Familiar Faces

I realized as I sat in my last class that my last entry was a little depressing so I thought I would clarify a few things. Sometimes I am sad. It happens to everyone; some more than others. But it happens non-the-less. These last couple of weeks I will be the first to admit that I have been a little on the sad side. No particular reason (maybe it's the birthday... maybe it's stress...) but I will say that I have been on that side of the track for a little bit. I am however trying to find joy in things around me to bring me out of this funk I seem to be finding myself in:

One thing bringing me joy right now are familiar faces. Yes I see the same people at youth group and work but I mean faces that show up in places I wouldn't really expect. For example yesterday at Disneyland (I know, how can anyone be sad while at Disneyland... it happens... trust me) I ran into two of my favorite people from camp (that's probably not fair to say, but I couldn't tell you how many favorites I had from camp... there are a lot!): the lovely Courtney Clayton (it was her birthday and it was nice to see her) and Abby Rich (she was a counselor the first week of camp and we had some good times together). Those two alone brought a smile to my face, but then today at school I ran into Piper and Emy. It was great to see people I knew at school, even if it was just to give them a little wave and go on my way to class. And just when I thought the familiar faces were over, I ran into Kathy Bergman on my quick stop at Trader Joes. It's great how a familiar face can just make you feel at home.

Other things bringing me joy right now:

• Driving down to LAX on the PCH as the sun is rising... Beautiful!
• Not quite ripe Yellow Nectarines... the reason I say not quite ripe is because I like them a little crunchy and tart. When they get ripe, they are usually softer and juicier and sweeter and while they are good, I much prefer them crunchy.
• Great feedback on my English paper. We had to read the book Out by Natsuo Kirino (it's a novel about 4 Japanese women who work in a factory together and are "friends." One of them murders her husband and the other three help her cover up the murder... I hate reading and when I do read, it's never fiction, but I actually enjoyed this book... very grusome and violent but a good read non-the-less) and we are supposed to write a 5-7 page essay on a specific theme or topic or character in the book and somehow relate it to our class theme (feminism). The prompt was super broad making it so we could write about almost anything which always makes me nervous. But the intro paragraph and outline were due today and we got into small groups to discuss our papers and help each other out. Everyone in my group gave me great feedback and they all really liked my intro. The professor even came over and said that she really liked my intro. I know, big deal, you're doing well on a paper right? But here's the thing, I don't consider myself a good writer and I have always struggled (in my opinion) with English and papers. So the positive feedback was really comforting and reasuring and I think I can actually finish this paper with confidence.
• And finally, and it may sound dumb but here it goes, Red Sunflowers. I stopped in at TJoes today to pick up some stuff for dinner and there were these beautiful Red Sunflowers staring at me. No reason really why I liked them. They just made me smile.

So here's where I stand. Trying to find joy. And actually succeeding.

Two things before I finish this post:

1. Please be praying for Daisy Love Merrick. She is the daughter of Britt Merrick, the teaching pastor at Reality Carpinteria (the church my parents attend and call their home). Monday doctors found a tumor the size of a nerf football taking up most of her abdomen and today doctor's were able to remove the entire tumor. She is still going to need Chemo and the recovery is going to be crazy but please pray for healing on her little body. For details and updates on little Daisy Love, visit their blog.
2. And two, something that stuck out to me as I was driving home today:

Savior I come, Quiet my soul, remember
Redemptions hill where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom. Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself, I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross