Happy Birthday Jenny...

My Sweet Soul Sista! I hope you have a fabulous day. What a blessing you are in my life. I wish I was with you to celebrate YOU today.  I love your zest for life and thankful spirit to the Lord for what he's given you... which is MUCH! I'm so thankful for the friendships in my life where distance isn't a barrier and when we come together it's like you never left. I'm excited to see how the Lord will continue to use you. I love you Jenny!

Yesterday was our annual Intern Christmsa party. Every year all Admissions comes to my house in their pj's and the staff makes breakfast for the interns. We then have a white elephant gift exchange. It is such a fun time to be together and remember all we have to be thankful for. What a blessing they are all in my life.

A WEEK OF GRATITUDE

1. Getting to see Jenny this week. She was here visiting from Yakima, WA so a bunch of us girls got to meet up with her for dinner. I love the type of friendships where you might not see them for a year but you always pick up right where you left off. That's Jenny.
2. I am blessed beyond meausre with friends out here who are FAMILY to me. Family with the Jackson's is no exception. I LOVE these guys and am blessed to have them in my life.

3. God's GRACE. Something I don't deserve yet NEED EVERYDAY. So thankful for such an undeserved gift. His grace is Sufficient!

4. I am so so so so so so so thankful for the girls in my bible study! I have never been more excited about a bible study group in my life. We get so excited to see one another to talk about the Lord and encourage one another. I enjoy each one of them corporatly and one on one. We see eachother throughout the week and they are such a solid group of girls that I LOVE!!!!! Tonight was a sweet night with Laura. We went to one of our favorite restaurants Granville Cafe.

5. Megan Schenk...yes MEGS YOU are a blessing in my life. So thankful we got to talk on Saturday. I love you and am thankful for your friendship! :) Send me a picture!

6. Psalm 145:17-20 "The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

Satuday....

I love Saturdays. Today was a FULL day. Saturday mornings are my favorite time of the week. I love sleeping in (who says 7 AM isn't sleeping in!?!) and the Saturday morning lounge. NOT today! I was at my friend Erica's yesterday and we decided to get up early and hike Towsley Canyon. We were both needing a WORK OUT and we got one. I will be feeling it tommorow. It's a 6 mile hike up a mountain and back down. It was so beautiful!

 

Psalm 104:1-6 "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains."

I got to have lunch with two of my bible study girls (we missed you AMBER). I am so THANKFUL for their frienship. We have so much fun together and I ENJOY them GREATLY!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I got a Saturday afternoon nap! LOVE IT. The night ended with my dear friend Heidi. We went to WOKANO  for dinner. It's this new restaurant in our mall. It is so yummy. Afterwards we went back to her house and went to the hot tub to soothe my sore muscles from my morning hike. It was hilarious....as we got to the community pool it started to pour. I went and got two umbrellas and we left our clothes by the front door, covered our head with the umbrellas and headed to the hot tub. It stopped raining shortly after so we didnt have to hold the umbrella the whole time. It was such a great night with a great friend.

Thankfulness....

This is dedicated to my friends and MOM who have bugged me to start blogging again. :) I am not making any promises but I will attempt to be better. I have a lot of things that I could blog about but haven't made the time. There have been many things that I've been challenged with over the last year and God has been SO KIND to me. Even in the last week, I have been Overwhelmed by the way the Lord cares for me, provides for me and directs my life. I have been reminded that trials are GOOD for they develop me and make me turn to Christ. My friend said it best: Trials produce hope in me that doesn't disappoint (Romans 5). I am so thankful that I have hope. There are so many that don't know the hope of Jesus Christ. What a BLESSING! God calls me to look beyond my temporary circumstance and live in a continual state of thanks. As I experience trials, I need to remember that I have an eternal perspective and my hope is to enjoy an eternity with the Lord. I AM READY LORD!

Psalm 100:5  "For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."

Since it's been a few months I want to list a few things that I am thankful for.

1. Adoption of Lucy. She is so precious. She has a smile that can light up your day, a strong personality letting you know what she wants and she is the best snuggler. I love her.

2. Church. I love my church. John has been BRINGING IT lately. (not that he doesn't always) Maybe the Lord is just working on me and that's why I've been feeling like EVERY message is for me! He's been going over 1 Corinthians Sunday night in church and he did a small series on 1 Corinthians 13 which impacted me greatly!  I've also been enjoying singing with the worship Team Sunday mornings and working in the Visitor Center.Oh, and my Pastor Tom is going through a solid series in Revelation.

3. The Master's College: What a blessing my job is. I'm so thankful that I enjoy going to work and that I get to work with some of my closest friends. This is my Family. I also have the most kind, humble, gracious, and hard working boss!

4. Small Group Girls: I was asked to be in a bible study this summer with three other girls. It has been such a HUGE blessing! I LOVE these girls. I didn't know two of them that well when we first started the study but I can say that they are a few of my closest friends now. We meet once a week to talk about the Lord and encourage one another. This is definetly one of the Lord's biggest blessings in my life this year.

5. Trials: I can't even begin to describe how the Lord has grown me through difficult times. I do NOT love trials. Who does? Yet, in the midst of them I cling to the Lord and am reminded of all of His promises to me. I am also reminded of how prideful and sinful I can be too! EWWW!!! Is it hard?  HECK YES. But if I can perseve and keep my focus on the giver of all things and remember that God does as HE pleases and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and my good then I am trusting God. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Reedemer." Psalm 19:14

6. Titus 2 Women:  For any believer it is good to have older and wiser people in your life who emulate Christ and follow His teachings. They point you to the truths found in scripture and encourage you with the promises of God. I have a couple of these women in my life. What a blessing they are. They keep me in check and consistently point me to the Lord and show me my sin. This is a HUGE GIFT from GOD.

7. Family: I love my family. I have so many people that I consider family but I am talking about my birth family. What a gift to know that everyone in my immediate family is going to heaven. I adore my neices and nephews, appreciate my brothers and sisters and am thankful for the Rents. I wish there were more occasions when we were ALL together but blessed assurance we will all be together one day!

Happy Birthday Lynn...

Lynn, HAPPY BIRTHDAY a day late. You know you were thought of yesterday and I wish I could have celebrated with you. I am so thankful for your friendship in my life. You are such a blessing to me and I appreicate you. I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do in your life this next year. Continue to pursue him Sister. He is faithful and I look forward to walking the road with you. I love you so!

I love San Diego. I went from Chicago straight to San Diego and I love both cities. The weather in Chicago was great and there is beauty all around in San Diego. I was just reading Psalm 92 tonight and the verses reminded me to give thanks to the Lord for the beauty of His creation and his steadfast, unchanging, merciful love for me. As beautiful as I think this view is in front of me right now, I know nothing will compare to the beauty I will face when standing before the throne of God in heaven.

Psalm 92:1-4

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.,

to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy."