Thankful Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving fell on a Thursday,

how convenient is that?

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Today I am thankful for coffee dates with my best friend.

(Especially when Starbucks has their holiday cups out).

I really don't know why going to a coffee shop,

being bundled up, 

sitting across from your best friend

 and sipping on a cup of coffee is so wonderful.

It just is.

Jodi.

I haven't seen my best friend in 5 months.

That's the longest we've gone without seeing each other

since we've been friends.

Yesterday, we spent hours sitting in Starbucks.

Chatting and catching up on life.

Exchanging "Auntie" stories.

Discussing matters of the heart.

Reminiscing about our dorms days.

Talking about our new lives and new jobs.

Thank you God, 

for best friends and for delicious coffee.

And that combining both of them makes for a perfect afternoon.

What are you thankful for on this beautiful Thanksgiving day?

The Many Adventures of a Cru Intern

 Life post college has been insane.

Finals, graduation, packing, moving home after 5 years.... 

...raising support, finishing support, moving again....

...new roommates, new city, new (and first) full time job, 

and starting a whole new life.

One second it's June and now it's almost December.

Seriously?!

Every now and then I think to myself, 

"Wait, what the heck is going on?"

"Did all of this really happen?"

I have been in need of guidance and wisdom
on how to deal with all this transition,
as well as time to process all that has happened.

This past weekend I got to spend some time with these wonderful people...

Meet all of the Cru interns in the PSW region!

We had our intern briefing this past Sunday and Monday.

It was so great to come together as interns, 

celebrating what God has done and is doing in our lives and on our campuses.  

Ok, I'm not going to lie.

I was so tired from the two conferences that were back to back with this one

that I went into intern briefing with a pretty bad attitude.

Ok fine, a really bad attitude.

And to top it off I'm shy,

it's really hard for me to constantly be meeting tons of people.

I was emotionally and physically drained.

Honestly, I did not want to be there.

Thankfully the Lord whipped me into shape real fast.

He was able to use this time to completely 

refresh my soul .

He always knows exactly what I need.

It was so wonderful to be around people who are going through

the same transitions and dealing with the same things that I am.

I loved getting to be with old friends...

Alex.

Heather.

Kami.

All of us Cal Poly Alums.

I loved getting to make new friends....

My wonderful discussion group.

Kelly.

I  loved getting to spend time with my roommate,

who is also an intern! 

And I loved that we spent time giving thanks to the Lord 

and praying together as a group.  

Our abundant blessings.

My soul was refreshed.

And for the first time in a few months,

I felt no loneliness.

It was truly beautiful.

I absolutely love my job.

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

Today, I am thankful for these awesome people....

My parents.

God continues to show me how much of a blessing and

 gift they are in my life.

I am so thankful that I have a dad who will 

make time in his busy schedule, while visiting,

to change the oil in my car,

replace my old tires, and then top off my gas tank.

All before church on Sunday morning.

For a dad who sends me text messages that just say, "love you more".

I am thankful for a mom who will make extra food when I'm at home

just so she can send it back with me.

Who always makes sure I never go hungry.

A mom who will spend an afternoon taking me fabric shopping

and help me reupholster my dinning chairs.

Thank you God,

that I have parents who would do anything for me.

Who deeply love me.

Who disciplined me when it was necessary 

and gently cared for me when I was fragile.

Who established a household whose sole purpose is to serve the Lord.

Who pray for me and with me, even before I arrived into this world.

Who support me in all I do.

Who are patient with me when I am learning lessons in life.

Who set such a wonderful example of a Godly marriage.

Ok, honestly the list could go on and on.

God has blessed me with such wonderful parents.

There are no other parents in this world 

who would be better for me than they are.

God uniquely created us for each other.

I am so thankful for them and for our relationship.

I can't wait for how it will continue to grow as time goes on.

Thank you God,

for fan-flippin-tastic parents who mean the world to me.

Thankful Thursday

Today,

 I am thankful for my two (left) feet.

I may be a little "klutzy" or "clumsy" but, I am thankful that I have....

Feet that can walk.

Feet that can run.

Feet that can dance.

Feet that can feel the earth beneath them,

 the coolness of grass and the warmth of sand.

Feet that have their very own, unique footprint. 

Feet that lead me on wonderful adventures.

Feet that can take me places I've only dreamed of.

Thank you God,

for blessing me with two (almost) fully functioning feet.

What are you thankful for this Thursday?

Thankful Thursday

Confession:

I am an ungrateful person.

Sure, I'm thankful for things that the Lord has provided and created.

But I never truly take enough time to thank Him,

to give Him all the glory that He is worthy of.

Seeing as how we have entered into the season of Thanksgiving,

I'm officially implementing Thankful Thursdays into this blog!

In hopes that it will carry on even after Thanksgiving has come and gone.

I have definitely been feeling challenged in this area of my life recently.

My hearts desires to give God the praise He deserves.

But once again, I always seem to fall short.

His blessings are abundant in my life, and I deserve none of them.

Today, I am thankful for Grace.

For the grace that God has poured out onto my life.

I say this all the time, but it is true. 

 I fall short, everyday.

Both in my walk with God and in my relationships with others.

It is because of Grace that I am not held captive by my failures.

It is through God's Grace that I have a personal and intimate relationship with Him.

Thank you God, that I am saved by Grace through faith.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."

-Ephesians 1:7

Happy Thursday to you!

Transitioning

I never thought I would say this.
Literally never.

But...I miss my life in San Luis.

I don't miss school and I don't miss living there.

 I miss the relationships and the community I had.

Especially this group of young women...
Thursday nights were the best nights of the week by far.
Coming together to be in the Word and build one another up.
This bible study got me through a very hard year.

Love this study!

I was in such a rush to get out of SLO,
 to move on with my life
and to leave behind the 5 years of grueling obstacles

 that were attached to my academic career...

that I didn't stop to think about what life
was going to be like without community,
without those amazing relationships.

Like the relationships with these wonderful women.
Who each played a huge and very specific role in my life and growth this past year.

Oh and then there are my Horticultural gals.

I could be nerdy with them all day and all night long.

In fact, I was.

We were busy doing nerdy plant things by day,

and trying to finish our senior project by night (all night).

I was with them all day every day.

I really miss them.

Dani, Beth, & Carrie.

5 years together.

I'm going to be honest.

Transitioning has been really hard on me.

A lot harder than I was expecting.

I have been emotionally, physically and spiritually drained for weeks.

Trying to figure out this new life of mine.

A new life where I am working a full time job in ministry.

Where I am no longer a student.

Where I am constantly surrounded by people who do not know me.

Where I know no one.

It is crazy that I can be surrounded by people all day long,

but feel completely lost and lonely.

I have to laugh.

God faithfully raised all the support I needed.

Then instantly I am back to trying to rely on myself.

And I am once again brought back to my knees,
having to fully rely and trust God.
A place I should always be.
But seem to always fall so short.

Despite the difficult transition, I want to say that I do love it here!
I love my roommates.
I am loving my new church.
I absolutely love my job.
I love that I get to openly pray and spend time with God at work.
I love that I get to share Christ with students.
I love the women I get the honor of discipling.
I love my freshman bible study.
I love my staff team.
I truly admire my discipler and I love that she pushes me and challenges me.
And I love that I'm learning new things about my Savior daily.
Just to name a few things.

Knowing full well how faithful our God truly is,
I know that in time He will provide me with the community I need.

I'm honestly so excited to see what He has in store.
I'm excited to see how He will build, grow, and cultivate relationships.
I know building relationships and community does take time,
but I know that they will be worth waiting for.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven"

-Ecclesiastes 3:1