blustery day

The weather is finally nice, so I have been running again. It is so windy here. Driving home from school I always see the flags blowing straight and argue with myself on whether or not I should actually run or just skip it. I mean running against the wind is really hard sometimes. The past two days I decided to give it a try and run against the wind.

Yesterday, as I was running and battling/complaining about the wind to myself, I remembered a sermon I had heard the day before about how everything is holy, holy, holy. That really resonated with me, actually it was the only thing I wrote down. HOLY, HOLY, HOLY in all caps and it was the only thing i wrote on the entire page for the entire sermon.
This challenged me to find God in things that I normally don't allow myself to see God in. So I asked God to make me thankful for this wind, to show me His beauty in it.

Not a minute later I saw a pine cone blow across the path I was running on. The Lord seemed to tap me and say, "Look at how I spread my beauty throughout the land by blowing seeds far and near." Immediately, I thanked God for the wind and how it spreads His creations all over.
I thought that would be it. God had showed me how beautiful it was and how he works through it. I had thanked Him. That's it, right?

About ten minutes later, still running against the wind, I ran by a small family-owned restaurant, I smelt the most wonderful smell. It smelled just like my Grandma's home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. Instantly I was flooded with memories of my Grandma and how blessed I am through her. The Lord seemed to nudge me and say, "See, the wind carried that smell, through the wind I gave you that smell, the smell and the memories."

Finally, I saw three kids in their yard laughing and trying to fly a kite. I didn't need a nudge to get this one.
It was a gift from God.
The friendship, the fresh air, the laughter, all due to the wind, all from God.

God showed up and really showed me how He is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY in the wind.

Today, on my run, even through it was just as windy, it didn't seem so bad.

Lord, thanks for the wind.

few and far between

Where I live trees are few and far between. But I'm thankful for the few we have here. I think trees are beautiful all year round. Call me weird but I like them better than flowers. (If only I could carry a small tree down the aisle.)

In the spring they're budding and coming alive.
Full of green in the summer.
A rainbow of color in the fall.
Crystallized in the winter.
Beautiful. All year round.

Since I have few trees here, they are emphasized. Sitting under one for shade is so much more sweet and just passing one might causes you to turn and look. However, what I might be most thankful for is how they tell me how windy it is outside. Many times trees have saved me for a run against the wind or a hairstyle ruined. Thanks for the forewarning trees. I even admire trees sometimes because though the wind comes and shakes them, they do not waver from the solid ground they stand in.

We moved out of my childhood home in third grade. When I lived there, there were a few baby trees surrounding the yard, barely taller than me. Last weekend when I went home I decided to take the long way into town, as I sometimes do to pass by my old home, stirring up old memories. When I passed by the trees were huge. They had grown up. Then I realized so had I, it wasn't only the trees that changed. It made me really think about all I had been through and all they had been through.

I have no idea how long those trees will continue to grow or how long they will stand there in that ground, surrounding that yard but I hope that they bring peace, joy and comfort to those living there. I hope as I grow and stand in whatever ground the Lord places me that I can do the same to those around me, changing through seasons, staying strong through harsh winds, and standing out when there are few and far between.

five. six. seven...

I'm so thankful for the number eight. Lately I have just enjoyed writing it. I know this will probably sound a little weird, but it's true. I find joy in the way you curve around into two circles to create the number. I get excited whenever a student gets an 80 percent or there are 88 points to a test or the date is the 8th. I can't wait until August and I wish it was 1988 (or even 1888). Plus, eight is ocho in Spanish and you can't tell me that's not fun to say. Thank you Lord for the little things, just not once but 8 times 88 times.

until you loose it

I'm so thankful for being able to smile.

About a week ago I got my wisdom teeth out. I had a lot complications and long story short, since then, I haven't been able to smile without a dense pain across my face. I learned the phrase, "You really don't know what you have til you loose it". Over the past couple of days every time I smile (such as, involuntary from laughing at something) I get a dense pain across my face. It hurts a lot but it really led me to realize how much I actually laugh in a day or smile. I thank the Lord for all the opportunities that he gives me to laugh each day and the muscles in my face that he gave me to do that. Even though I praise God for giving me the opportunity to realize how much smiling I do during a day, I am ready for the muscles to be restored, so that I can continue to praise Him with a pain-free smile again.

sniff

sawdust.

This is one of my favorite smells. I'm thankful for smells and how much they can mean to one person. Someone might think that this smell is a little odd at first glance and well, it is, but to me it is so special.

I have this blanket on my bed that spend the majority of its life in my Grandma's basement. It smells like my Grandma's basement. I love it. The other night I was laying in bed and by just smelling the blanket, a smell that others would probably describe as old and musty, I was flooded with happy memories and comfort.

I am thankful for smells and how they can bring up memories, create emotions, and mean something different to each of us.

sawdust- My day is a contractor and is constantly working in sawdust all day. Coming home he would reek of it. I love the smell of sawdust.

I also love the smell of crayons, old books, and dew in the morning. All full of wonderful memories.

..ow..ow

I'm thankful for snow plows. and the people who drive them. Having to get up at 6:30 in the morning to get to work (and running late, as usual) I forget I had to shovel out the area in front of my garage. I quickly walk through the wind tunnel, that is created in-between the apartment garages and find a fairly large drift blocking me in. Opening the door I quickly grab my mini shovel (my parents thought that I should have a mini shovel that fits in my trunk, however it just causes me to be constantly hunched over as I shovel) and start to work my way out. Just then the snow plow rounds the corner and with a quick pass by my garage door, it was all gone. Thank you Lord for big trucks that push the snow out of my way so I can get through. In some ways You are kinda like my snow plow if snow was my sins and You, as the snow plow, make the way clear for me. Yep, I just made that comparison work.

ellipse

I really like the " ... "in writing. Its not really the end to a sentence or saying anything specific, but it definitely means something when you use it. It can change the whole meaning of what you are saying, for instance:
"that movie was great." or "that movie was great!" means that movie was great
"that movie was great..." means that movie probably wasn't so great, actually it was probably really bad
wow three little dots can say a lot
it also saves you a lot of time, stick one on the end of the list and all of a sudden you've included everything possible and more
"today we went to the store and then the movies and then out to eat and then..."
On top of all of it, I just like how it looks.
Thanks God for giving me punctuation and ...