I WON!
#17 - I won a raffle at The Electric Bean!
I never win these things and I got to pick a prize basket out of a table full of fabulous options. I went for the one with coffee, candy, treats, mugs and a basket. What fun. I should have taken a pictures but too late now. And I have decided to add as my #18 my visits to the newly opened Electric Bean Coffee House. I have been everyday this week - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I had fabulous Republic of Tea, Good Hope Vanilla Red Tea the first two visits and then today went for a Hazelnut Latte - may just be one of my new favorite spots to be.

I heard a new song on KLOVE, and am so excited to have found it before they overplay it to its death. Love the words and how Laura sings it - this in my new #16 - Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if the thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
As long as we have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

#14 - A New Season - Spring!

I love the thought that Spring is soon to arrive

finding this new flower blooming in the yard made my day

And #15 - Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with party at work - hence the face painting. I also participated in a group picture, prize walk and tried to get Bill to go play Bingo with me but he wasn't willing, so no bingo for me either. Well no Bingo today, we are making it a regular Friday night event. Fun times.

The question is
How have I never done this before???

I saw the idea on Leslie's blog and could not resist trying it out. The above picture is not colored icing but cake batter about to be made into the funniest cupcakes ever.

I have determined that regular sized cupcakes work best for this fun project, but I did try a batch of mini-cupcakes just because that is what I do. See them mid-baking above.

The finished cupcakes are so much fun! I kept busting them in half just to see what was inside! Also note that I am copying Leslie and she used "Neon" food coloring - how fun is that! And so I really did not want to go with the traditional red, blue, green and yellow...

What to do?

Follow the color blending chart! It worked fabulous and I now have multi-colored cupcakes in varieties of lime, pink, purple and turquoise. I liked the color so much I didn't want to cover it up with any frosting. Maybe next time, because I am certain there will be a next time.

So much fun!

Something New

I was given this map of Kenya as a gift for my high school graduation. I had this picture of a frame in my mind for years and never got it done. So for my birthday Dad and Mom got it framed for me! So I got something new - the pictures not great and we did end up moving it into the living room so it matches better with the wall color. So excited to finally have this up.

A few more new things I did

3. Ate at new restaurant - Parker's Steak House
4. Ate out with co-workers and had staff meeting at the restaurant
5. Took a completely new way to and back home from Church this morning
6. Organized and Asked my Sunday School class to help take meals to Alana who just got out of the hospital and was amazed at the response. Alana and Lonnie are set for two weeks of dinners!
7. Got a package from Autumn! With card and first bday gifts of the cutest cupcake kitchen towels
8. Came home to new furniture in the house (actually since Dad and Mom have been here I have been coming home to something new everyday)
9. Started going to a formal Ladies Bible Study on Thursday mornings. I am so excited about this - Since college I have not been a part of a group Ladies Bible study and I have never been a part of one at church, actually most of the time I felt like I was in the wrong places I have always taken care of the kids for these things but never attended myself.
10. The new Bible study is a Liz Curtis Higgs study - I have read loads of her books, but never worked through one of her Bible studies, so this is new and so far I am impressed.
11. Turned 30

Last February...
Last year I challenged myself to celebrate 29 years of life by making 29 lists of 29 things - very fun. This year I have decided to do 30 new things...I have no idea what the 30 shall be so if anyone is reading please give me ideas - they have to be something I can do in the Longview-Kelso area and with limited time. The first 2 of my "30 new" have been
1. To update my blog and give it a New look
2. Today I got a New Haircut

Another Something New

Before

After

I decided to change things around a bit. Not sure I love the new look, but still thinking it was time.

When the Wine Gives Out
"They have no wine" John 2:3
Vance Havner - Consider Him

There comes a time when the wine of life's ordinary satisfactions gives out...But if Jesus is our Guest there is a way to even better wine than we lost: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
He may put you to drawing water, filling waterpots, the most irksome drudgery right when you are so desperate you feel like screaming out over lost wine...He will give you the new wine of the Spirit. And He will turn the water of service into wine, even as with the lad's loaves and fishes He fed the multitude.
"This...did Jesus...and manifested forth His glory" So will He manifest Himself to you if you obey (John 14:21) "And His disciples believed on Him." So shall you believe afresh with the certainty of experience.

I love reading others blogs. So I try to write regularly on mine, just in cause someone in still reading it. I have not been able to think of much to write about this month.
This morning I was reading from Havner's Consider Him (which I highly recommend) and this caught my attention. Honestly, the entire water to wine story always confused me, why would this be Christ's first miracle? How significant is good wine? But I like how Havner explains this text, and I do rejoice in the good wine of the Holy Spirit and that Christ is able to take my 'water of service' and make it into wine for His glory.

Winter I don't think you got my memo...

Winter you are not allowed to come this early, it is not even Thanksgiving Day.
Winter our relationship has always been on shakey ground so don't push it.
Winter it is a good thing you are so pretty.
Winter, I am looking forward to enjoying a hot cup of chocolate and making a snowman.
But please Winter, don't stay too long.

I've been reading. I know your shocked. I was reading this morning through the training manual for volunteering at the Longview Caring Pregnancy Centre. I have enjoyed the manual as it challenges me to think. Think about my worldview. Think about the culture that surrounds me. And think about the truth revealed in Scripture. Just now I read this quote by William Barclay - of which I thought of the bank but this is a different Barclay - I googled him. Okay the quote

"We need not to think of the task God has in store for us in terms of some great act or achievement of which all men will know. It may be to fit a child for life; it may be at some crucial moment to speak that word and exert that influence which will stop someone ruining his life; it may be to do some quite small job superlatively well; it may be to touch the lives of many by our hands, our voices or our minds. The fact remains that God is preparing us by all the experiences of life for something; and many refuse the task when it comes and never even realize that they are refusing it."

While I see some problems with this quote the thought that captured me after reading this was that I want to be ready. I do not want to just live and feel and experience this life. I want to learn. I want to be intelligent. I want to know Christ and grow in each experience. I want a deeper relationship with Christ so that I am ready for the task of serving Christ with all that I am, no matter the task. I want each experience of life to draw me closer to Christ, because that is what my life is about. That is my identity. And only in Christ will I complete the race before me.

Finding New Places

I am in the midst of exploring and finding my way around my new town. And while I would like to say I have found a new job, I have not yet. I have found "the lake" that I love going to when the sun in shining. I have also found a new tea/coffee shop that I will enjoy going to. I forgot to take a picture sooner but I had a fabulous Iced Mango Tea with Pineapple "Bubbles".
Tomorrow I plan to go explore at the library and I have a job interview! Hurray!

Adoption Blog

This summer I had the privilege of meeting Alison of "Lovin' Much!"

And I have become a faithful follower of her adoption blog.

Alison is celebrating a 5 month anniversary with a bracelet giveaway so I am giving her blog a shout-out and getting my name in the drawing. These bracelets are being sold as a part of their adoption fundraising efforts.

I love them!

Check out her blog at Lovin' Much!

Her cheerful spirit will encourage you. Her gift of writing and expressing herself will make you think you are a close family friend. And the dedication and love she has for her family and their adoption passion will challenge you.

With friends in California!

I realized that it had been 7 years since I last saw Bekah! Not since 2003, this made me feel older but also made me once again so grateful for the blessing of friendship that continues even when we are separated by oceans and continents. And just for your information between the three of us a lot of oceans and continents have been crossed in the last 7 years. It was a wonderful visit and I hope to see Bekah and Sarah again soon.

More Pictures

Me and Meriwether looking out over the new lands

Doug being bacon. He says this is what bacon looks like in the frying pan...

What does this mean? Good or Bad day?

Heidi noticed this first and asked what it meant - I thought it was odd enough to get a picture. Since taking this picture I have discovered that quamash is a very pretty flower, so I am guessing a good day.

We found it at the Lewis and Clark Monument at Long Beach. I don't know when I was last at Long Beach so I enjoyed walking down the street and seeing the sights again.

Before visiting Long Beach we first went to Benson Beach and while Heidi and Doug enjoyed the waves I enjoyed being on the beach. I was properly dressed to keep warm and went for a short jog a couple times when I got too cold.

Once again excited and taking pictures because the sun was out.

Heidi and Doug riding the waves

I loved the view! This is (I think) the NorthHead Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment - what a horrid name. I was trying to imagine what would cause a person to name such a beautiful place disappointment. So I googled it...apparently the early men discovering the area did not care about the view, but were rather upset about finding no ships.

Just Thinking

If you had asked me about a year ago where I would be in August 2010 I would have given you a lot of different options, none of which would have included Longview, Washington. It seems the more I think I have my life figured out, or my plans made God has to teach me once again that I am NOT in charge. So I wait (not so patiently) with a lot of fear and a little excitement about what this next step will end up looking like. How long will I be here? I don't know, but for now this song by Francesca Battistelli called Unpredictable, seems to be a good theme song for my life right now.

Got my thoughts
I got my words
Got this head full of answers

Got You wrapped up
Got You under control
See my future like the past behind me
I think I know where You’re leading
Don’t need no questions
Don’t need no rocking the boat

But I just forget all the mystery
I just forget who You are

(Chorus)
When I know that I know
What You have down the road
When I’m sure that
I’ve figured You out
Help me see that I’m small
That I can’t know it all
‘Cause You’re so unpredictable
‘Cause You’re so unpredictable

You said the foolish
Would shame the wise
To put my faith
In what’s beyond my eyes
And to believe You
I have to come as a child

So help me to rest in the mystery
Of what I can’t understand

(Chorus)

Can’t wrap my mind around You
Can’t put You in a box
Can’t keep You safely contained
You’re gonna move the way
You wanna move today
Just let me follow along

Graduation Celebrations

Kebab's - My favorite dinner ever!

An official graduate

Good Goodbyes

Is is really possible to make goodbyes good? As much practice as I have had in my 29 years of life, I never seem to get good at goodbye. Honestly I just want to avoid the reality that my time here in Wake Forest is almost over. I have been blessed beyond measure in the last two years. So now as much as I am looking forward to this summer in Canada I am equally sad to leave this part of my life behind.

So to clear my mind so that I can focus on a few more papers that need to be written before they will actually give me that diploma I was thinking it was time to write a blog, next post will hopefully be pictures of me in a funny hat with a diploma in my hand!

Instead of thinking about all that I am leaving behind, I want to focus on all that I have been given, all that I have learned and experienced, and all of the friendships that will continue on. I want to REMEMBER all that God has done and celebrate all that is yet to be seen as I go to a new new place. So yes this is going to be a good goodbye.