go forth

Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister... [Mark 3:34]

“Isn’t it crazy how we’re all in God’s will but we’re going all over the place?”

Picnic talk at Rowan Oak, Sunday April 29.  It is crazy.  So crazy I’m still not really certain what to do about it, even though at last the time has just about come... 

This year has been better than I could ever express.  I’m not sure why the Lord chose to bless me, and bless my friends, with community and with life so much greater than we deserve, but for some reason He did, and so we have sought all year long to live a life worthy of what we have been given.  Over the course of the year that has looked like a lot of different things; in a nutshell, it has meant prayer, encouragement, service, milkshakes, camping, breakfast, disc golf time for the boys, coffee shop time for the girls, Sots, Muffin Club, and more.  It has meant spending intentional time with others, reaching out to them and seeking to show them what Christ has done for us and what Christ wants to do for them.  It has also meant spending intentional time with each other, encouraging each other, rebuking each other, laughing with each other, and loving each other as only brothers and sisters can.

And now, at long last, it seems the year is up and that it is time to go.  To go all of the places we have always talked about going.  To do all of the things the Lord has prepared for us to do.  When I say go, I mean go.  For a couple of us, go means stay – stay in Oxford, finish school, continue to hold down the fort and look after those we are leaving behind.  For the rest of us, go means go, quite literally.  To Georgia, Kentucky, Texas and Jackson, to South Africa, to the Middle East, and even to places yet to be revealed.  Some of us go to what seems like our dream job, and some of us go to Ninevah.  But however we feel or whatever we fear, we go.  We go in peace, and we go boldly, because it is the Lord’s will for our lives, and because it is why we were brought together in the first place.

The last few days together have been so sweet, and continue to be sweet.  This weekend we attempted camping one last time, only to be ousted by mosquitoes and chiggers in the middle of the night.  But with a grove of cypress trees, a full moon, and a beautiful sunset, how could we not be reminded that everything is all right?  How could we doubt that God has orchestrated all of this as part of his perfect plan?  Just like all we have seen this year so far.  Just like always.

It’s hard to process this stuff, to think about change and about saying goodbye, to deal with finals and packing and the weight that all of it is.  Or, at least, it’s hard when we focus on it.  But when we focus on Christ – when we fix our eyes on the eternal perspective, on running to win the prize – we realize that it is actually quite easy to go and to go boldly.  After all, we’re actually not going away for all that long.  Yes, it’s inconvenient to not be able to hang out at the Brick House all together every single day for the rest of our lives.  But one day soon we will be together again, for eternity, doing what we all love best – worshipping at the feet of Jesus, together, forever.  And that day is sooner than we think.

  

Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.” [1 Samuel 20:42]

Go forth.

keep good company

This afternoon I made Captain Rodney's Dip.

via

No big deal, right? But I had to stop and laugh as I broke out the Ritz crackers, because I was eating this dip at home in Kentucky with my family, as opposed to the only place I have ever had it before - in Oxford with all of my friends. A couple of minutes later I opened the freezer, saw a carton of blueberries, and popped a couple frozen ones in my mouth without thinking twice.

And then it really hit me. My friends have officially rubbed off on me, a lot. My newfound love for Captain Rodney's and for frozen blueberries are only two small examples.

A sentimental post about how much my "brothers and sisters" have influenced my life is coming any day now, but on a much more basic level, I can't help but laugh about the things I have grown to love simply because the people I surround myself with loved them first. In addition to Captain Rodney's dip and frozen blueberries, this list includes:

frozen grapes

Page CXVI (see my last post for more on this one)

Sporcle

Job 38

1 Corinthians 2

Mat Kearney

paint chips

Elizabethtown

The list could easily go on...and on...and on. It all serves as proof that we are absolutely, positively affected by the company we keep.

Good thing my company is some of the best around. :)

pollen pollen everywhere

I woke up this morning feeling terrible, and I am all too familiar with the source of the problem - literally, my only complaint about spring. Too. much. pollen.

Before I continue, you need to know a few things about me. First, I am almost never sick at college. (This fortunate fact can be attributed to one thing in particular: Juice Plus. I am pretty much a walking advertisement for this miracle drug, but I'll save that discussion for another time...) Overall, my immune system has been remarkable and lucky these past three years; as a result, I have no idea what to do when I actually am feeling under the weather. Second, I cannot stand to be inside when the weather is nice. Something inside of me draws me out into the blue sky, the green grass, and, unfortunately, the pollen. Third, I am constantly on the go. Constantly. I really can only bring myself to slow down for natural disasters and/or death.

Taking into account these things, here's what my day looked like. I made the responsible decision to skip class and stay in bed all morning. I literally did not move until my history class at 2:30, and I was very proud of myself for actually slowing down and staying inside. And as a result of my staying in bed all morning, I felt better! Good, right? Wrong. Because what do I do? Around 4:00 in the afternoon, I decide to go on a walk. A walk of all things. All of the recovery I did was undone by more pollen exposure. Decision-making FAIL. I currently feel just as terrible as I did when I first woke up this morning.

In the midst of all of this, I'm lucky I have such good friends around to help me out. Eric came by to take my homework to Spanish for me, and Julie - who by the way, will be the best pharmacist ever - brought me hot tea and tells me what time to take my allergy medicine. It's the little things in life that help the most.

I'm crossing my fingers that I'll wake up in the morning improved. Until then, I'm hanging out in room 18 with some schoolwork, the roomie, a favorite movie, and my fourth cup of tea for the day. Time to wind this day down and try again tomorrow. If you see me outside trying to sneak in some time in the sunshine, send me back in with a slap on the wrist. Looks like it's rest now, play later...for now, at least.

statewide part 2/excellent day

"For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain." [Philippians 1:21]

I've heard this verse a thousand times, and I've really started to grasp the significance of it many of those times. But I realized the power of this verse again this weekend at Statewide thanks to Kristian Stanfill. In the midst of his singing, which by the way was excellent, he shared how this verse has been impacting his life lately. All week I keep coming back to Kristian's - or, essentially, Paul's - passionate words...

To live is Christ. That means that when we speak, it's Jesus. When we act, Jesus. What we do, Jesus. And if we die, it's gain, because we will be in Heaven with Jesus. Either way, in life or in death, we get Jesus. Jesus is our great reward. Do we know that, really? Do we realize that we get Jesus now, that we don't have to wait until later, and that death is nothing to fear? To live is Christ, to die is gain. This is powerful stuff.

Continuing to think about all of the things from this weekend has made for a very inspiring week. To top it all off, today has been filled with just about the best things ever. Begin with a cup of English Breakfast Tea and time in the Word. Next, Lusa's for breakfast with Lacey. Mostly sunshine and warmish weather outside. Anna finding out she gets to go to Romania and Emily finding out she's been placed in Malaysia. Then, dinner from Emileigh's at Orchard small group. Finally, Dr. Blakemore speaking at Wesley and lots of time to catch up with his son Jonathan, who has been my friend longer than just about anyone else in the world. Good times, and more are on the way with Samuel and Hallie's wedding weekend and Mom, Dad, and Laura coming tomorrow! Gosh, life is good. Life is chaotic, and messy, and too often frustrating, but when it all comes down to it, life is very, very good.

free scantrons.

Tuesday was election day for ASB candidates. I ended up being the campaign manager for Taylor McGraw, who has been one of my friends since freshmen year. As you can imagine, the past two weeks have been packed with work to do, and Monday and Tuesday were especially chaotic. Lucky for us, all of the hard work paid off! Taylor won with 50.46% of the vote. How crazy is that?! Every vote counts.

I am always so humbled and impressed to see how much of a team effort things like this are. All of the organization I did hinged on whether or not people would actually step up and help out. I was so surprised by how much some Kappa Sigs rose to the occasion! Everyone who helped with the campaign did an awesome job. I am lucky to have made some amazing new friends and to have strengthened the friendships that I already had.

Picture on the front page of the Daily Mississippian on Wednesday morning.

Our campaign team, minus Tyler and Lennie.

One of my favorite things is the overwhelming sense of accomplishment you feel after all is said and done, and you see the people you experienced this with again. Example: the morning after bid day when I saw Emily at breakfast. You can never quite look at people the same way again after something like this, knowing that you did it, and you did it together. That's how Tuesday night was when we all met up again, and it's been the same yesterday and today anytime I run into any of them. All of the candidates ran great races, and most were extremely close. But for now, we can't help but be excited that Taylor came out on top!

friends > finals.

During finals week, everything seems like a good idea, because everything is better than studying. I absolutely love the ridiculous ideas my friends and I come up with. Last year, we agreed/made a bet to get blogs. This year we've been discussing our many plans for our Christmas break and random plans for our futures i.e. how to stay connected when we're married with kids and living who knows where in the country. As the studying becomes more and more frustrating, the conversation gets even better and the plans get even crazier. The frightening thing about this year is that we've already discussed some really outrageous, spontaneous things, and it's only Monday.

Obviously, my friends are a bright light in the midst of finals darkness. If I'm going to be overwhelmed with truth tables and court cases, it's nice to have other people be equally as overwhelmed at the same time. Simply having so many amazing people to constantly keep me smiling is just about the greatest thing I could ever ask for. Of course, the studying is really the least of the things we've been encouraging each other through lately. Just looking back on this weekend is proof that we've all, collectively, had a really intense semester where we've grown in so many ways. One Sunday morning at the Orchard at the beginning of the year, Pat said that "friendship is a celebration of inefficiency;" this has been beyond true all semester, and it's true again right now.

Efficiency, this week at least, would mean refusing to get sucked in to the distractions and the randomness. It would mean saying no to study breaks and snack breaks and exercise breaks and all those other breaks that seem essential right about now. Inefficiency, however, means agreeing to the breaks, and being spontaneous. It means stopping to have a long conversation in the hallway or at the dinner table even though it's seriously cutting in to the study time. It means enjoying this week a heck of a lot more than you would if you're merely trying to be efficient.

So here's to inefficiency, and here's to finals. What seems so bad can really be so good - having the right people with you is what makes all the difference.

it's a wonderful life.

Recipe for excellence:

1. Perfect fall weather
2. Sunday morning worship at the Orchard
3. Brunch buffet at Lenora's
4. Naptime
5. Dessert extravaganza - pie, cookies, AND cupcakes
6. Nighttime frisbee in the front yard of the Deeg
7. Absolutely incredible friends
8. The 21st birthday of the best roommate on earth

I am so lucky to experience days like today. I cannot imagine better friends, a better roommate, a better Savior, a better spontaneous night. Here's to you Anna D. a.k.a. the one the club can't handle. Thank you for giving us an especially good reason to celebrate.

It's a wonderful life.

freedom is not free.

The dorky history-major side of me comes out in full force on the 4th of July. It's inevitable. Have you read the Declaration of Independence? The words are beautiful, and were painstakingly written in the midst of years of fighting and hundreds of sacrificed lives to get us where we are today. Look at the land outside of your window; look at the floor under your feet. Someone died for you to have that.

Most 4th of Julys I am in Maine at the cabin. This year, however, I found myself home alone in Jackson while the rest of the family was still in Jersey. Luckily, I was not really alone. As an "orphan" for the weekend, I became an adopted member of the Kelly family. My friend Scott Brabon was there too; his family is on the mission field in Taiwan, which obviously makes him way more of an orphan than me this summer! Anyway, the Kellys are wonderful and took both of us in for a couple days of food, fun, and fireworks.

(American flag cupcakes confession - not actually made for the 4th of July. Made for the USA/England World Cup game a few weeks ago. But it captures the patriotic spirit of this post nonetheless...)

(Me, Gracie, and Scott with some celebratory sparklers.)

It was a great weekend. I am now back in Oxford and currently find myself, once again, in the Union watching the World Cup. Uruguay 1 - Netherlands 2 in the 72nd minute. Let me also mention that I am the only caucasian here; literally, it is me and 20(+) international students. I can understand a bit of the Spanish being spoken behind me...wait...GOOOAAALLLLL! Uruguay 1 - Netherlands 3. Looks like the Dutch are about to take this one. Better go watch the rest of the game with my new foreign friends! Until next time.

it's been a while. (part 2)

More pictures from the last three weeks. I'm glad to see my Mississippi friends again but, oh, how I miss these places and these people...


Of course, pictures and words aren't really enough to sum up all of the randomness, which - at bare minimum - involved long walks and talks with the cousins, Jersey corn, Wawa, tents, beach tags, Maplewood, midnight diner trips, Boost, midnight Italian sub marathons, and reunioning with some of our best family friends. People headed to the mission field, people temporarily back from the mission field, other preachers' kids, Laura's and my adopted big brothers and sisters, and countless other people we have literally known for as long as I can remember.

I love Mississippi with all my heart, but it's so good - and so necessary - to remember where I come from.

it's been a while.

Here's where I've been...

1. Jackson. For a few days after the return from Guatemala, I was hanging out in Jackson, catching up with friends, and obsessively watching the World Cup. (Side note on the World Cup - sad day that the USA lost to Ghana, but I've been super excited to see how many people here got into the games.

2. Ocean Grove. AMAZING place. Dad preached here for a week. It's the oldest continuous Methodist camp meeting in the country and right on the beach. We made tons of new friends, played on the beach, had bonding time with JD, and got some much-needed, quality time with the cousins.



3. Delanco. Another AMAZING place. Not so much for the beach, or the facilities, or any type of factor that would make a camp appear worthwhile to an outsider, but the people and the presence of the Lord are unlike most other places I've ever been. Trust me. It's holy ground.

4. Oxford. For two nights I have been back at school, starting Spanish class and back to obsessively watching the World Cup. I am currently sitting in the Union with a bunch of foreign kids watching the first half of Brazil/Netherlands. I actually need to quit watching ASAP because class starts in 12 minutes... Anyway, I'm going back to Jackson for the weekend, where I will stop being such a slacker with the blog. More pictures of the New Jersey adventures to come!

check these out:

Where God sent me to an orphanage for just a little over a week, He has sent two of my friends off to orphanages for the entire summer. Katherine is a dear friend, and I miss her terribly. Everything I see reminds me of her and it's killing me to not be in constant communication with her. Lacey is going to be a dear friend, and I miss her too even though our friendship has just begun. She is transferring to Ole Miss in the fall, and, from the time we have spent together, I know that I am going to be a better person for having her in my life these next two years!

Katherine is in the Philippines, and Lacey is in Peru. Both have limited internet access but are going to try and post over the course of the summer. Whether they can update their blogs or not, pray for them with me and be excited! The world is going to be a better place in August because of what they have set out this summer to do.

Here's Katherine - http://withallyoursoul.wordpress.com/ and Lacey -
http://alwaysbeforeme.tumblr.com/.

cinnamon raisin bagel please

What is it about breakfast that makes it so darn good? Conversation with friends seems to be so much richer, so much more focused on the important things of life. Maybe it's because by lunch and dinner our days are already in full swing; we are already halfway through our to-do lists and we just want to hurry up and finish them off. But there is no rush with breakfast.

In Oxford, it's Bottletree that makes my week. In Jackson, it's Beagle Bagel. I love coming to Beagle Bagel just a few minutes early, to get started on a cup of tea and get in some reading before my friends arrive, which is exactly what I'm doing right now. 8 more minutes before the rest of today's breakfast group gets here. I'm already excited to see what the conversation holds.

Quote for the day: "Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God."

Excitement for the day: Guatemala in FOUR days. :)

the cover and the title page.

Tonight was a scene out of a movie. "Let's go for a drive" became two hours of sitting in the Grove with best friends, good music, great conversation, and a full moon. We always love it when life seems like a movie, or a book, or a fairy tale. We forget that it is a fairy tale...the Author is writing our stories as we speak.

"But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has ever read, which goes on for ever, in which every chapter is better than the one before..." --C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle.

There are some moments when life seems so short and so small. Tonight was one of those moments. Our daily lives on earth are important because of the Kingdom, but that's all. The purpose of all life on this earth is the Kingdom. All the good and perfect and wonderful things that we have here are just the start of even more incredible things that are to come for those who's hope is in Christ. Tonight, I wait expectantly for those things. Sitting on a picnic table under the trees and beneath the stars seems like the best, but it's just a taste. We haven't even made it to Chapter One yet; we're still on the title page.

I get by...

with a little help from my friends.

I struggled last week with priorities. There are so many things lately that demand my time and are constantly vying for my immediate attention. I know that this is a common problem for most people; everyone wishes they had more time. But believe me when I say that I'm busier than almost everyone I know. Just trust me on that one. I'm a ridiculously spontaneous person, and when I'm too busy to be spontaneous you know there's a problem. Most of the time, all of the busy-ness and chaos hangs in a delicate balance and everything works out. But sometimes, things start to get pushed over the edge. Thank goodness my friends are there to catch me.

To catch me, to encourage me, to correct me, or to calm me down. Time and time again, they have forced me to re-think my priorities and have brought me straight to the feet of the Father. They've done it again for me the past several days. Several nights this week I have dropped everything just to sit and talk and relax. Could I have been doing something else during this time? Absolutely. Could I have been doing something more worthwhile? Not a chance.


Here's a few of them. I would be a drastically different person without them in my life.