Yep, I'm gonna be "that person," right now. You all know the person I'm talking about, right? The one who gets all optimistic about the new year and the new opportunities to come, all because we move from one 24 hour period to the next and the last number at the end of the current year moves one number up in numeric order. Some people say, "It's just another day." I actually believe the exact opposite! I think as the humans beings that God made us to be, we crave that chance to start over..be forgiven....get a new outlook on life....see the end of the tunnel where the light has been shining for so long! Anyways, If this is the kind of post that annoys you, I would suggest that you stop reading now. :)
In order to move forward though, I always think it's a good idea to take a look back at the good and the bad of every year. The things that made us change and grow into the person we are today. Facebook started this new thing called "my year in review" where it compiles a lot the photos you have posted over this year and makes a collage. It is pretty cool but not very accurate. See, Facebook has no way of knowing when the picture was actually taken. So, if you choose to repost an old picture as a reflection, it was still being used in the collage. Oh well. All of this to say that, hopefully, my year in review will be accurate.
January:
I don't even remember how I rang in the new year. Must have been pretty awesome, huh? What I do remember about Jan is, My friends Andrew and Amy welcomed baby Emma in to the world.
My grandmother passed away so my family and I all met in Oregon to say our goodbyes. While we were there, Seth, Rebekah and I had some much needed conversations. It was good.
My Caleb turned one!! Jacquelyn, my mom and I threw him a big one year party at my parent's house! We did a Disney Cars/sports theme. It was super fun and everyone, including the birthday boy, seemed to really enjoy it!
The next major event was, I was getting pretty serious about my intensions to move to Oklahoma. God had been nudging me in this direction since I went to visit in Nov of 2011. It seemed like a very likely opportunity, so I was desperately praying for some direction. By the end of the month, I had decided not to renew my lease on my current apartment (which would be ending near the last week of Feb) or look for a new apartment. My parents graciously offered me their spare bedroom, providing I would only stay for a few weeks/months.
February:
The next big one year birthday was this month! Caleb Park (the little guy I nannied) is only a few weeks younger than Caleb Stilson. Kimberly (Caleb's mommy and my good friend) threw an amazing (as always) Circus themed party. Everyone had a blast!
During the same week as the party, I became a member at Village Bible Church. This was my home church for over 12 years. My family went there as well as most of my friends. Even though I had a strong feeling that I was going to leave soon, I felt God calling me to join the body in membership. So I did!
Other significant events were: Alleena came to visit. The decision for me to move to OK was finalized. I moved out of my apartment and in with my parents, while my life went in to storage. Discussions with IEW (Institute For Excellence In Writing) about me coming to work for them, began.
March:
The month started out with a bang, as I was officially offered the position at IEW. This meant, not only, was my move REALLY TRULY OFFICIAL, buuuut, I had a job to start upon arrival! YAY! Talk about relief!
Next up, Conor Anthony Martinez was brought in to this world by Kristin and Jonathon Martinez. He was born on the 8th at 11:30am weighing in at 7lb even and 20 3/4 inches long. I was honored to be one of Kristin's Doulas. They did a home birth, so, it was a lot of work, but, birth is such a miracle that is was all well worth it in the end!
The same day Conor was born, Rebekah flew in from Texas to begin the saga of our 25th birthday! I say saga because a looooot of good and bad happened, but we won't go there. We celebrated that weekend at the roller rink, kickin' it 80's style! We had a ton of fun (other than me almost breaking my arm! ;)) with family and friends. Then, we went to dinner at Richardo's, which is one of our favorite mexican restaurants in So Cal.
Another baby boy entered the world on the 20th! This one being my blood nephew, who was born to Jefri Peters and my brother, Seth Tribble. His name is Kai Anson Peters Tribble and he arrived at 11:37am weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz 21 inches. My family was thrilled to welcome the first blood grandson!
Final adventure of March was a road trip with my favorite Amber! We stopped in Fresno, where she stayed with her sister for a night and I stayed with Karl Strube (one of my adopted brothers). We went to dinner at this AWESOME Mediterranean restaurant before I headed to the Municipal airport for FLIGHT SCHOOL!!! The next morning I flew a plane. It was no big deal. ;) Ok, It was SOOO COOL! That afternoon, I grabbed Amber and we drove up to her childhood home, where her parents still live, to visit. She showed me around their little town where she grew up. It was a blast!
April:
This was a long and emotion filled month. Amber, my mom and I threw a baby shower for Kristin and Jonathon on April 1st. We did an outside garden party theme.
My last day at Mabel Paine Elementary, was the following week. :( I'd say, 4 years was a pretty good run. That was probably the HARDEST job to leave, EVER! Katie and her family are some of my closest friends and they came out of that job. I still miss them a lot! Not to mention how much I miss my students! I also had to say goodbye to my precious Park family! I can't even begin to describe what a blessing this family was to me! Not only did we fill each others needs (them needing child care and me needing another job) but we were also the answer to each others prayers. God is pretty awesome like that! They will always be a part of my heart!
I had some special dates with people to say goodbye. Amber planned a whole day for us which involved doing everything we loved to do together (IE..go mini golfing, the dollar tree, Starbucks...etc). The Parks took me to dinner. Katie and Robbie let me take the boys on a special lunch/park/ice cream date. Finally, Ron, Susie and the kids had me over for dinner.
After the sad goobyes, came a welcome hello when I got to meet Kai and the Peters family! What a lovely bunch of people they are! They welcomed me in with open arms and allowed me to spend much needed cuddle time with Kai. I loved every single minute of getting to know them! Jefri, Kai and Jefri's family (Bailey, Lars, Kashton, Keaton and Genie) are all such a lovely addition to our extended family now! It has been so easy blending our families together thanks to their welcoming attitudes! YAY for family!
My plane landed in Orange County on the 14th at 6pm. My mom picked me up and we made a mad dash to storage to grab everything we could fit in to my car for the drive to OK. The 15th was my going away party. Finally came the ultimate goodbye as my mom and I packed up my car, said a VERY sad goodbye to my daddy and drove off in to the sunrise towards Arizona on the 16th. We stopped in the Grand Canyon for a night to see April, had to get two new tires the next day and FINALLY made it to the Walker's house in Broken Arrow on Wednesday afternoon. That was a very LONG two days of driving. The Walker family allowed me to crash with them for a few months as I began my new life in OK. My mom stayed for a few days then flew home. That was also a hard goodbye.
Then, came many more hellos, as I began working for IEW. I started attending Memorial Bible Church and building friendships there too. Rebekah came to visit me from Abilene for the first time.
May:
Not too much happened in May. Diane and I went to a convention together and began a very lovely friendship. We were both nervous at first because we did not know each other AT ALL but of course it ended beautifully. We make a great team! :)
I also became an official OK resident when I got my drivers license and license plate.
June:
Things started to get busier at work.
I went to visit Rebekah and my grandparents in Abilene for the first time. Shortly after that, my grandparents moved back to California.
I put a deposit down and got the keys to my first OK apartment! Rebekah came for a few hours to bring me furniture that my grandparents gave me.
July:
I settled in to my new place.
Things got REALLY crazy at work! Katie "quit" working at the office so she could move to far off college lands!
I helped Diane coordinate her wedding. It went off with just a few hitches. But, what wedding doesn't? :)
August:
Things got REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY crazy at work! That's pretty much all I remember.
I had a house warming party.
The weather was crazy. It was HOT!
September:
I went on our church family retreat near Arkansas.
I also went to a Tulsa Shock Women Basketball game.
Diane, her brothers and I went on a CRAZY adventure to Arlington TX (5 hours away) to see the Angels play ball. It got rained out. hahahaha! It is still a super funny memory! We did hit up In-N-Out and Trader Joes, which made the madness worth it my opinion.
Things slowed WAY down at work. I started working for the School Division.
October:
Went to the Tulsa State Fair.
Fall weather and foliage began!
Rebekah went home to visit and got my dogs and my stuff.
I Went to Abilene to visit my dogs and my stuff. Oh yeah, I saw my Rebekah, Seth and Kelly too. ;) Rebekah pureed a HUGE pumpkin. I met the Salmin family and fell in love with Rebekah's church before driving home.
November:
I Filled my two Operation Christmas Child boxes.
Hit a deer and dealt with insurance.
FINALLY, the long awaited trip home come about. I was able to visit for two weeks. The day after I arrived was a Sunday so it was a blast surprising everyone at church! I met Mathia and Gen Gen for the first time as well as saw many family and friends. While I was home, I went on a Cruise with work and worked a convention. So it work/play. It was so awesome being able to celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. Jefri, Kai and Seth came to visit while I was in CA with my parents. Jefri and I had fun hanging out. I also got to see Annie's new Condo and spend much time with my Suzi in Crime (aka, my cousin Jacki). We went black friday shopping with Emily. At the end of the two VERY full weeks, I flew home on the same flights as David and Julie.
December:
Rebekah came to visit and we found an awesome Sushi place. We (ok, she) decorated my apartment for Christmas and had a Christmas/come meet my sister party.
I got internet at my apartment and started working from home two days a week.
It started to get REALLY cold. I learned/am learning how to dress for cold weather.
I was able to go to Abilene and have A WHITE CHRISTMAS! On Christmas eve we spent time with our aunt, uncle and cousins. It was a total blast and blessing to be with family curing the holidays! On Christmas day we went to Salmins house. They are so sweet and included us right in as family. Their extended family even had little stocking stuffers for us! We felt very loved and accepted. :) To end the lovely time, I almost died while driving home. lol! I drove on ice for 300 miles on Christmas night (weather report LIED).
Last week, we had our work Christmas party.
On Saturday I went to see my friends in their choir performance followed up with Les Miserables at the local theater. It was AMAZING!! I seriously was floored!
Tonight I will ring in the new year with people from church and thus ends my year in review!
Whew! You know whenever you watch a TV series and they do a flashback show? (I am particularly thinking about Friends because they did those a lot) That is what I feel like just happened! hahaha! That was exhausting! As you noticed, I got more and more in to short hand/"bullet point" type thoughts as the months moved on. lol!
Anyways, it was so good to have to stretch my brain to remember everything that has happened because it caused me to see all of the ways God has moved in my life! Hence, the reason why I love doing this.
Looking forward, I have a feeling God has some MAJOR things in store for this next year. He always does but this year feels different. The start to my life in OK has been amazing and I know it will only get better. I seriously can't believe I have already lived here for 8 months!
It's going to be really exciting to see my parents new life take off as they move (in two weeks) to Washington State to become missionaries in a small town named Endicott. It only has 400 people in it. God provided an AMAZING opportunity for them and I am SOOO excited to see it flourish! Hopefully I will be able to visit them in March around my birthday.
I will end this here. Hopefully you all have a safe and lovely new year! Don't forget to take some time and at least think through your year in review to reflect all of the amazing things God has accomplished in your lives! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Satisfied
Hi guys!
It's been way to much time between my last post and now. I am not even going to attempt the catch up game. However, I will tell you that my trip to California was awesome! It was so refreshing to see so many friends/family. 6 out of the 14 days there were work work work but it was still well worth it!
The one thing I appreciate the most about my trip home was that it helped me to realize how blessed I am to be living in OK. God knew I needed a new direction to head in and He sent me down the perfect path. I am so satisfied with my life right now. Even though not much has changed about my life pattern from CA to OK, there is just something different about being here with all newness around me. It has really helped me appreciate being alone and leaning on nothing but God. I have been doing things that I enjoy with my spare time (which is pretty much only on the weekends) instead of sitting around feeling sad. It's an awesome feeling! Cooking, cleaning, shopping, drinking coffee, playing with my puppies and so much more consume my time now and I love every minute of it.
Anyways, I don't really have all that much to blog about (well, the reality is there is too much since the last post) other then to tell you all, there is so much to be thankful for! Enjoy your families and all the lovely smells this time of year brings.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!
It's been way to much time between my last post and now. I am not even going to attempt the catch up game. However, I will tell you that my trip to California was awesome! It was so refreshing to see so many friends/family. 6 out of the 14 days there were work work work but it was still well worth it!
The one thing I appreciate the most about my trip home was that it helped me to realize how blessed I am to be living in OK. God knew I needed a new direction to head in and He sent me down the perfect path. I am so satisfied with my life right now. Even though not much has changed about my life pattern from CA to OK, there is just something different about being here with all newness around me. It has really helped me appreciate being alone and leaning on nothing but God. I have been doing things that I enjoy with my spare time (which is pretty much only on the weekends) instead of sitting around feeling sad. It's an awesome feeling! Cooking, cleaning, shopping, drinking coffee, playing with my puppies and so much more consume my time now and I love every minute of it.
Anyways, I don't really have all that much to blog about (well, the reality is there is too much since the last post) other then to tell you all, there is so much to be thankful for! Enjoy your families and all the lovely smells this time of year brings.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Anger, Disappointment and Hurt
Ephesians 4:26-32
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27and do not give the devil an opportunity.
28He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
29Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
All the time in the world due to lack of sleep...
I can't believe it's been 5 weeks since i last updated my blog. We'll chock that up to how busy life has been!
I'm finally getting to be the social butterfly you all know and love, again! God has been blessing me with some truly amazing new friends (and reconnecting with old ones) here in the great state of Oklahoma. For that, I am insanely grateful! My social calander has included at least one event every week and busy busy weekends!
Sooooooo many things have happened since I last wrote! For starters, I will tell you about August at a curriculum company. Can you say PURE INSANITY?! Yep, that about sums it up. You can only imagine how many calls the four of us in customer service had to take to provide the shipping dept with up to 300 orders in one day! Granted, not all of these were phone orders (thank goodness for our website!). *whew* Let's just say after 2 1/2 months of that, we are all very grateful to be entering the "slow season."
During all of this madness I was still living it up on the weekends with a canvas/paint/mog pog party, church, worship team, cleaning, shopping, discovering new places (like utica square, an adorable out door shopping mall) a house warming party, pretending to learn how to coupon, coffee dates, movie nights....etc. Such is the life of a happy little butterfly!
Once the "busy season" started coming to an end I was able to attend a weekend get away with the church family at New Life Ranch. NLR is a lovely Christian camp that sits right on the boarder of OK/AR. It was rainy the entire weekend, but, I loved it! The rain made it really feel like fall! An awesome thing about this side of the "world" is that rain doesn't make life come to a screeching halt like it does in California. Activity keeps happening outside even when there is "wet stuff falling from the sky!" Who would have thought?!
Due to the continuation of outside life during the rain, I was able to learn how to shoot! I also bounced the volley ball around, watched people play soccer and watched other people swim and kayak, all while drinking coffee. Also, during the weekend, Joel led worship and I sang with him, which was really awesome. It was such a blessing to get to know people from the church better since I was still feeling a tad bit out of place. All in all, a really fun time!
Last but not least, Doug and Amy (amazing couple from church) invited me and a few friends to the Tulsa Shock womans basketball game on Thursday. Afterwards we went to an Irish "restaurant" (aka pub) for dinner. So.much.fun! It is so lovely getting to know the place I call home a little bit better each and every day!
Next on the agenda? Saturday, 4 friends and I are hopping in my car and driving to Dallas for the day to see MY ANGELS play the Rangers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We also plan to hit up in n out and trader joes! Can.not.wait!!!!!!
All of that to say, thank you for praying for me as I settle in to my new life. Things are finally coming along and Tulsa is truly starting to feel like home! I Miss you all so much!
Loving life because of His grace and mercy,
Sarah
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Shut up!
That's right, I said (cover your ears children) "SHUT UP!" Who exactly am I talking to when I say this? Well, I'm talking to myself. I have spent the better part of the week whining, complaining and crying. I seriously got so frustrated at one point that I wanted to completely give up on life. Then, God got my attention. He basically told me to "shut up." I love it when God is blunt with me because I normally need that. All I ever whine, complain and worry over is finances and men. Two things I have no control over. So I need to once and for all leave it at the cross and trust my Jesus who never stops amazing me with his loving kindness and provision. Are my problems solved? Nope. Do they need to be? Nope. This being because (reality check) GOD IS BIGGER AND HE CONTROLS MY LIFE. The end.
Monday, August 13, 2012
That moment...
when all you can do is stare at the wall and cry....
I can't even imagine what might happen.
I can't even imagine what might happen.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Hope
I just love the word "hope." It is so optimistic and happy! When I feel "hopeless" I am usually not happy, in the slightest. Unfortunately, hope and I have not been the closest of friends lately. Stress, frustration, loneliness and worry have all been making me feel pretty "hopeless" in the last few weeks.
Today as I was reading through all of the blogs I have missed in the last week or so, I ran across this one. This is my friend Andrea. She is the wife of my friend Paul, who, I grew up with. I just love this girl! She is my living example that there is "hope" for my future! In her blog, she was talking about her divorce (nine years ago) and how she doesn't really talk about it anymore and thinks about it even less these days. The reason for this being that she is now happily re-married (to my friend) and has two adorable children (SERIOUSLY cute kids!)! I can't wait to be in her shoes! The day when I can say "Wow, I haven't talked or thought about my divorce in a long time" is going to be a happy day. It is still on the for front of my mind often times. Sometimes I am really hard on myself and think "OH MY GOSH!!! Will you get OVER IT already?! It's been 3 and a half years and you still act like it only happened a year ago!" Then I see people like Andrea and hope becomes my friend again.
Another good point she made is that "everything happens for a reason." I tell myself this all the time and I know it is true but often I don't REALLY believe it. Those days when I sit alone in my apartment and think "Will my arms ever be full again? Will I ever get to hold someone and have them hold me in that sweet embrasse of people who innocently love each other? I mean REALLY love me and not just pretend?" I KNOW the answer to that question but reminding myself of it can be quite the problem sometimes. But, then, I remember people like Andrea. Everything DOES happen for a reason and God REALLY DOES know what He is doing! So these are the times when I live in the moment and remember that God is growing me every step of the way. I look back on how far I have come so far, keep walking and try to find Joy in the Journey (not to steal my own blog name or anything ;)). I also remind myself of things like the fact I learned this week: it can take two to FIVE YEARS to heal from a devastating event in your life! Crazy huh?!
The funny thing that strikes me even now, as I type this blog, is that God really does know what He is doing. I mean, I have been desperate and in need of a good reminder that everything will be ok. Man, does God deliver or what?! Not only did He give me Andrea's blog, but in church the last few weeks we have been talking about Ephesians 5. Ephesians is my favorite book of the Bible. I love this book for many reasons. The chapter that can really sting though is chapter 5, especially verses 22-33. Those verses were read at mine and Jeremiah's wedding. They meant a lot to me. As was stated in church this morning, "Marriage without these verses is SCARY stuff. It will either end in devastation or divorce, or both." This was made VERY obvious in my life seeing as how I lived through the "both" of that statement. It is still a source of "hope" even though it stings, A LOT. The "hope" comes from knowing that I now KNOW what to look for. Something my daddy has always said to me that was also brought up in church this morning is to "find someone who loves Jesus more then you and you will know that you have found someone worthy of marriage."
Another thing that gives me "hope" is that Jesus has been using me and my story to give hope to others. There is someone that I have had the chance to share my story with who needs hope right now. She has been able to find hope through the story that Jesus has been writing with my life. I never get tired of telling my story. Every time I tell it I am reminded of the hope that my story has so far and the hope that there is for the future.
So...here I sit, living by the hope that I find in stories like like my friend's story (and often, my own). All I need to do is keep reminding myself that there is hope in the story Jesus is writing for my future.
Well friends.....I'm off to find Joy in the Journey.
Today as I was reading through all of the blogs I have missed in the last week or so, I ran across this one. This is my friend Andrea. She is the wife of my friend Paul, who, I grew up with. I just love this girl! She is my living example that there is "hope" for my future! In her blog, she was talking about her divorce (nine years ago) and how she doesn't really talk about it anymore and thinks about it even less these days. The reason for this being that she is now happily re-married (to my friend) and has two adorable children (SERIOUSLY cute kids!)! I can't wait to be in her shoes! The day when I can say "Wow, I haven't talked or thought about my divorce in a long time" is going to be a happy day. It is still on the for front of my mind often times. Sometimes I am really hard on myself and think "OH MY GOSH!!! Will you get OVER IT already?! It's been 3 and a half years and you still act like it only happened a year ago!" Then I see people like Andrea and hope becomes my friend again.
Another good point she made is that "everything happens for a reason." I tell myself this all the time and I know it is true but often I don't REALLY believe it. Those days when I sit alone in my apartment and think "Will my arms ever be full again? Will I ever get to hold someone and have them hold me in that sweet embrasse of people who innocently love each other? I mean REALLY love me and not just pretend?" I KNOW the answer to that question but reminding myself of it can be quite the problem sometimes. But, then, I remember people like Andrea. Everything DOES happen for a reason and God REALLY DOES know what He is doing! So these are the times when I live in the moment and remember that God is growing me every step of the way. I look back on how far I have come so far, keep walking and try to find Joy in the Journey (not to steal my own blog name or anything ;)). I also remind myself of things like the fact I learned this week: it can take two to FIVE YEARS to heal from a devastating event in your life! Crazy huh?!
The funny thing that strikes me even now, as I type this blog, is that God really does know what He is doing. I mean, I have been desperate and in need of a good reminder that everything will be ok. Man, does God deliver or what?! Not only did He give me Andrea's blog, but in church the last few weeks we have been talking about Ephesians 5. Ephesians is my favorite book of the Bible. I love this book for many reasons. The chapter that can really sting though is chapter 5, especially verses 22-33. Those verses were read at mine and Jeremiah's wedding. They meant a lot to me. As was stated in church this morning, "Marriage without these verses is SCARY stuff. It will either end in devastation or divorce, or both." This was made VERY obvious in my life seeing as how I lived through the "both" of that statement. It is still a source of "hope" even though it stings, A LOT. The "hope" comes from knowing that I now KNOW what to look for. Something my daddy has always said to me that was also brought up in church this morning is to "find someone who loves Jesus more then you and you will know that you have found someone worthy of marriage."
Another thing that gives me "hope" is that Jesus has been using me and my story to give hope to others. There is someone that I have had the chance to share my story with who needs hope right now. She has been able to find hope through the story that Jesus has been writing with my life. I never get tired of telling my story. Every time I tell it I am reminded of the hope that my story has so far and the hope that there is for the future.
So...here I sit, living by the hope that I find in stories like like my friend's story (and often, my own). All I need to do is keep reminding myself that there is hope in the story Jesus is writing for my future.
Well friends.....I'm off to find Joy in the Journey.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Oklahoma Sky
I'm not gonna lie, I love the Oklahoma sky. ;-) here is some instagram love for you all.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Two in "one" day!
You never thought it was possible did you?! Two in one day has only ever happened once in my three years of blogging! I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back now. ;)
"What is the inspiration for this second blog?"you may be asking. Well, I couldn't help but share how blessed I am. Just before I "went to bed" last night I was about to get depressed. I could feel the self pity coming on. My desires to NOT be alone anymore were eating away at my soul. Let's be real, I was sad, mad, heart broken and lonely. THEN, my true knight in shining armor came to my rescue and I got to stay up all night with him!! Jesus, MY Jesus, spent all night comforting me. How cool is that?! Wanna know what He told me? He told me to be patient because HE is all I need and He is preparing someone specifically for me!! ME Lord?! Just for me?! Ok, I will wait with excitement and patience! One day It will all make sense and I will look back on this time as a precious memory. I love getting to be up all night with the one who truly matters in my life! You're the best Jesus!
"What is the inspiration for this second blog?"you may be asking. Well, I couldn't help but share how blessed I am. Just before I "went to bed" last night I was about to get depressed. I could feel the self pity coming on. My desires to NOT be alone anymore were eating away at my soul. Let's be real, I was sad, mad, heart broken and lonely. THEN, my true knight in shining armor came to my rescue and I got to stay up all night with him!! Jesus, MY Jesus, spent all night comforting me. How cool is that?! Wanna know what He told me? He told me to be patient because HE is all I need and He is preparing someone specifically for me!! ME Lord?! Just for me?! Ok, I will wait with excitement and patience! One day It will all make sense and I will look back on this time as a precious memory. I love getting to be up all night with the one who truly matters in my life! You're the best Jesus!
Wee morning hours with Jesus
I'm not gonna lie, these late night/early morning dates with Jesus are becoming pretty special. As much as I would love to be sleeping during this time of the night, I also love being able to spill my thoughts on Jesus in a different way then I can during the distraction of the day light. I'm less anxious to move on and hurry through my time with Him in the middle of the night (especially because there is nothing else I really could be doing). Yes, I'll admit, I do get distracted by Facebook but after about 5 minutes there is nothing to look at because everyone else is sleeping and therefore not posting.
Tonight has been precious. There have been several things on my mind. This is what it all comes down: "Lord, do I really trust you? I mean REALLY trust you! With every aspect of life. Do I?!" Well, not always. I like being in control. This whole not being able to sleep thing has been realllllllly frustrating, but, do I trust that God knows I need sleep and will allow me to do so? Do I trust Him to be listening when I cry out for mercy in the middle of the night? Do I trust that he knows the desires of me heart? Do I trust that his timing is perfect in every aspect of my life?
I've been doing a lot of reflecting tonight and honestly it's hard to believe that I've been through so much in my relatively short life. How did I manage to survive? That seems to be the question I keep asking myself. I didn't do it alone, that's for sure! The only reason I survived was because of my Savior! So when I question myself and think "do I really trust you Lord?" I can honestly say, "yes! I do I do I do!" If I didn't, well, for the sake of bluntness, I wouldn't be here anymore. Honestly, I think I would have lost the motivation to live without Jesus. What else is there to live for? Not much.
So all of that to say, I trust you with my WHOLE life Lord. Please let your will be done in me. Let me clearly reflect you in everything that I do.
I know this verse is over quoted but I love it even more now then ever.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He WILL direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6
As the rest of you are sound asleep I will continue to enjoy my time with Jesus and trust that in the morning I will have the energy to serve and worship him.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
THE wedding
Well well well, the day finally came and went yesterday! What an exhausting, crazy, fun, stressful, baby screaming, hyper kinda day it was! I think I walked up and down the THREE flights of stairs too and from Diane's apt like 8007 (maybe a slight exaggeration) times!
So the week started for me on Thursday. I got off work and ran straight to Diane's apt for the bachelorette party. We had a lot of fun celebrating, playing games and opening presents with Diane. But I still had to work the next day so I peaced out at like 11. Thur night I was able to sleep a little then off to the Walker's for work I went on Fri morn. It was a slow morning and there was a lot to get done (and Mikeal was getting ready to proposed to Jessica so the whole Walker family was leaving the house), so I left at one and ran home to get ready. After I was ready to go, I went to Diane's apt to help out. When I got there Kristin and I ran to two different Micheals to get more sprinkles for the cupcakes. For those of you that have seen (or heard) Bill Ingval and his "Hears your sign skit" you will totally understand. I walked in to the micheals and the girl at the counter asked me if I "had a big project." I so wanted to look at her and say "No I just decided to buy every bottle of cup cake sprinkles you have so that I could see how many I could get in my mouth at one time! Here's your sign" BUT, because I am quick on my feet it came out like this, "Weddings tomorrow. Ran out of sprinkles. Brides kinda stressed. I'm solving the problem!"and then jet out the door. haha! Due to the sprinkles disaster it was too late to meet everyone back at the apt so Kristin and I headed to the church. I have NEVER seen so much TRAFFIC in Tulsa!! What the heck?! It took us 45 minutes to get to the church but thank goodness we were still on time! The rehearsal went well then we drove all the way to Locust Grove for dinner. There was some miscommunication so we ended up with 6 people needing to get back to Tulsa and a little tiny 5 seater rental car. It was quite the experience! 4 of us squished in the back where none of us could sit straight because we literally couldn't fit all of our hips in a row on that little tiny bench seat. We eventually ended up with Diane on top of all of us. It was a clown car moment for sure! After a few little issues the Beautiful Bride was on her way to bed and I was on my way home!
The Next thing I knew my alarm went off and it was WEDDING DAY!!!!!! I received an adorable text from Diane that morning that said "No bubble or sparklers for the grand exit. Problem or no problem?" haha. So I responded with "no problem" of course and then we had a lovely little early morning text chat sesh. She is so precious! Once I was ready I headed out the door (About 9am) to make my way to Diane's apt. Diane and Becky were diligently getting ready when I walked in the door. We spent some time chatting it up while the bride was getting her hair done then Heather (Brides new sis in law) and I headed to the church (after walking up and down the stairs about 7052 times) to set up candles and stuff. When we got back Diane sent me to taco bell to get lunch for all the girls. The ADORABLE photographer was there when I arrived home from taco bell and was taking pictures of the bride and bridal party. Denise (one of the bridesmaids) needed help with her baby, Aiden, so I got him for a little while. We went to the church at 2:30. The bridal party (10 BRIDESMAIDS!!!) along with the bride and moms squished into a little tiny cry room that was probably no bigger then 10x10. It was TINY!!!! This is where things got interesting. I closed the center isle doors (all of this is happening while I have Aiden on my hip BTW) because people were not walking gracefully and kept knocking the candles lining the center isle over. It was quite the problem. So my solution was to let people seat themselves on the outside and go in the two side doors. Well, some how the doors kept getting shut and the center isle door kept getting opened. After re opening the doors and shutting the center ones twice I noticed who it was that kept undoing what I had just done. It was very frustrating! Then the Brides grandma and brother went MIA so I am not gonna lie, IT WAS STRESSFUL!!!!!! We never ended up finding them and the wedding had to go on without them. The bridal party made there way down the isle and then came the STUNNING BRIDE!!! She was soooo gorgeous! The grand entrance went off without a hitch until the brides dress almost caught on fire at the end of the isle, NBD. lol!! Luckily one of the audience members saw it and ran over to lift her dress off the candle. This is when I didn't get to see anything else because it got too loud with all the moms and babies in the entry way so I closed the doors and the wedding went on. It was an hour and a half latin mass so Aiden and I got to enjoy watching (and when I say "enjoy" I mean he screamed the whole time. For being the baby whisperer this baby did NOT want to be whispered. weird) from the cry room.
Once the ceremony was over the bridal party greeted the guested and then headed to a park down the street and everyone else headed to the reception hall. It was an eventful drive to say the least. First off I had a the DJ tex me and ask me to come find him when I got there. Second my GPS said I was there but I kinda found a problem with that when the address it lead me to was someones front door. The funny thing was that this happens all the time apparently so there were about 4 other cars behind me. One of the Neighbors came out and told us where to go so we led a little caravan over to the Glenpool event center. I eventually made it there and was able to pow wow with he DJ. We worked really well together. Surprisingly enough the Bridal party was ON TIME from taking pictures so we got the party started!!! The reception was flawless!!! It was such a blast!! I was able to enjoy the party while staying on top of things. We drank, ate and danced our hearts out. The Walker family (and the soon to be Walker, Jessica), Cameron and his sister, Sophie sat with me. We enjoyed each others company to the max! I adore Sophie! We became fast friends!! Thankfully she doesn't live too far ( about 2 hours) so I think we will get to hang out some!! I can't wait!
Anyways, So many things happend at the reception that I won't waste your time with any more detail then was already given. I will tell one funny story though. Diane and I were goofing off (what's new right?) and as I was shaking my booty at her she ran up behind me and knocked my glass of red wine in my hand ALL OVER HERSELF and me!! It was pretty funny. So I grabbed her arm and we ran into the bathroom. Luckily those stains will come out with dry cleaning. The bride and groom headed out the door at 11:30 and off to wedded bliss they went! It was such a lovely wedding! We were able to get all cleaned up and leave by 12:30. It was a night to remember for sure! I love my new friends so much and was so honored to play a part in the big day!
Welp, I better run. About to Skype in to Sarah J's baby shower!!!!! YAY! Have an awesome week everyone!
So the week started for me on Thursday. I got off work and ran straight to Diane's apt for the bachelorette party. We had a lot of fun celebrating, playing games and opening presents with Diane. But I still had to work the next day so I peaced out at like 11. Thur night I was able to sleep a little then off to the Walker's for work I went on Fri morn. It was a slow morning and there was a lot to get done (and Mikeal was getting ready to proposed to Jessica so the whole Walker family was leaving the house), so I left at one and ran home to get ready. After I was ready to go, I went to Diane's apt to help out. When I got there Kristin and I ran to two different Micheals to get more sprinkles for the cupcakes. For those of you that have seen (or heard) Bill Ingval and his "Hears your sign skit" you will totally understand. I walked in to the micheals and the girl at the counter asked me if I "had a big project." I so wanted to look at her and say "No I just decided to buy every bottle of cup cake sprinkles you have so that I could see how many I could get in my mouth at one time! Here's your sign" BUT, because I am quick on my feet it came out like this, "Weddings tomorrow. Ran out of sprinkles. Brides kinda stressed. I'm solving the problem!"and then jet out the door. haha! Due to the sprinkles disaster it was too late to meet everyone back at the apt so Kristin and I headed to the church. I have NEVER seen so much TRAFFIC in Tulsa!! What the heck?! It took us 45 minutes to get to the church but thank goodness we were still on time! The rehearsal went well then we drove all the way to Locust Grove for dinner. There was some miscommunication so we ended up with 6 people needing to get back to Tulsa and a little tiny 5 seater rental car. It was quite the experience! 4 of us squished in the back where none of us could sit straight because we literally couldn't fit all of our hips in a row on that little tiny bench seat. We eventually ended up with Diane on top of all of us. It was a clown car moment for sure! After a few little issues the Beautiful Bride was on her way to bed and I was on my way home!
The Next thing I knew my alarm went off and it was WEDDING DAY!!!!!! I received an adorable text from Diane that morning that said "No bubble or sparklers for the grand exit. Problem or no problem?" haha. So I responded with "no problem" of course and then we had a lovely little early morning text chat sesh. She is so precious! Once I was ready I headed out the door (About 9am) to make my way to Diane's apt. Diane and Becky were diligently getting ready when I walked in the door. We spent some time chatting it up while the bride was getting her hair done then Heather (Brides new sis in law) and I headed to the church (after walking up and down the stairs about 7052 times) to set up candles and stuff. When we got back Diane sent me to taco bell to get lunch for all the girls. The ADORABLE photographer was there when I arrived home from taco bell and was taking pictures of the bride and bridal party. Denise (one of the bridesmaids) needed help with her baby, Aiden, so I got him for a little while. We went to the church at 2:30. The bridal party (10 BRIDESMAIDS!!!) along with the bride and moms squished into a little tiny cry room that was probably no bigger then 10x10. It was TINY!!!! This is where things got interesting. I closed the center isle doors (all of this is happening while I have Aiden on my hip BTW) because people were not walking gracefully and kept knocking the candles lining the center isle over. It was quite the problem. So my solution was to let people seat themselves on the outside and go in the two side doors. Well, some how the doors kept getting shut and the center isle door kept getting opened. After re opening the doors and shutting the center ones twice I noticed who it was that kept undoing what I had just done. It was very frustrating! Then the Brides grandma and brother went MIA so I am not gonna lie, IT WAS STRESSFUL!!!!!! We never ended up finding them and the wedding had to go on without them. The bridal party made there way down the isle and then came the STUNNING BRIDE!!! She was soooo gorgeous! The grand entrance went off without a hitch until the brides dress almost caught on fire at the end of the isle, NBD. lol!! Luckily one of the audience members saw it and ran over to lift her dress off the candle. This is when I didn't get to see anything else because it got too loud with all the moms and babies in the entry way so I closed the doors and the wedding went on. It was an hour and a half latin mass so Aiden and I got to enjoy watching (and when I say "enjoy" I mean he screamed the whole time. For being the baby whisperer this baby did NOT want to be whispered. weird) from the cry room.
Once the ceremony was over the bridal party greeted the guested and then headed to a park down the street and everyone else headed to the reception hall. It was an eventful drive to say the least. First off I had a the DJ tex me and ask me to come find him when I got there. Second my GPS said I was there but I kinda found a problem with that when the address it lead me to was someones front door. The funny thing was that this happens all the time apparently so there were about 4 other cars behind me. One of the Neighbors came out and told us where to go so we led a little caravan over to the Glenpool event center. I eventually made it there and was able to pow wow with he DJ. We worked really well together. Surprisingly enough the Bridal party was ON TIME from taking pictures so we got the party started!!! The reception was flawless!!! It was such a blast!! I was able to enjoy the party while staying on top of things. We drank, ate and danced our hearts out. The Walker family (and the soon to be Walker, Jessica), Cameron and his sister, Sophie sat with me. We enjoyed each others company to the max! I adore Sophie! We became fast friends!! Thankfully she doesn't live too far ( about 2 hours) so I think we will get to hang out some!! I can't wait!
Anyways, So many things happend at the reception that I won't waste your time with any more detail then was already given. I will tell one funny story though. Diane and I were goofing off (what's new right?) and as I was shaking my booty at her she ran up behind me and knocked my glass of red wine in my hand ALL OVER HERSELF and me!! It was pretty funny. So I grabbed her arm and we ran into the bathroom. Luckily those stains will come out with dry cleaning. The bride and groom headed out the door at 11:30 and off to wedded bliss they went! It was such a lovely wedding! We were able to get all cleaned up and leave by 12:30. It was a night to remember for sure! I love my new friends so much and was so honored to play a part in the big day!
Welp, I better run. About to Skype in to Sarah J's baby shower!!!!! YAY! Have an awesome week everyone!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Sleepless Thoughts
So, as some of you may have gathered from Facebook, I CAN'T SLEEP! I have been having these sleepless issues for my whole life but it has been exceptionally worse since I moved here. This makes no sense to me WHAT. SO. EVER. I have no idea why this... really...NO IDEA!!! Some nights I wake up so startled that I am fighting back tears because I can't BELIEVE what I just dreamt! Other nights I wake up for no reason at all and lay there staring at the ceiling. I have tried EVERYTHING to make it better: exercising, taking valerian root, using lavender oils and bathing in lavender soap, doing them all together..I mean, let's be real...I've tried every solution under the sun (other then taking sleeping pills which I REFUSE to do because I can no commit to getting a certain amount of sleep every night and I will NOT risk getting addicted or waking up groggy)!
Yesterday I was texting with my friend Becky and she asked me if I pray before bed. I was ashamed to tell her that I don't. I really have a hard time with that issue. Sometimes I try really hard and other times I just don't. So, last night, after our conversation, I decided to heed her advice and pray before falling asleep. My problem is, I am a horrible prayer. As a child who was born and raised in a Christian home with parents who have INCREDIBLE prayer lives, HOW is this possible?! I can pray well in a crowd out loud and when I have specific things to pray about but when it's just me and Jesus, I just don't know what to say. Trust me, I love my savior more than anything in this world, but, I find myself distracted and frustrated while trying to talk to him. I know prayer is a discipline, but clearly I haven't taught myself that discipline very well. My mom is the most amazing prayer warrior I've ever met and I envy her ability to talk to our Savior the way she does! When I was laying awake in the middle of the night last night, for no reason, I felt the need to talk to Jesus. So I did. After about 2 minutes I found myself distracted as usual and I had no idea what I had even said already.
This is me being real with you. So, this is where I am going to open my blog up for advise. I don't really know that I would heed your advise for the sleep issues because the only thing left to try is sleeping aids and I will not do that. I am, however, wanting to know about your prayer life. How do you pray? In a closest on your knees as the scripture advises? It is something that I think is never really taught in the church because it is just supposed to be "natural" but honestly...it's not! I am a VERY talkative person who communicates very well but, I don't know how to pray. I have tried prayer journals and I do well with them for a while until I lose motivation to write in them. I have tried praying on my face so nothing around me can distract me but then my mind wanders. So anyways, here is where you (as the readers of this blog and fellow believers) tell me how you pray and maybe you can teach me how to pray. Like I said, I'm being real. This is kind of a taboo topic is seems because we should know how to talk to Jesus. So be real back, please!
Striving to be more like HIM everyday,
Me
Yesterday I was texting with my friend Becky and she asked me if I pray before bed. I was ashamed to tell her that I don't. I really have a hard time with that issue. Sometimes I try really hard and other times I just don't. So, last night, after our conversation, I decided to heed her advice and pray before falling asleep. My problem is, I am a horrible prayer. As a child who was born and raised in a Christian home with parents who have INCREDIBLE prayer lives, HOW is this possible?! I can pray well in a crowd out loud and when I have specific things to pray about but when it's just me and Jesus, I just don't know what to say. Trust me, I love my savior more than anything in this world, but, I find myself distracted and frustrated while trying to talk to him. I know prayer is a discipline, but clearly I haven't taught myself that discipline very well. My mom is the most amazing prayer warrior I've ever met and I envy her ability to talk to our Savior the way she does! When I was laying awake in the middle of the night last night, for no reason, I felt the need to talk to Jesus. So I did. After about 2 minutes I found myself distracted as usual and I had no idea what I had even said already.
This is me being real with you. So, this is where I am going to open my blog up for advise. I don't really know that I would heed your advise for the sleep issues because the only thing left to try is sleeping aids and I will not do that. I am, however, wanting to know about your prayer life. How do you pray? In a closest on your knees as the scripture advises? It is something that I think is never really taught in the church because it is just supposed to be "natural" but honestly...it's not! I am a VERY talkative person who communicates very well but, I don't know how to pray. I have tried prayer journals and I do well with them for a while until I lose motivation to write in them. I have tried praying on my face so nothing around me can distract me but then my mind wanders. So anyways, here is where you (as the readers of this blog and fellow believers) tell me how you pray and maybe you can teach me how to pray. Like I said, I'm being real. This is kind of a taboo topic is seems because we should know how to talk to Jesus. So be real back, please!
Striving to be more like HIM everyday,
Me
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Bribed
Let's be real, I was bribed to write this blog. I am not going to complain, though, because the bribe was totally worth it! To top it off I was given a Sbux gift card from my mom and dad. It came in my AWESOME package which I got from them today! They are the bestest! ;) Thanks parentals! So, as usual, here I sit at Sbux with my Iced coffee (due to the gagillion degree heat outside!! It's FREEEEZING in here though!), typing away. I have a lot to say, as usual, but I just don't know where to start. It would only make sense for me to begin with my random life stories per the norm. Since I last updated, A LOT has happened!! I'll just list everything and then possibly expand on it later.
1. Promoted to full time at work last week.
2. Got my new apartment last week.
3. Things have been getting busier at work and it is getting really fun!
4. Started working one day a week from "home" (the Walker's house). This means I was also given a brand new mac book to use for work (It lives at the Walker's house but STILL :) :) :))!!! AWESOME!
5. Joined worship team at church
6. Started getting to know people at church better and really enjoying their company/fellowship!
7. Finally re-united with one of my friends from home who moved here about 6 years ago! Can't wait to see you again Jen!
8. Visited my grandparents and twister in Abilene Tx!
9. My apartment was fully furnished by my grandparents due to the fact that they sold their house and moved back to the sunny state. HUGE BLESSING!!!
10. My twister showered me with presents for no reason! One of those gifts was a BRAND NEW BEACH CRUISER!! I have wanted one of those since I was a little girl!!
11. Joel Walker moved here. It is so nice to have a friend I grew up with near by!
12. The "Wedding of the Century" (my mom so loving nick named it that yesterday) is only two weeks away and Diane is finally stressing...poor thing! It will all be over soon and then=wedded bliss! ;)
13. REAL fireworks that leave the ground on 4th of July! SOOO FUN!
That's what's happening as of now. I'm sure there were other things but my brain is dead at the moment so I have nothing else to say. I shall think upon things and have a better blog for you next week. There have been some major spiritual thoughts running through my head as of late but they aren't exactly matured yet. Bye for now friends.
1. Promoted to full time at work last week.
2. Got my new apartment last week.
3. Things have been getting busier at work and it is getting really fun!
4. Started working one day a week from "home" (the Walker's house). This means I was also given a brand new mac book to use for work (It lives at the Walker's house but STILL :) :) :))!!! AWESOME!
5. Joined worship team at church
6. Started getting to know people at church better and really enjoying their company/fellowship!
7. Finally re-united with one of my friends from home who moved here about 6 years ago! Can't wait to see you again Jen!
8. Visited my grandparents and twister in Abilene Tx!
9. My apartment was fully furnished by my grandparents due to the fact that they sold their house and moved back to the sunny state. HUGE BLESSING!!!
10. My twister showered me with presents for no reason! One of those gifts was a BRAND NEW BEACH CRUISER!! I have wanted one of those since I was a little girl!!
11. Joel Walker moved here. It is so nice to have a friend I grew up with near by!
12. The "Wedding of the Century" (my mom so loving nick named it that yesterday) is only two weeks away and Diane is finally stressing...poor thing! It will all be over soon and then=wedded bliss! ;)
13. REAL fireworks that leave the ground on 4th of July! SOOO FUN!
That's what's happening as of now. I'm sure there were other things but my brain is dead at the moment so I have nothing else to say. I shall think upon things and have a better blog for you next week. There have been some major spiritual thoughts running through my head as of late but they aren't exactly matured yet. Bye for now friends.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Stuff and Things
What a week it has been! Let's just say it has been busy! It all started with some not so good news from one of my closest friends who is very sick. My heart broke into a million pieces. I wish I could be there with her in person to give her a hug while we sit and cry together but I can't.... so I sit here (hundreds of miles away) and pray instead. I know that God is in control and has a plan for everything that happens in our lives but sometimes that is hard to see in the midst of the pain.
Anyways, This week was very slow at work but very busy in the "wedding world." Diane is in full swing planning her wedding so that means a lot of meetings with vendors/people who are helping make the big day perfect. I am really excited and privileged to be a part of this whole process. Plus, it's giving me something to do since most of the time while I'm not at work, I am bored out of my mind! It is still proving to be really hard having most of my friends living so far away (at least an hour drive), so that makes for some lonely days off. But I am getting by and staying in Clear Creek as much as possible. I think once I have my own place the loneliness won't necessarily go away but I will feel more willing to invite people over. Hopefully once I am in a better routine I can sleep again too. That is a very large hope!
There is not much to report this week other than that. I really miss everyone at home. If I was a millionaire I would fly home every once in a while just to say hi. It is proving much harder to find joy in this journey as the time goes by so I am praying that God will fill this lonely void soon......
Anyways, This week was very slow at work but very busy in the "wedding world." Diane is in full swing planning her wedding so that means a lot of meetings with vendors/people who are helping make the big day perfect. I am really excited and privileged to be a part of this whole process. Plus, it's giving me something to do since most of the time while I'm not at work, I am bored out of my mind! It is still proving to be really hard having most of my friends living so far away (at least an hour drive), so that makes for some lonely days off. But I am getting by and staying in Clear Creek as much as possible. I think once I have my own place the loneliness won't necessarily go away but I will feel more willing to invite people over. Hopefully once I am in a better routine I can sleep again too. That is a very large hope!
There is not much to report this week other than that. I really miss everyone at home. If I was a millionaire I would fly home every once in a while just to say hi. It is proving much harder to find joy in this journey as the time goes by so I am praying that God will fill this lonely void soon......
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Insecurity
Sometimes I wish insecurity wasn't a word in my vocabulary but somehow it always seems to find me. I don't understand why I can be so secure in Jesus but still feel insecure in this world! When I meet new people I wonder if they are judging me. When I am getting to know new friends I feel the need to be around them as much as possible to make sure that they love me and think only good things about me. Why? I HAVE NO IDEA! Don't get me wrong, I am WAY less insecure then I have ever been (it was bad in high school) but it still sneaks it's way in there. Do I show it? Hardly ever! But I can feel it and I catch myself doing it and it is irritating as heck!
It is not usually a fun thing when someone comes up to me and says "you are one of the strongest people I've ever met" because it is normally when I am going through a time of "strengthening" and feel so insecure it's not funny. I don't want to be strong most of the time and I know I don't have to be because I have someone who can be strong for me and His name is Jesus. That does not mean that I don't feel the blows as they come at me but it does mean that I don't have to take them alone. I want to be so secure in Jesus that I NEVER doubt. For the most part this is true already but in the end it comes down to my sinners heart and I WILL fail. I am so glad my Jesus is there to pick me back up when I do.
It is not usually a fun thing when someone comes up to me and says "you are one of the strongest people I've ever met" because it is normally when I am going through a time of "strengthening" and feel so insecure it's not funny. I don't want to be strong most of the time and I know I don't have to be because I have someone who can be strong for me and His name is Jesus. That does not mean that I don't feel the blows as they come at me but it does mean that I don't have to take them alone. I want to be so secure in Jesus that I NEVER doubt. For the most part this is true already but in the end it comes down to my sinners heart and I WILL fail. I am so glad my Jesus is there to pick me back up when I do.
Friday, June 1, 2012
If I were truly SUZI HOMEMAKER (AKA the Proverbs 31 woman)....
....I would have the perfect blog that was so entertaining people would want to read it every time I post.
....I would make dinner every night and it would be so delicious it was devoured within minutes of being off the stove.
....My car, room and office would be spotless and adorably decorated at all times.
....I would always be in the middle of a craft, scrapbook, sewing project or baking session.
....I would always entertain.
....My hair, make-up and outfits would be perfect everyday.
....I would spend time with Jesus more then I spend time on the internet.
....I would have good books all over the place and be motivated to read them and soak up their knowledge. ....I would work out everyday not just because I want a perfect body but because I want to be healthy. BUT, alas, I am NOT SUZI HOMEMAKER (AKA the Proverbs 31 woman)! I am usually too busy, tired or, to be completely honest unmotivated to blog, cook, clean, read my Bible, entertain or anything else that I just mentioned. Hence, the reason why I've been living here for 6 weeks now and I have blogged once. If it weren't for the guilt factor I probably wouldn't blog at all. But, I know how much I like reading blogs from my friends that live far away, who I don't ever get to see. Then I think about all my friends and family who possibly feel the same way about me. So, here I sit...again at Starbucks (like last time)...blogging. It's raining outside and a BEAUTIFUL day so I am motivated to sit for a while and type.
Here goes nothin'......
The last month+ has been another whirlwind. I LOVE my job and everyone I work with. Monday through Thursday are my favorite days of the week because I get to go to work. Soon, I will be going in Monday-Friday and it will be that much better! The Company and the product are something I have been influenced by for over 10 years now so it is SO FUN being able to promote the product to people who eat it up!
It is a long drive into the office, but I wouldn't trade that drive time for anything. It's a nice time to sing, pray and ponder. Everyday as I am enduring that time behind the wheel I think to myself "Why don't I move closer?" Then, I bust up laughing because I can NOT imagine me and my little California self living in the MIDDLE OF NO WHERE!! It AIN'T (like that? I'm already starting to sound like an Okie!) gonna happen! I LOVE the city! As much as I am too busy to enjoy it half the time, I couldn't go without seeing the concrete jungle at least every other day!
I have started staying with my lovely friend, Rebecca and her family one night a week to save on gas as well as enjoy their company. I have quickly become like family with the people in the Clear Creek community and I love it! The other day Diane and I went over to the Buscemi (Diane's family) household for dinner. Diane observed the kids behavior and made a comment about how it didn't take long for me to become a part of the family. The boys jumped right in and served themselves and left us girls to fend for ourselves. It was pretty funny but I loved it! I am just one of the gang now I guess (the gang consists of 8 kids). I felt like Sandra Bullock in "While You Were Sleeping" (FAVE) where she is sitting around the Christmas tree with the family who she accidentally became part of (watch it for the whole story...it's the best movie ever!) and observes. She is not used to being part of a family which leaves her overwhelmed by how loud and crazy it is, but you can tell by the look on her face that she is loving every minute of the "family feel." She can't help but sit and stare in aw of how the family acts with each other. Fortunately, I was raised in a loud, rowdy family myself (sorry mom but it's true). Even though there were only three kids we practically had 5 children because either my cousins, two "sisters" or friends were always over. I loved it!!! So that being said, I have no problem fitting right in and fending for myself in large families. I actually feel most at home with large families. This community of people is such a blessing! They have taken me under their wing and made me feel at home just when I was starting to think I would never have friends here.
Anyways, about Diane, She is probably the one I relate the most with in this tight nit crowd. That's not to say I don't love and get along with all the other girls out here. Especially my Becky Becky Lou Lou head!! I had Diane at work but never really had the chance to get to know her until two weeks ago when we were sent to Arkansas together for the weekend to attend a convention for work. It was one of those things where the second we started talking we just knew that weekend was divine intervention and not happenstance. We got in the car after work and braced ourselves for a 6 hour drive. The thought was kinda sickening because it had already been a long day, BUT we were determined to make the best of it! We drove the brand new company car, so that made the drive a little more fun! (Let's be real, I LOVE road trips!) After stopping in the nearest town, Tahlequah, for dinner, we got back in the car and headed towards the great state of AR! *Side note: I accidentally said AK to someone over Skype and they so lovingly corrected me and basically told me I am dumb because AK is Alaska. HA! What can I say? I wanted to visit my Sewah who lived there!!*
Before we knew it, we were in AR, because we didn't stop talking the ENTIRE drive! Checking in to the hotel was kinda nerve racking (that's another story for another time) but we got in and everything was fine. Once we were all settled in, we continued to talk until 2am like giggly little school girls, then, fell asleep. In all reality, I tend to talk a lot as most of you know (and you can witness by the length of this blog). Diane, was REALLY tired the next morning, since I had kept her up half the night, but we found this ADORABLE little coffee shop right next to the university where the convention was being held! SO, life was all good after that. ;) It took us a good three hours to get our booth set up but we made an awesome team so it went really smoothly. The minute the doors opened our booth was swarmed with people and we were SOOOO not prepared for it! We didn't have a fourth table for our "check out station", the credit card machine wasn't set up and people were EVERYWHERE!!! It was really fun though!! The weekend went really well and the next thing we knew it was time to go home. At 6:30pm, we had the booth shut down and the car packed up, so we hit the road once more. (We stopped for gas and dinner before actually getting on the road.) Diane then proceeded to fill out our Post Convention Report and I proceeded to have a dance party with singing, dancing and all that other fun stuff. This led to a few wrong turns (which I blamed on Diane and her lack of entertaining me in the first place :P) and an interesting time getting back on the right track! But that just makes for an adventure and really funny story, right?
Anyways, that was just the beginning of an amazing friendship. We have been spending most waking moments together (along with our third musketeer, Becky) since then. Once she gets married (I am now officially her wedding planner BTW!) in less then 50 days (!) and moves to Tulsa we will start carpooling to work. She has already claimed that my car is half hers and her sandals are sitting in it right now...such a dork! All that to say, I am feeling very much at home here now and wouldn't trade my life for the world!
In other news, Church is great! It is small but such a lovely little community of people! I have connected with several people there as well. :)
Last Friday I became an official Okie when I got my Drivers license, License plate and toll road pass! *Side note: THERE ARE TOLLS EVERYWHERE HERE!!!!* It is really weird seeing my cute little white car with an Oklahoma license plate on the back of it (since they only have plates on the back of their cars here). It was totally serial walking right up to the counter at the "Tag Agency" and being handed a license plate off the top of the stack while my drivers license was being printed out in less then two minutes! After all the craziness I had getting the stinking things, it was refreshing to have it be so easy at the end!
Last topic of interest is....I WAS APPROVED FOR AN APARTMENT (not that I thought I would have a hard time, but it is still exciting!) and I move in June 29th!! I couldn't be more excited! My Twister is coming to help me move in and bringing me some furniture from my Grandparent's house that just sold in TX.
She is also the BESTEST sissy in the entire world and bought me a BEACH CRUISER for no reason other then she loves me! I am SOOOO Excited to ride it on the river where everyone rides their bikes around here!
As usual this is really long but there ya have it. My life in a nutshell! Feel free to call, text, email or facebook me because I miss you all terribly! Much love! -Sarah
....I would make dinner every night and it would be so delicious it was devoured within minutes of being off the stove.
....My car, room and office would be spotless and adorably decorated at all times.
....I would always be in the middle of a craft, scrapbook, sewing project or baking session.
....I would always entertain.
....My hair, make-up and outfits would be perfect everyday.
....I would spend time with Jesus more then I spend time on the internet.
....I would have good books all over the place and be motivated to read them and soak up their knowledge. ....I would work out everyday not just because I want a perfect body but because I want to be healthy. BUT, alas, I am NOT SUZI HOMEMAKER (AKA the Proverbs 31 woman)! I am usually too busy, tired or, to be completely honest unmotivated to blog, cook, clean, read my Bible, entertain or anything else that I just mentioned. Hence, the reason why I've been living here for 6 weeks now and I have blogged once. If it weren't for the guilt factor I probably wouldn't blog at all. But, I know how much I like reading blogs from my friends that live far away, who I don't ever get to see. Then I think about all my friends and family who possibly feel the same way about me. So, here I sit...again at Starbucks (like last time)...blogging. It's raining outside and a BEAUTIFUL day so I am motivated to sit for a while and type.
Here goes nothin'......
The last month+ has been another whirlwind. I LOVE my job and everyone I work with. Monday through Thursday are my favorite days of the week because I get to go to work. Soon, I will be going in Monday-Friday and it will be that much better! The Company and the product are something I have been influenced by for over 10 years now so it is SO FUN being able to promote the product to people who eat it up!
It is a long drive into the office, but I wouldn't trade that drive time for anything. It's a nice time to sing, pray and ponder. Everyday as I am enduring that time behind the wheel I think to myself "Why don't I move closer?" Then, I bust up laughing because I can NOT imagine me and my little California self living in the MIDDLE OF NO WHERE!! It AIN'T (like that? I'm already starting to sound like an Okie!) gonna happen! I LOVE the city! As much as I am too busy to enjoy it half the time, I couldn't go without seeing the concrete jungle at least every other day!
I have started staying with my lovely friend, Rebecca and her family one night a week to save on gas as well as enjoy their company. I have quickly become like family with the people in the Clear Creek community and I love it! The other day Diane and I went over to the Buscemi (Diane's family) household for dinner. Diane observed the kids behavior and made a comment about how it didn't take long for me to become a part of the family. The boys jumped right in and served themselves and left us girls to fend for ourselves. It was pretty funny but I loved it! I am just one of the gang now I guess (the gang consists of 8 kids). I felt like Sandra Bullock in "While You Were Sleeping" (FAVE) where she is sitting around the Christmas tree with the family who she accidentally became part of (watch it for the whole story...it's the best movie ever!) and observes. She is not used to being part of a family which leaves her overwhelmed by how loud and crazy it is, but you can tell by the look on her face that she is loving every minute of the "family feel." She can't help but sit and stare in aw of how the family acts with each other. Fortunately, I was raised in a loud, rowdy family myself (sorry mom but it's true). Even though there were only three kids we practically had 5 children because either my cousins, two "sisters" or friends were always over. I loved it!!! So that being said, I have no problem fitting right in and fending for myself in large families. I actually feel most at home with large families. This community of people is such a blessing! They have taken me under their wing and made me feel at home just when I was starting to think I would never have friends here.
Anyways, about Diane, She is probably the one I relate the most with in this tight nit crowd. That's not to say I don't love and get along with all the other girls out here. Especially my Becky Becky Lou Lou head!! I had Diane at work but never really had the chance to get to know her until two weeks ago when we were sent to Arkansas together for the weekend to attend a convention for work. It was one of those things where the second we started talking we just knew that weekend was divine intervention and not happenstance. We got in the car after work and braced ourselves for a 6 hour drive. The thought was kinda sickening because it had already been a long day, BUT we were determined to make the best of it! We drove the brand new company car, so that made the drive a little more fun! (Let's be real, I LOVE road trips!) After stopping in the nearest town, Tahlequah, for dinner, we got back in the car and headed towards the great state of AR! *Side note: I accidentally said AK to someone over Skype and they so lovingly corrected me and basically told me I am dumb because AK is Alaska. HA! What can I say? I wanted to visit my Sewah who lived there!!*
Before we knew it, we were in AR, because we didn't stop talking the ENTIRE drive! Checking in to the hotel was kinda nerve racking (that's another story for another time) but we got in and everything was fine. Once we were all settled in, we continued to talk until 2am like giggly little school girls, then, fell asleep. In all reality, I tend to talk a lot as most of you know (and you can witness by the length of this blog). Diane, was REALLY tired the next morning, since I had kept her up half the night, but we found this ADORABLE little coffee shop right next to the university where the convention was being held! SO, life was all good after that. ;) It took us a good three hours to get our booth set up but we made an awesome team so it went really smoothly. The minute the doors opened our booth was swarmed with people and we were SOOOO not prepared for it! We didn't have a fourth table for our "check out station", the credit card machine wasn't set up and people were EVERYWHERE!!! It was really fun though!! The weekend went really well and the next thing we knew it was time to go home. At 6:30pm, we had the booth shut down and the car packed up, so we hit the road once more. (We stopped for gas and dinner before actually getting on the road.) Diane then proceeded to fill out our Post Convention Report and I proceeded to have a dance party with singing, dancing and all that other fun stuff. This led to a few wrong turns (which I blamed on Diane and her lack of entertaining me in the first place :P) and an interesting time getting back on the right track! But that just makes for an adventure and really funny story, right?
Anyways, that was just the beginning of an amazing friendship. We have been spending most waking moments together (along with our third musketeer, Becky) since then. Once she gets married (I am now officially her wedding planner BTW!) in less then 50 days (!) and moves to Tulsa we will start carpooling to work. She has already claimed that my car is half hers and her sandals are sitting in it right now...such a dork! All that to say, I am feeling very much at home here now and wouldn't trade my life for the world!
In other news, Church is great! It is small but such a lovely little community of people! I have connected with several people there as well. :)
Last Friday I became an official Okie when I got my Drivers license, License plate and toll road pass! *Side note: THERE ARE TOLLS EVERYWHERE HERE!!!!* It is really weird seeing my cute little white car with an Oklahoma license plate on the back of it (since they only have plates on the back of their cars here). It was totally serial walking right up to the counter at the "Tag Agency" and being handed a license plate off the top of the stack while my drivers license was being printed out in less then two minutes! After all the craziness I had getting the stinking things, it was refreshing to have it be so easy at the end!
Last topic of interest is....I WAS APPROVED FOR AN APARTMENT (not that I thought I would have a hard time, but it is still exciting!) and I move in June 29th!! I couldn't be more excited! My Twister is coming to help me move in and bringing me some furniture from my Grandparent's house that just sold in TX.
She is also the BESTEST sissy in the entire world and bought me a BEACH CRUISER for no reason other then she loves me! I am SOOOO Excited to ride it on the river where everyone rides their bikes around here!
As usual this is really long but there ya have it. My life in a nutshell! Feel free to call, text, email or facebook me because I miss you all terribly! Much love! -Sarah
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The travel story
So...I changed my mind from a few hours ago when I said I didn't want to type out the travel story. I'm sitting in Starbucks while Julie does some work across from me because I wanted to be able to get this out while it's still fresh. I'll actually start from a few weeks back and tell the whole story of being in Washington too. Brace yourselves for a long story.
So..here it goes.
The Monday after I last posted (about going to the Angels game) I was "kidnapped" by my Amber. Yes I said MY Amber. :) She got to my house at like 8:30am with starbucks in hand and told me to get ready because she was about to take me all over the OC. The original plan was to go to DLand for a few hours. I quickly found out that was just a cover story. We got in the car and hopped on the 22 freeway. She took me towards Huntington Beach. I was clueless as to were we were going. We pulled in to a parking lot and stopped in front of a dollar tree. She wanted a picture to commemorate what we always did together when we were roomies. Next up was the beach. She parked the car down at 17th street and we walked all the way to the pier barefoot on the sand. She wanted me to be at MY ocean one last time before moving. We goofed around, took pictures, walked the pier, then walked back (on the sidewalk this time since our legs were pretty tired). She said the next stop didn't open until 11am which is why we had time to play around on the sand. Next up came.... Boomers where we went mini golfing! We have a silly rule about mini golf where if you can get down on your stomach and blow the ball in with one breath then it doesn't count as a stroke. Example:
After Mini golf we were pretty hungry so we went to Red Robin then stopped by my house and finally made it to DCA (California Adventure). We lucked out and kept running into people we know so were able to ride a lot of rides in a short period of time. Last but not least we went to Tutti Frutti and got frozen yogurt since that was another thing we always did together. Amber makes the best boy friend ever! I miss her so much! That night I went to dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house then ran home to get in bed. Tuesday morning I got up and packed then left for the airport to get on my way to Tacoma Washington. This was a much anticipated trip because I was going to meet my newsest nephew, Kai! My brother was at the airport to pick me up. We went to lunch then met Karen and Leroy (friends whose house I was staying at) to get a tour of the historical mansion they work at. It was really neat! THEEEEN I got to meet my nephew, his mommy, grandma, aunt, uncle and two cousins. The whole week was spent hanging out with Jefri (the mama), Kai and the fam. It was a blast! I fit right in with their family and enjoyed every minute! Saturday my brother came to get me. We went to breakfast then to see The fam one last time before he dropped me at the airport. Saying goodbye was sad but I was soooo anxious to get home! My plane landed at 5:50. My mom was waiting at the curb so we could jet away and make it to storage before it closes at 7. We got there and had a little less then an hour to grab everything I was going to take with me on my cross country move! It was INSANE!!!! Having less then 48 hours to pack your life and say goodbye to your friends/family is no joke! We got out the gate of the unit right after 7pm and went home. Sunday morning we had to be at church early for a special read through service of the book of Mark. I was one of the readers. In Sunday school they prayed for me then we had my going away party after church was over. Next came many tears, hugs and sorrowful goodbyes and the party was over. I had a few more people stop by as I was packing but pretty much just packed packed packed and packed some more. I did a kick butt job of getting everything I grabbed from storage to fit into my car (forgot to take a picture though..bummer!)!! Monday morning my mom and I got up, prayed with my daddy while I sobbed my eyes out and drove off into the sunrise. our goal was to make it to the grand canyon by late afternoon. We took it easy. By the first pit stop an indicator light on my dash had come on. My mom looked it up and found out that it was the tire pressure indicator. We couldn't figure out why but we knew we needed to stop and check it somewhere where there was a pressure gauge and air. We found a little gas station (the gas was OVER 5 dollars!!!!!) and my mom noticed that my tires were REALLY bad. This news was odd to me because my mom had looked at them after the mechanic told me to have them changed a few months ago and she said they were fine! So...needless to say I was a little upset. I looked on my phone and found out the nearest tire shop was in Needles California, about an hour away. After driving really slow to get there and actually making it without incident we were told that the tires would cost over 100 dollars A PIECE!!!! SOOOO, We decided to risk it and keep driving to the next big town about 50 miles away to get to Wal Mart. God obviously had the whole thing in his hands because I had been given a gift card for wally world at my party. It helped pay for the tires. We wondered wal mart for 45 minutes then got the car back and hit the road again. We finally made it to the Grand Canyon National Park where my friend April lives, at 5:15pm. We parked the car then walked to the hotel on the ridge where we had dinner. Dinner was over right at sunset so we talked out to ridge and watched it! It was amazing!
We walked back to April's place in the almost dark night sky. I was having serious allergy problems so I was sitting inside while my mom and April asked the IT guy from April's work to come help get the car top carry secured so it wouldn't slide from side to side. It wasn't going to fall off or anything but it wasn't locked into one place. Bed time came quickly. We got up, ate, said farewell to April then hit the road again. Tuesday was pretty uneventful but we made it out of Arizona into new mexico and then into Texas before we decided we were too tired to go on. Somewhere along the way we had to make the really sad decision not to go see my sister. It was too far out of the way and after the expense of the tires we had little gas money left to work with. We got a hotel room in Amarillo Texas for the night. Wednesday was a lazy morning but we got on the road and made it into Oklahoma by early afternoon. FINALLY, we got to Broken Arrow Oklahoma where The Walker family lives!!!! Whew. It was a whirlwind of a trip. We spent the next few days showing my mom around Tulsa and Locust Grove then took her to the airport on Friday. It was REAALLLLY hard to say goodbye to my mommy. It doesn't matter how old or independent I am, I will always want my mommy to be where I am!
So there you have it. That is the crazy long story! Tomorrow is my first day at work and I am so ready!! I am gonna love my job!
I'll leave you with one last picture. Goodnight from Oklahoma.
I'm here!
We made it to the good ol' state of OK on Wednesday afternoon. I just wanted to make sure you all knew but I am not feeling the gusto to tell the whole story yet. Please keep me in your prayers as I start my new job tomorrow!
Thanks guys!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
It's OK to be jealous.....
because I'm going to opening night for the Angels tomorrow!!!! I am so excited because I thought since I am moving at the beginning of the season I wouldn't make it to a single game! boo! BUT I managed to figure out a way to support my boys from home field one last time (for a while anyways)!!! WOOOOT!
aaaaaaaaaaaand for the update on moving...Well...tomorrow is my last day at work! I CAN NOT believe it!! I am still in total shock about the whole thing! My kiddos and co workers keep talking about it and when i respond in kind it's as if i'm talking about an event in the very distant future when in reality it's TOMORROW!!!!!! AHHH! I am probably gonna cry and want to squeeze every child good bye but I will manage some how. This week has been full of many lasts....
1. My last day with Caleb Park
2. My last auntie/piglet date (for a while)
3. My last day of work
I could go on but I won't dwell on it because the future is so exciting too! I can't wait to get to OK and settle in! It's gonna be a while before it feels like home but I anticipate that day will come soon enough! Can't wait for many FIRSTS after so many lasts!
Catch ya all on the flip side probably!!!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sweet Chaos!
Whew!! Getting ready to move has been madness! I am trying to work, get stuff done, see people and tie loss ends. This weekend I went on my birthday adventure and saw a ton of friends along the way! It was the best whirlwind of a weekend I've had in a long time! Friday morning was off to an interesting start at 4:30am when my car was acting funny. Got it taken care of then headed to Amber's place. We jumped in the car and drove for 4 hours to get to Madera while stopping at Apple Annies for breakfast along the way. We hung out with Amy (Amber's sister) for a while. I then left Amber and headed to Reedley to see Virginia! We chatted for a few hours at her adorable home! After we bid adue (sp?) it came time for tea and dinner with Karl at this amazing tea house and then Meditterainian place in the tower district. We walked back to the cars so I could jet off to ground school at the Fresno Airport. When ground school ended it was to Karl's place I went. We sat and chatted for a few hours and then headed to bed to then get up at 6am for my 7am flight! I then FLEW AN AIRPLANE!!!! IT WAS AWESSSSSOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Then Mariah saw I was in Fresno (the wonders of facebook!) and called me. So we went to coffee and had a looovely chat! She took me back to Karl's where I grabbed my stuff and headed to Madera to get Amber. We called Amber's parent's who said we could come up and visit them, so we did! Her mom (Brenda) and dad graciously hosted us for a fun evening together and a lovely morning the next day. Amber showed me around beautiful Valley Springs this morning. Most of her Family came over after that. We hung out until about 2:30 then headed home. The drive was crazy rainy but we laughed and chatted the whole way home. I am now sitting in bed and reflecting on all the lovely people God has placed in my life who I love so much!!! I am one blessed girl!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Joy
What is joy?
Well, according to webster joy is:
1
a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
2
: a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3
: a source or cause of delight
So does one have to be happy in order to have joy? Can joy only be caused by circumstances? I don't think the Webster definition is the full definition. I think joy comes from the Lord and so no matter what the circumstances around us are we can seek joy in the Lord and find it.
These are just some thoughts I was having about the new title of my blog. This journey may not always cause me to have joy but I can find the joy along the way as long as I am seeking the Lord's face. At least that is my opinion. What are your thoughts on the word joy?
Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Bargain crazy!
My mom and my sister generously gave me an early birthday present of a shopping spree! So I packed up my total amount of money, my coupon and off to old navy (and forever 21 for 4 things) I went! Over a period of three days I spent $170 and got 4 dresses, 1 pair of capris, 1 skirt, 1 pair of pj shorts, 10 shirts, 3 belts, 1 necklace, 1 cardigan and 1 head band! I feel sooooo accomplished and excited! Thanks again mom and twinner!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Musing again
So I was reading (well technically listening to a man with a lovely voice on my phone app read it) this passage the other day and have really been mulling it over for the last few days.
Numbers 22: 22-35
22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse[b] before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.How many times is it in our nature to get angry because something is not going our way? Man, I can't even count the times that I've acted like Balaam and was FURIOUS because something wasn't going my way! He was seriously beating his donkey while the donkey was protecting him! He didn't know that of course but if he would have taken the time to observe the situation and seek the Lord's counsel he probably would have stayed more calm about it all. I get so flustered and frustrated because nothing is going the way I want, when GOD ALMIGHTY is putting road blocks in my way to protect me. Do I take the time to seek HIM and see why those road blocks are there? Nope! I get angry and want to beat down whatever is in my way! This is not a new concept to me but it is always a humbling lesson to learn. Be patient, Seek the Lord's will and not my own and trust that if things aren't happening the way I want them to then there IS A REASON but I don't need to know what it is! I love it when an old story gains new understanding!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
More Change
I've been sitting here musing about my day and decide to write down some thoughts....
Change is weird. It's good sometimes and not good others. At least it feels that way.
A big change occurred at work today. Today was the day Miss Katie had to leave our class and venture out into the none classroom world. We were assigned a long term sub for the rest of the school year. It was just like any other day of having a sub but to know Katie is not coming back to be the head teacher in our room for the rest of the year is a strange and sad thought. I enjoy my job and I have very much enjoyed learning from the pro that Katie is! Needless to say as much as I like our sub (who i actually have been working with for the last four years as an aide), the kids and my job as a whole, it is making me look forward more and more to spring break when I can pat all my kiddos on the head and say goodbye one last time. This is a season of change for a lot of people. I enjoy change but change is change none the less. Change brings many emotions, sleepless nights and hope for the future! It's going to be weird being a "normal" person with a "normal" job. There was only one other time in my life that I just had ONE full time job to tend to and that was a short lived time for several reasons.
All that to say, I'm tired, excited, worried, hopeful, sad, but most of all blessed.
Today was not so much a joyful day but a day of being reminded that things don't always go our way but they always go God's way.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Funny but scary....
This picture is stinking hilarious but it kind of scares the crud out of me! The reason is it reminds me that I'm going to be working for a company that revolves around writing, grammar and all that good stuff. Let's be real, I have horrible grammar (to my mother's shame)! I feel like I need to teach myself all the rules again before I move. Mom...help..please?! Lol!
Anyways, everything is settled at my parent's and I think the next 6 weeks are going to fly by! There will be many more tears, goodbyes, cherished moments and memories to be made! Let the good times roll!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
PHEW!!!
What a day!!! I am done moving though! Now, all i need to do is finish up with my cleaning and turn in the keys!
We finished just in time for me to jump in the shower and then head off to the baptism i was going to. It is so sad telling people with kiddos that I love that I am leaving and this was such an occasion. I'm sure once i'm there and have new friends and a life in OK then i will feel better about the people i am leaving behind but for now it's just plain hard! I've done it before but it never gets easier! Oh well....can't ever escape from goodbyes in life so might as well get used to it, right?
Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!
We finished just in time for me to jump in the shower and then head off to the baptism i was going to. It is so sad telling people with kiddos that I love that I am leaving and this was such an occasion. I'm sure once i'm there and have new friends and a life in OK then i will feel better about the people i am leaving behind but for now it's just plain hard! I've done it before but it never gets easier! Oh well....can't ever escape from goodbyes in life so might as well get used to it, right?
Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
crack up!
I love kids! They say the funniest things and have no idea that they are little comedians! Some favorite conversations from today.
Student: "can I tell you a knock knock joke?"
Me: "Sure"
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Water"
"water who?"
"water and peanut butter gross together!"
um....what? ROFL!
Me: "What are you doing to your sandwich?"
Student: "I don't like the crust"
Me: "Ok let me help you so you don't take so much of the sandwich off just the crust part. why don't you ask mom and dad to take the crust off for you at home with a knife?"
Student: "My mom and dad say that big boys eat sandwiches with the crust on so i just come to school and ask you to do it."
And the truth comes out! That's the last time I take his crust off!
I completed my Resume and sent it in to my new job last night and I got the kitchen packing completed this afternoon. I feel much better about everything today! I just need to keep truckin and it will all get done eventually. My cousy and possibly my friend are coming to help me finish tomorrow night!! Thanks guys!
Student: "can I tell you a knock knock joke?"
Me: "Sure"
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Water"
"water who?"
"water and peanut butter gross together!"
um....what? ROFL!
Me: "What are you doing to your sandwich?"
Student: "I don't like the crust"
Me: "Ok let me help you so you don't take so much of the sandwich off just the crust part. why don't you ask mom and dad to take the crust off for you at home with a knife?"
Student: "My mom and dad say that big boys eat sandwiches with the crust on so i just come to school and ask you to do it."
And the truth comes out! That's the last time I take his crust off!
I completed my Resume and sent it in to my new job last night and I got the kitchen packing completed this afternoon. I feel much better about everything today! I just need to keep truckin and it will all get done eventually. My cousy and possibly my friend are coming to help me finish tomorrow night!! Thanks guys!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
STRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! That about sums up today. One thing down and a million to go! Someone wise once said:
Just keep swimming
Just Keep swimming, swimming, swimming
That is what I will do....
Just keep swimming
Just Keep swimming, swimming, swimming
That is what I will do....
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
you're gonna miss this
I was listening to country music the other day and heard a song that I love but never really connected with until now.
It goes like this....
" You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"
I am trying to enjoy every minute of every hectic day here in California because I know that as eager as I am to leave, I will regret rushing through my last days here.
Here are some things I'm going to miss...
1. I'm gonna miss hearing things like this "there's a giraffe on my face" and "what does a glow worm say at the starting line? Ready, set, glow!" from 3-5 year olds every day!
2. I'm gonna miss my babies! I will particularly miss piglet and Caleb Park...a lot!
3. I'm gonna miss My cousin saying "be there in 7 minutes" and mean it.
4. I'm gonna miss having my parents within a 20 minute drive.
The list could go on and on but those are the things I've been dwelling on and there for trying to enjoy the most lately.....
It goes like this....
" You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"
I am trying to enjoy every minute of every hectic day here in California because I know that as eager as I am to leave, I will regret rushing through my last days here.
Here are some things I'm going to miss...
1. I'm gonna miss hearing things like this "there's a giraffe on my face" and "what does a glow worm say at the starting line? Ready, set, glow!" from 3-5 year olds every day!
2. I'm gonna miss my babies! I will particularly miss piglet and Caleb Park...a lot!
3. I'm gonna miss My cousin saying "be there in 7 minutes" and mean it.
4. I'm gonna miss having my parents within a 20 minute drive.
The list could go on and on but those are the things I've been dwelling on and there for trying to enjoy the most lately.....
Monday, February 20, 2012
Packing
It's that time of year again...moving time! I tend to move once a year because i am always looking for the best deal/nicest place to live in a good location compared to work. The last 3 years i've moved 5 times and i'm about to move 3 more in the next 6 months or so. My motto has been "I take my life one lease at a time." Let's just say i dislike moving around so much but i love change! Along with the opportunity for change comes the opportunity to purge! I LOOOOOOVE getting rid of things! Is that weird?! It is my favorite thing about moving! It always seems like there is something to get rid of even though i do it at least once a year! It is INSANE how much a person can collect in such a short amount of time! As I purge I like to look through things and see if there is any value to it or reason to keep it. This usually brings up all kinds of memories. It seems the last few times i've moved i have not done so much of that type of purging because i was afraid of what I might find. This time I am really into looking through every box, journal and picture. It's been refreshing throwing away pictures i shouldn't have kept and notes i don't need to read. My favorite thing i've found so far has been my prayer journal/notebooks that i have written prayers in. God has taught me so much in the along the way and that is clearly stated in the privacy of my own thoughts and prayers in those journals. Packing is one of the worst tasks but looking at it as packing for the beginning of the rest of my life has been super helpful. Let go of the old and step in to the new!
Jesus,
Please help me to find joy in my journey even when it's hard to let things go. Remind me that no matter what I let go of physically it is not invalidating the past or causing me to loose the memories that go along with those items but rather helping me leave them in the past as a lesson i learned from not to be dragged in to the future. Thank you for all the good and bad that you have brought me through! I look forward to many more adventures along the way! Thank you for being my best friend/Abba/Lover of my soul.
Jesus,
Please help me to find joy in my journey even when it's hard to let things go. Remind me that no matter what I let go of physically it is not invalidating the past or causing me to loose the memories that go along with those items but rather helping me leave them in the past as a lesson i learned from not to be dragged in to the future. Thank you for all the good and bad that you have brought me through! I look forward to many more adventures along the way! Thank you for being my best friend/Abba/Lover of my soul.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fear of an un wasted life
Did I just say I'm afraid of not wasting my life?! Why yes I did! In other words, I hope I waste my life! Let me explain....
Today the sermon was on Mark 14:1-11. It's a story from the gospel that any seasoned Bible reader would know, but, today I saw it in a different light. It's one account from the gospels of the women anointing Jesus with oil just a few days before passover. During this time of year it was highly encouraged of the people to give to the poor. So here this women is coming along with her jar of oil (costing one years worth of wages) and what does she do with it? She breaks it over Jesus head and pours the ENTIRE jar on Him! WHAT A WASTE, right?! Well...not really even a little bit. She was anointing JESUS CHRIST with this oil!! Yeah know, like the Jesus who walked on water, raised people from the dead, worked miracles...yeah...that Jesus. So can we really chastise this women for "wasting" her entire jar of oil on Jesus head? Nope...we can not. So how do I apply this to myself? Well, I can "waste" my life for Jesus. When it comes to funds, give it all to Jesus. When it comes to time, give it all to Jesus. When it comes to work, work for Jesus. When it comes to moving across country (even though I am scared spitless of leaving my friends and family behind),yep, do that for Jesus too! When it comes to ANYTHING I DO, DO IT ALL FOR JESUS! If this means "wasting your life" in the eyes of the world then so be it! BUT if I am "Wasting my life" for JESUS then IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!
So is there joy in a "wasted" life? You bet there is! I am excited to waste my life while finding joy in the journey along the way!
Today the sermon was on Mark 14:1-11. It's a story from the gospel that any seasoned Bible reader would know, but, today I saw it in a different light. It's one account from the gospels of the women anointing Jesus with oil just a few days before passover. During this time of year it was highly encouraged of the people to give to the poor. So here this women is coming along with her jar of oil (costing one years worth of wages) and what does she do with it? She breaks it over Jesus head and pours the ENTIRE jar on Him! WHAT A WASTE, right?! Well...not really even a little bit. She was anointing JESUS CHRIST with this oil!! Yeah know, like the Jesus who walked on water, raised people from the dead, worked miracles...yeah...that Jesus. So can we really chastise this women for "wasting" her entire jar of oil on Jesus head? Nope...we can not. So how do I apply this to myself? Well, I can "waste" my life for Jesus. When it comes to funds, give it all to Jesus. When it comes to time, give it all to Jesus. When it comes to work, work for Jesus. When it comes to moving across country (even though I am scared spitless of leaving my friends and family behind),yep, do that for Jesus too! When it comes to ANYTHING I DO, DO IT ALL FOR JESUS! If this means "wasting your life" in the eyes of the world then so be it! BUT if I am "Wasting my life" for JESUS then IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!
So is there joy in a "wasted" life? You bet there is! I am excited to waste my life while finding joy in the journey along the way!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Name change along with my others!
I was inspired this morning to change the name of my blog. I was thinking about the changes that are going to happen in the next few weeks,months,years and I'm just amazed at how much joy there has already been in this new journey! When I originally named my blog I was taking the classic Beetles song and putting my own twist on it because those times were tough. I went through 3 hard years of change, growth and major pain so the name was fitting. Now I'm being delivered from all of that and there is so much joy in the future! I'm not saying that it's all going to be candy and butterflies but I love adventure and i'm ready to go!!!
Ok...now what am I talking about, right?! Well...for those of you that haven't heard I am moving to Oklahoma in April! I was offered a job working for the Institute for Excellence in Writing. (For those of you who read my blog and facebook posts, you're probably laughing at my lack of writing skills. So, YES i am planning on learning a lot myself from this company!;)) From my current understanding I will be working in Customer Service but other then that I don't know much yet.
Next saturday I will be packing my life into a truck and sending it off to storage for the next few months until I decide what to do with it all! I have a very strong feeling I'm not going to be willing to pay to ship cross country when it comes time. If anyone needs a couch or coffee table let me know! They are in very good condition and I will be willing to sell them for a reasonable price! ;) Anyways, I turn the keys in to my apartment on the 29th and move in with my parents for the next 6 weeks.
March is going to be full of birthday events, going up north with Amber to visit her family, learning to fly in Fresno, Helping Kristin and Jonothan deliver their first child into this world, work work work, Jury duty (which is of course is on March 29th but hopefully they will read my letter of excuse and let me out of it. Great timing right?! lol!) and much more. Then, come April, I will work the first week and then spring break comes. That means good bye PYLUSD and hello spring break in Washington! I will be off to visit my brother and some friends until april 14th. Then, come home, fill my car with essentials and off I go! If i don't do much blogging in the next fews months, well, it's because I'll be doing good if i can remind myself to breath every now and then!
Please be willing to check in every once in a while though so you can read about my "Joy in the Journey!"
Good bye California...HELLO Oklahoma!
Ok...now what am I talking about, right?! Well...for those of you that haven't heard I am moving to Oklahoma in April! I was offered a job working for the Institute for Excellence in Writing. (For those of you who read my blog and facebook posts, you're probably laughing at my lack of writing skills. So, YES i am planning on learning a lot myself from this company!;)) From my current understanding I will be working in Customer Service but other then that I don't know much yet.
Next saturday I will be packing my life into a truck and sending it off to storage for the next few months until I decide what to do with it all! I have a very strong feeling I'm not going to be willing to pay to ship cross country when it comes time. If anyone needs a couch or coffee table let me know! They are in very good condition and I will be willing to sell them for a reasonable price! ;) Anyways, I turn the keys in to my apartment on the 29th and move in with my parents for the next 6 weeks.
March is going to be full of birthday events, going up north with Amber to visit her family, learning to fly in Fresno, Helping Kristin and Jonothan deliver their first child into this world, work work work, Jury duty (which is of course is on March 29th but hopefully they will read my letter of excuse and let me out of it. Great timing right?! lol!) and much more. Then, come April, I will work the first week and then spring break comes. That means good bye PYLUSD and hello spring break in Washington! I will be off to visit my brother and some friends until april 14th. Then, come home, fill my car with essentials and off I go! If i don't do much blogging in the next fews months, well, it's because I'll be doing good if i can remind myself to breath every now and then!
Please be willing to check in every once in a while though so you can read about my "Joy in the Journey!"
Good bye California...HELLO Oklahoma!
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