WamiesWorld

our 5 favorite worship songs

Published on September 3, 2018 by Jamie Shugart2 Comments

As we spend our time in Arizona, we are taking a break away from playing with the worship band at our church back home in North Carolina. Finding new worship songs together (or reconnecting with old ones) has been really special.

When Will listens to music, he listens to the instruments and the melody and very rarely notices anything about the lyrics. I, on the other hand, can stand a simple and predictable melody if the lyrics are powerful and they tell a story or connect with an emotion that I relate to.

Here are our top five worship songs we have been digging recently.

#5: So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong United

This is one of Will’s absolute favorite songs. Personally, I think it has way too many words for a “worship” song, but the message is super powerful and it hits you right in the feels.

God of Your promise
You don’t speak in vain
No syllable empty or void
For once You have spoken
All nature and science
Follow the sound of Your voice
God of salvation
You chased down my heart
Through all of my failure and pride
On a hill You created
The light of the world
Abandoned in darkness to die

#4: No Longer Slaves by Bethel Music

“You rescued me and I will stand and sing, I am a child of God.” This song hit me hard a few weeks ago as I struggled through my own inadequacies. Luckily we’ve made some great friends in Arizona and have found a great church (AND WILL IS THE BEST), so those lies that tell me I am unwanted and unloveable are being squashed. I really connect with this slightly old worship song.

PS. To anyone who thinks that marriage will complete you, that’s a lie. Only God can do that.

From my mothers womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I’ve been born again, into a family
Your blood flows through my veins
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

#3: The Secret Place (Acoustic) by Phil Wickham

Will asks to listen to this song basically every time we’re in the car. He’s having some kind of love moment with it. Phil Wickham is a tremendously talented musician and guitarist and his duet with Madison Cunningham is exquisite.

You are my only hope
You are the Rock on which I stand
You will not let me go
I know that I am safe inside Your hands
In the fading light when night is breaking
I know You will always be waiting
You’ll always be there

#2: You Say by Lauren Daigle

Lauren’s voice is the Adele of the Christian community. Fo real, though. And like I mentioned above, listen to those lyrics. This is a really good song for anyone who is walking through their valley or a difficult season of life.

Your worth does not come from your friends, or your family, or your children, or your significant other. And placing that responsibility on their shoulders is completely unfair. What happens when they have a human moment? Will your self worth and your belief in them shatter in that moment? Or will you put all your hope and trust in something much more solid than the shallow bedrock of feelings? Only truth is solid and unchanging and reliable.

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me

#1: Here in the Presence (Acoustic) by Elevation Worship

From the moment we both heard this song, it has constantly brought Will and I to tears (don’t tell him I told you that). I cannot explain it in my own words as well as the lyrics of this song do for itself. “I know your past is broken // You can move on, it’s over now // Here in the presence of the Lord.” Lay it all at the foot of the cross. He’s got you. You don’t need to carry your burdens any more.

Tired of running, running
Be still and know He’s in control
Here in the presence of the Lord
Pour out your heart before Him
Open your arms He’ll hold you now
Here in the presence of the Lord

Honorable mentions: Do It Again by Elevation Worship and Who You Say I Am by Hillsong Worship.

Should you be interested in our other favorite worship songs, here’s a link to my Spotify playlist.

May you all have blessed weeks.
Love you guys,
Jamie out.

Chiricahua National Monument

Published on August 30, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Part two in our exploration of Arizona’s National Parks.

We have discovered not only that there are a plethora of parks in Arizona, but that a good amount of them are perfect for day trips. National Parks are incredible preservations of nature, often highlighting a significant aspect of American culture and encouraging people to explore natural rock formations, caves, mountains, lakes, and forests.

The National Parks of Arizona have yet to let us down. We last visited the Coronado National Memorial where we learned about the Spanish and Mexican influence in our culture and explored a 600 foot deep cave. This time, we grabbed our passports and our friends and drove a few hours away to see some pretty spectacular rock formations.

Chiricahua National Monument

The monument was created in 1924. The Chiricahua Mountains are an inactive volcanic range surrounded by desert grasslands. The monument is in a particularly exquisite area that once experienced quite violent volcanic activity. The ash formed into rocks and through the passing of time, incredible rock formations, forests, and wildlife have created an ecosystem that is worth venturing out to see.

Our first stop was in the Visitor Center to stamp our passports. All of the National Parks should have a stamp station, and additionally should have passports on sale if you don’t have one already! Our friends J and M picked one up! The stamps always have the name of the park and the date you visit so it’s an awesome way to keep track of where you’ve been and have a memento that lasts a lifetime.

We spent a little time in the Visitor Center perusing their prickly pear jam selection, as well as learning about the local plant and animal life. Apparently the rocks of the Chiricahuas are called “rhyolite” and the monument was created to protect them.

We planned a three mile hike so that we could see many of the rock formations, which sometimes tower hundreds of feet into the air.

Echo Canyon Loop Trail

There is an iconic rock formation known as “Pinnacle Balanced Rock” that is probably the most photographed feature of the park. Unfortunately, it is over a seven mile hike to see it and this girl had not brought enough snacks (or let’s face it, leg muscles) to brave that trek.

However, the incredible and totally reasonable Echo Canyon Loop Trail worked perfectly with our 1:30pm arrival time and promised to show off the features of the park spectacularly well.

Beyond the rock formations, there are plenty of faults, lava flows, and other caves to explore along the route. Our friend J got extremely excited about the prospect of bouldering and quickly talked everyone into climbing on basically everything. Let’s just say, it took us a little over three hours to go three miles.

None of us could get over the rock formations. Everywhere you turned there was a valley of spires, balancing boulders, or tumbling caves and formations with jagged pieces. It was red and brown and orange. It was just stunning. I couldn’t put my camera away.

According to the National Parks website, the “Apaches called this place ‘The Land of Standing-Up Rocks,’” and one can see why.

This crevice was super cool! As we hiked down into a valley, we felt an incredible wind whipping through this formation. It was great to stand right in the opening and feel a fierce cold wind on a hot summer day in the desert.

This park is such a treasure.

We found some water! The summer monsoons have greened up the countryside and left their evidence in a little bit of running water through the mountains. We also spotted a snake at the bottom of this little creek.

We’re not sure what this plant was, but it was growing out of some kind of cactus and grew super tall. They lined one part of the trail.

Guys, I seriously suggest that you check out a National Park close to you. There are some seriously cool things in nature that are worth the time and effort it takes to see and experience them.

If you liked this post, let us know down below with a like or a comment and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already!

Until next time,
Jamie out.

#everydaymoments

Published on August 27, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Are you living in your everyday, or are you living for the weekends?

It is our daily lives that make up who we are, and our everyday moments that make this life worth living. Find the beauty in your ordinary. Take some photos and build some memories. We remember the big things, but the little things are everything.

Friday//

My camera bag that Will got me for my birthday. It’s the perfect adventure accessory, and necessary when you need your camera for #everydaymoments blog day.
Where I sit and work and blog and read every day out here in Arizona! Curtains wide open with some coffee/water/tea, my computer, my phone, and the world wide open to me.
That planner life! I’m using a Happy Planner this year, and use it to time block out my work life, schedule photography jobs, make sure I have time to work out, etc. It keeps me on track! I also write down personal life stuff so it also functions as a sort of diary.
Lunch time. I’m trying to be good—eat a lot of veggies and make sure I eat carbs and protein before I work out.
William came home for lunch! He’s my favorite, and he even loves me when I’ve been all alone and introvert-y all day and it takes me a while to become interested in talking to someone again.
I work out almost every afternoon so I don’t wear a lot of makeup these days.
Our little hotel bathroom with our little hotel hair dryer and our hotel towels and our hotel soaps.
Work out time! I’m going through 80 Day Obsession (a Beachbody program) right now. This day was Total Body Core which uses weights and strength slides in phase two. This workout was legit.
I always track which weights I use and compare with the last time I did the workout to make sure that I’m pushing myself to improve every time.
Chocolate milk. Not only is it delicious, but it’s a good post-workout recovery drink. I’m down.
Will got home from work a little early. We ordered some pizza and then got a little cute (AKA I put some makeup on) for a chill and relaxed date night.
Going to the movies to see the new Mission Impossible!
Our favorite candies for movie viewing. Do you guys get candy and/or popcorn when you go to the movie theater?

Hoping you had a fantastic weekend and Monday. We’ll see you next time!
Jamie out.

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Next month’s #everydaymoments

Coronado National Memorial

Published on August 23, 2018 by Jamie Shugart5 Comments

A lot of people love going on adventures. Often times they are small—making a run to the gas station for ice cream, only to find that they’re closed and instead of admitting defeat, you run all around town searching for your favorite treat. Sometimes the adventures are quite large—a honeymoon to Maine or an Alaskan cruise.

When it comes to adventures, Will and I really enjoy National Parks.

Will used to work for the Utah Conservation Corps, which means that he lived and worked outdoors while working conservation projects around the state. I say this to impress upon you how much he loves and is accustomed to backpacking, camping, hiking, and the great outdoors. He grew up in a state that has Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches, to name only a few.

I grew up in a family that loved camping, albeit most of the time in a tent-trailer. “Glamping,” some might call it. My sister and I begrudgingly joined in on hikes and it wasn’t until after college that I started to love them.

I took a trip with my family to the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina a few years ago and found some National Parks Passports at their visitor center. The passports are like any passport, except that they’re to National Parks, not to other countries. Every National Park has an visitor center and a stamp station for the passports.

Being of limited means, I eyed the passports longingly and then left. A couple years later, I took Will back to the same spot and we each picked up a passport, deciding that our new life goals were going to be filling them up with stamps.

Arizona, we are happily discovering, is FULL of National Parks for us to explore.

The Coronado National Memorial is one beautiful contribution to the National Parks community. Located along the border of Arizona and Mexico, it climbs up from the valley and into the Huachuca Mountains. Conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado conducted the first expedition into the southwest in 1540 and the memorial serves to recognize the ties that bind the United States and Mexico. Check out this website if you want to learn more about the “journey of conquest filled with exploration, wonder—and cruelty” that the europeans and Aztecs experienced.

Interestingly to myself and William, the memorial was established on November 5, 1952. He and I met on November 5, 2016, so it’s always a date that sticks out to us. (If you want to read about how we met, click here)

The Visitor Center

Our first stop was, obviously, to stamp our passports.

The visitor centers has a small exhibit that mostly talks about the blending of cultures, emphasizing food and spices and highlighting the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). They also have a cute little book store!

God bless the Spanish for brining coffee and cacao beans.

There are no entrance fees for Coronado National Memorial, by the way, so it’s a super easy trip! It’s only half an hour from Sierra Vista and has a couple hiking trails and a lot of picnic tables.

Coronado Cave Trail

Unlike our recent trip to Bisbee, we were smart enough to do a little bit of research before we visited the park. We discovered that there is a cave trail leading to a 600 foot deep cave that hikers are welcome and encouraged to explore. You don’t need a permit, but it is encouraged for explorers to get information at the visitor center.

The trailhead is just a short drive from the visitor center and it’s a half mile hike up the mountain. See—THIS is why I’m working out five days a week. So that I can climb half a mile up a mountain and survive! Haha! (I’m only half joking, by the way.)

Also, more advice—Arizona is HOT. If it’s going to be in the mid to upper 90s, don’t hike after 10am. We were lucky that it was only about 89 degrees that day and therefore we had until about 2pm to get all of our hiking in. Heat stroke is real, people!

The Coronado Cave

600 feet long, about 70 feet wide at most spots, and home to a select few stalactites and stalagmites, this was one of the coolest caves I’ve ever been in (without a tour guide).

Literally. So much fun.

We climbed down the rocks (pictured above) and then took a few minutes to get our flashlights situated before heading in deeper.

It is PITCH BLACK inside of that cave, y’all. Will gave me the head lamp and he used a flashlight. I was surprised at how massive the cave felt, especially with our limited light sources. We climbed all around and explored a lot of side tunnels, but mainly kept to the real deal. It was so much fun! And a lot cooler than outside in the sunshine, that’s for sure.

At one point we turned off all of our lights to just sit in the dark. It was nuts. I couldn’t handle it. I just kept picturing the creatures from the movie The Descent and had to turn my head lamp back on.

After a proper adventure and exploring all of the nooks and crannies, we climbed back out feeling excited and accomplished. The half mile hike back to our car felt like nothing.

After spotting some deer who were crossing the road, we got back in the car and drove the winding road up to the Coronado Peak to sneak some views of the canyon before we had to head home.

The valley is definitely greener than normal because of monsoon season. I’m not complaining, though. Apparently they get to experience all four season at Coronado. I would love to see this place with some snow.

Honestly, we have nothing but good things to say about the Coronado National Memorial. We had a great time! We’re super glad that we looked it up ahead of time, otherwise we would not have been prepared for the cave trail. Ending the trip with a windy drive up the mountain followed by a view of the valley was perfect.

Do you like exploring caves or do you get freaked out by the dark?

Until next time,
Jamie out