Thanksgiving All Year: 141-150

In honor of the namesake for my weekly lists of thankfulness, I'm posting my list a day early again this week. Our Thanksgiving Day has been very laid back. My parents and I slept in, took our time making dinner, ate, and are now watching the Macy's Parade which we recorded instead of watching live this morning. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I hope you have enjoyed yours!

Today, I am thankful...

141. That the fire that was burning in Reno last weekend was contained after a couple of days and that only 32 homes were burned down... It could have been much worse.

142. For lots of time spent with my friend Jessie lately.

at the river with Jessie last week

143. For chai tea lattes, especially those of the pumpkin spice variety at Jolt-N-Java.

144. For the hilarious show New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel. (Be forewarned, it has its crude moments, but the humor is so stinkin' quirky I can't help but love it!)

145. For memories of spending Thanksgiving weekend last year in San Francisco with my parents.

my parents in front of the
Christmas tree at Pier 39 last year

146. For homemade cranberry sauce... Once I discovered a few years ago how ridiculously simple it is to make, I've taken on the responsibility of making it each year for Thanksgiving. (Unless we're off gallivanting in the Bay Area, of course.)

147. That tough things I've been through this year have not been wasted but have taught me valuable lessons that are beneficial both now and for the future.

148. That GOD'S love endures FOREVER.

149. For the reminder in my devotion last Saturday that God sometimes "shakes things up" to "clean house" and rid us of "dead branches" in our lives, such as anger or evil speech, for instance; but that, as was the case with Jonah, He may preserve us through the storm and give us a second chance to obey.

150. That God has given me a second chance for which I've been greatly longing for quite some time now. It may not look exactly like I hoped it would, but it is a second chance nonetheless and I do not take that for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Fools Rush In

I picked up this movie in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart a few years ago. I'd had kind of a bum day and just wanted to go home, heat up a frozen pizza for dinner, watch a light-hearted movie, and relax. I had never seen this particular movie but had grabbed it on a whim, and I liked it just fine but I don't recall it making much of an impression on me till I pulled it out a few months ago and watched it again. Since then, it has easily been in my Top 5.

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 Here are 5 things I love about "Fools Rush In" (spoilers ahead):

1. Seeing Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon. It's always fun to see places in movies that you've visited in person.

2. The festive, feisty, family-oriented portrayal of Mexican culture. (Wasn't going for an alliteration there, it just happened.) This is even more fun after having been to Mexico this year on a mission trip.

3. The scene where Alex is watching Isabel dance around the kitchen as she prepares dinner and is clearly taken aback by her beauty as though he were seeing her for the first time.

4. The wedding scene at the end that features the song "Fools Rush In." My mom sang this song to my brother when he was a baby (I don't remember this but I have heard her talk about it all my life) so it has special meaning. Plus, the scene is just sweet.

5. The very counter-cultural promotion of choosing someone and committing to them as opposed to using casual dating to "shop around" for the "ideal person;" as well as the fact that after much conflict and second-guessing, the couple decides it's worth it to sacrifice some of their personal desires in order to stay together.

Yes, the movie begins with a one-night-stand, but as the story unfolds you'll find a picture of love and commitment not quite typical for Hollywood. If you're looking for a chick-flick, I'd recommend this one in a heartbeat!

The Stories That Stay With You

Remember this guy? Bless his heart, he was so confident his dream of finding his parents would become a reality, he would NOT give up hope no matter how many people he encountered (both ill- and well-meaning) who told him it probably wouldn't happen.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how stories like August Rush's, or like Rudy Ruettigers' in "Rudy," or like Billy Beane's in "Moneyball" (advantage of the latter two ~ they're based on true stories) have always resonated with me... I wasn't even thinking of Sam's speech in "The Two Towers" as I typed that last sentence but I practically quoted a line from it, which is just further evidence of the impact such stories have had on my life.

Those are the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too young to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't, they kept on going...
-Samwise Gamgee

The older I get the more I believe God has put something inside me that relates to these stories because I'm going to need their inspiration as I live my own story. I believe He has designed me to be drawn to these tenacious characters because I myself am going to need to hang on even when things seems hopeless... Because some day it's going to be worth it.

Even when things look impossible, my tendency is to keep clinging to hope in spite of my feelings. I realize this can be a bad thing -- none of us are encouraged to beat the proverbial dead horse, after all -- BUT I also think our culture in general gives up on things FAR too easily, as brilliantly stated in this 2007 Hyundai ad.

I would rather be seen as foolishly optimistic and hold out hope for what seems impossible than succumb to culture's instant gratification mindset and discard what's not meeting my needs or being handed to me right this minute.

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I've clung to hope in the past for situations that didn't pan out, and eventually having to let go has been painful, but I can honestly say that I do not regret that I held out hope instead of giving up. If nothing else, these times have trained me to be tenacious for when it IS the right time. I hope my HOPE always outweighs whatever doubts, fears, and discouragements I may face. I want to be counted among those who refused to give up even in the face of seeming impossibility. I want to keep believing that some day it's going to pay off.  

Maybe even today.

Hope Thru Art

The other day I mentioned the Hollywood Prayer Network in a blog post... In their newsletter this month, this blurb caught my eye:

We thank God for creative people who also use their art to reach out to others! Two creative people, Steve and Kristen, use art, primarily poetry and photographs, to give hope to the lost in Hollywood. Would you pray for them as you check out their ministry Hope Thru Art on Facebook.

I checked them out and immediately connected with these two pieces:

I think this expresses our culture very well... But the message around the rim
also hits me in my own life in this season where I believe God is teaching me to
BE STILL and WAIT for Him to work... Changing the tense to apply it to myself,
I ask, "Why am I afraid to be still and listen?"

 

And THIS one... This one expresses the very thing
I've been longing for these past few months, the
wonderful truth that GOD HEALS BROKEN THINGS... I LOVE it.

And once again God gives me a little nudge of hope in an unexpected place.

Pray for Reno

I spent last night with my friend Jessie and neither of us could believe the insane winds that we heard roaring throughout the night. As I drove to work this morning I could see the smoke in the distance, which usually means there's a wildfire somewhere, but I had NO IDEA until I got to work and started seeing posts on Facebook that I was actually witnessing a fire that had been burning throughout the night, fueled by these crazy winds. So far at least 20 homes have been burned and 9500 people have been evacuated.

more photos here

Please pray for our community. We've been hit with several tragedies over the past few months: a shootout (seemingly aimed at the National Guard) at an IHOP in Carson City in which four people were killed on September 6; a plane crash into the stands at the Reno Air Races on September 16, eventually leading to 10 deaths; more shootings during the annual Street Vibrations event on September 24; the unexpected death of a local television sports director just this past weekend due to a hit-and-run accident involving alcohol; and now this wildfire.

Sure makes you wonder what God is up to. Thanks for your prayers.