Just wanted to say...

That I miss our blog :(  I pretty much blew it, it was my turn to write and I didn't.  But I miss ya'll, well I miss you Danielle, I see Kate, but I miss our blogging.  What do you think?  Should we pick it back up?  

it's been a while...

hi friends,
i'm glad to be back into the swing of school and the blog. probably from middle school on, i have kept some kind of either "diary" or prayer journal. and every once in a while i like looking back at those and not only laughing hysterically, but thinking how gracious and faithful my Heavenly Father is and has been. although i haven't experienced immense trials and hardships, i have been through those little "dramas" and uncertainties in life, and feelings of loneliness and all sorts of emotions (anger, bitterness, etc.). it's great to look back at those days and kindof ponder on them and laugh about them all at the same time...but mostly i like pondering over them and seeing how the Lord has been leading me the whole way. as kate said, i focus so much on the today that i forget the bigger picture...of purpose, of desiring the will of Him who has created me and brought me through life so far, and i get so zoned in on myself that it's easy to forget the Lord is constantly whispering "I am here, guiding you...I've been here the whole time". the past few weeks have been so incredibly busy, where it's been so easy to settle into that busy-ness and forget about delighting in the Lord and just sitting down and spending time getting to know Him more. i love those days at starbucks or even sitting in my bed, where i can completely focus on the Word...when i'm intentional about seeking Him. it made me almost jealous thinking you were at cambridge doing just that, kate! i constantly battle with trusting the Lord and opening up all parts of my life to Him, and letting Him become my King in reigning over every single problem, relationship, friendship, action, word, etc. i see also every day that i need Him...i want to know Him, i want to know more of Him and have HIM fill me and acknowledge that He is the only One that CAN fill my longings and desires. it's tough when there is that constant battle of submitting but wanting what we want...and then i remember He's done everything needed for us to be right with Him, we simply need to go to Him and believe that. as i think of more thoughts to share, i'll add them to the blog! i think this is all for now...leaving ya'll with some quotes/verses.
"all my lifelong i had panted for a drink from some cool spring, that i hoped would quench the burning of the thirst i felt within. hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies all my longings, through His blood i now am saved.
feeding on the filth around me, till' my strength was almost gone, longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on. poor i was and sought for riches something that would satisfy; but the dust i gathered round me, only mocked my soul's sad cry. Hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies all my longings, through His blood i now am saved. well of water, ever springing, Bread of Life so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me! hallelujah! He has found me, the One my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies all my longings, through His blood i now am saved." - satisfied
"by faith we see, as in a mirror dimly, the reflected image of His unbounded treasures, but when we actually see the heavenly things themselves, with our own eyes, how deep will be the stream of fellowship in which our soul shall bathe! until then, our loudest songs shall be reserved for our loving benefactor, Jesus Christ our Lord, whose love to us is wonderful, surpassing the love of a man for a woman". - spurgeon "morning and evening"

tough day pt.2

first of all, read the post below this one first!

just so you know, as i write this, there are 2 boys meeting and discussing the word directly in front of me and reading a book by JC Ryle. 2 more from the previous post and 2 behind me. it must be "every cute boy meet and discuss the Word at cambridge" day. hmm. just my luck.

so, i just had a revelation. i am reading Spurgeon's morning. he says...
"There is a fullness of triumph in His ascension, for 'when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and received gifts for men'... Come, believer, and receive largely, for this 'fullness' is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel - God with us."

ok, so i am going to try to word this correctly. what's going through my mind. the devotion comes from the verse, "and of His fullness have all we received." - john 1:16. so, as i see all of these guys who are seeking His Word... i think, these boys are seeking Him. i am impressed with them and want to be with them (partially) because they are seeking Him. they don't have what i want. the Lord hopefully will use them in the lives of women to point women to Him. and hopefully there will be a man one day to do that for me... to guide me and to lead me and to be my partner. but it is all for Christ. and these guys, by sitting and searching the Word are saying, i need Him. i need who He is and what He has to offer. so, i sit here and am thinking... i need Him. i don't need these guys and they don't have what i want. they can't give me this longing that is going on inside of me. that comes from the Lord. He is fullness of all that i need or could ask for or could desire. and my prayer this morning is that i would believe that. that my eyes would not be so focused on what is today... on what may occur on this earth but on my Heavenly Father and how He wants me to point others to Him. praise God for revealing that to me... i will continue to search for His truth.

“God is the ultimate musician. His music transforms your life. The notes of redemption rearrange your heart and restore your life. His songs of forgiveness, grace, reconciliation, truth, hope, sovereignty, and love give you back your humanity and restore your identity.” - paul tripp

“God did not create us to get the cosmic, infinite joy of mutual love and glorification, but to share it. We were to join in the dance. If we center our lives on him, serving him not out of self-interest, but for the sake of who he is, for the sake of his beauty and glory, we will enter the dance and share in the joy and love he lives in. We were designed, then, not just for belief in God in some general way, nor for a vague kind of inspiration or spirituality. We were made to center our lives upon him, to make the purpose and passion of our lives knowing, serving, delighting, and resembling him. This growth in happiness will go on eternally, increasing unimaginably (1 Corinthians 2:7-10).”
- Timothy Keller, The Reason For God

"I don't want to talk about You like You're not in the room
I want to look right at You I want to sing right to You

I believe that You are listening
I believe that You move at the sound of my voice

Give me dove's eyes
Give me undistracted devotion for only You"
- dove's eyes, misty edwards

tough day pt. 1

hey guys. so, i really do not know if i have much to say. but, this morning i am sitting at cambridge coffee. do you ever have those nights where you just really long for a guy so bad? last night, i literally could not sleep because i wanted someone there so bad, and i knew that the next day would not bring someone. some days i am completely fine and content and just resting in where the Lord has me right now. and some days, i just want a boyfriend so bad. so, i tossed and turned wanting to go ahead and be in daylight. yes, morning always helps. it is always so much better... things are put into perspective and my mind is clear to speak to God and to hear from Him and His Word. so, i went to cambridge coffee. i even skip class, because i couldn't sleep well and have no desire to go, whatsoever, and i have several free misses. so, i'm in cambridge. what do you know, i walk into about 10 boys sitting around the couch having bible study. i believe it is a fraternity bible study and everything this leader guy is saying is very solid. and i'm sitting behind two other individual boys, of siginifigant cuteness, and they're just hanging out, studying their bible. so, the leader gets up and they all disperse and the leader looks older, wiser, and so handsome and he is definitely carrying the book, Prodigal God. i am like, really? really? i practically wanted to leap on one of them... but do not worry i constrained myself. so, this morning, i am going to try to spend some intimate time with Christ. i am going to really dig deep into who He is and find out the fullness of what He has to offer apart from any cute boy who may be a Keller fan. i will let you know what comes of my time.

Merry Christmas

Hey guys,
I'm just going to steal this post from my Mom pretty much. Its nothing new, but its still alive and working isn't it?

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.
and He will be called Wonder Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and FOREVER.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this Isaiah 9: 6-7

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we shoud desire Him.
He was despised and reject by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53: 1-6

This is my addition: O Holy Night

O Holy Night!

The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Obviously, I picked my favorite lines. The line "Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth" just makes me want to shout out :) Its such a great reminder that in Him, but only Him, do we find purpose and meaning and worth. Hope you have a great Christmas!

beth moore quote

"beloved, God is not tired. nor is God tired of you. He delights in your attentions even when you practice them much like you did yesterday. He awaits for you to awaken, and He anticipates His time with you. when you or i ignore Him, He is disappointed. somehow in His self-existent essence and omniscience, His foreknowledge does not cheat Him of reactive emotions. He laughs when you delight Him. He listens when you speak to Him. He honors you when you persevere with Him. in all the changes He is making within you and me. He rejoices in the few things that call for blessed sameness. let's stay faithful, you an i. 'let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up' gal 6:9. "- beth moore quote
hey ya'll---
i know it's christmas break and we will all be busy for the next few wks! but i stumbled across this just a minute ago scanning through the book by beth moore called "believing God". lately i have felt so dry and like i'm in the desert searching for fullness and surrendering everything to the Lord, but it seems unheard and i have not truly rested in God and given Him every day. anna once told me that we sometimes may not "feel" the Lord's presence, we may not feel his blessings, but communion and fellowship with the Lord is one of the BENEFITS of being His child, it is not "God". she said, "sometimes our hearts can love God's gifts to us more than we love Him. and even though God never removes HImself from us, sometimes He strips us of the blessings so that we can learn the meaning of what it is to just have HIm. and to be content in God without having an EXPERIENCE of God...this is true love". for about a year now, that email has stayed in my mind and is so encouraging when i feel like i'm in the desert and i don't feel "close" to the Lord. it is good to desire to feel His presence though and blessings and acceptance. and it is good to be discontent with this earthly condition! she also said this, though, "forget yourself! nail this self-obsession to the cross. give up your rights and needs and lay all those cluttering desires aside, and fix your eyes on Christ. see Him there? see His beauty? see HIs love? in brokeness, surrender, and a renewed gospel-truth-based trust...look at Christ. that's the only branch to grab".
anyways, powerful quotes by 2 amazing women. anna lucy would be honored to know she made our blog! haha. jk. hope ya'll enjoy your breaks, just wanted to share these thoughts with you. it is still encouraging to know i'm not by myself in some of my wanderings :)

running out of titles!

i'm running out of names for titles...so i'm going to start leaving that blank. i have loved reading ya'lls posts with song lyrics. isn't that cool how we can sortof parallel those love songs to Christ's love for us? it helps us think and see more clearly His unwavering desire and love for us. that is why i loved reading "redeeming love". it comes from such a small, yet powerful book of the Bible, but making into that romantic, deep love story made the love of God seem so much more real and moving.
well guess what- i have a song that i heard yesterday on the radio. does anyone know about the Fray---background? anything about the band? ya'll tell me what you think about this song. i really like the chorus. as far as paralleling it to our walk with the Lord and His relationship to His people and how the songs ya'll have posted shed more light than this song, i think the chorus kindof expresses how we feel sometimes. and i have a quote from my church bulletin that i wanted to send also, but it's in my car and it's raining and i don't want to get off of the couch to go and get it! so i will post it later. here are the lyrics to the song "you found me" by the fray:

I found Godon the corner of First and Amistad

Where the westwas all but won

All along

Smoking his last cigarette

I said, where've you been?

He said, ask anything.

Where were you?

When everything was falling apart.

All my days spent by the telephone.

And all I needed was a call

It never came

To the corner of Firs tand Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me

Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

Why'd you have to wait?Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late.

You found me, you found me.

But in the end

Everyone ends up alone

Losing hope

The only one who's ever known

Who I am, Who I'm not, Who I want to be

No way to know

How long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me

Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

Why'd you have to wait?Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late.

You found me, you found me.

I've been calling for years and years

and you've never left me no messages

Never sent me no letters

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me

Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

Why'd you have to wait?Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late.

You found me, you found me.

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me

Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded

Why'd you have to wait?Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late.

You found me, you found me.