Here's to new adventures.

Life is beautiful isn't it? I was reminded of that today.

Today, my second niece, Harper Sophia Codd came into the world. I saw her for the first time today on FaceTime at the hospital (isn't technology grand?) in Phoenix. Just as I knew she would be, she is beautiful and perfect. I'll be honest, the tears were flowing on my side of the screen, and I am sure they will once again when I meet her face to face in a few weeks.

The past week as we were all awaiting her arrival into the world (she took her sweet time), I became a bit nostalgic. I began looking through old pictures of my niece, Audrey, who is now 3 and a half years old.

Living in a different city, it has been breathtaking each time I have gone to visit to see the changes that can happen even over a few months. I remember crying the first time I held Audrey when she was a newborn baby. It seems I blinked, and before I knew it she was running around the living room, laughing when I spilled my cereal, singing songs, and asking me to paint glitter on her fingernails. Last week when I called, she told me her Bible verse of the week and told me all about Jonah going to Ninevah (I think she is pretty smart, but I’m a bit partial).

Being an aunt has hands down been one of the biggest blessings and joys in my life.  There aren’t words to describe the way my heart has grown for that little girl over the past 3 years.

After hundreds of pictures (literally. I feel as an aunt it is my duty to always have a camera in hand) and countless memories, today we start a new chapter. The phrase "favorite niece" is gone from my vocabulary, but I gladly exchange it for two new ones: "big sister" and "little sister". I can't wait to see this relationship unfold with my two favorite angels. 

Last week, I was talking to Audrey about when I will come to Phoenix to visit in a few weeks. I asked her if we could go on some adventures when I got there, to which she replied with a twinkle in her eye, “Oh I looovvve adventures.”

Helen Keller said, “Life is a daring adventure, or nothing.”

I think she and my niece have the right idea. Each day we are given is a new adventure. A journey into the unknown.  Do we dare to approach it as such?

The days we are given are numbered. I don’t know what that number reads for any of us, but I do know that no number of days could be large enough to discount the beauty and joy to be uncovered each day.

Life is short. Take a risk. Open your heart. Be yourself. Find your passion. Sing the song that only you can sing. Live the life God created you to live.

You know the scene in the Pixar movie UP that recounts Carl and Ellie's life? It makes me cry every time, but that is beside the point. In it, they have an adventure book that they fill with memories.

I want the pages of my life to be filled with adventure. By that I mean, I want to live a life where I wake each day and embrace whatever is in front of me, simple or not, familiar or unfamiliar, near or far. I too want to love adventures and love life. I believe we are called by God to love and seek out what that looks like for the people and situations we come into contact with each day.

Life and love are both beautiful, aren’t they? Don’t miss out on either. They are both right in front of and all around you. Here’s to new adventures. Here’s to new life. And here’s to loving every step of the way. 

And here's to my favorite 3 year old princess, Audrey. I can't wait to watch your adventure as a big sister unfold. This is just the beginning. You are going to change the world. You have already changed mine.

Happy birthday sweet baby Harper. Your parents have done a phenomenal job raising your sister and teaching her the love of Christ, and I know they will do the same with you. The world may be new for you today, but you are already loved more than you could ever know.

Oh, and here’s to many, many more pictures. You only regret the ones you don’t take. 

In case you were wondering what 3 years of nostalgia (and 3 years of hairstyles) looks like, here is a taste. Time flies.

 

 

Monday mornings and coffee mugs

Are you superstitious? I'm not. At least I don't think I am.

Although I occasionally find myself knocking on wood, most superstitions seem rather trivial and far stretched when I think about them.

I looked up a list of common superstitions, and all the ones you would expect were on the list including, Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, and opening an umbrella indoors. Though I have never broken a mirror, I have walked under a ladder, lived through many Friday the 13th's with no notable harm, and have opened a handful of umbrellas indoors (in my opinion, it is best to check that the umbrella works before you step outside with one that doesn't in a downpour), and the promised impending "bad luck" that follows these actions has yet to catch up with me. Knock on... never mind.

My actions Monday morning, however, made me question the logical connection I make between my actions and the impending "luck" to follow.

Yesterday, I followed my usual "before work" routine. I got out of bed (with an extra hour of sleep... thank you daylight savings), got ready for work, headed to the kitchen, and turned my Keurig on. I placed a blue coffee mug I purchased in Destin, Florida reading "The Donut Hole" on the side under the brewer and pressed the button to begin brewing my daily dose of caffeine (the first one anyways). While the water heated up, I went to the cupboard to get a pan out to start making breakfast and abruptly stopped.

Several thoughts crossed my mind. It's Monday. It's going to be a good day. That's not the coffee mug I want to use. Where is my favorite coffee mug?

I quickly found what I was looking for (a deep floral mug I purchased at Anthropologie in college) and replaced the blue mug with the floral one before the coffee began to drip. That was a close one.

At 6:30 yesterday morning, it was perfectly logical that starting the day by drinking coffee out of my favorite mug would greatly improve my Monday trajectory.

Can the color and shape of my coffee mug actually impact the outcome of my day? Probably not. However, we all have our quirks and rhythms we choose to walk to (please tell me I'm not the only one), and honestly, many things appear logical before sunrise that probably are not.

Most mornings I am in a rush. No matter how early I wake up or how much preparation I make for the next day the night before, I always find myself scrambling to cook my eggs, down a cup of coffee and make it out the door by 7:30 (Thank goodness my television doesn't pick up Good Morning America, I would have to wake up an hour early to compensate).

I always seem to find time to make a warm breakfast, change my clothes two times, and pick out the perfect coffee mug, all of which seem to be of the utmost importance at the time. It's the things that I let slip through the cracks, though, that truly have an impact. Something I read yesterday reminded me of that.

Psalm 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

No matter what I do or how I prepare for my day, sometimes I forget that I am not the one in control. I am not in the driver's seat. I can't change the world or my own life on my own. I am so quick to forget that the Lord is the one who guides my every step. He is the one who gives me opportunities, and all good things and all blessings come from Him. 

If I am so quick to nourish my body (which I know is important), why do I sometimes neglect to nourish my soul. I love in the verse above where it talks about the morning. I have always been a morning person. There is just something special about knowing that a whole day lies ahead with moments, places, and stories to experience. This verse is such a great reminder that the Lord wants us to invite Him to go through each moment and experience of the day with us. 

The mornings I neglect to pray, the mornings I neglect to take time to stop and listen, and the mornings I neglect to spend time in the Word, I can almost always notice a difference. Not a positive one. So many days, after a few hours have passed on the clock,  I notice my thoughts becoming anxious or negative and a heavy feeling in my heart. I never once have stopped and traced those thoughts to my coffee mug. More often than not, when those feelings arise, a crucial step in my morning more than likely was neglected. 

"I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

We don't serve a God of luck or one of superstition, but one of promises. One that we can approach and trust that He will act. We can present our day to him in the morning and expect Him to act. We can expect Him to work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. He works in the good and the bad, and in the crazy and the mundane. 

I want to have a heart that draws me to the Lord from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep. I want to invite Him into my day before I even head to the cupboard or lay my fingers on a mug. Lord give me that heart. Fuel my mornings and fuel my day with a desire to be closer to you walking hand in hand, moment by moment.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. It is going to be a great day. Lord, I invite you to walk through it with me. Open my eyes to see the good, the beauty, and the opportunities you place all around me.