Austin, TX

At the beginning of the month I took a little road trip with a friend (Tasha Creel) to Austin, Tx. It was so amazing! The main purpose of this trip was to go to the Radiant Women Conference hosted by Celebration Church - which was awesome - but when in Texas, you have to explore as well!

Let me first say that I think the most important part of the trip is not the journey, not the destination, but those who accompany you. And that statement was so true in our case. I had the best travel buddy in the world. I swear the two of us together could find anything to do anywhere!

The AirBnb.

It was a Wednesday morning, I headed to chemistry at 7 am to turn in my homework then met Tasha back at my apartment and our road trip began! We drove all the way to our AirBnB - Tasha found the CUTEST little AirBnB in the BEST location. We were minutes away from all the hoop-a-la of Austin and it was so cozy. The AirBnB is pictured below by the talented Tasha Rae herself. (@tasharaephotography on instagram).

The Food.

After getting settled in our AirBnB, we headed out to the infamous IN-N-OUT Burger. This was my first time ever getting food from this place that every American foodie has heard of. It was nothing less of greatness I would say. They have this sauce, if you know me you know I love my sauce, and it was like nothing I have ever tasted before. Needless to say we ate here more than once throughout the duration of our trip.

Next stop on the food exploration was Chip and Joanna's all the way to Waco, Texas!

Thursday morning we set off to Waco to see the land of Chip & Jo. We first went into the Silos Bakery. I ordered a red velvet cupcake - because on vacation, no food rules apply so I can "Eat Cake for Breakfast" as Kate Spade would say. Along with a red velvet cupcake, I had a cute pink lemonade.

*Below the bakery and treats were captured so you can see the cute efforts Joana Gains made to make this bakery look so perfect!

For lunch, we took the bus to the Magnolia Table. There we met up with some wonderful ladies to have a great lunch! I ordered Chip's Sandwich which was basically a croissant with heavenly cooked eggs, ham, and cheese on it. From the talk around the table, I think every pretty lady there rated the Magnolia Table with an A+. All bites were amazing -the biscuits, the sandwiches, even the soup!

Lastly, we went to the famous "i love you so much" wall at Jo's Coffee stand. I had my caffeine limit for the day (two large coffees and a monster) so I didn't get any coffee, but Tasha got a tea - pictured below.

Waco, Tx.

Yes, we ate lots of food at Chip & Jo's but what I didn't show you is what everyone actually goes for: The Silos! They were pretty cool - literally I was freezing there. It rained and was around 37 degrees but we certainly had a good time anyway. Tasha Rae took some dope photos of me at the Silos, and for that I thank her.

All in all, it was a great trip to waco with a super great friend/photographer!

Isn't she the cutest?!

Radiant Women's Conference hosted by Celebration Church.

The conference - the main purpose for going to Texas - was completely amazing! Their speakers included Christine Caine, Lori Champion, and Lisa Bevere. These women really dug deep into the word and inspired me with new creative outlooks on how not only God sees me but how I should see God and the rest of the world around me.

Christine Caine first spoke about the story of the man on the mat and Jesus telling him to pick up his mat and be healed - I loved this message because this has always been one of my favorite stories of healing in the bible. Caine spoke on how in order to be healed the man had to pick up his mat! Something my father always told me was "you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink" and I thought that saying so relevant to what Caine was speaking on. Some people continue to lay on their mat hurting not because they don't want the healing, but because they don't want to make the efforts to get the healing! Her message was so thought provoking and really allows you to reflect on things in your life: Am I doing everything I can to make this situation the best, and then trusting Jesus will make it better? Or am I sitting on the ground in self pity waiting for something to magically happen?

Lori Champion then spoke on having your eyes wide open and how sometimes fear can be your blindspot.

Lisa Bevere spoke on comparison. She opened with such a relatable story about comparing each other. Personally, I found this message to be the one that would speak to every single heart in the room - young or old we have all compared ourselves before. Comparing yourself to someone better and belittling yourself is not okay & comparing yourself to someone you think you are better than is also not okay. She uses 2 Corinthians 10:12 to tell us that comparing yourself with anyone is foolish! And I agree. In today's society we are wrapped up in a social media culture that manipulates us to subconsciously compare our situations, our bodies, and our status with someone else's. "Oh at least I don't have it as bad as her" or "Why can't I be as perfect as her!" And I use she's in this instance because I am a girl, but we know it happens to you dudes too. I think it is so critical to understand that your gifts, talents, and abilities are unique to your purpose and if you are trying to copycat someone else's visions and purpose you will never be as great as you could've been if you would've flourished in your own lane. It's also vital to realize that no one is as perfect as their Instagram feed makes them appear!! You cannot look at every second in your life - good, bad, & ugly - and compare to the once a week photo that girl is posting with her perfect hair and well cultivated caption. It would be such a sad life to live consumed by the distraction of other people's calling & success and completely miss what God had for you. So this isn't a parade of thoughts saying how awful instagram is - hey I love instagram it's fun - but it is an encouragement to be who you are called to be and to not be discouraged because you think your calling is less than great of another person's calling. You are called according to His purpose for your life, and trust me if you serve the same God that I serve you will not be disappointed in the great things He can do with your life.

These ladies spoke multiple sermons throughout this conference and I am so grateful that they are using the lane God gave them to speak to the hearts of people all over the world.