A New Beginning

"It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got." -Sheryl Crow

I think this past weekend was one of the hottest on record, and of course, it was moving weekend.  The streets of Charleston were flooded with Uhauls and other moving trucks.  Anyone who visited this beloved and historical city this weekend got a big ole' surprise.  There was no parking or room to walk around because of all the furniture and belongings being moved into cars and into new homes. But for me, it was the start of a new beginning...and adventure to my first place.

After one year of no cable, no car, no walking alone after dark and rodents wanting to be pets of the apartment complex, it was finally time to leave King Street.  To say that I am happy is an understatement!

What a wonderfully humbling past year it has been.  With lacking certain "necessities" that I had been used to having my whole life, I still had more than most people walking around Charleston have ever had in their life.  Right outside my apartment were people sleeping in Marion Square.  How could I complain about not watching HGTV on my own personal television or having to go to a restaurant to watch the Women's World Cup?

With my last semester of college ahead of me, and a great job that I am thankful for, I have a whole new appreciation for the little things that I once took for granted.  I will enjoy having a parking spot (that is FREE),  paying for my own cable, and having a place to call home that is safe.  I am full of thanks to the Big Guy Upstairs for teaching me some extremely important lessons over this past year.

Now, to give some much needed credit to that little apartment...I was blessed with a great roommate and was about 10 feet from campus.  That's about it! :)

My challenge for you all this week (especially if you moved as well) is to be thankful for what you have and enjoy it!  As for me, I am going to enjoy a nice long nap and ibprofin after the past two days of hauling furniture!  I hope you all have an incredible first week of August!! Until next week...

Remember: Love what you have! 

Surprise!

"When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate.  And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow." -Shanna Niequist

Hello wonderful blogging world! I hope you have had an awesome week.  I thought my week was much less than awesome...until Friday that is.  Let's just say that this past week was one of those weeks that you are thankful for because they make you appreciate the good weeks.  You know what I mean?

This past week was filled with all sorts of craziness.  Let me just give you a quick example of what was experienced this eventful week:  too many people getting sick at work (including myself), testy attitudes, annoying insurance people that continue to put me on hold for at least 45 minutes, walking to work in 110+ heat index while still trying to look clean/professional, and going through my groceries much quicker than I should have...

I know that all of these things are quite petty.  For some reason, when all of them bunched together in attack mode this week, I fell to them and had one of the greatest pity-parties of all time.  I was pretty lame.  Little did I realize, until recently that is, that this is NOTHING in comparison to what other people have to face every day.  My "hard" week would be a type of heaven for others.  Who am I to complain?!  I have more than I could ever be thankful enough for!!

A few months ago, my bike was stolen from inside my apartment complex.  As bummed as I was, I just figured I was officially initiated into Charleston.  It was sort of a right of passage as a Charlestonian.  It really made me wish I had enough money to afford parking so I could have my car back.  Little did I know that my bike was stolen so that God could teach me a valuable lesson this week.  On Thursday, I met a youth pastor at the chiropractic office I work at.  We had a pleasant conversation talking about Hannah's Hope Ministries. It's so encouraging when God places so many fantastic people in that office who want to talk about their faith.  Well, to make a long story short, on Friday, I get a phone call at work telling me to come outside because the youth pastor has something for me...

A bike.  Are you kidding me?? What in the world have I done to deserve a bike from a new acquaintance?  He said that the Good Lord put it on his heart to give me means of transportation besides walking.  Technically, he does not want any credit for what he did and asked me not to tell anyone. Too bad, buddy! I am very thankful for what you did and I want you to take some much-needed credit!    He did good, too.  Not one splash of pink on the bike.  It's medium sized with white and light blue paint.  Winning!

Why do we complain so much when instead we should be thankful for what we do have?  This is something that I am going to try and make a part of my daily tasks, but I know will be a daily challenge.  Take time this week to really open your eyes.  Open them wide and see all the good things in your life.  We all have a little bad.  But, without those not-so-great obstacles in our lives, we wouldn't be able to recognize all the good.

Smile! Life is good :)

Mischief Managed

What do I do with my life now?...

This week was filled with so many mixed emotions for me.  As I'm sure many of you know, the final Harry Potter film premiered this week (and it was pretty epic I must admit).  In 5th grade, Mr. Gray read our class a book that would become a part of my life for the next 12 years.  Who knew that this one man would introduce me to a story that would capture my attention for all future book reports, long trips and any spare time to myself.  As excited as I was to finally see if my imagination had been correct while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I felt as if it was the end of something.  More than just the end of an era, but the end of my childhood.  Most people refer to me as a "35 year old" who gets more middle aged every year, but J.K. Rowling wrote books that kept me young at heart.

Even though I will always have the books and the DVDs, a part of me is pretty sad that there will be no more surprises from Harry, Hermione and my beloved Ron :) But, I have a feeling that Ms. Rowling will have something else up her creative sleeve for all of us Potter fans! Until then..."Mischief Managed".

Now, I promise that this blog post will not be a complete debbie-downer, because as you all know, this is a happy blog!  I just had to get that off my chest! 

Okay, now this part my seem sad, but I do have a happy thought to go along with it.  I am beyond bummed that the Women's US Soccer team lost the World Cup Final today.  I just knew we were going to win, and America would finally start believing in US Soccer...down the tube.  BUT, I must say, there is a much bigger lesson to be learned from today's game.  Not only did we give up way too many opportunities, but this match showed how quickly we all forget what really matters...

• Although we have dealt with some terrible natural disasters in our country, we have not had a tsunami rip our country apart.
• Even though we can find many things to complain about (the economy, politics, social issues, etc) at least we have the luxury of having our homes intact and our loved ones with us for the most part.
• Even though I WOULD HAVE LOVED for the US to finally have a soccer victory, Japan's victory meant so much more to their nation that it could have ever mattered to us.

You see, it's okay to be sad and disappointed that we lost after such a Cinderella-like story of a World Cup, but there was such a greater victory of positive news to cheer about in another country that was desperate for anything uplifting.  

I am proud to see some of the messages from Americans on Facebook displaying their love and support for Japan.  I know that each of these individuals is sad about the loss, but their response shows integrity and respect.  I am proud to be an American.  I am proud of our Women's US Soccer team!

"Look at people through lenses of love; see them from My perspective.  This is how you walk in the light and it pleases Me."  -Jesus Calling

I hope that each of you has such a wonderful week!  You never know what is planned for you this week, so get excited about the possibilities ahead of you!  Until then..

USA!!!!

Ah!! What an exciting game!!! Ben and I sat in Mellow Mushroom for 3 hours watching that crazy game!! I love watching American's come together, especially for a Women's World Cup game! Just a quick shout out to the Brazil team in thanks for their great acting skills.  If it weren't for their wasting of time pretending to be injured, we wouldn't have had 3 added minutes to score and tie up the game!  Way to not give up Team USA!!! :)

That was fun.  Now, onto this week's blog post!  Sorry for not getting one posted last week.  4th of July weekend made it very difficult to be at a computer!! These past couple of weeks have been difficult ones.  Even though I have more than I deserve to be thankful for, these past two weeks have been humbling ones for sure.  It's my fault though.  You see, I prayed for patience.  Now, for those of you who do not know, if you ask for patience, the Good Lord will give it to you.  I am definitely being tested in the patience department.

When it comes to buying your first place, patience is the WRONG thing to ask for.  Just when you think everything is going smoothly, WHAM!!! You get pushed back another month.  Now, this wouldn't be so bad if my lease didn't go out at the end of this month.  A new challenge of finding a temporary place to live for one month has become my new obstacle to tackle.  Thankfully, I do have options, but the wait was a hard pill to swallow.

Have you ever been there?  Maybe not with real estate, but in life?  You are on cloud 9, everything is going pretty great, and then all of a sudden, things change.  I am so thankful that I believe in a God that never experiences that.  NOTHING ever catches Him off guard.  Where as for us, without the crappy days, we would never appreciate the good.  So, I guess that is the silver lining.

One major lesson that I have learned through this entire process is that even though things happen and place situations out of our hands, they are never out of God's hands.  No matter what we face in life, there will always be a way out, another door will open or another opportunity will arise that we never saw coming.  We truly have nothing to fret about, yet we do it anyway. (I'm so guilty of being a fretter..)

Just like in the US v. Brazil game today, DON'T GIVE UP!  No matter our circumstances, there is always hope!  Make that your mantra for this week! No matter what each day brings, pray and know that God has a plan that cannot be faltered by anything that He doesn't already know about!  

"Who is in charge of your life?  If it is you, then you have reason to worry.  But, if it is I, then worry is both unnecessary and counterproductive."  -Jesus Calling 

Now, after such a fabulous game.  I am going to relax and enjoy the rest of this Sunday!! I hope each of you do the same! Looks like these two guys already got the memo! Until next weeek...