thankful

I've been battling a bad flu for 4 days now, and as awful as this flu is, it's made me realize how thankful I am for my sister Katrina. She comes up and checks on me about every hour, getting me food, drinks, hot packs, etc...what I'm most thankful for though is how much she's making me laugh. I hate being sick (who doesn't?), and this time is especially bad because I'm missing fieldwork because of it. She's spent hours just sitting with me on my bed, telling crazy stories, massaging my sore neck, and being her typical crazy self. She has one of the craziest personalities I've ever seen! Just now she came up to me, winked at me and then went "Hey cuddles! Muches smooches!". I'm more comfortable and crazy with her than I am with anyone else- sometimes we'll spend over an hour or two just singing and being nuts. In the case of the last few days, I think that just having someone to sit and talk to has been the best part- I'm not nearly as bored or lonely as I would be. She is what's been making me smile this whole time, and I'm so incredibly thankful for it!

I'm going to miss that girl when I'm gone. A lot.

aaannnnd I'm back...

Okay so maybe I'm not the most diligent blogger ever...

Things that have happened since I last posted almost 5 months ago:

• I started dating Ryan. That's still going on, and going strong. For anyone who knows me, you know how big of a deal this is and how excited I am for it! = ) I'm so thankful to God for blessing me with such a wonderful boyfriend!
  

• I began my final year of college (and am now just over a semester away from completing it!). That's going well and I'm excited about my fieldwork which starts in January.
  

• I continue to have a lot of health problems, but God has continued to amaze me and humble me by showing me my weaknesses and lovingly granting me energy and encouragement when I need it. I can honestly say that I am thankful for Celiac Disease because God has used it to draw me closer to him!
  

• I went through some hard times with some friends, and we came out stronger and closer as a result of it. Praise God that he uses pain to strengthen!
  

• I was in a friends wedding, and was honored to be able to participate! I wore a pink dress which was quite new for me, but I had fun = )
  

• I Frisbee golfed frequently, and recently set my new record of -9!
  

• I saved a bus full of people by using my incredible strength to move it off the train tracks right before the train came
  

• I lied.
  

• I got to see friends growing in their faith and professing it before the church. God was so gracious to us this summer!
  

• Did I mention that I'm dating Ryan? Well, I am. I'm a fan of that situation.

One of the best 4th of July celebrations ever = )

These past few weeks I've been pretty sick again, and was getting really discouraged. I've been Frolfing a lot with friends, and we often go out for ice cream afterwards. It's tough to not be able to eat any of it, and that, along with not eating at restaurants, was making me crabby (even though I shouldn't have been). I also wasn't looking forward to the food aspect of the 4th of July celebration at my relatives, only because there's always lots of good stuff I can't eat. But, just when I thought I couldn't take the pain and discouragement any longer, God blessed me with a wonderful day of good food and great family and friends. Food is such a simple thing, but it's so neat to just be able to find out about new stuff I can have. Instead of having a tough 4th food wise, it ended up being great (and not only in the area of food!).

1. Got to hang out with Marc all day. He came to my relatives with me, which was quite hilarious, and we got to hang out until late at night. Love you, buddy = ) He's such a blessing to me, and it was incredibly encouraging to learn even more about him and once again hear his faith and trust in God. Also, I got to see his hilarious cat Gomer.
2. He took me to an ice cream place which advertised gluten free ice cream! She put it in a cone, which makes NO sense, but then threw it away and got me clean stuff in a bowl. That was the first time in 2 1/2 years that I've ordered ice cream from an ice cream place- awesome!
3. I got to see Jon Troast. Always good = )
4. Got to see Matt, Ann, Luke, Faith, Madeline, Simon, Ben, Asha, and London- all people I rarely get to see. More goodness = )
5. Went to the fireworks with Ryan, Jennie, Mara and Marc. Even more goodness!
6. Even though my pinched nerve was pretty bad at the fireworks, I'm not currently dealing with the pain from it that I normally do!!
7. I just found out that I can have Arby's shakes, Wendy's frosties, 7-11 slurpees, and Panera Bread strawberry smoothies!!!

None of those things are huge in and of themselves, but every single one of them was an encouragement that gave me energy and some simple but huge joy. Seeing again how God blesses us with simple but amazing things such as ice cream and good friends reminds me again of the beauty of our God, and how thankful we can be that we get to serve a God who delights in showing love to his children!

Bring The Rain

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Rejoice...I say it again, Rejoice!

"I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to 'rejoice' as much as anything else"- C.S Lewis

So true...I've been noticing this in my own life lately. So often wonderful things happen and I just pass them off as "cool" or even just throw a quick "thank you" God's way, never actually stopping and truly praising God for his love and grace that he so abundantly showers on me. When something good that I worked hard for happens, I'm especially quick to think that since I worked for it, I just deserve it, forgetting the fact that God is the one who gave me the strength, the opportunities, and the reward itself. God has been working powerfully in some friendships lately, making them strong and beautiful, and I'm so glad that HE is the one doing the work, because we couldn't on our own! I love that we don't have to settle with just thinking that all this is neat, but that we can know that God is behind it, and that he is drawing his children closer to himself and using them in his kingdom.

PRAISE God!

Ah, summer....

Guess who might have a job at a gluten free bakery??

Yeah, me = )

So, I've spent the last 5 evenings with Aaron and Marc, and let me tell you...these two are hilarious. We don't ever do anything huge, but yet we have such a blast. Wiffleball, driving past our old houses at midnight, playing with toys at Meijer at 1am...cheap and simple, but we have a great time. I say all this because even though we have crazy ideas of fun and get really weird (I'm thinking pillow fights, Kanye, and aviators...), we have very serious conversations as well, and they are such an encouragement to me. We're incredibly honest with each other, and they are forgiving and loving with me even if I don't always deserve it. They put up with my whining and confusions, and don't take no for an answer when I don't have a car, but instead drive waaay out of their way to pick me up. It amazes me how God continues to bless with me friends that are encouraging and loving to me, and how he brings situations into our lives that strengthen those friendships and make them more glorifying to him. All 3 of us are currently struggling with different things, but each person has things to teach the others from their own experiences, and we can all pray for each other and love each other as family in Christ. Friendship is so simple, but I think that at the same time it's one of the greatest blessings God has given to us. Man, Praise God for his generosity to us!

.word.

I wait
Dear Lord, thy ways
are past finding out,
Thy love too high.
O hold me still
Beneath Thy shadow.
It is enough that thou
Lift up the light
of the countenance
I wait-
Because I am commanded
to do so. My mind
is filled with wonderings
My soul asks "Why?"
But then the quite word,
"Wait thou only
upon God".
And so, not even for
the light
to show a step ahead,
But for thee, dear Lord,
I wait.