Hey there friend

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
~ Mother Teresa

 

 

I have always loved this quote, but today I read it for the first time in a long time. Through all of the mess, business, and even the good stuff, sometimes we have to reign ourselves back in and remember what this life is all about, or I should say WHO life is all about :)

 

One thing I have totally been learning is how much Jesus works through relationships with other people. He has been using others to encourage me and love me and I feel his love in so many ways. He uses us as vessels of his love for others, and we have to be willing. One thing we say or do-ONE SMALL THING-could effect someone forever, positively or negatively. If we are willing vessels, then that love can surge through us and effect His other children.

 

I was able to spend time with one of my greatest friends yesterday, and it was so encouraging. We talked about life and Jesus and she is always intentional with her conversation and actions, always wanting to glorify Jesus, encourage others, and share life with people. Yes, this is going to sound cheesy, but we blared some Jonathan David Helser in her car, rolled the windows down, and sang about freedom at the top of our lungs while taking pictures of how dang beautiful the day was. I'm just sayin, these kind of friendships are the ones that are the greatest and the ones to be thankful for, or atleast I am thankful for, the ones where you can totally feel Jesus' presence while you're just goofin around.

 

Today I just want to be thankful for my brothers and sisters.

These are the things I do

Guys, I think something really cool is going on. No, I do not think, I KNOW that something really cool is going on. More than one thing. Many cool things. God has been up to so much and is always making things interesting. I have been reading and hearing a lot about how MIGHTY and BIG our God is, and it is nuts.

Our Bible study has started to read Isaiah together starting with chapter 40. At first, I flipped through it quickly and I regret not taking the time to actually dive in the first time I read the assigned chapters for this week. Finally, after going through it on Tuesday, I found the verse that is teaching me crazy crazy things:

" I will lead the blind in a way they do not know, 

in paths that they have not known I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness before them into light
the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do;
and I do not forsake them."

ISAIAH 42:16

God has His plans and timing.  He promises He will "lead" but in order for Him to do that, we HAVE to follow. He promises he will guide, but we HAVE to be willing to go on the adventure. He promises that if we are willing, He will turn those rough places into level ground. THESE ARE THE THINGS HE DOES. It is His nature. This is the business He is in. Do we realize this? That's just how He is. And He does not forsake us. Trusting this timing and these promises is super hard, especially when we are in these situations where all we can see in front of us is the sticky situation and the awful circumstances. I am in so way, shape, or form trying to say that this is easy. But this is one heck of a promise.

Never put a period where God has placed a comma. Yes, there may be crazy situations where nothing makes sense. Circumstances do not line up, things seem impossible or over, and all we want to do is throw in the towel and say "Well, i guess I was wrong about that one" or "well, I guess it's over" or even doubting the discernment of the Spirit inside of us. But Jesus even says as Lazarus is dying in John 11:4 "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." At the time this seems impossible, but as we read, boy oh boy, was it possible. I also often think when I am confused or discouraged about a situation about the cross and how confusing that must have been for all of the people watching. The ones who KNEW that Jesus was who he said he was, and they still watched him carry his cross to his death. Even as he took his last breath, how confused they must have been and I am sure they were thinking, "THIS IS NOT RIGHT! THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!" Only to find that 3 days later all would be reconciled and His glory would be revealed in a big big way.

These are just some of my rambling thoughts and ideas lately.

It's been a crazy season with lots of ups and downs, but I love where I am at right now. While focusing on discernment, prayer, discipline, and trust, it has been super unsteady and gauengs;erna;oern (yes, I made that word), but I am trying to hold onto these promises. After all, guys, THESE ARE THE THINGS HE DOES! Man oh man, I like the sound of that.

Super behind in school, yet, I am blogging. Have to get up at 6:15 tomorrow, yet, I am still awake. After a night of leadership, praying with students, and dealing with a hooligan chasing us down and taking a picture of my license plate at Wal Mart for no good reason, I'm calling it a day.

What will bring Him the joy?

I'm a nutso. It is 4:30 in the morning and I have school tomorrow. WHAT AM I DOING?! Oh yeah, it's because I drank coffee, hoping to stay up super late tonight to work on my paper that I didn't get to work on today because my computer crashed. Crashed. Everything was gone and restored back to its factory settings after being on the phone with my new friend John from HP for 3 hours. Luckily, I went up the street to Staples and bought myself a huge usb drive to back everthing up on. Hank yeah. Great invention. Still a pain, but I will not complain. That rhymed. Bonus. Woo hoo. Okay, come back, Lex.

Things have been super interesting lately. For a while I was in a funk. A no good stinky funk and I hated it. Do you ever get into these phases where you are choosing to be distant from the Lord, but you have NO IDEA why? And it is awful...Maybe that's just me, I don't know, but boy did I snap out of that quickly. Nothing seems right in those moments because I am not seeking the only true source of life, and yet we choose these things ourselves! Anywho, I feel that lately the Lord has put discipline and self-control on my heart. Although they are the two things that I shy away from and try to avoid, because let's face it, it's really hard and uncomfortable, but fighting my flesh and pressing on has given me such a feeling of freedom. The main things I have been feeling the need to be disciplined with is taking care of myself and school. It's been hard, because school is a little difficult for me because I am not sure what I want to do (except I think communications may be making its way into my interests :D ).

Months ago I started reading a book called Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. Leadership was reading it, but because us freshmen were not in a Bible study yet, we did not HAVE to read it, but I wanted to anyway. I stopped mid-way through the book for SOME unknown reason because that book is a boss, but recently I have been told the atleast read the last chapter because it is amazing. It is titled "Ye are the Branches" and it is all based out of John 15 with the vine and the branches. IT ROCKED MY WORLD, PEOPLE. Shoot. The main thing that caught my attention and that I have been meditating on lately is a part where it talks about us being slaves. Like a slave bought by his master, we are bought by Jesus with his blood. If a slave a good and faithful slave, he wakes up everyday with the thought and mission of "How can I please my master today?". Keeping this in my mind not only everyday but with everything I do since I read it has been so great. What would delight my Savior? What would make him smile over his daughter? It has been so great to concentrate on this while learning this discipline and self-control stuff. Not to mention...IT'S JUST AWESOME.

SUPER DE DUPER FREAKING PUMPED FOR MONDAY. I, my friends, am going to Columbus to see Drew and Ellie Holcomb. If you know me, you know I love them. It's just a given. They are my favorite. I went to one of their shows in Louisville last summer with my friends Elizabeth and Macy and it was fantastic. Drew is amazing and Ellie is a boss. We got to meet them and they are incredibly friendly people, not to mention they have the musical talent of some crazy goons. Goons being a positive term in this case.

This is getting to be such a long post, but I do have to write a bit about Ludlow and what's going on down there. Craziness. Madness. It's been awesome. Seeing the students grow is becoming a daily thing and it has been so encouraging. I am so blessed to be a part of this. Lord, you love that little old town, and it shows big time. Yes, there are the ups and downs, but what is especially apparent lately is the love they are beginning to have for one another and their friends at school. The other night after campaigners, a boy student suggested we go to the convention center to watch a senior girl's dance recital to support her and love her. I had never met the girl, but surely all of us packed in the multiple cars and followed one another to her recital and she LOVED it. And they absolutely loved loving her. I love them. They are the best.

Well, maybe I should attempt to get some sleep. Long day tomorrow filled with school, working out, softball game, club, and a leader meeting. Whew.

Some songs I have been loving lately"

Rivers and Roads-The Head and the Heart

Resurrected-Drew Holcomb

Farther Along-Josh Garrels

Ulysses- Josh Garrels

I Will Rise- Chris Tomlin

Love is Magic-Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Anywhere but Here-Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Fire and Dynamite- Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Practice makes perfect

Wednesday was the day that I fell in love with a piece of fabric.

Okay, now that's a little over-dramatic. But I suddenly had the urge after seeing many scarf diy's on pinterest and blogs to try to be a little crafty. Notice I said "try"...hahaha....

I went to Walmart and scanned the clearance fabric looking for any vintage looking patterns. I especially had my eye out for mustard yellow or gold. I have been IN LOVE with this color lately. It's the greatest. I found 2 different fabrics for $1.50/yard:

I was already really proud of my findings..and then I found..this...





And then it was love..... Just kidding. But I did get super excited.

My grandma and I have been planning a sewing lesson for a while now, but I finally called her when I got home from my trip to Walmart and I was pumped to head out to her house the next day to learn the ropes on the sewing machine. And to spend time with my cute grandma She's the best and always makes me laugh.

Guys..let me tell you..sewing machines are more difficult than they look. Or maybe I am just bad at it. I had all of these plans to make some awesome scarves, and I even told my friend Jess that I'd have a present for her. The dang machine kept jamming on me. I did get to make this headband out of scraps, though!!

Crazy eyes much??

I have been proudly rockin this headband for two days now.

And that brings me to the title of this post. Practice will hopefully make perfect. She gave me her sewing machine, so one day I will be a sewing pro. You just wait..a long time...but just wait.

In other news, one of my best friends Trish Lindsay is getting married tomorrow. I love her so much. And Zach! I have been parading around screaming "It's gonna be the best day EVER!!!"..like I do with every other exciting event in my life, but seriously, I am beyond pumped for tomorrow. For her. For him. For their marriage. For the PARTY of a wedding. Dang. The Lord is good. So good.

This week of spring break has been awesome and is quickly coming to an end. I have worked a couple of days, but other than that I have been able to relax and have some really great times hanging with some people that I rarely ever get to hang with anymore. Ludlow had a powderpuff volleyball tournament all week where the boys played one another. I went on two diffferent nights and it was HILARIOUS! The sophomore boys beat the seniors last night...uh oh..and the sophomores played the faculty in a pep rally today. What a great idea! So fun and a great way to raise money for the school. Props to you, Danie Frevola.

Have a fun-filled and blessed weekend. :)

You'll get used to my music rants

If you know me, you know that when I find music I like, I tell the whole world. My best friend Macy has even admitted that she has been disappointed when hearing music that I go on for days about because I have built up so much anticipation and great expectations of it. Welp, I'm about to go for a rant..so just go along with it...although really you should listen to it because it's great.

JOSH GARRELS, EVERYBODY.

Shoot.

What beautiful lyrics about life and Jesus.

The best part is that his latest album is a free download right here:

http://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/

Or you can just listen to it there, too! :)

One song that I have been listening to on repeat for DAYS is called "Father Along." He sings the lyrics pretty quickly, so there's lot of them. I'm the kind of person that cannot enjoy music until I know what it's about and understand it. The first thing I did was look up the lyrics to this song so I could sit down and process them. Let me tell you, I read them over and over again. Here's just a bit from the end of the song:

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul
And I’ve got no place left go
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I’m free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I’ll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levee and my bluff
Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us
Some rejoice and the others fuss
Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess
That the son of god is forever blessed
His is the kingdom, we’re the guests
So put your voice up to the test
Sing Lord, come soon

I love that it says "more glory than the world has known keeps me ramblin on. Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall I'm free to love once and for all." Macy and I always talk about how we just ramble on about things. This post is even titled as a rant. But, seriously, the Lord's glory can be something that can be so simple and to the point, yet it can be something that can literally keep you ramblin on. For minutes. For hours. For days. And one day it'll be eternity. I'd say that's something to ramble about.

And just the picture of that freedom. Once and for all we are free to just love and be His. FREEDOM.

ANYWHO..I've really been praying that the Lord would provide and equip me to "take up my mat and walk" like I talked about in my last post. It's tough, but the Lord is revealing new things to me each day.

Spring break all week :)

2 days until Maria's birthday.

4 days until I get to see Corinne.

5 days until Trish gets married.

21 days til Drew and Ellie Holcomb in Columbus.

OH this is exciting...



Uhh..here goes! I'm a blogger?

Lately I have been into reading blogs..nonstop. I feel like a creep. But I just love reading different stories from different peoples' lives and learning from each of them. It's so cool! So, instead of just having one of these to read others, why not contribute? Not to say that I will always have something interesting to say, but who knows. Could be fun, right!?
ANYWAYS. Some things going on in my life right now:

John 5. Holy smokes. I have read this story about the paralyzed man and Jesus so many times in the past 2 weeks, but last night I have a PFISDKHGSG moment with it. I realized how much I am the man who has been paralyzed for 38 years. I feel that there are things and states that I have just been lying in for as long as I can remember and have just been waiting. and waiting. and waiting. So long that they have become a part of me, and let me tell you, not a good part. We become so complacent and used to these things. As I felt drawn to read this again last night, I put myself in the place of this man and saw a huge difference. Without even KNOWING that He was Jesus, it goes a little something like this :
^"When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ⁹ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked." (John 5:6-9)
This man, AFTER 38 YEARS, had the faith that Jesus was being enough to heal him. And Jesus simply says, "Okay, well here's the deal,  you are healed, but YOU also have to take up your bed and walk..you don't have to lie here in this any longer IF you don't want to"...and he does it...When I read it like that, it's a whole different story..

And then there's good ole NKU. I'm taking the most random list of classes, but I have had the opportunity to meet some really cool people in them. I'm still not sure of what I want to do. If you know me well, you know that I have always wanted to go to hair school. Welp, that may be put off until later. Right now I'm still just exploring what I am interested in and hoping and praying that something will knock me on the head and I will be able to say.."YES! THIS IS IT!". I'm thinking maybe couseling or communications? I love talking with people and helping them through things. I'm a talker..

I work at Tuesday Morning..no one ever knows what it is..but all I ever have to do is ring people out and unload and shelve random things like bird baths and hand sanitizer, so I don't mind it too much. Again, I've met some really cool people.

Ludlow, KY has become one of my new homes. Shoot do I love that place. I am leading YL there and the Lord is teaching me so much about loving different kinds of people, patience, trusting in His timing, and the all around dynamics of being a leader and running with 3 other people. I've never had a group of people bring me joy and laughter the way those students do. I think about that as I type it. Frick. Ave and I have just recently started a Bible study with some older girls and it's a rollin! We've been diving into some scripture. Sunday we talked about Galatians 5 and went the the fruits of the spirit. We're getting pumped for Rockbridge this summer and we are getting psyched about what the Lord is doing and what He will do in Ludlow. He is good and faithful and will always show up.

I'm rambling..but it's 2 AM, I have school all day tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure my dog is outside my bedroom door and she is freakin me out..so another post for another day. This was kinda fun. Cool. Yeah.