Pros and Cons

After being on vacation last week, my family has returned! In honor of returning to a seven person household, I've created a list of pros and cons of living alone.  Have any to add in?

 

 

Pros:

-You can go to the bathroom with the door open.  It really saves a lot of time.

-The house stays clean longer (assuming you clean it).

-You can walk around in your underwear.  Please make sure to close the windows, though.  

- Random plants can start growing in the sink.  This really happened!! If you have a house full of people, I'm pretty sure this doesn't occur.

- Ice cream! You can eat ice cream all the time with no one to judge you.

- You can change the thermostat like crazy.  For example: I turn the air conditioner down to 77. I freeze.  I turn it back up to 80.  I am hot.  Back down to 77.  REPEAT.  

-It is acceptable to sing as loud as you want.  Crazy dancing included.  (Who am I kidding, I do this whether I am alone or not!)

Cons:

-You are alone. 

-If you get locked out, there is no one to unlock the door.  

-The house stays dirty (assuming you don't clean it).

-If you walk outside and the back deck collapses, causing you to fall to your death, there is no one there.  Yes, these are the strange things I contemplate.  Beware that walking onto the back deck is risky when living alone.

-You have to cook for yourself.  Or not.  I usually go with the "or not" option and eat lots of sandwiches and macaroni and cheese.  I also understand why people joke about college students eating Top Ramen.  This is not a joke, people.  Real food is EXPENSIVE. 

- There is no one to fix the sewing machine when it breaks.  Which happens quite a lot.  Seriously, if cars were like sewing machines, we'd all be dead.  

-All plumbing issues go unresolved. 

-Did I mention, you are alone?

That First Step.

As you might have noticed from posts like this and this, I have been thinking about purposeful living quite a bit.  We all have been blessed with life; some with lives of ease and some who seem to constantly struggle, but life nonetheless.  How we choose to love our lives can change our course.  We can go through life, happy when the good winds blow and sad when struggles come, or we can choose to live purposefully.  I like to call it "passionate living."

Passionate living is our choice to be joyful DESPITE our circumstances.  It doesn't mean we will never be hurt or never have struggles but it means that those things don't break us.  It means having a purpose whatever you are doing.  It means being passionate for the live you have, not the life you want.    

 

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I don't think passionate living comes naturally.  But how do we start?  We start with God.  We empty ourselves so that God can move.  We let go of our expectations to be blown away by God's plans.  To be completely honest, this is something that I really, REALLY struggle with.  When I was a little girl, or even a teenager, I definitely did not expect to be where I am now.  At (almost) 22, I am still a student, I have no potential spouse, and I don't really know where my life is headed.  I am not saying this to complain, I am saying this because I need to let go of those things.  Because God has far better plans than any plan I could have made for myself as a kid.  However, if I hold on to those things, I keep God from working out His plan.  None of this is to say that we can't have hopes and dreams, but when those hopes are shattered, we need to let go.  Let go of bitterness and hurt.  Let go of relationships that have torn you up.  Let go of the desire to control everything.  

Empty yourself so that God can fill you up.  

 

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That, I believe, is the first step in learning to live passionately.  I'm thinking of making this a series, so be sure to stop by next week for more on passionate life! 

A Summer Song

Summertime.  Time for ice cream, open windows, bathing suits and MUSIC. Here are some of my favorite summer tunes!  What are yours?

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Current favorite: Beat this Summer, Brad Paisley

 

Summer of '69, Bryan Adams

 

Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift

 

 

Dirt Road Anthem, Jason Aldean

 

A Summer Song, Chad and Jeremy

 

And of course, a little 1D! (;

 

The Boys of Summer, Don Henley

 

Have a happy summer day!

 

Crafty business

During summer, I always try to come up with hobbies to keep me busy.  To my family and friend's utter astonishment, my hobby this summer has been crafts.  I never do crafts.  But guess what? I do now!  Here are some of the things I have been crafting up around here.  I have also been scouring Pinterest for new ideas after these are completed!

Geometric painting on canvas.  I am going to paint the lines gold and add the words,
"When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." 

Lining with contrast pocket

My first completed purse!

Lining.  The outside will also be brown fabric.

Next up: Gray corduroy lined with blue chevron

What do you think?  Any suggestions for easy craft ideas?

Happy vibes

Well, last week I didn't post because I couldn't get any of my pictures to upload to my computer.  This week, I still can't.  So, goodbye, planned blog posts.  

If you didn't know already, I started summer school last week.  For the rest of the summer. Monday through Thursday.  I have been a bit down about this, especially because my family is heading off for a fun vacation next week.  In an effort to stop feeling sorry for myself, I have been coming up with things that I am thankful/things that make me happy.  Spending a few minutes thinking about what I you are thankful for is an instant uplifter, so I'd suggest everyone try it! 

Without further ado, the things that I am happy about right now....

...that I was able to have such a wonderful three-week vacation before I started school.  The time away was much needed and spending a week with friends at a church retreat was so uplifting.

...my family! I have been getting to spend quite a bit of time with them (despite all the times I have been away/they have been away).  I'm glad that they get to have a good vacation.  

...lovely friends who I love to spend time with!  Since I have been back, I have been able to hang out with Bekka a lot, including going to Six Flags with her and having loads of sleepovers.  Last week I got to go visit my friend Kelsey for the day in San Francisco.  I have been able to Skype with friends from Virginia and England, too.  Close friends always warm my heart.

...beautiful summer nights!  Warm summer nights just make me so happy.  

...my new internship! I can't tell you how much these kids open up my heart.  They just make you want to love them so much.  

...cell phones.  Blogs.  Computers.  Skype.  While I sometimes rant about how I hate technology, I really do love that it helps me keep touch with those I love who are far away.

...country music and summer songs.  The combination makes me want to dance and be happy.  

 

What makes you happy this week? 

Technology

Hey friends! 

I have been having technical difficulties this week.  Hence, the lack of posts.  Hopefully I will have everything up and running again by next week. 

Have a joyous weekend!

So Much Love

I started my summer physical therapy internship last Thursday.  I am doing it at Easter Seals Pediatric center, which works with children who have cerebral palsy, autism, and other developmental disabilities.

I was a bit scared.  I didn't know what these kids would be like and I thought it might be hard to work with them.

 

BOY was I wrong.  If Thursday was any indicator, this is going to be the best internship I have ever done.  Yes, they may not be developing typically but there is nothing wrong with their hearts. These kids just have SO much love.  I have never met kids who were so open and loveable.  I don't want to discount all the effort that parents with kids who have disabilities go through, but they sure are easy to love.  I don't think I'm the most kid-loving person, but they are enough break down any barriers in my heart.  

 

Shows how God can use my fear to teach me how to love more. 

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How To Be Clean...

... Basically, don't be friends with me.  For some reason, one of my favorite things ever is getting covered in mud.  Why is this so appealing?  I really don't know.  But I love it, as evidenced in these pictures. 

I know, I know-- it's really not a good look for me.  But it sure is fun!

Like We Need to Breathe

I got to have some awesome conversations with my friend Steve last week and he shared this video with me.  Thanks Stevo!

 

To me, the absolute greatest success is to serve God, to be more like Jesus, and to someday soon be in the Kingdom.  But do we always pursue it like it is the most important thing? Do we seek God like we need to breathe?  Do we never give up, the way an athlete trains for the Olympics?

When you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful.  

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I say I want to be in God's Kingdom, but I act like I only kind of want it.  

When I pray, I want to pray like I am gasping for air.  In my service to God, I want to devote myself the way an athlete trains for the Olympics.  When I sing the song "Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God" at church, I want to really mean it.  

So my challenge is to change the way I seek God.  To seek Him first, truly first, the way I seek air to breathe.  To rely on Him to keep me alive the way He does when He gives me every breathe that I breathe.  

I think about the wonderful promises God has made to us. I think about how Jesus struggled the way we do, yet never once fell short.  We need to grab on with both hands and fight the good fight.  We can't let it slip away because we are more interested in things that don't last.  

Oh, to be like Him.