Pages From My Journal

        She answers to "B." It's not her name. It's not really a nickname. It's not a code name or term of endearment.  It's a letter. A simple, single letter. But she comes when I shout it. But others know the person I'm referring to when I describe her. But the world has known and prayed for a little girl that they knew only by the letter "B." The foster system places a security around children in the system. One of those securities is the inability of individuals such as foster parents, foster siblings, or friends to use the child's name. For a couple years it was easy to avoid using their names. A simple, "my two year old foster sister," did the trick if I was sharing a cute quote from her on Facebook. But then things got crazy. Relationships started getting hairy, and the system moved her to another home.  All of a sudden, she needed prayer and a lot of it. My dad started using the first letter o...

Food God Grace  Coffee Family I'm thankful for these things, yet there are easy things to be thankful for. It took me all of three seconds to type those five random words down. I didn't think about them much as if my brain already knew that my answer to "What are you thankful for?" would automatically include those things.  But, what about the hard things.  Can you be thankful for, Lessons , because it means I have something to learn, and boy I could always use to help. Guns , because it means that my country has a way of protecting me and my family. Hurt , because it reminds me of how great God's healing feels. Guilt , because it means I'm not a robot and have a beating heart that will be forever tempted with sin until my Savior returns. Tears , because it means ... well ... I guess because they come after I feel something sad or painful, because they mean I'm processing what's locked in my head, because the...

I get called weird a lot. And the funny thing is that I never try to deny it. I accept my weirdness and let it become a part of me. As imperfect and messed up that I am, God still made me, and even if I'm a little weird to the world, I'm still loved by God.  Things that make me weird: (If you relate, then congratulations, you're weird too : ) I have been mispronouncing Tupperware for so many years of my life, I'm convinced I'll never be able to say it right. Capt. Picard is my favorite star trek captain I love winter because I like to be cozy warm, but I hate being cold. I could live off of french fries and popcorn. Studying battles and wars is my favorite part of history. I don't put any sugar in my tea or coffee Reading The Hunger Games or Divergent never interested me. I have a stronger dislike for whistling than I do for spiders. I journal my prayers so I can go back and read them later to see the amazing things God has do...

Just because my life restricts the precious time I get to spend in my own stories, Just because the made up people and places in my head fight to be written, Just because my mind is running so fast to write down much of anything, I can still see and feel the stories around me. The people, places, and things everywhere I go all contain a rich story that needs to be found. The books on the library shelf have a story, even if I do not have time to read them. The old gentleman at the coffee shop has a story, even if I don't have the guts to talk to him.   Even the dead tree being cut down across the street has a story, even if I may never learn what it is. From the beginning of time, God has written stories everywhere. And still, He writes stories in every single person, never neglecting a chapter, conflict, or character no matter how little I actually know. So until I get to write down my own, I will simply share what I see around me. Images have this great ...