So Long Winter.

We went on our last ski trip of the year this past week. Its been a great way to actually enjoy winter and since learning how to ski last year, I haven't actually felt depressed at all when the snow hits & the flip flops migrate to unknown areas of the closet. I'm almost a little sad to see it go.....but then I think about summer & warm weather and going to Texas in a few weeks and I'm really not that sad haha! 

Anyway...I couldn't believe how beautiful the scenery was while we were on our trip. We got to see the last sunset before daylight savings & then the first sunrise after the change, so I feel like Spring is here. (I realise its not yet official, but the clocks changing totally makes it feel like its here)

Isn't God's creation beautiful? Hope your beginning to Spring has been awesome! 

A Fall Tradition. Fun in the Orchard.

Well if you follow along on Instagram (@GloriousWithin), you will know that we went Apple Picking & to the Cider Mill last weekend. So far I have been 3 times in the last week and a half, might be one of my Fall favorite activities!! I couldn't resist sharing some of our pictures from that trip. It has become one of our Fall Traditions. 
(See Here for fun at the same place last year! And Scroll down for other images for our yearly apple picking visits)

I did have several other gorgeous shots, but I saved these as I begin brainstorming on embarking on the 31 Days journey starting next week. 
More to come on that soon! 

Outfit Stats: Shirt (Old Navy), Necklace (DazzleMeDeals), Jeans (Old Navy), Boots (TJMaxx, a few yrs ago) 

Just in case you were interested:

Any of you have any Fall Traditions? Anybody else planning on doing the 31 day challenge?

Last year I did 31 Days Of Thankfulness. 

The Busy.

I have been battling a lot lately with an aspect of my personality. It's not actually a bad trait and can often be seen as a really good thing. In fact reading through Proverbs this morning, I realised it is considered wise at times. It allows me to be productive and to get things done.

You see I am a perfectionist at times, a Type-A personality. Well most of the time don't look at the insides of some of our closets. I like to make lots of lists just to be able to cross off items, I also feel like I haven't achieved my goals for the day if I don't make it through the entirety of a list I made. 

But that's just it. 

They are my own goals. 

No-one else put these expectations on me. 

Although I'm pretty sure the hubby may need dinner at some point and clean clothes. 

Some days when I made it through only a handful of items on my list, I feel like a failure.

But I'm the one telling myself that.

So I am learning to make fewer lists. Or at least to be more realistic with how much I feel should be done on a given day. For example, cleaning our entire apartment, doing multiple large loads of laundry, completing a craft project, going shopping for groceries and running several errands may be a little optimistic. 

So while this trait is something any employer might love....hey I'm the girl who loves to meet those deadlines, it doesn't always cultivate relationships well.

My sweet hubby is not very Type-A and being married has been a beautiful refining process for me. Learning that there are so many ways to do things, to enjoy life.

While running errands for me energizes as I can cross items off on my list (anyone else with me?), to him running errands is extremely draining.

So what I have been learning is that being busy/productive is not always what is best. 

Some days need to be full of grace and quality time with others cultivating relationship.

Dusting & Cleaning of a Hashtag.

(Are we friends on Instagram? @ GloriousWithin)

In case you haven't quite figured out my love of photography yet, its obvious that Instagram & I are practically long lost friends.

I love sharing life through pictures. 

So here are a really really small few of my week.

I may even dust off break out the 

#gloriousangelmoments

hashtag as its Fall and this Summer girl needs encouragement. 

See you over there! And Happy Weekend friends! 

Having a Presence. In Real Life.

I am going to stop apologizing for being absent here in this space. Every time I login I feel the need to say how sorry I am for not being here. But honestly, I'm not all that sorry. You see I have been making a choice for several months now. 
One that involves saying yes more. After reading this post by Casey Wiegand, this one by my sweet friend Brit and this one by sweet Nicole. All these beautiful ladies have voiced what I have been feeling the past few months and why being on here has just not fit in with the time I have available.


I have been saying yes more. To real life. To people the Lord has placed around me for the here and now. To those who I wanted to get to know more at our church but perhaps didn't have time because I was heading home to blog. To those trips we wanted to take and haven't been able to before. To time with my husband in the middle of our busy weeks. To the two precious babies who I care for during the week. I have been saying yes, to real life. 


Because one thing I have learned in my transitory life is that in a very short space of time, we could be living somewhere else and called to another place. And I don't want to miss the opportunities in this place. The times where I could be a part of the body of Christ physically. Part of a real life community with all its ups and downs, experiencing the messy parts together.
I love this online community, but I don't want it to replace my real life presence where the Lord has me. 


So I will (hopefully) stop apologizing. I will still be here in and out. Hopefully more than I have been lately. But for now....I am enjoying real life. Where God has placed me.
Experiencing family time with extended families which happens once a year or less.  

Much Love!

L

  

Those Slower Moments.

I have been making a habit lately to enjoy the little moments in my day.

I just finished work for the day, our home is peaceful and quiet with no sounds or distractions.

My parents are sleeping the other side of the world a mere few hours away from boarding a plane to come see us. Then quiet will have to be sought out, and that's ok.

The more I sit and just listen, the more I appreciate these moments.

While working I get the privilege of watching two precious little girls who continually teach me things.

And I am learning to appreciate the little moments with them in their curiosity.

Like figuring out why things work the way they work, or just why in general as it is the current favorite question.

And appreciating the snuggle moments with a baby who is definitely a toddler now and growing so fast. 

I'm learning to be thankful when she lets me hold her and give her a bottle. 

Admiring her precious little fingers and toes and kissing her sweet cheeks. 

Even on those days which are 'teething days' and seem hard, she just wants me to hold her.

And I'm really trying to love those days too, because there will be a day when she won't let me hold her anymore. 

So I am learning to appreciate the here and now.

Those little moments, the fleeting parts of the mundane days.

The parts that make up almost everyday and seeing beauty in those moments.

Much Love,

L

A New Chapter.

Remember this hot stunning hubby of mine.

Well finally after 2 years of looking for work, an engineering company thought he was pretty awesome too.

DUH! 

I could have totally told them that.

Which means.

He has full time work!!!!!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

We are super excited by this news.

It also means we are moving out of our house in 10 days time.

We need to look for somewhere new to live as his job is an hr away from where we currently live.

And we are out of town celebrating the marriage of two friends next weekend.

So all that to say.

I am a little busy.

That is why I may not be here much.

But I am extremely thankful, excited and can't wait to see how the Lord works in this next adventure we are on.

I also don't quite feel it is real yet.

Someone pinch me.

I am soon to have health insurance guys!!!! 

Eeeeeeek.

I also never thought the day would come where I would be able to write this post.

God answers prayer.

He really does.

Above and beyond what we think.

(Oh and we celebrate being married 2 years on monday!)

Woop Woop. 

What an adventure it has been.

funny story:

The horn broke on our car this past week.

Yes, it went off at 2am the first time extremely loud (so if any of you heard it, we are sorry!!). A hit the steering wheel to shut it off. 

Then it went off again a little quieter but still annoying the following morning (fastest I have ever seen A get up in the morning too hehe).

Then again that evening to which he pulls off the cover of the wheel......

it was like he was attacking it.
And pulled out the little wire.

Of course it stopped making the noise while we were driving.

We looked at each other and just burst out laughing you guys.

Enjoying how life can be such an adventure.

And how our car is so awesome that it still has a wire sticking out while driving.

Not to mention its so ancient we can't fix the AC cause its running an old system which would need to be completely replaced.

But hey......

life is an adventure.

What little things (or big things) are you thankful for? 

Much Love,

L

P.S. I bought my Influence conference ticket today!!! Super stoked. Who else will be there?

Ponderings on turning twenty-five.

 

If you had asked me what I thought my life would be like at 25...

...at 3, I probably wouldn't have been able to give you an answer. Being that old was beyond my comprehension, I would have just thought one of those 'grown-ups.'

...at 5 I might have told you an owner of a dream house (probably pink) complete with jeep, a mommy and married to ken.

...at 7 I might have answered ballerina, I was on a ballet kick without ever having taken a class in my life.

...at 13 I might have been more serious and told you a kindergarten teacher. Perhaps I should have listened to 13 yr-old me.

...at 16 I might have told you married and a mommy. Oh and perhaps a doctor on the side. That one stuck a little longer than the others.

...at 18 I might have said probably still in med school.

Well here I am days away from being twenty-five and I can honestly say almost all of those predictions of where I thought I would be at aren't true.

I'm ok with that.

The truth of it is, I honestly don't know what life will look like in the future.

I am married now - one of the Lord's biggest gifts of grace in my life. I did think that I would have children by now, or perhaps be expecting anyway. I also thought we would be set financially a little more by now.

But God's ways are so much bigger than my own.

He has nothing but good things in store for me.

Just like He does for you.

'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.'

{Jeremiah 29:11-12} 

The beauty of it is, He has my best interests in mind, not just my comforts. 

He knows what will bring me eternal happiness and what will only satisfy temporarily. 

He desires to grow me and shape me, not just make life easy for me.

The even better part is He so loves that sometimes He does give me those dreams out of His love for me. Sometimes my heart's desires line up with His best for me.

But His focus is eternal, on things above.

'Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  

Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.'

{Psalm 37:3-4}

As much as I sometimes want those dreams to be here already, I only have to read His letters to me,

'For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. 

The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.'

{Psalm 84:11}

and I am reminded that He knows what He is doing.

Life may not always look like I want it to.

And I'm learning more & more.

This is a good thing.

'There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens...'

{Ecclesiastes 3:1}

With Love,

An almost-25-yr-old Daughter of the King

Made to Shine.

In the last several days I have been able to help a couple of different friends with their house projects. Two of them have just bought fixer-uppers and are so brave in tackling them with a deadline in mind.
These homes needed serious work I tell you.
One of them had no electricity or plumbing and people had broken in and pretty much stolen anything they could from it.
Crazy right.


So as I was helping one friend strip paint in her new hallway, we discovered that under all those layers of old paint which looked pretty awful, there was beautiful dark wood.
So we began heating the paint up and removing it piece by piece from the wood.
And I realised, that's how the imperfections are in each of us.

We all have these layers of imperfections & sin that need removing from our life.
It makes each of us look awful.
But as we allow God to help us remove them and piece by piece get them out of our lives for good.
We begin to see the way we were supposed to be.
We begin to shine from the inside out, as the inside is finally visible.

We begin to shine the way God made us.
We allow Him to shine through us, people around us begin to see Him.
To see beauty.
But it is through His incredible grace that He is helping us become the person we were originally made to be.
Just like that wood, we were made to beautifully reflect the Lord.
But all that paint that gets added on top, sinful patterns, pride, our past.....
It prevents people around us and even ourselves from seeing that beautiful person that was created.

Isn't it funny how you can put those imperfections under heat and they get removed.
Just like in life when trials come our way and we are refined.
The imperfections are painfully removed sometimes.
But they are really worth it when they free us to shine for Him.


Some ponderings for me to remember the next time a painful trial comes my way.
Want to ponder with me?

Much Love,
L