Bring on the Paint!

I painted this last night for someone special (can you guess who you are?).

It's amazing, when I sit and really paint a picture...I feel close to God. I feel like--finally--this is who I'm supposed to be! It's such a spiritual thing in my life...a way to worship that expresses God's beauty, the beauty of His creation, and the beauty of His purpose in me to reflect that. So bring on the paint!

The picture is a little fuzzy...but you get the idea : )

Mozart's Birthday...

Um, I was thinking...if Mozart lived 10,000 years ago, he'd probably actually be able to attend his 250th birthday celebration!

Walking on Water

28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

I am learning to walk on water. So many failures had me sinking over the last year. But, I discovered (or rather, the Holy Spirit showed me) that it was doubt that was drowning me. Doubt pushed me to the "depths of despair". I did not believe the power of my God was great enough to hold me up...and then one dark and horrible--yet wonderful--night, it dawned on me...either I believe ALL the Bible says about God, or nothing...there is no middle ground; there is no room for doubt. And the Bible says I can walk on water!!! I can overcome sin! I can rejoice in suffering! I can have my prayers answered and have good things from God! I can allow the Holy Spirit to guide me and use me! If I doubt in God's character and God's promises, I will sink.

Two In One

I now have two offices at work! I was given another "cubicle" because I'm both the Ankeny Office Manager and the Closing Transaction Coordinator. Unused to being a professional, it is rather stressful trying to balance two jobs...but it's good. It feels fulfilling to do work that most people could not do and that is very important (such as coordinating the closings of Pending sales). So now we have to pray that I don't accidentally switch clients' Abstracts or call the wrong Attorneys or fax Purchase Agreements to the wrong Mortgage Companies, or wait too long to order closing docs and have to postpone the closing date. AHHH!

An Answer to a Fervent Prayer

Valarie, from work, gave me this letter yesterday...God knew I needed it so bad!

My Temporary Luxury

The Good with the Bad

I am now alone in my apartment until I find a new roommate. Yes, it is crazy and stressful, I spent my fair share of time crying over it, and only God knows how I'm going to afford the next rent....But at the moment, I feel a huge sense of relief. The apartment is almost spotless. I know where everything in the kitchen is, right down to the last can of soup. The bathroom is scrubbed clean, smells fresh, and even has a new shower curtain (albeit a $2 one). I have moved into the master bedroom, which is large and spacious, and makes me feel like I don't have nearly as much stuff as I thought I did.

I will hopefully be getting another roommate in the next few weeks. In the meantime, it feels like God has granted me a "breath of fresh air" to be enjoyed while it lasts. I am going to take a luxurious bath tonight!!! Bubbles, candles, homemade soap, Enya...the whole deal!

My Spring Room

This is my spring room! I love it. I love the green walls. I love the white bed. I love the antiques. A lot of this room represents me. I chose the color, sanded and painted the bed, decorated the shelves and hung the plates on the wall. The chair was my birthday present when I turned 23. The dollhouse by the bed represents hours upon hours of my time and thoughts as a little girl (and I still rearrange it every time I come home). Too bad I'm twelve hours away from it all (and yet, maybe that is a good thing, because when I was home I spent way too much time just sitting in the room staring at the color on the walls).

This room has also become the display for any and all Mom's new finds from antique shops and garage sales (hence the more cluttered look).

Vanessa, I hope someday you are able to retrieve that pillar that the plant is sitting on-it's a shame to have left it.

The white dollhouse is an old dilapidated one off a sidewalk, which Mom and I endeavered to mend, paint, and furnish.

A Thrifty Discovery

Believe it or not, I have actually begun reading a book on the internet! I have wanted to read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas for quite some time (The Count of Monte Cristo was one of my favorites), but I could only find abridged copies in the bookstores. So I explored a little on the internet and discovered www.literature.org, which has the entire book devided into chapters! I'm on chapter 18 (not a great accomplishment considering the 67 chapters in the book). What a cheap way to read more than ever before--granted, you lose the enjoyment of a new book for your shelf, but when unable to get what you're looking for, it's pretty exciting!

New Year

I had a terrible migraine that persisted for three days (and is still lingering a tad). I didn’t do anything that I didn’t have to. In other words: I washed dishes, bought groceries, and then staid in bed with a book. Period. I didn’t even return text messages. Talk about a way to bring in the new year.

Funny thing is, I was planning to go through the Bible in a year with one of those little brochures. Well, due to my migraine, I already missed the first day!!! Luckily I caught up yesterday. But seriously, talk about a bad sign. I think I’m a little superstitious!

Oh yeah, and now that Christmas is over, I am totally ready for spring! (It’s been so warm the last few weeks that it actually smells like spring in the wet, muddy early stages).

Christmas

The entire family was together for a few hours on Christmas Eve. It was nice. David wrote some cool piano music for Mom. Mom and Dad gave me a new book for Christmas which I love! There was the typical debating between the Christians and Atheists and philosophers about Creation, Intelligent Design, and everything else that could possibly come up to disagree with. I hung some old plates in my bedroom above my beautiful bed (I basked in that room with its spring-green walls!). Mom and I spent a whole morning together in Lansing: we browsed shops that were WAY above anything normal people can afford and ate at a fantastic Italian restaurant (I felt like a queen: I never go pleasure shopping in Iowa, because it just isn’t fun without Mom). The flight back was a nightmare! I missed my Chicago flight because of delays, finally got switched to another flight, and didn’t make it to my apartment until around 2:00 a.m. Iowa time.