10 Things

Summer is flying by way too fast for my liking so I've decided to slow it up by dedicating myself to completing 10 things before Fall starts. 10 things that may seem simple to some but with my crazy schedule and already planned trips its going to be a little hard to squeeze them in but I'm determined to it.

1). Go to Sea World to see their summer nights spectacular

2). Go to Angels game (or Padres game)

3). A day trip to LA for some good food and shopping

4). Day at the Montage Beach (my fav)

5). Spend a day in San Diego relaxing and enjoying Balboa Park

6). Go to the Del Mar Races (basically so I can wear a big/fun hat)

7). Train & Run the Wild Rivers "Wet & Wild 5K"

8). Get a massage

9). Spend a Tuesday evening at the Huntington Beach Street Fair. Eating food from carts and drinking coffee while listening to local bands entertain

10). Finish reading "The Book Thief" & "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

I have exactly 2 months to complete these 10 things (since fall starts on Sept 22) ! I think my first task will be to finish my books =)

Time and Blessings

There are exactly 86,400 seconds in a day. 7 days in a week. 30/31 days in a month. 365 days in a year. On average you will take 1200 breaths an hour which means in the course of your life you will take approximately 893,520,000 breaths. WOW that's a lot! And to think that we are so quick to take advantage of the time and the breaths we have instead of cherishing them.
This past week I have been reminded to cherish the breaths in life and to number my days. I started out the week on an incredible trip to Palm Springs with the Saddleback Student Ministry team. To sum up the trip...it was glorious and refreshing filled with new friends. Monday was my little sister's 22nd birthday. Tuesday was the 4th anniversary of my cousin and goddaughters passing. Thursday my dad had major surgery to remove cancer from his prostate (all went well and he is home recovering now). At work we have exactly 9 days until camp. Which means a lot of long hours putting together cabins, games, chapel programs and much more.
Its Friday night now and I'm finding myself counting the breaths I take and thanking Jesus for the breaths I will take over the course of the next 23725+ days. Its been a roller coaster of emotions type of week but right now I couldn't be happier to be at home with my family as my dad recovers. As a family we have spent the last 1825 days dealing with tragedy. It seems that for the Harts tragedy is lurking around each corner and more times than not gets the best of us for a couple days or weeks. However through the last 1825 days we have learned and grown a lot. We now love each other more deeply. Fall into the arms of our Savior more frequently. Humbly confess we don't have it all put together. Open our hearts to learning, listening and sharing our journey to others. And know how to have fun when we get a brief moment of down time. Tragedy and the unexpected have not defeated us! God conquered the grave for us and has conquered our heartaches again and again too.  This week God kicked my dad's cancer in the butt and once again we are praising HIM!

my dad at the lake w/little sis Erin

So remember stop and cherish the breaths and days that you have ahead of you so that in times of tragedy and unexpected events you can uses those to lift you up and bring you hope