Cheers!

So today has been a quiet, slow, and lazy day. Why? Because I wanted it to be. It's my 20th today. I feel like it's so young still (well because it is), so I will breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that it's okay that I don't have everything in life figured out yet. It started with coffee in my favorite ceramic mug, (everything tastes better in it), french toast with maple syrup from my friends farm I practically grew up on, and sunshine, lot's of sunshine. Had dinner with family at this fantastic place called The Vierling, and got to catch up on my favorite blogs.  Tomorrow is back to normal, so that means I don't know when I'll be posting again. I was thinking last night that I need to have goals for this year, I'm a goal setter you see. I usually write them down in a note book and look back on them after a few months to see if they were successful, or just ridiculous. So, my goals for this next coming year are to:

• Get back into Pilates and other forms of stretching to stay healthy, flexible and at peace with my body,
• Record the songs I have written;
• Depending on where I'm living next spring, start a small garden, and maintain it
• Continue to reach out to my community, become more sensitive to the Lord's voice and follow Him, day by day. 

Of course these aren't in order, but I think they are reasonable and quite attainable. I'm excited to see what God has planned, whether it be more schooling or missionary work, I know it's going to be great. I had this nostalgic afternoon yesterday, I went out to my friends farm I grew up on (the one I mentioned earlier). It had been 10 years since I'd last been there, of course we've seen each other in between than, but after moving to Maine and back, we had just never made it back out to their farm. It was wonderful. I forgot how much I loved it out there. The horses, the chickens, the woods and fields, the friendships that were made strong, all of it was a walk down memory lane, and we all felt so blessed. I love looking back and seeing all the blessings God has provided through his people and love...His faithfulness is never ending. I have a song for you to listen to, it's a favorite of mine right now...

So there you are, just some of my thoughts for this afternoon. Time for tea and maybe some cake...cheers to another year!

Sunshine and barefeet

So it's summer. That means living in the sunshine, iced tea, picking berries, late night swims, having dirty feet all the time from walking barefoot everywhere, and loving every bit of it. If you ask me how my summer has been, I will tell you it's been great, but very different from my other summers in previous years. Which is a good thing in my opinion, I love change...to an extent. I've stayed in one place for the most part this season, and it's a big lesson I've been learning. Learning how to be steady, staying in one place...I'm liking it. It's the whole feeling of being stable I think. Now I always say I'm a gypsy...I've always said that I can't stay in one place very long, which is still true to an extent, but it's changing. This has always been home and will always be home, but lately I'm falling in love with it more and more. So, whatever is to be said of that, I don't know...but I do know that life is good, God has been teaching me the blessings of living everyday to the full extent, and the joys of reaching out to the people around me. I couldn't ask for anything better. I've had home making things on my mind. Like baking pies, picking berries, cooking dinners and cleaning. These things make me so happy, laugh if you must, because I do.

Home.

I have these raspberry bushes behind the house, and while we've had a drought this summer, they're still coming out pretty good. 

Only the beginning.. 

I have a lot more to say, but it's getting late, and morning is going to come early tomorrow. Good night lovely's.

I'll forgive you and take all the blame...

It's been raining all day today. I don't mind it because I'm off and its been the perfect day to relax and take care of the house. However, maybe the sun would come back out if we sang.

Saturday morning

So yesterday I decided that I wanted to paint. It's a three day weekend for me, so that idea came at the perfect time. The picture is a little dark, but those are my first abstract pieces ever. I felt like I was in 4th grade last night, but it was so fun, and so therapeutic. I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to Michaels for more canvases, and possibly looking into painting classes? 

                          I hope you find things that inspire you today.

Thoughts, inspirations, tea.

My mind feels like it's going a million miles an hour. I have many questions swirling around, I have thoughts of what the future holds, and I'm wondering where my real life is in all of it. I've been having conversations of longing...longing for inspiration, and longing for things we just simply can't have because we either messed them up, or we just aren't in a place of life to have whatever it is we are longing for. It's interesting to me that in the midst of my complaining about the lack of inspiration, it's than the spark comes. I find myself pacing back and forth in the kitchen and in the bathroom with a tooth brush in my mouth, humming tunes while scrambling to find a pen to write down words and thoughts that are stuck in my mind. Lacking inspiration sparks a challenge, and creativity flows. Than comes the late nights of sitting outside with the crickets and evening dew, left over cups of tea in the early morning, and open notebooks filled with random words and paragraphs that sometimes make sense...and others that don't. Do you see the imagery I'm trying to paint here? It's insanity. But it's peace to me, it is my favorite time in life. So here I go again...

June.

How can it be June 2nd already? The blossoms are out on my small orchard, the fields and trees are fashioning different shades of green, and the air is getting warmer and sweeter with each sun-shining day. The U.P. gets spring later than everyone else, so to some it's old news, but that's alright with me. I'm just glad it's here, and summer is well on its way. Its been two months since my last post, and those two months have been filled with a missions trip to Missouri, short road trips visiting friends in Indiana, and other places along the way. I've missed blogging, I'm always getting ideas for a fun post while I go hunting for old dressers and mirrors to paint, or about my ideas for wanting to plant a flower garden in the front yard. I'll probably post before and after pictures of the furniture, and the flower garden may or may not actually happen, but it sure is fun to think about. 

Health and well being have been a reoccurring topic in my life lately...physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. So, with that being said, I've started running. I jog about two miles every day, to every other day a week, and it feels so good! There's a 5k this weekend I signed up for with friends, and honestly I'm dreading it, but I'm sure it will be okay...it will be a fun time, and it's a good way to support the community by raising money for a local school. Let's jump over to spiritual health. 

The Lord has been teaching me so much about prayer, worship and living in constant communion with Him. I recently did a month music fast where I cut off my favorite top 20 hits, and devoted my music listening times to only that which glorified the Creator. What a difference it made. God used that time to really speak through my times of worship, and silence. I became more sensitive to His voice and to the world around me. I've been reading a book recommended by many for a while now, and it's called "Enter the Worship Circle" by Ben Pasley. Look it up on Amazon and buy it, you won't be disappointed. Ben talks about the powerful art of worship, and challenges the spiritually hungry to seek the Lord in creative and simple ways. How we live our daily lives reflects what we have decided to worship, because we all worship something...I pray that my life will always reflect true worship of the One of saved my soul, and I pray that for anyone who is a follower of the Good News. 

Prayer Request:


The Lord has always had Ireland on my heart ever since I was a little girl, and I've always wanted to visit the country, live with the locals; learn the culture, and experience a more simple lifestyle. Back in February or March, the weight and urge to live out this dream made itself more apparent through dreams and conversations with people, and I decided to do some research into missions for Ireland. I didn't think I would find anything quite honestly, but I found a lot. I didn't know YWAM (Youth With A Mission) had multiple bases out there, but now I do, and I feel like that could be my next possible adventure.
http://www.ywamireland.org  Feel free to check it out, they have a great ministry for the people of Ireland to bring back peace and reconciliation, and a vision of living a kingdom lifestyle through community and diversity. Please pray for these people, and for me as I take steps to embark on this new journey.

Time for a warm up of Indonesian Java...more updates soon.

Happy Spring

              Ahh I love sunshine...its amazing what it can do for one's day.

Zeb loves the beach, I'm pretty sure it's his favorite. And thats okay, because it's mine too.

Happy Spring!