I Am A Soul

"You don't have a soul. You ARE a soul. You have a body."
-CS Lewis

I was thinking about this quote yesterday. The implications of it astound me. I feel like I'm often really vague on my blog, but sometimes it's just too hard to put my deepest thoughts into words on a blog. If anyone reads this and has thoughts concerning it. Please share!! For me it changes the way I approach my interactions with others and my priorities. What does it make you stop and think about?

Consequence of the Law

Here's something for you to chew on...

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.... Then the eys of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the gardn. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?' And he said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.' He said, 'Who told you that you were naked?'" Genesis 3:5,7-11

[to be continued]

Stress and Blessings

Sometimes I've overwhelmed with where I'm heading... Not that I really know where that is BUT let me explain... So many days I miss being a child. The stress level was so low! I think about how I would spend Saturdays (or really everyday) playing computer games, reading, living in one of my imaginary worlds (I still live in some of them when I'm just in need of some good ole imagination), or playing with my toys. How relaxing does that sound?? Breakfast, lunch and dinner was always provided. You got recess. Man, what the life!! I think about how stressful life seems sometimes... Like right now when I'm enrolled in 19 hours, working around 15 hours a week, and trying to spend as much time with my family (both biological and Church) as possible. And then I think about how life is only going to get MORE stressful. That's a scary thought!! Then I stop... And realize that God gives us just what we need whenever we need it. He gives us strength for each day. He gives us friends who help to carry our burdens. He gives us mentors to help guide us. HE GIVES US HIS PRESENCE. He gives us moments of laughter. Peaceful rains. HE GIVES REST FOR THE WEARY. Mmm I'm so blessed by Him. I'm blessed to get to attend the school I do. I'm blessed with a family who loves me. I'm blessed with two amazing roommates. I'm blessed with more friends than I deserve. I'm blessed with a major that's perfect for me. I'm blessed to work with children who show me the love and heart and power of God. I'm blessed to be on this journey with Him... Living in this unbelievable love story. He leads me with cords of kindness (Hosea 11). He's so good. Blessings to anyone who reads this!!

His Lavish Love

Christmas is just around the corner (in 52 days to be exact), and today, God is painting me a beautiful picture of something. Ashley Lynch, who has recently begun discipling me, was asking whether I believed that God had an UNBELIEVABLE FUTURE in store for me. She went on to say that He is sitting on the edge of His seat and can't wait to show me what's next. Goodness gracious, after she said that, God just started speaking all sorts of His excitement to me. Here is the best way I can explain what He was saying to me... You know those kids who are terrible at keeping secrets because they're SO excited to give you the gift they've gotten for you (Yes YOU Chandler)? That's how I see God. GRANTED, He knows how to keep a secret, but He is giddy with excitement to lead you to all that He has prepared. He has a hope and a future. He wants the EXTRAORDINARY. Isn't that great?? It makes ME giddy, too. I hear United Pursuit's prophetic lyrics...

Come Away
by United Pursuit Band

Come away with me
Come away.
It's never too late
It's never too late
It's not too late for you.
I have a plan for you.
I have a plan.
It's gonna be WILD.
It's gonna be GREAT.
It's gonna be FULL OF ME.

Bah!!! I just want to start dancing around here in the library... I'll try to refrain, but isn't that great?! He is SO GOOD!!!!!! How can I even try to focus on anything else when He's distracting me with His goodness?? This love story is the best of all... So I leave you now with a smile on my face hoping my joy has been contagious! Go ask Him to tell you how much He loves you. He's absolutely dying to = )

BEAUTIFUL Realization

Today was... A day to mark down in history. Today my soul was restored in SO many areas. I feel this remarkable peace. One of the most mind-boggling revelations is that God didn't cause my pain. He didn't take him away as punishment. His heart broke along with mine. He ached when He saw my pain. His desire was to hold me and speak TRUE PROMISES that He would make beauty from ashes, joy from mourning, good from evil. These things are truly too amazing for me to soak in. I'm amazed. I feel the shock factor of love.

TODAY...
On October 29, 2010... I found peace. May I never forget this day.

The Bizzell

Whether it's because our internet has been messed up at the house, or it's mid-term so I'm working my tail off, I have been at the library SO much lately. Everyday I've been here for hours. I love studying here though. I'm surrounded by books of all sorts. I can't wrap my mind around how much knowledge this building holds. Mmm as I write that sentence I'm reminded of John 21:25... "THere are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books." Is that good or what?! Wow that gives context to the rows and rows, and floors and floors of books I'm surrounded by. I've learned not to study on the floor that houses all the literary books. I can get caught up in all the poetry and studies of the authors. SO I've placed myself in the upper corner of the library where few people dare to come = ). It's in the science section so I'm not nearly as tempted hah! I love college campuses. Today I've worked my butt off at ballet, studied for Pre-Calc and Spanish, had lunch with a friend, chatted with a Latin teacher, run into my sweet roomie at her Health Hut and had a nice little chat, taken a Spanish test, had a chai tea latte, and now am working on an annotated bibliography of an article about Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market." Good stuff. I'm getting really into my study of "Goblin Market." In fact, I think I've decided to write a close reading on the poem as well as write my final paper on it. I find it THAT interesting. There's just so much to go into and give my opinion on!! I love it. Well there's just a quick look into my life lately. It had been a while so I decided to update all of you in the blogosphere = )

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Wow. Just put down this book after finishing it. It was incredible. It deals with some rough topics, but if you're up for it, I recommend. Written by Swedish author, Steig Larsson, it's original Swedish title was "Men Who Hate Women." It's a mystery that deals heavily with sadism. I had been tipped by someone that it was going to be hard to read because of the content. Halfway through I thought that they must be wrong, but then the plot line really got going. Larsson was a fantastic writer. His format is intriguing and keeps you interested.

Basic plotline (without any spoilers)... Mikael Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger, head of a major Swedish corporation that has long been family owned and run. He is given the job of writing a biography on the Vanger family, while secretly looking into (and attempting to solve) the mystery of what happened to Henrik's niece Harriet who had disappeared 40 years before. As Blomkvist goes about his job, he finds it goes much deeper than anyone ever imagined.

The style reminded me a lot of Dan Brown's writing style, except Larsson deals with much heavier topics (and doesn't stir up trouble with bogus claims). It gets you thinking and forces you to address some things that happen around the world every day. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, "The Girl Who Played With Fire". So there's that!