Love for Truckers

I'm currently sitting in a tractor trailer with my daddy waiting for his load to dock out. It has become a Thanksgiving tradition to head out on the road with him for a couple of days. It's one of the only times that I get enough time off from work so I don't have to worry about getting back to work on Monday.
His dedication to make sure people have groceries in the store, to drive safely, to deliver on time... It is not an easy job and it gets tougher every year. But I love this time I get with him, even if he does harass me through most of it as only dads can.
He does what needs to be done to make sure that everyone else can live their life. And I love him for it!

Love for Negativity (Again)

Last night, I received another Christian smackdown that I am too quick to respond to a situation with negativity.  I love this friend dearly and am very grateful to have her in my life.  Her willingness to call me out and keep me on track, especially on something that she knows is so important to me, I cannot say thank you enough....

Love My Church

This year, my church has helped me to recenter and refocus my faith.  It all started with one simple statement 'Love is Here, Take it With You.'  The people I have met, the connections I have made, the lessons I have learned...
I know every thing happens for a reason, and I know at least one of the reasons that I did not get the apartment that I applied for in 2011, but I am very glad that I decided to still try out the churches on my list before looking at churches closer to where I did move to.
The first church I went to was the one that listed more musical options on their website and after meeting the people there, specifically Mr. E and Ms. D, I never thought about going anywhere else.
My second week there, Mr. E asked if I would like to join the handbell choir and just like that music was back in my life.
The small town feeling in the middle of the state capitol was just perfect and made me feel like I was back home.

Love My Mom

This year I've had a series of health related dietary changes and through it all my mom has had my back and supported like never before.
After looking at some blood work earlier this year, my doctor told me to eat more fruits and vegetables and stop eating fried foods.  No more KFC, Chick-Fil-A, french fries, chips, fried zucchini, the list goes on.  I started getting grilled options at the fast food places, which isn't worth it at KFC, but thankfully, is at CFA, since I basically live there and we do a lot of work for them.  French fries wasn't that big of a deal since I had already cut them out quite a bit anyways.  What do you mean I can't have chips?  Like I need salt!!!!  (This was also the hardest part of no fried food for mom to help with.  You just don't realize chips are fried.)  Every summer fried zucchini is a staple in our house.  I can't remember a childhood summer without zucchini!  I came home early one night this summer and hear mom say 'I'm busted.'  I asked her what she meant.  She had made zucchini for dinner knowing that I would be at bible study, except that we had canceled that night.
I started taking a medication for my migraines that has made it that carbonation tastes very strange.  Basically watching me drink a soda is very amusing to watch.  I know this and have stopped drinking it, but sometimes, I just want a soda.  And then I start doing this weird dance and making cat hairball sounds, and mom kindly explains to anyone in the vicinity that I'm on this medication.
As I've started getting my migraines under control, I'm learning new things about my migraines, such as candy is a SEVERE trigger.  Like level 8, 10 day long migraine trigger... and so, I do not eat store bought candy anymore.  And no matter how much I want it, she won't let me have candy.
It has been awesome having her support me this year!  I know that she doesn't have to do this and I hope that some day I can support her like this.

Love for Nicknames

Growing up my dad was very insistent that each of his children be called what they were named.  No nicknames were allowed.  But when I was 12 years old, my mom told me that if she had known there were other was to spell Jessica she would have.  She started spelling different variations and when she got to Jesyka, I stopped her.  That was it.  Parent approved nickname.  My high school chorus teacher said it wasn't Jessica anymore, it was Jes-Y-Ka, and a new personality was born.

At one point in time, I was also stuck on Jessi, but you could only call me Jessi if you knew how to spell it properly.  I only one friend that called me Jessi.  

My fiance's nephews used to call me Aunt Jessikey.  

When I started going to my church, for some reason we had a discussion about Jesyka in my Sunday school class and they changed it to Swykes.

Each of these names all say the same thing, love, happiness, joy.  The meaning behind them is what is important when I hear them.  They make me smile when I think about them and the memories surrounding them.

Love for Sunday Lunches

After church and Sunday school, different members of our Sunday school group have been going to lunch at a nearby restaurant.  It's been nice to just relax and catch up with our week, recent news, the church sermon, or just random topics. A nice time to visit and share, to create a community outside of church. This time is one of my points that I look forward to each week. It helps to center me and keep me moving forward.

Love for Vehicular Safety

As I drove to work this morning with a beautiful fall wind blowing leaves everywhere, I couldn't help but think about the Dukes of Hazzard and how the leaves were always blowing behind their car.  That is until that lovely wind helped me lane change and then I started thinking about the people who help keep my car safe to drive, the people who helped me learn how to drive, the people who maintain the roads to allow us to drive safely, as much as we like to complain about them, even the people who create the traffic laws that keep us safe.  Ok, I might not have thought about all of that as I was driving to work...  But I am certainly thankful for each of them.  I love the freedom of having my own car and knowing how to driving it and thanks to my sisters patience in downtown Ithaca at rush hour (a laugh compared to DC, but at the time.....), I can drive a manual shift as well.  There are so many crazy driving stories that I could recount...  some near misses...  Some, not so near....  But at least I have never attempted to jump a pond in a bright orange car....  And if I have, I'm not telling anyone besides my Creator!  :-)

Love to Breathe

After almost a month of struggling to breathe on a daily basis, every deep breath I am able to draw is a blessing from God. They are few and far between. But even with that and the multitude of prayers I know I am continuing to receive for healing, there is something that I know with a deep down conviction.
I suffer from chronic migraines, allergies, asthma, bronchitis. I struggle with my weight and someday could have some other issues if I don't take care of myself.  But there are a million other diseases and conditions out there that I could have instead. I could live someplace where medical care is not as easily accessible.
When I look at the big picture, I have to say that today, I love my health, troubled though it may be, because I do have health. I am grateful for every breath I struggle to take and got the access I have to all the medications I'm taking to heal my lungs. And so very much I love my God that created it all!

Love for Autumn

Today I am missing home and the bright beautiful colors that I have only ever seen in the northeast. I catch occasional glimpses of a bright yellow or red here and there, but it's just not the same. I am home sick.
I love the cool temps and festivities that surround September, October and November. What a beautiful time of the year as we celebrate the earth that God created for us and it all builds up to Thanksgiving. A celebration to give thanks for all that we have and all that we have been given.
How awesome and amazing is that?
I know lots of people do thankful November on Facebook, but this morning I was told to combine thankful November with love and see what comes of it. And so I shall.
Please join me. Feel free to post here or on Facebook something related to the post, or just something that you felt as you read it.
If you've been reading along, you know that He has been working in great and mysterious ways and I would love to see what He is doing in your life.