Sunday :)

I’m pretty sure today is my first Sunday on this blog! Happy Sunday everyone! Today was a pretty good day. I went to church at Bethel Brentwood (which is always amazing). I really like that church because I feel like it really has a healthy balance of what the body of Christ looks like. It has old people, young, black, white, Asian, etc. I really, really love that about Bethel. It’s so great!

I got to eat lunch with Jess and her friend Rebekah at McAlister’s. Normally, I’m not too fond of McAlister’s but today it was so darn tasty! This could be due to the fact that I hadn’t eaten since 6:00 p.m. the day before, but instead we’ll give McAlister’s some credit

After church and lunch, I had to head back towards my side of the state. I enjoy car rides in the late summer/early fall. Today’s car ride was an adventure. It ended up taking me an extra hour to get home due to traffic. It didn’t help that I’m directionally challenged, and I “enjoy” finding new and creative ways to get lost. However, during that extra hour I did get a chance to listen to a new CD I bought last week.

Here’s a picture from my drive. Tenn. is one of the prettiest states. I promise! (Sorry the quality of the photo stinks. I was using my phone!)

Now, I’m back home. I’m about to go to sleep in my new room. It feels weird that this is going to be my home for the next 9 months (possibly more). Before I lived here, I was kind of bouncing around couches until I could move back to this side of the state. And before project, I was bouncing around couches until I left for my trip. To be in one spot for several months feels weird to me! “Is this real life?”-little kid who had teeth pulled.

Well, tomorrow I start my first day of my 2nd to last semester of college. I’m excited for tomorrow and I’m excited to first start my day off with God, and then to spend it in prayer with Aimee. We’re going to be praying hardcore tomorrow. I know both of our hearts are in weird places when it comes to school. It’ll be nice to have a friend who understands that!

Anywho, Wish me luck! Pray that I actually get up on time and make it there!

God’s Steadfast Love

The past few months the words “steadfast love” have really stuck out to me. It’s a beautiful combination of words. In the book of Psalms, David uses this phrase to descirbe how God loves His people. Here’s the definition of steadfast:

–adjective
1. fixed in direction; steadily directed
2. firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, etc.,
3. unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence, etc.
4. firmly established, as an institution or a state of affairs.
5. firmly fixed in place or position.

This is so beautiful to me. God’s love is fixed in our direction, firm in purpose, unwavering, firmly established, and fixed in place! It isn’t going anywhere! Awesome!

I went and got this tattooed on my foot today.  It is to remind me that even though I don’t feel worthy at times, God loves me like this. And when I don’t feel like loving others, it’s going to remind me how to love and why I should.

Mercy and God’s Faithfulness

My devotionals blew my mind this morning! The Tiegreen devotional I mentioned two posts ago made me think about how little I really understand God’s mercy. I think I’ve come to expect His mercy instead of realizing that I don’t deserve it. I deserve condemnation, but God, so lovingly and so freely, gives us mercy. Often times, I find myself holding onto that mercy instead of extending it to others.

Having been abundantly blessed with God’s mercy-the unmerited grace and forgiveness we’ve received for our rebellion against the Most High-do we stand in judgement of others?- Tiegreen.

This is me. I fail to extend the same grace that has been so sacrificially given to me. As hard as it is to see my sin, it is humbling to know I’m not perfect. And this summer I’ve both hated and thoroughly enjoyed being humbled! As much of a pain as it is, God is able to work wonders in the meek and humble.

For the other part of my quiet time I go through a Psalm and one chapter of another book (right now it’s Ecclesiastes). It was so funny how God orchestrates how often the Psalm study and Tiegreen’s devotional to correspond with one another.

My favorite verse of Psalm 40 was verse 11,

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

Mercy again! I wonder sometimes if I miss what God has to say to me. Today is one of those days where I know I’m in tune with Him. And that’s awesome because what God has to say is awesome!

Mercy is extended from God. He alone saves. He is faithful to do what He’s promised because of His steadfast love for us. God’s steadfast love for us is the reason why Jesus was sent. And that is a beautiful thing.

Caitlyn, Jasmine and I had plans to go to the water hole today, but it was raining so instead we watched Monsters, Inc. Slightly childish I know, but there was something super sweet about all of us cuddling up on the couch in our pj’s to watch a Disney movie. After the movie, we went to Aretha Frankenstein’s. That’s seriously one of the most amazing breakfast places to eat. They specialize in freakishly large pancakes. If you’re ever in the ‘Noog you should eat there! After Aretha’s we went to The Knitting Mill.

Here’s some pictures from today. Enjoy them!

Scary much?

too excited!

Things on my heart…

Yesterday I posted about how I have no clue what I’m doing with my life. Well, there still isn’t much clarity. That’s okay though! I have wanted so desperately to go to the mission field in Uganda or Senegal. I want to do humanitarian work with orphans for a while and eventually do work with women. I’m not sure what type of women I’m called to work with, but I know I’m called to some sort of women’s ministry. Here’s the link to a young woman’s blog that has inspired me so so so much! If I get a chance to, after I graduate in May I would love to go serve along side of her for a year.

What else? I’m finding contentment in my singleness. This whole summer was a huge struggle for me. I was upset about a recent break up. I realized this summer that the idea of marriage, a husband, and a family had become an idol in my life. I desired an earthly representation of God’s love for His church, yet I wasn’t seeking first His love. I wanted and craved God’s love and had been continually looking for it in all the wrong places. Although some of my motives for wanting a husband were pure, the fact that I oftentimes desired that more than God is embarrassing. So now, I’m done looking. If the Lord wants me married, He’ll work it out. Right now, I’m called to singleness. This is a gift. God cannot give me a bad gift. And that’s awesome.

I’m looking forward to focusing more on Him and growing into a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him this year. I want to know Him. I want to experience His unchanging, constant, steadfast love for me in ways I cannot imagine. I want to be in love with Him more than I’ve ever seen anyone in love with another. I just want Him. This is the desire of my heart. God is so good.