the day I turned my cell phone off

Do you ever have a day off of work that actually turns into anything but a day off?

...errands, calling people back, catching up on email, plans to do (fill in the blank). . . .

These are all fine and dandy things, but they can consume your day and keep you from really resting. I have those days all the time, which is WHY I decided to take a REAL day off: I was not scheduled to work at Starbucks today, I had no appointments with my clients - Just a day to do whatever I wanted. And to make sure that happened, I turned my cell phone OFF!


BEST DAY EVER. A day where I was free - free from obligation and free to do anything I wanted. I simply slept in, read outside in the rocking chair, cooked yummy foods, painted, went for a run by the Platte River. . . it was delightful. . . and VERY needed.

Sure I might have been a flake for a day, but I'm okay with it :)

Isaiah 44: 6-23

You know what is beautiful? This...

Isaiah 44: 6-23

The Lord calls out his people for idolatry and afterwards this is what he says...

"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you."

DANG. The mercy of God is indescribable. First that he would love us enough to say - You are worshiping WOOD - You are worshiping a complete LIE! - and then love us even more by redeeming us, forgiving us, making us new.

Good stuff.

inspiration

Inspiration:: something I don't have.

Inspiration:: something I want.

Inspiration. I crave you. I want to desire something. I want passion. I want to be pulled in a particular direction. I want to be filled with purpose. I want to pursue something I simply CANNOT get enough of. I feel stagnant. I want to be moved.

I will graduate with my Masters in 10 weeks. New beginning. Anything is possible. I could go anywhere, do anything. But what is it I want to do? Professionally and personally - What do I want for my life? Better yet, what does the Lord want for my life?

I completely trust that God knows what's up. He has not failed me yet. I am just curious and wondering what he has for me.

Waiting with excited expectation :)

Sunday Secrets

Have you ever heard of PostSecret? Well, if you haven't you can thank me for a) introducing you to one of the coolest ideas ever created AND b) introducing you to one of my weekly rituals: Sunday Secrets. Each Sunday, the website is updated with new postsecrets people have recently sent in the mail & each Sunday I look at them. Here is an example...

The reading of the secrets is oddly refreshing, vulnerable, and extremely liberating. Every once in awhile I will read a confession and say, "Thank God I'm not the only one!" It's strange how honest people can be if their name is not attached to their art inspired postcard. What if we were all that honest and owned our secrets...whether they are innocent or not? What if we started to shed light on the things we so protectively hide? The exposure would move us from fear to FREEDOM. It's like skinny dipping, or if you're real crazy, streaking. At first, the act is ultra embarrassing, but once you get over yourself, you can experience the beauty of the nude! Freedom I tell you! Freedom to be YOU. Okay, that does not really relate...but whatever.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom...and it's not with your dirty little secrets. Expose. Take off the mask. Stop hiding. Shed light. BE YOU. Tell a secret today & experience the freedom that hiding does not provide. It'll be awesome :)

Classes begin tomorrow, which kicks off the count down of....

...GRADUATING in 6 months!

LOVE who you LOVE

It is currently Christmas break and I am in Okie with the family. Coming home is so heart filling, but this year something has been off and I couldn't quite put a finger on it....that is until yesterday during a coffee date conversation with a friend.

This realization came to me in 3 different forms.

1) I was browsing Real Simple magazine in the dentist's office and came across "What Will You Do Differently in 2010?" It caught my attention so I started to read. Majority of the resolutions were admirable, but there was one in particular that caught my eye and gave me a sense of conviction.....


"I’m going to put my husband first. We each work two jobs and have family, volunteer, and social commitments, so we’re exhausted at the end of the day. He deserves the best of me―not what’s left over after I’m done with everything else."
-Alyssa Rae C. Tillier

2) While reading C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, came across a passage that again, caught my eye and left me with a sense of conviction...

"The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know" (p. 18).

3) Listening to a CD in my sister's car...a Rascal Flatts song came on...it didn't catch my eye, but it did catch my ear and again, gave me a sense of conviction...

"Love who you love..." -Rascal Flatts

This is what I realized: I put my best self out there for the world to see, and leave what's left, the scraps, to the people I love the most. Generally, the scraps aren't very good. Example: After I'm done at internship listening to everyone's problems with an eager, empathetic heart, I come home and have an attitude of "I don't want to care about anyone right now". My mom calls to ask how my day was and I am short, pissy, and not a very loving person to her in return. Why do I give my best to strangers/casual acquaintances and give my worst to the people in my life I truly love, like my mother for example? Why do I do this? Maybe I realize that my family and closest friends will always be there? Whatever it is, I don't like it. In light of the new year, my new years resolution is not to "start a blog and keep up with it" but to "love who you love" and give my best to the bests in my life. God. Family. Friends. These are my core. They deserve the best of me, not what's left....

Shedding light on my weakness.

entertaining angels

Call me crazy, but I have had this weird fascination with the Lord's angels lately.

I want to see one, be near one, interact with one. They are such a mystery to me...another being besides human...a being intimately connected with the Lord...a being with WINGS! Throughout scripture they are depicted as messengers, worshipers, and guardians...strong and powerful through and through. I am absolutely fascinated.
If we acknowledge God's name, He commands his angels to guard us: Psalm 91:9-12

People we randomly run into could be angels: Hebrews 13:1-2

Throughout scripture, angels always seem to be on a mission; they always have a purpose. Their presence of purpose could not have just stopped. What are they up to today? Where are they? What are they doing?

I am intrigued by these angels. Absolutely intrigued.