Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

Ok before you continue to read, check out this clip on Youtube:

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy


In a world full of smart phones, HD TV's & 2-car families, we so easily lose sight of the miracles around us. Just like Louis C.K. says in the clip we get frustrated when our electronics don't work as fast as promised or when our travel times are extended past what we consider reasonable. When did we stop appreciating the simple things in life like good health, a roof over our heads & food in our bellies. Why do we swear at the slow guy in front us for making us arrive five minutes later to work? Why do we get annoyed at the trainee cashier at the grocery store that makes us wait in line for two extra minutes?

When you were asked today what you were thankful for, did you say my 42" TV...my new stylish shirt...my fast internet connection? I bet you didn't, because guess what, those things aren't that important. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all those things, but if I didn't have them would my life be so miserable? No, but if I wasn't healthy, if I was left out in torrential rain or if I was so hungry that I had to dig through garbage, I may feel a whole lot less thankful.
Moving out West and being away from our families & friends for Thanksgiving has been hard & sad, but it has made us realize how much we have to be thankful for. Here are a couple things that come to mind:

1. We have families that love & support us
2. We have a little nephew that is growing into a healthy little boy
3. We have awesome friends who keep in contact with us & are planning visits to see us
   
4. Andrew has the chance to go to school & learn all he needs to start his dream career
5. I have a job that can support us both
6. We have a smart little kitty that just adores us
7. We have great landlords
8. We are both healthy
9. We have a church community that has welcomed us with open arms
10. We have a car that works wonderfully
    

Fun in the SUN!

"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."

~John F. Kennedy~

Now would be the time to repair your roof in Vancouver;
we have had sunny, cloudless skies all this week! Andrew & I have made extra effort to soak in as much Vitamin D as possible by hiking & biking & driving with the windows down...we're preparing for the despairing months of October, November & December...dreary fall/winter months filled with endless days of rain and no sun in sight. I've been continually warned since we arrived that I may start feeling depressed in the winter months and that I should look into getting Vitamin D pills. At this point, with the weather we're having now, I'm just not convinced...

I'm not particularly sure what originally struck me about that quote,
other than the word sunshine, haha. But as I sit here in my furnished new apartment, awaiting for the man of dreams to come home in our well-running car and as I look forward to church tomorrow where I will get to connect with some wonderful new friends, I think I get what Kennedy is getting at. When the settings look optimistic, take advantage of the good you can do with it. Now that Andrew & I have transitioned into our new routines & have started to settle in here, its time to really focus on the areas of our lives that need work: our relationship with God, our finances, & our health. None of these topics are easy to discuss or work on when you feel you have fallen short of your own and your partner's expectations. In fact these may be the reason that many marriages today fail. But there is no better time to address these hard topics than now, when we have the time, the patience & the willingness to grow. That sure was some sound advice Mr.JFK!

I just want to leave you with a verse that has comforted me and inspired me in both the good & the bad times:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

~Philipians 4:6