reminder

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." [Jeremiah 29:11]

it's amazing how you can hear a verse for years and never really be affected by it and then all of a sudden something strikes you. i love how God's Word is like that. it never gets old, it's always new, even though it never changes - just like Him.

this verse is on my mind because it hit me this weekend: God has plans for me. He is in control. it's really hard being away from lance and wondering when we will be able to get married. it's easy to feel like the military is in control, but as i read that verse i felt God reminding me that He is always in control. He has good plans for lance and i and He cares about us, He hasn't forgotten about us and He isn't oblivious to anything. He has really really good plans for us.

one of my dear friends from YWAM blessed me so much with a card she sent last week. i got chills after i read it and stood there praying for awhile. it was such a powerful word of encouragement she had gotten while she was praying for lance and me. it made me so excited for our marriage and all that God is going to do in us and through us.

dr. tim keller's book "the meaning of marriage" is also pumping me up for married life. he is an amazing teacher and co-authored the book with his wife, kathy. lance finished it already and we've had some great conversations about it. the book is teaching me a lot about the depth of marriage and the power and authority God sets into motion through marriages that are centered in Him. as i read, it seems impossible not to look at the way God designed marriage and be reminded of how holy God is.

i will probably write more about it when i'm finished reading it, but if you need a good summer read i recommend it for everyone. if you're opposed to marriage and view it as outdated and unnecessary, it will challenge your view in an intelligent and coherent way. i'm fairly certain everyone can learn something from his book whether you are single or have been married for a short or long time.

he is an impressive author, referencing c.s. lewis and soren kierkegaard and focusing on scripture but still telling personal stories and keeping it practical and applicable. and apparently he should be paying me to market his book because i just blabbed about it for entirely too long. off to read some more - you can always count on me to keep things dorky. ;-)

summer goals

1. cook. get good at seven meals. make sangria. make peanut butter truffles.
2. take more pictures. learn how to use my camera.
3. as much wedding planning as possible.
4. read a book a week. this shouldn't feel ambitious but it does. (never mind, i counted and it's 12 weeks till labor day. 12 books i can do.) also, read all of the books that i own and have not read yet before buying more.
5. run/sign up for a half-marathon in sept.
6. try official Crossfit
7. kayak or canoe
8. writing project. interview 10 people by labor day.
9. do at least one freelance piece.
10. bike with friends

encouragement from Graham Cooke

"The enemy is miserable and wants to make you the same. Criticism, cynicism, sarcasm, complaining and moaning are all the worship language of Hell."

"When you move in a negative, you empower the enemy against yourself. One of the things that we’re doing in our relationship with God is we are banishing anger and resentment and bitterness and arrogance and unbelief and fear and impatience and worry and anxiety and being judgmental and being wounded and being a victim. We are banishing those things from our life because they have no place. They have no inheritance with you. It is your relationship with Jesus that brings you in to your inheritance."

"If you’re made in the image of God, you’re going to be pretty brilliant. If one of His names is "wonderful" and He’s in you, what does that make you? You can’t avoid being brilliant. You can’t avoid being wonderful. You can’t avoid being amazing and you’re not going to avoid being astonishing to someone. It’s in your DNA now."

best graduation speech

"When I was in college, I wouldn't "text" a girl to ask her out on a date. I would ask her, in person. One human being to another. And when she said "No," which she always did, I would suffer the humiliation and self-loathing that a young man needs for his, or her, personal growth.

A text does nothing more than protect us. It protexts us ... if you will. It keeps us safe. It is like a warm blanket that insulates us from the truth — the truth of how unappealing I was to Amy Miller. Well, look at me now, Amy. Princeton Class Day speaker. Suck on that."

[Steve Carell]

fresh meat

did you ever go to young adult bible studies? or something of the sort? last night i went to yet another young adult church thing. i feel like i've hit up nearly every one that is offered in the greater lancaster area. okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but i have been to a lot.

however, this was the first time i'd been to a new one in awhile, and the first time i'd gone to one since i got engaged. and not like being engaged brings a rush of wisdom or perspective, but i was taken aback by feeling like a piece of fresh meat when i walked in.

i immediately wished that i was carrying a sign that said "i'm engaged," but i settled for strategically scratching my head with that sparkling diamond ring until someone actually said to me, "can i help you find someone?"

the amount of eyes checking you out at those things is more intense than at a bar. as lance pointed out when i was recounting my night to him, that's because most of the people are single and want to meet someone. true. so does that make these things the christian equivalent of a bar? who knows. but once it got started i was pretty delighted. here are some notes for those of you who did not have the privilege of being an awkward piece of fresh christian meat last night ...

       where am i at with my life: is it worship to You? 

idolatry constantly competes to be the GOD of your life. 

anything you worship over God in your life is idolatry.

God + something else does not equal a blessed life. 

(or did he say blissed? can't tell with his aussie accent.)

        don't you want to be at a place 

where you have been in the Word so much all week 

that you cannot wait to share what is on your heart? 

so when people engage with you 

they get to engage with the God who lives inside of you

 instead of some false front you put up?

      when you are in the Word the Holy Spirit pinpoints things in your life

 and then you make changes and make it to a new step - no striving necessary. 

there is triumph over the things that suck the life out of you, 

the things that you hate about yourself. 

when you repent you just need to stay the course and know you are set free. 

it might take awhile until you stop falling into it, but you are free.