Spontaneity, Independence, & Gifts All Around

Hello, friends!

Here's just a quick life update because it's sweet and I just felt like sharing:

Yesterday, I went on a solo adventure to the 4pm service at my church and then up Lookout Mountain. It's funny because I've lived in Chattanooga all my life, but I never actually get to go up there very much.

My good friend, Jenny B. prayed healing and completely hopeful words over me that God knew she needed to pray. I went to Sunset Rock and then Point Park only to receive the lovely gift of FEE FREE DAY (um, yes?) I met three groups of people and had conversations with complete out of towner–strangers. What? Me? 

Moving to Cleveland and living at Lee has been a strange and difficult season to move into. The Lord is trying to teach me independence. All my life I've had someone to cling to, but lately, I've felt alone. I've always been an outgoing introvert, so being alone has never been a problem, but I love having a few people to go to just to hang out or talk. Here I know there are wonderful people, people who love and accept me, but I haven't felt like I "fit in" anywhere. (Side note: I never really have – I've always just done my own thing.) 

I truly believe this is God telling me to take a step back in order to establish and know and remind myself: THIS is who I am and I will NOT compromise that by quickly jumping into the first group I find. He wants me to be independent all while being completely dependent on Him. It's kind of like one big spontaneous adventure, and if you know me, I'm the opposite of spontaneous.

I still don't completely have all my thoughts together about this, but He is teaching me to be bold and be still, and walk in Truth and He is lavishing me with gifts all around every. single. day. I'm just grateful. He does not give up on us.

“Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You.”

Psalm 84:10-12 «

“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:1-3 «

Gifts Board & Necklace Rack

Hello, friends!

It's been awhile. I moved to college a month ago 2 days from now (August 15th). That means I haven't been home to work on the things I want to get finished, nor have I had the time, BUT I did want to post this quick little snippet of some things in my dorm room.

Before I actually get into my dorm stuff, I wanted to mention my last gifts "board":

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I began counting in August of 2013. A little over one thousand gifts are displayed right here: some very, very, very difficult to accept, others as easy as breathing. It was a highlight of my week last week to read these when I went home, reminding me of all the beautiful (small and big, easy and hard) things God places everywhere in every season, literally and metaphorically, to remind me of His love for me. It's been a hard year, but I think it's been one of my favorites, which I wouldn't and couldn't have said three months ago. 

I'm starting afresh. I finished this super fun gifts board today:

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All it is is sticky notes and a bulletin board. The simplicity of counting gifts. Counting the things I'm grateful for. The big and the little, the hard and the easy things. It's based off of the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I absolutely adore Ann and she inspires people to live in gratitude daily. I've come to realize that the grass is greener where you water it. When you choose to find the good in every situation (yes, even those you may think that there is no good), you enjoy your life more. Really, it's true. We get the choice to be content with what we HAVE. Life as it is, not as it "should be."

So, I challenge you to the Joy Dare. (Increase your happiness by 25% just by counting gifts! It's fun too!) :)

Another thing I made was this necklace rack:

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Yes, it's a stick painted white. That's literally all.

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Just because. Here's a little (unfinished) corner of my room.

Thank you for being awesome.
&
Thank you for yeah I don't know what else.


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Painting for Lauren

Hello, friends!

Because I am moving to Lee (Cleveland, TN) in seven days, one week, as of today (!!!), I decided I wanted to give my best friend Lauren something to remember me by. (I'm kidding... I'm literally only moving 20 minutes away. I will still see her all the time, thankfully.)

Really, I've been wanting to paint her something for a while now, I have several canvases I can't take with me to school, I had a ton of extra time on my hands (before things hit hyper-speed), I just wanted to paint, she just moved into a brand new-beautiful-house and needs awesome things to cover her walls with and I thought, "What better time than now?"

So, here's the finished painting:

I'd like to start with the story:

Annually, my church, Calvary Chapel Chattanooga's youth group visits the Dominican Republic. This was my third year there. In Puerto Plata on the northern shore of the island, year after year, our view is of Playa Cofresi and we see big boats and barges anchored or trudging slowly through the water. A year or two ago there was a barge and a sailboat sharing Playa Cofresi's bay. Pastor Kenny, our youth pastor, pointed out the symbolism he saw in it:

Basically, we get to be one or the other: the barge or the sailboat. Barges are like machines; they work and trudge and force themselves against the waves and cut right through the water. Sailboats glide across the water; they allow the wind to carry them whichever direction it's blowing. 

God is the wind.

I don't know about you, but I like the idea of being a sailboat. It seems much smoother and happier. That in no way entails perfect sailing conditions always; however, He is constant.

Why make yourself do all the work? Why trudge through life's imperfect sailing conditions? Why go against the wind?

Why is it so easy to ask those questions, then live differently?

I don't know about you, but choosing to "let go and let God" isn't always easy for me. I like control. Lauren and I are definitely "Type-A" personalities--I think that's one reason why I like her so much. ;)

This image--the barge and the sailboat--has stuck with me for a least a year now. One of the prayers for my trip this year was that God would "be the wind in my sails." It's been really neat to see Him come through in that (after I choose to let go, of course. He doesn't force Himself.) When things are faith-filled and not fear-filled, it changes everything.

When we rest in His character and allow Him to navigate and sweep us in the right direction, when we choose to believe regardless of everything our little broken hearts and imperfect minds are telling us, that's when you get going in the right direction--even when sailing conditions, life conditions, seem to be working against you.

As Lauren and I move into this next season of life, and seeing her just needing a little encouragement in this particular area, I really wanted to give her something meaningful.

Last week a handful of "post-youth group, new college kids" went to the College/Singles group for the first time. We all walked in as if we were terrified 8th graders moving into high school, asking the same question, "What am I doing here?" On the last song we sung, Zach Smith (of As Isaac-our "not-so-average" youth group band) mentioned in prayer the sailboat thing and my face couldn't smile any harder. That was totally a God thing. (It's been really cool because lately everything Zach has prayed about with the groups has been something that's just lined up perfectly with what I've been studying/learning.)

That's when the idea struck :)

And this is how I made it happen:

I started with the background, but I didn't get a picture of it before I put the water on.

(All of this is acrylic paint. I just did a wash with water to extend/spread the paint--for transparency, and because who has enough paint to do that without water...?)

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The water is obviously my favorite part. :)

(Started with pink, added the blue/violet and doused it with water. I let it drip. A lot.)

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I only made the boat yellow because it's my favorite color. :0 

:)

^

First layer of teal,

Flag and Pole,

"Tienes mi Corazon" added. 

(It means "You have my heart." The back story to this is crazy and would take forever to explain, but long story short, As Isaac has a song called "I Love You Too" and I love you too doesn't translate directly, so when Zach translated the song for us to sing in Spanish while we were down there, he used "Tienes mi Corazon," and man, do those words mean so much.)

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Second layer of teal.

Shading/lines/waves fixed.

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Details to the sail.

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Words! Finally!

^^^

Wind!

(I had glitter paint, and well, glitter is Lauren's favorite color.

How else do you paint wind...?)

I love her.

Thank you for reading.
&
Thank you for being awesome.

--

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." 

Jude 24-25

"Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's... But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear Him..."

Psalm 103:1-6, 17a

Praise the LORD, my soul.