Happy Thanksgiving! aka: the Thank-you list

Well, I am finally posting something. It only took being friends with several super-geeks for me to overcome my natural revulsion to technology long enough to figure out how to work this thing! I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday, and I just wanted to share some of the things I am thankful for:
*Family (it's been so wonderful to spend a whole year uninterrupted with them)
*Friends (new and old). Making new friends in a non-TMC environment felt strange after being in the bubble for four years, but I'm making progress! In regards to old friends, you are the ones who have kept me from going any crazier as I make this adjustment!
*Job-it might not be what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I am discovering the blessings of full-time employment, even if they consist of difficult 'learning how NOT to do things' experiences!
*Snow: it's gorgeous, and my brother is the one doing the shoveling ;)
*Sleds and snowballs: -insert mischievous plans regarding said little brother-
*Alaska! It's just too beautiful to even describe!
*Puppy dogs! We don't have any, but everyone else does so I get my Labrador fix one way or another!
*Applications (yes, they have driven me to the point of hysterical tears, but God has been teaching me diligence and courage through this entire process). Hopefully I can continue to persevere until the end of this process!
*Mom's cooking: 'nuf said.
*Hysterical patients who try to set me up with their grandsons. The funniest ones try it when their grandsons are in the room! That's the first time I've seen a grown man turn that red.
*Little sisters that are the cutest thing on the planet. Of course, that wouldn't surprise any of you, cuz my little sister looks just like me! ;)
*Little brothers: they teach you either superhuman fighting abilities, or superhuman patience. I'm not sure which one I'm learning.
*Shakespeare performances with cute little sister!
*Card games with the parental units. I love trouncing them in cards and then doing the 'victory head rub.' Yes, we're strange.
*TURKEY!
*James 1:17-18:"Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures." I think that about covers it!
*One last thing, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! I love you all!

Thankful for...

• Thanksgiving!!!
• Food, especially turkey
• Black coffee with pure cane sugar
• Horses
• Cowboy boots
• Tooth brushes
• God's amazing grace
• Jesus
• Friends (who keep me from going sane ;) )
• Web Application Development projects
• No Prof. Powell class the day after thanksgiving!
• A wonderful job
• Did I mention amazing friends?
• Untamed hills behind TMC
• Lack of snakes
• Kids
• Older people
• Some people my age :P
• Hugs from family
• Hugs in general
• Dancing, that will soon come once the contract is over...
• Cats
• Horse-back riding
• Computers that actually work
• Being free
• An amazing school
• A good church
• A place to come home to for thanksgiving (they still have a couch here!)
• My mom
• And much much more! What are you all thankful for?
  

What are You Thankful For?

Thanksgiving

a life well lived?

so as you can see below, my 21st has snuck up on me. what i didnt realize, is that it was much faster than i expected and way sooner than i was ready for. Its just another age, and there is no transformation that one goes through when one hits the ‘official adulthood’ yet it was a shock. Becoming 21 felt like rearending a milestone: looking back at the first stage of my life, i really feel like i don’t have much to show for it.
If i were to die tonight, will i be welcomed into the arms of the Lord with the coveted “well done, good and faithful servant”? that thought was weighing heavily on my mind these past weeks. then i realized how i was living my life: i had divided my life into stages: i can goof off till 21, then i will suddenly know how to be an adult and can live life seriously. I realized that my preconception was wrong: there is a training period, yes. but that doesnt mean that i dont have to take life and what im living for seriously.
What is the point of life? is it to get an education? to get married? to have kids? a job? a 3 car garage and a pool out back? what are we really living for? Its easy to say that we are to live to the glory of God, but how easy is it to remember to do so in our daily lives? I am not my own: i do not own myself. i have been bought with a price: a price higher than any bounty or ransom laid on anyone. how DARE i take the purpose of my life lightly?
This 21st reminder of the gift of life has been a sobering wakeup call for me: faced with death, and the value of having true friends, just how much my parents love me and are willing to give anything for me (if my earthly parents love me so much, how much more our Eternal Father?)
My prayer for us all is that we never forget just how precious we are in His sight, and how much we are worth, just because of how much has been given for us, and that we remember that we must cherish this gift called ‘life’ and use it to the utmost of His glory.

From: all of us

Dear tribe, please pray for my sweet little Becky. She is the daughter of a close friend of mine. She was recently diagnosed with luekemia and she has mersa as well. Her kidneys have failed and she is on dialysis. She is heavily sedated to keep her blood pressure low so her heart doesn't stop. It has already five times. Pray for her family and for her poor little body. She is in critical condition at Loma Linda Children's Hospital.