Summer nights

Of the desert's few redeeming qualities, summer evenings are probably my favorite. The temperature is usually pretty bearable in the evening and the sun often goes down with a blaze of color. This evening, I hung out on my front porch and watched the moon rise... It was so beautiful! And I actually thought to bring out my camera! (Something that is forever slipping my mind.) So just for fun, here are the pictures:

From my perspective, there was a cloud directly in the moon's pathway in the sky... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on a Friday morning

This particular phrase: “grow where you’re planted” is one that I often hear.  It’s a sweet and, might I say cliché, phrase used to inspire or uplift a person.  Sometimes, though, this concept is a challenging one to accept. At least this is true of me:

I grew up in the desert. And as many people from the High Desert of California can attest to, the most commonly held goal here is to move away. I actually have moved away, twice. Yet, I’ve been re-“planted” here again without a definite idea of how long I’ll stay.

This phase of life has been one with many dark days, I don’t want to make it sound perfect and sugar-coated.  But I’ve been trying diligently to turn my focus to the things I enjoy about the desert: its strange beauty. The sunrises and sunsets. The healthy church I am blessed to attend. The many, quality people I do life with here. The graciousness of my family in allowing me to live with them again. Free rent:). And some time to recover from a rather traumatic end-of-college experience.

I have absolutely no idea what is coming up in my future, but fostering a contented spirit is something that seems appropriate in any season of life…

Just some of my thoughts this Friday morning.

Happy weekend to you! :)

The thing about blogging

At times, blogging has felt like just another way to mask reality; to be inauthentic about some of the gritty parts of daily life.  I’ll admit, this is probably the thing I’ve wrestled with the most about writing a blog.  The little mental dilemma hasn’t really deterred me from writing: just click on the “archive” link and you’ll see that I’m telling the truth!

 I was mulling over my thoughts on this again as I struggled to get out of bed this morning (it’s Monday, what else is new?).  I thought about my desire to write and the pleasure it brings me to share some of what I write in the form of a blog.  I must have felt particularly optimistic this morning because I began to feel such a peace regarding my qualms about being inauthentic. A blog captures only about ten percent of real life, but that ten percent focuses chiefly on the silver lining, the joy, and the gift that is life. Perhaps it isn’t inauthentic at all!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”~Philippians 4:8

Ice

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It was a little icy this morning. :) 

Be kind. {To yourself}

via

Friday afternoon I had a few minutes in between commitments so I ran to Burlington coat factory to try on just a few things that my closet has been lacking.  Perhaps this shopping trip was one that the Lord planned specifically for my benefit because I had quite the epiphany while I was there.  In the fitting room no-less!

While I was trying on a few things, I heard a woman in the room next to me muttering to herself.  I will own up to the fact that I intentionally tried to hear what she was saying.  I have excellent hearing -- and I sometimes employ that skill to things such as eavesdropping. {I have no shame.} Anyway, this woman was muttering to herself some of the most hateful things. I was stunned by the strength of her language and the emotion behind her words. But most of all, I was stunned by the fact that she these hateful phrases were quite obviously directed toward herself.

Now I know that the fitting room often doesn’t bring out the best in people, but really? What good can possibly come of that negative and torturous self-talk?

Hearing that poor woman shred herself up was horrible to listen to, and now I really wish I had waited around the fitting room so I could pay her a compliment or maybe just give her a hug. (She probably would have been so creeped out…. Ummmm I heard you in the fitting room and I just wanted to say that you are beautiful!...... Beyond creepy, really.) But outside that, I felt so convicted. I have had those same thoughts about myself before. Her words have been my thoughts. 

And what good has ever come of those thoughts? Nothing.  Nothing at all!  In fact, that type of self-talk has been a strong and merciless enemy in my life. (Thankfully, I feel that I've been victorious in my battle against this enemy recently.  For the moment she’s splayed out face-down in the mud; and I’m pretty sure she’ll have a snazzy black eye for a while. Okay, that’s enough imagery.)

So here is what I’ve been thinking: BE KIND. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with tenderness and delicacy because you are beautiful. 

via

(Or handsome… if there are any men out there brave enough to read this estrogen-infused blog. You rock. :)

On life and perspective

Flying is an experience I think everyone should have. The take-off is exiting but once you’re in the air you can see the daily life of others continuing on below. 18-wheelers on the freeway begin to look like minute insects and houses become little legos. I always marvel at the way human life looks so different from above: almost embarrassingly small. I do not mean to say that human life is meaningless, rather, in perspective to the universe it is just a minuscule occurrence.

I love looking down, seeing large cities turn into small pockets of civilization, and feeling so in awe of God’s immeasurable size. 

While in the air, I also love to look out at the tops of clouds. The billowing spread of white looks as close to heaven as I can imagine. It’s glorious to witness the workings of nature from a different perspective: one that humans have only been privy to for a short time.

When I flew to Portland, Oregon recently the plane descended into a barrier of these clouds.  From a high elevation, the clouds were stunningly beautiful but once I reached the ground, the view was grey.  The clouds no longer held the same type of magnificent beauty. They were simply clouds, ready to sprinkle on the runway at any moment. 

Isn’t this so typical?  I often feel like life is a cloudy grey sky. It has low visibility, it darkens one’s mood, and in my case, it makes me want to stay in bed all day.  But from another perspective (ahem, God’s maybe?) those same clouds I see from below are brilliantly white and full of promise. His cloud-filled sky might be the same as mine, but His perspective is perfect. 

November 12-16th

Lips: their color or lack of it

I've been doing a lot of research recently about how to make a good statement while in an interview and I've come across some interesting information: wear lip color!

This may not revolutionize the world for many people, but it kind of did for me. I'm a chapstick girl. I always {x100} wear chapstick. It would be one of the three items I would take with me to a deserted island, that's how much it means to me. Anyway, I don't know why I have been reticent to wear lip color but I have... I don't want to end up with it all over my teeth or some other embarrassing scenario so I just stick with the clear stuff.

Then I decided to step out of my box a little bit and try out some bolder lip color. I'm getting desperate for new ways to seem worth-while in an interview! I bought two colors, the first is a light red and the second is a deeper "raisin" color. Last week, I told myself that I needed to wear at least one of these colors for a small part of every day just to get used to it.  I'll admit that on the first couple days I'd catch a glance at myself in the mirror and think "who is that clown!?" but then I got into it. I actually liked the bold color. It made me feel a little more put together even on a day when the only other make up I had on was mascara.

So I guess I'm hooked. Look out interview, here I come. :)

Recap

Today is day 15 of my “31 days” of writing challenge.  Some days I get super stoked and impassioned about this topic and other days I just want to kiss this whole challenge thing goodbye!! {Seriously, at times I just want to write about something inane. Like make-up. And fall boots.}  But despite my ever changing feelings, I’m plugging along over here on Chapter Twenty.

Here’s a little recap of my posts so far:

Day 1: It all starts with a whisper

On Day 2 and Day 3 I wrote about being a people pleaser!

Days 4, 5, and 6 were about beauty.  {Don’t worry, I’m still going to write more on this topic! I just got a little annoyed with it for a sec…}  

Day 7 was about how you can never be more or less valuable than you already are in God’s sight.

A beautiful hymn was featured on Day 8.

Days 9 and 10 were about human dignity.

A song for Day 11: Josh Garrels, White Owl

Days 12, 13, and 14 capitalized on busyness. Does a busy lifestyle increase value? Um. No.

If you want to see the introductory post {because your haven’t gotten enough of seeing it at the end of every other post this month. . . } click HERE! :)

Thanks for following along with me as I blunder my way through this thing. I am truly enjoying the ride. See you on Day 16!

The war in my mind

You know that inner-voice. The one that speaks incessantly, though its language is not always the same.  Sometimes that voice is soothing, calming, reassuring. It holds my emotions stable and sets my eyes on things above. It bandages the wounds of life with the healing salve of love.  But other times that voice is my harshest critic.  It berates and commands, destroys and mutilates any piece of security it can detect.  

The war in my mind is unlike any physical war because the same battle is fought over and over. Though the fight is the same, the outcomes can be vastly different.  The war that rages on is brutal, and sometimes I am just too worn out to fight it: those are the days the battle is lost.  The days when I seek strength from above are the days of triumph.  And thankfully, they are becoming more frequent. 

I’m digging out the deep root of insecurity in my life.

The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.  – Isaiah 32:17

Reflections on Power

With the change of seasons I often remember that life is not all about the topics I’m studying or the classes I need to prepare for. This week God, in His unbelievable glory put on a little display of power that caused me to pause.

            On my front porch I watched as dark, billowing clouds devoured the sky leaving only small patches of radiant sunlight to emphasize the drops of water as they fell. I stood in wonder.

            After a short time I wandered back into the house eager to finish a task, when I was drawn outdoors again by the shatter of ice on cement. As hail the size of golf-balls plummeted to the ground, thunder crashed, and lightning illuminated the whole sky I stood in amazement at the power of my God. The One even the elements obey.  

Road Trip: Portland, Oregon

This summer I took a road trip with one of my closest friends to Portland, Oregon. The drive was beautiful! I loved the greenery and the majestic snow covered mountains. Have you been on a road trip recently? If so, where did you go!?