janelle e.

I love this. Makoto Fujimura captured what I was thinking when I visited the Vatican several years ago.

Text Close contender for most awkward conversation of my life?

Talking about teenagers having sex and doing drugs with one of my former math teachers, who is now a coworker

Link Seriously. Oswald Chambers is the man.

I love how the devotional the day before contrasts and complements the one linked to in the title so completely. May I truly find that calling and that ministry in my life! May I continue taking “the next step” in the meantime!

Quote

"O tarry and await the Lord’s pleasure; be strong, and he shall comfort your heart; wait patiently for the Lord."

Psalm 27:18

Text Love poem. Found. By God.

Hold on to the promises
Worship His holy name
Hold on and He’ll be here
Because more than priceless is your worth

Photo

God is waking me up. Today I accidentally ran a red light, narrowly missed being hit or causing an accident, and obviously came out just fine, if not a little shaken. All praise be to Him! It was a very literal Holy Spirit “Buck up” moment for me. I will follow some dreams I’ve let “die” — teach overseas, develop and cultivate friendships with Christians my age in Bakersfield, continue to hope to find love, and peruse writing. Lord, give me strength to overcome and in so doing, give me LIFE.

Text Leave room for God —Oswald Chambers

“As workers for God we have to learn to make room for God — to give God “elbow room.” … Always be in a state of expectancy, and see that you leave room for God to come in as He like.”

Quote

"‘Consider the lilies of the fields’ — they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after the other things."

Oswald Chambers (of course)

Photo

My dear friend Carolyn gave me a journal for Christmas with this as its front cover because it reminded her of me. I’m praying that I would continue to live into this in the coming year! I want to be, or rather continue to be, a dreamer, a doer, a thinker, one who sees possibilities everywhere.

Link Redemption

Les Miserables = amazing! Such a heart-breakingly beautiful tale of how much God desires and loves to show us grace and mercy… and how in showing grace and mercy to others, we too may be transformed and redeemed.

Quote

"… must tell people what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here."

Betsie from Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place

Text A New Year

Some goals, aspirations, and desires for 2013:

buy a house (!)
run a half-marathon (well, I’ve already signed up and paid for one… let’s make this happen)
keep the sabbath holy — no work; all rest; focus on God
continue to live in the now; continue to seek to acknowledge the sacrifice of the present moment
strive to be open, honest, and authentic with everyone

Cheers!!!

Link "...an instinct that's basic, and deeper."

Quote

"Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts

Link The Amish Project

I’ve given up Facebook before with similar results. This makes me consider whether it would be good to get rid of most of my electronics and social media outlets…