I decided to post a thought here this morning because my thought was a bit longer than what qualified for my “short happy post” at Slippery Leaves & Panty Thieves.

I advise you all to never begin your morning with a financial spreadsheet, who does that?!

Ever since I made the decision to move to NYC in August, all of my dreams of the city have been fairly ideal, I love the artistic vibes, bright lights, hustle and bustle, small living spaces, endless coffee cups, unpredictable days, etc.

But one thing keeps coming around that just won’t go away,

and it’s a bit disheartening and it is slightly snowing on my dreams of NYC (I would say rain, but ’tis the season…)

$$$$$$$$$$

That’s right, in case you didn’t know… NYC is a bit pricy. Taking the semester off to work and save up money and concentrate on the jewelry biz was definitely a smart idea… but the thought keeps rolling around, “What if it isn’t enough? What am I going to do? At this rate, I’m not going to have enough saved!!” Things never go as planned…

I fret and I worry and I squirm in my shell every time I begin thinking about the threat of finances. I hate growing up.

Sitting down this morning with a cup of coffee (or two or three), I decided I needed to create a spreadsheet for Fretful Design  if I was really going to get serious about this thing… halfway into it the financial squirms came and as usual, I began to freak out….is this really worth it?

Right in the middle of my jitters, my phone made the “da-ding!” email sound. I looked at the clock and it was 8:15, and I knew exactly what it was. Since last year I have been getting Word’s from the Well daily emails from Jim Musser, a campus minister at Appalachian. On more occasions than I can count, his words have spoke peace, conviction, humility and grace into my life… the very truths I need to hear at that very moment.

I regret this was the first morning I have actually read the devotion in quite a while, it seems like every time I get them I am at work and the demon of forgetfulness wins over later in the day… sigh.

Something just told me to open it this morning, probably my guilty conscience. I began reading through the scripture at the top, one that I had heard over and over in my lifetime, and there is was… conviction.

As one who has struggled with anxiety and worry all of my life, I could have used this very devotion painted across my bathroom mirror a LONG time ago as a daily reminder, but I am so grateful that I received this today. All of my worries of finances and city lights dissolved into the truths of this devotion. I read it again and I will have to keep reading it for it to fully soak in, and I know I will still fight and squirm against the peace of Christ with anxiety…

but I know peace is on the other side.

After a long introduction, I want to share this with you my friends, be anxious for nothing and accept peace today.

Words from the Well, February 1, 2011  A PRESCRIPTION FOR WHAT AILS US

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:4-9 NIV)

People worry.  A lot.  In fact, sometimes I think it is the national past time.  Parents worry about their kids’ safety and futures.  Students worry about classes and what they are going to do after graduation, and whether they will ever meet the “right one.”  People worry about their jobs, the economy, and the state of the world.  They worry about getting cancer and growing old.  They worry about almost everything.From what I can tell, this is not a new problem.  People have always tended to worry.  Jesus told the people not to worry about tomorrow. (Matthew 6:33) And here Paul tells the Philippian believers not to be anxious about anything.  Worry, it seems, is something human beings are prone to do.  Yet, the Scriptures are clear it is not something we should do.  What to do?

In this passage we find a four-point prescription for what ails us.  We tend to focus on the negative, all that could go wrong.  Instead, Paul says to concentrate on the positive and by so doing we will develop a different outlook.  Secondly, he says that instead of being anxious about something, we should take our worries to God in prayer.  And third, he says we should recognize that God is near to us and thus in control of the situation.  We can trust Him.  Finally, he says we need put these into practice.

When I find myself in a state of anxiety or worry, it is because I have failed to do what Paul instructed.  I become focused on the problem or fear instead of more positive things.  I am consumed by my worry, so much so that I forget to take it to the Lord.  And I fail to trust He is in control even when I feel I am not.Today, know you do not have to be consumed by worry and anxiety.  The Lord has provided you a way out of that kind of living.  And if you are worried about not being able to change your worrying ways, the same prescription applies to that, too.

Jim Musser

Senior Campus Minister

Campus Christian Fellowship

Appalachian State University

© Jim Musser 2011

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after apologizing to wordpress for my few weeks of neglect, I’m returning to offer some words.

I’ve recently joined forces with the art of short-entry blogging

(in no relation to “tweeting”. I’m not blue, I don’t have a tail and I don’t believe I ever need to send the world text updates on my every thought that people pretend to care about….i-yae-yae, thats for another day.)

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continued...I’ve recently joined forces with the art of short-entry blogging

(a challenge to a long-winded-opinionated little lady)

in the development of my newest beat blog:

slippery leaves & panty theives.

you’ll just have to stop on by to see for yourself what its all about.

little did I know that within the first few weeks of launching this blog, I had my second run-in with slippery leaves.

{see post, and laugh at the irony, I give you full permission}

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I come to you with news of a miraculous healing, from frankenstein, to scarface, to human.

The Chronicles of (why you should never create a blog titled) Slippery Leaves::

Begun: Tuesday, October 26th

the favorite shirt, now bloody and ruined...

The caretakers playing Vanna.

Day 2... Frankenstein phase. Undisclosed until now due to nauseating effects

The only boo-boo unveiled in cyberspace. You could say I was rather "toe up"!

I believe this was the night I called my mom sobbing …

“I CANNOT show my face on campus even if I wanted to go to class.

People with weak stomachs might now be able to handle it!!

Will my face ever go back?????? How long will I look like this??? It’s terrifying!!!!!”

but wait....progress was on the horizon. within a couple of days, I could show my face...

...thank heavens for cute hats, that one grew roots through my head for a couple of days.

"scarface" phase: little less toe-up

after one week...enjoying a morning of meeting for discipleship somewhere other than the ER, though it was a lovely, uplifting atmosphere to meet in

HUGE cheers for makeup and disappearing stitches

after two weeks: two eyes of make-up, the beginnings of hair re-growth, normal eyesight and a miraculous transformation

and there you have it, I am toe up no mo’, yup!

After yet another addition has been added to my running list of  ”series of unfortunate events” since beginning college, I have been convinced by fellow friends who laugh with me through my mishaps, to invite others to share in the laughter as well by writing my own series, a series of unfortunate events…

since my other blog, is focused around all things happy

(which was inspired by my accumulated unfortunalities)

I will choose to share them in a running novel elsewhere. Where? I am not sure yet.

Though I am making a brief return to the blogging world,

school has yet to let up and putting the “only-happens-to-chloe” moments to words takes careful thought and meticulous word choices to gain to full effect…

therefore, I will be sharing in the near future…

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Until then… keep reading the happy thoughts

and please, I beg of you… don’t name your blog anything you wouldn’t wish upon yourself,

{“break a leg!”, “i wanna feel the car crash”, “caught in the storm”, “break your mother’s back”…you get the picture!}

I may start over with, “I married Usher & grew wings, what now fool?”

yea, I’ll think about it…

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thoughts of joy,

chloe`

Check out the Blog:

http://www.seventeen.com/college/freshman-15/best-friend-college-reunion

i fell

for fall because of:

• pumpkin spice anythings, just spice it
• the reason to curl up and not feel obligated to move, because your too cold to move of course!
• apple festivals
• jumping in piles of leaves, thats why you rake them anyway!
• the first sensation of a numb nose
• fall festivals, a festival for anything for no reason at all.
• the need for gloves
• running the trails in which you envision yourself in the middle of a “rave run” picture in Runner’s World
  
• apple butter
• cinnamon, the next few months require lots of cinnamon!
• the fact that Frank Sinatra sounds even better in the cold
• painted gourds
• weddings, fall weddings
• “the parkway” being a legitimate activity in place of attending class
• pumpkin pie, even if you don’t like it, suck it up. plug your nose, it’s fall.
• pumpkin puff sticker sales at Michael’s
• turkey hand art
• it’s cold, drink more coffee, duh.
• the need for more boots, yes you need the purple pair too
• apple festivals in Boone!
• the notorious, Herbert The Turkey Cookies, an original creation.
• the only excuse for plaid decor, oh the horror!
• tractors becoming an appealing automobile of choice
• vanilla nut coffee taste better in season
• deep, dark, fall colors.

• the broadening on nature’s palette
• the need for your favorite jacket
• the beginning of a new season of “Dancing With the Stars”
• everything.

….it’s all better in the fall.

Running is more than a rhythm of pounding legs, running is a rhythm of a hopeful heart, a beat of both confidence and joy. Run for Congo Women was set up to spread such hope across oceans. “At the peak of fall foliage, the trails at Riverbend Park will be a picturesque setting for an inspiring and symbolic run for the women and children of the Congo. With more than 5.4 million people-mostly women and children-killed since the conflict began in 1998, the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the deadliest on record since World War II. Women are routinely gang raped and tortured. Children are killed or die of starvation by the thousands every day. Run for Congo Women is a relief effort to help these women educate themselves, learn a trade, and feed their families.”

On November 6th, A good friend and I will be participating in a Run for Congo Women 12.9 mile trail run in Conover, NC. Each runner embarks on their own fundraising through sponsors and donors to raise money for the cause and band together as a symbol of the empowerment women in Congo are receiving from running themselves, long skirts, singing, and dancing, they run across the oceans at the same time we do! $27 sponsors one woman for one month. Since the race is about 12 miles, I would love to raise a month-per-mile, to sponsor a Congolese woman for one year, to sponsor even more than one would be an answered prayer! Whatever you can give, even your prayers for the rigid trail run (yikes!), overall success of the event, and the health of the runners and those we represent would be enough! This is a dream come true for me to share the joy across oceans through two things that bring such joy into my life: running and social justice, especially to the tune of an African drum. We run for justice alongside the women of Congo who are being empowered by our pounding legs on the pavement, as their legs learn pound and fight for their rights on the African mud. We, too, will hear the drums pound as we run, with the rhythm of a hopeful heart.

Here is the link to my donation site: Donate Now!!!

Wonderful Article: Click Here!

Free custom necklace to anyone who finds one just like it : )

(not kidding)

show your support:)

We love you Miss Brigman!!!!

Exhaling at the top of Bodenheimer, home.

I inhaled and turned around, only to lose every last ounce of oxygen left in my lungs at the top of the climb,

unbelievable

splendor of faithfulness.

I always save that last bit of oxygen for the King to graciously steal each morning.

Every day I see the sunrise, every morning it is vastly different,

painted of a different palatte,

the most brilliant portrait for our eyes to gaze upon,

boldly framed by the majestic stability of mountain,

and it is ours completely of charge.

Make you want to roll out a bit earlier yet?

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On our daily morning runs, Jeanne-Claire and I have endless discussions of the sunrise.

What will it be today, when will it come, what does that color mean,

rain or sunshine, “remember yesterday’s?”, “How can it get any better than Tuesdays?”

While it is still dark we predict what the sky will become,

developing as a an old polaroid, slowly revealing the colors.

What is to come as we watch the faithfulness of Lord paint the new dawn, that is sunrise:

faithfulness.

“for your mercies never fail, they are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness”  Lam 3:22-23

This morning we were proven entirely wrong in our man-made predictions:

I predicted the sky to be emotionless, it’s been too beautiful all week, surely even the sky has to take a day off.

She blamed the dullness on the threat of afternoon rain and the saran-wrap layer of morning clouds.

We parted at the bottom of “the hill” (expressed in the opening) and I began the climb to the finish a bit disappointed by the absence of a sunrise to discuss. oh those early morning runners, too easily amused.

Exhaling at the top of Bodenheimer, home.

I inhaled and turned around, only to lose every last ounce of oxygen left in my lungs at the top of the climb,

::an ocean of purple watercolor, streaks of crimson horizontally bleeding through the page,

slightly resembling that of Edvard Munch.::

unbelievable

splendor of faithfulness.

you were wrong, my child, how could I forget?

I promised. I meant what I said, It is new every morning, my mercies never fail.

In my unexpected revelation I was immediately driven to the images in the creation story, as we have been discovering the prophesy present in Genesis alluding to the coming of a new Kingdom, the new Jerusalem…the full intention of God’s creation: to fill the whole earth with His glory…

Whether you are there to experience it or not, He does this each morning with sunrise.

Before creation there was the sun, and newness is ours each morning.

that is faithfulness

It has always been, and it will always be.

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I ran to my room and immediately texted Jeanne-Claire.

“Please tell me you saw that brilliant purple sky?! We didn’t miss it!”

…she responded, “I was hoping you saw it, too :  )”

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Never the same, design never predictable by creation,

but ever and always present, promised

and new.

Faithfulness is ours, a free gift of beauty, made possible by the Creator of all light touches,

even sunrise itself.

Praise His works of new morning, praise the works of faithfulness,

Praise the promise of a new Jerusalem, oh what sunrise will be there,

the King of all things new.

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this I learned of sunrise,

this is why we run in the morning

:  )

Enjoy good tunes and red balloons.

“Rivers of living water.” John 7:38

A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fulness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow – “This is the work of God that ye believe. . . .” God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is.

A river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, then it comes to an obstacle and for a while it is baulked, but it soon makes a pathway round the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, and presently emerge again broader and grander than ever. You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use. Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty. The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source. Never allow anything to come between yourself and Jesus Christ, no emotion, or experience; nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-flung rivers nursing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up marvellous truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is an indication of the wider power of the river He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has nourished in you mighty torrents of blessing for others.    -O. Chambers