faith.

I hate stress. Anxiousness is my least favorite emotion of all of the emotions. Ugh. More than all other topics, I despise worrying about money. I realize very clearly that I am blessed. I am more fortunate than most of the world. But sometimes, I just can't help feeling the tension of the bills coming in.

I wish I were more like some of my friends that trust that things like money will be taken care of. I wish I had faith like that. The truth is, I don't. Ladies and gents, I don't need more money... I need more faith. I feel like I am not alone in these fears. Not everyone's worry is monetarily related, but we've all got something. I hope tonight finds you free of anxiety, but I find solace in a well known and often quoted scripture. How many times have I read this and not really read it?

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

- Matthew 6:25-34

Too long to tweet.

Today's pet peeves:

-Terrible drivers, it has nothing to do with race, religion, age, or political affiliation. Whoever you are, drive better.

- People who say words like s'mores, saaamores. Dumb.

That's all, I am done complaining now :) I hope your Tuesday finds you well! Off to clean!

PS. I love my job. And you.

something to smile about.

I saw this postcard on postsecret.com today. I just really liked it. If you don't read postsecret, its a great one... Hope you're having a fabulous Sunday! Love love.

Keeping it real.

I have been told by the lovely Angie that I need to blog and after I received her insight I looked (Holy Crap, it has been a while) and said oops. Sorry to the 5 people who read this blog! The truth of the matter is I have been busy! Which in all honesty, is a welcome and wonderful change.

My pastor had a sermon a few weeks ago about how Jesus changes our workplace and he opened up with the Garden of Eden and the model that God set there for people at work. Granted, when "the fall" occurred, work became a lot more difficult. Nonetheless, people were created to work. All throughout the bible we read about working as unto the Lord and obeying our masters and so on and so forth. We were made to work, we were never made to be lethargic. Heck one of the "7 deadly sins" is sloth. After 2 months of being jobless and now having a job, I TOTALLY get it. My first day of work it was like a light bulb appeared above my head (cartoon style). It felt good to work. Good to be doing something, however trivial it seems.

All of this to say, God is so good and I am so grateful. This is certainly not what I had in mind when I graduated in December. But it is obvious to me that God is working. There is purpose and although I am not aware of the plan, He is.

Letters to my former self.

Yeah Yeah, I got this from someone else. So what? It sounded like fun.

Dear 3 year old Brooke - Well mom just had your first little brother. I know your frustrated because you don't understand why everyone cares about him so much. And I know that your jealous because this is the first time that all the attention isn't on you. However, you should know that you are going to love that little brother along with another one more than you can even believe right now. They will be some of your best friends. Hug them both all the time. You're going to miss them when you live elsewhere. A word to the wise: hide all your electronic toys, and snow globes. (Along with everything else). Once this kid is mobile, they will all be destroyed.

Dear 13-18 year old Brooke - I know your angry right now. A lot of things haven't been going your way and your having a pretty hard time with it. I want you to remember that you are loved and that despite the fact that you feel hopeless there is some much life to be lived out there. Some day this will all be a memory. In fact, these moments will be some of your greatest opportunities for ministry. Dealing with this will get easier and you just hang in there. Lean on the people around you. They care more than you give them credit for. Life is adventure and sometimes that means it's hard. Also, cut your parents some slack, they are smarter than you think and trying harder than you know.

Dear 20-22 year old Brooke - Soak up this time in your life! You are surrounded by some of the best friends you have ever had! Don't put off your senior projects until the week before they are due... You will save yourself a lot of all-nighters! Stop worrying about where your job will be or what you will do. It all works itself out. Have lots of fun and really relish in your friendships, people like you have found are hard to come by. Also, take time to grow here. It is a safe place, take advantage of that.

Dear current Brooke - Well, life has certainly been a whirlwind lately. Remember that the job you lost is not the end of the world. A lot of that business was beyond your control. Cling to your savior and the people who love Him and you. God has a plan, it is bigger than yours. Don't forget to appreciate this blessing of extra time and use it to learn and grow. You need it.