Fun Post: August and September Favorites

Hooray! Another Favorites post! :) Also, Happy National Coffee day to all my followers. May your coffee be strong, dark, creamy and satisfying. ;)

I like to do favorites posts once a month, but as it was around September 15th before I realized that I hadn't done one for August, I decided to postpone it. ;) My next few months are going to be insanely busy, (more on that to come), so I may end up posting much less frequently even than I did in the summer. I hope not, but it may turn out that way. :/ Thank you for understanding!! Without further ado, some of my summer favorites! I've been:

Reading...
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery. (She is most known for her Anne of Green Gables series). Personally, though so far I've only read the first book in this trilogy, I'm not sure why the Emily books are not considered as much of a classic as the Anne books are! Sweet, relatable characters, awesome vocabulary, fantastic plots...what more can you ask for? ;)

The Walls are Talking by former abortion clinic worker, Abby Johnson. This book is heartbreaking in every way. And yet so, so important. Though this book is grievous to read at any age, I don't recommend it for younger readers. It is a collection of stories from many different clinic workers who left their work after realizing the horrors of what actually goes on inside those walls. They share their stories in honest, open ways, revealing from an insider's point of view how the abortion industry destroys and shatters the lives of the women it claims to be helping. I pray that the women who were brave enough to contribute find healing and redemption through Christ! Some already have, and it is so precious to hear their testimonies.

I started reading a few other books, but can't really recommend any of them, as I'm either not finished, or they turned out to be not my style. ;P

Buying...
My kayak!! I got a used one from Craigslist, and have SO much enjoyed paddling down the Columbia. :) Wenatchee has TONS of riverfront parks open to the public, so it's easy to drop it in and run it down river a few miles, and just get picked up at another park dock! I enjoy being on the river so much. It is peaceful and quiet, (I stay fairly near the shore so there's no crazy currents ;). I love to stop paddling and just drift along for a while, enjoying the beauty. The kids have really loved being able to borrow it for rides as well!

Writing...
Not as much as I should be. If I could, I would be working on my projects all day, but a little thing called life gets in the way. ;) I hope to tell you more about said projects soon, though!

Hanging out with...
Wolves. Yes, wolves. We took a trip to the fair on family day when most of the kids got in for free, and there was an animal show there. The guy had snakes, lizards, marsupials, birds of prey, and a cage with three wolves in it. He asked for a volunteer and I raised my hand. When he called me up there, he said, "Go get in the wolf cage." Allllrighty then. On it. ;P They do play rougher than dogs, which is to be expected, but what cooler way to have a hole torn in your skirt than by a wolf? :'D They had very beautiful eyes, and super soft, thick fur. It was definitely a fun thing to experience! Kourage enjoyed holding a few snakes, my mom and I got kissed by a lizard, and Malachi held a giant lizard. :) Pretty cool all around!

Travelling to...
Sumas, Washington for a ladies' retreat with my church women. Last year it was so fun and special, so I had high expectations for this year. I was not disappointed! From absolutely decadent food, to Garden of Eden worthy landscape, trails, and flowers at the retreat center, to staying up until 3:15 talking, to convicting devotionals...it was amazing. It was such a blessing to spend time with friends and sisters in Christ, some of whom I only see a few times a year. Even the long drive over was fun, being able to talk with the ladies from Blessed Hope without small ones around. ;) Plus, my grandma was in Canada at the time, only 8 miles from the retreat center, and was able to stop in for a couple hours!! I hope this retreat goes on to become a cherished tradition! :)

Excited (over the moon, elated, thrilled, exuberant) about...
The missions trip coming up. ;) I am so happy to see things coming together, tickets have been purchased, and music is being prepared. Also coming up in the next couple months are the following: my 21st birthday (on Wednesday! ;), Family Conference with some friends from Alaska, my parents travelling to a conference in North Dakota, the missions conference in Oak Harbor (a highlight of every year!), a missionary friend visiting and preaching for us, and Thanksgiving--early, since I'll be leaving for Fiji on Thanksgiving day. Whew! All of these things are so exciting! I am praying that God will do great things through them, and most of all, that I will keep the right focus through all of it. And that I won't become stressed or worried about the future. (Anyone else struggle with that?) I am truly looking forward to seeing how He will work in the many adventures that are coming up. :)

Going through...
God's Word in 90 days. As a countdown for the trip, I am going through the Bible in 3 months. Last year I did it in one, (see this post), and although I enjoyed doing that, it definitely is a bit easier going through it slower! :) I'm reading 15-20 chapters a day instead of around 35. I love the feeling of accomplishment as each book moves into the next, and reading about the thread of God's love and redemption plan that runs through the whole Bible. 

Thankful for...
Some extra work on the side with Amazon. That will be so helpful for the trip! God's guidance and direction. Good, uplifting music. A short camping trip with the family. Apples--tart, sweet, and crunchy. Marco Polo...it's a video message app, and it's been so special for keeping in touch with my friend Kimberly, who is living in Taiwan until February!! :O Late night talks with friends. Somehow knowing that you can talk for a long time is so precious. :) Photoshoots with Miriam. I promise you, at least 75% of my phone pictures involve her in some way. ;P She's so CUTE though!!! Heavy blankets, as the nights are already getting chilly here. (I'm still not quite ready to let go of summer, though. October 1, I might pull out my boots. I renounce those people who start shrieking about pumpkin spice when it's still 80 degrees outside. XD) 

Well, that's it for today! What are some of your highlights from the last couple of months? Hope you have a lovely weekend! 
Mykaela

A Lesson Learned From a Chocolate Kiss

Hey everyone!

It's a brand new week with new opportunities to serve The Lord! :) Today I'd like to share something small and funny that I experienced recently, that I think has good application to our lives. It's something I talk about a lot, but also needs to be talked about a lot, because we forget it. All the time. :(

So I had my two year old little sister in nursery today, and since we had a couple families missing, it was just me and her. As I sat on the floor listening to my dad's sermon over the small speaker, I noticed that I still had a small baggie of assorted Valentine's Day chocolates in my purse from a coworker. I got it out, and unwrapped a Hershey's kiss for Miriam. She was thrilled, (duh! ;), and popped the whole thing in her mouth. For a kid her size, a Hershey's kiss is a rather large mouthful, but she managed, only drooling a little bit. As she struggled to chew this enormous hunk of chocolate, she instantly started pointing at my purse and yelping, as much as she could yelp, that is, for more. I laughingly unwrapped a second chocolate, (the last one in the bag), and gave it to her when she was finished with the first one. Again, with her mouth literally stuffed to overflowing with chocolate, she starts screeching for more?! When I told her they were gone, (not that I would have given her more anyway!), she threw a fit. She got in trouble at this point. ;P 

Anyway, after the unpleasantness was done, I got to thinking; how many times do I do this to God? He fills my life to overflowing abundance with blessings. And sometimes, I literally ignore those in my eagerness to ask Him for more, and more and MORE things. How unfathomably stupid can I get?! My mouth is stuffed with chocolate, so I can't even scream, and I sit here hyperventilating in my attempts to throw a tantrum for more chocolate. Wow. How God puts up with me, I'll never understand. 

And yet He does.

Day after day, year after year, He still chooses to give me chocolate. How much chocolate do you take for granted?

Mykaela

The Little Things (And why I'm thankful for them)

Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

I'm sure many of you have heard the phrase, "Enjoy the little things", or "It's the little things in life that count", etc.? Most of the time, these sayings are used by those who do not have a relationship with God, so really all they do is enjoy them. (For a short time.) We as Christians should be not only enjoying those little things, but also thanking the One who gave them to us! So these are good statements, they just have to be in the right context. :) 

So I know that nothing God does for us is truly "little"...he loads us down with His benefits. However, there are some things in life that you can't help but smile at--because that thing that happened was not necessary. Maybe it was even something tiny and simple, a ray of sunshine that suddenly flashed through your day. Maybe you couldn't find something for the life of you, and suddenly you found it in the unlikeliest place. Well, you could call that coincidence, but really think about it. I truly believe that so many things we chalk up to "chance" is God showering yet another blessing onto that day's pile...and we don't even give Him credit for it. That's really sad!! When a friend drops by with a plate of cookies, or a passing stranger helps pick up some dropped papers, do we neglect to thank them? Of course not! And yet how many times do we ignore the little gifts God gives us, with the assumption that it was just a random happenstance? :( 

Last year, shortly after I first started this blog, I published a post entitled, "The Story of the Toy Firetruck, (and why it meant so much to me)". You can read it here. In the spirit of that post, I would like to just take a minute to thank The Lord for a few of the "little things" He's given me lately. :)

• A few days ago I was in a hurry, and rushed out the door to work without grabbing something to eat for lunch. It wasn't a crazy long shift, (5 or 6 hours, I think), but long enough that I would probably have to either mooch something from a coworker, (haha!) or go out. 1 hour into my shift, a guy from a local sub sandwich delivery place shows up at the front desk. He cheerfully says, "Hey, I have some free sample sandwiches for all the staff here, would you like one?" Umm. Yes. ;) So I got a free "sample" sandwich, (it was about 5 inches long, so a totally fine size for a small lunch!), and didn't have to go out in the snowy weather. Thank you, Lord!
• I recently purchased some pajamas that are soooo soft, I seriously look forward to getting into them when I get home from work, etc. They feel like clouds. :) My mom really wanted some as well, so last week I ran to the store where I got mine, to try and find her some as a surprise. Well, they were out. As was another store of a similar kind. I had just about given up hope, (and was out of time to look), when I thought of checking this random store in the mall, because I vaguely remembered something about them having pj's at some point. You guessed it! They not only had them, but they were on end-of-winter sale for FIVE BUCKS. Thank you again, Lord!!! :)

I could go on and on. Like I said, these are not life changing things! Would I have died of starvation without a sandwich? Of course not. Would my mom have perished without those cozy pajamas? Nope. But God still chose to let me have those little, fun blessings, because He loves me! And I think that is so special, that God cares about giving good gifts to His children, even when we are naughty wandering little sheep that won't quit falling into mud puddles, wandering off the path into thornbushes and pits, and becoming so focused on ourselves that we can't even take a second to thank the kind Shepherd who leads us! Today, I'm challenging you, as well as myself, to look for those little things. Notice when they happen, and don't just ignore them...praise The Lord for them! I'm not saying we should fall on our knees wherever we are and burst into the Hallelujah chorus. But just say thank you. That's all. :) Love,

Mykaela

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 66:8-9 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

As I was looking through Psalms this morning to find a good verse to text to all my dear friends as I wished them a happy day, this one stuck out to me. This won't be a long or pithy post; just a wish for all of you to have a wonderful day of gratitude to our Saviour (who holds our soul in this life, and our breath in His hands!), fellowship with family and friends, and wonderful food. ;) Just a quick list of some of the thousands of things I have to be grateful for...

• My Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I am nothing.
• God's holy Word. The guidebook for all of life.
• My precious family. Papa, Mama, Micah, Malachi, Mercy, Kourage, Kayson, Kebron, and Miriam; every one of them a gift. :) <3
• My sweet friends, each of whom has such special talents and strengths...who support me, laugh with me, talk with me, and pray with and for me.
• The health of my body. May I never, never take this for granted.
• My home. My quirky, "brand-used, slightly new" home, as Oma calls it. ;)
• Music. I can't even imagine life without it.
• Coffee. Um...enough said. ;)
• The hundreds of little things that just make me happy and bring a smile to my face. Cute couples. Baby animals. Christmas lights. Antique furniture. Fuzzy sweaters. Fuzzy blankets. Fuzzy socks. Fuzz in general. Long fancy dresses. Newborn babies' tiny-ness. Little kids' drawings. Peppermints. Old books. Whipped cream. Truffles. Sunsets. Adventures. Late night talks. Rainy mornings. Sleeping in. Snail mail. Old couples still very much in love. Roses. Dainty jewelry. Getting a package unexpectedly. Cheesecake. Soft, crinkly bundles on Christmas. Summer evenings.

I'm going to stop here, not because I have run out of things to say, but because there is not enough time or room to say them all. I pray that each and every one of you would take a few minutes today to think about what God has done in your life, and what He is doing. His plans are so perfect if we just follow them! :) Lastly, I want to say that I am so very thankful for each of you that takes the time to visit my blog. I know I am random and probably weird at times, (or a lot of the time, haha! ;), but you have stuck with me, and I am grateful to each of you for that. God bless you all! Love,

Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: The Perfect Fulfillment

Isaiah 11:1-4 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked."

I love this passage for so many reasons. It is a prophecy, written hundreds of years before the birth of the Saviour, and yet so precise and accurate in every way. I just want to lay out a few pieces of this Scripture, and compare them to how Jesus Christ was when He was on the earth.

1. "The spirit of the LORD shall rest up him..."

In Matthew 3:16-17, after Jesus was baptized by John, it says that the Spirit of God descended on him. There is a fulfilled prophecy right there. 

2. "...the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."

All of these things fit the description of Christ perfectly! Every single person Jesus talked to, He knew exactly how He should deal with that person specifically. With the angry, spiteful Pharisees, He answered them with incredible wisdom; so much so that they usually ended up just having to shut up in shame. They didn't have answers to His knowledge of God. When He talked with the woman who struggled with the issue of blood for thirteen years, how did He treat her? He was so gentle, so loving in the way He interacted with her! 

3. "...and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:..."

Think about the story of the woman taken in adultery. Did Jesus excuse her sin? Absolutely not. However, He didn't judge after the hearing of His ears and simply blast into her: He used that opportunity to teach an incredibly valuable lesson to the woman's accusers--that they were just as bad, just as lost if they had not been cleansed from sin. He used every circumstance in His life to further the kingdom of God.

You know what my favorite part of all is in Isaiah chapter 11 though? I didn't list it with the above passage because I wanted to put special emphasis on it. :) It's found in verse 10.

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."
(emphasis mine)

Whenever I see a verse that has promises concerning the Gentiles, I always perk up, because (if you didn't know), I happen to be one! ;) This verse is precious to me, because that root of Jesse, that Saviour promised to the world as an ensign, was promised to the WHOLE world! Me included! Jews and Gentiles, black and white, old and young, every person created in the image of God is welcome to seek after Him! And the best part of all? His rest is glorious. In Matthew 28, Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Yet another prophecy fulfilled, at least in part, because when Christ returns to earth again, the rest He brings will be even more glorious. Praise The Lord for His mercy to us! As we go into Thanksgiving week, let's not get so caught up in the scurry and flurry of Thanksgiving and Black Friday craziness that we forget the One who we should be thanking with all our hearts for the rest that He gives to His sheep. Let's keep our hearts focused in an attitude of praise! :) Have a blessed week with friends and family!
Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: Thankful on the Wonderful Days

Deuteronomy 8:11-14 "Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage..."

We've got a bit of a longer passage today, but I encourage you to read it carefully. Let's break it down and analyze it a little bit. In these verses, God is giving us a solemn warning, signified by the term "beware". When anyone says beware, it's usually best to listen, but when the God of the universe says it, you absolutely better hold everything and pay attention. 

So what is God warning us of? In verse 14, it tells us: the warning is against us becoming lifted up in pride and forgetting The Lord who has done so much for us. Wow. In the verses following, it lists some of the things that God has done for the children of Israel. Since we are applying it to ourselves today, let's list some of the things He has done for us. 

Are you on your way to heaven? Has God given you a family and friends? Do you have a roof over your head, clothing on your back, and food to eat? Do you have a means of income, however small? Do you have a church? My guess is that most of us are blessed with all of this and a whole lot more. The God who gave us all these incredible benefits, and holds our very existence in His hands...surely we couldn't forget Him, right?! Obviously God would not be warning us against this grave sin unless it were possible for it to happen!

Now that we have established this, when are we in the most danger of falling into this trap? When bad things happen, maybe? Or when our pockets are empty and we don't know how we are going to pay the rent or buy dinner? 

No. 

No, this awful error of pridefully turning our backs on God will become a temptation in a completely different time. A time when everything is going our way! When we have lots of money in our checking account, delicious food overflowing the pantry and fridge, and extra time to spend vacationing, hanging out with friends, and relaxing. In short, when all is right with our world, so to speak. 

In those great days, when the sun is sparkling down on us, is when God says to beware; to watch and be so cautious. Because it's at that time that we can become complacently lifted up in our own pride...we can begin to think that it's of our own goodness or strength that we were able to get these things! And from there, it is a slippery slope downhill. Eventually, we could be led completely away from following God, who is the One who poured these blessings on us in the first place! Oh what a black day it would be for a Christian to turn their back on God as they revel in His gifts! 

So how can we fight against this happening to us? In the verse before this particular passage, it tells us: "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee." We combat the sin of unthankfulness and pride by blessing God's name! Every single day of our lives, whether we wake up to sunshine or rain, we need to be praising God for the blessings He has given us. I don't care how bad you think you have it, I can promise you that if you're God's child, He has not abandoned you, and if you look for it, you will see that you have so much more to be thankful for than you think! Be careful...be so, so careful to never stop worshipping at The Saviour's feet, whether your wallet is full or empty. Spend time in His Word, listening to what He has to say. Serve Him with your whole heart. And if He has you rich or poor physically at this time in your life, you can always become more rich in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

Thanksgiving is coming up, what are you most thankful for? I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Mykaela

Sunday Snippets: Loaded, Overflowing, and Abundant!

Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."

This is one of my Dad's favorite verses, and I love it as well. He uses an illustration to demonstrate this verse, that I think is so apt. 

Think about the phrasing here: he "loadeth us with benefits". What is a load? Well, a good example of a load would be if someone took a bottle cap, put it inside a grocery bag, and placed it on my back. I mean, that is a LOAD. I would probably have trouble walking even a few feet with that burden on me, right?? No, of course not...that's ridiculous!

A load would be if I was to try carrying a king size mattress and box spring up a staircase. Now that would be difficult, most likely impossible for me to do. It would be a staggering, pretty much debilitating weight. 

And God loads us down with benefits. Daily.

His benefits and blessings are so overwhelmingly vast: the illustration I just gave doesn't even cut it! If we sat down and thought carefully about all the benefits He has provided, just in the fact that we are alive and breathing the air of this earth--we can't even comprehend it. 

When we as finite beings try to fathom eternity, or the existence of God from everlasting to everlasting, we can't do it. Our brains can't understand it no matter how we may want to. The blessings of God are like this as well. That He would choose to pour out His infinite mercy and goodness on us...pathetic, tiny, insignificant specks of humanity?! And He does this day after day after day after day...?? Even the workings of plants and animals to provide an ecosystem perfectly designed to support human life proves that God is actively working in our lives--even when we don't recognize it as His hand at work.

The Bible tells us that He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. God doesn't only bless those that love Him! As we strive to be more like the Master, we need to realize that our lives should be an outpouring of the benefits He has given us. Freely we have received, freely we should give. As we look at the lost world around us, do we withhold showing love to them because they "aren't nice"? What were we before salvation?? Let's share the Gospel of Christ to those who live daily under the load of His benefits, (just as we do!), but do not know that their Creator has also made a way for them to know Him. Praise God for His overflowing goodness to the children of men!
Mykaela