September 1: 3 gifts summer

September 1: 3 gifts summer

#309: Breakfast out in downtown Chicago with a dear friend
#310: Encouraging people to pursue the dreams that God has given them
#311: Humid weather curling my hair
#312: Cold Dr. Pepper and hot pizza at the end of a move
#313: A beautifully crafted desk that suddenly became mine when it didn't fit where it was supposed to go
#314: Quiet reflection in the car
#315: Falling into bed at the end of a long day

September 2: 3 gifts cut

#316: Fresh mown grass
#317: Pineapple: yellow, fragrant sweetness and delicious
#318: Homemade pizza with mozzarella, parmesean, tomato and basil
#319: Organizing the store room with mom and Karyn
#320: Helping my dad bottle beer
#321: A night out with my parents
#322: Learning what a blue moon actually is

September 3: 3 gifts yellow

#323: Crepes full of melted butter and sugar
#324: Farm cucumbers
#325: Cornbread muffins
#326: Installing my new desk in my office
#327: Feeling my smile stretch across my whole face as I admire it
#328: Reading the WORD aloud in downtown Rockford
#329: The roar of my family talking all at once when we're together
#330: Friends who fit right in
#331: Bonfire season starting
#332: Playing outside
#333: Dashing inside when it starts to rain

September 4: A gift cool, warm, sun-soaked

#334: Air-conditioning in 90 degree weather
#335: The sun on my forearm as I drive
#336: The familiar feel of the HOP after several days away
#337: Seeing how God works
#338: Contending for youth in this city and my practice
#339: Catching up on Bible reading
#340: Finally finishing Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder!

September 5: 3 gifts autumn

#341: Early morning rain when I'm snuggled in bed, trying to awake to the day
#342: How much I actually want the weather to start getting cooler
#343: Edward's Apple Orchard, where I long to visit, but haven't been yet this season
#344: How tender God is with my heart
#345: Time in my office to read, think and write
#346: How counting gifts really does help me to feel better
#347: The reassurance that my singleness really is God's gift of love to me today
#348: Opportunities to keep trusting and confessing that God is good AND loving ALL the time
#349: A chance to be a light in some very dark places
#350: Blog writers like Ann Voskamp and Emily P. Freeman who inspire me to share my heart authentically as I pursue the LORD wholeheartedly

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Transition

It's snowing outside my window. It just started to stick a little bit. I can see it on the trees and covering the leaves. This is the first snow of the season. It means change is coming. Fall coats are no longer be sufficient. Hats, scarves and gloves become a part of my daily wardrobe. My car needs time to warm up and I should fill up with gas when it gets down to 1/4 tank. I really like this time of year. Fall is ending and winter is coming. I like snuggling in front of a fire and wearing sweaters. I like drinking hot chocolate, apple cider and spice tea, in addition to my usual coffee consumption. I like Thanksgiving, the holiday and the practice. While I welcome this change in season, I am so aware of how I am struggling in my own transition. I have spent several hours contacting insurance companies to change my name now that I am doing business as Jody Striker, LCPC. Ben is still collecting our things from the various places where we have been storing them. Th

How do I like being married?

People keep asking me how I like being married. I get it. I’m adjusting to a major life transition. People are excited for me and this is an easy way for them to enter into my joy. They ask this question and I start gushing. I say that I love it. It’s wonderful. Yes, we’re settling in well, there in the basement of my parents house. I may mention that Ben has been hanging things in our room and brought furniture out of storage to make our space more like home. If the conversation lasts long enough and becomes more intimate, I may even tell them that some of my favorite things are when we pray together in the morning and he makes me coffee to help me wake up. I like when we fall asleep with hands and toes just barely touching; in our space, but still nearby. I like calling him my husband and hearing him say that I’m his wife. Being married has been wonderfully different and also surprisingly the same. My life at work, for example, feels exactly like it did before I w

3 weeks ago today

I got married three weeks ago today. I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding since that day. This was my first week back to work, which meant that I got to talk a lot about that day and show pictures, because everything is still fresh and new and people are anxious to know how it went. I have missed writing. Several times during our honeymoon, I almost grabbed my laptop because I had the urge to write. I never did, but I wanted to. I think that it felt too intimate to record in some ways. And, in others, I was just enjoying being lazy and carefree. I plan to write about what I remember from my wedding. (Maybe even some things from our honeymoon. We shall see…) I don’t know what I will share, but I want to make a record of my memories and experiences from that day. Just three weeks later, but the feelings are less vivid and the mental pictures are less crisp. Fortunately, our photographer did an amazing job and I am thankful that I have those images to remind me.

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

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