Being thankful

Since today is November 5th, and I usually start this on the 1st of November, here are FIVE things I'm thankful for.

1. God's love. Do I even have to explain why?

2. My church family. Growing up in a non-Christian home, they're the ones I've always leaned on for support when it came to a lot of things. Thank you FBC family.

3. Ryan. I don't have enough words to say to explain. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. He's always there for me, when I'm happy, when I'm mad, when I'm crying. I don't know where I'd be without him <3

4. My job. Hard as it is to say, I really am thankful for it. A lot of people are struggling with employment right now, and I'm glad I have something secure that's probably not going anywhere anytime soon.

5. Melyssa. She's the best friend I could ask for, ever. But I already wrote an entire post for her so I'll leave it at that.

Happy November! I love this time of year. The leaves are changing and falling on the ground. It's a time to be thankful. A time for baking and soups, good friends and holiday shopping. Don't forget what the season's really about.

The best of the best

Meet Mel. (She's probably going to kill me for using this picture, but, whatev. She's two states away, whats she really gonna do about it?)
She's my best friend. And my sister, not by blood, but something much thicker. She is, I can honestly say, one of the greatest people I know. I don't deserve her, you'd be lucky to know her.
We grew up together, in the ghe-tto, Sacramento. Met when we were 4(ish) and the rest is history.
Her dad was like a dad to me when we were 4, 5, 6. More so than my own. I loved him like he was my own, and I know he loved me. He passed away 15 years ago, and he's very missed. I wish he was here to see that amazing woman his daughter has grown up to be, but I know he's watching from up above. Before that, we were together all. the. time. Unless she was at her moms. We rode the bus together. We ran around, caused trouble, got into things, gave our parents all kinds of grey hair I'm sure. All of the best childhood memories I have include her, and often times us getting in huge trouble. Our apartment complex was a cul-de-sac and we used to ride on the back of the ice cream truck as it went through the parking lot. One or twice, I beat someone up for picking on her. We decided to use my moms nail polish as face paint once, she wasn't very happy. Then there was the time I was jumping on her bed while she was cleaning underneath it, and it collapsed. She'll say I tried to kill her, really it was an accident. It didn't matter what we were doing, we were always together. And more often than not, no one else was included, because we were all each other needed. I did not have a great childhood, but those times with her are always what I look back on.
Things changed right before my 7th birthday. I remember my mom waking me up and putting us (my brother and I, maybe?) in the car to go somewhere...grandmas, maybe? Anyways. I just remember her asking me if I had anything over at Melyssas. I thought, "duh mom, I practically live there. Like all my good Barbies are there, and my P.J. Sparkles doll. And my matching polka-dot outfit!" But I'm pretty sure all I said was yea. And then she told me Dave died. And all I can remember in the days and weeks following that morning is that Mel was gone. I could not see her. Eventually she ended up with her mom, and we were back in touch, maybe months later. I can't recall anything from that year, really. I was a very confused 7 year old, and I missed my best friend.
Skip ahead to a few weeks after my 8th birthday. My parents were back together, and we were packing up to move to Washington state. For a lot of kids, thats where the story ends. You drift away from the best friend you once knew, and make new ones. But by some miracle of God, we stayed in touch. I still have letters we wrote back and forth. And year after year, every summer when I went down to visit grandparents, I made sure I got to spend time with my best friend, making new memories. We lost touch a few times, went a few summers without seeing one another, but always found our way back.
She's the first person I go to when I have good news, and bad news. When I'm sad, I know she'll cheer me up. When I'm mad, she'll tell me to get over it. I can always count on her to tell it like it is, she's never been one to sugar coat anything. She's the very best friend I'll ever have. She's an amazing mother. friend. sister. daughter. I know she'll always be there when I need her, despite whats going on in her own life. I've hurt her, and she's forgiven me. I miss her like crazy and wish we lived closer. I hope she always knows how much she means to me. She's my other half, my partner in crime. And I have no idea where I'd be without her. I love you sis!

Wordless Wednesday

"It's because you're religious..."

Does that bug you as much as it bugs me?

Someone said to me the other day "It's because you're religious.." or "so-and-so knows you're religious..." and it got me thinking. When this particular person said it, I wasn't offended or irritated, but a lot of the time, I am. And then I'm sad, because these people don't really understand what they're saying.

I think it bugs me because I feel like I'm being shoved in a group with any and all other people that practice a "religion". I've really come to not like that word. I don't want to be shoved in a group and put on a shelf with other "religions". I'm a Christian. I believe that God sent His Son to die for our sins. I believe that we're SO undeserving of the blessings he gives us on a daily basis. I believe that prayer is VERY powerful. I believe that if I believe, God will provide. I believe in the One and Only God. I believe that I've been saved by Gods pure grace, and nothing more.

And, I suppose, maybe next time sometime tells me "It's because you're religious..." I'll tell them, in the nicest possible way, that it has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with God.

Changes

I never used to be a big fan of change. I like schedules. I like repetitiveness. I like when things are the same day after day. Right now, the seasons are in the process of changing, and I'm planning on going right along with them. What better time for a change? There are things in my life that I'm not happy with, and I've realized recently that its always going to be that way until I do something different. I'm starting with my attitude, especially about work.

Someone asked me the other night how work was going. My first response was, as it always is, work. Things go from bad to worse, to ok, and back to worse there, and anyone who knows me knows that. I had been working on MY attitude, but it felt like it was making no difference, so I fell back into the gossip and drama. I was also asked the other night, is work bad because of YOUR attitude? That got me thinking. Maybe, just maybe, I'll try that again, and try harder this time.

That night I was reading through my bible, looking for something else that had NOTHING to do with work or any of that, and came across something about gossip. And then the verse about doing EVERYTHING without grumbling. Everything? Like...EVERYTHING? Like...cleaning BATHROOMS and other peoples MESSES?? That too, God? That got me thinking. And thinking. And thinking some more. I was up LATE Wednesday night. I thought of all the things that I used to love about my job, because I did, at one time, LOVE my job. I love working with people (mostly). I love the experience its given me. I love the FRIENDS I've made there. I love knowing that my job is secure, because so many people don't have that security. How lucky am I, really?

So, here's to changing. I think if nothing else, I'LL be a happier person beacuse of it. I'm the youngest person at the store. Can I really make a difference? I guess we'll see. The effort has to count for something, right?