A Day in My Life

This post will be in response to my friend Mykaela's Blog, Making Music for the Master. It's about taking 10 pictures through a normal day. The beginning of this will be focused on yesterday. Yesterday was beautiful and a definite reminder that My God is in control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It all started out with some friends by the lake last Tuesday night. Wonderful fellowship and getting to talk to our missionary's wife a little bit longer than I have been able to before. Some deep conversations, some not-so-deep conversations. I'm just starting to head home around 11/11:30pm when I run something over in the gravel and end up having a flat tire. When I finally get to a spot that I can change it, there was a guy sitting in his truck. No big deal, I have my parents on the phone already anyways, they can just listen to me change my tire. He even turned his truck off at one point, all the while his truck is facing my car. Eventually he took off, but this is only the beginning of blessings for this story (as well as the tire not blowing in general). When the tire is finally changed, I and my car limp back to the house around 12. Tomorrow is a new day, and so far, God has provided safety.

Wednesday morning, I walked out to my car to find the feather with blue. Feathers may not mean a lot to some people, but since meeting a special friend a few years back, they mean something when found in odd or unexpected places. It was just a small reminder that God cares about the little things.

So I take the tire in to a local tire shop to get it repaired. Unbeknownst to me, the hole is too big and the tire cannot be repaired. Thankfully, once again, God planned it just right so that there is an exact match in the tire shop's used bin and I have money set aside that will cover both the new tire and it getting placed on the rim. 

When I get back to work and go to change the tire, not only do I find the other two feathers pictured above, but the drizzling rain is making a big rectangle around my car. With the rain being blown sideways slightly, the trees at the edge of the parking lot are blocking it so I can change my tire and stay dry. 

Then, just to solidify this whole adventure is God reminding me that He is in control, I get this reminder in a fortune cookie. I normally don't take a lot of stock in them and find them very amusing, but this one held a bit of a different message. To say I laughed is an understatement...it was a full belly laugh for a few seconds which was reduced to simply smiling the rest of the day.

A couple of weird days deserved a cup of something hot. That day it was tea, though I usually drink coffee. This IS a part of my regular day. :-)

So, moving onto pictures of my day to day life. These are a couple of the things I use by default in my life at work. Though, I DID pick out the colors because 1) They are super bright and 2) They're just fun and I like them. Who cares if they don't match each other?

While I may not get flowers every day, I like to look at flowers on a regular basis and we have some pretty amazing wildflowers up here in Alaska. These ones were given to me by a co-worker for helping her with something the week before.

Alaska in general...and my car. The car is because Alaska is SO BIG!! I have a 15 minute drive at the LEAST to get anywhere decent, whether it be shopping, church, or fun. But I would not trade it for the world. I love Alaska and am grateful for every day that God gives me in this beautiful land.

So, a few of my friends know about my budgeting ways. Some of my bankers even know about it. But this is the app I use. I like it a lot and it helps me keep things straight. It's also part of the reason I had the money for that new tire mentioned above. Emergency funds are a VERY important aspect of life I have learned.

This is a picture of my special friend and one of her kids. She is a shining light in my life and always helps to keep things in perspective. She is an amazing lady, mother, and friend. I hope that one day I can be half as ingenuitive as her. She is the one who showed me how to make a cloak and just be happy with the little things in life that I always take for granted. We talk on a regular basis, but the times I get to visit her are some of the best. This year, I got to visit her in Haines, AK and had a wonderful time spoiling her and her family and taking pictures of them.

And last but not least, this goes along with my feathers from up above. This eagle in particular is a very special girl. She is located in Juneau and is taken care of by a group because she cannot take care of herself in the wild anymore. She had started out with her back to everyone when I went to visit her, but when I went to leave, she hopped closer and started staring at me. She was posing beautifully for the other people there taking pictures and with was just an all-around amazing experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall, my God is so amazing. I love more every day and even the days that I fall behind or fail in some way, He is there to lift me back up. I'm grateful this world is not my home and I'm just passing through. Thanks for reading this rambling post and I hope it helps someone else remember that no matter where we are, we are never too far for God to reach us still.

Just Another Day in Life

My life may not be as exciting as some others, but honestly, I'm glad for where I am. There are plenty of bumps and cracks along the path of my life that I've made for myself, but every step of the way, My God is there. In the darkest day and blackest night, He is there to help and guide me. It's not His fault when I stray, but He's there to bring me back when I realize that I "dun messed up". Every night is refreshing and I get to wake up with a fresh start and a new page to write on. One of the poems I always like to hear was once spoken by a man named Ravi Zacharias. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A New Leaf" 
The author was an Elementary School teacher, but is unknown.

He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
the lesson was done.
“Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
and gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried,
“Do better now, my child.”

I went came to the throne with a trembling heart;
the day was done.
“Have you a new day for me, dear Master?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
He took my day, all soiled and blotted
and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried,
“Do better now, my child.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's always such a blessing and a reminder that though I fail, He never will.

Remembering the Time

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Honestly, I'm sincerely sorry to those who have followed me and forgotten that this even exists because of the lack of time I've put into it recently. I would say it's because I've been too busy, but if we're honest, it's because I haven't really been budgeting my time well.

Recently, our church did a budgeting class, and while this is mostly a class for budgeting money, I've come to realize how much our life in general requires budgeting. We have all this stuff that we've been given by God, but hardly use it for His glory! And we don't realize how much is wasted until we begin to budget. We have days where we wonder where the time or money has gone, but until we sit down and look at our lives, we can't figure out where it all really goes. It doesn't take much to get distracted and "lose track of time" as one patient who was late recently said. So what have we been doing with our lives?

The world is filled with so many ways to distract ourselves, from (the stereotypical) cat videos, to game on our phones, to our phones in general. Our society has found out ways to keep us on our phones even more than we would like. And some of us, though we add a Bible to our phone, hardly read it there anyways. It's a daily struggle and I'm reminded, that's why Paul said he died daily.

We have to die daily to our selfishness of spending all the time on ourselves. We have to die daily to the flesh wanting to get distracted so we don't focus on God. We have to die daily to the pride that keeps us from growing and expanding our knowledge base. We have to die daily to our prejudices so we can look beyond our own thoughts and see the needs, thoughts, and desires of those around us.

We need to be open to those around us, sensitive to their thoughts and feelings, and looking for openings to share the love of our God and Saviour with them.

The world we live in is destined to forget God and try to find substitutes for the empty hole in our hearts. Won't we remember that time is short and die daily to ourselves, living for God alone? After all, He owns everything anyways, why not use it to glorify Him more?

Settled at the Cross

I've recently been listening to a CD of the specials our church has done since the beginning of the year and one of the songs on it is Settled at the Cross which is sung by our Pastor and his daughter. Honestly, it is one of the most beautiful songs and arrangements I have ever heard. I found a similar one here. I've been going through a lot in my life recently with my new(ish) job, friend's lives, longings that I know may not be fulfilled anytime soon, just enough to make a person go crazy and feeling like there's a hole that's not being filled. There's an emptiness that I'm struggling with and I know I'm missing something somewhere, but I can't really figure out what it is right now. But this song, this song is a reminder that no matter what happens from here on out, God already proved His love to me. He loves me and wants the best for me, all I have to do is still my aching heart and listen to his direction...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Settled at the Cross

How I love to read the Book You wrote for me

You loved the world so much You gave Your Son

Written there in crimson, You told me I'm forgiven.

It is done, it is done!

Chorus:

So if You never speak another word of blessing

And the silence leaves me with a sense of loss

I'll remember when my heart begins to question

Any doubt that You love me was settled at the cross. 

I would be the first to admit I don't deserve

The kind of favor You have always shown.

But You don't have to tell me, You proved how much You love me,

And I know, I still know 

Chorus:

That if You never speak another word of blessing,

And the silence leaves me with a sense of loss,

I'll remember when my heart begins to question,

Any doubt that You love me was settled at the cross.

Every word was mercy,

every breath forgave,

Every drop of blood testifies of grace.

Chorus:

So if You never speak another word of blessing,

And the silence leaves me with a sense of loss,

I'll remember when my heart begins to question,

Any doubt that You love me was settled at the cross.

Any doubt that You love me was settled at the cross.

Then Sings My Soul

"How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah." ~Psalms 84:1-5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Chorus:
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Chorus

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Chorus

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Chorus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love these verses and this song. They remind me that no matter what the building, or general meeting place, looks like, the message that is brought is the most important. I've attended church services in many different locations, and each service where the truth was taught reminded me again and again that above all, God's will is where I need to be. For when we are in His will and trusting fully in Him, we have peace and can continually praise Him throughout the day. 
For the building does not make God beautiful, but God makes the building beautiful.

A Little Bout Me...

I will say this much, if I'm finally going to slow my life down a little bit and start putting small blurbs up again, this kind of a post is the way to start up...again. Life gets busy and sometimes I let different deeds fall to the wayside. I may not be as active as I once was, but maybe I'll at least begin posting something a couple times a month. Besides, there's 30-31 days in a month! I should be able to use 2 of them for better ideas. ;-)

So here goes!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?

Si-pronounced Sigh. Lol, the beginning of my first middle name. :-)

2. What's a weird habit of yours?

I honestly don't know...half the stuff I do is probably considered weird...

3. Do you have any strange phobias?
Not really, I'd just rather certain things not touch me...such as spiders.

4. What's a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're alone?
Almost every Disney movie I know, some Piano Guys songs, and my quartets!!!

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
People who don't try to work a situation out and understand what the other side might be going through...I hate seeing people upset at each other. :-/

6. What's one of your nervous habits?
I clench my fist and release it a lot or just shake my hand really hard a few times. It's really hard to remember not to do it in front of people who don't know that's how I cope. Lol

7. What's a YouTuber that almost always makes you laugh?
I don't really have one to make me laugh, but funny dog videos always seem to do the trick!!

8. What was your first stuffed animal, and what was it's name?
I don't remember my first one, but my first one with a name was probably Jasmine. She is a Harley Davidson Rottweiler. :-)

9. What's the drink you always order at Starbucks?
Well, don't go to Starbucks much, but when I order coffee it's a white chocolate mocha with a shot of caramel. :-D

10. Do you have any weird body skills?
I can wiggle my ears, touch my tongue to my nose, and raise one eyebrow at a time...

11. What's your favorite comfort food that's bad but you eat it anyways?
Macaroni and cheeeeeeese!!!!!!

Plus biscuits and gravy...lol

12. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?

I believe I have 3...though I could be wrong. Lol.

"Whatever works" for situations where someone prefers to do something a different way but squires the needed result.

"Not my division" for when something isn't mine to be done in the first place.

"If they don't like it, they should do it themselves next time." For when I've finally given up trying to make people happy and decide to guess at what works. Lol

13. What did you used to wear that you would never wear now?
 Turtlenecks. I cans stand having them on my neck!!!!

14. What did you want to be when you were young?
A doctor, so I'm not too far off with being in the medical field at least!! :-D

15. How tall are you?
5'3"...and always feeling the shortness. Lol, I make my tall friends look taller. :-P

16. Fun bonus: What are 5 ways to win your heart/become a great friend?

Listen to me. 
Try to keep a conversation going. 
Have food or coffee at any gathering, lol. 
Have a relationship with God, because I've noticed those are the easiest friendships to forge that will last a lifetime. 
Be kind to others.

~Psalms 84:10-12

Reaching Out Blindly

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." ~2 Timothy 2:15


A workman that needeth not be ashamed...I may not know all the times that a workman may be ashamed, but I do know that some of them involve a lack of knowledge on the part of the workman.  Applying that to our spiritual lives, how many times does that happen in a day? A month? Or a year?  These are moments we look back upon, wishing we could go back and do it over.  Did we listen to what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell us?  Or were we trying to do it in our own strength?  Do we even have the knowledge of such things that the Holy Spirit may use them in our lives?  We are told to study, look at everything, read our Bible, listen to what God would have us to learn and understand.  Why? so that when called upon, others can look at our lives and actions and understand that there is a reasoning behind the things we do that can be explained.

Just within the past week there have been a couple people whose final rebuttal consisted of "Just Google it, you'll understand."  Unfortunately, this only weakens a person's argument and makes their point seem a bit less valid.  Do we as Christians do this to others when they have questions about what we believe and why?  Responses such as "The Pastor can answer answer your questions" as a default, are they no better than telling someone to "just Google it"?

I will be the first to admit I don't have all the answers and will always be learning, but I will also say that it is not only the Pastor's job to have answers to other's questions, but we are to tell others what we know.  We are to help others understand and point them to Christ.  It is not only the Pastor who is to sow the seed, but all those who have been saved.  Thus we are called Christians, because we are called to be Like Christ.  We are called to reach out.

How can we reach out if we do not know?  How can we know if we do not study?  How can we study if we do not put in the time?

Study to show thyself approved unto God...are we studying to check a box? Or spend time with God and grow in His knowledge?  Which is more important to us in the end?

And when I write these posts, I'm not directing them at my audience alone, but God brings these to my heart's door first. He's asking me these questions before I even begin to type them up.

What will we do with the information God has put before us today?