tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70296817297290969862024-03-19T06:02:26.557-04:00daily footsteps"The steps of a good man are directed and established by the Lord when he delights in His way and he busies himself with His every step." -psalms 37:23Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-59906218862488850482012-09-15T20:23:00.003-04:002012-09-15T20:23:56.304-04:00<span style="font-size: large;">I've moved my blog! You should be redirected soon to:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.dailyfootsteps.wordpress.com/">www.dailyfootsteps.wordpress.com</a></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-76593482636276980792012-09-09T15:49:00.002-04:002012-09-09T15:49:29.603-04:00claimedIt's a beautiful afternoon in Nashville and I am so excited just for the chance to sit down and write. So far it's been an incredible day of sweet worship and community-- two things I've been extremely blessed to find so quickly in my life in a new city. There's just something about the change of seasons that constantly reminds me just how sweet the Lord is.<br />
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A few days ago, I received a link to this video and the Lord sent me on an incredible journey after watching it. Take a look, it's totally worth your five minutes:<br />
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Are you amazed? I was. I mean, where has this truth been my whole life? What an incredible, beautiful picture of Christ's tangible love for the church.<br />
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And so, with this in mind, I felt the Lord calling me in my time with Him to read over that story again. It was so evident, in fact, that it just so happened I'd stuck my pen randomly in my Bible the day before right at Mark 14, the story of the Last Supper... and I knew I was out to hear something sweet from Him.<br />
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I chased the story of the Last Supper around from quite a few angles that afternoon but felt the Lord was constantly calling me back to something deeper. In verse 15 two of the disciples are called to go ahead and <i><b>prepare</b></i> the room for the supper. This notion of preparing can be unpacked a ton... but I really landed on this question:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What does it really look like for me to prepare myself to receive the covenant with Christ? What does it look like for me to prepare myself to accept His great proposal? </span></b><br />
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If you are a Christ follower, you've already surpassed that point of preparation to receive the covenant (or essentially the proposal)-- you've already accepted it. I love the notion, however, that the two disciples were called to prepare the dinner for many. I know that there are people in my life who helped prepare the way for me to meet with Christ and I see now that it is my responsibility to help prepare the way for others to meet Him as well. But, for those of us who are in Christ, the question now has really shifted from that initial call to preparation to-<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">How do I prepare as I wait, after accepting the offer of Christ's covenant? </span></b><br />
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We see from the video and know from Scripture that after accepting the marriage proposal, the man and woman each went back to their perspective towns to prepare-- Him to build a home for her and her to wait until he returned at an unexpected time. Now, I've never been in her shoes, but I have to imagine that if my groom were coming for me at an unexpected time, I'd be working to be ready without ever being caught off guard. That's what our lives are to look like also-- that's what the disciples do after this point. The Lord has been showing me a ton of this through the early chapters of Acts.<br />
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But back up just a little-- the bride doesn't just return home to her usual day to day life. One of my favorite lines in the video was the mention that she went home and was no longer called by name, but rather called "<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">one who has been bought with a price</span>"</b>. </i>Her whole identity changed. People knew that she had accepted the marriage offer based on the tradition of giving her a new title in the town.<br />
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Traditions are never really too far gone, and we can see that today people know that a girl has accepted a marriage proposal through the symbol of her wearing a ring. A girl wearing a ring says <i>yes, I'm claimed- I'm taken.</i> It's a symbol given that comes with both a promise and (let's be real-) a sacrifice on the man's part. Now, maybe I don't stand in the boat with the majority of the girls in the world, but to me it reflects far more on the giver than the receiver. It's not about something shiny, but rather it says <i>look what he loved me enough to sacrifice for</i>...<br />
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It doesn't say <i>oh, she's engaged</i>, but rather <i>oh, look who she's been promised to.</i><br />
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It doesn't say <b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>look at me</i>,</span></b> but rather <b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>look who I belong to</i>. </span></b><br />
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A ring is a symbol of that commitment and the acceptance of that offer. People see it, and they know.<br />
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So what is the symbol Christ gives us when we accept His offer to become His bride? What will people see and know that we have said yes?<br />
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It's far more valuable and far more of a sacrifice than any earthly symbol.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">It's life.</span></b><br />
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Let that soak in. <i>Look what He loved me enough to sacrifice.</i> He has given up everything that we might walk around proudly wearing the life He has given us.<br />
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And in the same way, it shouldn't say <b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>look at me</i>,</span></b> but rather <b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>look who I belong to</i>. </span></b><br />
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I don't know about you, but I was brought to humble tears at that realization. If we have accepted His covenant, His offer to allow us to be His bride even in the midst of our countless imperfections, we should wear proudly that new life He has given us. He has changed our identity. It should now be evident that we are to be referred to as <b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>one who was bought with a price</i>.</span></b> Because we were. Goodness, we were...<br />
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Let that soak in on this beautiful Sunday afternoon in the midst of whatever you may be doing. Does your life proclaim that you belong to Him?Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-67598122678678519152012-08-15T22:31:00.001-04:002012-08-15T22:31:42.716-04:00spoken redemptionBlogging... I'd like to start doing that again.<br />
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I've been itching for days to write this post, but I also started a new job this week. A girl can only do so much, right? So between doing manual labor to finish up camp inventory for nine hours a day, adjusting to life in a new city, and trying to begin a plan to prep for an upcoming 5k, I've maybe let a few things slip through my fingers. Oops? I'm sure the blogging world will forgive me in time...<br />
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The week before moving to Nashville, I was blessed to spend a few short days in Mississippi with Daniel. We were both reminded one afternoon of just how sweet the Lord is and how powerfully He calls us not to forget that we all belong to Him. (Have I mentioned I'm blessed to have conversations like that be a normal part of my dating life?) That reminder was powerful for me as I come off of a full summer of ministry. I've soaking in the opportunities lately to sit at a coffee shop or in my bedroom and just dive into His word. I'm thirsty for it, and yet still I wonder if He will ever be able to stop reminding me that I cannot make it on my own...<br />
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I sat at the Panera by my new apartment earlier this week (a place you can be sure I will frequent-- it may be a little <i>too</i> close for my own good...) and spent a little time enjoying the Lord's presence and a strawberry smoothie. I've recently begun a study of Acts and I was blown away that day as began to dive into <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=NIV">chapter two</a>. I'll hopefully share later about the beauty of the first two verses, but for today I'm caught up on what we see happen in verse four...<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Acts-2-1" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"When the day of Pentecost <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26951A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup>came, they were all together <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26951B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup>in one place.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Acts-2-2" id="en-NIV-26952" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;">2 </sup>Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26952C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="text Acts-2-3" id="en-NIV-26953" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;">3 </sup>They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Acts-2-4" id="en-NIV-26954" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;">4 </sup>All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26954D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)"></sup>and began to speak in other tongues <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-26954E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)"></sup>as the Spirit enabled them."</span></span></i><br />
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To catch up a little, Jesus has just left the Earth with the promise that He would send someone in His place. His disciples are all together when He fulfills this promise and sends His Holy Spirit-- something I've been studying for ages and could go off on a million tangents about. I'll just say this, and then get back on track: Wow-- what a crazy thing that God Himself would send His Spirit rushing in to dwell inside of us... more on that later. Back to my point--<br />
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I began to think through this moment when the Spirit enables the twelve to speak in different languages. Why? What's the point? It seems obvious... now they can go out and share Christ's story with people all across the world. But there's more to it than just that.<br />
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The story comes to mind of the other time in Scripture that we see God change the languages of a group of people. In <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2011&version=NIV">Genesis 11</a>, God scatters the languages of the people at the tower of Babel as a result of them worshipping false idols. They were displeasing God, so he blocked their form of communication.The point of the change of languages in this story is disunity-- separation due to sins.<br />
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But the point of the change of languages in Acts is the exact opposite. Here, God has enabled a group of people to go out and communicate with others for the sake of sharing the Gospel.<br />
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Do you see it? Acts is the coming together of what was broken apart in Genesis.<br />
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The people can again communicate with one another. Redemption steps in.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Spirit comes and reconnection happens. The Spirit comes and communication is reopened.</span></b><br />
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What a picture of the Gospel we can see through these two stories. Originally, all people spoke <i>one</i> language, just as originally we all walked as <i>one</i> with God. But sin happened, so God caused a separation and blocked communication-- be it between people in Babylonia, or between us and God Himself. So many years later, after the life and death of Jesus, God reopens the door for communication-- yes, between people of the world, but much more importantly between us and God.<br />
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Christ is our intercessor, the door between our sinful selves and the holy perfection of God. We see in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26-27&version=NIV">Romans</a> that the Spirit intercedes for us-- our salvation in Christ gives us the opportunity to again connect directly with the Father. He gives us the right to stand wholly redeemed in His blood. Accounts all throughout Scripture point to this beautiful truth and I'm fascinated by how God makes His message clear through the smallest things, even something like language. His tiny details go to show just how big our God is. I don't know about you, but I love that humbling reminder.<br />
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We've been given the opportunity to directly connect with the God who breathed the world into existence via His very Spirit abiding inside of us. Are you making the most of that gift today? I know I should fall flat on my face at that realization much more often than I do.<br />
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Something to think about... Don't let that redemption go uncherished.<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-56025343500728758322012-08-12T22:21:00.001-04:002012-08-12T22:21:33.910-04:00omc christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every Thursday at <a href="http://www.centrikidblog.com/">camp</a>, we play a little game called OMC.</div>
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It's kind of a big deal.<br />
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Here are a few favorite shots from our second-to-last week of omc. I'll give credit for the photos to sweet <a href="http://wephotographie.com/">Emma</a>, but if they don't look great, it's because I edited them myself. ;)<br />
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I have more to share, but blogspot is telling me I've hit my quota on space for uploading photos... enjoy these while I work on that little problem.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-64608076016912556512012-07-07T13:40:00.002-04:002012-07-07T13:40:42.403-04:00MarchingWriting...<br />
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It's literally been so long since I last wrote that I had to figure out how to make a new post.<br />
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And I miss that. Camp is certainly not the place for excessive free time, but I'm enjoying this little break on a lazy weekend. We are headed out to go hiking soon, and I can't lie-- I'm excited to spend a little time just loving on this staff more. Last night I was asked what my favorite part of this past week at camp was. After thinking through it, I know this much to be truth: I have loved watching my team step into their roles, own what they are doing, and be transformed by the Lord. God has spoken to my heart this past week about what a blessing it is just to walk alongside and disciple these leaders. It's a mighty calling, and I'm falling more in love with it day by day. And that transformation that is happening in the lives of my staffers is directly correlating to the transformation happening week by week in the lives of children and adults. <br />
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God has been transforming me as well. (It's no coincidence that this year's theme is Romans 12:1-2; living a transformed life.) I have learned day by day a ton about my faith, about myself, and about what leadership really looks like. I've had a major perspective shift during this game and come into realizing that my job is not simply to lead, but to coach. I cannot expect my staff to do their jobs perfectly from the get go, but rather my job is to walk alongside them-- coaching, supporting, and teaching, both in the realm of camp logistics and in the spiritual nature.<br />
<br />I've been walking through the story of a great leader in scripture-- Joshua, the man who was chosen by God to follow into Moses's footsteps and lead the people of Israel through a long and challenging battle. I've seen the parallels constantly and God has been speaking to me a ton on how this Scripture applies to my own heart and story. I hope to post more from this story as the summer continues and I have a million pieces my heart is brimming to share but for the sake of time, I will start with this one:<br />
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My heart was convicted one night as we sat in the auditorium preparing for kids to come in for a time of worship. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+6&version=NIV">Joshua chapter six</a> describes the Fall of Jericho and how Joshua lead the Israelites in marching around the walls of the city until they fell. I began to think through why the Israelites marched around the wall (other than, of course, because the Lord instructed them to do so), and this is what I came up with:<br />
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They marched to declare the Lord's victory.<br />
They marched to declare that the city belonged to God.<br />
They marched to prepare the way for the arc of the covenant-- to pave a path for the very presence of God.<br />
They marched to collapse walls. <br />
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I am fully willing to bet that the Israelites felt really silly marching around the walls of Jericho. I'm also pretty positive that my staff felt a little silly when I made them march around the auditorium. But they are troopers and we figured we would give it a shot. We walked for a while around the auditorium praying for the same-- that God would have the victory, that all we were doing belonged to Him, that the presence of God would be welcomed in that place, and that walls would begin to collapse in the lives of kids, adults, and staff.<br />
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I'd like to tell you that the Lord blessed that night of worship in a mighty way and every kid at camp came down the aisle to receive Christ, but the reality of this situation is this: Not a single kid came forward that night.<br />
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And yet-- the more I began to pray and see with God's eyes, the more I realized that He did break down walls after all, even if not in the way I expected. That night when I threw out to the staff the usual question of "Tell me something awesome the Lord did today...", they were fighting one another to tell stories. Just to name a few- we had third graders going deeper in the concept of discipleship, and we had a pair of brothers who were extremely resistant to the Gospel begin to put together the pieces... individually. Those boys then were sat together to begin talking about what God was doing in their lives and how they could hold one another accountable as they returned to their hard family situation. Big things happened in the lives of staff as well. Over and over again, the Lord has allowed me to be present when He reveals pieces of their past that they have suppressed. He is using the hard parts of their individual stories to relate directly to the hard stories these kids walk through day by day. So even though no one came forward that night, the Lord moved in a mighty way. He is continuing to do so.<br />
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Joshua three says this: "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." That word <i>consecrate</i> is the same word used when God rests on the seventh day and sets the day apart as being dedicated to Himself. Set it apart, make it holy, give it to God. That's my heart beat for us each day-- continue to prepare the path for the Lord to move by dedicating fully to Him.<br />
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I'm blessed to be here this summer. This team is phenomenal, and I'm overwhelmed by how deeply I love them each, through laughs and through tough times. I cannot wait to see what the Lord continues to do this summer. Be praying for our staff and our kids-- we have three weeks to go and I'm sure not ready to see it end.<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-8165185325535112612012-04-08T20:59:00.000-04:002012-04-08T20:59:49.087-04:00chaptersIt's weekends like this one that I'm reminded how incredibly beautiful my life here in Mississippi is. The best word I can describe for these days is idyllic. I sit at the end of them and wonder how I ever got to be so blessed.<br />
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I love everything about life here.<br />
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I love the sunshine and afternoons by the lake. I love that I have the sweetest church family I could ever have dreamed of-- one that makes me laugh constantly, pushes me to grow, and cries sweet tears as I cry them too. I love lazy afternoons with the boy who melts my heart far more than is safe to say. I love every minute of just living life together-- reading books, sitting by the pool, playing tennis, and laughing til we both can't breathe. I am blessed beyond all measure every single day.<br />
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The Lord answered my cries for friendship as I moved here in such a mighty way. This place is home. These people are family. I'm so blessed by this time and so grateful for this chapter of my life. I'm holding tight to every single second of it.<br />
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Because that's just what it is... a beautiful chapter. One far greater than I could have written myself.<br />
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But chapters come to an end and pages get turned. I admit that I can't understand why this one has to close. I admit that I'm not ready for it. Not in the least. The heavy realization of it brings hot tears to my eyes this afternoon...<br />
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I've accepted my dream job, working at the LifeWay office in Nashville next year. I get to live the dream of so many CK staffers-- working on camp all year round. I've secretly dreamed of this for years and I'm so flattered to have been offered the position. I'm brimming with excitement, yes, but right now I just need someone to push me off the edge and into the water. I know I'm going to love it when I get there. Leaving here may be hands down the hardest thing I've ever been called to do, but I know with full assurance that if I'm going to be faithful to the promise I made the Lord a long time ago, that is was <i>Him</i> that I would follow first and foremost, no matter the cost, then I have to go. <br />
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I have to go.<br />
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Because the Lord's plans are better than mine, even if I can't see it today. I believe that to be true, one hundred percent.<br />
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But today all I wish for more hours in the sunshine, more evenings listening to sweet friends play music, more time just living life together... more girls nights, more Sunday School, and more of the family that I know loves me so much here. More of home. Today I'm realizing that I'll miss Sunday lunches and time laughing with kids and all the things I love every day about being here. I'll miss the accountability I've built, though I know I'll take those relationships with me in the days to come. I cried uncontrollably at the realization today that I'll miss another soccer season. I'll miss being twenty minutes away from Daniel and getting to laugh together almost every single day. I'll miss this idyllic life the Lord has gifted me with during this time. I love it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCX9J525TjEpFCR8nXgSlXO2ui7n7ANTk1GHB_ndh7jCvPvn1oKZeaMssg7WoX-PePNDU5_oIJlCOKhfTaMRFIG_RrvydLWKyrmFUkZ-tx99Dzh_LJ6Jf8pkaVLAI9tshDUNJDXIF3hM/s1600/IMG_1270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCX9J525TjEpFCR8nXgSlXO2ui7n7ANTk1GHB_ndh7jCvPvn1oKZeaMssg7WoX-PePNDU5_oIJlCOKhfTaMRFIG_RrvydLWKyrmFUkZ-tx99Dzh_LJ6Jf8pkaVLAI9tshDUNJDXIF3hM/s640/IMG_1270.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>And so I'm scared, yes. But don't hear me say that I'm not excited. If there's one thing I know to be true, it's that in the morning when I wake up, the Lord will still be good. Every single day. I've seen His goodness and I know His provision. I know He has a mighty purpose for me in this next chapter and with that in mind, I'm excited to allow Him to turn the page. I'm grasping on to all that today holds and I ask that you join me as I pray for trusting Him with tomorrow. The days aren't mine to hold anyway. He is good. He is in control.<br />
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Praise God for who He is. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He did all He did simply to redeem us, that we might be able to walk in His presence once more. And walk I will. Humbly, boldly, not knowing where the path may lead, but trusting as I take my next step. Psalm 37:23, right? It's my constant prayer for my life.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Where You go, I'll go. Where You stay, I'll stay. When You move, I'll move. I will follow You.</i></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeYHT0FcjG38LglB79N3Q94ZxZyvU1N_nSqgfVOdsZG3k7WE9iPSG7pTnmfgi4VB_zPfAaUTYAa16itnfHeDFEe5pnHP-nxNhJXd7VNBWg4dtt4cOF3X97bzkZIRXWlN_1C7JIPS78OE/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeYHT0FcjG38LglB79N3Q94ZxZyvU1N_nSqgfVOdsZG3k7WE9iPSG7pTnmfgi4VB_zPfAaUTYAa16itnfHeDFEe5pnHP-nxNhJXd7VNBWg4dtt4cOF3X97bzkZIRXWlN_1C7JIPS78OE/s640/IMG_1306.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-62750556211574438792012-02-29T22:02:00.000-05:002012-02-29T22:02:38.595-05:00dancingOne of my favorite pictures from my childhood is of me and my dad early in the morning, sitting and having breakfast in tiny plastic chairs in my little plastic kitchen: him in a suit and me in a nightgown, little curls bouncing all over the place.<br />
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I love it for a lot of reasons, but primarily because it speaks to the love of a daddy, so willing to put aside his schedule and drink fake tea before work in the morning, and the innocence of a little girl, wanting only to spend a few minutes with her favorite man in the whole world.<br />
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I began to think on that photo tonight during worship. And on how our Heavenly Father loves us like that... but on even an entirely greater level.<br />
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A few weeks ago at Disciple Now at my church here in Mississippi, the speaker shared a story about his wife. He began to describe with such visible passion about how he cherished his bride and wanted to daily put her safe on a pedestal and let nothing harm her. The passion on his face as he told this story said that he meant it-- that he loved and cherished her so deeply that he wanted nothing to come close to wounding her-- physically, emotionally, spiritually. Whatever it takes, at any cost, to know that she is valuable and precious to him.<br />
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And as beautiful as that is to see in an earthly relationship, my heart is shaken at <b>how much more so</b> Jesus loves us like that. So deeply that He is willing to let <i><b>nothing</b> </i>come between our love (Rom 8:38). So deeply that He was willing to humble himself to death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). So deeply that He calls us as church the bride of Christ and promises only to give us good. We do nothing to earn it, nothing to deserve it, He just <i>loves us</i>. Cherishes. So tightly that He never lets us go.<br />
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Last week I bought a dress.<br />
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It's a beautiful white, lace dress that caught my eye one afternoon in a store and was too idyllic for me to pass up. I'm planning on wearing it to my graduation, and until then it was intended to safely hang in the back of my closet and wait. But tonight as I cried out to the Lord in worship, I kept being reminded of that dress. I put the thought aside a few times and then with all confusion asked "<i>Lord, why?" </i><br />
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<i> </i>His response was near audible:<br />
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<b><i>"Put on your white dress and dance with me." </i></b><br />
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I'm not sure if I began to laugh at that moment or not... laughing, as a natural overflow of my heart. I see what you're saying here, Lord. I'm seeing the imagery and all you're piecing together...<br />
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So with only a slight hesitation at feeling silly, I went home, put on my white dress, built a beautiful playlist, and did something I haven't done in a long time. I danced. Around my living room, all by myself, in my prettiest dress. Giving my best to Him, remembering how deeply He cherishes me, and offering up myself as a sacrifice-- all my dreams, all my desires, all my worries. Like a little girl playing dress up; spotless, whole, and loved by her Father. He delights in us, and I laughed as I twirled around my living room, curls bouncing all over the place once again. Did I feel silly? Absolutely. But it was an act of obedience and a beautiful time of worship with my Father.<br />
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The funny thing about dancing with someone is that as the girl, you're supposed to let him lead. I confess that I'm not particularly good at this... I've been reminded of such once or twice. But tonight as I danced and laughed and gave it my all, He continually whispered to my heart to remember to let Him lead. And how beautiful it was as I felt Him take over. Me, not dancing to impress my Father but simply letting Him lead as He whispered His love. If He's leading, I can no longer focus on my future, no longer stress about what's to come, no longer ask a million questions until I'm confused and frustrated.<br />
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I can only trust and follow.<br />
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And so I tell you that story tonight simply to remind you of this:<br />
You are loved and cherished deeply. Your Father protects you daily from harm, wants to lead you, and wants only for you to give Him your all-- your beautiful, broken pieces and your very best acts of worship as an overflow of your love.<br />
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What a sweet relationship it is. What a loving Father we have... one who dances each day with His children, deeply and wholly cherished.<br />
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Such beauty. Such truth.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-48543158044365098242012-02-25T18:38:00.000-05:002012-02-25T18:38:00.513-05:00what is goodAll through college, I found a lot of wonderful spots to sit and meet with the Lord.<br />
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My bedroom, on the floor right beside the closet door.<br />
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Our back porch with the Christmas lights turned on.<br />
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By the lake down at the intramural fields.<br />
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Each of these spots hold significance for me. I can tell you specific things the Lord taught me in each one as I asked some tough questions, prepared for big things, and just met in the quiet. While I love (and miss) each of these places that will always be so precious to my heart, I've found that the Lord speaks to me quite clearly in one more place...<br />
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Chickfila.<br />
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Praise God for chicken nuggets and sweet tea! But really... I've written many a school paper, many a blog post, and lots of curriculum from the booths of Chickfilas across the southeast. (I pick very selectively which booth I'll take based on the plugs.) In high school I sketched out the cover of our national-award-winning yearbook on a napkin at Chickfila. In college, I won a haiku contest and got a free pair of chacos for my work that happened at... you guessed it, Chickfila. It's a good place. Maybe there's something inspiring about the tea.<br />
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So here I am today in the corner booth, happy to be back here and hoping to get some good time in. I went for a good run this afternoon and now I'm here, writing, hoping for a little inspiration. Maybe it's "do something nice for yourself" day. :)<br />
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This morning before I headed to work (yes, on a Saturday...) I read these words:<br />
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<i><b>"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. <span style="font-size: large;">But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.</span> He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."</b></i><br />
<i>-Titus 3:3-8<b> </b></i><br />
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It seems to be a theme for me recently-- that we as believers are to be devoted to doing good. And hear me right, <b>we do good not to gain salvation, but as a result of our salvation.</b> No amount of good we could ever do would be enough to earn salvation for us. If you could gain salvation on your own, then it wouldn't be a story of grace. God's gift of union with Him in our lives wouldn't be as sweet if we felt we deserved it. We don't. We never will. But He loves us that much anyway.<br />
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<b><i> "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." </i></b> <i>-Ephesians 2:8-9</i><br />
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But if we've received that gift, then we should naturally be spurred on to do "good works" and to live a life that pleases the Lord. <i>Yes</i>, we will continually mess up, and <i>yes, </i>there is grace in that. God knows the motives of our hearts and He knows the difference between us messing up because we are imperfect and us continually choosing to walk in sin.<br />
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<i><b>"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" </b></i><i>-Romans 6:1-2</i> <br />
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<b>"<i>Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." </i></b>-<i>Proverbs 16:6</i><br />
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I've heard it said that if you got hit by a semi truck, everyone would be able to see the effect of that in your life. It should be the same way when we truly encounter the Lord. At this point, we should be living with the goal of constantly doing what is good, not only to please God but also to paint the picture of our life change for others. So the question then becomes... <i>How do I know what is good?</i><br />
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Remember in my last post how I told you I was going to go back to that <a href="http://lreg-footsteps.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-in-view.html">study of John 16:8</a>? The more I have been seeking and learning about that passage (with the help of a little study time with my mentee!), the more I have come to realize that I wasn't exactly spot on about the last part of that verse. What I had written was still good, but I think it means something more along these lines:<br />
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<i><b>"[When the Spirit comes, He will convict the world] in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." </b>-John 16:11</i><br />
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If you back up to the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were walking in the perfection that was the Lord's presence in Eden, you may remember that a crafty little serpent tried to tell Eve to eat some fruit. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he was concerned about her health... But one of the things he says to her (in Genesis 3:5) is that if she eats, she will be like God and will be able to <i>know what is good and evil</i>. And she fell for it. Awesome. (Although if you think about it, it's the first lie she'd ever heard. What reason did she really have to weight whether or not it was truth? She'd never known that anything could be false...)<br />
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And so from that point forward, we have been defining what is good and evil from Satan's standards.<br />
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What this verse in John is saying is that when the Spirit comes (for us this means when we enter into a relationship with Christ and His Spirit comes to dwell within us) then we will once again base what is right and wrong off of God's standards, because He has defeated Satan. The prince of this world (Satan) now stands condemned. Jesus put him in his place while He was on the cross, and because of such, we now know what is good and bad based off of the promptings of the Spirit.<br />
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That's why those who are in Christ are told that we will be hated by the world (John 15)-- because our standards at their core are entirely different from the world and in light of such, our actions should be wholly different as well. Do good. Hate evil. (Romans 12:9) It's all over scripture. <br />
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So I realize this is getting lengthy, but let me ask you-- <b>are you doing what is good?</b> Are you hating, truly <i>hating</i>, what is evil? And are you doing such in such a way that the world around you can notice, not to bring yourself attention and glory, but so that they might see Christ visibly at work in your life? <br />
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I'm out of sweet tea and it's beginning to get crowded in here, so I'm off. Think on this for a little while... I know I will continue to.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-30243259704907051422012-02-24T13:04:00.000-05:002012-02-24T13:04:03.157-05:00noon timeIt's not quite noon yet. <br />
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It's not quite noon yet, and I've already seen all the latest on Pinterest, already checked Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Path at least a hundred times. I've already browsed the latest sales at West Elm and World Market, already accomplished everything I needed to at work, and already reorganized my desk. Twice. <br />
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It's been a slow morning and to be honest, I'm about to explode to do something creative.<br />
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My camera is currently lounging in the top of my closet, I haven't written in weeks, and there are paint swatches taped to the wall in my living room, taunting me gently at the end of the day. I've always been told I'm creative, so I'm beginning to wonder why I'm not putting that creativity to use in any way. I look through magazines when I can, regularly rearrange things in my kitchen, walk through my favorite stores on the weekends, and constantly dream. Dream, dream, dream...<br />
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I'm in a funny place right now of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. We knew this would happen at some point, right? Once I finish up my internship and work camp this summer (wahoo! SO excited for that!) the question then becomes... <strong><em>What now?</em></strong><br />
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I'm browsing my possibilities right now and to be honest, I'm coming up a little short. I've decided I feel called to stay in this area, but I'm not so sure that this life of sitting here and checking emails all day is quite what the Lord has planned for me. Sure, I love the days at work when there are a million things going on; when I get to interact with people and see their events go off perfectly. I enjoy making sure all the candles get lit and all the logistics are in order. But I'm just not sure that this isn't more than just a learning opportunity for me.<br />
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So are any of you looking to hire someone with a list of random strenths? Because I'm definitely available.<br />
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I'd like a job where I can talk ministry all day, meet regularly with people and invest in their lives, <strong>write often</strong>, plan events creatively, and be surrounded by a great sense of community. I'm also pretty great at decorating things, theming, and occassionally making cupcakes. I like a good cup of coffee and any place with great atmosphere. I'm easy to get along with. I love leadership. I'm responsible, though not very good at driving golf carts. At times I can be funny, I'm always willing to listen, and it doesn't take a whole lot to make me smile. I love kids. I love teenagers. I love not sitting in an office in the corner of a gym... I love a little energy and a lot of contact with the world. <br />
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So if that sounds like any job you can think of... please do let me know. My alternate plan in life is now to just go back to being a kid. I kinda miss the macaroni and cheese.<br />
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Until next time, dear friends... that's all. I hope soon to update on the last post I wrote about the Spirit and all I've learned since then. Heads up, some of what I said last time was <em>true</em>, yes, but not exactly what was meant by the verse I wrote about. More to come on that journey soon! And because I never like to post without a photo, here are two from my life this week:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxnXgpTRibmLeBXbr38A31-prghFh2YX6Lu2MzeQqmV4AP71LCB2wgNHzlzQ6Ma9JtCzR3GorPzoCtkrb6n65B8O9-KecMwJzl5FupxtlVa_-bGVnPV74uVSx8sUnCmhDZqUCYM6noQQ/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxnXgpTRibmLeBXbr38A31-prghFh2YX6Lu2MzeQqmV4AP71LCB2wgNHzlzQ6Ma9JtCzR3GorPzoCtkrb6n65B8O9-KecMwJzl5FupxtlVa_-bGVnPV74uVSx8sUnCmhDZqUCYM6noQQ/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most beautiful road trip, DNow, and family time in a long time. So many blessings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqk-bQA2WaKC79p026qA0TnT0hpPav6X2Ndslvn_sV83I5bYUMEei37GcoyAVfLnfCrV6aj2sO1OrFwSjnajMRmBvWOMMmbfhwQzsPgJiqq_QoX4O3COyEDHNBJCone_Qt5yJrbNR16o/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqk-bQA2WaKC79p026qA0TnT0hpPav6X2Ndslvn_sV83I5bYUMEei37GcoyAVfLnfCrV6aj2sO1OrFwSjnajMRmBvWOMMmbfhwQzsPgJiqq_QoX4O3COyEDHNBJCone_Qt5yJrbNR16o/s640/photo1.JPG" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And so grateful for a little time in the sunshine, by the lake, in the Word. So good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-78418775886348253302012-02-12T17:04:00.001-05:002012-02-12T17:16:52.764-05:00a week in viewLife around here has been incredibly busy. Here are a few highlights of the fun moments of my past week via instagram and path photos.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4FzwDd7I9hjp3jmc1vQNtCLrmkkC0jkSDpuV_wUIA9C1d48qY5qQ0H-BE2RKJbM0y5jWV8r4K9iBFQ-irNYs_WBpUyzHIq_Ldyi67RxgYgUhQwLMXMEJqmIEwN_p8PUR7ZzbsD3f1GQ/s1600/photo(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4FzwDd7I9hjp3jmc1vQNtCLrmkkC0jkSDpuV_wUIA9C1d48qY5qQ0H-BE2RKJbM0y5jWV8r4K9iBFQ-irNYs_WBpUyzHIq_Ldyi67RxgYgUhQwLMXMEJqmIEwN_p8PUR7ZzbsD3f1GQ/s640/photo(8).JPG" width="478" /></a></div> Locked my keys in my car at work. Don't worry, our campus safety team is on the ball!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHVy2d7YRVrbMubABIY62q31HUtX2iskv3n4jTLXELu4vcVLX1NUvDgYtX2EyOFa8YaVhiZxT1Z92gl5L0FtPQWVewXEscSK6ACicXyVgOwNOTy2QujJsjxDkLIG0bAfq3PKjiFjQDo8/s1600/photo(19).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHVy2d7YRVrbMubABIY62q31HUtX2iskv3n4jTLXELu4vcVLX1NUvDgYtX2EyOFa8YaVhiZxT1Z92gl5L0FtPQWVewXEscSK6ACicXyVgOwNOTy2QujJsjxDkLIG0bAfq3PKjiFjQDo8/s640/photo(19).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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I made a new friend! This is Charlie.. I'm not really a cat fan (at all) but he's pretty cute.<br />
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We hosted a National Geographic premier for a documentary featuring one of our professors. You should check it out when it airs on tv!<br />
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I've been having some big fun with these two-- we never cease to make each other laugh.<br />
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A sweet lunch surprise from a sweet friend! Blessings on a busy week!<br />
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Okay, so this isn't from this week... but how fun is this girl? I love her a whole lot.<br />
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Went to see The Vow with my girls!! and ran into this thing...<br />
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Early Saturday morning breakfast with some friends! I'm so excited for this girl to be working camp this summer!<br />
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Daniel and I got Valentine's Day mail from the parents! Have I mentioned I love this holiday? So fun.<br />
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Saturday night we built a fort and started reading The Hunger Games. Have I mentioned what a wonderful blessing my boyfriend is?<br />
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And this afternoon I made cupcakes in Daniel's kitchen while he did homework. It was a well-planned task to keep me quiet while he worked ;)<br />
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And this. This has been the sweetest blessing to me this week, especially in the midst of working extra long hours and being overwhelmingly stressed out. I've been learning a lot lately (as I mentioned in my last post) about what it means to truly be <i>in Christ </i>and to have Christ <i>in us.</i> See, when we enter into the faith and give our lives to Christ, we are promised the Holy Spirit-- the one Jesus refers to as a Counselor, sent to us in His absence. The Lord has been doing a work in my heart about just exactly what we are given in the Holy Spirit and let me tell you, it's <i>so much</i>. But check out, if you will, just this one passage:<br />
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<i><b>"When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." </b>--John 16:8-11</i><br />
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Now, you may get something different out of this than I do. I'm always up for learning and I'm sure my understanding here isn't fully complete, but as I began to think through the reasoning that Jesus leaves us the Holy Spirit, this verse left me a lot of insight. It isn't at first what I thought it was... Keep in mind that Jesus is sharing these words as He prepares to die and to leave the disciples here on earth for a time.<br />
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The word <i>convict</i> here is the greek word "<i>elegcho</i>", meaning to bring to light. Convict. We look at it as a negative thing sometimes, but try here to look at it as bringing about a realization or an understanding.<br />
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<i>...<b>In regard to sin because men do not believe in me:</b></i><br />
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We needed the Spirit to reveal our sin to us because we did not believe in Christ. This is that initial part of process of belief and redemption. I think about the moments I've been blessed to sit and talk with children about understanding what it means to accept Christ and become a Christian and we always talk first about understanding why we need Christ and recognizing the sinfulness of our lives. Because He has sent the Spirit to us now, we recognize, at His prompting, our sinfulness. It is our sinfulness that brings our need to believe in Jesus. (<i>Actively believe... pisteuo. Believe in such a way that we take action as a result, not just acknowledge it's existence. But that's a post for another day...) </i>We begin the entire process of redemption only because the Spirit convicts us in regard to sin, that we may believe in Christ.<br />
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Not only does the Spirit come to convict us at the beginning of our journey, (how many times Scripture says that He chooses us! It's by His prompting, though we of course must make the decision on our own.) but the Spirit also convicts us along the way when we are failing to believe actively as we should day by day in Christ. It's a journey. I need that reminder often. That is how the Spirit convicts us-- reminds us of our sinfulness, our imperfection, our desperate need for Jesus, His grace, and our call to believe with action as a response to that every single day.<br />
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<i><b>...In regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father.</b></i><br />
<b> </b>This one might make more sense to you right off the bat. It didn't to me. But as I began to think about it, the Spirit convicts us of righteousness because Jesus is no longer present to do such. It's a simple truth. Jesus has been walking with the disciples and teaching them constantly what was right and wrong-- and it was often <i>so</i> contrary to what the world assumed. In fact, Jesus tells us in John that if we are following Him, the world may hate us. Why? Because His commands aren't instinctual and sometimes they aren't easy. Remembering also that the disciples didn't have a copy of the entire Word in their hands, I feel sure they were getting nervous at this point about how they were supposed to know what on earth to do in Jesus' absence. I'd be worried. How were they do know what's right and wrong? What is righteous? Hence the conviction of the Spirit. He will show show you what's right and wrong by His leading. In Christ, we are given that also. <br />
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<b>...<i>In regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.</i></b><br />
It's interesting to me how at this point, Jesus calls himself a prince. He's been so humble throughout his entire life (look at His birth, for goodness sake) and has now reached a place of making sure the world knows for certain who He is and what we have decided to do to Him, as He prepares to give His life for us. He says that he has been judged-- <i>krino</i> in the Greek. It means summoned to trial. The word for judgement here is <i>krisis</i>, meaning the exact same thing. A sentence of condemnation. So... He sends the Spirit to convict us of judgement and to remind us of the price that He himself has paid? Praise God that we aren't to forget that... and only through the Spirit can we begin to understand the magnitude of that. Wow. Another step in the process towards <i>pisteuo</i>-- believing and acknowledging not just the weight of our sin, but the power of His righteousness, of who He was, and of how He willingly stood condemned for us as a response. It's the next step in the process of understanding salvation. The Spirit has convicted us of our sinfulness and our need for Jesus. Now we come to be convicted of the power and magnitude of what He has done for us. We are able to begin to grasp all of this only through Him interceding and convicting our hearts. <b><i></i></b><br />
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Wow. So the Spirit is given to us to convict our hearts in a lot of ways, ultimately all to push us closer to Christ. It is Him that prompts are hearts and pushes us through that process of coming to initially know Christ. It is Him that lives inside us and leads us though this journey day by day. The beautiful reality of Christianity is that our God is alive-- that He came back from the dead after facing such a brutal death and that He has ascended to Heaven to be with the Father. But He didn't leave us to wander about on our own-- no, instead He sent us what He often calls the Helper to walk alongside of us, <i>inside</i> of us, once we choose to give our entire lives to Him. How beautiful that our God loves us enough to be our guide through this crazy journey.<br />
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I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for that today.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-70435302371117935372012-02-06T21:29:00.000-05:002012-02-06T21:29:46.205-05:00quick glimpsesBlog update number two for the day!<br />
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Here are a few quick pics from around my apartment.<br />
More to come later! (maybe!)<br />
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I'd also like to note that yes, my dad built that massive picture frame holding the map and the beautiful necklace holder. He's just so handy, that one...Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-88753514768820043842012-02-06T14:21:00.000-05:002012-02-06T14:21:24.900-05:00it's been too long...Oh blogging world, how I have missed you!<br />
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I'd like to blame my recent blogging absence on a lack of time, but I don't know that that's necessarily the case... Maybe I've hit a writers block. Maybe I'm just bad at managing my time. Afterall, I am writing this on my "lunch break" at my desk as I eat banana pudding, but let's be real... I wasn't doing much before lunch outside of scrolling through blogs and answering the occasional email.<br />
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And the problem behind my lack of blogging isn't that the Lord hasn't been teaching me anything that I want to share... No, the problem actually is very much the opposite. Since moving here to Mississippi, (loving it, by the way!) God has set me on a path of learning more than I imagined, just as I expected that He would. In the past few weeks, I've had the incredible opportunity to serve at a few DNow's (and have seen a few sweet girls give their lives over to His kingdom!), have come to be incredibly blessed by a group of solid believer friends, have started "mentoring" a wonderful girl who teaches and challenges me, have seen the power of prayer in a new light, and have become more and more thirsty for His Word. It is so good and so filled with truths that come not just by reading it, but by <em>studying</em> it. That's what I've learned lately.<br />
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And through all of that, God has begun to teach me so much about what it means to be <em>in Christ</em> and to have the Spirit <em>in us</em>. John 14:20-- "...I am in my Father and you are in me, and I am in you." I'm so passionately excited about this concept, that I'm refusing to blog about it. Why?<br />
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Because I can't fit it in a blog. And because I've long dreamed of writing a book one day. And because if and when I begin said book, this is going to be the topic. For sure. So promise me, dear friends, that one day you'll pick up a copy of that-- if not to learn, then at least to support the wild dreams of a silly little girl. ;)<br />
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But, I'm going to try and pick back up with the writing on a more regular basis. For now, I'll leave you with these few random thoughts for the day:<br />
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1) I took pictures of my apartment to share with you, but I haven't uploaded them yet... Soon though. It's a fun place, but I'm also itching to do more with it. My sweet friend <a href="http://laurenkoncerak.blogspot.com/">Lauren</a> just got an internship at <a href="http://milkandhoneyhome.com/">Milk and Honey Home</a> and I'm so proud of her! I'm thinking that if she'll come over and if Anthropologie will sponsor me, I'll have a dream home in no time!<br />
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2) I've gotten insanely, unreasonably excited about it being almost Valentine's Day. I'm talking like I painted my nails pink, wore a red sweater today, and have been browsing Valentine's things on etsy all morning (told you I'd been productive today...). I know what you're thinking-- of course you're excited, Laura, you've got a wonderful boyfriend... Yes, yes I do. And that day also happens to mark 9 months that that's been the case. Such a huge blessing. But outside of that, it's always been one of my favorite holidays. There's something about it that makes me want to bake cupcakes and find little ways to make people smile all day. Everybody deserves that.<br />
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3) I'm officially on staff at a college. <em>Weird.</em> I hold the keys to the city. Or at least the campus... And I'm enjoying it. We're hosting a giant National Geographic Premier this week and have about a million things going on all at once. Today is the calm before the storm for me-- I'll be working all weekend. Merp. <br />
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4) I'm loving life in MS. Yes, I miss my roommates like crazy every single day. And yes, <strike>sometimes</strike> always when I get home I wish someone was there to greet me at the door. But I'm enjoying the huge blessing that is my church family and God has blessed me with an incredible group of friends. We keep up with each other throughout the day (thanks to a new obsession of an iphone app) and I know they're always there for prayer, encouragement, and evenings of eating chocolate chip cookies and watching the Gilmore Girls. I prayed for this for such a long time. God is so faithful to provide. I'm also enjoying the huge blessing of living about seven hours and fourty minutes closer to Daniel than I did for the first eight months of our relationship. But I confess that at the end of the day I miss him just as much when I don't get to see him. I guess it's supposed to work like that though, right?<br />
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5) After the craziness of this week ends, I'm looking forward to a road trip with my boy. It's been too long since we've been on one of those. We get to go and serve at the DNow in Brewton next weekend (eeeek!!!!) and then are heading to Birmingham for a few days to see his bro/sister-in-law and go to a little concert... just Ben Rector and NeedToBreathe together. No biggie. (eeeeeek again!!) I'm beyond excited to see the kids in the Brew, watch what the Lord has planned for the weekend, and just spend a little time away with no work and no distractions. Blessings abound.<br />
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Man, once I started writing I had a hard time stopping. More to come soon! But for now, I better get back to checking the emails and shivering in my office. I ask you, who sets a thermostat on 40? I have to go do something about this.<br />
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Until next time!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-49045289282195050492012-01-09T01:04:00.001-05:002012-01-09T11:32:58.191-05:00effectiveI've been thinking about writing this blog post for quite a while now and I caught myself living in it just a little while earlier today. I think it's time to put these thoughts on (...can we really call this <i>paper</i>??) in hopes that it blesses someone else where they are today.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is what it takes to be effective in women's ministry:</span><br />
<i>(or even just to be an effective woman in ministry...)</i><br />
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To be effective in women's ministry there are a lot of critical things that you must know and do. I'll list just a few for you now:<br />
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To be effective an effective woman in ministry, it's really important that you be beautiful at all times. You need to have hair that looks like a salon team did it when you first roll out of bed in the morning. Your skin should be clear, your makeup should be perfect yet unnoticeable, and you should always have your toenails painted a season-appropriate color.<br />
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You should be up with the times-- maybe wearing a scarf, skinny jeans, a cardigan, and stylish boots. You'll of course look fabulous in them, because you should've run four miles this morning in between having your quiet time and packing your organic lunch for the busy day ahead. Go ahead and make an extra sandwich to share with a friend-- thoughtfulness is key.<br />
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But being an effective woman in ministry is about more than just organic sandwiches and the way you look, of course. There are also a few essential things you should have:<br />
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You'll need a really cute house. It should be both impeccably clean and decorated well enough to snap a few photos for Pinterest at any given moment (you should also be skilled at photography, just in case). You really should have at least <i>something</i> chalk-board painted and should have an organization system for anything and everything. Your magazines are alphabetized and your cabinets are clutter free. Fresh flowers in a mason jar are a must.<br />
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You'll need a really cute husband. He should be spiritually leading your family and the community while working and coaching little league. On Saturdays he should mow the lawn while you get ready to have your book club over for dinner.<br />
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In due time you'll also need to have a few perfect children-- probably three. They should be as good looking as you and your husband, top of the class, and never throw a temper tantrum, ever. You'll need a big shelf for their trophies and a big refrigerator in your newly renovated kitchen to hang their multitude of A+ spelling tests on.<br />
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You need a dog. One that's fun to play with but doesn't shed and certainly doesn't make a mess in your house.<br />
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You need a blog because hey, everyone is online these days. But just any blog won't do-- no, you'll need the blog with the best layout that you created with ease on photoshop after work last week; a place where you can highlight the high quality photos you took on vacation last month, share perfect crock-pot recipes with your followers, and post a link to the website you used to make those one-of-a-kind Christmas cards you sent to all your friends.<br />
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But of course being an effective woman in ministry isn't just about <i>having</i> things... it's also largely about <i>doing</i> things.<br />
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You should be volunteering weekly in the children's ministry, singing in the choir, chaperoning the youth trips, and baking lasagne for the homeless ministry every Wednesday night. The homemade kind, not the kind in the box, of course. Jesus does deserve our best. <br />
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You should meet often to have coffee with your girlfriends and those you don't see you should mail letters to. Never loose contact with anyone, never miss a birthday, and always know every detail of everyone's life. <br />
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You should've memorized Proverbs 31. You've got it written on your mirror in your bathroom and you can turn to it in less than 20 seconds. You were, after all, the state Bible-drill champ... and head cheerleader and class president in high school. <br />
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You should be a world class crafter and throw the most elaborate three-year-old birthday parties known to man. You can have bonus points if you talk your cute husband into building you a craft room where you can organize your eyelets by size and hang your plethora of wrapping paper to be easily accessible.<br />
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You should write a book.You just should.<br />
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You should volunteer for everything. Never, ever say no, no matter how much you have going on. After all, exhaustion is a sorry excuse when nobody can get by without your help. Only you could ever solve their problems and do the work you do. <br />
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You should always speak gently and never have a bad day. Never cry, ever, and certainly don't let anyone see you angry. Some things just shouldn't be shared with others. <br />
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And if you happen to miss any of these things, try not to let anyone notice your mistake and work quickly to fix it. You've got to stay in with the crowd if you're going to be an effective woman in the body of Christ, you know.<br />
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In fact, we can really simplify the rules to this: <i>Do good and be cute. </i><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">No.</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">No, it isn't true. The key to being an effective woman in ministry isn't about being cute <i>or</i> doing good. The truth of the matter is that it isn't about you at all. It's about Christ. The most effective form of <i>being</i> we can achieve is to be in His word. The most effective form of <i>doing</i> we can achieve is to do His will.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">But it sure feels that way sometimes, doesn't it? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'd likely never admit it, but we catch ourselves striving to be the woman listed above because each of us feel that we've met her. The result of it is a place of exhaustion from trying to be anything outside of an imperfect daughter of the King. And you know something? I guarantee none of us have really met someone who has it all together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because, you see, real life is messy. People get angry, our hair gets frizzy, and our relationships get sticky. A real house gets dirty and a real person takes the occasional blurry picture. Chances are that your home didn't come straight from Pinterest and that you don't have time to accomplish your lengthy to-do list with ease. There are dishes in the sink, there's hair on the bathroom floor, and you won't admit it but you've worn this pair of jeans three times this week. You missed your quiet time and you overslept for work this morning. Praise God for the fact that His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Am I saying, then, that it's a bad thing to have the qualities listed above? Not at all. A large majority of them are qualities that I catch myself constantly trying to achieve. There is certainly nothing wrong with any of them-- I do love to mail letters and decorate my apartment. I do love to write. I do have the world's greatest, cutest boyfriend. I do own a closet full of cardigans, and I am a lover of mason jars. The problem occurs not in these qualities but in the moments when striving for these qualities overtakes your real call to seek first the Kingdom of God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've personally never really been one to attempt the make life look like I have it all together but I caught myself struggling in this just today. When we aren't being uniquely who God created and called us to be, we aren't living out our purpose. </span></span>We begin to live with the hopes of upholding an image so as to not let anyone down. The question then becomes who's approval you are seeking. When you figure that out, you'll see clearly who it is that you are living for. <br />
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Effective women's ministry is about seeking first the Lord and who He has created you to be to love on and invest in those around you. Nobody expects perfection of you because there is only one who is perfect. Lucky for us, He made a way so that God Himself no longer expects perfection of us. What a loving Father He is to understand who we are, to catch our tears, and to hear our insufficient prayers. If you're striving to be truly effective as a woman in ministry, minister where and how God has called you to with the best of your abilities. He will take care of the rest.<br />
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Doesn't He always?Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-10935223929913725722012-01-08T21:32:00.000-05:002012-01-08T21:32:56.895-05:00a year in photosAs promised, here is an overview of 2011 in photos. (If you're keeping up, that means that yes, I did find my hard drive! That's a relief!)<br />
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I admit I was really bad at taking pictures first semester this year... I'll try and do better now!<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">That's all for now, friends. Posts to come very soon: one on effective women's ministry and one highlighting some pictures of my new life in MS. Until then!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGRauanyFs3cpAsKO0HXA7qxc1MzKlHkNqaSdOyYgTDRZJgOofCUVEFsR5vM_sUUiQzm139Y6dHd4UYg7e61XZCPePyy8LMEucyKCdwnjntLa4uun1gGRJO709tRxiSHwBeeZRflEy-UQ/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-78887163249249320732012-01-01T12:19:00.000-05:002012-01-01T12:19:40.533-05:00happy new year!<span style="font-size: large;">Happy 2012, friends!</span><br />
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Okay, I admit it. I may have fully given up on #reverb11. For some reason, I assumed Christmas break would have a lot more free time than it has. Somehow nothing ever is quite that way though, is it?<br />
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I decided I'd kick of this year with a post of "a year in pictures"-- chronicling 2011 without words. I was pretty excited about it and had a stream of photos running through my mind when I realized that my external hard drive must be in Mississippi (I moved to Mississippi! Did I mention that?? Pictures of the new to come!) and I'm currently in Georgia. I admit that I'm not entirely sure where my hard drive is... and I admit that I'm actually really nervous about that. (I had to put my entire iphoto library on the hard drive last summer when I reached a point of not even being able to save changes to a word document on my laptop... talk about full.) I'm hoping it's in my desk drawer where it normally lives but for some reason I seem to remember one of those "oh, if I put it here I'll know exactly where it is!" moments not long ago... Those never turn out well.<br />
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Point of that story-- picture post to come in about a week. So I hope.<br />
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In the mean time, I wanted to drop in just to say Happy New Years. I love the thought of a new year but I also approach 2012 with more uncertainty than most years. One of my first thoughts when the clock struck twelve last night was <i>"I graduate from college this year...". </i>Of course with that realization came the mix of joy and panic that I have <i>absolutely</i> no idea what on earth is going to happen in my life this year. It's a little invigorating, isn't it?<br />
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My time in the Word this morning mixed with all the events and emotions of the past few days have led me to this decision, though: Today I am craving and praying for two things:<br />
<b>patience </b>and <b>adventure</b>. <b> </b><br />
<br />
It's funny, isn't it? How when we pray for patience so often what we're really praying for is that we won't need to be patient for much longer? I'm trying to get a really genuine grasp on that. Sometimes the thing about patience also is that the longer you have it, the harder it seems to get. As for adventure, I think I've just hit a place of being very tired of sitting at home. I rang in the new years while watching Sweet Home Alabama with my mom... I'm getting a little stir crazy. As I move into a wholly new chapter of my life, I can't wait to see what kind of adventures 2012 will hold. Passion starts tomorrow-- that'll be a great way to begin. <br />
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That's all for now. I'm going to go back to stressing about the location of my hard drive... and maybe help mom take down the Christmas tree. I'll leave you with this:<br />
<br />
Last night I bought the cd "Just You and Me" by <a href="http://www.adiecampmusic.com/">Adie</a> and I'm definitely enjoying it. Check her out-- she's talented, adorable, a mommy of three, and just happens to be Jeremy camp's wife. Plus, how pretty is the name Adie? Loving it. Check out this video:<br />
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This was the only video of this song I could find... and it's super cheesy. On the up side, it has spanish subtitles. :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/Ufu9K3P5_i4/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ufu9K3P5_i4&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ufu9K3P5_i4&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-18999654538634404872011-12-22T16:28:00.000-05:002011-12-22T16:28:52.121-05:00the Son of ManThis morning's quote on my C.S. Lewis daily app was this:<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>"Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else." </i><br />
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In light of that and the fact that I've been super excited to write this post for the past two days, I'm going to willingly fall even further behind on #reverb11 for the sake of just writing from my heart this afternoon.<br />
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A few days ago I wrote a <a href="http://lreg-footsteps.blogspot.com/2011/12/learning-to-trust.html">post</a> about me reading a passage of Scripture in John 12 and wanting to know the answers to so many questions, just like the man in the crowd who talks to Jesus in verse 34. The man is confused as to why Jesus, after all the miracles and such He has performed, reminds the people that He is the <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Son of Man</i>.</span> Jesus met my many questions here the same way He met those of the crowd-- with the call to just trust Him.<br />
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We don't trust Jesus for the sake of Him rewarding us. We trust Him because we love Him and we are called and willing to do so. Yet, so often He does reward our faithfulness.<br />
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Later that night as I was dwelling on what it meant to trust Jesus, I picked up reading again and was joyfully brought to this verse:<br />
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<b>"For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." </b>-1 Corinthians 15:21-22<br />
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The Son of Man... that's where I hadn't taken that thought yet-- all the way back to the beginning to why we needed Christ to begin with. Jesus is heading toward His death (and our salvation) in John 12 and therefor takes the time to remind the crowd that He is fully man. Why? Because it is because of a man that we have need of salvation (because of the story of Adam and Eve, the initial separation of God and man). Since this is the case, God uses a man to bring it full circle. Jesus is the melting and unifying of God and man-- He could have done it no other way than by being both. That is what the man in the crowd needed to remember. That is what we need to remember also. He is <i>able</i> to unify God and man by literally embodying both. This picture in John 12 is Him speaking to how he is <b>both</b> and is about to put that unification on display.<br />
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God and man are unified not just <i>through </i>Christ, but literally <i>in </i>Christ.<br />
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This could bring a whole new meaning to the thought that <i>in Christ </i>we are a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17) Yes, literally in Christ is a new creation because Christ was unlike any other ever created-- fully God and fully man, a literal indwelling of the Spirit. Because of such, we are invited also to be a new creation as the literal God comes inside of us. Our bodies are the temple. We, too, are now fully God and fully man, in a sense. We too are filled with the Spirit because Christ is <i>able</i>. Of course i was relevant that Jesus reminded the people He was the Son of Man-- if He had just been God there would be no hope of glory for the rest of us. Because He is fully man, through His death we can become a new creation.<br />
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Talk about grace. Talk about love.<br />
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Romans 5:17 says:<br />
<b>"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!"</b><br />
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It is through one man that we found ourselves in need of salvation, and it is through one Man that we find ourselves delivered. It seems hard to believe that Christmas is three days away. I'm challenging myself to remember that this is why He came. The fact that our Savior came in the form of a baby-- the weakest thing of all-- humbles me so much. Let's rejoice in that fact together and spend some time thanking Him for being fully God and fully man so that we could be united. <b> </b>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-19130720864645452642011-12-20T16:59:00.000-05:002011-12-20T16:59:48.511-05:00learning to trustThere's nothing quite like watching Aladdin on a rainy day with a cup of coffee and a sweet boy. I've been blessed enough to get to have Daniel here with me for a few days and it's been great as always. Have I mentioned how grateful I am for a boyfriend who makes me laugh? And how much more grateful I am for one who spends time in the Word each morning and passionately pursues Christ each day? Yeah. Check out this sweet pic of our gingerbread house we made last night. It's a classy place ;)<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>What did you learn?</i></span></b><br />
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I don't even have the slightest idea where to begin answering that question. Honestly? I am a wholly different person than I was this time last year because of all I have learned. God has taught me much this year, through my time spent alone with Him, through my small group, through camp, through Daniel, through family, through roommates, through worship... Through the loud moments and the quiet, I believe that there's probably always something to learn, either about the character of God or about who I am in response to that. <br />
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Earlier today we picked up a book in Barnes and Noble. It was discussing the topic of "dumb things that smart Christians believe" and one of them was that all things happen for a reason. Now, I didn't read the book and I don't know exactly what point the author was making, but from what I know and have experienced, I stand by that the author might just be wrong. Everything that happens, good or bad, God works for His glory. We have something to learn in each thing we experience. So often we glaze right over it. We take things with a grain of salt and don't realize the Lord at work.<br />
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In the spirit of living with that in mind, I've learned much in the expanse of a year. If ever I get to a point where I've stopped learning, then we have a problem. This morning I continued my very slow trek through John. I've been in chapter twelve for a few days now and the Lord is speaking incredible things to me through it. This morning I got caught up here:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26604">23</sup> Jesus replied, </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;">“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26605">24</sup> Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26606">25</sup> Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26607">26</sup> Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26608">27</sup> “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26609">28</sup> Father, glorify your name!”</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26610">29</sup> The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26611">30</sup> Jesus said, </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;">“This voice was for your benefit, not mine.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26612">31</sup> Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26613">32</sup> And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26614">33</sup> He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26615">34</sup> The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;">‘<b>The Son of Man must be lifted up’</b></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26616">35</sup> Then Jesus told them, </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;">“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: x-small;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-26617">36</sup> Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm not sure I can articulate everything I've thought and learned here without it taking me an hour, but this passage is all very connected to the rest of the chapter. For the sake of my point here, though, I'll focus on this thought: In reading this this morning, I put myself in the place of the man in the crowd and began to ask questions. (That's how we learn, right?) The man here is confused at why Jesus earlier in the chapter says that it is time for the <i>Son of Man</i> to be glorified. I see the guy's point here-- "<i>Jesus, you've done all these miracles and crazy things and are claiming to be the Messiah, the son of God... what do you mean you're the son of Man?" </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i>I get that this is really hard concept for him to grasp. Jesus is reminding Him here that yes, He is the son of God, the chosen one, but He is also fully man. Fully man, fully God. That's hard for me to even grasp now. I asked that question and began to plow through the idea of what changed when the Father glorified the Son. I thought through a lot of tough questions from this passage and began to feel a lot like the man in the crowd-- that I was thinking in circles, pulling Scripture from everywhere, and still landed just a little frustrated that I cannot fully grasp exactly what Jesus is saying here. Ever feel like that? What I find interesting is that when the man asks Jesus about His claim to be the Son of Man, Jesus' response is this: <i>I'm the light which guides. </i>At this point I wonder if the guy was a little frustrated. He's clearly thinking deeply and seeking answers and not coming up with a whole lot of clarity-- the same place I was this morning and the same place I find myself often. So often we just want to understand fully... Striving to know more and to understand, but living perpetually in the fact that we are never intended to grasp it all. But just as I turned to the very last page in my journal and continued to write about this thought, Jesus' words became more clear. <i><b>Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of the light. </b></i>What that boils down to for me is this: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Just trust me.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes faith and knowledge can collide. The guy in the crowd couldn't grasp all the answers that He wanted and while Jesus honors his desire to understand and learn more, His echoing message back to the guy was <i>"for now, just trust me. That is how you become a child of God." </i>The same is true for us. I was searching for greater significance in Jesus's words (as we should) and He reminded me yet again that sometimes our learning is best boiled down to us simply trusting Him. That's big in my life right now. Each thing He has taught me this year and each thing He will continue to show us always comes back to a greater understanding of who He is and how we are simply called to trust Him, even when we don't understand or we cannot see down the road ahead of us. That's a little piece of what I've learned today and a large piece of what I've learned as I've grown deeper with Christ in my lifetime. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is always much to learn. There is always much reason to trust. </span> </span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-43817946242743431882011-12-16T22:56:00.000-05:002011-12-16T22:56:02.159-05:00surpriseI'm officially home now for Christmas and therefor plan to start back every day with #reverb11, although it will definitely take me a few days to catch up. Today has been crazy for me-- I packed up as many of my belongings as physically possible and moved out of the apartment I have spent the past three years in. I'll be back-- that much is sure, but I drove away today knowing full well that it would never be the same again. Throughout my life I've had a lot of great friends, but rarely any to the level of my college roommates. They will forever be my sisters and while God is calling me to great things right now, I'd give anything to pack them in my backpack and take them with me. Did I cry on the way home? Only a little. It's nice to be home, but it won't be long before I miss it fiercely...<br />
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On a side note, I like writing from home. I'm currently writing while all curled up in my bed with a sleeping, snuggly little puppy. That sounds so idealistic-- let me rephrase: Finally. A <i>finally</i> sleeping puppy. Today I was reminded how not ready for parenthood I am...<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Who surprised you?</i></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you know me, it's about to be completely obvious what I'm going to say. In fact, it's going to be so obvious that I'm almost hesitant to tell the story again... but it was the first thing that I thought of. This might not be the most inspiring blog post you've ever read, but if you're a sucker for a good story then hang on because I have one for you. I've alluded to it a lot of times before, but I'm not sure I've ever written it all out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">See, I <i>love</i> to be surprised. Love it. But generally it isn't the easiest thing to do and throughout the course of my life I feel I've somehow figured out the majority of my surprises beforehand. It's rarely intentional but I blame it largely on two things: my vivid imagination and the fact that my mom is the worst at keeping secrets. I mean, come on... she once threw me a surprise breakfast party for my birthday but got out all the muffin tins, platters, and pitchers the night before. So silly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">You can imagine my surprise, then, when literally almost everyone I know kept a secret from me for well over a month without my having even the slightest suspicion. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I hadn't been home from college in months, <i>literally</i> months, and was just about ready to explode to just be home for a weekend. Our girlfriend, Chelsea, was coming into town for the weekend and as much as I love her, I'd decided that I was <i>so</i> ready to be home that I was willing to miss the weekend with the girls. Besides, Season was going to be out of town that weekend anyway and if she could be gone, I could too, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">So I called my mom who, in far from her normal state when hearing I was coming home, insisted that it was a bad weekend and she wouldn't have much time to hang out with me. ...What? But I was going to go anyway until my best friend, Season, took me to lunch early in the week. As we sat on the patio of Chickfila, Season did the most uncharacteristic thing I've ever seen her do, even to this day. She looked me in the eyes and told me I was being selfish for going home when Chelsea was coming to visit. Was I surprised? Absolutely. Was I caught off guard? Definitely. Was I a little offended? Maybe. Did it work? Yeah...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm easily guilted so I decided to stay. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Fast forward a few days to Friday, when I'm still a little bummed that I wasn't going to get to go home. To cheer myself up, I spent a few hours that morning sitting on my back porch talking on the phone to a boy who I was really beginning to like. And I was pretty sure he might like me too. The problem was that he lived eight hours away from me and while we'd talked about him coming to visit sometime, it was clear that our schedules were both just too busy and it wasn't going to happen. We wouldn't see each other again until summer time. So he told me that morning all about the weather, about his morning trip to Barnes and Noble, and about eating Chickfila for lunch. My roommates could always tell by the look on my face that I'd been on the phone with him and at least hearing his voice was a bright spot in my day. Still always is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">So evening rolled around and if I can be honest, I was in an obscenely bad mood. We'd gone to Home Depot to get new blinds for the living room (ours broke, like most things in Pineview) and gone for a random walk around the neighborhood, and then it was decided that we'd all get dressed up and go out to dinner. Something to understand about me is that when I get ready to go somewhere, I'm ready to go. I begrudgingly changed out of my jeans (I was told I looked bad. I liked my outfit...) and we sat around for about two hours with everyone getting frustrated that not everyone was ready and no one could agree <i>at ALL</i> on where we were going to eat. I'm actually getting a little stressed just remembering the tension in the room. It was so bad that I sent Daniel a text that my roommates were driving me crazy (something that never happens) and took him up on his fake offer to come punch them all for me, followed by his text: "<i>Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes." </i></span><br />
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About twenty minutes later in the midst of all the crazy and all the frustration, someone bangs loudly on the door. Really loudly.<br />
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Patrick. It has to be Patrick. It's always Patrick.<br />
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A good Southern lady might have politely opened the door and greeted our visitor. A polite person would have least walked to the door and opened it. But what did I do? With every bit of pent-up frustration I yelled "Come in" in a very, very angry voice.<br />
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I wasn't Patty.<br />
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It actually wasn't anybody I expected it to be... it was more like the last person I <i>ever</i> expected it to be. I did the world's biggest double-take and literally had no idea how to react. To this day, Daniel will tell you that I yelled at him. Maybe I did, it's all kind of a blur to me. In my mind it was more of a surprised "What are you doing here?" than a yell but whichever :) All I really remember is hugging a cute boy in a plaid shirt at my front door and him melting me with a smile and saying to me "All of this? This was for you. You're not going out with them, you're going out with me." What followed was the greatest first date I could've ever dreamed of and a great weekend of coffee, scrabble, a wedding, a roadtrip, waterfalls, pictures, and some unbelievable time of worship.<br />
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It took me a long time to grasp that weekend what was really happening, partially because it was all too good to be true and partially because I was still trying to piece together everything. For over a month, this boy had been plotting with my roommates to come and take me to dinner. Suddenly it all made more sense-- my mom, Season calling me selfish, the insistence that I dress up, the new blinds in the living room (I tend to watch our driveway like Mrs. Kravitz...), the stalling for time, the time Anna made me take a "what's your favorite flower" quiz... Hindsight is 20/20.<br />
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I was literally speechless that day. Not just anybody can surprise me, but that day Daniel surprised me in a way I couldn't have even dreamed of. He continues to do that. I remember that next Sunday morning at church Spencer looked at me and knew something was up by the look on my face. Months and months later he told me that look on my face hadn't changed. What more can I say?<br />
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I'll leave my sappy story with the video that Julie took of the moment he came through the door. She missed the beginning of it, but it's okay. She also cut the camera off before she finished the line "You have no idea how difficult you are to surprise." Just listen for yourself and see how she really feels ;)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7Qdjv6x5rIchYLvzuCpT1t4F69qyo5wxJveBo5flQSI28xpxxTAghXfrCbtA4vaEru13VH9RoFFGOHCkwmQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-6135010534294352992011-12-13T21:52:00.000-05:002011-12-13T21:52:08.810-05:00resounding questionsI promise I have not entirely given up on blogging for the month of December but things have just been so crazy around here the past few days. I spent most of today hanging out with people and packing/organizing. Today we found some seriously moldy bread and I had the realization that I have not one, but <i>two</i> tripods under my bed. I'd call that slightly unnecessary. Other things we found included a basketball, a small christmas tree, and several books that the bookstore refused to buy back from me. Bummer.<br />
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I'm still so far behind on Reverb but I'll answer one question tonight in hopes of not falling further behind. I'm sure it'll be a short one as we're watching a movie right now by the light of our newly located small Christmas tree. So festive. :)<br />
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<b>The prompt: <i><span style="font-size: large;">What questions did you ask?</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think that over and over again, the biggest question I asked consistently this year was: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>"...What??"</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">See, that's the way I feel sometimes when I hear the Lord speak or when He begins to do something in my life. Sometimes I ask in confusion, sometimes in doubt... sometimes it manifests itself into the question "<i>Is this real life?", </i>but generally it all boils back down to <i>"...what?". </i>I asked that question with excitement when I first found out I'd get to be Assistant Director. I asked it with sincere, surprised confusion when I was asked to direct. I asked it with disbelief when I began to realize Daniel liked me. I asked it in hopes of direction when I was offered this internship in Mississippi. I asked it countless time when ridiculous things would happen over the summer. I ask it daily at the craziness that happens in our apartment. I even asked it with excited confusion when the 8 inches of snow began to fall last January. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think we all ask this question. We ask the question in hopes that we will gain clarity and sometimes in hopes that the Lord will just comply to our timeline and tell us what's going on. I'm often so desperate to just know the future or to have the Lord speak to me in the way that I can understand without a shadow of a doubt. Sometimes He does just that, but often times the reason He doesn't is because it's the unknown that causes us to rely fully on Him. If I could write my own ending to my story, I'd like to think that I know bits and pieces of what I would include. But the beautiful truth is that the Lord knows our hearts so much better than even we do. I believe that is why He let's me ask "<i>what</i>?". All throughout scripture Jesus speaks in parables and tales that leave His followers begging for clarity. Often times, however, the answer is as simple as what it right in front of them. That's the way it's been in my life this year too.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've found that all year if my question has been a continual "<i>what?", </i>His answer has always been a resounding "<i>Believe.". </i>That's really all there is to it. Believe. Trust Him. Have faith in what He is doing and continue to seek His voice. He'll tell you-- He'll provide direction and clarity all in due time. That's what the answer boiled down to in most of Jesus' parables as well. They are often the simple call to just believe and trust Him with faith like a child. I wonder if I will ever cease to need that reminder. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll pick back up on the blogging very soon, but right now I'm struggling to concentrate as this movie unfolds in the background. Maybe tomorrow? Definitely soon. </span><i> </i></span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-76801992012134542902011-12-11T16:16:00.000-05:002011-12-11T16:16:27.696-05:00in His handsI have been <i>very</i> behind on these reverb posts lately but only because we've just been having too much fun around here to stop and write. Athens is always the most fun during finals, partially because no one has class and partially because everyone gets a little stir crazy. The fact is that I'd rather be making memories than reflecting on them, but here in the quiet of the Sunday afternoon I'll stop my packing and boxing things in hopes of catching up a little bit.<br />
<br />
I liked these prompts so I'm going to try and hit them one at a time, even if it takes me a little bit longer. <br />
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<b>The prompt: <i><span style="font-size: large;">When were you scared?</span></i> </b><br />
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I don't get scared too often... but I admit that sometimes it doesn't take a whole lot.<br />
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Every now and then I'm afraid when I'm the only one home in our apartment at night time. Heights kind of scare me. I got scared when <a href="http://danielteague.blogspot.com/">Daniel</a> and I drove up a steep mountain in the rain. I got a little scared the night CK3 played murder in the dark in the condemned part of the auditorium after midnight. Sometimes I'm a little scared going to the doctor. I get really scared if I miss an assignment at school. I get scared on the rare occasion I have to drive in the snow. Traffic scares me. I was terrified driving up a curvy mountain in he dark. I got scared the time Adam told me my car got towed... it didn't. If you jump out from behind something, I guarantee I will scream. I don't watch scary movies and I don't do haunted houses. <br />
<br />
But sometimes big, life things scare me too.<br />
<br />
I get a little scared when things change or when I have no idea where I'm going. Big decisions can terrify me. I'll admit that I'm scared right now-- scared of moving away and leaving everything behind. Sometimes I get scared when I know the Lord is calling me to big things. I get scared when I know He wants me to talk to someone or if He's calling me to do something out of my comfort zone. I think we all do.<br />
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We are each called to live in fear of the Lord. It took me a long time to begin to understand what that means (I probably still haven't grasped it fully.) I remember asking my Dnow leader as an 8th grader why it was that God wanted us to be afraid of Him. I'm pretty sure I probably let out a big sigh of relief when I learned that that isn't actually what that means. See, God doesn't call me to be scared of Him, even though He could have every right to do so. He is all power-- He could do whatever He wanted to, but He loves us and therefore we have nothing to be afraid of, no matter how many times we mess up. No, being in <i>fear</i> of the Lord looks a lot more like respect. I think some days I tend to forget that He is the holy, perfect God who's Glory blinded people in the Old Testament. I tend to boil Him down to a helpful friend (which He is) and not approach Him with quite as much fear as He deserves.<br />
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He is the God of peace, and therefore we have nothing in life to be afraid of. Yes, He calls us outside of our comfort zones. Sometimes He leaves us in places that make us feel as though we've got literally nothing left to grab hold of but our faith. But ultimately we can rest in the fact that He promises us continually that He has plans for our good. He lets us lie down in green pastures beside streams. He gives us rest, He hears us when we call out to Him, and He never lets us escape from the palm of His hand.<br />
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Several years ago I was on a mission trip to the Czech Republic and one afternoon when we were spent and everything seemed to be going wrong, a friend and I began to sing these words together:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>He's got the whole world</i> <i>in His hands...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Everybody likely remembers this little song from Sunday school as a child and as we began to sing it that hot afternoon in Europe, it began to speak truth to the both of us. We started changing the words and inserting the things that were scaring us or stressing us out. (<i>He's got </i>missing the bus<i> in His hands... He's got </i>no more water<i> in His hands</i>... whatever it might be.) And as we sang it, we began to find such peace in the things that were out of our control with the simple reminder that God was working them for His purpose. Some days when it's all too much to handle, I still find myself doing this as an act of handing these things over to the Lord. He has them in His hands. Why in the world would we be afraid of them?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Fear is something that can be controlling to us if we do not hand it over to the Lord. It's rarely beneficial and almost always exhausting. What is it that you're afraid of that God is calling you to let go of? I'm going to go think about that for a while and then keep catching up on the prompts. Until then, friends!</div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-10317059425358057892011-12-08T22:21:00.001-05:002011-12-08T22:24:41.431-05:00spendI'm writing tonight from the warmth of a living room filled with friends. Everyone is "studying" and I just made cinnamon rolls... something I've been craving for weeks now. Glad I finally took care of that one.<br />
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I have to confess that tonight's #reverb11 prompt might be my least favorite one on the entire list. I don't like to talk about money. Why? I'm not sure, I just don't. I'll probably take a little twist on this one:<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Where did you spend money?</i></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The number one thing that I am willing to spend money on is (gas and) food. And by that I don't mean that I like to eat pricy food, but rather that I am almost always willing to pay for a meal if it means getting to go out to eat with people. There's something about eating together that brings such great fellowship. Hey, even Jesus did that, right? ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'll also admit to the fact that I'm the type of person that will sometimes spend small amounts of money to reward myself. Chickfila sweet tea after a long day, a pretty necklace after a week of tough tests, a new book because it's... Tuesday?... you know, that type of thing. But above that, I enjoy spending money if it means getting to do something sweet either <i>for</i> someone or <i>with</i> someone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I read Ann Voskamp's <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/when-christmas-gets-radical-whose-birthday-is-it-really/">blog post</a> the other day about her four year old son asking her this question one night as she turned off the lights to put him to bed: <i>"Mommy, what do</i></span><i>es Jesus get for his birthday?" </i>She described with such grace the impact of that question, the faith of that child, and how years later, her family still chooses to spend their money at Christmas time not on presents for one another, but on Jesus' desire for us to take care of the widows and orphans. I think it's beautiful. I love that their entire family is on board with that together and the way they find such joy in sharing what they've been given.<br />
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I've been given a lot in my life in a lot of different ways. Luke 12:48 tells us that to whom much has been given, much is also required. We are called to live with open hands, recognizing that nothing we have is really ours anyway (and that includes our money). I pray that the Lord would continue to open my eyes to the ways He would have me to give of myself-- my time, my resources, my wisdom, whatever it may be.<br />
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I wish I could write more, but we've started another movie (it <i>miiight</i> be the fifth one today. love finals week.) and I simply can't concentrate anymore. Part of giving of myself means soaking in as much time with the people around me as I can right now, so I'm going to go do that.<br />
Enjoy the short blog post for today, friends ;)<br />
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I'll close tonight with my only picture from our trip to the mountains. We really did study a lot. Surprised? I am.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8tkhh8Ye5YFb0_A0Wg8nUZNaLoJ4Dqdx1oMA-SALSDmpXppieZi4LDQIc3L4WHvXb1aFajbs-Y9l0ax6qx6LfmmSTMUK93Fd8AGoUFjkMdAOZ7zd_Gc3nFCLHU382Vq-q6NoTHnVpFU/s1600/IMG_2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8tkhh8Ye5YFb0_A0Wg8nUZNaLoJ4Dqdx1oMA-SALSDmpXppieZi4LDQIc3L4WHvXb1aFajbs-Y9l0ax6qx6LfmmSTMUK93Fd8AGoUFjkMdAOZ7zd_Gc3nFCLHU382Vq-q6NoTHnVpFU/s640/IMG_2020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-9573947052853994432011-12-07T11:32:00.000-05:002011-12-07T11:32:16.062-05:00rememberHere's a weird confession for you: sometimes Reverb prompts make me feel a little bit like I'm dying.<br />
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I get that the point is to reflect back on the previous year, but I think this is a little harder for me than in years past because of the fact that so much is about to change and I don't get to return to this same place and time for another year of college. There are exciting adventures ahead but all this reflecting might be making me a little sad...<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>What do you hope to remember?</i></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's the thing: I want to remember <i>everything</i> about this past year.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the time we got snowed in our apartment for an entire week.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember every silly song Anna has sung to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember every detail of the day I got a cupcake smushed in my face on the way home from Huntsville.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the sweet faces of the kiddos I got to be with at camp this past year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the stories of how God moved in those kids lives.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the day we helped build a house in the flooding rain.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember laughing and serving the kids in Brewton.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember how excited they were when we came back to go to a little league game.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember getting to see BB King, The Civil Wars, Dave Barnes, Ben Rector, NeedtoBreathe... </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the beautiful nights of worship at BCM as we walked through John.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember game nights in our apartment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the time we built a fire in the driveway.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the time Jackie set fire to a pizza in the oven.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember New Years eve and everything about the next few days at Passion.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember going to the mountains with the Teagues for the weekend.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember all the football games, though I could stand to forget having my picture on the website...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember Image Night and how the Lord moved through it.<br />
I want to remember my second year of Dinner Theater coordinating, even if I thought it might kill me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the faces and the names of the precious kindergartners in New Orleans.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember building tents in the living room and watching bad lifetime movies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember all the long road trips. A million miles to go.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the joy on my grandfather's face every time he got to see me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember building a cherpumple with Will-- the frustration and the victory.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want to remember the time I learned to pick a lock and saved the dog from Season's room. </span></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
I want to remember watching the kids at River Hills worship during DNow.<br />
I want to remember the day I had to be the Rec Leader at camp.<br />
I want to remember the time David sat in the ice machine at a sketchy gas station.<br />
I want to remember getting to watch Daniel practice his sermons at training week.<br />
I want to remember the peace the Lord taught me as I read through 1000 Gifts.<br />
I want to remember the days of class that pointed me towards what I want to do with my life.<br />
I want to remember all the quotes and all the giggles that came from 100.<br />
I want to remember the time we stayed up all night to throw the girls a princess party and watch the royal wedding.<br />
I want to remember eating dinner together on the back porch with the Christmas lights.<br />
I want to remember Jackie's graduation party and object dancing together.<br />
I want to remember the Meghan's weddings and how beautiful it was to share in their joys.<br />
I want to remember the time a squirrel got loose in the camp store.<br />
I want to remember the time Mary and I escaped for a day to eat cheese dip and go shopping.<br />
I want to remember eating ice cream in Nashville.<br />
I want to remember dreaming of living overseas.<br />
I want to remember my last days of nannying for a sweet family and taking Isabel to ride her bike in the park.<br />
I want to remember the time my sweet 12 year old told his mom he wanted to come take me to lunch on his day off of school.<br />
I want to remember dancing in the kitchen.<br />
I want to remember going to look at stars at an old abandoned golf course.<br />
I want to remember the days the Lord spoke to me directly, even as I set up Kids Connection at church.<br />
I want to remember the afternoon just hanging out with friends in Winder.<br />
I want to remember the time we got lost in Atlanta going to see Wicked. <br />
I want to remember the time I got a license plate in the mail.<br />
I want to remember Charles Nations, leaping into Blake's arms, and falling off the bed laughing as we watched videos of our silly boys making cake.<br />
I want to remember the time Alex and I made sausage balls at the crack of dawn.<br />
I want to remember the time little miss Spencer and I pushed the fridge in front of the hotel room door in fear.<br />
I want to remember the Savannah ghost tour. <br />
I want to remember late nights of watching Boy Meets World dvds.<br />
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I want to remember each of the people that touched my heart, the stories that made me laugh, the butterflies in my stomach, and the places I got to go. I want to remember some of the things I've already forgotten. I want to remember all the Lord has taught me, through the joy and through the difficult situations. I could do this all day, but I have to go.<br />
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I'll be impressed if anyone read all the way through that but I enjoyed reminiscing for a few minutes. Until tomorrow, friends!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-64732430129511039072011-12-07T00:39:00.000-05:002011-12-07T00:39:36.857-05:00importanceHello, friends!<br />
Today has been yet another one of those days that has moved a million miles an hour. The bittersweet news is that today I set foot in a classroom for the very last time in my undergrad career. I have very mixed feelings about that.<br />
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I've been thinking a lot about today's #reverb11 prompt and there are quite a few different directions I'd like to take this one all at one time. Please stick with me as I try to piece them all together. <br />
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<b>The prompt: <i><span style="font-size: large;">Who was important to you?</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had the thought earlier today that I wonder how many times I've spoken the sentence <i>"He teaches high school in Mississippi..."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two summers ago was my first summer working at camp, and I walked into it a mix of nerves and excitement. I had 32 incredible people on my team, one of whom was a boy that I decided before the summer began that I just didn't want to be friends with. Why? Because he was cute. And I didn't need to let my heart recognize that. Before training week had even ended, a mutual friend told me that he and I would be best friends and I spent the next year laughing that she was right. He was great. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fast forward a long, long way down the road. Skip over the DNows, the occasional phone calls, the growing friendship that I valued so much... fast forward all of that to one evening as I sat on the couch in my living room, angry at the world and (for maybe the first and only time) so frustrated with my roommates. Someone knocked on my door. That someone drove eight hours to surprise me and take me on our first date. That someone left me speechless that night and continues to do just that day by day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the year of 2011, that someone has taken on a whole new role in my life-- one I never even imagined or hoped for. Daniel Allan makes me laugh, pushes me on and encourages me, gives such Godly wisdom and counsel, and melts my heart as he loves on and invests in the kids around him each and every day. The most important thing to me is that he loves the Lord far more than I pray he'll ever even dream of liking me, and the outflow of that is so beautiful. He was important to me. He <i>is </i>important to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">God has given me some other incredible blessings this past year that are fully worth mentioning as well...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I sat with my roommates tonight in the quiet at sweet tears sobbed warm into the carpet of our living room floor. I'll never stop thanking God for the years of family I have found behind the poorly painted front door of our apartment. We laugh together, weep together, lift one another up, encourage, admonish, dream, dance, sing, and even have the occasional roller derby. I can't put it into words. I've tried before so many times... and in full honesty, I am terrified of leaving that behind. I have mere days left to come home to a family who listens with open arms and that thought terrifies me. This bond isn't something that will ever end, this much I know full well. But I hate the thought of not coming home to the one place I know I can always be fully myself-- broken, whole, pretty, afraid, whatever. I'm beyond grateful. I thank the Lord for sisters. They're the best ones I've got.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My small group has become very important to me this year also. The beauty of it is that each of us is walking hand in hand through the tough decisions that unfortunately come with senior year. Most of us have been together since freshman year and I feel this group has brought it all full circle. I love to hear what Christ teaches each of those girls and I'm going to miss them dearly in the days to come.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My camp team has been important to me. Probably not a day goes by that I don't talk to someone and I'm grateful for the love and the support built in that place.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My family has been important to me. Always. I love watching those relationships grow and change as we all get older. Family are friends just as much as friends can be family. I am grateful for those.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My sweet friend, Karen, has been incredibly important to me. Thank you, Karen, for walking alongside me in quite a journey. We got to have lunch on Monday and I enjoyed sitting together once again and remembering all the times that we have been through-- times of frustration with leadership, times of questions in my life, times of celebration, stress, heartache, and revelation. Thanks for always listening, for always speaking truth, and for always being up for a cupcake and a dive into a new book. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">My church family has grown very important to me this year. I've been grateful for the chance to love and serve alongside them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">And above all, my God has been <i>very</i> important to me in the past year. He has revealed such truths to my heart and worked through all my imperfections, day by day by day. It's rarely easy but always rewarding. I've marveled as He's taken all my worries with grace and truth and worked them for His plan. I know He will continue to do that as I continue to lean on Him in the times to come. Praise God for His slow, persistent faithfulness.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know tonight's post may not have been deep or inspiring, but my mind is a thousand places tonight. Until tomorrow, sweet friends.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></b>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-60386832518631783442011-12-05T23:50:00.000-05:002011-12-05T23:50:05.654-05:00struggles & discoveriesToday has gone 100 miles an hour since I woke up this morning (two hours later than I expected to, I might add...) Some days are just like that, I suppose. It's been filled with great things but I'm grateful at the end of it to just have the chance to sit in the living room and catch up on blogging.<br />
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You may have noticed that I skipped out on my #reverb11 yesterday. We were en route back from our mountain vacation weekend and between packing up, driving home, and winning first place at trivia last night (yes, I'm bragging on my team), writing just didn't happen. That being said, I really liked yesterday's prompt so tonight I'm going to try my hardest to combine it with the one from today. I feel like they go together well anyway, so let's give this a shot...<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>When did you struggle?</i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>What did you discover?</i></span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Struggles often lead to discovery. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">C.S. Lewis once said that <i>"</i></span></span></span></span><i>God allows us to experience the low points in life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.</i>" I'm a firm believer in the fact that God doesn't allow us to run helplessly through the difficult times of life because He's left us or because He enjoys watching us squirm. No, that isn't biblical. I believe fully in the fact that just as He promises us in Jeremiah 29:11, He has plans for our good. Romans 8:28 promises us that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. My range of vision is incredibly narrow and in the midst of difficulty, sometimes all I can focus on are the ways it's unfair and the ways it hurts. But God, who is mindbogglingly infinite, can see all-- He sees what was, what is, what's going to come of it, what could have happened, everything. Sometimes it's hard for me to grasp that. Sometimes I can look backwards at the struggles and see why I was allowed to go through them and see what they taught me. Other times it seems that I may never understand. When struggles meet my inability to see past the end of my nose, that is where my faith is put into action.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">In 2011, I can think of a few things that I struggled through. The beauty in struggling is that not only does it grow and teach you and help you to see all the beautiful blessings in your life, it also gives you absolutely no option but to lean fully on the Lord. I've seen His face so much more clearly in the times when I had nothing else to focus on. I'm blessed enough to say that I haven't had any major hardships this year, but I've certainly struggled in a multitude of ways. I've struggled, but I'm grateful for each struggle and what it has taught me during the process and living here in the aftermath. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I struggled a lot through this past summer at camp with some difficult situations.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">From that I discovered the beauty of leaning on one another and the fact that we can never control everything.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I struggled as a leader.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">From that I discovered that the Lord works best through my weakness. I've learned a lot about who I am and now I lead, and God has rewarded that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I struggled to spend as much time with God as I wish I had.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">From that I discovered that His mercies are continual and new. We don't live within the law and because of such, He isn't disappointed in us when we don't always get it right. He is grace. He is peace. He longs for us with such a sweet affection.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I struggled as I tried to listen to the Lord about my future. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">From that I discovered more about how God speaks and what His voice sounds like. I also discovered the next small piece of the journey He and I will walk together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">We all struggle in the day to day to live lives that are holy and pleasing to God. We struggle to accomplish our to-do list, keep our priorities straight, and live an impactual life.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">But the struggles are there to teach us, grow us, and guide us.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll close tonight with a story that my DNow leader read to me when I was in middle school. Years later, it's a story that I've often had the blessing of sharing with other middle school girls in lots of settings. It might speak best to that crowd, but there are still some truths in here we can all learn from. It's a beautiful picture of the Lord as the Potter and us as mere clay in His hands. So until tomorrow, enjoy the story and have a great night!</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." </span><span></span></i><i><span> </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. </span><span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "let me alone", but he only smiled, "Not yet." </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, 'Not yet.' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself. And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. </span><span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. </span><span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span>And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you. </span></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029681729729096986.post-60539344193130419152011-12-03T22:52:00.000-05:002011-12-03T22:52:48.097-05:00storiesI think all collectively I have written at least 40 pages today. My brain is tired and because of such, I had every intention of skipping out on my reverb post for the evening. And yet... here I am. I claim often that I like to write but maybe I need to amend that statement. I love to write about what I <i>want</i> to write about. Pushing through to the end of the semester....<br />
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Tonight's post comes to you from a mountain house in the hills of North Carolina. My sweet roommates and I got out of town for the weekend to study, eat, watch the game, and just be together before everyone heads separate ways-- some of us for the holidays and some of us for good. So far we have had such a wonderful time just laughing, drinking coffee, and telling stories. You'll be proud to know that I've gotten a shocking amount of schoolwork completed today also and it's been so nice to just relax together.<br />
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Anna and I went on a morning walk to here today:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikwX9ucjmX1uifK6FgyU0wDbFCfF063xPE7AGtfi8GA6FGJ6mbEadw5hMEMx_h3S_E7JMaL9harmk0zu17wmC5r3QvWW-96mHGkCd_fP1_4ZFn-iUhPvdRWvapsEVDCSqheX58hbCJgM/s1600/photo%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikwX9ucjmX1uifK6FgyU0wDbFCfF063xPE7AGtfi8GA6FGJ6mbEadw5hMEMx_h3S_E7JMaL9harmk0zu17wmC5r3QvWW-96mHGkCd_fP1_4ZFn-iUhPvdRWvapsEVDCSqheX58hbCJgM/s640/photo%25286%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Okay, okay, it isn't snowing. We just walked to the edge of the fake snow at the nearby ski resort... tricked you ;)<br />
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<b>The prompt: <span style="font-size: large;"><i>What books have you read?</i></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Earlier this year, Jeremy Echols shared with me the bit of wisdom that "a leader is a reader". As a child, I was a big-time reader but just as school can make you hate to write by constantly forcing it upon you, the same can happen with reading. I have a passion for books-- just the other day I found myself wandering through Barnes and Noble helplessly. It melts away the stress somehow. I also really love old books and the fact that they have stories not just inside them but behind them also. There's something about the way they smell...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">That being said, I unfortunately don't always find myself actually <i>reading</i> those books that I love so dearly. But in this past year I feel that I have done a better job of that so I'll share just a few books that stick out in my mind that I have read, cover to cover, in the past year.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://onethousandgifts.com/"><i>One Thousand Gifts</i> </a>by Ann Voskamp </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you've been around my blog at all this past year, you'll know that this book entirely and completely spoke to my heart and largely changed the way I view my world and my faith. It was given to me by my sweet friend Karen last year, beautifully wrapped with a piece of twine, and we walked along the journey of discovering <i>eucharisto</i> together-- an adventure that resulted in the two of us with our toes in the sand of a beach counting the little blessings we were grateful for in each day. I highly recommend this book to anybody. I may read it again soon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="http://www.walkingwithgod.net/">Walking with God</a> </b></i><b>by John Eldridge</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have to admit that there are a few things in this book that I didn't necessarily agree with. That just goes to show me that unless you are reading directly from the word of the Lord, you have every right to (and should) run everything you read through the filter of Scripture to see how it comes out the other side for you, even if written by a Christian author. Despite that, I really enjoyed this book at times and the Lord certainly spoke to me through it. I enjoyed watching how directly what I would read would correlate with what God was trying to teach me at the time. Definitely a solid read.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="http://www.chattingatthesky.com/the-books/">Grace for the Good Girl</a> </b></i><b>by Emily Freeman</b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I mentioned this book in my blog post yesterday. I'm not all the way through this one yet but I started it in hopes that it would compare to <i>One Thousand Gifts</i> and I'll be honest-- it's not exactly the same. Still, Emily shares some beautiful truths and the Lord has been pairing her words with my study of Scripture to teach me some incredible things lately. I'll probably go read some more after this :)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've read a lot of stuff for school... I read a book for church... I've read pieces of a lot of books... I read a book written by a friend of mine and I've read lots of children's stories. I read blogs every single day-- those aren't books, but they are stories. I won't share any more specifically tonight (I'm running on some cold coffee fuel right now) but I will say this:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reading is important. Stories are important. Time and time again lately I have walked with my kids at church through the power of stories and the power of sharing <i>your</i> story of what the Lord has done in your life. You never know who might need to hear it. I'll close tonight by sharing my friend Anthony's story. I hope the power of the Lord speaks to you the way it speaks to me here. </span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31442071?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/31442071">This Is My Story: Anthony Welch</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6975544">Elissa Ewald</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Farewell, friends. I'm off to sit back in front of the fireplace. </span></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></b>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12928492570463218483noreply@blogger.com0