Family...

Thanksgiving Day:
I spent my Thanksgiving with my dad's family - most of his 13 brothers and sisters (he is the oldest of 14) were present at our Thanksgiving Day dinner, and I was just so amazed at how many people have blessed my life. There were so many generations of adults, kids and their (even younger) kids...all gathered to give thanks and celebrate the gift of each other. There were MANY people squished (comfortably of course) into my Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul's house today. We had a great many turkeys and hams to go around, along with all the fixin's. :) We also witnessed a hilarious spectacle of a Christmas Gift exchange where my Aunt Monica voted that we "steal the crap" out of the presents that were passed around. All the kids got their own gifts and the adults spent about an hour or so trading the various gifts until all were happy with the outcome.

This is not uncommon for the Cherniawski's on Thanksgiving, and although it's been a few years since we've had such a tremendous celebration together. This year it was welcomed with the same love and care that has always blessed me as I was a child, and a teenager, and now as a young adult, I appreciate it all the more. Thank you to all my family who made this year particularly memorable.

My Grandmother: Laura Betty
(affectionately known to her grand kids as "G-Ma")
This week my family will be celebrating my grandma's 80th birthday.  Not that I am old, but from an early age, I remember looking up to my grandma as someone to aspire to. She didn't accomplish the "normal" things in life like many other people, she never finished college, she was never wealthy (monetarily), but she is someone who has spunk and generosity. She was and still is always very open to sharing what she has - it might not be a lot, but if she has something, it's yours. Often she will share a game of scrabble or cards with anyone who is willing to play. And then proceed to beat them at whatever game is before them...but that's besides the point. ;) She also raised fourteen beautiful kids who are all amazing in their own ways.

She is also a woman of faith - I am often amazed at her faithfulness after all she has been through in her life. Then I realize that it is because of her faith that she was able to make it through those things, and not just give up on life, but keep trekking through. She is a woman who is a leader to many, but a quiet, humble one. I will be happy to become half the woman she is. Thank you Grandma for all of your love and support. Happy Birthday!

Well Wishes:
To everyone reading, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend full of celebration and love of friends and family! Be happy, celebratory, joyful and peaceful!

C-Bear

Known

I have recently...or not so recently discovered a new favorite musical artist. Now, as a person who owns a ridiculous amount of music (you don't even want to know the amounts I have spent on i-Tunes), this is a dangerous, but also thought-provoking thing. I seem to "go through" music quite quickly. I will buy a song, listen to it for a few weeks, then discard it for awhile until I decide to pick it up again and listen to it - and the sequence begins again.

I have done this with many artists - mostly main streaming musical geniuses - who come up with sometimes beautiful (and mostly just catchy) music that grabs my attention and keeps it for a bit. Every once in awhile I will keep an artist  or two that I rarely get sick of...such as Jimmy Eat World, Ray LaMontagne, Alanis Morisette, and Ryan Adams...just to name a few. I have found another!!  But she's not from the "normal" hemisphere of music that attracts my attention...but from the Christian music scene.

Crazy as it may seem to some, there are a few artists out there who are Christian and can make good music. It seems to be a rarity in my life that I actually enjoy ALL of the music from one artist, but for now, I have been blessed and found just that. Not only have I enjoyed this artists music, but her sense of the Lord is magnificent. She seems to get at the heart of many things that are going on in my life...not only musically (through the instruments), but lyrically as well.

I tend to be one of those people who cannot listen to the music and not hear the words - actually the words of most songs scream at me - whether good or bad. I don't know if this is because I just enjoy words and the way people form sentences...especially in music, or if it's the way I was raised with my mother being particularly fond of and talented in the musical sector of life? In other words, it speaks to me.

So, getting down to the nitty-gritty:
The name of the artist is Audrey Assad - I don't know too much about her background except that she is somehow friends with my friend Andrea, who initiated this musical relationship with my soul. Thank you Andrea!!

I have been so blessed over the past four months, seriously going to her album and just playing it whenever. I have played it for some of the women I meet with, for girls on retreat, for whoever wants to listen because it's just that awesome. She has a sound similar to Ingrid Michaelson or Joni Mitchell, but has very strong, beautiful analogies in her music.  Here's a sample of some of the picturesque lyrics that have really touched my soul:

Known by Audrey Assad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the dew falls on the blade
You have touched all this fragile frame
And as a mother knows her baby's face
You know me, You know me

As the summer air within my chest
I have breathed You deep down into my breast
And as You know the hairs upon my head
Every thought and every word I've said
Every thought and every word I've said


Refrain:
Savior, You have known me as I am
Healer, You have known me as I was
As I will be in the morning, in the evening
You have known me, yeah, You know me

Oh, and as the exhilaration of autumn's bite
Oh, You have brought these tired bones to brilliant life
And as the swallow knows, she knows the sky
This is how it is with You and I
Oh, this is how it is with You and I

From the fall of my heart to the resurrection of my soul
You know me, God, and You know my ways
In my rising and my sitting down
You see me as I am, oh, see me as I am

And as a lover knows his beloved's heart
All the shapes and curves of her even in the dark
Oh, You have formed one in my inward parts
And You know me, You know me, yes

Savior, You, You have known me as I am
Oh, healer, You have known me as I was
As I will be in the morning, in the evening
You have known
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This song has particularly been touching my heart I think because the Lord wants this of me. It has also directly correlated with many of the things I have been hearing at various functions through work and my community. Such as on Friday I attended a prayer meeting with over 100 college students - we packed out a church in downtown Ann Arbor, MI - and we just praised the Lord and heard truth! One of the things the speaker was talking about was seeing God as a PERSON, not an idea. And I thought about that for awhile.


"Am I seeing God as an idea rather than a person to hold a conversation with? Am I treating God as an object to talk to or am I allowing him to speak to me while I listen? Am I allowing the Lord into every area of my life or am I controlling some and only giving over what I know will work? Am I allowing the Lord to know me freely, or am I closing him out of some of the most formational years of my life?"


As these questions ran through my head, I realized that I try to allow the Lord to speak to me, but only when I want him to. This would include times of daily prayer. Times I have set aside in my day to look to God for guidance, wisdom, grace and anything else he wants to throw my way. But other than these "planned" times, I don't always allow the Lord to speak to me. I don't freely ask him into my daily activities and schedule. I sometimes plain ignore him...and I know that needs to change. 


Being the person who is in control of their own life is not what God wants for me (or honestly, for anyone). If I am to fully call myself a follower, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, I need to also allow myself to be led by him. Not in just the times I want, but in the times I need and in the times that are going well. The Lord is calling to me and I am just beginning to answer this call - and seeing how stubborn I really am, it's gonna take awhile. 


The bottom line is: I want to be known by the King of Kings and I want him to know me. I want to be open with him and him with me. I want to do whatever he wants me to do - because that's true love. When I can look to Him and see the beautiful plan he has for me and say, "Yes!" with a resounding voice, and I will know that I have at least accomplished that which he has set before me now: the ability to see myself as he sees me. Beautiful, grace-filled and his Daughter.


Thanks for keeping with me this far - it was a long post today, but it's how life goes. :)


C-Bear

Smells like...

Autumn!

I love the weather right now! Crisp, cool air, smells of pumpkins and wood-burning stoves, walking with the wind in my face, delicious foods, fine friends and lots to celebrate! Life seems more and more amazing each time I think about it. Walking the boys to school in the morning has been quite a pleasurable time, it wakes me up and gets me thinking about what I will be doing that day.

This weekend was excellent - it began on Friday evening with the UCoffee house at the Common Cup, I actually performed (It was quite nerve-wracking, but I got over it about an hour after the act was over)!! Also, I had the unique pleasure of being able to check out the Fleetwood Diner for the first time ever. Enjoying the company of many great friends is becoming a precious gift and I cherish those moments with them.

Saturday was a beautiful time of relaxing with my "extended" family (the ones I live with), and getting ready for a great day with two of my best friends. Spent some quality time with J. and S.!! (who came up from L-Town later on to attend the Lady Danville/Ben Folds concert in Detroit) Both of which were amazing - I will do it again and again as long as they come to Michigan. Thanks once again to Ben Folds for expanding my horizons and teaching me about new music I wouldn't have discovered on my own!  S. and I had some lovely conversations and were able to just have a fantastic time. To add to the beauty of the night, we also went Dancing! - something which I have been "craving" (as some might call it) for a long time. It brought back some great memories and I was really blessed by it. As life goes along and I get older, I tend to appreciate these moments more and more. With S. moving soon, these times will become a lot less easy to come by and I am just so grateful to be able to enjoy it while we can.

Sunday was also quite wonderful with lots of relaxing and celebration - the day ended in front of a fantastic fire, while a good friend read from the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Just enough time to kick back and begin the week.

Optimistic about many things - I press on into what we call life and I will look to the One who created me, reveling in the present, enjoying the past and looking with hope and expectation toward the future.

Life is Beautiful!

Life (past):

Recently jaded by a series of unfortunate events...well not really jaded, I just experienced some weird things all at once, I realized once again how truly blessed I am in my life.  A couple things that happened:

My car got dented by an unknown driver who didn't leave their info, I got hassled by a Canadian border patrol woman, my computer decided to stop working (it would turn on, but the screen wouldn't register - it is now in the repair shop for the next month)...these are just the major things. It was a little odd, but I realized that I am blessed. There aren't too many things that I can really attribute to these things except I think I was experiencing a little bit of attack - but I do realize that not everyone has the amazing life I have. 

Just a couple of blessings that have been "plaguing" my life: I have the best friends ever. I spent a good deal of time with some of my newest friends last weekend in Toronto - a beautiful city I would recommend to anyone who loves the hustle and bustle of the big city. I was able to hold two different babies for a total of 5 hours last week (I love kids)!! I was blessed to be able to keep my voice for the whole weekend while leading worship. I have some of the most amazing brothers, both my siblings and spiritual brothers - I have received some of the most encouraging affirmation and complimentary notes, emails, and conversations (and even a ticket to a concert of one of my favorite artists!) over the past few months - it's really amazing! Thanks guys! I have some of the best girl friends as well - they really listen, laugh, share, dream and put me back in place when needed. I am extremely happy to know you and be a part of your lives. 

Life Today:

I woke up this morning - regular day - got the kids ready for school (I nanny for a family in town) and the little boys were trying to escape breakfast by not drinking all of their milk. They really wanted some candy, but I told them that that wouldn't happen until they had the rest of their cereal. (At some point I was labeled as "the worst babysitter ever" - lol). It was kind of hilarious. I just have to laugh at moments like that - and I know that I can't even imagine living another life. Right now in this moment is where I want to be.

Life (Future):

I got tickets to one of my favorite artists concert for tomorrow!!! Ben Folds! I can't wait. My BFF will be joining me for some fun times in Detroit. Awesome! I am so excited! I am also just looking forward to a weekend home with friends and people I love. This will be the first in awhile and probably the last in awhile.  I will be spending most of it behind a computer screen applying for schools, but beyond that, I am ready to accept and enjoy it.