Treasured Tokens Thursday

I was so excited to go to the Dodgers game last Thursday, I must have forgotten to do a TTT. Oops! Well, today I'm sharing something special I received from a student (who is now married) I was mentoring at Grace Church. Kayla is a very special young lady. I never dreamed I would be a part of her life other than just seeing her at Youth Group, but God had other plans.

 We were preparing for our Youth trip to Mexico and Pastor Ken told the students to find someone to mentor them. I wasn't sure I could be a mentor, or meet with someone one-on-one, so I prayed, "If You want me to mentor a student, I will, but someone needs to approach me." Pretty selfish, huh?

Well, one Sunday, while walking downstairs to Youth Group, Kayla "happened" to be walking down with me. She said she had a question. "I've been thinking about someone to mentor me and I really want you to do that." WHAT? Of course, I coudln't say no. One, she's just such a sweetheart and so cute, but then, I did promise God I would do it if someone asked me.

So we met every week, went to Mexico, and then we came home. And to my surprise, I asked Kayla, "Do you want to keep meeting? We don't have to quit just because we're done with our trip." And she said yes. So through her High School years, we met every week. We had some great times of studying different books of the Bible, different subjects, and just praying and talking together. I was sad to end our time together when she graduated and went to college in Santa Barbara, but we keep in touch and I continue to watch her grow into a beautiful woman of God who is married and trying to be the Godly wife she is meant to be, learning to love and respect her husband more each day, learning to cook, and just loving being married and a "mom" to their dog, Beckett. :)

All this to say, that the treasured token this week is a cute little container that she decorated with the word "believe" and wrote a sweet little note on the bottom. I love this girl, and I continue to pray for her and Andrew. I love how God answers our selfish prayers. Remind me never to do that again - but just step out in faith and do what I know He would want me to do and "believe" that I can do whatever task He gives me because He is with me and will strengthen me and give me the tools I need to finish.

 

Favorite Devotional of the Week

I think I'll try something new...as I read devotionals, I'll post my favorite of the week. And if I have a couple of favorites, well, I'll post one this week and one next week. So what will happen is, I will probably have a whole bunch saved up and share them in the next few weeks/months. Anyway, I use the Women's Devotional Bible 2 (NIV) and there are devotionals for the week/weekend throughout. I also read Our Daily Bread sometimes and have found some pretty cool ones that I've already posted (or at least "shared" from their site). I have a couple of other devotionals I like to read, too, so there's no shortage of great reading. 

But I finally decided to go through the Bible in a year, although, I decided I would go through it and go at my pace (of course, part of my pace is skipping a day or more, unfortunately). But I was determined to go through the whole Bible for once. I realized I'd never done this because I've been reading things I don't ever recall reading before. So here we go:

"City Lights" by Cynthia Culp Allen

A week after we moved to Los Angeles from northern California, I stepped into the backyard one evening for some time alone, Looking up at the night sky, I couldn't see even one star!

"I know the stars are up there, " I said. "This is the same sky we looked at last week in northern California. The stars are there, the lights of the city are just obscuring their light."

This realization made me think of the huge city with it's many distractions: streets lined with shops and businesses; fast-food eateries and restaurants; theaters; schools; and flashing neon lights everywhere urging people to stop at every one.

Life everywhere, not just in Los Angeles, is full of distractions that block out God. Yes, he is still there - always the same, unchanging, steadfast. But we are unaware of his presence because of everything else competing for our attention.

Still searching the sky for stars, I prayed, "Lord, you have brought us to this place through your clear direction. Please keep us committed to daily quiet times with you. Help us to practice your presence in the midst of the city's distractions. Let us shine with your light here in this darkness of unbelief."

Just as I finished my prayer I saw one tiny star blinking way up in the yellow sky.

Lord, we lived in L.A. for over a year now and our lives are still bright with you. Thank you for being faithful. The city's alluring distractions don't satisfy as you do. Keep lighting our days with your truth. 

Key verse: Micah 7:8       Passage: Micah 7:1-11

And if you know my situation, this is exactly what has happened with us. We lived in San Luis Obispo and I figured we would live there for the rest of our lives. You can read what happened here and here and here. Okay, just read from July 2008 on.... But this devotional caught my eye because Cynthia did the same thing. It was encouraging. We've been here two years now. Time flies. :)

Favorite Family Photo

 (Amber, Liz, Gregg, Danielle, me, Dan)

This is one of my favorite photos where the four of us are actually in a pic together. My girls are grown and gone, but we still get together now and then. My youngest lives in OR and this is in when she came to visit. Her best friend (our "adopted" daughter) also came to visit and our son-in-law is also this family pic (doesn't happen often enough). The "kids" surprised Dad with a surprise lunch and dessert in Huntington Beach. This is taken after we had dessert - Dad having his favorite dessert...tiramisu. Great time with family.

Linking with Jeannett

 Well, I don't have an IPhone, but I do have pics on my MyTouch phone. Got it on Ebay and I like it so much better than my previous phone. Though, one day I may have to get the IPhone for whatever reason. Anyway, here are a couple of pics from the phone.

 

 

Dan had just picked me up from work and we decided to head to the beach. We stopped at Dockweiler Beach. It was a cool day, but there were still a few brave souls out there. There were a couple of surfers, too. This is part of his bike ride home on the Strand. Not a bad place to bike, if you ask me.

 

Can you see it in the distance? Even through the ugly brown smog, we could still see Mt. Baldy all covered in snow. Taking this in the car, though, may not have been the best choice, but we can't stop in the middle of the 405.   

 I have been looking for shoes to go with my Mother of the Bride dress and I found these. What do you think? If the guys can wear Converse, why can't I wear these? My dress is platinum (Danielle wanted us in gray or silver and we found hers and my dress in Drain, OR at this cute little bridal store). I found these shoes at Macy's. I didn't buy them. Soooo tempted, though.

And finally....he was not amused. Sorry he's blurry.

Treasured Tokens Thursday

Well, I'm late for this, but it's still Thursday for now.

My co-worker and Friend, Paula gave us these for Christmas a few years ago. And I'm sorry to say I don't remember what was in it. Candy? Tea? Well, I love it. It's small, but it holds my Stevia/Splenda packs really well and it's so cute. I'm sad that when I washed it, the glitter started to come off. Duh! But I do miss working with Paula. She came to work in the office a couple of years after I began working there. She is the Graphic Artist and she taught me so much from the beginning. When I started working at Grace, I didn't know much about the computer...just what I taught myself at home. I learned a few things from a couple of people who passed through the doors through the 13 years I worked there. Kari helped me with Publisher and Paula helped me with the different programs we used for the graphics for the worship folder/bulletin. It was good to know these things so she could take time off to be with her family. If no one else knew that part of her job, she would not have been able to take the time off that she has been able to take. Cross training is a good thing. :)  And now her daughter works there...I'm jealous. Working at Grace was the best job I ever had and I miss it still.

I love Paula and her family. I've had the pleasure and privilege to go to her house for youth group activities, DWAPs (Dessert with a Purpose - Missions activity), and just to watch some Lakers games (which always became a time of anxiety for Tom, Daniel and me - haha - when the Lakers did silly stuff to almost lose the game). She is very hospitable. Loves her family. And her kids are great! I miss this family, but I'm glad to have this little porcelain jar to remind me of them and to pray for them.