Living Each Day to the Fullest

I have spent more time with God than I have in any other point in my whole life. I have experienced Him- all of Him, His love, His grace, His mercy, His peace- in a way that I have never experienced before. I know that I am transforming and becoming who He wants me to be. And in a big way, it took me giving up something that I had been holding on to for a long time- my goal to get a PhD. I'm not saying I may never get a PhD, but right now, I do not believe that is what God is calling me to do.

Lately, I've been doing some things I did as a child, like swinging. I think part of it is because I want to heal my inner child and part of it is that I want to create a new childhood. My real childhood was full of abuse. I have never told anyone this but I often refer to it as The Dark Ages. All I remember from that point in my life is darkness. Thank God I made it through those years and that I am finally healing and able to move forward. I've had points in my life when I've moved forward and healed, but I think that this time, it's on a whole new level. I feel the healing. I see the healing. I experience the healing every single day.

Lately, I've also been trying to live each day as if it were my last. Just savoring each moment as it comes. Just being still and knowing God. Experiencing God in a whole new way. Being with God from sunrise to sunset. Embracing the good and the bad. Just loving the life I have, even with all of the dark times. Loving where I am in life and rejoicing in how far I've come. Discovering things about me and the world I never knew before.

Speaking of discovery, I found a new area near the pond that I walk around- an area I never discovered until yesterday. As I walked around this area, I felt like I was walking through uncharted territory- a whole new natural oasis for me to figure out. As I walked around, I felt like a child because I didn't know what was in the area and I want to share some photos that I took of this area. I had so much fun taking these photos, even though other people probably thought I was interesting. I was actually asked the other day by a stranger if I'm taking photos for a class.

As I took the photos, I tried to capture the beauty in the little things around me. God designed this whole world for us to live in and I think that sometimes we don't always appreciate the smallest things. It's so important that as we live our lives, we don't just live with the "day in and day out" mentality, but each day, we are called to discover more about ourselves, God and the world. That is why my life has taken a very exciting turn.

And here come some baby photos of me (Lord, help us all)...

Sometimes in life we just have to laugh and have fun...

Even when we're dazed and confused...

But we need to smile and enjoy the life we have...

Seize the Moments of Today...

I hope that today is not just another day for you, but that you live it as if it is your last- that you truly savor every moment, no matter how difficult today is. Seize the day, as they say.

I want to leave you with a song that I have listened to many times. It is about living like we're dying. It's about saying "I love you" to others before it's too late. We never know when our last day will come, but what we do know is that this life is extremely precious and that we have been blessed with the life we live. God gave us this life so we need to make the most out of it.