Thankful Thursday (39)

"So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him!  Shout for JOY, all you whose hearts are pure!"  ~Psalm 32:11

Today, I am thankful for...
1.  A fun girls' night at the Melting Pot (cheese & chocolate fondue!) to celebrate Bobbi's birthday!! =)

2.  Jennie (in the blue) and Kacie -- two new girls in our Lifegroup, both really fun and really genuine! :)

3. Cooler weather... it has finally cooled down to a point where I can wear my hoodies!!!!  ^^And as always, I am very thankful for cute/comfy hoodies. =)
4.  Fun LG potluck dinners... for the great food and the real friendships! =)

5.  Roses!!  (I bought them for myself, yes, but I'm mainly feeling thankful for the BEAUTY of them!)  *Also, this pic is hilarious to me bc you can see my lipstick print from when I got a little too close smelling the yellow rose! =) 

6.  My new camera... still learning all about it, but the picture quality difference is amazing!
7.  Heavenly PEACE. (I could've said divine peace, but then you wouldn't have Silent Night in your head right now.) =)

Song of the Week = SEPTEMBER by Earth Wind & FIIIRE!  (-Undercover Brother... only Rach and Mom will get that part.)

Letdown...

So this was one of the previews before our movie yesterday.  As soon as "Rose" (#4 on the Titanic soundtrack) started playing, Mom and I both kinda braced ourselves and took a deep breath, and I said, "Get excited!!" 

...cut to Alvin squealing, "I'm the king of the world!" :(  My dad thought that was especially funny. lol  Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Truth be told, I can get excited about a new Chipmunks movie too. :)  Theodore is just precious!

Quotables

"It’s brilliant stuff when you stop reading it to figure out if you’re right or wrong about something. It’s life-changing, actually, the way your life gets changed by a friend over time."  ~Don Miller, on the Bible

"That had to be a God thing... because I could be a sex offender right now!"  ~CLW

"Bye, Lindsey-boat ...because you have a boat on your shirt!  ...Bye, Mike-pocket-whale!" =) ~Triston lolol

"My characters crack me up with the things they say."  ~Malori :)

"About LaFortune, I asked my hips about it. The left one was quite agreeable; the right one went all crochety 80-year-old man on me again. :P"  ~Laura, (in a random older FB message) :)

"I try to tell people how essential I am to a party, but no one seems to understand!"  ~Chet  (...it's true!)

"On behalf of PSO, I'd like to apologize..."  ~Jeff (when the power at his house was out and we moved the party)

"It's weird to go a whole day without seeing you."  ~Jeff's text to Chet! lol

"Someday when I grow up, I wanna be feisty like T!"  ~Malori
.......(long pause)
"Someday!??"  ~Me

"Justin, you should do something funny so I can be happy again!"  ~Triston, during a "quiet break"

"Well that was kind of a downer."  ~Malori, after seeing One Day... a definite understatement! lol

"I'm gonna give you an uncle sandwich!"  ~Trison, slightly confused on how that saying goes :)

"My knee always hurts when I'm walking - do you know what might cause that?" -Brittany
"It's 'cause your butt's weak.  Just start doing a lot of squats and lunges and it'll really improve."  -Kacie
"Foolishness!"  -Brittany (I love it! lol)
"What??"  -Kacie
"Uh, yeah, I'll try that!"  ~Brittany :)

"Divorce is always hard, especially on the kids. 'Course, I'm the result of my parents having stayed together, so ya never know!"  ~George Costanza (oh, how I love him! lol)

Ted:  "Wow... that's a tough one. Y'know who I think could handle a problem like that?"
Marshall: "Who?"
Ted: "Future Ted & Future Marshall!"
Marshall: "Totally. Let's let those guys handle it."
...I think about this quote whenever I'm tempted to worry about something in the distant future. :)

Forever Young

I adore this song, but can't find a good video of the Rod Stewart version... so I'm just posting the lyrics instead, which might be even better.

Song of the week:  Forever Young

"May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam

And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home

And may you grow to be proud, dignified, and true

And do unto others as you'd have done to you.

Be courageous and be brave,

And in my heart, you'll always stay

Forever Young.

May good fortune be with you; may your guiding light be strong

Build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond

And may you never love in vain

And in my heart, you will remain

Forever Young.

And when you finally fly away, I'll be hoping that I served you well

For all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose,

I'm right behind you, win or lose!

Forever Young."

Thankful Thursday (38)

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."  ~Psalm 107:1

This one's a bit longer than normal. =)  Today, I'm thankful for...

1.  Amanda, for being an awesome leader for the LG, and for her flesh vs. spirit illustration last night! :) 

2.  Getting to join Jeff and Chet for tea time at McAlisters last Friday! lol  We talked about their upcoming Europe trip plans, and a possible Chicago trip! :)

3.  That Natalie's closing went smoothly, and for her beautiful new house!!  ...and for cute little Winston. =)

4.  Solid friendships and people who come together to help out when someone is moving or going through something hard!!  (Pic = pizza party at Natalie's after helping her move!)

5.  For the friendly staff and Christian atmosphere (hymns were being played on the piano in the lobby), and for the opportunity to volunteer at CTCA!

6.  That Mom is now cancer free and never had to go through chemo or radiation!!  (Pic = blurry phone pic of Mom and Dad taking a little walk as she was still in the hospital.  Note that he's holding the throwup bucket just in case.)

7.  Ducks! lol  (This pic was at LaFortune last week).  Funny, but true... I love ducks, especially the precious one in the Dawn commercial. :)

8.  That Rach and Josh are safe... there were major wildfires a mile from their house last night and they were preparing to be evacuated.  (Pic = Josh hosing down their roof!)

9.  Lovely LaFortune walks with Laura!! =)

10.  Ihloff Salon... always so relaxing and fun to me!  I got my hair cut and colored this week - (she got it the perfect shade of red, not too orange or too purple!) and they threw in a free makeover while the color was processing! =)

Song of the Week = How Great Thou Art performed by Carrie Underwood

Renewed Every Day

I went in yesterday for my tour of CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America).  The staff there is great and generally seem filled with joy and love for the patients.  Walking through the infusion room where patients are getting chemo was intense.  (That is where I will be volunteering, talking to anyone who wants to talk, getting them warm blankets if they're cold, snacks if they're hungry, etc.)  I love that, and I'm so excited about getting to do this!  ...and I already know it will make me sad.  To see them in  pain, to talk to their families and see them hurting emotionally, and to feel powerless to do much to help them.  But being there helps - I know that.  And praying for them - and with them when they're open to it - may help more than I will ever know.

Our lifegroup has been praying for a woman our age who is fighting breast cancer.  She has lost all her hair and is in the middle of her chemo treatments.  We are also praying for an older woman who is about to start radiation after finishing chemo.  My grandmother and my mom are both cancer survivors, and one of the volunteers I met yesterday was treated at CTCA four years ago and has been volunteering ever since.  My cousin is about to begin radiation to shrink a major tumor that is too close to his carotid artery for them to operate.  All of this is so close to my heart, and I get attached quickly to those who are suffering.  Chet prayed yesterday for the younger woman with cancer that God would "guard her mind," and that was perfect.  Especially in these situations, Satan attacks us with doubts about God's goodness and fear about the future, and with a general sense of despair.  There are so many people who are hurting and need love and hope... and the GREATEST hope we can point them to is in Christ!  I pray that we who are healthy will be a light and bring joy and comfort to those who are hurting in our circle, that our lives will bless them and renew their hope.

And to help myself stay strong, I've decided to memorize these verses this month:

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweights them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”~2 Corinthians 4:16-18
AMEN!

Escape Artist

So I've recently started reading The Peacemaker, a book recommended by my friend, Laura. :)  It is about learning to solve conflict in a way that pleases God... which is more difficult than we'd like to think.  I know the basic principles and I think it all sounds simple enough... until I actually encounter a conflict and it becomes personal... then it's much harder to stay on the peaceful middle ground. 

These are the basic responses to conflict: (in the book, they are graphed on a slope from one extreme to the other, which makes more sense)

Suicide -- Flight -- Denial  (Escape)
Overlook -- Reconciliation -- Negotiation -- Mediation -- Arbitration -- Accountability  (Peacemaking)
Assault -- Litigation -- Murder  (Attack)

I definitely tend toward the escape responses.  When something goes wrong in friendships or family relationships and I don't see any simple way to resolve the conflict, then I want OUT as quickly as possible!  Often, I feel panicked and sick, and I want to move.  Texas, Colorado, London, I don't care - just as long as I can make a fresh start that is conflict free.  It's irrational, yes, but it is where my mind goes first during any major problem or emotional pain.  And in the most extreme pain I've dealt with, my thoughts went to the most extreme escape response - not a heatlhy place to be.  Even in situations that others would consider minor, my oversensitive relationship-oriented personality can blow it out of proportion.  I hate it when I feel so fragile and alone - and often like such a pushover, so I do what I can to stop thinking about it... I'm certain that this is where my daydreaming and emotional eating come from - a sort of numbed out mini-escape.  "I have to be done" - I've heard myself say that a lot, but in the end, for me, that is as unrealistic as moving to a new state, so I typically end up turning toward a healthier response.  I'm going to work on getting there faster, though.  On trusting God more and making it my goal to honor Him rather than to escape the hard things life throws at me.  People are not perfect, myself included (obviously), so I'm praying for wisdom and grace in this area.  And I'm looking forward to reading more of this book... and hopefully learning how to keep healthy peace without being a pushover who silences herself for the good of others.

"When I resort to an escape response, I am generally focusing on 'me.'  I am looking for what is easy, convenient, or nonthreatening for myself.  When I use an attack response, I am generally focusing on 'you,' blaming you and expecting you to give in and solve the problem.  When I use a peacemaking response, my focus is on 'us.' I am aware of everyone's interests in the dispute, especially God's, and I am working toward mutual responsibility in solving a problem...

People who use escape responses are usually intent on 'peace-faking,' or making things look good even when they are not.  (This is especially common in the church, where people are often more concerned about the appearance of peace than the reality of peace.)  Attack responses are used by people who are prone to 'peace-breaking.'  They are more than willing to sacrifice peace and unity to get what they want.  Those who use the responses on the top of the slippery slope are committed to 'peace-making' and will work long and hard to achieve true justice and genuine harmony with others." 
~Ken Sande, The Peacemaker