I know I know

Upon seeing my lack of daily posts, SOMEONE mentioned to me the other day that I needed to work on my discipline. I know I know...

I will work on it :)

And today... I have not taken any pics... but in at least one previous post, I posted pics from multiple days, so today I am going to post pics from my walk on Tuesday.

Views like this are why I love SoCal!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Today was an interesting thanksgiving. Not all fun and games, although there was a lot of fun and games involved :)

Nonetheless, this Thanksgiving, I am thankful!!!

I am thankful to have a Father who loves me who will never leave me nor forsake me nor will His love for me wane!

I am thankful for a family, even though they are so far away and holidays make me miss them even more.

I am thankful that in 4 weeks I will be with them!

I am thankful for friends here that act like family. I am thankful for friends far away that stay friends despite the miles.

I am thankful for a place to stay.

I am thankful for clothes and food.

I am thankful for my church.

I am thankful for my Pastor and his wife who have shown me the heart of God in human form.

I am thankful for past experiences and current situations.

I am thankful for all God has blessed me with.

I

AM

THANKFUL!

A Great Man

Today I'll post another picture of a rose, but today it is in remembrance of a great man. It was 2 years ago today that my pastor, Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty passed away. I am so grateful to have been trained up under him, his family, and his ministry! He was a phenomenal man of God and is greatly missed! He truly reached people around the world as he sought to know God and make Him known. It was never about him, but it was always about HIM!

Remember to take time to love on those you care about; you never know when they will leave the earth.

I LOVE all of you!

Monday is almost over

Really, my day wasn't bad... but I had some pressure with due dates by 11pm tonight... so I am glad today is over. 4 more weeks and I am finished with all my class work for my master's degree!!! Wahoo!!! And in 4 weeks and 2 days I get to go to Texas to see my family... WAHOO!!!

In the mean time, I think I have become an addict...

Oops!!!

Also, FYI in case anyone cares, I was all ready to post on this blog last night, I pulled it up, emailed my daily pic from my phone to my email so I could include it, and while waiting for it to come in my email, I forgot and shut down my computer. After I got in bed I remembered, but I was too tired to do anything about it... smh... sorry :(

Here is my pic from yesterday if anyone wants to see it:

Life is good!

Two days of missed blogging... sorry guys! It may take me two years to get my 365 posts :)

Things of course are busy- God, friends, school, church, work, life... busy... but overall all is good!

Here are two pics I took today:


Yep, it's me... someone said it was gorgeous, so even though I don't typically like pics of myself, I thought I'd share since I don't get to see most of you very often.

And tonight I had Thanksgiving dinner with a family of friends, and they brought out the pet bunny. She is so cute. :) Don't you agree!?!?!

Love you all!

Goodnight and God bless!!!

A good day

Today was a good day... taught in a Kinder class... marked things off my to do list, and got flowers from my best friend for no reason... a good day

Catch up

Ok, so, I missed a night again... sorry!

So, the seminar I was at all weekend is called Vertical Leap. It is an amazing seminar to help you learn how to birth your God-given dreams, visions, and ideas. I went to the seminar literally 4 days after moving to California in September of 2009, and I can truly say my life has never been the same. I ended up getting certified with the ministry, and I have taught the children's version, which is called BOSS the Movement. I also serve at Vertical Leap, which is usually held one weekend a month.


Anyways, so that was my weekend, and it was GREAT!!!

Yesterday and today I have been busting my tail doing homework... bleh! I did take a break to hang out with friends for a bit yesterday and also went to soccer tournament games last night and tonight for an hour each night. Past that, homework, homework, homework.

Tomorrow I have to teach an integrated math and science lesson in a Kindergarten class. Here is a pic of one of the things I have made for the lesson on leaves:

Nothing like going out on a leaf hunt. Luckily most of these I found at the house I stay at.

And folks, that's about as exciting as my last couple of days doing homework have been.

Good night and God bless!

ZZZZzzzzzZZZZ

Had Vertical Leap seminar this weekend. I will tell more about it in tomorrow night's blog. Just know that it is a phenomenal encounter with God over 21 hours during a weekend, and when I serve at the seminar I am very full spiritually at the end but also very tired :) That being said, now you know why I didn't post last night and why I am now saying GOODNIGHT!

Smile :)

Ok, so I missed TWO consecutive days of posting :( I appologize! Anywhos, just been tired the past couple of nights and didn't wanna exert the energy to post. I also didn't take any pics yesterday. I did take a picture Wednesday while I was getting a pedicure done:

I don't do or get to do the pampering thing much, but I did on Wednesday a bit. It was nice.

And here is my picture for today:

Parents, sometimes you need to chill out and enjoy your kiddos... take things a little lighter and give your kids a chance to be kids, have fun, and laugh with their parents. So if they decide to play with their food... perhaps there will be a smile in it. :)

Happy Birthday, Kodah Bear!!!

Knowing that my sister reads this blog and that right now it is after midnight in Texas, here is a post to say happy birthday to my now 7 year old nephew, Kodah! Here is a pic of the sketch I drew in my calendar :)

I love and miss you SOOOOOOOOOOO much, Kodah!!! Can't wait to see you in 6 weeks!!!

Fire

Here is the picture I took today. Weather for fireplaces to be used. I love it. It got me to thinking... I've been on a fast for the past 38 days... I have 42 1/2 hours left, and yes I am excited :) But as I get closer and closer to God, I get so excited, and I truly understand Jeremiah's word when he said God's word was like fire in his bones and that he couldn't hold it in. God is SO amazing!!! God bless and goodnight!

My Journal

Didn't really take an opportunity to take any fabulous pics today... went to church which was great, then pretty much spent the day doing homework, reading, and such... so here is a close up of my journal that my beautiful friend Laura gave me for my birthday :)

A Hot Chocolate Kind of Day

Today was a good productive and comfy Saturday. I started the day with an 11 year old's soccer game. It was pretty chilly. This kind of made me sad, because I feel like I am becoming a real Californian now that I get cold in such mild temperatures. Oh well, it is what it is :)

I did run a few errands and such, but then the rest of my day was pretty much spent cuddled in my bed working on homework and reading.

A couple of hours ago I fixed some hot chocolate, and it was great and greatly enjoyed!

The Weekend is Here

The week was busy, but went by fairly quickly. Tonight I joined with an awesome family to play bingo at an elementary school. It was fun. Here is a pic I took- one of the kiddos had written my name :)

Goodnight, all! Enjoy your Saturday!

FULLY Convinced

As promised- pics from yesterday:

My handsome Godson, Gian Paul:

and my beautiful Goddaughter, Jaylisse:

And today's pic:

Tonight as I was in Bible study, my Pastor was asking what makes a spiritually mature believer. Answers came such as "someone who is not easily moved," "someone who shows the fruit of the spirit," "someone who is humble," "someone who puts others above themselves," and "someone who is content." Then my Pastor asked what keeps us from achieving these things? Why are we not spiritually mature? As we then went through Bible study, a thought came- it is because we are not fully convinced. What I mean is that we are not fully convinced that God is who He says He is. Now, I know we would all say we are fully convinced. However, if we were fully convinced that God is able and that He is who He says He is and who the Bible says He is, then we would not be easily moved, we would show the fruit of the spirit, we would be humble, we would put others above ourselves, and we would be content. We MUST become FULLY CONVINCED!

HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS!!!!

Goodnight!

Alrighty all- I am officially posting, but I am wiped out and gotta be in a Kindergarten class all day tomorrow, so this is all :) I did take pics today of my PRECIOUS Godbabies. I'll post 'em tomorrow. All in all, a FABULOUS day... I LIVED life and enjoyed the relationships in my life. That's what it is all about... tasks can wait, people can't. Get tasks done, but put people first!
Goodnight and God bless!

Live life!

Today was a great day! Nothing particular happened, it was just a good day with God and a good day of reflecting and hearing and seeking Him. It was a good day of self reflection and visioning. It was a good day!

SO often we are so focused on a particular event or upcoming date... looking for the next thing that we don't live the days we have.

I went and saw the movie The Way today, and I HIGHLY recommend it! On the movie, one character makes the remark, "You don't choose a life, you live one."

We must quit focusing on choosing the particular life we want to life and get busy living the life we have.

I love you all and hope you take time to LIVE today!

KNOW Him

Ok, so I told you it would happen and sure anough, it has- I missed another day of posting a blog yesterday. I did take a picture while I was at a birthday party last night in LA, but when I got home, I was tired and after talking to my "Daddy," I crashed. So, here is the picture I took last night of some city lights overlooking LA.

And while I am on birthdays, for today's picture, can I point out that this huge balloon that I got on September 21st for my birthday is STILL floating and strong?!?!?! WOW!!! Impressive, eh? :)

I pray you all are well! I am! Life is good, and I am grateful for the daily growth in my life. It is not always pretty or comfortable to grow in the plans God has for your life or for Him to point out the things that you need to work on, but OH how great it is to KNOW Him!!! I live to know Him and make Him known!!!

Red Light, Green Light

I was on my way home from watching a soccer game and thinking about how I hadn't taken any pics today. So I took one of the light as it turned green. (Then I dropped the phone and took my foot off the brake as to not get honked at :)

A couple of weeks or so ago, a lady I deeply admire (Ms. Nancy Sykes) wrote on another friend's facebook wall about a Word she had heard that God does not give green lights, but only yellow and red lights. He expects us always to be moving forward and He will give us yellow and red lights if we head in the wrong direction or too fast.

So, let's keep on keepin' on!

Oops

So, yesterday, I straight up forgot to post :( Until my sister woke me up with a text this morning asking why I hadn't posted :)

So, what do I do? I broke the year of posting... so, we can make it 365 days of posting, knowing that yes, there will likely come a few more days like this. So, once the year is over, for each day I missed, I will continue to post for that many more days.

Sometimes we all need a fresh start! And a bath ;)

All my life, as long as I live

"I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." Psalm 104:33

Beauty

Ok ladies, this one is for you. I have been reading John and Stasi Eldredge's book, Captivating. (I HIGHLY recommend it if you haven't read it!) It is a great book, and today I just want to remind you that you are ALL beautiful! Yes, even you! You are beautiful and the world needs you. You have beauty to offer.

Today I looked up and took note of some of the beauty God has put around me. Here is a shot as the sun went down while I was at a park watching a soccer practice. In case I didn't make anyone jealous by the beautiful palm trees all around me, I am blessed to be surrounded by mountains as well ;)

Laugh

I LOVE to laugh. Like I realllly enjoy laughing! I'm sure everyone else does, too, but I still feel really strongly about it :) So here is a pic from my daily calendar which gives a humorous quote daily.

This quote is all so true. It seems things are going well in people's lives, or everything is going wrong at once. Oh the joys of mountains and valleys. Both are amazing in their own ways, and without the valleys, we would never know the joy or appreciate the mountains.

God bless you all! Find something to laught at- laughter is good for the soul!

FOG

When I was in Bible school, a speaker came through and spoke of the "FOG" and gave out stickers that said something about living in the FOG. FOG was an acronym for Favor Of God. Tonight as I walked what felt like 5 miles in the dark to my car by myself, I noticed the misty fog settled around. I was pondering calling a friend just so I would have someone on the phone to "walk" with me to my car, but I realized I already had Someone walking with me. Now, God wants us to use wisdom, and I don't recommend any of you ladies to walk late at night to your car in the dark by yourself, but I do pray that you all find yourselves walking in the FOG.

Writing

I just had a conversation tonight about how I used to love to write, but somewhat lost my love of writing for pleasure sake when I was in college. Well... I've been writing a lot lately... not necessary for pleasure's sake, but just have a lot to write... so much so, that I bought this pen on September 29, and it is already out of ink... HOW did that happen?

Random thoughts from my life...

Current Reads

That's all...

Sunny Southern California

I don't have much to say today, but I am posting to keep the post going. Here is a picture I took today. I realize that most of my friends and family are not blessed to be in sunny SoCal, and palm trees are foreign and exciting to them, as they were to me. I am trying to remember to value the beautiful palm trees and mountains which were so special when I came, but I have become so used to.

Good enough for now...

So I went all day and never really had a "picture opportunity" to speak of. So, here is a picture of the mirror on the passenger side of my car:

Yes, that is black duct tape you see. I know, GHETTO! Or redneck, whichever you prefer.

Either way, it isn't permanent, it's good enough for now to hold it on, but a great friend is going to fix it soon.

So why am I blogging about this? Well, this mirror is kind of reflective about how I feel with a lot of other areas in my life right now. They are good enough for the moment, but few things seem very permanent or long term... I don't have a place to live and have been staying with my Pastor's family for almost six weeks- good enough for now, but not long term... the people and financial resources needed to run a ministry... are almost non existent in my ministry right now... etc... I am not complaining, just contemplating things... I thank God for what is good enough for right now, but I look forward and pray for more permanent situations :)

Homework and an Umbrella

So... most of my day was spent on homework... and most of what is left of it will be as well. Unfortunately, this is my view a LOT of the time:


Today I did go to Panera and did homework there for quite a while just for a change of scenery and to get out of the house.

Also when I was out I did a couple of errands. A lot of you have probably heard the faith saying that if you are going to pray for rain you should have an umbrella ready in expectation.

Well... today I saw a shirt... I'm not married, nor engaged, don't get excited... but when I saw this shirt, I really liked it. It is cute, I like the color, and I believe one day I will be able to wear it and it will be true.

So, as I pray for my future husband... today I decided to buy an umbrella :)

And to be contradictory, here is a funny quote for the day:

"Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?" -Groucho Marx

Day 1 of 365

Alright, so, in an attempt to avoid productivity for a few minutes yesterday, I wrote out 101 items on my bucket list. One was to maintain a blog for a year, so I'm gonna start that one... today :)

In addition, I wanted to take a picture every day for a year, so I will also start that one today :)

And to make it easier, I am going to combine the two efforts into a picture blog :)

All of these ideas are very inspired by a beautiful friend who lives too far away, the one and only, Kara Blain.

So, today I was blessed to spend time with my new twin Godbabies and their awesome big brother and family! Here is the dynamic duo as they are snuggling:

And here is their handsome big brother:


I am SO blessed to have them in my life! Never would have guessed the significance of my relationship with their family when I met them in Tulsa in 2007!!! But OH SO grateful for it!!!