Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you.

My mind is a bit fuzzy this morning.

  I'm slowly recovering from one of the worst migraines 

I've ever had and some serious jet lag that seems to be getting the best of me.

But I'm determined to get through this post.

This morning as I sip my coffee,

I am thankful.

Thankful for so much.

Today I am thankful for...

trips around the world

taking in sites and smells I've never experienced

learning and experiencing new cultures

meeting people and learning their stories

listening to other languages being spoken around me

being reunited with great people

eating delicious foods

medicine

conquering fears

seeing plants I've only read about

beautiful african countryside

seeing wild zebras

laughing until my stomach hurts

imessaging

every one of these phenomenal people

my home

my bed

sleeping horizontally

having a bathroom and shower

a mom and dad who still continue to provide for me

coming home to my roommates and the comfort they bring me

hearing my roommate Erin shout at her laptop as she watches 'How I Met Your Mother'

listening to the Spanish flowing freely and beautifully as my roommate Arggi talks on the phone

knocks on my bedroom door as my roommate Margo peeks her head in to just say hi

being held by people I love

roommates who take care of me when I'm sick

once again medicine

being awake well before the sun

 for great friends who have changed my life

that 8 years ago I met a dear friend in AP US history 

and that we've been friends ever since

for the inspirations she is

for the adventures we've had

and that today we get to celebrate her 25th birthday

{Happy Birthday Lianne Marie}

most of all today I am thankful for the opportunity 

to celebrate the death and resurrection of my savior.

 I am thankful that there is a God who deeply and unconditionally loves me

a God who loves each person He has created more than I can fathom

and for a God who pursues us, touches us and changes lives

who has {and continues to} change my life.

I am thankful for the tangible reminder of 

His love, wonder

and promises that come straight from His Word.

What are you thankful for today?...

Thankful Thursday {and it's actually thursday this time}

Happy Thankful Thursday 

{and last day of February}

to you!

Today I am thankful...

that tomorrow is March 1st

{the start of a new month and new adventures}

for a great weekend

sleeping in

resting

surprise lunch dates with my mom

time spent with my sweet friend michelle

group phone calls

dollar theater adventures

movie popcorn

vanilla coke

late night trips to Farrell's in brea

life giving conversations

english breakfast tea lattes

my sweet friend steph visiting from san fransico

coffee dates

beautiful spring weather

the sound of wind blowing through pine trees

the smell of freshly mowed grass

finding out i'll be staffing the santa Monica summer project this june

planning summer trips to Idaho

the many endearing faces of my niece

dinner out with cousins

eating peanut butter straight out of the jar

keeping my room clean for a week and a half

{a milestone to be sure}

waking up in the morning and skyping with my roommate margo

that margo is coming home in 6 days
20 days until South Africa

impromptu naps on the couch

getting my car back

{after 2 long months}
that she is alive and well and is currently sitting outside my apartment

dreaming about what's next

planning for the future

falling deeper in love with my passions

how much the Lord persues after us

God's tender but firm voice

john 6:25-59

for the freedom found in Christ

What are you thankful for today?...

Thankful Thursday {Friday}

Happy Thankful Thursday  Friday to you!

Life has been busy as of late and I'm afraid I don't even know what day of the week it is.

 I'm also afraid illness has struck.

On Valentines Day I found out I have shingles.

{so lovely}

and a couple days ago I turned into a 

tea drinking, sore throat, congested, snotty, fuzzy brained mess.

Needless to say I've been a bit of a grumpy pants

{sorry to any of those it has affected}

so this post could not come at a better time.

I'm in need of some reminding of all the the blessings

the Lord has provided.

Today I am thankful for

tea & honey

our comfy couch

medicine

new doctors 

great books

having my own bedroom,

being able to make this space my own

journaling

sweet roommates who take care of me

that in 12 days my other half will be moving back from Florida

nesting & decorating

family dinners

{and the leftovers that come with them}

my tiny garden

picking out flowers at the flower mart

flower arranging

fresh flowers in the apartment

the smell of stock

trips to Lowe's garden center

birthday celebrations

my baby niece holding me and telling me she loves me

giving my niece lessons in gardening

and watching her learn

a successful women's retreat

the snow covered hills around Irvine

facebook messages from friends I haven't seen in a while

candle light

&

twinkle lights

being made aware of areas in my life that need growth

good conversations

getting to know people better

opportunities to be creative

building a portfolio

that in 26 days I will be boarding a plane to South Africa

that tomorrow is Saturday

What are you thankful for today?...

Trying to be Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

As much as I would love to pretend that everything in life is peachy and perfect

I'm afraid I have to be honest.

I've been having a hard time being thankful as of late.

More so I've been having a hard time,

remembering God's faithfulness.

I'm currently struggling.

It's been hard watching those around me move on with their lives

while I feel like I'm stuck, stagnant and going no where.

I'm struggling to fight off thoughts that

I am not good enough

I am not desirable

I am not worth it

I am unwanted, unloved and unworthy.

It sounds so silly as I write this,

but unfortunately it's my reality and it's ugly.

Needless to say I haven't really been in the 

"thankful" mood the past few weeks.

All the more reason to sit and think about all of the Lord's provisions.

He is faithful,

whether I "feel" it or not.

So today I am thankful for

great books

time alone reading in the park

soccer games

letters from Hawaii

the ability to run

apples and peanut butter

gmail chatting

learning how to love from my sweet niece

weddings

 designing wedding flowers

dancing

getting to wear a bridesmaid dress more than once

these two lovely ladies who have greatly impacted my life

and relationship with the Lord

traveling

snugly couch conversations

giving terrarium building lessons

getting to know my friends husband more

babies being born

spending time in Utah with my dear friend Christina

being in the mountains

snowfall

cold weather

really great hot chocolate

adventure

exploring

snowshoeing!

spending time with my family

a dad who takes care of my car troubles

(even when thousands of miles away)

a brother who has allowed me to use his car for the past few weeks

while I don't have one

catching up with friends I haven't talked to in ages

planning reunion weekends with college friends

my sweet roommates

decorating our cozy apartment

watching my front porch garden grow

Downton Abbey

trips to the zoo

learning how to pray

learning about my passions

sweet times with the girls I disciple

I know that today,

I am truly thankful that there is purpose in all things.

That no matter what season of life I am in,

God's purpose is great and His faithfulness will be unveiled. 

What are you thankful for today?...

It's Friday. But I'm Still Thankful.

A very happy Thankful Thursday Friday to you!

My brain has turned to mush after a week and a half of staff meetings

and I didn't realize yesterday was Thursday.

My bad.

Despite the business of life there is a great deal to be thankful for.

Today I am thankful for...

trips to places I have never been

crossing state lines

spending time with great people

eating delicious food

running my first half marathon

{despite getting really sick the day before the race}

and of course for these two guys who also ran 

the lights, the sounds and the great atmosphere of the race

 ice cold chocolate milk at the finish line

that God has blessed me with the ability to run

for my wonderful cheer squad shouting, yelling

and high fiving me as I ran my way through Vegas...

making new friends

coming home to my sweet roommates

trying new things

face timing with my niece

surviving a dreaded trip to the dentist

making big decisions

learning to be refreshed in the Lord

God's continual 

faithfulness & grace

recognizing areas in my life I need to grow in

learning more about the people I work with

Christmas brunches

baking blueberry muffins from scratch

cozy evenings on the couch

little compliments that make me smile

sweet text messages from dear friends

planning out the flowers for a wedding this coming weekend

free peppermint lattes

great books

crafting

dinners at the Priest household

getting Christmas cards in the mail

 evening runs through neighborhoods twinkling with Christmas lights

a roommate who cooks me dinner

celebrating this cutie patooties birthday

surprise trips home

driving in the rain

Christmas music on the radio

sisters who let me borrow their clothes

seeing my dad while he was back on the mainland 

for a very short day and half

And I am so very thankful that in 3 days 

I will be hoping on a plane

and heading on over to Salt Lake City.

Let the adventures begin!

What are you thankful for today?...

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday 
Dear Friends!

And happy first day of November,

what a great way to kick start this month of Thanksgiving.

I honestly feel like it's been a year since my last Thankful Thursday.

Ok maybe not a whole year,

but it's been a very long 2 weeks.

This past weekend we took around 90 college students 

up into the mountains for fall retreat.

It's all pretty much a big blur.

But it happened,

and God did work.

And these past couple weeks through my
 exhaustion, stress, crabbiness, sensitivity, 

and occasional {or frequent} bad attitude.

God still continued to be faithful

and there is a vast amount to be thankful for.

{and gosh, I deserve none of it}

Today I am thankful for...

A God who changes lives

{who changed my life}

a God who loves me beyond all comprehension

an incredible weekend 

spent with incredible students
trying new things

my growing affection for each of my teammates

the Lords not so subtle reminders that I'm not superhuman

days off 

time spent alone

 gardening

sleep

coffee

 BOTH of my freshman Bible studies
have I mentioned how much I love my job?...

wednesday morning discipleship with these 2 ladies

the mountains

crisp autumn air

clouds

my journal

gmail chatting with far away friends

a clean room

my simmering apple cider scented candle
fresh san luis sourdough bread

great friends that let me borrow their cornhole set

{time spent with my roommate Erin

sipping pumpkin spice latte's from the coffee bean

and carving our bottom of the barrel, 
last pick pumpkins from Trader Joe's}

my car 

crafting

learning to be more independent

running holes into my running shoes

learning to pray bold prayers

new flannel

paintings from Paris

planning an epic trip to southern Utah

being excited for my future

grabbing coffee with friends from church

That there is an amazing God,

who desires to be in relationship with me

and has promised to remain and walk through this life with me.

What are you thankful for today?...

A Very Thankful Thursday

A very  Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

Today I am thankful that I can say

 I am officially 100% supported!

Boom.

Done.

I was praying even before I started raising support back in June

that it would some how be different than last year.

{last year was horrible

 and I DID NOT want to experience that again}

And when I say pray I mean I was pleading with God

that He would bring in all I need before my 

September 1st deadline.

In fact to make things interesting,

 I decided I wanted to finish the day before my deadline.

On August 31st.

I look back on how He brought in all my support last year

when things were looking nothing but grim 

and I know God is more than capable.

He can to this.

About a week ago

I only had a little more left to raise.

But at the rate things were happening

it was looking more and more like 

I would probably finish a few days after my deadline.

I decided to be happy about that

because even though it wasn't the 31st,

at least I would be finishing before campus stuff started.

Last Thursday night I couldn't sleep.

{pretty standard when raising support}

so naturally I got up and worked on support.

I checked my email and went over my numbers.

I redid some of my math and ended up changing a couple things.

I then added in some new support I saw come in when I went through my email

and then literally out of no where I was staring at this...

 I knew I had to have made a mistake somewhere.

{numbers are not my thing}

I went back and did the math 3, 4, 5 more times

but I kept getting the same result.

And just like that I was done with support.

I looked at the time and it was 1:47am

Friday, August 31st. 

The day before my deadline.

{I'm thinking God was laughing right along with me at this point}

By 1:48am this is precisely what was happening,

tears of joy.

Today,

I am thankful for each and every prayer 

that God answered so specifically.

{there are too many to count}

I am thankful for all God has taught me

through having to raise support this summer.

I am thankful that He has used this time

 to prepare me for what He has in store this coming year.

{in life & in ministry}

 I am thankful that God has been

 {and continues to be}

 extremely faithful and gracious 

and though I don't deserve any of it,

He once again brought in every cent that I needed.

I am extremely thankful

for each and every person on my support team.

I am thankful for your steps of faith to partner with me

and walk alongside me through this next year.

You each mean the world to me

and I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to use you and your support

to change lives.

And I am so stinking thankful that I can finally say...

peace out, so long, sayonara to support,

and hello to full time campus ministry!

What are you thankful for today?....

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

When people learn that I have a degree in Horticulture

I always get the same 2 questions...

"What's that?"

and 

"So how exactly did you get into that?"

My response is always something along the lines of...

I've always loved plants and being outside.

Which is very true.

But this summer I've actually been asking myself

how did I really get into it,

when and where did this all happen?

Well today,

I am thankful for this place.

Because this is where it happened.

This is where I fell in love with plants.

Right here at this very lake.

Long Lake is nestled in the back country of 

the John Muir Wilderness up in the Sierra Nevada's.

I've been hiking back here since I was a little kid

and it just gets more and more gorgeous each time I go.

This has and continues to be my most favorite playground.

As a kid I always loved the landscape

the giant snow covered peaks

the streams and tiny creeks

the moss covered rocks and ground

and all the different wildflowers.

Oh the wildflowers!

(T to B) Erigeron coulteri Coulter's Daisy
Achillea millefolium  Common Yarrow
Linanthus nuttallii Nuttall's Linanthus

But since then,

I've grown to become absolutely fascinated by it all.

How intricate and unique everything was.

I wanted to learn how it all worked,

how it all functioned.

Then some few years later

I found myself at Cal Poly SLO studying 

Environmental Horticulture Science.

Taking an insane amout of science and technical classes.

Classes like Botany

Biology

 Physiology

Chemistry

Pathology

Ecology

 Landscape Design

and even Floral Design.

Most of school was difficult and I didn't really like it.

But put me out in the wilderness

and I was quickly reminded how much I loved plants.

It was worth it.

I am so thankful for all the summer's spent up in the Sierra's.

I am thankful that my parents dragged me along on their hikes

when I was a kid and didn't want to go.

I'm thankful that God used such a unique and amazing place 

{His creation}

to show me where my heart lies 

and what I am passionate about.

Aquilegia formosa Western Columbine

I am thankful that here in this place,

I can find all the wildflowers, trees and shrubs

a horticulturist could only dream of.

Allium validum Swamp Onion

I am thankful that God knew what He was doing 

with me from the very beginning.

I am thankful that He has given me

 a passion for plants,

for the outdoors,

for His creation.

Castilleja spp. Indian Paintbrush

Well, there you have it.

That is exactly how it happened.

Now if you ever want to see a plant geek in their true element

or if you love the outdoors and just want to see some unbelievably breathtaking scenery...

just ask me to take you here.

Lord knows I won't be able to say no.

What are you thankful for this week?...

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday to you!

Today,

I am thankful for new relationships

and God's perfect timing.

This summer has proven to be one of the hardest

and most amazing periods of time in my life.

Which means God is clearly at work.

One of the biggest ways I've seen His handiwork

is through the people He has brought into my life,

the paths He has been allowing to cross.

And I am so thankful that He has brought this phenomenal woman

into my life.

I look at my friendship with Michelle

and all I see is God's perfect timing.

It is so neat to look at how we have grown to be friends

and How God has been at work in it all long before we ever had any idea.

So this is how it goes.

I met Michelle through my friend Christina from Utah.

{they were roommates during college}

The first time I got to spend significant amount of time with Michelle 

was in March of 2009 when I traveled to Utah to visit Christina.

We three had a blast together!

We painfully sat through the first Twilight movie,

Michelle introduced me to the wonderful world of Pride and Prejudice,

and we spent the whole trip quoting lines from She's the Man.

It was awesome.

Now fast forward to November 2011.

I had graduated college,

just moved down to Irvine

and my roommates and I decided to throw a housewarming party.

I knew Michelle had moved back to Orange County after finishing school 

and I thought this could be a fun opportunity to try and connect again.

So I decided what the heck,

 I'll invite her and her fiance Jake to the party.

They were so sweet and both came by.

But I'm going to be honest,

I was extremely nervous when they showed up.

It would be the first time we would hang out without Christina

our one, unifying connection.

 I also had never met Jake before.

This could have been a disaster.

However it wasn't 

and I'm so thankful they came.

I got to listen as they shared their engagement story, 

we got to talk weddings and just catch up on life.

I loved it.

We then decided we had to hang out

now that we lived only 15 minutes from each other.

But life happened

and the next time our paths would cross would be that coming summer in Utah

when we would both be bridesmaids in Christina's wedding.

If you recall my earlier post about {Christina's Wedding}

God used that time in Utah to work in my life in big ways,

and Michelle was definitely one of those ways.

{photo cred}

I'm not exactly sure how or when it happened,

but our friendship literally just fell into place.

Though we only live a few miles from each other,

It took us both traveling {separately}

from California to Utah to be bridesmaids in our mutual friends wedding

to realize that we needed to be friends.

Go figure.

The day after we flew home from Utah,

Michelle, Jake and I found ourselves having lunch together in Old town Orange

and the rest is pretty much history.

We spent the next month leading up to their wedding

hanging out {pretty much} non stop.

I loved getting to know her, Jake, and her family more.

Her family is so sweet and welcomed me with open arms

each time I was over at their house.

{which was all the time}

Shout out to the Priest family, 

you guys are awesome!

Michelle has been an absolute gift, 

given to me at a time when I needed it most.

This summer season has been difficult, 

with so much uncertainty,

a lot of change, transition, feelings and emotions.

Michelle has been steadily walking alongside me through it all,

challenging me to grow and speaking truth into my life. 

God has used her to push me,

to encourage me to take steps of faith,

to be bold, to trust God

and she has challenged me to pursue my passions.

{plants}

A couple nights before her wedding

we stayed up till 4am chatting.

All about God's timing, life, marriage, love, boys 

and marveling over the phenomenal ways God impacts and changes lives. 

I hadn't had girl time like that in a long time

and it was just what I needed.

I am so thankful that God has brought this amazing friend into my life.

Someone who I have come to cherish, treasure and adore.

Someone who points me to Christ.

Someone who is teaching me to live passionately, 

to use the gifts and talents the Lord has given me.

Someone who has shown me the value in pursuing

 a Godly relationship and marriage. 

I am so thankful that I look at my friendship with Michelle

and I see Gods hands all over it.

He is undeniably the one orchestrating it all.

{clearly by his timing}

I'm really excited to see how the Lord will continue to use our friendship

to impact my life.

I must also say that I am super excited for the new Mr. and Mrs.

and can't wait to see all that the Lord 

has in store for their marriage.

Congrats Jake and Michelle!

Michelle you have and continue to be a blessing in my life.

I am so thankful that in God's timing we have become great friends.

I absolutely adore you, your zest for life, your passion and your heart for the Lord.

You are a treasure.

What are you thankful for today?...