Food and Warmth

Okay, so obliviously this isn’t going to be a daily thing for me. Today I am super tired and even had a hard time staying away through work today, but it is totally worth it.  For two and a half hours today I had the privilege of volunteering, through work, at the Washington county food bank.  Two parts of this experience made me very grateful.  1. I have been blessed to always have an overabundance of food available to me.  2. I have been blessed to always have the opportunity to be in the warmth.

Being at the food bank, made me realize how many people are in need of food, and I am never in short supply of it.  It was a blessing to see how many things are donated by people and how many people are willing to work hard to sort the food to get it to the people who really need it.  Don’t take the food on your table for granted, as if you have extra think of those in need.

Also spending the minimal time in the cold warehouse really made me tired, and very grateful that I don’t have to work out in the cold and I also get to go home to a warm house.  Many people have to work out in the elements, and I realized today how tiring that really is, even though the work we were doing is not that laborious.

So today I just want to share how thankful I am for food and warmth.  If you would like I would be happy if you join me in prayer.

Dear Lord,

You are an awesome God caring for our needs, and helping those who have more hardship than what we experience.  Lord I pray for the people that are hungry and cold.  I pray that they have these daily needs met always, and especially through Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We love you, help us love you more, and help us to reach out to those who need to experience your love, in a very tangible way.

Thanks for reading and I hope you also get the chance to be appreciative for food and warmth today.

What is in a name?

Sprinkles, according to Merriam Webster dictionary is “to drop or spread small pieces or amounts of something over something.”  When I think of sprinkles two images come to mind, (1) either a light rain, or (2) dessert sprinkles.  Rain, is not always a pleasant image, but thinks about it there are many different kinds of rain.  Yes I know, rain is precipitation in the liquid state, but there are sprinkles on a warm summer day, drizzle on a cold fall morning, or a down pour during a thunderstorm.  Are you getting the point?  Yes rain, being rain, but some rain is just better than others.  Dessert sprinkles are generally led to a cheerful image for most people; they are generally colorful, sweet and signify some kind of celebration.

First I will share my thoughts on rain.  By and large if someone asked me my thoughts on rain, I would tell you that I dislike rain, but that is not always the case.  My favorite type of rain is when it is warm out and a light rain aka sprinkles.  I discovered my enjoyment of rain while running.   Two of my favorite runs happened during the rain, the first being the Pineapple Run with Kelly (btw Happy Birthday Kel!) , and other being a run “around the block” with Keagan.  Before the Pineapple Run I knew the weather forecast was rain, and that sounded awful.  Kelly and I went to the running store, to get matching shirts (because that is what girls do, for team races) and we asked the guy for any tips for races in the rain and he said “you will love it” and I thought what a nut.  But he was totally right, I loved that race!  Also sprinkles lead to rainbows and what isn’t enjoyable about a rainbow, one of God’s many convenient. “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:13 If you want to learn more about this convenient I encourage you to read Genesis 8:20-9:17 and something like this.  So the rain can symbolize overcoming challenges, happiness, and promises from God, the maker of the rainbow and the rain, and all things!
Second my thoughts on dessert sprinkles, aka jimmies.  Who doesn’t like these tiny, sugary, colorful pellets of sugar, scattered upon of some other sweet, yummy goody.  And I really enjoy baking for at least three reasons (1) it results in yumminess, (2) it is stress reliving, and (3) it makes other people happy.

For these two images of sprinkles, I deem the name sprinkles appropriate, and being that I am the one writing this, SPRINKLES it is.  But why sprinkles through the day? Well that is more of a God thing.  Just as I like sprinkles, I believe that God sprinkles many things through our hours, days, weeks, months, years and life.  Very rarely does it seem that God just dumps something on us, not saying that doesn’t happen.  But generally, God works in subtle ways, sometimes we don’t even notice that it is Him working, or we see it in hind sight.  My plan is to use this blog to share, with you or maybe just myself (if no one chooses to reads it), bits and pieces of my days/ weeks that God is sprinkling with enjoyment.  If anyone does chose to read it, I hope you enjoy it.  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11