new song

You give me a new song to sing!

You are so good to me.

You fill my heart with gladness.


I think it's amazing how we grow in the Lord. Every step with him I am amazed again at how worthy, loving, trustworthy and holy he is. I am overwhelmed again by his mercy and grace; I am strengthened again by his providence, his patience and his control in my life. I am renewed again by his peace and hope. And all these things are always in a newer light. Ok, this will sound cheesy, but at the park the other day I was walking by a fountain and the sunlight created a rainbow. As I walked around it, the colors shifted and moved and I was delighted by the simple beauty. That's kind of how it is with God... as I walk with him I can see his qualities in a different light, but he's still the same person. And with every shift of the light, I am delighted again in his beauty.

We have a new song for him every morning!

arms high and heart abandoned

This morning I was looking over past entries in my journal and came across some prayers during the summer for my upcoming move to Dallas. I was amazed to see that God had been faithful to all those requests! Not that it's about God answering prayers the way we want him to, or that it's all about what he does for us - it's just beautiful to see God at work in our lives. 

"Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me." - Psalm 66:16

even in the desert, i fought for you...

How beautiful and faithful and good is our Lord.

I'm reading Deuteronomy for the next however many weeks it takes me. This verse overwhelmed me with God's provision and love:

"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.'"  -1:29-31

There are some phenomenal things in this verse. God says he will go before us - every place we are, every day we live, he has been there already and has prepared people, places, and situations for us. He prepares blessings, he prepares ways for us to love and obey him, and he prepares people for us to serve. How amazing that he cares enough to go ahead of us and do that! Not only does he prepare things, but he fights for us. Even in the desert - those times where we are wondering, where we're confused and doubting and far away - he's still fighting for us. He fights against the evil that wants to destroy us and make us ineffective and far from the Lord. He's constantly fighting those things for us. And if God is on our side, who can be against us?

The verse also says "like a father carries his son..." I can immediately name two distinct times in my life where I knew that the Lord was carrying me. The Lord carries us strongly, dearly, with the abundant love that a father has for his child. The word says that the Lord will carry us until we reach this place - the place that he has already gone ahead and prepared for us, all the while fighting for us against whatever keeps us from reaching this place. 

So shall I be afraid? God calls for our ultimate trust in him. He's already told us that he goes ahead before us, he fights for us, and he'll even carry us to the place he wants us to be. What a beautiful thing to rest in that assurance that he will take care of everything if we just let him.

morphin' time

There's something oddly exciting and terribly pathetic about watching Power Rangers The Movie at 2:30 AM.

martyrs and thieves

There's a song by Jennifer Knapp that I've sung for many years just for its pure beauty. Yesterday I was singing this song in my car and I realized how true every word is for me. I've been thinking about it today, and just resting in the peace that at the Lord's feet are grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and joy. What a beautiful and humbling thing that God can take our pasts, our mistakes, our regrets, and who we are and turn them into something good and glorifying to Him. While this song used to be a cry to God, now it is a triumphant praise of my identity in Christ.

There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time
In the absence of martyrs there's a presence of thieves
Who only want to rob you blind
They steal away any sense of peace
Though I'm a king I'm a king on my knees
And I know they are wrong when they say I am strong
As the darkness covers me

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light
Oh I am not afraid
To let Your light shine bright in my life

There are ghosts from my past who've owned more of my soul
Than I thought I had given away
They linger in closets and under my bed
And in pictures less proudly displayed
A great fool in my life I have been
Have squandered till pallid and thin
Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame
For the darkness I know I've let win

Well I've never been much for the baring of soul
In the presence of any man
I'd rather keep to myself all safe and secure
In the arms of a sinner I am
Could it be that my worth should depend
By the crimson stained grace on a hand
And like a lamp on a hill Lord I pray in Your will
To reveal all of You that I can

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light
Oh I am not afraid
To let Your light shine bright in my life!

why not?

I'm waiting for the day when these shirts will become appropriate and even fashionable to wear. 

Really.

the last week

So this week has held a lot of closure with the ending of my college career. I had my last college class, last bible study with the girls, my last day at World Market, and will have my last Sunday at Life Church (although I'm sure I'll be back to visit). With some sadness at the end of some good things, I'm looking forward to more good things. And above all, I am so blessed that I have a King who is right there with me.

glory in the highest

Some things I've been pondering as of late:

Two things that will always be certain in my life is my love for the Lord and my love for the Dave Matthews Band. I could spend forever talking about the beautiful intricacies of each (although the former is definitely more exquisite than the latter). Regardless, anything that allows you to dance under the stars in the soft breeze with good friends and sentimental melodies deserves to be celebrated.

I've also seen glimpses of what God's glory looks like. Let me explain. I have many friends who are financially less fortunate than me. Up until recently, I just didn't understand why some people have to survive on food stamps and others can afford a fancy restaurant every weekend. I'd often feel guilty that I won't graduate with any debt, while others will be paying off their college degree for the next ten years. The guilt grows even worse when the friends admit their jealousy or anger towards "rich" people and how "we" have it so easy. 

But God doesn't play favorites. He didn't give me more money than someone else because he likes me better. He didn't allow me to graduate debt free so that life could be easier for me. Because it's not about me. It's about the Lord. He works things out in every part of life so that his glory will be made known. Scripture says that a certain amount of grace has been given to everyone, so that we would be able to use that to glorify the Lord. I don't mean this to say that my measure of grace has been to graduate debt free - what I mean is that the Lord has plans to show his glory, and if that requires me being able to graduate debt free, so that he can use me wherever or however he wills, then so be it. 

He didn't give me Jesus-loving parents who've stayed together so that I wouldn't have to know the pain of divorce. No, he worked it out so that for whatever reason I was born into my family, it would be for the glory of God. To reverse this idea, he didn't put my dear friend into a broken, poor family because he didn't like her as much or because he wanted her to feel pain and humiliation. He put her there so that his glory would be made known to her. That his peace and love would be enough for her. So that she could completely trust the Creator of her heart.

The lowest will become the highest, and the poor will inherit the kingdom, right? God calls us to seek him in whatever circumstance we're in - because our circumstances don't reflect the character of God. Our response to the Lord in whatever circumstance will reflect it. And in that, his glory will be made known.

Ode to Craigslist

All I have to say is the best of craigslist gives me great joy.

with all my heart.

I am continuously astounded by our God.

From the beginning of time, it was all about Jesus Christ. The Savior. The Messiah. The one who would come and fix everything, to make us whole again, to bring us into the kingdom of our perfect, loving Father. 

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with who he is. How can he know every one of us, individually, all of the tiny crevices in our soul and our deepest fears and desires? He created the earth and stars and energy and movement and art and love . . . and yet he wants to know me? Never have I felt more loved, more complete, more joyful and more faithful than now. I have no reason for it, except that the Lord is to be praised. He has raised me from the miry pit and has set me feet on solid ground! 

I used to pray for more faith. I believed, but I wanted to believe more. Lord, help my unbelief! Looking back on my journey, I am stunned that he was working and moving in every piece of my life, whispering, "trust me." The same way he wove together our human history, always pointing towards the Savior, he has woven my life together - always pointing towards the Savior. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that God is faithful. What does this mean? The Lord will finish a good work created in you that he began when you chose to give him your life. The Creator of everything, seen and unseen, is in control of your past, present, and future. What better caretaker do we have than the one who created us to be in perfect unity with him? 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6 

things i find myself doing instead of studying

Some of these are legit, some... not.

• blogging
• spending hours on craigslist discovering how cheap I could live in Bangladesh, Ireland, or Australia
• myspace-ing Germany's #1 girl pop band (No Angels)
• finding new things to dip animal crackers into (peanut butter, today)
  
• carefully inspecting the suspicious bruise on my arm
• organizing my work space (again)
• writing Compassion letters
• reading magazines
• cleaning out my purse (and discovering $20. worth it.)
• facebook and email. obviously.
• talking about Dayna's wedding
• researching bridesmaids dresses for Dayna's wedding
• spending quality time with the knot.com (for Dayna's wedding)
• researching $2,000 cameras to pretend I'm a pro photographer
• standing around in the kitchen eating food
• sharpening my colored pencils
• watching Ami cut peoples' hair
• sweeping up hair
• watching "Beauty Shop" on BET
• spending a couple hours on Lifetime's Total Beauty Makeover website

You think if I'd put this much time and energy into studying for my exam I'd make A's. But would it be worth it? Definitely not. I like all those other things a lot better. Let's just hope I graduate...

sweep me away

It's such a peaceful feeling to know that I'm not trying to impress anyone but the Lord.

Sometimes I feel his presence around me so strongly. When I woke up on my birthday, I could feel his love pulsing through me, as though he was letting me know that he was celebrating my existance, my birth, my purpose and my role in his kingdom. I can't describe the feeling of his love... while I know that love isn't a feeling, when I do feel it, it's like the way the sun falls over everything in the early morning, the way a berry tastes at the first bite, the way music fits together to orchestrate my favorite song. He knows me so deeply - every desire, every hurt, every joy and delight. I am truly known, and he is the only one who will ever be able to fill all of those barren places in my soul. 

Just you and me, Lord. Despite my trust issues, I know that I can trust you, with everything. How joyful and peaceful to know that you'll never leave me. 

you sweep me away, sweep me away in your love

where nothing else matters...

the sky is truly the limit

Dear Disney,

I'm very intrigued by your recent billion dollar profit strategy so casually entitled "disneynature." Your powerful trailer, complete with footage filmed entirely by BBC, a British Morgan Freeman narrator and a Sigur Ros song eloquently placed to inspire audiences of all ages has almost made me believe that you care about the earth! Thank you for jumping onto the fashionable "green" trend bandwagon - honestly,  I'm surprised it took you this long! 

I recognize you were probably feeling cheated by how much cash BBC was raking in for filming videos of the earth - why didn't you think of that first?! Now that you love the earth, I think I might try to start loving the earth, too. Thanks for helping me recognize that my existence is slowly destroying our planet, glacier melt by glacier melt. I want to do something about it! I suppose I will funnel my energies into paying $9 to see your film in the movie theatre - all for the sake of saving the earth, right? 

I can't wait to see what your upcoming movies, "Crimson Wing" and "Naked Beauty" have in store for me, but I'm confident I will the first one in line to experience it all firsthand at Animal Kingdom!

Until your next exciting endeavor,

Morgan

Note: the contents of this blog entry do no necessarily represent the author's entire opinion of Disney and it's endeavors, which would mostly include any worthy princess movie and/or theme park rides named "Splash Mountain," "Space Mountain," and "Tower of Terror." 

hope is coming for me

I was made to live.

I was made to love.

I was made to know You. 

Does anything else compare to this? There is nothing more perfect, more complete, more satisfying than knowing our Creator, loving him, and living in him and for him. Beautiful, life-giving things happen when we obey this call. 

I can't put into words how joyful I am - still dancing in the blessings that come from obedience, I see glimpses of how lovely and mysterious the Lord is. All I know is that I want more. I'm excited because there is more to come. The Lord is faithful, and when we surrender things to him he fills us with more than we need! 

For Lent (although not so much for my spring break that just ended) I have been waking up at 7am every morning to spend an hour with the Lord, praying and writing and reading. It has been SO encouraging and refreshing to wake up that early (well, it's early for me - I know one of you "gets to work at 7") and be intentional about falling in love with my God. I know you can spend that time at any part of the day, but the early morning for me has just been perfect. I'm currently in love with a song by Brooke Fraser (actually, her entire CD is great, you should buy it) (and I don't know how many more parentheses I can fit into this paragraph) and the chorus reads:

speak to me in the light of the dawn

mercy comes with the morning

i will sigh and with all creation groan 

as i wait for hope to come for me

And that's how I feel about the past few weeks waking up with God. His mercies are new every morning, he speaks to me, and I have a longing to be with him - and so I wait for that hope to come with expectation and excitement. So I pray that you, too, will be encouraged: that we have a hope that has been promised to us. If we find that nothing in this world can satisfy, it's because we were not made for here...and soon enough, we will be reunited with our savior. 

chocolate frosting

I've recently created a new dessert. It's called animal crackers dunked into a tub of chocolate frosting. 

You might recall something like this from your childhood called "Dunkaroos" but I can assure you my creation is better. And better for you! And instead of that measly dollop of frosting, you get the whole tub.

Well, faithful readers, you may or may not know that I have been accepted to Dallas Theological Seminary and will be attending in the Fall!

The Lord has been so good to me. 

question of the year

Why does string cheese taste differently when it is pulled off than when it is just bitten into???

Also, I flew a kite yesterday:

a few sandwiches short of a picnic

The beginning of Spring makes me incredibly happy.

Everything around me seems to whisper "it's coming." I don't just mean the coming of Spring - but with every new blossom, new green leaf, and soft warm wind I am reminded of the newness of life, of creation, and most importantly God's promise that he's coming back. Every part of my day is a little sweeter and a little happier because I am reminded of what's to come! Every bit of inheritance we receive in this life is good and beautiful, but only a shadow of what the Lord has in store for us. That just gives me all the more reason to delight in today, in this moment, where I know that he is dwelling me in me and I in him. How glorifying to him that he gives us that gift!

On a different note, I find myself daily searching wikipedia for some random phrase or word, and afterwards, I realize it's semi-hilarious that I looked it up. Today, the phrase was "beat a dead horse," only because this phrase puts a ridiculous image in my head and I wanted to make a list of ridiculous image creating idioms. Because I like lists a lot and will probably start making some ridiculous lists to post.

Accordingly, wikipedia has a great list of these sort of idioms. Just to name a few:

1. beat a dead horse
2. act like a bull in a china shop
3. i haven't the foggiest (?!? this doesn't even make sense to me)
4. a riddle wrapped up in an enigma
5. a little bird told me
6. i'll be a monkey's uncle
7. a day late and a dollar short
8. a drop in the bucket
9. rome wasn't built in a day
10. lord willing and the creek don't rise

Why do we say these things?? Why haven't they gone out of style? Ok I don't really say all of these on a normal basis but I do find myself saying #1 quite often which just makes me giggle, like I said, when I picture in my head...

ANYway.

Kari Jobe has a new cd out and I really want to buy it once I get my computer back.


you're everything i want

everything i hope in

everything my heart cries out for

it feels like exponential toe stubbing

Last night I experienced lots of pain mixed with lots of laughter. My roommates and I decided to have a "Titanic" night, because we haven't seen this movie enough and it was just time to see it again. So roommate Erin's friend Christian said he wanted to join, since he'd never seen Titanic (the last person on earth) and decided he would win some brownie points with the girls and cook us a grand meal for the Titanic night. So the night finally comes around and we're watching the movie (I'd just like to insert here that three roomies were watching Titanic while friend Dillon was doing my statistics homework and Christian was making us dinner - could my life be any easier??) Christian made the most delicious meal (I'll post a photo later) and we're all in the kitchen cleaning things up. I grab the blender to put it on top of the fridge, and the motor that can be removed from the blender base slips off the blender and crashes ONTO MY LEFT TOE. Normally I have a pretty high tolerance for toe stubs and the like, so I scream "OW" and try to "walk it off" as I make my way to the couch. And then I realize this pain is increasing. And increasing. And then I start wailing. So the roomies in the kitchen realize what dropped on my foot, and they run over to see the damage (there isn't any visible) and by this time I'm starting to cry because it's the most PAINFUL thing I've ever encountered. I'd like to insert here that my roommates are the best nurses ever and I'm so glad they were there! However, no one really knows what to do, especially me, except wail and clutch the side of the couch so Erin grabs a rag, puts it under hot water and then runs over to wrap it around my foot, which then gives the sensation of little needles pricking my foot. So I say maybe cold would be better, so she grabs a mixing bowl and fills it with ice cold water, and then we try to put my foot in that. That's an even worse idea, I discover, so Erin grabs a cold towel with ice inside and that seems to work. Eventually we move to a frozen package of corn because it's lighter. Dayna immediately gives me two advil and a glass of wine. Thirty minutes later, I am still wailing. This HURTS. The pain is shooting through my foot and every time the corn moves the pain starts all over again. In the process, Dayna has attended to my face and shirt because there's wet mascara everywhere, and they're almost done cleaning in the kitchen when the trash can gets knocked over. At this point I think I can walk over there and help, since I've been contributing nothing to the cleaning process, and there are egg shells, yolk, and all sorts of things scattered everywhere. Dayna has her toe in a pool of egg yolk, so I start cleaning that off her foot, all the time not putting any weight on my left foot, and grabbing cleaner to wipe the floor. That's finished and we are watching Titanic again when Erin drops something on her foot in the kitchen (the SAME TOE) and starts wailing and someone gets her a frozen rag from the freezer that someone had put in. I hope you're finding this hilarious. To top the night off, Dayna knocks over Colin's glass of water in the living room and Christian makes us a chocolate souffle.

I decide the best thing for me to do is go to sleep and wake up early to study for the test that I had forgotten about in the midst of everything... and this morning my toe has a blue bruise.

wordle

This is what walking in the garden is made up of.

wake!

That's what I heard whispered into my ear this morning at exactly 7 AM (one hour before my alarm goes off) and I knew that it was the Lord calling me to spend time with him. So after trying to make excuses for a few minutes, I awoke, and prayed and studied scripture for an extra time than normal. It's such a refreshing and beautiful thing to spend the quiet, early hours of the morning with the Lord and to have an endless amount of time to pray for the things and people on my heart. Today in 1 Corinthians, I was encouraged with the truth that God has called us to live in peace. His peace. Every day I am increasingly more thankful that God loves me so much, that he knows the desires of my heart, and that he cares enough to remove me from situations I can't remove myself from. There is nothing more joyful or satisfying than trusting the Father completely! I am still just in awe of what he has done, and the "deep things" and secrets that he has revealed to us through Christ. How beautiful.

On a different note... my random wikipedia search today was "bounty hunter." I really have nothing to say about that except how do you even become one of those? 

hidden treasures

This is probably the coolest thing I've owned in a while. 

I am continuously fascinated, delighted, and awed by the mystery and perfection of our planet. Because it echoes our beautiful, mysterious, perfect Creator. There are a few reasons I like planet earth so much.

For every animal, there is a perfect environment it is adapted to. If one small thing were to change or become unbalanced, their lives would be in danger, but their relationship to their environment and their place in the food chain is perfect, balanced, and purposeful. They were created for a purpose - to bring God glory - and this can be seen through the way earth is so meticulously balanced.

Animals move from place to place for food, water, breeding, and they know that their Creator is going to provide for them and take care of them. Just because He created them. And if our Creator will provide for a snow bird without fail, how much more will He provide for me?

I LOVE the desert footage. I think they are beautiful. They are barren, harsh, and seemingly lifeless, but as Planet Earth loves to show, there is always living creation. Even in a barren, lifeless setting. And isn't that how our Lord loves to work? 

I have been reading 1 Corinthians this week, and one of the verses that stood out to me was 2:10 "the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." In the Planet Earth episode about caves, they travel to the depths of caves where only few people have ever stepped before. The structures inside are breathtakingly gorgeous. They show a particular type of glow worm that creates tiny strings of silicon to catch its prey; the strings glow in the darkness of the cave and it looks like a brilliant night sky.

Reading that verse in Corinthians makes me think of the beautiful things found in caves. The Spirit searches the deep things of God. Like Planet Earth searches deep into caves to find hidden treasures, so the Spirit that lives in us searches the deep things of God, to find the hidden treasures that God has freely given us. This makes me so excited about the secret treasures that God has prepared for me!  

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.    1 Corinthians 2:9-10

You won't relent

Today's "My Utmost for His Highest" (Oswald Chambers) entry reads:

"The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God."

How true. How do I know God is real? How do you know God is real? Sometimes I say that it's just a deep, pure, knowing, that comes from within my soul and I just know. Sometimes I say God uses scripture, our circumstances, His church, and little things to prove to us that He's there. But recently, the most significant way I think He's real is how we are disciplined. He calls us to sacrifice everything for Him. His way is the best, and not my own. I don't think we can fully grasp this until we have surrendered everything to Him and give him our complete trust to know that He will do what he will. We cannot depend on other believers, we definitely cannot depend on ourselves, and we cannot depend on our past. We can only depend on God. When I grasp that reality - that He alone is the only one who truly knows me, truly leads me, truly loves me... that is when I know He is real. 

And the only thing I can give back is my unashamed, unrestrained praise.

I'll set You as a seal upon my heart
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love...

"Trust Me."

That's all I need to hear.

nightime prayer

Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.

And everyone will see him - even those who pierced him.

And all the nations of the world will mourn for him.

Yes! Amen!

How long will you wait? I sense the urgency. 

My heart breaks for the one trapped in jealousy and hurt. My heart breaks for the one who has never known an encouraging word. For those who chase after what will turn to dust. I see the disatisfaction. I recognize the emptiness of the soul that longs for more of something it can't define.

Lord, that you would make yourself known to them. I see a glimmer of light that breaks through the shell, and spreads, and continues to crack and the light grows bigger... Your light, Your love, that breaks through every shell and every darkness. That spreads like fire into the hearts of the ones who are desperately searching. God, that we would sing together, "holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty!" 

Lord, that our generation would fear you. In humbleness and awe - complete adoration. You are my first love and what a perfect love you give! And so sweetly you sing to my soul...

"I am the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end", says the Lord God. "I am the One who is, who always was, and who is still to come - the Almighty One." 

revelation 1:7-8

"Facebook Is A Great Way To Spend Time"

"Taste and see that that Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."

I love reading the songs of David. Said to be a man after God's own heart, his lyrics and poems describe the lowest lows and the highest heights of our relationship with God. A lot of the time, his songs talk about God delivering him from his enemies. While I was reading Psalms one day, the whole enemy thing didn't strike a chord with me. I don't have one enemy, and if I did, he/she would not try to destroy me and take away my goats and kingdom and stuff. So while reading, my thoughts kind of wandered off... 

Until this morning, I went for a walk. It's pretty cold right now so I briskly moved through the morning air, thinking about things I needed to do and people I needed to see. David's songs popped into my head, and I began to think about his enemies and how I didn't have any, and how I wish Psalms was a little more relevant to me. I thought about how David had enemies all the time, because he was king - and he was in constant need of God to destroy his enemies, because they suck. They tried to steal things away, destroy what he had built, and probably humiliated David at any chance they could get because he believed in an unseen God. Suddenly it hit me that I have millions of enemies. They're not necessarily people. They are things, ideas, social "norms" that try to steal away my joy and peace, destroy what I have built with God, and humiliate me for my unwavering belief in an unseen God.  My "enemy" is this world we live in, that tries to get me to buy into its ideas. The enemies I have look like expensive cars, nice houses and diamond jewelry. I have enemies named "Apathy," "Sin Isn't That Bad," and "God Judges You On Your Performance." I often get on the battlefield with the enemy "You Need To Be Liked By Everyone." I especially draw my sword for "I Can Do Things On My Own, Thank You Very Much." 

So I think I have just as many enemies as David had. And while they may not be trying to drive a sword through my heart, they try to drive a sword through my soul. Reading on in Psalms to David's victory songs gives me confidence that God will shatter those enemies of mine. 

I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

I crushed them so that they could not rise;

they fell beneath my feet.

You armed me with strength for battle;

you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

and I destroyed my foes...

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!

Exalted be God my Savior!

He is the God who avenges me,

who subdues nations under me,

who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes;

from violent men you rescued me.

Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord;

I will sing praises to your name.

Psalm 18:37-50

happy new year 2009

So every semester I come up with a list of goals I want to accomplish. If I made a resolutions list for an entire year it would be too overwhelming and I would also forget about it, so semester goals work great for me.

Spring Semester Goals 2009

1. Lose another ten pounds

2. Read scripture daily (I read a lot more last semester and want to kick it into gear a little more this semester)

3. Consistently serve, love, and be honest with the people closest to me

4. Save $300

5. Finish a painting

6. Make A's in my classes (I only have two; hopefully that's achievable)

Ok. Those seem simple enough, yet achievable, but will also be difficult and require lots of work. I think I'm ready.

Now for some recommendations:

"Havah: The Story of Eve" by Tosca Lee is amazing. It is such a beautifully written description of the beginning of humanity, and never before have I appreciated our Creator in such humble adoration.

And, you should see my new favorite movie:

The best movie I've seen a long time. Go see it and invite me along!