My Life in Capital Letters....

people around me HURT

and i hurt FOR them

i am SMALL and powerless to stop it

But i know an infinitely POWERFUL and LOVING God

and i am grateful that HE is the Healer

of BODIES and SOULS alike. 

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved." 

(More posts in the days ahead. I know I haven't been on much, but I've missed writing, as well as reading what friends have written. For now, I really should be going to bed - or trying anyway!)

So Long, Sugar

I must be going crazy.

Seriously, it's one thing for Jeremy to fill me in on his plan to cut all pop and desserts out of his life for the month of June. He was inspired to do it with a group of friends. As I listened to his ambition I was very proud of him to determine to do that. 

But then came the part where he asked ME to jump on the bandwagon. I scoffed at the idea and told him, "I think it's a great idea - for you!" (isn't it always easier that way?) 

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't want to just sit on the sidelines this time. It's true, I'M WEAK... I'm a sucker for sugar.... but when I expressed this to Jeremy, he said, "No, you could do it." And he meant it. 

So I'm goin' for it. My eating of this delicious Subway chocolate chip cookie leftover from lunch marks the beginning of the health kick that Jeremy and I will be on - all the while counting down the days til July 4!!  

(Or maybe by then it won't even matter anymore and I won't have any desire for junk food. Yeah sure, I'd like to think that. I'll admit, I'm getting a little excited for this. And not at all sure what I'm getting into....)

"Workaholic" in the Making

I really love the people I work with.

Really, I'm serious.

We all have our moments, but at the end of the day (especially after I've closed everything down) when I'm walking out to my car, I think back over the evening and realize how much fun it was. I don't have any particular huge story to share about the night.... Just all the little things I guess.

Courtney bringing me out to the parking lot and bursting with excitement to show me her new car.
The table full of girls that had a HUGE crush on Kurt and were not at all quiet about expressing it.
James taking the time to tell me thanks for working hard.
Talking with Miho while she helped me roll the silverware.
Trying to convince Stanley (once again) that it would be totally worth it for him to come see my chiropractor/dad about his back pain.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I love the banter back and forth at my workplace. I love that we know pretty much what to expect from each other.
Or maybe that just when I think I know what to expect, someone throws in a curveball.

But life at Bob's is never dull. At least that's how I feel about it. :-) It really is a joy to work alongside these people.

And hey, as a sidenote and an amazing answer to my prayers, as of today, God provided me with a second job to pick up some hours.... And it is my very top choice! I get to have my old job that I worked in high school (with some of the same people and everything!!)
God is so good to me, I am astounded. I go in for orientation on Monday. I'm pretty pumped! (Except about working the 6:00 shift. I'm going to have to get used to getting up early again...)

Tucking Wesley into Bed

Last night when we had finished praying, his eyes popped open and he exclaimed,

"Sisssy, we have like TEN THOUSAND things to thank God for!"

Man I love that kid. 

Raw Praise

Dear God,

Thank you for being every quality that has ever been considered good.
Your heart is kind.
You are gentle Father,
faithful Friend.
You came in passion, full and abundant,
to seek and to save that which was lost. (ME!)
Anything and anyone in this world who is good or great has roots deep down in YOU.

I love you for who you are.
I love that you are justice, wrath, mercy, forgiveness
all in a perfect, righteous balance.

I want the world to see you, in your glory and majesty.
I want them to realize the peace you can give them.

There are many things I long to write tonight.
There are many moments in my life recently that have led to my posting this.
But now that I'm on here, this is really the most important thing I can possibly say.

My soul cries out, "Bless the Lord!" For you are good.
And your mercy and truth endure.

Thanks for that. Thanks for letting me be a part of your world.
And for choosing me to serve you with what little bit
that you have given me to offer.

Amen.

Be Ye Doers of the Word....

I've been reading this book recently:

Now, when I first picked it up I was skeptical. I thought, she's barely 20 years old, I'm not sure if she is being wise to live somewhere like Uganda and adopt the family of little girls that she has....
But it's a huge lesson to me NOT to judge a book by its cover!

Every word spoken in this book is dripping with authenticity.
It's screaming out in behalf of the needs of this world. Saying, "Let's meet those needs!"
And the best part is that it's not JUST the need to see African children fed and clothed and living a comfortable life. Katie Douglas is all about doing what she does for Jesus Christ. She wants nothing more than to proclaim HIS Truth. (That is what the link is that is now on the side of my blog. The word Amazima means "truth" in the Ugandan language.)

A paragraph by her that I highlighted sums it up so well... "In Uganda, I strive to teach my children and all children in our program and in our villages "the truth" of Christ. I know I cannot walk into a village and tell a child that Jesus loves her. She cannot comprehend that because, chances are, she has never been loved. (wow!) I have to feed her, clothe her, care for her, and love  her unconditionally as I tell her that I love her. Once she can understand and see my love, I can begin to tell her about a Savior who loves her even more. (In many ways, this is how I can tell any person, in the States or Africa, about Jesus' love for them - first by loving them unconditionally with Christ's love.) That is the TRUTH for these children - that they are loved, that they are valuable, that they will not be left as orphans but that they have a plan and a hope for the future. What a beautiful truth." 

Katie is a Doer.

She reads the Word.
She sees the Need.
And she asks, "What can I do to help?"
She's never content to stop at one good deed. At the end of the day, she is grateful, joyous, and not content to stop there....

Things my heart has felt compelled to do, she has actually gone out and DONE. I love that! It's an amazing tribute to the fact that living out God's will is not hard. But it does require action. And no matter what corner of the world I find myself, I am always capable of DOING in order to please God and to make a difference for His kingdom.
I pray for the opportunity to do that even tonight at work.

You'll probably hear more about her in future blog posts. :-)

Senior Class Moment

Singing "Bind us together"... just because it seemed like the best thing to do before we walked across that stage! :-)