That Lovely Time

It is that time of year again. Yes...that time of year when I get brownies and milk sent up to bed with me, a bubble bath, and relaxation. Aunt Sandi and Uncle Jim have spoiled me rotten once again.

This weekend was a perfect weekend to getaway. Many people were leaving campus and lately I have had enough of Portland. The city is always wonderful and my friends bless me everyday, but these last couple of weeks I have felt heavy. Many things cross my mind and there are a lot of "to dos" on my list. So, what is the perfect getaway? Aunt Sandi and Uncle Jim's. If  you can describe the most relaxing and comfortable place, picture it and multiply it by ten. This morning I slept in until about 9:30, had a Bible study of Acts 11-15, and walked downstairs to a warm cappuccino. Not long after my delicious cup of love, Uncle Jim started making orange Halloween pancakes.  We ate together as a family and embraced conversation. I was able to catch up on homework, family time, stories, and movies. I love this time of the year. I love my family. I love this feeling; warm, comfortable, relaxed, and free from worry.

On my phone I have an app called "Inspiration." Everyday I wake up to a new inspirational quote and I love it. 

Today was "Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries." 

That fits life right now to the T. Lately, I have realized that my mind moves a million miles per hour, and it seems that the faster my mind moves, the less I get done. This is because there are so many things that need attention to be completed and when I have little parts of my mind in so many different places, only a little of everything gets done, leaving nothing accomplished. My goal for not only this week, but honestly for the rest of my life, is to take a deep breath, be realistic with what is going on around me, and go with the flow. I don't want to worry about a million different small things or even one really big thing. I want to breath, pray, and let things be. This weekend that is exactly what I did. I watched movies with my Aunt and Uncle, ate my brownies and drank my milk, took a nice hot bath (with bath salts of course!), and let go of my worries. I enjoyed the moments with my family and did not let the worldly worries take away from the time I have right now, in this moment.

Philippians 4: 4 

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Thank you Jesus, for blessing me with such an amazing family.

Uncle Jim's famous pancakes. Today, they were orange for Halloween :)

Sometimes you just need to put on fuzzy socks (thanks to Aunt Sandi!), love life, and eat brownies before bed! I know that there are brownies waiting for me every visit. It has become a tradition, and it is one of my favorite traditions.
2013

2012

Routine

Today, I think back to my freshman year of college. About three years ago, I was essentially doing the same thing as I am now, just on a different day. I did not start blogging until my sophomore year, but I remember as a freshman having open time around 10:00 a.m. and treating it the same way as I am now. I just opened the blinds to my apartment, had some tea, and started to write. I remember my freshmen year when I would go to the dorms after class, open my curtains, drink some tea, and also write. I am definitely a creature of routine. Even as time passes, I realize certain things that I do that have not changed since my freshmen year. 

Now that I am a senior, I still:

Drink green tea

Wear black leggings with long shirts

Write during my free time

Go to coffee shops to do homework

Drink hot coco whenever I can

Open the blinds or curtains in rooms because I love natural light

Call family between classes to say hello

Live with one of my best friends (my first roommate coming into college!)

Run track

and I am still addicted to my planner

...there are so many little things that keep me who I am.

But there are also things that have changed that keep me growing:

Mentoring people around me

Have the ability to just have fun with something and not constantly be competitive

Learning that even though my routine may break, doesn't mean that my life is ending

I can live on my own timeline and not everyone else's

Confidence in my work

Growth in my learning

Thinking outside of the box

Taking a deep breath and letting go of situations

and of course learning how to do laundry in a fast, timely manner.

All of these things are a part of growth.

Yesterday, I was at track practice. As a team, we were working on block technique and speed. To track athletes this is normal, but to people who don't run track, seeing someone bend over into medal pedals, raise their butts into the air and try and run out of the medal pedals as fast as possible looks a little crazy. I realized that there was an older man watching us practice blocks. When I realized that he wasn't only sitting there to wait for someone, but he was watching us run, I smiled to myself. I smiled at the fact that maybe he was remembering when he was a track athlete. Maybe he was remembering when he could run blocks, or how much the sport of running has changed....or maybe he just thought we were a little nuts :). For a period of time during practice, I just felt a little frustrated. I wasn't being explosive, I didn't feel fast, and on top of that I had to be cautious because of a recovering sprained MCL. But then I saw him. I saw a 70 year old smile while he watched us run as fast as we could out of our blocks. He nodded his head and just admired. In only a couple of seconds, my frustration was gone and he looked over to smile at me. Why wasn't I enjoying this moment? Why wasn't I in admiration that my teammates and I are able to perform the technique and speed that our bodies allow us to do? I think it was because I was so used to be competitive and being so focused in the moment that track wasn't fun, it became something I just had to do. After he smiled, I turned to my blocks for my last two block starts. This may sound like a "sappy movie ending," but out of all honestly, I let go of my frustration, thought about the old man's smile, and had the best two block starts of the evening. Before practice was over, the old man had left. I wanted to ask if he ever ran track or if he was just watching us because he thought we were crazy for running out of "medal pedals." 

But he was not there to ask.

Let me just say, I don't think those kinds of things happen out of the blue. I think those things happen to keep us going. 

Pay attention to the small things throughout your day, or even week. You may be surprised at what you notice.

2010
Freshmen year, this was my very first track practice. All I can say is that I got used to not wearing makeup :)

FearLESS

Let me just describe the setting of my Sunday morning. Pink blanket, couch, Bible, notebook, hot tea, and silence. Yup, this is what I love about Sundays. When homework is not over bearing and Sunday mornings are able to be enjoyed, I take advantage of every second. I'm in my pajamas, I have a messy bun on the top of my head and it's almost noon. That's what weekends are for!

Tonight will be the second night that Freedom Church is open to the public. I am so excited. Eight people from my school are coming and I can't wait to share Freedom with them. Lets see if we can beat our attendance of 72! God is just moving through lives and I am so happy to be apart of his plan. 

     What has been on my heart lately has been the topic of fear. Humans have a tendency to worry and fear, and I am completely guilty of both of those things. Let me just say, that I don't believe worry, fear, or guilt are from God. I don't think that our spirit is meant to hold on to feelings that bring us down. Think, when you feel upset about something that is happening in your life, when do you ever want to talk to someone about how amazing God is. I know for me, when I am distracted by my own thoughts, I can't seem to escape them. Usually, a drive or just alone time for myself is needed to just get my thoughts under control. This world has a tendency to overcrowd, control, and produce situations in our lives that are not necessary. Control is something that humans tend to thrive for and when we feel that everything is out of line, then it seems that everything around us falls apart.

     But here is the amazing thing about God. When everything seems to be falling apart, he has the power to put things back together. When everything seems to feel out of control, God is in control. Have you ever heard the saying, "what's done is done?" Well, no matter what is "done," God has forgiveness and the power to "re-do." I think that we have the tendency to hold on to what is out of control, and we tend to forget that God is the God of all knowing. He knows what we fear and he knows the mistakes we have made. A lot of the times we forget that he's already forgiven us for things that we have done, but it's a matter of the forgiveness from ourselves that we seem to not let go of. 

     This last Friday, two friends and I had a Bible study. It was pretty darn awesome! We went through 1 Peter and spoke about how in the midst of Christians being killed for following Jesus Christ, Peter wrote a letter telling others to be strong in there faith. He wrote about how there is a place, Heaven, that is waiting for those who keep their faith in Jesus. He inspired them to stay strong and that their hard times of trials are only tests from this world. His life was out of control, but Peter never lost site of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Maybe Peter wasn't fearless, but he feared less than others. I think if he can can stay strong in the midst of the battles around him, we can stay strong with whatever battle is happening inside (and outside) of us. 

1 Peter 1:6-7

So be truly glad. there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 

The Lessons of Life:

-chicken noodle soup needs more flavor than chicken broth, noodles, and chicken...something that was once a healthy idea has turned into a very salty, unhealthy idea. BUT still better than some other choices!

-a couple of chocolate kisses in the morning after breakfast isn't always bad :)

-dating Jesus is amazing. He is definitely challenging me and showing me areas of my life that is needing strength; trust in him and living out my faith. He is growing my faith and providing me with so much support. 

-Cooking chicken in water instead of olive oil prevents grease stains on my clothes (Thanks Jess!)...and wearing an apron prevents grease stains too :)

-learn from mistakes, don't hold onto them.

-the feeling of getting clothes laundry done AND bed sheets/blankets done in one day is the true feeling of accomplishment!

 

Cheers to the beginning of another week!

Embrace the Sweetness

Do you ever have those mornings when you wake up and say, "today will be a productive day!" Well, that definitely happened about 48 hours ago, but I ended up being productive in relaxing...with no homework being completed. So what am I doing today? 

Homework at the coffee shop :)

My morning went a little something like this...

Woke up to my alarm at 5:15 a.m. to then attempt wake up to my 5:30 a.m. alarm (waking up in 15 minute increments helps me a lot!). Well, this morning was the first time this year that I don't remember turning off my second alarm for 5:30...yes, I overslept. It probably didn't help that my roommates and I were dancing around the house at 1:30 in the morning and I needed to be up bright and early. I work the weight room on campus from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Fridays, so this is the reason I am awake right now (I don't have class on Fridays and right now is fall break for midterms. Crazy huh?!) Now, I am working and blogging. I love that I am able to do both. 

What is next? I am off of work in about 30 minutes. I plan on sleeping (again), running (I am now approved by my chiropractor to start running again this week since I sprained my MCL), and will then go to a coffee shop to work on homework. In the large scheme of homework for the semester, I have two large essays and two group projects. When I look at it that way it seems to be a piece of cake! 

So I will embrace the sweetness :) 

I love coffee shops. Yesterday, a friend and I went to this lovely place. I learned that I am not alone with being one of the slowest eaters in the world,. I also learned that my friend is an amazing writer. I love discovering beautiful things.

If you haven't tried Greek Yogurt YOU SHOULD! It is so yummy. With adding dark chocolate protein granola, it satisfies for an amazing dinner. Thank you to another amazing friend for showing me this healthy treat :)

2 Timothy 1: 7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Stepping Around the Cracks

     Remember the game "don't step on the crack." Well, I remember it perfectly. In grade school it was "step on the crack and you'll break your mother's back." All of us as children jumped from one step to one step, trying not to step on any cracks. We tried so hard to keep our heads up to see where we were going, but looked down at our feet at the same time to make sure we didn't break our mother's back! As we looked up, we made sure we weren't going to run into anything (or anyone in that matter) to buy time to look at the ground again to reassure ourselves that we were jumping around the cracks and not on them. We tried so hard to prevent from breaking our mother's back, hypothetically. Now, I am an adult, and this game of "don't step on the crack" seems to be a lot more real. There seems to be cracks that are unavoidable,. 

     Being a senior in college, I'm growing up. I'm not only learning about financial techniques and how to grocery shop, but I'm learning about people. People from different places and different cultures. People who don't agree with some of my decisions and thoughts and people that do. I'm growing up to learn that as I grow, I can see my younger self in someone else. I want to just tell them, "don't try that because it won't work" or "there is an easier way out to this" but of course, I can't. Even if I did they won't listen. Why? Because they need to encounter the situation on their own and learn from it. Without experience there isn't any growth. Within letting myself let other people grow, I am also learning that I also need to continue growing.

     With growing there is a process. You watch someone else go through something and maybe say, "I won't do that." Or, maybe you see someone do something that you like and think, "I'd like to try that." Either way, people grow by observation and experience. But what about there is something that you aren't sure about? What about there is something that is more intuitive than told? That is when there is a leap in faith. 

Throughout life, I have found myself not trying to step on a lot of cracks, but there are times I feel that when I try to not step on one crack, I stumble onto an even bigger one. Sometimes, we can focus so hard on the small cracks and forget to look where we are going to soon find out that there was an even bigger crack ahead of us. We can't revolve our steps around cracks in life, mainly, because we can't avoid all of them.

     So where am I going with all of this? Why am I talking about childhood games, growing up, and tripping over cracks just to trip onto a bigger one? The reason is because right now, I am finding myself tripping over cracks that I shouldn't worry about. I'm stumbling on cracks that are being created. I'm not being confident with where I am walking, when I truly should be. The amazing reality, is that I should be able to walk around the cracks blind folded, because the Holy Spirit of Jesus guides me through every obstacle. The feeling of intuition comes from God. He speaks to us in ways that we can't explain, but it's so easy for this world to be too loud so that we don't hear him.

     For the next six months,  I have decided to dedicate my time to dating Jesus. I know, that may sound a little different, but it's actually amazing. I get to have five dates a week with God, and he treats me to the Bible every day. So I am putting on my blind fold, I am walking forward, and I am taking my leap of faith to grow in the way he wants me to grow. I'm not listening to the world, I'm being confident in the decisions I make, and I'm walking around the cracks while looking towards God for guidance. 

Prayer requests:

-A dear friend has lost her grandmother. I ask for prayers to be sent her way as she is experiencing a hard time.

-My Grama Sharon had knee surgery and is having an amazing recovery. I ask for prayers that continue her strength.