As I realized last night.. it's long overdue for a blog update. I don't know where the past month went and why I didn't update at all. So.. here's another update..

A few posts back.. I stated that I was returning to JH this summer. Well, as it looks now, the Lord made me realize a few things and I'm staying in Alabama this summer. Whether it be in Monroeville, Auburn, Montgomery, Birmingham.. I right now have no clue. But where ever I end up.. it's going to be totally by the Lord's direction. I've seen in more ways than one the way that He's totally redirected my path over this semester. I'm happier than I've been in a really, really long time. My peace consumes me.. and it's the best feeling in the world! Indescribable joy is about the only way to say it!

I'm home in Monroeville spending a few days before my mom and I head to the beach tomorrow to celebrate my 21st birthday. I didn't get a spring break like everyone else.. so I've got this week off and I'm enjoying it to the fullest!

I have a ton more that I need to update on. I'll be doing that next week when I'm back in Auburn. I forgot my journal at my house so I can't really write all that's needed right now.

Be blessed and consumed by His presence today! :)

"You will show me the way of life,

granting me the joy of your presence

and the pleasures of living with you forever."

Psalm 16:11

This is what I'm claiming right now. My "seasonal" verse I guess you could say. I've never felt more in tune and settled in the Lord as I do right now. I had to do a very hard thing last week but it was following my heart and the words of the Lord. Through that, I've learned so much. The Lord brings people in and out of our lives all the time and we question so many things about "why" he does it. I've learning not to ask why.. He's not going to make that clear to you now. But to simply say, "what" and "how" and He will answer. Not so much a "why are you not allowing this to happen?" but a "is this what you want to happen? if not, how do you want me to respond to you?"

I look at my growth over the past two months. I'm not the same person, at all. I've grown. Grown out of so many things and learned more than I ever imagined this would teach me. By His Grace, I have been able to close old wounds and doors while restoring friendships, pick up with my best friend right where we left off, pour into 3 new amazing girls, restore my relationship with my earthly father, spend sweet precious time with my family, catch up with old friends, and just being able to rest in His presence.

There's no place that I'd rather be.. than right here in His arms! :)

"When you are truly living by faith, you can
relax in the "rest" of God, a place where

you're not worried, you're not struggling,
you're not trying to figure everything

out, wondering why something is or isn't
happening. The rest of God is a place of

total trust. When you are in God's rest, you
know that at the perfect time, God is

going to perform everything He promised; He
will bring it into being."

Could anything be more perfectly said to describe what I'm thinking about today and what I'm actually feeling? It's offical. As of May 21, I'll be back in Etna, California for another amazing summer seeking God's glory. I love where I am. I love where the Lord is leading me. I love the things I'm learning. I love the woman of God that I am becoming. I love being His. I love knowing that I belong to someone and that someone is ultimately Him!

Living for God's glory is my goal. It's my purpose. It's why I exist. To seek Him in and through everything that I do. To allow Christ to express His life in and through my life. Now it's being able to accept where I am to it's fulliest and enjoy my pure faith walk with Him. I don't deserve the blessings I recieve but yet, here I am and they keep coming. The feelings of love were in the air today, not from a man but... from the Lord of my Life that I wanted them from!

"For your glory, I was made. To bring You
honor. To bring You praise."

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:6-7

Daily I am able to see the Lord working in my life more and more. Today was no different. Emails that enlightened me. Made me realize some things the Lord is placing in my path. California here I come?? We shall see very, very soon.

Conversations are what I long for. A two minute or a two hour. No matter the amount of time, I love just being able to listen and share my heart with others.

"There I will give her back to the vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing." Hosea 2:15

Facing obstacles, trials and major decision points should make us sing. The wind finds its voice not when rushing across an open sea but when it is hindered by an obstacle. Send my soul, O Lord, which has been set free, sweeping across the obstacles of life. Through the pain, sorrow, worries and trials so it too will find a voice with which to sing and worship you.

This time and season is sweet and perfect in your sight. I am open to all you have in store. It's a worldwind filled with excitement, heartache, joy and confusion. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I'm here. Resting, sitting, laying. Searching, seeking, grasping, enjoying. Loving, laughing, smiling. Working, serving, laboring. Waiting, believing, trusting. You have a plan, Father. More perfect than I'll ever be able to imagine.

At many people's request.. I'm updating a little bit on my blog before getting some sleep. Yea, I know.. it's been since Halloween.. a bit pathetic.

Life: in a season of rest and searching. In case you didn't know it, I'm currently taking the semester off of classes and working full-time in downtown Opelika. It's the best decision that I've ever decided to follow. With guidance from the Lord, I know that this is where I'm suppose to be right now. I honestly can't see myself anywhere else. Blessing after blessing is poured onto my daily and the Lord continues to reveal himself to me in ways that I have never seen so real before. I love it. I never thought that this was something that I would do. I'm not doing it for any other reason except for this is where the Lord lead me. Where he was trying to lead me last summer when I turned my shoulder. Updating this often is something that I really want to do to be able to share this time in my life with you.

Today's investment was in fact a small trampoline!!! And here are the pictures of enjoying it! It was probably one of the best days that I've had in a long time. Class, test (we just won't talk about that), shopping downtown, playing with Baby Ansley and Lauren while Jen, Jonathan and Julia did interview, lunch with Jen, Julie, Lauren and Jacob, then water aerobics. Coming home and resting was amazing then there was chapter. Cierra and I were able to go to dinner afterwards and catch up with each other. I'll be honest, I miss her not being in the same room with me and truly sharing my life with her. After taking her back to the Gay Street House, I came home and headed to Target with Amy. That turned into an hour and a half trip. I decided on the way home since the girls next door bought a fire pit tonight, that I wanted my little trampoline that I've had my eye on. SO.. I GOT IT! AMAZING!!!!!!!! Enjoy the pictures! :)

As I was just realizing.. please take note that all of the posts so far have been done late at night so they are really like a day behind what it says.. unless you look at the time. Anyway, I'm exhausted so just a few words about my first day of work...
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!
You know what I got paid to do all day?!?!?! Decorate for CHRISTMAS! As most of you are probably not aware of, Christmas is one of my obsessions! We already have our tree up with the process of being decorated (pictures to come soon)! So, needless to say, it was just a lot of fun today. Plus, it's something new and everything new is fun the first time.

And... tonight was JH Ranch Staff Promotional! :) Sooooo good for my heart to be there and see Julia, Jonathan, Jen and Baby Ansley! I love the fact that I've done something "Ranch"ish for the past 5 weeks. So for the most part, I've had interaction with them over the past month and it's amazing! After being there tonight, how could you not want to work there all summer? (unless the Lord is telling you no and leading you somewhere else)

David's surprise party was a hit apparently! I missed the surprise part but was able to make it in time for dinner and dessert! I have a test tomorrow that I in no way feel prepared for! I'm exhausted though and getting to sleep earlier than normal tonight. After 11:00am tomorrow, I'm relaxing until work on Thursday morning! I tell you what.. I love my life! I truly do!

Someday we will understand that God has a reason behind every no he gives us through the course of our lives. When we are worried and concerned that our prayers are not being answered, how often we have seen Him working to answer them in a far greater way! Occasionally we catch a glimpse of this, but the complete revelation of it will not be seen until later.

"Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave." 1 Kings 8:56

All I long to do is to "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him" (Psalm 37:7). Waiting for His full explanation. When has He ever taken anything from us without restoring it many times over? Yet.. what do we think if He does not immediately restore what has been taken? Even if we confine our thinking to this life, it is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bestow a greater gift or compassionate blessing.

"The person who knows how to wait has grown to an exceptional degree in God's Grace."

Now you will see what I will do. Exodus 6:1

I rest in the Lord's arms, understanding that I am here, in this time and place for a reason that I don't understand.. and that's perfectly okay.. amazing actually!

THE AMAZING RIDE:
Hannah and I decided to take a little ride today.. and by little, I mean 5 miles! While she was on "Princess Sparkle" and I was on my old-timey bike, we enjoyed an amazing time together riding around Auburn and seeing everyone we knew while doing it. Yes, it was 55 degrees and the wind was blowing hard. We didn't care. We were hardcore in our biking pants and tech vest with basket and nalenge to help along the way. It was exactly what I needed today minus the ear ache that I am experiencing because of the wind.

Today was good though. I actually start my first day of work tomorrow at the Picket Fence in downtown Opelika. I'm excited about the fact that the Lord was so faithful and provided this for me right now at just the right time. PLUS.. tomorrow is JH Promotion so this means dinner and time with Ranch Staff as soon as I get off work tomorrow.

Today brought phone calls from old friends and catching up with people that I don't talk to as much as I used to. It was actually a very encouraging thing and very much needed. With tomorrow looking full of activities much like the rest of my week, today was a time of playing and relaxing and just what I needed!!

OUTBACK MOBILE:

An incredible experience.. to say the least! I went to Mobile after classes on Friday arriving at Porter Farms around 7:00. I found out that I wasn't coaching this weekend, which in itself was a complete blessing. I was just at the breaking point on Friday and wondering if was really in the place to pour into girls this weekend. Well the Lord had something so much bigger in store. There were 8 of us from Auburn that were basically left without a specific job. So.. Joe Bullard, yes.. the car man in Mobile, made us into a team and made himself our coach along with Charlie and Lila Bailey (Anna's parents).

We were able to have huddle groups after every talk and really focus on more of a personal impact. It blows me away that the Lord knows exactly what we need at exactly the right time. I needed to be poured into more than anything. I've heard those talks over and over again. But it's so true that no matter how many times you hear them, you still get something out of them.
- "You only live once, but if you live it right, once is enough!"
- "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18
- "Your ministry comes out of your misery."

We've had the vision for a while now for a college Outback and it looks like we are finally taking the first steps in figuring it out. Prayers have been answered and the Lord is moving. It's an amazing thing to actually watch first-hand.

I left Mobile early and spent about 4 hours at home in Monroeville with my mom. It was time that we both needed together and it was so relaxing. Finally I left and headed to Montgomery for time there with my dad, grandmother and my uncle. I finally made it back to Auburn around 8:30. All and all, it's been an amazing weekend that I was able to enjoy to the fullest! The Lord is so faithful and fulfills our needs even we don't realize exactly what they are!