Thanksgiving Week.

It doesn't seem like Thanksgiving week to me. I'm not sure if it is just because I have been so busy, but the time has seriously flown by. I feel like it was just summer time. Anyways, whether I believe it or not, it's already Thanksgiving. I wanted to take a minute to talk about things that I am thankful for, because there are so many.

Jesus. He gave me life, gives me everything I could ever need, and truly loves me.

My husband. My other half. The one who hold me when I cry, tickles me when I need a laugh, supports me in everything, and loves me unconditionally.

My best friend. The one I can count on for anything and everything.

My job. Teaching is so much more than a job, its a passion. My kids fill my heart every day and without a doubt they have changed my life and continue to  each day. My job also provides me with an income that allows me to have enough money for anything that I need and most things that I want. I also have the best coworkers, so blessed.

My family. I have two parents who love me, siblings who I have great relationships with, and extended family who all care about me. We may not all get along, but we come together when we need to and all love each other.

My apartment. As much as I am eager to get into a house, I love our little home together. It's clean, warm, and comfortable.

My friends. I have such a strong group of friends who I know will always have my back and are only a phone call away. We might not see each other often, but there is a depth to our friendships that will always remain.

My church. My husband and I have both been getting more involved in our church and it really is starting to feel like home. I am leading a group of high school girls now and he serves in the worship band. We are meeting more people and I am loving it even more.

I hope all of you are feeling as blessed and thankful as I am this week. Sometimes even when it's hard, it helps to focus on the good, because there is so much good in our lives even through the difficulties. 

Weekend && Christmas Recap

I'm sitting here in my living room looking at a mess of gifts that we brought home yesterday and it's impossible not to smile and also feel completely overwhelmed. My mom goes crazy with gift giving, I think it's her love language, and I love her for it because it's mine too. Here's a glimpse into what our holiday looked like.

Christmas Eve
We went over to my aunt's for a small dinner with just my immediate family, aunt, and grandad. We had some delicious pork and hung out for a little bit. After that we went to church which is always my favorite part of the night. Almost all of our small group was there, plus some of my moms friends and a few people I knew from work. It is so nice to feel so familiar and at home at church, which I really do. We had a wonderful candle light service and it was so special. I felt so connected to Jesus at that moment which is exactly what I wanted.

After church C and I went back to my moms and watched Elf with my mom, her boyfriend, and my little brother. It was so nice to just be at home, relaxing, and watching movies. We stayed at my moms that night so that we were ready for Christmas morning!

Christmas
We always have a huge traditional breakfast at my Grandad's house where it is the boys job to cook for the girls. We were over at 8am for C to do his job, and we ate at exactly 8:30. It's one of those things that has never changed in my life and I love it. We eat a ton of food because then we don't eat again until dinner.

We opened presents from my Grandad and Aunt at his house and that lasted a couple of hours. There is a lot of laughing and chatting in between and we open one at a time so that we can all watch each other.

We headed back to my moms house (they live a block away) and waited for my Grandad and Aunt to join us for present opening round 2. Like I mentioned, my mom goes a little crazy. We started opening presents at 12:45 ish, had to break for an AMAZING dinner around 3, and then got back to it and didn't finished until after 5. Talk about a marathon.

This is everything that I received an C has a pile equally as large. I am most excited for my nativity and am considering putting it up for a couple of days just so I can look at how beautiful it is.  I also got a ton of work shirts which I am excited for becuase I have been so tired of my clothes. My mom got me a few things for the wedding, those cocktail napkins, an engraved cake set, and the silver present is our card box. My mom's boyfriend got us a luggage set which didn't make the picture, which we can use for our honeymoon.

We almost couldn't fit it all in C's car it was that much. Their generosity was overwhelming. It was such a fun and perfect day with my family. My job today is to find homes for all of these wonderful gifts and then head back to my Grandad's for our final Christmas meal, Boxing Day dinner.

Saturday
We had one of those days where you literally don't leave the house. We had a lot of cleaning to do and organizing so we put away all of the gifts and cleaned our apartment. Then C and I spent a lot of time relaxing on the couch and enjoying the time off.

Sunday
The day started with church and grocery shopping, then we went and signed up for the gym! I've been needing to and I am really excited to get back in shape. I have 7 months until wedding day so it's time to get serious. I'm going to zumba this morning. :)

We watched the Seahawks game at my mom's with my brother and then had a lazy night at home. It was a perfect, relaxing weekend!

Linking up with the ladies below. :)

Weekending: Wedding Number Three

This weekend was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.

Friday evening my fiance and I ordered pizza and hung out at home watching the Seahawks game. In the years that I have known him I've gone from a girl who knows nothing about football to one who actually enjoys watching it and is actually in a Fantasy Football League this year! I'm ready to show those boys how it's done! :]

Saturday morning we went and picked up my ring from the jeweler because it had to be resized. I missed it this week so I was happy to have it back.

That night we went to another wedding, the third in three weeks for us, and that was a really fun time. It was for a girl I've known since elementary school and her and her fiance both went to the same college we went to so there were a lot of familiar faces. It was a very young wedding which is how I hope ours will be, a good party && lots of dancing. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have but here is one I snagged from the instagram hashtag of some of their decor.

Today church was good, like...really good. Some days I just have constant chills and goosebumps and feel so present in that moment with the Lord. Today the service was amazing && we sang this song is response to the message, it was powerful. 

I went shopping with my best friend && got a new pair of jeans && cute top from the Gap. I'm desperate for some new teacher clothes so those were a good addition.  This afternoon I've been continuing my hunt for the perfect wedding venue, catching up on shows on my DVR, and creeping on the facebook/instagrams of my other friends who got married this weekend. 

Linking up with these lovely ladies.

I'm planning to spend at least 8 hours in my classroom tomorrow...hello, framework writing, decorating, and Nationals planning! 

Happy Monday! 

Fall

This weekend we had a streak of two sunny days in the 70s and this was amazing after a stretch of record breaking rain in my area. I'm not sure if it was the weather or the fact that I had a lot of time to myself but this weekend was a really good one.

On Friday we had a silent auction to raise money for my students and their trip to Nationals. I was basically in charge of it so it was pretty stressful but the night was such a success. All of the people who attended were so generous and it was a really fun event. We made a lot of money for the kids and that makes me so happy.

Since I got my first paycheck this week I told my mom that I wanted to go shopping, so we did! I didn't spend too much but got some more school clothes, including a scarf and dress that I am super excited about. I still need to find some good new boots but those are always a struggle for me. I need to splurge and by expensive ones that will last but I am so cheap! it's a serious issue.

Today I spent most of the day at church, serving, attending service, then at a leaders meeting for kids ministry but in the afternoon I went to a pumpkin patch and corn maze which was a blast. The sunny weather was perfect and the group I was with was a lot of fun.

This evening I even had time to catch up on some quality reality tv that I had on my dvr and relax. It's so nice to have a little time to myself. This week is going to be a lot less busy (I hope) and I get to see my boyfriend this weekend. It should be a good week!

Happy Monday!

Heaven

Today was one of those days at church where it really hit home and made me think. We have been studying the bible from cover to cover for the past 8 months and today was the end, we made it to Revelation. I'm going to highlight some of the things that my pastor said that really shook me.

1. The only thing that we can take to Heaven is other people. Whoa! All of the people who I am surrounded with on Earth are exactly the people who I want to be surrounded by for eternity...but are they all believers? Sadly, no. What do I need to start doing to have an impact on everyone in my life, including getting them to believe, accept the Lord, and end up in heaven with me.

2. Heaven is so great that we can't even compare it to Earth. By making it seem like Earth is a good place to live, we are making heaven smaller. We are meant to be on this Earth to do work for the Lord but it doesn't end there, it is about eternity in heaven. It's hard to accept that we aren't meant to remain on this Earth but we need to remember how amazing heaven is and that we can't even compare it to Earth.

3. Heaven is a place of sweet reunions. When we arrive and go through those pearl gates we will be surrounded by people from all different time periods and all different parts of the world. There are people who we will be able to talk to and learn from, but first we will head straight to the arms of our loved ones who are up there waiting for us. The people who we have been missing for a few days, a few years, or many years, will be there with arms wide open.

The last part made me think about the people in my life who I have lost and if they were believers and are waiting for me. My heart breaks thinking about a certain person in my life who might not be up there but I try to believe that the Lord is merciful and maybe, somehow, he made it and is waiting up there for me.

That's what on my mind this Sunday. Have a great week!

Jesus' Miracles

If I miss church on Sundays I love to listen to the sermons in my car when I am making long drives. Yesterday since I drove for almost 4 hours I decided it was the perfect time to catch up on the messages I missed from the past two weeks when I was on vacation.

Right now we are reading through the Gospels about the life of Jesus. Whenever I read these stories I am amazed by the love that Jesus has and all that he did for the people around him. He performed multiple miracles to make people believe in who he was and what he came here to do. One of my favorites is the story of feeding the 5,000. My dad used to reference this story when I was a kid and when I saw it in my reading I instantly knew what he was talking about. Jesus will always provide. He provided those thousands of people with their fill, it was a miracle. When he was in a boat in Sea of Galilee with his disciples they came across a storm. They were all worried that they would sink and drown but Jesus told them not to worry, to have faith, and he calmed the storm. This showed how powerful he was. Yes he could heal the sick, make the blind see, rid people of demons, but he also could control nature which was even more impressive to the people around him.

These miracles are impressive to read about, but I know that some people have a hard time making them relatable in real life. If I stop and think about my life, I know that I can see many miracles right in my own life. I have a brother who was born weighing less than two pounds. It was a miracle that he survived and now he is healthier than ever, just ran a marathon last weekend, and is taller than me! I decided to become a teacher and in student teaching I found that I was at the perfect school. There wasn't an opening there and I was discouraged and sad that I'd have to leave. One day I found out that the teacher in my subject area resigned and I applied, interviewed, and was hired. It was a miracle. Miracles are all around us if we open our eyes to see them.

In the sermon my pastor was talking about how Jesus is not a genie, you can't just call on him when you want and ask him to grant your wishes. It doesn't work like that, Jesus wants to be part of you life all of the time, not just when you need something. It made me evaluate my life, am I only calling on Jesus when I need him? Lately I have been striving to make sure to be more thankful than ever. I know that there are so many things in this life that I have been blessed with and it is important to take the time to thank Jesus for each of those gifts. Without him, I would have nothing.

What miracles have happened in your life? Thank God for them. What are you feeling blessed with right now? Thank God for the blessings.

Happy Saturday!

-J

an open door.

Today in my Bible reading I was in the book of Esther. I was eager to begin this book because I know that there are a lot of great devotional that go along with it so I figured that it must be a good one! I simply read the scripture myself and didn't use a devotional, but I look forward to revisiting it and diving into it deeper in the future.

After my reading I thought about some of the messages that I got from the scripture and the one that stuck out at me the most was how thankful I am that God always allows us to speak to him. Unlike the King who doesn't allow visitors, he is always welcoming us and our problems. No matter what is going on in my life I know that I can turn to the Lord for guidance. He is willing to take some of my burden so that I do not have to carry it alone. Esther was brave and she was willing to face her king for her people, despite the chances of her being punished for her actions. While we can all learn something from her bravery and dedication to her people, I am thankful that we have a King who is always approaching and begging to be in our lives. What a wonderful King.

-J

Waiting for Sunday.

When I was in college, Sunday used to be the day of the week that we all dreaded. Sure, it meant that we could sit in sweats, watch tv, and not leave the couch all day, but it also meant homework and the impeding doom of Monday. Now I find myself looking forward to Sundays more than almost any other day of the week (Friday's are still tough to beat :P) because I know how much going to church will fill my heart and spirit.

I love my church. I've been to a couple different ones and I feel completely at home and accepted in this one. The people are great and I just joined a small group which is making the experience even better. Sunday mornings are my favorite because I love singing with a room full of people, praising God, and lifting up his name. I sing those songs in the car by myself all the time, but it feels so powerful when there are hundreds of other voices alongside mine. It makes me feel so good. I love when our pastor gets up to speak and God allows his message to speak to me. There are so many days when the message fits exactly what is happening in my life and it makes me feel so much better when I leave knowing exactly what I need to do. God hears my problems, He hears me calling, and sometimes this is His way of giving me answers. It is powerful. God is good.


Time to go straighten my hair and make some breakfast.
What do you love about your church?

-J