Of the Sky Above

God sure does a great job of reminding us how incredible He is.

As I sit here and look at these pictures, I realize what a great passion and gift I've been given. I'm so thankful that I have a desire to pursue and capture the beautiful things in life. There are so many different paths for a life to follow and I have come to believe that I'm one of the lucky ones, being given a life and a job pursuit as awesome as the one I have. I think that may be a sign that I'm doing what I love. 

...and reward

Ok. I'm on a thought roll here.

Being faced with some of my most recent challenges has brought to my attention how incredibly blessed I am in several ways.

1. My latest stress-inducing job has made me incredibly thankful for my other job, which is extremely low-stress and well-paying, as well as allowing me to work with pleasant, easy-going coworkers who treat me like equals, and allowing me to work for the best boss in the ENTIRE world, who also happens to be my father.

2. Above-mentioned job has also made me incredibly grateful for days off and weekends! People often tire quickly during the work week, but thank God that most of the time we have weekends!

3. I'm thankful that I have two part-time jobs, allowing me to work full-time and make the money I need to make during the summer. I'm thankful for the opportunity God presented me with when I WAS short on money and looking for a job.

4. Also, grateful for challenges, as I'm already growing and learning as a result. People don't say challenges are good for you just to make you feel better. They actually are...

5. I'm thankful for the incredible combination of genes and upbringing that have given me the intelligence and physical capabilities to perform well at almost any job that I'm given. I've come to realize that I'm very well prepared to face present and future tasks, unless that task happens to be golfing, in which case I am extremely unprepared.

6. I'm thankful for not just one or two close friends I can lean on in the midst of my troubles, but numerous friends and a family that has and always will be there to support me and call my 'enemies' all sorts of bad names to make me feel better. And to tell me to buck up and quit whining when I need it.

7. Finally, I'm thankful that the God of the universe is on my team. No challenge is too difficult, no problem too overwhelming for Him to solve.
      But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ⁸ We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
(Thanks Eric!)

Ok, that's all.

Mandy-Pies

Work.

I'm in a little bit better mood now. Two things: for every bad day, there's a good day to counter it and when something bad happens, no one has a right to ask, "why did this happen to me?" unless they ask that for every good thing that comes their way.

But today I washed 100 life jackets by hand and each life jacket is about a 3 minute process. On a 90 degree day in 70% humidity. It was long.

So yeah, I have this new job at a whitewater rafting place. At first glance it sounds like one of those jobs that, at the end of the summer, I'll be waving in all my friends' faces. 'Oh you worked at McDonalds? I worked at a whitewater rafting place. NBD". Uh...well...it's a good job. In light of the fact that this is on the internet, available to anyone who wants to see it, let's just say it has it's challenges.

I'm learning a lot. I'm learning how to keep a good attitude in spite of ALL external influences. I walked into work this morning and got an immediate warning from my boss that "today was going to be a bad day". In my opinion, that's not really a successful way to boost your employees' morale. I'm a happy person, and it takes a lot to put me in a really bad attitude, but one way to do that is to destroy my optimism right off the bat. But since I'm not in a position to change my boss's mind about how he handles things, the only thing I can do is learn to adapt to it. I'm honestly not that used to being around someone so pessimistic...

Anyways. Challenges are a necessary part of life. "Challenge" is a fun word, it sounds so ambitious! But when they roll around, they're rarely greeted with enthusiasm. So here I go, mustering up as much enthusiasm as I can to face this challenge every day for the rest of my summer. Wish me luck :)

Life lessons from God and Bob Marley.

Well! It's been a while since my last post, meaning I obviously haven't had anything important on my mind.

Ha.

Yesterday, my friend Rachel sent me a text saying - "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid". Words of Jesus himself, in case you were wondering.

Apparently I'm somewhat of a worrywart. I might have had to have my friend point it out to me before I realized it, but now that it's brought to my attention, I know she's right. Frankly, I blame my parents. In an attempt to keep us from doing stupid things my brothers and I often heard things like, "don't look at the sun, you'll go blind!" Which, coincidentally, also happens when you sit to close to the TV or read in a dimly lit room. "Don't eat too much of the same food, you'll become allergic to it!" or "don't eat too much sugar, you'll become a diabetic!". My personal favorite, "don't swallow toothpaste, it will give you cancer".
At least I know they care.

Regardless of whose fault it is...

No one should live life blindly ignorant to the consequences of their actions, but I don't think that's my problem. I do think about things a little too much at times, and while thinking is harmless, I create too many hypothetical situations in my head and then proceed to worry about them. I worry that I'll end up married to someone to doesn't contribute anything to the relationship; I worry that no matter how much of a good mother I try to be, I'll raise a child who walks out on me, ends up in jail, or just turns out to be a jerk. I worry that I'm too trusting and would be blind to anyone using me for their own personal benefit. I worried that I wouldn't be making enough money this summer to cover any of my expenses. I worry about accidentally hurting someone or making a mess out of a situation. You get the point, the list goes on.

Rachel was right, God doesn't intend for us to worry about everything, specifically the things that are out of our control. It's all over Scripture...apparently people have had worrying problems since the beginning of time. 1 Peter 5:6-7 "...casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you". Psalm 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee". Proverbs 12:25 "Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad". Last one, Phillipians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God". Worrying causes us stress, but God wants to take that stress away from us. He even offered a trade: He gives us his peace, we give him our stress.

Mmmmm.

God doesn't need us worrying or breathing down his back to get the job done. So let things go, and let Him do what he does best. Don't worry, be happy!

- Mandy-Pies