Intentional

I think more and more often about the time that I'm spending with people and how it's been more intentional lately. I love the people in my life and I want to include them in what's going on, as well as let them know that they matter to me. It's silly I know to be doing things like grocery shopping together, but getting the chance to do that with Lindsey yesterday was great :) and now I'm up in Watertown with Annie and I'm getting a really great chance to bond and spend time with her. It's great having these options available to me and I'm so thankful for it. Not to mention the dinner I got to make last night, it seems like life has been very intentional lately and I feel great about that :)

While life is good, to sustain that it's important to be in prayer, and lately I have been working at being in prayer more often. Some things I'm praying about:

Spain! (We're starting to raise funds, and planning to get tickets and accommodations made soon)
What God wants me to be doing this coming year
How I can be serving the community
The City of Brookings, as well as the University
Intervarsity's ministry and leadership
Ashley and Annie, as we are preparing our hearts and spirits for this trip

What have you been praying for lately?

God Bless
K

Nostalgic

I'm beginning to take more joy in blogging as sort of a therapeutic way for me to unwind and collect my thoughts at the end of the day. Plus, it helps that I have a whole day to inspire me with something to write about.

I've been feeling really nostalgic lately, and apparently I'm not the only one. Mav over at 3191 (also on my sandwich readings) posted this amazing post about visits to her grandmother and how it has inspired her daily life now. I love this post because of it's sincerity and the peace that it expresses. Ah, for the yesterdays of life.

Today was filled with chaos and emotions and happenings, but in a different way, today, I was happy. It's been a while since I could say with out any hesitation that I am sincerely and truly happy. And it's from that realization that I understand now how much I fret and worry over things that really don't matter.....

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Verse for the day I guess... God Bless

K

The Shock of Eating

Sorry about the break in posting! I was off this week for spring break and too my time to enjoy a week with G to meet the parents back home. It was a blast, to say the least. But all his raving about his mom's chicken enchiladas has me determined to cook this week! The question is.... what to cook??

So, like most resourceful college students, I went to the internet. And what did I find? Food Blogs!!! Lots of them! And boy am I loving it. I came across this site first and I started getting hungry so I scavenged my kitchen and discovered that I have most of the ingredients to make this sweet and sour chicken recipe and I even have the stuff right now to make cream cheese wontons and sticky rice... so I think I'll be cooking up some chinese all my own this week.

Also, I'm super excited to make this spin on tortellini add-ins with tri-color tortellini stuffed with cheese and spinach.

And to convince myself into actually eating "breakfast," I'm going to whip up some super easy mini-muffins from pillsbury... possibly blueberry, or chocolate just to save myself the shock of eating in the morning!

So my challenge to myself... cook! (and take pictures...)
and my challenge to all of you? Try a new recipe!

Happy Cooking!
K

Great Inspiration.

I just want to share this with ya'll. Again, Great inspiration.

Feeling Human

I feel so human right now. And so vulnerable. Job 13:14 says "Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my own hands?"

I'm at that pivotal point of realization and questioning, but there, and there alone it seems. I can't spur myself on into change, nor can I allow myself retreat back into my previous ways. Everything feels so out of proportion right now, and crying just seems like a good idea. *sigh*

It's the days when the world weighs heaviest on me that I struggle more to see God in what goes on around me. The problem I face in that, is that I continuously forget to see God in myself and what He is doing in me, aka, my self-perception goes out the window. Today, I have tried seemingly victoriously to help out others in my life, only to have them all come to a screeching halt when I stopped to think of myself, and my keys. I inconvenienced friends and really beat myself up over something so insignificant. Why did I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my own hands? I kicked myself and got down rather than allowing God to take care of me through my friends. I was so busy taking care of everyone else, that I just didn't see the opportunity to be taken care of.

This is not the first time that this lesson has kicked my butt. It's harder for me to ask for help then it is to press on through the hardest parts of my life, but through some amazing friends and family, I have been learning in the last year to ask for help.

God is amazing and I know He has huge plans for me, and if they are what I think that they are, they will work out as He allows. If not, well then, He'll close that door. For me, I'm just searching for inspiration. Today, this was it. I'm going to try to be more intentional about looking for things that are positive, things I'm thankful for, things I enjoy, and things that inspire me. In the meantime.... I'm relying on faith to get me through this.