A cluster of Thoughts

Yup..I have a cold. It's the most pointless sickness to me because it just drains all your energy but other than that, you're fine. It's so easy to whine about though.

We are slowly packing our house up.. it's not taking as long as I thought, but it's still no fun! The camp sent us pictures yesterday of our new home and it is very small. I was not planning on taking everything with us, but now I think we'll take even less than planned. One awesome thing I noticed is that we have a bathtub! I love me some bubble baths. I am trying to pack by room, for a few reasons. A) So it doesn't seem like such a chore and B) so it goes into the moving truck by room..hopefully easier to unpack. I also dislike unpacking. Maybe I should stop moving so much!! We are praying that this adventure will be the last one for a long time!

Last night at bible study, we were studying James 1. I was so incredibly challenged. I have read that chapter many many times but never broken it out like we did. One part stood out in particular to me; verse 21:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (NIV)

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. (NLT)

I like looking up verses in a few different translations, I feel like it helps me understand them a little better. I have verse 19 taped to my computer at work (You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.) because, well, I need the reminder. But, I have never really noticed verse 21. "get rid of the moral filth in your life" .... "accept the word planted in you" these are things that are so equally important as what's taped on my computer. These things require action! Action can be scary, so I think subconsciously we skip over the parts that require action and just remember the passage as a whole; or remember the parts that make us feel warm & fuzzy. This week I plan to take a chunk of time and write out specific ways I see moral filth in my life and actively work on removing them. I know that part of that is surrendering to God every.single.morning. It is so hard for me to do, because I like being in control. But ultimately, I know that when I am surrendered to God, these morally filthy things in my life become a whole lot more noticeable, and start looking more like obstacles in the way of reaching intimacy with my Savior. I think it will be somewhat difficult to admit all the ways I let moral filth sneak into my life. Life is so short though, it will be gone before we know it, and I don't want to look back and wish I had done something to make a change sooner. I have God's word planted in me. How powerful is that? I have no reason to doubt myself!

So as I continue packing up my house, deciding which of my things I need to bring with me, and which to leave behind; I'll also be evaluating what in my life needs to stay and what needs to go.

Do you dislike packing as much as I do? Anyone have some tips to make it a little more enjoyable?

Snapped with my iPhone on my way to work this morning. I couldn't help but share!

Find Bliss. Stay Awhile.

This morning is especially gloomy in Seattle. Last night it rained the BIG raindrops and this morning wasn't too much better. Now that I'm typing this, I do see some sun through the window, which isn't helping my point.

I don't understand Pinterest at all but I decided to give it a whirl by typing in "Bliss" to the search bar. My favorite definition of the word is supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment. For me, gloomy days just don't fit into that. Here are some of the things I found on Pinterest ...

I want to move in here.

 If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what would.

I love everything about this room. My new kitchen at camp might have to be inspired by this photo.

Let's spend a few hours here. It looks warm and perfect.

Just perfect. I love the sunlight in the top right trees.

What we all hope for: to grow old together. Love her laugh lines around her eyes, and his gentle embrace of her.

I hope these pick up your Monday like they did mine!

PS. if anyone can explain Pinterest, and/or how to tag back to the pins that'd be great. I don't want to look like I'm stealing these or anything!

I Believe

I'm linking up with the beautiful Hollie Ann on her Friday I believe post!

I Believe:

*In finding the good in people, even when it seems impossible. Deep down, everyone has those good intentions somewhere.

*In eating cereal for dinner.

*In getting as much sleep as your body needs. For me, this is around 10 hours a night. (Doesn't happen as often as I'd like!)

*That everyone has a story to tell. The hardest shells to crack are usually the ones who want to be heard the most, as long as someone will actually listen.

*That laugher really is the best medicine.

Thanks Hollie!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

So I've been wanting to do a post about a few of my favorite things but I didn't know how to incorporate it into my blog. I decided to just go for it. I have been trying to find a 'focus' for this little guy but I think I'm just going to keep posting about whatever I feel like and see what happens. (cue: I'm doin' me)

Anyhoodles. My most very favorite product in the whole wide world I stumbled upon by chance. I have extremely sensitive skin and because of this, I hate shaving my legs! One day while wasting time in Bath & Body works, where I can only use certain products because of all the perfume, I bought this shave creme on a whim.

It has literally changed my life. As you can see, it's a little pricey but even right now its buy 2, get one free. Whenever this stuff goes on sale, or if I get coupons I STOCK UP. Sometimes I hoard up to 5 bottles! It doesn't give me any razor burn and also with the shea butter makes my legs all silky soft. Love that.

Next up we have eye primer. If you apply eyeshadow without primer, you should stop. Primer not only makes your shadow last way longer without the creases, but also makes it go on so much bolder so you end up using less! Score! I used to use Trish McEvoy primer that cost $26 a tube. SO not in my budget! When I was close to running out, I was planning on saving up for another tube (how ridiculous is that!?) and snagged one while at Target to tide me over.

I had heard of E.L.F. brand before but knew I wouldn't be satisfied with something that cost only 99 cents. Yes, you read that right! It costs 99 cents!! And it's changed my life a little bit. Sorry Trish, this stuff works the same, if not better, as your imposingly expensive alternative.

I'll leave you with this. Dry shampoo. This stuff really has changed my life. I hate washing my hair everyday. It takes so much time to style and then it gets all dry and split endy from not absorbing the natural oils. I could go on and on.. but I would never recommend washing every day. However, your hair should never look nast. No one wants to see that! For this I give you the Dirty Secret.

A little shakey shakey and a spritzy spritzy on the roots, you're as good as new!

Well there ya have it, my three current favorite things. Well atleast the things in my bathroom ;-) Lookout for more posts of this kind - I'm picky about what I use so I love to share what I find & love!

Simplicity

One of the things I am most excited for when we live in isolated camp world is having time to knit again. When I was in Colorado I made all sorts of fun things, and now I can barely remember how to cast on. Camp life is so simple and I really do long to have that again. No more running around after work trying to be everywhere I am expected to be.

Here are a few projects I plan on making this winter..

Super cute headband from Jenn Likes Yarn

Socks with yarn that I bought over two years ago!

And, since I recieved my much anticipated sewing machine in the mail last week, I'll probably be found trying to figure that out and making a million of these:

...and adhering them to every surface my husband allows me to..

This is Really Happening!

Ever since leaving Trail West in 2009 (the camp Zach and I met at), we have both felt a very strong calling to work in Christian Camping ministry. Over the last two and a half years, we have applied to a handful of camps around the country, and have gotten rejected from almost every one.

This spring, Zach was offered a position in Oregon at a Young Life camp, but not working for Young Life, it would have been a separate ministry being run at that camp. He felt it was the right job, so I drove down with him the following weekend to see the place, meet the people, etc. As soon as we arrived on camp property, something felt off. I just knew it wasn't the right place for us, but didn't have the heart to tell Zach. I went through the whole weekend pretending to be ok. Once we got home, and went to church the next morning, Zach asked one of our pastors what he thought, and he said "I always say, 'Go until God says no.'" Well, I immediately felt this was the time to speak up so I told Zach that I just knew that this wasn't God's best for us. He was heartbroken, he finally felt he had a job at a camp and I had taken that away from him. He knew we needed to trust the Lord that He had something better for us, but that isn't always easy to do!!

Time moved along, we got married, we settled into our home and our new life together. Zach had still been applying for other camp jobs and was getting rejection letter after rejection letter. That is so not easy to deal with. I was sad for him, I just wanted someone to give him a call, talk to him on the phone, before simply saying, "Sorry, you don't look as good on paper as these other applicants. God Bless." All along I have had so much respect for my husband getting up every day and going to a job he does not enjoy at all. It has given me so much faith in him, knowing that no matter what happens he will always take care of me. We continually prayed for the right job to come along. We love our friends and community in Washington, but neither of us felt that we had to stay here forever, and so we were not limiting his job applications to this state.

Last week (yup, just last Tuesday) Zach sent an application to a camp just outside of San Diego, CA. At 10:30 pm. I have to admit, I was just dreading the email I expected to receive from them, the same one we had been getting from all the other camps. Boy was I wrong! The very next morning Zach recieved a phone call that they wanted to get to know him. He called back and spoke to the camp director for a few minutes, and when he realized how far away we live, he asked Zach to do a Skype interview. That interview only last 15 minutes, and they called back that afternoon to ask Zach when they could meet me! Ahh!! Well, Saturday morning we plugged into Skype and had an amazing half hour conversation with the three men on leadership at this camp. When we hung up with them, we both noticed that the most important principle was so apparent through these men, that their lives and the mission of the camp is incredibly Christ centered. How refreshing.

Yesterday (only one week after Zach's initial interview) they offered us both a full time position at the camp!! Maintenance for Zach, and Accomodations for me. As soon as this became a real possibility, naturally I freaked out. All the peace I had been feeling all week immediately turned into fear, nerves, and anxiety. I kept praying for it to go away but it wasn't! I decided to send an email to our family and a couple close friends, asking for prayer over our decision. I went to bed last night and told Zach I knew in the morning I would feel better, and then I would tell him that I felt 100% confident to move.

I woke up this morning with more nerves. Not what I wanted. Now I was afraid that all these nerves might be the same thing as the Oregon feelings, and I wanted to make sure if they were that I knew for sure. I called three people on my way to work and no one picked up. So I said outloud "Jesus if these nerves are really you saying no, then make that clear.. I need you to take this. If you want us to go, tell me loudly so I can't deny it!!" Two minutes later, my dad called back. He said he was not going to make the decision for me but that Zach and I have thrown our anchor down here, and it is now time to cut it loose. He said, "you can't try to set sail and still have that anchor dragging behind your boat, just let it go, and be on your next adventure!" Of course my dad would relate it to boating :) I felt this was such a good analogy because of my previous post and how this would mean starting over, yet again. When we hung up I felt pretty encouraged about it. Then I arrived at work and I had an email from my auntie Michelle, ending with this:

You and Zach are being offered a JOB to SERVE the LORD.  GO.  SERVE. BE HAPPY.   We support you in every way. Jesus is so happy with you. I know this.

At this point, I am definitely not able to deny that Jesus is indeed telling us to go. Just incase I didn't believe Him enough, I received a text message from my dear friend Breanna literally five minutes after reading the email, that read:

Take the leap of faith!!! :-)

So guess what?!

We are going!!

In THREE WEEKS!!!! And I am beyond excited knowing that we are definitely doing exactly what God wants us to.

This ain't half bad either.

The Art of Doing Nothing

Doing 'nothing': I am way too good at this, and also don't know how to do it all at the same time. I can avoid doing something by doing another something and then it feels like nothing, because I wanted to do that something. For instance, our guest room:

I can't believe I even just posted a picture. Don't judge me, but does that look like something you would want to tackle!? Didn't think so. Haven't touched it since we moved in ... FOUR months ago. But I will, this weekend, because soon my inlaws are coming and they will need a place to sleep! Hopefully I'll be posting an after picture, soon.

Here are a few "somethings" that I have been working on. They just feel like I'm doing nothing, because I enjoy doing them.
Turning this:

Into this:

Closer look at my cute pumpkins: 

All I did was glue poutporri sticks to candles and spray paint mini pumpkins!

Making these with my mom:

Here's to the Art of Doing Nothing, and being good at it =) Actually, here's to cleaning that dang guest room. Hmph.

Weekend Recap: Its FALL!

This weekend was a great one. Although I'm still a little bit mourning our summer four weeks of warm weather, it's FALL! I love fall. It's pretty much my favorite season. I love everything about it; boots, scarves, fires, soup for meals, new project ideas, the upcoming holidays, and the cliche cuddling on the couch with a blanket and husband. Yep. Took full advantage of all. these. things. this past weekend. Loving it!

A few of us chaperoned the Homecoming dance on Saturday night, and we noticed a few things.. since when do you not dance at said dances? I know I'm not that far out of high school, but apparently things have changed. Also, gotta say it: Girls, there is something to be said about modesty. Gotta leave some things to the imagination, can I get an amen? Had to say it.

I broke out my favorite candle of ALL TIME last night, mmmmm Fresh Balsam.

I stock up every January when these go half off. I'm glad I did last year, because I just noticed they aren't selling the 3-wick size this year. Sad Day. I actually don't know what I'll do about this.

I also started a very fall-ish project this weekend. Can't wait to share :) Stay tuned!