I delight in July.

Its the close of July. I can't believe its finally come and gone.

Its been a great month.

And so...goodnight July...its been great.

Good morning August.

You hold many unknowns but I think I'm finally ready to just say it...

bring it on!

I delight in this.

enough said...

I delight in feast.

And I'm not talking food.

I'm talking about abundance. Specifically an abundance of good things. Miracles even. Things going better than expected, answers to prayers coming more clearly, those around me in need of blessings being blessed, good friends, growing friendships, future anticipations, smiles, service opportunities, daily delights.

Lesson learned: Never underestimate our Heavenly Father's ability to outgive. All we can give is all we are and all we've got and even if we do that...He will STILL bless us with more than we could ever give him. That is love. That is feast. Gratitude times eternity.

I delight in the offer.

Its funny because in the moment that my delight occurred in today I clearly had the thought....

That's my delight!

And then I completely forgot about the experience until my mom brought it up again tonight. How does that happen? Something significant happens and yet I still forget. Luckily (not that I believe in luck) she reminded me of todays true delight.

It was a juggling act. I was in charge of getting lunch at Chick-Fil-A, or chicky-fil-a as Christin would say, while we were down visiting my Grandpa today in Orem. So I embark to the University Mall (a nightmare of cars and people) with Craig and Christin. Craig keeps his eyes closed...that's how many people there were! Seriously!

Christin and I go in to get the order...well long story short:

I order the food.

Christin is being very helpful by getting condiments.

Waiting for the food.

Time comes to get the food and Christin is standing an awkward 3 feet away from me with "the look." You see the look means...I'm about to have a psudo-seizure. She has them...we don't know why. Problem is...you've got to act quick, get her mind off it, get her water, etc...

Problem here: I'm holding up a HUGE line at Chick-fil-a. So I grab our HUGE order and embark to the car. Problem here: I parked on THE OTHER SIDE of the parking lot to ensure Craig would be okay sitting in the car. SO...we have to walk ALL THE WAY to the car and Christin is fading quick. We made it though...only by the Lord's tender mercies though...seriously!

The delight however came when a woman noticed my distress. Sometimes I just can't hide it and this event was one of those times. As she unloaded her stroller for two obviously having a handful herself she noticed me gripping Christin, 5 drinks, AND all the food and simply said, "Can I help you?" Did I know her? No. Did she knew me? No. Did she have any idea how her words came at just the moment when I needed to be reminded that God knew the situation I was in and that He was looking out for me? YES! The stress dispelled just a bit. I declined her help but thanked her...we were only 3 spaces away from the car at this point. But that is not the point of the story...

The point is...someone offered. Someone who so easily could have looked the other way or who could have rationalized away reasons to not offer help but she didn't do that. She offered with a smiling face and a willing heart to a perfect stranger. I'm so grateful that the Heavenly Father allows us to be the answer to one another's prayers. That he gives us that little bit of an opportunity to do something that in reality is as close to what he does as we can get...serve our brothers and sisters, in his case, his sons and daughters! And in the process, we are serving HIM! Its a perfect plan.

I delight in Mom.

I haven't delighted in a while on here. Sorry! I guess I can't be good at writing my delight in my journal and blogging about it at the same time! I'll work on that.

In the meantime...lots has been going on. Another contributing factor to my lack of posts! I've been in Idaho AND in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in the past month!

The Eastern States/Canada part I got to experience with my Mom. It was just the two of us for a week and a half. You have to understand, that just never happens at home, just the two of us for a prolonged period of time. So when we get to do things like this they're extra special! It was so wonderful to get to see so many church history sites and to then be able to share my mission people and places with her! Thanks to Rhonda (our GPS) we didn't even argue or stress about anything! It was wonderful!

And so I delight in my mom. For who she is, for what she does, for her love of her life, for her love for me, my dad, and my brother and sister, for her sincerity, for her beauty, and for her happiness. She is truly the best example to me and I want to be like her...for real! I'm not even afraid to get old and look like her...ha ha ha! (That one's for you Mom! :)

I delight in purity.

Being pure in the things we say, not just sharing the half but the whole.

pure desires

pure intentions

pure motivations

pure gratitude

pure recognition

Its hard but thankfully, its a process. Daily purification is a process that while hard is very possible. I'm so grateful for the possibilities of purity in the future.

We all have a spotless future.

If that's not hope I don't know what is.

I delight in America.

Yesterday I delighted in Canada because it was Canada Day. I'd planned to do something very Canadian...make nanaimo bars, play lacross or try to make Donairs or something but I didn't end up doing any of that. So...instead I just reminisced about the Rock and Roll Festival I attended last year and had some of the most memorable experiences of my mission. Everyone came to us for 3 wonderful days and we saw everyone we'd ever met on the Miramichi.

SO how I'm on to loving America. It is always where my heart will be. I love to spend this holiday with family, its one of my favorites. I look forward to loving every second of the upcoming week. Things about America I love: The consititution, the history, the patriotism, the flag, the people, the beauty...so so much the list could go on.

Love every minute of the week and remember all the reasons we love our country.