[Clinging]

What's up people?!?!? (This is Erin, by the way) I just wanted to do maybe a quick post to share what is going through this crazy head of mine, not only to encourage you who may be reading this but also as an encouragement to myself to see what the Lord has shown me in the past year (give or take).

Tonight at small group I am being encouraged to either share life verses that I cling to or what God has been showing me...so, I decided to combine the two and answer this question...What has God been showing me that I am learning and have attempted to cling to (hence the title of this post)? So here goes...

           I would like to start off with a question... What comes to your mind when you think about God? 

-A. W. Tozer states, "Whatever comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you." -

Now, I don't know about you, but I am overwhelmed by this statement. I feel that it can change daily...ask me that question when I just found out about my Mom being diagnosed with Breast Cancer or ask me that after I pass by boards for becoming an Associate Behavior Analyst and I will more than likely give you two different answers. Now, whether that is the right thing or not, I can't imagine many people (even though I believe we are called to) that can stand in any situation and Praise our God in every single circumstance. We are also called to find Joy in everything...whoa now..this is beyond difficult, but here is another question...What is your definition of Joy? Here is one that I have found ridiculously helpful over the past couple months...Joy is the deep down understanding that God is in control. (PERIOD) Now I'm liking what that says! So now on to the scripture that I have been so desperately trying to cling to. 

First, this is a prayer of my heart that I would like to share. I pray that my daily life reflects Jesus with an undying love, in response to his dying love for me. That I learn to be a woman of worth and excellence, a woman who is priceless as Proverbs 31:10 says. 

There are pretty much two categories that God has revealed to me in a mighty way, the first being Peace. 

-Joshua 1:9 " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

-Psalm 62:5-8 "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. "

-Psalm 73:23 "Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand"

-Psalm 147:3-14 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. "

-Isaiah 42:6-7 "I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness."

- My life verse, John 3:30 "He must increase and I must decrease" 

And, the second...God's sovereignty

-Isaiah 41:17-20 "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it."

And my prayer for all...Hebrews 12:14-15 "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled..."

3 for 3

Oh my where to begin...I guess saying it is finally Erin is a good start :)
Yes, I am the "teacher" and crazy addicted to sports and pretty much any athletic "thing"I can get my hand on...Kristin did such a nice job introducing the three of us, but I want to be sure to state that she is awesome! So is Suz, no doubt! I feel so honored to live life with these two girls. Like Kristin said, we met in college and have continued a friendship ever since with the roller coaster inside each I am sure...Anyway-

I have to be ridiculously honest right now and tell you that I am hurting more than I ever have. KT said that I could say everything I was feeling because no one reads this anyway and then says...you never know, it may help someone...HA she makes me laugh!

So, just to put you into perspective, My sweet Poppa passed away last night exactly 24 hours from when I am typing this (WEIRD!!!!!), anyway, he is the only Grandpa I have ever had and I was so close to him. This is also the first death of the family which makes this ever so confusing and painful for me. He leaves behind so much family and so many amazing memories. But there is something so much more in is precious life we were so blessed to share with him- stay with me here, my mind is going in all sorts of directions...

KT told you (whoever YOU are) that we have been studying the "love" chapter...1 Corinthians 13. I think I can speak for us all and say that we have been constantly dumbfounded maybe a better word would be wrecked by this piece of scripture. It has a world of meaning behind it and the Lord has been so sweet as to share another meaning of Love with us. As we have been walking through verse after verse we are continually reminded that love is a choice, it is so much more than an emotion, it is a lifestyle, an understanding, a trust, gosh I could go on forever....but LOVE can be defined and understood in sooooo many ways...

From this past week with Thanksgiving in between I cannot even begin to explain the emotions running through my head...spending this last holiday with my Poppa was one I will never forget. But, I have a question for you......What does love mean to you? ........think about it, it is not an easy answer.....The Lord has shown me love in such a new way in the past couple hours.
I want to share a picture with you that I took just days ago... (my Grandpa holding my Grandmas hand)

Now easily this could be just a picture, and to you it probably is...who am I kidding, but can't this be an amazing picture of love? Sure my Grandparents had arguments and bickered, but my goodness they were married for 63 years!!!!!! Talk about love never ending, being patient, not being envied, but being joyful...I asked my Poppa the other day, just this past Wednesday what his favorite memory was...without having to think more than 5 seconds he said, the day I married your Grandmother. Precious....but how much more exciting would it have been if he said, the day I accepted Jesus? Now, I will tell you that he definitely knew God, but I will also tell you that I am pretty sure the relationship Jesus so graciously offers was not taken from my Poppa. Saturday evening I had the opportunity to hold my Poppa's hand for a good 45 minutes and I sat and told him everything about my Jesus that I could. While looking at my Poppa and praying for him, crying out for him for peace and comfort, I was so incredibly convicted...convicted because I hadn't really taken the opportunity until that point to literally talk to him about what I hold highest in my life (so I say). Yes, actions speak louder than words, and he knew that I was a believer and held my relationship with Jesus very high in my life, but if I am truly IN LOVE, passionate, and following Jesus this shouldn't have been the first time I was vocalizing my faith. I don't know what my Poppa heard when I was telling him about the greatest gift ever and about the transformation of my life, but I do believe I did what we are so called to do, I shared Jesus with him...the important part for me to understand and believe is that, I do not hold his salvation in my hands, I have no saving power (thank goodness, right!) but seriously....it was amazing! I felt ridiculously silly talking and crying to my big gentle giant of a grandpa sleeping with oxygen pumping constantly, but I shared the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. Enough said.

As I was getting ready to drive home that night, one of my Aunts asked me to pray with her....quickly I responded "Absolutely"and walked outside holding her hand and prayed...prayed some more and then ended giving my Poppa to Jesus. She looked at me and said, "Erin, I find so much strength in you", quickly I corrected her and said, "I get it all from Jesus, so rest in that" and her response was one I will never ever forget...."Well, this Jesus is changing lives in this family".

And this is where I will end.

My debut

Hello blog world,

This is Suzy…one of the three “writers” of this blog. I use that statement lightly as only KT has blogged so far. So, to prove to her I am a part of it, here I am blogging about nothing in particular. I never said I was good at blogging. Would I love to be? Yes! I actually love blogs, read numerous peoples blogs more often than I care to admit. But I never seem to do any of it myself. Always good intentions….never a follow through.  

But isn’t that why we started this blog? Three single girls in our twenties, sick of letting life pass us by, sick of having good intentions without ever following through with them.  We are all sick of the stereotypes, not wanting to sit around and wait for life to start. All knowing we don’t need anyone else for life to begin, despite that being the “status quo”. Ready to live our dreams, make our own stories, and enjoy the journey God has for us. So that’s what we are trying to do, no matter how small the story. Make the most of every opportunity. Instead of saying “I’ve always wanted to try (enter new fun exciting place here)”, we are actually going out and doing it.

So far it has been fun, and we have found some really neat places that otherwise we might have never found! And I’m not going to lie, I am quite the homebody. Most nights I’m completely content sitting at home, on the couch in my pj’s, watching television, or reading, or talking to Kristin. Especially on work nights when I have been on my feet for close to 13 hours. But that’s the best part of being with these two, they are the dreamers, the go getters, passionate about their interests, passionate about getting out and making the most of our single years. And so, I am happy being a part of the ride. I’m loving it.

I don’t know if anyone else but us three reads this blog. And if I’m being honest, after this post, I would be ok if no one else did because then people would know how bad of a writer I really am. But I am glad we have this blog to keep track of this crazy life we all are leading. I’m excited to go out and explore this little town we call home and keep a record of the fun we have. And I love having friends that are in the same part of life as me, who know we don’t have to just sit around and wait for life to begin, we can start living life now.

 Love,

Suzy

Happy KT? J

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! It's definitely one of my favorite holidays... lol I love that my family invites all of the random people that they can find. I love that we have 3 Thanksgiving dinners annually, and I love that I get to spend all day long watching my mother being the perfect hostess with the mostess! :)

As I return back to the same old thing of normal life, I am finding myself dreaming and planning for something so much more. I don't know if that's a bad sign, but maybe it's a little normal. Maybe more than anything else, I'm understanding what is most important to me. Sadly, maybe for the first time in my life, I'm actually learning the things in this world that are deserving of value (family, for one... whatever it may look like for you).

This is one of the things that I hate about growing up, and especially hate what growing amounts of responsibility do to you! You have this constant twinge of pain for the people you love that are hurting. You have constant fear of the unknown. You have this overwhelming conviction to be a better person than yesterday in the hopes of actually making a difference in the world. At the age of 23, I am quickly and overwhelmingly learning that I am nothing. That I have nothing. That everything can change in a minute. BUT, I am also learning that the world is begging for me to jump into it. I am learning that my opportunities are endless as long as I try. I am learning that everyday is meant to be lived, and it's not meant to be idle. For that fact alone, I'm grateful!

I'm grateful that each day is a new day, and I'm grateful that I am blessed beyond measure. I am grateful that I am here; that I have today, and that I have hope for tomorrow. What are you grateful for? What has been the growing concern and twinge of pain because of love most recent to you?

Love,
kt

PS: Keep dear Erin's family in your thoughts and prayers. They're learning to see God's grace through the most dismal situations. Maybe she'll blog about it??? Erin, no one folllows us - no one even views our blog -  blog everything you're feeling... who knows, maybe it'll help someone, which would be the epitome of God's grace and glory in that alone! :) We love you!

Perfect!

Hello Blogging World!! :)

So, the whole point of this blog is so that my counterparts (ehem: Suzy and Erin) can also post things from our fun adventures; however, that hasn't happened yet.... lol. Anyway, on to the reporting of our great adventure!! This week, we had a couple wonderful additions to the group - Jwheel and Cor. Both of which are dear friends and full of life and laughs!!

So, for our outing, we chose to go to an open mic night at Nita's Sweet Bean Cafe and some Mona Lisa karaoke!!! Open mic is always interesting - it's a unique blend of people and generally an even more unique blend of music. Typically speaking (well, every time that I've been) it's filled with pretty folksy tunes, but definitely some undeniable talent! I'm certain some would find that an arguable statement; however, I personally am not one to knock someone's song that they wrote. How could you? I mean, they have taken the time to write it. They poured their hearts into it, and they believe in the words that they have engrained in their brains and applied notes to. So, no matter how bad someone may sound, at least they have the courage to go up in front of any amount of people and sing their little hearts out. That's a lot more than can be said for most - definitely more than can be said for me... even if they are singing about topless dancers... they can't help the way they feel! :)

Apparently we were feeling musical because our next stop was Mona Lisa for karaoke. Here, I feel as though everything is done in good fun. Here is where I feel you can laugh AT someone because you know that they are laughing AT themselves. I also feel that I can say that considering that I have once upon a time graced the stage of Mona Lisa. That makes it more legitimate, right? lol So, there we sat... smirks on our faces... Jwheel enveloped in a pretty scarf... and a deliciously HUGE pizza staring back at us... so good! If you never ever sing karaoke, no big deal, go for the pizza!!!! Serious Face. It's that important to your well-being. OHHHH, and the best part of MY night though, forgetting my phone at Mona Lisa - so, there I was, at 1:30 am, speeding my way up to the restaurant and praying like my life was about to end... or cursing my stupidity. However, the upside - after my heartattack had run its course, I met some great people! I told the guys who found it that they were my hero's - there's nothing I love more than a good samaritan who saves the day!

As for personal realizations - I think I'm wanting to write a book!! Maybe a little devotional to begin, but definitely a little something. I am going to devote my winter break from school to writing and see where it takes me. I personally am realizing more and more that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life - is that normal at the age of 23?? I'm not sure anymore... but I had the privilege of meeting with a couple sweet friends of mine, and it was there that I had a huge life epiphany. The only thing in this world I am passionate about is my faith. I wish I could talk about it all day long with everyone I know. It's the only thing in this world that makes me feel alive. It's the only thing that keeps me hopeful and peaceful. It's the only thing that give me purpose and direction. So, why not do something that allows me to embrace my passion? I suppose the only real issue with that is my fear of failing; my fear of not completing it. Maybe it's a fear of being rejected. I suppose with all of those things that my God has final say with that. After all, everything comes from him. So maybe I need to change my thought process and to let go, and if nothing else let God use this time and this idea as something to teach me something more than I already know... who knows? I guess this is really what being a 20-something is all about... trying everything beneficial and just being willing to learn and grow. That's super cheesy, but definitely something I say to myself daily. What do you find your resolve to be at the end of each day?

QUOTE OF THE POST:
It's perfect! Perfect? Perfect!
-A strangely too long conversation we had...

Full 'o love and lotsa secrets!

Well, we went to a cute little Bostonian pub for a quick dinner and a delish frothy beverage! lol Unfortunately it was a pretty chill night - so instead I'm going to tell you about our topic of the night: love! However, I must tell you we culminated a list of suuuuper fun things to do! Get excited - we're planning on some really random things that are totally going to take us out of our comfort zone! I'm excited to tell you the subsequent stories! lol

Anyway, I'm sitting here, in my living room, watching 16 and pregnant. To begin, I'm pretty thankful that I made it through my teen years - even more thankful that I was able to make it through without getting pregnant... : / lol Anyway, I'm watching all of these 16 year old boys proclaim their undying love to their pregnant girlfriends, and then when the baby comes, all of a sudden the unrequited love that the boys once proclaimed becomes "baby mama who??". I say that very lightly, but it got me to thinking. What if the world loved in the absolute fullest way that it could love? Will we ever know a world like that? Suz, Erin, and I are all in a small group together that has been studying 1 Corinthians 13 - aka "the love chapter". Immediately, within the first verse, I am totally beside myself because I am quickly learning that I have no idea how to love. I'm totally inept at it. I'm like that person that you see walking down the street with a perma-scowl. Ok, maybe that's a tinge melodramatic, but I mean, really, that's how strong and how huge love is. It's description is so big and so important that I can't help but wonder how people use this in their weddings! Serious.

As I'm growing up, I'm learning how fast things change. I'm learning that every single day I have about a million choices and no idea as to which is the right one. Love is one of those daily choices. We are supposed to be patient and kind and selfless and trust-worthy. The real kicker is that we're meant to be these things in an even greater capacity than we are humanly capable. We're supposed to be patient and filled with a godly hope and joy. I mean, I have the capacity to be patient, but I'm definitely kicking and screaming the whole time (granted, I will never say I'm a patient person - I'll actually be the first to say I'm the most impatient person ever)! How many people are truly patient to the point that they will wait joyfully and hopefully for 100 years if that's how long it takes to get what they're waiting for!? I definitely don't know too many. Don't even get me started on being kind!! We'll save that for another post... lol. 

But back on topic - people use the word and the emotion of love so freely. It's just so much more than what has been idealized in the minds of Americans for hundreds of years, maybe? If and/or when you really look into what it means to love someone - I really think that the worlds definition of love would be drastically different. Goodness, I can say I love shoes, but do I really need to try to be patient with my shoes? Do I need to be kind to them? Do I need to always trust them? Do I need to protect them?? Of course not! They're shoes - they're easily replaced! Arguably, people can be considered replaceable; however, I'm pretty sure that actually contradicts the meaning of true love. Sometimes love has to be a choice, but it always protects, always hopes, always trusts, love never fails. Therefore, while it may sometimes be a choice, the actions that accompany the emotion should never stop. For anyone or to anyone! We were created to genuinely love other people - and I mean every person! 

So, here's my challenge: Do one random act of kindness for a perfect stranger! It'll be fun! 

Something like a 20 something

Hi! Obviously, I personally am new to this whole blog thing. You should really hear my shocked remarks about adding gadgets and templates... one day I'll be a pro like the rest of you, just wait... :)!

So, I decided to start the blog by introducing myself and my friend's and why we're even deciding to write a blog in the first place. I'll begin with the basics: We're all in our early 20's; madly in love with our God; met in college; sick of unrealistic expectations, and, not-so-unfortunately, single (the necessity of mentioning that will be a little more clear later). Anyhow, I'm writing this blog with two other friends of mine (As I said previously), of whom I shall now introduce:

SUZY: She's the nurse. She's wanted to be a nurse ever since she was a little girl, and she knows basically everything there could ever be known about the health care industry. She also enjoys trivia and iced tea and children (I suppose someone has to, right?? lol jk). This then leads into:

ERIN: She's the teacher - she works with kids who have autism and she actually gets the really fun stories (like giggling when kids say sleeping blooty!). She loves working out, and honestly, I feel as though she's always playing some sport or wearing tennis shoes about to go play some sport... long story short, I wish I was like that. Then there's:

KRISTIN: That's me! I'm the accountant - I work with numbers and details and organization all. day. long. Long story short, it's not my dream, but I'm working on my master's to better define whatever life-changing dream may come my way... in other words, I'm a work in progress. I wish I were sporty - instead, I enjoy refinishing furniture and baking and throwing parties for everyone but me... it's just not as much fun when it's for yourself!

Anyway, now that you know us, you have to know why we're here, why now, and why us. We're here because there's so much pressure, in the Christian world, to actually believe that you're life doesn't start until the discovery of Mr. or Mrs. Right. Well, we disagree. Therefore, we are starting a quest of adventures!! We're going to try to live life; love who we are; and fall more in love with our God! So, we are going to chronicle who we meet and what we do. We're going to share our ridiculous stories and quotes! Carpe diem, right!? 

Why now? Well, our life is short. We only have this time once, and goodness knows I'm not going to waste it by twiddling my thumbs at home waiting for the next thing to come knocking at the door. I mean, if it's meant to be, I suppose it could happen - but most likely not... lol. I refuse to invest in cats!! Why us?? Well, to be frank, we're utterly ridiculous. We have dreams, and we have convictions, but most importantly life is short and why watch it pass you by? 

So, that's us! We can't wait to know everyone that may come by, and we can't wait to see who we meet or where life takes us!! :)

QUOTE OF THE POST:

"The only thing worse than making mistakes is being too afraid to make one" ~ Someone great! (I'm sorry, I don't know the actual person - Suzy just saw it on a painting!)