically a copout on a title since creativeness failed me at this moment. In my defense the adventures of the Familie McGrath today were far less exciting than those of yesterday. No fests were involved today, no trains, no fish, no afternoon walks through town, but no worries there's always beer involved (we are in Germay after all). I am quickly learning that I need to be far more conscious about bringing a camera with me everywhere so that I can not only document this trip through words, but accompany those words with pictures. Sadly I have not taken much action on this realization as of yet.

Tag zwei took us on a wonderful tour of the in processing procedures and their accompanying building here on Panzer Kaserne. I was very pleasantly surprised by the fact that the inside of these building were a lot more visually stimulating than the typical white and beige of many other military installations. If I remember correctly one of the building featured bright blue on the staircase (for you military people out there you fully understand my amazement in the appearance of color). A really cool thing about Panzer Kaserne is that it has been a German tank base since the 1930's - yes that means Nazi tanks - so many of the buildings, the outsides at least, are original to the 1930's. Adds a neat architectural element to the base.

Hours of in processing was followed by surfing the internet at the house because we get only 2 english television stations and hulu doesn't work in Germany, so Facebook and I were very good friends this afternoon.

Dinner was eaten with the same friends as yesterday (a last stitch effort to spend as much time together as possible before they ship out) at a restaurant that looked like a typical German place but served some really yummy Italian food. Didn't make much sense to me but hey, don't judge a book by it's cover. I also got my first taste of Germans playing drinking games. These particular Germans were rather aged and rather loud. Definitely interesting to watch.

Maybe tomorrow I'll remember to take pictures to share (:

xoxo,
Abby

Sit, Eat, Drink.

Day 1 in Germany was full of immediate immersion into life in a new country. Hopping of the plane at 8am local time (2am Va Beach time...) we toured around our new town and house, took a short but much needed nap, and headed out to meet up with old friends who for some unfortunate reason are on their way out of the country as we are on our way in. They, knowing Stuttgart obviously better than us at this moment in time, took us to experience our first fest.

My mother and I determined what you do in Germany - sit, eat, and drink. At this particular fest fish was the featured food (apparently each fest has a different featured food and drink, but there's ALWAYS beer of course). We staked a claim on a table and sent the 9 year twins out with euros in hand to buy us sampling of everything from flankuchen (pizza without sauce),  to beer battered fish, to spiced nuts. And even though the drinking age in Germany is practically nonexistent the adults were still in charge of purchasing the beer and other assorted drinks. I have to admit that I will be attending basically every fest I can find because what better way is there to spend a Sunday afternoon than eating and drinking with friends? None that I can come up with.

We also got a chance to explore the main platz in Stuttgart. Platz means "place" in German and each of the little squares around town are called something-platz. This particular one was huge, bordered on one side by a municipal building that could have been Buckingham Palace (except that we're in Germany not England) and a marvelous shopping district on the other. A weird thing about where we live is that EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays, so as we walked down this incredible shopping street all I could do was dreamily stare into the windows and hope I got the chance to return ASAP. 

All in all I'm excited to venture out and experience all Germany has to offer (:

xoxo,

Abby

P.S. Pictures to come soon! Haven't broke out the camera yet to document everything.

Goodbye America.

It's been three years since I finally made it make to my home country after a 5+ year hiatus of living overseas. Tomorrow afternoon, I say goodbye to America one more time and hello to Germany for the first time.

One of the things that I always find interesting about moving is how much you end up missing a place right before and then for months after you leave. No matter how ready you are to get out of a place, how much you hate it somewhere, there always seems to be something that you yearn to return to about that place. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to miss about Virginia Beach, but maybe because I know that I'll be back here before I know it. Lord knows that this is by far the strangest and most stressful move I've ever had, but as of tomorrow it's all over. As of tomorrow my European adventure commences with full force. Thank God for that!

Goodbye America.

xoxo,

Abby

Ag.

For pretty much all my life I've struggled to find things that I am truly passionate about. It always seemed that the things I got involved I only really liked for short periods of time and then got bored and uninterested in whatever it was.

Well that's kinda how I ended up feeling this morning at orientation for my major program. Human Development and Social Work, which I thought for the longest time was where I belonged, the path I was destined to walk down, suddenly seemed so much less interesting and not where I fit. I'd really been struggling with this for a while now. I knew that I wanted to help people (something I will hopefully never loose passion for), but I was finding is nearly impossible to envision myself as a social worker sitting in a cubicle in a welfare/counseling center trying to help people as best as could with in the confines of a system that kept me from really helping them. Just thinking about it doesn't bring me joy!

While my mom and I were in Blacksburg we swung by the local farmers market, a real treat for me. I am a total advocate for eating local, buying local, and supporting local businesses in general, but fresh local produce is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. As my mom watched me melt over all the colors, textures, and local yumminess that surrounded me she jokingly suggested that I should become an agriculture major. Something about my mom - she's really good at pointing me in directions that I don't even know I want to go in; from prom dresses to programs of study I'm pretty convinced now that she knows me better than I do. Go mom.

Need less to say this idea of being an "ag" major got planted in my brain (see what I did there?!) and I haven't quite been able to get it out. Knowing that this would give me an outlet to go into international communities and have the opportunity to change their lives by helping them create a sustainable food source while enriching my own life is pretty darn enticing. This little thought came at just the right time, it's amazing how God works sometimes isn't it?! I will definitely be praying over whether or not this is the way that God wants two of my passions to be merged and the path He wants me to walk down.

xoxo,

Abby

Man's World.

I've always been a firm believer in the saying "Anything you can do I can do better"; especially when applied to the male-female gender divide. This thought of mine was further strengthened as my government/AP human teacher, Debbie Lou, drilled it into our heads again and again and again that the only thing men can do that women can't is produce sperm. Other than that this whole "man's world" and "woman's world" was totally BS.

With my father's career what it is he's out of town a majority of the time leaving my younger brother to be the "man" of the house (a total joke cause he's basically never home either). So that leaves my mom and I to play handy man, exterminator, and lawn care giver - thankfully this house came with a lawn guy. And since my mother isn't really into that stuff most of it falls onto my shoulders. Most of the time I don't really mine, I'm a total DIY girl so power tools have never really scared me and I'm basically fearless when it comes to grabbing shoes and smashing bugs with them.

Tonight when a nice big roach decided to visit my living room I realized that some tasks really were just designed for men to take care of. Let's just say that what started out as me trying to annihilate Mr. Roach ended in my mother calling my brother and his friend over while I sat on the floor shaking and bawling my eyes out (and hour later and I'm still shaking).

While I love the tough girl image that women are just as men, and they are, there are some spheres that are a little more gender specific than others (the kitchen is not one of them, boys).

xoxo,

Abby

P.S. Hope no roaches pop into your living room tonight.

Movin' Out.

As a team of 2 ladies and 4 men movers and packers have invaded my home for the past two days wrapping and  taping and boxing up nearly all of my personal belongings, Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" has been playing over  and over and over again in my head.

Ever 2 to 3 years for the entirety of my life I've watched random strangers enter my home, pack everything into to cardboard boxes and wooden crates, and send it all off to some new destination leaving us with nothing but a few suitcases full of clothes and shoes. People are constantly asking me "How the heck do you do it?!" - non military people never ever understand. The truth is, you deal. You get used to it. Watching your belonging disappear for a couple months as they ship overseas is your normal. And all you can do is sit on an empty floor, watch, and pray that the movers know what they're doing and don't break anything.

Thinking about how easy it will be to move into just one tiny 10 x 14 foot room in college compared to unpacking an entire house makes me giggle. I complain a lot about moving and packing and unpacking and the smell of cardboard consuming the house all the time. The stress keeps me up at night and free flowing tears seem to be the only logical response to the situation at times. Sitting hear in an empty, echoing living room though all I can think of is all the adventures I have had because of this lifestyle and all those still waiting for me as we trek to Germany next month. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

xoxo,

Abby

P.S. Enjoy some good old fashioned Billy Joel on me (:

God's Not Confused.

My life has never been normal by any regular definition of the world. But recently my twisted definition of "normal" has't even been able to describe it. As I drew nearer to my high school graduation, one of the most joyous nights of a teenagers life, things seemed to get more and more complicated and spin more out of control every single day. I became invisible to basically all my friends, was forced to pack my life into boxes for college and an overseas move before I even graduated high school. It was impossible for me to understand why all this loneliness and stress dumped itself into my life all at once. I was utterly confused.

But on Sunday during his sermon the pastor of my church recited the mantra we should have for our lives: "I am confused, but God is not." God is NOT confused. He's got a plan and all we have to do is stick it out through the rough patches and one day God almighty and perfect plan might be revealed to us, but He's got a plan none the less. 2 Corinthians 4:8 says "We are hard pressed on every side, but not cryshed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." For me this verse was really great to hear because not only did I feel alone and abandoned by my friends, but I also felt a bit alone from God. This was a great reminder that through all the toils in this life He is right there beside us. He went through it all and can empathize with whatever situation we may face than any human ever could.

Stick it out. God's with you and He has greatness in store for you on the other side. He's not confused.

xoxo,

Abby

Blessed Beyond Belief.

18 and a half years ago I was born into a military family. My dad is in the navy so my family and I have never gone to sleep at night worrying for his safety because he was off shore somewhere in the ocean 90% of the time during deployments, and this current war is a land battle, not a sea battle. I'd never really thought that kids like me ever felt that fear for their fathers' lives because I never had to; until I moved to Guam that is. There I went to school with kids whose family members served in Iraq, Djibouti, and Afghanistan. Kids who's minds wandered during school and dreams turned to nightmares as they slept. Still then I didn't really realize how blessed I was that I had never had to experience this. 

Nearly a year ago my cousin returned from a six month tour in Afghanistan; he was 19 when he deployed. He and I aren't exactly close, but knowing that someone I knew was smack dab in the middle of a war, fighting that war daily, rattled me. I became one of those kids whose mind wandered and dreamed nightmares. Never will I ever be able to have ANY concept of what he went through, and never will I understand why, but I will eternally grateful for two things: 1. That he made it home alive with no serious injuries and 2. EVERYTHING that he and his buds went through, the courage they had, to defend this amazing country.

Memorial day never meant much to me; I'd never known anyone who was killed in combat, and I still don't, but my cousin does, he was there when it happened. Because of that I will never be able to look at Memorial Day the same ever again, his tour had the effect of making war that much more tangible for me, that much more real. I'm not at all a fan of what war does to these young men and women that have so much going for them in life, how it robs them of the lives they have, but I will always be thankful beyond words because I know that I will never, ever, in a million years have the courage to do what they do for this country. They are amazing.

As my mom and I watched the National Memorial Day concert I realized just how gosh darn blessed I am the my father has spent his entire military career in the safety of peaceful international waters. Blessed that my cousin came home. Blessed that none of my friends have had to experience loss. And above being blessed I am thankful, the military is my whole world and strive to give back to them as much as I possible can (though I'll never actually join the military) in an attempt to repay a small amount of the huge debt I've acquired over the past 18 and a half years, a debt that I will never be able to fully repay.

xoxo,

Abby

P.S. Don't let today be the only memorial day. Military personnel and their families sacrifice so much every single day, and that should never ever be forgotten.