It Is Well

Tonight I took a nice drive with the Lord. We explored some backroads I usually drive past and revisited some places I hadn't been in a while. Taking a drive through the country is one of my favorite things to do!
This summer hasn't been the easiest nor has it been the hardest. The Lord has definitely been strengthening and refining my character. Hard, but worth it.

There are a few situations in my life that I would describe as "bittersweet". I would rather not face these situations, but I know it's for the best. My flesh wants to be bitter about it, but my Savior's sweetness tends to outweigh that bitterness when I let it. A song by The Fray came on during my drive.. one of the lines was "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same". So true, so true. Although the song is talking about a girl and relationships, I find this line so relevant for so many things.

Although some things are bittersweet and sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same, I will choose to sing "it is well with my soul". Because I serve and have a relationship with a gracious, loving, merciful Lord; with freedom and joy in my heart, I can sing "it is well with my soul".

wow

In our world today it is estimated that there are more than 143,000,000 orphaned children.



wow.

the eyes of the beholder

I feel like an emotional rollercoaster sometimes. Ugh, how obnoxious! Sometimes i'm ok with where I am in life. Sometimes i'm not ok with it. Overall I would like to say that I am quite content. I have 2 great jobs I love, i'm going to school for something I love, it's been a quiet/peaceful summer, I am perfectly fine without being married and having kids, I have some amazing friends. However, although I am working 2 jobs I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water, I still have a loooong time until I graduate, the quietness and peacefulness of the summer has begun to turn into boredom, I feel like the rest of the world my age is married making me feel like i'm out of the circle and hard to make friends my age without becoming the awkward 3rd of 5th wheel, although my friends are amazing most of them don't live near me or are moving even farther away in the way too near future (virginia is only 20 hours away. not bad, right?)

I've really begun to see a more in depth view of how beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I could sit and throw a pity party every other night about how my life stinks, i could run from the things I don't want to face, or I can look life straight on and say bring on the beauty.

God is the Jehovah Jireh, God has a plan for my life, although this plan isn't like the rest of the world it's unique and that's alright (i often taking a different route than everyone else), and if I can't be ok with myself then how am i supposed to be ok with someone else. Sometimes I think it would be easier to revert to my old ways and choose to run and throw a pity party, but then it's almost as if God knocks me upside my head and says "really? do you remember what happened last time you did this?"

Moral of the story:
In the long run it's better to stop and smell the roses and realize the true beauty in everything!

Top 9

Since I can't decide what to write about, i thought I would enlighten you on a whole list of things going on in my head right now. Since it's July 9, I think the list should consist of 9 things :)

1. The downfall of not having roomates right now is that there is no one to help me tackle the killing of bugs in the apartment. I can usually handle this task on my own until they start jumping and flying ... Last night I was innocently sitting on my bed and a cricket comes flying across my room and heads directly for the disaster-laundry mountain corner of my room. He then reappears but the disappears into my printer. It was 1am, and I was sitting on my bed armed with 4 shoes and in a standoff with a cricket.

2. My good friend, Sami got married a little over a month ago! It was so fun being her maid-of-honor! Her and her husband, Kevin, are currently serving as missionaries in Kyrgyzstan, teaching baseball. They recently informed me that the Lord has another child in His kingdom!

3. I went to Colorado with my aunt to see some of my cousins who I hadn't seen in years. It was so refreshing to experience cooler weather and be reminded of how big, beautiful, and creative God our maker is!

4. I went to a Landon Pigg show in Houston with my friend, Mikey and his sister, Preslie. Despite my massive amount of sleep deprivation, it was a fun evening! We learned that Landon's girlfriend does indeed wear a red cape!

5. I went to the church David Crowder leads worship at. It was the coolest looking venue and reminded me of one of my favorite coffee shops in CS. However, looks can be deceiving. Typically when I go into a church or attend some form of a service I can feel the spirit of God. Whether it's reflected in the joy on people's faces, the passion in the voice of the pastor, through the actions of the worship leader, or just simply experiencing the warmth and fragrance of the Lord. Well, not so much that particular Sunday morning. It was so sad! There was no joy, no spirit of God, no life, no nothing! Thankfully the Holy Spirit lives inside of me so I don't have to rely on someone or something else for Him to show up!

6. That same night I went with some friends to a Shane & Shane concert in Austin. They're some of my favorite musicians! The presence of the Holy Spirit was so thick and real! It was so evident that their lives were completely saturated with the living God! Amazing night of music and worship!

7. I've realized I have a tendency to want to "keep up with the jones' " Not necessarily with tangible possessions like clothes or shoes, but other things. Over the past few weeks God has slowly been revealing this to me. First He reminded me of some specific promises he has for me, then tells me to wait ... be patient and faithful and joyful during this waiting period! He has slowly revealed these things to me, bringing them into focus, and shows me how they're interwoven. It's clearer now more than ever before!

8. I'm currently listening to "Go Outside" by Robbie Seay Band. I highly recommend that you check it out! I love music so so much! I cannot imagine not being able to not hear music!

9. It's almost 1pm, i'm still in my pj's, and need to decide what i'm doing with my weekend. Peace out.