Eyes

With distracted eyes,
Come easy lies,
Come blurred directions,
In multiple sections,
of life.

We need to focus our eyes,
Actually get up and try,
To live a pleasing life to God,
Find a steady path to trod,
and glorify.

The Creator,
The Savior,
The Redeemer,
Who made life more,
The lamb,
Clothed in blood,
Sacrificed,
Turned rain into a flood,
Of grace,
washing us,
of love,
of trust,
My Lord,
My King,
My Friend,
My Everything,
The one who helps and holds,
Keeps us safe inside the fold,
While we were wandering,
searching,
with distracted eyes,
looking for lust,
looking for gold,
letting our hearts grow cold.
Cause we are looking in all the wrong places,
full of sin,
full of death.
Looking to Satan who wants to take away our life,
take away our breath.

Because our eyes didn't see...

How broken are we?
Oh, how broken are we?

You Oh Lord,
You save,
you heal,
You ache with us,
you feel what we feel,
even when we wander.
Even we we do not see.

You open our eyes,
and you forgive us each time.

Turn them back to You I pray,
 and keep them far away,
 from me.

Bring Out The Holly

Today we set up our indoor Christmas decorations,

we trimmed the tree with ornaments,

ate some chili,

had hot cocoa and pie,

played christmas charades,

watched Rudolph and some old Russian christmas shorts,

and of course listened to christmas music.

And now I am listening to an Acoustic Christmas playlist,

feeling comfy and cozy in my bed with some lit christmas lights on in my room,

and feeling full of the joy and magic of christmas.

Christmas always makes me feel like anything is possible.

I don't know why it does, but it does.

I'm just ready for the impossible.

And I am ready to spread love and joy.

Let the season commence.

Thanksgiving and the such

I am being very bad at keeping up with November. 

But I am okay with that so I hope you are too.

You see, life keeps me busy sometimes.

But I am enjoying that.

I hope your Thanksgiving was swell; mine sure was.

It consisted of yearly Thanksgiving soccer (in which I scored two goals).

A little bit of watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Starbucks Gingerbread Lattes with the sis.

Watching some of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

A Thanksgiving Feast full of all my favorites; turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, coffee and pumpkin pie.

Family, and friends.

Laughter and sharing of stories and feeling united together.

Exchanging little pieces of our lives.

Making memories and jokes.

Talking politics.

Ending the night full of food, but most importantly, full of joy and love.

Today was good too.

It was yearly after Thanksgiving day softball.

Spaghetti.

Enchanting lights in downtown st.pete, christmas music, family time, a cute little food market, dandelion soda, and amaretto espresso shakes.

I am just thankful for my life.

For my family.

For the small moments.

The unique experiences.

A break from the mundane and room for adventures.

Traditions (the old and the new).

Life is good guys.

Let's not forget it on our bad days.

Bad days do not equal a bad life.

Dream with Opened Eyes.

Hey There

So, I've missed a few days. 

I've been on vacation.

So, I'm going to kind of just make a big combo post of things I've done and am thankful for this past week.

Mornings.

 Early mornings.

 Mornings where the world is still sleeping and the air seems still.

But deep excitement is within you because you're awake and living and breathing and moving and headed to a destination.

And at 4 am you can look out your plane window and see the moon bright and full and the cities you're passing are just a bunch of tiny dots and you are on top of the sleeping world looking down upon them all and you're so small and so alive and the world is a vast endless sky.

And then the sun begin to rise and illuminate the world and alert them that they must awake and move and begin and join the early risers to see the day in a new light.

Orange, pink and yellow replaces the dark purple, grey and black with the specks of tiny colors stitched into it's clothing.

Cold Air and Fallen Leaves.

Shedding the early part of the year and prepping itself for a new one so near.

Saying goodbye to the constant green and taking on deep red, yellows, and oranges for but a breath,

before the colors are gone completely.

The cobble stone streets of Williamsburg where history is no longer in the past but brought before your eyes.

As you walk and find warm coffee to heat your throats and insides and see the shops all decorated for christmas and you hear the person playing christmas music on the flute as you pass lighted trees and an ice skating rink.

Museums filling your brains with facts you never knew,

and letting your imagination take you to what once was real,

and replicas and historic grounds.

Ships like the ones people sailed to America in.

Breakfast with Martha Washington.

Colonial dances to learn.

James River.

Jamestown and Yorktown.

Family time.

Coming home.

I needed a break and I had a good one.

I am thankful to God.

For getting to go to Virginia.

For spending time with my family.

For realizing how blessed I truly I am.

For coming home and appreciating my dogs.

My church family.

Life.

A Thankful Thought and a Prayer Request

Nov.18th

I am thankful for my family.

I'm thankful to be back with them for a week and a half.

I'm thankful for our differences and the good times and bad.

I am thankful for their love and unending support.

I am thankful for my sisters even if we have funny ways of showing it.

I am having a hard day.

A hard couple of days.

I'm just being straight up honest.

This weekend was so amazing but the start of this week, even though I really had high hopes for it, it has just attacked me.

I don't even know where it came from.

Well, but actually I do.

I was really joyful and I was seeking God and I felt a huge want to glorify Him when coming back to school this week.

I'm sure the Devil hated that.

I know he wants to kill that joy and want.

And I'm pretty sure that's part of why I feel the way I do.

He's used circumstances, past experiences, insecurities, arguments, and worries to just overload and overflow on my mind and heart right now.

And I've been struggling.

I feel really low.

And I know joy comes from the Lord and I need to rely and hope in Him.

He is where my hope comes from.

At His feet is where I need to lay my burdens down.

But it'd be a lie to say I'm not struggling.

I'm battling big time right now.

Please, just pray that my eyes be fixed upon Jesus and that this sadness will blow away like a leaf in the wind.

I didn't want to write tonight.

I didn't want to write anything down that I was thankful for.

Because I didn't feel very thankful.

And then I realized that's why I needed to write down what I was thankful for.

And that I really needed to be thankful for it.

I'm glad to be here with my family.

My crazy, weird, and awesome and loving family.

I wouldn't want any other family.

It's broken and bent, just like everybody else's, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our lives are strung together in one unit for a reason.

I am thankful.

Catching Up

Nov. 13th

I am thankful for sleepovers.

On Friday, we had friends from out of state come and stay at our house.

Basically, all of my friends from the mission trip we went on, came over and we had a reunion.

We sang songs, ate smores, and prayed together.

It was a beautiful, edifying night.

And then all the girls from out of state had a gigantic sleepover.

It was nice getting to catch up with family.

Nov. 14th

I am thankful for children.

On Saturday, we did ministry work and put on our program for kids.

We stayed and played all day with them.

Singing songs, putting on a skit, teaching bible verses, and just loving on them like Christ would.

This small ministry is steadily growing and it has taken a deep place in my heart too.

After the program, we also worked on a skit we were putting on for the mission trip organization's SOS banquet.

Then we grabbed coffee and all got ready for the banquet.

The banquet was christmas themed and so pretty.

But more than that, it was edifying and great reminder that I needed to hear. 

I need to remember to go out unto the nations and proclaim what God has done.

Not just on here.

Not just say I want to.

But really, just always be spreading the Gospel through words and actions.

Without fear.

Nov.15th

I am thankful for musicals.

Sunday I went to church with my friends and then went to IHop with them.

We had a great time altogether laughing and hanging out and eating cinnamon roll pancakes.

But unfortunately, during lunch, some of the out of state friends had to leave and goodbyes were said.

But thankfully, not too long after lunch,

I got to go see the Newsies with our El Salvadorian friend and my friend from school a long with my family.

It was a really awesome show and it was a really awesome time and I really awesome weekend.

After that, I had to depart and leave for school. 

But starbucks made the trek okay.

Nov. 16th

I am thankful for movie nights.

I got to hang out and sing a long to Frozen with some friends and it was a magical time.

Nov.17th

I am thankful for God's love.

Because for today, some reason, I don't feel very loved.

Well, I guess, I just sometimes don't feel very loved at this school.

And I know some people do,

and some people don't,

but even if everyone didn't,

God's love is enough.

And I am thankful for it.

And I need to focus on that today.

He has blessed me with so much.

Especially, with this whole weekend.

As you can see from what I've written, my days kind of have been busy.

With the exception of yesterday, but yesterday I was catching up on z's.

So, I didn't get a chance to update on here.

But that is my update.

Words cannot describe how wonderful this past weekend was though.

I love my family.

My related and nonrelated family.

God is good, guys.

All the time.

Nov.12th

I'm thankful for the opportunity of learning and being able to go to school.

Sometimes I complain about the college I go to now because it's not as great as the one I used to go to.

However, 

I am just lucky to be able to go to a college at all and to have the opportunities I've had to learn and grow.

Today I got the opportunity to work with a green screen and to "clone" myself in Audio and Video production.

It was actual really neat.

I got to see two of myself shivering in the snow.

I am pretty privileged to be able to learn and work with such programs and equipment.

I am blessed to have someone qualified and knowledgeable who also wants us to learn and succeed.

I am thankful for learning, growing, and school.

I take it for granted sometimes.

But today, I am thankful for it.

(Other side blessings; buy one get one free starbucks coffee, pizza, walmart runs, joy coming from the Lord, open mic night, free hot chocolate and pumpkin muffins, secret santa name picking, a real good time spent with friends).