Lent. Day Eight.

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Today, I am thankful for friends. I took this photo an hour into our conversation that lasted a total of two and a half hours. I am so thankful for Rebecca. She has become a closer and closer friend throughout the years. We attended Trinity Lutheran College together. We traveled to Italy and Greece together and have had many other adventures.

Last year, she got married and moved away to Tennessee. We often play phone tag back and forth, BUT when we connect it is always long. We talk about everything under the sun. About God, relationships, marriage, work. We spend so much time talking about ourselves we hardly even have time to gossip about other people :)

I have many great friend, Rebecca is just one, but I don't think there has ever been anyone who I can connect with on the phone for so long. When I am feeling bored or lonely, she always lifts my spirit. I have never met anyone who verbally processes as much as I do.

I have seen Rebecca through challenges, and she me. Our friendship if life-giving, meaningful and how can I not be thankful for something like that!

Lent. Day Six.

Matthew 11: 28-30

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

Everyone needs rest. Even God rested. It's why we have a sabbath. Because I work for the church, I can't take sabbath on Sunday. Unfortunately, I often forget about Sabbath all together. I have so little time off, it is easy to just run errands: go to the gym, the grocery store, target, etc and forget about rest. about prayer. about Sabbath.

BUT, today even though it was tempting to work or just go to target, I took Sabbath. Or a version, my version. I sat in an awesome coffee shop, sipped coffee, ate sweet crepes and read almost half of Lauren Winner's new book. (Which is FANTASTIC by the way!)

Today, I am thankful for Sabbath. For having a God who want's us to take Sabbath and rest in him.

Lent. Day Five.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

-Ecclesiastes 3

Today was long. These pictures are not from today..but from over the years of ministry. I felt like I was on a roller coaster today. One minute I was hearing stories about 1st Graders embracing the Holy Spirit teaching so much they were teaching younger siblings. The next I was looking over a budget that is short money but not time. The next moment I was laughing and joking with my Confirmation group. The next getting angry at the same group for joking about rape. Which is not funny. The next time I turned, Mass was in full swing being helped by all my teens without being asked. Next a parent, telling me that she cried with her son when he returned from the retreat...because it was an incredible experience, he learned, grew and found God. And finally, trying to talk to parents, talk them in to, mission trips.

Did I mention it was an exhausting day?!

I feel like Ministry always comes in waves and the only way to describe is to say, there is a season for everything AND if it doesn't work now, perhaps it's just not the right season.

Despite all of this, despite my having to crack down, and hold my kids responsible, I am thankful for them. Every week, they warm my heart, exceed my expectations, remind me that they need me, and that they crave, want and need Christ.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but pray about everything" -Philippians 4:6

Today I sent nearly eight hours trying to clean and organize my office. I had been waiting for months to do it, and finally just got it done. In addition to my daily photo of thankfulness, I have given up "being messy." So, this is just one step in that.

Today, day 4, I am thankful for clean spaces and the ability to clean them, and keep them clean.

Philippians 4:6 has long been my "token" scripture verse. As a Catholic, I didn't learn to memorize scripture. When I attend Trinity and throughout the years, people has asked with my favorite verse of scripture is, and I always tell them Philippians 4:6. Today, it became art work for my office. I daily reminder to pray instead of working myself into a panic.

Lent. Day Three.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

-Matthew 6:25-27

It is easy to get caught up in worry. I often think I worry to much..it is just so easy. In fact right now I am worried. Worried about work, about what time it is, about when I am going to do the dishes. It is quite, subtle worry, but nevertheless it is present. Nature though, is an incredible reminder of how precious life is, how sacred it is. Matthew's scripture (from above) is a reminder that God has us, holds us.

About a year and a half ago I took Desmond, my 3 year old doggie, into my home and my life. He is a handful most of the time but he is also such a blessings. Since Julie has moved in, he has been exceptionally anxious. He has had two different "potty-accidents" in the last 3 days...he barks and barks, stays up stirring all night. So today I took him and Ben's dog Zoey to the park.

Dog parks are a great idea. They provide puppy-socialization, but most importantly they provide relief for owners who are at their wits-end! When I arrived at the park it was under construction, so it was tricky to find. Which lead to a hike through the park woods. It was beautiful. The dogs LOVED it! They didn't' have a care in the world. They were frolicking about, finding sticks and birds to chase.

My soul is most as peace in nature. I should focus on that more.

So today, I am thankful for nature and dog parks. But mostly dog parks.

Lent. Day Two.

Yesterday's post was easy. Today's was a bit more of a challenge. I anticipate it will get more and more challenging as time progresses. Having good days and bad!

Today I am thankful for my car!

Today, I drove to Everett-back to Snohomish-Back to Everett-To Lake Stevens-To Monroe-Back home to Snohomish and then to the Dog park in Lake Stevens.

It was quite the day in my car!

As I was coming home from the dog park tonight, I felt, all of a sudden that I am so incredibly blessed to be able to travel all over the place.

I left this morning without my wallet. I had looked everywhere for it in my house, and realized it was probably in Ben's car, that I had driven last night. So I drove to get it. But it wasn't there, so back and forth I went. I was an incredible blessing to be able to do that! I often take my car for granted. It's easy to do with so many things in life.

This week I have a new roommate. She is moving the last of her stuff in right now and when we first chatted she noted that she see's all her stuff as "God's Stuff". It's rare to find someone who can be such an incredible example of this, and I look forward to learning from her and from my daily reflections.

Lent. Day One.

This is my dad.

I don't often talk about my parents. My family is far from perfect. We have our struggles and our differences. Our laughter and joy seems to come few and far between at times.

But, every now and again I have the opportunity to witness true bliss in the eyes of my father. He cares so deeply about his family. He has provided me with examples of what it means to be a caretaker and a parent.

I don't have the best memory. I don't think back on my childhood often..mostly because I don't remember a lot of it. I think the stress in my adolescence washed away easily recalled memories.

Today, I am thankful for my dad though. I am thankful that he taught me how to ride a bike, check my oil and save even a little of the money I earn. They are gifts many young adults were not blessed with.

As a child, I remember my dad calling me over to the computer each night to show me, update me, on how my stocks were doing. I wasn't sure then, and I'm still not convinced I know 100% what stocks are now. But, my dad does. He knew and invested my money wisely. A gift that I am so incredibly grateful for as I continue to grow. Each year as my friends took trips with their Permanent Fund Dividends my dad invested mine. Now, I have money that when I am ready, I can buy a house. Not many 24-year olds are in that position. It's an incredible gift.

As a child, I remember my dad taking us on crazy adventures. Mostly on our boat, but biking and camping too. I remember one time in particular that we were staying at a Forest Service cabin. We were interrupted by another family who, despite our hopes, showed up for there reservations. So, in the pitch black in the middle of nowhere Alaska, we had to leave. In addition, we have shrimp pots "set" (down in the ocean). So we loaded up, and went to pick up the pots. It was stormy and the boat started to overheat. An alarm was going off, my mom was freaked and I sat there, reading. Judy Blume. I'll never forget it. I trusted my dad in that moment. I was scared, knew we were in trouble, but even still was at ease. My dad had it all under control; and despite talk of not making it to shore, he navigated us back safely.

As a child, a high schooler, I took drivers education. Most teens did. My instructor sent us home with an assignment. Learn how to change a tire. The catch: it was winter and snowing. So, most parents just signed off, saying they would teach their child how to do such a task later, ultimately never at all. Not my dad though! He fetched a piece of cardboard from the garage, put it on the ground and taught me. Right then and there. He was determined. This is a skill that is practical and I appreciate it. I have changed many a tire, including one on a freeway on-ramp. I am proud to know something about my car. Changing a tire was added to my skill set. He taught me to check my oil, transmission fluid, tire pressures and...most importantly: keep track of my cars maintenance!

As a child, I remember my mom was always the compassionate one, and my Dad was the strong one. He pushed me. Often, his desire for me to achieve greatness was daunting, overwhelming, and would be so frustrating. It seemed, and sometimes still seems overwhelming. I am who I am though, professionally and otherwise, because of this push. Failure was not an option and I strived for that.

Tonight, as my Dad looked at Ben's car, took me to dinner, and talked about my life more than his own, he apologized. Apologized for my hardships in life. Taking them on as his own. I believe that part of growing up is realizing that your parents did the best they could with what they had-and my Dad, my parents did just that.

As a child, my father's daughter, I am thankful for him this Lenten season.

Blog.

My blog has quickly dissolved into nothingness. In fact, I couldn't even remember what it was called...and had to look it up. BUT alas, I have found it...and am resurrecting it.

This lent I will be taking time each day to photograph a blessing of my life, day, week, etc. Along side my photo, I am going to attempt a reflection. Some days I could be a sentence and others a paragraph and some may quickly become even longer.

My life goes in waves. When I was an adolescent I would write pages after pages of journals. I think I still have them somewhere. I would fill blank pages with words, pictures, tears and laughter. But then, I moved on, I stopped writing.

When I first considered this project, I thought I would just do a journal-for myself. But somewhere along the way I realized that my reflections could benefit you. Could and hopefully do inspire you to recognize all the things in your life you may just gloss over.

My life is nowhere perfect. It has it's moments. Good. Bad. and Otherwise.

Hope you enjoy the journey of Lent with me. I hope it to be a season of reflection, repentance and rest.