Africa

I am home from Zimbabwe! What a beautiful experience it was - here are a few captured moments :)

Also, never forget how enormously magnificent our God is. We are beyond blessed.

Flow

"God made love to be something that cannot be stored - we are rivers, not reservoirs."

I needed this reminders No matter how sad or upset someone can make me, and No matter how many tears I may cry - as a follower of Christ, I am still called to continuously flow love from my being.

Let's be realistic here... as hard as it is sometimes to display love in our lives, things could be far worse. It's not like God is expecting us to be as extreme as rapids, but He still wants us to be moving, advancing, giving. He wants this or the people we already love, the people we do not even know, and especially the ones we don't like.

So here's to today. Heres to making it better than my night, and filling it with God's love. And here's to this past week and a praise for downloading the blogger app on my phone so i can better connect on here.

Enjoy the instagrams of my life lately. I just downloaded vso, so I expect to have even more fun pictures soon :)

Let your light shine.

I did it

Yes.


I did it. And I did it without breaking down.


I have conquered finals. And I even made a 100% on my last final - what a way to end this horrendous week off, right? The grand finale of fireworks were indeed cheer-worthy. 


Praise God I got through this, and I am even more thankful to take the time and be joyful for the incredible opportunity to educate myself more fully. Usually this time of year I get exceptionally bitter, but this year the good Lord put a few different things in my path to maintain my focus and eyes on Him.


One of the things that really stuck out this week was Francesca Battistelli's song called "Don't Miss it." The simple lyrics have reminded me to be thankful for this chance to earn an education. Despite dreading the tests and exams that come with college, I still maintained a positive outlook during the week. Here is the chorus:

"Don't try so hard to move past the moment.These days go by and they're gone before you know it.So come on, open your window, let the light shine in -This is life don't miss it"

I have determined there is still something so pleasant about expanding your knowledge base. This song just helps to establish my joy for life and all things included within that.


However, the most significant impact of my week happened the Sunday before finals week. I started my finals week off with a concert at Lee University in Cleveland, TN - I went with two of my dearest friends to see Gungor.


They are without a doubt one of the most impressive musicians I have ever seen perform. Ever. They are so full of the desire to glorify God that His presence was so overwhelming in the auditorium. 

Having hundreds of fellow Christ followers worshipping in one room is without a doubt powerful. It is so phenomenal to see God work. This concert calmed me and prepared me for the week to come, and helped me to keep God writing my life's script. I maintained God's leadership, and let him take charge.


The only thing God can't do is fail, remember? While God doesn't only want A students, he sure did provide for me - 100% remember?


Let God reign.

PS - Here's the email my professor sent me after the exam:

Hi Laura - I thought you'd want to know that you got every single question right on the exam.  That's a first for me - congratulations.

God is good. Happy summer!

I believe.

This would be me procrastinating the inevitable dread of finals approaching next week, but I love this quote and I had a great desire to play with Illustrator today.

I find this quote to be wildly appropriate in my life right now. Not only do I see God so actively at work in my own life, but I see him consistently doing so many good things for the people around me. A dear friend of mine raised $2,000 for a China mission trip in less than two weeks, another friend is successfully selling shirts for a mission in Haiti.

God shows up in all occasions, and his work can be tremendous so long we open the door to his power. 

Let your light shine, let the sun rise, let the goodness of our Savior beam.

Blessed

Even with everything crazing going on lately, I just need to take a moment and remind myself of how great my God is.

And how cool my iPhone is for letting me create fun things like this.

There's more

There's more - that concept seems so simple to really reflect on and hard to grasp, but I'm here to tell you it's legitimately true. 

I'm sure you've heard the saying about the grass always being greener on the other side, but in all honesty we just don't utilize the complete goodness our life can have. If we just focused a little bit more on making our lawn luscious and well nourished then our front yard would be greener. And honestly I think that's all there is to it - I think that we have the utilities to make our lives fabulous, we just don't take advantage of it.

I'm reading a book. Ok, that's a lie... I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for months now, and I'm not actually reading it. But I picked it up earlier this week and saw a brilliant quote. It make me smile and I hope it's a quick reminder to yourself that we have a God who is God. Do you realize how fantastic that is? 

                 

God isn't some far away object. He is a father that is every present in our lives. The bible shares with us how magnificent He is, but so often we dismiss all His incredible goodness. He specifically tells us about his availability to bring joy into our lives. He tells us to knock and a door will be opened. The only thing God can't do is fail.

Quit settling. Start to retrieve the finest things in life - Godly things. Rely on all that our Lord can offer and your grass will be greener than a fresh four-leaf clover.

And if you ask me - that is a remarkable blessing I would hate to waste.

Dear God

I found this on pinterest, and it makes me smile.

We indeed need to learn to have faith like a child. So often we feel like we should only go to God in times of need, but we should turn to him in all the venues of our life. Just like these crazy children have done.

we <3 it

Start your journey today of letting God be a part of all that you do. 

Let me know how it goes.

Just listen...

I almost popped in public tonight, and no I don't mean pop as in cutting the cheese, I mean pop as in my eyes almost drained a salty liquid and my mouth almost said too much.

I almost popped, and maybe I should have, but I didn't.

You see, I sat thinking and talking about Christ and the concept of prayer; discussing the process of living with Him constantly.

And I saw so plainly with God's eyes something I've never seen before: I saw the right answers being given, but with a wrong heart.

By this I mean something really simple: in this world, average people may not be able to see past your mask of imperfection; but when it comes to God, he goes way beyond your worldly misconceptions. God "shows up" and walks with you, whether you're in step with him or not.

And while I sat, sharing and exposing my Christian life I felt less than led. I felt as if the people that I was surrounding myself with justified this weird place I'm in spiritually. I felt like there was less listening, and more rushing. I felt like the surface level lesson wasn't enough, yet it repelled from getting deep.

So, while I was reading my couples devotional tonight, Before You Say "I Do" by H. Norman Wright I became encouraged. The concept of today's message was simple: God is always constant and he's always the one waiting on us. God is waiting for you and me to be the ones to approach him.

So whether we are just skimming by or we are digging deep, God is available and present for us to reach out to Him.

I think sometimes we get so comfortable in our walk, we don't even think about renewing our spirit daily. We forget to be bold in our faith, and more often than not we come up with excuses and attempt to be the world's version of "normal."

I can't tell you how many times, and how sick I am of hearing people respond with the typical Sunday school answer to Christ filled questions. Now this isn't to say I'm not guilty of it, but I so crave to dig for more truth. I want to break free from this comfortable habit.

I plan on doing this by starting to listen. I think it is one of the many acts that will direct a person, like myself to become less selfish and more others centered.

So to you, my 0 readers, do your best to listen more not just to others, but also to God. And then you can better see what it really is that the Lord is teaching you.

And maybe, if you're in a spiritual rut, we can get out of this together. I'm sick of waiting and procrastinating.

God is there. God is good. God is waiting.

It's time I desperately search for Him.

I Am Blessed

Livin' on a Prayer

Today was the second day of class.

And for me to say I am terrified of what this semester holds would be an understatement.

Regardless of taking such intense courses, I know there is a reason I spend so much time devoted to my school work. That's simply to glorify God: study hard, give it all I've got, and keep my eyes on Jesus.

I realize I am so blessed to have scholarships, a campus full of friends, and the opportunity to share my faith. I am blessed to have an education in what I'm passionate about, and I'm blessed to even find parking in the morning.

And I'm blessed to still know how to have fun.

Last weekend I joined my new roommate at an 80's formal birthday party. We conquered the thift stores around town, put on tons of makeup, heavy amounts of jewelry and if we were around a fire the hairspray in our hair would have caught our head on fire.

However, upon arrival at the restuarnt, we had a moment like El Woods in Legally Blonde where no one else was dressed up.

Despite being the only ones looking hilariously tacky, we swallowed our pride and owned our floral dresses. Since we were the only ones that went all out, we even had a random woman enforce the fashion police on us.

Here's us in all our glory - shoulder pads included:

now if only I had these fabulous and vintage sunglasses to wear: oh how I love vintage sunglasses!

SWAG

This Christmas was amazing. Each holiday I am reminded of how truly blessed I am, and this year I was reminding in a way that amplifies my love for the Lord and how grateful I am for the life he has given me.

One gift that I so desperately desired was a shirt from 147 Million Orphans, it's an organization that is spreading the message and hope for millions of orphans worldwide. The entire company was started by two moms who just had an intense love for parentless children. It is so inspiring, and this year I asked for a shirt.

I got one. Dillon was thoughtful, he looked past the steep prices for shipping and gave me a shirt that means more to me than any article of clothing I own. Not only is it from the boy I love, but it brings awareness to those who see it, and the proceeds of the shirt go towards someone's adoption process.

How beautiful is that? Here's the shirt I bought:

The front of the tee has the scripture of James 1:27 on it: “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for the orphans and widows in their troubles  and refuse to let the world corrupt us.”

Seriously, check out their site. I desperately want to own so much of what they have! It really is a reminder to me personally how blessed I am to be able to live the life I live. God is good, and God is faithful.

With that said, here's some other goodies I found that one day maybe I'll own - it's another way to remind those around us about our living savior. JCLU Forever has some pretty nifty designs. I'm a big fan.

Most of us will wear our favorite band shirts, favorite store, and favorite vacation spot. How about we start to sport our lifestyle? Imagine the difference it could make.

Go out in the world and let your light shine today, tomorrow and every day.

Craving more...

Do you ever feel like sometimes you're just wanting more of things? I mean, I guess it's the season where people are constantly adding things to their Christmas list, or buying prizes for their loved-ones... but this year I have something completely different in mind.

There are two things I really want this year - the first and most important being money so I can go on a mission trip this summer, and secondly I would to expanding my photography. Which, if you ask me, the two can totally go together. I love seeing pictures of people living their lives in another country with children surrounding them with love. And I would so love to be the one capturing those priceless moments, ahh - how beautiful.

This summer I thought I was going to go to Zimbabwe, but lately I've been wondering if maybe, just maybe the only reason I'm being put through four semesters of Spanish is so I can reach people by knowing (kind-of) their language - some place like Brazil. So, lately I've been in turmoil about where to go, and when. Did you know it's not really that easy to find mission work, and organizations? You'd think the internet would be crawling with opportunities for people to serve abroad, but I've yet to find a legit program that will give me what I want.

Regardless, I plan to serve my God where ever he so puts me, and until I know where that is I will continue to ask for money. God is good, and God will provide.

The real point of this post was to talk about how I wish I was taking more pictures. Oh, how I want to have photoshoots with friends and go places to expand my knowledge of my camera! Lately I've learned so much about lighting and lens, it's hard to behave and not buy all kinds of new trinkets for my SLR... First I will use what I have and I hope that I can find some victims to take some portraits of.

For now I will leave you without any pictures, because I've been boring and haven't had much fun with my camera.

And just like a lens, I want you to let in the light and beauty will be captured.

Have a manic monday!

Becoming a Slacker

Yeah, that's me. I'm becoming a slacker. I don't know why, but I am so ... just not doing everything that I need to be doing for Christ.

I feel like my priorities are in a tizzy, and I'm not quite sure how to overcome this.

I used to read my bible everyday. I used to journal everyday. I used to. What am I doing making excuses? So what if it's only been a few days since I've picked up the Bible, that's no excuse.

Nadda.

I was journaling last night begging God to fuel my fire again, to give me the light that I thought I had lost and I realized something... the only reason I've lost whatever it is is because I've let go. It was never really lost, but instead God was always by my side. He never once left me to go watch a movie, to cook dinner or even to go to class.

And I need to do the same. I never need to leave his side. I always need to be right by the one who always stands by me.

Although I've still got some blowing to do on my fire - people do that right? to make fires bigger? you blow on them? - I know without a doubt I will get to where I need to be if I just always remember the one who is at my side.

How lucky are we? Let me go ahead and answer that for you, we are beyond lucky.

We are blessed.

So instead of being fun and uploading some pictures from halloween, or bowling on Friday I'm going to go read my bible. I've got some catching up to do.