Mel and I decided to conquer The Incline today. Katie was going to join but had prior plans with a friend. So Melissa and I headed on our way. Let's just say Melissa kicked my can, my view consisted of her being a good 100 steps or more ahead of me the entire time. Well played Mel! Needless to say that frustrated the junk out of me, but then...I had to get over it. Here's a few pictures from the adventure, Mel might post more later....
Please note in one, the lovely girl wearing SKIRT to hike 3,000 railroad ties...nice!
It was fun watching Mel "try" to avoid the slush. I felt bad.
I'm eating pizza one last time before I start the daniels fast for the next 21 days. Help me jesus
So i JUST managed to discover that I could post a blog from my phone using my text messaging!!! How cool! Sorry if I'm a little slow for those that already knew this. but if you didn't....this is such a nifty feature to me. I can also do it from an email instead of necessarily trying to log onto my blog from my iphone. I'm impressed right now...well done blogspot. well done!
So the past couple of days I've gotten to hangout with M and B and Katie which has been SO fun!
They're new friends I met through, and it's been good times, good times indeed. I wish I'd known them both sooner in my life, they're great, and they bless me.
yesterday we had a fun gathering and M and B's house you can read about it here she did a more than adequate job of detailing the fun had by all.
Tonight M came over, so we enjoyed the new Wii I got from my brother Aaron and sister Pam (SO FUN!!) Katie won (even though she states "I ALWAYS lose at games", yada yada, blah blah, boo hoo cachoo for you Miss Katie you are the 'SUPERSTAR") ;o)
And we watch High School Musical 3 which, what can I say...I laughed, I cried, ...I mostly laughed. It was enthralling, riveting, it had me on the edge of my seat, just wondering "WHAT WILL TROY DO NEXT?!?!?!?!" "Will Troy and Gabriella make it through this?!?!"
By the end I was exhausted from it all.
And we partook in the most amazing milkshakes EVER!!! I'm thinking of selling the idea to Josh and Johns. They were AH-mazing (Vanilla Kahlua, dash of milk, and cookies and cream ice cream) yum-o.
M and I nearly made ourselves sick off them...Katie could have taken or left it, but she wasn't feeling so hot...sorry Katie
The following two songs have been tugging at my heart lately for numerous reasons. So I wanted to share. No need to watch, just read the words and listen. It's good stuff, I promise. I'll explain after you listen why I've been listening to these songs lately.
None But Jesus In the quiet, in the stillness I know that you are God In the secret of your presence I know there I am restored
When you call I won't refuse Each new day, again, I'll choose
There is no one else for me... none but Jesus Crucified to set me free...now I live to bring You praise
In the chaos, in confusion, I know you're sovereign still In the moment of my weakness You give me grace to do Your will
when you call I won't delay This my song, through all my days
There is no one else for me... none but Jesus Crucified to set me free...now I live to bring You praise
All my delight is in You, Lord All of my hope, all of my strength All my delight is in You, Lord Forever More....
In Your Freedom
I search for you, God of Strength I bow to You in my brokenness And no other King could have so humbly come To save my soul and hear my heart
I have nothing more than all you offer me There is nothing else that's of worth to me
I love you, Lord! You rescued me! You are all that I want! You're all I need...
I pray to you, God of peace I rest in You, my cares released I pray to You, God of peace I rest in You, my cares released
I have nothing more than all you offer me There is nothing else that's of worth to me
I love you, Lord! You rescued me! You are all that I want! You're all I need
In your Freedom I will live In Your freedom I will live I offer devotion! I offer devotion!
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For those that may not know: I have a gift and a curse of being stubborn. Stubbornness can be used in a positive manner, but I often allow mine to step in between my relationship with God and myself.
My stubbornness leads to an untrusting heart. We all have unbelief (as the Bible puts it so well), but mine really leads to being unwilling to trust in the justness, sovereignty, goodness, and all-knowingness of God. When I feel like I get served a "can of whoop ass" from the world so to speak, I look around and wonder,(as I wipe of my hands and knees from the beating), where the junk was God in that one?!?!?
When in actually, how did I allow myself to be in a circumstance to be served such a "can" as this? Where did I actually falter in which I was unwilling to believe that what God has said of me, for me, and about me that truly matters? When did I choose to not believe in the freedom He's so eagerly given me, to not look at myself and know that I have been rescued, and that there is NONE but my Jesus.
It sounds cliche, and perhaps sappy. But the past few weeks have served me quite a few "cans" and it's tough. My stubbornness causes me to fight against what the world is telling me I lack, but also against those that God has put in my life to speak truth into me. All that gets me is a whole lot of no where and a left with countless gaping wounds.
I want Freedom, but I don't trust that its for me
I believe that there is None But Jesus, but most times I don't trust that its for me
I must say I don't have a family of my own, but I get the joy of having an amazing roommate who is my best friend, and is more like a sister to me than a friend most times and for that I am blessed. And along with having an amazing best friend that I live with, we get the blessing of having a great house. A house that people can come and stay at, where (it is my hope that) they can feel comfortable, at home, and at peace. A place where those I love can know that the door is always open to them, and a listening ear and someone is here to sit with them to laugh, to cry, to just be themselves. And even though I my family consists of just me right now, I know that "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". and I grew up in an incredible family that taught me that serving the Lord is shown, is done, and is, serving others.
------------------------ Here are a couple picks from Easter Sunday, where over 20 of us gathered at mine and katie's stellar house to host Easter with a lot of people I love
First an initial sidenote (Katie just had to move from the floor next to my dog, Molly, because Molly just let out a vicious fart that could clear a room!)
I have often debated within myself (I often have weird debates in my head) that if I had to make a choice between losing my sight or losing my hearing I would choose to loose my sight. Over my almost 27 years of living I have come to realize the necessity of my hearing mainly due to my love of music. Music moves me, it stir something within me. It connects to the very depths of my soul, gripping every facet of my emotions. It pours into every crevice, every space, finding the places within me that I thought were unmovable, hardened by weathering years brokenness. Music has the ability to bring my soul to life, and even when I think my heart is going to burst out of my chest from joy, music can make this very white girl dance!
Music has the ability to make me feel alive, to say everything that words are incapable expressing, that actions are incapable of being.
So that's why, that's why i can't imagine losing my hearing, because what I hear connects to my soul, God uses is to reconnect me to Him, to beckon me and draw me into my Abba's embrace.
I can't fathom, not being able to hear .... this:
This moves me. Sappy as you may think it is, it stirs my soul.
