August already

It's very hard to believe that August is just a few short days away.  With the fall like weather it is making it easier to say so long to summer and camp out in my windowless classroom for the next 10 months!  It was also made a little bit more apparant that this summer break is coming to a close when I finally built the bookshelf I had been meaning to make for the past two months.  I am such a procrastinator!  There was no way I would be able to build a shelf on my own and this was brought my attention as we are standing in Menards, me and the boy, looking at buying prefinished wood, a girls best friend.  Anyways I was telling him my demenions and he was like well actually then you need this much because you have to remember the board itself is 1/4" thick.  OH GEEZE!  You are so right, what else didn't I think about before starting this project!  :)  Things like, is the wood we just bought going to fit into the CAR that we brought?  No, no a 4x4 piece of plywood does not fit in the back of a Cadilac.  :)  Good thing we were building this just a few blocks from the Menards which is where my Vue was parked which does fit a 4x4 piece of plywood.  Needless to say I got a lot of, been there done that, looks as I was holding the plywood standing next to the building waiting for my chariot to arrive.  :) 
So the preparation for building the shelf had a speed bump in it.  The rest was smooth sailing and actually turned out perfect!




Now I just need some textbooks and very eager students!

Fearless

This week while I was visiting a certain boy I have become quite fond of, the topic of books came up.  He isn't much of a read but he wanted to buy a good book to read.  I might have rubbed off on him since he will on occasions be watching tv while I am reading a book I just can't put down.  So on Sunday after church we went to book world, which I never knew existed in our moderately sized town.  He found a good beginners book- filled with manly action and not too long.  I found two books that I decided to give a whirl too. 

#1 Fearless by Max Lucado                             and                      #2 Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

 


I have a friend who read Fearless and found it to be very insightful.  After a few meltdowns last week that took me completely off guard and the wanting for more meaning in life I decided reading a book about not living in fear and instead embracing faith, might be exactly what I need.  I am on chapter 3 and already am being reminded of everything I already knew but needed to hear again.

First of all when we live in fear we become a angry.  Fear and happiness don't coincide. 
Second why are we afraid?  There are countless verses in the bible where God reassures us that we don't need to be afraid.  We are more valuable than the sparrow, He knows the number of hairs on our head.  Yet I have the nerve to be afraid!  Do I doubt the great provider?  Yup, why because I have decided to revert back to my old ways of leaning on my own understanding and paving my own way.  "lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."  I can say over and over again that God's plan is far better than mine.  However, I usually only says that after being sick with worry and several months of things working themselves out, according to his plan.  I need to learn to say that God's plan is better than mine no matter the circumstance.  I should also believe it with my whole heart, not just say it.  :S


So that was my reminder to not live in fear but instead in faith.  Then the book goes into different kinds of fear.  For example, the fear of not being worth anything, not making a difference.  For this the book reminded me that I am "fearfully and wonderfully made."  "we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  #1 I am a masterpiece, I need to remind the devil of that when his unhealthy thoughts try to take up space in my head and heart.  #2 God planned for me to do good things long ago.

So those are my living life without fear reminders so far in this book Fearless.  I would recommend it to anyone needing a head and heart checkup or for those exploring alternatives to feelings of fear and despair that this world throws at us.  I haven't started Made to Crave yet but it looks a woman's life and how we crave the connection with God and other things but fill them with food!  I have not doubt that book will be very insightful too!
  

Knowing what you have, while you have it.

The phrase you don't know what you have until it's gone has never rung more true.  I have told you that my bff is in Gambia, Africa.  She has been there for about three weeks.  When she lived here we saw each other maybe once a week, a little less than that when we got really busy with our lives, but she was always a short message away.  Now I find that I have so many things that I want to tell someone, of course her, and she isn't there to tell.  Also, I want to know what she is doing!  I have been getting e-mail updates from her parents and let me say when I get those e-mails it is like Christmas!  The second I get the e-mail I share her adventures with anyone in ear shot!  Sorry for those strangers that hear about my endless stories of some random person you have never know.  :)

I think about what she could be doing and then I find myself wanting to know what could be in store for me.  I have had the restless, there's got to be something more in this life feeling before.  But haven't had it for awhile.  Until now, when I know, despite not hearing everyday, she is having adventures everyday!  I know she is learning, serving, and sacrificing things I take for granted everyday.  I have always wanted to be like her, her determination, her flexibility, and her independence.  Now I want to have a heart like her.  I want to serve.  I want to make a difference.  I don't want the repetition of doing the same thing everyday and maybe once in a while feel like it means something.  However, on the flip side of that, I freak out when there is change.  :)  Complicated I know.  The worst part is the one person who would actually get all of this rambling, is across the ocean right now.  :)  

A month without...

I have seen on several Pinterest boards that people set a month goal of going without something.  For instance the month of January- no pop, February- no fast food, March- no alcohol and so on depending what things you think you need to limit yourself on a little bit.  I hadn't found anything because I know if I say a month with no chocolate or candy it's going to be torture and I will not meet the goal.  However I do believe that I can eat healthier than what I am and it's only a month, you can do anything for a month right?  Isn't that the saying?  Oh wait the saying goes you can do anything for a minute which is usually my mantra while running long distances.  Well I guess this will be a lot of minutes put together but he I think I can do it!

 So I have decided to change it just a little bit.  I am going to for the remaining month of July and all of August not shop on the inner isle at the grocery store and I will not get groceries at WalMart or Target- I buy waay too much bad stuff at those super stores.  

I feel this will be beneficial because if I want sweets or something I will need to find a healthy alternative in the outside isles which in my mind are filled with more whole and less processed foods.  For instance your meat and cheese and fruits and veggies all on the outside of the store.  However- I don't know how your Hy-Vee is set-up buy mine has the ice cream isle on the outside near the cheese.  Hello to my go-to intense sweet craving- Blue Bunny Personal's -Frozen Yogurt!!  

So for those of you that would like to join me on my trip around the grocery store and not through feel free.  If you have never heard of this month long challenge that I listed at the beginning- pick a month, pick a pleasure that you indulge in way to much and try to go without it.  Let's do this!  

One of my many "moments"

After turning 25 this year I feel like I have been having more and more "moments" of forgetful/ridiculousness.  This is an example of one a few years ago- prior to the big 25 that I was reminded of today. 

If you look at previous posts there was one where I almost caught my apartment that I shared with my best friend on fire.  I love to cook but I had a major "moment" of error when I wanted to make beer battered green beans.  Since that moment I have been a bit more careful with cooking. 
I had to make hard boiled eggs.  I put the eggs in the pan with water and cranked them up on high.  A few minutes later I heard some "chip, chip chip..." coming from the pan.  First though- the eggs I just bought from Hy-Vee have live chicks in them and I am slowly killing them!!!! If you also know me I am not a fan of bird of any kind.  This was a pretty traumatic experience at time.  Thank goodness I had a roommate at the time and she got home when I was mid freak-out- she is soo good at coming in right at the perfect moment.  :)  Also thank goodness she is science brained and was able to discuss with me what was happening in my pan.  However, this also spurred our conversation and research project on how do you have one egg that is edible and one that has a baby chick in it.  Everyone laughs because they think it is ridiculous that two 25 year old educated women were so concerned and confused about this.  Before you judge look it up... it is complicated!

This reminiscing of old times was brought on when I was missing my old roommate and while I was making hard boiled eggs- deviled eggs, for a 4th of July dinner with my boyfriends family.  Yes, I am no longer an independent, do as I please girl.  I've been tied down a bit.  More on that later.  I've been battling with how to incorporate that into my blog.  More of how it's changed my life than who this man is.  :) 

Hope you had a good little laugh!  Happy 4th of July week!