Awake to the Cross

I read this article, Getting Bored With the Right Things, a couple days ago after our pastor posted it on his Facebook wall. I'm not always quick to "re-post" things, but with this one I did. I asked Paul to read it and told him that I think it changed my life. Of course, you cannot see the fruits of a life changed in just 10 minutes, but what I meant is that I want this to change the way that I think. And I want my life to look different as a result of my thinking being transformed.

I'm praying now over myself and Paul that "the things of earth will grow strangely dim," and that we will be awake to the things of the cross and asleep to the things of the world. This applies to so much right now. In our life and home, in our country and in the world. It is so tempting to be distracted by things that are fading away. I get worked up about things that actually will perish and I spend such little time knowing Jesus and passionately fighting for the souls of men.

This all made me think of the poem by C.T. Studd which was made known to me through the writings of Elisabeth Elliot. I made the little sampler above and set it as my desktop background to help me remember the repeating line throughout the day. The poem reads:

Two little lines I heard one day,Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Easter Weekend – He is Risen!

Our Easter was worshipful and sweet and beautiful and delicious and fun. We started the morning at church. It was my very first Sunday in the newly constructed big room (since last week I was teaching Sunday School). We are so thankful for a space that can comfortably hold more people! What a blessing. We celebrated Jesus' resurrection with two baptisms, a gospel message and lots of singing. I love witnessing baptisms. Watching someone express their faith in Jesus and the amazing stories of people passing from death to life abundant. How wonderful it is that Jesus is alive! It means everything to me!

I'm still getting used to the completely different climate here in Arizona. Easter used to mean the start of spring and would often times usher in warmer weather (and other times bring more snow!). But now, Easter is in the height of our lovely season. Just around the corner we know the hot sweltering days of summer are coming. But for now, we bask in the gentle sunshine and the cool breezes and enjoy our outside Easter. My mom made a delicious lunch and we joined them and some friends from their small group for a wonderful afternoon of porch sitting and neighborhood walks.

He is risen indeed!

Today's the Day!

Today is the day Paul and I have been dreaming about for over 7 months now! In a few minutes we will be heading over to our new house to pick up our keys and start moving in!!! We can hardly believe the day has come!!!

Last weekend, we packed up our apartment and moved out of our first Arizona home. We needed to be out by the end of December which left us with a tricky 5 day gap with no place to live. Thankfully, our dear friends here offered their home to us since they would be out of town this week anyways. We are so thankful for all the little ways the Lord has provided for us during this transition time. Speaking of which, we were so blessed to have this crew come help us pack our truck on Sunday.

What a difference it was to a year ago when we moved in. At that time our only moving help was my parents. It was a big job last January for 4 people. But now we have the most precious community at our church, Valley Life, and we are so humbled that we were completely moved out in just 2 hours!

On Monday morning we had our final walk through with our project manager. Then on Wednesday morning, we signed our closing documents and forked over the big bucks!

This process has gone so fast and so slow all at the same time :) And there were definitely many moments when I was unsure if I even wanted to stay in Arizona, let alone purchase a house here. But as the story unfolded, I'm so thankful that I can see how God has guided our steps all along the way through my husband's leadership and through the revealing of His plans for our family. And I know there is so much more I don't even know or understand. So for this gift, we give Jesus the glory, honor and praise!

I promise I'll be back soon with a little tour of our new pad ;)

A Full Weekend

Our weekends since we moved to Arizona, have not always been full. So last night, as Paul and I were driving home from a newcomers reception at church, we both indulged in a little whine session with comments like this weekend went too fast! and I wish we had another day off and Mondays are the worst! I'm gonna go ahead and bet my bottom dollar that these little conversations go on in a lot of homes on Sunday nights. But as we discussed all the fun things we got to do in the past 3 days, I couldn't help but let my heart fill up with thankfulness. God has been so kind to us to begin filling our lives again with a great church and meeting new friends.

So my weekend was filled with: a trip up north visiting and catching up with Mom, soaking up sewing tips from her, getting a good start on my quilt*, chatting with Kirstie on my drive, a hot Carmel Macchiato for the cool mountain air, dinner with new friends, two rounds of Ticket to Ride, trip to the library, a challenging and encouraging church service, visiting our new house, afternoon naps, a newcomers dessert, and lots of great conversations! We feel so blessed.

*Here's a peak at the 6 blocks I did over the weekend for my granny square quilt. Only 14 to go!

Pharisees, Mercy & Midnight Reflections

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep for a while. My mind started running and I couldn't shut it off. Finally I just decided to process some of the things I was thinking about, and used it as a time of prayer, reflection and listening.

It started the other day, when I was doing a little online cruising and came across an Etsy stationery and invitations shop that was blatantly stealing designs from Minted designers. I was shocked to see the obvious copies (sometimes not even changing the names on the samples) and disheartened to find that this seller had over 1000 sales. I contacted one of the Minted designers whom I had a connection with and whose designs were being ripped off, letting her know of the shop and asking what to do about it. I also spent some time reading designers forums only to find that this happens all too often, and it can be difficult to control.

So as I lay in bed last night, I started to get really mad about this. Why do people think it's okay to STEAL other peoples designs? I thought about how I would never do this, how shameful it is that others make a living off of it, and brainstormed how I could get these types of people "in trouble."

And then it hit me. It was the sermon I had heard on Sunday at church. It was a simple story, a simple message, but a powerful truth that really shook my heart in the wee hours of the morning.

We had read Luke 18:9-14 which is the parable of The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

In that moment, laying in the silence, I finally saw myself as the Pharisee. I know that it's the right answer to put ourselves in the place of the Pharisee, that our "good works" don't mean squat if we don't humble ourselves before a holy God and see our position and need for him. But last night I felt like I was praying that Pharisee prayer "Oh God, thank you so much much that I'm not like these other people. Wouldn't that be terrible if I was like them? They're so bad. Look at me though! I'm good!"

Gulp.

My mind flooded with sinful things I had done, said, and thought yesterday. Pretty quick, I was like "Oh Lord! Have mercy on me, a sinner!" And you know what? He does. He has mercy on me, because I deserve to be separated from Him. That was the fate that I chose in my sinning. But Jesus said to the crowd "this man went to his house justified...For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." This sure is good news for me today!

Today my attitude has changed about the "copy-cat" designers. I still find it completely offensive and disheartening, but I no longer want to be the first to cast a stone at them. Instead saying a simple prayer that they would be humbled in their sin as they find mercy from a holy, loving God, and turn from their ways. And for myself? For myself I pray the exact same thing. Because my heart is so prone to wander and my sins are also many.

Celebrate!

We're celebrating over here in the Schmitt household! The Lord has been so very faithful and true throughout our whole moving across the country experience. We have seen His hand in so many of the details the last few months. And once again He has provided for us with not one, but TWO job offers for Paul! I am so proud of my hard working husband who spent the past couple months pouring himself into this job search, but also trusting that God would reveal in His timing the paths He lay before us. He never worried or was afraid – such a strong example to me of integrity and faith. I love that Paul :)

So we've been happily expressing our excitement with mexican food, dairy queen, Chick-fil-A, and a baseball game – all in the name of celebrating! (You really can't too much, can you?)

Here we are at the Angels and Rangers spring training game over the weekend. It was such a beautiful day, even I enjoyed it ;)

so bright! go team! I was confused for about 4 innings which team we were cheering for.

hottie with the new job!

we get pretty pumped about our Chick-fil-A around here.

And so, another chapter in our journey begins! Yay!

March Printable

Hi friends!  I love the month of March, so I decided to give away some free printables this month. I like free stuff, my birthday is in March, and so this is how I will celebrate!

Lately I've been thinking about how I would like to spend more of my time and energy focused on God's Word. In college, my friend and I loved to share with each other the verse from Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I really want to be someone who can be described as "pure in heart" and grow in my knowledge of God. So I decided that a good daily habit will be to meditate on Scripture, and I wanted to make a little tool to help me.

Which leads me to this printable I'm sharing with you!  It's a little folded card that can fit right inside your wallet, your pocket, or sit next to you at your desk. On the front I put a little calendar, and on the inside you can write which verse you'd like to memorize this month. I chose Matthew 7:24-25 because it's one that Paul and I chose to be read at our wedding ceremony, so it's really extra special to me.

This pdf is for a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. There are two cards on there, so you can share one with a friend!  And with the extra space I made you a little note card that you can use to write a note, scribble down your grocery list, or whatever you like :)  The note card is 5.5 x 4.25 so they fit in an A2 envelope. I recommend printing on a nice card stock, but any sheet of white will work (mine is printed on a white linen paper). Just click on the image below to download the pdf! I hope you enjoy!

(download me here!)

"A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are"

Have you read this book?

It's so great. I'm a little over halfway through, and I've just been soaking it up like a sponge. Ann basically walks you through her journey of discovering the power of being thankful–eucheristo–and the grace and peace she experiences through this daily discipline. She begins a list to see if she can record 1000 gifts from the Lord, and describes how this transforms her life and her walk with God. This is not an adequate summary...please just read the book!

Since I started reading it, I knew that I could surely benefit from growing in thankfulness. Ann even traces ungratefulness back to the fall, explaining that Adam and Eve were not thankful for the gifts God had given them, instead they wanted more. 

I too can see that a lack of thankfulness is rooted in many if not all of my sins. When I am unkind to Paul, am I really, in that moment, thankful that God has blessed me with a husband? When I am jealous of other women–how they look, what their gifts are, or what they have–am I being thankful for how the Lord made me or what He has given me? And when I am lazy and don't study His Word or commit time for prayer, am I being thankful that God has reached out to me, saved me, and wants an intimate relationship with me? Do you see how thankfulness can be the opposite to so many of our sinful habits?

So I want to join in and see what this is all about. Unfortunately, being thankful isn't something that comes natural to us. It just doesn't. We have to practice thankfulness, implement it as a discipline in our lives. And so I want to practice. Big and small and especially small. Because a lot of my days are woven together by the small. And I don't think these should go unnoticed. So here we go. Let my list begin!

1. a desk by the window to see the leaves sway and the sky change
2. a glass of clean water
3. 12 red roses blooming
4. and the sweet Valentine who gave them to me
5. surrounded by photos of the ones I love, and the precious memories they recall
6. colored envelopes with fancy addresses
7. chocolate ice cream with a shake of cinnamon
8. creativity flowing all around

...

Homesick.

(source)

Lately I've been feeling homesick for Illinois. For the most part, Paul and I have completely loved our new home here in Arizona. It's beautiful weather, we have a beautiful apartment, my parents are nearby...the best you could hope for 4 weeks in. But over the past few days I've been having such strong memory flashbacks to times in Illinois – growing up in my parent's home, my 4 years at U of I, being 20 something single living life with dear friends, and then dating and marrying Paul there. And then this morning I woke up with such a strong desire to go "home." I've been weepy all day. I feel ready for this "vacation" to be over and to go back to where I am comfortable, to what I know.

But you know what? I don't really think that God meant for us to always be comfortable. He never promised me that I would always be totally thrilled with exactly where I am, and that I would always have my close friends around me. He didn't say I should just do whatever makes me feel good in life. In fact, many of the times I have drawn the nearest to the Lord have been transition times – periods of my life when I felt nervous or uncomfortable. Like when I went away to college, or worked at a summer camp where I knew no one, or the year I lived in East Asia and even the months that I was back home in the U.S. And I can't imagine that Jesus felt really comfortable living here on earth. So in all honesty, I think this time of mourning or feeling a loss of "home" is a really good reality check for me. Because I don't want to feel too comfortable here on earth. I want to long for eternity with God, for the day I will finally, truly, be home. And until then, I want to choose to be thankful for the uncomfortable times when I think a different situation would make me more happy, and remember that the only one who can fill me with joy is the Lord!

And of course I want to be thankful for my precious husband who has held me today when I cried, brought me flowers and chipotle for lunch, and spoiled me with (heart healthy!) dark chocolate and lots of sweetness. He is the best life partner for me and my favorite person to walk these days of life with.

Made By Bees

Around our house, we're totally into honey. I got Paul a little pot of local honey as a stocking stuffer for Christmas, and he is now a self-proclaimed honey snob.

I originally got him the honey because I heard that eating local honey can reduce your allergy symptoms, but since reading about it, I've learned that raw honey provides so many more benefits as well! Vitamins, minerals, energy, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammotory properties, are just the short list of all the benefits of raw honey. You can read more here.

You have to be careful though, because there is a difference between "Pure" honey and "Raw" honey. Raw is the good stuff. And if you want it to address your allergy symptoms, it has to be local to where you live.

We especially love to eat it in our oatmeal or peanut butter & honey sandwich, but I think it's a great option for a sugar substitute so I'm hoping to integrate it even more into my diet. We purchased the above jar at our local farmers market, and had a good time tasting all the different types. The Desert Wildflower was our favorite :)

As Paul and I have been building our life together these past (almost!) 6 months, I've been thinking more and more about how I want us to live – and a lot of that has to do with what we eat! I really believe that habits we establish now, can carry on for years to come and directly affect our future family. And I really want us to be a healthy family! I have a lot to learn, I know. But I'm really wanting to put forth an effort to educate myself and my husband so that we can make the best decisions about what we put into our bodies. Because I think that it glorifies God when we take care of these bodies He created for us, and it prepares us to do the good works He has set before us. And I'm praying that He'll continue to convict my heart of this truth, and give me the wisdom, resources and ability to make good nutritious choices for me and my family!

I have found some blogs with great healthy tips, (like Summer Harms and Keeper of the Home) but I'm wondering if anyone else out there has any other great resources they love to reference for healthy living?

A Little Of This, A Little Of That

This morning I went to Starbucks before work. I used some of my credit card rewards points for a Starbucks gift card so it's outside of our budget! Hubby doesn't like frivolous spending (which to him, $4 coffees are....and I suppose I probably agree) so he's happy and so am I!

I digress...

I ordered one of these beauties

and I told my Barista that I wanted it less sweet so she put in half the pumps and wah lah! It was amazing! I don't think I've really utilized the wonder of customizing my own drink, but I pay the big bucks, so why shouldn't I get it exactly how I like it!? Ahhhh... America.

At lunch today I started a DIY Christmas project for my sister-in-law. *Mary if you read this, skip to the next paragraph!! Unless you don't mind finding out one of your presents. Then I'm totally cool with that. Anyways, I'm crocheting her a scarf and it's really hard to make it straight. I'm wondering if it's just worth it to fork over the extra bucks for a beautiful, already made scarf. But maybe it's the thought that counts. I'm trying to hand make a lot of our Christmas presents this year (one of which I'll post later this week as part of my Pinterest Challenge!), and I'm hoping the others have a better start than this stinking scarf.

Tonight I'm planning to make dinner and I'm really scared. Remember my suppertime confessions with the chicken fiasco?! It has scarred me. I get butterflies in my stomach just looking at the kitchen. But on Monday night I pulled out my trusty ole crock pot and slow cooked us up some amaaaaazing beef stew, so I'd say about 28% of my confidence has returned. Anyways, I'm going to give this a whirl:

Yummm. Doesn't that look amazing?! It's straight from one of my favorite blogs, Summer Harms. She always has really great recipes and her pictures of her food are gorgeous.

Isn't blogging weird? I read blogs, and sometimes I feel like I'm friends with the people who write them. About a year ago I had a dream and some girl whose blog I follow was a character in my dream (not you, Summer Harms, just in case you by chance happen upon my blog). Isn't that creepy? I walked by her and she had no idea who I was but I knew all this stuff about her life. I think what weirded me out the most about the dream is that that situation could seriously happen in real life. Do I know too much about people I don't know?

Some new things are happening in my life. And they are secrets right now. Well one's more of a secret than the other, but I just really can't take having secrets. I want to TALK about it. I want to tell people and be outwardly excited! I must say though, it is fun to have a secret with Paul. We wink and whisper and pray and make plans that no one else knows about. But I'm ready to let these secrets out now. Paul says I should pray about these things instead of talking about them with other people so much. He's smart. I should. And I will. Sigh. But I still really wish I could tell you right now.

Suppertime Confessions of a New Wife

When it comes to cooking, I struggle. There. I said it. I have to admit, that the above photo was taken with the full, prideful intention of posting about an AWESOME meal I prepared for my hungry husband.

It began on Thursday evening as I was driving home from work. You see, I'm still transitioning into the "I need to think about meals that will fulfill a 28-year-old man, not just a 5 foot 2 inch not-very hungry 26-year-old (think, crackers and cottage cheese, or a bowl of cereal)" So it wasn't until about 5:05 pm that I started to think about what we should eat for dinner. The challenge was, Paul usually works until 8 or 9 on these nights, and I had a night class that would go until about the same time. So I had 45 min to think up a meal and prepare it for our 9:30 dinner. WHAT?! Then suddenly, I had a stroke of genius! I would prepare a meal in a casserole dish – chicken, veggies, spices, potatoes mmmmm – and then have Paul pop it in the oven when he got home so it would be ready for our late-night supper. Holla! I am an AWESOME wife. So I got to prepping, even made time to take this lovely picture so that anyone who reads this blog would have no doubt that I'm a perfect wife! I read a couple internet recipe sites and decided to add cream of mushroom soup and white wine since we had both. I popped the whole thing in the fridge as I flew out the door to class.

Fast forward 3 hours and I'm back home. Ooooh! Smells good! Paul had got our dish a'cooking and I was hungry! We pulled it out of the oven and cut through some of the chicken to make sure it was cooked through. Yes! I got out our plates and served us both a generous portion. I couldn't wait to see the happy look on my hubby's face when he took his first bite! I was daydreaming about all the compliments that were about to come my way as I took my very first bite. And it hit me. Like an avalanche. It. tasted. terrible. Terrible! Oh man you guys. I was bummed. My sweet Paul ate most of his (well I'm not sure if it was out of sweetness, or just plain hunger!) but I just could not bare to continue eating my failure. I pouted around the rest of the evening and went to bed a real grump.

I like to think I redeemed myself last night as I made a delicious meal of spaghetti and meat sauce (thank you Jesus!), but that's not the point. The point is, as I look back, I realize that I was disappointed not because my husband wasn't enjoying a good meal (although I did feel bad) but because I hadn't done it perfectly myself. It was all about me me me. My pride was hurt and I really wanted it to look like I could do it all! Keep the job, the school, the house, the happy husband, the hobbies, the serving at church – all of the plates spinning and with no problem! But everyday God is humbling me. As I look around now, our apartment is disheveled and there are dirty dishes in the sink even though I spent all afternoon yesterday cleaning and putting things away. It never ends! But today, as I check things off of my to-do list, I want to focus on the grace of God in Jesus Christ and how I can bring him glory through my tasks, instead of meditating on how I can bring myself glory. Because my oh my I will continue to get things wrong. But that's not who I am. I am not defined by what I get right or what I get wrong, I am a sinner, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and that's what I want to meditate on all the day long :)

Since You've Been Gone

I have some really amazing news to share... 

On Saturday, April 23, 2011, PDS made me the happiest girl in the world and asked me to be his wife! 

He recreated one of our very first dates and took me to Cafe Deluca in Forest Park, IL for dinner. We sat at the same table and laughed as we remembered how nervous we had been 2 years earlier in that exact same spot. After dinner, Paul suggested that we go to the mall and pick him out some new clothes. My heart sank as my hopes for a "special date" were squashed. But I agreed and we went to the car. But then when we got to the highway I realized he was driving into the city, NOT to the mall!  I've never been so happy to not go to the mall :) 

As we walked up Michigan Ave, we stopped in front of the Chicago Symphony Center and remembered how we had enjoyed a concert there that same first date. Suddenly, Paul said "We're going tonight!" and pulled me inside!  We enjoyed a beautiful performance the first half, and then decided to walk around  alittle during intermission. As we walked into the lobby, Paul said "actually, I've heard enough, how about you? Do you want to go?" At this, I started to get excited ;) I agreed and we walked out into the fresh night air. 

After a quick stop at the car to get cannoli's (or so I was told) we found ourselves sitting on a bench in Millenium Park facing the bean and the skyline.  He pulled out a scrapbook I had made him 2 Christmases ago documenting all the fun adventures we had  been on. As we looked through the pages we reminisced about what a blessing our relationship has been in our lives. Paul had added about 10 more pages to the book which he carefully crafted all by himself (I'm so proud!). On the very last page there were the words "Best Friend Forever?" with a little envelope glued onto the page.
 

At that very moment, a women who was cleaning in the park came up and started sweeping right under the bench where we were sitting! We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, knowing what was coming, but not wanting to share an intimate moment with the park district employee! When she finally left, Paul got down on his knee, told me he loved me (for the first time) and some other special things and asked me to marry him. I of course said "YES!" through my tears of joy and he pulled out the most beautiful ring from the little envelope in our scrapbook. We stayed and talked and dreamed about the future and finally made our way back to the car and to my parents house to share our good news. I never knew I could feel SO SO SO very happy!! 

We knew we wanted to get married as soon as possible (when you know, you know, right?!)  So we set the date for August 27, 2011 and we could not be more excited :)

I knew that since our engagement was shorter than most people's it would probably be silly to send out a Save the Date card when the invitation would follow just a short time after. But still, I wanted to be able to make sure people knew the date and were able to reserve it amidst busy summer schedules.  So to save time, and money, I created this email Save the Date and sent it to some family and close friends.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

I can't wait for the day when I will be Paul's wife. In the last two years we have experienced incredible times of happiness and fun as well as times of sorrow and deep pain. Through it all we have found our greatest earthly blessing to be the companionship and friendship we have in one another. God has woven our hearts and lives together in a way that we could have never done on our own or through our own plans. In His mercy and grace, He directed our steps even when they were not the directions we had hoped or planned. Now, with our wedding around the corner and the hope of a lifelong marriage before us, we say with full hearts and honest humility, that Jesus has been so faithful to us; Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

2010 Reflections + A Photo Shoot!

Well, my semester is complete and the new year is just around the corner. I've been tempted lately to look back on 2010 in frustration and a complaining spirit thinking thoughts such as "Goodbye 2010, please never ever come back!" It is true that this was a particularly difficult and trying year, but I want to cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving and joy and hope in my soul, and not one filled with negativity. So looking back, I choose to focus on these consolidated 5 reflections...

1. Although I was suddenly and surprisingly let go from my corporate job half way through the year, it forced me to take a period of personal reflection time, heart and soul searching, and allowed me to make conscious decisions to move forward in a new and even more desired direction.

2. Last January/February, a spark was ignited in me to pursue graphic design. I downloaded the free 30 day trial of Illustrator and played around with it even though I had absolutely no idea how to use it to create. I was a little disheartened when I began to recognize how much there was to learn about designing on the computer, but I pressed on and began making stationery and invitations for friends using a free vector illustrations program called Inkscape. I continued to enjoy this as a hobby until late August...

3. As a direct result of number 1 and 2, I enrolled in a 32 hour graphic design certificate program at my local community college! Looking back, I cannot believe how drastically my life has changed in the last 11 months since my initial interest in design. I have learned SO SO SO much in just the 5 courses I was able to take this semester and I am absolutely loving the new career path I am on.

4. Many of you know that Paul (and I) went through the fire this year as we watched his mom suffer from terrible health issues. It was the most difficult thing I have ever had to watch anyone go through or go through myself. And it can be easy to look back and have feelings of confusion and anger and anxiety about the pain of the year. But from the ashes of this trial, the Lord allowed it to refine and increase my personal growth and faith as well as the growth of Paul's and my relationship. Of course we wish it could have been by a different means.

5. This year I got to live at home with my family. Now I know this isn't the dream of most 25 year old single girls, and I can't say it was always a dream, but looking back it was surely a blessing. Not only in the obvious financial and convenience benefits, but also because, well I have a great family. I love my parents and even my brother was home after he graduated. Now we are all starting to move our separate ways (some near some far) and so I think I will always look back on 2010 and be thankful for one last year living under the safety and love of my parent's roof.

So although I am learning to look back on hardships in thanksgiving and praise, I am very much looking forward to 2011: a new year and new experiences and a new day :)  Later this week I am going to write some goals for the coming year so stay tuned for my resolutions, goals and intentions for 2011!

In other news.

I had the wonderful opportunity to photography my dear friend Molly (the adorable curly haired red head) and her siblings this afternoon for a special Christmas gift for their parents. Isn't that sweet?  Here are a few of my favorite shots of this darling family:

Catch-up

Oh my! The past few days have slipped by and I have just not made the time to update my thankfulness count. However, this does not mean that I have forgotten to be thankful each day! So looking back...

November 5th Thankful For: This may seem funny, but on Friday I was feeling really thankful for my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. I know, I know, it's cliche. But I got to go celebrate my sweet friend Molly's birthday and see my dearest sorority sisters and I was just so thankful for that time in my life. The women in this picture are all SO different and sometimes it seems crazy that we all love each other so much, but somehow with all our opposite and unique qualities, we just fit together!  I feel that I received way more than I gave to that house and I feel blessed by the lasting friendships I have gained.

November 6th Thankful For: On Saturday I received a great blessing...
a job! And not just any job, but the perfect-for-me job nannying for the most adorable little guy! I am so thankful to witness the Lord bringing pieces together to provide for me so completely. 

November 7th Thankful For: Sunday was a really beautiful day to be thankful for my amazing boyfriend, Paul. I was not only thankful for the good day we had together, but just even all that he has been to me in the last year and a half. He has demonstrated the greatest loyalty, patience, selflessness, endurance and faith that I have ever seen not only in our relationship, but in all areas of his life. And I am thankful that this is not because he tries hard to be a "good person" but it is a result of what the Lord is doing in and through him. He is so kind to me, makes me laugh and is my best friend. I am so thankful that God crossed our paths 2 years ago.

For my class I needed to go out and shoot some photos and Paul came along for support :) At the end I wanted to set my timer to get a picture of the two of us. As I was setting up I happened to catch this perfect moment:

I guess waiting for me to take a million pictures isn't the most exciting thing in the world ;) And although his yawn gave him away, he never once complained or rushed me!

So thankful.

November 8th Thankful For: In the month of November, Paul and I are reading a chapter in Proverbs each day. Proverbs 8 is a description of Wisdom and after reading the chapter I exclaimed out loud, "this is Jesus!" I love seeing pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament and I am so thankful for a God who reveals himself to me.

"Whoever finds me finds life." v. 35

What's in a name?

As you probably know or have figured out by now, my middle name is Joy. I really like this word, and really the meaning of the word, and I love that it's a part of my name. The other day when I was unpacking my room, I put these 3 letters up on my windowsill and Paul said "Joy! My mom loved the word joy too." He proceeded to tell me that growing up his mom had taught him that joy stood for

JesusOthersYou

in other words, an acronym for how she hoped he would prioritize his life. I had never heard this before but I really love it and it makes me appreciate this little piece of my name even more.

My second run-in with {joy} this week came this afternoon in the car. I was just having a "feel sorry for myself" day worrying about getting a job and how I will afford living on my own. But then I realized something that scared me. I imagined that if one of the 15 jobs I had applied to so far called and offered me a position right that second, then I would be so happy and excited for the rest of the day - maybe even the week or month. And this scared me because I realized I was letting my circumstances, and even outside factors that I can't control, determine my mood and how I was living life. I am praying that I would choose joy because Christ has given me life, and not let the crashing waves of the world toss me into a sea of uncontrolled emotion.

November 3rd Thankful For: the name Joy and a Savior who gives me the ability to choose joy in all circumstances. What are you thankful for?

How Did I Miss This?

Last night I had the wonderful blessing of visiting a new bible study of adorable sweet girls! Since my small group (which I was totally in love with by the way) dissolved :( this summer, I have had a hard time finding a new group of ladies to study the Bible with. So you can imagine my JOY when my roomie invited me to visit this one with her. By the end of the evening we were hooked and offering our house to meet at every week. Yay! They are reading a C.S. Lewis book together called "The Four Loves" and last night we discussed Friendship Love.

 It was a really great discussion and challenged me to think about:

1. What kind of friend I am and that what I receive from people affects what kind of friend I am toward them. I don't want to be like that. I want to be the kind of friend who gives without expecting in return.

2. Friendships are ordained gifts from God. There are no coincidences and the fact that I have so many amazing women in my life is not by chance or even by my own effort, but is a blessing straight from the Lord.

3. The greatest way to love a friend is to speak the truth to them. This is the hardest one for me because I am non-confrontational and pretty much try to avoid difficult conversations at all costs! I don't like to feel uncomfortable and so I honestly sometimes avoid truth all together. But the truth is that the gospel is offensive to people and that when you shine light into a dark room, it can really irritate your eyes!

After bible study, a few of the girls came over to our house to hang out, oogle over Aimee's creativity, talk about blogs and jobs and life! It was sweet. But my new friend Rebecca at water {with lemon} showed us this beautiful video!  Apparently it's been out for a while but I'm totally crazy about it and am wondering how did I miss this?!!?

November 2nd Thankful For: so many beautiful gifts from the Lord in amazing encouraging uplifting truth-speaking and seeking friends! I am spending some time today worshiping and thanking God for all those dear ones so close to my heart :)  What are you thankful for today?

Etsy Sneak Preview

Back in August I opened my humble little Etsy shop, Mariel Joy Designs. I've had a couple loyal customers since then (thanks! you know who you are!), but since I started school the very same month, I haven't had much time or brain power to pour into my stationery designs or market my shop as much as I would have liked to. To be honest, a lot of this had to do with school, but a little also had to do with the fact that it's just intimidating to put yourself out there and I have convinced myself that if I don't try, then I won't fail. But designing pretty little things is something I really enjoy, and I don't want to give up on myself or live in fear or failure. In fact, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about fear in the last couple years, and I have made some big steps of faith during that time in full confidence that I am to fear God alone, not man or situations of this world. And so, without fear, but in joyfulness and worship of Jesus Christ, I hope to soon be updating my Etsy shop with some fresh new designs and stationery sizes. I am really excited to be utilizing some of the skills I have learned in school as I create new looks, and I am brainstorming some innovative ways to market my new work. Tonight I created this personalized card. Look familiar? I loved the new banner I made for the blog that I decided to make it into a new 5 x 7 flat card!

What do you think? The colors on the screen don't look exactly right... but I promise they are just perfect in real life :)  This personalized set as well as a few more should be available on my Etsy site soon!

Ch Ch Ch Changes.

Isn't life surprising sometimes? 

It happened twice this past week that in the morning I woke up, and I thought my life was headed in one direction and that I pretty much had everything figured out, but then something happened during the day that totally changed my next move.

The first was a phone call last Wednesday from a friend telling me about an opening for a job I never knew existed and suddenly really wanted.

The second was yesterday - a conversation that meant I would have to find a new place to live sooner rather than later.

Both of these events changed my plans that I had made for the next weeks and months.

But I am thankful that my heart has been covered in Psalm 139 this week because I know that these changes would be so overwhelming if I was not certain of the One who is in control of them. I can't get my mind off of the words from verse 16. It says:

All the days ordained for me 

were written in your book 

before one of them came to be.

My Heavenly Father is not surprised by any of the events taking place in my life right now. In fact, not only is he not surprised, but he ordained every single one of them.

As of this moment, I have no job, no steady income, no promise of a future with Paul, and no idea what will unfold today. And very soon I will have to pay for rent, groceries, utilities, more gasoline, and an increase in my bills overall - all of which I wasn't quite expecting just yet! If I am honest, it doesn't take very long for my mind to start racing with the details of my situation and try to figure out solutions and how I can make it work. But my Lord Jesus gently whispers to me,

"You are mine. I created you and wove your unformed body together before you entered the world. You will never flee from my presence and I already know all of your days. 

Trust me. Walk with me." 

So you see, as I dwell on these promises, it becomes less and less important to me to know what is coming next. Because I will trust in the God who in his love, has ordained all of my days.

Fall is my favorite season.

I love the smells, the crisp air, the gorgeous changing leaves, bright pumpkins, warm days and cold nights, the anticipation of holidays soon to come... everything!  

But even though I love Fall the most, I am quite thankful that I live in a place where I have the blessing of experiencing 4 distinct seasons every year. Each one has it's unique beauties and challenges, and the changing from one to the other enhances my ability to appreciate each new day. 

I have been thinking about seasons a lot the past couple days, not just seasons of weather, but seasons of life. This is probably because I have been experiencing a transition of seasons - not only going back to school and pursuing a new career path, but also huge changes in Paul's life and our relationship. I would say that this past season for us has been one of the greatest challenges and trials in my life so far. But as I walk forward, somehow the pain and tears and sadness of the past all encourage me to fully embrace this day of joy and excitement...

and life.

And although the thing about seasons of life is you that never know how long each of them will last or what they will bring, the one constant from season to season is that our Father in heaven - our Maker - He never ever changes and His hope remains.

Today I have had the Desert Song stuck in my heart.  There is a bridge towards the end that says "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship" and I am praying today that this would be the song of my heart. That though the world around me changes and hurts and confuses and frustrates and spins on, I always have a reason to worship. Because Creator God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. And His promises are forever true. 

Thank you Jesus for faithfully seeing me through each season. Even when the days feel so dark, you have never once left my side. I will bring praise.