thursday's ten or so*: the Ty edition

this week is a little different
as life seems a little more precious, a little more sacred
we heard friday night that a former student of ours in the youth group we served in for years
was hurt badly on a texas interstate
and the news came late saturday that he had succumbed to his injuries.
he was 18
and he was struck while he was walking back to his car after checking on a car that had been rear ended a couple of cars in front of him
and if you knew him, you'd not be surprised by that either.


i prayed LIFE over him when i learned of his accident
(some of you joined me on that when i posted it on twitter and facebook, and i thank you)
and oh, how those prayers were answered
he's having the most abundant life right now


so here's ten or so things i was reminded of through Ty's life (and death)


you don't have to be old to have lived a lifetime
there are stories upon stories about the amazing things this kid did...and he hadn't even hit his 20s.  don't tell me you're too young to make a difference or that no one will listen to you because of your age.  just DO good, and people will notice


living generously is (really) the best way to live


people notice your smile
(he had a signature grin...that's been mentioned more than any other singular thing except his faith)
they also notice your lack of smiling, for the record


when you lose yourself in worship you really do stop caring or noticing what others think


you make more of a difference in the small things than you think


people will both love and tolerate your quirks, but they are uniquely yours and will be missed if you aren't around


don't take yourself too seriously...people will love you for it


life is a lot more fun when it's lived as one adventure after the next


we should take notice of the young ones
they're out there changing the world. i'd like to join them.


the funeral is tomorrow (friday).
please pray for Ty's family -- his parents and two sisters, the friends that are hurting badly, and all those who feel a light is gone from their life.  while i know Ty is on the ultimate adventure, i'm also sad to know i'll never see that grin again this side of heaven.


*i've changed it because some weeks i have exactly ten things to share but most weeks i don't.  so, yeah. :-)

in these moments

i'm not gonna lie.

it's been a pretty tough last few days.

beginning with a healing weekend (which was both wonderful and tough) in which i was kind of sequestered
and finding out moments after it was over of the death of a friend's twin brother
(he was a Marine and was killed in action in afghanistan)
and all kinds of crazy stuff in between

i haven't been doing a whole lot of writing the last few days
i've been doing a whole lot of listening
to what God has to say over me
to affirmations from those who love me
and who are walking this journey with me

i'm intentionally seeking time with God
letting Him speak over me
to me
through me

and that's been amazing.

sifting all the grime and pain away from the last few days
His little treasures shine all throughout it
and though i don't find this time easy
it is good.

however, writing is so therapeutic for me
so i will be here
in this little corner of the internet
even when i feel i have nothing of value to say.

may this week open your eyes
to those treasures that He has for you
to the people surrounding you that have been purposefully placed there

may you be able to say
with all certainty
into the face of anything that comes your way

"God's got this"

a year in review, 2010

little did i know when i did a similar post last year what would happen in 2010. it's been a CRAZY year!

january
i perfected a bloody mary recipe, i ran a wild 5k and subsequently injured myself the next day and it finally snowed in nashville! (and i took pictures)

february
we had an amazing and sweet valentines day with amazing flowers, and then...well, life kind of started exploding...and not in a great way.  it was mid-february that anthony's granddaddy entered the hospital with some sort of unknown (at the time) pain

march
anthony's granddaddy passed away only a few days after discovering that he had stage 4 cancer. i celebrated my birthday (anthony gave me a wii!) and found out that the mortgage company had made a huge error...

april
God remained ever faithful -- that seemed to be the theme of this month.  i got the official word that i had lost my house, and i had 10 days to move out.  and that's when the CRAZY God-stuff began happening. anthony's sister got baptized at church on the last day we were moving me out.  i was the featured WOW blogger one day. i had a massive asthma...event...among other things...and ended up in the ER and staying in the hospital overnight. i was thankful to see the calendar change from april to may until...

may
the first weekend in may, nashville flooded.
one of my best friends in indiana got married and i was in the wedding, anthony had his first published article, i spent a fantastic weekend in the gatlinburg area with my suitemates from college.

june
i spent a long weekend in delaware with laura and izzy, started a new summer nanny gig with two precious kids, i wrote a little about provision and other deeper subjects

july
God signed me up for a fantastic retreat weekend (no, really), anthony's grandma passed away, about 20 minutes after her graveside service my car was totaled when it was parked on the street -- hit and run, i headed to the beach for a whirlwind trip with some girlfriends
 
august
i began working for my friends as a nanny to their sweet little boy, we traveled to kansas city and loved our time with family there, i replaced my car

september
this was the month of CRAZY weekends!  we went to st louis with friends, had a retreat with the youth group,  we went to holiday world, i went to arkansas with natasha.

october
i attended an awesome prophetic conference where i actually was on a team that GAVE prophetic words...amazing, i got pretty real on the blog

november
i took the time to finally write out how God has orchestrated my every move for the last 2.5 years, we continued our tradition of visiting the christmas village, we found out a favorite nashville store was closing

december
we got not one but TWO white christmases!  we visited my family in indiana for our first christmas in mid-december...and it snowed.  and it snowed here christmas eve and christmas day which was a lovely thing.  it hadn't snowed here on christmas since anthony's childhood!  i joined a wonderful cell group of Spirit-filled and amazing girls.  december was pretty much a blur and i didn't blog very much of it...but that just means i was out living it :)

so 2010.  it was a very interesting year.  what a range we've been through!  heartache, loss, love, provision, abundance, and just crazy things!  i think i'll look back on 2010 as one of the best years of my life, as strange as that sounds.  yes, i lost so much in the material sense.  but what i gained in return -- what God has blessed me with -- is so much better than anything i had before. 

i can't WAIT to see what He has for me -- for us -- in 2011.  if this year was this crazy and amazing...just wait.  buckle up, guys.  i have a feeling it's going to be one awesome ride!

on a life well - lived

she was older when i met her

and her memory wasn't what it had once been

and so she often had to be re-introduced to me

or just reminded of who i was

but every time she saw me

she took my hand and squeezed it

or gave me a hug and kiss

and told me she thought i was beautiful

or sweet

or some other really nice thing :)

you could tell that she was a nurturer

she cherished moments with her husband

though she no longer was able to live with him at their house

and she doted on her grandchildren

the love she had for them was obvious

the dogs of the family preferred her lap over any other

anytime she was around

and she seemed to enjoy just sitting and watching the flurry of activity

because that flurry was made up of the ones dearest to her

when the idea of me moving into her house

to keep an eye on things

was proposed to her, she said

"i think it's a GREAT idea"

and that's all the confirmation her husband needed

she suffered with multiple health issues for several years

although every time i saw her

she was smiling and enjoying the company of people she loved

her latest bout came last week

and she prayed saturday night that she would go home

she woke on sunday, disappointed

because she was ready

but on sunday they brought her husband to see her

and they spent some precious moments together

and a few hours later

her prayer was answered

peacefully

anthony's grandma

was a wonderful woman

and i've learned in the past few days

just how wonderful

but MY favorite memory

(besides those sweet hugs and hand squeezes)

will always be

that on father's day this year

she out-ate the entire family

putting down more baby back ribs

than either her son or her grandson

(and THAT is an accomplishment!)

sparrows

*written last friday after arriving at the cabin*

they were everywhere today.

one landed in front of me as i walked into the grocery store

pausing every few moments to turn

and look at me

inquisitively

as if he were wondering about what was going through my head

just as i was wondering what was going through his.

then as i sat in traffic, trying to just get out of town

they kept landing in front of my car

taking a moment to splash in a puddle

in the midst of heavy traffic

only flying away when the light would change and traffic

began moving.

it took a few times -- and then i got it.

i'm a sparrow too

and God is watching out for me

just like He is for them

i don't think it coincidence

that my favorite song to play on the piano

when i am stressed or at the end of whatever rope i've been clinging to

is

"His eye is on the sparrow"

oh -- i know He watches me

and that is why

through death

foreclosure

asthma

floods

and whatever else may come

(and it will)

i am ok.

pause

anthony's granddaddy went Home early this morning
it's his 79th birthday
tonight we celebrate him

i've only had the pleasure of knowing him since i've been dating his grandson
slightly over a year and a half
not enough time
but long enough to know he was a class act

quiet strength
noble
humble
wise
and hilarious
he had this way of saying one little thing
which made us laugh for hours

what a GREAT life he had.