Patience

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Thankful...

I should be sleeping but first I MUST list the things I am especially thankful for this year. The Lord has certainly blessed me!

(In no particular order)
1. Living on my own and alone! This has probably been the most amazing thing that has happened to me this year!
2. A real job + a "job for the discount"...still not sure how I landed the job at SRM! God is so so so good! I am thankful to be on salary, have full benefits, and be financially stable! Also, blessed to still be at REI, although my time there is nearing the end.
3. My education...although I am not necessarily using my degrees, I am forever thankful for the knowledge and spiritual growth I have gained by attending Seminary. Someday I will use that degree.
4. Family...this situation has gotten so much better since I moved out!
5. Friends...gosh, I have the most amazing friends in the world! I am so thankful for healthy, live-giving, meaningful friendships! In the past 3 months the Lord has put some quality people in my life and reminded me of the quality people that were already in my life!
6. My dog! She rocks! I could not live alone without a dog!

New book

I randomly picked up a new book to read the other day at Barnes & Noble. It is one of Jon Krakauer's books but not nearly as popular as "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air." It is called "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith." In this book, Krakauer shifts his focus to the extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy. I am only about a 1/3 through the book but it is quite fascinating and a must-read!

Am I being a fool or Christ-like?

Forgiveness

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -Ephesians 4:31-32

About six weeks ago a friend extended grace to me and, to this day, I am baffled. It baffles me because I didn't deserve it and it seemed like she gave it so freely. She didn't need me to sit there and fess up to all my sins against her nor did she need me to endlessly apologize for hurting and betraying her. She let it go and moved on. And, to this day she has not brought up anything nor used any past hurts against me. She really has forgiven me and it has been awesome...awesome to see the Lord soften her heart and fill it with compassion. This act of mercy has changed the way I perceive her and it has made me realize that she has such an amazing heart filled with mercy, compassion, and love. Having her friendship and seeing her trust me (even when I hurt her so bad) has truly been a blessing in my life!

Amen to that!

What is going on?????

Today, I was chatting with someone and they made this remark: "by the way love the picture with your hair down its so pretty. i dont think i have ever seen you this happy."

Also, today someone made this comment on my facebook wall: "You look great and Happy!"

Hummmmm...Maybe it's true!