Happy New Year!  Well, technically it's New Year's Eve.  But we are so very close to 2017.  Of course, leave it to me to squeeze in one last post on the last day of the year.  You know I had to though, ha!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to all of you for not being on the ball and giving you more posts about my year.  Life caught up to me this year and I am just plain worn out.  I know, I know...I have said this to you way too many times before.  But, I did want to fill you in on what's been happening lately.  I'll try to list it all down below.

*I am now 60 hours into my practicum teaching hours of my certificate. (Woohoo! Only 60 more to go.)
*Helping teach ESL classes two nights a week
*December 17th, we performed our show at church called, 'The Prodigal Christmas'.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of work.  My legs still hurt from running in those heels!
*Rehearsal, Rehearsal, Rehearsal for the show.  We had been working on the show for about 5 months.
*Memorizing my lines and the songs for the show
*Me-working full-time. Should I say anything else? I don't think so.
*Trying to spend time with my boyfriend.  It's hard when there is a 14 hour time difference between us. (Wait, what? Boyfriend!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen I did say boyfriend.  Hmmm...I feel like questions are coming to me about this.  I will give you answers soon.)

Whew, that was a lot of stuff!  And somewhere in the midst of all of this I did eat and sleep.  It all seems like a dream but it happened.  Yet, I must say...What an amazing year it has been.  Trust me, it has definitely been a year of surprises and challenges.  I can't say that it has been easy.  There were days when I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of bed.  I didn't know if I would have the strength to help another person who was being rude to me at my job.  Or to even sit down and help students from different countries with their English.  Still God seemed to always be there when I wanted to throw in the towel.  He quickly reminded me that I had come to far to even think about doing that.

I also let go of some things this year.  I let go of some baggage and some childhood dreams.  I mourned the loss of some idols that I grew up watching and listening to when I was a child.  (Prince, George Michael, Gene Wilder, Patty Duke, David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, Muhammad Ali and Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire)

***I can remember listening to 'Purple Rain' for the first time and being moved to tears.  Where would my brother be without listening to Gene Wilder sing, "If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it" from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory***

With everything that this year has brought to me, I can still be thankful.  I am grateful for the good days and even the more crazy days.  I realize that those crazy days pruned me for the upcoming year.  And I am really looking forward for what is to come.  Now, I don't know what your year looked like for you.  Some days may have been sweet and there may have been some that were bitter for you.  They were there to make you better not make you bitter.  So, ask yourself this question...What I am going to do for the new year? 
It's really up to you.

Well people, my time is up! I hope that your thoughts, your next steps and your next challenges are always centered around God.  Have an awesome and fabulous New Year people!

More thoughts next year......




   

Oh my it has been so long...ok, way too long. It has almost been five months and I cannot even believe that it is November already.  We are approaching the holidays and then the end of the year!  Ahhhhhh!  I don't even want to think about that right now.  There are way too many things swimming around in my brain today.  It seems like I have been on this 'life-merry-go-round' lately. You know exactly what I am talking about when I say this.  School stuff, work stuff, family stuff, relationship stuff and this everyday-being-a-Christ-follower stuff.  (Do I really need to go on...I didn't think so!)

Now let me explain the 'Christ-follower stuff' to you. I think you know where I am going with this so please just keep reading  It is so difficult to let His light shine in us when people are rude to you, when someone cuts you off in traffic or when co-workers gossip and want you to join the discussion. Even when you have to wait in line to vote for 2 to 3 hours or even when you have a disagreement with your family.  (I put the voting comment in to see if you were paying attention! Ha.  This only happens once in a while!)

This is the stuff that I am talking about.  At first, we try to gain control and maneuver things in our own way.  We forget about spending time with God because we are too tired from the battle. When we are tired and worn out we only seem to give God the leftovers of our day  And that is the problem.  But, it is not our battle to fight.  It is the Lord's.  Yes I said it!

One of my real cool friends reminded me about this today.  I love how God gives us the exact people that we need in our lives.  My friend gave me that gentle, soft reminder about keeping God first in my life.  As I listened to my friend speak about this to me, the tears began to fall down my face.  God used this person to speak to my heart and it is exactly what I was supposed to hear this afternoon.  We need to unloosen our grip on whatever we have it on and allow God to take over.  Leave it with him and don't even think about taking it back!

Whatever comes our way let's continue to hold on to Gods hand and move forward with him.  Not without him.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
(Note:  Yes, I promise I will write more before the year is over.  Just be ready when I do.)

And she is....back!  Hello, again.  I cannot believe its been almost three whole months since I have posted anything.  Good grief..so much has happened since that time.  So many things have changed in my life since March.  You have no idea how much!!!  (Speaking of changes, did you notice that I changed my background on my blog?)

In case you did not know today is Father's Day.  I love this day because it has such a special meaning for me.  I enjoy spending time with my Dad on this day.  I love seeing his smile and hearing him laugh.  Well, I try to enjoy this everyday, actually.  I am so grateful that my Dad is still here.  I appreciate him more the older that I get.  Because he contributed to my craziness!  Ha-ha...Yes, I am my father's daughter.

I wanted to share with you the other reason why I get excited on this day.  About 14 years ago, I sat in a little church in Cincinnati, Ohio and gave my life to Christ.  I won't get into the whole story because that would be way too long.  I was happy, emotional, exhausted and confused.  I wasn't quite sure what was happening to me on that day.  I had a feeling that my life was never going to be the same.  And you better believe that it has not been.  And I am so thankful for this.

This morning, as I sat in church with my parents, many things were racing through my mind.  My mind was full of too many unnecessary things.  As I settled down and listened to the sermon, it all came back to me.  It's no coincidence that their pastor's message had to do with coming back home to God.  I instantly remembered what happened to me 14 years ago.  All of the emotions and feelings came back to me.  It was such a beautiful reminder for me.  It is really what I needed to hear and experience today.  Sometimes we forget all of the mountains that God has brought us over.  We forget about all of the late nights on our knees, praying to him.  We forget about the miracles he did in our lives because we get too busy with our own ways of thinking.  I know I am guilty of this from time to time.

So, what can we do?  Let's start with making him first.  This is the most intimate relationship we could ever have in our lives.  Nothing in this world compares to the time that we spend with God.  NOTHING!  Let's never forget this!
Well, that's my time.  Alright, stick with me people...I've got a lot more to say on the next post!
But for now, to all of the Father's out there....Have a blessed Father's Day with your family!!

Hello there!  I told you that I would return.  You knew I couldn't stay away too long!  I cannot believe that we are almost through the month of March.  Isn't that crazy?!  Anyway, there are some exciting things that I need to share with.  But, before I get started, I need to acknowledge how precious this week is.  Today, is Palm Sunday.  It is really hard to wrap my brain around all of this.   I sat in church this morning and saw a painting of Jesus on the screen.  He was sitting by himself and he was up high enough to look out in the city.  What was going through his mind?  What was he thinking?  Well, in the painting he was weeping.  Because he knew what lied ahead for him.  Yet, we all know how this story ends.  He arose!  How powerful are those two words?

Lately, I have been reflecting.  A lot.  I'm reaching the end of a chapter; the end of a book.  I start class again this week on Tuesday.  This is my last class.  After this, I will begin the practicum part of my certificate.  I will be done soon.  Last year, this moment seemed so far away.  Now, it seems so close.  When you reach the end of a chapter it's so hard get through the last few pages of it.  I just want to rush and skip ahead to the last page so that I can finish.  For me, I just want to end this book so that I can start on a new one.  But do you know what happens when you do that...you miss a crucial part of the story!
 
Let me explain it in another way....You know that feeling of running in a race.  You are on the last mile.  Your legs are so heavy and you can barely breathe.  You want to just stop where you are and just end it here.   It seems so right to just end it now because it's too hard to finish.  You make the decision to quit.  And because you quit, you never know what might have been waiting for you at the finish line. 

I wanted to quit.  Many, many times for so many different reasons.  I told myself that this is too hard and I'm just not smart enough to do this.  But, those were just lies that Satan tried to get me to eat and swallow.  That is not God's truth.  Don't let these lies keep you from what God has for you. Otherwise, you will never know what is waiting for you on the other side.  I have come way too far for all of this to be in vain.  Whatever you are going through right now...please don't give up.  Finish your race!  It's ok to rest when you are weary.  Get up child and keep going!  Don't let go of God and don't let go of his hand.  He is right there with you.  C'mon let's finish.

Have a blessed Easter, everyone.

Happy anniversary to me, happy anniversary to me.....Happy anniversary to meeeee! Oh, I'm so sorry.  I got caught up in the moment.  Well, you see on this day last year, I started this blog! Isn't that exciting?! Woohoo! Ok, maybe it's only me that is excited.  I can't believe that it has already been a year.  Even though I wished I had written so much more than what I did.  But, it is alright.
I know that it's Valentine's Day and people were out celebrating. Getting flowers and eating chocolate...need I go on?!  For me, today meant something else.  I hung out with my crazy,wonderful friends and simply enjoyed their company.  And that was priceless.
So, this year I want to continue to update you on all my adventures. I know that God has it all worked out!  Stay tuned for the next fabulous post.....I mean it!