What's a Kritty Krub?

I moved to Louisiana the summer after my freshman year of college to work as a church youth intern. Looking back, I can't believe I moved away to another state to go work in a town where I knew no one. I moved in with a family I had never met. There were no college kids where I lived, either, so I was either mentored or I was mentoring. Feeling a certain calling, I ventured to Benton, Louisiana. And what started off as just a summer job ended up becoming a year-and-a-half adventure. In that time, I learned a lot about myself, who God is and how His people are called to love deeply. And I developed one of the coolest friendships.

My first and closest friend there was a 15-year-old girl named Christie Tubbs, a.k.a. Kritty Krub. Despite a four year age difference, we clicked immediately. And she quickly became my loyal sidekick -- I couldn't shake her even if I had wanted to. I could tell you some fun stories about this girl and some of the great moments we've shared. She's one of those kind of friends you make that you'll know the rest of your life. But what I'd love more than anything, though, is for the world to experience an ounce of faith this girl possesses. She moves mountains. It hasn't always been the case, though.

One of the hardest parts of leaving Louisiana was saying goodbye to my dear friend. We've kept in touch through the years, but never enough to satisfy close friends or to sustain a deep friendship -- that is until recently as we pick up where we left off. Over the five years that have passed, Christie hit a rough patch. And after only recently being pulled out of the crap called her life, she received disturbing news on her birthday -- she's got cancer.

Now 23 years old, Christie has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. In a nutshell, this is a cancer that affects your lymphatic system. The good news is that it's not in her bone marrow. The doctor's say it's Stage 2. Christie says, "God's bigger than cancer." It's kind of ironic to me how she's been the comforter to me and everyone else around her. And moreover, her faith is incredible. She's an absolute inspiration. It all goes to show that God's glory is displayed no matter what -- despite our circumstances, despite who we are.

I'm blogging about her because she's a huge part of my life, and I'd just like my friends and family to pray for her and her family. She starts chemotherapy next week, and her strength is going to be shot. So start praying for peace, patience and strength -- all of which come only through relying on God.

I also invite you to check out her blog as she writes about what she's going through. I hope you'll be as inspired as I am.

http://christieblogsalot.blogspot.com/

Love and Peace!

My MeeMaw is the Bomb

This May I was compelled to participate in the Komen Race for the Cure. Breast cancer treatment and care is something that has come to mean a lot to me, especially since it hits so close to home. My MeeMaw, Jean Teague, is a breast cancer survivor of almost 20 years. So this year she and I signed up to walk a mile at the Komen Race. It's one of my favorite days. I admire my MeeMaw a lot. She's a sweet and incredibly strong woman. I mean, you would have to be to raise my Dad. :) Well anyway, here are a few pictures. Next year, I invite you to join our team.

A Warm Welcome

My brother-in-law and sister-and-law, Dave and Kristy, make beautiful people. I met my sweet nephew this week, and you can see for yourself how cute he is. And you can also see what great big sisters he has. As excited as I was to meet him, I think the feeling was mutual as Andrew greeted me with a very warm welcome and peed on me. :) Welcome to this world, little dude!

Andrew

Sydney and Andrew

Kayden and Andrew

Who Do I Think I Am

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ya12I036lg

Kinda cool, huh?

R.C. Sproul writes, "Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."

I'm as guilty as the next person of becoming bogged down by the stresses of this world. I need reminders like this to wake up and realize there's more to this life than meets the eye. I hope you're as inspired as I am to more than merely walk through life, but to truly live, of which only comes through knowing God.

Update On My Nephew

Andrew's coming home tomorrow! I'm pumped to meet him and hope to post more pictures later this week.

Colorado Vacation

We spent last week in Ouray (sounds like "Hooray!" with a silent H), Colorado. I like to think that God intended to give us a glimpse of heaven when He created Ouray! So for five days we hiked and Jeep'd and four-wheeled ourselves up and down and through the San Juan mountain range. (Yup, PawPaw. I said four-wheeled. It was the first time since our New Mexico trip.)

Words can't describe how great our vacation was. It was amazing just to be away from all the busyness and in the midst of such raw beauty. Thank you Webb family for such an incredible experience!

Brief Update On Andrew

Please continue to pray for our newborn nephew, Andrew. His little
lungs are still having a hard time and he was sent to the neonatal
intensive care unit in Longview. We expect him to strengthen up in no
time, but there are always risks and your prayers are very important.
Pray not only for him and his doctors, but also for his parents, James
and Kristy Freeman. Pray for peace of mind and comfort for them.

Thanks in advance for the prayers and I'll keep you posted.

Love.
Randi

Meet My New Nephew

JAMES ANDREW HAMMOND FREEMAN

My nephew, who will go by Andrew, was born Wednesday, July 9 weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 20 inches long from head to toe. He was born a few weeks early and his little lungs are working overtime right now. He's on oxygen, antibiotics, IV fluids and there's a possibility that he'll need to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit if his lungs don't strengthen by Friday. So please be prayerful for our little guy until he is strong enough to come home.

Here are a few more pictures of my strapping nephew with his family.

Big sisters Kayden (4) and Sydney (5) are so proud of their baby brother.

Mom and Dad after a hard day's work. Congrats, Dave and Kristy!

Share the Wealth

I learned this week that $1 provides one year of clean water for an African. Talk about stretching your dollars! I can't think of too much I can do with a dollar. I mean, for a dollar I could buy a bottle of water and that could quench my thirst for an afternoon. But quench someone's thirst for a year with buck - that's amazing.

If you're like me, you've flipped straight through those infomercials about the poor and hungry folks in Africa. Those kids with the swollen bellies kill me every time, so I change the channel. Out of site. Out of mind. Right?

But the truth is millions of Africans lack access to clean water. What access some villages do have requires women and children to travel miles to carry home heavy gallons of diseased water. And since 80 percent of all deaths in developing countries are caused by water-borne illnesses, people there with HIV/AIDS must have clean water to survive.

I don't know about you, but I can't think of a time in my life that I didn't have access to water. And I've certainly never had to drink dirty water. That's why it's always been hard for me to identify with this sort of need. But now that I have the facts, I can't help but respond.

So obviously I'm quite inspired about doing my part in overcoming social injustices, both at home and abroad. And while I don't necessarily plan to sell all of my things and live like a hermit, I think it's important to share the wealth. There are many people and organizations that will lay the guilt on thick, which totally turns me off and is quite generally ineffective. But when our motivation is love for God and others, people become more important than the things of this world.

I encourage you to follow this link and learn more. Blood:Water Mission seeks to provide clean blood and water to a country that is often forgotten - Africa. Share the wealth, friends!

Love.

Randi

Maturity vs. Culturing

Like a delicious wedge of cheese, I think we have better taste with age. I don't taste better, but I find myself liking grownup things. You know what I'm saying.

For instance, my hair looks strikingly different now that I'm older. I've outgrown the shortish tousled hippy haircut that most college girls get their freshman year as if the lack of hair will help advance them into adulthood and distinguish them from their formative high school years.






Here's my new haircut. It's more "tasteful", and my mom likes it. :) Of course I can never fix it the same way as the stylist, so enjoy the cheesy picture.

What've You Done At Work This Week?

I flew in a helicopter.

Here's where I work: Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics.

Here's Front Street. It was a beautiful day for flying!