he did what we all thought he would do.
he picked shayne.
blah. i didn't want him to pick either, honestly.
oh well.
we'll see how long this bachelor relationship lasts.
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:26-28
I've been thinking a lot about prayer lately. I've been praying a lot lately, actually. Praying for people on the verge of death, and for the people that love them, praying for hurting friends, praying for reconciliation between myself and people, or between other people, praying for my family and the people I love. These verses have brought me so much comfort, because so many times I'm at a loss of words, especially when praying for people in the midst of VERY grave circumstances. I want to know the deep needs of those people and lift them up to the Almighty. It's so comforting to know that He already knows those needs, He's already meeting them. There is something so much deeper to prayer than I can really understand, which is why it's relieving to know I can trust and rely on the Holy Spirit to intercede on my behalf for the needs that I don't even realize I have. And He's interceding on the behalf of all the people I care most deeply about, because He better than me knows their circumstances, knows their sweet, hurting hearts, and knows how to reach down and comfort them, and me.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your power, in which I do not understand, but am so blesed by.
So..I think I really enjoy pop culture. American Idol has become a new favorite, as I've blogged about before, but I really enjoyed last night with Dolly.
The boys had the night. Here are my top three favorite performances (in order)...
I moved this past weekend. I was completely overwhelmed when we first started, as stated in my previous blog. Not only was I overwhelmed, but I threw my back out and pinched a nerve last Wednesday and couldn't move for a couple of days. That sucked, don't ever do that, if you can help it. However, as bad as it stinks to pack up all your stuff and haul it across town only to unload it, there's something nice about having a clean slate, a fresh start.
I always clean when I moved, and when I say clean, I mean clean really really well. Everything is dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed, clean. And when you begin hanging up your pictures on the wall and giving them a new place to live (for a while), and setting things out on your nice clean furniture you feel a sense of accomplishment. At the end of the day you can just sit back, relax and admire your new set up. Something about the old feels new again, and that's nice.
So as stressful as moving can be, it can also leave you feeling like you just got a new fresh start, and I like that!
I'm moving.
I'm not moving far away from where I live now, bascially just 5-10 miles away, but I still hate it. Packing up all your junk. I always end up throwing away more then I mean to, just to get rid of it, so I don't have to move it. Moving's terrible, it should be exciting, but in this case, it's just a pain.
So, I'll being moving this weekend. I'm hoping I can get excited about it!
So...American Idol is a semi new thing for me. I just started watching it regularly last season, and have kept up with it really well so far this year.
I loved last weeks episode with everyone singing from the Lenon/McCartney songbook, but two weeks in a row? Even as much as I love and have been obsessed with the Beatles since 8th grade, I was hoping for something different this week.
I was REALLY disappointed in pretty much everyone's performances last night, especially Brooke White. I liked her singing "Let It Be" last week, but this week was just AWKWARD!
Maybe next week, Brooke.
I find I often struggle with finding balance in things. Whether it be spending too much time with one person so another relationship suffers from lack of time, or reading so many books in one month that I can't seem to even gather up enough concentration to read an email for months after, to the struggle of independence and dependence.
Today I was reading (its probably one of those months I refered to earlier)a book by Henri Nouwen, who else? Ha! He quoted Kahil Gibran's words from a wedding ceremony and they said this,
"Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone. Even
as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Stand together yet not too near together For the pillars of the temple stand
apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
So often we are forced into a false sense of honesty and many times this honesty can lead to harm rather than good. It enables us to live a life without healthy boundaries. Henri Nouwen says this, "just as words lose their power when they are not born out of silence, so openness loses it's meaning when there is no ability to be closed." I am in no means trying to knock on healthy community, but I think it's wise for us to understand that there is a good thing in finding balance between our need for vulnerability and our need to be closed.
I hope I can give myself the freedom to be closed sometimes.
I've been experiencing a lot lately that's related to living in community. It seems like every song I've listened to, book I've read or sermon I've heard all hinges on this idea of community. I was very blessed to experience this idea of community while at Auburn. I lived and walked among people that understood what it really means to "love each other." It wasn't always easy, but at the end of the day we all managed to think the best of each other, knowing the Spirit that lives inside each of us and understanding the toil living in a broken world causes us.
One of my favorite authors is Henri Nouwen. In his book "Reaching Out" he says, "It is this inner mystery that attracts us to each other and allows us to establish friendship and develop lasting relationships of love. An intimate relationship between people not only asks for mutual openness but also for mutual respectful protection of each other's uniqueness." He precedes this statement by discussing how often times we rush into relationships with each other never really being able to see one another's uniqueness or "inner mystery", as he calls it.
Relationships are hard work. There's a give and take. So many times when we move to a new city or start a new phase of life, we jump into relationships/friendships with people in order to cure our lonliness and never allowing them to organically develop over time. I'm guilty of meeting someone and instantly wanting to know everything about their life in that moment. Instead we should take the time to allow these things to develop as they come.
My desire is to develop real relationships with people who want to take the time to get to know me, instead of jumping to conclusions about me after one encounter. I want these relationships to hinge on the fact that we're believers in Christ all doing our best to seek Him and encouraging each other along the way. I know we live in a broken world and I can't even begin to understand anothers pain the way in which they feel it. But I know who I am in Christ and I know that He lives in me and I trust in the guidance of His Spirit to lead me to the people that He wants me to love and who will love me in return.
My latest obsession is Project Runway. Due to the writer's strike it seemed to be the only good thing on tv these days. Although, I have always loved Project Runway, I seemed to get way more into this season than other seasons.
So if any of you missed SNL this past Saturday and LOVE Project Runway then you HAVE to watch this!
Well...it's been almost a year since I last blogged on my site. I'm not real sure why I decided to start back. I seriously doubt anyone ever checks this anymore, but I guess I just miss getting my thoughts out, posting fun pictures, telling stories, or the latest news. Not much on the latest news other than the fact that every weekend from here till July is booked due to the wedding extravaganza of my brother, Walker, and Emily. And I guess the best stories I have these days are usually ones of funny sayings from Ava that I get on a daily basis. So far today she hasn't said anything worth noting, although she has hit me and scratched me several times. I'm not sure what started this abusive phase of her life, but after enough stern looks and time outs I'm sure she'll figure out this is not a good idea if she wants to keep friends and stay out of trouble. I do have a lot of fun new pictures of my cute little neice, Campell Grace Norris. I'll have to post those soon. She's really cute and will be 3 weeks old on Thursday! My thoughts these days tend to wander and seem a bit scattered. My community group can probably testify to my scatteredness. Every Wednesday I come in and bounce from thought to thought, rarely ever making any sense, but thankfully they accept me that way and do their best to follow.
Well, it seems like that's all for now. On a day to day basis my life doesn't seem to exciting, but as I read over this post I see that there is so many exciting things happening. So, no promises, but I will continue to try and keep up with this bloggidy blog world.
My Easter weekend seemed like a big whirl wind with lots going on. I drove to Birmingham Saturday night because my brother, Walker, and his girlfriend, Emily got ENGAGED! YAY! I'm so excited for them! I drove back that night to be at church in Nashville Sunday morning followed by a great lunch with all of my wonderful friends! I've posted some pictures of the weekend....
After reading Jared's comment on my last blog I felt HIGHLY convicted to update this thing. I'm so bad at talking big, but never following up.
So...right now I'm sitting in a hotel room on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. I flew into Chicago last Saturday and will fly back this coming Sunday...i've been here a while. I'm here to lead worship at this women's retreat for Wheaton Bible Church. Any of you Montgomery folks who read this know Brian Hogan, my old youth minister/boss. He's now the worship pastor at Wheaton Bible and his wife, Amy is in charge of their women's retreat, so they asked me to come do the worship for it. The ladies all get here tomorrow, but we came up tonight to help set this thing up and practice some. This place is SOOOOO nice!! Good thing I want to lead worship for women's stuff, bc they do things up right!!!! DANG!
Anyway, here's a play by play of my days since I've been here....Flew in Saturday afternoon and hung out with the Hogans. Sunday woke up early to be at church at 7am bc I helped lead worship with Brian (that was SOOO fun!). Monday I had rehearsal with the guys that are playing with me. Tuesday I just laid low and hung out around the Hogan house. I have a new boyfriend, his name is Tyson Hogan and he is 4! HILARIOUS! Wednesday I ventured into the big city alone and had a BLAST!!! I put some pictures of my day in the city below. Just a warning, but bc i was alone, they're either of my face or of some building. ha! And today we drove to Lake Geneva for this retreat. There will be 300 women heading up here tomorrow afternoon. They are between the ages of 24-65...woah! what an age gap! But I'm so excited to see what the Lord will do in the lives of these women this weekend. There are some women coming that aren't believers and there are some coming that have known Christ for more years then I've even been alive! I'm just so excited to be surrounded by all these women of all different backgrounds, races and ages. I pray the Lord will be magnified here! I'll post again after the retreat...just bc I know I'll be so excited to report what the Lord's doing in the lives of His women in Wheaton, IL. He's a BIG God and I just love to see the ways He's moving everywhere!
Ok...so here are the pics..enjoy.
Last night I went to bed around midnight. My sister and I share a king size bed when we're both home. It's really nice because it's so big I don't even notice she's on the other side. I"m pretty sure last night I was sleeping really well and having a really nice dream, but then I was rudely awoken at 3am to the ceiling in our room CRASHING DOWN ON US!!! It basically fell right on top of my sister. She began screaming, so then I started screaming (it seemed like the natural thing to do while covered in ceiling rubble). My little brother, Jack, came running in scared that someone had broken into the house and was attacking us (what a hero!). The strong little man helped us out of the rubble and offered to let us sleep in his room. Last night at 3, I have to admit I was a little pissed, but now I think it's really funny!
Here are some pictures of the fun event of the night...
Ah! It's been too long since my last blog...i REALLY thought this time would be different.
Today I'm sitting in Auburn, AL bc i had a meeting with Heather the hairmaster this morning. She chopped my hair off...only cause i asked her to. I would post pictures, but I'm sitting in a coffee shop with people around me and I'm afraid they might think i'm vain if i busted out the camera and started my photoshoot...what do you think!?..vain? yeah, i thought so too.
that's really all i got right now...except for my "secret project" that has just begun that only a few special ones of you out there know about. Maybe one day I'll get brave enough to tell the blog world about the "secret project." Just calling it a "secret project" makes you want to know even more...doesn't it!?! Well too bad. I'll tell you soon enough.
Everytime I pull into that beautiful city I have to put on David Mead's "Nashville." (Technically this song is not about Nashville, TN but about Nashville, IN, but it works for me?!) Anyway all that to say...I'M MOVING BACK!! It's ofiicial I'll start work Monday, Jan. 2nd. I'm going to be a nanny for a family up there while I look for "real" jobs (whatever that means? it's just to appease my mother). I'm so excited and can't wait to be back for good! I still have no place to live, so if anyone who reads this needs a roommate or knows someone in need of a roommate- LET ME KNOW!!!
Thank you Jesus!
-Amen.
So I've decided I want to become a more avid blogger. For all you avid blog readers I'm going to begin to do my best to post more frequently on things of interest. Some days I might go a little deeper into my life, but I hope to at least post on what I'm listening to, reading, or interested in these days. So stayed tuned for more blogging because I'm not giving up on the blog world!
"Whether it be a lakeside retreat or the journey of life, our expectations are our greatest obstacle to union with God in the present moment. It is Jesus who writes all the lines, all the words and all the letters of our lives. Do I really know what is best for me? My vision is so short-sighted, my horizon so limited. Surrender is a practical application of a confession- what we pray each day in the Lord's prayer, "Thy will be done." Abandonment is the triumph of trust in our lives."
I've been having trouble lately with confussion. I've been so confused about life, my vocational calling, my location, etc. When I read the exert above from Brennan Manning it freed me so much, because it reminded me of what trust is all about. "Do I really know what is best for me?" No! Of course not! But I trust in the soveriegnty of God and knowing that "He will direct my paths." To abandon my ideas for myself, my desires, and to allow His way to lead me on to victory over confusion is something to be grasped today.
I do trust Him and I love Him the most.
