These are a few of my favorite things..

 

     Hand written letters. Ah swoon. A lost art. I have had the rare pleasure of being able to keep in contact with a few people throughout my life with this timeless form of communication, and I must say..its one of those simple acts that can bring such joy to the human heart. There is something so personal and raw about personalized handwriting, its like a little piece of that person will be kept with you forever. Also the fact that a hand written letter takes precious thought and time, you know that somebody set aside a small moment of their day for you. In todays society with all of the lost and misinterpreted communication that technology has so narcoticly stolen from us, a hand written letter has become a desolate diamond in the rough.

 

     Reading & Writing. I have always known I was a right-side of the brain kid growing up and hated it because I was never "book smart" like the other kids who excelled in math and science, but watching this quality pour into my young adult years has been one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life. I have found my passion. I love to read & write. I've always had a knack for words as a kid and could rhyme like nobody's business. I have even skimmed a few cards I made for my parents as a kid and have patted myself on the back once or twice when nobody was looking. Writing was the one thing that I felt like I was good at. It was just so organic and natural to me, but I had lost touch with this part of my soul for so long. I got caught up in the vanity, superficial, external webs of life and I sold myself short. But when I finally allowed God to show me the true woman he designed me to be, he opened up my eyes to the talents and crafts that he gave me. Now I can't put a good book or a pen down for nothin...


Solitude. I was the girl in middle school, high school, and most of my unconventional college career that was always surrounded by her girlfriends. The "Will you go to the bathroom with me..pleeeeeeaaaase??" girl..the "Just call me when youre here and then I will walk inside." girl. Yep. That was me. The dependent, always needing someone to hold-my-hand girl. This was the first thing God wanted to completely shed from me...and boy am I glad that He did. The grievious ongoing removal of my comfort zone, has been the coolest experience. I have done things in this season that I would have never imagined, and learned things about myself that could only be revealed to me in this intimate time. Never in my life had I been to church by myself until this year, Now I go by myself frequently and I truly believe that is where I was able to experience the Holy Spirit for the first time. A little over a month ago I bought a ticket to a concert and went by myself. Althought my mother wasnt too happy about that, I went because I really liked the band, and I didn't need a person/people to bring familiarity along with me to enjoy myself, I made some friends there and had an absolute blast. I am learning that comfort can be dangerous, and true growth is produced out of awkwardness sometimes. My solitude is now something that I cherish. Turns out, being in the company of myself ain't so bad.

 

Ambience. If you have ever spent quality time with me you know that I am the first one to light a candle, or dim the lights before getting comfortable and diving into a conversation. I have to set the mood for the room. I am so in tune with my atmoshphere and when I have the luxury of being in control of it, I like to construct an enviornment that is consoling and cozy. I get this from my mother. My parents house has always been the house that all of my friends come to. Many of you reading this have probably even sat on my front porch swing, or my sofa with my mom serving you up a big ole helping of her famous chicken spaghetti. I love being in a warm welcoming place where I can kick my feet up and truly sink into my surroundings.

 

 

  My Brother. Now let me make this clear, I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. There are relationships that I have formed with people that have single handedly laid the framework of every good quality that I may possess. Not to mention my parents are remarkable human beings, and my best friends. But God single handedly crafted one person for me. One person to undeniably understand every aspect of who I am, one person to always be on my side, one person to be my safe place. A true reflection of the love my heavenly Father has for me. That person is my brother. It is extremely difficult to even try to put this connection into words for people to read because it just falls so short of our relationship. We truly are one person, we share a soul, it is like no human connection I have ever witnessed. I may be freaking a few of you out at this point, but thats what is so great about it. I don't know anyone else to possess it. Tanner and I have always been close. I think thats because while "normal" families were vacationing to Disney World and staying at resorts in hotels, we camped. Everywhere. We would actually camp on the beach instead of staying in the hotels. This was our normal. I would'nt trade anything in the world for that closeness. Staying up all night telling each other stories, and pretending to hear wild animals outside our tent(which could have actually been real). We were never the kids that stayed inside and played video games, we didnt even have cable growing up..you could find us in the nearest creek, climbing trees, or even down in the cul de sac sewers (sorry Mom). We were given a gift many children are deprived of....quality time. To condense this post I will spare details..but as some of you know Tanner faced an agonizing battle with addiction that ran its detrimental course for about seven years. This brought many people in and out of his life, but I never left his side. I tried to be the strong one but eventually his addiction took my life on a downward spiral as well, and I compromised so much of who I was just to be next to my person. Even though I took on the role of the older sibling and the protector for a little bit, I never stopped looking at my brother and seeing the most incredible human being. He has come so far, and is now THE most profound spiritual influence in my life. He is my best friend, and my favorite person.

 

Sunsets. I have accumulated a small bucket list for the year of 2012, and one of the things on it is to witness every sunset of this year. This goal was actually inspired by the movie Tron. One of the female characters had never witnessed a sunset and asked one of the male characters to describe it to her. He is taken back and realizes how he took that sight for granted. Through doing this I have found that this is my most favorite time of day. As I sit back each evening and relish at the sight of the sky above me gradually evolving into Gods breathtaking masterpiece, I can do nothing but gawk at the wonder and breathe it all in. The Lord visually woo's me each night. I am captivated...