That One Time I Rapped a Wedding Speech

So, my bestie got married and my sis and I wanted to give a little speech at the reception. But instead of giving a sappy or embarrassing speech - we rapped it - to Fresh Prince - Duh!

And our little ditty goes: 

















(Que Fresh Prince melody)

Now this is the story all about how
Brittany’s life got flipped, turned upside down
We’d like to take a minute so just sit right there
We'll tell you how Brittany met Billy, who has no hair

In little known Roseville born and raised
In high school is where we spent most of our days
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool
Shmobin Brits Saturn while we drove to high school

We met her sister Ally, we were up to no good
Somehow we drove over a mattress in their neighborhood
Cathy never heard that story until this day

Brit said not to tell and she always gets her way!

When she moved to San Diego, it changed her life
Then she met Billy on Valentines Day night

One drink two drink three drink four

Before they knew they snuck out the back door!

They fell in love, it took no time
They felt like they knew each other for a lifetime
Billy popped the question to get his bride
Nothing filled Brit’s heart with more pride

Now… we….love you so much on this awesome day

It’s time to drink and dance the night away

We hope you like our speech, we love you lady

Now go on your honeymoon and make some babies

And we have just one last thing to say
Congratulations on the vows you made today
God bless you all as we drop the mic
As the Coss and Bennett family UNITE!

LOVE YOU BRIT!

Won't you be my neighbor

Do you ever look back and think, “That was the start of a chain of reactions. That’s when everything began to change”

For just a moment I’d like to reflect on one of those pivotal moments in my life.

Mike and I got married in 2010. That same year we purchased our home and it happened to be down the street from his brother’s house. Having family just 5 houses down and access to your niece and nephew at any time was a huge gift! I had a new husband, a new home and family close by - I was feeling pretty satisfied J

Although, I did have a prayer. Like I said I was pretty satisfied and I didn’t want to "push it" with God, but I still prayed that perhaps Mike and I could meet new people. Maybe we could create a group of our friends as apposed to his friends or my friends. Maybe we could even make friends with our neighbors? And maybe do traditional activities like light fireworks together on the 4^th of July or have the occasional BBQ.

In my experience, God answers our prayers one of 3 ways:

Sometimes it’s NO

Sometimes it’s NOT NOW

And sometimes it’s YES

The answer to this prayer is one I had never experienced. He answered with a BIG FAT YES WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!

Long story short, we did meet our neighbors. Their names are Drew & Ginny Townsend. In fact, they are the neighbors smack dab between our house and Mike’s brother’s house. So there was no avoiding them, lol!

Let me pause here and say one thing – this is the point for me when “everything began to change”. And instead of telling the HOW of this experience, I’d rather discuss the WHO and the WHAT of the experience.

Let’s start with the WHO part of the story:

• We met Drew & Ginny and discovered they were our age, did not have kids, and were Christians – a rare find! We were immediate friends!
• They encouraged us to attend church with them weekly (something Mike and I had only been doing occasionally).
• They provided us with an example of a Godly marriage (who has that now-a-days?). 
• They challenged us with prayer (something Mike and I definitely did not do together).
• They taught us to dream big and expect great things (we were more of the play-it-safe mind set).

Ok, I could go on and on but the point is, they were that accountability piece that Mike and I as a couple were missing in our faith. They brought us a new and fresh perspective on marriage and life. This type of influence caused Mike and I to change a few things and that’s when the WHAT part of the story happened! 

Here’s WHAT happened:

•  Mike God baptized (insert wide eyed emoji).
• We decided to seek out and meet regularly with Christian marriage counselors/mentors.
• We became generous – we give time and money to people who need it.
• I got a job working at Bayside (me working at a church?).
• We’ve become incredibly social and influential with other young married couples.
• We started a small group, that turned into a medium group, that turned into a large group, that turned into a “nation”.

This is the chain of reaction I mentioned before. One action caused another, that caused another, that caused another.

They taught us to aggressively peruse our faith. To take action. To pay it forward. To be the support to others that they were/are to us. To not just enjoy the blessings but to spread it around to everyone else! To be infectious with the awesomeness that is Jesus!

There’s this quote from a movie that I love and it goes, “You are everything I never knew I always wanted”.

Do you ever feel like you desperately want something but you don’t know what it is? Or you find something that lights you up in an unexpected way and you can’t believe you ever lived with out it? The you I’m identifying with in the quote is not necessarily Drew & Ginny. The you I’m referring to is Him. Drew & Ginny were simply the tool He used to help Mike and I discover the kind of life and love we could have. It was like we were living in a 2 dimensional world and through the Townsend’s He helped us see the 3 dimensional world.

I bet you’re wondering why I’m writing about these cool kids. Well, after 4 years of living 3 doors down, they will be moving. Good news - they are staying in town! Bad news - Drew will be leaving for helicopter training for a whole year. UGH! But Yay for the opportunity, lol!

I’m watching from my kitchen window as the movers pack up their house. I can’t help but think of all the wonderful things that happened in their house. The challenges, the insight, the discovery, the laughter, the tears, the dreams, the food and most of all the people! I know this move and change is not the end of a friendship but it’s causing some major reflection on my part. 

So, here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: I think sometimes God finds our desires not too strong but rather too weak. I think we are too easily pleased. I don’t think he want’s us to pray sheepishly or feel like we’re ‘pushing it’ when we pray. I think he wants us to pray big. To pray huge. To pray outrageously! I mean, I prayed for neighbors to do fireworks with and he gave me neighbors to do life with! 

So cheers to a new job, a new house, and a new chapter. May God do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever imagine!

Our new crew!

Mike and I experienced a lot of ups and downs during 2012. But one of the biggest ‘ups’ was making new friends with an incredible group of like minded couples. At the end of January, Mike and I decided to attend a young marrieds group at Bayside. Along with our new buds Drew and Ginny, we made a commitment to attend this young marrieds group every Thursday. And so we did! We made so many great connections with so many great people! Who knew there were couples out there just like us!

One of our biggest goals for 2012 was to become more involved with our church and to join a small group. We’d been wanting to join a small group for a long time but we were a little nervous and shy about making it happen. Then the thought of creating our own small group crossed our minds! We’re not perfect Christians, we don’t know every scripture in the bible, we make a lot of mistakes but at the end of the day we are humans simply trying to find truth in a world that seems a little lost.

We felt there must be other young married couples just like us who aren’t perfect and are also looking for the same thing. So again, with our new buds Drew and Ginny, we created our own small group! It started off very small, just us 2 couples. And slowly, through out the year more couples joined. And here we are 1 year later with a group of 6 couples! Amazing!  

We are all growing together in our faith. We are helping each other, learning from each other, challenging each other, teaching each other, and holding each other accountable. We all want the same thing; to live a life of truth and purpose, to make an impact with love and to grow closer to God. We are spoiled rotten to have found each other!

I found this quote that is quite fitting.

“The church is a group of people that live and serve together in such a way that their lives and communities are transformed. What matters is your interactions with the people God has placed in your life. If you are not connected with other Christians, serving and being served, challenging and being challenged, then you are not living as He desires, and the church is not functioning as He intended." -Francis Chan

So Cal Extravaganza!

It was a year of weddings and engagements! Two of our dear friends Kirk and Christy tied the knot in Southern California in October. Mike was a groomsman so we were able to participate in all the fun activities that came along with the wedding. Dinners, drinks, dancing etc... We were so blessed to be included in this special day for the Okenquists. Such a beautiful and fun wedding! Here are few photos of the bride and groom.

Here's a great shot of the Carroll Fam! There are very few pictures of the 6 of us together. With that said Mike and I framed this photo and gave it as a Christmas gifts this year! :) 

We stayed at the beautiful Portofino Hotel and Marina which overlooked the ocean on one side and the Marina on the other. So pretty and so relaxing!  

We of course made a Disney Land visit out of the trip as well. I mean, how can we go to Southern California and not go to Disney Land?! Below was the view from our hotel! LOVE IT!

Super fun mini vaca! Can't wait to go back!

My Bestie Got Engaged!

My long time friend Brittany got engaged. She’s been dating this super hot fireman named Billy for a long time and he finally popped the question, lol! He planned a wonderful engagement that included their whole family. He asked for her hand at one of their favorite places in San Diego. Afterwards he surprised her with all of their family and friends and went to a country concert in style in a limo bus! It was hard to keep a secret from her but she was totally surprised! Billy did a great job coordinating it all and keeping it on the down low. Couldn't ask for a better guy for one of my best girls!

Mike and I unfortunately missed out on the fun. So wish I could’ve been a apart of it but I just started a new job and couldn’t get the time off. Boo.

Not that I didn’t already know (wink wink), but she asked my sis and I to be her bridesmaid in a very cute and creative way! Love this girl and excited for her and Billy’sfuture!

Making Our Mark!

So, our church continues to grow! Another fun adventure this year was the remodeling of our Worship Center. Because of people’s generosity, enough money was raised to upgrade our bleachers to comfier seats.  Not only did the remodel result in comfier seats, but it also added 300 more seats!

How did we raise that kind of money you ask? 

Bayside launched a Compassion First campaign called Whatever It Takes. Before we kept a dime raised, the money went first to causes all around the world in regards to poverty, abuse, sex trafficking, natural disasters etc… There were 5 areas of compassion we funded before we funded improvements to our campus.

Fight sex trafficking and poverty.
Invest in local, high-impact ministries.
Reach at-risk kids.
Serve our community.
Train the next generation of Christian leaders.

More on this to come in a later blog!

Not only did we leave a mark on our community, we also left a mark on the walls! When Bayside first built the worship center several years ago, we were given a chance to write our names and prayers on the walls and floors before they were covered. Mike and I didn’t get a chance to do that then, so here we are doing it now. So cool and so fun! Feeling so blessed to be apart of such a compassionate church!

Below is picture of what Mike and I wrote. 

Serve Day 2012 Unleashing Compassion in our Community

Time to catch up on my blogging! First on the list, Serve Day 2012!

On October 6^th & 7^th approximately 10,000 - 12,000 Baysiders volunteered for our first official Serve Day! Bayside organized a total of 130 different serve projects through out the Sacramento area! Church services were canceled at all locations for the entire weekend. Instead of going to church, we were the church!

Some projects required painting, cleaning, gardening, sewing, giving blood, caring for the elderly, donating food/clothes, maintaining school yards and facilities, ministering to inmates and their families etc… We were also able to provide free medical, dental and vision care to those with out coverage. This means Baysiders who were physicians, nurses, dentists, hygienists, and optometrist volunteered their time and skill. Is that not AMAZING?!

Our small group decided to serve together on a project at an affordable housing complex in Sacramento. We hosted a Fall Festival/Carnival! We had popcorn, snow cones, candy, balloons, and prizes! We had several different tables with different games and fun activities. We all worked together to create a safe and fun environment for the kids living in the complex. The tenants were a little slow at first to participate in the fun but by the end of the day everyone was out of their homes, socializing, playing games and just plain having fun!

This experience made a hug impact on Mike and I! It was a wonderful experience we not only shared with each other but with our entire small group. Below are some pictures of us all. 

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. — 1 Peter 4:10"