Friendships Made to Last

This year the Sunday before Christmas my parents, brother and I drove up to Cottonwood to go to church with my Dad's family. I honestly can't remember the last time that I went to a church service in that old church...the one that I had so many memories in as a young child. Thinking about this church, in this small town, I couldn't help but think about how grateful I am for where God has brought me.
I used to envy the friends that had grown up in the same neighborhood, same church all of their lives. They didn't have to start over with friendships with every new city, every new church. When I was young I used to tell people that I loved it because it taught me to be outgoing, but longed for the life-time friendships that were not happening in each new place.
Now I am the one that has been in this city for nearly 10 years and some of my dearest friends have moved away or will soon. However this time I am not worried about losing their friendships. God is so strategic...so purposeful. Each place that I have been, the friendships that I made taught me something.And I am learning that the people God needs in my life, are here. No distance will change that. Two friends that I count very dear to my heart are the two that I have known that longest. We have not physically lived in the same city since second grade, and yet here they are. I just think that is amazing.
Proof that friendships from God are sticking around! So, as my dear friend Christina is headed out to her new adventure, I shall miss seeing your face, but am ever grateful for your friendship and can't wait to see what God does!
Here are some snaps of Christina and I at her going away party...please ignore the grossly messy hair on my part. :)

 

Love,
C

Snow :)

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart" 

- Psalm 37:4

OK. So for some of you, a white Christmas really may not be a big deal at all. But for this AZ girl, snow is a big deal. I could count on one hand how many times I have been around snow. For some reason, you just don't get too much of it in Phoenix :)

So, this year, I thought it would be so amazing if we got snow for my first Dallas Christmas. I even asked God for one. Now, as I have mentioned before in previous posts, my God is a God of details. He cares about the little things. The things you may push to the back of your mind as something insignificant. He longs to be so personal with us. He knows the little things that can bring us so much joy and longs to give us that joy. How awesome is that?!

One of the ways He has always brought me joy is through nature. In AZ, it was sunsets and really beautiful, cloudy days when the sky turned different shades of purple against the mountains. I would literally be driving somewhere around town and see one of these skies and just smile because I knew God was behind it. Here in Dallas so far it has been the beautiful trees with all the fall leaves; a part of nature I had never really experienced before. He is so creative with all the different colors of leaves and trees, I love it! But SNOW is an entirely new experience to me.

 Sometime after opening gifts on Christmas morning, small snow flakes began to fall from the white sky. As soon as I saw the snow falling, I just smiled. God was behind this too!

So the snow fell...

                   

and fell a little more...

and even a little more..

until there was nothing but white :) Thank you Lord for my first white Christmas! I'm one blessed girl :)

Hope you all see the little things God has given you to smile about.

Much Love,

Shan