Isaiah 40:28-30

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.






Thing's I'm Thankful For:



#24. A Jesus who lives.... and who loves me even when I'm weak and stumble.

Thing's I'm Thankful For: #23

Friends like this guy right here:

White World..

So. Much. SNOW. :( I could cry.



But good news? Mums has Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins in the oven. So all's good.


I really feel there isn't a whole lot to write. Which is pretty lame, considering I haven't written in about a week. I'm slackin' off on this.


OH. I made baklava yesterday at work. I am so excited about this. One of the cooks told me it was "mad good". I like that. :) I'm pumped to see if it sells! And if not? Whatevs.... he and I will eat it all :p







Thing's I'm Thankful For:




#21. Inside jokes..... they seriously make life worth living ;)



#22. hahahahaha..... I'm thankful for the number 22 and how much drama it makes for a few people and me :p

Everyday People.

Late last night I was racking my brain to remember a music artist I used to listen to a lot. His music helped me through some pretty rough seasons.... yet I could not remember his last name. I couldn't even remember most lyrics. But I knew what his first name was, and I knew one line from a song. So I spent 20 minutes on google and finally, finally, found him. Daniel Kirkley. He's amazing.... and his music is so incredible. He's pretty cute, too. ;)

He isn't like.... in the top 20 artists of American, no awards, no being wicked famous, nothing huge like that.That's kind-of why I like him so much. Not many people I know have ever heard him.
But.
He is so sincere and his voice is so pure.... and his lyrics are so deep and real. His music isn't the same without his lyrics, and his lyrics aren't the same without his music. You should go listen to him. He's one of the reasons I am who I am today.


http://danielkirkley.com/


Under the glitter
Behind the glamor
Beneath the surface
Everybody looks the same
Naked and broken
All of us fallen
Striving for purpose
Simply trying to find our way
Hoping and longing

Everyday people
Are reaching
For something to believe in
Everyday people
Are pleading to be loved
Everyone's needing
The grace that
Spans across the ages
To find
Everyday people

Sisters and brothers
Loving each other
Sharing the burdens
Weighing heavy on our hearts
Lovers of mercy
Showing compassion
Offering forgiveness
'Cause we've all been torn apart
Wounded together

Everyday people
Are reaching
For something to believe in
Everyday people
Are pleading to be loved
Everyone's needing
The grace that
Spans across the ages
To find
Everyday people



Thing's I'm Thankful For:



#20. Slippers.

Dinner with "The Family"

I really love my church. I really love the people in it..... they're my Family, how couldn't I love them?

I heard a really amazing way to describe church a week or two ago that explained why it's so important:


Families like to sit down for dinner. All of them together at the table...talking, laughing, discussing.

(even if you don't have a family who does this....keep reading. Having a church family will mean all that more to you)

Now...you have that picture in your mind, right? Of the family sitting at the table? Okay...well, imagine one of the kids, one of the younger kids, is missing. They just decided to not eat dinner with their family and hid themselves in their room with the door shut, refusing to come down and fellowship with everyone. The parents, I'm positive, won't like it and will be concerned, correct? Everyone will say, "Where is Jimmy? Why isn't he here with us?", or, "Where is Suzy? Is she okay?".
Being a whole family at dinner time is so important. Because after having busy days, after work, after school, after not being together all day....it's crucial for them to have this time with each other and to love each other.... especially the young people.

Alright....now just picture the dinner table as your church. And switch out the immediate family members for your church family members. As a christian, and especially as a young christian...church is key for thriving in your walk with Christ. After a long week of hard work, or college, and crazy life...it's important to gather with your Family in Christ. It's so crucial. When people skip or miss church... sometimes they wonder, "why is it such a big deal, anyways? I can afford to skip once in a while.... no one has the right to tell me otherwise". I understand where you're coming from.... you have freedom to choose what you do with your life. BUT. If you don't show up.... you Family in Christ is going to wonder where you are, they will be concerned, they will miss you. It is a big deal to us. Dinner is not the same without every sibling there, or without one of the parents. Dinner is meant to gather everyone and to give thanks to God and spend quality time together. As christians.... we need to emphasize on this. We need to make it a big deal.

Church is where I unravel myself and really connect with God. Yes, I try to do it everyday. Yes, God wants that every single minute of my life. But sometimes with all the craziness and packed schedules... it's really hard. That's why I love Sunday mornings.
It's a time set aside always, every week, for spending time with Jesus.
For giving thanks for everything and everyone He has given us.
For singing and worshiping the God who made us and loves us no matter what.
For letting ourselves breath and sit for just a few hours and listen to someone explain the bible and encourage us in incredible ways.
For spending quality time with other Christians... and feeling loved and accepted.

That's what church is. That's why I feel empty and weak when I have to miss a week because of a road-trip or because I'm sick. That's what I look forward to nearly every minute of my week.

Do you see what I mean? Church is a big deal, no matter what anyone says. It's why I survive every week. It's why I have the energy and joy that I do.


Things I'm Thankful For:



#18. The most wonderful and alive church I could ever be blessed with. My Family is so amazing. And if you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about....you should come check it out one of these Sundays.


http://madrid.cfconline.org/



#19. A home I am never afraid to come home to. That's big. And I am so thankful for it.

Love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Things I'm Thankful For:

#16. A wonderful boss who is more amazing and appreciated than she knows.




#17. A warm bed that will welcome me......after I finish writing a paper.

To Be Honest..

A few nights ago I could not fall asleep. I sent this to my dear friend...hoping to unravel a few of the many thoughts circling through my mind.


"2:30am and I still can't fall asleep.

To be honest? I keep building my bakery in my mind.
What it will look like, what pastries I'll make.
How I'll display breads and cakes and pies.
If I will have espresso drinks and syrups and milkshakes.
What colors I'll use on the walls and what I will see when I look out my windows.
How I'll tie my apron on when I'm pregnant with my first child, and how I'll carry him in a sling on my back while I knead dough and dust the flour off my hands.
How I'll come home and greet my husband with a kiss and love how he'll take a deep breath and smell the scent of cookies and pies lingering in my hair.
How happy we will be....how much we will love Christ.


This is why I can't fall asleep.
But I'm not complaining. Never would I tell these dreams and thoughts to leave me be."




Things I'm Thankful For:



#14. Family members who lend me their cars while mine is still "out of order".




#15. That His dreams will become my dreams...and will come true. 'Cause He promised.