Things I Miss

People I Miss...

Amanda & Alora 

... first and closest friends in college. We did a lot together. Explored a lot, laughed alot, did "homework" alot. Visited the Rocket Market, Huckleberry's, the Empyrean & the Satellite. They both moved back home and I have missed them dearly ever since.

Holly. 

(not the bestest picture, and for that I am sorry) We met many many years ago. I don't really remember how...prob at church youth group. We were pretty much friends right off the bat. We gave our lives to Christ the same exact night and share an amazing passion for creating in the kitchen. Ever since high school we have lived pretty far apart...now that we are living in Washington the distance is even further. The crazy thing about our friendship is that no matter what has gone on in life...or how much time has passed between conversations we can just pick up like time never even passed. 

My sister Katherine

...she is growing up so fast and I can't believe I only get to see it all through pictures and hear about it over the telephone. She is a junior in high school...went to prom...plays sports...sings in choir...loves photography...has a soft heart...totally beautiful.

My parents. 

They did a lot for me growing up. Although I have married and have started a family of my own...being so far away is difficult...holidays pass, birthdays pass, doctors appointments pass and just days pass. I can't even imagine what it will be like when we have children. I think our family needs to own an island...one big enough that we can all have our own space...but so that we can hop in the car and visit them when we want.

Grandpa & Grandma Grover. 

Such precious kind hearted people. Grandpa taught me to drive and worked me to sweat many many times doing basketball drills in his driveway. He also makes the most delicious cookies! It doesn't matter what kind they are, they always turn out fluffy and yummy. Grandma works so hard and really has an amazing servant heart. She cooks meals from scratch and always has a homemade dessert in the house. I miss her angel food cake and pies. 

Papa & Mama de Jongh. 

Although I don't know them super well I have gotten to know through my visits to Belgium and through my wonderful husband, their son. I desire to know them better, for them to know me better...to be closer to spend holidays with, to just be able to give them a hug or call them on the phone at normal times of the day.

Stephanie. 

When everyone else's lives got in the way of caring, Steph was there for me. We worked together, went to church together and hung out. She was real and has a huge heart for the Lord.

Leah. 

We were slow to open up to each other but once we did we were great friends. We spent a lot of time together, took many adventures and ate lots of tasty food. Now we don't see each other. Different jobs, different places in life. 

FAMILY. 

All of them...even the ones not pictured here. Aunts, uncles cousins, great aunts, great uncles, great great grandparents, second cousins...etc. Family is so great. And looking at my countdown on igoogle I am reminded that we will see a lot of family in 12 days :) 

Ellie.

 Ok, so I know that she is not a person but she is a wonderful family dog. We got her as a pup and Katherine trained her well. She is the best, I mean BEST dog I have ever encountered. In our apartment we aren't allowed to have any pets...I really want one...cat, dog, gerbil, fish turtle...really I would settle for anything right now. There is just something about having a pet that is special.

Devotion

A warm cup of coffee in hand, with just a splash of cream, I sat down this morning and peered out the window at the world. The sun is shining, the birds are flying around, the airplanes white streaks break apart the blue blue sky and our little garden is growing like crazy! I can't even believe it. Life has been a little bit crazy lately, it seems like I am always saying that but its so true. Of course what point of life do you ever come to that isn't "crazy". 

Long story short I have been praying that God work on different areas of my life...patience, bigger faith, Christ like love for EVERYONE. That all to say that when I sat down to read my devotional for the morning God hit me right in between the eyes. God has a way of growing you into a better person through ways in which our selfish selves can't often see. Here is what my devotion said...

We do not know what we ought to pray for. (Romans 8:26)

Often it is simply the answers to our prayers that cause many of the difficulties in the Christian life. We pray for patience, and our Father sends demanding people our way who test us to the limit, "because..suffering produces perseverance" (Rom 5:3). We pray for a submissive spirit, and God sends suffering again, for we learn to be obedient in the same way Christ "learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb 5:8)

We pray to be unselfish, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice by placing other people's needs first and by laying down our lives for other believers. We pray for strength and humility, and "a messenger of Satan" (2 Cor 12:7) comes to torment us until we life on the ground pleading for it to be withdrawn.

We pray to the Lord, as His apostles did, saying,"Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). Then our money seems to take wings and fly away; our children become critically ill; an employee becomes careless, slow and wasteful; or some other new trial comes upon us, requiring more faith that we have ever before experienced.

We pray for a Christlike life that exhibits the humility of a lamb. Then we are asked to perform some lowly task, or we are unjustly accused and given no opportunity to explain, for "he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and...did not open his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).

We pray for gentleness and quickly face a storm of temptation to be harsh and irritable. We pray for quietness, and suddenly every nerve is stressed to its limit with tremendous tension so that we may learn that when He sends His peace, no one can disturb it.

We pray for love for others, and God sends unique suffering by sending people our way who are difficult to love and who say things that get on our nerves and tear at our heart. He does this because "love is patient, love is kind...It is not rude,...it is not easily angered....It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (1 Cor 13:4-5, 7-8).

Yes we pray to be like Jesus, and God's answer is:"I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10); "Will your courage endure or your hands be strong?" (Ezek. 22:14); "Can you drink the cup?" (Matt. 20:22).

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance and every trial as being straight from the hand of our loving Father; to live "with him in the heavenly realms" (Eph 2:6), above the clouds, in the very presence of His throne; and to look down from glory on our circumstances as being lovingly and divinely appointed.

(Streams in the Desert by L.B.Cowman)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO OUR WONDERFUL MOMS! 

To our moms who raised their children well, who poured their lives into us. Who taught and showed the love of Christ to us. Thank you <3

Today is one of the days that I sit here alone pondering Mother's Day. Jonathan had to work because Mother's Day is a mandatory holiday to work at the Spokane Club, so we won't be going to church together...nor having breakfast together...nor calling our moms together. As a family, with no children yet, Mother's Day is a day we honor our mothers. But honoring our mothers seems so very hard from a distance. I wish we could be near to make them a yummy breakfast, give them their card/gift, see them smile and give them hugs and spend a wonderful day with them. But with us here in Spokane WA and them in Baraboo WI and Mechelen Belgium that all is really hard. But even still Happy Mother's Day :)

Yesterday our night plans were cancelled so when I got off of work I headed to the store to see what I could cook up for dinner that would be delicious. For some reason I have this amazing passion for cooking...I would spend hours in the kitchen to make a tasty meal if I had to! So We had the gorgonzola and asparagus at home... I picked up the steak and lobster tail and we had a great meal for under $20. That beats the $100 plus we would spend going out to a restaurant somewhere! So here we have lemon/butter glazed lobster tail, marinated steak, gorgonzola angel hair pasta and asparagus. This meal with prep and baking took about 30 minutes! Yeppers thats right...30 minutes!