I Love My Dad

           I love my Dad. I love all the hard work he does for me and my family. I love how much he has sacrificed for us. I love that he is a good model of what a father should be. I love how my Dad works a stressful job to support us. I love how he never brings that stress home. I love that he always puts his family before his work. I love how he takes my little sister to doctor’s appointments. I love the amount of time and effort he gives to coaching my other little sister’s softball team. I love his effort to stay connected with his family in Pennsylvania. I love how he is almost always in a good mood. I love his attempts to be funny. I love when he actually says something funny. I love how much he loves my Mom. I love when he gets her flowers. I love when he makes sure his daughters are doing enough for her on mother’s day and her birthday. I love how my Dad finds ways of connecting with each of his daughters. I love how he has read my littlest sister every single Harry Potter book even though she can read perfectly fine. I love how he acts like a ten year old boy when he plays Clash of Clans with my other little sister. I love the personality traits my Dad and my older sister share. I love watching TV shows with my Dad. I love how he has introduced me to most of them. I love watching superhero movies with him. I love his constant support. I love that he knows he can trust me. I love how I couldn’t have asked for a better Dad. I love how God choose him to be my Dad. I love how God choose me to be my Dad’s daughter. I love how it’s my Dads birthday today. I love how it is the perfect day to post this post. I love how today I can say, “Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.”   

I Love God

            I love God. I love everything God does. I love knowing I can trust God. I love how God puts different and wonderful situations in my life for a reason. I love discovering signs from God. I love that God cares enough about me to strengthen our bond. I love how when I wonder away from God, God comes and finds me. I love how when I am the lost sheep, God is the shepherd. I love God’s consistent forgiveness. I love God’s mercy. I love how God welcomes all. I love the peace I find with God. I love praying to God every night. I love how my prayers are like conversations with God. I love God’s Son. I love Jesus. I love how Jesus saved me from my sin. I love how Jesus was willing to suffer so greatly because he loves us. I love how Jesus teaches me how to be a better person. I love the happiness God gives me. I love the places God gives me. I love the things God provides for me. I love the life God has given me. I love how I can elaborately elaborate on each of the things I love about God. I love how much he cares about me. I love how much I care about God. I love that God is always there. I love how everything I love is a gift from God. I love God with all my heart. 

"What do You Love?"

(Before Writing)  

            Last Week I found myself sad. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but there were so many negative thoughts surrounding me. I was tired of being upset for unjustifiable reasons. My recurring worries and issues were becoming too much for me to hold. So I turned to God and asked what do I do? My mind instinctively went to writing. I have had this one blog post idea for a while where I would write about how a terrible historical event could have been prevented, through faith and peace with God (I will write about it eventually). However, negative and angry thoughts would be the basis of that post, which would be counterproductive to the problem at hand. So I was stuck. “God, what do I do?” Well he answered my question. The best way to defeat negativity is to battle it with positivity. Many of my blog posts have been… I don’t know… not super positive and joyful. Do I regret writing them? Absolutely not. It is just time for a change. Asking God questions during difficult times is an action most religious people do, and I do not escape this generalization. “God, what do I do?” God answered my desperate call for help. However, he didn’t answer it the traditional way. He didn’t give me a statement, order, or suggestion that would clarify my confusion. He answered me with another question. “What do you love?”

**Here is where I would have put my list of everything I love. I started every sentence with, “I love…” For example, “I love God.” I would then elaborate on what exactly it is I love about God. I also wrote about nature, objects, experiences, and people I love. 

(After Writing) 

            Wow. Just Wow. I only generalized what I love, and I wrote more than I ever could imagine. We are talking around 3,000 words. God has taught me an immense amount from this love filled writing process. I originally thought I could put everything I wrote in one blog post. I understand now that it is simply too long. So I am going to break up what I have written in to smaller sections, and I will post each section at different periods of time. Okay moving on. Have you ever been told to “count your blessings”? I sure have… plenty of times! Whenever I heard the suggestion I would think, “Yeah that is a good idea. Okay thank you God for everything you have blessed me with.” I made an ignorant and unemotional statement of gratitude, and consequently I did not really understand the extent of my appreciation. Actually counting my blessings has healed my blindness to the variety of love I have to be grateful for. I now feel happier and more content with my life.  There is so much to cherish in the world, and I thank God that I can clearly see the beauty of my existence. I have also learned how exactly what we love impacts our lives. Does it shape who we are? Well what we love definitely influences who we are, however, what we hate does to. What aggravates us. What we want to change. What makes us sad. They are all ingredients in the recipe for “Who We Are”.  For instance, I wrote, “I love that I live in a place where I can eat food for pleasure.” I did not say, “I hate that there is hunger in this world.” Both sides of the story influence who I am. So what does only love do for us? What does love do that is uniquely loves? After writing what I love, I began to imagine my life without my blessings. Imagine my life without my sources of happiness, without my friends, without my hobbies, without my family, and without my faith in God. I would live a life full of anger, disappointment, mental instability, and misery. It would be full of nothing I value. Nothing of worth. What we love makes our lives valuable. Our blessings make our lives worth living. When we look at the world and see the injustices we hate, the wrong we want to make right, and the hurt we want to heal, we can look back towards our blessing and say, “Hey this life isn’t so bad.” Writing what I love has truly been too great a gift from God not to share. I HIGHLY suggest taking the time to write about everything you love. I know that I have many blessings, but I know everyone else does too. Take the time to focus on the positive side of life. The side that makes life worth living. 

Flyin By

Really quick post, but it is necessary! School starts tomorrow and I am experiencing many different emotions. First utter disbelief at how fast the summer went bye. One of the downsides of enjoying life in the present moments is things just seem to fly by. However, I would rather live a short and happy life than a long one where I am always anticipating the future. This summer has been too good. God has been so good to me. I am so humbled by his love and the support and strength he gives me. Yes I am feeling sad that summer is ending, but I am also excited for what is going to happen, and I trust that everything will work out according to Gods plan. But I need to cherish the moment I am in right know. This school year is like a delicious ice cream cone, and once it is all gone I will I wish I could have it all over again. I will wish that the cone is not empty, but full of ice cream and potential. I now realize I am in that moment that I am going to want to relive again. The moment where the ice cream cone is fresh, and hasn't been licked. The moment where I know an abundance of enjoyment will follow. So tonight as I fall asleep, I will try not to spend the night thinking and anticipating for the new school year. I will spend it cherishing the fact that a new wonderful  journey is standing right in front of me. A journey that hasn't even begun, but one that is is full of promise and potential. Thank you God for allowing me to see the value in all moments of life.