(Ice cream) Sunday and Babysitting Goodbyes

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This was going to be a long day...I got to bed really late after work as usual on Saturday nights aka Sunday mornings, but at least it was before 1 am this time! But I'm dead. All day I could not stay awake; my eyes and head were dropping at everything. Church was really good, but I was struggling. All day I just tried to keep myself occupied to stay awake. I didn't have time to take a nap, but I would've given so much for one...

Pastor Dean's sermon was about how God is the giver of all things new. He forgives our sins, makes the sun rise each new day, changes hearts and lives in ways that we never could imagine. Passages of scripture about "new" have been great encouragement to me when I have struggled in the past and/or am trying to make a change in my life. He can take any bad situation, any sin, any sinner, and make them new. One of my favorite verses on this is Isaiah 43:19, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." 
Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 3:10 are about putting of the old self and on the new self that God made to be righteous. 
In the passage Pastor Dean used in Luke 5:36-39 and another I love in 2 Corinthians 5:17, old can't stay with the new. You must let go of what is holding you back and work in the life ahead!

This is a recurring theme in my life, especially lately with the studies I have been in! Personally (and usually with most people whether we admit it or not), I know the old that I need to get rid of. But we can't just get rid, we have to replace. New and good!

in Sunday School, our contemporary worship leader and his wife came as guest speakers. I have always loved them even before I really knew them. Last semester I got to work with Brooks in the media department as an internship in place of one of my classes. There are just some people that have that "something" about them that others admire. That's a gift from God. It is great to hear from people in all walks of life and how they have seen God at work and the advice they can give. Fellowship is one of the most powerful tools that we have!

My little kids are moving this week! I met the Mom and son on a dog walk in the old neighborhood the end of last summer, and I babysat them a time or two a month most of this year! It was really nice since they lived just down the road. I had never babysat before, but I apparently did well because they kept asking me to come back! Almost a year later, we have moved and now they are moving, too. The parents were taking an afternoon to get outside themselves, so I came and occupied the kids! David and Svea have grown up loving to be outdoors, which is something I admire about that family. It is hard to find people "not of this world" anymore. It was always good for me to get out and away from the rest of the world when I was with them, too. Today I took them some little things and some cake, then we went to the park to enjoy the beautiful day! We rode bikes, kind of (we walked a lot for the hills and roots), but David wanted to take his scooter. Svea and I didn't think that was a good idea, but he insisted and learned the hard way. Scooters are not made for trails.

Dad has been working almost nonstop on our dock for a week now. He is almost done, but it is another one of those projects that once he finally gets going, he doesn't stop. Bless his heart, he is such a hard worker, it just drags out. I am usually okay huger-wise eating dinner really late (a bad habit I've gotten into), but I have really felt the affects of this over time now. I eat later, have a really long day, do more stuff later, then get to bed later, and I just can't seem to get back on track. I have to.

**SOS my family needs sleep!

Today's holidays are National Give Something Away Day, National I Love Horses Day, and National Ice Cream Day! I didn't have anything to do with horses except drive past them on the road, but I did give my little babysitting kids a gift, card, and slice of cake! For the ice cream, here are just some pictures of the best ones...and some Breyer's that got me to win some for free from a Twitter contest!

Here we have Cold Stone Creamery (my mix from the beach with strawberry cake batter and triple berry yogurt with strawberry wafers, brownie, coconut), Breyer's, Kirk's (also from the beach, pistachio, coconut almond, blueberry pie, banana pudding), Halo Top (most of the flavors that I have tried are amazing), Bruster's (some of the best creative flavors and a good price!), Clumpies (local to Chattanooga, creative flavors!), Foote's Rest Sweet Shop (the one and only in downtown Frisco, Colorado, homemade daily!), and another not pictured is the Comfy Cow!

Third Time's the Charm

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Third Time's the Charm
9:10 AM on Tuesday, May 29th

This morning did not start off too well...I was late getting started to head to the old house to run, but then I realized I forgot my watch (which I had also done a day a couple weeks before). It was also raining. The weather forecast was wrong, as usual, but I don't like running in the rain. (At least it wasn't cold, I told myself) I hadn't gotten too far, so I turned around and ran upstairs and back out. Then after making it a little farther down the road, my windshield wiper flew off. Why? I don't know; it wasn't even raining hard. They were brand new wipers! Just a couple weeks old! So there I was, still driving down the road, called Mom to ask her what to do, and she told me to come back home because I can't be driving around in the rain with no windshield wipers (but I thought later now a legit reason to say that I couldn't go into work at moment's notice). Frustrated with circumstances but pleasantly surprised by Mom's encouragement, I headed out the door for a third time. This time I ran and made it the whole way with no disasters. The rain wasn't even bothersome.

Following this run, I was most excited to try a new egg scramble that I thought up. For some reason, I've been craving avocado lately. I didn't even like avocado until like two weeks ago. I think it's my mind and body trying to tell me something. So this bowl was scrambled egg (which I do in the microwave--so fluffy and fast!), avocado, and onion. And coffee, always (unless it's tea). "Life is crazy good" even though today life started out just crazy. I'm thankful to have been safe, healthy, and able to run.

After taking one last day to do a deep conditioner and face mask, I worked on some clean up and packing tasks around the house then laid down for a nap. When I'm having a hard time, this is something that I have come to cherish to get me through a day. My sleep has not been acceptable the past few months, so I'm trying to make up for it where I can. It was a great nap, too.

Lesson learned, I can get blood drawn and shots no problem, but stick something through my ear, and it tears me up. I'm personally fine with it; there is just something about the afterthought of there being a hole punched through my cartilage that makes me sick when something goes wrong. Long story short, I tried to change my stud to a hoop, and it was a curved post that I could not get in the right angle. I finally did, but then I couldn't latch the back, asked for Mom's help, and that was even worse than just trying to get it through my ear. I almost passed out/threw up twice and ended up leaving it until the next day not even latched in the back.

Next up was another new wonderful waffle! I really like carrot cake, and I discovered that using leftover canned carrots from previous dinners is one of the tastiest things...I've started using it in both oatmeal and waffles! I'm also in that point before vacation where you throw together random leftovers, so in this batter was also some peas, white beans, and pineapple juice. For the carrot cake affect the batter also had almonds and raisins, which is more normal. The topping was peas, carrots, honey, juice, and maple peanut butter.

Another habit that we have gotten into is eating dinner really late. So this night Mom and I actually sat down around 7! That was early! So I took a break between dinner and dessert to do my devotion for the day.

I have all kinds of Bible study things I would love to get to, but I have come to really believe in quality over quantity. Some days I may only get through a few verses or one small page in a devotional, but it can still speak to my heart more than much lengthier things sometimes. All it takes is a little work of the Spirit. The last in a series of 4 about seeking to glorify God, this was focused on trials. In Philippians 1:29, we are told to remember that with believing in Him includes suffering for Him. But we can find peace when we suffer in living for Christ because then we are doing something right. If life was easy in this world, if the world accepted us, we would not be living the life Christ has called us to. What really stood out to me here was the direction of prayers. It is natural to want to pray for relief from a circumstance (even Jesus asked if the Father could save the world any other way), but the way we should turn our hearts is to change our attitude. The challenges we face are great opportunities to grow personally and to share with others. “Tests lead to testimony.” I can surely attest to that. No, I don’t like all the things I have been through, but I am thankful for them. I may have failed, but I have received grace, mercy, and strength to come back and be able to try again, and more importantly, to share the encouragement that I have received with others.

Speaking of encouragement...Beth Moore is a good one, and I am glad to see that she seems to support the Warriors! GSW FTW.

And it was national paperclip day. Small, but so handy! Papers, picking out things, poking things, unlocking doors...