Thankfulness

November 1, 2012- I am thankful to have found God at such an early time on my life and that I can carry on a relationship with my Lord and Savior.
November 2, 2012- I am thankful for my parents. They put up with so much from me and my siblings, yet they continue to love us each more and more every day.
November 3, 2012- I am thankful to be the oldest of three children and to be able to mentor my brother and sister. I was blessed with great younger siblings, and I couldn't have asked for better ones.
November 4, 2012- I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends that I have been blessed with over the years. To old friends, new friends, friends who have come and gone, and future friends. Thank you all for playing such an important role in my life! ♥
November 5, 2012- I am thankful to have grown up in a small town. Knowing just about everyone in my town has been a great experience to grow up with. The slow pace and community feel is also something I am thankful for.
November 6, 2012- I am thankful to live in a country where I can pursue my goals and dreams and be able to get an education for a future career at my choice of schools.
November 7, 2012- I am thankful to be young and be able to go long periods of time without sleep. To the first possible all-nighter of college!(:
November 8, 2012- I am thankful for my grandma, Carol Wilburn. She is always loving and cares for us on a daily basis! ♥
November 9, 2012- I am thankful for Fridays. Not only do I have no responsibilites on Fridays like school or work, but I get to volunteer at my church all day. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Loved every minute! ♥
November 10, 2012- I am thankful for music. I love the way I can convey how I feel through a song.
November 11, 2012- I am thankful for for children. Working in children's church this morning inspires me throughout the week to be more forgiving, carefree, and have more fun like a child's heart. ♥
November 12, 2012- I am thankful for books. While I have not always enjoyed reading, I have recently began to enjoy it. The way that the words affect me is truly fantastic. ♥
November 13, 2012- I am thankful for Barack Obama. While I may not agree with all of his political stances or the way things have gone the past four years, I am thankful that he does try hard and is putting up with a lot to try and do what he finds best for our country. Being the President is not an easy task I'm sure, so I am thankful that he is willing to attempt to do his job to the best of his ability.
November 14, 2012- I am thankful for how far I have come in the past year... Quite a bit has changed over the past year or so, all for the better, allowing me to learn a lot and grow up a lot too. I couldn't be happier about the path I'm on now! ♥
November 15, 2012- I am thankful for firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other service- oriented careers. These people accept lower pay than deserved even though they protect our communities and educate future generations. They are under- appreciated in today's society, but I am extremely thankful for these civil servants!
November 16, 2012- I am thankful for the beautiful night sky in Colorado. Tonight I had the pleasure of checking out the stars and it was totally amazing!
November 17, 2012- I am thankful for my job at Cutthroat. The close relationships I have built over the past thirteen months with my coworkers, customers, and boss are truly amazing. Every time I work is a new adventure, and I enjoy the time spent in the little restaurant in my wonderful hometown.
November 18, 2012- I am thankful for my youth group. The variety of speakers that we have and the variety of worship that we offer is amazing. The students are great too, listening to the way that God is working in their lives. Thank you Titus Honor Cheshire for your sermon last night(:
November 19, 2012- I am thankful to be able to live in such a free country where I can express my opinion openly. Discussing the advantages and disadvantages of certain laws and trends while working always proves to be interesting!
November 20, 2012- I am thankful for Mountain Roads Driving School. This driving class provides a cheaper, closer driving school for students in the mountain communities. The students that pass through are always fun to experience.
November 21, 2012- I am thankful for hair dye. While sometimes the results go awry, it is always a fun challenge to try and fix it! The experiments with my hair always are interesting!(:
November 22, 2012- I am thankful for so much today. Throughout this wonderful Thanksgiving day, I was blessed with the presence of many friends and family. Spending the morning playing football with my church and the afternoon with my family and good friends couldn't have resulted in a much better day.
November 23, 2012- I am thankful for the five years I got to spend with my grandfather.  Yesterday would have been his birthday if he was still around, so Thanksgiving was bittersweet.  I am thankful that I got to meet him though and that he is in a better place now.  I love you Papaw<3
November 24, 2012- I am thankful for my boss, Chip Thomas.  He is so willing to work around my schedule to get me hours, but I also get to participate in my church events.  He has provided me with a wonderful job around wonderful people for 13 months now.
November 25, 2012- I am thankful for Melissa Estepp today.  She works so hard to make everything run so smoothly throughout the week at the Journey, and Sunday mornings, she shines extra bright.  Thank you for all you do Melissa!
November 26, 2012- I am thankful for dreams.  The ability to experience situations in dreams is quite an interesting feat.
November 27, 2012- I am thankful for cars today.  Because they are so widely used in our modern society, rarely do we think about how difficult life would be without them.  I am glad I have the convenience of cars to transport me from home to school or to work or for fun.
November 28, 2012- I am thankful for the Ross family. Dan Ross and Carrissa Ross have left a wonderful impact on my life, and their two children are amazing. I am saddened that they moved back to Wisconsin today, but I wish you guys the best of luck! Please come back and visit often, as we will miss you guys and your little squirts a lot! ♥
November 29, 2012- I am thankful for Lara Zwahlen. Over the past three days I have helped paint sets for the Conifer Christmas Parade that Lara designed and is heading up. Her artistic abilities are amazing, and I am grateful to have her as a part of the Journey team! ♥
November 30, 2012- I am thankful for Amy Cheshire.  She is such a wonderful woman, and I love her laugh, sense of humor, kindness, and, of course, her sense of style! I love her♥
December 1, 2012- I am thankful for firefighters who will cancel all plans to go save others land and lives.  While I just recently mentioned them, a large fire in Estes Park broke out last night, and many firefighters were called to the fire, including a few from Platte Canyon with my dad.  These men and women are such essential parts of our community.
December 2, 2012- I am thankful for Sterling Furrowh.  The commitment he puts into his work is awesome.  The worship session that he did tonight at Axis Youth was very touching for the kids there and myself.  He is a great father, friend, ministry worker, and role model. Thanks for everything you do for the community, my family, and myself! ♥
December 3, 2012- I am thankful for the lack of snow this year.  While the moisture would be helpful, this nice weather in December is awesome!  I also can't stand driving in the snow, so it is nice not having to deal with that.
December 4, 2012- I am thankful for comedy.  I watched some of the late night comedy shows, and they are so lightening at the end of a long day.  
December 5, 2012- I am thankful for Max Estepp.  Today, while helping out at the ranch, I got to hang out with lil Max for awhile.  He is so adorable, and he was a lot of fun to spend time with.  His willingness to help out others was amazing to see, while he wanted to help Brian with the wood splitting.
December 6, 2012- I am thankful for finals week.  While this seems odd, I enjoy being able to evaluate the knowledge I have obtained in a class, and it signifies the end of the semester and the beginning to a break!

Days of Thanksgiving

Goodmorning!

Over the past two weeks, I have watched many Facebook friends decide to post a daily thanks in the spirit of Thanksgiving.  But why is it just in November that everyone decides to give thanks?  Do we not have at least one thing to be thankful for each day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?  After realizing this, I have decided to challenge myself and starting now, I am going to say something I am thankful for each day.  I will start a new blog post that I will add to each day to include all my days of thanks.
In the Bible, Psalm 107:1 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

While doing my daily Thanksgiving posts, I have noticed throughout the day how I constantly look for the things I am thankful for.  It is quite simple to find at least one thing a day, but I am realizing I am not just highlighting my thankfulness.  At the youth group the past few weeks, we have been studying the Fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, and I have noticed how each of them is becoming more evident on a day-to-day basis in my life.  I am becoming more patient with the people around me simply because I realize how blessed I am to have them around.  I am becoming more loving and all of the characteristics of love described in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.  In general, the Fruits of the Spirit are becoming easier to see, and more interesting to try and exhibit day- to- day.

Have a great Thanksgiving! :) <3

Jessica Ridgeway

Hey all!

Since I wrote last, some major news events have been going on.


The Jessica Ridgeway case hit me deeply.  Even though I did not know Jessica, events such as this one break my heart.  Why would someone do such a horrible thing?  And where is the church in all of this?  Is in not our job, as the Body of Christ and as the church, to help with things like this?

I believe it is our duty as the Body to support the community.  When times are going well, we should enjoy it with our community, and when times are difficult, we should aid, support, and empathize with our community.  Before these hard times, we should be the ones pursuing the members within our community, the ones close to and far from God and everyone in between.  We could prevent so many tragedies simply by doing what Christ wants us to do, be brothers and sisters to everyone, since we are  all children of God.
One of my favorite songs is If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns.  Here is a link to a video for the song which reminds me why the Body is so important: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mvzFgqgGDI

This is part of why I absolutely love The Journey.  I have seen the passion through each and every staff member's eyes since the day I walked into that church.  Everything that these people do, whether it's greeting visitors on Sunday mornings, talking to kids at youth group or children's church, helping those who have suffered loss through their tough time, or chopping wood, they radiate their passion.  It is so inspiring to be so close with the core of this church because I get to see the effort they put into each and everything they do a little more than the average person does.  It is such an honor to get to call these people more than friends and role models.

Despite all the sadness with Jessica, I must say that this situation has fueled me to live day to day and to enjoy every day to the fullest.  It reminded me that nothing is ever guaranteed in this life, and I have to live for today, not for tomorrow.  Doing this over the past few weeks, I have totally reevaluated where I am in life, and I couldn't be happier.  While my classes are simple at school, I am enjoying the fact that I am not like a lot of my friends who are super stressed about school.  I enjoy working at Cutthroat, and I enjoy serving people there because I can make someone's day simply by smiling at them and being charismatic.  I am enjoying my time spent around my family and my friends.  Overall, this is the happiest I can remember myself being in a long time.

My hope is to be able to inspire someone through my happiness and my passion for Christ to be able to go out and change someone else's life because I know, that if we band together as the Body of Christ, we can and will accomplish anything.

<3 <3 <3

Lost the Bet ):

Hey all!

It has been a loooooong week, but it has been one good week since I last checked in!

Last Friday, I spent the day at my church's ranch, just hanging out with some of my favorite people.  Throughout the course of the day, I realized how many people I have that I can talk to them about absolutely anything, and I feel like they will stick by my side no matter what.  While these are church leaders, and it is their job to listen to people, I have developed a deeper relationship with my church family, and I couldn't live without them.  They are such a positive influence in my life, and I wake up each day hoping I get to talk to at least one of them since they brighten my day.  Special shout-out to my Journey family. Thank you guys for everything... I love you <3  I suggest that everyone find people like that in your life, people you can trust with any and everything and people that you just enjoy being around.  I honestly wish I could spend so much more time with my church family because they push me to strive to be a better me and they help me become a better me.  I am so glad that God brought me to this wonderful family a year and a half ago.  <3

Then on Saturday, I got to play chauffeur, hair stylist, makeup artist, photographer, and chaperone for my sisters first Homecoming!  She looked gorgeous, and I was such a proud older sis.  I am so happy that she had a great night, and she looked totally amazing.  Her outside matched her inside.  Love her <3











And of course I have to mention the sad fact that I lost a bet on Monday night.  The one night that I absolutely needed my Cowboys to win, they got destroyed by the Bears.  Tony Romo totally disappointed me with his five interceptions, but on the plus side, I get to bake!  Congratulations Brian.  You win.  Next time, I will win!


Until Next Time.
Ellie (:

One Bad Call but Love Overcomes All

Evening to all! Oh boy has it been a long few days since I wrote last.  Life of a college student thats working and involved in a bunch of things gets crazy.

Bad. Call. Wrong. Call. That's all I can say in response to the GB Packers and SEA Seahawks game last night.  Really?  Was that not an obvious interception?  I mean, seriously, I don't even like the Packers!!!  Just had to throw out my two cents on the biggest piece of sports news out there right now.

Anyways, over the last few days I have been digesting a sermon from youth group the other night by a good friend.  We started our series on Fruits of the Spirit, and Brian talked about love.  He referenced one of my all-time favorite Bible verses... like ever! 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reads, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
This verse has just been marinating in my brain for the last few days, and I must say it has totally over took my thoughts.  Who do we love?  When do we love?  How do we love?  Where is the line between this love and romantic love?  These questions are some of the hardest to answer I have found.  I mean the answers are easy, but the execution is not easy.  Love everyone, yeah right! Loving your enemies can be the most difficult thing.  Trust your enemy, don't keep a record of wrongs against your enemy, be kind to your enemy.  I think that is where love becomes complicated.  When someone does wrong to you, you put up your guard and are jaded towards them.  I find myself in this situation quite often, especially throughout high school.  I found myself swimming through a sea of people that I did not always agree with or get along with.  I moved from group to group based on the situation at hand.  I did have a close group of friends, but of course, it was high school, so there were issues within the group.  With distancing myself from many of my classmates for the majority of my high school career, I realized how many lost opportunities I had to love my peers and make a difference in their lives.  Now in college, I talk to a few people in a couple classes, but for the most part, I keep to myself.  Go to biology, walk to Spanish, talk to a couple girls in Spanish, go to American Civ, talk to a few others in there, finish in Criminal Justice and don't talk to anyone.  My days are so monotonous and I have realized that through this I am not necessarily negatively impacting anyone, but I am sure not positively impacting anyone by loving them!  I have proposed a challenge for myself, and I want to propose it to others as well.  Each day, find someone new to love.  It can be someone you already know, someone that you need to reconcile former issues with, a family member, a stranger on the street, whoever.  Be kind.  Trust them.  Hope for the best for that person.  I have a feeling that by trying to do this, and without expecting anything in return, I can see my life just becoming happier all around.  Not only that, but it will help me work on my issues at hand, like anger issues or excessive competition.  I can't wait to see the outcomes (:

Ta Ta for now (;

Just Another Crazy Day

Hello all(:

Today I had a very interesting class period today in my American Civilization class.  We had a guest speaker that is a professor in the CJC department at Metro and she is also an attorney for some hot shot professional sports players.  Wow was it a crazy class.  She comes in and first thing she says is that all the women in the class are prostitutes and all the men are solicitating prostitution.  Imagine having that as the first comment a teacher makes; takes ya a little off guard!  After looking at all of Colorado's prostitution laws that are so vague its ridiculous, then we went into common law marriage.  Wow was that shocking too.  That totally blew my mind.  If anyone is specifically interested in what she had to say about both topics, just let me know, because it is a little much to be posting on my blog... I would be writing all night trying to explain these ridiculous Colorado Statutes.  I can't wait to continue on in the CJC program though because her one class period was so interesting and informative, I can't even imagine what an entire semester would be like!

Joleigh had a volleyball game at Bennett tonight, and I was fortunate to drive the extra hour ish east of Denver to watch her play.  Little did I know that the libero from the other team was a victim in the Aurora Shootings this past summer... Crazy, right?! I was totally amazed that someone could have been shot in that and been back to playing a sport this soon.  The power of God is so amazing because there is absolutely no way that she could have bounced back and done as well as she did tonight without His strength.  After witnessing that, my favorite bible verse, Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, has a whole new meaning! I see myself constantly applying this message to my life from the little things like being able to finish a killer workout to graduating college and so on.  Things like this make me wish that everyone could see the power and love of Jesus Christ because obviously He is working in so many ways.  I have no idea if that girl was a believer or not, but I hope that after this she can find the Lord because I can only imagine the great things He has in store for her.  I want to use this verse to try and show others and testify that if you believe and pray that God will deliver when the time is right... Showing others how to overcome obstacles, big or small, and to persevere is such a big testament in my eyes for others to see Christ in me.

On a total tangent, I bought three classic books today- The Scarlet Letter, Wuthering Heights, and Pride and Prejudice- so I plan to post my thoughts on all three, assuming I can push through them all (:  Any opinions before I read the books?

Hope to right soon with some actual news of something exciting happening around here! Until then...

<3 Yours Truly <3

Aspens <3

This is why I love fall. Plain and simple <3 <3 <3