lamentations

Lamentations 3:22-24:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

I love Lamentations. As the Israelites lament in their captivity, chapter 3 recognizes God's great and beautiful compassion in it all. He is still their rock of salvation and is continuously and endlessly faithful.

What a wonderful God we serve.

Lord, may I be reminded of your new mercies every morning. May I remember your cross in everything that I do, the words I say, and the way that I reflect who you are. Thank you for sending your son in the muck and mire of this world to be a shining light of hope and grace for the brokenness that is humanity. I love you Jesus. :)

current favorite songs

starlight. muse.
jar of hearts. christina perri.
lullaby. spill canvas.
i can feel it. lights out dancing.
any bruno mars song.
love like woe. the ready set.
amazing. hedley.
like we used to. a rocket to the moon.
the mess i made. parachute.
in your arms. the maine.
sweetness in starlight. matt wertz.

[[a major shout out to my lovely friend, jadeyladey. she is my music muse.]]

star wars nerd.

I am a nerd. If you couldn't tell from that picture-- I have my hair in very awesome Princess Leia buns AND I just found my retainer today after MONTHS of not having it, so now I am trying to get in the habit of actually using it. It hurts like a mother. Like I actually just took advil because the pain of my retainer was so distracting.

I am a nerd. And totally okay with it. My friends expect nothing different.

Anyways, the reason I have my hair in Leia buns is for our family Christmas card. I will post the final picture up once we get the cards out. I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise! :) Just trust me... it. is. awesome.

Okay. Enough procrastinating. I actually have to work on my paper for American Lit. I can't do the whole pull two all-nighters in a row. That is just crazy.

draw near to the fire

"When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold.  When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness.  This is also the case when people withdraw from God."

--St. Augustine of Hippo

I love this quote. 

As I pull my third all-nighter of the semester (no wonder I keep getting sick!), I ran across this quote. I love it. It is such a beautiful reminder of God's unchanging nature-- he is timeless. He is the same in the past, present, and future. His love never changes, but where we are in according to him is what changes. It is our decision to move closer to the light or distance ourselves. 

Lord, may I continue to seek your face always-- drawing near to the warmth that radiates from your love and the light that penetrates the darkness. You alone are good. Thank you Jesus for your timelessness. I am so lucky to be called your daughter. May you continue to challenge me and stretch me in ways only you know how. I love you.

air filled with light

"The union between humans and God in Eden was like air filled with light. Air does not possess its own luminosity when light is present. Air has not been given its own luminosity, but it becomes lustrous. In much the same way, human beings are filled with light when God is present to them; if God is absent, darkness falls on them. Such separation is not caused by distance in space but by a turning away of the human will."

--Augustine (A Literal Commentary on Genesis)

My Marine Friend: Part 2

This morning, I got a text from my mom saying I had a letter waiting for me upstairs. Minutes before I was rolling around dreading getting out of bed, but as soon as I read that, I jumped (literally) up and ran upstairs.

Why, do you ask?

Well, you see. I have been waiting for this letter for a few months now.

It is from my Marine friend. You know, the one I met on the short plane ride from Salt Lake to Denver.

The letter is dated November 4th, so I know a lot has happened since then, but at the time of the letter he was doing well. He said he lost a few friends. :( Which is so sad and so hard. I can't even imagine.

At the end of the letter he said: "You'll be the one to save the world one day. :)"

When we were talking on the plane, I was telling him how hippie-esque I am, and about my obsession with Africa and how I am definitely a lover, not a fighter. And he goes, well, I guess we both have different ways to find peace. Different ways to save the world.

While I am still convinced that mine is the better way, this last line of his letter made me smile. :)

Keep Zac in your prayers and thoughts. I don't know if he really knows Jesus. So be praying for that. I am going to try and bring it up in my reply letter.

Also, his birthday is coming up in December (I just remember it is in December because I can't get on Facebook to double check). So pray for that for him. I know all these holidays away from home can't be easy.

Here are more of the series! :)


Dating And Marriage Landmines from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.


Dating and Marriage Landmines Pt 2 from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.


The Sex Battle from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.

this means war

If you are a person, you need to watch this sermon series from Red Rocks Church. It is titled "This Means War." It is all about relationships and redefining "love." Moving away from the cheap love of this world into a beautiful love-- as God meant it to be.

Please watch these. Amazing.

http://www.redrockschurch.com/media/watch-messages/


The Marriage Battle Pt. 1 from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.



The Marriage Battle Pt. 2 from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.




The Marriage Battle Pt. 3 from Red Rocks Church on Vimeo.

advent conspiracy

Attention all friends and family. I will not be accepting any gifts this Christmas season. Instead, I am asking you all to give to either one of your favorite charities or one of mine (conveniently listed below).

I would love to remind you all to be more intentional with your money and the Christmas season. This is rough for me because I LOVEEE buying people gifts. There is nothing quite like buying the perfect gift for someone. I am not someone who holds onto money, but I probably spend too much too frequently. This year, I am asking you to partner with me in spending our money to give to others in far greater need than I will ever be in. Yes, I would love new perfume, new shoes, starbucks for life, and new books... BUT I never have to worry about starving. or having somewhere warm to sleep. or dying from poor medical care. or drinking bad water.

My life is easy. For some reason, God blessed me in the family I was born into. In the city I live. With the opportunities that I have.

That reason can't be selfish. Jesus was the most selfless person to ever walk this earth. Why do I continue to be selfish in my money? with my time? with holidays?

This year, I want to be more intentional about worship-- through money, time, service, and love.

Here are some of my favorite organizations:

food for the hungry.[[international... who I traveled with to uganda]]
world vision. [[international]]
come let's dance.[[grassroots, holistic organization in uganda]]
charity: water. [[safe-drinking water to developing nations]]
(red). [[fighting aids]]
twloha. [[suicide awareness and prevention]]
love 146. [[ending sex-trafficking]]
amazima ministries. [[my hero's organization-- a 20 year-old, mom to 14 kids in uganda]]
gospel for asia. [[pretty self-explanatory]]
elias fund.  [[works in zimbabwe]]
one. [[grassroots to end poverty in africa]]
kiva. [[micro-loans]]
1010 project. [[works in kenya]]
end fistulas. [[google "fistula", you'll understand why we need to prevent them]]

Obviously, my heart is in Africa, but there are hundreds of thousands of organizations that exist. Choose your favorites. Invest in those.

Have you considered sponsoring a child yet? Do it. I am sponsoring two little girls from Barakalo, Uganda. I had the extraordinary privilege of holding and loving on these two beautiful girls. I miss them more than words can say.

May this Christmas not be about us. But about HIM.


James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

I am going back to Africa during the month of May. Zimbabwe to be exact. It is going to cost $2,800.00 approx. I am really going to try and pay for this as much as I possibly can by myself, but if you feel called to give to that as my "Christmas" gift, I would be so thankful. Email me and I'll give you the instructions on how to give and make it a tax deduction. :)

*****
"It makes our mouths drop and our stomachs turn when we realize that the amount of money we spend on Christmas in America is close to 45 times the amount of money it would take to supply the entire world with clean water." (pg. 13, Advent Conspiracy)