Happy Birthday Papa Bear

Just so you know it is the birthday of the most wonderful man on the planet today.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA BEAR!!!

I guess we need to take more pictures because this is the most recent one of us that I could find.

I LOVE YOU A TON!

I was incredibly blessed the day you were born and I am so thankful that you chose to spend your birthdays being my daddy. 

I hope your day is amazing and that you look back on all your other birthdays and know that you are loved greatly.

I miss you.

Love,
Erin


P.S. YES. Everyone texted me to remind me that it was your birthday but I had this blog ready last night. I remembered on my own and was fully prepared to tell you.

Yea the photo was taken this morning. 

I just needed the chance to wake up cus I am three hours behind you and all.

Belonging

Been a very busy girl so posting fully has been a challenge.
The day after my car accident was difficult. Full of alone time and quiet contemplation which is leading me to learn a lot about myself. For instance: I really can't stand to be alone for more than an hour or two.

Living in a house with a large number of occupants, with family and friends stopping by whenever they please doesn't really leave room for someone to find out if they like being alone. I used to crave alone time. Needed it so badly that I felt like I would explode if I did not get away from children for five minutes. 

But that day alone with my thoughts was a little sad. My first real day of homesickness.
 Although it did set me up for a deep desire for community. The kind you can only get from waking up early on a sunday and getting your butt to a church service.
So that is what I did, and will be doing every chance I get.

The second I stepped foot into The Church on The Way was the second I realized that I belong in church. I belong with God's people.

I have had my doubts in the past and I will have doubts in the future.
Personally, I think it is healthy to have doubts. It is healthy to test your beliefs. Because if you don't someone else will and the foundation is a little more difficult to put back together in those cases.
I know from experience.

The point is I have doubted, and I have seriously questioned why I believe the things I believe. But no matter how hard I try to reason God out of my life it always comes back to me as the thing that makes most sense. The thing that I crave regardless of what the world says I should want.

The day after my accident was difficult and the day after THAT was a Sunday. So I got my butt to church and was glad I did the second I walked through that door. Sitting down put a smile on my face and standing to praise as the band played 'Blessed Be Your Name' brought tears to my eyes. (Click on the link to hear it).
Hearing one of your favorite worship songs in moments of despair is often like turning the light on.

I praise God for bringing me to California to pursue my dreams and I praise God in the middle of the wrecks in my life (both real and metaphorical).

God encouraged me so much that morning. It is still echoing in my heart today. A woman prayed over me just wonderful words of hope and love. Then she hugged me really tight.

It is a little weird to tell one of your three dude roommates that you just need a nice long hug, so God provided me someone well equipped to give good hugs. This woman was a mother whose son was going into the military, so maybe she needed to be able to hug someone now that her own baby was all grown up.

God gave me contentment in the storm and hope in the after math.

I think I am going to like California. 

Fluffy Post

My last glimpse of cincy. For a couple months anyway.

I haven't posted in a while so i thought I would just give you all a glimpse into my life over the past week! There will be lots of pictures! 

You all remember how I got into a car accident right? Well the battery died on the new one. My roommates jumped it twice and it would not stay on. 

Honestly after the days prior it was more comical than anything. Especially since my absolutely wonderful roommates jumped into to save my behind. 

I had also booked a background job for the next day which meant I needed to be able to drive. 

(Background work is being an extra on a television show. In this case it was the Mindy Project. You might just be able to see me on an episode!)

On my way to set. 

This smile is due to the fact that God blessed me with the best roommates a girl could have asked for. I could not have gotten a sweeter deal moving into anywhere else. 

I will be posting about them soon.

I'm not sure why but decorating my room was a rush. I found some awesome purple sheets and this lovely comforter: 

Having control over what color your bathmat will be is freeing. Not that I didn't love my old kentucky home, I just really enjoyed adding some pastels to my life. The simple thing, ya know?

When you here the line in 'America the Beautiful' about purple mountains majesty, this is what it is talking about. I am surrounded by this every day. Literally surrounded, cus I live in the valley. And you don't really think about what it means to live in the valley until you are in the valley and surrounded by mountains.

I'm a valley girl, now!

My laundromat. Not sure what else to say about it. Kind of neat to be doing laundry in a laundromat like they people on tv... and I guess in real life. 

Anyway, that is my quick update! I now have to go prepare for my latest background gig on the show New Girl ;)

There will be more of what God is doing for me soon and I hope to have a a blog introducing you to my roommates soon!

Love,

EMG

Just Read

This day was pretty terrible. I have had worse, but not by much.

I got into a car accident this morning. I won't go into the details but I will say that it drained some of my funds and sent me into a spiral if awful feelings.
Most of these were aimed at either myself or God.

It has been a long day full of revelations and testings of the spirit.

I go from the accident, to waiting several hours for my parents to get off of work so I could tell them, to sitting in the rent a car office for FOUR HOURS for so many ridiculous reasons, back to the roads where it is now dark and I am being hyper vigilante.

I cried a lot. Mainly cus I am a woman and we just can not go a day without crying. JK. It was emotional. Any dude would have bawled.

Basically I'm thinking 'I have to go home. There is no other option. I failed. That was my one shot.' Of course I'm raging at God because that all powerful piece of crap couldn't keep me out of one lousy car accident! I prayed so much and when I made the decision to come to this city I only felt encouraged in this direction. If he wanted me to stay in Alexandria he should have written a freaken note.

I am in the car rental place trying to keep it together, waiting for this guy to figure out the computer system so that I can get back to the condo fall into a coma then wake up and start packing for Kentucky. I even sit to write an angry prayer.

As I am rant writing at God I suddenly have a calm wash over me and my next sentence written is, 'Okay, I can be content in this.' Shout out to all my bible study girls!

Two things I realized as I was feeling out my new contentedness:
1. There is a Christian song called 'Praise You in this Storm' by Casting Crowns. (You can find the lyrics and song here.) So basically most christians get a light drizzle falling into our lives, maybe it's a cold drizzle, and we're like 'Oh yes Jesus! I praise You no matter my circumstance. You are Lord always!'.
Then a hurricane blows through and we're like 'WTF?! Are you kidding me? I thought you loved me! Screw you, God!'
I mean, it gets hifey real quick.

So much of my time is spent being THAT girl.
The great part is that God can take the abuse until you fall weeping into his arms, but I want to be stronger than that at least SOME of the time. Ya know?

Which brings me to number:
2. Paul was practically starving, out to sea on a boat in some terrible weather, SHIPWRECKED, and the water was probably freezing, then he was bitten by a snake and called a murderer. And this was only on ONE of his many adventures. He was also stoned and beaten quite a few times. Not once was he like 'Nope I'm done with you. This is a big pile of horse manure and I'm not doing it'

Because as the bible according to Erin goes:

'We were not given the spirit of being big weenies, but the spirit of being awesomely courageous.'
(That is a paraphrase of an actual verse that I do not feel like looking up right now cus I am tired.)

I thought I would have to go home yesterday. I thought for sure that was my only option. Now I understand the only option I will be happy with is the one that keeps strengthening me. The one that keeps making me into a woman that can stand really tall because the strength of God is being poured deep into my being.
While going home and petting my dog, yelling at Jalyn for stealing my clothes, playing mario with the boys, getting yelled at by Kristi for not cleaning up my mess, and being hugged by my wonderful boyfriend sounds like a dream come true right now, I can't give up just yet.

I mean I want to be the one with stories right? (Thank you, Jessi) I want to be the one that can say the very first time I got on the 405 in Los Angeles I wrecked my car, while sitting in a super comfy chair next to Oprah, in front of the cameras, talking about my new movie coming out.

So if you're going through a real storm remember that Jesus is always right next to you.
And that on the other side is a you who is stronger in so many ways. A you that can help others through their storms. A you to be proud of.

Do not give up.

EMG

P.S. I just realized that I was also writing these words to myself. God can encourage us in so many ways :)

Get Lost and Learn

I am scatter brained. It is true. You know what you really can't be while driving and parking on the streets of LA?

SCATTER BRAINED.

**Mom and mom like figures in my life- STOP READING NOW**
This is not for the faint of heart.


So obviously I am fine because I am sitting here typing this and I assure you my car is fine.
I actually kind of like driving in LA. Everyone drives like a crazy and everyone expects everyone else to be driving like a crazy so it works.

Unlike certain drivers, whose area shall not be named, that do not know how to use the freaken road!

Anyway, I went out to run a few errands and was lucky enough to find a parking lot with space. I technically wasn't supposed to park there because I wasn't going into any of the businesses in that complex but whatever.
So I get all of my stuff done and go back to my car. Taking all of the opposite turns I had taken on my way.

Apparently I messed up a turn because I am walking down the street I think my car is parked on and suddenly I realize I have been walking for a while. No good. It should have been maybe 5 minutes down.

I keep going hoping that eventually I will run into it and when I finally give up I realize that I can't even call anyone to figure out where my car is because THEY DIDN'T PARK MY CAR.

As I turn around to head back to my original destination and maybe go back over my steps absolutely everyone looks like a predator. It was getting dark and I could have sworn that old man with a walker was about to make his move. My solution is to make my self look as mean as possible. Because the skinny white girl with freckles is capable of looking as fierce as a puppy rolled in flour.

I also had my keys positioned in my hand to strike because I left my 'patty kat' at home (sorry Liz! It is now on my key chain.)

The story ends with me having to use my phone to get back to the first place and then going back over the steps I needed to take. Even then I didn't recognize any of things I had passed. I didn't spare a glance for the surrounding buildings because I have never had to. Someone has always been with me or I was in Cold Spring where you never walk somewhere.

The moral of the story is park your car and then read every single sign you can on the way to your destination. Take pictures, make notes, do whatever you have to do to get back to your car before you have to start mean muggin.

Love you all!

EMG

Holy weirdness.

Yup, that is a palm tree outside my living room.

I got a car, I went to a 2 story target, I froze my toosh off, and I really did not have a moment to stop and miss anybody. Sorry everyone at home but for a full day I barely thought about the northern kentucky region. Except to ask people to send me things for my bland room.

It was eventful and it was awesome and overwhelming.

I can't believe how much I still have to do. But that is good. Keeps the home sickness at bay.

So my rent-a-car is this old toyota camry. 271,115 miles on it. No clicker thing to unlock it. The seat doesn't go as far forward as I like. It is kind of dirty on the inside and the radio is sketchy at best.
If I had the time I would sit here and describe every little creak it has but it reminds of a little old lady.
AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT.

The brakes and gas pedal work very well so I will deal. The only thing is it needs a name. Anybody have an awesome old lady name? I was going to go with Ethel but I almost feel like that's too common.
I need to give it a name so that I'm not as tempted to get a puppy.

Yes. I want a puppy. So bad. For those of you that are family DO NOT freak out. I am not getting a puppy. My roommate would not allow it and it would be a ton of money.

That doesn't stop me from wanting one.

The 2 story target was pretty much incredible. Had an escalator just for carts!`

                                                  


They also have Kroger but they call it Ralph's. It's funny because sometimes they won't even bother changing the logo over to Ralph's so there are a lot of Kroger products in the store.

The weather leaves something to be desired. When I am in California I expect sun and warmth. Not sun and this windy cold thing they have going on right now. BOO.

All in all my first day left me exhausted so when I was still up at 1 a.m. trying to get a few things worked out I fell asleep at my computer with the light on. Awesome.

So much is still on my list and I am hoping to get most of the big ones out of the way soon.

 Like finding a church! I have two services to attend this weekend hopefully I can just pick one of those and not have to do a lot of hopping around.

I am now off to edit a few clips to upload for the casting websites.

TTFN

-EMG

Just Got In

Dear friends, family, random people reading my blog,

I have arrived in LOS ANGELES!

Today has been intensely crazy. Beyond anything I have ever cared to experience. It was almost like an acting lesson. I now know the feeling of leaving the people closest to my heart. So I will be getting any part involving that….

I am not sure what you all would like to be updated on so I will write and you can just skim for the information you want.

Has anyone ever heard of packing at any time other than the night before you leave? I have not. However if you are going to be gone from your home for more than 2 weeks I suggest getting a couple days head start. Other wise you end up doing some ridiculous things.

Although I don’t think I will ever not do some ridiculous things while packing.

I was up till 5 am and then I had to get up for a wonderful family breakfast (no sarcasm there, it was great and something I truly appreciated). Then at 12:30 I walked out the door with my love and he drove me all the way to Dayton airport because he is the sweetest.

This past month people have been asking me if I was ready to move. Let me tell you now that you will NEVER be ready for this. Nothing will ever prepare you enough for moving across country and leaving your home, in every sense of the word, behind.

There were tears and there were violent stabs of pain telling me that I was doing the wrong thing. That something that causes this much heart ache can not be good thing. Then there was the steady presence of God that hasn’t left my heart since that day in 8^th grade when I let him in. Through the agony of telling everyone good bye (And let’s be honest it isn’t good bye. I could get on a plane home tomorrow if I wanted. I can skype I can do all kinds of things to talk to stay connected.) I felt that presence winding through me, pushing me forward, assuring me that this pain will pass.

I have not the faintest idea what is in store for me in L.A.. I just know that I need to be there. God has something he needs me to do. Something he needs me to learn.

I can think of no better way to get closer to God than to lose every safety net I have ever known. I can think of no better witness than to live boldly knowing that my trust in God is the only thing I will need to prevail. And I WILL prevail.

I am not sure what form my success will come in, I just know that I will succeed. And when I do I will be able to point to God and say ‘I did nothing.’

So keep reading if you want to see some amazing things happen.

EMG