learning to be a child

Sometimes I think we try to grow ourselves up way to fast. I was sitting in Starbucks the other morning enjoying Christmas music and some wonderful Christmas blend coffee. I place myself next to a window where I could see all the tourists with their Barcelona guide books and crazy confusing maps stretched out trying to decide where to go. As I'm gazing out the window, I see a little girl walking with her mom. next thing I see, is the little girl steps up on the edge of the window to walk a bit taller next to her mom. It seems that it was all done in silence, but I did I have a window between me and the possible words that could have flown. The little girls expression though, was like "there is a place where i can be taller when I walk, so why shouldn't I?..Duh!" For some reason this just warmed my heart and made me think about how fast I am trying to grow up. I'm such a planner. I get a month ahead of myself all the time and miss the gift of the moments I am so blessed to have. I want to be that little girl, and jump up on a ledge and walk just because its fun to be taller than you really are. Given, i'm not a fan of high heel shoes, but i do like rollercoasters and being at the top of a mountain. How often do we just do stuff because its fun? i don't do it as nearly as much as i feel compelled sometimes...but hopefully I am changing and will a bit more now.

More thoughts...
I'm living in such a crazy, beautiful, ecclectic, delightfully charming city. Yes, their are tons of toursits all of the time, but there are also beautiful Spainards and other nationalities that are trying to make life happen here. I'm falling in love with my life here. Its hard in some ways to not always be surrounded by other believers in Jesus Christ, but at the same time its blissfully wonderful. To no longer feel like you are competeting for Holiness against your friends and family you dearly love. I'm alone, I do have my friends from the states that have the same beliefs, but I don't see them everyday. I'm alone, I have no one to measure myself agaisnt, but Jesus Christ, and lets face it, I don't compare to the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace. I am being so humbled and so humilitated by my lack of understanding of what it means to be a child of God. I don't have it figured out. I'm messed up, like the rest of us. The moment I think I have it figured out, I fall on my face and I miss the point once again. thankfully, I'm loved as i am in this moment by my Creator. Jesus loves me when I pitch fit, when I'm unfaithful, when my selfishness rules over what He wants, he loves me as i am in that moment. The more I seek Him the more I am refined and made more like Him. It doesn't happen over night. It takes time. I'm learning to be patient with myself. God is so patient with me.

One of my favorite things I have done lately was Saturday my friend Rose and i went on a hunt to find an ice skating rink, well by the time we found it, it was closing. By that time we were pretty hungry. A popular food in the winter in Catalunya is sweet potatoes and chestnuts. So Rose and I had to Las Ramblas to a little vendor on the side and bought roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes (are you singing the Christmas song in your head...yes!). Then we headed to Plaza Catalunya to sit and enjoy our meal while watching the people. It was so much fun! Rose is a fellow gluten-intolerant friend and since McDonalds has gluten-free stuff, we decided to have a Mcflurry for dessert. It was a fantastic day! So here are some pics from that.

"chestnuts roasting on an open fire...Jack frot nipping at your nose..." oh I love Christmas!


Yummy!!!



Here are some girls from my resi. We had a birthday party for one of the girls, Adrianna, and also a going away party for my friend Gaby.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!