Fall-right with Me

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting at Cabin Coffee, a pumpkin spice chai sits next to me, and I am being serenaded by Colton Avery (At least I'd like to think so). I love this.

I know it's only been fall for a week and it's still over 100 degrees outside, but I love it so far. It's like the physical marking of a new season, you know?

I started a new season in life last month and that's going ... alright. Sometimes I catch myself off balance, but I feel empowered that I'm actually noticing and making changes as I go. I'm realizing more and more that this is a harvest season. That's cool because that's totally a theme of fall. It's also cool because I'm seeing things spring to life around me. It's not just that they're springing to life, it's that I'm reaping God's goodness in so many ways. I love His sense of humor in putting those things together just for me.

Things I love about fall so far:

-My new mac :)

-My lovely friends

-Hot drinks at Cabin Coffee (But only when the A/C's cooling down the place!)

-Urban Plunge

-Royal at the Market

Things I'm looking forward to:

-Rocking a beret on a regular basis

-Hot drinks at Cabin Coffee (Regardless of A/C)

-Hiking any time of day

-College Weekend

-Cardigans

I know that harvest season doesn't last all year long, nor do we sometimes realize that it's happening; but for right now, I'm diggin' it.

21!

I waved goodbye to my golden year yesterday.

This was my absolute favorite birthday ever. I got to celebrate with my parents on Saturday at Bucca Di Beppo and cheer at 12:01 am with some of my favorite people ever. Some of my good friends stopped in at work to wish me happy birthday yesterday and then I had a pomegranate margarita, some awesome Oggi's pizza, and watched Prince of Persia with everyone last night. I feel so intensely blessed and favored with everything that's happening in my life right now. And I still have my fabulous birthday party to look forward to on Friday!

This past year has been my favorite year ever. It was the year that I grew the most spiritually, experienced depth and life in my relationships, and started to understand God's heart so much more than I ever had before. Some of my favorite things from last year:

• Starting Louder Than Words
• Interning with Chris
• Huddle with Kelsi
• Getting to know my two best friends
• Colorado trip
• Leading my first mission trip
• CCCSM as a whole
• Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
• Portland in the fall
  

From that, I know that the next year of my life is going to be even better. I don't know what God has for me and I refuse to speculate about that, but I am excited about growing even deeper with Him. I know that He has so much more for me than I could ever even comprehend at this point in my life. If twenty was any indication of intense growth, twenty-one is going to be full of invitation and challenge.

Aaaaand my favorite season of the year starts in two days!

The Possibilities of Now

Okay, so life has so much potential right now. I don't even really know what that means, but that's just the way it feels. Ha!

I don't think I've ever really realized how many directions I could go at any moment. It's kind of like looking at my closet - all of the clothes fit, but are all of them really appropriate for the season, occasion, etc.? I'm naturally accustomed to seeing the potential in any situation; sometimes the possibilities are extremely exciting. Other times, though, they can be very overwhelming.

Okay, so now I should probably share a practical life example. Over the summer, I felt like God was possibly calling me away next summer to do some kind of mission work. All summer long, my heart jumped at the chance to dream of all that was ahead. But lately, I don't have any peace about it. It's almost burdensome to think of all of the things that could be in the next year of my life.

Blah, I'm so future-oriented, it's ridiculous! I'm becoming increasingly settled in this season, which means that I'm naturally already starting to dwell in what the future looks like. Once a current season of life is not new, it becomes a bit dull. As a result, my dreams seem manageable and out of proportion all at the same time.

Past kairoses about this exact thing have proved that God is always up to something right now. Not soon. Not later. Not in a while. Now.

So, I'm learning to thank God for all that I see going on around me. My heart is full because I know that God seeks to use my present circumstances as preparation for the future.

Things I love about the present:

• Covenant relationship with Jesus
• Guy friends who honor me
• Saturdays
• My big kid sippy cup
• Huddle with Kelsi, Becky, Shellie, Alysa, Megan, Cat, Yvonne, and Jordan
• Doing ministry at CCCSM and being mentored by Chris O.
• Conversations with my momma
• Accountability friendship with Brittney and Madi
• Pandora radio
• Small Group
• Zumba
• TOMS
• Cabin Coffee
• God's infinite resource
• Louder Than Words
• Constantly renewed creativity
• My planner lol
• Thrift stores

... You get the point.