It's a Beautiful Day

The Day was gorgeous. Beautiful 70 degrees. I came home and took a little walk around my apartment complex. I always find myself looking for the leaves to start popping out. It's strange though, I always miss it. One day I'm looking at a colorless tree and the next day it is bright green every where.

While I was walking today I was reminded of the stream that ran through the campground in California. It was always there, and even in the middle of the drought (if I listened closely) I could hear it trickiling along. It was easy to forget it was there. At times during the day i would be so busy that I wouldn't be able to hear the stream, unless I stopped and listened.

Isn't that just like God too? He is always there. Always moving and working in ways that we don't understand, and often in ways that we cannot see. It's easy as we go throughout our day to forget about Him. We drowned Him out in our activities. BUT, if we stop and listen, we can hear Him speaking- just like my little stream.

Psalm 116:7-9, 12, 13
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.

How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

To risk or not to risk...

The year is flying by, April is ALMOST here and I find myself asking (myself) when I stopped taking risks. That of course is a ridiculous question, because I have never been one to take risks, let alone STOP taking them. And then I think what have I missed out on because I didn't take a risk. Obviously I cannot answer that. How would I know what I missed- I missed it. There was one defined moment when I stood at this cliff in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the cold water was 40 ft. below, my heart was beating wildly, and I knew that this was my opportunity. It was self defining because I knew that the was probably the last opportunity I would possibly ever have to launch myself off of that cliff, and I was terrified. But then I jumped.

Tyler was four at the time. He wasn't looking at a cliff, he was looking at the fireman's pole on the playground. And let me tell you it's a high pole, especially if you are four. Tyler's goal was simple. He was gonna throw himself at the pole and slide down to the bottom by himself. He was terrified. He was little, the pole huge. It was a big moment, and I was a witness. He ran up to the pole and threw himself at it and slid to the bottom. The rest of the night was a celebration for Tyler. He encouraged his friends to do the same. "I was afraid, but I'm brave." His motto follows him through life. He's now 6 and he's mastered the fireman pole, and the diving board and no training wheels on his bicycle. I find it amazing that a small child refuses to be daunted by life's challenges. He knows that if he lives in his fear and refuses to take a risk, he will never experience all the things that life, and God, have to offer.

Adventure lies ahead, if we are brave enough to take a risk.

"You become brave by doing brave acts." -Aristotle

Four Seasons

A friend sent this to me. I thought I'd share.

About Seasons. . .Lessons on Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come with the help of God.

Where is your treasure?

When I was younger I had a box where I kept my top secret treasures. Now, keep in mind my top secret treasures weren't all that exciting. I think I had a picture of an actor from my favorite television show (he was so cute), and other miscellaneous items. Nonetheless, they were my prized possessions. It was kept in a very secure location, and on my fire escape route, it would be one of the items I grabbed and carried to safety.

Of course, there are other special treasures that I now have, that I can't keep in a little box in my closet. In Matthew 6:19-21 it says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

What a reminder to keep our heart in check. We all have earthly treasures, things that we hold dear, but our true treasures should be found in heaven.

Where is your treasure?

Girls Nite Out

I recently went out with some friends. Of course the evening involved food and shopping.

And here we are...

Of course, I couldn't leave out a picture of the snow...Just in time for spring!

(It's all melted now)

Captivating

I just finished reading the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge. It is a good reminder of why God created us and how much He loves us.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes/statements from the book:

"We have known women you might describe as "frumpy" who seemed to care nothing for their appearance. We have seen them become women who possessed great beauty...they discovered they were deeply loved, as their hearts came alive in response to the Great Romancer."

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He takes great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life."

My friend Melissa

Whenever Melissa calls me she says, "Stephanie Hunter this is your best friend in the whole wide world." I love her. I was just able to see her about three weeks ago (Her and her baby and Josh- the husband, okay I like him too) I miss her a lot. So I like seeing this picture.

Telling secrets

Another picture from that Wednesday night with Cindy. I don't even know what Karen and I were doing, I think just being goofy, but I love how this picture turned out. Love ya Karen!

Picture Day

Me and Cindy - (Along with Karen) had a night of picture taking. The lighting in the youth room is dim, so that's why the picture looks a little yellow, but look how cute we are!

Lake Michigan

This was 2005, Easter, at the Lake Michigan beach. It was a gorgeous day. Isn't the lighthouse neato?

At the bowling alley

Me and Tracy -Yes, a self picture.... This was the same birthday night...at the bowling alley.

New Day

This is simply an amusing concept to me. But, I am posting this purely out of amusement. Maybe I'll get my own little groupie together. OR maybe this will be all for me. Regardless, it is a new day. Doing something new? I am. Posting the new little blog website.