Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

Today,

I am thankful for this beautiful place.

Aldrich Park.

This little piece of heaven can be found at the center of UC Irvine's campus

and most likely where you can find me and my students

on a sunny day.

I'm so very thankful for the discipleship times

that I get to have here

 with these three beauties...

Jenna, Rachel & Kimmie

{my 4th year disciples}

Goodness, 

these women absolutely light up my life.

They are a delight,

and their love for the Lord radiates.

God had been using each of them to teach me

 and challenge me in very specific ways.

And I'm so thankful for the time we have had together this year.

It 's hard think these three ladies will be graduating,

and leaving UCI behind in just a matter of weeks.

But I know God has big plans for them,

they are off to do great things and it has been such a blessing to 

see the Lord working so evidently in their lives.

God thank you for beautiful parks,

and wonderful women who I am blessed to disciple.

What are you thankful for today?..

Terrarium Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

I've definitely  been overdue for a new terrarium and

lately I've been itching to add some horticulture in my life.

As luck may have it,

I have had some Coleus plants just hanging out on my front porch 

the past few weeks that have been pleading with me to do something with them.

Sounds like the perfect recipe. 

Six pack of Coleus plants {Walmart $1.97}

Glass Jar {Walmart $7-a total steal!}

If you've never made a terrarium before.

You definitely should.

It's pretty sweet.

They're fun to make, pretty to look at, and just darn cute!

Homebody

I haven't had a weekend at home

 in well over a month.

This past week it definitely began to take its toll on me,

physically, mentally, spiritually...

I've been completely out of sorts,

having a hard time putting one foot in front of the other.

My life has been pretty much falling apart.

{ok maybe that's a slight exaggeration} 

but it sure has felt that way.

This past weekend,

I nested.

I cleaned, organized, crafted, "gardened" and added 

some new burlap decor to my bedroom.

It was beautiful

and much needed.

Tonight I go to sleep with a 

 sweet reminder of how wonderful the Lord is!

"The Lord your God is with you, 

   the Mighty Warrior who saves. 

He will take great delight in you; 

   in his love he will no longer rebuke you, 

   but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17 

Thankful Thursday (Friday)

Happy Thankful Thursday Friday to you!

Today,

I am thankful for  sweet, little surprises.

Aimee, Erin & Amanda

This past weekend UCI Cru had our very first Women's Retreat.

It was so neat and encouraging to watch the Lord work 

in the lives of the women in our movement.

He did great things.

But, to say that the weekend was busy is an understatement.

I came off the weekend exhausted,

combating multiple migraines

and really struggling through some things with the Lord.

Needless to say,

it has been a rough few days.

(But totally worth it in my book).

Tonight however was a pretty "sweet" night.

After weekly meeting two of our wonderful Cru women 

(Aimee & Amanda)

surprised each of us staff women with a little visit which included:

 homemade (delicious) cupcakes,

 a lovely thank you note 

and words of encouragement and affirmation

 about how much they loved women's retreat,

how much the Lord used it to impact their lives

and how thankful they were for each of us and the time and effort we put into the retreat.

{insert tears here}

It was honestly the sweetest thing

and it brought a huge smile to my face.

Little surprises like this are actually in fact huge blessings 

that can bring so much encouragement!

Thank you Lord,

for sweet, thoughtful women who I care deeply for.

Thank you for sweet surprises that turn my week complete around.

And thank you for sweet moments like these,

moments that remind me how flippin awesome my job is!

What are you thankful for today?...

Thankful Thursday

Happy Happy Thankful Thursday!

Today, 

I am thankful for these three...

Erin

Margo

&

Jill

I am so thankful for these wonderful roommates of mine,

and for the ways that the Lord is using them

(in very specific ways)

to impact and help me during this year of transition.

It is weird to think

that this time last year I hadn't met any of them yet.

Now, they're a big part of my day to day life.

Go figure.

Thank you Lord,

for the unique ways that you have created these women

and for the joy and light they bring into my life.

Thank you for the time you have given to me to live life with them.

It may be short,

but it is so sweet.

What are you thankful for today?...

Tiny Remnants

Today I went into my wallet to grab some quarters.

 But instead,

I pulled out a handful of South African Rand.

My heart literally skipped a beat.

Wait, was I really just in South Africa?

Was it all just a dream?...

I stopped and closed my eyes for a split second,

to recall the sweet sights and sounds of that beautiful place.

I opened my eyes again to the handful of coins.

Yep, definitely not a dream.

This totally happened.

I think it's safe to say,

 I left a tiny portion of my heart in South Africa.

Take me back please.

Thankful Thursday: The South African Edition

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

Well shoot,

God is good.

It's as simple as that folks.

It feels nice to be back blogging!

It's been ages since I've last updated,

 at least if feels that way.

Gad has done BIG things in the past week and a half,

and it has been the most amazingly, beautiful whirlwind.

In the last 10 days I have been on 6 (agonizingly long) plane rides 

and traveled a total of 20,000 miles

 to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

South Africa.

Choosing just one thing I am thankful for today

seems just plain absurd, and frankly impossible.

I have experienced God's abundant blessings

over and over again these past couple of weeks.

And I want to share with you a handful of them.

First and foremost,

 I am thankful for God's safety and protection...

1. Surviving about 4 1/2 days of travel and about 50 hours in the air.

2. Almost being eaten by lions.

3. Ginormous bugs.

4. Jon's driving.

Ok, so I'm half kidding about those 4.

But, I am so thankful for the Lord's provisions this past week.

We all stayed safe,

and for the most part healthy.

It was so cool to see the Lord reveal Himself to us during our time in SA,

and in so many different ways!

Through sharing our faith, our team, His creation, His Word...

The list goes on and on.

Today, 

I am thankful for...

1. Sharing the Gospel on the NMMU Campus and welcoming a new brother in Christ into the family (praise the Lord).

2. Meeting up with students, sipping on coke and discussing the awesomeness of God.

3. Attending Crusades weekly meetings at NMMU.

4. Meeting the student leaders of Crusade.

5. South African plant life (I was in heaven).

6. Breathtaking ray's of sunshine.

7. Vibrant sunsets.

8. Being wide awake to see multiple sunrises.

9. Rhino's and rainbows.

10. Swimming in the Indian Ocean.

11. Eating termites.

12. Delicious cappuccino's.

13. My team-Jessica, Erin, Ian, Jon, Matt, and Aubrey.

What are you thankful for today?...