2017 and My One Word

It’s 2017 and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

With a thankful heart, I’m so excited to welcome this new year with open arms. I’ve missed writing so much and have returned to this blog numerous times the last 6 months and written countless drafts and have published none of them.

Everything happening seems too personal, too sacred, too holy to write about.

But today is the day I feel empowered to start fresh and write about it. I am so thankful.

At the beginning of each year, I choose a word to focus on that year as well as compose a list of New Years resolutions and I largely stick with them. This past year hasn’t been one of those years I stick with it and that’s okay. This morning I read over my one word for 2016 and was brought to tears: Faithful. That was my word. Faithful. At the beginning of last year I had no idea how faithless I would be and how faithful God would prove Himself to be to me. He blows me away with His faithfulness despite my unfaithfulness. He blows me away with His love, despite my unlovingness. If you ever want to experience what real love is, choose Christ, He will show you real love and then show you that you are the opposite of that and He loves you anyway. Faithful.

This past year I faced fears by quitting a job in February and starting a new one, then I faced fears and in obedience  moved across the country and started seminary. I resisted HIm every step of the way, questioning if it was really His will for me, because I wanted so badly to stay in Knoxville and simultaneously felt it was time to move on. He brought me through times of deep loneliness and times of such great joy. He introduced me to the most handsome man that I am now dating! The Lord in His own Holy way showed me that I must fear Him more than people as I read this book. He showed me what it means to step in faith, even when the stars don’t align. He so faithfully showed me that His word really is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword… the validity and sufficiency of God’s word is something I didn’t know I doubted until I did. He gave me a sure foundation to stand on, and proved Himself so unbelievably faithful.

After much prayer and consideration, my word for 2017 is…

Photocredit: Google Images

This year, I choose Joy. I choose obedience. I choose Christ. In Christ there is joy! There are many people who think that God is someone with many rules who sits in heaven and hates it when people are happy. However, that’s unbiblical and I disagree… He created His law and commandments for His glory and our JOY!

SO this year… 2017… is a huge year! I choose Joy, seek Joy, Seek Jesus, because in Seeking Him, I know I will find joy! 2 Corinthians 1:20 states that all God’s promises find their “yes” in Him!

While, Instead of having New Year Resolutions or New Year Goals…. I took some inspiration from Ann Voskamp and made New Year Soul-utions. 

2017, I choose to…

Embrace the hard things…
Engage laughter…
Be kind and compassionate
Believe for a daily miracle…
Break bread with friends…
Daily continue new habits…
Do fun things!
Let Go of expectations…
Learn to serve and love…
Live with a thankful heart
Give forgiveness when it’s hard!
Grow a new family…

If you’d like to make soul-utions rather than resolutions, you can find some pretty cool resources on Ann’s website here.

In Daniel 1:8- Daniel Purposed in his heart that he wouldn’t defile himself with the King’s food…. While we are not Daniel, nor are we in captivity… we can purpose in our hearts as well! What do you purpose in your heart to do this year in 2017?

 

 

His Amazing Grace

I opened my eyes to the sun rise through my blinds and blinked. 8:00am. On my own. Without an alarm. I rolled over to feel my sweet puppy Watson breathing beside me, his breaths steady against me. I smiled and thought about what i’m doing the next few days. I looked around my room, my walls bare, boxes stacked up next to my bed, my pictures put away…

I’m moving to Fort Worth, Texas this week.

I sometimes lay awake at night and wonder if I really am doing this, then wake up in the morning and realize that I am and it’s okay. I’ve said goodbye to countless friends and watched them leave with tears in their eyes and have wondered… where are my tears? I feel emotionless sometimes.

I’ve sat across from friends who want my story of why i’m moving and why I chose this particular seminary… and I think many are waiting on an extraordinary story. One with signs and wonders and huge miracles…  with a clear conviction and direction. I’ve sat across from people who are shocked, because i’ve not mentioned it before, and others who know it’s right.

But instead I sit across from person after person and just explain that I feel peace. That this is something that’s has been on my heart for a couple of years or so and I’ve been too afraid to do it. Because what if…what if I don’t fit in? What if I stick out like a sore thumb? What if they realize that i’m really not seminary material and instead i’m messy and rude and loud and sometimes even obnoxious? What if I get there and accidentally curse in class? What if they see my wicked heart and realize… I don’t belong? 

But all those what if’s don’t matter anymore, because The Lord is my Shepherd and He has guided me to Knoxville and away from Knoxville. He has lead me through dark valleys. The what if’s don’t matter anymore because the applications for seminary asked me all the questions that I was afraid they would and I answered so brutally honestly that..when I got my acceptance letter, I was shocked.

I’ve been silent about it because He’s been stirring something deep within me that feels too personal and too holy to talk about. He’s been shaping and changing and molding me in ways I didn’t realize I needed. He’s transformed me and continues to do so.

Moving away isn’t a big spiritual struggle like I imagined it would be. I thought attending to seminary would be a gigantic emotionally spiritual experience, but it’s just the next step that He’s lead me to and I feel peace.

Whether this is right or wrong, i’m unsure. But I know He will lead me into green pastures and lead me by still waters and I know He’s restored my soul. His rod and His staff they comfort me even in the presence of evil, because I know His discipline will help me stick by Him.

He is my comfort. My peace. And I don’t have an amazing story, I have His Amazing Grace and for me, today, that’s more than enough.

The Year of the Vegetable Oil

I held the phone to my ear with my brother on the line, my hearing aid whistling as he asked, “So Sara, how ya doing with the reading?”

This is a common question from my brother. For the last year or so, he and I have been tag-teaming on reading the Bible through, though not necessarily reading together in the same place,we’ve held each other accountable through texts and conversations such as these.

“It’s been alright,” I paused, “I’m in Numbers. I guess i’m slowing down a little since last year.”

His concern was evident, “yeah I noticed. Why do you think that is?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I was so alive and excited about the Word, but since Ciera’s death, I’ve just had a lot of doubts. I doubt His promises. I doubt His word. I doubt my understanding of it… I doubt so much.I know these are rookie doubts and they’re stupid since I intellectually know His promises all ring true no matter what.” I continued, “I don’t know if I subconsciously thought if I sought the Lord and prayed and pleaded and begged and obeyed, that she would be healed. I don’t know if that was subconscious or not, but…”

I sat there and expressed my deepest doubts. The things I’m struggling with most. I’ve had a million people tell me that she’s healed and in a better place. That just alienates me more. I’ve had people tell me that all things work for the good of those who love Him and in response i’ve wanted to punch them in the face and tell them “this is for your good”. I know the answers. I know the sermons. I know it backwards and forwards and still doubts plague me. I pick up His word and the temptation to just not be interested is there. I struggle through prayers but sometimes all I can get out is “Are You there? Do You hear me?” My prayers haven’t changed all that much since October 26, 2015.

You think the months would make it better and that time would heal wounds, but it’s like my brother said in our conversation, “Sara, it will take years. You and C had a Jonathan/David friendship. I bet David missed Jonathan until he went to the grave. You won’t ever get over it…” His words washed over me like water. Cleansing. Acknowledging. I won’t ever get over it. I breathed in relief.

He spoke truth over me and like songs they rang right through me to my soul, “You did seek Him in hoping she would be healed. I watched you and it’s been incredible. There’s nothing wrong with that, because we all do it. We are all human. We all seek God and hope that things will happen- we seek Him and want things from Him… It’s our nature.” Thankful to hear that the most private part of me- the fact that I begged God for her healing and He didn’t give it in the way I wanted. The temptation for me to quit was out in the open and acknowledged by another human who gave me grace encouraged me to give me grace too.

Tonight he reminded me to keep pressing on. I heard the urgency in his voice, “Sara, you have to keep reading the bible and praying because that’s what will get you through shit like this. Remember Hebrews 11? Remember Abraham? He went through all of that moving from place to place to receive God’s promise and died not having received it, but he still kept pressing on…”

I remembered… By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God…All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth… (Hebrews 11:8-10;13). 

His voice brought me back to the present, “they didn’t receive it in their lifetime, but God’s promises still rang true then, and they still ring true now. If C was here, she’d be by your side rooting for your faith, for you to hold on. Just like you guys used to do when you ran races! I bet she’s up there right now telling you how great it is up there and for you to hold on to His promises. They’re still true!”

“You know, Sara, this is going to sound stupid, but stick with me.” He continued, “I was watching Marcela (his wife) bake something the other day. She got a cup of vegetable oil and poured that in a bowl. Now by itself we wouldn’t drink vegetable oil for breakfast and call that good, but we put it in stuff when we bake.”
I laughed as he gave an illustration of telling someone he drank veggie oil for breakfast.

“Then she put a little bit of flour in it- Flour by itself is nasty, right?! Tasteless!” I giggled, knowing where he was going with this. “Then she put eggs in it- which aren’t too bad cooked- and raw– well…. Anyways, then she added chocolate chips and those are pretty good I can have some chocolate chips. She put it all together and put it in the oven and when she took it out it was delicious.”

I rolled my eyes and said “yeah”… Then he took an unexpected turn.

“Well, Sara. Some years are vegetable oil years. Right now, you are in the year of vegetable oil and it’s pretty terrible. Other years are flour years- and then you got some days that are like chocolate chips and those are pretty good. But in the end, God mixes all those years together and throws you in a pan and lights your ass on fire and.. well.. You end up with a masterpiece. You just gotta trust Him. It’s going to be okay. Remember Abraham. Remember the Greats- the ones who Trusted Him even when they never received their promises- not while they were alive. Remember.”

I leaned back and thought about Deuteronomy. I thought about the day that the Lord set before His people a choice and I could feel Him setting before me the same choice- “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.” (Deut 30:15). I feel a strong pull to death and destruction. And I feel a small tug to life and prosperity. I know the small tug is Truth. I know the small whisper is His. I know His voice. I know Him.

And I choose it. I will. I have to. He’s mine and I am His and with all my heart I choose life. I choose Him. I choose His promises even if I don’t see them- ever.

You have a choice too- You have life and death- prosperity and destruction. You have years of chocolate chips and veggie oil. Whether you’re in the best or the worst year- or whether you’re on fire… choose Him. Hold onto Him. Don’t let go. Don’t give up. He’s there.

 

If you made it to the end of this really long post- congrats. I miss you guys and have been struggling to put my thoughts into words- I hope to get back into blogging soon. I miss doing the weekly blogs. They are fun, but my soul needed the break. Hope you enjoyed! 

52 Weeks of Adventure: week 5 He is Faithful.

The most difficult thing about writing these weekly adventures is not what you think it would be. The challenge isn’t in finding the adventure or putting words to the adventure. Instead, the challenge lies in choosing just ONE adventure to write about. You see, in a given week there are approximately 50,000,000 adventures in my life alone. Now, there are probably about 10 that I notice if i’m looking and if I’m not looking, there is probably only one that will be fully appreciated.

So I sit here reflecting on this past week, trying to decide what to write about. I could write about the day I lost my keys, the cookies I baked from scratch using a recipe I didn’t really follow, the lingerie party that we threw for my friend, or the day I went to the DMV and officially became tennessean… There are a million other adventures that I can’t write about to their personal or confidential nature… But this week was just especially lovely and full of adventure.

I’m going to go with the trauma adventure of my missing keys today and maybe later I will add more stories… more adventures… more fun! Tuesday of last week I woke up on time and early late and scattered. I usually do feel this way when I wake up, but that day was especially atrocious. I woke up and looked at Watson and could tell our hair resembled each other. Wild and frazzled. We both looked exhausted. It was a Tuesday that felt like Monday and I had a boatload of work to do to wrap up some things at work

Watson and I made our way downstairs and groggily went on our walk. He pounced and pulled between grass, pavement, and bushes. We spent some time with the neighborhood dogs and then finally, we went inside where we made coffee and tried to wake up from our slumber. As I got dressed and ready for work I started gathering my things from the edges of the earth that is my apartment and got ready to leave. After picking up everything that was at the top of the stairs, I put Watson in his room and headed down to my car only to realize… Where are my keys?

My brain didn’t think too much of it when they didn’t show up and thought maybe they were just around. However, an hour later I was still searching and still not at work. Hour turned to hours. My search continued. I searched inside. I searched in the couch and kitchen and refrigerator because I know sometimes I lose my mind and put things in places that don’t make sense. I searched through clothes and pockets and Watson’s toys. I searched through drawers and bags and backpacks and crevices. I searched and searched like one of those sporadic cartoon characters throwing everything every which way.

Next, Watson and I walked around the parameter of the apartments. We stopped by the poop buckets and looked through them (gross!). My  search turned to frantic texts. My panic wasn’t just that I was without my car and house keys but also without work keys and my USB that has personal information.

Worry turned to frantic searching that graduated into panic all the while, my phone rang my mom called. A girl is never too old to talk to her mom when she loses something. Even if her mom is 12 hours away. After explaining the Missing Key Saga and everywhere I had looked and the importance of finding keys that were not my own (i.e. work keys). “Sara, pray about it,” she suggested, “Last week I was missing a parking ticket and after praying He provided when we really needed it…” And I listened.

Making my way to my apartment, Watson and I walked up the stairs, he jumped on the couch and I got on my face with tears in the carpet and my nose breathing in particles of dust, I prayed. Lord, I don’t know if You hear us or answer prayers anymore but I’m praying… Not knowing where those words came from, not knowing where the doubt suddenly appeared from I paused, stunned. I shut my eyes as the carpet got more and more damp. I tried again. Lord, thank you that it isn’t raining today like it was yesterday. Please calm my nerves. Please provide the keys so I can give back what isn’t mine to who it belongs to and get to work. If You hear me, if You’re there, If you still answer prayers… doubts filled. tears flooded.

My keys going missing was something that really wasn’t a big deal and really shouldn’t have been so emotional, but for me it was a deep spiritual realization and an adventure of doubt I didn’t recognize within me until I offered up fervent prayers of desperation. I laid with my face on the carpet stupefied at my doubt. Both knowing and not knowing the root of where this had come from and why it was just surfacing. Both brokenhearted, confused, and elated because I could deal with it. Finally.

Until you get alone with Him in the quiet do you ever start to deal with what’s inside you and who He is… And that day, the adventure began. It began on my face with my nose on the tear-soaked carpet crying out for Him- instead praying to find my keys, I prayed for Him to take my doubt and give me reassurance that He is faithful. Just like I’ve always known Him to be. Regardless of whether my keys were found or not, I wanted to know His character more and be firm and steadfast in it. He is my identity.

To prepare for not having my keys ever again, I called a AAA who sent a locksmith to make a key for my car. As he took the lock off my door, my prayers turned silent in my heart as he stepped up in his truck to go back to his office and make a key… his car sputtered and died.

His car died. The battery died and I stood there laughing. The inappropriateness and rightness of the situation was too much to handle. His faithfulness was in it somewhere, His glory in my laughter. I felt like Sara who laughed at the Lord when He told Abraham he would be a father to many nations. I looked to the Locksmith, “We could call AAA. I have a membership”.

“Ma’am,” he said, “I am AAA. You called us already.”

My laughter turned to snorts.

Eventually he got his truck jumped, he got my key made and arrived back to my car to program it, all the while engaging me in conversations of star wars and star trek and music. Three things I know nothing about… but eventually he handed my new key over to me at 7:30pm and drove away as I stood there in the cold thanking Him, the Lord, for a glorious day and a key to get to work tomorrow.

My roommate arrived home that night and we told each other of our  trauma filled adventurous and eventful day and as she cleaned her purse out I saw her still. She looked up at me and out of her purse in her hand came my keys… and there was nothing to do but laugh and cry and be so thankful that my keys were okay after all, because He provides. Jehovah Jireh. He tests. He loves. He proves faithful. He always knows our hearts and reveals our hearts to us when we don’t know our hearts. He gives us room for doubt and repentance. He’s a good, good Father.

It wasn’t until later that week when I came home from work around 1am that I realized the depths of awesomness I had in a roommate… even after her profusely apologizing to me when I really didn’t care that she took my keys. I was so happy to have them back. I came home to things she left out for me and made for me… she made a HUGE card with scripture on it, an incredibly nice tea maker, a mug, and on the card were hilarious hashtags like #TeamSara #L’Chaim #yehsua #otherjewishthings #Imstillreallysorry #Nevertakeyourkeysagain…. And the week ended with a huge smile on my lips, tears on my cheeks and a new understanding of Him, grace, forgiveness, mercy… and His Faithfulness.

His faithfulness continues through all generations. (Ps 100:5). 

Sometimes adventures can be painful realizations of ourselves and of Him, but that doesn’t make them any less adventurous. I am so thankful for this week!

 

 

 

 

What I’m into: January 2016

January felt like the longest month ever this year and I am happy it’s over. January and February are always harder months especially after the excitement of Christmas. I tried really hard this month to update this post in my drafts as I found things… Hopefully this can be a habit for the future! I know I’m late posting this- but I thought that posting my Weekly adventure was more important earlier this week!

I am linking up with Leigh Kramar for the What I’m Into monthly post! It’s my first time “linking up”… So we’ll see how this works!

What I’ve been watching: 

By the end of December I had a serious netflix addiction and had been binge watching Army Wives along with other things. So for the Month of January any time I wanted to watch Netflix, I picked up a book since one of my New Year’s goals has been to read one book a month. This month I read TWO! Though that’s not many books, I am excited because I believe the more I read the better I will write.

Toward the end of January I broke this habit of reading and started watching Supernatural on Netflix… for two reasons: My best friend in Louisiana LOVES Supernatural and so does my roommate. How could I not join with the fun? I’m trying to catch up….

What I’ve been reading: 

Broken Harbor by Tana French 
I’ve been a fan of Tana French since my early college days. I’ve read her first three books and finally landed on Broken Harbor at the beginning of this month. Tana French is a skilled international (Irish) writer of murder mysteries. Most of her books set in Ireland near Dublin are filled with drops of Irish sentence structures and culture, which makes it truly interesting for me. They are full of complex characters, colorful language*, and intense moral themes. Broken Harbor has heavy dialogue and a myriad of details about the murder scene and morgue scene compared to her previous books. This book is revolting and gripping simultaneously making it a fast read, albeit its 400+ pages. Other reviewers believe it was too interview and dialogue-heavy and found it skim-worthy at best, but I disagree. I was drawn into the scenes and found myself wondering how she could craft peoples’ exact personalities into their responses and interactions. Her writing fascinates me. I can feel the small nuances in peoples’ responses such as an eye movement, a small flicker of emotion, a tone of voice, or a dead-pan stare. I was enthralled and thought her writing was crafty and smooth. If you are interested in murder mysteries and want to read a Tana French book, start with In The Woods, which has been one of my favorites!

*Be aware the colorful language means a heavy presence of foul language.

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held Evans has become one of my favorite spiritual memoir authors over the last few months. The first book I read in November is a Year of Biblical Womahood, that my friend Ciera let me borrow before she passed away.  When my fellow blogger and friend, Lily learned I enjoyed it so much, she gifted me Searching for Sunday (thank you, Lily!). In the book Searching for Sunday, Evans takes us with her on her searching journey by using the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church to tell the story of her journey of leaving, searching, and finding the church over the last several years. She doesn’t claim to have finally “found” all the answers to her questions, but she has found what the Church and His Kingdom are all about. When I first read the intro about the seven Sacraments, I worried that the book would be dull and boring. However, it was anything BUT boring. Instead, in her truest way that only Evans can, she brought out the beauties in each sacrament and helped me think more about what the church is all about- especially for millennials, such as myself. I connect to this book a lot more than I had planned on connecting to it. She made each sacrament come to life and applied to her everyday life, making the mundane what it can truly be: holy. I didn’t agree with everything she wrote or all over viewpoints, but that’s not the point. I hope to write about A Year of Biblical Womanhood soon, since it has so radically impacted how I view womanhood and modesty.

On the Internets:

A guest post written by Diane Corner on Anne Voskamp’s A Holy Experience blog. I feel like I could have written it! Diane parallels her progressive deafness and pretending with her inability to pretend for God. She compares the talking to her audiologist gave about being upfront and honest when she cannot hear and not bluffing to God’s acceptance of us in our messes. Since I, too, have deafness and can identify with pretending and bluffing so much in conversation- this hit home with my relationship with Jesus as well! Talk about powerful!

I was introduced to the old song by Michael W Smith Friends are Friends Forever by a dear friend who was sharing that with me in relation to a conversation about Ciera.

This post by Bronwyn Lea about how one word changed her prayers. Thought it was written in 2013, it really impacted how I think about situations in my life, even currently! I also followed her blog and read her blog regularly now- I love what she has to say on certain topics!

Also, I learned Atlanta got 911 text messaging! What an amazing resource for those who are Deaf and Hard of hearing- like myself. I really hope it comes our way to East Tennessee soon! Take a look at the picture to the right of a sample text with Atlanta 911 that floated around on facebook early January: Awesomesauce.

What I’ve been writing: 

I launched into the new year with my New Year Goals and 1 Word. I started the 52 Weeks of Adventures series in January and have decided to post on Monday or Tuesday of an adventure that I’ve taken the previous week! The first week kicked off with my adventure of noticing the Eucharist in the mundane of everyday life! Week 2 was much more adventurous about my time learning self defense moves at Friday Night Fights! That same week, I shared a prayer with you all that had once been shared with me. I spent week 3 of my adventures talking about Snowmageddon and how much fun Watson and I had. Week 4 was somewhat of a tribute to Ciera as I talked about Love Rocks.

For January, 2016…All in all, I kept with my goal of reading one book a month and writing one blog a week! eeeeee! I’m excited about that!

52 Weeks of Adventure: Week 4 Love Rocks

Bentley, Ciera’s doggie.

I found myself on the drive to Maryville last Monday. Maryville, TN is a quaint little town of approximately 27,000 people, a suburb of Knoxville (source). Maryville is where I first came to settle in Tennessee at age 18, choosing the town for the small, liberal arts college that resides there on the hill. Maryville, Tennessee is one of my favorite places on earth and has a special place in my heart. Not only does it have a homey feeling to it and is easy to navigate, it has some of my favorite places which includes Vienna Coffeehouse and a crossfit gym with friendly people. It’s where I learned and struggled to be an adult and where I flew from my parents nest. It’s where I made friends that have lasted a lifetime and learned that some friendships don’t always last. I learned to run in that little town and learned each running trail and knew each distance like the back of my hand. Regardless if I wanted to run 2 miles or 7 miles, I knew exactly where to go. No GPS needed. Maryville is the source of so much joy, heartache, tears, and redemption for me. Maryville is also where Ciera lived with her parents. It is the place where Ciera and I found an anchor in our friendship and the place I prayed for her to come back to. Maryville has intense and deep-rooted significance for me.

For those of you who may not know, Ciera is my best friend who passed away October 26, 2015. If you want to read about the legacy she left when she passed, click here. 

I finally pulled up to Ciera’s parents, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Sherri’s house later on Monday night than I had planned. I hopped out the car and rushed to the front door, eager to begin our adventure. Excitement radiated through me as Mrs Sherri and Bentley, the overexcited young boxer, answered the door. They had all been kind enough to not only let me be a part of this activity we were doing, but also invite me to their house and cook dinner for me. Mr Mike and Mrs Sherri have the most beautiful hearts I’ve ever met. They open their doors and open their hands and open their hearts and say “thank you” even when you’re the one imposing. They invite you to intimate activities such as making Love Rocks for Ciera in her memory… which is what we planned to do that night. Mr Mike and Mrs Sherri have kept Ciera’s memory and legacy alive through their openhanded generosity to me and others. Every time I get a taste of their kindness, I think of her and when I get a moment to dwell on it, it overwhelms me.

Mr Mike made the most delicious Salmon.

For those of you who don’t know what Love Rocks are, I really want to encourage you to go read their story and find them on Facebook.  Love Rocks is a foundation and a community of people created by one mama and daddy in Oregon who lost their two daughters named Anna and Abby in an unthinkable tragedy. The two girls were playing in front of their house in some leaves one fall morning and a motor vehicle did not see them and hit them on October 20, 2013. In honor of their Creator and the lives of their sweet girls, they chose to spread love and joy by creating Love Rocks in April of 2014. They began by cutting fabric in the shapes of hearts and using Mod Podge to glue them on rocks- creating love rocks. Love Rocks aren’t meant to be kept, but meant to be shared just as love and joy are. They have been left at doctor’s offices, hospitals, on hiking trails, near the Eiffel Tower.. and so many more places. You can read more about them on the website.

After learning about these, Mrs Sherri and Mr Mike decided to make some Love Rocks- in honor and memory of Ciera, so we can leave them in different places wherever  we go so that whoever needs love and joy will find the Love Rocks and get that courage they need…

The adventure this week wasn’t that I spent time in Maryville. The adventure was that Mrs Sherri and Mr Mike opened their home and hearts up to me and allowed me to be a part of something so special that I will forever cherish in my heart. We made several Love Rocks in Ciera’s honor and maybe one day i’ll get the courage and strength it takes open my hand in thankfulness and let them go…

Thank you Mr. Mike and Mrs. Sherri for this past Monday. Thank you for letting me take pictures and share this with others…Thank you for continuing to… be like C and leave a legacy!

All photographs belong to me and were taken with my L820 Nikon coolpix camera. I didn’t receive any compensation for advertisement for this post. This is just what my adventure was this week. Please feel free to make your own adventures and share them with me. Also, feel free to make your own love rocks- if you do i’d love to hear about it.

 

 

52 Weeks of Adventure: Week 3~ Snowmageddon

By the title, I’m sure you all know what I’m referring to, correct? This past week, I was spoiled with adventure and it was a lot of fun. On Monday we got off for MLK day. Tuesday I went to work. Wednesday we had a snow day and technically I could have taken off, but I chose to work from home and.. have a little fun with Watson in the afternoon during a break.

Watson and I decided to go gliding and sliding through the snow and we met our neighbor and her dog, Tiki (Short for Tikvah which can mean Hope in Hebrew). Tiki and Watson ran around for a little bit, but Tiki got pretty cold since he’s a puppy Boxer.

Watson is wearing his bright blue coat.. he doesn’t always understand social skills

No matter how much he tries to sit, he won’t get Tiki’s treats! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watson with his wild spirit! This is one of my favorites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Watson and Tiki had their fill of playing, which surprisingly didn’t last too long, Watson and I decided to walk around and take some pictures. We took pictures on my Nikon COOLPIX L820 camera that I received for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have recently pulled it out, bought a bunch of batteries and have been using it for my blog along with other things. I’m not a photographer by any means, but…. that’s part of the adventure isn’t it?

Once we settled down at home after our walk, Watson and I watched the news and realized the true snowmageddon was coming and the whole town was shutting down for Friday and Saturday. I cancelled my plans for the weekend and tried to make adventurous plans for the two of us.

By the end of the weekend, we didn’t have but a couple of flurries- We had nothing compared to the northeast! Me and Watson stayed home all day saturday, read books, watched movies, and drank tea. It was so, so lovely… and definitely our kind of adventure.

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Where is your life taking you this week? What adventures do you see in the mundane? What makes you smile and laugh and throw your head back and think “this is forever”? 

That’s adventure. Maybe it’s snow, or thankful journals, or friends. Maybe it’s wine and dine and cheese. Maybe the adventure is in the book you read last week or the church you visited. Maybe it’s a deeply spiritual experience or maybe it’s from wrestling with the Spirit.  Wherever your adventure lies, i’d love to read it. If you have a blog or want to start one, please join me in the adventure by writing them down and posting the link in the comments!

To learn more about the reason behind my 52 weeks of adventure series, click here.

Let Something Happen To Me

Last night I spent time organizing all of my important papers. Since I moved into my most recent apartment in September, important papers have been piled instead of filed. So it was time to organize and reassess what to keep and what to throw.

I came across a letter a dear friend, Christi, wrote to me several years ago. It’s undated, but I would date it back to 2010- maybe even 2011. A lot of significant things happened during that time in my walk with Him. In the letter she shared with me a prayer that she read earlier that week. The author is unknown but I want to share it with you all today.

 

Oh God,
Let something happen to me,
Something more than interesting
Or entertaining
Or thoughtful. 

O God,
let something essential happen to me,
Something awesome,
Something real,
Speak to my condition, Lord,
and change me inside somewhere
Where it matters,
a change that will burn and tremble and heal
and explode me into tears.
Or laughter.
or love that throbs or screams
or keeps a terrible cleansing silence
and dares the dangerous deeds.
Let something happen in me
Which is my real self, O God.

52 Weeks of Adventure: Week 2 Friday Night Fights!

For week 2 adventure I attended Friday Night Fights, a realistic defense tactics and scenario training hosted by Imperative Insight, owned by Todd Mills and Breck Ellison.  Imperative Insight is a training organization that focuses on real world self-defense scenarios, combining martial arts combat training with weapons training. Imperative Insight offers an incredible range of courses including hand to hand combatives,  tactical handgun courses, tactical pen defense, low light tactics, third party defense, home invasion, Tactical Baton certifications among many more. Since I have decided for the time being to not carry, i’ve been taking Friday Night Fights to learn skilled self defense tactics and experience night-time self-defense scenario training. Those are things I feel like I could truly learn and use. To check out Imperative Insight, please visit their Facebook page. If you are interested in Friday Night Fights, they should be announcing one training every quarter on their fb page! I was not awarded compensation for this blogpost for any advertisement purposes, I am writing about my experience this week as a personal adventure in my 52 weeks of adventure series.

I arrived early to get acquainted with people I would soon be rolling around on the floor and running through the dark with and also to drink a smoothie for dinner. It was fun to meet both familiar and unfamiliar faces as we got ready for our Friday Night training and scenarios. I floated from person to person, table to table, making banter and jokes with acquaintances and greeting old friends. I was probably in the middle of a ridiculous story of mine when Todd and Breck got up from their conversations and went to the main room to begin. It was time. We shuffled our belongings away from the cafe and into the wide open room with black rubber floor mats and large gym-like lighting above us. This room is normally used for crossfit and would have to do for us during our training. We gathered in a semi circle around Breck and Todd as they began explaining basic safety.

We learned tons of things that night! We learned how to do what they called “floor work” which means basically means getting your opponent off of you and on their back. We also learned not to let people we don’t know within  certain number of feet with us (sorry breck and todd… I forgot!) and how to sternly tell them “NO! Don’t come any closer!” As I started to practice, my voice wasn’t stern or in charge, but with practice I slowly noticed that self-defense is a mind-set more than anything. The more confident I became in telling my opponent to “STOP!”, the more I could feel my posture, body, hands, eyes, and voice all give a command and truly believe that they would listen to what I was saying. I felt empowered by the end of that exercise. We also learned how to use tactical flashlights properly and that we should always have one with us, especially at night. Flashlights shined in an opponents face the correct way can go a long way for self-defense! I never even knew it. Todd and Breck spoke lightly on different ways to approach people, home invasions, and hand on hand combat. They touched on how to handle a gun when drawing and defending yourself and lightly touched on when to and not to use it.

Since I had previously participated in Friday Night Fights, I knew the night-time scenarios came next and was excited rather than nervous! The first time I did it I was afraid that I would freak out and hurt someone or make a scene and I died in every scenario. However, this time I could feel my mind-set shifting from afraid to confident and in control. The shift was empowering as I stepped outside to the first of three scenes.

This scene was me walking out to an empty parking lot in the dark with me weapon(s) of choice, I chose a flashlight because that’s realistically all I carry with me. I had to respond to strangers who approached me and tried to talk with me, but of course since I just learned how to command people not to come closer, that’s what I did- and I ran! I booked it and made it out alive.

The second scene was inside, as I approached a hallways with doors I was supposed to be entering a cabin in Gatlinburg I had rented for the weekend and no one was supposed to be there… I had to defend myself against invaders. I ran outside and “called 911” and lived! (whoohoo!)

The third scene I had to navigate a full parking lot to my car and defend myself against a woman who wanted my purse. She pulled a fake gun on me in the scene so I died! But it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

In this week I learned to trust my gut. If something feels wrong about a situation, a parking lot, a cabin in the woods, a house… I should go ask someone to accompany me no matter how silly it feels since two are always better than one. I learned to always have my flashlight with me and if needed, shine the light in any intruders eyes since that may blind and confuse them. I learned how defending myself is a choice, a mindset, and it won’t just happen because I have a will to live. Defense must be planned and practiced (as much as possible, you can’t really practice being attacked).

I learned that I can.

 

Learn more about my 52 Weeks of Adventures and join me by making your own blogging adventures! Share a link to your adventures in the comments each week!

 

 

52 Weeks of Adventures: Week 1

Hi Everyone!

I am starting a series that I hope to do every week for 52 weeks (one year). This is an adventure series inspired by Lily, as I’ve watched her for the past 52 weeks take adventures and record them in her blog! She was inspired by  a fellow blogger named Brenda who had taken her own 52 weeks of adventures too!

In turn, I hope to inspire you to look at life a little differently along with me! My goal in this is much the same as both of them- to make the mundane adventurous and see the fun in everyday life. My biggest goal in this is remaining Thankful for the everyday that He gives and remaining faithful toward one goal. I may not get all 52 weeks in, but since my word of the year is Faithful, I am going to try- even if I fail His grace covers me. Faithful and Grace go hand in hand, but that’s a discussion for another day!

So without further ado, i will start…. with Week 1!

Week 1: 

Week One’s Adventure goes back to November 2014. In November 2014 I read the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Ann, a farmer’s wife, who has lived a really hard life when her sister died at a very young age, crafted a book about thankfulness. Eucharist. Her words flow like poetry as she explains, page after page, line after line, that Eucharist – thankfulness- happens in the mundane and in the simplicities and especially in the hardships of life. And that’s what makes life fully lived: thankfulness to Him who gives gifts for us to unwrap. 

She beautifully demonstrates her point by describing the Lord’s Supper. The night Jesus was arrested and beaten, He sat around with His friends, including His betrayer. He took bread in His hands, He gave thanks, and broke it. He gave thanks. He Thanked God for His body being broken hours before His body was broken. He took the wine and gave thanks by blessing it and drank it. He gave thanks before His blood was poured, for His blood being poured. In the hard. With the sweat and the prayers and the tears that came later. Can we, too?  In our hard? Can we see His gifts? Can we give thanks even through sweat and tears and blood? Through loss?

Ann started to count her gifts one by one, and through the numbering and the counting, her perspective on life gradually shifted as she saw every moment as a gift… and her world went from stressed and hard and frustrating to… thankful in and through the stressed and the hard. Through the book she dares each one of us to “Live fully right where you are” by numbering gifts He gives, we unwrap, and express thanks for.

I started noticing, numbering, opening, unwrapping, and giving thanks for gifts He gives on November 3, 2014. This week on January 8, 2016, I reached 1,000 gifts. The adventure in this week is not that I made an achievement by counting 1,000 gifts, that I became more thankful, or opened 1,000 gifts to give thanks for. No.

The adventure in this life is that He’s given me 1,000 gifts and in that, there’s 1,000 more to open, no matter my circumstance. In each gift there’s grace. In each grace, there’s thankfulness. And each thankful moment is every moment. Grace after grace. Gift after gift. One thankful heart after each thankful moment. 

What an adventure. I can’t get over it. I can’t fathom.

Some gifts He’s given are simple and light and adventurous:

• Golden hue of Fall leaves in the sunrise
• Erratic fingers across the keyboard
• Yarn sliding through my fingers
• A roommate that makes me laugh
• A kitchen clean
• The dew on summer grass
• Dancing in the kitchen…
• Frisky puppy playing with new toys
• Smiling eyes
• The bursts of blueberries in my mouth
• The laughter of students learning
• Challah made with small smooth hands
• Wet puppy kisses.

Sometimes His gifts are in and through pain

• For heartbreak
• Friends who “Store treasures in Heaven”
• Repentance for my wicked heart
• Loneliness that lets me lean on Him
• Peace in my restlessness
• Admitting my lack of faith
• Broken and pleading prayers
• A faint smile through pain-soaked tears
• Saying goodbye to a friend
• The art of letting go and open hands
• He sympathizes in our time of weakness

There are so many gifts… countless.

Will you use the adventure of life to see them? Will you be thankful with me? Even if it’s something silly like wet puppy kisses, wild hair in the mornings, or red berries on green bushes… Eucharisteo and thankfulness is an adventure because a thankful heart is what He wants and commands (1 Thess 5:18).