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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Dreams Happening


First of all, I love handwriting fonts. If I could always write in one, I would, because they just feel more personal. And it makes me feel like I'm writing a letter to a friend. Which I sort of am, just in a very public way.

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So most of you know that I work for a really incredible company. The perks are through the roof, and I couldn't be more well taken care of. Our clients are amazing, my team is so supportive, and I get to work alongside some of the best of the best in the marketing automation industry.

But when I first started, it was a hard transition. Going from a small non-profit to a rapidly growing software company was a huge jump. The job responsibilities, work environment, office space, and team were all completely different. My job here has always felt right and good, it has just been a completely different change of pace.

And as its gone on, I feel like the Lord has slowly revealed pieces to me about why I'm here. I know the work I do is good, and I'm a valuable member of our team, but as always, I want to find the Lord's heart here. What is His goal for us, and how can I be a part of it? At one point I felt so overwhelmed with the transition that I wasn't even sure I wanted to pray that prayer, or ask for what His heart was. But I got there. And the Lord was so patient to let me step into that place as slowly as I needed to.

And every few weeks I feel like another layer of perspective has been given to me.

One day I found an article on corporate culture and sent it over to our 'Culture Czar' (or in layman's terms, Office Manager). And that started a dialog about things that are important to me in the workplace, and I remember mentioning financial assistance for adoption. I knew that that was something I would do regardless of being financially supported by my employer, but why not mention it? And all that did was start a dialog between her and I. And her heart to also adopt, as she lived in Africa for several years, met her husband over there, and is really passionate about adopting from that same country to keep it as part of their history. So she mentioned checking into what other companies offer, which at the time was awesome.

Throughout that next week/weekend I felt like God was telling me that some of the reasons I am here, have not yet been set into motion. The adoption assistance being my first example of something that is not yet here or a part of our corporate culture, but it's coming. And its the cloud the size of a man's fist on the horizon.

Several weeks later our maternity plan changed, and so did our work-from-home policy. Both of which make it so much easier to still be a part of this company, yet pursue a family without the threat of losing my job or going unpaid for any amount of time. Having a family is so much a part of my heart right now that those are things that feel like kisses from heaven to me. I love feeling like I am supported as a person, not just as an employee.

Yesterday we had a new girl start who will be in charge of community outreach programs and volunteer opportunities for our company. I've heard about this position for awhile, but just figured it would be Habitat for Humanity type projects each quarter or runs for causes on the weekends. Little did I know, this girl was coming to us from Land of a Thousand Hills. Having managed coffee projects all over the world, and having worked closely with the 410 Bridge for years. So not only is she a believer, but her heart is missions. And part of her job description is to plan an international TRIP for us to go on to serve. The trip can't be religiously based, but there are some amazing alternatives that we have that we're hoping to explore (Land of a Thousand Hills coffee projects being one). I shared with her a little bit of my experience working for 410 and managing all trips to Haiti, and she casually mentioned me helping lead a team for Pardot in the future.

I'm sorry... WHAT!? An international service trip, through my secular company, that I get to be a part of? Are you kidding? This is incredible!

So there's another layer down, and it happens to line up so perfectly with my heart. Which is funny because I told Patrick I feel like I'm not really dreaming right now. I am happy with where I'm at and what I'm doing, yet haven't been provoked to keep dreaming. To keep pursuing the things of God. And to continually make the choice to intentionally be a part of something bigger than myself. And as if the Lord heard that uttering, Karen from Land of a Thousand Hills stepped into my life.

I have no idea where this will lead or if it will amount to anything, but God has continually shown himself faithful throughout my time here. And I have full confidence that there is still more up His sleeve to show me. I am just so blessed to work for such an amazing company, and I pray that you too will find this level of satisfaction in your stage of life. Even if you never think that its possible, I promise you that it is. Just keep looking for God's heart, and be ready to find it in the most unlikely of places.



Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Dog-shaming

If you've never been to this website, you need to go. And look at EVERY picture. You will not regret it, trust me. But in case you need some motivation, I have attached a few of my faves below for your viewing pleasure:










Monday, September 17, 2012

Life and Fall-ish things

My life has been pretty wonderful lately, which means I have a lot less to complain rant gripe blog about. And I love instagram... A LOT. And put almost everything there anyways. So in some ways I feel satiated and less needy happier with that outlet. Since instagram is so great about helping you feel connected to your close friends. 

But unfortunately, there are people who do not have instagram (gasp!). I know, I know, it's true. And that should be a crime against humanity. But alas, I am not the humanity police (officially) so I have no real pull in any life arena. But I can strongly state my opinion in hopes that it brings life to some poor, lowly soul who has yet to see 'the light.' 

So pictures of life as we know it.... this below is homemade tomato tortellini soup (and it makes excellent leftovers). If you are vegan, or anti-dairy, this soup is not for you. It has milk, some half and half, tomato soup, basil leaves and parmesan. So not really vegan-friendly at all. 

 These babies are our THIRD AND FOURTH banana peppers from our yard. I call them our 'secondfruits' instead of 'firstfruits.' I'd say they're from our garden (because that sounds way more domestic and organic), but really all it is is a plant in the midst of some pinestraw...where the flowers didn't make it. 

 Patrick's been perfecting his lemon martinis (bless him), and this one here was a winner. Real lemon juice, bottled lemon juice, triple sec, lemon vodka. Could have used a little sugar on the rim, but I'm not complaining. Just keep these babies coming. Nevermind that we primarily drink them on Sunday and Monday nights.   But hey, at least we're not alone? That's the sign of a real problem. 

 We're getting pretty obsessed (in an unhealthy way) with this gelato. Patrick hates caramel so this little guy is all. for. me. And anytime I go to take a picture of something to instagram, Lucy thinks I'm preparing a treat for her. So she positions herself calmly and quietly near whatever I'm doing, so I will see how good she's being and hopefully reward her. Sweet dog. How can you resist that face?

 My feeble attempts at summoning fall weather. Flats from Urban, coffee, and a golden yellow colored shirt. I look terrible in golden yellow, and my mom would probably tell me that (so I wouldn't be embarrassed when I went out in public later), but I couldn't resist. This color practically exudes fall and comfort and softness and colored leaves and lattes, right?

 Lola, LG and me at La Paz. In said golden yellow shirt (round 2). 

 And my sweet grandmother Annie. We call her by her first name, occasionally adding in 'Big' before Annie. Mainly because there is a 'Little' Annie that is now 17, but when she was born we had to differentiate. And yes, we call my grandmother by her first name. And yes, Big Annie is only 70 pounds soaking wet. So the 'big' is somewhat of a misnomer. But she's so incredibly precious, and I love her dearly. And pray that I am as generous, gracious, kind, hospitable, and passionate as she is. 

 Proof that I have friends outside my family that I actually hang out with. Jonathan, Liz, and Daniel in our backseat, on the way to a BA picnic. 

 I don't have a caption.

 And this picture here....is not an original. It came from Google. But it IS a picture of Indian Coffee, which I tried at small group for the first time last week. It is basically milk, coffee, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and a little bit of water. Its like coffee meets tea, but with a hint of fall. I guess that's the cinnamon and cloves. Or the cardamom and ginger? I don't know, I'm bad with herbal essences. But this was awesome. And I drank mine too fast to snag a picture. So if you want the real recipe, let me know and I'll send it over.


Sorry for the long picture posts. And the long commentary that says nothing worthwhile. But I like having you be a part of my day, so this is the easiest way to incorporate you. :)



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Friends, Furniture and Marcy

My heart is so full these days. I'm about to tell Marcy the counselor that I'm on the up and up, but each week we meet we dive further into my heart and my relationships, which leaves me longing to move into her bedroom and sleep beside her bed. Yeah, she's that good. And I love that she's real, and not calculated. I don't feel that she's overcome with strategies for me, I just feel like we're in a relationship. Where I can continually give feedback, ask questions, yell profanities, or bake her cookies. And it's that kind of relationship that is life changing. So I might stick close to her for a few more months, and just let her love on me and tell me I'm okay. Because really that's all I want to hear sometimes. 

Last weekend I snapped a few pictures of Melanie, Jessica and I at Evie's wedding, our dearest roommate from college. Moon Unit, Diva Muffin, Lil Pixie, and BOP were all present and accounted for, and happily bid Evie farewell down the road to marriage. And no wedding/roommate/brothel celebration would be complete without spending the night together, and having a great breakfast in the morning. I love when I know that friends love me for me, and would know in a heartbeat if I pretended to be any different. If we were drinking together, I would toast to them. But my toast would last 6 hours and everyone else would leave. And then we'd probably have a quick lesson in how to keep kids off the street. 




And then there's this one. My beloved husband. Who is always hilarious when he tries not to be, and hardly funny when he works at it. This earned me 1923719364 likes on instagram. And by 9182734192873 I mean 25. But those were a proud 25 I'm sure. 



Patrick's brother Bryan receiving his awards and diploma from flight school graduation.



My feeble attempt at art journaling. That looked so much better on the blog picture I was copying. :)



We had an amazing small group this week with our dear friend Marty Barrett. WHO IS NUTS. But so wonderful and funny and odd at the same time. He is the one who bathed Patrick and I in the Holy Spirit before we got married, and we both started speaking in tongues at one of his worship services. He truly is a spiritual father to us, and one we will always treasure. 



This past weekend we did more things than I can count. One of which was having these 4 over for dinner. We stayed up later than I've stayed up in years, and we even had the honor of Daniel and Liz SLEEP OVER. Which meant we stayed up later, had a big breakfast together, watched every youtube video we could imagine, and I gave a quick rendition of one of my high school step routines. It was pretty spectacular. 



Soooo I've never re-done a piece of furniture. Ever. And when someone said to buy cheesecloth or wax for my project, I had to google that. 

So here is our newest Craig's List treasure (that my dad is convinced will turn into some form of fire kindling if I don't better develop my refurbishing skills before unleashing on this beauty). My goal is to paint it black and distress it a bit. But I attempted to use a paint stripper earlier today, and burned big pieces of my skin because its so corrosive. THANKS FOR NOTHING WARNING LABEL! JK. The warning label was clear. And I covered my eyes, nose, mouth, and hands - but not my legs, bare feet, or arms. Rats. So we'll see how this goes. Or I'll invite you over for s'mores.