God is omniscient.

"power in hand speaking the Father's plan...
You're sending us out, light in this broken land.

all authority,
every victory
is Your's.

Savior, worthy of honor and glory,
worthy of all our praise...
You overcame.
Jesus, awesome in power forever,
awesome and great is Your name...
You overcame.

we will overcome by the blood of the Lamb...
and the word of our testimony.
everyone overcome."
-jeremy camp.

my girl-hurley led us in singin this song at Mission Church on sunday...and i just love it.
-and then it came on in the car tonight on the way to the grocery store...
of course, i love worshipping at church on sunday, but there's just somethin about worshipping in the seemingly "oddest of places" at the seemingly "oddest of times" when it's just me and God.
strictly listening to Christian music during this time of lent allows me to spend so much more time with God...that i'd usually just be zoning out during.
it's those times driving in the car, or getting ready in my room, or doing the dishes when God breaks through barriers or gives me epiphanies, and i break down because most of the time i don't see it coming!!
-and i just love that.
those are some of the most special times.
the intimate times just between me and God.

most days we get too caught up with "life" that it's easy to let the days get away from us without really knowing what we did--or why we did it.
it's too easy to not make time for God.
but through this intentional act of giving up secular music, i have been able to reflect on God sporadically throughout the entire day (because i'll have you know, i am constantly listening to music)...and it's amazing how much it has already helped me relax and just dwell in the knowing that He's got it aaalllll under control.

i'm tellin, yall...
God knows what's up.

"well, i've been treated like a valentine...
that's been ripped apart and left behind.
i'm a fragile girl in a crazy, careless world.
my dreams were torn and scattered on the floor,
but You've been picking up the pieces, Lord...
cause Your love is real,
the only hope to heal.

my paper heart is Your's now;
i have landed in Your hands.
'come so far to find out...
my life will never be the same,
since You wrote Your name
on my paper heart.

i had been so terrified to trust...
so many times i'd been reduced to dust,
but you keep showing me
You're the safest place to be."
-francesca battistelli.

i have been listening to her cd since Christmas...and in response to being single on valentine's day, this is a perfect song for me. :) ever since junior high, the idea of "being married to God" has really resonated with me, and i've always strived to let the thought consume me.
which i believe has helped me never be this boy-crazy girl who always needed a boyfriend--because i always knew that wasn't what it was all about; i just let God always fill the void.
and for learning that as early on as i did, i am extremely grateful.
of course, i've had heartbreaks......and bad ones.
but on the occurrence of those break-ups, i've always turned to the Lord and allowed Him to hold me. (like literally imagined Him holding me, until i could feel Him.)

(i know i am going out of Bible-order here, but it's too applicable not to touch on...)
i've always loved the verse:
"peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

i love that so much..."I do not give as the world gives." because God's omnipotence is unfathomable...He is capable of anything. if we would just ALLOW Him to give us that peace, HIS peace--a peace like we've never known...such a loving, selfless, and unconditional gift that God w.a.n.t.s us to have...it WILL consume us.

"caring for each other."

my friend-lauren is a great-great girl, friend, daughter, role model, 

Christ-follower, human being. (i will save her full my-friends-are-talented story for another day--cause it's a long one, but...)

she shared this video of a family she's worked with for a couple years now, (who go to the church we grew up in,) by helping care for lindsay, spending time with her, going to camp with her, etc.

i have always loved all the stories and photos she has shared about lindsay...and it really warms my heart to have seen her grow through it all.

this video is SO touching and SO precious and will SO make you cry...

so get ready.

(i will just let it speak for itself...but what a Godly and incredibly special family.)

i hope it inspires you...

move me, Lord.

sorry, for the almost-week hiatus...
sunday was Mission Church's FIRST-EVER sunday gathering; it was so, incredibly exciting.
i cannot WAIT to see how God moves in this vision.
(do not hesitate to ask about the church if you have any questions, whatsoever.)

in regards to my last post, TOMORROW is lent. :)
i came across this article/blog post today, and was even more encouraged because it provided me with the 40-day-Bible-reading guide i will be using.

just like margaret feinberg, i encourage you to pray and meditate over the decision to do this beneficial challenge with me.
i'm so excited to see the many ways God works in my life these next days of lent, and all the days to come.

in commemoration...

it's exactly one week before lent-season, yall--and i thought i'd share my plans with you.

even though i am not Catholic, i observe the lent-season because it is still a very symbolic time.
for those of you unfamiliar with lent...it is a time when believers fast (food...or any type of conscious luxury) as a form of "penitence".
i fast certain things that i consciously think about, so while i'm not partaking in them i can think about/spend time with the Lord instead.
i participate to strengthen my walk with Christ.

this lent-season, i will be doing a few things in observance...
-only listen to Christian music. this had such a great effect on me last year. a huge impact. i am seriously a believer in it. (if you can do it, i strongly suggest it.)
-read through the purpose driven life in a timely matter. (aka: so it lasts the forty days.) and blog book review at the end of it. (i've had this book since junior high youthgroup and never got through it.)
-read through the Bible in an equally timely matter.
-blog every single day...could be something deep about how God is speaking to me/working through me...could be a lesson learned, epiphany i had, a solid point, an impacting verse, a great quote, or a song lyric. anything that spoke to me that day--that could potentially speak to someone else.
(i will also be doing one more thing that you-my reader may or may not be effected (and affected) by...it is a secret for now, but i will probably re-cap at the very end.)

i'm really excited for it all!! i just love all of these ideas.
:) might sound silly...cause i could technically do this whenever, but the symbolism just gets me.

all of this is to SEEK God.
all of this to make my days less about me.

it is amazing how when you truly do seek God...you find Him.
you see Him.
you hear Him.
you feel His presence, and your will really does become His.
you begin to see life more through His eyes. (as best a human can.)

i have experienced this closeness sporadically throughout my life as a Christ-follower.
there are days, though, when i don't necessarily feel His presence...but i still know that He's there.
-those hard times just make me seek him all the more, resulting in greater closeness.

my 24th birthday is this friday.
there have been moments recently where i have realized that i like getting older, that maturing--is maturing as a Christian.
and i love it.

"there is a difference between devotion to principles
and devotion to a person.
hundreds of people today are devoting themselves to phases of truth,
to causes.
Jesus Christ never asks us to devote ourselves to a cause or a creed;
He asks us to devote ourselves to Him."

- oswald chambers.

my summer's mission trip application is all finished and sent in.

now...
pray.
pray.
pray.

i have prayed on this trip for a year now, that it would be God's will for me to go...and it has lingered in my heart for its entirety.
i am praying i am accepted.
i am praying that somehow in some way the Lord will provide the money to go. (a legitimate income-obtaining job would help.)
i am praying that if i am not accepted, other doors will open up for me to go elsewhere this summer--or possibly even longer.
i am praying that God's will and desires will become so innate in me
that they become my own.
i am praying to allow God to work in me until then (and thereafter), transforming me into who He has created me to be.
i am continuously praying and seeking God...because i want to, because i need to, because i have to.

i yearn for the day when i feel like i am truly doing exactly what God has created me to do.
i yearn to feel that contentment.

but until then...i will seek God, searching for it.

"show me Your ways, oh Lord; teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth, and teach me...for You are God-my Savior, and my hope is in You. all--day--long."
- psalm 25:4-5, NIV.

(i will not find out if i am accepted until march; i will keep yall posted and give you more information when that time comes.)