10,000 Reasons II

5. Music.
     I love music. And I don't mean these new convoluted "singers" now a days who can't keep a tune without auto tune. (Though there are some singers out there who can really belt it out and sound INCREDIBLE. Exhibit A: Adele.) But I love music. I love classical music, I love music with lyrics, Christian music, secular music, I just really enjoy music. I suppose its no wonder that I feel most connected to God when I am singing worship songs and praise songs. I love music.

6. SNOW (go ahead and gripe and complain. You can read it when you are done.)
    Have you ever looked a snow flake? It is one of the prettiest things that there is. Snow is sparkly and glittery and it shines and shimmers in a way that is incomparable to anything else. I don't like driving in snow, and I don't like how cold it is when it snows, but I love to look at pure white falling snow. To take you back to Sunday school for a few minutes, when snow is on the ground, everything is so white and pure. Thank you Lord for the snow.

7. Birds
     I hate birds. I legitimately am terrified of birds. (I attribute my fear to almost getting eaten by a flamingo at the zoo, grated it was only my finger. Or the fact that I got pooped on at the beach. Or because of the two sparrows that got stuck in my window when I was home alone. and finally because one time a bird flew down our chimney while we were away on vacation and pooped on everything in our house then tried to fly out our back window and died.) Even though I despise birds, I think that big birds are some of the most majestic creatures in the world. I love to see a hawk flying by or any big bird really. I think they are beautiful.

8. Fishing
    I love to fish. I absolutely love it,  Especially when there are no mosquitoes that are trying to kill me (But thank God for those too!) When I was little I caught like a really big fish! Like it was so big it was probably a whale (okay, not really it was a large mouth bass and I was a scrawny little 5 year old). Thus my love of fishing continued  There are few things in life that I enjoy more than fishing with my dad and sister.

9. Light
     Have you ever imagined what the world would be like if there was no light! Imagine a world of total darkness, it wouldn't be very much fun. I am so grateful for light! I like the sun and I like lamps and I like the moon that shines at night! Light is awesome!

10. The first day of Spring
    Though fall is my favorite season, I am always thankful when spring comes about. I love the bright colors of the Earth waking up after the darkness of winter! I love seeing flowers blooming and little baby animals scampering about and trying to avoid getting smashed by cars (one of the down falls to spring). I love the attitude of people! Its like they are just so happy the winter is over. I have a theory that everyone smiles during spring. I also like the fun holidays like St. Patty's day and Easter! Who doesn't get excited about a holiday from Ireland and a celebration of our Risen King.  Yep. Spring is a fun season.

11. My Daddy
      There are very few people in this life that are as great as my father. I just think there really is no one to compare him too! I love my mom a lot, like a lot, but my daddy and I have always had a super special bond. Talk about being a daddy's girl, I am one through and through. I just think that God made my dad extra special. He must have given Him an extra loving heart and an extra dose of humor too! My dad and I are so similar, in fact, I think he understands me better than most people. I am really thankful that I have such a great guy to took up to in my life! He is my favorite!

12. My Mama
     She is literally the greatest woman ever! I think if the Avengers ever need another superhero, they should call her up! She is a wonderful woman of prayer, she always listens t me when I am rambling, and she helps me make sense of my life! She is a great teacher and care taker and housewife and comedian and Jesus lover! I think she can pretty much fix anything. I am so blessed to have such a strong Christian woman to look up to in my life. She is the greatest person!

13. Claire Jo Espresso :)
      Where would I be without a little sister? I probably would have gotten in trouble fewer times, but I wouldn't have had as much fun growing up. We argue a lot. and that is kind of sad. But we have a lot of fun together! I am so thankful for a sister who i can laugh with, and cry with (though we mostly laugh), who I can tease and who can tease me. I am blessed beyond words to have a little sister like Claire!

14. Imagination!
     Where would we be if no one had an imagination! We wouldn't have books, or movies, or television shows or really anything! I think that we as "grown ups" (well if you could even call me that) sometimes forget that imagination is a great thing! It is a gift to have an imagination! So use your imagination today! Maybe while you are driving on the winter wonderland roads you can pretend you are in Alaska and perhaps you'll see a moose of a baby seal (that was for you Joe). Use your imagination today!!

15. God's plan
      I am so thankful that God has already written my book of life for me. I am so glad that before I was born, with a full head of hair I might add, that He already knew exactly what I was going to do, where I was going to go, and who I was going to be. I  love the chapters of this book that I have read, and I can't wait to finish reading it.

16. Fresh Air
      Isn't it so wonderful to step outside and inhale and just get a huge breath of wonderful air! I love this feeling. It may or may not be fresh with all this pollution and stuff floating about!

17. Nice People
      Sometimes people are just plain mean. I really am thankful for nice people who smile at you and talk to you with excitement and such! I like nice people.

18. Duck Dynasty (roll your eyes its cool).
      I am thankful for the classiest show on TV, Duck Dynasty. Actually in all seriousness, I like that a tv show family that is rooted in Christianity is a really big deal right now. I also like Si and his awesome stories. But seriously I am glad that they are so open about their relationships with Christ. Even if the show is a little bit staged, their love for Christ isn't.

What are somethings that you are thankful for? Like that aren't typical answers?

10,000 Reasons

I had posted on Facebook a few weeks that I was going to keep track of 10,000 things that I love about the Lord, and since then I have caught myself being more thankful for the things around me. I could easily type up a list of things that I thank the Lord for, but I am singing ten thousand reasons for my soul to bless the Lord.

I am going to start my list today, and I know that finding 10,000 unique and original things to bless the Lord,  will take some time.

Today I start with....

1. A Child's Laughter  
     Have you ever just stopped what you are doing to listen to a little one laugh? Have you ever noticed the little faces they make when they are laughing really hard? It is seriously one of the cutest things in the world. I work a preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one of the best parts about my job is getting to witness the laughter that comes from their playtime, nap time, even snack time. A laugh is a beautiful thing to thank the Lord for.

2. Stars.
    I attribute my love of stars to the long drives that we used to take between Weeping Water and Omaha or Lincoln. There is no sight greater than a completely darkened sky dotted with pin holes into heaven (I know it's kinda cliche). I love looking at the stars. This fall my friends and I were in the country and the sky was amazing. There were like a million shooting stars, and it was breathtaking. I absolutely loved it. Living in South Bend, I hardly notice the stars anymore.

3. Love
    Love is just an incredible thing. It is in explainable. The church answer is fairly simple and we can say "Jesus is love." That is so true. But how do we define the love that we feel for our friends and family here on earth. I don't think you can compare Love to any inanimate object, or any other feeling that we experience. I think love is something that we can be thankful for.

4.Communication- verbal and written
     God has given us the ability to communicate with others through our word and body language. I think that is a beautiful thing. Communication isn't even limited to one another, God has given us the ability to communicate with him. There is another thing to thank the Lord for.

There are so many other things that I can think of. There are hundreds and thousands and millions of reasons for our hearts to sing a song of Thanksgiving to our creator.

I love you Lord.

I am a girl.

If you are like me, you grew up with the notion that women don't become pastors. Women in ministry used to be so unheard of. I remember that the small town I grew up in only had women pastors... well besides my dad, and I used to think it was the worse sin you could ever commit. It was bad. Women were not supposed to lead churches.

I believe that women can be in ministry. I believe women can be pastors. And I believe that I have been called by God to step up in ministry and be a passionate leader for the Kingdom of God. I KNOW that God has called me into ministry. I know that He has called me to be a communicator and a missionary and you can bet your bottom dollar that I fully intend to run towards the calling that He has placed in my life.

I understand that there are some people out there who don't believe that women should be in ministry. Some think that much like the way a household is run with the woman submitting to her husband, women should be submissive to the teaching of a male pastor. As a husband is the head of the household, I think that men should also be the head of the church. Though there are areas in the church where women should be allowed, and encourages to serve. I would even venture to say that if a woman feels called to be a associate pastor or a youth pastor she should. Especially if she has been called.   However, I still hold my position that women in ministry is a good thing.

Have you seen Joyce Myers? I have watched her a few times, and I kinda like her. Sometimes I feel like she yells a lot. But Joyce Myers is a woman in ministry and she is a warrior for God's kingdom. She is following Jesus' last commandment by going and making disciples. She is obeying what she has been charged to do. And who are we, as Christians, to say... actually no you can't do this because you are a woman.

Wasn't one of Jesus' friends a lying tax collector? Didn't Israel's chosen king murder and commit adultery? And wasn't there a prostitute in the line of Jesus?

If God can use all those people for His glory, He can use women.

The Holy Spirit has given all of us special gifts that we are supposed to use for His glory. So, I want to say this. I feel that God has gifted me to be a Christian leader and Speaker. I chose today that however He wants to use me, I will let Him do so. Please pray for me my friends. Please pray that Jesus makes my path so light. And I pray the same for each of you. And I pray that you too can learn to use the  gifts that God has given you! You are His beloved Children.

a dream is a wish your heart makes

My dear friends,
             It is time to share my biggest dream that has recently developed. But I have to start way at the beginning.

Once upon a time there was a classy little girl who loved the group Celtic Woman! (Okay so I wasn't actually classy I mean I wore Tweety Bird overalls!)

 Cute Right? 

Anyways, I loved Celtic Woman. My dream, okay maybe it still is, was to sing with Celtic Woman. 

Because of my love of Irish folk music, and the beautiful scenes of Ireland pictured in movies, and my 9 page research paper on Ireland Jr. Year.(Plus also i loved the Veggie Tales episode where lutfi's fanciful flannelgraph tells the story of St. Patrick and green is an awesome color... )

I have decided that I wish to move to Ireland. 

TADA! (Look at the goat! Isn't it a cute goat?!)

That is correct I want to move to Ireland. I pretty much want to be an author already, so living in a cute little cottage in a foreign country sounds so exciting to me. Plus I love the color green, I am a fan of leprechauns and honestly I don't like potatoes that much anyway! If I disappear one day you will surely know where to find me! 

But I don't want to be alone. Moving to Ireland is only half of my new dream! I also want to get a donkey! 

 I want to name it Clementine, Fredrick or Maywen (Bonus points if you know who this is!)

Maybe I can get three!! 

I also want to get a cute little calico Persian kitten! (Plus I can shave him if my daddy visits) 

I would name this little cutie Gilbert! 

And the three(or 5 depending on number of Donkey, plus more if I get married) will live in a cute little cottage like this. And we will wear green and roll in fields of clover located at the end of a rainbow with our friends Ava, Liam and Conor the leprechauns. 

The End. I hope your night is full of magical wishes from finding three leaf clovers. And come visit me when my dreams come true. 

wishing

I wish i was irish.

Where am I?

Here I am. Laying in bed. While the snow falls outside my window. Guess what I want to do?! Blog. What else. 

I realize that I am a relativity boring person. I don't do much other than watch TV, do homework, write and pin on my wedding board.... So what have I been up to? 

Well lets see: I started second semester of freshman year. I am enjoying it! After switching my major from intercultural studies to English Education, I enrolled in an English class and an Education class and OH MY! I love it! I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but I do know that for the time being I am super happy with where I am at. 

I moved off of Bethel's campus to save money, among other reasons, so I currently call my grandma and grandpa's house home. I love living here! It is so refreshing. I burn candles almost every day, I get to cook and I can do my laundry anytime I want. Not to mention, I have my own bathroom and a walk-in closet. Talk about living the dream ;)

I have been sick since Christmas which is no fun at all! Each time I start to feel a little bit better, it hits me again! So it hasn't been that  exciting feeling tired and weak all the time. 

God has been teaching me a lot the last few weeks. He constantly reminds me that I am here with a purpose and He has a plan for my future. He keeps reminding me that patience is something I need to work on, and trusting Him is going to be a part of my life, for the rest of my life. 

So that is where I am now. Lets see where I go ha!

My Bucket List

I never really had any interest in making a bucket list, but they are kind of fun! Let me know if you wish to embark on any of these adventures with me! Here goes:

1. Call my best friend from inside a telephone booth in London:

 2. Set off a thousand or more paper lanterns:

 3. Be kissed in the pouring rain (totally cliche i know!)

 4. Get all of the Disney Princess' signatures:

 5. Marry my best friend:

 6. Grow my hair as long as Rapunzel's (haha... not really THAT long)

TO BE CONTINUED.