Satisfied

-
After a wonderful day, our last 15 minutes ended in mild frustration over silly things as we got ready for bed. We then got a phone call from some good friends who were coming into town and needed a place to stay. Being a "place to crash" is one of our favorite things and yet we didn't know whether we wanted to stay up and wait and be good hosts or go to bed. My body said "bed," my heart said, "stay up and blog." Because in 15 minutes I'd somehow forgotten how the rest of my day went.

 So onto my day while we await dear friends. (Hello, Funciks!)

 In typical love-of-Ann-Voskamp style this shall be a list of gifts. Beautifully, my last post was about feeling drained and realizing the sweetness of being thankful and how that affects our perception of everything we do. When we bring the dark caverns of our heart to light, we experience a lightness in and of itself that releases us from all obligations in this world allowing us to freely receive God's blessings. So today was full of satisfaction and doing things new things I love. (Side note: it was parent/ teacher conference day and students did not come to school.)
- - - - - 

424. An extra hour of sleep
425. crisp air and the sound of morning though our open window
426. ice brewed coffee in a mason jar
227. seeing the sun rise before I get to work, the world alive on my drive to work
228. morning dew on my toes
229. free chick-fil-a biscuits
230. five enormous blooming moon vine flowers
231. light in parents eyes as I show them videos of their child doing amazing things!
232. hearty laughs with parents
233. realizing I've built a real relationship with most of them over the past 2 years
234. offering ways for my church family to serve and minister to the families outside of school
235. planning for Disability Awareness Month
236. knowing I am doing what I love, what I was made for 
237. my car outside thermometer registering 76 degrees
238. potato gratin
239. a picnic lunch with Aaron
240. seeing Jessie at the Village Bakery
241. Aaron spontaneously buying us desserts there
242. Laura's phone call with praise for answered prayers in her classroom
243. running across the perfect silly gift for an old friend
244. walking right up to an open cashier at Wal-mart (it's the little things sometimes...)
245. dropping off the handmade cards my students make to be sold at TWO stores in the Pendleton Square (check them out at Still On The Square and Mountain Made)
246. playing with the dogs while the sun set
247. Ukrainian food 
248. "Your beautiful, you are treasured, you are sacred, you are his, you're beautiful." -MercyMe









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On choosing to be fearless and strong

-
Image
That night I hardly slept. I tossed and turned and dozed and dreamt. Most of my dreams consisted of being late or forgetting something. I had the same kind of jitters I have before the very first day of school every year. Only this time- it was before my very first triathlon. I had prepared as much as possible. I printed the course maps and drove them in advance. I bought some needed tri gear. I watched youtube videos galore about transitions and swimming techniques. I made this fancy training plan with pretty fonts and didn't stick to it a single day. But six out of seven days of the week this summer, you would find me running, biking, or swimming- simply not on the day it was scheduled though. There's something humorous about this that would make you tilt your head in a "huh... really?" kind of way if you've known me for over ten years. After posting the I-crossed-the-finish-line pictures on social media, one of my dear high school friends captured it w
Read more

"You make my dreams come true"

-
Did you sing that line in your head when you read the blog title? That's what I was singing... Anyhow, I am so thankful for our community. I am really experiencing true community at DCF the way I have never experienced before. Some of these thoughts have come about because I am excited to be a prayer partner and a part of the food team for the new film that our pastor has written and is directing. Filming starts tomorrow! I was telling Aaron how neat it is that our church body has been so supportive in helping him raise money, volunteering their time, and giving him time away from speaking for the next few Sundays so he can focus on the film. I said, "Wow, filiming starts tomorrow. It's like a dream come true," (at least, I am assuming so...)  He said, "Yea, they [dcf] really rally around people dreams. Like our house and helping out with that." It sounds cheesy at first to "rally around people's dreams", but on the other hand that is communi
Read more

On sabbathing and first Fridays

-
The sun is streaming in the windows. The dogs are playing next to me. I am drinking a delicious strawberry ale. I've got my new trendy glasses on. It is Friday afternoon of my first week of school and I, by miracle of miracles, have energy to spare. And yet, it is both a miracle and the product of a string of conscious decisions. We have grandly titled this year our "Year of Sabbath." We have purposely said no to things, stepped down from things, and thankfully finished some things- like being Teacher of the Year and Aaron's grad school. Some weights feel lifted. So I went to work each day and  I came home each day and I loved loved each day. Wednesday, we filled our house with about 22 people and we ate around a table, laughed, shared stories, and prayed to our good, good Father. Thursday, a dear friend who has moved away came over for dessert and we shared about life. We say "yes" to people, to rest, to a peace filled home, to abundant room for time
Read more