right here, right now…joy.

hello week. good-bye weekend. i feel like i need another weekend. seriously i’m finding that the days and weeks keep going faster and faster. before long…i’ll be old 😉 i feel like a happy broken record coming here each week and saying that joy is everywhere and that i feel so….loved. joyful. at peace. excited. at home. seriously, y’all (i’m not southern but i just felt like saying that), God is so very faithful. months ago, one of my intern people told me about how when he was praying for me that he saw a book where i needed to focus on the page at hand rather than look ahead to the end. i think i’m finally starting to live like that and trust God like that. saying hello to the new adventure right here, right now and not trying to make another adventure happen on my own.  so, without further ado, here are some snapshots of joy…

816. knowing that people have my back

830. more swings, more swings (cute little kiddos on the playground)

871. eating brownies with a spoon from the pan with my people

876. melting into peace

879. moments where my heart stops in a good way

880. memories i want to hold onto

888. closing my eyes to soak up the moment

908. bananagrams and cribbage and laughing and fabulous people

938. watching life!

and before you run off…don’t forget to comment because it makes my heart happy to hear from you all! did you watch life? what was the highlight of your week? anything I can be praying for you about?

p.s. i’m SO close to 1000 gifts. 🙂

 

Battlefield of the Mind

Quotes from the book Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer I’m currently reading:

“Any time we see what the Word says and refuse to do it, reasoning has somehow gotten involved and deceived us into believing something other than the truth”
and
“James 1:5-8—To me the man of two minds is a picture of confusion as he goes back and forth, back and forth, never deciding on anything. As soon as he thinks he has made a decision here comes wondering, doubt and confusion to get him operating once again in two minds. He is uncertain about everything. ”
and
“Wondering leaves a person in indecision, and indecision causes confusion. Wondering, indecision and confusion prevent an individual from receiving from God, by faith, the answer to his prayer or need.”

My response: “Whoa….this book is totally kicking me and asking me to face some tough love for some big time God transformation in my mind.”

Your response? Have you read the book? Do you see your mind as a battlefield? Anything up above resonate with you? I’d love to know…

Soaking It In

I’ve become a SLOW reader. Why? Because I want to soak up every little bit of literary crafting in order to fully let the words get into my heart and not just my head.  I’ve been plugging my way through Mark Batterson’s new book Primal and needless to say, I’m intrigued.

I so appreciated his reminder that “silence is one of the soul’s love languages” after coming from a place that exudes silence (a farm far from town) and going into a small, but “noisy” city.  I love getting away in the wilderness…

Along with that, I SO needed the following reminder: “But if God is speaking to your heart, don’t let your mind get in the way of what God wants you to do. Sometimes loving God with all your heart simply means listening to your heart instead of your head.” Whoa, so good. When God invades my heart in such a shattering way, I don’t want to get caught up in the silly games my head plays. God completely changed my heart this last year and I’m letting Him come deeper so that my heart can respond with a big “YES” regardless of how it looks to my head.

So, what do you think? Are you looking for a primal faith? Ready to go on a quest for the lost soul of Christianity with Mark? Check out the book here or when I finish my copy, I’ll send it your way!

p.s. Check back tomorrow for another great quote from Primal and some thoughts about what breaks God’s heart…

*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Girl Talk Equations

Monday nights=girl talk

Girl talk=talking about all things girly including the book What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeurst

The book=some interesting quotes

Some interesting quotes=p. 68

p. 68=”It would surely be wonderful if life was so prettily packaged wouldn’t it? Every time we had trouble in our life, we could then see the good that came out of it. Oh, for sure, there are plenty of times where we clearly see the hand of God in difficult circumstances.  We look back and marvel at how God brought great things out of challenging situations.  But there are plenty of times when God, in His own sovereignty, does not open our eyes to what He is doing. He wants us to trust Him, no matter what is happening.

That quote=underlining in the book

Underlining=I can resonate with this thought

Resonating=I still can look back and have YET to see the good that comes out of certain situations.

Yet=knowing that God is still God and that I am learning ever yet to trust Him no matter what is happening.

10 Places I Want to Be

1. Eating yummy food in the states (i.e. Panera, Chili’s, Trader Joe’s, Chinese food, etc.)

2. On top of a mountain

3. Curled up in my bed at home with my book and my puppy (Wide Awake by Erwin McManus)

4. Sitting on the deck with Amy G.

5. Walking with Carrie on the beach

6. Time Square with Liz

7. Target with Mom

8. At the library or a bookstore

9. A hot tub

10. Out on the lake

“No”

No walks, hikes or running this weekend.

Why? Hunters.  One of those reminders that I live on a farm with lots and lots of animals as well as a camping ground.

Hence, today equaled a lazy day of reading, napping, exploring options, and a little (okay like the whole thing, but still) boot camp.  I’m usually okay with lazy days every once in a while especially on the weekend, but today I was completely discontent, stir crazy and just wanting to do something.  To top the day off, the rain came and with that No Power.  No power equals no oven, no microwave, and no toaster.  Cooking is a little difficult.  So, what do we do? Call the staff (they were supposed to be having a Cinco De Mayo party…) and see if they are and if they want to go out to dinner instead!  Surprisingly, they said yes!  Hello enchiladas and a vanilla milkshake!  Delicious. Hopefully, tomorrow the hunters will leave early and then I can go for a little run!  Now that the power’s back on…I’m going to go finish that book 🙂

Celebration Pancakes!

I officially have signed on the dotted line, paid the deposit and received a set of keys!  Beginning Tuesday, I can start moving my stuff in 🙂   We had our first official “Family Dinner” at Amy’s after we got the keys and of course it was breakfast! Yum.  I love breakfast food and love pancakes with peanut butter even more.

Unfortunately, the camping trip was cancelled due to rain; however, we made the best of the situation by having a movie night and then walking around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet today.  Lots of fun!  Walking and talking and yummy food.  Plus, we watched “Into the Wild”–love it!!  I’m already ready to watch the movie again, that’s how much I liked it.

Memorable quotes from the movie and book (I REALLY want to read the book now!):

“When you forgive, you love.  And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.” -Mr. Franz

“When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it.” -Christopher

“Happiness is only real when shared.” -Christopher

“You don’t need human relationships to be happy.  God has placed it all around us.” -Christopher

“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it…I was a raw youth who mistook passion for insight and acted according to an obscure, gap-ridden logic.  I thought climbing the Devils Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life.  In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing.  But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams.  And I lived to tell my tale.” -Jon Krakauer

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.  The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.  The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon for each day to have a new and different sun.” -Christopher