Monday, November 25, 2013

A St Louis Ball Game and the Arch

I had a work trip back in August and one night we went to a ball game. This was the view of the Arch from where we parked. The last and only time I have ever been to St Louis, was 7 years ago when Thomas graduated boot camp.

Wow. Time flies.



It's a little hard to notice, but for those non baseball fans, the random line that looks like it is not perfect in the field, is actually the Arch. It is intentional. But it still made my OCD a little crazy.



As we were watching the game, there was also a crazy lightening show going on. If you look right above the B of the Budweiser sign you can see where it is lit up.


All in all, a beautiful night.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Start of My 365 Thankfuls








If you want to join in, it is never too late. Here are the One Thousand Gift Templates for you to follow along with. I have loved picking up my camera every day. Even if it is right before I go to bed.

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Blessings from Infertility



As we continue down this path of enlarging our family, I love the place where we are at right now. I promised in a previous post I would share what I have learned over the past few months, so here you are.

Back in August a friend texted me and little did I know that it would be that text that would start the beginning of this email. She simply asked if I wanted to hang out that night. It was the first night in months that I actually had no plans, so after we made some dinner, we went off on a walk. We covered lots of ground both in our conversation and where we walked. 7.5 miles later! The real life changing aspect was 2 fold.

First off, we started the 30 Days of Real challenge, which I shared about before. This was life changing for 2 reasons. One, because it is so easy to get into your own life and forget that the people all around you are struggling with both the same things as well as things I have no idea they are struggling with! Wow. The second part brings all of that to the fore front. I realized that I am so “me” centered. Those 30 days brought to my attention so many things that I just don’t think about every day. Not very pretty stuff about myself. That was the beginning of God breaking me.

Second, during that 7.5 miles of talking, I expressed the desire to start doing a bible study. This sounds simple, but this is something I had the desiring to do for a year and a half. I had been praying about who to study with and well God had the perfect person in mind. It took us a few weeks to actually start the study, but wow. Between 30 Days of Real and then 10 weeks of diving into the book of Esther, God did a work on my heart.

It has been about 10 years since I did an in depth study into God’s Word and walked away with this crazy desire to be in His Word every day. Reading the bible every day has always been something I struggled with. I don’t know why since I love to read. I read dozens and dozens of books every year. Why is it so hard? Oh well, I am on the up and up now! We just finished Esther last week and we are going to start a new study next week. BUT…. I have been in the word every day since Nov 1st. My new 365 photo gifts challenge that I just started includes photography, thankfuls, and wait for it….. being in the Word every day for a year. So far, so good. Although it has only been 11 days, you have to start somewhere, right? How many days makes something a habit?

So…. Let’s bring this back to what this post is all about. Why I am thankful for our time of infertility. There are actually more reasons than I can count, but I will share a few. This has given me a time to get back in the Word and truly spend time with God. I may not be a parent yet, but I do know that quiet times will not be the same once we bring a wee one into the world. He is tugging at my heart to spend time and I am thankful to have those quiet moments with Him. He is also changing my heart to be more like His. I have been taking time to change those 30 real things that are unpleasent. That is why He made us right? To reflect His glory so that is what other people see and wonder. I know this will drastically change how I parent. So thankful for that. And finally, I love this time because it has allowed for Thomas and I to grow together in ways we never would have simply because of the questions we have had to dig down deep to answer. I love it. I love every second that it is just the two of us. Me and God. And me and Thomas. 

But I also keep praying for the day that we get to announce our 1+1=3.

There is a little of my attitude of gratitude today. 

Nothing like a beautiful double rainbow outside my window to remind me of God's promises.

Friday, November 1, 2013

The Next Year of Thankfuls



Many of you  suffered Through an entire month of me posting my "thankfuls". First off, thanks for putting up with that. Second, no I am not going to do that to you again this year. Although Thomas does still have to do it with me every morning. Thanks for putting up with me Thomas!

Over the past year I have heard many good things about the book One Thousand Gifts. I know many people have read it and it is powerful. Although I have not read it yet (I am getting it on Sunday!), I have been reading the author's blog from her website A Holy Experience. I love her passion for gratitude. And I love the printable she made to help you to come up with your own 1000 gifts.

And most of all, I love the reminder to be full of gratitude year round. So this Thanksgiving, not only am I going to write my daily "thankful", I am now going to write 3 "thankfuls" a day and continue it on through the next year.

On top of that, another goal I have is to improve my photography. A friend of mine introduced me to the blog Click It Up A Notch where she is doing a 365 photo challenge. So although I am not doing it with all the gals online, I am doing it with just my friend Laura. Of course I am not going to put you through that either. You're welcome. The whole idea is that by picking up your camera every day, you will become a better photographer simply by focusing on it every day. Hope it works!

And I hope to incorporate the two. Take better pictures of the things I am thankful for... EVERY DAY. Oh man, that seems like a lot, but that is what commitment and improvement in life is all about. Spending time doing it.

Which brings me to my final 365 challenge to myself. Get in the Word. I can honestly say that in the past 29 years, I have never been in God's Word every day for a year. I want that to change. 

So here are the 3 things I hope to do every day between now and Nov 1st, 2014.
1. document my gratitude
2. take a picture
3. get in the Word

My Ultimate Goal: