Running

Confession:

I want to be a runner. I actually like running...when I do it. I usually talk myself out of going for a run because

a.) it has been too long and

b.) I cannot run that far or that fast.

Here is some inspiration or should I say "pinspiration"?

I might actually go for a run (with some walking) during my break today instead of watching Gilmore Girls with the roommate. Whatever happens, a run is in my future.

I hope someone else can find this encouraging.



Reflection Two. Judges 16:1-31

This story about Samson is CRAZY! A woman asks him three different times what gives him his super natural strength. Three times he lies,  and three times she tries to turn him over to the Philistines. You would think that he would get the picture: this girl is trying to get him captured. He doesn't. The fourth time she asks him where his strength comes from he actually tells her that it is in his hair. What does she do? She cuts off his hair of course. The Philistines capture Samson, pay his lady friend for helping them, and he dies a blind slave (there was some torture that went on). 

I can't help but think he had some "blind" issues when it came to women even before the Philistines gouged his eyes out. Why else would he eventually give up his secret that took away the strength the Lord gave him? He succumbed to his flesh. To his sinful nature.

I can most definitely relate to this. I walk around "blind" all the time. My head fills itself with thoughts of what other people think of me, if society considers me successful, if that new fashion line would make me desirable. Talk about self-centeredness. What I forget is that my heart is full of what Christ thinks of me. He makes me worthy.

For today I want to help my heart along and not my head. That is why I'm here writing this now. Giving in to my flesh will lead to my death as well. If not physical then spiritual. I am powerless without the help of Christ. Thankfully I have him if I want him. I want him.

The Gum Wall, Post Alley, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

"As we learn to acknowledge our powerlessness over our addictive/compulsive tendencies daily, we will become more aware of behaviors that will likely lead us to destruction."

- Life Recovery Bible, NLT

Hung up on you Valentine

Ok, SO I came up with an original valentine's day card (art project) idea. At least I am saying it is original, because it came from my head and not from Pinterest. 

I'm So HUNG UP ON YOU...

You know who you are. 

You can hang them anywhere for the person getting your love to find

All you do is decorate a 12X12 piece of scrapbooking paper, fold it in half, and attach it to the hanger. You probably want to make sure you say something about being "hung up" on them or they might look at you funny. 

quinoa breakfast bars

I wanted to make something with quinoa for whit's birthday breakfast. 

I looked at a ton of different recipes but I didn't find one I liked. 

This is why I made my own.

I will share it with you since they were a hit. 

1. bring 1 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 teaspoon ish of vanilla, and 1/2 cup pureed prunes to a boil

2. mix 1 cup whole wheat flour (or flour of your choice), 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, however much cinnamon you prefer, and 1 cup of shredded coconut

3. add nuts of your choice. I used whole raw almonds. I would suggest chopping them up. 

4. mix everything together along with 4 cups cooked quinoa

5. pour into a greased 13X9 pan

6. bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes

7. let cool and cut into the shapes you desire.

I chose hearts so Whit would know how much we love her.

Whit is a quater of a century

An opportunity to celebrate should never be overlooked. ESPECIALLY when you have the chance to celebrate the day of someone's birth...someone you love a lot.
Happy birthday Whitney!!!

Melissa, Kyle, and I surprised Whit & her family right when she woke up

This is what we did to celebrate...

 

drank coffee
trader joe's instant coffee (better than you would think), italian sweet cream creamer, chocolate covered espresso beans, and sugar, coffee bean, chocolate grinder sprinkles

 

ate heart shaped cinnamon rolls with teal frosting. white was just too boring

 

made bacon, eggs, and toast with heart shaped butter

and had chocolate quinoa breakfast bars
what would a day about Whit be without quinoa???
it wouldn't be

of course we used cloth napkins. they're the best thing ever
they make any moment fancy

hung bunting
a necessity for every celebration

made a birthday sash
lace and ribbon are just happy

 almost destroyed her cake with too many candles.
we almost had an avalanche.

sang happy birthday &

watched whit blow out her candles
all 25 of them

AND

went to the Home & Garden show at the Tacoma dome.
we spent most of our time in the vintage section.

I HEART My Birthday Month

I love my birthday month. Not because I expect people to celebrate MY birthday the entire month, but because there is something special about the month my birthday falls in. February is a special month. It is filled with hearts and telling people you love them. Winter is coming to an end (hopefully), and spring is around the corner. I anticipate my birthday in a way I think my family did as February 1986 approached.

We all have a day that is ours. I am not crazy enough to think that nothing will go wrong and I will get my way with everything on my birthday, but I do think it is my own personal new year. Forget January 1^st resolutions. I’m all about February 18^th resolutions. That is when MY new year starts. AND February 1^st is when I begin to think about it. The anticipation starts. I can’t help but feel special. I look forward to Valentine’s Day because it means my birthday is that much closer.

I must admit that I was DREADING turning 25. I did not believe all those people who said 25 was their best year ever. How could turning a quarter of a century be anything but awful? Thankfully I was wrong, and everyone else was right. As my 25^th year comes to an end, I have a much more accurate picture of who I am and where I’m going. It took some work. A lot of choosing to face myself head on, but it has been worth every second. I plan to savor my last couple days of being 25. 

This is how my 25th year started...

My 26th year has a lot to live up to. I believe in it.

Happy birthday month to all those lovely people I share it with: Aunt Susan, Greg Shavey, Uncle Eddie, Uncle Tim, Shane Sanford,  & David Garrison.

Relection One. Genesis 16:1-15

One of my biggest fears is that I won’t be able to have my own children. I have no basis for my fear except that having children is one of my heart’s biggest desires. Let’s be serious, I am nowhere near even thinking about having children, but reading about Sarai’s & Abram’s struggles brought this fear to the forefront of my mind. Imagine being so desperate to have children that you suggest your husband sleep with your servant. Abram sleeps with Hagar, Sarai’s servant, and she becomes pregnant. Tension, resentment, contempt build up and Hagar runs away. An angel appears and asks her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replies, “I’m running away…

The angel obviously knows where Hagar came from and is going in a geographical sense. That isn’t what is being asked. The angel is reminding Hagar to remember her faith in God. Her roots in God. She came from God and needs to go to God with all of her struggles.

My answer to life is so often to run away. Just like Hagar. I loose sight of God. I forget all of the times He has taken care of me. I fear being turned away. I’m aware it is an irrational fear. I will never be turned away just as no one else will. God’s love, grace, compassion, direction, provision…it is all there for the taking for anyone who asks.

Hagar returns to Sarai and Abram and births their child. He is named Ishmael which means “God hears.”

Hagar didn’t need to run away from her troubles. She just needed to talk to God, because as her son’s name reminds her, “God hears.” God took care of her. She was able to face her life with God's help.

Today, I choose to talk to God instead of running away. Instead of enveloping myself in the media, daydreaming, dwelling on the past, worrying about the future, or wishing I were a better version of me I will just talk to God about how I’m feeling. There is peace in talking to God. I’m going to find peace today. 

 

“We need to learn to express our pain to God instead of just trying to escape it. He hears our cries and is willing to give us hope for the future.”

- NLT Life Recovery Bible