Beautiful Things

Sometimes Monday mornings are just terrible. But sometimes they're not. Sometimes they are the "my 3-hour 8:00 am lecture only lasted an hour so I'm now drinking a gingerbread latte and listening to good music in front of a cozy Starbucks fire" kind of not so terrible.

In the same way I was surprised by the goodness that arose from what could have been just a typical, potentially-terrible Monday morning, I've been noticing just beauty and hope in unexpected but wonderful places lately. Amidst the grey, gloomy and FREEEEEZING Wisconsin winter weather that seems to have finally come to stay, the Lord is definitely still crafting beautiful things in my life.

This song, "Beautiful Things" has been stuck in my head and heart lately. It never fails to remind me that because the Lord is good and great, He can and does make beautiful things. Out of us- crazy, stubborn, selfish people. Out of icky and tragic situations.

The life of the little preschool friend, Kayla, I'm working with through AmeriCorps this year is ugly. It's hard, it's inconsistent. She and her family, without a home of their home, move from staying with one family member to another every few days. She comes to school hungry and exhausted most days. Some days my time spent with her is literally made up of hours of this: her just collapsing in my arms.

But I'll take it. Because from this seemingly destitute situation, beautiful seeds are being planted. Kayla has grown to be able to trust me and understand that, at least for this year, I am a constant in her life. I'm someone who just loves her and supports her. And so some days, I get to see evidence of these beautiful things with her.

Some days Kayla and I get to work on art projects together.

Some days Kayla and I play "head, shoulders, knees and toes" together.

And on really, really good days, Kayla smiles :)

In other, maybe smaller, but still encouraging ways, I'm noticing little beautiful things.

This Thanksgiving was amazing. And drama-free! What?! Out of my crazy and dysfunctional hodge podge of a family, came a fun and relaxing and enjoyable day.

The Badgers are playing this weekend in the Big Ten Championships. And then hopefully the Rose Bowl. And we're headed to Indy! Really, really, really excited.

My house has been Christma-tized. Only months ago, pre- major house facelift, 205 looked a little like an abandoned crack house. Now, the outside is new and jazzy and the inside is comfier and jollier than ever. (Melissa, by using this I am not suggesting you should Tweet or Instagram more often, I just dig this picture)

Maybe early Monday morning blog posts while I'm slightly overly caffeinated are obnoxious. But maybe there's merit to the optimism and energy and excitement I feel for this day and the life I get to live. From anything, the Lord can weave a beautiful, fun and worthwhile story. And how gooood is that?!

Thankful

Psalm 95: 1-2

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving...

Yes, perhaps it is because I am finally headed home this evening to celebrate Thanksgiving, but I am overwhelmed with a thankful heart this morning.

I am beyond thankful for parents who love and adore and support me. I am thankful for sassy little sisters. I am thankful for adorable and encouraging cards from grandma.

I am thankful for a full house at the holidays. I'm thankful for good food, hilarious conversations, traditions.

I am thankful that time of year people travel to gather, to share food and to share life. I am thankful for the hope present in this season- hope for the birth of a baby savior, hope for new and better things in the year to come.

I am thankful for slow morning. For blankets to snuggle in, enormous coffee cups to enjoy, milk at the bottom of my cereal bowl to slurp and just time to wake up slowly.

I am thankful for friends, for memories and laughter and giddiness.

I am thankful! Blessed, but thankful.

Happy Birthday, Laura!

The last year for me has been so full and blessed, truthfully in a lot of ways because of the addition of Laura in my life as a good friend and roommate. 

I adore this girl more than she'll ever believe. I respect her and admire her and look up to her and appreciate her and lean on her and just really really love her! Today she turns 21 and as I celebrate her, I can't help but reflect on the amazing blessing she's been in my life.

In the last year-ish we've grown to somewhat have each other figured out. We've learned each others strengths and weaknesses, quirky habits and odd senses of humor. We've laughed a ton. We've vandalized our own home. We've travelled across the country. We've been to Devil's Lake a whole lot. We've lived some gooood, good life. Some of the experiences I've had with Laura in the last year or so have shaped who I am today and who I want to one day be and some of the memories we've created I GUARANTEE will be with me forever. I'm thankful for you in my life the past year-ish and I look forward to seeing what this next year of life has in store!

So, happy birthday, my sweet, sweet friend. I love you. Big time. 

In my life, you are something beautiful.

Little likes

I like afternoon adventures with friends and sisters.

I like this late-fall time of year.

I like when the beauty of nature surprises you and makes you "ooh" and "ahh" like you're looking at someone's cute new baby.

I like Madison.

I like romantic reds.

I like spending time alone, quiet.

I like bonfires.

It would appear I like big snippy tools and scary faces.

I like that life is a journey.

When I grow up...

The other day I enrolled for a May graduation. And Monday I register for my last semester of college. Crazy!!

So on my mind a lot lately has been the big "what's next?" question. I don't yet know where I might be called to work, serve and live next year. But while I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, I think the Lord is using this year in a lot of ways to show me who I want to be when I grow up.

When I grow up, I want to be Callie, my good friend and co-leader. Yesterday, 11/11/11 was Callie's birthday, and I LOVED celebrating her (with, ironically, 11 friends.)

Yesterday in particular I realized just how incredibly thankful I am for her in my life, mostly because of really an unparalleled joy she has- day to day she just lives and loves joyfully. Callie is fun and lighthearted and adventurous and upbeat and just.. joyful!

When I grow up, I want to be Marc. At DAIS, a domestic abuse shelter I volunteer at, I work with a few dozen kids each week, a few of which are Marc, an 11 year old boy and Michael, his absolutely adorable 6 year old brother. Marc just clearly thinks the world of Michael; he is protective and kind and nurturing to his little brother. One night this week I spent nearly two hours playing with Michael, making food out of Play-Doh and just chatting and laughing. At the end of the evening, as the kids program was winding down, Marc pulled me aside and asked if he could talk to me for a minute. I walked over to the corner to see what he had on his mind and he pulled from his pocket a tattered package of gum. Grabbing the very last piece of gum he said to me, "Thank you so much for being nice to Michael- I know this isn't much but it's all I have and I've been saving it to share with someone special, I want you to have this." Gah!! He is generous and loving and selfless in a way I can only dream of one day being.

When I grow up, I want to be Charlotte. This year I'm nannying five days a week for two great little girls; Ella, who is almost 9 and Charlotte, now 7. I CRAZY adore both girls but there is just an extra awesome little something that always gets me about Charlotte. She is smart and witty and confident and hilarious. She is also "fansey"- fancy. When I grow up, I hope to be fancy like Char.

Finally, as I grow up, I want to be someone whose life shouts evidence of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22 tells us:

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Not nearly there, but I am growing!!

Psalm 27: 8

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek.