In the interest of maintaining positive habits...

I haven't written anything on this particular blog in a while. Not because I haven't had anything positive going on, but because I just kind of forgot about it. Well I decided some habits are worth keeping and focusing on weekly positives is definitley one I don't want to stop. Since it is the last day of November, I can go ahead and focus on the whole month. Hopefully I can remember the highlights, my memory hasn't been the best lately so I'll be doing good to hit the important stuff.

So, without further delay:
-David Crowder concert. Amazing time rocking out and worshiping. AND great girl time.
-lobster bisque
-Campus church singing (highlight of my week)
-lunch with the grams for her birthday
-baby biting on Wednesday nights
-good evaluations at work
-working a Compassion table
-all things PUMPKIN
-scarves
-golden birthday parties for good friends
-homemade veggie soup (made by me!)
-peppermint stick ice cream
-space heaters
-hugs
-my niece and nephew excited to see me
-Spending Thanksgiving with my sister
-seeing one of my favorite people in St. Augustine
-sleep!
-scenic drives and making good time
-sunsets and sunrises
-fried green tomatoes
-photography
-new pea coat
-fuzzy socks
-Friends DVDs in lieu of cable
-quoting Friends incessantly

November was definitely a great (and fast!) month. Looking forward to what December brings. :)

July comes to an end

July has been a crazy month, especially here towards the end. With the last couple of weeks came a mission trip, pneumonia, and the beginning of a new school year (thus ushering in the end of summer). There have been a lot of good things that have happened and some not so great things, but at the end of the day, I am thankful to be a part of them all.

End of July positives:
-Having more than enough money for the mission trip (by no effort of mine, completely all God)
-The airport
-Going on a mission trip with church family who just happen to also be really good friends :)
-The opportunity to see the beauty of northern Michigan again
-TSA employees singing Paul McCartney songs in security
-Reconnecting with campers from last year and meeting awesome new ones
-Buffalo wild wings
-Bottled water
-Worship on the beach
-Lip-syncing
-Starbucks
-Oreos and Froyo!
-Box fans
-Anti-biotics
-Friends who are willing to take care of me
-Friends who care
-New classroom
-New school year
-New mercies everyday

:-)

July 7 2011

I feel like this week has been a bit of a redemption for me from last week. It's not solely because better things happened, but because my perspective has shifted. A lot of thoughts have been rolling around in my head, and God has been speaking to me constantly all week about my happiness and contentedness with what He's given me. He knows me better than I do, so in response to my questioning and my self-pity He started asking me some hard questions.

It may seem somewhat cliche, but the point that was driven home to me was that you can't be happy until you are happy with what you have. We've all heard that one. What that means to me is that nothing, NOTHING that is added or taken away from your life right this moment will make you happy. We dream about certain things happening to us, things that we pray constantly for, that if we just get that ONE thing we can be happy. I have certainly said this to God on many occasions.

He answered me by saying until I am content right here, right now, with what I have happiness doesn't exist.
I am where I am for a reason. God is always on time. If I am in a season, it is for a purpose, and I shouldn't take for granted that the reason things are the way they are is because He is teaching me something. He is working all this for His purpose, not mine.

 Matt Chandler said in one of his sermons that "Happiness is a cheap, cheap substitute for Joy".

Joy is knowing that something better is on the way. Joy is having the hope of Christ for all eternity, and knowing that while we do get great things here, it's not where our Joy rests.

So, in saying all of this, I have had a great week:
-crazy busy work days
-"miscellaneous" work days
-people coming out of the woodwork to buy groceries
-superheroes at children's church
-being myself
-living in a country where I am free
-watching crazy thunderstorms
-believing in the One who makes me truly free
-setting off fireworks
-cooking dinner with good friends
-watching dumb shows
-the Farmer's market
-shopping with good friends
-bread
-weird fruits and veggies
-people from other nationalities
-long car rides and good conversation
-hot wings
-peach milkshakes
-skip bo
-browsing books
-sleeping in
-productivity
-90's music

I needed this especially this week

Satan was all up in my business this week. The only way to counter his lies is with God's truth, and a whole lotta gratitude. So I'm gonna do just that.

-spending a whole day watching Lost with a friend
-mexican food and a hot fudge sundae
-lazy afternoons by the pool
-coffee
-memorizing Scripture and loving it
-more time in the Word
-a house full of playing laughing girls
-friends who tolerate my crazy
-Friends season 2
-reorganizing
-smoothies
-pb&j

WAY overdue

I got lost somewhere in thinking it was okay to stop posting about the good things from my week, day, month or at all.

So wrong. It's an easy lie to believe that daily (momentary!) gratitude is not vital and necessary in order to experience spiritual growth and vitality.

So this week my positives are as follows:
1. Spending almost a week with BOTH my sisters
2. Having sisters that I LOVE
3. Spending time with my niece and nephew
4. Gazing in wonder at God's creation
5. Sea dragons
6. Beluga whale songs
7. Ginger ale from Mozambique
8. The irony of not waiting in line at 6 flags, but realizing rides are no longer enjoyable
9. The Dwarf house
10. Grace undending
11. Ritz cracker chicken
12. Fresh asparagus
13. 6 trips to Publix
14. Chocolate chip cake
15. Cold glasses of milk
16. Free refills
17. Becoming a Compassion correspondent
18. Playing my piano with my niece
19. Crazy dogs creating bedlam
20. Thunderstorms from a back porch perspective
21. Sharing pictures
22. Cuddling with my niece
23. Beginning a new drawing
24. Nostalgic movies
25. Jeopardy (and kicking butt at it)
26. A night-in winning over Laser Show
27. Not enough room in a mini van
28. New driver's license and tag
29. Rain
30. Weddings and cake
31. Playing with precious curly-headed toddlers
32. Protection prayers
33. Knowing He is always listening

February 20. This week in positives.

I think one of the best things from this week has been the AWESOME weather we have had. 70's in February?? Yes please! It has definitely allowed for some outdoors time that I think everyone has been in great need of since being locked in from the cold for so long.
That being said, the list of positives are as follows:
-sitting outside with my students in exceedingly beautiful weather.
-paying off yet another debt. :-D
-starting a fast from sweets and fast food, as well as adding lots of fruits and veggies, and doing a great job at it already. :-)
-hugs from the pre-k kids in the classroom next to mine
-buying a new camera
-being proud of my cooking
-having delicious dinner waiting for me via my crockpot
-climbing Stone Mountain with one of my best friends
-veal and eggplant on Peachtree.
-nuns walking down Stone Mountain
-good friends and cool breezes in my living room
-and so many more things I am probably forgetting.

+'s

This week has kind of been up and down for me, but nevertheless there are always positive things that I can (and will!) pick out to focus on instead.
And they are:
-Finally getting my work laptop.
-Getting stuff I ordered for my classroom (it felt much like Christmas :-) )
-Delicious dessert at Wednesday night church
-The fact that one of my students in fact did NOT have stomach virus
-Visiting my mom and sister
-Shopping :-)
-Dialogue in the Dark, and it being just as awesome the second time around
-Spending time with my little sister (whom I love and think is awesome)
-Valentine's gift from Dad
-Friends who make me feel loved
-IKEA
-Chicken and dumplings
-Paying off yet ANOTHER bill (woo hoo!)

That's a lot of good stuff if you ask me.

This week's positives

This week has been a good one. A long one, but nevertheless a good one.
Here are this week's positives:
-No more working on Saturdays
-Wednesday night church and food that is waiting for me after work
-Anticipation of seeing good friends
-A gym full of kids with Special Needs having a great time in Special Olympics
-Holding a tiny baby
-Holding a slightly bigger but still precious baby
-A day full of laughter and togetherness with good friends
-Perspective
-Teaching kids about Jesus every Sunday
-Unexpected paychecks
-Getting taxes done
-Finishing reading through the ENTIRE Bible :-)
-Being a part of an awesome church that tackles the hard stuff
-Coffee and conversation
-Promises from my Father
-Sleeping in
-Choosing Truth in the face of so many lies

:-)

Who you are.

My pastor read this out loud towards the end of the sermon yesterday and while the words are awesome to read, they were even more powerful read aloud. These words really resonated with me and God knew I needed to hear them in that moment. It's in a blog from another pastor in TN.

It's entitled You Are Not:
You are not your past
You are not your failures
You are not your parents
You are not your sister
You are not your regrets
You are not your sin
You are not your weight
You are not your divorce
You are not your unemployment
You are not the choices someone else made for you
You are not your brokenness
You are not your bitterness
You are not your abuse
You are not your loneliness
You are not your marital status
You are not your tax bracket
You are not your crisis
This is who YOU are:
You are loved
You are forgiven
You are redeemed
You are destined
You are set apart
You are a new creation
You are valued
You are gifted
You are chosen
You are prized
You are reconciled
You are called
You are noticed
You are pursued
You are a child of The King
You are a co-heir with Christ
You are a royal priesthood
You are adored, cherished and treasured by the God of this universe.
When you choose to stop living out who you are not and you start to live in who you are…
It changes everything.

This was way too good not to share.
Here is the original link: http://refineus.org/2010/09/you-are-not/

The Good Stuff

This week's positives are as follows:
-Going to Wednesday night church
-Ginger cookies made by a friend
-Chick-fil-a
-Shopping with friends
-New Jeans
-Payday!!
-Doing the macarena in a gym full of 2nd graders
-Parents of students that don't freak when feeding tubes are...um relocated...
-Getting my hair colored
-Beautiful weather
-New curtains
-New mercies every morning

~And every breath we drew was hallelujah~

The search for positive-ness

Let's face it, sometimes it just seems impossible to find something positive about certain situations. You're late for work, you're having a bad hair day, you can't pay the bills, the list goes on and on. Sometimes when we focus too much on the negative, and not the positive parts of our days, we ignore what God is doing in our lives and the good stuff He is doing in spite of the "bad" stuff.

This word came to be my theme for the year, in which I am determined to pick out the positive out of every day. I think I will blog weekly so as to give a list of all the good stuff that's happened.

Soo. This past week here were the positives:
-My students.
-Getting all my paperwork turned in at my new job.
-Good friends who fix my cars and feed me dinner.
-Relaxing on the couch.
-Finishing the Lost series.
-Coming up with a theme for the year.
-Worshiping God with an awesome church family.
-Book group.
-Sunrises and sunsets to and from work.

I'm learning there's too much good in life to focus on the bad stuff.