Notes

Every time I go home to visit my family in NH my phone goes missing.  Whether it's my brother playing a game or my little sister looking at pictures it's guaranteed I will have to go looking for my phone.

Sometimes I find notes on my phone from my 8 year old sister.  I discovered this one today.

Isn't she the cutest?  She's growing up so fast, but I'm so happy that I have this little reminder of her (and her spelling :-)

Moving Forward

Every day I wake up and this is the commute I face.  Scary right?  Nothing like starting your day with a serious invasion of personal space. (ok so maybe it's not this busy every day... but it certainly feels like it)

Every day I see hundreds of people vying to get somewhere... fast.  Navigating the train station crowd is usually quite a feat. Everyone is looking out for their own well-being and trying to map out their own path.  One of the things that I've noticed in my daily commute is that often times its much more efficient to stand still and wait a moment instead of pushing forward.  That moment gives you a clearer vision of how you'll get to your end goal and ensures that you don't push anyone down in the process of getting there.

I think maybe that's the same with life.  Often times we can get really busy with trying to get somewhere...fast.  I know that at times I can lose sight of why I'm actually here and what the point of all the busy-ness is.

As you've noticed I've been MIA on here for awhile.  I'm back.  I can't promise for how long.  This blog allows me to organize my thoughts and actually appreciate the journey that I'm on.  Looking forward to seeing what the future holds. :-)

Where does the time go....

Seriously... where does it go?  I can't believe Summer is almost over... I guess starting a blog in the Summer was perhaps too ambitious... Sorry I haven't kept it up in a timely manner... I have to be honest and say though... I'm not sure this brief post really means I'm going to start posting more regularly... I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with this...  I need an outlet that allows me to write and collect my thoughts (sorry you have to be privy to that)... but I'm not sure if I want my name to be attached... honestly, you've seen some of my posts so far :-) 

Anyways, all that to say, I don't have any answers... I'll be checking in and posting as the spirit moves me... hopefully I'll have a plan come Fall :-) 

Enjoy the last rays of Summer sun, the smell of ocean air ( if you're lucky enough to be near that now)eat an extra piece of watermelon and use your last spritz of SUN-IN.*

Remember stay AWESOME! 

*only do this if you want your hair to feel and look like barbie doll hair...NOT recommended

TOTAL AWESOMENESS

Truly the most AWESOME wedding entrance I've ever seen... wow!

New Day!

Recently I've been sensing God speaking to my heart that I'm entering a new day or a new season.  I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that means.  In a lot of ways it doesn't seem to fit with where I see myself.  It has not been the easiest season for my family and for me and when I look at my present circumstances, nothing seems to really be changing.  When I pray, however I still have this strong sense that a new day has begun.   It was during one of my "discussions" with God about this that He showed me that a new day doesn't start at dawn.  A new day starts at midnight.  Some of the darkest hours of the day take place at the very beginning of a new day.  It takes faith to believe that dawn is coming and that things are being made new.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1

Second Best: It's just not good enough

I think my single greatest fear is living a life that is second rate or average at best...there, I've said it... It's not falling off a building... Singing the wrong words in the wrong song (been there, done that)...or a shark attack... It's looking back at my life and realizing I never fulfilled my God-given purpose.

The most motivating advice I ever received was a dare to see what God could do with my life if I surrendered it to him. I've always told God that I wanted His best for my life, not what I thought was best. That being said, I've always thought of choosing His best in terms of the "big" life decisions... where to go to school, where to work, who to vote for on SYTYCD*, etc...

Recently, I've realized that the decision to choose God's best or second best or 27th best is made in all of the little decisions that I make on a daily basis. That was such a sobering thought for me. There are so many times that I let the little things slide, but that's not what choosing God's best and living an excellent life looks like. If I am choosing God's best for me during my day to day life, I'm much more apt to choose His best in the bigger life decisions.

1 Cor. 9:24 says "You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. " (msg)

The race is won in the everyday routine. Athletes train every day so they can win. Choosing God's best in the little, seemingly inconsequential things of life is training. The race is won in the little decisions to remain faithful in the details. It's the small choices you make that prepare you for the prize.

What do your every day decisions say about you? I'm asking you, because I'm not sure I'm ready to ask myself that question. :-)


* So You Think You Can Dance (I love the title. It's got such a demeaning tone. NO! I never said that I can dance.)

Lift me up - Kate Voegele

This road is anything but simple
Twisted like a riddle
I've seen high, I've seen low

So loud, the voices over my doubts
Telling me to give up
To pack up, leave town

Even so I had to believe
Impossible means nothing to me

Can you lift me up?
Turn the ashes into flames
And I have overcome
More than words can ever say

I've been given hope
That there's a light on up the hall
And a day will come when the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Somewhere, everybody starts there
I'm counting on a small prayer
Lost in a nightmare

But I'm here, and suddenly it's so clear
The struggle through the long years
It's hard for me to outrun my fears

But everything that's worth having
Comes with trials worth withstanding

Can you lift me up?
Turn the ashes into flames
And I have overcome
More than words can ever say

I've been given hope
That there's a light on up the hall
And a day will come when the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Oh lift me up, oh lift me up
Oh lift me up, oh lift me up

Down and out is overrated
And I need to be elevated
Looking up is not enough, no
I would rather rise above, oh, oh, oh

Can you lift me up?
Turn the ashes into flames
And I have overcome
More than words can ever say

I've been given hope
That there's a light on up the hall
And a day will come when the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun


Lift me up, lift me up, yeah
Lift me up, Lift me up
Lift me up