Christmas Time is here.....

I will be in California this year for Christmas! 

I am really excited to spend time with family and friends this holiday season In Fresno :)  As much as I would LOVE to see you all and catch up on life, I have realized that there is not enough time. BUT there will be a few opportunities for you to hear about my life in Costa Rica and how God is using me here for His kingdom.

I will be at the following churches :) 

Sunday Dec 14th:: The Well Community Church North Campus. 9am, 11am, 5pm & 7pm.
Sunday Dec 28th:: The Well Community Church Fig Garden Campus 9am & 11am

And
The Well Kingsburg 5pm

I will be at each campus before and after each service and would love to see you there. :)  Plus I will have my new prayer cards and few other fun Costa Rica things there that you could take home!

I am so excited to be back in California but I am not excited for the cold weather. But most of all I am excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus with family this year! 

What's On Your Playlist?...

I love music!

You can take away my TV shows, you can take away coffee or even my Hot Tamales, but dont take away my music!

I tell people that you can tell what kind of mood I am in by the music that I am listening too.

The beauty about living in a different country that has good public transportation, is that almost everyone on the bus or is walking, has headphones on and are listening to music. (Or at least I think it is music) Since I am one of those lovely folks that walk, I am listening too more and more music each day.

So what is currently on my playlist???
(they are in no particular order and I will do my top 10) 

1. You Make Me Brave - Bethel Music

 

2. Evan Craft - Jovenes Somos

3. Brooke Fraser - Brutal Romance

 

4. The Fault Of Our Stars - Soundtrack

5. Clarity - Zedd

6. With Everything - The Well Community Church 

7. The Best Of Me - Soundtrack

8. 1989 - Taylor Swift

9. Hillsong United - Zion

10. Safe Haven - Soundtrack

(You can get each of these on iTunes) 
Keep in mind that these are just some of the albums that I have played in the last few days. I have a Road Mix 2014 playlist that has a LOT of singles on there from artists such as  Ace of Base to Eminem to anything else between. Trust me it is fun mix!

So what are some of the music that you are currently listening too?

Remember I love music so I would love to hear some of the artists that you are listening too!

Cooking for who?......

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy cooking!

 

I also really enjoy cooking for friends and family. Recently I had the chance to cook for some friends that were in Costa Rica. I was so excited to be able to make Mexican food. But I was more excited to be able to have people over and talk and just do life together.

Then I started thinking about the last time that I did something like that, cooked for a group of friends...

You see before I moved to Costa Rica, I would host game nights and cook for friends. There would be times that over 25 people would be over playing games, eating and enjoying each other company. It was a house filled with love and laughter and good food.  Lately I have been missing those days.

I have been living in Costa Rica now for about a year and a half. In the year and a half that I have lived here, I have cooked for friends (not family because none have come to visit me yet) probably about 3-5 times. That means that for the most of the year and a half, I have cooked for myself. A dinner for one. And that also means that I eaten by myself too.

Welcome to the life of a single living in another country.

Now don't get me wrong, there are times were I went out to dinner with friends. But that can get expensive real fast.

But the reality for a single person is that you make and eat a lot more times alone then with someone else. And honestly I am getting kind of tired of making a dinner for one.

I know that this is the season that I am in, a season where I am cooking for one. And I know that living in another country does play a factor in the dating game. I mean who wants to do long distance?? But I still have hope. A hope that one day I wont be cooking a dinner for one but for two and then maybe more.

Till then, I will continue to make my dinner for one because, a girl got to eat! 
 

My Week Without TV.....

This last week, TV and I had a break.
We (mainly me) decided that I needed sometime apart from him (yes I just made my TV male). TV did nothing wrong, but did everything right, but I still needed a break.

Why you ask?
Well, there are a few reasons that I wanted to take a break, but my reason was that I felt as though I was spending too much time on Hulu Plus, catching up on my American TV shows and I wanted to change that.

See sometimes living in another country can be exhausting. From learning and speaking another language, to figuring out how to pay bills or even what bus to take to get home can be hard. The little things that never bothered you in your home country (like driving), now seem like such a huge hurdle and so overwhelming. BUT yet by God's grace you were able to pay the bills, drive to the store and the lady at the register understood what you were asking. So it is easy at the end of the day to come home, and want to do something that is familiar to you. That is a little taste of home.

For me that is watching my American TV shows. For 42 min, I get to watch something that people back at home are watching or at least familiar with. I can Skype with friends and family and know that I can talk to them about what happened on Scandal, or that funny joke on that episode of The Mindy Project. (Yes I watch these shows, please don't judge my taste of TV) That when I already feel out of place and out of touch with the day to day things in America, I at least have my American TV shows to keep me current.

But what happens when your TV shows start becoming more important then God? Or more important then the relationship you need to continue to build? Now let me say that I no way think that the shows I watch are more important then God or the relationships that I am building here. BUT for some people this has become their reality. Escaping the hardships of life with a little or A LOT of TV.

So how did it go?
It was actually a lot easier then what I thought it would be. I didn't go through withdraws or cravings. Instead, I spent time hangout with friends, Skyping with people and reading. I notice that when I went to bed, I was more relaxed. My time with God was longer and not so rushed at night. Yes my nights seems LONGER, but that meant that I had more time to do other things.  At the end of the week, I was glad that I did it. It helped me to see that I need a balance in my life. That it is okay to watch TV shows and relax, but I also need to make sure that I make more time with God and friends.