These are my dear friends Jared and Angela Rankin. We had dinner tonight at a cute little cafe called Abby Lane in Santa Clarita. It's one of my favorite spots...CHECK it OUT! After dinner we went to Claim Jumpers for coffee and dessert. I love Ang and Jared. We try to get together at least once or twice a month for what we like to call Family Dinner. Ang is such a caring and loving friend. What I appreciate about Jared is the way he calls me out of things. There is no beating around the bush with him. I love watching them with one another and it's great to see how they compliment one another so well. They are a blessing in my life.

Fridays...

I love Fridays. They are most refreshing after a long work week. On Monday and Tuesday night I had the opportunity to babysit for some families in my church that I love. On Wednesday night Gary (Director of Financial Aid) and I did a presentation at Grace Community Church for parents and students on "Why students should go to a Christian college and how they can afford it." There was a great turnout and we had the opportunity to talk to some neat families. Thursday was a late night at work so I could take off early today. I worked a half day today, ran errands, and then came home and took a great nap. There is nothing like a nap when you are tired on a rainy afternoon with a big fuzzy blanket...LOVE IT! Tonight I am meeting some friends from church for dinner. I am so thankful for the friends I have been blest with out here. I have been given much and am so thankful.

This morning I met with two girls from the college and we had such a good time talking about trials, patience, the Grace of God, and how all of these things make us look towards Heaven. I will do a post on this later as these are things that have been on my mind constantly the past few months. The Lord has been showing me a lot and I see Him at work in my life. I am thankful and don't understand how He could love a sinner like me. I am glad he does though. This morning was a blessed time filled with good conversation and was very impactful for me. I was really thankful for our time together. (Shout out to Jen and Jen!)

*Today I am thankful for afternoon naps. I love them especially on a rainy afternoons.

Person of the Week: Tricia Scheffer (my roommate)

Proverbs 18:24 "A man with many friends may come to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Tricia was one of my first friends when I moved out to California over 5 years ago. Tricia is my ol' faithful. She's been the one friend who has been there since the beginning of this adventure for me and we've been through all of the ups and downs of life together the last 5 years. Tricia exhibits many characteristics that I want to exemplify. While I was doing my quiet time the other morning I was overcome with gratitude for her in my life. I gave her a shout out right then and there telling her that I am thankful for her (remember we all need to do that more!)

Tricia I love and appreciate you in the following ways: 1. Your selflessness. 2. Your one of the most giving people I know. 3. You are a faithful friend to me and have stood up for me in times of need. 4. You speak truth into my life when I need to hear it. 5. You cry with me. 6. You laugh with me. 7.You challenge me according to the Word of God. 8.You pray for me.

I'm so thankful for the last 5 years together. The thing I will miss most next year when you are married is our morning time together. I love coming out in the morning, doing our quiet times, sharing what we are learning and just talking about our lives over a cup of coffee. These are times I cherish. The Lord knew what we needed when he blest us with our friendship. Thank you for your faithfulness to me through all the ups and downs of our lives. I LOVE YOU!!

Happy Birthday Johnny!

Happy Birthday to my dear friend and co-worker John Spring. John started working in the Admissions office almost a year ago. Since that time he has become one of my closest friends and someone I've grown to respect and admire. I consider him a blessing in my life.

I am thankful for John in the following ways: The way he does his job with excellence and lives out Colossians 3:23-24, his character: his integrity is something I never need to question, he's a true gentleman: he treats all of us girls in the office with love and care, and he is an encourager of me. Today I am thankful for you John. I am one of your biggest fans!

So Much To Say...

When I sent out the email letting people know about my Blog I started feeling a little anxiety as I began to feel completly exposed. The people in my office started shouting sentiments of encouragement as i pressed send. It is a little nerve wracking but I must admit I'm getting into this. My mind is constantly thinking of things to Blog about. This will be fun. I'm going to implement a "Person of the Week" Be checking back in a few days to see who my first person is.

Today as I was doing my quiet time I was thinking about the blessings of life and the different people the Lord has given me. I believe that it's very important to tell someone you love them or care about them if you really feel that way. And tell them the reasons why you appreciate them (hence my soon to be "Featured Person the Week")

So your assignment today is to tell someone that you love them and tell them why you love or appreicate them. Don't be scared to do it. Just Do it. It will mean a lot to that person.

Today I am thankful for morning coffee. It tasted sooo good this morning and hit the spot. Thanks Tricia. (I appreciate you for making the coffee this morning....and many other reasons to come later.)

Would You Rather?

Anyone who knows me knows that I love games. It could be board games, physical games, or word games. I like to win and at times have had an unhealthy competetivness about me. I'm trying to work on this. I remember the time I realized I had a problem. It was when I was a social worker and I was playing a board game with this 7 year old kid with spina bifida. He was starting to beat me and I began to get agitated and I felt my sinful nature start to show. Afterwards, I knew I had a problem.

Anyways....I have tried working on this and now my favorite type of game would be the "fun get to know you better" games. The people in my office roll their eyes at me when i want to play but i make them play anyway. (HOLLA!) Some of thes games would include Top 5 (we will play it in another post), favorites (you will get your turn soon) but my favorite would be Would You Rather. I've gotten quite a few people playing this with me at the college and on random days or hours of the night i get text messages or phone calls with Would you Rather questions. It's kind of getting out of control but i love it. So I'm going to let you all play.....Here is your question for the day:

Would you Rather smell like rotten fish for the rest of your life or have a permenant stain on your pants where people think you have bowel issues? Death is not an option.

*The thing i'm thankful for today is laughter. I love laughing. My sister made me laugh hard today. Hahahahahaha

Welcome to the world of "This is My Life"

I love reading other people's blogs and after much encouragement from many I decided to start a blog myself. I have no idea how I'm going to keep this up but my mom will be happy to know what's going on in my life more. I also can't let my brother and sister show me up since they are blogging now too.
It's taken me a long time to get this blog started so my first entry will be a short one. One thing I want to end every blog with is something i'm thankful for that day. Today I'm thankful to be a part of such a great church. I have grown so much since being a part of Grace Community. I have met some wonderful Godly people who have impacted my life in a great and profound way. I am blest! If you are in the area check it out: www.gracechurch.org.