What We Need



As many of you know, this weekend marked one year since the Sandy Hook shooting.  To this day, I can scarcely think about that day without tears.  I can't even begin to imagine myself in their shoes.  I am humbled and awed at their strength.  I hope this reminds you to tell the people you love how much you love them, while you have the chance.

 

 

I remember watching this video last year and feeling absolutely blown away by this father's words.

 

 

A year later, I watch this video and, once again, am incredibly moved by the strength of this family.  When I am feeling complacent and comfortable with this life, it is something like this that reminds me I need Jesus.  I NEED Jesus. We can talk about working together, loving everyone, and world peace, but without Jesus, there is no peace.  

 

While Emilie Parker's family gets a lot of publicity for their faith, please take the time to also remember the other beautiful children and teachers who died that day.  You can go here to find a list of all of them. 

 

Don't forget to thank God for all your blessings today. 

 

 

 

Adventures in Canada

For Thanksgiving, I went to visit Dan in Victoria, BC.  I had lots of new and exciting adventures!!  To start with, it was pretty darn cold.  Before I went, Daniel told me to bring long underwear (I get cold easily) and then had to explain to me what long underwear are.  So I went and bought myself a pair of long underwear (although I didn't end up wearing them).  But it sure was cold!

Dan's parents live out on this island that requires you take a boat to get to! It's pretty neat to boat everywhere, although I must admit it was a little scary at first.  We went fishing and I caught my first fish!!!! I even touched it and it was quite disgusting!! (;

Another highlight of the trip was going to the Christmas Tree festival in downtown Victoria.  We just happened to stumble upon it but I'm so glad we did! It's this gorgeous hotel that had at least 75 fully decorated Christmas trees.  Businesses decorate them and then anyone can walk by and enjoy all of them (and get out of the freezing cold for a bit).  It was so beautiful! Sadly, I didn't have my camera but I found this picture online. 

 

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Even though Thanksgiving had already happened for the Canadians, we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner so that I could still enjoy Thanksgiving! My favorite Thanksgiving dish is dressing... mmm, mmm.  Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, so I was so *thankful* not to miss it. 

On Sunday night, Dan took me to the Butchart Gardens for the Christmas lighting.  Oh my goodness, words can not describe how gorgeous it is.  There are literally thousands of lights EVERYWHERE.  They also had displays set up for each of the twelve scenes of the song "The 12 Days of Christmas." It was so neat!! I loved listening to the brass band play Christmas carols.  This time I actually DID have my camera, but I don't know how to take good night pictures! 

In front of the "Sunken Garden"

Please note our creepy, soul-sucking eyes! (:

I also got to enjoy seeing some of my friends and meeting Dan's little niece, Natalia, who is a ball of energy! And of course, the best part was getting to spend time with this guy!  

 

Praying for Siblings

Prayer is not always one of my strong points. I know it is essential in the life of a believer, but I often find myself repeating the same things in prayers.  Recently, I have been trying to focus on praying more and praying better.  I've noticed that there are a lot of suggestions for praying for children/husbands/boyfriends/fiancés.  While those are great, because I four younger siblings, they are definitely on my prayer list.  Here are some topics I have come up with.  Let me know what you think!

1. Pray that they will always serve God first.  Of course my ultimate hope is that my siblings will choose to follow God.  I want nothing more to see them in His Kingdom someday soon!  

 

 

2. Pray that they will make wise life choices.  I have come to realize that I don't have a whole lot of choice in what my siblings do, so I pray that their choices will be made with prayer and thought.  I pray that as the choose spouses and careers, they will find joy and peace.  

 

 

3. Pray that they will be helped through temptation. Obviously my siblings will face temptations to do the wrong thing.  Like Job prayed for each of his children to avoid sin, I pray that my siblings will be able to stand firm.  

 

 

 

4. Pray that you will be friends as you grow older. I wouldn't say I am super close to my siblings, but I think we are growing closer as we age. I pray that as we grow up and go our separate ways, we will see each other as not just siblings, but friends.  I pray that we will be able to go to each other in times of need without fearing judgment or criticism.  

 

 

 

5. Pray that they will learn from their mistakes and continue to grow.  Even as I pray that they will be able to stand firm against the pressures of the world, I know that they will have times they will fall. Some people go through life never learning from their poor choices. I pray that this will not be the case with my siblings, but that they will grow in wisdom and godliness.

Nights Like These

Just to clarify, these are not my feet. I wish they were though..

It's Thursday night and as I sit here and write my post for Friday, I can't help but think how thankful I am for nights like these.  Nights when you can just take a breather and relax from the stress of life.  Nights when you can ignore deadlines and drink a delicious Lime Refresher from Starbucks (as I happen to be doing).  Nights when grades and paychecks don't seem quite so important. 

I love these so much... happiness in a cup!

Thursday nights are the end of the "hard" part of the week.  Even if I have lots of things to do, I take these evenings to forget about life.  It's so good. I highly recommend everyone has one such night to be rejuvenated. Spend time on the things you care about and forget about the trivial things that seem to fill up life.

In other news, I have lots to look forward to in the coming week.  I am so excited to see Catching Fire tomorrow. I also get to see my little brother's band perform.  I am beyond happy to see this beautiful face next week (his, not mine)

I am sad to miss Thanksgiving with my family for the first time.  I am also sad because I will miss out on our annual tradition of Cheetos and Gushers for Thanksgiving dinner. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? There will be more Cheetos and Gushers in the future.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Big Question

My all-important question today is...

dun....

dun.........

dun...................

Why isn't it socially acceptable to wear robes in public? This question may seem flippant and trite, but I would like to propose to you that wearing robes in public would be just great.  I personally love to wear my robe and if I had my way, I would be wearing it 24/7.  Seriously, I jump at the opportunity to wear my robe all day (ask my friends... they will admit to have seen me lounging around my house all day in it). 

Robes can cover more of your body than most clothes do.  For example, one of my robes covers my ankles, wrists and neck.  That seems like a decent thing to wear around.  Also, it really flows, so you really can't even see my legs and arms at all.

Now, I admit that this is a bit of a long stretch.  But spread the word.... Robes are where it's at!!!

Time to be Thankful.

Ahh... how I love Thanksgiving.  It is by far my favorite holiday.  What better way to feel joyful then to spend a whole day celebrating what you are thankful for??  I shared this list last year and want to share it again (not my own words, found it here).  This is so powerful to me because it is so easy to think of what we AREN'T blessed with instead of what we ARE.  

I am thankful for…

 

The taxes I pay because it means I am employed

 

The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat

 

A lawn that has to be mowed, windows that have to be cleaned and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home

 

The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking

 

The lady in church who sings off key because it means I can hear

 

The huge piles of laundry and ironing because it means loved ones are nearby

 

The alarm that goes off in the early morning because it means I am alive

 

 

I have also been doing some decorating around the house, in the spirit of remembering what this holiday is truly about.  What are YOU thankful for?

Our crazy pumpkins! (:

The "thankful corner" in our kitchen

The thankful basket... hopefully will be full by Thanksgiving!

The burlap banner I made.. I'm really disappointed that I couldn't get  a good picture of it. It says "Give Thanks"

The front porch!

 

What You Do Reflects What You Love



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Do you think it's true? I do. For example, people who spend 24/7 on the job. Do they love what they do? I don't know if they love working nonstop, but they must love something about it, whether it be  prestige or money (are there other benefits of working nonstop? I can't think of any!)

When it comes to my life, what I claim to love is my Heavenly Father and the individuals who fill my life.  But when it comes to what I do, I would have to say that I am found lacking.  You see, so often we have to make choices about how we spend our time.  I find that I am constantly having conflicts of interest... and what do I choose? Often, not the things I say I love most. 

I overheard some students talking to my microbiology teacher the other day, who said, "This class is just preparing you for graduate school.  Once you are in grad school that is your WHOLE life (emphasis added by me)."  And I'm thinking.. I don't want that to be my whole life.  Not just I don't want it to be my whole life, but it is wrong for it to be my whole life.  So when that moment comes when I have to decide what my life is about, I pray that I choose what is really important. To me, that's not work or school.  We must do those things and hopefully they bring us some measure of joy, too.  But what's most important, what brings most meaning and joy, how we spend our time... we must decide. I pray that that choice is made with wisdom.