86. Hunger Games premiere (at midnight) — yes, that was a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to put it on the list
87. Being with family (immediate and extended) for Easter — and my aunt looking great and feeling well enough to be with us and eat!
88. Finding an old gift card that still has money on it
89. The home button working (somewhat consistently) on my iPhone
90. Stephen sweetly cleaning out my iPhone and case after I mentioned that it still had colored powder in it from the Color Run
91. OH! Being able to eat sweets/sugar/desserts again because the 40 day fast is over!
92. Part of Poplar Pike/Park being repaved in Memphis — a lovely unexpected surprise
93. Homemade food (thanks for cooking, Mom)
94. Pineapple (Mom send me home to Kennesaw with a whole one — yum)
95. Good discussion at last week's Bible study, even with a small turn out
96. Being reminded that good discussion and "success" isn't dependent upon the number of students at Bible study
97. Summer conference filling up quickly — so glad to see students excited about a week of fellowship and teaching
98. Mindless TV. Sometimes you just need to turn your brain off for a bit.
99. Not having to get my windshield replaced (I have a couple new cracks in it — but no new windshield yet)
100. Jerry's Sno Cones in Memphis with my brother and cousins
101. Being home with my family this past weekend
102. My campus minister graciously encouraging me to read my Bible this past week
103. The tankini that I needed being on sale at Target (hello summer conference!)
104. Friends and family who are good listeners and graciously put up with me
105. Gas not being $4/gallon yet
106. Pash getting to enjoy Scotland and England this week with our cousin Mary Ellen
107. My mom doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like just being at home and sitting with me and doing my laundry (even washing my dirty Color Run shoes!)
108. My dad doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like filling up my tank with gas and making sure I had enough oil in my car
109. Beautiful photography — like these wonderful photos from Annalissa and Rob's wedding (http://www.sullyclemmer.com/2012/04/mississippi-wedding-annalissa-rob/)
110. Coming home to Kennesaw today to find a package and kind note from Adam's dear parents. They have no idea, but it was exactly what I needed.
111. Safety in traveling home to Memphis for Easter (and traveling back to Kennesaw)
112. My iPod — helps keep me company on long car trips
113. Podcasts and sermons — I listened to Brian Habig, Nathan Tircuit, & Brian Sorgenfrei this weekend thanks to iTunes/iPod/technology. Wonderful.
114. Smiling at my reflection in the mirror when I see the stray strands of pink in my hair left over from the Color Run (although to be completely honest, I'm a little ready for it to go away)
115. Chocolate
116. Being home at Riveroaks for Easter and Good Friday services
Showing posts with label 1000gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1000gifts. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
One thousand gifts challenge, weeks 4 & 5
Well, I had it going for three weeks in a row ... oh well.
65. More amazing weather. It really does seem like spring (well, summer) is here to stay. I hate cold weather, so this makes me incredibly happy.
66. Kennesaw RUF started ministry team interest meetings, and we've got students coming! Praise Jesus.
67. Being reminded of the basics of RUF/thankful for what it stands for.
66. Kennesaw's SABAC (Student Activities & Budget Advisory Committee) awarded RUF money so that we can scholarship students for RUF summer conference! (How amazing is that?! I've never heard of a school that does this.) We had one of our students go present to the committee and tell them about summer conference, why we go, what we learn, why it's good to take students, how it builds community, etc., and then we were awarded money.) This money greatly enables RUF to take more students and offer a reduced price to an awesome conference. We currently have 19 students signed up (and 2 more have said they're coming — they just have to register). I'm amazed and super excited.
67. On that note, it's less than 40 days until summer conference. Get me to the beach.
68. My grandmother celebrated another birthday this month! I am so thankful for her kindness, graciousness, and caring spirit.
69. Safety for our students over their spring break. Yes, it was a couple of weeks ago, and yeah, we had not one but two students end up with broken ankles (separate trips, separate incidents!), but it made me realize how fortunate we are to have all of them return back safely to Kennesaw.
70. Kiefer Sutherland being back on TV. (Is that shallow? Oh well. Anyone else watching Touch? I'm intrigued. And Jack Bauer is the man.)
71. Celebrating lots of birthdays this past month — not just my grandmother, but several of my students AND my boyfriend!
72. Traveling mercies to Birmingham (with bad weather), then to Jackson, then back to Birmingham, then back to Kennesaw — all in one weekend.
73. The reason I did all that traveling — to be part of one of my dear roommate's wedding! Two of my favorite people got married and I was incredibly blessed to be part of their wedding. Rob and Annalissa, it was a joy to be with y'all and to celebrate the Lord bringing y'all together.
74. Seeing and catching up with lots of dear friends at the wedding. Y'all are an incredible encouragement and blessing to me, and I miss y'all!
75. Having a free place to stay in Jackson — thanks Amy!
76. Being back in Mississippi for a bit. (It's not home, and I don't want to move back, but I do miss it and enjoy visiting.)
81. Spicy salsa (like "clear out your sinus cavities" spicy). Hit the spot this week.
82. Baking (Specifically this week, baking a cake for birthdays. Don't you love how it makes the house smell so good? Mmm.)
83. The fact that my fast from sweets/desserts is almost over. I'm so tempted to cave. I've forgotten what chocolate tastes like.
84. The apartment pool area staying open — as you can see from the photo, we can't swim in it yet (not that I'm big on that anyway), but catching the sunshine rays and getting some much-needed vitamin D? Yes please.
85. My not-so-little Honda Passport hit 189,000 miles today. Thankful that it's still running and doing well.
65. More amazing weather. It really does seem like spring (well, summer) is here to stay. I hate cold weather, so this makes me incredibly happy.
66. Kennesaw RUF started ministry team interest meetings, and we've got students coming! Praise Jesus.
67. Being reminded of the basics of RUF/thankful for what it stands for.
66. Kennesaw's SABAC (Student Activities & Budget Advisory Committee) awarded RUF money so that we can scholarship students for RUF summer conference! (How amazing is that?! I've never heard of a school that does this.) We had one of our students go present to the committee and tell them about summer conference, why we go, what we learn, why it's good to take students, how it builds community, etc., and then we were awarded money.) This money greatly enables RUF to take more students and offer a reduced price to an awesome conference. We currently have 19 students signed up (and 2 more have said they're coming — they just have to register). I'm amazed and super excited.
67. On that note, it's less than 40 days until summer conference. Get me to the beach.
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| Our logo/t-shirt design for this year. I like it. |
69. Safety for our students over their spring break. Yes, it was a couple of weeks ago, and yeah, we had not one but two students end up with broken ankles (separate trips, separate incidents!), but it made me realize how fortunate we are to have all of them return back safely to Kennesaw.
70. Kiefer Sutherland being back on TV. (Is that shallow? Oh well. Anyone else watching Touch? I'm intrigued. And Jack Bauer is the man.)
71. Celebrating lots of birthdays this past month — not just my grandmother, but several of my students AND my boyfriend!
72. Traveling mercies to Birmingham (with bad weather), then to Jackson, then back to Birmingham, then back to Kennesaw — all in one weekend.
73. The reason I did all that traveling — to be part of one of my dear roommate's wedding! Two of my favorite people got married and I was incredibly blessed to be part of their wedding. Rob and Annalissa, it was a joy to be with y'all and to celebrate the Lord bringing y'all together.
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| The four of us lived together at State our senior year. I love y'all dearly! |
75. Having a free place to stay in Jackson — thanks Amy!
76. Being back in Mississippi for a bit. (It's not home, and I don't want to move back, but I do miss it and enjoy visiting.)
77. Stephen getting interviews/applications in with several companies. (Add him to your prayer list for jobs please!)
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| Team RUF Runners ready for the Atlanta Color Run: Jessie, Mallory, Lexi, me, Chelsea, Anna, Jen, & Kayla. |
78. Getting to run in the Atlanta Color Run with some of Bible study girls and Jen! SO FUN. Memphis and Nashville friends — y'all gotta do the ones there in October. (And side note, those of who know me should realize that me agreeing to do a 5K is huge. Granted, I didn't get to run the whole thing due to lots of walkers/it being super crowded/strollers/a super narrow path for running, etc., but I found myself wanting to run more of it! What? Who am I?!) On another note — I'm still trying to wash the pink and blue out of my hair (six washes and it's still there!), so please forgive the random color streaks in my hair.
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| Jen, Kayla, me, Lexi, and Anna after the race! |
79. The Lord watching over my aunt who had surgery to remove cancer this weekend. (Add her to prayer list too, please.)
80. Catching up with a couple of people via phone this week. (Thank y'all for bearing with me and my terrible phone skills.)
82. Baking (Specifically this week, baking a cake for birthdays. Don't you love how it makes the house smell so good? Mmm.)
83. The fact that my fast from sweets/desserts is almost over. I'm so tempted to cave. I've forgotten what chocolate tastes like.
84. The apartment pool area staying open — as you can see from the photo, we can't swim in it yet (not that I'm big on that anyway), but catching the sunshine rays and getting some much-needed vitamin D? Yes please.
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| No water = they do not want us swimming yet |
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
One thousand gifts
Three weeks in a row — woohoo!
44. My parents celebrated 29 years of marriage this week. I don't think I have to say anything else — that's pretty impressive. I'm thankful for them and for the godly example that they've been.
45. Veggies at the school cafeteria that aren't soaked in salt
46. Strawberries AND blueberries on sale this week at Kroger (side note: blueberries were my favorite snack as a kid. Mom used to stick a big bowl on them on the kitchen table and I'd finish them off — but oddly enough, I named my favorite doll "Strawberry," not "Blueberry")
47. Aloe (I got sunburned last week!)
48. Daffodils blooming on campus
50. Trees, flowers, grass, etc. blooming everywhere
51. Allergy medicine to help with all that blooming (today's pollen count is over 9,000! yuck!)
52. Ladies Bible study — the insight, encouragement, and fellowship it provides for me
53. A lit and safe pathway at the park for early evening runs
54. Grace (and a little bit of wisdom) in listening and participating in some hard conversations
55. Growing relationships with my girls
56. Not just knowing but seeing God at work in the lives of students
57. Hymns — thankful for them for lots of reasons, but here's two thoughts: 1. Glad I grew up in a church and a family where we sang them all the time 2. Glad my church, family, voice teacher, and choir teachers taught me the importance of memorizing the words — which all came back to me this weekend while singing a baby to sleep!
58. A long hike with good conversations, fellowship, and rain (and safety during the last two miles where we hiked back on the road to our car!)
59. The marriage conference at Midway Pres last weekend
60. Home cooked food at that conference — it's been a big fruit, oatmeal, cafeteria food, and cereal week, so it was especially exciting to get good food
61. The book of Deuteronomy — it's part of the RUF Bible reading program this month, and Chris is preaching through the Ten Commandments this semester. I haven't read it in a while ... and it's nice to be "rediscovering" it.
62. Finding a knee brace for my 90 year-old knees — and I can run (pretty well) while wearing it!
63. Red Gatorade (the not so sugary kind. I forgot the actual name)
64. Lots of glorious sunshine last week and this week
44. My parents celebrated 29 years of marriage this week. I don't think I have to say anything else — that's pretty impressive. I'm thankful for them and for the godly example that they've been.
45. Veggies at the school cafeteria that aren't soaked in salt
46. Strawberries AND blueberries on sale this week at Kroger (side note: blueberries were my favorite snack as a kid. Mom used to stick a big bowl on them on the kitchen table and I'd finish them off — but oddly enough, I named my favorite doll "Strawberry," not "Blueberry")
47. Aloe (I got sunburned last week!)
48. Daffodils blooming on campus
50. Trees, flowers, grass, etc. blooming everywhere
51. Allergy medicine to help with all that blooming (today's pollen count is over 9,000! yuck!)
52. Ladies Bible study — the insight, encouragement, and fellowship it provides for me
53. A lit and safe pathway at the park for early evening runs
54. Grace (and a little bit of wisdom) in listening and participating in some hard conversations
55. Growing relationships with my girls
56. Not just knowing but seeing God at work in the lives of students
57. Hymns — thankful for them for lots of reasons, but here's two thoughts: 1. Glad I grew up in a church and a family where we sang them all the time 2. Glad my church, family, voice teacher, and choir teachers taught me the importance of memorizing the words — which all came back to me this weekend while singing a baby to sleep!
58. A long hike with good conversations, fellowship, and rain (and safety during the last two miles where we hiked back on the road to our car!)
59. The marriage conference at Midway Pres last weekend
60. Home cooked food at that conference — it's been a big fruit, oatmeal, cafeteria food, and cereal week, so it was especially exciting to get good food
61. The book of Deuteronomy — it's part of the RUF Bible reading program this month, and Chris is preaching through the Ten Commandments this semester. I haven't read it in a while ... and it's nice to be "rediscovering" it.
62. Finding a knee brace for my 90 year-old knees — and I can run (pretty well) while wearing it!
63. Red Gatorade (the not so sugary kind. I forgot the actual name)
64. Lots of glorious sunshine last week and this week
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
One Thousand Gifts Challenge, week 2
The One Thousand Gifts challenge continues:
21. My supporters. I got to send out newsletters this past week, and it's a joy and blessing to be able to thank God for each one of them as I fold, sign, and seal their letters. Words cannot express how incredibly grateful I am for each one of them.
22. Sharpie pens. My fav. I always keep a couple on hand, and I used them a lot this week for newsletter duty.
23. Friends who are kind enough to proofread my personal statement (for grad school) on super short notice and give me good feedback. (Thanks, Kyle, April, and Hannah!)
24. My alma mater — for many reason, but here's one unique one: Mississippi State plants a tree for every student (and faculty member) who dies before they finish school/while working at school. (They get permission from the family to do so, but the university pays for it and puts a plaque up under the tree.) I always thought that was really special, and it just adds to the beauty of the campus. Last week, my journalism adviser posted a photo of the one they planted for my friend Adam. It will look absolutely gorgeous in the fall.
25. Yogurt. Yep, that simple.
26. Good conversations with friends — specifically Rebekah, Katy, April, & Amy in the last two weeks.
27. Being able to share a former struggle/hardship with someone (and trusting that part of the reason the Lord put me through it is to help and share with others).
28. Spring break. Being able to take a break.
29. Seeing Stephen for a whole weekend.
30. Traveling mercies while driving to Knoxville. The weather was pretty nasty, and I missed all of it.
31. Stephen fixing the messed up screws on my MacBook. (They weren't put in properly after I had my battery replaced, and it had been bothering me for months.)
32. A great church service in Knoxville last Sunday with a challenging message on forgiveness.
33. New brakes for my car, and the Goodyear guys who looked out for me and my safety.
34. RUF for doing such a wonderful job of loving its employees and taking great care of us. They have really displayed the love and character of Christ to me, and are incredibly patient and gracious.
35. Pandora while I work, cook, clean, and study.
36. Reading the chain e-mails in my intern class and seeing how the Lord is blessing our crew with jobs, entering seminary, marriages, and a call to a third year of the internship.
37. On that note, especially thankful for my crew of third year RUF interns. There's going to be a good number of us, and I'm really excited about serving with them for another year.
38. This sweet kid:
39. The Gospel Coalition, specifically, its wonderful website with blogs, resources, and much more.
40. Having my parents and sister in town for a weekend, getting to hang out, eat, and explore.
41. Finding another ticket to The Color Run 5K so that Jen can join us.
42. The promise of 80 degree weather this week.
43. Sandals/flipflops — and being able to wear them again!
21. My supporters. I got to send out newsletters this past week, and it's a joy and blessing to be able to thank God for each one of them as I fold, sign, and seal their letters. Words cannot express how incredibly grateful I am for each one of them.
22. Sharpie pens. My fav. I always keep a couple on hand, and I used them a lot this week for newsletter duty.
23. Friends who are kind enough to proofread my personal statement (for grad school) on super short notice and give me good feedback. (Thanks, Kyle, April, and Hannah!)
24. My alma mater — for many reason, but here's one unique one: Mississippi State plants a tree for every student (and faculty member) who dies before they finish school/while working at school. (They get permission from the family to do so, but the university pays for it and puts a plaque up under the tree.) I always thought that was really special, and it just adds to the beauty of the campus. Last week, my journalism adviser posted a photo of the one they planted for my friend Adam. It will look absolutely gorgeous in the fall.
 |
| The tree looks a little scrawny without leaves, so here's the plaque. |
26. Good conversations with friends — specifically Rebekah, Katy, April, & Amy in the last two weeks.
27. Being able to share a former struggle/hardship with someone (and trusting that part of the reason the Lord put me through it is to help and share with others).
28. Spring break. Being able to take a break.
29. Seeing Stephen for a whole weekend.
 |
| Final UT home game this season — and they won! |
31. Stephen fixing the messed up screws on my MacBook. (They weren't put in properly after I had my battery replaced, and it had been bothering me for months.)
32. A great church service in Knoxville last Sunday with a challenging message on forgiveness.
33. New brakes for my car, and the Goodyear guys who looked out for me and my safety.
34. RUF for doing such a wonderful job of loving its employees and taking great care of us. They have really displayed the love and character of Christ to me, and are incredibly patient and gracious.
35. Pandora while I work, cook, clean, and study.
36. Reading the chain e-mails in my intern class and seeing how the Lord is blessing our crew with jobs, entering seminary, marriages, and a call to a third year of the internship.
37. On that note, especially thankful for my crew of third year RUF interns. There's going to be a good number of us, and I'm really excited about serving with them for another year.
38. This sweet kid:
 |
| Don't worry — she's not mine. |
40. Having my parents and sister in town for a weekend, getting to hang out, eat, and explore.
41. Finding another ticket to The Color Run 5K so that Jen can join us.
42. The promise of 80 degree weather this week.
43. Sandals/flipflops — and being able to wear them again!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
One thousand gifts challenge
So if you haven't read One Thousand Gifts, you really should. It's a NY Times Bestseller, an Amazon bestseller, and USA Today bestseller — but most importantly, the author is a Christian woman who clearly really loves Jesus and is committed to sharing joy, despite life's hardships. (And this book isn't all lovey-dovey — she's gone through some REALLY hard things in her life.) She has a great blog, and she's issued a challenge to her readers to list their blessings via blog once a week — totaling 1,000 for the year.
Obviously, I'm a little behind on the challenge (but apparently, you can start whenever, so I'm not really that behind) ... but better late than never, right? She has these great little banners that you're supposed to put on your site, but I can't get the image to show up on my blog — oh well. So, 1,000 blessings in a year means listing 20 per week ... wish me luck! Here's the list for this past two weeks:
1. Thankful for the ministry of NightLight Atlanta (and many other groups) working to end human trafficking in Atlanta, & glad I get to partner with them in a 40 Day Fast (I gave up sugar/sweets and fried food!)
2. Three of the Kennesaw RUF ladies are joining me in that fast — it is much easier to fast knowing that others are keeping you accountable!
3. Glad to be writing again — freelancing at World on Campus a little bit
4. The Green at Kennesaw's campus. We had an absolutely gorgeous day last week, and it brought hundreds of students outside to play.
5. Sweet friends who call and text to say hi
6. A precious note from Adam's sweet mom
7. Lots of blessings to write about in my spring RUF newsletter
8. E-mails from the office reminding me that summer conference is just around the corner (doesn't the beach and sunshine and good teaching sound wonderful?)
9. Getting to share about RUF with my church here in Kennesaw
10. Running twice without my knees hurting
11. Running a couple of times with my knees hurting — thankful that I have knees that still allow me to be active!
12. Fruit being on sale at Kroger (especially since I've given up desserts)
13. Finding my favorite gloves that have been missing for two weeks
14. E-mail. It's just a great invention.
15. Reduced fat Cheeze-Its. (They're still not good for you, but I am thankful for their deliciousness.)
16. The fact that mold hasn't come back to our apartment (after a long saga of deep cleaning, cutting holes in the walls and ceilings, finding the leak/problem, putting in new drywall, and repainting)_
17. The fact that I live in a nice complex with great repairmen who did all the work listed above. It would have been really bad if I had to do all that on my own.
18. StrangeBrew coffee (and the fact that they ship so I can have it every morning)
19. A weekend away in Townsend with Stephen and his mom
20. Valentines from Jake & Cole, and my parents
Obviously, I'm a little behind on the challenge (but apparently, you can start whenever, so I'm not really that behind) ... but better late than never, right? She has these great little banners that you're supposed to put on your site, but I can't get the image to show up on my blog — oh well. So, 1,000 blessings in a year means listing 20 per week ... wish me luck! Here's the list for this past two weeks:
1. Thankful for the ministry of NightLight Atlanta (and many other groups) working to end human trafficking in Atlanta, & glad I get to partner with them in a 40 Day Fast (I gave up sugar/sweets and fried food!)
2. Three of the Kennesaw RUF ladies are joining me in that fast — it is much easier to fast knowing that others are keeping you accountable!
3. Glad to be writing again — freelancing at World on Campus a little bit
4. The Green at Kennesaw's campus. We had an absolutely gorgeous day last week, and it brought hundreds of students outside to play.
5. Sweet friends who call and text to say hi
6. A precious note from Adam's sweet mom
7. Lots of blessings to write about in my spring RUF newsletter
8. E-mails from the office reminding me that summer conference is just around the corner (doesn't the beach and sunshine and good teaching sound wonderful?)
9. Getting to share about RUF with my church here in Kennesaw
10. Running twice without my knees hurting
11. Running a couple of times with my knees hurting — thankful that I have knees that still allow me to be active!
12. Fruit being on sale at Kroger (especially since I've given up desserts)
13. Finding my favorite gloves that have been missing for two weeks
14. E-mail. It's just a great invention.
15. Reduced fat Cheeze-Its. (They're still not good for you, but I am thankful for their deliciousness.)
16. The fact that mold hasn't come back to our apartment (after a long saga of deep cleaning, cutting holes in the walls and ceilings, finding the leak/problem, putting in new drywall, and repainting)_
17. The fact that I live in a nice complex with great repairmen who did all the work listed above. It would have been really bad if I had to do all that on my own.
18. StrangeBrew coffee (and the fact that they ship so I can have it every morning)
19. A weekend away in Townsend with Stephen and his mom
20. Valentines from Jake & Cole, and my parents
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