word...

Hello again. It's been a long time, and much has happened to change me in many different ways. Change will, of course, continue to happen whether or not I notice it as time passes, but this time I've noticed. From the below posts of my trip to Alaska last year, you must agree that it was an amazing adventure that I won't soon forget. Well, you're right, I won't. I learned many things on that trip, and I'm glad I went. I doubt I'll be going again in the same situation, and maybe next time I'll catch a bigger fish. Haha, who knows. I think I posted a picture of my halibut I caught... maybe that was on the good ol' FB... Anyways, it's was a couple inches longer than me! What an awesome time trying to reel that sucker in! I had to have some man-power to back me up! It took about a half hour to get him in the boat. It weighed about 180 lbs. Yeah, bigggg bubba.

Good times. I could feel everyone else on the boat kinda tense up. After all, I'm the one who didn't pay for a trip to Alaska to catch a big fish, I was just the deck hand, but I caught him anyways. Haha... that fish has sure been tasty, and was an amazing catch for a first timer! It's a good joke really. The littlest on the boat, who had never been deep sea fishing, catches the big one of the three week trip. lol God sure has a sense of humor. 

So, I guess the next learning experience was training for a 50 mile bike ride around the valley here. I was working with my brother at the Creston Agriculture Research Center, so I would ride to work every few days to train. Sometimes, I road to Somers, which made for a nice 14 mile trip there and back. There is something so incredible in the scenery at sunset, when you're cutting through the breeze at a steady pace. Ah... good memories. I did that 50 mile ride on a borrowed mountain bike with nobbly tires, in 2 1/2 hrs. Not bad I guess. My friend, who also used his mountain bike, did it in 2 hrs I believe. I was sore for a good week after that.... I came to understand how people become bowlegged over time. Perhaps not bike riders, (they just tend to get very lean legs and very bulky or out of shaper uppers haha,) but I can image now how people who were born on a horse could end up that way. Ouch. 

Let's see... after that I started school, only to drop out after being so burdened about going at all I couldn't stand it anymore. The HS sure has a way of convincing us when we need to change course immediately. Sometimes, it takes me a bit longer to figure out what He's telling me. So, I realized I'd been going to school for all kinds of silly reasons from boys to parents to pride. I then started guitar lessons. I know, right? Dropped out of school and took up guitar. Haha, you should try it sometime... unless, you know your course is set in school. Finish that then. 

After that I worked steadily at Colter Coffee Roasting for 8 months, where I met a gaggle of girls that I grew to be good friends with. We all had good times together... though, of course, there's always a dash of drama where we ladies are involved. Actually, put 300 regular customers + a gaggle of pretty girls together and of course you're going to get a bit of drama. Haha..... *sigh* still good memories. 

I had to end that job due to being too busy with Costco Wholesale, which I'd finally got on with after a 8 month fight/hassle/wait for the job. 

I've been at Costco for two months. Yesterday, I put my two weeks notice in. But calm down.... I'm actually ok with this. lol I can just hear the 'what!' 'why?' Well, I had to. Another job opportunity came up that I couldn't say no to. Honest! I was asked if I was interested, and the next thing you know I've been scooped up into a permanent, long-term, position as a housekeeper of a house near me! Shazam. I don't know what God is up to, but I'm ready for it :) I'm very excited about it! I'll be working with people I can trust and respect. I'll be able to think creatively, problem-solve, and be detail oriented. I don't know exactly what it'll look like, but I know it's where I'm meant to be for now. Phew! 

I love this adventure called life!! It never 'ceases to amaze me.' As someone I know says. Dang... I can't remember who.... Dad? I think maybe... Anywho, life is very good. I'm playing guitar, baking a bit, having good chats with friends, watching my neighbors chickens out the window, pulling my hair out when my other neighbor's poodles bark their silly heads off, and learning to let Jesus love me more and more. It's amazing how much burden I'd carried around for so long... its only been in the last 6 months or so that Jesus has been showing me His dearest desires for me. He longs to hold me closer than I've ever been held! He longs to heal the hurts in my heart! He longs to hear my voice rejoice in unison with His! He has let me fight, fight, fight.... and try, try, try until finally, I've had enough of trying. I know now, that He brings me food to my table. He brings me love to my heart and a spring in my step. He keeps me safe from all harm the other would do against me. Praise Him for His mercy, grace, and ever gentle hand! Amen (so be it!)

Alask Trip Week 3

This guy was painted on the wall of the restaurant we ate at called Ocean View in Ketchikan, AK

Alask Trip Week 2

Alaska Trip Week 1

thinks- thoughts that are continuous.

The sun is shining today. Finally. It was coooold this morning though. My toes felt it especially because I had to wear flip-flops because I went on a walk yesterday and foolishly wore old tennis shoes that gave me HUGE water blisters on the back of my heals. Ok so that was a great moment of too much information that I'm sure you'd rather not know, but too late. You know now, and were given the opportunity to be annoyed by a very long run-on that kept going and going and going. ah. nice. The sun is shining now so it's all behind you... or us, hopefully.
This morning's message at Fresh Life Church, brought by Josh Bowers, was excellent. I don't want to gush, or swoon, or anything like that, even though the plain communication of it was well worth a listen.. and maybe a second listen. It was just good and meaty stuff. The kind of stuff that you really have to take home with you... think about it, mull it over, look around while you're thinking, remember it, remember again a week later, and pray about it. oh, and then, look back at your notes and laugh a couple quotes from the message. Josh has a great sense of humor, I'm not gonna lie.
Ok, so what thoughts cause me to think thinks? Great question. I'm in the middle of sorting all that out. I bet I'm going to get hopped up on caffeine while I thinks through this stuff too... grrr... wish I wasn't so NOT immune to it... though I don't want to go through the process of becoming immune. Don't worry, it's not against my religion. I just don't want to have to be strapped to something so tangible as caffeine for my source of energy.
Oh yeah, source of energy. That brings up stuff I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about making money, and loving what I do, and showing people Jesus, serving Him, my passions, gee... it's all so interconnected. The problem: making money is necessary to live, but I don't like it. So, how can I intertwine my passions with making a living? So, here's a couple options. The first is sell my photography big-time, and spend spare time helping people see Jesus in the form of serving at Church. Another option is drop everything money-making and just serve and live by faith and do the photography I love so much. The problem with option number two is that I think that God wants me to balance this whole making-money thing AND living by faith AND serving Him. Perhaps that sounds all weirdish and spaghetti style. Perhaps you're right. I'm a woman. Women tend to mesh everything in life together, so that one thing automatically relates to another. For instance, if I get mad at my brother about something, and in the moment don't make a big deal about it, but then I'm cranky about it, that situation will make me upset about other things throughout the day that wouldn't normally be a big deal at all. PSH. "sometimes it's hard to be a woman..." lol the rest of that song goes against what I think, but nevertheless, I think that line when I come across situations such as the previous, purely, well, partly, fictional story. k, so I need to get back on track here. Major rabbit trails. Ok, but that brings up something else- sometimes rabbit trails are a good thing. It's changing the focus of the moment while brain is still mulling stuff over... it's very pleasant to be distracted from thoughts really.  It's like blowing off steam, in a very passive-aggressive way. :)
So. Now back on track again. Side note: Typing is so fun! I haven't been typing much lately because I haven't been in school. This fall I will be though. Mixed feelings about that, but such is life. Per usual. (I'm so glad those little dotted red linEd things don't pop up when I write an incomplete or incorrect sentence. Ah... so nice. :) If my favorite professor, Jim Soular, saw this blog, he'd probably go nuts critiquing as he read... though, perhaps, he just might forgive me because he knows me so well.
Ok, since, evidently, I refuse to complete the thoughts I'm beginning to express in this blog, I'm going to just let it roll off and move on.
Before I let it move on, I have one more thing to say. Serving Jesus is so addicting. Why would it do that you say. Why would some brain-washed, church-going, Jesus-loving, chick continue to do those things... when it's so un-cool? and a sure sign of social conditioning, and a sign of weakness (needing a crutch like Jesus), and showing a lack of my own critical thinking skills, and and and and and and and.... I get it, you think I'm crazy. Well, that's ok. Sometimes, I am. Bottom line, I don't care what you think. Anyways, keep moving, Danielle, k, 10-4, rubber ducky. #1 reason I stay as close to Jesus as I can: I've never ever ever felt so loved by any one person I've ever known. I'm serious. You know that moment, when you know that a person loves you? That moment when your gut just tells you this is a really good thing with this person? and you ask yourself how you could do without them? Well, with Jesus, it's that gut feeling times.... a million or something. Ok, so you're probably going to say, "yeah, emotional crutch being fed by crazy cult church. Period." Well, right there you'd be wrong. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord of my sinful little life when I was seven years old. I've only been going to my church for three years. He's been here the whole time. I know because I see Him in other peoples lives, I see Him in history, in my Dad, in my Mom. I see Him in answers to my prayers I've never told any human about. I see Him in retrospect. Situations in my life that I thought were completely unresolvable have rhyme and reason to them now. That is why Jesus is addicting. The more I know Him, the more I want to know Him. It's this hunger that can only be filled by His presence in my life, my heart, my love, my mind, my knowledge, my everything. It's as if I'm craving dark dark dark chocolate all the time, and have a never-ending supply at my finger tips. Though, let me say, that it's not always like this. Sometimes, I get distracted by milk chocolate... it's a filler, it'll do for now, it's the only "fix" I have right now... etc. etc. etc. But with Jesus, He's always there, and I just choose to look away for other stuff to fill my heart with. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be married someday, so that would be a little distracting as far as looking to Jesus goes, but not if there's a man I that will pursue Jesus with me. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no person can be as strong for me, as loving, as Jesus. It's worth it. Please trust me. I'm 26 years old, have gone through doubts and discouragement and depression, but I can tell you this, with more certainty then I know how to explain, I don't, and won't, regret one single moment of my life I've spent trusting Jesus and letting Him hold me. I may fail Him, I may doubt, I may even walk away for a period of time. I hope and pray that I won't, but if I do all those things, I still will not regret the time spent here and now: loving Him back.

That's my thinks for now. 

puzzle me less

I like puzzles. I like the discovery of every pieces place in the picture. I thought a few pieces were missing today though. There were about 25 pieces scattered around the mostly completed puzzle, and the gaping holes that were left looked impossible to fill with what I had. Kinda funny how life is similar sometimes. It looks like nothing that's in our hands will fit the holes we see. With the puzzle, I could have just not tried to fill in the pieces to the picture... because I thought there was no way the pieces were cut right for each space, but I decided to just try it anyways. It turned out that the did fit.. but I still doubted down to the last three pieces. It was incredibly strange to hold a piece in my hand and look at it intently, look back at the hole in the puzzle and not see a connection until I put it up to the hole and tried a few different angles. It did make sense after all... the picture was complete in the end. I didn't see that possibility until I tried it. It's pretty sweet too, how sometimes it takes a second pair of eyes to see the right angle for the piece to match the hole. Ah, this world is so unique and strange, a mystery and an answer. :)

A Winter's Day Walk

Today I went on a walk,

and I caught a leaf trying to escape it's icy prison to no avail.

It used to live in a tree

near the allyway.

I continued on my walk, and did not stop when bidden.

Winter is such a strange and delightful adventure where I live.

One day I'll be frozen and cracking,

and the next I'll be basking in the sun warming my bones.

Sometimes I scratch my head at how fast the weather can change.

But it's fun to see everything go on as if the sudden trading of temptures was an everyday occurance.

Hmmm.... which it is, practically.

On my walk I found an interesting piece of art that was...

someone's pride and joy.

Diverse we are as time marches on.

So to end my winter's day walk, I will follow this advice:

The End.