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Friday, May 27, 2011

Rest



This is Costa Rica. Near the enormous rainforest, Monteverde, it is the greenest place I have ever seen on the planet. Yes, I took this photo and no it is not photoshopped. :) I look at this picture, imagining myself sitting on a hill, basking in the glorious Costa Rica sun, and being completely at peace. Anything that has bothered me before is gone, I cannot see it because the mountains beauty completely overshadow it. Whatever has caused me anxiety and stress does not compare to the glory of the mountains and green hills. Those things that have caused me to be restless, can never surpass the surmountable peace and restoration the mountains provide.

The rest and peace that the Lord provides for us has amazing power. It has the power to be completely incomparable to whatever challenges we may be facing.

REST IN THE LOR AND WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM. PSALM 37:7a


For some reason it is hard for us to just rest and be still and be silent. We are always trying to fill the "silence". It's really not silent anyway. There is no one in the house and I hear: the air conditioner, cars outside, an annoying fly buzzing around hitting the window, the keys on my keyboard tapping away... We find it awkward to sit in silence with a friend. I think we have lost the value of being still and waiting and resting.

Ok, imagine this. We have an awesome, amazing God in heaven, who WANTS us to find our rest in Him. Who WANTS us to be silent and listen to His voice. Who WANTS us to be still in His presence and take in His love and goodness. Who WANTS us to wait on Him and His perfect plan for our lives. He WANTS and DESIRES all these things! Yeah, pretty crazy, right? But pretty awesome.

We don't need to busy our lives with stress and worry and anxiety and things that just tear our souls apart. We have Someone who can give us rest, restoration, take our burdens and heavy loads, give us peace that surpasses any human understanding! He gives us the freedom to sit and be still in His presence. To completely embrace and receive His Spirit of peace.


Lord, may Your desires be my desires. May I find my rest and peace in You. Help me to be still and silent before you, to wait patiently for You. Amen.

Resting in Him,
Lisa

Monday, May 16, 2011

Welcome to Texas!

So, many of ya'll already know that the ever-popular hamburger joint from the Pacific north-west has finally made its way to Texas.That's right people, In'n'Out is in business in this great state!

To celebrate me finishing up my student teaching and college, Mike, Natalie and I decided to venture out to this new In'n'Out. We had to drive to Allen, Tx, which is about 45-50 minutes from where we were in Denton. It was already pretty late, about 8 or so and I hadn't eaten since 1 that afternoon. We were all hungry.

We drive and drive and finally see the glorious, neon-glowing sign.... along with about 150 people standing in'n'out (haha) of that place, and about 100 cars in the drive way. I'm not joking. We made our turn to In'n'Out and we couldn't even turn into the parking
lot/drive thru because there were so many people there. The drive thru line went passed not 1, but 2 stop lights! It just kept going and going!!! People were literally eating on the sidewalk; and totally rubbing it in our faces. I yelled if I could have a fry... but they couldn't hear me... sigh.


So, hungry and with no hopes of ever going to In'n'Out that evening, we drove away and cried. Not really, just on the inside.

We passed by a Culver's on the way and decided that would be a good alternative.

Natalie liked it because they had sweet potato fries.





Mike was still disappointed it wasn't In'n'Out, but he survived.



And I was just so happy to have some food in my tummy, I ordered a double patty cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and ate it all!






We also got some frozen custard and that made us happy. :)



We will return to In'n'Out someday. And even if we have to wait in a long line, I know it is food I can trust and taste I can enjoy.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

To-do

I am a planner. I love to organize and figure out when I have time to do things and I love the feeling of getting them done. This semester has been a little difficult in that regards. I literally have 3 different to-do lists that number about 10 or more things each.

There's a generic one, including items such as: get my car worked on, grocery shopping, and believe it or not, to make this post. This list I sometimes just add random, simple things to do, just so I can scratch them off to feel some sense of accomplishment.

There's my wedding one, including what feels like a BILLION things. That list grows every day with more and more items. What's most frustrating about this list is that there are a lot of things that have been started, but not completed. I like to start something and then complete it right away. But no, this list does not let me do that so easily. I'm constantly starting new things on this list, while adding more and more when so many things haven't been finished. Eventually, it will all be done. And that will be awesome. Eventually, this list will go away and the only thing left to do on this list will be: Walk down the aisle and say 'I do'. :D

Then there's the list of job potentials. This list is a lot like the wedding list in that there are many things that are started, but not complete. However, it's different because I can get the things on this list done in a reasonable time for the most part. It includes a list of school districts to send my application to, principals to email, and other job postings. However, with this list, I do not get the same satisfaction scratching off items. Items scratched off usually mean a few things: I didn't get the job. The principal never contacted me back. Or the application is requiring several things that I cannot get in a timely manner before the application process is closed. Needless to say, adding to this list is a very good thing.

So I've just had to come to terms that everyday I will not get as much accomplished as I would like. And I just have to be ok with that or else I will go crazy. Before, my lists included simple things. Now, I am dealing with a whole new level of "to-dos".

As I write this, I am waiting at Goodyear to get my car fixed. Oh yeah! Multitasking!At least I can scratch this one off my list. :)