This week Mom and I drove down to Asheville to see my sister. She’s getting married in July so our time was filled with wedding planning, cooking, and seeing the Hunger Games of course. Parts of the movie were actually filmed here in Asheville so it was cool to see places that I actually recognized and have been up on the big screen. Spring is in full bloom down here and the mountains are just beautiful. I love mountains. Redbud trees lined the roads and green was everywhere. We had a good time. Here are some fun pics from the trip.

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I feel like there’s something out there this week that I am supposed to learn, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Things about selfishness for sure. And things about not being bossy. Or not being over-opinionated. Or being ok with not being in charge. Or things about being ok when people won’t listen to my ideas even if I think my idea is the only right way to do something. Planning weddings is hard. And trying to keep your sister happy and never frustrated is even harder! I love my sister. She is wonderful and she is not hard to please. I just think that four of us here trying to get things done with VERY differing opinions is HARD.

I’m going to elope.
Sorry everyone.

So I have been frustrated and just keep thinking there is something I am supposed to learn from this “vacation”. And I’d like to learn it. I’d like to put it all into one word. Maybe humility. Submission. Quietness. Servant. Selflessness.

Proverbs 11:25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

I think servant is the right word. No, selflessness.

Selfless: having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself; unselfish.

Well they are all the right word. But I think I am realizing that I LOVE to serve people. On my terms. My way. And that’s not really being a servant is it? Do I only serve when I feel like it or when I actually like what it is I will be doing? And I think to some extent when serving and using your gifts you will find enjoyment while doing it. I just think that sometimes I am not as selfless as I should be. I need to learn to more often take a step back, and refresh others, be motivated by my concern for others, be a servant.  Maybe this is my lesson for the week.

Matthew 20:26&27 Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a reason for many.

It was a baking day…My bestest friend and I decided to be GREEN. For St. Patricks day that is! We made Irish Soda Bread, Green Velvet Cupcakes, Guinness Cupcakes, Coconut Lime Scones, and Lucky Charms Marshmallow treats. So fun!

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“I listen to the tramp, tramp of my feet, and wonder where I was going, and why I was going.” Bart Kennedy

Spring is here! It’s so beautiful outside. I love it. I enjoyed my day off by joining my friend Rebecca and her nephew for a walk near the zoo. We climbed some trees, got a little muddy, saw the elephants at the zoo and witnessed more than just a few angry geese. It was grand.

It was so nice to tramp through the woods and spend time with a good friend. It was the perfect way to spend a day off.

And we saw some of the ugliest birds ever made.

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful…This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus…Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds will follow them!
Revelation 13:10, 14:12-13

Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing. What is God doing. Should I be doing something different? Somewhere different? My life seems so mundane. I go to work and then come home and do more work. And I don’t feel fulfilled in any of it. Or at least most of it. This year has been hard. Sad, painful, lonely, discouraging and just plain hard.

I’m not complaining. I am so abundantly blessed. Sometimes its just difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard to know which direction to go. And even though I know that God is faithful and that He indeed does have a plan and a purpose for my life, it’s not always encouraging. I’m reading through Revelation and these verses jumped out at me. I know I’m not necessarily being persecuted. And this is directed at the end times, but I think the same principle applies.

Be patient.

Obey.

Remain faithful.

It is not in vain.

The moon was AMAZING tonight. I was driving home and people were pulling over and just looking at it. It was low in the sky and so big. It looked fake, casting an eerie glow over the hills of vineyards I was driving through. Beautiful. I didn’t have my camera with me so I snapped some pictures as soon as I got home. Not quite as amazing, but still cool. (this photo is my first editing attempt in my new Adobe Lightroom!)

Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
‘Neath the cover of October skies

And all the leaves on the trees are fallin’
To the sound of the breezes that blow
An’ I’m trying to please to the callin’
Of your heart strings that play soft and low

And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?

Well, I wanna make love to you tonight
I can’t wait ’til the morning has come
And I know now the time is just right
And straight in to my arms you will run

And when you come, my heart will be waiting
To make sure that you’re never alone
There and then, all my dreams will come true, dear
There and then, I will make you my own

And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside
And I know how much you want me that you can’t hide
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?

I recently sat down with a good friend who is often frustrated because his heart is in another country and he is waiting to be there and doesn’t want to be here. This frustrates me because he is here now and until he boards a plane and moves there, God has him here for a reason. And he’s missing it! Or at least I think he’s missing it. I could be completely off base. I get it, I really do. I am SO anxious to be someplace else, doing something else. But we’re here, in New York. And next week we’ll be here still. And he calls it complacency and I call it contentment.

Complacency

Contentment

Finding glimpses of beauty, inspiration, challenge, wherever you are. New York, Atlanta, Australia, or Colombia. If you want to change your life, you can. Do something about it. Change it. But if you are staying where you are, you better as heck be the very best at being there that you possibly can. Colossians 3:23 is a verse that constantly comes to my mind when pondering things like this. “Whatever you do, work at it WITH ALL YOUR HEART! As working for the Lord, not for men”. And I know this is talking about working. Not living. But…it can’t be that different can it?

Sometimes its not about making it a big adventure or a challenge bigger than the last. Sometimes its just about spending quality time with a friend who loves you. Please, never miss an opportunity to bless, encourage or strengthen a friendship just because you are looking for a bigger challenge.