What have I been called to do?

I believe that even as we become adults we still struggle with this question. I prayed along time ago that God would show me his plan for my life. At that time in my life I was trying to decide what to major in for college. I knew I wanted to help people and I absolutely loved medicine. God kept opening the doors for pharmacy school so that is the direction I headed. Over the past year God has stirred something very new into my life. I knew at the age of 5 that God gave me a unique heart and until recently I did not know how he was going to use my god given talents. My heart goes something like this. I LOVE people. Almost too much. I never meet a stranger. I am generally the pursuer in relationships because I care about other people and their needs before my own a lot of the times. Now most people would say this is not a good thing AND if you would have asked me a year ago I would have told you that I needed to change this about myself. Now I am thankful for it.

Today was one of the best days of my life besides our wedding day. I finally get it! I was listening to Andy Stanley's sermon on Jonah and the shade tree. Below is the passage that goes with the sermon:

1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, "God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That's why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!

4God said, "What do you have to be angry about?"

5But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.

6God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.

7-8But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: "I'm better off dead!"

9Then God said to Jonah, "What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?"

Jonah said, "Plenty of right. It's made me angry enough to die!"

10-11God said, "What's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don't yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?"

God sent a storm, a fish, a shade tree, a worm, and then the wind. Jonah is absolutely miserable. Verse 9 Is it right for you to be angry about the shade tree? The Lord said you have been concerned about this shade tree though you did not tend to it or make it grow. Verse 11 Should I not have concern for the city of Nineveh....
This is the end of the book Jonah. God was saying Jonah you are concerned about all the wrong STUFF. God is concerned about this generation of people and Jonah was concerned about HIMSELF.

We as humans get so caught up in the things that matter least in the world. For instance, when we had no rain last year we complained that our yards looked awful and then when God gave us rain we complained about our yard again!

I am guilty of this. I get angry about the dishes in the sink, towels on the floor, and shoes left in the middle of the floor. I get frustrated when things don't go my way. Sometimes I am very selfish and like Jonah my life and my religion become only about ME and GOD.

When I dig deep though I realize God gave me this heart that loves people of this world so much because there are people out there that come to Jesus through the love other people show them and the work of Christ in their life. I want to help in whatever way possible. I am concerned about this upcoming generation. I understand God is concerned about this generation of people and when I step back from the worldly aspects of my life I become not so concerned about me anymore. The sin of Jonah was the HIS religion was all about him. He gets to die and go to heaven. God please protect my family, please help my kids turn out right, please help my job etc. It is not simply surrendering to Gods personal and moral will of God but surrendering to Gods purpose in the world.

I have known for sometime now that I am called to ministry I just never knew what my calling was going to be. I will still become a pharmacist but I will do ministry where God places me. Today, as the sky started to rumble and turn many different shades of blue I realized where God wanted my heart.

My heart is with middle school and high school women fighting for their purity and relationship with the Lord. Many of you know my story but my story is a story of redemption. I want to feed into young women and this next generation because I fear for them.

As I finished my walk back home the sky let loose. It started pouring down rain and it was as though God was crying because I finally listened to my heart and what he was telling me.

How Sweet It Is...The McMurray/McMillin Wedding Weekend

This past weekend my dear friend Mary Ellen married her prince charming Drew. It was such a wonderful wedding. I wish I had pictures but we forgot our camera because we left Atlanta at 5am on Friday morning. We were going to go and just buy one but time did not allow that. The weekend started with the rehearsal at the church and then a yummy lunch at the Puffy Muffin in Nashville. It was so nice to catch up with some friends from college and just celebrate our Mary Ellen. Then, we had the rehearsal dinner at the neatest place in downtown Nashville called Cellar One. The McMillin's put on a great dinner and the theme was Mexican. All the tables were brightly colored and we were served margaritas and sangria. The food was awesome. We had the privilege of sitting next to the couple that hosted Mary in New Zealand and a couple that mentored Mary Ellen through college. Mary Ellen and Drew have touched so many peoples lives and as the night went on we all joined in sharing our stories of them and toasted their future marriage. It is far and few between that you meet a friend like Mary Ellen. God put her in my life almost 6 years ago and she has been constant and loyal in my life ever since. We would get up in Auburn and run every morning. Even our freshman year we would do this but at this point in our lives we were so homesick. We would run to this church everyday, cry, and just pray. We saw each other through heartbreaks and lifted each other up when need be. The thing we have most in common besides running though is we both love the Lord. Mary Ellen is a wonderful prayer partner. Even in the hard times we knew that God's plan for us would ultimately prevail and he would provide for us the best husbands he saw best fit for us. Well, this came true for me shortly after my move to Atlanta. I met my Scott and 8 months later we were engaged to be married. Within that engagement month I met Mary Ellen for dinner halfway in Newnan Georgia. She was about to leave for New Zealand and she had this glow about her like I had never seen before. She then proceeded to tell me she met this man but she just didn't know because she was about to go across country for 6 months but she knew something was special. I left that night and called Scott to tell him Mary Ellen had found her husband:) She didn't know that at the time but true love on a person is so evident when they find it. After that night, Scott and I began to pray for their relationship that I knew one day would become a marriage. Their relationship continued while Mary Ellen was in New Zealand through Skype. So cool! And when she got back all it took was a few short months for them to become engaged. I remember when I got that phone call. My heart pretty much stopped because my good friend who deserved the best had now found her prince. It was such an exciting time for both of us and as the time went on we just shared in each other's wedding details and plans. We got married a month apart and honestly it was the best thing ever! We were able to share joy, frustrations, and love with each other. She was so happy for me and I could hardly contain my excitement for her.

Okay, now that I shared my story about our friendship I will skip to the wedding day. It was just perfect. Mary Ellen was the most beautiful, stunning bride I have ever seen. Her dress was lace, she had a long train, and a beautiful lace veil. She looked like she was straight out of a magazine. The colors were navy blue and green. It was so lovely and organic looking. We had the privilege of peering through the windows while Mary Ellen and Drew had their first sight. This is highly recommended by all brides that I talk to by the way:) It was the sweetest moment. The ceremony was great too! They had a bag pipe play during the ceremony. Wow, it was amazing! The reception was so fun too! We had great food, great dancing, and a great band.

We wish them a happy happy honeymoon! We love you guys:)

Really?

Last night after I got off of work I ran to the church to help out with something and then headed down to Decatur. If you have never been to Decatur, you should go! It is such a fun, neat place for a date night or just a night out with the girls. I met my friend Kelly down there at her condo. Which by the way is the coolest place I have ever seen. She is such a good decorator and I felt like I was in the country/modern NYC. The best feel ever, really the best of both worlds. We sat for a while and just talked. She is so wise and has so much to share about the Lord. We then walked to this little restaurant called Ponce I believe. We sat there for about 3 hours just sharing our stories and our walk with God. It was so cool because it is rare that you meet someone that cares enough to listen to your story and then be able to walk through it again is the most incredible feeling. It is just so wonderful to have a friend who is just so organic and real. It is hard to find those kind of people in this world today and I am very grateful for her friendship.

Well, the night was going so well. We were just praising our Lord and having the best time! Then on my way home I got lost. By this point it was like 11:15. I realized I was probably in the worst part of town and I got scared. Then my gas light came on. I just said to myself, Oh great God really...right now? I have never been so scared for my life. I stopped at this gas station that wasn't even well lit and as fast as I could I put $5.00 in my gas tank. Nothing else could have gone wrong. Well, it did:) I dropped my GPS in the floor board and reached to get it. As I reached I took my car with it and swerved. I corrected myself and I thought I was okay. Then I saw the flashing blue lights in my rear view mirror. Ugh! Talk about scared...now I was scared. For some odd reason, the only thing I could think of was Pastor Kevin Queen telling the story about late one night after leaving church he got pulled over. He was nervous because he thought that maybe the many red bulls he had would make the police officer think something else of him. Well, just like Pastor Kevin I started reviewing anything I had to drink or eat that night. I had 1 glass of wine at 6:30 and then about 6 glasses of water at dinner. I had a steak sandwich and some orzo pasta. Then I started freaking myself out by thinking what if they cooked the steak in alcohol!? The police officer came up to my door and shined the light in my face. At this point I was crying. I have never been pulled over much less gotten a ticket. I gave him my license and told him I was really lost and I did not know how to get back to where I was trying to go. HE LAUGHED AT ME! and then gave me directions back to the highway. I was so shaken up I could not even sleep last night! Moral of the story I guess is don't ever reach for your GPS while driving!

Three weeks into our married life...

The only word that comes to mind to describe our wedding day is "perfect". You put months and months; and in our case 18 long months into planning this one day. In a blink of an eye though it is gone. On the day of our wedding I woke up early to find the most magnificent wedding gift of all; Running shoes with MRS. URBIZO imprinted on them. For those of you who know me I love to run! Running brings me peace, and it is where I have my best conversations with God. So, on my wedding day at 7am my good friend Mary Ellen and I went off to talk and exercise. It was the best thing I did for myself on our wedding day. I had a chance to be away from mostly everyone, cry a little, pray, and just prepare myself for the day.

The day is a little bit of a blur to me but the parts I do remember stand out in my head so clearly. The next memory I have is when I saw Scott for the first time. Yes, I saw my groom before I walked down the aisle and it was one of the best decisions I made. Scott faced towards the church and I walked down the aisle with his back towards me. Words can't even describe this moment. As I inched closer, I told him he could turn around. When he turned around it was like all of my nervousness hit the floor and I could be calm now that I saw my future husband. We had a good 30 minutes just the two of us. We talked about our days, cried ALOT, and prayed together. It was the best moment of my life.

Then, came our vows. We chose to write our own vows when we first got engaged. Since I am the prepared one I had mine written or at least almost done in August of 2009. Haha Scott on the other hand didn't do his until the week before. That stressed me out a bit. But once again in the moment I just did not care.

Our first dance when we got to the reception as so special. We took dance lessons at All About Ballroom:) Kathy taught us how to fox traught, hustle, swing, and many more dances. We were pros:) Scott actually loved the lessons. It was such a good way to draw closer to each other and believe or not my Cuban husband is a pretty good dancer. We danced to Old and in Love and our friend Craig Simmons sang for us.When I get more pictures I will post them. The last thing that was so good was our cake. I said before that all I care about is the cake. I LOVE CAKE! Well, God was extremely good to us. So many people were dancing that some people forgot to get cake. We had so much left over that I ate a slice every night for a week:) Amazing!

Three weeks into married life...We are having so much fun! It is so nice to be able to wake up next to your best friend every single day. God has blessed us and we are so thankful for that. I struggled with missing my family at first. God knew that and he provided for me greatly. Not only do I have a husband we is always there for me but my small group friends have become our family as well. I can not wait to see all God's plans for Scott and I. We would really like to go to Africa or a country in need to serve in the next few years. We ask for your prayers and that God leads us to a place where he could use us most.