Adventure The frenzy that pulls you in the path that intrigues your feet the smell that entices your tongue that's the adventure. The light that catches your eye the touch that makes you jump the sight that takes your breath that's the adventure. the adventure lies dead in our hands it struggles for breath it screams to no avail. We must find adventure. We must grasp it's hand. We overlook its beauty, we scorn its joy explore. -it's a work in progress

Asking has never been so hard

This morning I decided to read my Bible. Saying that sounds weird, I mean it is a Sunday and I am a Christian, so why am I posting about reading my Bible, something I should be doing everyday?

For that very reason...I don't read my Bible everyday. I'm not sure why, because every time I open it I close it feeling refreshed. I close it with a sense of worth, with hope. I should open it more.

But today I opened it and read James 4. James is a great book. Short and concise, but every to the point. It talked about asking God. Asking him about the things that we want, need etc. But along with asking comes the response. And sometimes we don't get the response we want, sometimes we don't get one at all. That couldn't be more true for me. I'm not getting a response from the thing I ask God for. It goes on to say that I am not receiving because I ask with the wrong intent. Well shoot...


How do you know what the right intent is? I think that's what we should pray about. Pray that we have the right intentions when we come to Him asking for something.

That's what I need to work on.

Until later,

the explorer

The Gift

It's the Christmas season again! I love this time of year, I absolutely love it. There is not one thing I dislike about the holidays. I love that people become joyful over the tiniest things. I love that you can smile at a stranger and wish them a merry Christmas.

More than that, I love that I can hear songs about Christ playing in Metropolitan Market. I love that everyone turns their eyes to heaven at some point during this season.

I was just reading over the Christmas Story (the Birth of Christ) and I saw a verse that I never payed much attention to before, Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Wow. It says that His favor rests on us. On lowly human beings. Humans that continually mock his name and all that he represents. Humans who again and again lie, cheat, steal, kill. Hoe amazing that he favors us. What a glorious thing! He sent us a Christmas gift. He sent us love, He sent us favor, and He sent us His son.

As you go into this Christmas season, think about the reason we love Christmas so much. Its because we all give, we are all participating in giving to one another. Give a smile, give a hug. Just GIVE something.

Merry Christmas

Friends are a tricky business

You know those days when you are just so sick of people that you can barely stand it? Yep. It's one of those days.

It started out relatively nice, the sun was shining and I sat outside and did homework all day. Lovely, simply lovely. But then I start to hear the drama of all the girls that live around me and I just start getting sick.

Sick of the complaining, sick of the silly fights, sick of the boy drama. It's all rather sickening. But then I start to wonder why I have to be dragged down with all this weight, I mean, it's not my drama. So why should I have to deal with it?

Well, I guess because they are my friends. Yeah...they are. Despite them fighting over the silliest things and getting upset over tiny disputes I still love em. This is all part of being a friend. Putting up with their insecurities and dealing with your own at the same time. Listening to their problems and not expecting them to listen to yours in return. Nodding sympathetically when they unload their emotional baggage on you. Smiling when they need to know that you care. Hugging them when they cry and rubbing their back when they're hurting.

Dang. Now that's a job.

It's so hard to be that friend. It's hard to care when you don't want to. It's hard to love when everything in you wants to repel. It's hard to be actively involved in someones life when they could care less about yours. Friends are a tricky business.

But I'm thankful for them all the same I suppose.

Snow???

It is December 22, T-minus three days till Christmas and there is no snow. Not a single snowflake. Well shoot. I happen to be a big fan of blizzards that keep you from driving anywhere all day, and snowplows having to come out every 3 hours to clear the roads.

I prayed every night that I would wake up to snow, I wished upon the first star I saw in the night sky. I even used my wishbone wish on snow...to no avail. Curses.

I find myself listening to White Christmas more often than usual, and I stare angerly and the sky just waiting for that huge downpour of frozen precipitation.

You be wondering why I chose to waste an entire blog post on snow...well I'll tell ya why. Snow is awesome (to put it simply). I wanna run outside in my long johns and make snow angels, throw giant snowballs at my already soaked and whining little brother and sister,and I really want to try and form another igloo in the front lawn. But alas, I live in the northwest and I'm pretty sure my Christmas will be rainy, and possibly sunny skies.

Dad

There was once a time when I really was alright with my dad being gone. I never thought twice about the man, I wasn't torn up about his absence. Our family was beautiful and functional without a father. So I didn't want anything to change. And I suppose I still don't. I know it seem harsh to say that, but it's just the way it is. That is how I feel.

The other day I was in chapel and a speaker came and talked about love. Love, again? Man, it's the most preached about subject out there! I started to tune him out until he said something that really hit me hard. He said "Jesus digs you". Ha. What an odd statement...but it had an impact. Jesus digs me. hmm. Love. He was saying that my father, my true father, loves me more than anything. I am a priceless gem. I can't even fathom what that means. I can't even begin to dream how much he loves me.

It was really hard for me to think about how much my father loves me. I have nothing to compare it to, I don't know how a father loves his daughter. I have never been kissed goodnight by my daddy, I've never been set on his lap while watching tv. I won't ever know what it's like to dance with him. I won't be given away at my wedding by the man that watched me grow. So how am I to know how a dad loves his little girl? I don't.

But then the worship team played a song, one that I've been playing a lot lately. You know, those songs that you always sing but never really think about, it was one of those. How He Loves Us. huh...this was the first time these words hit me. They really sank in and I FELT how much He loves me. I could reach out and grab the tangible love that was coming down from Heaven. Everyday I wake up, heck, even when I'm asleep, his love envelops me. He is looking down from where He sits and smiles at me. He hugs me and kisses my cheek. He sings me to sleep every night.

It's absolutely astounding how much He loves us. Despite our countless flaws and many many mistakes, He loves us still. I suppose I'm repeating myself, but it's impossible to really grasp at how great his love for us, so I just have to keep saying it! All those broken families without dad's need to know that there is a father who loves them! There is a daddy who tucks them in at night and will walk them down the isle!

WHAT AN AMAZING FATHER WE HAVE!

Beautiful

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

These words are running through my head, yet again after another night at Pursuit. Worship is something I do a lot (being at a christian school) and I hear this song a lot. But tonight, I actually understood and listened to these words. I see His face in every sunrise, the colors of the morning are inside Your eyes. The sunrise reflects his eyes.

I look around at creation and realize just how beautiful my God, my Creator, my Father is. Today is one of those days. Tonight I realized how beautiful everything around me is. Everything on this earth has His name written all over it. Everything on this planet is His trademark. Everything screams His glory.

More than just realizing this, a thought came to mind when I was marveling at His beauty. My family. I have never truly realized before now how beautiful my family is. To me, my family seems a bit unorthodox and a little unbalanced at times. But everything about them is a testament to God's artistic hand. He created that little brown boy that loves to sing and dance and braid hair. His smile shines through that big headed blond boy, still learning how to walk and read. His love is inside that brown haired, goofy grinning girl. God's beauty is inside each and every one of my siblings. His patience lives in the 21 year old learning to live on her own. His compassion is burning inside the caretaker of the house, the strong leader, the fantastic mother. His genius seeps through the wise 22 year old brother who seeks out knowledge through his Creator.

Man. How truly awestruck I was to behold this image. How entirely speechless I became at the thought, my God's beauty is pouring out of my own family. His loving kindness is the glue that holds us together. Wow.

Not only did it make me realize how awesome this artist is, but it made me realize how much love he put inside our family. My mom who has been a single mother for 20 years does nothing but give, give, and give some more. She has taken in children that no one wanted, that no one cared to take a second glance at. How awesome is that? How beautiful is that? It utterly astounds me that God has given my mother such a big heart. A heart to love on those who are not loved.

These thoughts leave me speechless. Literally, I have nothing more to say. I am in awe of the beauty the Lord has created.

This family, this unit, this MASTERPIECE that He has created, is my family.

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who you are
You're beautiful


until later,

the explorer