capterlalumiere

To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. when god takes something from your grasp, he's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. the will of god will never take you where the grace of god will not protect you. in the midst of a test your testimony is being created. if he brings you to it, he will bring you through it. -- John Hagee

Chill out.

Many times I pressure myself to make a decision about something, but God tells me: “Relax. Trust me.” As hard as it is to let it go, when it comes time for that decision to be made, God totally takes care of it, and the whole situation works out so much better than I expect. If I rely only on myself to handle what is before me, I probably would ruin the whole outcome.

God is so faithful. How many times does He need to reassure us that we can just trust Him? Can’t we just let go of the worries that we have when He says, “Chill, I got this”? 

A Helicopter Flew Over

I heard a helicopter today, and looked up to see where it was and who was flying it, and watch it pass over. I got excited, and I thought how cool it was.

Then I realized that on so many other places on earth, the sound of that helicopter is the sound of fear. People fear for their lives when they hear that sound; they run and hide, and they don’t bother to look up and see who it is or where it’s going. They just know enough to get away, and fast.

There’s a lot of crap going on in America right now, but for as much foolishness that goes on in our local and federal governments, I’d rather our government be a metaphorical battleground rather than a literal one. We have yet to experience literal political unrest, and I don’t think there are many people out there who realize what a blessing that is. Despite the fact that millions of people out there think their rights are being trampled on every day, I’d hope that one day they would wake up and be thankful to have those rights in the first place.  

This spring break was so amazing, I had to share:

I had the opportunity to visit Gold Beach, OR, with two of my very best friends, Dave and Anna! It was rainy, windy, and mostly miserable weather while we were up there, but we had such a blast. We ran around on a rainy beach, took long drives on the back roads, found trails to explore and had a day trip to Coos Bay and North Bend. And can I mention the food we ate? Little places are just the best! I highly recommend The Barnacle Bistro if you’re ever in Gold Beach. For a little place, the service is a bit slow, but the food is so worth it.  We also spent our 3 nights there at Ireland’s Rustic Lodges, which is a great family-run business which has off-season rates 9 months out of the year, and affordable ones at that! This trip was all-around awesome!

The day after I got home, some spur-of-the-moment plans led to the first Friday night I’ve “stayed out” in such a long time, and one of the most fun! I went to the movies with one friend, then went to the alumni basketball game of another. Afterwards, I got to go to Chile’s and meet a whole bunch of great new people. So much fun!

Though I’m running out of positive adjectives, Saturday was fantastic, too! I had pizza with some of my high school buddies, and there was much laughter involved. I love get-togethers like that! We all had a grand time reminiscing and catching up. Also, the pizza and breadsticks were delicious. Pizza Round-Up, woot (and I just found out they opened a new branch in Marysville— so proud of this little local business)! Church was good, as always, and stayed up late having good conversations. 

I can’t say enough how blessed I am. Thank you Jesus! I’ve laughed so much in the past week, and I love it! These memories will be priceless.

Missing my Hobbies

Lately I’ve looked at my Kindle and my somewhat vast collection of yarn, regretting the fact that I just haven’t had much time to commit to the hobbies which keep me sane. Like now:

I really wish I had more leisure time to write. Not this blog, just writing (it is writing this blog which gives me the quick fix I need before heading back to chemistry and biology homework). I have a whole folder of papers that collects more scribbles than I have time to think and write out completely, and I need to start emptying it! The whole purpose of the folder was to not let ideas escape from me, to save for later when I could afford the time and effort to complete whatever random thoughts found themselves in ink at the time. However, the longer you wait, the more you lose the inspiration for what you scribbled on that scrap piece of paper, and the harder it is to fully express the idea later on because you no longer have a hold on what exactly you were feeling at the time you had it.

This summer. Hobbies will happen. Writing will happen. 

“The things we try and fight against—tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us … not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. [One] doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it… . The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything [temporary or] passing, but on the love of God, which nothing can change.”

–

Oswald Chambers

Wise man, this one.

(Source: utmost.org)

Getting Healthy!

Exercise feels SOOOO good. 

So far, I’m two for two on my unofficial new year resolutions. I have visited a counselor and decided on a major, and now I’m on track with a good exercise plan! I’ve committed myself to running on our treadmill three times a week for at least 15 minutes, plus some extra exercises besides (stretches, push ups, sit ups, etc). I’ve been at it for a month now, and haven’t broken yet! I hope to eventually be able to jog and run nonstop for 20 minutes or more, become more flexible and gain a bit of muscle! I’m hoping that I’ll have the time in my schedule next semester to join yoga, too, which sounds like a lot of fun. I’m not after losing weight, or getting the “beach body” before summer, or seriously giving my diet a makeover— just improving my overall wellness.

It feels really good to be getting healthy again! 

My canvas art, inspired by some Pinterest images. Took a few good hours of my time, but it was so much fun making them, because I needed a break from constantly thinking about school! They’ll be my new wall hangings for my room, whose empty walls have been in need of some serious beautifying. :) Thanks, Jesus, for inventing creativity! :D Any of you out there do art just for fun? For the left: I painted a canvas with black acrylic paint (2 coats), cut a whole bunch of petals out of 5 different kinds of scrapbook paper (it’s easier if you cut the paper up into 2-2.5 in squares, and then cut from there), and prearranged them onto the canvas (I tended to put the smaller petals toward the center and the bigger ones ended up on the outside). Then starting from the center, I hot glued them all down. I finished it up with some clear ModPodge spray, which gave it a bit of gloss. For the right: I cut out the most colorful magazine pictures I could find and glued it all onto the canvas in a collage. I then drew some shapes on regular printer paper, cut them out, and then Scotch taped them onto the collage as makeshift stencils. I used more of that same black acrylic paint to achieve the above result. First, I used a smaller brush to carefully go around the edges of the stencils to make sure that MINIMAL paint leaked under the paper stencils, then after that I just used a foam brush to fill in the rest of the larger areas. I did 2 coats. The magazine paper, of course, turned out a bit wrinkly because it soaked up the hot glue and the paint I used, but I don’t mind because I’ll just be hanging them in my room; otherwise I might have tried tempera paint or something less watery. Anyway, after my paint had dried, I carefully peeled off my stencil shapes. It’s okay if some of the magazine ink comes up with the tape because you have to go back and carefully paint over those areas where the tape was to make the shape fluid again. After touching up any more visible colored areas, and gluing down any flapping corners, I finished it up with more of that ModPodge gloss spray.

My canvas art, inspired by some Pinterest images. Took a few good hours of my time, but it was so much fun making them, because I needed a break from constantly thinking about school! They’ll be my new wall hangings for my room, whose empty walls have been in need of some serious beautifying. :) Thanks, Jesus, for inventing creativity! :D Any of you out there do art just for fun?

For the left: I painted a canvas with black acrylic paint (2 coats), cut a whole bunch of petals out of 5 different kinds of scrapbook paper (it’s easier if you cut the paper up into 2-2.5 in squares, and then cut from there), and prearranged them onto the canvas (I tended to put the smaller petals toward the center and the bigger ones ended up on the outside). Then starting from the center, I hot glued them all down. I finished it up with some clear ModPodge spray, which gave it a bit of gloss.

For the right: I cut out the most colorful magazine pictures I could find and glued it all onto the canvas in a collage. I then drew some shapes on regular printer paper, cut them out, and then Scotch taped them onto the collage as makeshift stencils. I used more of that same black acrylic paint to achieve the above result. First, I used a smaller brush to carefully go around the edges of the stencils to make sure that MINIMAL paint leaked under the paper stencils, then after that I just used a foam brush to fill in the rest of the larger areas. I did 2 coats. The magazine paper, of course, turned out a bit wrinkly because it soaked up the hot glue and the paint I used, but I don’t mind because I’ll just be hanging them in my room; otherwise I might have tried tempera paint or something less watery. Anyway, after my paint had dried, I carefully peeled off my stencil shapes. It’s okay if some of the magazine ink comes up with the tape because you have to go back and carefully paint over those areas where the tape was to make the shape fluid again. After touching up any more visible colored areas, and gluing down any flapping corners, I finished it up with more of that ModPodge gloss spray.

—Photo taken at Bodega Bay, 2012— “One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one set of footprints. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints. So I said to the Lord,  ‘You promised me, Lord, that if I followed you, You would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I have needed You most, have You not been there for me?’ The Lord replied, ‘My child, the times when you have only seen one set of footprints is when I have carried you.’” -Mary Stevenson

—Photo taken at Bodega Bay, 2012—

“One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there was one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, 

‘You promised me, Lord, that if I followed you,

You would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I have needed You most, have You not been there for me?’

The Lord replied,

‘My child, the times when you have only seen one set of footprints

is when I have carried you.’”

-Mary Stevenson

Colossians 3:23

As I wrote yesterday, I’m tired. I’m so physically tired that I don’t even want to think, because even that takes too much energy. But the list of things to do just doesn’t get any smaller. School is the biggie, but then there’s church and church functions, and friends to keep up with, and family visits to occupy my time. I’m just so uncharacteristically exhausted.

Something encouraged me, though, and that is Colossians 3:23.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”

Whether I’m tired just because I’ve been running nonstop, or whether I’m tired because of outside circumstances (allergies are notorious for making you feel like you just ran a marathon), working as unto the Lord is such a better motivator than having an attitude of just trudging through the monotonies of life.

There’s a lot of work left to do still, as always, but here’s to a better attitude! With God-given strength, I will plough through this until I’m finished. Thanks God, You always know just what to say. :)


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