My Thanksgiving Post

Turkeys, leaves, family, friends, food galore, football games, talking, laughing, being thankful.

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It is just a nice reminder to pause and think about all that I am thankful for. This year, especially, I find myself being extra thankful. Maybe it's the fact that I graduate in less than 7 months. Maybe it's the fact that I realize anew how fleeting life is. Maybe I finally understand how blessed I am. I don't really know, but I do know that I am very thankful.

I wanted to share with you some of the things I am extra thankful for this year.

1. My Lord and Savior. He is the reason that I am here. He is the reason I have hope in this life and beyond. He is the prime example and very definition of love and service. He is my Heavenly father, my King, my God, the Keeper of my Heart ... my Everything.
2. My biological family. Oh my stars! The laughter, the goofiness, the smiles, the deep talks. The selflessness of my mother. The loyalty and courage of my father. The fighting spirit of my brother. The sweetness and humor of my other brother. How grateful I am for them. They've always been there and they will be for as long as God allows. They discipline me, encourage me, and are where I always know I am welcome.
3. My Christian family. These are the people who never cease to encourage my heart and point me to God. They affirm me and watch my back. They challenge me and push me to never settle for less than God's best. I am a firm believer in the fact that I wouldn't be half the woman I am becoming without them.
4. My Courter. God saw fit to bless me with a man who desired to court me. I wasn't looking for him and I turned him down many times, even still he has stayed and pursued me everyday. He challenges me, encourages me, and points me to the Lord. What an unexpected and unspeakable blessing!
5. Open doors. Even when I chose to ignore them, God still had His way. The best moments of this past year have been where God opened doors and despite fear and doubt, I still walked through them (at times God pushed me violently through them). Those were the best things I could have done. Had I not, I can't imagine how different my life would be right now!
6. Closed doors. Despite the tears, frustration, and, at times, downright anger, I am so thankful for the doors God closed, bolted, locked, and sealed with steel. I did not understand the reason for them all, but I know that they were God's best. They were also the push I sometimes needed to get me through the open doors I had refused to acknowledge.
7. Little moments: Singing to country music in a van full of students, baking cranberry bread, a new pair of earrings, a good book, a long conversation, Sour Patch kids candy, writing a letter, hoodies, sunsets, bonfires, stars, Cheez-It crackers, a fuzzy blanket, a warm hug, a baby smiling.....the things that are not necessary for life, but make it more enjoyable; the things memories are made of

For all these things and many more I thank God for this Thanksgiving. May Thanksgiving be more than a day for us, but something we do daily. There is definitely never a shortage of things we can be thankful for!

 

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Coffee Cups And The Reason For The Season

Yes, I know, you have heard multiple views on this topic: Starbucks and their lack of Christmasy spirit. Why? Because their cups are red and don't have any Christmasy words and the company itself lacks Christmas spirit. Horrors of horrors!

Last time I checked, businesses could have whatever color cups they want and if they choose to acknowledge the Christ part of Christmas, than good for them! If not, then that doesn't define their products or service.

See, this isn't about cups or the phrase "Merry Christmas." It's about our attitude.

For me, Christmas has always been an exciting time. I love the atmosphere and Christmas treats. I love "elfing" (my term for buying and giving gifts). I love the family time and the decorations. I especially love Christmas music (which I, of course, start listening to in August....yep, I am one of THOSE people!). However, the part I love about Christmas most is that it isn't merrily a time of year, but a way of life.

Christmas has a lot of nice bells and whistles, but it really is about the One we serve. And last time I checked, that was Christ not Christmasy cups.

Sure, I like Christmasy everything and I like it when people wish me a "Merry Christmas," but that isn't the determining point of my celebration. Not at Christmas or anytime of the year!

The quote that comes to mind when I think on this topic is from Mahatma Gandhi, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” 

I want to be like Christ, ya'll. My celebration is because of and in Christ. It isn't based on the time of year, but on the One who lives inside of me. Frankly, it annoys me when I see people bashing non-Christian companies (or even Christian companies) for not having enough Christmas spirit. I understand the intent is to point out the meaning of the season, but bashing and criticizing is not the way to go about that.

The best way to be a Light and show the reason for celebration is to walk your talk.

• Be kind.
• Say Merry Christmas and mean it.
• Hold open a door
• Share a smile
• Welcome the new neighbor
• Tip generously
• Help the mother with two children carry her bags to her car
• Return a cart that is in the middle of a parking lot
• Be patient

1 John 3:18 says it best, "Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions."

As I said, the problem is not the lack of Christmas. The problem is our attitudes.

Bashing and criticizing in the Name of Christ is not going to change the world. It's just going to put people down and make people wonder what kind of God we serve who would compel us to act that way. The Heart of Christmas is Christ and that's something worth celebrating everyday.

The (Not So) Glamorous Days In The Life Of Lydia

***The tone of this post is humor, so please do not take me or yourself too seriously when you read it.***

This week has just been one of those weeks (again). I wonder how people can truly survive without laughter because it is the reason I maintain some sense of sanity (whatever that is....).

 

Yesterday, I literally fell out of bed getting up for the day. You just have to love grace and all those things it takes to climb out of bed......things I obviously did not have yesterday.

 

I did, however, manage to make it to Cycle class and not fall off the bike, which has happened before (please do not burst my bubble by pointing out that a cycle bike doesn't move....).

 

I came home and discovered that I had been assigned to memorize a poem and record it for my AP Literature Class. I can hardly remember my name some days, how am I supposed to memorize a poem....in two weeks no less!

 

Today, I managed not to fall out of bed....my self-esteem started out the day pretty high you could say. I wore my favorite hoodie just to celebrate (not really....it was just what was closest when I climbed out of bed).

 

Of course, that didn't last very long because Virginia weather is terribly bi-polar and it is not uncommon to go through all four seasons in one day. I went from a hoodie to a long sleeve shirt to a short sleeve "flowy" blouse to whatever I grabbed after spilling something on my "flow."

 

I totally killed (as in tortured) an apostrophe quiz in my AP course because floating commas confuse me and I have the attention span of a gnat. I studied beforehand but all the terms got jumbled in my head and the floating commas just floated all over the place.

 

I then decided to paint my nails (I don't know why, sometimes you just have got to do something wacky in the middle of your day.....plus I can multi-task while they dry).....of course, picking a color is a whole three hour ordeal, especially when you own practically every color of nail polish invented.....EXCEPT the one you want to use!

 

So my nails are now black. Why? Because black goes with everything and I couldn't decide and if you're going to wear a white shirt, you might as well paint your nails black while wearing your white shirt. Living dangerous/adventurously and all that.

 

Now I am sitting here typing this out instead of studying that poem I talked about that I need to memorize. My hair looks like it has a bird or two are living in it and I haven't put on make-up today; I am horribly disorganized and frazzled and I have no idea what the rest of my day will hold. Even still, I am blessed.

 

Even in the craziness and disappointment and less than graceful moments, I serve a good God. He made laughter so I could laugh instead of cry during my (not so) glamorous days. I feel like even God is laughing this week.

 

Oh well, we all have our (not so) glamorous days....some more than others. God has a way of working everything out and making everything beautiful in its time....even messy hair, black nails, graceless moments, and crazy floating commas.

 

And that is the current sum of the (not so) glamorous day(s) in the life of Lydia.

 

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-11

 

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:13