Summer has officially arrived. Yesterday, I celebrated by making a batch of lemonade.
I found a recipe on Pinterest.
When you need a recipe - search Pinterest.
When you need inspiration - search Pinterest.
When you want to know the natural method to do anything - search Pinterest.
When you want to know how to style your new top - search Pinterest.
When you need ideas for how to decorate a room - search Pinterest.
Pinterest - it's the new Google. (More on Pinterest HERE)
I cut the recipe in half so that it would fit in my boring 2 quart pitcher:
Boo - boring pitcher. It makes me want a pretty, round, glass pitcher. Maybe something clear with a little splash of color. Hmmm, maybe something like this:
Today is my sister's birthday. She's 21. This is the "Happy Birthday Demi" blogpost.
I remember when she was oh so little:
I remember the day when my mom went to the hospital to give birth to this special lady. I was left with my grandparents. We got BBQ from Corky's (mmmmm - BBQ) and I remember eating ice cream. I also remember me and my 13 year old self being sick with worry and begging my grandparents to go to the hospital. They would tell me that we would either sit and wait at the hospital or sit and wait at the house - we might as well sit at the house (it was only 5 minutes away from the hospital). But I wore them down :-) I think that I just got annoying and dramatic enough that they caved so we went (and waited) at the hospital.
I remember the days when this little girl adored me and would drop everything to hang out with me. I also remember the day that she chose to go to a friend's house to play instead of going to the mall with me - it was heartbreaking.
We have had many wonderful memories together. My most treasured memory with my sister is when she was in the 2nd grade and I checked her out of school to go see a movie (it was Finding Nemo). I hope I never forget the look on her face as she rounded that corner in the halls of Ross Elementary School. The look of excitement at seeing me there waiting for her was absolutely priceless. I then explained to her that I was checking her out of school to go see a movie. She was shocked and excited and we were on our way. We were the only ones in the movie theater when we arrived and my sister celebrated by going down to the front and dancing around - she still does this when we are alone in a movie theater :-)
I love my little sister.
I love that she always greets me by singing "Sister, Sister" from the theme song from the show:
I love that she gets embarrassed by how loud I laugh in movies, but that's ok because she really does not know how to whisper during a movie :-)
I love that she takes our favorite picture and turns it into a painting for me.
I love that the only thing that we have ever really fight about is what music to listen to in the car.
I love how she practically knocks me to the ground when she runs through the airport to greet me.
I love our road trips.
I love that she puts up with me running into her room on Christmas morning, jumping up and down on her bed, and telling her that "Santa Came!! Santa Came!!" - except for the one time that she told me that it was too early and to go back to bed - she is supposed to be on my side, not acting like mom and dad :-)
I love how completely different we are. (check out this post for more on that)
I love our tradition of going to IHOP for breakfast every time I leave town.
She is my special sister and I am glad that she was born on this day 21 years ago.
Not everyone will entirely get this post. But if you live or work in a big city, you will probably find yourself laughing along with me.
Today I sat in a coffee shop before work and giggled at the scene I saw taking place across the street. There was a man who was looking very intently at a parking meter. He then crossed and studied the other side of the parking meter. Then he went and looked at the parking sign. Then he went back and studied the meter again. I really wish I had video. It was really funny. The whole scene was probably about 3 - 4 minutes of this guy looking at the parking meter and struggling with if he should actually park or not. At one point, he got that pensive "Should I park here or will I get a ticket?" look on his face. Then he got in his car and drove away - I guess he decided against it :-)
Parking in DC - reason number 215 why I don't drive to work. I like the Metro :-)
Well, at least we don't have meters like the ones in the following video :-)
Today I escaped to Great Falls to spend some time with God.
Life is pretty crazy right now and my discouragement hit the ceiling last night. I felt the need for a getaway today and drove out to Great Falls, VA.
I hiked out to find a sunny spot on a rock, sat down, pulled out my journal, and said "Ok God, let's talk."
I love that I can be completely honest with God because He knows all the thoughts in my head anyway. I really just needed my moment of recognizing how I was feeling and being honest about it.
God revealed to me areas of my life that are - hmmm, how to put it - in need of improvement :-) I found myself saying, "But God I..."and my excuses always come up short.
I realized that there were many areas where I was not turning to God and completely trusting Him. I felt Him ask me, "Melany, when have I ever not provided for you?" I tried to come up with a good example and had some things come to mind, but every time I came up with something, I was reminded of His hand in the situation. It always worked out in the end - EVERY - SINGLE - TIME.
God has never ever left me hanging. He has always provided for me. Even as I reflected on my current circumstances, I was able to see that He is here with me working things out.
When I look past God's Presence in the present, is when things start getting stressful. I just need to continue to rest in His peace because, as He reminded me today - He has always come through for me ... and He is not going to stop coming through now.
So, I learned today that there is no use trying to argue with God - He is always right and He is always good.
Today I had a pretty good run and wanted to share a revelation that I had. There has been a lot going on in my life lately. Basically, times are just tough. Right when I think that life is going to start moving ahead and I feel like I am closer to getting my head above water - BAM! Something comes along to knock me back a step.
I recently had a "bam" moment - a really big one and to be completely honest, I really just don't know how things are going to work out. It's one of those things, where I feel like I should be really stressed out and crying all the time - but I'm not. I am straight up in the middle of a hardship, but really and honestly, I am grateful for it. I think that if we allow ourselves to enjoy the treasure of hard times, we will find the peace of God which passes understanding and we will find Him so very near and dear in the midst of difficulty. And that closeness to the Lord of the universe is a priceless gift.
The past few days I have been fighting against discouragement. As much as I really do believe I am leaning in and trusting God, sometimes the reality of life, becomes a little bit toooo ... well ... real. Today I was running and listening to the worship set for this Sunday at DC Metro Church on my Ipod while I ran. It's a good mix :-)
There I was runnin', and listening to my music, and thinking, when all of a sudden something happened. It's like I felt the presence of someone coming up beside me and I had this revelation of Jesus joining in and running alongside me. I felt the Lord say, "I am here running alongside you." I thought about the current events in my life and I told God, "I'll do it. I'll keep running."
It was a great run and I went further than I have gone in a long time (I'll be ready for my 5k before I know it). As I neared the end of my run, I was reminded of that poem "Footprints in the Sand" and how sometimes there are footprints in the sand because those are the moments when Jesus carries us. But then there are also the sneaker prints in the dirt - the moments when He runs right along with us, sweat pouring from his forehead. That seems to be where I am right now.
I really wish that there were adequate words to express my relationship with Jesus. I wish that I could truly invite you in to my moments with Him. I absolutely love how He is with me each and every moment. Today I was even thinking about how I don't have much, but because of Jesus I have everything that I need. He is my everything. You can even say that he is my running buddy :-)
I just felt like sharing that today. You can read more workout revelations by clicking HERE. I also have a battery powered faith post coming soon.
And on the subject of running, I am officially signed up for the Color Run 5k in DC on October 21st. Exciting times. Check out the video:
Today I was sitting outside spending some time with God. In the midst of trying not to stress and fix the circumstances in my life, I found myself needing to just back away and spend time with my Lord. All of a sudden I was distracted by lots of thoughts that have been going through my head lately and I found myself going down the destructive road of believing that I am not worthy of good gifts.
I'll admit that there are just certain areas of my life that I have so often struggled with feeling like I am not good enough to receive in. Lies began creeping into my thoughts when I all of a sudden I felt the reality of an internal struggle. It was time to begin fighting off the lies that too often capture me and hold me in the bondage of feeling like I am not beautiful, not good enough, not likable, and not worthy of good gifts. It is almost as if I could literally feel the chains wrap around me and all of a sudden my eyes were opened to the battle. The enemy knows where to hurt me most and as I had the realization of what was really going on in my thoughts, the words, "You have no power over me" came into my mind. It immediately reminded of a scene from the Labyrinth:
My revelation was the very simple realization that Satan has no power over me. I know that he tries to hinder truth from penetrating my heart. I have been on a road of realization in the last few months - my eyes being opened to how God sees me and who I really am. Satan has had too much victory in my life in how I view myself. But, he has no power over me. The truth is that I am cherished, valuable, special, and worthy of great things in my life. I am beautiful, empowered, joyful, and my heart for Jesus delights my Lord. I'm not gloating. I am just stating facts - and I need to state them more often because they are the truth of who I am. I'm a priceless treasure to a wonderful and loving God. I pray that you may live in the same realization. He loves us all so very much.
