You know that moment when you’re reading a book and you just have to stop and bite your lip and squeal or sigh or close your eyes and wrinkle your nose and forehead and press the book against your heart and just like sit there and try to soak up the gorgeous literature via osmosis?

(Source: tommyshawsboots)

jamiekcurtis:

I will arise and follow you over 
Savior please, pilot me 

Over the waves and through every sorrow 
Savior please, pilot me 

When I have no more strength left to follow 
Fall on my knees, pilot me 

May your sun rise and lead me on 
Over the sea’s, savior pilot me 

O’ Lord

ilovemyself323:

Galatians 2:20

This past month I’ve done my devotion on Ephesians 4:20-5:21, “Living as Children of Light.”

And I just wanted to share a quick summary of what I’ve learned from it :)

1. The Spirit of God is what changes us….
-Galatians 4:16-26, Romans 8, Acts 2 & 4
I know these verses aren’e in the passage, but when you read about living in the light it’s important to remember that we can only change when the Holy Spirit lives in us and we allow Him to transform us. We can’t hold a flashlight to the darkness we live in and expect to be okay; only God’s light can show the areas we need to change and then help us make that change.

2. Change comes first with putting off the old self...
-Ephesians 4:22, Romans 12:1
“Put off falsehood”
“In your anger do not sin”
“Steal no longer”
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth”
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every kind of malice”
“There must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity or greed”
“Nor should there be any foolish talk or coarse joking”
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness”
“Be careful how you live - not as unwise”
“Therefore do not be foolish”
“Do not get drunk on wine”
All of these are signs that God is not the reigning authority in our lives, that we are. Paul tells readers to put off these deeds with the help of the Spirit.

3. Simply throwing off our old self isn’t enough, we have to replace it with the fruits of the Spirit, a life controlled by the Spirit...
- Ephesians 4: 23-24, Romans 8, Galatians 5:22-23
“Speak truthfully to his neighbor”
“Share with those in need”
“But only what is helpful for building others up”
“Be imitators of God”
“Live a life of love”
“But rather thanksgiving”
“But rather expose them”
“Live…as wise”
“Understand what the Lord’s will is”
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything”
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”
There is always a motive behind our actions. There is always a thought process. And if Christ is truly the one reigning in our hearts, our actions will naturally reflect that. People won’t just notice a lack of “mean actions” but they’ll notice attitudes of love for everyone.

When people look at me, do they see someone living in the light? Or am I still stumbling around in the darkness trying to hold my own light and make my own changes? Have I humbled myself to admit that I need God’s help in living a life that would please Him?

i’m just super-excited to finally be home.
and my friends and i are starting up our summer Bible study again… YAYAYAY!
and God is so incredibly good to bless me with these friends :)

alright, i admit it.
i’m gonna miss all my college friends immensely over the summer.

Yesterday I started packing up all the stuff in my dorm room.

I came across a box that I keep old letters and notes in and as I began to read some of them from high school, I realized something.

Yes, this summer I’m going home and I’ll see all my family and friends, but I’m not exactly going “home.”

I’m not sure that Fayetteville, Ga can be considered my home anymore. It’s where I go on breaks and for the summer, but it probably won’t be where I live after college.

And this breaks my heart.

The rest of my life will be spent counting down the days ‘til I see my high school friends and my family. Gone are the days of midnight movies with my little sister. Gone are the slushie runs with my best friends. Gone are the days of being young and carefree.

I’m not sure I like this difference yet.

google told me that could be a sign of nutritional imbalance.

i’ve had cheese fries for lunch for the past 5 days.

maybe i should look into the veggie line at the cafeteria.

I spent Saturday at lake with some friends that ended with a trip to the hospital after one of the girls got hit on the head (I actually accidentally knocked the rock down as I was climbing out of the water so needless to say I’ve been wrestling with the guilt) with a rock, the guys got her out of the water, and that commenced the scariest 3 hours of my life as we hiked back to our cars and rushed to the nearest hospital and then waited without being told anything cause we’re not family.
It was the weirdest thing. She was awake, but about every 5 minutes she forgot what happened and would ask why everyone was smothering her and if she could just take a nap and all kinds of crazy things.
I just sat by her bed and cried. I’m sure I was a big help. Not.
Praise God she is okay, perfectly fine now actually, minus the addition of four staples to her head.
I mean seriously, the way God was looking out for us is amazing. One of the guys was a life guard and another had had 3 concussions before and between the two of them they knew what to do. One of the cars broke down on the way to the hospital, but thankfully she was in the other one. It was just a day of miracles.

And yesterday, the two girls who were supposed to help me with my sister’s bridal shower backed out for various legitimate reasons.
But I really wanted this to go well, and I didn’t want to make my sister help me, she’s the bride, she shouldn’t be doing the work!
So, I said a prayer, and got to work baking.
If you knew me, you’d know I can’t cook. Anything.
So once we got past the first batch of burnt cookies, the rest was relatively smooth sailing.
Minus the two times I cried from stress.

Can you blame me at this point?

But last night ended with some drama on my floor.
Not a big surprise there.
One of the girls got mad at me again because I went to the library to work on two papers instead of hanging out with her.
Sometime I think the girls on my floor are secretly all still in third grade. Myself included at times.

All in all, all three of these experiences led to a realization in my devotions last night. The fact that I easily love both my friend in the first story and my sister, but I have trouble loving the other girl on my floor who is constantly mad at me is a problem. And thus resulted in a prayer…

“God, I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating Jess. I try no to be mean, but I settle for doing that instead of showing genuine love. The absence of meanness is not love; just because I’m not being hurtful doesn’t mean I’m building her up. I’m just treating her this way out of a sense of obligation to be nice. And I know that love is not an obligation but rather an opportunity. Please help her to look to You for love and acceptance, but if it’s Your will, allow me to be a vessel of Your love to her. Let all of the girls on this floor embrace her as an extension of Your arms no matter how difficult. None of us serve Your love, yet You give it anyways. So how can I possibly withhold love from someone else? How prideful and arrogant of me! Humble me, Lord, please and show me my insignificance on my own but my worth in the sacrifice of Your Son. Help me to see others, especially Jess, through Your eyes and in doing so see the love and grace you have for them.