in him is the fullness of all things

God has been teaching me an unreal amount of things in the last 6 months--things that it seems he has to teach me over and over, but by his grace I am making progress, slowly but surely. I am so thankful that God's love for us doesn't depend on the number of times that he has to teach us things or the amount of progress that we make--he just loves us because he loves us. A few weeks ago as I was reading through Jeremiah, I came across this verse in Jeremiah 2:13 and was particularly struck by it. "For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me--the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! How often do we chase things that we think will make us happy, only to abandon the only one that can truly fill us up? In the interest of keeping it real with you guys, I want to say that for the LONGEST time I have been chasing relationships. Not in the way that some people do. I was not by any me...

2013 has been a beautiful year. It's funny, beauty isn't always borne from easy or fun or quick. Sometimes, beauty is borne of pain, waiting, patience. Sometimes. But the thing is, when you get to the beautiful part (and sometimes it takes a while), you see that the parts leading up to it were necessary and worth while. As I look back over this year at the person I was at it's start, I find myself thankful for everything that God allowed me to walk though because I am not the same, nor would I ever want to be.  In this past year I have experienced heartache, through which I've learned that no man will ever be able to complete me like the man Christ Jesus can. I have learned that living life as a people pleaser is no way to live life at all.  I have had the opportunity to travel to and through many new states including Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Delaware. I have seen old and new friendships flourish in this year. I pr...

*via*   *via*   *via*   *via* *via* Fun fact: I love babies. Like, a lot. I grew up literally having like, 15 baby dolls. All my friends know that I want to have like, a zillion kids (that may be a mild over-exaggeration, but WHATEVER). Growing up, I would try to seize every opportunity that I could to be around little babies and since I have been in school, I feel like I have been a little baby-deprived (among other forms of deprivation). AND with my 23rd birthday looming over my head, I just feel like I have the worst case of BABY FEVER EVER. I'm talking my LOINS start to ache (is that even a real thing? Believe me, it feels real) at the mere sight of a baby. Here is a cute baby story. This past weekend, I got to hold the sweetest little baby who happened to be born on my half birthday so naturally we felt a strong connection. I bounced her up and down and sang songs to her and then finally (*reluctantly) got up to pass her to her m...

this is how I look when I feel rejected. Anybody who is anybody has experienced this feeling in some way shape or form. In fact, you can probably remember the first time that you felt the sting of rejection. My first memory was in elementary school. My best friend at the time had started cheating on our friendship with other cooler friends. I specifically remember one day when all of them were playing "Sailor Moon". Thats right, that dreadful japanese anime TV show that for some reason girls were nuts about. Anyways, I distinctly remember one particular school day during lunch break, trying to join in on this Sailor Moon madness and being encouraged by my friend to go elsewhere and play with other people since I hadn't actually watched Sailor Moon...doesn't that just suck? That really hurt my feelings. Ever encounter rejection from people of the opposite sex? Haha...why is it that that seems to the most painful kind? Without airing ALL of my dirty laund...

So I know that it has been eons since I last wrote, but today I am choosing to put off studying by blogging instead. Some would say that's an even tradeoff, right? Actually, probably not a lot of people would say that. My professors certainly wouldn't. WHATEVER. Anyways, lately I have spent a lot of time reflecting on society and how as a whole, we try to stick to the status quo, go with the flow, etc...and I think that's fine. But I also feel like somewhere along the way we've become way too concerned with what other people think! Right? I have often found this playing out in my life when it comes to decision making. Like, I'll make decisions based on what I think will make other people happy. Now, I'm not saying that that is always bad...because God does call us to honor one another above ourselves {Romans 12.10} but I do believe that God has wired each of us in amazingly beautiful and different ways and to try to mirror the way other people behave would be ...

"  Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues;   if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well.” Mark 16:17-18 This was the reality that the disciples walked in once they received the Holy Spirit. Actually, it wasn't just the disciples...the book of Acts records numerous believers who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, laid hands on and healed people. I used to think that this was something that was reserved for the "super spiritual" people but that couldn't be further from the truth! Every believer of Jesus Christ has access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead. We ALL have the ability to hear from God. He is all about advancing his Kingdom and pushing against the darkness with his light and he wants to partner with us! It's amazing. Tonight, a group of us fro...