Hump Day & Thanksgiving

For me, I feel like my excitement this year for Thanksgiving matches the excitement this camel has for his favorite day:

I love Thanksgiving! One of the reasons could be because my family lets me take home leftovers and I don't have to go grocery shopping for a few days haha...but I love looking back at the year and reflecting on all the fun, crazy and sometimes bad things that God has brought me through. I want this post to highlight some of those memorable events that occurred to me this year. It's crazy to think that the holidays are already upon us, but I'm ready for them this year. I already started decorating my apartment for Christmas!

I can honestly say that 2013 has been one of the best years of my life! No year has ever had so many ups and downs. The beginning of the year started off with me getting out of a toxic relationship which was a relief to me and my family. The spring held the joy of celebrating another birthday in my 20s... then a month after my birthday, I squealed and cried with delight at the Taylor Swift concert that my sister gifted me with! Then my spectacular summer started. Yes, ladies and gents, this was the summer that I tried out for AMERICAN IDOL!!! Oh. My. Word. That was one of the most exhilarating and exhausting weekends of my LIFE! Major props to my mom for waiting in line for two days to watch me sing for 10 SECONDS in front of the judges. Hey, at least we got to see Ryan Seacrest! The next weekend we went to watch two of my favorite baseball teams live (Go Rangers! Go Tigers!) and eat hot dogs and enjoy the atmosphere.

This was also the first summer that I had a summer romance. And it literally lasted just for the summer haha! And no, it did not end with us singing a powerful duet and me being in a tight leather suit like the movie Grease, but it did end bittersweet and led me to some major life changes. That's what I love most about relationships - that they have the power to inspire you to be a better person or help you discover something about yourself. This can happen whether you stay in that relationship or not. One of those inspirations was to start this blog. I absolutely love this blog. I like to think that there is someone out there going through the same type of journey that I am and when they read this, it gives them encouragement that they're not alone.

There is so much to be thankful for and it reminds me of my favorite bible verse, "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13. I love this verse because it challenges me to be more aware of the little and big events of my life that show the goodness of the Lord and how much He loves us.

So, I'm wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving and hope that you get to spend it with family and loved ones.

What are you thankful for this year?

-A

Pizza

Sometimes in life we don't know what to pray or how to ask for encouragement when we're going through trials. So often we put on our "happy" face and let the world and those around us think that we've got it all together. Thing is, no one has it all together...

A few weeks ago I had a bad day. Not one of those days when your hair is all over the place or you can't find anything to wear (those days are the pits, too, though) this was one of those days where I felt so lost...so lost that I couldn't find the words to pray about what was really bothering me...

Hard days like these happen and we are reminded that the world doesn't revolve around us, even when we feel like our world is crashing at our feet, life still goes on. For example, that night one of my friends was hosting a ThirtyOne Gifts party for me at her house. I was to be there right after work and only had minutes to find something to eat for dinner. Due to stress, I wasn't hungry, but for some reason I did feel like I could eat a slice of juicy yummy pizza. The problem was (yes another problem to add to the day) was that there were no fast food joints around that sold pizza by the slice (if you do know of one, please share!). So I figured I'd just eat the small snacks my friend was planning on for the party. I arrived to her house early and put on my happy "party" face and went inside to set up. The moment I walked in the door, she greeted me by asking if I had eaten dinner... I said no...

Do you know that she had bought a pizza for me thinking that I'd probably be hungry when I got to her house?! She had no idea I wanted pizza. She had no idea whatsoever of the kind of day I had had. She didn't even know that pizza is one of my favorite meals! But God did. He knew I wanted pizza. He knew that I was upset and had one of the worst days ever. And He was telling me that He loved me - with a slice of pizza.

I truly believe that we need to be more mindful to encourage each other because we don't know who is going through one of their "worst days ever." It gives me the chills that God took care of a simple need of mine through my friends kindness that awful day. I challenge you to look for opportunities that you could encourage someone.

-A

Run

This past Saturday I went to the mall and there at the Puma store I found a new pair of tennis shoes that I fell in love with. AND they were 40% off! Score!!! Yes, I'm going to post a photo of them.

(Oh I love them and get so excited when I see them! Must be a girl thing...haha!)

I've always been interested in sports (especially softball) and physical activity, but in the last year or so I have gotten back into running. I've accomplished three 5k's since last fall and find great release in the activity of running. I'm not a long distance runner yet...but I'm getting better at it! There's nothing like getting in the zone while listening to your favorite music and pushing yourself to go another mile.
One of my favorite memories of running is when I lived a semester in Washington, D.C. and I would go running around the Lincoln Memorial with my sister every so often at twilight. That beats running on a treadmill any day! Amber is actually the person who got me into running seriously and I hope we can run a 5k together someday soon!

On another note, I've recently started to listen to contemporary Christian music. No, I haven't always been too keen on the genre, but I've discovered some really great bands. One of them being Addison Road and I totally love their song Run (listen to it, please!).

This song is actually what inspired me to write this post about running. I love the picture here in the video of the lady running free - no fancy Puma tennis shoes needed - just her bare feet and basking in the joy and freedom that she has found. Ah, don't we all long for finding that kind of freedom in life? Life can be so hard and sometimes we forget that when you find that freedom, and you get in that kind of zone, that's when you can fully enjoy the life you've been blessed with! I am encouraged by the lyrics in this song and the hope that it gives and I hope you enjoy it, too. Oh and if that were me in video, I'd keep my awesome new shoes on :o)

-A

Why?

Recently at work our whole organization was required to watch an inspirational video about "Why we do what we do." After watching it we each had to meet with the head of Professional and Careers Development department to discuss our statement. At least we weren't alone in this backwards thinking statement! For so long I was under the impression that we get a job because there are bills to pay and we have to support ourselves or a family with our paychecks. In my one on one meeting with the head of the P&CD, I told her how I loved my time working in my hometown in a retail store and how I felt so much happiness there and missed it dearly. She then asked me what tasks that I enjoyed the most...that's when I realized it wasn't the tasks that I was doing while I worked there that brought me happiness. It was the connections I made with each customer I came in contact with and how I could spread the love and joy I found in my hometown with them and also enjoy most of my work tasks.

I was honest with her that I currently didn't have that passionate connection with the position that I am in at work now. We concluded that could be because I recently moved to a new job location (and acquired new job responsibilities with the move) and I'm still getting used to my surroundings and haven't made any real connections. Recognizing this made my "Why Statement" come to life and I want to share it:

"By connecting (or forming relationships) with individuals,
I can freely give of myself to impact the greater good."

Forming connections and relationships are the core of who I am (especially the relationship I'm building with Jesus). I guess you could say it's what gets me out of bed in the morning (although that yummy bowl of cereal calling my name each morning is a close tie!)
To some this exercise may seem like a pointless (I kind of thought this in the beginning) thing to figure out...now the way I'm choosing to look at it is that it's always good to know where you're coming from when you're "doing what you do." Helps to know if you're on the right track or not. I realized that even though right now I may not be enjoying my "tasks" at work, that I could be more proactive about forming relationships with my new co-workers and team at my new location. It's a challenge, but a good one.

WHY do you do what you do?

-A