28.

Today I turned 28. I feel no different than I did yesterday and I think I look the same, but here I am, another year old. It's funny how in the last couple of years the excitement of my birthday has changed for me - it is not the multi-day celebration that I once made it out to be. Maybe it's a sign of getting older. Last year I remember being taken aback at this realization, unsure of what was becoming of me. But this year, I find myself welcoming the ease of a day to remain low-key, where time and schedules do not dictate my day. There is freedom to come and go and to rest as I please. And I did just that. 

My day started with a Skype call from Matt, Kiri & the kids in Portugal, singing a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday". It started off strong, but as a glass of milk was spilled by one of the kids, the song slowly petered out. I love it - Real life. It was the perfect way to start the day. The remainder of the day consisted of a lunch date at Kawaii Crepe, coffee at Starbucks to cash in my free birthday drink, hot drinks to sip on the couch while watching movies under the warmth of a cozy blanket, and a yummy perogy supper. 

Perfection.

In beginning a new year of life comes a time to reflect, both on the year past and the year ahead. As I look back at this past year and all that it held, I find myself amazed that so much happened this year. I have been invited to walk through open doors and allow other doors to close, specifically when it comes to my jobs. I had the opportunity to return to Portugal again for the summer and experience a fullness of life in that place and have passions and heart bursts confirmed. I have experienced and learned some of the unforced rhythms of grace as I continue to do life with friends and family. I have been challenged to remain in Him, the author and giver of life, the perfecter of our faith, because apart from Him, I can do nothing. I have been encouraged to walk a road of healing. I have been awakened to giving thanks. 

It has been a full year.

What does the year ahead look like? 

In so many things I cannot begin to predict or anticipate what God has in store for me this year. As I have spent some time over the last few days in quiet, in the presence of God, a word that has come to mind is contentment. In many ways, I feel like I am in a season of waiting, but I feel as though I am being asked to wait in contentment and with great faith. 

The other day I pulled out one of my bibles that I haven't used for awhile - it's big and clunky and not easy to cart around; I like my pocket size bible that just fits so nicely in my purse. In this bible I found a yellow slip of paper poking out. I opened up to that page...Esther 1. And on the piece of paper it read, 

"Kara - Esther, yes the entire book - Exceptional! 

Great things happen, when a young lady has total faith in God."

That was from my good friend Otto. He gave that to me the last day I was in Portugal, just over a year ago. The other day I read through the book of Esther again - I wanted to reacquaint myself with this woman of great faith - to see what God had to say to me through Esther as I look ahead to this next year. 

So, I am sitting with these pieces of faith and contentment, unsure of how they will play out in the year ahead, but there is a freedom and an excitement that resides within me as I wait to see what God unfolds before me.

Cheers!

Apartment Therapy

I've been in my new place for just over 3 weeks now...slowly it is beginning to feel like home. Unfortunately, because it is an apartment I am extremely limited as to how I can decorate and add my personal touch to the space. Despite my limitations, I am seeing it more as a challenge to incorporate my style and my creativity into the space. So here's what I'm working with right now. Welcome to my place!

Living Room

I'm attempting to create a plate wall over the couch. I'm not sure if it's going to work, but we will see. The challenge is finding secure ways of hanging the plates without putting any holes in the wall - no nails allowed in this place :)

Still left to do: Replace hideous curtains,

artwork over the couch, 

purchase an ottoman, 

re-upholster gold chair.

Kitchen

Still to do: find some artwork for over the table.

Hallway

Bathroom

There is nothing else to be done in this room. Each of the fixtures in here is a slightly different shade of yellow...very special. I decided to embrace the yellow by doing everything else in the room, like towels and accessories in white and grey. 

Bedroom

Still left to do: Artwork over the bed, 

replace curtains, 

purchase another nightstand.

Spare Room

 Right now the room is housing various odds and ends, but eventually, I would love have a roommate in here. The only thing left to do in here is clear out my stuff and add a person :)

So that's my place. I'm incredibly thankful for this place and I am excited for the decorating to continue as I make it a home.

Thanks.

Thankfulness. I have SO much to be thankful for and when I stop and think about it for a minute, it can become overwhelming when my eyes and heart are awakened to how much I am blessed with. I am acutely aware of how blessed I am and yet, how often do I take time in my day to truly recognize the gifts I have been given and give thanks?
Last year around this time, I started reading Ann Voskamp's book, "One Thousand Gifts". If you have not yet read it, I would encourage you to do so. I have been challenged this year to observe the fingerprints of God - the blessings in my day - the gifts - and choose a posture of thankfulness. I am not always very good at it. I am guilty of complaining and hurtful words. I still have much to learn about what it means to live out thankfulness. 

Over the course of the last few weeks, an attitude of thanks has probably been the farthest from my mind. In a season of finding myself overwhelmed, I have neglected to see the gifts in my day, I have neglected to choose joy. And still, in my heart of ungratefulness, I am offered grace. Daily. I am given a second chance to extend grace, to choose thanks, to live out joy. 

The brilliant don’t deny the dark but they are the ones who always seek the light in everything. This is not ignorance. This is imperative

Ann sums it up beautifully I think. In choosing to take a posture of thankfulness, I am not choosing to negate the darkness, but rather I choose take note of the specs of light within that darkness.

Here is to not just a weekend of giving thanks, but another year of learning what it means to live out thankfulness and the joy that takes root because of thanks!

Thankful for...

• new homes that begin new starts.
• people who choose to do life with each other.
• comforting smells of baking that replace the "new apartment smell".
• second chances.
• music that speaks to the heart when you can't seem to come up with the words on your own.
• cozy sweatpants and warm sweaters on cool fall days.
• cups of hot coffee to warm up cold hands.
• massages that loosen an incredibly stiff neck.
• a God who pursues.
• afternoon naps that refresh.
• sistah's from otha mistahs.
• doors that have opened and others that have closed.