from 'I' to 'we' in a way I never expected

because it's been just me for so long, I've been very aware of how often I've been saying 'we' this week. It used to be, 'I will be there' or 'I can do that' and has quickly become 'we will leave in...' 'we can do that'. I'd always imagined the 'we' looking much different though.

you're in your upper twenties, you didn't get married when all of your friends did so certainly you will by now and that's where your 'we' will begin. isn't it crazy how that is just the way that we think? it's even something that i've dreamed about for myself but fortunately (for God's plan), we aren't all exactly alike.

in this story, my 'I' became 'we' with receiving a distressed phone call and an immediate desire to help. 

a young girl who was a part of a ministry that I help lead was in immediate need of a home.

I have a home.

with zero training or preparation, proving this is something that only God can orchestrate, I am suddenly a foster mom to a 13-year-old girl.

there are so many questions that remain unanswered but if there is one thing I've learned - God doesn't ask us to care for the poor and needy, He demands it and demanding doesn't leave much room for me to ask questions or to worry about my needs or how I will be inconvenienced. it's about love, always about love.

so that's the story of how 'I' became 'we' and there's a real, live, God who gets the glory for it.

another brick

my toilet seat story.

I was sitting on my floor with a toilet seat in my lap, crying. I couldn't figure out the toilet seat on my own, I couldn't figure out how to install the light on my own, I couldn't do anything on my own. why would God give me a house I'm so incapable of fixing!?

after a minute or so of trying to think and be slightly clever, He told me to YouTube how to install a new toilet seat. I didn't want to. I wanted to give up and just have a guy come over and do it, it would take them like two seconds. He told me to YouTube it because I could do it myself and after all, it wasn't about it being easy or not, it was about trusting Him to help me, about experiencing Him. it was about building another beautiful, intimate brick onto my relationship with Him. it was about the satisfaction that I would feel after learning something new and completing the job, it was about loving Him more for helping me with a silly toilet seat. I could have called my friends' husband to come over and do it for me, but I'm so glad I didn't.

I am the vine, you are the branches. whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.          -john 15:5

work weekend with the fam

this past weekend was an awesome work weekend. it was so wonderful to have my parents and brother down here to help me with projects around my house. dad and brian added a finishing railing and gate to my previously open ended deck. they also built a bench which i'm super excited about! i could have never done that on my own and they did it with no plans and no instructions or anything! boys are so talented, i'm jealous.




while the guys were working on their suntans outdoors; mom, annetta, and i were busy inside painting my half bath, replacing door knobs (bye bye shiny brass knobs), cleaning, painting doors, and making lunches and snacks (very important for this hard working fam!). three of my neighbors stopped by to say 'hi' and introduce themselves. Edith, an elderly lady up the street, even brought us a pan of delicious sticky buns straight out of the oven!




Jade, Demi, Ameria, and Aniah came by to see what all was going on and helped Annetta nail in the bench seat! my parents helped me out and bought a lot of things for my house which was so super amazing! i even got a brand new vacuum for my carpet!

love my family!

my house may not always be perfectly clean,
but let's hope it never  gets to looking like this again!

here i am!

wow - it really HAS been a while, huh? my friend, Jen pleaded with me to update my blog (which, come to think of it, I'm not exactly sure why because she already knows everything about my life) and I have a couple minutes this morning so here you go!

so a couple months ago I decided my life wasn't busy enough (not) and decided to throw home ownership into the mix. it all seemed to have come out of nowhere but at the same time, I had no doubt that Jesus was asking me to buy this house. I am still not exactly sure why He wanted me to follow Him in doing this but I have my guesses: I was becoming quite comfortable in the comfortable life I was creating for myself, to allow me to get to know Him better through this, an opportunity to trust Him more, with this house i would be within walking distance of my UMA ministry girls... any of those reasons and maybe more that I am not aware of yet! one of the quotes i've been relating to lately is,

Jesus said that we should go,
He never said we would come back. - unknown 

He's blowing my 'worldly mind' out of the water with His way of thinking.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the Heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than you thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

there was a lot to do on the new house, a lot of little things which added up in time and $$, but it's basically completed and I am all moved in. I love my little house, I love coming home. the view from my front porch is one of my favorite parts

i absolutely love the skies here after a few days of rain. the clouds were thick this morning over the river

yesterday was my first car accident. it was rainy and everyone stopped quickly and i wasn't able to. boo :( the lady I hit was so kind though and the officer didn't give me a ticket! my sister drove me to work this morning, my friend is picking me up, and another friend offered me his extra vehicle until i can buy a new one! yay! God truly has provided.

Grandma Says...

well, here it is... Grandma's letters and phone calls have been pretty usual over the past couple months (other than her disapproval of my sister going on a missions trip to Africa because, 'all she has to do is pray for them, not go') but I wanted to record a special little line from a note I received earlier this week.

She hasn't been feeling very well lately so she was telling me how much downtime she has and how she enjoys sewing and making little projects. In my last letter to her I sent a picture of this little cloth zipper pouch that I saw on-line and thought was really cute. I asked if she wanted to make me a couple and apparently I also suggested she straight up sin while making them.

"I made 7 purses - some surprises. I couldn't bring myself to put movies on like you suggested. That's a NO-NO in my book. Worldly entertainment - I must chide you."

We all probably have different ideas of how Christians should be spending their time... she is very clear on her view :) She closes with, "Love as always & God's grace to you" because yes, I will be needing that grace the next time I sit down to watch a little 'worldly entertainment.'

she also took the liberty of sending me this super cute sketch of ways I could update the front of my new house