Nothing short of random

I read an article today entitled, "When Your Man's Best Friend Is Another Girl." I read this title and thought to myself, 'ouch.' The writer talked about how her boyfriend Jeremy had his best friend, Libby, fly in from California to visit him. [Supposedly] Libby was nothing but rude to this girl. As she tried to make friends with her man's "bf", Libby only ignored and glared at her. They all went out together that night, where a little too much drinking led to Libby asking Jeremy questions (right in front of her) like, "if you were single right now, who would you flirt with?" and "why are you dating her?" My heart broke for this girl. The article ended with the author explaining that while they were driving home that night, Jeremy looked to the backseat at Libby and happily yelled, "I LOVE YOUUUU!!" Jeremy didn't mean that he was in love with Libby, nor did he mean that he wasn't not in love with his girlfriend, but men... some advice... if you have a girlfriend, be careful who your "best friends" are. A woman's heart can be torn apart if she feels that you care more about a girl who's a friend, then her, even if you don't. Simply by just having a best friend that is a girl, this can leave your girlfriend feeling second best and not worthy. So again, be careful. Know your girlfriend and know her heart...

Have you ever felt you've been pulled back into junior high? Besides the fact that I'll be hanging out with 8th graders every day, all day for 4 months come January, this past week I feel I've nose dived right back into middle school. I strongly believe that some people get so incredibly bored with their lives that they feel the need to create drama simply for their own entertainment and "excitement." I've been able to stay on the outskirts of it all, but MAN... just watching some of this stuff I find myself quite exhausted.

I finished my last class as an undergraduate student yesterday. It's weird. No more Drake college classes for me... ever.

Tonight, Epicenter will be having its last service of 2006. I highly recommend that you all come out. My good friend, and roommate, the beautiful Stephanie Bennett, will be speaking on meeting GOD face to face. And I do believe that He is going to meet with us tomorrow night. He's ready to show up... so come and have your face rocked!

This weekend I'll be flying to Florida to witness and be a part of one of my best friends wedding. I'm so excited... originally her wedding was only going to be family, but about a month ago I got a phone call from her where she told me that she really wanted me there. I've only met her fiancee once, but from seeing them together and hearing the way she talks about him, I couldn't have picked out a more perfect man for her. They are both passionately in love with GOD, He is the center of their relationship, and they want people to walk into their home knowing that the LORD is present. I'm honored to witness [and be apart of] a ceremony for such a pure and GOD-driven couple.

After my quick trip to Florida, I'll be back in Des Moines for a few days... finishing up moving, a nice [early] Christmas dinner with the boy, and turning in the last of my finals... I'll then be headed to one of my favorite places in the world; Colorado. My family and I are spending Christmas at our house in Palisade, Colorado. It's so freaking beautiful there. Middle of the flat top mountains in vineyard country. Amazing. Plus... I'm only about an hour from some of my favorite ski resorts. I can't wait to get back on my board. I'm in withdrawal... 9 months without snowboarding is WAY too long.

OneThing is coming up, and I'm stoked. I've never been before, but I've heard nothing but great things about it. GOD, I know, is going to show up in ways I've never seen before and I'm ready. I'm expecting my GOD to do huge things. And I know He wants to do big things. So if you have December 28 - January 1 free, sign yourself up, head down to Kansas City, and experience GOD in crazy ways.

See that dog at the top of the page? Yeah... I want to own a dog like that one day. I think I'd rather have one that's black, but point being, I just want that kind of dog. They're huge... and it looks like a bear. I love that dog.

And lastly, if anyone wants to get me a Christmas present and is stuck, let me help you out a little... I hear the Burton Feelgood ES 151 board is incredible. I mean it is, "hands down, the highest women's performance snowboard on earth [ever]."

Well there you have it folks... a little randomness before Christmas.

[I love...]

You know what I love?

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I love that GOD shows up anywhere, any time...

...that I don't have to go sit in a church building to hear and experience my LORD...

...that He cares about all of my concerns, not matter how "stupid" I think they are...

...that my Savior is so passionately in Love with me, that I'm not able to comprehend the fullness of His Love...

...that when I'm not thinking about Him, He's thinking about me...

...that He romances me in ways that no man ever could...

...that He will never fail, at anything...

...that my GOD has a plan for me, that's better then anything I could ever come up with myself...

...that He knows my heart better than I know my own heart...

...that even when I mess up, He will do nothing but embrace me more...

...that He's faithful, even when I'm not...

...that He has captured the hearts of some of the most important people in my life...

...that daily, He teaches me about Love, selflessness, trust, passion, and purity...

...that He forgets my mistakes...

...that eternal life with Him is free...

...that my LORD surprises me daily...

...that to Him I am beautiful...

...that He allows His Spirit to live inside of us, giving us a small piece of His power...

...that His name is written on my heart...

...that my GOD has a sense of humor, who I know laughs with me (and probably at me) at times...

...that I'm never alone...

...that He has allowed me to fight for Him and with Him...

...that I haven't been forgotten... and neither have you.

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I love that we have a Father who has been there from the very beginning. He knit us together in our mother's womb. He knew us before we were even born. And you mean everything to Him.

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You know what I love?

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I love having a Dad who I know will never walk away from me.

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You know what I love?

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I love that you have a Dad who will never walk away from you.

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You know what I love?

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Watching my brokenness be mended.

Watching my heart transform into something Beautiful.

Watching change take place.

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You know what I love?

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Healing.

Redemption.

Love.

Joy.

Power.

Grace.

Mercy.

GOD.

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You know what He loves?

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You.

So much more...

There are hearts that were made for more. There is… a heart… that was made for more... so much more.

Every beat of my heart against the inside wall of my chest, screams for something more. Something Bigger. Something Beautiful. Something Great.

Words run rapid through my heart and mind, repeating [only half] truths.

“I trust You completely.”
“I believe that You are going to take care of me.”
“I’m not scared because You’re in charge.”

I hear these words and I know these words, but the more I chew on them, the more their flavor is lost. Food without taste isn’t appetizing… no one craves for a candy bar that tastes like nothing. The moment that gum loses its flavor, it gets tossed into the trash. My words often become empty, meaningless, and flavorless. I say them because I know the taste that they’re supposed to have. I guess you could say that I know how to play “Christian” really well.

But don’t we all to a certain extent? When rough times come our way, we don’t want to hear people give us the same cliché answers and responses over and over again, so we say what we need to in order to stop [the same] advice come from other people. We know what to say in order to get people off our backs.

“I trust Him completely.”
“I believe that He’s going to take care of me.”
“I’m not scared because He’s in charge.”

We’ve lost the fullness of those phrases.
We’ve lost the flavor.
We’ve lost the Truth.

By noon today, I had only been in my car for a total of about 25 minutes, and already I had heard the same song six times. The first two times I heard it, I thought nothing of it. By the third, my heart began to beat a little faster… by the fourth I wanted to cry… and during the fifth and sixth I began to taste again.

“I will walk by faith,
Even when I cannot see…”

I then received an email with this verse attached… faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17)

I will walk by faith… yes, I say that, but it’s not about saying it. Like in James, it’s about saying it, and then taking action in it. It’s about saying it, and then tasting it. It’s about saying it, and meaning it.

This heart was made for more than just repeating cliché Christian words, in order to look like I’ve got it under control. Cause in reality, I don’t...

But the good thing is… GOD is Bigger. GOD is more Powerful. GOD is Stronger. GOD is Perfect. And GOD is inside of this heart, which means that I am being protected.

So do I trust Him completely? Do I believe that he’s going to take care of me? Do I really have no fear simply because He’s the One in charge?

How I wish I could respond with a confident “yes” to each of those questions…

GOD is my refuge and my strength… GOD is the reason I live and breathe… GOD is my everything… yet sadly, I’m still unable to trust completely. When it gets dark, I get scared. When I can’t see the end of the road, I freeze up and question. When I encounter something new, I hesitate to move forward.

This heart was made to Trust. And it will… it will… it will…

This heart was made for something more.
Something Great.
It was made to speak and believe Truth.

"Father, I will trust You completely."
"Father, I will believe that You're going to take care of me."
"Father, I will not be scared because You are in charge."

Know that your struggles will cause you to be strengthened in faith as you rely upon Me.