OSU 6-0!!

OSU BEAVERS ARE 6-0!!!!

 

Tenth Avenue North in concert with a bunch of friends and my bestie.

I am more

You are more by Tenth Avenue North

^"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

'For your sake we face death all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:31-39

Listen to the words of this song. Let the words of truth penetrate your heart. I know this is something I need to continue to learn again and again. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less. His love just is. And you can either accept the free gift of his love, or you can chose something else. I will always chose His love for me, cuz I cannot live without it. 

What a beautiful night

I love starry nights where I look up at the sky and see billions of little stars. Billions of little stars that God created. Each one is unique to Him. As big as the sky looks to me, God is bigger.

It was a beautiful night.

Caeli and I found this song (and we hunted for a long time to find out what it was) and we are currently obsessed: On this Beautiful Night by Urban Rescue

"Like a fire in the dark
You broke my world apart
So I could see
On this beautiful night,
On this beautiful night
Ohhh, On this beautiful night"

I love this. This is just how I feel. God broke my world apart so I could see Him more clearly. I am so thankful that He did so. I don't know where I would be now if he hadn't done so.

"Fall on my face
Into Your arms
Now I am lost here with You
Hold out my hand, open my heart
Now I am lost here with You"

God made me fall on my face. Not just fall, but fall flat on my face. There was no where to look to but into His loving arms. I am LOST without God. Without Him, I wouldn't know where to belong or who I am. My identity and purpose is in Him and Him alone.

Our God is Greater

This song is an amazing song that I find myself singing in my head when I feel threats, when I feel pressure, or most of all, when I believe lies from Satan about myself or my abilities.

Our God by Chris Tomlin

"Into the darkness, You shine
Out of the ashes, we rise
There's no one like You
None like You"

These lyrics reveal truth about WHO God is. He is light, He shines into every crevasse, every hole. There is nothing he cannot fill completely.

Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God, You are higher than any other
Our God is healer
Awesome in power
Our God, our God

The idea of God being a healer is always something I heard, "Yeah, God healed people in the bible.." but I never realized how much healing God is still doing in the hearts of his people today. I prayed for healing in my own life-to heal my past, to heal relationships, to heal my depression. God answered. He didn't only answer, He healed me. He changed me. He molded me like clay.

And if our God is for us

then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us

Then what can stand against?

Nothing has the power to stand against God's power. He is higher. He is stronger. He is more capable. He is great. He is good. He is Lord of all.

Have you heard this song before? I'd LOVE to know how God has used it (or another song) to impact your life, your journey, and your relatonship with Him. 

Love.

I first heard this song during the superbowl. I am now obsessed. Literally. On repeat for dayyyys.

Music

I love music. It is so beautiful and it has the power to speak beautifully to life: the joys, the trials, the excitements, everything. 

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 My new obsession: Matt Hammitt 

Seriously, so good. His song, "All of Me" has been on the radio a lot, so I searched him on Itunes. Then I found a playlist on youtube. I am IN LOVE. Seriously. These songs speak to my heart so much.

When I'm at the end of my rope and I feel despair, God reaches in, pulls me out, and reminds me of His goodness and love for me. Beautiful. I don't deserve this love, yet it is given to me every. single. day. Comfort at it's finest from my Father.

Overflow of pen to paper and a dapple of truth

I used to be really awkward. Okay, who am I kidding? I never grew out of that. When I was in Junior High or early high school years (it has all kind of blurred together now), I wrote a lot. And I mean a lot. Journals and journals full of poems, song lyrics, etc etc. I even was in a girl band for a little while. And I thought I was pretty fly. I loved to write. It was the way I vented.
As I've gotten older, I've found new releases. Cooking, crafting, shopping. More adult things, I guess. But last night while listening to Lady Antebellum (my new favorite), I was given a burst to write again. And I did. I wrote a poem that I am actually very proud of. It is called Not This Way. It's a story written in very short lines about losing someone in a way you never imagined it would happen.

So, in light of this post, here is my truth. I'm single. I have been for a little while now. I did something incredably awful and lost the love of my life. Don't feel sorry for me, I don't want pitty. I take full responsibility for what I did. This whole experience has really opened my eyes. I have not been living the way I want to. I have not been a good person. I've contacted person after person I feel deserves apologies from me. Some were recieved, some not even answered. I'm okay with that.

God is convicting me, growing me, and changing me. And despite what I have lost in this life, I know my reward will be in Heaven. I know my Savior went to the pits of the earth to save my soul. I know everything I have lost in this life is really a gain for Christ. I believe God is good despite where I stand. I believe God is for my good and will fight for me. The Psalms are beautiful. And they reflect my heart and desire to fully follow the Lord. Everything else is meaningless to me.

Friends, food, and great music

David Crowder

I have no words. It's near impossible to explain the experience I had at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland at the David Crowder Band concert featuring John Mark McMillan, Chris August, and Gungor. David Crowder Band has been my favorite band for years now. This tour was their last tour and I knew I had to go.

Before the concert, I drove up to Portland to meet some friends and have dinner. We got caught in a torrential downpour so we settled on eating at Whole Foods deli area.

Scott, Andrea, me and Emily with our awesome Margarita Pizza

After this, we put Andrea's phone into a bag of rice. It got very very wet from the downpour we got stuck in. We walked to the Crystal Ballroom and passed John Mark McMillan on the way. He was eating some chocolate. We walked all the way to the back of the line and waited until we could get inside. In line, my friend Rachael met up with us. Everyone got their tickets and we got music note stamps on our wrists.

Love this girl

Emily's excited to see Gungor face

Gungor

Worshiping hands :)

Emily, Me, Rachael, and Andrea

 

 

 

 

 

 

They finished the show by playing How He Loves, which John Mark wrote. David Crowder started singing it and all the other acts came out after the first verse and chorus. 

There is something so amazingly beautiful about believers being all together-all worshiping the same God, the creator of the universe-together. I was touched that night. And so sweetly reminded of just how good and amazing God really is.

Emily, JohnMark and I

Rachael, Chris August, and I

Just as the seasons change, as do I

Tonight, I'm going to see my alltime favorite band preform at their very last tour, ever. So stoked.

David Crowder Band

I cannot believe how life has changed. I cannot believe the place I am in right now, the people who surround me. Funny how things work sometimes.

Friday, Friday

...gotta get down on Friday. You're welcome, now you have the most annoying song ever written stuck in your head. :)

Please ignore the fact that this picture won't rotate. thank you blogger.
Jeans:Nordstrom, Vest:thrifted (american eagle), Thermal:Khols, Headband:borrowed, Boots:SteveMadden

I love Friday's. I don't have class on Friday's and I start work earlier cuz elementary schools have early dismissal. I love the chill time in the morning and being able to relax on Thursday nights. This morning, I took a nice bath, and then a shower, and put on some warm sweats. Then I headed out to my favorite spot in my apartment-my porch. Every morning I sit on my porch with my ipod, my devotional, my journal, and my bible. I love the stillness of the morning air, the coolness. It is so beautiful to me. It may seem odd to take so many things with me onto the porch, but I love it. I listen to worship music when I do my devotions. This is something I started at camp a while back. It helps me focus on God when there is chaos around me.
This particular morning, I was so excited to spend time with God without a time limit. Most mornings, I have to plan for about 45 minutes or so, but today I just reveled in my time with my sweet sweet Savior. This time in the morning is really becoming my favorite part of my day.

I'm currently reading through Psalms and 1st Corinthians. I am loving it. The Psalms are so beautifully written and have so much in them. Oh, I just love it. I love God's word, I love God. He is just so good. Despite the things I am experiencing and the unanswered questions I have, I trust in Him. And I know He is good and He is really working. I'm just so excited to see where God takes me. I could pretty much write about this forever, so I'll stop for now. What is God teaching showing you in your life?

Walking, sunflowers, and bicycles

I went for a walk this morning before the day got to be insanely hot. (its estimated to be 100 today!) I left my apartment with nothing but a key and my ipod. 

I'm currently listening to a new band I discovered called Ashes Remain. I am loving them. I found them on Itunes on free download. I got one song, fell in love and bought the whole album. My favorites are Change my Life and Without you. Listen to em. :)

I was walking along the trail I tend to walk and I walked past a park. I was kinda on my own planet from listening to my music and I almost got run over by a few bikes. Oops! As I walked past the park, I saw sunflowers. If you don't know about my obsession with sunflowers, you should. I absolutely love them. There were a few bunches of them. But one stood out to me. It was standing taller and stronger than the rest. 

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Some of them were leaning, some were wilting, some were just not bloomed quite yet. But this sunflower was standing bright. It was like it was smiling at me. Once someone used an analogy of sunflowers and said that I was like a sunflower, because I radiated the light of God and brought others to the Son (Jesus). Seeing this strong sunflower reminded me of what my friend had said. I was also reminded that God can make me strong if I lean on Him. He will give me the strength to face every day.