Thankfulness

On August 30, 2011 before moving into this home, I was faced with my first challenge of living in this D-House... learning to be thankful. With Lauren's gentle encouragement to be thankful in all of the little, I moved into this home, and I can say for sure that these last three months have been more than just a blessing; sometimes I can't believe that this is actually real life. God has definitely been teaching me to be thankful as I live with these 5 beautiful and loving roommates, and it's been an awesome journey.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Post-grad life has definitely not looked like what I had thought it would look like a year ago. First of all, I thought I would be living in Spain by now (and that's a whole different story). But at least I thought I would graduate BC, have a full-time job, and just live the typical every day life. No, my life does not look like that right now (wait, but I did graduate from BC), and it was difficult to deal with during my first few weeks of living in this house. I was disappointed and discouraged, and had a hard time managing all of the free time I had because my internship was only part-time. But during all of these discouraging moments, I had my sweet roommates who would leave me encouraging notes in my room or the bathroom mirror, or would just stop what they were doing to pray for me on the spot. Because of all the sacrificial love that my roommates have shared with me, there was no room for discouragement in my life.

Beccah. She brings so much joy into my life. She really knows how to make someone feel loved with her amazing hugs and sweet smile. Something I am learning from her is to not complain even when things don't seem to be going right; she sure is a joyful woman!

Diane. She loves me and she shows it all the time. DK calls me the little baby, but I love it when she plays that role too. It's all about the little things. I love having our korean food dinners together, and I think it's super cute when she asks me to sing her to sleep or blow dry her hair.

Erin. I don't think I've met another person who is as great of a listener as Erin is. She listens with her heart, and she remembers things about people. I value the many conversations we've shared, and I've learned incredible amounts from her. She is a woman of compassion, and her love is loud.

Kathy. My sweet roommate up in the attic. I love waking up to her worshipping on the guitar in the morning, and I love hearing about her stories with her students at pre-prac. She is one who understands me without having to explain myself all the time, and she teaches me to relax and just enjoy.

Lauren. Roommate, friend, sister and discipler. Is it even possible to play all of those roles? Well she does, and she does it well. There is always something to learn from Lauren, and I have grown immensely because of the way she has loved me, encouraged me, and prayed for me. She's also super gifted in making our house look all pretty so I am thankful for that.

Do I have the most wonderful roommates ever? YES :)

FAMILY NIGHT: DINNER & CHRISTMAS TREE SHOPPING & DECORATING THE HOME

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

For family night tonight, Diane cooked us a lovely Korean food dinner. I walked into the home after coming back from the gym to the delightful smell of her cooking, and yes it tasted as good as it smelled. There was so much laughter and joy at the table tonight as we shared in conversation and listened to Christmas carols. Because we are all so busy in our different ways, it's so hard to get all of us to eat together, and so I am thankful for our family nights that bring us together one night of the week to talk about our highs and lows of the day and to just enjoy each other's company :)

Thank you Diane for cooking this week, you've blessed our tummies!

These are all of my roommates in Lauren's car, super excited to go Christmas tree shopping!

So all six of us are pretty indecisive haha, so it took us a while to figure out which tree we wanted. But after much thought and consideration, we finally decided on this lovely tree that DK is posing next to. Isn't she beautiful? Diane, not the tree haha. Okay fine, the tree too.

And the decorating begins!

mmhmm, we had tons of fun with decorating our house, and ourselves HAHA

And then we had a little too much fun with the camera...

hahaha YES I love these girls so much!

So in conclusion, I am so thankful to be living in this house with these girls. It would be such a hard and long journey of faith if I didn't have these sweet friends, and so I am thankful for the way they love me and walk with me through it all. Thank you, and love you.