today

Today, I hope to know more of who God is than I did yesterday. Today, I want to be deeply burdened for people who don't know the Lord. Today, I hope to share God's grace by the way I love. Today, I find myself satiated in the truth of who He is. Today, I am being transformed to look more like Jesus. Today, I want to speak about His goodness without hesitation. Today, I saw God in the rain and lightening. Today, I felt Him in encouraging words of a friend. Today, I was refreshed by His word. Today, I want to embrace each moment and appreciate it for exactly what it is: a gift.

click it.

http://www.gracecampus.net

twenty two.

confession: i have a really hard time embracing birthdays. not because there is an additional candle on my cake, but because i feel incredibly selfish. i know people celebrate in a varitey of different ways. if given the choice, i honestly think some people would have a friend with a megaphone announce their entrance into every room they entered or walk around with a giant blinking arrow atop their head that says- "i was born today." then there are people on the other end of the birthday spectrum who would much rather hang out the shadows than step into the spotlight of attention on their birthdays. and it's a peculiar thing i suppose, i love other people's birthdays. i mean who doesn't enjoy a day when you get to find a gift/card that reminds someone you care about that they are loved, and to top it all off, desserts are mandatory. you live another year, you get to eat cake. lovely. but when it i started to think about celebrating my birthday, nothing but tension and uneasiness rose up in me. why? great question. but i think the answer lies in my initial hesitation of feeling selfish. well this past thursday i turned twenty two. honestly, it was one of my favorite birthdays. i think a big part of my day was allowing myself to receive love and encouragement from people who care about me and not seeing that reception of love as selfish. i didn't have any plans except for a hong kong team meeting later in the evening. i woke up that morning to see rain pouring down sideways outside my window, but my spirit was quickly lifted by a multigrain bagel at big blue with great friends. between classes i headed to the office to help fold envelopes for our support letters. as i sat and folded and glued black card stock into envelopes, i got to sit in on a conversation that was challenging and encouraging.[matt and jason: thank you for speaking truth into one another, for questioning how and why, for letting me sit and listen, and at the end of it all wrapping back around one purpose: to bring God glory.] after leaving the office, hannah picked me up with a little surprise named christi in the back seat. later that night our hong kong team came together to finish the envelopes and talk through some updates. i am still humbled by that team each time we meet. God is most certainly stirring and preparing us for what He is already doing in hong kong. it's going to be amazing. all that to say... friends and family: thank you for making me feel so loved. thank you for a sprinkle fight, surprise desserts and fun at cedarcrest, conversations over black berry jam pie and a brownie, and precious cards in the mail. sorry for the birthday soap box.

in light of my last post...

Now to him to is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. .Ephesians 3:20 & 21

memory

"What would it look like for imagination to overtake memory in your life?"

I came across this question while reading through Wild Goose Chase. My thoughts have been accompanied by this question a lot over the past few days. I heard a sermon not too long ago about memory and it's importance in our lives. I think it necessary to address the obvious to a degree: memory is a God given gift. Memory enables us to learn, to retain truth, to recall, to reflect, to reminisce, (to do lots of things that begin with 'r' for me apparently...) the list extends and adapts to each individual. But I think there is a point when my memory can thwart my imagination; rendering me incapable of moving forward. How often have I looked back on what was and try to plan out what is going to be instead of just letting God stir my imagination. Apart from the Lord, I am most certainly an invalid source for what will happen in the future. I would merely be making assumptions based on my circumstances. Those assumptions could only be made from memories, memories that can conger up experiences when I was hurt and even times when things went really well. The bottom line being: my reliance upon my own memory leaves room for assumptions of every kind to form. I think assumptions are the product of a lack of trust; and left unattended their roots are left only to grow. Then when the bottom falls out and I am searching for my foundation, it scares me to think that the roots of assumption have had any opportunity to lay over truth and dress themselves as part of my belief. I know I don't have it all figured out, but so far I do know that I want to be surrendered and in tune with the leading of the Holy Spirit. May I never be the blockade hindering progression. I'm ready to let Him dream through every facet of me.

Mary in AU

My little sister came back to Auburn with me to hang out the last weekend of Spring Break. Here are some snapshots of our adventure thus far:

SBPCB09

My last Spring Break. One would assume that my senior year I would be gallivanting off on some extravagant adventure to celebrate the ending of my collegiate career. Well I did just that. ...Okay, maybe not extravagant or extremely adventurous, but I did go to the beach and relax with some of my favorite people in the world. It may have rained 4 out of the 5 days we were there, but despite the ominous skies, we had a great time. To avoid a post that involves way too many details covering my 5 day adventure in Baypoint, here's a synopsis via bullet points:

• we got lost 5 minutes from our destination
• we ran
• we read
• we drank a lot of coffee
• we ate great seafood
• we asked/answered a lot of questions
• we went shopping [yes, we made it to Alvin's Island, don't worry]
• we ate some more
• we played a hilarious card game that will inevitably be too hard to explain
• we ate desserts, lots of dessert
• we found out 'Hannah' really does translate to 'Anita' in Spanish
• we attempted to use spray-on sun screen

On Tuesday we got to celebrate Jason's birthday and it ended up being the prettiest day outside. We drove to Destin to get breakfast at the Doughnut Hole [if you haven't ever eaten there, I suggest you stop reading this, get in your car, pick up a friend, road trip to Destin and order a cinnamon doughnut] then met up with his family and spent the day out on the beach. Most of us managed to leave the beach with random sections of sunburn. And most of those burns were a product of application error [*refer to the last bullet point]. We wrapped up the gorgeous day on the beach with a shrimp boil, compliments of Mr. Orme. Needless to say, it was fantastic. After staring into gray skies for the first few days, it was such a gift to have a warm, sunny day on the beach. Wednesday, a few of us headed back to Auburn, only to disperse again for the second half of the week.

The first half of SB '09 was lovely: a nice little break from reality with great friends.

think. teach. peace.

As I walk to class every day I have started to notice different things etched in the sidewalk. This was the one I spotted today.

simple reminder from Josh and Caleb

I had the wonderful chance this weekend to spend time at the lake with our team going to Hong Kong. Friday night as we all congregated on the back porch around an outdoor fire pit, we were constantly summoned to laughter by two of Matt's sons: Josh and Caleb. As they comfortably sat perched on the side wall they quickly discovered that when they laughed really loud there was an echo. This revelation led to them to throw their heads back and yell so loud that their little hands and feet tensed up. All this effort just to hear the echo of their voice across the lake. As they listened to the returning sound, their eyes opened wide and lit up.

The next morning I was reading in Matthew 10:27,

" What I tell you in the dark,

say in the light,

and what you hear whispered,

proclaim on the housetops."

As I read this verse, my mind was immediately drawn back to the memory of Josh and Caleb listening to their echo. May that be my same joy: to hear the glory of God echoing through the nations. I pray that I am a part of the generation who refuses to shrink back and stay quiet. May we consider such a desperation for the gospel to be known that we can do nothing less than throw our heads back and with all the strength and volume we can muster up- proclaim His goodness. Proclaim that He is better. Proclaim that there is one love. Proclaim that there is Hope.

adventures with little bro

This weekend was fantastic.

I survived 5 Torando warnings from Auburn to Huntsville.

Saw my little brother play hockey.

Laughed a lot with my family.

Saw my little sister's first prom dress.

Watched the Red Wings play. [Don't ask me what the score was, I've blocked it from my memory.]

Drove 30 mph on I-65 in a blizzard with Zach.

It snowed in Huntsville.

Read a lot about Sarah and Abraham.

Ate breakfast with Ashleigh before church Sunday.

Laughed some more with my family.

Relaxing, snow covered drive back to Auburn.