This is just a glimpse of the glorious day(s) that was my birthday. I absolutely love my birthday, because what is better than a day that celebrates life? I was extremely blessed on this day. Highlights include:
...coldstone with Jordan, sharing our hearts and eating a lot of really delicious ice cream. ...a surprise birthday-date with Luke. I really love spending time with that man, especially eating ribs. ...a funfetti cake baked by the same, he is just a regular rock galaxy. ...promises of future celebrations and seeing what will be my new favorite movie. ...waking up to a goat breakfast sammie (and leftover cake) with Meghan. ...driving to the cities with Jenna, Alexi, and Amy. We had some really solid conversations, blared Ben Howard about 40 times, and laughed quite a bit. ...going to lunch at Loring and purchased my first beer! Alexi and I devoured amazing sandwiches and got a free soufflé for dessert... yum. ...walking through the freezing cold, but beautiful city to get to pottery class. ...throwing my first pots, and learning that it is okay to mess up several times. ...going to caribou and starbucks for free coffee. Also the worker at Caribou just brought a lot of joy to my day. ...having Jenna make me and all of my friends an incredible dinner. I would pay serious bank for that dinner. Oh and that bread! Holy moly that was good stuff. ...eating long-awaited Jenna Stromberger cheesecake. She should be given a medal for all the celebrating she did for my birthday. Oy vey I am blessed by her. ...spending Sunday afternoon locked in my room with my phone off, doing art, praying, and listening to music. ...eating chocolate cake for dinner that my roommate made me. I got three cakes for my birthday, did you catch that? Wow I am lucky. Alexi made this beautiful video that shows highlights of the celebration. Give it a watch!
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I have so much to be grateful for. I don't like the days when I walk around with my head down forgetting to be thankful for all the ways my God is blessing me. I want to drive around Kansas again someday, like the picture above. I am grateful for renewed dreams.
I am thankful for... ... Jenna's willingness to come whenever I need her and drive me anywhere. ... timely bagels when I don't go to the caf for breakfast. ... Justin buying us ice cream for lunch. ... learning that I'm not a failure for others not opening up. ... sunny day after sunny day after sunny day. ... snow falling in the mornings when I need reminders of grace. ... Coral inspiring me to go bootless yesterday. ... the way Molly smiled at me last night that showed me Jesus. ... birthday plans. ... peaceful inspiration in the piano room. ... an incredibly real talk with Coral during one of our Monday/Wednesday 4:45-5:50pm chats. Turns out this girl is learning the same lesson God's been teaching me for about 6 months now. It's called selfishness. ... a God who is faithful to finish what he started. ... a roommate who must not love me for what I do, for I do nothing and yet her love pours out on me. ... insurance that allows me to get an MRI on my knee. ... iPhones that remember all of the truth your friends have every texted you. ... a God who is near to the brokenhearted. ... long-distance friends that make the effort. (Holla Sam, Jenna, & Hannah!) ... exclamation marks, because those guys are just really happy!!! ... the fact that God is in charge of my future and not me. ... seeing Jenna's blog post. She told me she blogged about me, so I figured she mentioned my name. Nope, this girl wrote a whole post about me and I was open-mouthed reading about how she sees me. Holy wow. ... getting to see Alexi Speich in less than 2 days and on her favorite holiday too! FINALLY! ... this pizza I'm eating right now. Gotta love 3:30am snacks. ... Jordan freaking Gilbertson. Sometimes I just love that soul more than I can believe. I love that she visits me at 5:50am before she goes to work, I love that she always offers me chocolate, I love that she holds my hand and strokes my head when I don't feel well, I love that she is honest, I love that she understands me, but mostly, I love her unrelenting heart after God even when it is so hard. The thing about gratitude is that even when our circumstances don't seem to be ideal, we can still be grateful. Even when our hearts are heavy and we look around and see darkness, we can still praise God for what he is doing. The beautiful paradox about gratitude, like light, is that once it is present, it grows, and any darkness seems to fade as the light enters. I am grateful for... ...always knowing that I can go to Davies and see my friends. ...small conversations with Coral around campus. ...friends like Holland who blog about me even when I don't understand why they feel love towards me. ...my sister. Oh I am grateful for her. We have been talking nonstop for about 4 days and I don't know how I lived without it. Who else am I supposed to tell my stupid stories to, or complain about homework to, or just give everyday narratives to? Who else celebrates with me when I haven't showered in a week, haven't started my homework until midnight, and ate too many cookies in one day? We have a unique bond that I am ever-grateful for. This girl is kind of the best. ...my two-hour work shift where I got to know my boss Tamie so much better. ...Tuesday mornings spent reading Jeremiah and drinking dark coffee at Acoustic. ...Alexi's floral tights and how they inspired me to dress like it's spring for a day. ...free cookies at one job and free leftover pizza at another. Just give me food and I'm good. ...coming home to a sign on my door that says "Becca Zimmerman I like you! - Luke J. Gladis" in big letters. ...my beautiful roommate Ashley who says "Hey there, Daisy!" when I walk in the room. ...Elijah saying that cowboy boots were my trademark, more than my red hair. ...apples and shared pears. ...open arms. ...intimiate conversations on Tuesday afternoons by the fireplace. ...the way Alexi says "yes" to spending time with me before I even say when and where. I love that girl. ...days when I come home and my roommate has done my dishes. Seriously, she did my dishes. Who does that? I swear I hit the jackpot with this beautiful soul. ...Luke sacrificing his sleep to spend time with me at the front desk. I don't condone not sleeping, but seriously, this kid is kind of the best and I really like spending time with him. ...Dr. Stephens, his words of wisdom, and his hilarious stories. Last night in Romans 1, I read this: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
Whoa. It is super important that I am continually showing gratitude to my Father for all of the gifts he gives me. I know I used to express my gratitude with blog posts on my old blog, but somehow I lost that in the move and I just began expressing things that made me joyful. As important as that is, sometimes I am grateful for the things that don't really make me all that joyful at all. All of this to say, I have no idea what I want to do with my blog posts. I just know that I need to express my gratitude tonight. I am grateful for... ...off-campus dinners cooked by people who love and care about me. ...4-year olds. Even when they are terribly disobedient. ...Todd Stephens and every ounce of wisdom that falls from his mouth. ...really hard conversations that span days and come to beautiful conclusions. ...every talk Adam Christian has given in the past 4 days. He has been killing it and his presence in my life is something that is beyond valuable and I don't know what I would do without. ...mothers. ...everything that those three pictures above mean to me. ...friends who still want to be with me and value my time even if I'm not around a lot of the time. ...being able to do homework at work. ...getting free dark chocolate at work - seriously I was so pumped about this. I am always grateful for chocolate. ...missing one-on-one time with people, it is so hard, but it makes me realize how much I love them. ...honesty. Being honest with myself and with others. ...claiming that God is bigger than my fear and that he is present. ...all of my friends' blogs. They make my day. ...winter and how it has inspired a bout of creativity inside of me. My bad attitudes and bad moods tend to stem from a selfish heart and an ungrateful spirit. Thankfully, there is a cure. I am extraordinarily grateful for the great things that bring me joy: ...hilarious conversations with Jen, Ashley, and Kendra at dinner. ...seeing people that I have missed so much in the past month and feeling my heart fill and my smile break loose and joy just pour out of my body when I see them. ...singing Here For You to start off the one large group I get to attend this semester. ...knowing that in less than two days I'll be at Mary and Adam's house with people I really love, eating venison. ...full dinner tables with people I can laugh with and bond with and who I now call friends. ...left-handed ransom notes, pants puns, pranks, and Amy dancing to pants on the ground with pants on her head. ...coming home to a room that feels safe and warm, where I will be loved. ...Weba's laugh. Especially when Maddie talked about what she did over break. It was unforgettable. ...sitting on Luke's bed under his blue Christmas lights and knowing that this is a place where I can safely express my fears, doubts, and inadequacies and be cared for by the Father through his people. ...being back in prep with Adam. And everyone in our prep group. ...ES 490 with Kelly and Lauren. SPED 401 with Jennie. I will make it through. ...being able to sleep in on Thursday mornings. ...bible study is BACK! WOO! ...the small moments Molly and I have been able to share in the day to day. ...the purple blanket from Mexico that is saving me from the cold air in the lobby. ...God's faithfulness and promises. ...everything that Paul has to say in 2 Corinthians chapters 3-5. #everincreasingglory #reneweddaybyday #commitedtoreconciliation |
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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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