Just a little inspiration.
{here}
Listening:
// Hillsong United's ZION album -- Favorite song: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) // Will Reagan & United Pursuit Band's LIVE AT THE BANKS HOUSE album -- Favorite song: Set A Fire Reading: // Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) // I Am Malala // Believing God Watching: // Boy Meets World -- Season 4 (decided to start the new year by re-watching the whole series) // Chicago P.D. (a new spin-off from Chicago Fire, that I never watched. But, I love Sophia Bush.) // HIMYM (I'm going to be sad to see this one go.) // I could list way more TV shows, but I'll refrain. (I love TV) Also, I have a list of movies to watch on Netflix that I'm slowly making my way through. Drinking: // Water -- all. the. time. // Coffee -- an occasional cup, especially when I'm at work at a coffee shop. Favorite drink: Vanilla Bean Latte Wearing: // Yoga pants -- hey, I don't work on Mondays. :) Praying for: // Potentially attending seminary, hopefully this fall. Looking forward to: // All of what 2014 holds. // A youth event that I'm going to be a leader for in February. // Running. Maybe even a 5K. Yeah, who would have ever thought I would say that one. // My best friend's wedding in June. (I know, still a way off, but exciting nonetheless.)
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While I'm still in the search of a big girl, full-time job. I am thankful to have a part-time job, that seems more full-time, as a barista at a local coffee shop. It is fun being a barista, but it can be tiring and eventful. Here are some things I've learned. It's always better to be busy I find that work is a whole lot better when I'm actually busy. Those days where business is super slow are the ones where I come home feeling the most tired.
There are some rude people It may be just how they word things, but I prefer for customers to say, "can I have?" over "give me a...". One just sounds like you are ordering me around. It takes away a little of my joy when I'm making your cup of delicious coffee. There are some really nice and sweet people Every once in awhile I will find a $5 tip in my jar. I don't know if it is the same person each time or if people are mistakenly pulling it out of their wallets, but it blows my mind every. time. I'm also thankful for the people who come through the line and give me a moment to breath and tell me what an awesome job I'm doing. You can meet people from all over, with all sorts of different stories Since working at the coffee shop, I've met people from Kansas City, Kentucky, Texas, even a woman who once lived in California as a kid. We were able to discuss Tahoe, skiing, big trees, and truly cold weather. And guys, I live in a SMALL, small town. Meeting people from all over is just refreshing. It's best to be organized I have my own way of organizing when I'm up at the shop and working. My co-workers have their own way of organizing. I may think mine is better and more efficient, but hey, we are all different. Either way, it helps when you have your system and you know something is going to be there when you grab for it. It's best to be clean Not just for when the health inspector may stop by, but for all the people who enter the shop and CAN see everything you are doing when it comes to making their coffee. I can sometimes make a mess, but I'm quick to clean it up, even while finishing up a drink. Different people work in different ways This one is similar to the organization one. I may start and finish a drink differently than a co-worker, but all that matters is that it tastes good. People will be blunt and honest And for this we are thankful. If it wasn't for the honesty of our customers, we wouldn't have known that one day we mistakenly switched the mocha and the hot chocolate powders. Which are VERY different. Needless to say, the mocha's didn't taste right that day and all who ordered one was tracked down and given a new, good one. I will never look my age I have to wear my hair in a ponytail. Which automatically makes me look 16 and in high-school. And someone has to remind me. Every. Single. Day. And inside I'm just screaming, "I AM TWENTY-FIVE PEOPLE!!!!" Coffee grinds get everywhere On the floor, behind the syrups, stuck in the syrup on the counter, under the espresso machine, behind the grinder, on the wall, and on you. Everywhere, people. It's like sand. It's best to find one company and stick with them We've had some lovely experiences and some not-so-lovely ones with the people we buy our cups and lids from. Let's just say that one day we discovered our lids didn't properly fit our clear cups and it took us forever to get the lid on without making the drink look horrible or spill it all over the floor. Find a company that you like and does things the right way and then stick. with. them. It's hard having a small business And this isn't even MY business. I just work there. But, since we are such a small place with a small number of employees, I pretty much became manager. And I've learned almost all the ins and outs of running it. It's hard and it takes a lot of time. But, working in a small business has made me more conscious of shopping local and supporting other local, small businesses. Always carry a book with you wherever you go We have a lull in our day where almost no one will come into the shop. I use this time to start cleaning. But, since our place isn't big, that doesn't take long at all. Therefore, I always bring a book or my Bible study with me. Getting lost in a book definitely helps the hours pass quicker. You really can be a light for Jesus no matter where you are Working in a coffee shop, all day, everyday can be fun, but also monotonous. It isn't always fun or exciting. There are moments where I would much rather be doing anything else. But, the moment that someone enters the shop and tells us how happy they are that we are there. How whenever they enter our store they can just relax for a short moment. How it just feels welcoming. How we make people feel good. That makes it all worth it. I'm really just getting back into the routine of this whole blogging thing. I blogged for awhile throughout college, but sporadically and then quit. Once I picked up blogging again, I figured it would be about the same as my last blogging adventure. Well, that was completely wrong. Already since starting this blog I've "met" more girls than ever before and have been encouraged in countless ways. Needless to say, I'm excited to see what 2014 has in store and I'm excited to blog about it. Just like in the "real" world, the blog world has its own trends or bandwagons. Choosing one word for the year seems to be one of those things. I honestly had never heard of doing this until it starting popping up on blogs and even my Facebook news feed. I really didn't think much of it until it popped up in my e-mail! Now, whether you are using this challenge in a biblical way or not, it's intent is for your focus to be on one word only, for a year. When I first saw this popping up I wasn't sure if I was going to participate or not. I'm excited for what 2014 has in store, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to narrow it all down to just one word. Much less narrow down all my expectations and focus into one word. After a few days of thinking about what I wanted my word to be I settled on this one: Trust. Trust means reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, etc., of a person or thing; confidence, or confident expectation of something. It's a great thing to have, trust. And to have complete trust that all will be right in the world. Trust in the fact that God truly holds me in His hand. Trust that He will never leave my side or turn His back on me. Then, I thought that maybe my one word should be this: Believe. Believe means to have confidence in the truth (look familiar), the existence, or the reliability of something. For instance, something God has been repeatedly been showing to me lately is that yes, I do believe in Him, but do I believe Him and the words He speaks to me? Then, I stumbled upon the word: Faith. Faith means confidence or trust in a person or thing. Are we sensing a pattern here? My faith allows me to believe in Him and when I believe Him, I can trust Him. One of these words was inevitably bound to be my one word for 2014. They all connected with each other and it made perfect sense. Until the Lord placed a whole new word in my path. Wait. "Wait" has many meanings, but when I looked it up (I love dictionaries) there were a couple that really stuck out to me. "To look forward to eagerly." "To be in readiness for; be reserved for; await." There are many things that I'm waiting for in my life. A full-time job, my own apartment/house, student loans to be paid off, a man (hey, I'm all about honesty here), a new car, answers to all my life questions, Christ's return. There may be a lot of things that I'm waiting on, but am I waiting on the Lord? We live in a world of instant gratification. A world where we can get whatever we need right now! Or just a phone call away. We can order anything and everything online, get fast food at 2 AM in the morning, and look up the answer to pretty much any answer on the internet...among many other things the internet gives us (that we don't necessarily need). But, that is a whole other post. We can get so many things right at our fingertips and society tells us that we deserve so many things, but are they really necessary for us? Right now? Who knows what's best for our lives better than God? No one. "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope." Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord..." This year, in 2014, I choose to wait. For the Lord. I will wait for Him. I will wait for Him to reveal things to me in their proper time. In His time. I will choose to be strong during this wait and I will choose to do His will during my wait. What exactly am I'm waiting for? Well, all the things I listed earlier, but ultimately for Him and His return. Until Christ returns, my ultimate purpose is to glorify Him and spread His name and love across the nations. Although I will wait for the Lord and eagerly anticipate the next stage of my life, whatever it may be, I also need to remember to be content with where He has me now. Haven't I, in some way, waited before, to be where I am now? There will always be a new stage of life, a new journey, that we will anticipate. We have to be satisfied and content in the Lord, right now, in order to be content anywhere He puts us. "...my soul waits..." Sure my earthly body waits for many superficial things. But, my soul, my innermost being waits for supernatural things. My soul longs to be with the Lord. My soul longs to sing praises to my King for eternity in His kingdom. "...in His word I put my hope." There is no one who knows me better than the Lord. There is no one who knows you better than the Lord. He has known me from the beginning and knows my most inner thoughts. How do I know that? By the truth that He has spoken in His word. And because we know that God never changes, we can have complete hope and trust in His word and His promises. In 2014, I choose to put my hope in His words alone. His words never fail, they never fade, they will stand the test of time! What better thing to put our hope into than something that will forever be true? This year, in 2014, I choose to wait. I will wait for the Lord. I will wait in eager anticipation for what He has in store for me. I will wait with confidence, knowing that He has the best in store for me. I will strive to be content in my waiting. I will have faith and choose to believe Him. And I will trust that this wait is just temporary. For this is not my home. My soul is longing for a place much, much more. So, I will wait for all that the Lord has planned for me, in His time. Do you see the lovely ladies on my sidebar? Would you like to join them? Well, it's not too late to SPONSOR Polished Arrow for the month of January. If you are interested, click the SPONSOR tab up above or the "Sweet Swappers Who Sponsor" image for information on how you and I can sponsor/support each other. Follow Me :)
Resolutions // Goals // Aspirations
Popular Photos {via instagram} Trust "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."
Psalm 62:8 |
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