simple.

"content in the little glory of the present." -age of innocence
i had forgotten about this quote. it's always been one of my favorites.
but this morning, as i thought on the Lord, i was struck.
where i'm at this morning is simple.
simply looking to the Lord.
truth is, i'm more than "content."

psalm 123:1 . . . i lift up my eyes to You, to You whose throne is in heaven.

oh, what a glorious Name!

wednesday.

"i am Yours, Jesus, You are mine." -happy day

it's just such a glorious thought. no, a glorious TRUTH.

i am His.
He is mine.

we love Him because He first loved us.
i am His beloved.

my life belongs to Him.
i belong to Him.

sigh.
glorious.
marvelous! and i am marveling.

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romans 12:2 . . . do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

my mind is being renewed.

i am new!

worship on the square.

it was beautiful. as expected. i found myself praying a couple songs that weren't sung. met a few cool girls with similar hearts to my own. Jesus is simply, yet so complexly beautiful.

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.



I'm here to meet with you
come and meet with me
I'm here to find you
reveal yourself to me
As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, draw me to your arms
As I stand and sing your praise
You come, you come and you fill this place
Won't you come, Won't you come and fill this place

someday i wont have to prove.

i'm so bothered by the opposite sex right now.
there is simply no respect in our culture.
i'm certainly talking about non-christian guys.
i have been blown away by my own male friends...
so congratulations to you.
i hope you guys can see what you're saved from.
just drive down the road with your windows down.

"here comes the sun...doo doo do do...and i said...it's alright"

"in the morning when i face the day, i will let every thought be of You, for You are good. You take all those who will come to You." -enter the worship circle

still dwelling on the fact that memorizing a passage can change your life. it can make the difference between staying in bed or getting up. it can influence how you spend your time. it's all about chewing on, and truly living on the Word, and not bread alone.

psalm 113:3 . . . from the rising of the sun to it's setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

that's a command. a command the Lord has imprinted on my heart. no, i'm sure it doesn't mean i have to wake up at 5:25 every morning...but it does mean my entire day, from the moment it begins, until the moment it ends, i shall be praising the Lord.

truth: there is nothing like His glory. it's above the heavens [psalm 113:4]. today i witnessed it, and the Lord hand-picked scripture to go along.

psalm 118:1, 14, 23-24, 27, 28-29 . . . [1]give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever. [14]the Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. [23-24]the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [27]the Lord is God, and He has made His light shine upon us. [28-29]You are my God, and i will give You thanks; You are my God, and i will exalt You. give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.

it IS marvelous in our eyes. what He has done. His glory. every day. every morning. "it's morning again."

marvelous.
[adj.] superb; excellent; great; improbable or incredible

marvel.
[noun] something that causes wonder, admiration, or astonishment; a wonderful thing
[verb] to be filled with wonder, admiration, or astonishment, as at something surprising or extraordinary

improbable.
[adj.] not probable; unlikely to be true or to happen

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Majesty, Your glory is shining
brighter than the moon and the stars
marveling, we honor and fear You
above all gods

glorious and mighty, You’re awesome In beauty
joyful songs we raise
glorious and mighty, You’re awesome in beauty
greatly to be praised

Majesty, You fashioned the heavens
Your decrees can never be changed
over all the plans of the nations
Your judgments reign

Majesty, we’ll sing with creation
when You come again in the clouds
every knee will bow down and worship
the one true God.

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once again. yes, this is where my heart is at. once again. every day, every moment, being brought back to the truth that there is NOTHING more than the cross.

Jesus Christ, i think upon Your sacrifice
You became nothing, poured out to death
many times i've wondered at Your gift of life
and i'm in that place once again
i'm in that place once again

and once again i look upon the cross where You died
i'm humbled by Your mercy and i'm broken inside
once again i thank You
once again i pour out my life

now You are exalted to the highest place
King of the heavens, where one day i'll bow
but for now, i marvel at Your saving grace
and i'm full of praise once again
i'm full of praise once again

thank You for the cross

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"marvel" was in every song the Lord brought to my heart today. how marvelous! (:

blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore! [psalm 113:2]

"people run in circles, it's a very very mad world."

i've been home for about 28 hours. home from ghana, kenya, and the u.a.e. accra, nirobi, navasha, karima, nakuru, and dubai. it's almost hard. having a life-changing experience that no one close to you witnessed. this doesn't make me greater, no, not at all. but i've struggled with feeling alone since i've been home. unknowingly overwhelmed. over compensating with sinful thought-life. there is so much to process.

i know there are actually a few who want to be a part of it. then it's to those few i come to, with no words.

no words.

but so many thoughts. i wish i was someone who was better at putting thoughts into words. but i'll try.

quoting my journal.

"you come to places like this and expect to be saddened, broken and humbled by the way people live. but instead you're saddened, broken and humbled by the way we live at home. these people, though we view them to live in so much poverty, are truly so rich in joy, life and love. you see the same thing on 99.9% of the faces...love for life. sure there are sad thing about the relationships they lack, and the lack of health they experience, but they still live in real community. thankful for every little thing. i wish i was so creative, and so resourceful. living simple has got to be the way to live."

"they may live primitively, according to our standards, but these are certainly not primitive people."

i feel so blessed. so encouraged, and so refreshed. those are not the realities i expected to experience returning home from africa. but the main things the Lord showed me are certainly more than i prayed for.

there is nothing like serving with other people. what an absolutely amazing thing, for 21 people, all from completely different lifes, completely different backgrounds, ages, testimonies. yet, with similar hearts, all there to serve, and therefore bonded. i've never seen a team come together like ours. i witnessed the different parts of the body coming together and functioning like one in a completely new way have i have ever witnessed. i've come to this, when the body functions as it is called to function, as one body, serving others, then, and only then is true community lived out. then, and only they are real relationships experienced. so, application? i'm looking for new ways to serve. new ways to volunteer, and finding out where real needs are, as i pursue this, i will invite you all, i will look to you, as "others who call upon the Lord" [2 timothy 2:22] to join me in service, to function as we are called. for the glory of the Lord.

i was so blown away by the couples on the trip. jennifer and james. cassy and andrew. katherine and tommy. i recognized my longing to serve alongside my husband. whomever he is, wherever he is, one day, and how exciting is it to say, we will serve together. we will work together, bouncing off each other, encouraging one and other, and helping each other. we will also, like the body, become one and serve together, as the Lord has called.

we were blessed to attend a funeral on the trip. a family in the community of karima lost a son a few days before we arrived. on sunday, after church, we visited the family and shared in mourning, as well as prayer and praise. there is nothing like this. we were asked to attend the funeral on wednesday, and i was so blessed to be a part of it. i have never, never in my life heard the gospel preached so passionately. so brilliantly. there was NO refusal. i pray that when my life is over, that is what my funeral is like. i pray, like this 20 year old boy who was murdered, my life works toward the growing of my Lord's kingdom. there is no way anyone can refuse the gospel when it is shared this way. i pray, even more than when my life is over, that i would live this way. the Lord is showing me what that should look like.

the difference in culture is incredible. the biggest thing is the lack of leadership among men. i actually got slapped in the face by it. i've spent so much time fed up with the men in my community. so much time complaining and having expectations. seeing the way these people live did nothing but make me thankful. thankful for every LITTLE thing the guys i know do. in the kenyan culture, the women do everything. hike 6 miles, 10 times a day to carry water in 50 lb. cans up hill to take care of their family. work, and provide for the family. take care of the children. you wouldn't believe the strength of these women. 90% of the men spend their days on the side of the road, literally watching the cars go by. we saw hundreds of men doing absolutely nothing. it broke my heart. what's amazing though, is as the men on our team stepped up. as the men on our team showed compassion and care for the women of the community, their men began to chip in. their men began to help. it's hard to imagine something as biblical as male leadership so void, but that's the kenyan culture. it's cool to see the Lord's hand, even in that.

there are so many culture differences that blow my mind. most of which cause me to struggle with my love for my own. as i've explained, these people know how to live. but the biggest thing the Lord showed me on this trip, home is my mission field.

"it's sad that it took this trip, $3500 and a 30 hour journey all the way to kenya for this to click. my mission is at home. we hear it all the time, your neighborhood is your mission field, but it's become reality to me now. americans are truly needy."

i memorized an entire chapter of the bible for the first time. on the trip. psalm 113. by my own choice. there is something about knowing scripture that truly changes the way you think. as psalm 113 repeats, over and over, "praise the Lord," it's something we hear all the time. we even believe it. we feel it. but when it's your thought, and constant meditation, there is new meaning. at least, there has been in my mind. i don't know that i've ever experienced more fear and reverence for the Lord, simply by repeating this scripture in my mind.

"praise the Lord. praise, o servants of the Lord. praise the name of the Lord. blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. from the rising of the sun to it's setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. He is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens. who is like the Lord, our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down, on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash pit to make them sit with princes, the princes of His people. he gives the barren women a home and makes her the joyous mother of children. praise the Lord!"

what it means to you, i don't know. but my life is changing.

i was really encouraged by the story in matthew 25. when Jesus says to the sheep and the goats, "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me." let us feed the hungry. let us give drinks to the thirsty. let us invite in strangers. let us clothe the naked and take care of the sick. let us even, visit those in prison. all for the glory of the Lord. not because these are good things. not because it causes those around us to look on us with awe. no, to point all good things to the name of the Lord. when you do things for the least of these, you are doing them unto the Lord. praise Jesus.

i could go on and on. and i'll probably continue to ramble in following posts. i'm sorry to those who will get sick of hearing about kenya. hearing about africa. hearing about all the marvelous things the Lord is doing. your loss. the Lord's work is simply something for each of us to share and marvel in. the name of the Lord is to be praised.

God blesses. your ilfe is not your own.

kenya.

*sigh*

it's finally hit me. i leave the country, actually, tomorrow.

flying from the atlanta airport to accra, ghana. from ghana to nairobi. children's home. karima. nairobi. dubai. back to atlanta in time for church sunday july 19. (:

i am beyond words excited. therefore, i don't have many words.

i'm so thankful. so blessed. this is finally happening.

guys, the Lord truly does give your heart desires. then, He gives you the desires of your heart. always be patient. i've waited 5 years for this one, and i'm so pleased that -now- is when i'm going. now is the perfect time, it's cool how His perfect plan is...perfect like this.

i met my team earlier this evening. about half of them. there are a couple younger girls, which of course thrills me. it's cool how the Lord is providing places for me to serve even before i leave, even those on my team. and of course i can serve anyone, but reaching out to those younger girls is where my heart is, and a gift the Lord has given me. i'm thrilled to use it. there are also a few married couples, who seem incredible. and some other individuals like myself. this is an adventure, in which i'm about to depart. really, about to.

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i'm really glad i have you, my friends. i was thinking tonight about how much i'll miss you. miss my community here at home. that's a blessing. there have certainly been times in my life where i was just ready to leave, and i am, but tomorrow, i know what i'm leaving. and it makes me thankful [not sad]. thankful for the love, support, friendship, accountability, and encouragement which the Lord has provided in the past year.

those who read this, i hope you know how much you mean to me. i know i fail often, but i want to show you nothing less than the love the Lord pours into me. i want to be "nothing more than God's servant, and nothing less than His child." thanks for encouraging me to grow, and serve.

so, like i mentioned earlier tonight...this is practice. 10 days, not a big deal, but preparing my heart for the chicago calling. of course, nothing is set in stone, but it's another adventure. another desire, placed in my heart by my loving Father, and if fulfilled, His glory alone.

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well, i thought i didn't have a lot of words. and i could certainly have a lot more, but i'll close here.

please pray for me. my heart. my health. my head.
thanks.

this july 4--

psalm 113:1-6 . . . Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?

i'm not usually one to be patriotic. but this year, the Lord has given me, by His grace, a new perspective.

He is high above all nations. He is high above our nation. despite where the people of our country put Him, despite our ignorance, He is seated on high.

our country, where we're at, how blessed we are, it is all thanks to Him. all praise to our Lord!

PRAISE THE LORD. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD FROM THIS TIME 4th AND FOREVERMORE! [too far?]

happy 4th of july, my free friends. remember today the freedom you have in Him, not only the freedom our country is blessed with. remember your dependance upon Him, not only the independence of our great country.