Specifics

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving. A day of the year we are thankful for family, friends, etc.  A couple weeks back I wrote a list of 28 things I was thankful for, here are a few more things I am thankful for.

Saturday mornings are probably my favorite time of the week. I wake up in my big, warm bed. I'm normally wrapped up in my sherpa and down comforter with one pillow on each side of me. After finally dragging myself out of my warm cocoon, I head for the kitchen. For breakfast there are bagels with cream cheese, toast with peanut butter, cereal with 2% milk, or somedays Mom will even make homemade french toast or waffles. I am thankful for Saturday mornings.

After a long day of school or work, it is nice to just sit in my quiet room. Some nights I will come home with messages from friends saying, "Watch this YouTube video." The times I receive these messages are the times that I sit in my bed and thank God for my amazing friends. It's almost as if they know I've had a rough day and they know just the thing to cheer me up. I am so thankful for my friends.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I am thankful that everyday I have the freedom to open my Bible. I am thankful to live in a country that lets people believe in what they choose.

No matter what circumstances you are in, give thanks this season. Show people you are thankful for them. Whether you help prepare dinner today with your family, help with the dishes wherever you are celebrating, or just telling someone that you are thankful for them, show your thanks. This is God's will for you in Jesus Christ. Be blessed.

Leaving a Legacy

If you died today, what kind of legacy would you leave? Are you proud of your past? 

These questions do not have simple answers. When your kids tell your grandkids stories about you, will they be good stories or stories of lessons they learned from your mistakes? Will your children be proud to tell others about you and your achievements? 

I've said before that we can't change our past. However we can examine the decisions we are making right now and decide if we will be proud of them once they are part of the past. Time is ticking but I hope your legacy is growing. 

All this time...

Do you ever think, "Could my life get any crazier than it is right now?" I do all the time. Today was one of those days.

Even though I am on Thanksgiving break from school, I still have work to do everyday. With four days straight of Thanksgiving meals, which I am not complaining about at all, I have to find time to write three papers, take two quizzes online, and manage to work through six math assignments. Granted, I will probably wait until hours before they are due to start them but I still have to find the time.

After Thanksgiving break there is only two weeks of classes left then one week of finals. This semester has flown by yet it will not end. As I want school to end sooner than later, I want to soak in this time. Many of my older peers say that they wish they could go and experience school all over again. I'm sure that will be me someday but at the moment, I'm ready to be done. After finals there is only a few days until Christmas.

My all time favorite time of the year is Christmas. This year I am fortunate to get to celebrate more than once. On Christmas day my family and I will board a plane for California. After spending 6 days with my Mothers side of the family we will pack up and head for home. When we arrive back here we will then celebrate my Fathers Family Christmas over a wonderful brunch. Then one of my favorites will be held January 4th. I will finally get to give the family I nanny for their gifts.

Less than two weeks after the New Year begins, school will start again. I'm already dreading it. Life is going to keep getting crazier. I don't even have a husband, kids, or a full time job to make it crazier. When life is crazy we just need to remember one thing: Jesus. No matter where we are, who we are with, or what we are going, we need to remember to thank him for this time we have on Earth. Every second matters.

Timing is Everything

Two years ago I lost a little buddy of mine, he was only 12 years old. It happened in house fire, luckily he wasn't burned, he passed away from the smoke. I really struggled with his passing. Why would God take someone so young? Why would you put this family through a tragedy after having lost their mother a year earlier and their dad in this accident? I thought you were a God of good? I struggled with why, why, why, when I was failing at noticing that the answers were right in front of me. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 reads, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." Instead of asking God why, why, why, He says, as a christian you need to believe that they are in heaven. My little buddy was not one to miss church. No matter how cold it was outside or how hard it was raining, he was always there. As a reminder for myself, I have written the name Coleman next to this verse to always remember that he is where God wanted him.

Today God decided it was Taylor's time to go. I met Taylor 2 months after I graduated high school and we became friends right away. Her and I both loved to laugh and would do anything to get the other rolling on the floor laughing. Between roaring for all of downtown Minneapolis to hear to her farting so loud and long that I was dying, she became very important in my life. Even though she couldn't smell her farts, she took much pride in making others smell it. After about 6 months I decided to move, this move however didn't cause us to drift. We had many Skype talks and many texting conversations over the past two years. Less than 3 months ago I met up with her at the Caribou Coffee she worked at and she made my whole family our coffees. We greeted each other with a hug and said our "See you laters" with a hug. However, this would be the last earthly hug I would receive. At the age of two she was to fix four of the arteries in her heart. Well. because of no health insurance she didn't go in for six years. This caused her heart to stop and put her into a cardiac arrest just five days ago. After many tests and longs days of waiting, God decided that today was her day to meet him. Psalm 23:4 says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Taylor knew that God was with her all the time. She wasn't afraid to listen to what God was telling her. In a few short weeks, Taylor was planning on moving to Louisiana, but God had other plans for her. God was planning to take her to his ultimate destination. I can only imagine the joy on Taylor's face as she met her Creator. I am so proud and blessed to have gotten to know Taylor over these past few years. God has Taylor exactly where he wants her.

Sudden deaths are a struggle for everyone. I watched a video once and it was showing a group of people walking down the street. Each person had a clock above their head and it was counting down. Some people had years on their clock, others had minutes. Don't abuse the time on your clock. Are you wasting the time on your clock? Are you doing what God wants you to be doing or are you doing your own thing? If God decided this was your time to go, would you be happy with the life you have lived?

What Are You Thankful For?

I am thankful for...

1. Parents that supports me in all I do.
2. A washing machine and a dryer.
3. A car that gets me from point A to point B.
4. My bed.
5. Clothes.
6. Long-distance friendships.
7. Peanut butter.
8. An education.
9. Rainy nights.
10. A job.
11. Anybody that have served our country in the past, present, or the future.
12. Sunsets and Sunrises.
13. Saturday mornings.
14. Friends that have been there for all 20 years of my life.
15. Skype.
16. Music.
17. Teachers.
18. A brother who I can drive crazy and love at the same time.
19. All my Aunts, Uncles, Grandpas, Grandmas, and Cousins.
20. The Men and Women who are examples of Christ in my life.
21. The Family I nanny for.
22. Vacations.
23. Good health.
24. My junior high girls small group.
25. World leaders.
26. My chickens.
27. Laughter.
28. A God that is with me in all circumstances no matter who I'm with, where I am, or what I'm doing.

It's a Small World After All

I know I'm not the first person to think this but if you have ever gone to a Disney Amusement park, there is a slight chance that you rode on the "It's a Small World" ride. Frankly, I think this is the most annoying song/ride ever and for the next week, I will have the song stuck in my head.  However, have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, this is such a small world?

After knowing some friends of ours from Maryland for over 3 years, we realized that we have a mutual friend. Where it gets even crazier is, our mutual friend is from Tennessee. So from Minnesota, to Maryland, to Tennessee there is a connection. This is a small world.

My brother and I grew up watching black and white VHS's. I know that might seem to some that I sound super old and to others I sound young, but just stick with me. In a Pink paper case was a video of the original Alfalfa episodes. The original Alfalfa was played by Carl Switzer.  When I was old enough to understand family connections, my Mother explained that I was related to him. My mind was blown. If I remember correctly, he is my Great-Grandmothers Cousin. So, this means we are blood related. What is even crazier is if you look at my Mother's baby pictures, you can see a resemblance. This is a small world.

I truly don't believe in coincidences, I think everything that happens is the way God planned it to be. You don't just happen to run into someone you haven't seen in a long time, or meet someone while you are in a foreign country that knows your college roommate. God has it all planned out perfectly. Next time this happens to you, I encourage you to look up to God and just give him a little thanks. It's a small world after all.

I am Ready for the Wait

Somedays I feel like I am the only person my age not married, having a kid, or engaged. Honestly, I am so thankful that I am not in any of those stages in life. I am so content at where I am in life, I'm not sure there is someone who could make me a happier person. In the future I hope to have a wonderful marriage and eventually my own family. But I am so happy with where I am. It took me many years, mostly the teen years, to realize that a man/woman can't make you happy.

Marriage is such a huge decision in life. You are making a covenant, between your husband and God, not a contract. God created the idea of marriage and He designed it exactly how He wanted it. He knows what marriages need to survive. God wanted it to be a holy covenant. When you get married you make a solemn vow before God and your loved ones.  If you asked me today if I am ready to be married, my answer is very simple; no. I am way to immature when it comes to life and I have a lot to learn.  God will show me his plan, whether it is next month or in 10 years, God will know then that I am ready.

I have really struggled in life with purity. It is something that is not taken seriously in our culture. The Bible takes purity very seriously and says in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins again his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
This is such a simple yet complex idea, the idea of keeping yourself pure until marriage. Media, video games, and movie are so full of the idea of sex. Just from going to a public school, guys were referred to as gay, wussy, or they are made fun of for not being a "real man". Girls are called hoes, whores, and sluts if they sleep with someone. So who wins? Nobody. This can all be solved by standing up for yourself. I hear so often that it is "impossible" to keep yourself pure. That is so false. I can proudly say that at 20 years, I am pure and by no means embarressed.

Staying pure has made finding "the one" harder yet easier because many people don't believe in waiting until marriage. However when someone doesn't believe in staying pure, it is God's way of saying, "Ok, he isn't the one for you." One day God will say, "Ok, he is the one" and that day will be filled with joy and happiness. While God is prepping me for marriage, He is also prepping a man out there. Until the day our lives cross paths, I plan to continue to pursue God to my best ability.

Late Night Frustrations

Tonight I lay wide awake at almost midnight. My stomach is in knots and my mind is in 3,428 places. Some days I wish that God made me different. I wish he had made me without all my health problems. If he did that though, I wouldn't be me. 

When people ask me what is wrong, what do I tell them? Normally I just tell them not to worry and I will be fine in the morning. By morning, my stomach will be fine but my stress continues. I worry about the next night. What will I do if I get sick? Where will I be? 

Honestly, I think this is why I really enjoy my bed. I'm in a safe place, I know that if I were to get sick my parents are in the next room. In most cases, I don't get sick at home. It happens mostly at others houses, hotels, or camping trips. When I'm not at home, I'm alone, and I think that adds more stress. 

Sometimes I think I stress myself out so bad that I force myself to get sick. Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through getting sick? Even when the doctors tell me nothing is wrong, I tell myself there is something wrong. 

God tells us in the bible many times not to worry. But I still do. What will it take for me to let go and trust God? To stop overthinking my health problems? To let myself sleep through the night without forcing myself to get sick?