Give Thanks

Sometimes life feels so empty and hopeless, or we are hurting so bad that we feel there is nothing we can be thankful for. This is simply not true. God wants us to give thanks not because He needs to hear it but for us- that we take a moment to step back and look at where we are. Yeah bad things happen and are no fun- but there is still something in your life or around you to be thankful for. How much better is it to look for the positive instead of dwelling in the negative? We need to remember to give thanks.

We also need to give thanks when things are going well. At these times it is so easy to look to ourselves as the instigator of the good things that are happening- that because we are so great, we got this life figured out, we are smarter, quicker, better- that is why things are good. When we give thanks in this case, we are remembering that it is really all from God- in this case, giving thanks can keep us humble.

I don't know which category you fall into right now but it is important that we remember to give thanks in all situations. Take a few minutes to watch this video. After it is over- spend some time really thanking God for what He has given you.

I dreamed a dream

Too often we look at the outside and make judgements on people. There are generalizations that are easily made by the way that we dress, wear our hair, etc, that are ok. Things like, "oh, they are wearing a Steelers jersey, they must be a fan." Or, "they are dressed punk/rock, they must like that kind of music." How we present ourselves definitely matters especially if we want to stand out from the world so our lives beg a question about the God that we follow. Those kind of assumptions are ok- our clothing and appearance choices are statments that we are choosing to make. The kind of judging I am talking about is different. I mean when we look at someone and we use that cursory glance to decide whether or not a person is valuable. That is so not what God says. In 1 Samuel 16:7 it says "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I wish we as people would be better at looking at the heart. Too often we write someone off as unimportant or insignificant simply based on our outward assesment of them. Or we think overly-highly and idolize someone based on their apperance which leads to aonther kind of problem with worshipping someone other then God. But when God sees people, He sees something valuable, made in His own image. It is an important thing for us to remember. I think this video represents that idea well. I can't embed it so you will have to CLICK HERE to follow the link.

Let me know what you think.

Puzzle

I love games, they are such a great way to relax and challenge your mind. My favorite types are the puzzle/adventure style games where you have to use logic to either advance to the next level or use logic to advance the storyline. Both are very enjoyable.

Naomi sent me this fun eye quiz. I like this kind of stuff too. It is a challenge- I think the "N" was the hardest one. Can you find them all?!?!


Here Goes...Can you find the B (there are 2 B's)?RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Once you've found the b 'sFind the 1
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Once you found the 1...............Find the 6
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999969999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Once you've found the 6...Find the N (it's hard!!)MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Once you've found the N...Find the Q.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

How did you do?

Gettin' Hitched

2 weekends ago my little sister got married. It was crazy but fun. She and her husband are both into theater stuff and they had a Hollywood glamour wedding. People really got into it with cute hats and gloves, jewelry, and fedoras all to look kinda 1940's. I was in the wedding and my husband walked my mom down the aisle- so I don't have any pictures of that. The only pics I do have so far are those he was able to take so hopefully I will get some more soon!

It kind of hasn't really hit me yet that she is married. She and her now husband have dated for a long time and it is not like things for me have changed really. Neither of us were still living with my parents so its not like she isn't at home anymore. It will be weird once her name gets changed over. You probably didn't know this but it doesn't change the day you get married. The marriage certificate has to be mailed in and recorded then you get it back then you change your social security card and they mail you a new one then you change your driver's license and they mail you a new one then you can change your credit cards, car titles, library cards- anything that had your old name on it. It is quite a process because if you know anything about government and bureacracy, you know they are anything but speedy.

So the next family gathering will probably be the same as before except now they are married and of course there is all the post wedding stuff- more opening gifts and getting more pictures, seeing the video and all that fun stuff- I really can't wait for more pictures.

So enjoy- my sister's wedding: