The Last Entry

Well, as I think about the past year, the ups, the downs, the sideways moments, I’m thinking, man, I have NOTHING profound to say. Shocking I know (insert total sarcasm). This always happens to me though, when I want to be profound, I’m so not. When I could care less, that’s when the Lord gives me the goods. So as I ramble on about 2007, please feel free to stop reading and/or critique my last entry. I will not be offended :)

2007 really was a year that began one way and ended in a way I never would have imagined (I know, you all, that is my three friends that read this and at least one of my sisters, are thinking, way to state the obvious Linds). But I can honestly say, the lessons I learned far outweigh the heartbreak and turmoil. Would it have been nice to have learned them in a different way? Yes, absolutely. But I don’t think I would have experienced the remarkable growth otherwise (not to mention the humbling effect of posting your life on the internet for a year). I could bore you with specifics, but I think this line sums it all up:

Summiting Mt. Rainier in 2008 is simply the physical manifestation of the emotional and spiritual journey I went on in 2007. (Thank you Pia for putting my thoughts into words others can understand).

AMEN!

I have learned more about the woman God created me to be and I really like her. And I don’t mean that in a “wow, I’m great, let me pat myself on the back” kind of way. But rather, WOW! Thank you Lord, for opening my eyes to the creation you made that you called Lindsey. Thank you for my strengths, my weaknesses, my likes, my dislikes. And thank you for opening my eyes to the fact that I am ever evolving, that you will always be refining me, and making me into the woman you created me to be. Thank you for opening my eyes to the fact that I don’t ever have to settle for “well, this is just how I am.” And Lord help me if I ever get that way again!

But most importantly, thank you for showing me that I don’t have to do this on my own, that in fact, I can’t do any of it on my own, only by your Spirit.

Thank you for opening my heart. Thank you for showing me that my ability to love can only go as far as my love for you. And thank you Lord for loving me first so that I might love you back. Thank you for your promises and the TRUTH that you are faithful to fulfill them all in your time, as you are a God that cannot lie.

This is a truly bittersweet entry, as this blog has been an extension of me this past year. But alas, it was created with an end-date in mind (read the first entry) and we’ve reached it :) 2007 taught me to never assume what your future will look like, so to that, I look forward to the endless possibilities for 2008. I wonder, what will I have to say December 31, 2008? Hopefully I made it to the top of Mt. Rainier and lived to tell about it!

I leave you with this profoundly appropriate devotional and I pray for abundant blessings for all in 2008!

You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. ". . . God requires an account of what is past" ( Ecclesiastes 3:15 ). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. ". . . the Lord will go before you . . . ." This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our "rear guard." And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. "You shall not go out with haste . . . ." As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

- Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

thanks for your hospitality tonight amanda, becky and ashley!

Coming to an End

My colleagues gave me a great idea to help close out my blog, count how many times I posted certain things throughout the year... well, I decided to tweak it a little and show how many times certain friends graced my blog.

I owe you all BIG time!

Thank you so much for putting up with me this year and letting me post your pic more than once. I am so blessed to be surrounded by seriously amazing women (many not listed below). You each possess qualities that I truly admire and hope will eventually rub-off on me. I love you ladies!

38 posts of Tracy
17 posts of Ashley G
17 posts of Shelly
12 posts of Jamie
9 posts of Pia
8 posts of Cicely
6 posts of Ashleigh
6 posts of Amanda

Day 353

jamie got a belated Christmas gift, a little bling-bling :)

Day 352

my friend amanda was very generous in letting borrow her shredder today, so i finally tackled one of the items on my to-do list... shredding the pile 'o' documents that have been accumulating in my condo.

amanda and her roomies, becky and ashley, have two trees in their apartment. this one is the "fun" tree. note the mittens, hilarious!

Day 351

tonight two of my favorite ladies came over for dinner and one surprised us with gifts :) thanks for a fun evening pia and amanda!

Day 350

tonight i went to dinner with my wonderful friend kathleen. we went to one of my favorite places in the city, uncommon ground.

well, i had to share this. someone emailed this to me a few days ago, but i didn't have the chance to listen to it. please click on the link and turn up the volume. this is by far one of the sweetest things i have ever heard. how i wish i knew this truth when i was five years old.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY

Day 349

today one of our other cousins arrived, unfortunately i was leaving to come back to chicago. but i got a pic of her :)

Day 348

merry christmas!!!!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14

my cousin ethan got rock band for christmas. ethan is 14. pictured are adults over 30 playing with him (ethan's in the chair) hilarious!

we managed to squeeze 14 people at the dining room table, 7 at the kitchen table and 4 at the card table... it was a full house!

Day 347

christmas eve! we had everyone home and our traditional hors d'eouvres dinner, so good!

the spread :)

the puzzle. we stayed up to 1:40 am to finish it! 750 pieces! nice work grandma, morgan, ethan and aunt beth :)

Day 346

tonight we decorated the christmas tree. i can't remember when the tradition started, i think it was when i went to college, but we always decorate the tree right before christmas, when everyone is at the house :)

the cutest baby in the world!

ethan putting santa on the top of the tree

me and morgs

Day 345

i flew to CT today to be with my family for christmas. in the time since we went to costa rica, my nephew learned to walk!! here he is in action :) and looking cute sitting on the counter.

Day 344

cece came over tonight and i bought us ice cream... needless to say, i ate it, not her.

Day 343

hopefully i will remember a pic today! but before then, i thought i would share this devotional i read this morning. it is so encouraging :)

When an angel visited Mary and told her she would carry God's Son, she responded, "How can this be?" God had chosen her for a task that was humanly impossible.

Do you ever feel that way? I know I often feel totally inadequate for the things God has called me to do. That's why I love the angel's response to Mary. He said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35).

That's the power we need. You can't raise that child, love that husband, care for that elderly parent, submit to that boss, or lead that Bible study apart from the power of God's Spirit working through you.

Have you been called to do something and you just don't know how to pull it off? When we're willing to acknowledge our weakness, get out of the way, and let God take over, our lives will be overshadowed with the power of the Most High.

-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Day 342

i forgot to take a pic tonight :( so bummed too 'cause i had a great evening with tracy and amy, total bummer!

so amy and tracy took pics of the cookies they made and gave me permission to post one. here is tracy, so proud of her ingenius idea to make cookies in amy's last name, choate (her nickname is choater). she was so proud of herself, and good thing since she totally forgot to bring the cookie cutters tonight!

Day 341

no picture for tonight. i spent most of the evening getting my new blog set-up. this one will be coming to an end soon. but have no fear, check-out my summit 2008 mt. rainier fundraising blog :)

Day 340

tonight i went to tracy's so we could discuss the study we are doing right now. this is her tree. i had to get a pic and post it because all 4.5 years we lived together, we had white lights on our trees. clearly, as you can see, she is a colored lights person. she was a trooper all those years for us to have white lights. i don't think i will ever like colored lights!

Day 339

tonight was the christmas choir concert at my church. these are two of the characters that ran through the aisles and gave stuffed animals to some of the kids in the audience. it was such a great production, the choir rocked!!

Day 338

tonight my friend cicely and i went out to vertical endeavors in warrenville to climb. had a blast and worked up what we thought was a serious appetite, but apparently our eyes were way bigger than our tummies!

the nachos when they first arrived

after we tried to eat them... didn't make nearly the dent we thought we would, although we also didn't know the order was soooo large!

Day 337

forgot to take a pic tonight and we had our department christmas dinner :( bummer!

Day 336

apparently it snowed like crazy in CT today, so my sister took my nephew out to play in it for the very first time! he is so stinkin' cute, i had to share :)

Day 335

tonight my friend jenn came over to hang out and do her laundry. i baked us cookies :) i think i have a baking problem... i need to start training soon, then i won't bake as much! although i am sure when i start training i'll say i should bake more - any excuse to take a break...

Day 334

this past saturday i bought a new car (picture to come once the weather gets better) and tonight i had to go back to the dealership to get my old plates and a few things i left in my old car. so, since they were so nice to me, i thought i would bring them some cookies and merry christmas wishes :)

Day 333

more amish friendship bread. this is the weirdest, but yummiest thing i have ever done

Day 332

my friends are the best. they never fight with me over the fact that i need a picture to put on my blog. case and point below :) thanks shelly!

Day 331

a friend of mine sent me coffee from his company, luna roasters. check it out and buy his coffee, its pretty darn good :)

Day 330

tonight the women's ministry held a christmas coffee house for all the ladies. we had a few missionaries from coffee ambassadors there making us all lattes, so good! it was a great evening of fellowship :)

me and jenn

me and dawn

Day 329

lots of snow, already? hmm :(

Day 328

baking madness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amish friendship bread and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. all good stuff, but i think i was way too ambitious tonight to get all this done.... oh well. who needs a starter for the friendship bread?? i've got three :)

Day 327

this is my friend ashley. she's graced the entries of this blog before, but never looking like this! can you tell she is an elementary school teacher?

Day 326

tracy came over tonight so we could discuss the study we are doing. it is such a blessing - her and the study :)

this is what i so fondly call the tiffany amber theissen/saved by the bell era hair and pose

Day 325

leftover peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies, sooo good! who wants to place bets on how long it will take me to finish these off? hmm, let's think about this... i don't have any ice cream in my house, i'll give the cookies two more days :)

Day 324

tonight i had a few girls over to help decorate my tree and bake cookies and just hang out. it was a blast and my tree looks great!

karen and lindsey

amy and emily

jamie and cece

my tree!

Day 323

tonight tojy invited a few of us over to celebrate tracy's birthday. tojy wins husband of the year award for the DQ blizzard cake he got her, yum!! it was a great night of friends, DQ and trivial pursuit :)