Let the Sun Shine.

Well, friends, it's October 28. Do you know what that means? One month until Thanksgiving!

"Who counts down the days until Thanksgiving?" That's right, I do! Because there's no better time to start being intentional about having a spirit of thankfulness.

 Why wait until the third Thursday of November? Let's be thankful now! As you turn your minds to the things that you've been blessed with, may you walk a little taller, smile a little bigger and find more joy in the daily blessings that we've been given!

Today, I'm thankful for...
-The one tree in my yard that's bright red leaves stand out in rebellion against the dreary, fallen leaves surrounding it
-The joy of serving
-The peace of knowing that the Lord is sovereign
-A warm blanket to keep me cozy and warm while I work on homework
-Pictures that remind me of the many sweet and precious friendships I get to enjoy

Please share some of these blessings as they come to your mind, let's rejoice together! What are you thankful for, today?

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Bare Necessities

I thought I'd send you all to a moment of nostalgia for a few minutes as we all prepare to enter a new season of life...fall/winter! I wrote this post last spring, but just found it in the archives and decided that it still needed to be posted.

The Bear Necessities

"I recently used this song for a group project in my American Sign Language class. It was so fun to listen to this song again.
However, the main message of this song took on a new meaning for me a few weeks ago. Cling to the bare necessities, the basic needs of life. "Don't spend your times looking around for something you want, that can't be found".

What do we really need to survive? In the U.S. we've been taught to believe that we need cell phones, at least one vehicle, countless articles of entertainment and a beautiful house to store it all in. We even need decorations, paintings and wall paper on our walls just to ensure that we would never have to endure the atrocity of having something boring or basic in our lives (I can just see some of the TLC interior design guru's coming to tears at that thought).
Ok, let's think about this on a very basic level from a viewpoint that spans beyond U.S. culture. What do we need to survive? Food, water, shelter and people. That's it. All of that other stuff is extra.We won't die from having plain walls, a rusty car or an outdated wardrobe. These four things are the bare necessities.

A heart attack almost took my dad's life last Saturday, April 13. I know, we're not the first family to go through this scary experience and, unfortunately, we won't be the last. However, the value and frailty of life becomes much more evident after an experience like this. My dad's heart stopped and his body seized. He was on the bridge between life and death. When he was finally resuscitated, he looked in the teary eyes of the nurses around him and the doctor said "Happy birthday, you've just started life over again".

What an eye opening experience and story this has been to me. What does a singing bear have to do with it all? Well, I've been reminded to cling to the bear necessities, the simple things. Life beyond this moment is not guaranteed to us. What are you going to spend your precious moments chasing? Put yourself in my dad's shoes (or anyone else who has gone through something like this). What would you hold closer? What would you stop caring so much about?

We have been continuously praising God for providing my dad with more time here on earth. For giving him breath and life once again. May you be reminded that your every breath is a gift."

A Beautiful Story.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a Walk Thru the Old Testament seminar at a nearby church. What a blessing this event was! I must confess, towards the end, my eyes grew quite heavy but I'm sure that the materials and knowledge I walked away were was very much worth it!

It served as a great reminder that the Bible is a story. A beautiful, intriguing, captivating story. It's full of drama, pain, family tensions and wrestling. Most importantly, it's a story of beautiful redemption! It's like one of those movies with a warm happy ending that's much bigger and grander than you could have imagined. When the movie ends, we usually just sit there smiling like fools with a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts wishing that we could be part of a story like that!  Well, folks, I have good news for you. You are a part of a story like that! You are part of a captivating, beautiful story of hope, joy and peace.

Are you captivated by the story?