23...

23...

My, what a year. 11 days away from being half way through 23...and my, what I have learned. 

When I turned 23, I remember waking up with several texts and fun emojis on my screen, but before I read any of those sweet words, I remember opening up my notes and just taking a moment to give this year to the Lord. I wrote down all my worries, fears, anxieties, excitement, joy, unknowns, hearts' desires, wishes and worries. I remember praying about a teaching job. I remember praying about where I was going to live and how I was going to find a place. I remember praying about if, when and who I was going to date, and about my good friend who had just asked to take me on a date days before. I remember praying about my family and my summer and my little sister's first year of college. I remember praying about my brother and our family's strained relationship with him. I remember praying about the discipleship program I had just finished and all the processing I was still doing from the year of ministry. I remember praying for the unknowns that had so taken over my life at the time. I remember thinking that I didn't think I was ready to be 23...that it seemed older than 22...and the year ahead seemed daunting....

Well, 6 months later, the Lord has been gracious to me to answer those prayers, some in such clear provision and some in a hazy answer of waiting...some through a season of struggle and weariness and others through the epitome of joy and gratefulness. I have learned a lot in these last 6 months...

In those 6 months, I spent 2 months with my family being at home for the first time in over 5 years, I spent time applying, interviewing and finally accepted a teaching job five states away and moved 12 hours from home, I went on a date with one of my best friends and have been figuring out not only how to pursue each other, but also how to do it 600 miles apart...I have learned what it looks like to budget and pay bills and grocery shop and cook dinner. I have learned what it looks like to be so worn out from working that I fall asleep at 9 o'clock and I have learned what it looks like to naturally wake up at 7 o'clock on a Saturday. I have learned what it looks like to love a classroom full of students and how to discipline and show grace and display patience when you are so very weary. I have learned how to keep in contact with friends hundreds of miles away and the sweetness of quality time with kindred spirits. I have learned the importance of prayer and of being in God's Word and my love for hot tea that gets me through every morning. I have learned that I love creating a space and find so much joy in fixing something up. I have learned that I could antique shop all day on Saturdays and that nothing quite rejuvenates me like fresh air and sunshine. I have learned that I love breakfast, and that sometimes facetime dates can be almost as good as the real thing. I have learned that laundry and dishes often become last on the to do list and that is ok. I have learned that grading is a skill that I am not great at because I would rather every student get 100. I have learned that I love hugs and that I will easily keep a note and a picture forever. I have learned the joy that comes along with sponsoring a child and the sweetness of being able to help people and bless people with the gift of an income. I have learned that sometimes there's nothing like calling home after a long day, and there is something enchanting about the evening air. I have learned that I could sit outside all morning listening to the birds and lay outside all night looking at the stars. I have learned that saying yes can be good, but saying no can also be best. I have learned that I value quality time and that it is hard to be truly honest with myself. I have learned the benefit of hard conversations and the blessing that comes with honesty and trust. I have learned that goodbyes are hard and sometimes tears are good. I have learned that naps sometimes solve more than we know and that dependence on the Lord is something that can deepen every day. I have learned the importance of deep friendships and the incomparable foundation of faith that can last through mountains of change and seasons of hard transitions. I have learned the contentment of being where you know the Lord has placed you and the peace that comes in resting in his provision. I have learned that being 23 is full of life and lessons and laughter and tears and learning to pray and trust and love in a different way...

In this season of unsettledness, yet beginnings of new chapters, I am reminded of the many blessings and challenges that the Lord has given me and how grateful I am to have a faith that walks through both with such a steadiness. I am thankful for these past 6 months and grateful that the unknowns of this journey are so intricately known by a Savior who loves me deeply and has called me to be His. I am thanking him for the opportunities for faith that he continues to provide. Let's continue to do this thing, 23...I'm learning a lot.

Home.

Home. 

One word...One place...

So many meanings...

A place where memories are made, families thrive, joy outlasts, and tears are shed...

A place where you can be yourself, where you learn little lessons, and tackle big moments...

A place where your little self becomes your grown-up self, but a place where you never forget how to be your little-girl self...

A place where pictures are taken, and moments are framed, where you learn how to forgive, and truly how to love...

A place where you share a cup of tea, enjoy meals around the table, and sit in rocking chairs for hours at a time...

A place where big decisions were made, and life paths were decided, a place where you learned to put your faith in the One who knows most of all...
And a place that becomes a reminder that this really isn't our home at all...

A place that has become more than a place...but a piece of who you are and who you want to be...

I am forever thankful for my "home." 

And the blessing of one word, one place, that is now becoming more than a home, but a piece of who I will always be...

The front porch.

The front porch...

To me this place represents so many things... 

So many moments on this porch...so many hours, days, and conversations...

So many prayers, so many books, so many phone calls...

So many late nights, early mornings, and rainy afternoons...

So many summer meals, so many family memories, and so many naps...

So many welcomes, so many goodbyes, so many pictures... 

To me this place represents so many things

That I'm saying "see you later" to and wishing fall to come.

Maybe takes the cake as my favorite place with some of my favorite memories...

He clings to what he knows...

"In the darkness, Jesus doesn't analyze what he doesn't know. He clings to what he knows." 

- Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life.

Wow, that sentence hit home and made me think...he doesn't analyze what he doesn't know, but he clings to what he knows. What would that look like in my life? I think about things A) way too often, B) a lot, and C) very slowly. I overthink, I under think, I analyze, I question, I process, I think and think and think until I have thought myself around in circles and then some... While I think processing is good and healthy and a life without thinking wouldn't get you very far either, I long to be able to say, I don't worry about what I don't know, but cling to what I do know.

On the cross, when Jesus was being crucified, he began to quote Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He meditates on this and maybe set out to say the entire Psalm... To know the Scripture so well, that when the darkest moment in his life came, he held tightly to what he knew, to what he knew gave him life and brought him light, and in the darkness, he didn't question, he didn't analyze, but he placed confident hope in his Father.

I long for my life and for those darkest moments to look like that. I don't analyze what I don't know, but I cling to what I do. "Both the child and the cynic walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The cynic focuses on the darkness; the child focuses on the Shepherd." - Paul E. Miller

If you take the Good Shepherd out of Psalm 23, you are left alone in a world of evil. Miller states, "We are left obsessing over our wants in the valley of the shadow of death, paralyzed by fear in the presence of our enemies." But with the Good Shepherd, we are no longer sheep without a shepherd, we are sheep being led by THE Shepherd. And that alone is enough to cling to... To stop analyzing, and to start abiding...that's my for prayer today.

There's something about walking in an airport...

There's something oddly refreshing about walking in an airport to me. I'm not sure why...maybe it's because my dad is a pilot, or maybe it's my love for traveling, but either way...it can be somewhat serene. Maybe not when you're rushing to make a connection, but usually, at least to me, there is a quaint feeling. I think it's a small metaphor for life -- which can be sad and yet somewhat affirming...everyone is going somewhere. So many different destinations, so many different journeys, so many different ways of getting to where you're going...but everyone is going somewhere. 

And you get to be one person in the midst of an "everybody..." with a destination in sight and enjoying the walking in between...thinking, praying, listening, and watching...so many different people, cultures, families, and lives all being connected through one place...and through that one place, everyone's journeys overlap even for just a moment. There's just something so neat about it...

"When you travel, and when you read, you are not actually alone, but rather surrounded by other worlds entirely, the footsteps and phrases of whole other lives keeping you company as you go."  - Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

Patience While You Drive

Patience while you drive...

I started thinking about this the other day while I was driving with my little sister. We were just "do-daddlin" (a phrase I coined for just running errands or just bebopping around town) and I caught myself more than once comment on/about another person's driving. Either they didn't turn fast enough, or forgot to turn on their blinker, or were driving too slow in front of me, or too fast behind me...the list goes on...but as I was driving with my little sister in the seat next to me, I realized how much my speech definitely didn't match how I normally talk to my friends and family. 

Not that I was saying anything crazy, but just little comments started getting to me...little signs of frustration that I was showing to someone I didn't even know. Little things I said that if they heard me say they would not see Christ in my actions or my words. As my faith deepens and my actions and words take on more weight (as they should as a Christian) I started thinking how this would look different than the world we live in. In Hebrews 10, it talks about that we have been set apart as holy and in 1 Timothy 4, it says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." Set an example in speech....

In James 3:9-12, it gives warning on this exact thing... "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." This hits home on so many levels, but one in particular, when we were in Israel, we learned a ton about springs...how they symbolize Living Water, how they provide life, and refresh and nourish...and when I landed on my identity statement as a "refreshing spring of truth..." I realized that the Lord has called me to be that not just when I'm "doing ministry" but also, when I'm in the car with my little sister driving to Kroger.

As I think back to all the times that my same tongue praised Jesus in the morning, then expressed so much frustration toward a person I didn't know...man, it's convicting to me. I don't know if it would hit home for you, but this has been on my heart the past few weeks, and I couldn't help but share. I am so much more aware now of how I respond in my car and on the road. Not that I'm in recovery as road-range addict, far from it, but I am learning and the Lord is teaching me how our little actions matter too. And our speech should always be pleasing and edifying because we were given a responsibility and a calling as people set apart. In 1 Peter 2:9, it states, "But you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." Yes. May I declare those praises at every moment, and may I live my life as people belonging to God. 

So here's to praying instead of letting my frustration get the best of me...it's just another picture how I am being refined and molded and I thought I'd share this morning. Hope this encourages you and the Lord uses it how He will in your life, and I'm thankful for the little lessons in life where I get to refocus my heart and thoughts and especially my words...

Life is about creating places to sit...

Life is about creating places to sit...

Now I'm not that experienced in having houses and apartments (I lived in the Chi O house for all 4 years in college and then an apartment that the Forge provided for this past year) but from what I've learned about people, hospitality, and hosting is that sitting is underrated. For some reason, sitting takes the edge off of entertaining and takes you to a downhome way of connecting. Maybe because it puts everyone on the same eye level, or maybe simply because it takes the stress off your feet, but whichever the reason, it does change the way people interact. They seem more at ease, more at home, and it opens up a whole new level of communication and connecting. 

It only makes sense because when you think about it often the first thing people will say when you walk in their home or office is, "Want to sit down?" or "Have a seat!" 

Hospitality is something that I don't think I will ever get tired of learning about or feel like I've mastered, but welcoming people in is a gift I feel that the Lord has blessed me with, and I just thought I would share my thoughts the past few days about creating places to sit. 

As I've been home for the summer, I have been helping Mom do some remodeling/rearranging at our house, while also trying to prepare to move into my first apartment, and it dawned on me the other day that creating places to sit is important. Even if you have a beautiful home, kitchen, or room, if there are no places to sit, there is really not that much opportunity to enjoy the space and connect with those around you. Now sometimes, like in a kitchen, there just isn't that much room to create an entire sitting area, obviously haha but I think now when I'm tying to buy furniture or rearrange a room, I'm thinking more about the conversations that could take place the connections that could be made if there is thought put into where people could sit. 

Now I also realize that the floor is a big option. There are several homes I have been in and places I have visited, that sitting on the floor seemed like the most perfect option. One is the family I nannied for last summer, they had an open house and a big wood floor that connected to their kitchen. There was a little couch and then several toys for their 16-month-old little girl to play with. I can't even count the amount of moments Lacey and I had sitting on the floor. Elah crawling around, learning to walk by herself, taking naps on blankets, the list goes on...the floor was just the right place to be. 

Also, in my room here at home. It is a pretty big space with white soft carpet, and the seating is limited. I have my bed....and well, that's pretty much it. For my desk, I actually have an exercise ball as the chair (trust me I'm not as trendy as I seem...it is simply due to the fact that I never made the time to go out and find a chair that would fit with my desk...so hence, the exercise ball. It always fits well because even when days go by where I don't do any exercise (happens more often than I would like to admit) I still can convince myself that I did something along those lines because I sat on an exercise ball while working at my desk hahaha!! A little journey through my thoughts there....) Anyway...back to my room....as you can probably get the picture, I never took the time to create any place to sit, but the floor serves it's purpose and maybe even better than I realize because there's no limit on the amount of people and conversations it can bring. The other night, after we threw my little sister a graduation tea, she had a few friends sleep over, my best friend Elizabeth was over, and my mom was upstairs enjoying the fun and we were all sitting on my floor. Laughing, talking, and enjoying each other. 

And this past year in the Forge, with 28 people eating dinner in a small apartment, we utilized every single space of the floor. It was a blast though and some of our most treasured memories.

I just think we can't look past the role that sitting plays in our lives and the metaphor of it bringing people and conversations together. From the front porch to the floor and everywhere in between...creating a place to sit is what life is all about. Just a few of my thoughts for the day...

Our front porch -- Audrey and I joke that they could
have saved a lot of money on a breakfast room table
because we eat almost all of our meals out here in the summer. 

Elah and me in our usual hangout spot...on the floor :) 

One of our many 28 person dinners...notice the empty spaces on the couch...
that's when you know you're used to sitting on the floor haha 

Audrey and her friends turned the back porch into a
feng shui sitting area the other night...

The End of a Wonderful Journey...

Well…the end of the Forge. What a journey it has been. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s already the end of eight months. The Lord has used these eight months in my life to teach me, challenge me, show me, sanctify me, and has never failed to show up in ways I never expected.

I learned the incredible blessing of provision. Seeing and experiencing his hand in providing in such a real and tangible way. $12,000. Sometimes I still can’t even believe it when I think about it, but what a neat way of being able to bless God, and see his hand once more in me being here this year.

I have learned the blessing of memorizing Scripture. 1st Peter. Five chapters. 105 verses. It seemed like the most daunting task at the beginning of the Forge, but now it seems like my heart didn’t know Scripture without knowing 1st Peter. There have been so many times where I have been able to reference a verse or a chapter, both for circumstances in my own life and to help encourage others. I have loved memorizing the entire book as well, as I have come to love knowing and understanding Scripture in the context as a whole. It has been a challenge, and one I hope to keep up throughout my life.

I have learned the sweetness and blessing of community. Living with 28 people…who would have ever thought. I have loved living through the ups and downs and highs and lows with these people who really have become my brothers and sisters and some of my dearest friends. Common experiences really do bond people, but what bonds people more is the love and shared faith in Jesus and the unity that happens when you submit to living under the Word.

I have learned the blessing of seeing. “What makes one Bible student better than the next?” “What he can see.” Seeing takes place in reading Scripture absolutely, but it also plays a role in every day life. Keeping your eyes open has become a key aspect of my life these eight months, and I think that is has helped me see so many things clearly.

I have learned the blessing of faith and obedience. Walking through Israel was one of the neatest few days, as I saw things and experienced things, but also learned that faith and obedience are really the cornerstones to a life submitted to Christ.

I have learned the blessing and power of prayer. Being on top of Mt. Arbel is something I will never forget. Coming to him as a daughter coming to her father, and simply asking and listening, praising him and blessing him for all of his provision.

I have learned the blessing and sweetness of remembering. I am a huge memory collector, and I love the discipline of being able to look back and not just reminisce on good times, but really remember and remember all that the Lord has taught me and all that he continues to teach. I hope I will remember these eight months in the Forge and never forget what the Lord has done and all that He will continue to do.

I think if I could sum up my journey in the Forge in a picture...I might choose this one... I love the analogy of a window being foggy, covered in ice, or dirty and smudged – you can see out of it, but you can’t see clearly. You can make things out and you are able to see the weather through some points in the glass, but as a whole nothing is very clear or precise. You miss most details and it’s hard to make out what is actually happening or what the weather is really like. Well, I think coming into the Forge, this is what I was looking at. I could see, I had a faith and a foundation, and it was strong enough and clear enough that it got me through several years, but throughout the eight months, the fog has gone away, the ice has melted, and the window cleaner has made it sparkling and clear. I can see and have a foundation that will continue to help me see clearly as I continue throughout the next steps of life. I know that windows can so easily become dirty, fingerprinted, and just fogged due to everyday use and life, however, I think I have tools that can help and that I know how to use to clean those windows and keep up daily maintenance, so that they never become too foggy to see out of. I know there will be times that they might get that way, but instead of panicking or thinking I need to completely replace the windows, I can have confidence in the One who can help me see again. The One who can help the windows become clear, by being in His Word, meditating on his Truth, and walking in faith and obedience. Realizing that it’s not about what I do, but what he does for me. That his grace is greater and more precious than I could ever know, and that he so graciously gives it is the greatest gift I could receive. Seeing clearly is one of the biggest takeaways and as I continue to walk in faith throughout my life, I know I will continue to grow and learn, and I hope that the glass continues to become clearer and clearer and maybe one day, I will realize that what I am looking at is not even through glass, but something open and as clear and as wide as the eye can see. I am thankful for these eight months, but I am even more thankful for the days that are to come and to see how the Lord uses this foundation to continue to teach me and use me for his Kingdom and for his glory.

Sticky Bananas

Sticky bananas....you're just going through your day, grocery shopping and picking up small things you need, and you reach down to put a bunch of bananas in your cart, and it happens...your hand becomes sticky at the first touch of a banana. Your inner self is consoling with a sometimes small but sometimes very large, "Nooooo!" and you feel like the rest of your grocery trip, and day, will just go downhill from there. You can't seem to get the sticky off your hands and it almost feels like it's rubbing off and everything you and your banana touches.

How often do I look at these small incidents as 'day-breakers,' when in all actuality they are not as big as they seem. Things are still ok, you are going to make it, and God is still good. I still have to remind myself daily, that when I touch a sticky banana, or when things don't go as planned, instead of the stickiness rubbing off on all other areas of the day, I have to re-orient myself back to truth, back to Scripture, back to relying on something more than myself and knowing that life is sweeter and too full of blessing to harp on the little 'sticky' happenings. It's a life-lesson I think I will always be learning, but I hope that each time it happens I rely more on Jesus than I did the day before.

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins." - Colossians 1:11-14

Now that will put our sticky bananas into perspective compared to our life of truth and joy, for He has rescued us and forgiven our sins and by His grace, we now live in the light!! What a sweet and gentle reminder in a grocery store full of sticky bananas and a life filled with little 'day-breakers.'

A To-Do List that never ends...

I have a to-do list that never ends...

A few things I have learned as a list galore girl and a master checker-off-er...

1. To put things on there that you have already done...just to check them off.

2. Put easy things on the list so that you're feeling really good about things...

3. Write things on there right before you do them, so you're still feeling accomplished as you work...

4. Don't start a new list until a sufficient amount of things are checked off...you have to see the accomplished to feel accomplished. Haha :) 

5. And sometimes doing nothing makes the to do list grow and you feel less accomplished than when you're busy and actually checking things off.

I love breaks and being home with my family more than just about anything in this world, but there always comes a point where I realize even though I have been "resting and relaxing," I have still been adding things to my to do list, I just haven't been doing them....which in turn, makes the end of a break almost more stressful than the toll of everyday life....

So, here's to getting back into the swing of everyday life and checking off those things on the to do list...that never ends....

A Never-Ending New Year's Resolution

"Ya know if I had actually stuck to my New Year's Resolution for the past 8 years, I'd probably be in the Olympics by now!" -me

Doing the splits...seems like an attainable goal for a 9 year old in gymnastics...but now at 22, having never done the splits, I just don't know what the odds are.

Summer Olympics (and winter) are just about my favorite thing in the world to watch. I cancel all plans, explain to my friends that my schedule is completely booked, and then watch as many events as I can, while recording the ones I miss...I used to dream and admire and slightly wish to be all the amazing gymnasts I would watch on TV...I still am floored by half (well...more like all) the things they can do.

I don't remember the exact day or time...but at some point I made it my goal to be able to do the splits. I was determined. I was going to do what it took...stretch and stretch and stretch some more while learning the proper technique to do perfect and graceful splits (considering my name means Gazelle)...well, New Years came around (8 years ago), and it seemed like the perfect Resolution -- to do the splits. New Years Day I looked up a stretching plan, found pictures, and stretched on my floor for a good 10 minutes...ha... Day 2 came and stretched for about 7 1/2 minutes, and by the third day, I was down to a good 30 seconds just to say that I did it. ............and then the next New Years came....and the next. Here we are in 2016.......and my poor little legs have never once been able to do the splits.

Well...to this year I say, maybe this is the year?! Or maybe I will just watch the gymnasts this summer and ooh and aww and live vicariously through them until I one day complete my New Year's Resolution....

Cooking Life Skill

A life skill is defined as a skill that is necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. Well, as I am quickly finding out, cooking is one of those skills...

Throughout college, I was blessed to live in the Chi O house for all three years after freshman year...it was definitely full of fun and lots of memories, however, cooking was rarely one of those memories. I never had many opportunities to cook and experiment with making things in the kitchen. I had a small fridge under my bed that I would keep "stocked" with turkey meat, apples, grapes, and small snack items I could take to school for my lunches during student teaching. My main meal of choice was always a smoothie, one because I love them and I always say I could live off of them (probably because it's the one thing I can make haha!), but also because they didn't take many ingredients and were quick, easy, and refreshing!

Well...a few months after graduation and moving into my first apartment at the Forge, I realized that during the day lunch and dinner would come along and I didn't have anything to put on my plate, or pour into my bowl, or heat up on the stove...I started looking around and realizing other people were creating and cooking things and using ingredients that I had only seen on the Food Channel. My friend and roommate Anne used a myriad of spices that would always fill the whole apartment with such an inviting and scrumptious smell.

I told her I really wanted to start learning how to cook, partly because I would love to make good meals, partly because I know my husband one day probably won’t want to eat turkey meat and apple slices as much as I do, and also partly because I love hosting and think hospitality is a gift that the Lord has blessed me with, but I feel like cooking would make it more fun and so easy to serve in that way the rest of my life. Anne challenged me to pick a life skill and work on it for a year…in that year, dedicate time to learning about it, practicing it, talking to others and seeking mentors. At the end of the year, she proposed that you would probably be more proficient at that than if you spent five years on it with ten other skills you’re working on at the same time. So this year, I want to dedicate time to learning about cooking. Not just watching the Food Channel like I love to do, but actually taking time to learn and practice.

I started asking people what their favorite meals are to cook, seeking out recipes, and going to the grocery store with more intention on what I’m going to make that day/week. It makes me excited to think about starting to learn something that can not only benefit myself and my family, but something that can be applied and practiced in a gift that the Lord has given me.

So…I’m on the lookout for good recipes and any cooking tips. ☺ And here's to a year of learning and experimenting in the kitchen and hopefully a lifetime of good meals and healthy eating!

Siesta Scripture Memory...nailed it.

Another one of those inevitable nailed it success stories...A new year's plan that started out skyrocketing, then plummeted to the ground a few weeks in...

Audrey and I still have our very first memory verse up on the bathroom mirror and I think it's safe to say that we now have it memorized...haha! Although we didn't quite stick to this incredible journey throughout the year...I have still seen the blessing that comes along with committing Scripture to memory by memorizing the entire book of 1 Peter.

One aspect of the Forge is memorizing 1 Peter, along with studying the book in depth and choosing a passage to teach a lesson on. I am currently in the middle of the third chapter, and wow has it truly been incredible. I have always kind of liked memorizing...the challenge of saying something, reading something, listening to something enough times that it almost becomes part of who you are. If I am going to memorize anything, why wouldn't it be Scripture -- memorizing God's Word until it becomes a part of who you are, in your bones, so to speak.

We had a goal setting assignment where we chose a goal that we had and made a visible way to see the progress you were making on completing that goal. I chose my goal of memorizing 1 Peter, and my love for teaching and all things fun, and created a gumball machine to help me keep track!

So although we didn't technically 'nail' our Siesta Scripture Memory challenge, we took a different route for the same goal. Audrey is also starting to memorize 1 Peter...she already has the first verse down :) 

So 2016...we are ready for you -- 1 Peter here we come! 

Christmastime at Pine Cove

Camp in the summer is always fun and in full swing...but camp in the winter...who knew that Pine Cove is going all year, and this year I've gotten to be involved and see so many different aspects of the different seasons. 

I had the privilege of working a conference just a few weeks before Christmas, and it was such a fun few days spent with families and their kiddos. We made gingerbread houses, used more paint, glue, and glitter than I thought was possible in arts and crafts, dressed up for Christmas skits, and as always had some great worship and speaker sessions.

This was our small little team of champions during the Gingerbread House Competition...the stakes were high, and as much as I wish I could say our house is the one on the right...I'm proud to claim that candy yard and fallen down house in the middle. :) A fun night! 

Got to be in a Pine Cove skit...which if you know a lot about Pine Cove you know skits are the epitome of camp fun...I was Ellie the Elf with my friend Eddie the Elf and we were working hard to get things ready in Santa's Workshop...but the two "Lumberjerks" came along and wanted to chop down all the trees and destroy the workshop...throughout the weekend we finally brought them back to the true meaning of Christmas and had them turn their chopping skills into making their very own Gingerbread House...a fun few days with these friends!

Arts and crafts...making Christmas ornaments and painting pine cones...if you don't make a mess, did you even really do arts and crafts?! Haha...I did, however, realize that glitter is extremely hard to clean up...but as an elementary teacher, I say more glitter, more fun, right?! :) ....most of the time...

In the midst of loving on campers, making gingerbread houses, being in skits, and painting ornaments, there are always meals to serve and dishes to clean. This is our incredibly fun and hard-working Work Crew that we got to hang out with all weekend. They made the meals run so smoothly and were so eager to serve and help! Love these girls and the friendships made!

These are my fun friends who make working on the weekends a joy and a lot of fun. We serve at the Shores, the high school camp, and the Bluffs, a family camp, helping out with retreats and conferences. These guys keep me laughing, always take pictures when I fall asleep, and know how to play a great game of Mafia at a Christmas party...haha! Love serving for the sake of the Gospel with these guys. 

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

A visit to Colorado and the meeting of one of my new biggest role models. Jen has a love and a joy for Jesus that is contagious. She opened up her home and shared her life and family with us for two days, while piling my new cooking life skill inventory with so many amazing recipes.

By far one of my favorites was her Pumpkin Crumb Cake. Waking up in the morning with this amazingly dreamy pumpkin smell coming from the kitchen made me instantly fall in love with this amazing cake. The steps are easy to follow and the first chance I had, I put all my learning to the test and decided to try this recipe. I was extremely surprised and somewhat impressed when I took it out of the oven and it filled the house with that same familiar smell...and even more so when I cut into it and impressed everyone who tried the first bite.

This cooking life skill has nothing on me...Pumpkin Crumb Cake -- check, and forever in my recipe box. :)

This is sweet Jen...she not only has amazing recipes, but a heart for Jesus that inspires and encourages those around her. 

"Jesus gets sweeter the longer you walk with Him." - Jen

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Cake Batter

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon basking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar 

3 large eggs

1 cup canned pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk 

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Topping 

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease 9x13 baking pan (or smaller loaf pans for bread)
• To make the topping, combine 2/3 cup oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in processor. Add butter and cut in until crumbly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oats. Set to one side. 
• Sift the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. 
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually beat the sugar and 1 egg at a time. 
• Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract to the wet batter mix. 
• Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the batter. Slowly add the milk and stir in the walnuts (optional). Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread with the topping. 
• Bake the loaf cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes (if you can make it that long after you smell the delicious pumpkin aroma).
• Turn the cake out onto a rack and cool completely. (I served it directly in the glass dish, but if you are making smaller loaves or want to serve it sliced or give it as a gift, this would be a great step.)
• ENJOY! :) 

Autumn Tea Parites

There are not many things better than an autumn tea party and brunch with 14 of your best girlfriends. 

I love the simple decorations and details that made this afternoon such a treat and one of my favorites...happened to fall on my half birthday, which was the best way to celebrate November 12th and 22 1/2 years of life. #takealittletimefortea

Community

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” 

- Psalm 133:1

Life with 14 girls...so much fun, laughter, tears, honesty, truth, and hot tea. I am learning what it looks like to live with in Christian community and to spur each other on, coming to one another as bringers of salvation.

An Anvil

An anvil...

It has never been an image that I have thought much about until being in the Forge. For almost three months now, I have been learning what it looks like to have a Blacksmith mold and refine you until you are the piece that He intended you to be. Through the joys and trials, I am seeing how faithful the Lord has been in me taking eight months to slow down, learn more about who He is and in that process learn more about who He has created me to be and how I can walk in that to glorify and serve him the rest of my life.

Texas State Fair

After getting off work from a weekend retreat, we decided to roadtrip to Dallas on the last day of the fair...

We kidnapped our friend Tyler to come along with us...and of course stopped by Steel City Pops on the way...

 After hours of traffic and finding a place to park...we made it with a few hours to spare...

Big Tex...a Texas State Fair icon!

And of course we had to get the classic corn dog...

First time to the Texas State Fair in the books. 

Thanks for the adventures, Dallas.

New friends

Two weeks in and so many friendships made. Common experiences truly bonds people and in a matter of weeks it's hard to imagine the end of eight months.

These are the girls in the Forge...so many different, unique, and fun personalities.

These are the girls that are in my hub and that got me through Rope's Training...

This is my dear friend Mackenzie who makes me laugh and who I am forever bonded with after we both shared tears on the Ropes Course...