i heart fall

i really love fall.
So I asked myself, why do you like fall so much? And here are the top 5 reasons:
1. Feeling cozy
2. Football and all kinds of parties w/ bonfires
3. Picking pumpkins and apples
4. wearing hooded sweatshirts and jeans
5. The colors
extra: Christmas is coming!!

I still remember being a kid and going to school w/ all my new supplies and coming home to ride my bike until 9:00 at night. Then on the weekends, my dad, brother, and I would watch the K.C. Chiefs. Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again. Then I see a bus drive by and think, maybe I should be a bus driver because a. I love kiddos, and b. i love school life and hours. But then I think about how I cut off the corners in our '91 Camry and cannot possibly imagine myself driving something 4 times as long!

FALL IS MY FAVORITE SEASON!!!!!!!

The pictures:
1. The tennies I got with my bday money. I love to run and getting new shoes is always exciting!
2. The towels are fall-like and we got them today.
3. We got some new blue pillows for our couch to match the walls.
4. Robeks is a JambaJuice for Ohioans; LOVE it
5. This candles smells wonderful!!!

Retreat

This weekend I went on a retreat to The Pines in good 'ol Fremont, Ohio. A one day retreat hardly allows me to be still before the Lord but you know, this retreat really allowed me to think about God, Christ, people, and how I fit in.

Older women are a treat to be around when you are 25 years old. I have spent 5 years in college with all people my age or younger. One thing I learned that sticks out so clearly is to not judge. Christ died on the cross to demolish sin and the disunity among His people.

Gossip is poison and what is the root and effect of gossip?... judging a person and allowing others to get in on it. I have witnessed in my own life how poisonous gossip is and have been challenged to stop, just stop.

Philippians 4:8 commands our minds to dwell on what is good, praiseworthy, pure, just, etc. How much more could I encourage someone for the work that they are doing, or for just who they are instead of trying to find one fault in them in order to exalt myself?

Jesus picked and hung out with 12 guys who had lots of problems...like me. But I bet Jesus didn't go around telling everyone how much money Matthew may have stolen as a tax collector. I know he didn't go around and told the other disciples how the 3 chosen disciples kept falling asleep while at the Garden of Gethsemene, and many other stories. Christ took those 12 guys and all their faults and gave them his trust. He entrusted these 12 to spread the gospel after he would be gone.

Christians are sinners; not perfect, sinless creatures. Unfortunately, because of sin, we are not able to be perfect on earth. And maybe I should pull off my mask of perfection and allow others to see the dirt, wrinkles, and scars.

It is my goal this year not to judge or gossip about people.
I need prayer.

The First Anniversary

I can't believe that Drew and I have been married one full year. At times it feels like longer but most times it feels shorter than a year because we have done so much in such a little amount of time. Drew and I only met each other 3 years ago and done so much of life together since then.

Here are some of the joys of the past 3 years:
Moody, bro-sis, graduating, almost having lock-jaw & going to the dentist, going to Chorale concerts, almost getting beat-up in the city, McDonald's, going home for Thanksgiving together so our families could meet and we weren't dating yet, Drew giving me a cookbook before we dated, receiving Parmesan cheese as a gift from Drew once, looking forward to phone messages on my room phone from Drew, going to Dairy Queen, my dad hitting Drew on the head with a tennis ball, Megabus from Toledo to Cleveland, getting a $75 car that still works!, renting the only apt that we had looked at, Myrtle Beach 3 years & running, having 1 car and always riding w/ each other, me driving on longer car trips ( just ask Drew), Buckeyes immersion, Tribe-appreciation, and Cleveland football.... I will never convert: GO CHIEFS!!!, precious little kids dressing up like characters from Little House on the Prairie, making milkshakes and omelets, talking alot all the time to each other, music, rising early to be w/ the Lord, running & praying, The Chapel, the bands, sleeping on our pull-out couch on Christmas Eve waiting for "Santa," Michael Buble, watching all 4 Lethal Weapons & being really sad that there wasn't a 5th, building a tv stand until 2am and realizing the TV is too big for it, the car almost dying on the hill on Smith Road, and the list could go on forever!

But most importantly we have learned so much about each other, the accountability w/ each other to pursue Christ more than we ever have, and to be so honest even when it's hard.
I love my husband.
I thank God for him every day.
The First Year