Follow RSS Follow @Lis_Ann Follow Google+ Follow on Pinterest

Thursday, June 26, 2008

You're Always Missing Someone

My facebook status:
Lis misses all her friends who went home for the summer. :( Add her friends who are still in the 'Creek, too :(

Me: Well..I'm going to Target..
Me: Allll byyyy myseeellfff...
Don't wanna be..
all byyy myseeellff
aaaannnyymooooorrreeeeeee

Micaela: I would walk 500 miles
and I would walk 500 more..

:)

One thing I hate about growing up is that you're always missing someone.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Glad Marriage Tidings To You!

What do you say to someone who's getting married soon? "Happy Wedding! or "Glad Marriage Tidings to You!" "Congratulations" is more like something you'd say early on in the engagement. I've had a couple customers come in this week who are getting married this weekend, and I wanted to leave them with something...but I had nothing. And for a moment, I was entirely perplexed that I had no idea what to say.


I may never understand the ways of God. I wish I could tell the difference between God's voice and my own hopefulness. It's so difficult to comprehend the possibility that his will for me is something that I can't imagine experiencing. I feel so far from it, I'm unaware of what it is that I'm missing. It hardly seems likely to become a reality.

On another note, I'm beginning to feel my inspiration, excitement, passion, and love for knowledge again. I don't think the full-time classroom setting is for me. To be honest, I never paid much attention in class during high school. I'd simply take as many notes as I mindlessly could, then teach myself the material when I got home. Then I'd never have to study for a test and eventually graduated with a 3.8/4.0 GPA.

I think that if I could teach myself I could do perfectly fine and retain more information. Perhaps I will still graduate from Evangel. But with what? I know God is leading me into Women's Ministry, but I also have this desire and motivation deep within me to own a business (Archiver's, anyone? ;) ). And do I want to be confined to the AG forever? No.

I just want truth.

One thing I love about online journaling is that you can go back and fix your mistakes without scratching out your old mistakes and causing blobs and smears of ink all over the pages. Sometimes I go through what I call my actual journal (the one not seen by the public eye, because it is written down on paper and hidden away in my bedroom), and I find mistakes, misspellings, and grammatical errors that I wish to fix, but at the same time I don't want to make the entire work sloppy. It's an ongoing war that I choose to endure. I suppose all I can do is attempt at practicing things correctly the first time.

Next set of business...2 things I'm praying for God's provision:

First - Mercy Ministries. They friended me on myspace a while ago. They posted a bulletin the other day and it reminded me that they exist! It interested me, so I began looking into it.

What it is, is an organization that has facilities around the globe where young women (between ages 13-28) can go to seek help and guidance. A lot of them go there because of abuse, addiction, depression, etc. Mercy Ministries helps them through a program that allows them to recognize their self-worth and prepare them to reach their full potential. Eventually they graduate from the program with a new outlook and view of the world and themselves through God's eyes.

Their mission is for young women to experience God's unconditional love, forgiveness, and life-transforming power. They have an internship program I'm interested in. Their closest facility to me is in St. Louis. I don't know if I'd do it any time soon. Only if God leads me to.

They recently had a women's conference to celebrate their 25th anniversary and some of the women that spoke have spoken at James River, including Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill (whom I heard speak right before I left for tour) and Christine Caine (who will be speaking at our Women's Conference this fall). One of their mottos struck me:

Your past doesn't have to define your FUTURE.

Amen!

Second - Authentic Girl Fellowship. Eric and Leslie Ludy's books are THE books that really impacted and changed my life. There are usually those sources, people, and events that played a huge role in who you are today and have yet to become. Namely, When Dreams Come True and Authentic Beauty are some indicators of that turning point in my life.

Basically with the fellowship, I apply to begin my own Authentic Girl Fellowship group in my area. At the moment, I really feel this one set on my heart. I've chatted with some of my girl friends about their participation and their response contained such inspiring enthusiasm. I think it would be a great opportunity not only through campus, but also for young girls throughout the city of Springfield.

Well, it's late. Or early. And I must wake up early enough so that I may spend some long overdue time with some familiar faces. :)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Your Grace Is Sufficient For Me

"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!"
2 Corinthians 4:16-17


Last week I had this incredible moment with God. I had been so stressed since I had returned from tour with my car not starting, the toll not being able to work for a month has on you, and Father's Day just around the corner.

I was lying on the floor staring up at the ceiling and started crying because I miss dad so much. I miss him calling me every day just to tell me he loves me, he's proud of me, and reassuring me that I'm doing things right. I began speaking out loud, and at first I just felt like i was talking to the ceiling...but then I realized God is really there. I can't fully comprehend it, but I have faith in a God who's alive and always with me. He sees it all. Sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I feel like I'm stranded out here all on my own. But I'm far from it.

He's real. He's there. God knows all of this. He's known it even before he died. I can feel Him. And He gives me peace. And I think He's beginning to reply.

For an update, my car is working now and I have a job at Michaels Arts and Crafts. :)

The other night I was watching Anne of Green Gables, as always. How alike the character of Anne and I are. She hated that her friends were growing up. Her, too. That things were changing. How inconsistent it all was.

And I like to think that I'm in favor of change and inconsistency. I am. But my inconsistency has become my consistency. Change and I have become well-acquainted friends. So if God wishes to give me something I can keep for a while, I need to willingly accept it without question or fear.


I found this video on Scarlett Lillian's photography blog (layout inspired by). I didn't know that Jeremy Camp wrote this song after his wife died. His testimony renewed the lyrics' meaning for me. I still accept and discover truth in all the things God has taught me to recognize in the past year since the passing of my father. No one has ever loved me like my father did, except God himself. And I need to remember to trust that. That God loves me as a father loves a daughter, and all of this is part of His will for me. I may never have all the answers...that's okay. As long as God keeps me safely in His secure embrace.

"I Still Believe" by Jeremy Camp

Scattered words and empty thoughts
Seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before
Seems I don't know where to start
But its now that I feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness
I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word
Even when I don't see, I still believe

Though the questions still fog up my mind
With promises I still seem to bear
Even when answers slowly unwind
It's my heart I see you prepare
But its now, that I feel, your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness
I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word
Even when I don't see, I still believe

Well the only place I can go is into your arms
Where I throw to you my feeble prayers well in brokenness
I can see that this was your will for me
Help me to know that you are near

I still believe in your faithfulness
I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word
Even when I don't see, I still believe