As I was doing the dishes this morning, I had a thought. Ever since church last Sunday, I've had a great deal less anxiety about my future purpose, what I'm doing with my life now, and even my value as a person. These are pesky anxious thoughts that have been bombarding me almost since moving here to Menomonie; they were probably concurrent with the ending stress of traveling/moving/wedding planning as well as the transition of leaving college and my ministry with InterVarsity.
But this morning, the thought kept ringing through my head: You were not made to feel anxiety all of the time about not doing enough, not being enough, or not performing well enough. Sometimes I think that I am supposed to feel anxiety, as if that anxiety stirs me on to more and better things. It does, in fact, stir me on to do more. But if I am not doing more in the name of the Lord and with full dependence on him, the work that I do is meaningless. It drains me. It only leaves me feeling more anxiety rather than feeling that I am finally doing enough. I am not saying that the Lord doesn't ever spur in us to do more than we are doing. I believe in the conviction of the Holy Spirit and I believe that God calls us to certain things. I also believe in being faithful in what we are already doing, even if we don't necessarily feel "called" to it. But I am saying that I am not made to live in anxiety every day about not being enough. How freeing that is.
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...I am in one of those poopy-no-good moods today. And I need to SNAP out of it. So I'm thankful for... ...a husband who is currently doing the dishes & packing my lunch so that I can do this. ...possibly having some time off next week because of an unexpected new student teacher coming. ...the kind-hearted, thoughtful, and oh-so-positive teacher I'll be taking over for in March. ...the twice-a-week yoga class that is less than a block away and only costs $70 for 17 sessions. (For those of you who aren't yogis, classes are typically $10-$15 each, so $4/class is a STEAL!) ...the incredible professors in the UWEC SPED program and all I've gained from them. Also, the pizza & brownies they brought us tonight. ...the man who created hundreds of math teaching videos that I watch on the daily. #nerrrrd ...dear friends who come to visit us at our home! Habibi, Molly, Andrew: Here's to you! ...phone calls from Holland! ...the snow delay we had last week.... ...and breakfast in bed from dear Sam. What are you thankful for?
This has been kind of a crazy year. My family jokes that I'll never have to look back and think "what year did such and such happen?" because the answer will always be 2015. I hope you enjoy reflecting with me! Experiences 1. Swing dancing at the caves 2. Learning how to snowboard (such a beginner) 3. Rock climbing at the UWEC climbing wall 4. Sapping & canoeing at LCO 5. Meeting Temple Grandin 6. Distillery Tour in Scotland 7. Hiking Ben Lommond 8. Planning a wedding (simultaneously fun and the worst!) 9. Baking my own wedding cake 10. Getting married! Twice... 11, Cooking bacon over an open fire 12. Trying to be adults who bring stuff when we're invited to dinner 13. Canning! 14. Making this apartment a home 15. Sending out Christmas cards like OLD PEOPLE Discoveries 1. Norwex 2. Yummly 3. Yoga with Adrienne 4. Tacos Juanitas 5. Lucette Brewery/Woodfire Eatery 6. Town & Country Antiques (Menomonie, WI) Celebrations Engagement Martin Luther King Jr. Day Golden Birthday: 22! My mom & Dan getting married Our wedding Finishing the edTPA Graduation Ringing in the New Year at Urbana Adventures Donuts Sault Ste. Marie Amsterdam Scotland London Dublin Chicago's Chinatown The North Shore Recipes 1. Sweet potato tacos with lime crema 2. Baked Falafal 3. Naan 4. Chickpea curry 5. Black bean & avocado enchilladas 6. Twice baked sweet potato egg bake 7. Chipotle sweet potato burgers 8. Black bean burgers 9. Quinoa zucchini fritters 10. Parmesan garlic pretzels Soups 1. Black bean, sweet potato, quinoa chili 2. Black bean chili (crockpot) 3. Chicken taco soup 4. Thai curry butternut squash soup Entertainment Bruno Mars 2014 Halftime Show A Year with Frog and Toad at the Mabel Tainter Les Miserables in London, England Memorial High School Band Concert Looking Forward To in 2016 1. Finally having my own classroom to teach in 2. Adventuring to Boston in the summer 3. Teaching an elementary-age yoga class 4. Learning to pray for the persecuted church A few random photos that I haven't posted yet from the year! Meeting Temple Grandin! Bridal shower, complete with iced tea, cupcake competitions, and lots of laughter. Listening to Reservoir in the back of Govs! Alley, me, Dana, and Molly at the sisters banquet! Our road trip to Saulk Ste. Marie Hiking around Hoffman Hills near Menomonie. We made sure to leave our mark on the tower. Celebrating Samuel's birthday - 24! Delicious brunch complete with sweet potato hashbrowns from when Alley came to visit! Playin' around at Lucette. Best. Pizza. Ever. Graduatin' with Molly Bray! These two ladies came ALL THE WAY just to see me graduate! It was a fantastic day. Cozy Christmas. Ur-banana!
Sam and I decided a few months before our marriage that it was important to us to try donuts whenever we traveled to a new place. We realize that this is a pretty big sacrifice, but it is one we are willing to make for the sake of sugary fried goodness. Best in Bulk:World's Best Donuts | Grand Marais, MN [Dozen Mixed: Plain, Powdered, Sugared, Chocolate Frosted, Cinnamon Sugar, Jelly-Filled & Chocolate Nut Long John] These donuts were indeed incredible. I wouldn't say world's best (see: All Day Donuts), but they were really good! We ate 14 donuts in about 3 days, so that is probably a testimony to their goodness. Nicest Workers:People's Bakery | Madison, WI [Glazed, Chocolate Frosted Old Fashioned] This is actually a Lebanese restaurant as well as a bakery! These were the nicest workers I think I've met in a donut shop, The donuts themselves were delicious, we have no complaints, but there wasn't anything quite noteworthy about them. Best Overall:All Day Donut | Rockford, IL [Blueberry Cake, Toasted Coconut, Glazed] If you call and ask the hours, they'll pause and tell you "we're open all day." Oh. Right. HANDS DOWN TOP WINNER! Seriously, these were the most amazing donuts. They were the size of bagels, I kid you not, and they had the most wonderful, crispy outside, with the best glaze I've ever eaten. You need to try these donuts. (the photo is not from all day donut, but it is from Rockford!) Freshest Donuts:Pharoh's Donuts | St. Louis, MO
[Glazed, Chocolate Frosted Long John, & Glazed Twist] At 9am, we got these donuts fresh. According to Jenna, these donuts "melt in your mouth." These donuts have a good glaze, but are not too sweet. These donuts, are the kind of donut you're okay taking home to your mother. 'tis the season, scroogesSo, this year, I decided to be really ambitious (inspired by this) and make my own Christmas cards! I'm a new wife, why not? But THEN I realized that my printer couldn't print on cardstock. And I'd already ordered my cardstock & envelopes. #woopsie! So instead, I hand-drew 75 cards. Yup. Seventy-five. I did it one Sunday afternoon in front of a fire at my in-laws and it was highly relaxing. Materials.Blank cards & envelopes (get it recycled - save dat earth) Caligraphy pens or black pens of different tip sizes Photos (I used picmonkey to make the collage, cropped it into a 4 x 6 photo, and ordered 80 free prints from shutterfly!) Stamps Return address labels, if you want to pay for the timesaver (I got 20 for free on shutterfly!) Process.First, I taped the photo collage inside of the card using washi tape. (I got some sheets of washi tape on clearance, so I cut them into strips.) After Sam & I typed up our Christmas letter, I cut them at school on the paper cutter and glued them onto the bottom half of the card. Lastly, I hand-drew each card using faber-castel pens. I love these pens because of the different sizes that help create texture.
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December 2022
I'm guessing I'll have it all figured out by the time I turn 30.
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