Moving

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~Bre

KC Thanksgiving trip

I love that I get to spend my Thanksgiving week in Kansas City.

It is a wonderful place filled with great coffee and great people. 

I never end up seeing everyone that I want to see and I always

end up eating way too much junk. 

Some highlights were having friends over to meet Barry, 

going to Pitt St. to watch my little brother Jon play football, 

going with Barry and my brother Nate & his wife to see the Plaza lights, 

watching home videos, Thanksgiving day with my family, 

and being able to spend some great one-on-one time 

with some of my favorite people.

K.C never lets me down in terms of friendly people, great thrift stores & 

yummy food.

And, I also noticed that about 80% of the population was wearing some 

sort of sports team memorabilia. I guess the equivalent of a blue button down here in D.C is 

an MU pullover. Go Tigers! 

Just so you know

I have never like merry-go-rounds. 

There is something about paying way too much money to go on a 

really short ride with a pole going through a horses back that I just can't handle.

The little song that plays doesn't help and what effects me most of all

is the overall look of the dang thing.

If they used a little less gold and about 50 percent of the tchotchkes 

who knew that word had 2 t's in it...not me,  then maybe, just maybe I 

would appreciate it a bit more. But it doesn't so I don't.

And the whole going in circles thing makes my tummy hurt.

This is not what I intended to blog about. Not at all.

My weekend!!!

This is a picture of our drive this past weekend to Idaho. 

I honestly didn't think people lived there. 

We went to see one of B's friends get married. 

The wedding was outside & it started snowing as the guests arrived.

We had a fabulous time and it was so fun to meet all of B's closest friends. 

Then.

He proposed!!

(Not at the wedding. duh)

Here

at this gorgeous lake in McCall. 

So now my hand looks like this:

Yep. 

He got down on one knee in the snow. 

We went into town to grab coffee after the wedding and he insisted we walk 

down to the lake (it was pretty much across the street from the coffee shop). 

I was freezing and wearing heel booties with no socks and since we went to 

the lake the day before, I really didn't want to go.

So I said no.

And he said,"Let's go!"

And I said no again.

And he said,'We are going.'

So I went.

We talked for a few minutes ( I say it was like 5-10 minutes and he says 2)

and I asked again if we could leave. 

He said, "Alright. I better do this then."

He set his drink down in the snow, got on one knee and asked

if I would spend the rest of my life with him.

So sometime soon I will be Mrs. Chang. I can't wait to have his name. 

I am going to be Asian. 

He is moving out to the D.C area and we will go on adventures forever. 

And that was my weekend. 

Memories...

I have been thinking about all the random pages of my story that will never get published. The filler pages that no one really wants to read, but little paragraphs that I carry with me as I travel through the pages of my story:

1. The time that I was hanging out with my friend Toni in good ol' Raytown, Missouri. We went to get into some trouble at a friends house and as I walked through the front yard to get to the house, I heard someone yell out the window from upstairs:

"DON'T EVER WALK THROUGH A BLACK PERSON'S YARD!!"

I never walk through people's yards. Especially if they are black.

2. My family went to eat at this wonderful place called Grandy's in KC. I was probably 10 years old. I accidentally left my purse there. I am not sure if I got the purse back, but the feeling of losing all of my little 'precious' things was horrible.

I have never forgotten my purse, keys or phone.

3. While in Jamaica, the group I was with went cliff jumping into a most beautiful lagoon.

I am scared of heights and big water (oceans). 

I am also not the best swimmer and can only hold my breathe for about 4 seconds.

As I was mid air, I remembered all of these things. 

I think this one sums up how I go about life:

Pray. Jump. Figure it out as you go. Make a beautiful memory. Don't ever do it again. 

What are some memories that effect who you are today?

Hope for the future

 ¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ² “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³ The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the LORD.”

~Jeremiah 30:1-3

From the journal...

photo: johnfenzel.vox.com

Journal entry: March 23rd 2011

"My story is not for me. It is for you and your doubt and your fear and your abandonment. None of this stuff matters. Jesus is what matters. And not that your hurt or your sorrow is not important but it is that, despite that. Despite the mess ups and the imperfections and the failure and the rejection-Jesus. Sweet Jesus. Whispers so gently in the ears of our soul- I love you. I have a plan for you and your little mess of a life. Ive got it. I know you don’t know. I know you don’t trust and you fear, but darling daughter, you are mine. I picked you. I created you. I love you darling. And I, your father, your husband, your maker, will NEVER leave or forsake you. Oh sweet darling. My darling daughter. I love you more than you could ever imagine. I knew this was going to happen. I knew it. This is not a surprise to me. I am allowing something in your soul to happen that would not otherwise happen. I know. Cry. Feel. Weep daughter. I will show you step by step my faithfulness. I know you don’t fully trust me. I know its hard. I will prove my faithfulness to you and you wont ever have to doubt. But you will. And I will prove to you over and over again. Because I love you. You are darling to me. You can not imagine what I have for you. I smile when I see you trying to picture it. You can’t even fathom it. You can’t make it happen. Only through your obedience and my grace will you get there. It will be harder than you trying to do life in your own strength because many a days you won’t know what is next. It won’t make sense to those around you, like Noah, but know what I have spoken to you daughter. Know my voice. You know my voice. You know the still sound of my voice. Follow that. Be gracious and follow that. I will not leave you. I have not brought you this far to leave you. I will not leave you. I am not man who will leave you. I am your God. When you feel like you can go no further; keep going. It is through that push. Just like the last pushes of labor, when you feel you can push no more, that you birth the promises I have for you."

Are you kidding me?! Pt 2

....The Lord is faithful and here is the continued story from a previous post titled: 

Are you kidding me?!

Walking out life trusting the Lord is not as easy/convenient/fun as it may sound.

When the Lord tells you one thing, it seems that everyone else has something different to say:

~get your resume' together

~move to KC

~women's shelter

~live with your outlaws

~move to TN

~craigslist

~go back to school

~Mclean Bible website

~move to Wisconsin

..just to name a few

This lead me to open up the Word of God and see if there wasn't someone else who God told to do something that didn't really make sense and see how they handled it:

vs14"Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark...Make a roof for the ark.. and  put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second and third decks. For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you , your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you."

vs22"Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him." 

If you are a serious theologian, then you know that a huge flood came, there were lots of animals, 2x2 on the arc, and everyone on the earth, except the arc dwellers, died. 

I decided to listen to the Lord. I waited. I trusted...

except that one time when I got on craigslist and got a heavenly smack on the hand.

The thing was that I could have stayed in the apartment but I just didn't have the money for it minor details. I had to be out, or write a check by the 7th of January.

A check, from a random person, was handed to me on the 3rd of January.

And this continued, getting a check from random people, 

FOR 7 MONTHS!!!

I put in my notice but found out it was a 60 day notice instead of a 30 day And of course I blogged about it It's time....

The rent was paid for until I officially moved out on August 8th.

When the Lord says to wait & trust the only thing to do is wait & trust. 

HE is ridiculously faithful. 

Stupid faithful.

I promise.

Then HE told me to go and I went....

but that is a whole 'nother story.

Thanks for reading.

Imposter

I'm a wanna be:

~Chef

~Photographer

~Model

~Stylist

~Dancer

~World Traveler

~Comedian

~Vegetarian

~Organizer

~30yr old

~Asian

~Morning Person

~Foodie

~Writer

~Yogi

~Giver

~Artist

~Blogger

Or, am I really just a crappy version of all of these things...

I think my view of myself just completely changed.

Who/what do you wanna be?

Uncontaminated Trust

photo cred: hughstewart.com

"The basic premise of biblical trust is the conviction that God wants 

us to grow, to unfold, and to experience fullness of life. 

However, this kind of trust is acquired only gradually  and most often 

through a series of crisis and trials."

~Brennan Manning in Ruthless Trust~

Are you kidding me?!

The Lord is faithful.

There are so many little stories that I could tell you about how faithful HE has been in these most recent chapters of my story, and I feel that it is now time to start sharing these stories:

Last November/December was a crazy time for me. The lease for my apartment was up the first week of January and I couldn't afford my 1,200$ a month rent as a single mom. Graciously, some dear friends of mine knew my situation and offered their home to me. We had been talking about this idea a bit since  September and they were more than ready to have Bailey and I in their home. How awesome was that!!! So, as I started to pack(late November), I called to see which weekend would be best to start moving in. The person said, "oh, I am sorry, it's not going to work out.".....

WHAT?!

HUH...

What do you mean it's not going to work out.....

Did we not have a few months worth of conversation about this? 

I was beyond confused but knew the Lord was at work.

So, early December, another friend sits down with me and explains that they need au pair and that I could live with them AND they would pay me. What an amazing opportunity! I was looking to transition jobs and the location would be perfect and I would get to spend my days with Bailey. They needed someone right at the new year too! This was amazing and right on time! 

Journal entry Dec9th:

 'When things don’t seem like they will work out, HE makes an even better way than what we could expect'

So Christmas Eve, I get a call from them saying, "It's not going to work out."

ARE 

YOU 

KIDDING ME!!!!!

At this point, I had 2 weeks to be out of my apartment. I could stay but I didn't have the money.

I mean, is 1200$ just suppose to show up from nowhere?

Journal entry Dec 31st:

'I have no clue what 6 months from now will look like. Who is to say that I won’t be some women’s shelter somewhere. As I was just thinking that, I heard in my head, “I am about to…”. God is about to. I just have to wait on HIM. I have to wait on the LORD. WAIT on the LORD. It is so hard...Things might get harder before they get easier but something in my spirit says its going to be worth it.'

So there I was, days before I had to be out of my unpacked apartment with no money and I feel like I am just suppose to trust the Lord. 
Just wait and trust. 

Here is the post I wrote: 2010

To be continued....

 

Chasing Waterfalls.

I feel like I am on the edge of something.

Something that combines all the things my heart loves.

I have lots to learn & seek the Lord on. 

I don't know what it is going to look like

but I must get in the water and see where

it takes me.....

What loveliness

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. 

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone."

~Sam Levenson in Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere.

Chapter 29

And just like that.....

I am another year older.

Highlights of 28:

~a few Kansas City trips

~got divorced

~took a little trip to Nashville

~went to Disney World 

~signed with 2 new agencies

~started an apprenticeship

~moved 4 times

~sold/threw away over half my possessions

~went to San Francisco

~fell in love

~went with my love to NY for the weekend

~started a style blog

...just to name a few.

It has been a VERY busy year. The LORD has been doing amazing things and has proven Himself faithful over and over again. I feel like the first part of 28, the Lord was showing me that HE was faithful and gracious. As I enter into the next chapter, the Lord is in the process of showing me that HE is a Redeemer. I love what the LORD has done in this past year and I cannot wait to see what HE has in store for this next year. I am looking forward to:

~another trip to San Fran

~hanging out with Bailey

~trip with my love to Idaho

~Kansas City for Thanksgiving

~a surprise trip overseas with my love

~a few important weddings

~a big move

~lots and lots of adventures.

Special thanks to my dad for his contribution and to my mom for birthing me :)

Confession

Confession:

I need to be more bold.

I get nervous when it comes to approaching people.

I have this little fashion blog and the idea of it is to capture the style of folks that I run into on the street. 

I don't know why I wanted to do this. It terrifies me. 

So today, I am sitting at Starbucks. I see this old Japanese man who is just DARLING. 

i should have stolen him.

I wanted to take his picture. But instead, I just stared at him like a creeper.

No picture. No blog post.

Just scared me with my camera and mac and espresso.

What makes you nervous ?

Picture perfect

photo:vi.sualize.us

I just love this picture.

This is what I want my life to look like.

Have you thought about that? 

If you had to have just one picture of what you want your life to look like..what would it be?

What you read.

I have spent hours and hours compiling a list of the Top 5 most read blog posts. lies.

I am trying to figure out what the reader is drawn to in my blogging and I think I got it. 

So without further adieu yes, i had to spell check that.:

5. The End ~ this tells me you guys like sad wedding stuff.  

            4. To: My brother and new sister ~ this tells me you like happy wedding stuff and a possible fight. 

    3. The Chipotle Incident ~ this tells me you like a good poop story.

2. 我珍贵的战士 ~ this says you love a great love story.

and #1....drum roll please:

The End ~ you like the painfully fantastic reality of life. 

Am I right? 

Just jump!

Do you want to travel? Buy a ticket.

Want to learn a language? Sign up for a class.

Want your teeth whiter? Buy Crest white strips.

Want to lose some lbs? Quit drinkin beer and join CrossFit. 

Want to not watch so much tv? Turn the dang thing OFF.

Want to read a book? Read one. 

Sometimes we make life so much more complicated than it really is. 

NYC

SoHo 

I spent this past weekend in New York City. 

I had an amazing time. My love planned the trip and it was perfect. 

We:

~at ice cream at Momofuku Milk bar

~walked around Chelsea & SoHo

~went to Cirque du Soleil at Radio City  

~spent a good 4 hours in Bergdorf Goodman

~took a stroll through Central Park

~ate gelato at Bryant Park

~spent some lovely time in Brooklyn overlooking the city

The trip was short and sweet. We fell in love a bit more and I can't wait to see the world with this man.

Next stop:

San Francisco (again:)

I can't wait!!

HEY!

IT'S SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!

In case you didn't already know. 

I love this month. 

Ready. 

Set.

24 days till my BIRTHDAY!!!!

Bags are packed!

I have a home. I am moving tomorrow. 

I will be in the exact neighborhood that I have been praying & wanting to live in. 

It is a better situation than I could have planned. 

I have trips planned every month till the end of the year. 

I am getting licensed to do hair! 

My daughter will start school next week and I will be 29 next month. 

Crazy.

And I remember what the Lord has allowed in my life in order to get me to this place. 

Not at all thinking that life will never again be as hard as it was, but, knowing that 

when I go through another battle, the Lord is faithful.

He provides. 

 He is gracious.

He loves with an ardent love.

 He is up to so much good.

He allows crazy things in our lives for the story that He is writing.

He is a master storyteller and a much better writer than I will ever be.

*P.S. If you have my blog link on your blog then you have to change the address to: brelthomas.blogspot.com or else folks can't click on it :) Thanks!

Boast

"I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the LORD;

let the humble hear and be glad.

O magnify the LORD with me, 

and let us exalt his name together.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me,

and delivered me from all my fears.

Look to him, and be radiant;

so your faces shall never be ashamed.

This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD,

and was saved from every trouble."

~Psalm 34:1-6

我珍贵的战士

I don't even know where to begin.

First off...

This.man.is.MINE!!

For those of you who know how desperately I have wanted an Asian baby-No. I did not adopt him. 

 I cashed in my 'Buy an Asian baby' account today. 

The past years of knowing this man and the past few months of dating him have been unbelievable. 

He is the most sacrificial, kind, sincere, considerate, patient, 

gorgeous, gentle, forgiving, loving person don't be deceived, he could kick some serious ass if need be.

He looks like Jesus minus the little slanty eyes & jet black hair.

His affections are for me.

His heart is pure & his love is a crazy biblical sort of love.

Every time I look at his face, I am reminded of how much the Lord loves me.

I do not deserve this type of love.

 Not at all.

This is not what I signed up for.

This is grace.

This is redemption.

This is my life & this is what the Lord is about. 

So stupid.

photo: photodonuts.com

Life is stupid good. 

 Pages are being written. 

My soul is well & my God is sweet.