Thanksgiving

I love this time of the year. Thanksgiving is an awesome day! This year I think we are having 25 or so people at my aunts house for turkey and such. Each year the family grows, and its great to be so close-knit. Every year pretty much, family from NJ and now Alabama trek up here and spend time together. Its pretty much the only time of year I get to see some of them, so we all get very excited.

Besides loving that my family comes up, Im sitting here, attempting to sip my coffee and enjoy the somewhat quiet morning before the day gets started. Im thinking of all the things to be thankful for. I am really sooo blessed! First and foremost, Im thankful that my Savior didn’t give up on me when I was in the worst place in my life, and not only didn’t give up on me, but transformed me into someone completely different than I was! I’m thankful for my awesome husband who loves me and who’s personality compliments mine in countless ways. I’m thankful for my close family, but also my husbands side of the family. They really are treasures to me and I look forward to starting more traditions with them! I’m thankful for awesome friends that surround my life, especially those that were there in the moments I have needed them most. I’m thankful for the girls that I mentor – each one brings something different to the table. I have health, love, and peace. How blessed am I?

I don’t say any of those things to boast by any means. I say them because our culture tends to draw our attention to material things and to things that are all about ourselves. I love this day because it reminds us of things that matter most! Not our cars, or our bank accounts, but to our blessings in life, big or small, that do no come with price tags. Lord, help me to be thankful everyday of my life!

 

Everyday…

In talking with a few girls last night I found myself encouraging them in similar ways. Everyday is a fresh start. Everyday we are faced with choices. Our goals as Christians should be to pick the best choices in those situations. Yesterday might have been a disaster. We need to ask for forgiveness, but then realize God’s mercies are new every morning. Start this day with a fresh out-look and ask for God’s help.

We are human, and unfortunately we make mistakes. If you were to be honest with yourself you would admit that you make mistakes too, whether you have been a Christian one day or thousands of days. Thankfully I serve a God that loves me dispite all of my many, many flaws. Now that does not give me license to go out and sin knowingly, and to exhaust God’s grace over and over again for the same thing day in and day out. But with God’s help we can overcome our struggles.

Everyday we all have choices that are set before us. We need to ask ourselves some questions. Is what I am saying pleasing God? Is what I am doing pleasing God? Is my attitude pleasing God? Am I ruining my reputation as a Christian by doing this? Am I hindering someone else from knowing God by having this in my life? All these questions can be stepping stones for us in our everyday lives to help us grow closer and closer to God.

As a Christian, I want to move closer and closer to God everyday. I want to become more like Him in every area of my life. I certainly have struggles. But my heart is to reflect my Savior and to please Him. Why? Because He loves me more than I could ever imagine or comprehend. And for that, I owe Him everything…

 

Thinking….

Sigh… getting older isn’t as great as it seems when you are younger. There are, however, sooo many great things that come along with age. I am in such an awesome place in life because of God, and I am daily thankful with all of my heart.

It is interesting the different seasons we go through as “grown-ups”. Most of the time I forget that I passed my 18th birthday over a handful of years ago. I don’t feel old at all! But then burdens, cares, compassion, responsibilities, and prayers really reel you back in. I don’t dwell on the negative, actually my goal is to find something positive to think about, as little as that might be some days. Ask any of the girls I mentor. Thats one of the things I encourage a lot of them the most.

And the other major thing I encourage them to do is live their life with excellence. I feel so VERY VERY strongly about this. What you feel comfortable having in your life is between you and God. But I really try not to have any gray areas in my life. Im certainly not trying to boast or say Im better than anyone else, bc Im not. Far from it! I fail… but I try. Not for man’s praise, but bc I want every part of my life to give glory to the one who saved my life. I owe it all to Him. Every word. Every action. Every decision. I owe it to Him.

Back to the seasons….. the one I am in currently is quite interesting. Im not sure I have the words to accurately describe what I feel. But it certainly is new. Lots of shifting, praying, wondering…. and evaluating. Not people. But the stage of life Im in (I think). Its wonderful to be newly married. It is really awesome to have someone who is always there, no matter what. Someone who is deeply rooted in his faith, and encourages me to grow more in mine as well. As well as countless other things…

I guess…. this season Im in is about finding my footing within the confines of being married. Im not struggling with it at all actually. Im actually excited bc so many opportunities that I longed for are now more open to me. The dreams that were birthed in my heart so long ago are actually quite possible. I can’t and don’t expect to have everything I dreamed of after being married less than 6 months. Im just excited bc now I am actually on that road, how ever long that might be for me. It is an adjustment though. Praying to be the best wife I can be, sister, daughter, friend, leader, and down the line…..

Am I making sense? Maybe not. Life is all about seasons, adjusting and learning from them too. What does God have for you in the season you are in?

 

Cute Kiddo’s

 

Niko falling asleep during Antiono’s rapping session….

 

 

She posed for her picture this time – So cute!

 

All of our friends have such cute kids!

 

Fall

I love fall. The crispness in the air, the different colors on the trees, the cozy feeling of wearing long sleeves…. love it all! Love pulling out the bubble vest. I do enjoy the few short weeks of fall that we get here in upstate NY. I try hard not to think about the winter that inevitably follows. Thats not my thing, but there is something about wonderful about feeling of fall……

Yesterday I made chili. I had planned last week to make it yesterday, and it was perfect weather for it. As you can see, it is pretty good! I must say, it is one of my favorite fall foods. Only making it once before, I was pretty glad with how it turned out.

 

 

My God has blessed me in so many ways! Just like the changing seasons of our earth, there are changing seasons in life. Each one has highlights, and some parts that are for maturing. How great is the God I serve!

 

Peaceful day

How I enjoy days like today. A day to spend with some family members, a good lunch, and time to sip coffee and relax. I love the smell of fall in the air, with the weather being on the comfortable side still. I love looking at the beautiful changing leaves. I love going to church to be refreshed, seeing faces that I love, and getting a chance to hold one of my many friends babies .

The thing that I love most about days like today is something I’m not sure that most people notice. I love when days are without any clouds! It is something that a long time ago really found a place in my heart. I know, thats just a weird thing to treasure. But to me, it seems as though these cloudless days are not as common as days with those beautiful clouds that loom over us. To me, they seem more rare, more special. I know, again, a weird thing to treasure.

I know this is not theologically correct or proven, but becuase these days are not as common, I feel as though God puts them into my days here on earth just for me. I treasure these days. I feel so close to God on these days. He knows I love them, and it brings me a smile as I head out to start my day and notice that the sky is clear. So many times in life, with the “common” things like awesome clouds, we become too used to them being there that we forget to revel in the beauty of Gods creations, big or small.

A cloudless sky will sometimes occur on days where I need Him the most. It honestly helps me to have faith in Him, and that He is in charge. He hears me enough to hear my prayers, and also makes the sky to be clear. To you, it may just be something of a dreamer… to me it points my thoughts to Him.

What about cloudless skies not just in the natural? What about in our finances, spiritual life, direction, concerns, situations, etc… a clear, sunny, wonderful day is here. It may not mean that hard seasons are over, but it is a day to help us stop and have a break from the roughness that this world is full of. It helps us to looks towards God and have that much needed moment to just say… ahhhh.

For me, cloudless skies help me to love God more and to just spend time in awe of Him. To you, it might just be another day but something else makes you think about Him in that way. How unique He made us all….

 

Love…

What a loaded word that is. It can have so many meanings to each person. It can be a cheap expression. It can be a treasured feeling. It can be a lie. It can be an action… and so on. Love. The kind of love God aspires us to exhibit is most definitely a choice. The kind of love God has for us is truly astounding. Despite the choices we make, He still loves us no matter what. In a conversation with someone this past week, this kind of love came up – the unconditional kind. As humans, this love certainly is not what pops up in our hearts the moment something happens to us. If it does for you, God has made you quite different than me. Over the last 5 years that God has been the Savior of my life, He has been teaching me many things. Among those countless flaws that God is patiently correcting in me is loving those around me no matter what.

Over this past week, through the series that our church is going through together, God has already tested me. Just 6 days into learning about Love, a situation arose that caused God to have to tug on my heart harder than I wish to admit that He did. I certainly had valid reasons for wanting to just be selfish this weekend. Or so I thought they were valid. Wanting to relax after working multiple jobs this week, wanting to see my husband, and needing to go grocery shopping sounded perfectly reasonable to me. But God thought otherwise. And He of course was right. After making the choice to do this thing, and then making the choice to have the right attitude, I know that God used me this morning to show love in this situation. Even if it had to be done with God poking and prodding my heart, I need to learn. And that has been the cry of my heart since the series started, even though I never expected to have to put it into practice so soon and that it would be so difficult for me.

Thankfully, God loves me through my stubborn learning. What a merciful God I serve. I have a long way to go in learning about love…. Lord, Help.