Monday, November 23, 2009

Oh, Monday.

It's 2 p.m. on Monday and so far the only thing getting me through the day is:

1. By noon on Wednesday, I'll be on my way home for the week.

and

2. There's cheesecake in the office fridge offering me a mid-day sweet escape.

I had FABULOUS weekend. It was filled with late night catch phrase. "Turkey hunting" for Pat. Dinner in SF with amazing girls. Inspired worship. Uplifting fellowship. Side splitting laughter. And feasting! I've got pictures to post. Later. Not now.
Because now, its time for cheesecake.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I Miss You.

Dear Sunshine,

I just wanted to say hello, since my time with you has been limited as of lately and I know it will only be more sparse from here on out. At least for a little bit. I thought you would like to know that I watch you everyday from my desk and dream of basking in your rays. I do, however, appreciate that you have left the heat behind for now. I still think you are really pretty, especially shining through the colorful leaves of fall. I love the time we spend together early in the mornings, and look forward to our time on the weekends. I know that you are spending some much needed time in the southern hemisphere right now, and I am sure they are grateful for your time there. Saturday is right around the corner, and I promise to spend some quality time with you.


With Love,

Ari



P.S. I've included a picture with the

two of us in case you
forgot what I look like.


Monday, November 09, 2009

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Ok, I am absolutely LOVING this weather. I am thrilled that for the last few days it has actually felt like November, and not May. I love the turning of the leaves, the chill in the air that makes you put on your favorite scarf, and the spirit of the holidays hanging in the air. Oh and did I mention how giddy I got when I saw starbucks has busted out the holiday cups?! How can you not be in cheery mood just by looking at it? Have that baby filled with a peppermint mocha and even Scrooge would become jolly. My heart is actually flittering with excitement just thinking about it all. It is hands down my favorite time of year. There's something enchanting about the changing colors on the leaves. I am just in awe of God's artisitc abilities. He never misses a detail.



I had a great weekend with no agenda, which is always nice. I spent Saturday running a few errands, and I decided to actually do one of the projects I've been dreaming about. So I busted out the sewing machine (which needed some MAJOR dusting off) and got to work. I got the idea from the blog Ruffles and Things, she did a t-shirt for her daughter and I thought it was too cute to not do one for myself. A lot of her ideas of J. Crew inspired which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. But their shirts can be a little pricey at times. So I did this one for $10!! All I needed was the shirt. I was going to attatch the pearls to the shirt as well, but I loved them too much to limit them to one shirt :)


I finished my weekend off on Sunday with Church, which was so inspiring. We had a man from India give his testimony and it was so moving. A stroll in the park, and college group Sunday night put me in the best place to start a new week. It was some much needed fellowship and worship time, that I was beyond grateful for. Sometimes I get so wrapped in my day to day routine I loose sight of the small blessings that make huge differences.
"So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." Romans 10:17
God bless you.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

You Know Your Life Is Exciting When...

Your mood can be greatly effected by a staple remover.
This is my personal favorite model. Oh Bostitch, be still my beating heart.


On a more exciting note, had a BIG test today, and I'm pretty sure I ROCKED it.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
Including removing the meanest staples ever.

Monday, November 02, 2009

What is that, a rollercoaster?

This will probably be a little bit of randomness but here it goes:

I got diagnosed with vertigo last week. If you don't know what it is, its not a roller coaster at six flags, which it sounds like. Actually it's exactly what it FEELS like. I get really bad headaches, which are then accompanied by intense dizziness and nausea. When I walk I feel like I'm a boat. Anyways, I have to go get a CT scan to rule out the possibility of a brain tumor, which is highly unlikely. None the less, if you could throw me in the mix during your prayers the next week or two, I would be much obliged.


Last week(end) was full of Fallapalooza madness, concluding Saturday night with the festivities. The event went off without a hitch, except for a few blown fuses. We had a massive turnout at Crossroads, 700+!! It was such a blessing to see every ones hard work and dedication come together for such a great community outreach event. So many members contributed something, whether it was time, money, prizes, or cupcakes nothing went unnoticed. And there's no way we could have done it without every little bit. So if you weren't a part of it this year, I strongly encourage you to do so next year. And if you didn't come, you missed a great time, and there will be room for you next year!!

Sunday afternoon/night, I spent in SF with a few members of my growth group on a prayer walk. What an eye opening thing to do. It was so empowering to walk around and pray out loud for anything and everything that we came across. God has BIG plans for that city, as believers we need to help in any way we can.

On a little more serious note, I am blown away with the ease the God communicates to me exactly what I need in my life. Sometimes its difficult but only because I am not patient enough to understand. He tends to put reoccurring themes in my life, often its something that I have been struggling with personally, and God brings it out in every turn in my life until I can see what He has placed in front of me. Lately its been faith. And it hit me like the most pleasant sack of bricks.
My friend told me little story about a woman who lost her son, and throughout her son's medical struggles she could her God whispering,

will you still praise me?

Her answer, yes Lord always.
And that was the attitude she still carries today. I was told the story a few weeks ago, but it didn't resonate until this morning. I had a rough night last night and had reached out to a good friend for some counsel. And she, gently, put me in my place. She had grace and compassion towards my feelings, but was so quick to turn my focus to the Holy Spirit, and to how blind I was being to its presence in the situation. I spent a lot of time in prayer this morning, I did some reading both from the Bible and few different sources, I reflected on Bruce's sermon yesterday (which was AWESOME, I could totally feel the presence of the Holy Spirit through his message), and I blog stalked. It led me to this amazing blog that was recommended to me a while ago; http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

"What you will find is that God is constantly asking us where we are, even while His eyes are fixed upon us. He wants our accountability, our recognition, our understanding of who we are compared to Him."

This quote really jumped out at me. Regardless of the situation I am going through God is watching me. Not only is He watching me but He is wanting to guide me to the right choices. But I have to have the faith in Him to give the power of the situation to Him. We are hopeless and lost without the guidance of Christ. But to be guided to His glory, we need to have faith that He will get us there. All too often I find myself forcing situations to happen how and when I see fit. And the timing is generally horribly off from God's and it never works for me. But when I give Him what He is looking for, He is quick to reveal Himself to me.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

I have probably rambled on for too long and have probably lost the few of you who are reading, but I pray that your faith is continually strengthened. I pray that you are still long enough to hear Him whisper. And I pray that we never loose sight of just how amazing out Saviour is.






Hopefully I'll get a few pictures up in the next couple of days. In the mean time here's a funny one of my good friend Jenny's dog, Allie, smothering me because I didn't want to give her kisses. Ok Allie, you win.


Have a wonderful week. God bless you.