thursday

tonight encounter took on a new shape. periodically throughout the year we are going to be meeting separately at different locations in auburn. the different groups are all meeting under the same mindset that whatever we do whether in word or deed- do it all in the name of Jesus [colossians 3:17]. the groups were separated by different aspects of grace campus : prayer, service, vocational ministry, missions/international students, reading the word, and community. tonight i went to the meeting about serving our community in auburn. i have to say that it was incredibly encouraging. whenever a group of believers gather for the purpose of God being glorified it excites my heart more than i can articulate. as i sat and listened to all the amazing things that are happening in auburn, i began to look around the room and just dream over the people that i was gathered with. He has equipped us all with different gifts and passions and He is going to orchestrate something beautiful through this ministry. i feel it. our group was led by jason orme. i have just recently had the chance to get to know jason and his heart is incredible. as he spoke to the group gathered in his living room, it was evident in his words and his eyes that the Lord has placed great vision and wisdom upon him to be a leader in our community of believers. i'm really excited about being able to know a new group of faces from my encounter family. i'm amazed again at the wonderful people i have the privilege to call friends.

bed time

i'm going to sleep before 10:00. i dont' remember the last time this happened. i'm excited about some good sleep. goodnight :)

prints.seals.envelopes.addresses.lots of coffee.no sleep: well worth it

first stop: support letters. i had a really neat vision for them & what i pictured in my brain actually transferred to my fingertips thanks to some help from great friends. i have been so restless and unable to sleep from excitement about what these letters mean to me. this is the first tangible sign that the process has begun! next stop: passport photos- if you have ever seen my passport you will understand the necessity. this is what the front of most of my letters look like. [i ran out of red paper about 3/4 of the way through the process, so the last 1/4 are matted on black card stock] the back is sealed with a simple dot of red wax and an orthodox cross stamped into it. God grants beautiful creativity. hopefully this will be one of the last sleepless nights for a little while. thank you for taking this journey with me.

simple truths

as i was reading through exodus 4 this afternoon the Lord revealed some simple truths... v.1: I need Him to help my unbelief. My security must be found in the heart of who He is. v.2-9: Whatever is in my hands, God can/will use for His glory- for the disbelief of a world who does not know Him. He is not delayed or bound by my circumstances or my flesh- Praise God! He alone is the giver of understanding and miracles. I must live in the truth of who He is. v.10: The Lord is fully aware of my shortcomings- He knows them before He places vision upon me and before I am even aware of them. v.11 & 12: "Then the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." v.13: Even in knowledge and comfort of the Father- I let fear overwhelm me and potentially miss an opportunity to be used by Him. v.14-17: The Lord is not hindered by my fear. He doesn't need me, YET He chooses to let me be a part of His renown throughout the world.

"it's like being a red square in a blue world"

This summer one of my students was explaining to a group of us how he felt really different at school [more specifically talking about different christians should look to the world]. After searching for eloquent words to explain his situation, and being unable to describe his feelings, his eyes lit up and he said,

["it's like being a red square in a blue world"]

His simple phrase has stuck with me since then. I think it is a great example of how dramatically different we are called to live. That our purpose is to love God and to love people, and to a world that is so consumed with self, when we choose to live as we are called to- we look dramatically different. As I was talking to a group of high school girls tonight, we talked about what it looks like to be "red squares" in the world we live in. There was a moment when one of my older students embraced the vision I was trying to share with them- it was beautiful. These moments are priceless to me. Not because I have brought some great enlightenment, but because He who is greater than my vision, greater than my words, He brings understanding and I had the privilege of being there when they began to understand truth. It's a beautiful experience.

a classical guitar and an empty milk carton

i'm sure that these two things in the same sentence make absolutely no sense to anyone else but today both are sweet/funny reminders of my dad to me. he came to visit and take care of me this past weekend. but this morning as i was trying to decide what to eat for breakfast i opened the refrigerator and laughed out loud when i found an empty milk carton sitting in front of a full one. my dad had fixed his coffee right before he left and out of habit i guess placed it back in the frig. people do funny things, and i thought this one needed to be shared.

[daddy if you're reading this-know i love you & i hope you're laughing at this too]

almost four years ago i was talking to my dad about how one of my life goals was to learn how to play the guitar- not with the intention of pursuing a music career, but to be able to sit in my room and just play. my dad revealed to me that he still had his classical guitar from high school that i could have and learn to play on if i wanted to. of course i gladly accepted his offer! well last night my guitar [i'm going to have a name for it soon] FINALLY got new strings thanks to my friend zach benson. it took us about an hour and a half to restring and tune the thing, but he was really patient and explained every step to me. i hope that you find reminders of Love and people that you love around you often. whether it's a place, a picture, a smell, a breeze, a smile, a sunset or a song.

hold up, wait a minute

it's amazing to me sometimes how busy we make ourselves. i love every minute that i get to be with my friends and be out doing things. a lot of wonderful conversations happened today, sometimes i just have to remind myself to slow down and not try to do everything on my to-do list in one day. it's nearly impossible. i love having the freedom and flexibility of my schedule to do all of those things- but it's crucial to stop and enjoy the day. and to rest. more thoughts on my ever-evolving life soon.