I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day full of great food, great friends, family, and football!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
I'll admit, sometimes I am...both literally and figuratively.
The pastor at the church I've been going to lately just finished a series on Living Without, and today's topic was Living Without: Fear. He began by talking about fear, in general, and told this story. Gunther Gebel-Williams was a lion tamer who performed in circuses all over the country. On one particular night he was performing with Bengal tigers. They were surrounding him in a circle and he was in the center on a stool with a whip. Suddenly the lights went out; the arena had lost power. Gunther couldn't see, the audience couldn't see, but the tigers...they could see. So Gunther, who was surrounded by 20 tigers, couldn't see, and he knew the tigers could see; but he also knew the tigers didn't know he couldn't see. So he kept doing his thing, whipping his whip and working with the tigers, all the time pretending he could see. After a few minutes the lights came back on, and to everyone's relief Gunther was still alive and the tigers were still in order. In all that darkness, Gunther had kept fear at bay.
The pastor then likened this senario to the world. The world, he said, is a dark place, ruled by the Devil. We are surrounded by darkness, but God is the light. He came into the world and said "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
He talked about three types of fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of death. Then of course he gave examples of people related to each of these types of fears. Did you know Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts comic strip and Charlie Brown and the gang, was a complete failure most of his life. Yep; he failed every class his 8th grade year and had to take it over. Then in high school, he failed physics, Latin, English, and math (whatever level he was in). He failed in so many ways, but there was one thing he could do and that was draw. He knew he could draw, specifically comics, so he submitted his drawings to the yearbook committee hoping he could contribute to the yearbook in that way. They said his drawings weren't good enough. Eventually he submitted his work to Walt Disney. He got a letter saying his drawings were good, but they wanted to see if he could take a story and put it into drawings that would make an animation. So he did this and sent his work back to Walt Disney. Again he got a letter; this time it said he was very talented but it just wasn't what they were looking for. Only after all this failure did he create Peanuts. He knew God had a plan for him, and he wasn't afraid of failure because he knew he would eventually find his calling. And, of course, he did.
I think this was something I needed to hear today. Because in this time when I am searching for a job and feeling like nothing will come my way, I needed to remember that God has a plan for me. I need to not fear and remember that there is job out there that God has waiting, just for me.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.'" -Jeremiah 29:11
The pastor at the church I've been going to lately just finished a series on Living Without, and today's topic was Living Without: Fear. He began by talking about fear, in general, and told this story. Gunther Gebel-Williams was a lion tamer who performed in circuses all over the country. On one particular night he was performing with Bengal tigers. They were surrounding him in a circle and he was in the center on a stool with a whip. Suddenly the lights went out; the arena had lost power. Gunther couldn't see, the audience couldn't see, but the tigers...they could see. So Gunther, who was surrounded by 20 tigers, couldn't see, and he knew the tigers could see; but he also knew the tigers didn't know he couldn't see. So he kept doing his thing, whipping his whip and working with the tigers, all the time pretending he could see. After a few minutes the lights came back on, and to everyone's relief Gunther was still alive and the tigers were still in order. In all that darkness, Gunther had kept fear at bay.
The pastor then likened this senario to the world. The world, he said, is a dark place, ruled by the Devil. We are surrounded by darkness, but God is the light. He came into the world and said "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
He talked about three types of fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of death. Then of course he gave examples of people related to each of these types of fears. Did you know Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts comic strip and Charlie Brown and the gang, was a complete failure most of his life. Yep; he failed every class his 8th grade year and had to take it over. Then in high school, he failed physics, Latin, English, and math (whatever level he was in). He failed in so many ways, but there was one thing he could do and that was draw. He knew he could draw, specifically comics, so he submitted his drawings to the yearbook committee hoping he could contribute to the yearbook in that way. They said his drawings weren't good enough. Eventually he submitted his work to Walt Disney. He got a letter saying his drawings were good, but they wanted to see if he could take a story and put it into drawings that would make an animation. So he did this and sent his work back to Walt Disney. Again he got a letter; this time it said he was very talented but it just wasn't what they were looking for. Only after all this failure did he create Peanuts. He knew God had a plan for him, and he wasn't afraid of failure because he knew he would eventually find his calling. And, of course, he did.
I think this was something I needed to hear today. Because in this time when I am searching for a job and feeling like nothing will come my way, I needed to remember that God has a plan for me. I need to not fear and remember that there is job out there that God has waiting, just for me.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.'" -Jeremiah 29:11
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Frustrated
So I know I've only had my credentials for a week, but I've been searching for a job for much longer. It's been months and I've still got nothin'. It's really starting to get me down. I'm one of those kinds of people that has to be busy all the time and has to have goals and projects and whatnot, and I feel like I'm just at a standstill. I can't really invest my money towards my interests when I have none to spare. It's really frustrating. Please pray for something to come my way soon! Thanks.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
BIG Happy Face!
I passed my RD (Registered Dietitian) exam today!!! Thank the Lord....for real, I could not have done it without Him. I am so happy and relieved to have that done, and to have my life back (no more studying!!). I have the biggest smile on my face, and it would take a really bad thing to wipe it off right now. I couldn't be happier. Hopefully a job will be soon to follow!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lately.
All I've been able to dream about lately are vitamins and minerals and other food related things. Hopefully all that will end soon though. I take my RD exam tomorrow, and God-willing, I will pass and be done studying. That being said, please pray for me to have a clear mind and my thinking cap on...and just for me to do well in general. Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Happy Halloween!
So after a large snowstorm, the kiddos had a beautiful day for trick-or-treating this past Saturday. It was in the 60's and sunny -- not a cloud in the sky! We took advantage of the beautiful day as well by heading up to A-basin to get in some early season snowboarding. It was the perfect day for it, but since it's still early season not many runs are open and with only one lift operating, the lines were out of control! So we actually spent most of the day hanging out at the cars, grilling out and enjoying eachothers company.
The sunrise over the mountain was beautiful!
Check out the line in the background. It was SO long!
You could tell it was Halloween at A-basin. People in costumes were everywhere!
After snowboarding we headed back to Denver to carve pumpkins and pass out candy to kids, one of my favorite Halloween activities. The kids are just so darn cute!! I think my favorite costumes were a little lion and a dragon (or maybe he was a dinosaur?). There was also a little bumble bee that was pretty precious! To cap off the night, we got dressed up in our costumes and went out to dinner. It was a pretty tame night, but very enjoyable after a long day in the mountains.
Can you guess who carved each pumpkin?! I'll give you a hint, Donnie and I carved one together.
Ours is the little bugaboo! Kim carved the funny face, and Mike did the witch.
The sunrise over the mountain was beautiful!
Check out the line in the background. It was SO long! You could tell it was Halloween at A-basin. People in costumes were everywhere!After snowboarding we headed back to Denver to carve pumpkins and pass out candy to kids, one of my favorite Halloween activities. The kids are just so darn cute!! I think my favorite costumes were a little lion and a dragon (or maybe he was a dinosaur?). There was also a little bumble bee that was pretty precious! To cap off the night, we got dressed up in our costumes and went out to dinner. It was a pretty tame night, but very enjoyable after a long day in the mountains.
Can you guess who carved each pumpkin?! I'll give you a hint, Donnie and I carved one together.
Ours is the little bugaboo! Kim carved the funny face, and Mike did the witch.
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