i was thinking today: i am thankful that God is God.  because there are so many hearts that hurt in the world.  so many fragile hearts.  and we are just people and people are messy and we get things wrong a lot and hurt each other and we were never meant to be the ones to be responsible to hold human hearts.  human hearts are fragile and we were never meant to hold them.  there is only one who is... and He's really good at holding them all.

and we're all just little children.  we don't know.  i don't know.  i need God's direction.  His guidance.  today i felt it especially.  i am a little child.

tonight, hearing the intervarsity large group community sing amazing grace so loud that our worship leader quieted his voice because he noticed it too was the most beautiful thing.

i am currently sitting in my peaceful room, with the twinkly lights on, and the window open, and it's night-spring-air-breezy, and i'm listening to this song and this one too, oh and especially this one, and i guess i am just utterly content right now.  wish i could pour ya a cup of black coffee and you'd sit here too, dear reader!  it's just that enjoyable.  i hope you are knowing contentment right now.

for a long time i have felt drained of joy.  drained of life, really.  not motivated, not caring.  not breathing, not embracing. nada.  it was really concerning me. 

but today i felt joy.  slowly but surely, redeemed. 

that's all.
hey, best of all, God is with us!  don't forget!

^^i don't know, i just liked it^^

the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
  the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
the glory of lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of carmel and sharon.
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.
3 strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “be strong; fear not!
behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”
5 then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
for waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 and a highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the way of holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
    it shall belong to those who walk on the way;
    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 no lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

so much beauty.  this song moves me.
hey, you should play it loud!  then thank God for your breath!

"wesley died on wednesday march 2, 1791, in his eighty-eighth year.  as he lay dying, his friends gathered around him, wesley grasped their hands and said repeatedly, "farewell, farewell."  at the end, summoning all his remaining strength, he cried out, "the best of all is, God is with us," lifted his arms and raised his feeble voice again, repeating the words, "the best of all is, God is with us."

-taken from the wesley center online

i found myself with tears in my eyes after reading this, and repeating that phrase over and over on my walk down the hill to class this morning.  and how beautiful!
the best of all, God is with us...
the best of all, God is with us...
best of all, God is with us...
God is with us.
wow.

sorry to have been gone so long, friends!  i'll be back soon.  but my gramma's birthday is today and i just couldn't let the day pass without honoring a very special woman.  this photo above ^^ with my pretty gramma is probably one of my very favorite pictures in the world.  i've always held gramma especially close to my heart.  i wish every single person could know her.  truly a neat lady.

she's so sassy and makes me laugh all the time! and she calls me lexi and makes me proud to have my quirks compared to hers (like crazy bed-head and our love for milk and learning about world war II).  but those days when her and grampa visit our house to have coffee and visit are my favorite times.

at christmas this year, dad worked on a little video project with our family, and took each person aside and asked them to share their highs and lows for the year 2013, as well as where they saw themselves in the next five years.  this little clip below is my gramma's response to these questions.  it makes me laugh so much and just miss her so darn much! (she's in arizona right now) but if every person can't know my gramma, at least they can see a little bit of her sassiness (:  haha, i especially love when she says "and a refridgerator for my dip" and when she sings! oh she's my favorite!  so much love in my heart for this person.

xoxo gramma! i love you...
happy birthday!

today i will choose Jesus.  i will follow Him because He is worthy of my life.
today i will take deep breaths.
today i will remember.  i will remember that He loves me.  i will remember why i am here.  i will remember His faithfulness.  i will remember that He is King... that He is God and i'm not.
today i will notice the people around me.
today i will definitely listen to sleeping at last.
today i will live in freedom.
today i will throw off the sin that so easily entangles.
today i will turn my eyes upon Jesus.
today i will see myself and those around me as image-bearers: fearfully and wonderfully made.
today i will look for chances to serve.
today i will enjoy God and thank Him for each blessing.  like sunshine and food and learning and femininity and community and my bed and and and..
today i will drink coffee.
today i will welcome discipline.
today i will wear flannel.
today i will look at the sky.
today i will do things i don't want to do.
today i will venture into nature.


today i will be loved by God and today i will love Him.
today is a new day and i am a new creation

p.s. if you've been thinkin i'm a really good photographer, thank you! but... sorry... any cool picture you've seen on this blog comes from... pinterest.  i know i know!  my secret's out!  i'm a user!

sometimes i just get the itch to document life and friends and the little things that happen!  it's my joy!  like tonight, when my friends and i found ourselves making music together at a local coffee shop's open mic night.  that place is so homey and these people are like family.  ..and gosh, they're oh-so talented! 

hey, if you're in the eau claire area, come by next time!  there's always room for ya at cafe 420!
where there's wood floors, cheap coffee, talented friends, and a seat for YOU!

oh for the love! (:

my favorite part is at 1:10 (: ... wait, 2:10 too!  wait, 2:53!  oh wait, the whole thing!

hey, friend.

didjya know you're loved?  didjya know you're valuable and important?  didjya know there's purpose pulsing through your veins, put there by the God of the universe who knows your name?

i hope so.  i hope you rest in peace tonight.