Thank the Maker

My family aquired this button back in 2005 at the Star Wars Celebration 3 convention. It was to premote a website that was "thanking the maker" of Star Wars, George Lucas. The website, to my knowledge, is no longer around. I bet George was sad.

Whenever I see this button, it reminds that I need to do just that. I do need to thank my maker, my God, my Heavenly Father. He has done countless things for me, whether I realize them or not. I'm appreciative of it, but not near as much as I should be.

When you think of all the ways you can be thankful to your maker, it really makes you realize how loved you really are.

Road Work Ahead

Much like the roads we travel on, our "spiritual roads" we travel to return to our Father in Heaven often have "road work ahead." Trials, tribulations, sins. All of these effect our spiritual road. Fortunately, much like the construction crews who repair the road, our Savior helps repair and correct our errors, comfort our sorrows, and helps us be successful in this life.

We all have "road work ahead." Instead of dreading it, we should embrace it and be grateful for the trials we have been given (after all, it could always be worse.) We will have the urge of impatiency for the trial to be over, but in the end, it will only be beneficial for us. In the end, it will make us better--much like driving through a construction zone: the traffic may creep by slowly and it may feel like it drags on forever, but in the end, the road ends up being better then it was prior.

I'm just grateful I have my own handy dandy construction crew with me whenever I call upon him, and so do you. Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer. He is there for us, to help us, to keep us safe. :)

The Yellow Ribbons

(Taken & Edited by Aubrey Anderson)

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

November 11th is no just "another ol' day" that is pre-written down on the calender. For me, it has always been a day that you say thank you to those veteran's who have served our country, whether it was a big or small contribution.

91 years and 364 days ago, the armistice of World War 1 was signed to officially end the fighting that was taking place during the war--on the 11th day, of the 11th month, on the 11th hour. Known as Armistice Day, this day was used to honor those men who had died during the first World War. After World War 2, it was changed to Veteran's Day. The purpose of the day did not change however.

----

My whole life I have been raised to know that this day is special. I have always known it as a "Thank your grandpa for his military service" day. Every year, my mom would have us write a thank you card to my grandpa who fought in Vietnam.

As I have gone through my teen years, I have become more aware of the sacrifice these people have gone through. I have known several who have served in our military. It really has impacted me.

I go out of my way to say thank you to Veterans. They fascinate me. I send thank you cards every year, but, it still doesn't seem enough. I wish there was more I could do. I guess being grateful is the best way of showing appreciation.

Anyway, to all you troops out there...

THANK YOU SO MUCH

& HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

Dandelions and Sunflowers

I was driving my favorite 12 year old home from our sleepover the other day. While driving her home, we discussed the plethora of sunflowers that can be found about the area, peppering the roads with obnoxious yellow buds. The topic of sunflowers led to the topic of dandelions, after all, they too are yellow.

"Dandelions are flowers."
"No, Aubrey, they're weeds."
"Oh, you're right. But they look like flowers."

And that was our conversation.

But somehow, the topic of yellow flowers reminded me of something more spiritual. Something with meaning.

We all have our own gardens. Gardens full of talents and choices we've made. Some gardens have great big flowers, some have ferns, and some are just starting to bud. It is up to us what "flowers" we plant in our gardens.

Satan has lots of "dandelions" in our lives: things that may seem enticing, looking aesthetically appealing and desirable but are extremely toxic, much like dandelions are. Like my conversation with my 12 year old bestie, dandelions look like flowers, but they, after all, are weeds. Weeds that can destroy a garden or field unless they're dealt with right away.

Sin is just like this. Its dangerous, no matter how big or small the sin is. It can become toxic and destroy us if we are not careful to "nip it in the bud."

Thankfully, we have Jesus Christ, the ultimate weed killer. With his giant bottle of Round Up called the atonement, we are able to destroy all the weeds that have possessed our gardens, allowing us to replant our beautiful flowers that were once there, along with new ones.

I'm very grateful for this.

Growing pains

I can't help but believe that God knows all of His children. He knows our flaws, our strengths, our desires, the buttons we hate to get pushed, our guilty pleasures, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, everything. God knows us better then anyone else on this planet (I bet He didn't even need to have my mom tell him about my tendencies to stuff trash in the pockets of the car.)

I have to believe that God knows me. I know He knows me because of what I've been given. We are only given that which we can handle, which, most of the time seems too much to bear. God knows that we can bear it, and gives us our trials as a growing experience.

Sometimes, we do not know why we must go through the pains of life, but think of it as "growing pains"--like when you're a teenager. You must reach your body's physical stopping point, and sometimes that means one must experience physical pain in the growing process. Trials are just the growing pains of our spirituality.

God knows me. He knows that I couldn't handle having long term illnesses, such as cancer or eosinophilic gastroenteritis. He knows that my bad vision, arthritis and bad ankles are probably the only physical ailments I could handle right now in life.

He knows that my low pain tolerance would lead me to complain, leading my family and friends to probably go insane from hearing me saying "it hurts." Once again, God, our father, knows what we are able to handle.

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for those in my life who have manned up during their times of trials, keeping their faith in God in their hearts and head held high.

I know that without their great examples, I would not be appreciating what problems I have. I'd be saying "Hey, God, I kind of would like to not have joint pain every day. I kind of would like to be able to wear whatever shoes I'd like. I kind of would like to be able to see without contacts." Instead, I am saying "Hey, thank you for what I have been given."

Never forget our Father in Heaven. He knows you, and He will always bring you aid during your trials. Never, ever forget this.

Two Bucket Lists

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend my best friend's cancer support group, or as we lovingly call it: "cancer class." Cancer class is held the first Tuesday of the month at the hospital. People who have had cancer, have cancer, or those folks who just tag along go to this gathering to talk about their experiences with cancer and how it impacts them daily. I don't have cancer, or have ever had cancer, but I do enjoy going to listen to the strong willed people tell their story.

One of the cancer ladies there, Marilyn, was talking about her bucket lists. "I have two bucket lists. One of things I want to do, and one that God wants me to do before I pass on" was essentially what she said. She said that God's list pops up whenever He wants her to do something, even if it means putting off her list for a little while.

This message touched me. I never thought of that. There are our wills, and God's will, too. Sometimes things go how we planned, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they just don't make any sense at all. God knows what is going on, and that's what matters most.

There are things I'd like to do in my life, and I know that God has his ideas as to what He wants me to do. The same goes for you, too. :)

ME ME ME Mints

I was taking a drive this morning and decided to pop open my Ice Breakers Mints to help eliminate the taste of my chicken and cheese sandwich that I had previously eaten. Besides my lack of finger nails, I had quite a difficult time trying to open the stinking thing.

"What's with this stupid thing?" I thought as I pulled and pried. Well, turns out I had been trying to open the TO SHARE portion of the container. (For those of you who haven't needed a mint recently, the mint holder has two sides: one labeled TO SHARE and one labeled NOT TO SHARE.)

I've probably had these mints a billion times, yet, this time, something was different. Was the minty refreshness providing me inspiration and a "light bulb" moment? No, probably not. However, something caught my attention.

The TO SHARE portion of the box is itty bitty and small, while the NOT TO SHARE is very large and easy to get mints out of. (I know what you're thinking that I'm probably Captain Obvious, but trust me, this story does have a point.)

The Ice Breakers container is just like the world and this ME ME ME then you attitude.

People, generally speaking as a whole, tend to be selfish. It doesn't surprise me that even the mint box is reflecting this. "My breath is more important then your breath. Sorry." is essentially what is being portrayed through this.

Shouldn't the TO SHARE opening be bigger, instead of impossible to use? Shouldn't we, as people, be more willing to serve others above ourselves? It is kind of appauling that the container is like that. It is only premoting selfishness.

I just think it is pretty pathetic that we're being selfish with some flipping mints...seriously, they're not even the good kind (aka the buttermilk wedding mints or Lifesavers. Yum.) 

I'm not saying that Ice Breakers are bad, or of the devil. I'm not saying that all. I'm just saying that next time you share your mints, maybe you should be willing to share your "stash" with the others. It is what Jesus would do.