Wednesday, December 18, 2013

a change of plan...

Visit the new Marked By Grace


Here is a word for all the bloggers out there...
Your identity is not found on your analytics page. 

It is not found in the number of followers you have or how many mentions you have on twitter. Or even how often you post. 

Most of you all know that I have recently finished my very first semester of bible college. The Lord has taught me so much. I wish I could type for hours and tell each and every one of you about it. 

If you haven't noticed, things have been a little quiet around here. The Lord is doing great things in my heart, despite the days that grow between my posts. 

This area of my life will no longer be about the numbers. My name or what that even represents. I want to center my focus on Him. The one who has given me the words. That is all. 

This may help my travels along the road the lies in my heart, it may not, but ultimately, I want to be silenced and allow Him to speak through me. 

With the Holy Spirit so at work in my heart and life, my heart has changed for this blog. 

Life. Seasons. Changes. Roads cleared that we never expected. Doors opened that we never knew existed. Adventures are had that could never be planned. Truths are revealed that we were blind to. These are the moments that we think hard about who we are. We think deeply about the inner strings that tie us together, that make us who we are. We begin to wonder why exactly do we live the life we live. Who are we trying to impress, what are we trying to prove. Why do we wake every morning?

These are all thoughts that have tossed around my head recently. These are all the things that the Lord has revealed to me.

With all this, I would like to announce that I am moving. Moving the blog. I believe with everything I have that the Lord has called me to a clean slate. A fresh start and a new beginning. He has broken me down to know that He is faithful to do far beyond what we seek or ask.

All of my social media will remain the same, just a brand new website, a new heart, and a new perspective.

I invite you guys to go visit my brand new home. Visit the new Marked By Grace here!

Monday, December 9, 2013

lessons from my first semester...


Oh my sweet readers, how I miss you. I know that my absence on the blog has been so frequent and for that I am sorry. But I can assure you I am working so very hard on many other awesome opportunities! I am so very excited to release everything to you! Be patient guys!
For now I thought it would be good if I shared with you how the Lord has been at work in my very first semester! I can't believe that it has been 3 months. As I read over my past posts, I am amazed on how the Lord is provided.

One simple email, one simple sentence changed everything roughly eleven months ago. “Congratulations, you have been accepted…”. Not knowing what adventures were ahead, bags were packed along with the hope of the life I had always wanted.

That two hour drive can be remembered clearly. It was filled with good-bye texts, good-luck phone calls, long sighs, and prayer. The passing tress in the window represented the passing of my current stage of life. The Lord was opening new doors and I pressed my eyes forward. Minutes seemed like seconds and before we knew it, we had arrived to my new home. The card reader beeped as we swiped our hotel room key through. All I could do was sit out on the patio and think about what was before me. In less than 24 hours, I would be meeting my roommates, signing in, and saying goodbye to a life that had become so familiar. As I watched the sunset, I thought about the words to pray and couldn’t think of any. I felt ashamed that as such a time as this, I couldn’t even come to my Savior with words of thankfulness. But in this moment, He calmed my heart and promised me that He knew exactly what He was doing. The continental breakfast didn’t sit well the next morning as the thoughts of new beginnings swirled in my head like the creamer in my coffee. I buckled my seatbelt with no reserves and no expectations.

 The days passed and I began to settle in, I felt so much peace. As I taped pictures up on my wall of my life back home, I slowly began to realize that the home I was looking for was not far from my line of vision. My home became room California 130. Home is where the Christmas lights are always on and the laughter coming from inside can be heard from doors down. The beauty of the Lord’s creation has been something to treasure over my few months at bible. The early sunrises before my early morning shifts make all the exhausting days worth it.  I can walk feet away from my dorm and walk around a beautiful lake and watch the sunrise or sunset. I can’t think of another place where I’d rather be.

 As the stresses of classes, homework, and my job began to pile up, I wondered how much longer I could take it. This was when He taught me the one lesson I wouldn’t have learned on my own, how to be content in Him. How to find peace and rest in Him because I don’t even know how to rest myself. Even when I have the opportunity to worry, He always covers me with a peace only He can give. During the days where every minute is planned and I’m questioning His providence, He comes in and exceeds my expectations.

Isn’t it annoying that we are constantly asked on Facebook to “Update Your Profile”. No, I don’t need to, nothing has changed. That little white box in the corner of our laptops beg for us to install a system update. A red notification constantly reminds us of our apps that need to be updated. We are guaranteed “Bug Fixes”, “A Brand New Look” or “Performance Enhancements”.  But have we continually hit “Ignore”, “Maybe Later”, or “Remind Me Tonight”.  Why? Why do we delay the process? Despite the inconvenience of waiting and installation, the updates are always worth it. We watch the blue bar grow until we can continue on with our lives. Are we delaying our spiritual updates? The Lord wants to work in each and every one of our lives in a special and unique way. I was ignoring His update for my life. I had ignored my need for spiritual restoration and continued to work off of my own strength, my own time, my own steam.  Day after day, I hit the “Ignore” button in my mind, as I made myself busy with all of my “spiritual assignments”. I continued to write my papers on the Holy Spirit without having Him work through me. I read scriptures ensuring me of His sovereignty when I was still questioning every moment in my life. He wanted desperately to take me away and spend time healing my soul. He just had to take me 2 hours away from where I was comfortable to do so. This was when He took hold of my heart. He captured it and made it His. I began to fall in love with my Creator. Each day brings a new aspect of divine romance. The words I read from my Bible are no longer black and white, but full of life, love, and promises written specifically written for me.

Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.”- Charles Spurgeon


            During my first semester here at bible college, the Lord has been teaching my heart the beauty and the gift of emptiness. This particular emptiness does not mean loneliness or lack of worth, but merely the joy of emptying myself before Him. Allowing Him to fill me up every single day. Allowing Him to reveal things to me that I never would have seen myself. Coming before Him with an open mind and a heart that is ready for an update.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

sanctuary...


•today, this is my sanctuary, because today is a day to write. i will embrace my dirty glasses, big sweatshirt, pajama pants and second day curls. I will sit contently beside my stack of commentaries and hope that the words would pop up out of them and dance around my head. my mug will soon be filled with tea. my ears will be filled with classical, goldmund to be exact. the blinds will stay shut because everything is more magical in the dark. the sound of clicking keys will be loud today but so will the happiness of my heart. today, this is my sanctuary, because today is a day to write.•

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Roommate Tag! (meet my roommate!)

Well, well, well. Look who decided to upload a video today! I'm so excited for you to meet one of roommates! Enjoy guys!
Like Ariel's Photography Page! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ariel-Rae-Photography/360998047339963


Saturday, November 2, 2013

home sweet home….

The very beautiful, California Room #130! 

"Yeah, I'll be right home." 
"I think I'm just going to head home for the night." 

I catch myself saying these phrases quite often. Where is my home? This little room right here. But can that really be? My "real" home is 2 hours away. 
This tiny room has truly become my home. While my wonderful little twin bed has become my few forms of possession, I find safety and comfort in this place even when the floor is cluttered. Even when I'm waiting for the bathroom, even when I have to tip-toe back into the room at 12:30 pm. 

Is that weird? I've only been here for 2 months and I already feel as if my heart beats for this place. I'm even continuing to pray for the Lord to open up a job opportunity here, it just feels right. 
As a matter of fact, I'm staying here over winter break! My supervisor offered me a job so it looks I'll be a penguin for much longer! I truly do love my waitressing job here on campus. I have wonderful supervisors that make all the hard work worth it. What makes it even better is that they all love the Lord! How awesome! I'm so thankful that the Lord has opened up a solid working opportunity here. I will be able to head home for about 10 tens for Christmas though! Don't I look so very glamorous in my uniform? 

The Lord is definitely at work here. He is teaching me so many new things and I'm falling so deeply in love with Him. Thanks for all the support you guys have given me while I transition into life here. I'm looking forward to writing and focusing more on the blog soon! Maybe even a new VLOG this week! *gasp!!! Have a great weekend you guys!