Christmas Post #4

Ok...Chritmas is coming upon us quickly so I better get all of these ridiculous blogs in while I can! Just one quick one before I head to the most epic Christmas party ever. 


If your gingerbread are starting to look like this due to the stress:

JUST BACK AWAY FROM THE COOKIES!!!

Seriously though, why do allow ourselves to become SO stressed out over how cookies look, and making sure that everything is so perfect at Christmas time? I don't get it. Case in point: today I wanted to make a new recipe. It's the most delicious contraption I've ever made in my whole life. My mom and I found out today though, that we are not very good at melting chocolate, or following recipes that aren't super specific. 

I found myself so frustrated at the way it was all going. Sure, the end product doesn't look as good as they're supposed to, but they're just as delicious. It was a good reminder for me that when I feel myself getting upset about things that should not upset me, I need to 'just back away from the cookies,' reevaluate what's actually important and lighten up! Being happy and joyful is often a choice we have to force ourselves to make. 

The end.

Happy 23rd of December!!! :)

-L-

Merry Christmas part 3!

I would like to dedicate the following post to my friend Kayla who has very effectively gotten me addicted to cakewrecks.com. If you need a good laugh, a face slap at the ridiculous lack of people's common sense, or just love the most random of things, this sight is for you. I apologize for all of the Elf quotes that will ensue...it's my favorite holiday movie.

I present to you some of the best of holiday cake failures:

Uh...Santa?

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is misspelling words for all to see...er, I mean singing loud for all to hear.

SANTA!!! I KNOW HIM! You're not Santa...you sit on a throne of lies!

Yep. That's really all I had for today. Happy 22nd of December! :)

Christmas post #2

Good Morning Merry Christmas post #2!


Yes...I am still awake at 2:45. No, I am not tired at all whatsoever. I have just completed packing for California (praise God!). I can say that my life is currently packed in boxes and stuffed in my closet and I am one step closer to being able to fully enjoy this season of Christmas. While, my lists only seem to be getting longer, and my schedule fuller, I am determined that by this time next week (when I leave to have Christmas with my family) I will have everything done so that I can enjoy them, as I do not know the next time I will see them.


God has been up to so much good as of late. In the last 3 weeks I have been given a new phone, a whole new set of luggage and more money than I care to share. While I am still only at half of what I was hoping for, I am certain that God knows exactly how much I need, and He has overwhelmed me with His peace and goodness throughout this whole process. I'm encouraged and now that I'm packed, feeling more ready than ever to get this show on the road. 


Until next time, I thought I'd leave you with some things...some sights and sounds of my season if you'd like. And then tomorrow...um, today I mean, I will get back to the goofy days of Christmas I promised. 

This is what getting new technology makes me feel like. Especially after 5+ years.

'Tis the Season in my room. Well, until I put all of the decorations in a box. Oops.

Even my schedule board got fun decorations!

Also for all of you who couldn't be at Bethel's Christmas program, namely my family. Here's the new verse to O Come, O Come Emmanuel I wrote. Sorry the video is so short, still trying to figure out new that technology! :)

It's 3 AM so I think I'll try to sleep now. Merry December 21st!

Merry Christmas! :)

Hello beautiful people! (person? Anyone reading this?)


As many of you know (ok, maybe just Jessica) I'm not a huge commercial Christmas person. I just don't know why, but until about the 20th of December I just cannot get into the 'Christmas Spirit.' At least, not the decorate a piece of wood with shiny junk you're just gonna through away, sing about a fat creeper man named santa, eat candy canes till you puke, spirit. 


I do however really enjoy the season of Advent and spend most of my Sundays and evenings reflecting and balling my eyes out at the thought of what God must have been thinking when He sent His only son into the world in the form of the most vulnerable thing that there is. (That HAD to be a run-on sentence). Without advent and the season of getting myself ready I don't think I'd really enjoy Christmas at all!


Now, don't get me wrong. I love being with my family, and because of my love language I really do love giving gifts but wrapping paper and gingerbread houses? Not really my forte. I really, REALLY wish that it was and perhaps someday it will be when I have children...but in this season? eh. No thank you. 


Advent to me is all about preparing your heart to receive the gift that Jesus is. It's taking a long, hard look at our depravity, insignificance and ultimately our need for a Savior. It's taking a step back to look at this season from God's perspective. Allowing ourselves to go back to the fall, realize what He wanted with us from the beginning. It's feeling His pain and His overwhelming anticipation as He sends His son as a gift to the world. And then celebrating, cheering, and if you're me-crying like a blubbering idiot as you thank Him unendingly for taking the chance and sending Jesus as a baby...entrusting Him to the care of a young girl in the middle of nowhere to raise this Savior.


I am a music person and so I imagine that if this journey were written in a song, there would be a pretty epic crescendo throughout this season. 


ANYWAYS! I wasn't even going to write about all of that but I'm working at being more vulnerable in writing so there you go. What I ACTUALLY wrote for was to introduce my pathetic attempt to join in with some of the ridiculousness of the season. So. Here you go....




I would like to introduce you to my version of the 12 days of Christmas...er...11.


11 days of Christmas.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Cause nothing says happy birthday to the savior of all creation like a big, extinct dino! :)

Hope you enjoy the next 11 days of randomness as much as I do! Feliz Christmas! 

-Lara-

Hello Blogging! (Again)

Hello random assortment of people who love me,
I am always completely blank when it comes to knowing how in the world to to start these crazy things. You'd think that with 14+ years of education I'd be able to come up with some cunning, hook that would capture my readers but alas, I cannot. That, and I'm terrible at grammar, spelling and the whole gamut. In fact, when I typed that last sentence I had to look up how to spell grammar and gamut. :)


Hi. My name is Lara. This is a blog all about a girl who is trying desperately to go wherever God tells her to. This is a blog about a girl trying to obey His voice in even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant of things. Yes. I have another blog. Yes I will probably keep writing that one. And yes, probably only my mother will end up reading half of what I post here. Perhaps. Actually, my mother is really not very good with computers so she won't even be able to get to this page unless I show her how. But that's ok.


This blog is all about my journey on finding out how to trust God with my life. Hence, the title of the blog. I think it's admirable because all of us as Christians have to take this journey. A lot of people think and expect others to take the magic leap from believing in God to faith in Him without first building the bridge of trust in between. This is usually why a lot of people in church today find themselves in the whole of unbelief. At least, that's what I think. Trust is the thing that takes us from what we believe to faith that it will happen. Trust, in essence, is giving up all control to a God who we know can fully take care of us.
Trust is hard.
It's messy.
It takes time.
And most of the time it strips us of control.
Ouch.
Yuck.
But. It's essential to our journey.


This is my journey. I do hope you all will come along. Feel free to laugh with me (or at me), hate me, love me, yell at me, cry with me. Whatever you like. I want to use this to share what God's up to in my life in a process for several different reasons. Want to hear them? Good.
1)Because this is the most economical way of keeping in touch with the many people who support me emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc.
2)It's a great tool to share all of the testimonies of God's goodness.
3)I want to better my writing skills.
4)I want to learn to be less polished and more vulnerable and real (get ready for some fun stories!)
5)To force myself to use the creativity that God has given me.


So what can you expect from this blogging madness? I'm glad you asked!
-Stories of God's goodness, His mercy, His love and everything in between.
-Challenges and brain stretchers.
-Grammatical errors, as has been established.
-Completely made up words. Sorry. It's just who I am.
-Randomness. Probs starting tomorrow.
-Stories of miracles, healings, and things that should not happen. It's who God is.
-What's up! The specs of where I am, what I'm up to and why I think it's relevant wherever you are!
-This thing to mutate. It always does. Don't be surprised if the background is different like every other day. I get bored...


So. That's what this craziness is all about. Hope you all enjoy my journey. Hope you find it inspiring, challenging and at times, totally ridiculous.