Hope

This year, the Christmas season has been different for me, but in a good way. I haven't been as excited about the decorations and busyness, but I have been clinging to the Hope that we have in Jesus- why we truly celebrate. In my surroundings, seeing so many hurting, has put things in a different perspective.  I am honestly still trying to comprehend what happened last Friday in Connecticut. Amidst it all, I have been reminded how awesome it is that God sent his only Son. And that He gives us hope. And that he loves us unconditionally. Recently, I saw the video below. It came at a perfect time and I know God used it to speak truth in my life. (This video is done by Rob Bell- not sure I agree with all of his theology, but this video is very Biblically based). Watch it here.

I hope that you (and I) can take some time as we approach Christmas Day to reflect on God's Son, and His love. And the hope we have in Him.

Smoky Mountain Girls Weekend

Just as the leaves were starting to change, Kathryn and I made a trip up to the Smoky Mountains to visit Leigh Ann. We had an adventurous trip up the mountain. We learned 2 profound life lesson:

1) When driving in the mountains, neither a GPS nor smart phone can be trusted.

2) When driving in the mountains at night, it is DARK.

But thankfully we made it there safe and sound (only took 3 hours longer than expected).

Leigh Ann taught us what to do in case we were approached by a black bear (raise your arms to appear as big as possible). Looks like Kathryn has this down.

We walked around the farm area.

  Saw some cute animals.

And enjoyed the beautiful Fall weather.

We stopped to take pictures of these mushrooms. I'm not sure I got quite the artistic picture I was trying for, but I did give several people a laugh as they drove by to see me on the ground taking the pics, not unlike a beached whale. hahaha!

We drove up on the parkway to enjoy some beautiful views.

 And with the help of a fellow tourist, got a picture with the background.

Later we were caught off guard by a rather rude woman. Apparently, not everyone has a positive, polite attitude when on vacation. Next time, however, we will be more prepared. :)

And we saw elk! I don't think I've ever seen elk in real life before and they were bigger than I expected. Especially Mr. Masculine Elk below, showing off his antlers.

And there was a baby and Mama. Reminded me of baby llamas.

We then saw a lovely park ranger feeding the chickens on the farm with the help of a young tourist.

Another important part of the weekend was CATAN. I was hesitant to believe that it would be as awesome as Kathryn said it was. But it was very fun. Just the right proportion of luck and strategy to make it interesting. Leigh Ann and I had to learn quickly to keep up with Kathryn.

Yay for girls' weekends :)

House-sitting

A few weekends ago we house/dog-sat for some friends. 

 It has been a while that I have had a day where there was nothing I had to do. So, I started the day off with a few favorites:
sleeping in and playing outside in beautiful Fall weather. David also gave me an intro lesson to his camera, which I have been wanting to do for a while :)

David and sweet Golden Retriever Grace were willing models. And Grace didn't even act like I was weird as I rolled around in the crunchy leaves.

I also enjoyed curling up inside to a few books and some hot tea. Maybe I should do that more often.

Yay for a slow weekend to start off the busy holiday season!

Thanksgiving List 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night at a Thanksgiving service the pastor shared about how Thanksgiving first started. Religious refugees from Europe who left to escape persecution and ended up in Netherlands. There was no persecution there, but also no real opportunity. They got in touch with John Smith about the possibility of living on the eastern coast of the US. Crossed the ocean, had a friendly relationship with Native Americans (I am thankful someone did) and they helped teach the Europeans how to grow food. During their second Fall in the new colony, they had a feast and a time to give thanks.

Another interesting tidbit that I did not know is that Thanksgiving was first declared a holiday by Abraham Lincoln on 1863- right in the middle of the Civil War. " In the midst of a bloody Civil War, President Lincoln issued a Presidential Proclamation in which he enumerated the blessings of the American people and called upon his countrymen to "set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of "Thanksgiving." 

quote from http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-25.html 

For the history fan-->This site has great info and scanned copies of Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. 

And now, for my thankful list of 2012- Just a few of the things to be thankful for!

Thank you Lord for...

Your love

David

a new ministry opportunity

running water that is safe to drink

Your forgiveness

Family

yoga

paint

craft nights

Your strength

my friends ( childhood, college, Venezuela, work, and blog friends)

AC and heat

music

Kathleen is pregnant!!!!!!!

color

adopting me into Your family

a job that I enjoy

UNC Chapel Hill

a washer and dryer

art

Your Word in my language

health insurance

the Summit Church

a warm bed to sleep in

guitar

Target

giving me strength in difficult situations 

Pinterest

photography

chocolate

the Farmer's Market

stress/anxiety- how you use that to humble and teach me to depend more on You

the Promise of one day being with You in heaven

blueberries

Your faithfulness

freedom of religion

candles

pumpkin

exercise

Fall

light

knees that are healing

tea

cooking

clothes and shoes

flowers

honey

moon and stars

Lily, Sadie, and Molly (pups)

Your beautiful creation

Your perfect timing

and the ability to blog

When you give 2 lab puppies a pillow...

...they shred it up into a million pieces and look at you with sweet puppy dog eyes so you don't get [too] mad. :)

Give Thanks

source

The "give thanks" theme is quite popular during this season. I have seen these words on many decorative fall items, and heard these words many times, inside and outside of church. But it was only until recently that I really started to understand the depth of these 2 simple words. For me, during the Fall season, I have always had the tradition of thinking about things I am thankful for- family and friends are always automatic responses. Then one day, when I was going through a particularly rough season of life, I read this devotional from "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young:

"When many things seem to be going wrong, trust Me. When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank Me. These are supernatural responses, and they can lift you above your circumstances. If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism. Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral, by darkening your perspective and mind-set. With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth. Each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral. The lower you go, the faster you slide; but it is still possible to apply brakes. Cry out to Me in My Name! Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. Thank Me for everything, though this seems unnatural- even irrational. Gradually you will begin to ascend, recovering your lost ground. When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective. If you choose supernatural responses this time- trusting and thanking Me- you will experience My unfathomable Peace."

My initial response was anger and frustration. I closed the book and walked out of the room. How could God expect me to thank him when I am going through a desert?! But a few days went by and God started a process of teaching me what His word really says about giving thanks.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Give thanks in all circumstances.

It does not say to give thanks when I feel like it
or give thanks only when I am having a wonderful day and everything is sunshine and rainbows.

It says to give thanks in all circumstances. That is including the good and the bad.

But let's be honest. Who feels like giving thanks on the bad days? I sure don't.

A different day's devotional from the same book says:

"Thank Me for the very things that are troubling you. You are on the brink of rebellion, precariously close to shaking your fist in My Face. You are tempted to indulge in just a little complaining about My treatment of you. But once you step over that line, torrents of rage and self-pity can sweep you away. The best protection against this indulgence is thanksgiving. It is impossible to thank Me and curse Me at the same time. Thanking Me for trials will feel awkward and contrived at first. But if you persist, your thankful words, prayed in faith, will eventually make a difference in your heart. Thankfulness awakens you to My Presence, which overshadows all your problems."

So when I don't feel like giving thanks, I must make the decision to thank God. Even for the trials. It is so hard, and so far, as far as I've gotten is, "God, thank you for [insert situation here]", but it is a process. This devotional spells it out perfectly- "When many things seem to be going wrong, trust Me. When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank Me." And this can eventually make a difference in my heart, and your heart, and help us refocus on Him. I think a key is found in that last line:
Thankfulness awakens you to My Presence, which overshadows all your problems.

And so I am slowly but surely trying to incorporate a time of giving thanks (for the good and the not so good), in hopes that this will become a part of my daily life. And I figure that now, as we are surrounded by pumpkins and turkey, is a good a time as ever.

Creation & Creativity Photography

So..I mentioned that I am back to blogging. Well...I have been busy in the blog world, but just not here :)

David and I are starting up a photography business. Click here to visit our page! Let me know what you think.

And if you are in North Carolina, keep us in mind for your photography needs!

Lent in a different light

While flipping through radio stations recently, I heard an announcer mention that "all God-fearing Catholics are now celebrating Lent." I'm not Catholic, but celebrating Lent has been a tradition for me for years. As a child, I remember choosing something to "give up" during this time (maybe chocolate or soft drinks) in an effort to "focus more on God." I'm not sure if ever did make it the whole 40 days without that particular sweet treat. I never really took it seriously I guess, or never considered the meaning of Lent.












                                                                                                                                                  

Recently, I have read several things that have helped me to see Lent in a different light.

My friend Kathryn posted this, which is a great summary and challenge -

"A forty day spiritual preparation until Easter celebrated by self-examination and repentance, prayer and meditation on God's word. I've got my work cut out for me for sure, but its freeing to know what joy it can bring."

I enjoyed reading this blog post.

This site also highlights some questions for self-reflection and practical rituals/self-disciplines for Lent.

 

This year I want to focus on these two disciplines:

 

"9. Commit to 40 days of praying for your enemies. And I don’t mean ruminating over all they have done wrong and praying that they will change, but praying that they will be blessed, that they will find health and peace and grace, that they will come to know Jesus or experience the love of Christ more fully."

(That is going to be a challenge. It is not easy for me to love/forgive those who have been hurtful, just being honest. But, I guess a good start would be to pray for them.....)

"10. Get outside! Commit to spending at least 20 minutes a day outside – walking, meditating, taking pictures, journaling. The transition from winter to springtime provides so many beautiful, tangible reminders of the significance of hope and rebirth in the Christian faith."

(This is also a challenge just because it's hard to fit into my schedule, but maybe I can go for walks on my lunch break...)
I also want to be more intentional on having daily time in God's word during this season. Which unfortunately doesn't always have first-priority in my day,

but as Kathryn said, " I've got my work cut out for me for sure, but its freeing to know what joy it can bring."

Do you celebrate Lent? Any special traditions for this time of year?

Sarah visit

Sarah and I have been friends since college. I'm so thankful for her friendship, and that we've been able to stay in touch even as we've lived far far apart.

A few weekends ago, David and I went to visit her and her husband. Unfortunately this is the only picture we have from the weekend, but it was such a fun, refreshing weekend for us both.

While the boys played XBox and watched basketball, we watched I Love Lucy and Reba, ate chocolate and brownies, and had lots of girl talk. Fun stuff.

Thanks for the awesome weekend Sarah, and yay for being in the same state :)

Snow Shots

The snow didn't last very long. But I am loving these pictures David took.

Yellow eyebrows!

Snow at last!

Just when I had given up on getting any snow this year,
and yesterday was in the 60s,
and I posted lots of daffodils yesterday,

it snows. Nature is full of surprises.

It has been at least 2 years since I've seen snow, and it is just so beautiful. Makes me feel like a kid again watching it come down. This was the first time David (the photographer under the umbrella) has ever seen snow falling down.

Now, if only tomorrow could be a "snow day" with lots of sledding and hot chocolate...
I can hope, right?

the beauty of today

I recently got this Bible. And I really recommend it. The commentary is good. Direct, to the point, and so helpful, especially as I'm reading through Genesis which, on the surface level, doesn't always seem so applicable to my life.

But with the help of some commentary and a little thinking on my part, it doesn't take long to see that I am a lot more like Eve than I thought.

 There was one particular passage in the commentary that was like a punch in the stomach this past week.

Quoting from the Bible commentary,

"Eve was approached by Satan in the Garden of Eden, where she and Adam lived. He questioned her contentment. How could she be happy when she was not allowed to eat from one of the fruit trees? Satan helped Eve shift her focus from all that God had done and given to the one thing He had withheld. And Eve was willing to accept Satan's viewpoint without checking with God."

And so it hit me- that's exactly what I have been doing. Instead of focusing on all that God has done and given to me, I have been focusing on the things that He has withheld."

The Bible says time and time again to not be anxious, but to be thankful; be thankful for all that God has given us. And to not worry about tomorrow, because it will worry about itself. A dear friend reminded me just that today- to live in the here and now.

So I went for a walk to enjoy the here and the now of the signs of the beginning of spring. Sunlight shining through the branches. Green. and splashes of yellow daffodils. And so I'll try to focus on all I've been given, and the beauty of today.