Currently . . . Kind of.

I was woken up to my roommate telling me that the basement had flooded. Again. For the second time in less than a year. I wanted to curl up in bed and ignore the call to get up. The call to be an adult, grab the phone, call the plumber. The call to take responsibility.

I called the plumber and their truck with all of the "heavy-duty" stuff (it's always slightly terrifying when your problems need to be fixed with heavy duty stuff) is stuck in the snow.  Which means he will either miraculously be able to come by today, or we will have to wait until Monday. Monday. Three days away. No showers, no laundry.

He takes my information and tells me he will call me back when he figures out what is going to happen with the truck. I have two options at this point:

1. I can crawl back into bed, cry, and feel sorry for myself.

2. I can set my eyes on the Lord, trust His leadership, and cast my cares upon Him.

And though the second option takes much more effort than the first, the second option is far more rewarding in the long run. So, I pick the Lord.

I pick reading His Word and giving my cares to Him, instead of dwelling in how incapable I feel to be an adult, to own a house, to take care of problems. Because, guess what? 

He is capable. He is strong enough to carry my burdens.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything 

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your 

requests be made known to God."

- Philippians 4:6

Lean into the Lord. It's always worth it.

On Being Patient

Patience. A quality that I want to posses desperately, but I don't want to go through the rigors of cultivating it. Patience takes time and I'd rather have it be instant. Even if it completely defeats the purpose.

Waiting kind of stinks. But, here's the thing, we have a God who enjoys waiting. He loves the process that our very human hearts fight against. We long for the waiting to be over and He finds delight in the journey. We want the desires of our hearts to be satisfied. Right. Now. But God is more than willing to wait for the perfect moment.

I was spending some time in Psalm 37 yesterday and the constant reminder to wait was being pushed into my mind. Psalm 37 is most well-known for it's fourth verse:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

But, I feel like the real gold in this Psalm is found in the rest of it's verses. It's found in the little commandments laced throughout the Psalm. In fact, the psalm starts with two words:

Fret not.

In modern-day language that means "stop worrying." At the beginning of this psalm David is reminding the readers/singers (and maybe even himself) to not worry. Why? Because he is oh so acquainted with how the human heart lends itself to worry and anxiety. Especially in the midst of waiting for the desires in our hearts to be fulfilled.

The rest of the psalm continues with phrases much like the first:

"Trust in the Lord."

"Be still"

"Wait patiently"

"Fret not"

"Turn away from evil"

"Do good"

"Wait for the Lord"

The Psalm is a reminder that waiting is a necessity in the life of a believer. But, instead of treating it like a necessary evil, we should delight in it. We should not worry, but instead wait patiently. Even when it looks like wickedness is coming against us, even when it seems as though we can come up with a much better solution than Him. We wait.

We wait on the Lord. For what He has planned at the end of the waiting is far better than anything we can come up with in the midst of it. 

So, beloved, wait on the Lord. Be still. Don't try to strive to make things happen in your life. Delight yourself in the Lord, wait for Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Enjoy the journey.

DIY: Paper-Clips Turned Bookmarks

In case you haven't realized, I absolutely love the dollar section at Target. There are so many wonderful things hidden there for only a dollar! Back in December, I snatched quite a few cute things from there and among them were these adorable tab-makers. You know, the kind you use to save your page in a book, textbook, or Bible. I added them to my basket because I thought they would look adorable in my new planner, bur last night I had an idea.

I love using things like this to hold my place in my Bible or other book I'm reading at the time, but after a while of use two things happen: one, the paper looses it's stickiness (yes, that's totally a word) and, two, the papers start to get all crumpled and not very pretty looking. To fix the loss of stickiness, I decided to use a paperclip and to combat the impending ugliness, I came up with this:

Tape.

Clear, packing tape to be exact. So, basically I faux-laminated these little guys and turned them into "bookmarks" that will last much longer than your average sticky note. Plus, I think they're pretty stinkin' cute, too.

What I used:

- Page Flags from Target

- Packing Tape (I'm not sure what Brand it is, but any tape that's heavy-duty and clear would be perfect!)

- Paperclips

- Scissors

How I did it:

First, I laid a long piece of tape sticky-side up on my desk and placed the little flags on top. The only thing you want to make sure when putting these little guys on the tape is that the tape doesn't wrinkle. Otherwise, it'll make a funny little bump. Other than that, it's pretty easy!

 

Second, I put a second piece of tape over the top. Don't worry if the tape lines up perfectly on the edges or not because you're just going to cut the edges off anyways. Just watch out for those pesky wrinkles (;

Third, I cut out the flags so that there was the tiniest border of tape left around them, but you can do whatever you think looks best.

 

Fourth, I cut off just a thin piece of the packing tape and slide it into the paperclip. Basically, what you're doing here is making the paperclip able to attach to the flag, but still be able to open and hold your page. So, make sure that you don't just lay the tape over the top, or else the paperclip would not be able to open.

Fifth, attach the paperclip to the flag. I put mine almost all of the way down to the side without the detail cut-out. The farther towards the middle you place the paperclip, the less of your bookmark will show when you use it.

That's it!


Now you have cute little pager markers that will stick around longer than a sticky-note. (Pun totally intended.)

January Goals

We've made it. 2013 with it's stresses and joys has passed and we are entering into 2014. I don't know about you guys, but it feels like 2014 is going to be a good year. 2014 is my last year of college, which is both terrifying and exciting, and I feel like the year is going to bring about change. Which is also slightly terrifying.

However, as I look back on the year of 2013 I find myself wondering where it went. I can't necessarily pin-point certain moments, but instead the year looks like a giant blur. I don't want 2014 to be like that. I want this year to be a year that is savored, a year full of memories and stories that I tell for years to come. I want to take it all in this year. To not stress over the little things, to say yes to adventure, and to find rest in the day-to-day.

I'm not one to make new year's resolutions, though I do love monthly goals. But, if I had to make one, I'd say my new's resolution can be summed up in one word:

Savor.

I want to savor and dwell and enjoy 2014, no matter what it throws at me.

On that note, it's January! Snow is frequently in the forecast, I'm avoiding the putting away of Christmas decorations, and trying to eat healthier. Here's what I want to accomplish this month:

- I want to have slow, relaxing mornings. Even if that means going to bed earlier.

- I want to clean-out and organize the unfinished half of my basement.

- I want to be zealous for my quiet time.

- I want to be intentional in my relationships with others.

Alright, January, let's do this.

DIY: Glitter Reindeer Silhouette

This project has been floating the internet (ahem...Pinterest) for a while and I finally got around to doing it. It stuck with me one, because I have an increasing love for deer (which sounds strange out-loud) and, two, I. Love. Glitter. But kind of in a secret glittered-toenails-in-the-winter and glitter-pillows-on-my-bed rather than the every-top-i-wear-is-shiney kind of way. Actually, I don't think I own any clothes that glitter at all. Anyways, back to what we're really here for: 

 Most, if not all, of the versions that I've seen have done it with glue and sprinkled glitter on top. Which, I think looks super great. However, I was at Target the other day browsing their dollar section (which I absolutely love!) and I found a bottle of silver glitter glue for, you guessed it, a dollar. So, I decided to do the project with glitter glue. It definitely looks a little different, but I like it. Also, it only cost me a dollar, which is rather nice for this college student (: 

 What I used:

:  

- Paper (A heavy, card stock kind or, in my case, a piece of old sketchbook paper) 

- Reindeer silhouette (I googled it, printed off one I liked, and cut it out so that I had the outline.) 

- Glitter glue

- Pencil & eraser 

- Scissors (for cutting out the silhouette to trace) 

- Strong coffee. This is optional, obviously, but gosh coffee makes things that much more wonderful.

 How I did it:

   

First, I traced an outline around the picture I had cut out in pencil. Do this lightly, or else it might end up showing through the glitter. Then make sure you erase any pencil marks outside of the lines that you don't want to show in the final project. It's a lot easier to do before the glitter is added, trust me on this one (:

Then, I just applied the glitter glue in a pretty thick layer (think: the amount of frosting you'd like on a cookie, rather than the amount of paint you put on a wall). After that I just let it dry for the rest of the day and it was all done!

Heads up, the glitter glue takes longer than you think it would to dry because we're applying it on so thickly. So, give it plenty of time to dry out and try not to poke at it too much (I'm totally guilty of this!) because it leaves funny little marks all over it once it's done.

   

And that's it! It seriously is that simple, but it's such a cute little piece! I think it'd be really fun to do a saying in glitter, or maybe some other silhouettes in different colors. You can really take this project anywhere. The sky is the limit. 

 Yay!

December Goals

 

Oh, December. Thanksgiving has passed, the leaves on the trees are gone, and the temperature hardly ever goes above 40 degrees. Pine trees are lighted and placed by windows, the smell of cinnamon fills the air, and the promise of snow lingers. I like December. I like Christmas and everything that comes along with it. I like snow.

Around here, December means business in the forms of final exams, Christmas, multiple birthdays, and our church's largest conference of the year. So, I think the biggest thing to remember for the month is this: slow down.  Take each day one-by-one, enjoy each moment and every activity, and remember to rest.

We're already quite a ways into the month (err...halfway through), but I thought I'd still make some goals to accomplish for the month because, well, why not?

- Do family time well.

- Finish Christmas shopping "early"

- Rest. Really rest.

- Try a new holiday recipe.

Sounds good to me.

Currently: California Edition

I am remembering how much I enjoy traveling. The packing, the busy airpots, the ending up somewhere different after just a few hours.

I am exploring beaches at low-tide, hi-tide, sunset, sunrise, and everything else in-between.

I am drinking two cups of coffee a day. No one tell my mum (;

I am using my flats for carrying pretty seashells to take home.

I am going barefoot whenever I can because it's back to boots and thirty degrees when I get back to the Midwest.

I am spending as much time as possible with the ones I love here.

I am waking up early and relishing in the quiet couple of hours before the rest of the house rises.

I am thankful for family, friends, and the season I'm in. Also, for cranberry relish. Yum.

P.S. I was actually in California over Thanksgiving break and haven't had the chance to post anything since then (thank you finals weeks!). So, here's a little something to fill the void of space here and something to remind me of my wonderful week on the beach.

On The Reminder Found In Free Coffee

Over the past eight days I have gotten six free cups of coffee. Six. Not because I work at a coffee shop, because I do not. Not all from the same person. Not because I asked for a single one of them, because I'm not very persuasive. But because the Lord me of something that I so easily forget. The six cups of coffee are God's way of screaming at me:

"I see you. I see the little desires in your heart, like coffee, and I'm going to give 

them to you because I want you to realize that I see the big desires, too. I see 

your heart and I've actually put a lot of the desires in there. They will come to 

pass, it's just not time yet."

My heart so desperately needed this reminder over the past week. In the midst of comparison, hurt feelings, and evaluations I wasn't expecting. In the midst of the waiting, which stinks, I needed to be reminded that the Lord's sees me and that He values the things in my heart.

So, be encouraged, wether it be with free coffee or not, that the Lord sees you. He sees your heart and He's working all things for your good.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work 

together for good, for those who are called according to Him purpose."

- Romans 8:28

Hallelujah.