a strawberry filled weekend

Last weekend I actually did something. I picked strawberries. And it was wonderful. 

Going into it, I told myself to only pick what I would realistically use. Yeah...that didn't happen. I kept thinking of the Israelites gathering manna in the desert...but that still didn't stop me. 

So I started eating. And cooking. And freezing. And I ended up with red stained fingers, strawberry shortcake and chocolate dipped strawberries, and 3 bags full of frozen strawberries. And to be honest, some still in the garbage. 

All I can say is that I hope I've learned my lesson. There really can be too much of a good thing.

Trip to Midwest #2

Flights booked! Time off requested! 

Wisconsin here I come!

Stuff Christians Like

I ran across the blog stuff christians like a few months ago and have been extremely entertained ever since. 

So I suggest you check it out if you need a good laugh. To get you started, here's a few of my favorites. 

Orange drink

Booty, God, Booty

Reading every single word in the bulletin when bored

Getting single people married as fast as possible

Having a very specific idea of what certain people from the Bible looked like

BAH!

Love my new work schedule! Since the kiddos are on summer vacation, I moved from working 2-10pm to 6am-2pm.

I would love it so much more if I was a morning person. 

And if tomorrow I didn't work a double. (both shifts combined, my friends).

And if I could sleep through a whole night without waking up in a panic every 3 hours thinking I slept through my alarm. 

And if I could convince myself I can live on less than 8 hours of sleep a night so I don't have to go to bed before dark

And if the kiddo I worked with wasn't up at the butt-crack of dawn every morning. "It's summer vacation! You should not be getting up at 5:30! The animals at the pet store are still sleeping!"

But other than that, it's great. 

to long

It's confession time:

Typically, when I would read through Paul's letters, I would kind of breeze past the intro part, because I figured that his little intro was really, specifically meant for the people he was writing the letter to, and not to me. So I rationalized that it must not be important for me to read, because I couldn't gain from it...(selfish and ignorant, this is why I need Christ)

But when I was visiting home, I got the chance to get together with a few close friends I used to do Bible study with. And even though we only got to chat for a few hours, I could not believe the amount of encouragement and love I received, and I was completely overwhelmed with a feeling of being connected in a way that goes far beyond being friends. 

And in that moment, I finally was able to understand how Paul was feeling when he said, "how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus." 

In the process of moving out here, TJ and I wrestled with knowing what God wanted us to do (which was move), and knowing that we would have to give up being close to our friends we did Bible study with (which for over a year we really considered our church), my family, and our job security. But we had to be obedient to God. And he has been faithful to us and has given us close spiritual friends, and jobs, and more family, and has shown us how important it is to be obedient to him. 

So I guess what I am trying to say, (very ineloquently) is that God calls us to different paths, and throughout that journey, God will continue to connect us to other members of the body of Christ, so that wherever God calls us, we will always be able to long and pray for those God has given us in that season of our life.  

I think it's beautiful. 

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of his, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending he confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God." ~ Philippians 1:2-11 

birthdays all around!

Ahhh... June 8th. A beautiful day for a birthday. Or even TWO birthdays! 

Happy 81st birthday to my motorcycle riding-golf playing-big hearted-cancer fighting Gramps! It's been kind of a rough year, so I can say I am SO thankful to be celebrating this birthday! 

Happy 23rd birthday to my life-long, beautiful pal, Bethany! I wish I could be taking you out somewhere snazzy for dinner tonight where we could chat for hours about life with our bud Megan. You are one of the reasons that I really miss being in Eau Claire. So Happy, Happy Birthday. 

almost

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery." ~ Galations 5:1

AMEN!