Mug Swap 2012

my friend kim hosted her second annual mug swap this past month.
it's such a blast!

send a mug to someone;
get a mug from someone.

hello, she's a genious.

confession:
i received my mug before i sent one.
i know, worst mug swap buddy EVER.
sorry ferial. 
i just couldn't decide which mug would fit this lady the best.
i finally ended up with this guy:

 note: i had to steal this from my mug swap-ie. i forgot to snap a pic before i mailed it. #doublefail

cute, right?
a place to put the tea bag before and after steeping.
i wanted to get all pinterest and put something cute on it,
but i was lacky creativity.
so i sent some sharpies her way.
after waiting in this horrific line at the USPS.

anyway, ferial, it was a pleasure stalking you and i hope you can put these mugs to good use on friend catch-up dates!

let's talk about the mug i got:
i got some awesome happy mail from kristy,
my fellow nurse and Jesus lover.
she understands how much nurses love them some mugged beverages
and sent this super cute mug my way!

i love it, kristy!
thanks for the starbies card, too!

another mug swap success!
kim!! can't wait for 2013!


linking up a day late

10 on 10: the mission addition

ha, that rhymed.


my beautiful and wonderfully thoughtful friend kim 
reminded me that today is the 10th.
as soon as i got that text, i yelled,
"tanya! come take a picture with me!"

we may have a total of 10 chins between us, 
but it was for the sake of the blog, so we approved.
this kid is pretty rad. 
we both love india and soup.
we are basically made to be bffs.

 this is what my shift looked like.
i know, exhilarating.

my favorite lab tech was on the unit.
he always greets us with "hello beautiful ladies!"
and when you ask him how he is, 
he replies "everything is under control!"
the best.

so i'm living in the mission district for a couple of weeks.
it houses some amazing food.
my ever expanding waste line is a testimony to that.
and i've been on a hot pursuit to find the perfect breakfast burrito.

mission accomplished.

they made the tortilla before they made the burrito.
as in, MADE TO ORDER tortilla.
nbd.

i ate the whole thing.
then went to sleep.
and then woke up with heart burn.
totally worth it.

i took this polish puppy for a sniff walk in the afternoon.

on the sniff walk, i got a $10 off coupon for a facial.
just for being a "dog owner."
dishonest? maybe.
awesome? absolutely.

headed back to san mateo this afternoon to do some chores.

like the laundry i've been putting off for weeks

and finally wiping the hard drive of my PC.

i turned it on and the desktop picture made me so happy.

it's from the last day of nursing class.

i spent 3 hair pulling amazing years with these crazies.

such good memories.

gym time = giants time.
'nough said.

my hipster friend and nepal sister came to spend 

the night with me in sf.

this polish puppy was so out of control overwhelmed with the presence of a new friend, we had to take walk number three.

between sharing a computer for blogging 

and trying to get this pup to relax,

we watched some arrested development 

and had a refreshing, low cal beverage.

 
well done, september 10th.
the last 10 on 10 of the summer.
 linking up here: 

quick update

howdy there, blog world.

it's been awhile.

i guess i don't have much to say these days.

so here's a quick update about what life has held the last few weeks:

i celebrated two years of being a full time nurse!

whoa.

i mean seriously, whoa.

God is SO good to have provided this job

and to have reaffirmed time and time again that 

He has created me to be nurse.

so grateful.

i got to go on a day date with my beautiful coworker.

be jealous.

she's pretty awesome.

went to my last giants game of the season.

yea, i may be crying right now.

thankfully, we won and i got to eat a corndog.

 

my college roommate and i are planning 

to run a half marathon in 2013.

we're aiming for the spring, but, deanna,

i haven't run in 2 weeks. we may have to reassess.

#friendfail

i went to wedding 2 of 4 for 2012.

i've known this special lady for eight years

and it was such an honor to celebrate her special day!

also loved hanging out with these lovely ladies!

bff's....or LONGER

my good friend, kim is away.

i got to watch her puppies one night and it was a blast.

i also had to take over her hospitality duties at church.

thankfully, i had some fantastic help.

church planters in training are the best.

i've gone on a couple hikes with this lovely lady.

kindred spirits just scratch the surface.

grateful that the Lord has brought her to the bay!

phew.

that about covers it.

coming up:

-2 weeks living in san fran

-wedding 3 of 4

-a mug swap

-my friend kimber comes to visit

-a trip to riverside.

man, life is good.

itchy

tonight is one of those nights.

i get them every so often.

sadly haven't had one in i don't know how long.

tonight, i'm itching to be overseas.

as in, i almost bought a one way ticket and emailed my friends overseas to see who would take me kinda night.

the kind of night where my body is restless,

my spirit aches,

my mind won't stop

and my heart burns.

i feel so discouraged that i'm still here,

no where closer to being overseas than i was two years ago.

i work in a comfortable hospital,

i live a comfortable life.

and it makes me sick.

i long for simplicity,

i long to feel purpose again,

i long to live amongst a people that value intentionality.

i know that i need to practice those things here

but man, is it hard!

materialism and entertainment abound.

i just want it to be simple. 

Jesus, help me to remember to live simply!!

with all of this talk of sudan in my circle of friends,

i've been woken up to how much my life isn't much different than those around me.

in fact, as i've talked with my coworkers about hope4sudan, they seem taken aback, "oh, you're a christian?"

geesh. 

i have failed.

i have failed to exalt and glorify the One whom my soul loves.

i'm so easily distracted.

for this i repent and plead with the Lord to bind my wondering heart to Him.

these next few days and weeks will not be easy.

i know the enemy has done much to keep me distracted, but i pray that the Lord will sustain me as i remember and dwell on my first Love.

prone to wonder, Lord i feel it

prone to leave the God i love.

here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it

seal it for Thy courts above

hope

HOPE:

   to desire with expectation of obtainment

such a small word,

such a big meaning.

i feel like i place my hope in so much:

i hope i will get called off work,

i hope i will be able to live overseas,

i hope to be married.

most importantly, i hope in Jesus.

the Lord promises the following:

"For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever."

Psalms 9:18

as i think about Sudan-

the death, the starvation, the injustice-

i am nothing short of being utterly overwhelmed. 

watched this video for the first time.

it was really difficult to get through.

but, as jimmy dugan said in "a league of their own":

"the hard is what makes it great."

it may be hard to watch, but so important to do so!

please take seven minutes to educate your self

and identify with people who live in hopelessness.

i see nothing but hopelessness in this video.

but i cling to words in Psalm 9:18

because in them, i am reminded that there is hope.

there is hope!

while Christ is the ultimate bringer of hope,

restoring those who would believe with the Father,

we are ambassadors of this hope.

i pray that you will join me in bringing hope to the people of Sudan by giving finicially, praying fervently, and telling with urgency.

side note: 

please let me know if you have questions about what's going on, what to know how to practically join this effort, or think we're just plain stupid. let's make this conversation happen!

Help People, Get Stuff

Hope for Sudan.

written about it,

tweeted about it,

trying to tell the world about it.

thankfully, i have lots of help.

like her and her and her and her, 

just to name a few.

in fact, we've had some MAJOR help 

from some amazingly cool people.

jess is hosting a Hope for Sudan giveaway. 

all the prizes have been donated.

yea, you heard that right.

DONATED.

"how do you enter?" i hear you begin to say.

well, let me tell you!

all you have to do is talk.

or type, i guess.

help us spread the word about Sudan.

tweet it.

facebook it.

grab the button. 

JUST TELL PEOPLE!

for more info on entering, check out jess's blog.

easy peasy, i say,

easy stinkin' peasy.

Hope for Sudan

i know i "get behind" a lot of causes.
but that's because there are a lot of causes that need backing.

this '"cause", if you will, is urgent.
i learned recently of the horrors going on in Sudan,
specifically the border region.
did you know approximately 200,000 people are dying of starvation?
i sure didn't.



now that i do know what 's going on, i can't keep silent.
i am grateful for the men who have been working to get information out there about the atrocities in the border region of Sudan.
i am also grateful and excited that my church will be taking part in the efforts to ease suffering, both physical and eternal.

here are the facts:

from http://hope4sudan.hopesanmateo.org/

it's hard for me to grasp this level of suffering.

i know i have never seen or experienced anything to this magnitude.

but i know God has called His Church to do something about it.

the task is daunting at times when i think about it with my small, imperfect logic.

but then i remember that the God who fed 5,000 people on a hillside with five loaves and two fish can provide mightily for the people in this border region.

i ask you to join in this task with us in faith.

as we step out in such faith, i believe the task to be very simple:

give,

pray,

go.

in this moment, i ask you to give.

give five dollars.

give 1,000.

just give.

you can donate here or mail a check to the follow address.

   Hope Church of San Mateo
   PO Box 25268
   San Mateo CA 94402

then, i ask you to pray.

pray for this effort;

pray for those who will die today because

their bodies just can't take it anymore;

pray for that people would hear the name of Jesus and His saving work and believe!

i ask you to help us mobilize this effort.

link this blog on your facebook, twitter, instagram, whatever.

write about it on your own blog.

make the logo or a picture of Sudan your profile pic.

tell your friends, families, and coworkers.

pray about how you and your home church would join the effort.

i'm not asking you to go this moment,

or even at the end of august.

but what i am asking is that you would engage this people through prayer and through mobilization.

however, i do pray that the Lord would do a lasting work among this people through Christ followers throughout the world. and i believe that includes physically flying half way across the world to meet, encourage, and love people.

so please, join us?

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?"

Micah 6:8