facedown

It's Friday yet again and I'm practically finished with finals. One more presentation next week and I am officially done with my third year of college! One more semester to go... technically. Time flies.

A few quick thoughts for the week:

1) Last Sunday was my last Sunday at River Hills until the beginning of August. While I'm fully excited about spending the summer with CentriKid again, I really am going to miss those kids. This semester I have watched such a sense of community build up among our students and I love the way they all laugh and joke together. I've had so much fun getting to know them this year and I'm sad to be missing out on those precious summer months of just hanging out together. The Lord has definitely called me to where I am for a reason, I have no doubt of that, but I'm actually really going to miss my church family. Because hey, that's what it is... a family. I'm grateful for the ways that the staff and the families in our church have let me into their lives, grateful to work with people who are seeking out the Lord, and grateful for the time I got to spend with them. Don't have too much fun without me, guys! I'm looking forward to being back there again soon.

2) Several (and I do mean several) years ago I read a book by Matt Redman called Facedown. I don't remember too many specifics of it but I may try to reread it before camp starts. The premise of the book was basically the importance of our posture during prayer-- something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Yes, I do believe that the Lord calls us to pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17) and there's never a wrong time or place to pray. But there's something just so much more sincere and beautiful about literally being on your knees humbled before the Lord. I think about how often I throw up prayers while I'm falling asleep or only half-heartedly paying attention to what I'm saying. I know that the Lord hears me, but I also believe He fully values us being on our faces before Him. Think through the stories in scripture of people encountering the Glory of the Lord-- they can't even fully look. He deserves that of us. I want to live daily a child in awe-- can I not even take time out of what I'm doing to get down before Him and listen to His voice? Just a thought.

3) A week from now I will be in Mississippi for a few days. Weddings, baseball games, roadtrips, pictures, family, and sweet time just hanging out. I'm beyond excited. We've been counting this down for over a month now and the anticipation is killing me. Did I mention I'm excited?

4) Finals are drawing to a close. While I hate the stress of this time, I also love it for a multitude of reasons. We eat together, laugh together, watch a huge amount of cheesy movies, and everyone knows that the craziest things happen during finals week. You just never know when you might take a study break to give your neighbor's dog a haircut... procrastination at its finest. Anything could happen. I can only wait to see what unfolds over the next few days as we try and make the most of these last couple days in Athens together.

5) I love when my friend Nick comes to town for a multitude of reasons. One, because I love Nick and never get to see him, but also because we all toss aside our responsibilities for the weekend just to play. Mostly, though, I love when Nick comes because he asks me questions like "Hey, what are you gonna set your camera on tonight?" and he gets way into taking pictures with me. Thanks, Nick, for not letting me give up on taking pictures of bikers riding 60 mph in the dark with no flash. It wasn't as easy as you might think (unless you think it would be difficult... because it was) and they might not be the best pictures, but hey, we had a good time.

 This place is way fun. There's a giant tree growing inside this building... Awesome.

 Picture frames straight off the wall turned into awesome props for the day. Lucky us we ran into our friends headed off to formal...

 One of my favorite shots from the night.