.dog days. (10 things I learned in August)

1. Red nails are for Cali weddings and Illinois living.
I've never really been the girl who gets her nails done bright red.  But when my best friend and I sat down at the nail salon to get manicures for her wedding I decided that day was the day.  So I picked out that shade of OPI called "Got the Blues for Red" and haven't looked back.  Still haven't taken it off.

2. They grow up.
And by "they" I mean those sweet girls who've been in my high school small group.  It has been an amazing privilege to watch them grow in the Lord and to be a part of their lives every week for the last two years. There were goodbyes last month as they started their new adventures at colleges far away and I'm going to miss them, but so excited to see what God's got planned for them in the coming months.  It's something spectacular, I'm sure.

2. I really need Him to be the one who manages the time in the day.
I really need Jesus to be the one who is directing the hours of my day because when things get too busy I panic a little. or a lot.  It's so easy to see time as something we can control with planners and to-do lists.  But those haven't worked for me.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to make sure daily responsibilities are accomplished and that things get done.  I've just realized that I can get so caught up in what needs to get done that I forget to invite God into my day and give Him the reins to guide me through it. He's there anyway, He's in control anyway...I might as well rest in that and give Him the hours to use me in the ways He wants to.

3. "Lowland Hum"
"Lowland Hum" was new to me this August and a welcome addition to my playlist.  They are a folk band with a little bit of a twist.  Here's the link if you'd like to check them out...it's well worth your time I think.    http://lowlandhum.com/about

4.  My collection of coffee mugs now exceeds the space available in the cabinets.
This one's self-explanatory.  And very much a first-world problem.

5. Even if a movie is filmed in your hometown, it doesn't mean you are going to like it.
Last month I saw the movie "At Any Price" thinking that it was going to be great because it was filmed in Sycamore and Sycamore is great.  Which is Sabrina logic, I guess.  I also remember some of my friends commenting on how  the main actors, Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, frequented the bars and restaurants around town where they worked (even the Farm and Fleet) and how great they were to talk to.  Also contributing to my Sabrina logic.  So my brother and I were super excited to see this movie, and about 10 minutes in we were almost simultaneously "ugh"-ing.  It was just so, so sad. And kind of gross.  And then sad again.  But I did see my high school and Sycamore Speedway in some of the scenes, which redeemed it a little.

6. "Boyfriend" jeans can be your favorite jeans.
Ever since the "boyfriend" jean became a thing, I've been looking for a pair that fit and looked halfway decent.  Well I finally found a pair at Target that fit well, are comfortable, and they just might be my favorite pair of jeans that I own.  This is quite a feat, superficial I know.

7. California really is everything they say it is...but the Midwest still has this heart of mine.
My best friend's wedding was in California last month (see #1) and it was the most beautiful wedding I've been to.  It was outside on her new husband's family's ranch tucked away down a 2 mile dirt road in the hills of San Luis Obispo County and really....does it get better than that?

 It was the first time I'd ever been to California and it is one breathtakingly-beautiful place.  The temps are perfect, the ocean's on one side with mountains on the other, and the sun sticks around all day.  It's what everyone says it is and most people warned me that I might never come back.  But when the weekend came to an end, I was ready to be get back to the Midwest.  It's home.

8.  Woodstock, IL has a new chocolate shop and I'm already a fan.
For those of you who have never been to Woodstock, it is one happy place.  It's a sweet little town on a square with cute shops and one wonderful bookstore.  Recently added is a chocolate shop called Ethereal Confections.  It looks amazing, smells amazing, and the people who work there are beyond friendly.  If you are a lover of chocolate I highly recommend it.  Below is a picture I took with my phone's camera.  If it looks this sweet from a picture, I need not mention what it's like in person. :)

9. Learning to trust, trust, trust.
This may be a word that's overly used in our vocabulary, especially when it comes to a relationship with God.  "Just trust Him," people say.  "Trust that God knows best," still more say.  And I do believe He does.  But sometimes my heart feels differently.  I want to control outcomes and sometimes find myself wishing that God would come to my senses rather than resting in the fact that He knows me and knows the whole story and has plans of His own that I don't see or understand.  But He does.  I found myself in more than one situation last month where I had to learn to preach this again and again to myself, "Trust Him....in all things. Trust Him".

10. "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks will always make me cry.
I keep waiting for the day when this song doesn't make me tear up.  But it always does, no matter where I am. I heard it several times in August and learned that it probably always will.  It was one of my Mama's favorites, and one of mine too.  Thanks Stevie.

.good-bye July. (cheesy titles and 10 things I learned in July).

Let me just start off by saying that I dislike very much that the title of this post rhymes.  It's cheesy.  but I've also had only one cup of coffee. So I'm asking for some grace.

Anyway, I've started this exercise, for lack of a better word, where every month I take a look in the review mirror and look back on the last 30 days or so.  I've been quite inspired by other bloggers who have done this and it's changed the way I've looked at my day-to-day life, namely that there's really no such thing as day-to-day living.  We have our daily responsibilities, activities, laughs, and minor/major freak-outs.  But in those everyday things we have the chance to take a moment and thank God and maybe have another laugh about that one time when you tried opening your front door with your car key (i'm not naming names here).
So, this is my taking-a-moment....

1. What even happened to July?  I do not know.  This month I learned that the older you get, the faster July (and really every month) will go.

2. The 4th of July is not as much fun when you're minding your own business and suddenly glowing pieces of firework are falling around you and your family.  When Grandma's panicked about her lawn chair going up in flames, you know you sat too close.

3. July 13th was my Mama's birthday and I learned that the best way to celebrate is to spend some time with a llama.  She wouldn't have had it any other way.

4. Sometimes you think cornbread is a corn dog, when really it's just cornbread. this one's for you, Aunt Carm.

5. Hope and my plans and God's time are all very much in His hands.  It's one of those "all the time, every time, never-ending" things He does. In July, He taught me this all over again. Sometimes, I'm a very slow learner.

6. I learned that my on-again off-again relationship Coca-Cola is officially on- again.  All through June I was doing really well with my water bottles and such.  But come July,  he was back in my life.  He knows I'm sentimental and that I associate his red can and fancy lettering with summertime memories.  Plus, I really like hot dogs. And Coke goes really well with hot dogs.  So. This is what happens.

7. My grandmother had hip surgery and I learned all over again that she's superwoman.

8.  My brother and I went to our first major concert together (how lame is it that it's only our first?) and I learned that he is my favorite concert buddy.  and just my favorite in general.

9.  Sometimes waiting on the Lord does a number on you...but He is always worth our wait.
"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!  Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!"

10.  Having breakfast in the morning changes my outlook on the entire ever-loving day.

.redecorate.

this heart of mine will always need a restoration.

from old unceasing expectations
from impossibly high standards
from not quite measuring up
from careless words with good intentions

from not feeling "enough"
witty enough
pretty enough
smart enough
not saying enough...
or saying too much

from the guilt and shame
from my constant awareness of my shortcomings
from being too much of this
but not enough that
from the knowing that I am not and cannot ever be "perfect"
and how much that bothers me.

Be my restoration.
Be what drives me to do what isn't possible without You.
You make me worthy of Your love because of who You are
and you are the only one who can plant rest and grace and beauty inside this heart.

So let your light into the dilapidated, dark corners of this heart of mine so that nothing remains hidden,
and redecorate the walls with pictures of You so that I'll always remember to whom I belong.

May we know deeply that we are Your creation and so,
we are made beautiful and glorious in You.
That is the truth that restores us.

.simple days.

I've been thinking a lot about "better days" and what that means to me.  

Does it mean easy days?

Does it mean simple days?

Does it mean my dreams coming true and things making sense and settling into some sweet existence?

I wish they didn't seem to last so long, 

These days that seem a bit more complicated.  

And honestly, sometimes I find myself wishing God, that you might let me off the hook.

Sometimes I want days where the biggest question is whether I will have one cup of coffee or two on a front porch somewhere with a book and my dog and where my hair can just stay messy.

do those days exist really?  I don't know

I do know that all of this, this heart-work, is on purpose.

Because You want the first place.
Because You want me to dwell secure in You alone.
Because You found me.

But oh the waiting....

I want some simpler days.

But will they be the better ones?

Are the better days the simpler ones? the easy ones?

Or are they when I can feel the work of your Potter's hands? 

Still, today I struggle a bit, God.

And maybe that is exactly what I need. To struggle. 

To be told over and over that You will settle for nothing less than You and me forever,
even if that means the days feel a little longer for awhile.

.oh hey June.

Ten things I've learned in June:

1. I'm proficient at using the double-smiley.  As in, I'm the girl who will send you a text saying, "Hi there! How's it going, friend? :))" Why do I do this? I don't know. But I hope it brightens your day. 

2. I finally watched "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" on several recommendations thinking I would love it. And didn't love it. I tried. I tried so hard. 

3.I never really noticed Hebrews 6:9 until this month.

"Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation." 

Better things. I like the sounds of that.

4. The banjo and I will be fast friends.

5. My best friend got engaged and I learned you really can almost pee your pants from excitement. 

6. I spent more in coffee than gas this month. Can you say issues? Issues.

7. Surrender is sweet. no more white-knuckles, please.

8. "Everybody needs a 'we'" -perfectly put by a dear friend of mine. 

9.  Pockets that aren't pockets get me out of sorts. Fake pockets. I mean, really.

10. Finding a vintage camera bag for less than a meal at McDonald's makes me feel like I may have turned a corner in my thrifting ability. Feeling fancy. 

.on quirks, cold pizza, and taylor swift.

i like to squeeze the middle of the toothpaste tube rather than the bottom.
sometimes on purpose.
that bothers some people.

i like chunky grandma sweaters. i like the super-mega pack of markers. i like Guinness.  i like banjos. i like words. i like to eat cold pizza (that's apparently not lady-like. i doubt Kate Middleton would ever be my friend). i like newspaper print. i like socks. i like dilapidated old houses just because they're old & have some character. and i could lie and tell you that i change the station whenever a tswift song comes on. but i don't. it's ok.

Sunday late-afternoons can be for pondering quirks and not being able to figure out for the life of you why you are the way you are. I do a lot of over-analyzing so thinking about these things comes way too easy and settling into self can come way too slowly. 

I thought this nonsense was reserved for junior high. no sir, not for this girl.

it's quite the process, being ok with the fact that people may not be ok with you and your cold pizza and tswift.
but the people who are? they're some special ones.
I am most, most grateful for these people. partly because they're so easy to be around. partly because they point me to the Truth always. and partly because they'll laugh with me at inappropriate times.

thanking God today for these people. and for lessons that may take awhile.

.adversary.

you persuade us that He withholds.

that He turns away.

that He's long gone.

and when we fail to lift our heads, your words and ways are quite convincing.

you would keep us from everything that we have in His name.

and you weaken us until we bend low enough to hear you whisper "fall".

but you deceive us.

deception is the song of the defeated and you,
you have been mightily defeated.

you lost in the desert.
you lost in the garden.
you lost at the tomb.
and you lost we who shout His Word over every fallen whisper you have ever spoken.
That Word is our God.

and so we live victoriously,
over every "save yourself"
every "if you are..."

and the treachery that is your existence.