52.the sun shining through the trees as it is rising
53. crisp temperatures
54. my fuzzy slippers
55. walking outside first thing in the morning and hearing complete silence
56. comfortable sofa chairs
57. the way the sky looks when there's not one cloud to be seen
58. the journey to running
59. earplugs
60. coworkers who offer to bring me starbucks on an early, fall morning
October 21, 2011
October 18, 2011
42-51.
42. books that speak to your soul
43. raindrops
44. truth
45. surrendering to Him
46. the freedom that comes with surrendering to Him
47. cozy blankets
48. time alone
49. espresso finishes on furniture
50. God using Dr. Hunter to restore my sight
51. humility
43. raindrops
44. truth
45. surrendering to Him
46. the freedom that comes with surrendering to Him
47. cozy blankets
48. time alone
49. espresso finishes on furniture
50. God using Dr. Hunter to restore my sight
51. humility
October 17, 2011
Love.
Tonight I started remembering the lives of those precious little ones that I so deeply loved while working in the hospital. I don't really know what made me think of them, but they come and go in my memory and I am grateful for that. I am grateful for the memories of the little ones who changed my life forever.
I am in a good place in life right now. I love my job and I am thankful for rest. I am thankful for time away from seeing death daily through the faces of kids. But, it's similar to war, those precious faces never leave me. I think of them often. I think of their families often. I shed tears for them and I can't imagine how difficult waking up each day without them must be.
One thing that I am deeply grateful for is the depth of the love that I experienced while I worked with these kids. I didn't know my heart could go that deep, but God provided me with strength and hope that was ever sustaining. As I look back now, I see sadness but mostly I see joy. I am thankful for those smiles that are pressed on my heart forever. They changed me. They made me a better woman. They allowed me to see God's face in them every day even when they were facing death. And knowing that they're in heaven makes heaven more real to me.
Today I am thankful for:
31. God's redemption
32. children's laughter
33. memories and the ability to recount moments as difficult or precious as they may have been
34. loving parents and families
35. heaven and God's promises
36. tears of joy
37. life here on earth
38. eternal life beyond
39. the resiliency of kids
40. God's healing (despite whether it's on our terms or His)
41. the gift of health
I am in a good place in life right now. I love my job and I am thankful for rest. I am thankful for time away from seeing death daily through the faces of kids. But, it's similar to war, those precious faces never leave me. I think of them often. I think of their families often. I shed tears for them and I can't imagine how difficult waking up each day without them must be.
One thing that I am deeply grateful for is the depth of the love that I experienced while I worked with these kids. I didn't know my heart could go that deep, but God provided me with strength and hope that was ever sustaining. As I look back now, I see sadness but mostly I see joy. I am thankful for those smiles that are pressed on my heart forever. They changed me. They made me a better woman. They allowed me to see God's face in them every day even when they were facing death. And knowing that they're in heaven makes heaven more real to me.
Today I am thankful for:
31. God's redemption
32. children's laughter
33. memories and the ability to recount moments as difficult or precious as they may have been
34. loving parents and families
35. heaven and God's promises
36. tears of joy
37. life here on earth
38. eternal life beyond
39. the resiliency of kids
40. God's healing (despite whether it's on our terms or His)
41. the gift of health
October 15, 2011
21-30.
21. the feeling of knowing i get to spend a week with my parents in TN
22. the perfect nail polish color
23. the smell of my house when chili is brewing in my crockpot
24. REAL fires in a fireplace.. not to be confused with gas fireplaces.
25. budgeting and living within our means
26. Target, target, and did I mention Target? (trying hard to live within our means AT target)
27. log cabins in the mountains
28. good smelling laundry
29. pictures that bring back great memories
30. Tennessee orange
22. the perfect nail polish color
23. the smell of my house when chili is brewing in my crockpot
24. REAL fires in a fireplace.. not to be confused with gas fireplaces.
25. budgeting and living within our means
26. Target, target, and did I mention Target? (trying hard to live within our means AT target)
27. log cabins in the mountains
28. good smelling laundry
29. pictures that bring back great memories
30. Tennessee orange
11-20.
My Count to 1000 gifts...
11. blueberry cobbler flavored coffee
12. fabulous coffee mugs
13. the smell of freshly cut grass
14. the tenderness of my sweet dog
15. college gameday on saturday mornings
16. sleeping in on saturday mornings with my husband
17. khaki pants
18. my baylor bears
19. birds chirping in the breeze
20. turkey bacon
11. blueberry cobbler flavored coffee
12. fabulous coffee mugs
13. the smell of freshly cut grass
14. the tenderness of my sweet dog
15. college gameday on saturday mornings
16. sleeping in on saturday mornings with my husband
17. khaki pants
18. my baylor bears
19. birds chirping in the breeze
20. turkey bacon
October 11, 2011
One Thousand Gifts
I have been reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It is such a great book and I am going to start naming 1000 things that are gifts in life. It will take me a while and these will be random posts here and there with my additions to my 1000 gifts.
I'll just start with 10 today. (clearly these aren't the top 10, have to start somewhere though!)
1. laying in bed at night hearing nothing but silence knowing I have hours of sleep and solitude in front of me
2. diet coke with ice
3. hot, like scolding hot, showers
4. the perfect pillow
5. the moment my husband walks in the door from work and give me a hug and kiss
6. crisp breezes that make the trees sway and the leaves fall
7. fall colors
8. the Office
9. walking into a clean house
10. lotions that smell lovely
I'll just start with 10 today. (clearly these aren't the top 10, have to start somewhere though!)
1. laying in bed at night hearing nothing but silence knowing I have hours of sleep and solitude in front of me
2. diet coke with ice
3. hot, like scolding hot, showers
4. the perfect pillow
5. the moment my husband walks in the door from work and give me a hug and kiss
6. crisp breezes that make the trees sway and the leaves fall
7. fall colors
8. the Office
9. walking into a clean house
10. lotions that smell lovely
August 28, 2011
1 Year of Bliss
It is absolutely crazy to think that one year has passed since we said I do last July 24. It has been a wonderful first year. I have been asked the typical 1st anniversary question. "Was your first year harder than you thought or easier than you thought?" Honestly, it was not as hard as I anticipated it being. Jack and I put in a TON of work on the front end of our marriage. We were in counseling for a year both individually and together. We walked through all of the significant parts of our stories prior to even being engaged and then married.
I can tell you this about my first year married to Jack. I am daily amazed at how faithful our loving Savior has been to us. I look at him most days in awe that I get to be the one to walk through life with him. He is so good to me. I often find it hard to even express how grateful I am to be in a marriage with him. It is a joy. Yes, we have our moments. And those moments can be intense...but every single day I experience grace and love in ways that I often feel I don't deserve. And each day I am married to him I find him more handsome than the day before. Seriously, he is the most attractive man I know. And I get to be his wife. But more than his attractiveness...He is such a good husband. He works hard for us, he partners in life with me, he allows me to be me, and he leads our family in a way that I am forever grateful.
Thank you Father for blessing me with my husband. Life got significantly sweeter on April 28, 2008 when I met him. And my life changed forever on July 24, 2010 when he chose me to be his wife.
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I can tell you this about my first year married to Jack. I am daily amazed at how faithful our loving Savior has been to us. I look at him most days in awe that I get to be the one to walk through life with him. He is so good to me. I often find it hard to even express how grateful I am to be in a marriage with him. It is a joy. Yes, we have our moments. And those moments can be intense...but every single day I experience grace and love in ways that I often feel I don't deserve. And each day I am married to him I find him more handsome than the day before. Seriously, he is the most attractive man I know. And I get to be his wife. But more than his attractiveness...He is such a good husband. He works hard for us, he partners in life with me, he allows me to be me, and he leads our family in a way that I am forever grateful.
Thank you Father for blessing me with my husband. Life got significantly sweeter on April 28, 2008 when I met him. And my life changed forever on July 24, 2010 when he chose me to be his wife.
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The Act of Frugality
I'm back! I know, I am so utterly inconsistent with my blogging that it is almost pointless to even have a blog. But, the truth is that it makes me feel good to occasionally sit down and blog. So, here I am!
I am officially learning the act of frugality. Jack and I met with Candace Bloomley at her Nine12 Ministry workshop a few weeks ago. We are beginning to put together a budget that allows us to spend wisely and give generously. We made it through our first year of marriage with little to no financial disagreements, but figured it would be wise to learn how to honor God in our finances. When we met with Candace, we walked in thinking it was going to be a sad, depressing meeting where we inevitably would learn that we didn't have enough money for the things that we wanted. We knew we had enough to be able to provide for the things that are necessities in life. When we left the meeting it was super encouraging. She is straight up a blessing from the Father above. She encouraged us that we were in the best possible place we could be. We have our kinks to work out, but her point was that we're in the beginning of our marriage and we don't have kids yet. She was so excited for us to begin our road to spending wisely and giving generously. We left there encouraged and pumped to create our budget.
We are still figuring out the specifics, but one of the things that I feel God strongly convicting me of is the amount of pointless shopping that I do. Well, I'd beg to differ that it is "pointless" because I feel like I have a pretty good way of justifying almost every purchase I make whether that's at JCrew or Target. But, that's not the point. I have PLENTY of clothes. In fact, I am learning that I have more clothes than I actually know what to do with. I don't have an insane amount, but I am learning to mix and match things and that I really only need a small amount of necessities to create lots of fabulous outfits.
I feel that God is challenging me to stop, breathe, and remember that simplicity and frugality are two things in life that I want to strive for deep down in my heart. I know that when we give up all of our earthly possessions to him He blesses us in unexpected ways that we could never dream up in a million years. So, feeling this conviction I feel like God is challenging me to not buy clothes until December. It will be about 4 months of discipline that will challenge me... mainly because there are some extremely cute clothes out there. And Lord knows that I like to look cute. I want to give it up and learn to give generously instead of spending my money on numerous outfits that I wear 20 % of the time.
I am starting the cash system in a few weeks. I ordered this super cute cash fabric envelopes that will last me for a long time. I figured that if I wanted to start the cash spending system I might as well put the money in something that made me want to keep it in there because of how cute it looks.
Thanks for reading this time of mindless blogging. It feels good to get my convictions and challenges out there. God is going to do great things through me during this time.
I am officially learning the act of frugality. Jack and I met with Candace Bloomley at her Nine12 Ministry workshop a few weeks ago. We are beginning to put together a budget that allows us to spend wisely and give generously. We made it through our first year of marriage with little to no financial disagreements, but figured it would be wise to learn how to honor God in our finances. When we met with Candace, we walked in thinking it was going to be a sad, depressing meeting where we inevitably would learn that we didn't have enough money for the things that we wanted. We knew we had enough to be able to provide for the things that are necessities in life. When we left the meeting it was super encouraging. She is straight up a blessing from the Father above. She encouraged us that we were in the best possible place we could be. We have our kinks to work out, but her point was that we're in the beginning of our marriage and we don't have kids yet. She was so excited for us to begin our road to spending wisely and giving generously. We left there encouraged and pumped to create our budget.
We are still figuring out the specifics, but one of the things that I feel God strongly convicting me of is the amount of pointless shopping that I do. Well, I'd beg to differ that it is "pointless" because I feel like I have a pretty good way of justifying almost every purchase I make whether that's at JCrew or Target. But, that's not the point. I have PLENTY of clothes. In fact, I am learning that I have more clothes than I actually know what to do with. I don't have an insane amount, but I am learning to mix and match things and that I really only need a small amount of necessities to create lots of fabulous outfits.
I feel that God is challenging me to stop, breathe, and remember that simplicity and frugality are two things in life that I want to strive for deep down in my heart. I know that when we give up all of our earthly possessions to him He blesses us in unexpected ways that we could never dream up in a million years. So, feeling this conviction I feel like God is challenging me to not buy clothes until December. It will be about 4 months of discipline that will challenge me... mainly because there are some extremely cute clothes out there. And Lord knows that I like to look cute. I want to give it up and learn to give generously instead of spending my money on numerous outfits that I wear 20 % of the time.
I am starting the cash system in a few weeks. I ordered this super cute cash fabric envelopes that will last me for a long time. I figured that if I wanted to start the cash spending system I might as well put the money in something that made me want to keep it in there because of how cute it looks.
Thanks for reading this time of mindless blogging. It feels good to get my convictions and challenges out there. God is going to do great things through me during this time.
March 30, 2011
What I have learned from grieving....
I have been given time to heal over the past couple of weeks because I believe God's mercies are new every day. I believe that every morning I wake up and the lover of my soul says to me, "I am with you today. Let's do this!" I believe He holds my hand as I get into my car or onto my bike and He carries me to my next destination. I believe He gives me the strength to do those things that I could not do on my own. I believe He shields my eyes and comforts my heart when too much lies before me. And what does He say? He says this to me, "I am giving you just what you need for this moment. Right now. Right this second. And next? I will give you what you need for that one too."
I am learning that my God is a God that is trustworthy. I am a believer that my God pushes me to my limits, but does not expect me to enter into a world that I am not yet fully equipped to handle. I blogged a couple of entries ago about my efforts to find joy where there is none. He is so good to me. I have been given God's mercy and grace over the past couple of weeks. I have been given the chance to let my raw heart begin to mend. He is filling me up in numerous ways and I can't help but thank Him. I finally feel like I can breathe again. I can finally feel the air deep in my lungs open and close allowing my lungs to reach its full capacity of air. And that my friends is a beautiful thing. It's amazing how when you are in the midst of grieving and learning to carry on in the midst of pain that your lungs seem to only work at 25%. I have come to learn that God is here with us and he is FOR us. He has given me some very painful, unique situations to challenge me emotionally and spiritually. But in the end, I have learned that allowing time to let your heart mend is an important and necessary task. It is something that should not be taken lightly. It is something that I will continue to do until I feel more whole and ready to take on the next thing that comes my way.
I am learning that my God is a God that is trustworthy. I am a believer that my God pushes me to my limits, but does not expect me to enter into a world that I am not yet fully equipped to handle. I blogged a couple of entries ago about my efforts to find joy where there is none. He is so good to me. I have been given God's mercy and grace over the past couple of weeks. I have been given the chance to let my raw heart begin to mend. He is filling me up in numerous ways and I can't help but thank Him. I finally feel like I can breathe again. I can finally feel the air deep in my lungs open and close allowing my lungs to reach its full capacity of air. And that my friends is a beautiful thing. It's amazing how when you are in the midst of grieving and learning to carry on in the midst of pain that your lungs seem to only work at 25%. I have come to learn that God is here with us and he is FOR us. He has given me some very painful, unique situations to challenge me emotionally and spiritually. But in the end, I have learned that allowing time to let your heart mend is an important and necessary task. It is something that should not be taken lightly. It is something that I will continue to do until I feel more whole and ready to take on the next thing that comes my way.
March 27, 2011
I've Got My Eye on You....
Here are some things that I have had my eye on lately...
PB Headboard....one of these days I will own you. :)
Hunter Rain Boots... I actually just splurged to buy these. I bought a bike to ride to work and I need rainboots when it rains. Or maybe just because they are cute!
JCrew summer dress.... it is PRECIOUS!
Happy Spring to You All!!! :)
PB Headboard....one of these days I will own you. :)
Hunter Rain Boots... I actually just splurged to buy these. I bought a bike to ride to work and I need rainboots when it rains. Or maybe just because they are cute!
JCrew summer dress.... it is PRECIOUS!
Happy Spring to You All!!! :)
March 13, 2011
Bucket List for 2011
Wow, I am super blogger today. I took some time last night to revamp the look of my blog and now I am getting back into the swing of blogging. It's actually becoming fun again. So, some of my goals for myself over the next year is to try to come up with more passions in my life. What do you mean by that you ask? Well, here are the first five things for 2011.
-take tennis lessons
-ZUMBA!
-paint a picture
-read 5 Jane Austen books
-be a spectator at Wimbledon
I will keep you updated on my next 5 for my 2011 bucket list soon!
-take tennis lessons
-ZUMBA!
-paint a picture
-read 5 Jane Austen books
-be a spectator at Wimbledon
I will keep you updated on my next 5 for my 2011 bucket list soon!
Photography
I'm intrigued.... I want to start taking more pictures with my Nikon camera. I'll let you know how it goes. You may see more photos on here from time to time. Just thought I would share!
Holding onto Time
Happy Sunday to all! It has been a great weekend so far. J and I went to Sebastian, FL for two days for a little getaway trip. We went down on Friday night and spent the night. It was so nice to be able to be together in another place besides Orlando. We are very mindful of the time we have been given, right now, just us two. We want to savor every single second of being a family of two before we start having kids. Life is so easy for us right now. We can come and go as we please. We can take weekend trips to the beautiful coast or even a day at the beach. We can come home from work, go to the gym, and cuddle up together on the couch to watch some of our favorite shows. It's so nice. My prayer for us right now is to enjoy THIS moment of our story. I love it and don't want to rush it. This is a moment in time that we can never recreate once we have kids. So for now, I am holding onto the time I have with just my husband. I'm holding onto it because I love this man more every single day.
Have a great day! Enjoy the extra hours of sunshine! :)
Have a great day! Enjoy the extra hours of sunshine! :)
March 2, 2011
Finding Joy...where there seems to be none.
This is quite possibly one of the most difficult times yet to date. I can't simply put into words the haziness and the pain I feel on a daily basis. My eyes are welling up with tears as I write this, but I am convinced that getting it out on paper as depressing as it seems will benefit me. I have blogged before about life as a Child Life Specialist. It is a job that I believe, changes the world as we know it. I know it sounds extreme. Bear with me. I feel exhausted. I feel like I have surpassed the possibility of ever having enough strength to do my job the way that God intends for it to be done. My heart huts. My heart hurts...all....the....time. Lately, it seems to stay, to linger. I have experienced more death in the last ten weeks than I have ever hoped for in a lifetime. I have witnessed 10 precious children die. Yes, 10 kids gone in 10 weeks. The math is simple. 1 kid approximately a week. As it would seem, some weeks we have had no deaths. And unfortunately, some... we have had multiple deaths. I have no strength left. Literally. I wake up every morning begging for God's mercy on today. I ask him ever so gently, Lord please provide a day that I don't experience yet another child returning to you. I know deep down it is a good thing. I know all kids who die go to heaven. I am truly convinced of that. It doesn't make it any easier on the caregivers, muchless the families.
I adore my job. I get the humbling opportunity to hold families up while they beg God to heal their child. I snuggle babies, love on kids, and hang out with teenagers. It really is a privilege. But, it is extremely heartbreaking and draining. In July, I will have done this job for 5 years. I am blessed to have worked with hundreds of families who have changed my life. I just need a lot of healing right now. I need a lot of mending.
Please pray that my heart would begin to heal in order to serve the hundreds of families yet to walk into our doors.
I adore my job. I get the humbling opportunity to hold families up while they beg God to heal their child. I snuggle babies, love on kids, and hang out with teenagers. It really is a privilege. But, it is extremely heartbreaking and draining. In July, I will have done this job for 5 years. I am blessed to have worked with hundreds of families who have changed my life. I just need a lot of healing right now. I need a lot of mending.
Please pray that my heart would begin to heal in order to serve the hundreds of families yet to walk into our doors.
February 8, 2011
We have a new NIECE!!!
We have another addition to the West family....Parker Olivia West. Congratulations Jason and Ana on your first baby girl. :) We are so proud of you guys and can't wait to make tons of fun memories with little Miss West.
February 1, 2011
Happy 6 Months!
Jack and I have officially been married over six months and it has been absolutely wonderful. I love him more and more every day that I am blessed to share my journey with him. He is the best husband I could ask for and I am blessed to have him in my life. Here's to many more months and years with the most amazing man I know.
Picture Entry
I decided to take a break from Facebook in December. It is now February and I'm doing well with it, although I do miss posting pictures about my life. I like being able to share with my friends and family what's going on in the West household. I hope you enjoy the following pictures!
January 2, 2011
A New Year, A New Year of Surrender
Happy 2011. I believe that this is going to be a WONDERFUL year. Last year was fabulous. In 2010, I traveled to several different places and was blessed to have married the absolute love of my life. It was a year that will be remembered very vividly for the rest of my life. I was given the humbling gift of becoming Mrs. Jack West. At this point, we have been married for five months and have loved every minute of it. We put in so much work towards our relationship prior to marriage and it has been an investment that served us well. We are excited about what is to come for us in 2011.
My heart is dedicating 2011 as a year of "surrender." I am surrendering my life to the son of God, my Redeemer, my faithful Father. I am surrendering my marriage to God in hopes that he will continue to bless us as we put him first and foremost above ourselves. I am surrendering myself, my heart, my desires, my needs, and my wants to the One whose will is above and beyond more than I can even imagine.
I have decided to start my year off a little differently than other years. I am dedicating myself to a newness that brings me peace, hope, and energy. I am sorting through the thoughts and emotions and finding the REAL ME this year. My prayer is that I will no longer conform to the ways of this world, but will follow the One who created me and therefore find who I am. There have been so many times in my life that I have shifted my thinking to become who others want me to be instead of finding out who I really am and surrendering it to God. I am dedicating more time to reading, crafting, and finding what really energizes me. I want to continue to create a home for Jack and me. This means finding what we love, what works for us, and going with it.
I am starting off this year with a new book. It was a Christmas present from my husband. I know this book truly changed Jack's focus of thinking and I am excited to experience what God wants me to learn through it.
Interestingly and ironically enough, the first chapter is called "The Freedom We Surrender...and the Heritage That Sets Us Free."
Here's to another year, but one that will hopefully be different, one that falls closer to God.
Happy New Year!
My heart is dedicating 2011 as a year of "surrender." I am surrendering my life to the son of God, my Redeemer, my faithful Father. I am surrendering my marriage to God in hopes that he will continue to bless us as we put him first and foremost above ourselves. I am surrendering myself, my heart, my desires, my needs, and my wants to the One whose will is above and beyond more than I can even imagine.
I have decided to start my year off a little differently than other years. I am dedicating myself to a newness that brings me peace, hope, and energy. I am sorting through the thoughts and emotions and finding the REAL ME this year. My prayer is that I will no longer conform to the ways of this world, but will follow the One who created me and therefore find who I am. There have been so many times in my life that I have shifted my thinking to become who others want me to be instead of finding out who I really am and surrendering it to God. I am dedicating more time to reading, crafting, and finding what really energizes me. I want to continue to create a home for Jack and me. This means finding what we love, what works for us, and going with it.
I am starting off this year with a new book. It was a Christmas present from my husband. I know this book truly changed Jack's focus of thinking and I am excited to experience what God wants me to learn through it.
Interestingly and ironically enough, the first chapter is called "The Freedom We Surrender...and the Heritage That Sets Us Free."
Here's to another year, but one that will hopefully be different, one that falls closer to God.
Happy New Year!
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