Riding Boots.

Someday, I will find boots that will fit my freaking fat ass calves.

(Excusey my language).

Until then, I will be coveting.

And then asking for forgiveness.

Unorganzied

You know my life has gone to pot when my desktop looks like this:

Ew.

Hugs.

Seriously.

They are the best.

I love hugs.

And I have been blessed to get them everyday.

I have loved getting to know the little kiddos at my school.

Friday, a 3rd grade boy came into my room.

Just to say goodbye to me and give me a hug.

Today, I was at a table working with a group of kiddos.

A boy, who is in one of my earlier groups, was called to the office to leave.

Before he left, he came over to the table and hugged me goodbye.

There's a girl who has asked me everyday if she can come home with me.

Another girl continually tells me my hair smells good.

For instance, today she said, "Your hair smell good, again!!" :)

AND when I wear my hair curly, all the kiddos notice. 

They tell me how pretty I look.

I stinking love them.

I love loving on them.

Let There Be

"The earth was without form and void
and darkness was over the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, 'Let there be Light,' and there was Light."

Genesis 1:2-3

Where there is darkness

Let there be Light

Where there is nothing

Let there be Light

Weak

I'm worn out.

Drained.

Tired.

Exhausted.
But I am reminded to take heart.
Hold on to hope.
Take courage.

Crazy

I think these are hilarious...

Lip gloss.

I love little black boys.

Someday I want one.

Today at work:

A little boy comes up to me while I'm sitting down and hugs me.

He looks up at me with his big brown eyes and says, "you smell good."

Another little boy responds, "that's because she's wearing lip gloss."

(I wasn't wearing any.)

I love those little kiddos.

They are so freaking adorable.

Westridge Elementary

Today was my second day at Westridge Elementary. I love it.

I love being with the kids. They say some of the funniest things.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Me: "What sounds do you hear in the word 'race'?"

Child: "Vroom, vroom." 

Child: "You have pretty eyes."

Me: "What words rhyme with mutt, but, shut?"

Child: (hand cupped over her mouth as she gasps)

"You're not allowed to say that word."

Me: "What word do the sounds p/o/t make?"

Child: One time there was a frog who was jumping away from an eagle

because the eagle was going to eat the frog."

I. Love. It.

A Novel. In a Sea of Magazines.

Everything you do makes me want you.

You are a novel in a sea of magazines.

You make me nervous. You make my heart beat.

You are red in a sea of black and white.

You are fire. You are dynamite.

I love you, Matthew Jared.

Grace

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints."

Revelation 22:21

I love how these are the last words of God's Word.

May we humbly receive the grace of Jesus Christ.

May we be strengthened by His unfailing grace.

May we know that we are saved by His grace.

May we remember we are not bound by the law, but rest in the grace of Him.

May we know that His grace is sufficient for us.

May we feel His grace everyday. His mercies are new every morning.

Never

Dr. Ogle taught me to never use the word "never" when talking to someone.

For example, "You never do ______."

I now know why...

It's hurts when someone you love says, "You are never kind to me."

Stories

Something I have realized from being home away from my friends

is that I love listening to people's stories.

I have always known that I love to listen,

but never have I realized that I long to know what is going on in someone's life.

The other day my brother, David, had a Quest reunion.

For two weeks he went to Washington with a group from the church he goes to.

It is a time for them to get away from the busyness of life and really listen to what God has for them.

During the reunion, the leader, Jim Bailey, spoke Truth into each individual that went.

I teared up at least 5 times. I wanted to bawl, but I didn't. 

I loved hearing about what God had taught them and what He is continually doing in their lives.

I wanted to cry, mostly because of how redeeming God is, but also because I was reminded of the many times my best friends poured into my heart and how often we shared our stories with each other of what God was doing. 

Don't get me wrong, this still happens. Just not as much.

The thing is. I took spending 24/7 with my friends for granted.

I miss it. A lot.

I miss walking into our farm house and running obnoxiously upstairs to see my friends.

I miss laying in their beds (sometimes farting in them. hehe) and cuddling.

I miss having the opportunity to talk about life ALL the TIME!!

I guess what I am trying to say is that I love stories.

I love hearing what God is doing in anyone's life.

I need to be more intentional.

Worthy is the Lamb

Revelation 5

Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

{Wedding} ideas

Here are a few ideas I love.

{Colors}

 

{Accessories}

 {Boutonniere}

{Centerpieces}

 {Invitation}

Sons & Daughters

Video streaming by Ustream

Holy Week: Good Friday

Holy Week: Tuesday

Holy Week: Monday

Côte d'Ivoire: Part 2

Spend another day to pray for the Ivory Coast.

Challenges for Prayer:
8. Pray for the evangelism to the Mande and Malinke people as well as the Gur people.
9. Pray for the evangelism to the foreigners of Côte d'Ivoire. They are 30% of the population.
10. Pray that Christians may be zealous to win non-Muslims while they can and show humility and love for them.
11. Pray for the young people of Côte d'Ivoire. They are responsive! Pray for the Christians ministering to them.
12. Pray for the bookstores and depots of various missions. Pray for a more knowledgeable staff (especially more French speaking people).
13. Pray for a wider distribution of Bibles as well as a full translation of the Bible and that Scripture in audio can become more used.
14. Pray that Christian music writing and recording continues to be influential in Côte d'Ivoire.

Côte d'Ivoire: Part 1

Côte d'Ivoire (also known as the Ivory Coast) is located on the west African coast.

This country is one of the world's largest producers of cocoa, coffee, and palm oil.
The government remains receptive to mission activity and development.
Both Islam and Christianity are highly syncretized with African traditional beliefs.
Around 34% of the population are Christians.
42% are Muslim and 24% are Ethnoreligionist.
Within Christianity, 11 % are Protestant and 16% are Catholic.




Answers to Prayer:
1. The establishment of a peace agreement after years of civil war and ceasefires.
2. Continued growth in evangelical churches. There are more than 3,000 churches in Abidjan!
3. The further consolidation of Christian unity.

Things to Pray for:
1. Pray for political leaders who are visionary, non-partisan, and free of corruption.
2. Pray for the fact that Nominalism is common in the Catholic and Methodist denominations.
3. Pray that believers might withstand temptation to revert to old practices of animism.
4. Pray for evangelicals and their ministry.
5. Pray for more knowledge and understanding of the Bible.
6. Pray for the increase of mission personnel.
7. Pray for more missionary training and that God will supply all the needs of the missionaries and that their churches will support them.

Love

My favorite day ever.
{captured by Jon Quigg}

Glory

I have come to the realization that I am not good at blogging every day.
I am okay with that. :)

Today I read Psalm 108.
I loved it.

"My heart is steadfast, O God!"
David is saying,
"My heart is immovable. It belongs solely to God. It is firmly placed in Him."
Man. I want this. I want my heart to long for God every waking moment.

"I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."

"Let Your glory be over all the earth!
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!"

All of who we are and what we do is for His GLORY. Nothing else.

Finland

83% of the country claims to be Christian.

This is a praise!
Finland is strong in its Christian tradition.
It is considered on of the most affluent and peaceful nation on earth.
Christian agencies in Finland are very good about sending out missionaries
throughout the world.


The thing is, according to Operational World, "Humanism, secularism, and materialism"
control a lot of the Finns. "While a majority (90%) look favorably upon the Church's social work,
only 8% of Finns attend any kind of religious service monthly or more,
and only 3% of Lutherans attend weekly."
Many of the Christians in Finland proclaim to be Lutheran.


Here are a few things for you to pray about if you would like:
1. Pray for a spiritual breakthrough that will cause people to seek the Lord.
2. Pray for godly leaders among the youth in Finland.
3. Pray for the widespread growth of house groups and that they become more integrated within the a larger faith community.
4. Pray for more missionaries to be sent out from the churches in Finland.

Libya

Libya has been on my heart constantly.

Everything that is going on with the government and Muammar Gaddafi is breaking my heart.

I cannot imagine one man leading many to be part of massacring his own people.
I was convicted that I needed to pray for him.

I pray that God changes his heart.
It sounds crazy, but I'm praying for it.

There is one thing to be thankful about.
God is doing a new work in this land.
According to Operational World, "there is a notable spiritual hunger
among Libyans, but not enough Bibles for those seeking them.
Increasing numbers of Libyans are coming to Christ!"
Praise the Lord!
I am praying that Libyans become more open to the Word of God.

Wonderful Surprise

I haven't blogged in like 5 days or something.

That is because my Matthew Jared asked me to be his forever.


I am so very blessed to have him in my life.
I can't wait to dance in the minefields with him forever.

Bangladesh

Another part of living radically is through praying.

David Platt suggests praying for the entire world.
So I'm going to give it a shot. :)

Bangladesh is located right next to India.
In 2010 there were 164,425,491 people in Bangladesh.
47.5% of the people in Bangladesh are literate.
Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest nations.
They experience devastating floods and cyclones that cause loss of life and extreme poverty. Nearly half of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
Bangladesh is often rated as the world's most corrupt nation.
Islam became the state religion in 1988.
Officially there is religious freedom,
but this is being steadily eroded by Islamist pressure
and a legal system which gives no safeguards to ethnic or religious minorities.

If you want to pray for Bangladesh, here are some of the things I prayed about:
1. A long term and deep level transformation of its economy,
which is underdeveloped, and their lack of education.
2. The government and them assisting those in need.
3. Religious discrimination and tension because forced reconversion
to Islam is an increasing threat.
Pray for freedom for all to practice their own religions.

All information on Bangladesh was found {here}.

The {Radical} Experiment

Here's the thing.
God is radically changing my life.
Over spring break I had the opportunity to read Radical by David Platt.
You should look into buying it {here}.

Lately, my relationship with God hasn't been the way I want it.
I haven't been loving God the way I should.
Reading Radical reminded me of what it means to love Him with every inch of my being.
Jesus is worthy of all my devotion.
Jesus makes it clear that if I want to follow him, "I am to abandon everything--my needs, my desires, even my family."
Following Christ requires radical abandonment of everything, including myself.

This book helped me refocus my desires and dreams toward the one thing I was created for:
To love Him, love others, and bring glory to Him.

This book encourages readers to live a radical life.
It begins with living one year of life turned upside down.
After that, living radically should become easier.
I am up for the challenge.

"The purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live.
Meaning is found in community, not individualism;
Joy is found in generosity, not materialism;
Truth is found in Christ, not universalism.
Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy."
David Platt.

Within the first year, Platt lays out 5 things that need to be done:
1. Pray for the entire world.
2. Read through the entire Word.
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose.
4. Spend your time in another context.
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.

I chose to blog about this every day
because I feel like I can be accountable
if I have to make it a point to blog about it every day.
We'll see how that goes.

I want to live radically everyday for Him.

Guacamole

Before I had real friends,

I did not like guacamole.

Now that I do.

I LOVE IT.

8.9

"An 8.9 earthquake off the Pacific coasts sets off a massive tsunami,
resulting in floods, fires, and the closure of airports and transit systems.
Up to 300 bodies are found on a beach in Sendai, on the northeast coast,
with another 110 confirmed dead elsewhere."
Los Angeles Times

While I sit comfortably in my cozy farmhouse,

this is what is happening on the other side of the world.

There's something wrong with this picture.

And I feel like I can't do anything about it.


The only thing I can do is pray.

And know that God is in control.

Healing

Take Heart

Something I was reminded of this week is how much God loves me.

This seems like it would be such an easy thing to believe.

Sometimes it is not.

I am reminded that He loves me. He never stops loving me.

Even when I fail Him over and over again, He is always there.

He is there waiting for me to run back to Him.

So many times I am afraid of the future.

I have no idea where I am going, but I know He is always there.

"I have said these things to you,

that in me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart;

I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

There is a light

It burns brighter than the sun

He steals the night

And casts no shadow

There is hope

Should oceans rise and mountains fall

He never fails

So take heart

Let His love lead us through the night

Hold on to hope

And take courage again

In death by love

The fallen world was overcome

He wears the scars of our freedom

In His name

Al our fears are swept away

He never fails

All our troubles

And all our tears

God our hope

He has overcome

Thank You, Papa.

Love

I just want Love.

I just want You, God.
I just want to know You.

Compassion

Compassion: A love that's never failing.

Meet Tesfahun.

He lives in Ethiopia.

His birthday is April 18th and will be 8 this year.

He lives with his mommy.

Tesfahun loves playing soccer, football, and hide-and-seek.

He is a compassion child and God has given me the opportunity to love on him.

Something I have not been very good at is writing him letters.

There is a group of sponsors who faithfully write their child every second Friday of every month.

I am going to try my best to do this.

Inspired

"If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together,
there is something you must always remember.
You are braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think.
But the most important thing is,
even if we're apart . . . I'll always be with you.
-Winnie the Pooh

Good thing I have a cold so when I sniffle, people won't think I teared up writing this.

Savior.

Come to Save Us from Sons & Daughters on Vimeo.

Comfort

"For in You alone the soul can rest.
You are there to free us from the misery of error which leads us astray,
to set us on Your own path and to comfort us by saying,
'Run on, for I shall hold you up.
I shall lead you and carry you on to the end.'"
Augustine

Minefields

Someday I'll go dancing in the minefields with my best friend.

I can't wait. :)

Andrew Peterson - Dancing in the Minefields from Centricity Music on Vimeo.

Notes

I LOVE finding random notes from Bethy.

They make me smile.

They also make me wish that I will forever find random notes from her.

Even when we move away from each other.

I love her.

Restless

Friends

So wherever I am, there's always Pooh,

There's always Pooh and Me.

"What would I do?" I said to Pooh,

"If it wasn't for you," and Pooh said:

"True, It isn't much fun for One,
but Two Can stick together," says Pooh, says he.

"That's how it is, says Pooh.

I have been so very blessed to have the friends that I do.

God is faithful. Always.

Knowing

"Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth."
Hosea 6:3