pursuing LOVE...and JOY...and WHOLEHEARTEDNESS!

It's been a busy week and I haven't done any writing or counting. I'm realizing that I need to be more intentional at scheduling my time outside of work so that I can accomplish everything I want to. I think that this is a good problem because it means that I am spending enough time at work that I don't have such a surplus of free time that I can fritter it away and everything will still get done. It's a problem because I prefer the big picture to working out the details. When I have free time, I like to talk with my family and friends, read, head to Magic Waters for a swim, cook, watch something or play a game. I have noticed that I rarely, if ever, do things like return emails, pay bills, run errands, or clean my room when I don't plan them in advance. I just don't choose to do those sorts of things spontaneously. Even important things like studying my Bible, praying for family members by name, and writing down the things that God is talking to me about do

It's been almost a week since I posted my gift list. So, there's a lot to be thankful for! July 13: 3 gifts curled #153: Ava's golden hair, framing her face, as she chatters away in the backseat on the way to summer camp and home again #154: Colorful balloons being shaped into animals by an old man at the city market #155: A green garden hose that watered the dry and thirsty lawn when I rolled it back up #156: An impromptu game of bocce ball in the middle of the day with two of my brothers #157: The city market, dinner and a movie with Patrick and Haley July 14: 3 gifts yellow #158: The sun shining through the rain clouds as I drove to visit my friend Laura and my feelings about having time with her #159: A cold glass of Boston summer lager on a very hot day #160: Lily, who faithfully greets me every time I return home with vigorous tail-wagging #161: Enjoying worship so much that I lost track of time and felt surprised when it suddenly ended #162: When everyone stayed arou

July 11: 3 gifts in jars #142: homemade jam #143: wild flowers #144: Hershey's kisses in my office #145: a day of rest in the middle of the week #146: surprising my sister with a cupcake just because #147: praying for victims of Human Trafficking in Almaty, Kazakhstan to be set free July 12: A gift of life, growth, decline #148: plants who cling to life and persevere despite the drought; reminding us that God can sustain life in even the most hostile environments #149: my brave clients who fight hard against old, unhealthy habits and pursue change, freedom and joy #150: the days of summer speeding along #151: when the Holy Spirit whispers in my ear with just the right thing to say to someone #152: 6 months working at Glenwood Center. Wow, I cannot believe it's been that long already! It has gone so fast and I'm still learning so much every week. I'm noticing patterns in the way that my clients are broken and how they are like me and each other. I'm discovering how u

July 6: 3 gifts of enthusiasm #124: my friend Hannah's excitement about some training materials she prepared for an orientation to R2HOP class that we're hoping to offer this fall #125: when my new tax accountant explained how I could determine what I need to pay in federal and state taxes and I couldn't wait to plug the numbers into the excel spreadsheet she sent me #126: hugs and smiles from Noah and Kingston when I arrived to babysit them for the whole weekend #127: Colin and Mandy's delight and anticipation as they left for a weekend without kids July 7: A gift of challenge, conflict, change #128: Kingston crying for 45 minutes straight and refusing to put himself back to sleep #129: my second gift of challenge was when Noah woke up crying at 3:30 AM when I had only gotten Kingston back down at 1:30 #130: my gifts of conflict were separating the boys when they were fighting over the same toy #131: Wow, being a parent is a lot of hard work and a huge change from what

July 3: A gift in faith, family, freedom #113: My gift in faith was when God helped me to believe that He would sustain me through 8 counseling sessions over 12 hours. This is the first time that I have ever seen that many clients in one day since I started working at GWC. Not only did God enable me to persevere, but He blessed me with some incredible counseling moments. Thank you God for how you are using my work to grow my faith and for how you have graciously and generously invited me to join you in this beautiful, transformation work that You do in our lives. I love this work and I love sharing it with You even more! #114: My gift in family was encouraging and loving words at the start of my day and relaxed conversation and sharing at the end of my day. It's such a blessing to have my family as roommates this second time around. I appreciate their company and perspective so much more than I ever did when I was growing up. #115: My gift in freedom happened when I got to share my

June 29: A gift small, big, just right #97: My gift small was catching moments to connect with my mom first thing in the morning. I was getting ready for a meeting and she was getting Ava ready for camp. Our time and conversation was small, but a gift. #98: My gift big was when the sky turned into God's canvas and He used the clouds to paint an incredible picture that looked like the ocean, from underneath the water. I stood with mom, dad, and Lily in the backyard, snapping pictures and watching the glorious image unfold. #99: My gift just right was visiting with my new, favorite, friend and neighbor at the end of the day. I especially liked how free I felt to be myself and to enjoy her being herself. #100: Staying up even later than late to watch two episodes of one of my favorite shows #101: Both my mom and Karyn stopped by my room to say good-night when they went to bed. June 30: 3 gifts I gave today #102: I gave myself the gift of skipping running to sleep in. #103: I gav