Being Obedient

Being obedient to the Lord's will in my life is not a problem when it comes to things like going to India or working with my church. However, when the Lord calls me to follow him in the most personal aspects of my life or with people I find it extremely tough. Laying down my relationship with Jacob when it just started off was not my ideal plan. I tried to fight God's calling with my own earthly knowledge. I told myself a multitude of things to convince my spirit to let me continue on the dating path. "But there hasn't been any red flags!" "We are trying to sharpen one another through Christ." And the infamous, "You are making yourself feel this way."However, at the end of it Jacob and I both knew what we had to do. It isn't easy. It's never easy when you have to walk away from a good thing. But, when I remember that I serve a good God, a loving God, I receive so much peace. It is an honor to be able to give up a relationship to follow my Savior. I'm not worthy of that calling. So, instead of living in my self pity, I am going live out what obedience really calls us to do. It calls us to lay down our own rights because in reality we have nothing but what God gives us. It calls us to do it with a thankful heart, not a heart full of self pity. It is my joy to obey God in this aspect of my life. I am thrilled that Jacob and I, individually, are walking in what the Lord has for us. He is good.

Psalm 25: 10  

All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. 

Wood Working

Meet my new inspiration. http://brooklyntowest.blogspot.com

Seriously, you guys. This girl is amazing and inspires me to pursue my interest in woodwork. So much goodness.

Going to India

I'm going to India in 6 days. In 6 days I will be immersed in a totally different culture. There are so many different emotions involving this trip. However, through all those emotions, one thought stands out. I want to know more of the God I am going half-way across the world to talk about. So my prayer for me and my team is that God reveals himself in new ways to us before this trip. That He focuses our attention to His holiness. I am pleading for that. I don't want how I serve these people or what I say to them to be something of a routine. I don't want it to be an act. I want to say the things the Lord wants me to say and serve these people because I have tasted God's goodness. I want every single action to be a response to what my heavenly father has done for me. I am anticipating just loving on people and serving them any way I can. I want to put down my own needs and pick up theirs. I cannot wait!

So, through the nervousness of flying and going somewhere completely foreign, I have an attitude of joy. Prayers for this trip are welcomed!

Recently...

The Beard Love

The other day I realized I adore beards so much because, to me, they represent masculinity. Now I know that isn't always the case. There are manly men without beards and more delicate men with beards. However, through this discovery, I realized that more of my attraction is towards the idea of a protector than the actual beard. I want a man who I feel can protect me and support me. I want someone who can do simple things like change a tire and start a fire. I want a man who knows how to survive in nature. You know, the typical idea of what a man should be. I don't want to have to kill the bugs or be the brave one; even though I am capable of those things. So, as much as I love the beard, it's the man that it represents that I truly love.

Life

Some songs make you feel like home. I don't know how to explain it but they make you feel safe and make you feel excited for your future. For me, "One Fine Morning", is a perfect example of this.

"One fine morning, I'm going to ride out. Just me and the skeleton crew. We're going to ride out in a country kind of silence." 

Those lines make me excited to be in Wyoming this summer. While I will miss my friends all summer, I can't wait to discover parts of myself that are still hiding out west. I get the whole summer to be with my sister, her husband, and their baby. I get the whole summer to learn leather work and wood work. I get the whole summer to drive around Wyoming by myself. I get a summer full of rodeos, random stops by myself to jump into my favorite lake in the whole world, hiking, riding horses, swing dancing, and cowboys. My heart can't wait. I know I will learn so much about myself, my sister, and God. I have never felt closer to the Lord than when I'm out there. 

Expectations

I have learned recently, first hand, about the danger of expectations. I learned this lesson through the infamous "set-up." You know how it goes, one friend is certain they have found your soul mate. So right away you have this expectation of what they should be like and you compare them to those unreachable standards. I have been held to these standards and, admittedly, I have held people to those standards. However, I have grown to realize how horrible this is. I want to get to know someone because I am such a relational person. I want to be able to show them I care about them, not for what they can possibly give me, but because my God has called me to love like Him. I find it degrading to only get to know someone because you think they can meet those standards, because you would never get to know them for who they truly are. Instead, you just see failed options. You miss out on a wonderful friendship and a wonderful person.