Thankful #14

I am so very thankful tonight. It may be late, and I may have had one heck of a day, but God is so good.

I am thankful that God makes my plans.
Today didn't turn out how I expected, but I think it was exactly what I needed. I still don't know why I needed it, but I know God knows and that's all that matters.

I realized that I missed posting in November, which is ironic since it was Thanksgiving month.
The reason why is because I have been blessed with so many ideas, gifts, and projects that kept me busy until now. Or maybe I was just lazy. At any rate, I hope you all gave lots of thanks to Him, our Creator and Savior last month. But I would encourage you to give thanks to God daily, for it is healing to the soul and brings wonder to the heart.
Six days till Christmas!!! =) I am so thankful we can opnely celebrate the birth of our King.

Mary's song:
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior
For He has regarded
The lowly state of His handmaiden.

Hannah's song:
My heart rejoices in the Lord
My horn is exalted in the Lord
My mouth is enlarged towards my enemies
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

P.S. I had an amazing day! Thanks to all my amazing friends!

Thankful #13: Just Keep Swimming

I am thankful for Fall. It is still sunny, but also full of beautiful rain and leaves.
It's like a transition. And sometimes the journey is just as good as the destination.
Or at least, we will never reach our goal if we don't work for it in the first place.

Advice to a Girl:
No one worth possessing

Can be quite possessed;
Lay that on your heart,
My young angry dear;
This truth, this hard and precious stone,
Lay it on your hot cheek,
Let it hide your tear.
Hold it like a crystal
When you are alone
And gaze in the depths of the icy stone.
Long, look long and you will be blessed:
No one worth possessing
Can be quite possessed.
                     --Sara Teasdale

Thankful #12: Memory, all alone in the Moonlight

Tonight I cannot sleep. I tried and I failed.
Sometimes, however, I do my best thinking at night (which is why I can't sleep, my brain won't turn off).
I am thankful for two things right now:

1. The ability to sleep. Isn't it quite amazing? We work all day and then God blesses us with heavenly rest each night. The more blankets the better! Even if I have a bad night, I always wake up feeling at least a little refreshed. It's like an oasis.  "And afterall, you're my wonderwall."

2. For memories. I can remember so many wonderful things I've done or seen over my short life.
Even if we are in a dark place, we can remember God's grace and sing like an apostle trapped in prison.

"Remember when it rained? Felt the ground and looked up high and called your name."

           Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I mustn't give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin.

"Lay down, your sweet and weary head. Night is falling, you have come to journey's end. Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before, they are calling, from across the Western shore."


All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Sweet dreams my friends.

Thankful #11: The New Angels

Yes, you may have noticed, I am missing a Thankful #9 post.
That is because nine is my favorite number, and so it deserves something truly special.
I will get back to it when I think of what, exactly.

Back to business, or fun, rather. This evening I am thankful for my fellow Christians.
For people who are willing to sing loudly in church, even if it's not that great sounding.
Have you ever just stopped singing, closed your eyes, and listened to the glorious sounds of angels around you?

Angel means messenger, and we are all messengers ordained by God.
It is truly amazing that God saw fit to give mankind the New Earth, instead of the angels.

I am thankful for people willing to be my friend, even if I say and act foolishly.
I am thankful for people who are willing to dance with me and beside me.
I am thankful for the people who encourage me to honor Christ above all else. Thank You Father!

P.S. Happy Sabbath!

Thankful #10: Rollercoaster of Hope

"I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me
Then I've been given grace and love
I was blind, but now I can see,
Cause I've found a new hope from above
And courage swept over me." --Tidal Wave by Owl City

I am thankful for hope. Christ is our hope and God is the Father of all comfort.
Bravery is a funny thing. Everyone is fearful, but only certain people are brave.
The song makes me think, maybe we only get courage from hope. We can only be brave if we trust and hope that God will fulfill His promises to us.
 "I will never leave you or forsake you."  "As many as the stars in the sky in multitudes."
Abraham hoped, and was brave enough to sacrifice his only son.
What can we sacrifice to God? Our unholy fear?

"Everything is gonna be all right."

I am also thankful for emotions. Yeah, they can be a huge pain in the butt, but God gave them to us for a reason. Without emotions, how could we love our family and friends? Emotions are like a tidal wave.
And we can calm the storm with grace, hope, and love.

So let's jump onto this rollercoaster, my friends. Whoooohoooooooooo!!!

Thankful #8: Hearts, Hell, and Poems

There are many times I don't feel like being thankful, but then the Holy Spirit reminds me of David,
 who was thankful even at the worst of times:

"Oh that men would praise the Lord
For all His goodness towards them.
For He has broken the gates of hell
and cut iron bars in two." --Psalm 107

I am thankful for victory, even when I am weak and can only manage to keep my heart beating. Even that is a gift from God. Thank You, Lord, for my beating heart.

"Have you ever wondered, what protects our hearts? Just a cage of rib bones, and other various parts."
--Ingrid Michaelson

Teach me how to love like You.

Heart Song

Everything I see
Reminds me of a song I know
The rhythm starts like this
A-thump a-thump a glow
My heart is beating fast
In time with yours in mine
You are my melody
You are my surest line.

Comets

Oh, give me wings of fire
That I might soar towards your scorched moon
And rest upon the constellation
That shines for me and you.
Your heart is my universe
The planets song I sing
We may be stuck between the firmament
But we’ll get out someday
On a flying comet’s tail
Oh, you take me away
With every glance you look at me
And I feel as if
I have landed home.


<3

Thankful #7 Real Shooting Stars

I was out in the country this week. As soon as I stepped outside, I was stunned by all of the incredible twinkling lights up above. I even saw a streak of light shooting across the sky. Makes me want to live out there, just so I can gaze upwards every night. All I can see mostly are "airplanes in the night sky like shooting stars."
Day 4 of creation was a good day indeed.

"There will be stars." --Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale is my favorite poet. Her words are simple yet beautiful.
They may be simple words, but she arranges them in complex poetic ways.
Just like stars in the sky.

"I will make this world of my devising, out of a dream in my lonely mind
I shall find the crystal of peace--above me. Stars I shall find."

I was thinking of that line "world of my devising." God has blessed us mere mortals
with the ability to create worlds of our own. We can come up with ideas that seem original to us, and may be original to mankind, but ultimately, all ideas are from Him.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us ideas. And for shooting stars.

Thankful #6: Be Our Guest to Eat Parfaits

2 things to be thankful for today:

I have found a new love! Parfaits!!!!

Actually, I've always loved eating parfaits, but I just discovered the joys of making them.

Today my parfait of choice, (and don't gag, I love making up wonderfully strange concoctions) is a lemon jello, kiwi, blueberry, and vanilla icecream parfait topped with hazelnut butter.

For those of you who have never had hazelnut butter, it is a lot like peanut butter, only made of hazelnuts and not quite as thick. =)

Secondly, I am thankful for the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. I've been wanting to watch the Disney movie very much lately, but since I don't own it on DVD I haven't been able to watch it. What I do own, however, is the Broadway musical soundtrack, which is fantastic! It has even more great songs than the movie! I encourage any musical lover to check it out if they haven't yet.

If I was the Beast, I would've made Belle a parfait to fall in love with me.

One with hazelnut butter.

Thankful #5 Cocococococcconut!!!!

I can not express how much I am thankful for simple, yet incredibly delicious or beatiful things:

Thank You Lord for coconut!
Cheese
Pickles
Dark Chocolate

For music by amazing musicians like Ingrid Michaelson, Dido, and Regina Spektor.

Your stars are glorious, Father!

I had to do this quick post to show my appreciation for coconut.
It was the best thing in this entire day.

Thankful #4: Sunscreen poetry

I am thankful for words and sunburns.

Starting in reverse order, I am greatful for sunburns because it means I was doing something super fun in the sun. I work indoors, so breathing in the fresh air and relaxing at the beach was definitely worth my red and aching arms. Besides, I was just stupid. Actually listen to your mother for once and WEAR SUNSCREEN.

And firstly, well, it's actually secondly now, but whatever, I am thankful for words. For the ability to write down words, like poetry. Words are a source of great comfort.

"In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God." I was talking to a friend on Sunday, and she pointed out just how beautiful and poetic the introduction in John was. It makes it easier to memorize. The ability to speak good words stems from The Word. Here is my favorite poem. Thank you for the gift of beautiful words, Lord Jesus:

"They came to tell your faults to me
They named them over, one by one
I laughed aloud when they were done
I knew them all so well before.
Oh, they were blind,
Too blind to see
Your faults had made me
Love you more." --Faults by Sara Teasdale

God is good.

Thankful #3: The Joys of Bubblewrap

Today I am thankful for silliness, games, and bubblewrap.

Before you start giving me a weird look, let me explain:

I wasn't feeling so wonderful this morning. I had a ton of stuff to do at work and was trying to get through it all, when an amazing friend of mine gathered together a huge pile of bubblewrap we had leftover and took my offer of jumping on it with me. There I was looking ridiculous, popping bubbles, but having great flashbacks to my days as a silly child. I encourage everyone to be silly when they are feeling down. Afterall, aren't we all children of God?

So thank You, Lord,

for ginormous bubblewrap,

the ability to lose

(yet still have fun)

playing Settlers of Catan,

and for the gift of silliness.

"Gus, don't be this crevice

in my arm."--Psych

(Picture on the left is my silly desktop. I'm betting on Shawn.)

Thankful #2: What do choirs, hot dogs, and families have in common?

I am especially thankful for a couple things tonight, but they all have things in common.

1. I am thankful for growing up in a family who loves sports. I've had so many good times going to games with them.

2. I am thankful for $1 hot dogs. Whoooooooooo! How many can we eat without breaking our budget? (For the record, my tongue was blue from the cotton candy, not the hot dogs.)

3. I am thankful for choir buddies. You know who you are. You'll probably never forget the sound of my loud and raucous voice in your ear. Seriously though, I miss you, Mrs. Australia.

Did I mention the RCC choir kicked some serious National Anthem butt tonight???

"I think I broke my thumb!" "Swwwwiiiinnnnngggg, batter, batter, batter!" --FB'sDayOff

=) Rock on, and remember, it's good to be thankful!

Thankful #1: Hehehe

I am thankful for laughter.

In Psalm 37, we find that we get our ability to laugh from God:

"The Lord laughs at the wicked,
For He knows their day is coming."

The Lord laughs because He is a just God. A good God.
I will do the same.

So thank You for creating us in Your image, able to laugh, chuckle, giggle, and, on occasion, even snort. Maybe pigs are just laughing all the time?

Hola!

This is a blog about optimism. About art, beauty, goodness, and music.

There are so many beautiful, little things in our lives that we take for granted.
And, like Harold Crick's wristwatch, they may actually be the things that save our lives. Or at least make our lives whole.

So "merci beaucoup" to my Father, who gives me much to be thankful for.