God is teaching me more & more about how to love people, and what that even means and what it looks like to love people and love them well, like He does. what a beautiful thought that He does that & i hope He never stops! and in the midst of this ongoing lesson, this quote really stuck out to me and i thought i'd share it. it keeps coming back to my mind and i keep thinking about it and what it means. not gonna lie, though, this made me realize things about myself that i didn't really like realizing. and my hope for you, dear reader, is that God would also pull out those hindering and not-so-lovely things within you, and it would convict you in order that you might become more like Christ in this humbling life-long endeavor of loving. & i was also reminded of this really meaningful song for me, called "safe" by britt nicole... give it a listen. i hope it speaks.
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family, mom's eggbake, grandma's red pants, dim lights, old spice jokes (in my direction:)), intense charade games, Jesus cake, the camera falling, sass from gary, gifts, reflecting on the year, hugs, warmth, "i love yous," deep talks with tia, God with us {Emmanuel}, overwhelming gratitude.
if you'd like to take a look back at my Christmas reflections from last year, they still carry a lot of meaning for me, & yesterday officially marks 3 years of blogging! woah! friends, i hope your christmases have filled your hearts and made you so aware of God & His love. juice doesn't quench... family doesn't gladden... food doesn't fill... cozy homes don't comfort... movies don't enchant... instagram doesn't boost... facebook likes don't affirm... painting doesn't delight... music doesn't entertain... great outfits don't beautify... people don't please... friends don't gratify... art doesn't cheer... holiday hubbub doesn't brighten... sleep doesn't restore... ...enough. never enough. with all of these things, there will always come a time when we are empty or longing again, only be filled for a little while, and then empty again. and again. these things are good, they are not bad, but the minute they become where joy is found, as in, where we turn to to find joy, is the minute we feel lonely, disappointed, hurt, and empty. breaks from school and holidays especially can be really hard times for me because I am tempted to indulge, to do whatever makes me happy. and whenever that happens it's sort of crazy how fast things can spiral to God feeling so distant, and i've been finding myself empty at the end of these last couple days. so it's time for me to do some reevaluating of where i'm drinking from, and, friend, i would encourage you to do this with me. "..but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I
give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." john 4:14 so many faces so dear to me. so many moments so special. thankful thankful for this season, and all of this LOOOOOVEEEE!! dear winter boots,
you're on everyone's feet these days and it just kind of makes me smile to see you so much, and in so many varieties! dear watercolors, you've been bringing me joy a lot these days, and are a beautiful means for worship, so hey thanks! sometimes your colors speak for me when my words cannot. dear devyn and adam, you guys make me smile (: dear anna, i love your sass and i love your honesty and i love our little inside jokes and i love our pillow talk, but mostly i just really love that you are my roommate. dear desk, you've been messy and cluttered these days, but i actually kind of really like you that way, so sorry, but you might just have to deal with it. dear will reagan, your soundtrack has been the soundtrack of my heart lately. dear becca, you are one of my dearest and closest, treasured friends. i hope you know that. dear saturday mornings, yes. yes yes yes. i love that you exist! dear yui, just, thanks for being in my life and the great joy you bring. i love when you visit our room and make us laugh so hard and sing lumineers loud with us, and that you wear dinosaur and giraffe onesies out in public. dear holland, my gosh, you're talented! you're like sunshine and i love your beautiful heart. dear austin, i like that you say deal and huh and yeah! and i like that you point me to Christ and are adventurous and i like that you ask me questions, and mostly i just like you! dear gospel music, ahhhh! it is my JOY to sing you, and sing you loud. dear christmas season, i really really enjoy you and all of the joy you bring, even though i forget you're here sometimes. dear family, i'm sorry i haven't been good at talking to you lately, but i just can't wait to hug you and i'm so proud to call you mine! dear cassie, oh, you! yooouuu! cass, my love for you goes deep. dear friends, it is my deep gladness to see the measures you all will go to love each other. you do it so well and it just blesses me like crazy to see! dear God, thank you for sustaining and nourishing and carrying and loving, and thanks for wanting to hear my heart songs. there is much to thank you for. i love you. one thing that i have learned throughout living life is that the human spirit was made for adventure. it comes out from within me more and more each day, it seems... this craving for adventure. even if adventure means traveling to eau claire's neighboring town of the great altoona with family to go to altoona family restaurant because i'd never tried it (: or driving through minneapolis on a summertime night, or seeing the minnehaha waterfalls with a dear friend, or going to perkins late at night with friends for pumpkin pancakes on the weekend of homecoming, or days like today, when i had about forty-five minutes before i would meet with a group for a project and had already done quite a bit of homework, so i sat down to just do some reading and journaling, but then i had the thought that this is prime time to sneak away and do something spontaneously adventurous with this joy-filled God that my heart beats for. this thought made me visibly giddy... a spontaneous get-away adventure with this God who loves me?? i almost started skipping and jumping! why don't i do this more?? and this little half-hour adventure of singing my silly heart songs to God in the snow-filled woods in the middle of the day did more for my heart than i can tell you! and i have learned that i am not alone in this. i think this is a human condition. i think this is a God condition, too. i think He is a very adventurous God. i think that's why He made the world so big and beautiful, with so many people... for us to discover & explore & find each other, and relish in creation and ultimately find Him through & within our exploration. sometimes, you just need to take a big gulp of air to remind yourself that you are ALIVE, that God is good and life is beautiful. so may i challenge YOU, this week, and for the rest of your lives, to GO... seek and explore and venture out into this big world that God has designed to bring you closer to Himself. <i honestly believe it revives the human heart more than anything else> and it brings you closer to other people, too... i learned this summer that taking risks and being in nature builds relationship and trust more than almost anything. and here, my friends, are some of my favorite adventure pics to get inspired and GO! happy venturing! (:
"i've closed my eyes, i'm taking His hand and i hear Him say... 'oh darling, let's be adventurers'" -my dear friend, coral, an adventurous soul. even to your old age and gray hairs I am He. I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. isaiah 46:4 sustain: \sə-ˈstān\ 1. to keep in existence; maintain. 2. to supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for. 3. to support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop. 4. to support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage. today i was made so rawfully (<<not a word ha) aware of my need for Jesus. i feel that as we live, there is this string that is holding us together, and without it, we will fall apart. that string is Jesus and what a beautiful thought that He sustains.. nourishes, provides for, supports, carries like an umbilical cord that holds my existence together... the world's existence. the even more beautiful thought to me, is that it's not like it is a tied-down dread to be sustained by Him.. it is JOY. it is my life in freedom. it is deep peace, deep knowing, deep love. we need God like this tree needs it's roots, like the earth needs the sun, like we need our next breath. p.s. |