Insta-friday

1. last weekend was a woman's conference at my church! this insta is so grainy, but I am SO blessed to call these girls my friends/sisters & go through the ups/downs of life together.

2. this weekend WSM is taking 150 girls up North for DOTK! [girls retreat for our youth group...an amazingly life-changing & empowering weekend is ahead] as a gift we made a gazillion button bracelets & a ton of other Pinterest trinkets.

3. the other night I went running rather late in the day -- I love that we can do that now -- and the sun was setting, so I had to snap a photo... I'm obsessed with the sky/sunsets, the Artist is a good painter!

4. working for a young adults/college ministry, but not being in college is kind of funny. I forget how stressful this time of the year is, with finals and what not. so yesterday I got to assemble & pack a ton of hopefully encouraging care packages... fun times trying to figure out postage machine in our office :)

5. this morning when I was leaving the house I noticed all the dandelions popping up and it reminded me of the classic Five Iron Frenzy song... old school, right!?

Insta-fridayyy

here are some faves from the last week or so.

happy FRIDAY!

His ways are higher.

Russian pancake date.

Re-visiting a childhood memory.

Such a good day.

Lovely.

God & I times outside... the best.

Chopped the hair!

Insta-friday

1. YAY! it's finally warm enough to run outside... fresh air beats the treadmill any day!






2. clinging to this a lot lately.










3. gotta love having a twin to go see cute movies with & eat at our fave 24/7 restaurant with!









4. some days I really miss the smell of salty ocean air... thankfully this candle helps.

Insta-friday

this has been such a good week! I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness / grace / joy / mercy in my life. this weeks instagrams are just a reminder to me of how much I have to be thankful for!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults, and with

my song I give thanks to him."

psalms 28 v 7

L to R

1. at WSM the other night everyone was wearing their TOMS.. love it!

2. our church just added a HUGE youth facilities & it opens in a few short week... I'm stoked to see what God has in store for this building... it gives me chills to think of the 100's of students that will soon pour in there & how the message of Jesus will be spoken over them!!

3. my twin semi-surprised me the other day & picked me up for lunch from work!!

4. one of my favorite tracks on the new Passion album is Sing Along, it's basically a prayer over everyone hurting in the world & when I was singing along to it I couldn't stop thinking of how it was nighttime in Thailand & praying that God would wrap His arms around the women/girls starting their shifts at the clubs/bars... seriously crushes my heart to think about the women I met in Thailand... keep praying for them.

5. this morning I was driving in the worst fog ever.. but made for a pretty photo :)

6. last night Linds & I went to visit Ange & her little Loves.. it was so great to just relax and chit-chat with her! I haven't seen/spent time with her in quit a while since her & the fam moved down town to their sweet little loft!! I feel super blessed to have a woman like her in my life... every girl needs wise godly women in their lives!! [read their story...God is so evident in their life]

7. YES I broke out my favorite sandy's... I just need to work on getting a pedi!

8. the final insta needs to explanation... but could have a huge part in my over flowing JOY :)

HAPPINESS!!!

hello sunshine! If you know me at all you know I despise winter/cold/snow ... being cold is the worst feeling ever. I LOVE the feeling of sun on my skin, grass under my feet and being able to go outside without having to put ten million layers on! this week has made me SO HAPPY! It's been 60's-70's, with thunderstorms and SUNSHINE!! Mich already had the lamest winter ever this year, so to have this kind of weather in mid-March is seriously God sent!! He knew my Aussie-thin skin couldn't handle a rigid Mich winter :)


hello white flag! Another thing that makes me very happy today is that the WHITE FLAG album came out this week!! every track gives me chills & reminds of how good God is. the worship leaders from Passion are very gifted, so you need to get your hands on this album. of course, this weather and album go perfectly together... once you buy the album, get in your car, cruise around town with all the windows down, turn the volume up all the way & sing as loud as you can... you won't regret it.

thanks Jesus for giving me a lot of JOY today!

week - end

Friday -

after work I was really looking forward to relaxing and the thought of doing nothing sounded very inviting. but since the rest of the fam had plans besides my brothers & I... I decided the boys & I should go out!! so we went to chomp for dinner, the dollar store for movie theatre snacks, and to see the Lorax! I love spending time with them, they crack me up & it makes me sad that they are so grown up now, they are still babies to me :( gotta value the time I have with them now, before they get too old to hang out with their older sister!!


Saturday -

I love having plans on the weekend, but if there's a Saturday with no agenda, I'm very keen! I spent three hours re-organizing my bedroom...sounds a bit over board, but I haven't really taken the time to get my room the way I want it since I've been home from Aus! And it was nice that I was in such a cleaning / organizing mood, it made the task enjoyable. I always wonder what my house will be like when I have my own family... my bedroom is rarely clean, but I LOVE cleaning and keeping things organized...other than my room?! It doesn't make sense I know....

after the cleaning kick wore off, I went to the Professional Bull Riding competition that was in town with some friends... what was I thinking!? totally not my scene but it was fun company and people watching :)


Sunday -

Since we lost a hour of sleep and got in super late, I may or may not have slept in way too late and didn't make it to church this AM... but it was nice to just relax! Sunday is a day of rest after all. It's also high 63, blue skies, and sunny today... so I'm naturally in a GREAT mood...! looking forward to WSM & Lighthouse tonight, the u-sh.

insta-Friday

Hopefully I'm not cheating if my insta's are from my week,
not just my friday :)

commune

lets bother God w/
relentless prayer.
listen to podcast here.

neglect.

last week:: busy, busy, busy... long hours at work [winter camp week is crazy, it's all everyone talks about & works on, even if you don't work in WSM...hence the blog neglect], valentines dinner-movie date with some of my favorite girls, caught up with old friends, prepared for winter camp, had an awesome ending to a WSM girls weekly Bible study, spent all Friday at church and then went to camp.. finally!

I've been going to winter camp since I was in middle school and I would say that this year, was the best year.. it makes me excited for the possibilities for next year!!

God did awesome things in and through the WSM community... several student gave their lives to Christ, re-committed their lives to Him or were literally saved from spiritual emergencies... there was such high energy during worship and awesome testimonies from the students on Sunday morning.

the theme of the weekend was being united; there's so much power in the body of Christ being unified... in worship, in community, and in Him!

thursday thoughts.

1. this is exactly what He did in and through me...

You give the hopeless soul a brand new start,
You lead the captive in Your freedom song,
I know, this is who You are.

2. I'm feel so blessed to have friends literally, around the world. I got to have some needed skype dates, what did people do before skype!? It is crazy to think that God some how, miraculously allowed all of our different paths to intersect one way or another. It makes the world and the Church seem smaller...you can feel the community, I love it.

3. this week I was reminded that I need to spend more time LISTENING to God. I TALK to God all the time, but how often am I LISTENING!? Almost never..!! Yeah... I was talking with some people and this topic came up & felt a huge tug on my heart. I talk, talk, talk... when do I sit back, in solitude and LISTEN!? It's funny, because I would say I'm a pretty good listener in general, I LOVE to listen to people talk and share their heart... but when it comes to God & I, it seems to just a one way convo?! Gotta sit back & LISTEN to Him & stay in check on that.

4. I've recently started running, again... HOLLA! I maintained a good routine all through the summer and into the fall... then I just stopped because, I had an accident with my shin -- involving falling... I'm glad I can laugh at myself -- AND mainly cause it got cold out... typical. BUT it's not an excuse because I have a TREADMILL!? Yeah.! I'm lame. ONE day I want to run a half/full marathon and you gotta pick back up somewhere, right? Plus it feels good & keeps me healthy :)

5. When I was at work yesterday this caught my eye. When I started working at church I had put a ton of random things up on my massive cubicle pin-up-board; photos, verses, notes, post-its... last month I added the FREEDOM picture and it just dawned on me yesterday WHERE I had placed it... RIGHT by Luke 8:45-48... HELLO... that is basically the passage that led me to FREEDOM! I love sweet reminders like that.

wait, what?!

Oh hey waiting season! You annoy me so much. You get under my skin, because I let you. You consume my mind. You cause me grief. But THANK YOU JESUS for revealing Truth through this season.

I find myself waiting for so many things right now [college/graduation/career/marriage/family…]. Everyone says to make the most of waiting seasons. Thankfully, so far I can say I’ve done a lot in during this waiting season; traveled, learned HEAPS of about myself, re-discovered God’s grace/love/mercy… now I feel like I’m in a waiting season, within a waiting season, if that makes sense. What a conundrum, am I right or am I right!?

I am essentially waiting for the waiting to be over!! What is wrong with me? Hello, we’ll always be waiting for someone/something, so does that mean this isn’t really a waiting season? It’s really just how life is? I’m confusing myself as I type this.. BUT God is revealing lots of Truth to me in these days of waiting, while waiting…

So wait, what am I waiting for!? Why not do things now?! Check things off my list. Be active! Things I want to see brought to fruition need to start somewhere! I need to stop planning and trying to map out my life. God is once again reminding me... that this life I live is a daily decision to give Him control, letting Him lead and guide my steps. Surrender is key. Just wait on Him.

therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. - is. 30:18

whoa-eekend.

This weekend was jam-packed!

Friday... heaps of work! wsm girl hang out... lots of giggles, chocolate, pinterest, & conversing.

Saturday... spent the day downtown, repairing an old DPS - turned church & youth outreach center... long nap... massive grocery shopping trip... date with my twin, classic dinner & bumming around Target.

Sunday... church/worship... excellent message on trusting God for our needs... huge/scary snow fall, making driving a nightmare... long arvo setting up for kairos small group kick-off dinn dinn... a huge success... I'm so excited to see what God had in store for each group starting up :)

*first ever post via my Blogger App!

journal roster.

It's a new year, lots of new things, including JOURNALS! the older I've gotten the more serious I've become about journal-ing...I tend to forget important details in my old age :) So here we go 2012 ::: journal 1. personal prayer journal; basically a journal between God & I, lots praises and requests... lots of forgiveness and joy goes into this one. 2. quiet time journal; in 2012 I'm trying to be more intentional about dissecting God's Word, via a journal to write, recite and memorize things. 3. to-my-future-spouse journal... in high school I tried to start a journal to my future husband and it never got kept up with... in 2012 I want to be more intentional about praying for my future husband and sharing thoughts/prayers with him, to one day have him look back on. I'm excited for new exciting adventures/seasons to be written in these journals.cheers to 2012 journal-ing!

december !

December::: quality family time / Christmas parties / work / lots of babysitting / cookie baking / pressies / hand-made-craft show / weddings / mom-sister dates / lights / candles / chilled new years eve / JESUS!