Beautiful King

Beautiful King,

has anybody seen

Your glory unfold?

You walk up to me

with sparks in Your eyes,

You brighten my world

And You'll always be my only One.

You're the only God I'll ever love

because...

Every word that you say

wields the beauty of angels.

Every smile is arrayed

with a joy like wedding bells.

It's my heart you hold.

Of your mystery I sing.

I will stand and behold

my Beautiful King

Love of my soul,

with power untold,

who is like you?

Lamb that was slain,

my God, You reign

in victory and truth.

And I'll follow You all my days.

And I'll give to You every single thing.

I hand everything over...

As time flies by.

We're not standing alone.

Every word that You say,

Father, let it be known.

I fall so fast

without You by my side.

Let Your beauty be seen

Let Your glory unfold

Every word that You say

wields the beauty of angels.

'Cause every smile is arrayed

with a joy like wedding bells.

It's my heart You hold.

Of Your mystery i sing.

I will stand and behold

my Beautiful King!!!

Letters

You know what one of my favorite things in the whole world is? Getting a letter or a card in the mail, but this rarely happens, except for maybe my birthday. Now a days, who actually takes the time to go pick out a card or sit down with a pen and paper to write a letter. It's so much more convenient when my phone and computer are sitting right next to me to send a text message, facebook or email. I am guilty of this just as much as the next person, but I've decided to make the effort to start writing cards/letters!! I'm not gonna promise too much, but I really am gonna do my best to start being an intentional card/letter writer starting NOW!! :)

I want to be that someone who just writes to say hello and brightens someone else's day because honestly, what's more delightful then getting something in the mail!?

Psalm 128

Psalm 128:1, 4 "How happy is everone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!... In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed."

From Beth Moore's Stepping Up. Day 2 Week 4:

"Biblically, one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in his life. The hand of God is at work directing all his affairs for a divine purpose, and thus, in a sense, such a person lived coram Deo, before the face of God." Sometimes the circumstances of our suffering may not change, but the circumstances of our hearts are changed in the midst of them through a keen sense of God's presence and a lively perception of His activity.

Blessedness describes the condition of a person who reveres God, steeps her life in Him and follows His ways. She doesn't just look to God in spiritual or religious matters. She looks to Him in every matter. He's not just the most important part of her life. He is her life. The result of this divine invasion is that the life operates overall at optimum earth-satisfaction, joy, and purpose and without the crushing burdens of self-glory and sin. In other words, he life actually works.

My prayer in light of this: That I will continually see my circumstances the way God does. To live as though Christ is my life, because he is! I pray I will lead a blessed life, steeped in Christ Jesus my savior!

Tu M'as Promis

"Tu m'as promis" (You promised me)

We listened to this song in French class and it's been stuck in my head ever since...I like it though!

It's upbeat, catchy and French...

:)

Weekend...

I spent this past weekend in Charlotte. I haven't seen my Grandma or family up there since Christmas time. Saturday, Grandma and I spent most of the morning in the kitchen. We made pizzelles, along with some other yummy treats to take with us to dinner at Uncle Steve and Aunt Caren's house.

On Sunday we went to church and then celebrated Lili's 2nd birthday and Daniel's 9th birthday at Aunt Heather's house. Let me just say, she made THE BEST cake I've ever had...ever. Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake, need I say more?

(Lili trying to decide whether to blow out the candles or not)

(Daniel had no trouble blowing his out!!)

Lili got a Cinderella and an Ariel costume for her birthday and immediately had to put both of them on. She is just too cute!

This was the best way I could have ended Spring Break. It was so great to visit with Aunt Heidi, Aunt Heather, Uncle Rick, Uncle Steve, Aunt Caren, Grandma and all of my lovely cousins!!

Now it's back to the grind of school and work, but it looks like things are coming together for the summer. I talked to my boss today about having time off to go to Israel with my family!! Hooray!! Summer can't come fast enough, I'm sure it'll be here before I know it though...

Let the Countdown Begin...

Now that Spring Break is over there is only...

1 week til Caitlyn's baby shower.

3 weeks til my Daddy comes home.

4 weeks til I get to see Greece the musical with my bestie.

6 weeks til I turn 21 and Caitlyn has her little baby girl.

7 weeks til I'm out of school for the summer and I move off campus.

8 weeks til I go skydiving.

11 weeks til Bethany graduates.

12 weeks til Laura gets married.

and 14 weeks til I'm home safe and sound with my family in the beautiful land of Israel!!

St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day. Here in Savannah, this is as my co-worker put it "The second most important holiday to Christmas." I differ in opinion with him on this matter since what it has evolved to be about is a parade, getting drunk and partying. But since it's such a big deal here, I decided to look up who this holiday is really all about: St. Patrick.

He was a missionary to Ireland in the 4th Century, after being held prisoner there for most of his teenaged years. He escaped prison and returned to his family in England. Then felt called to go back to Ireland as a missionary. He studied for many years and became a priest. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.

Here are some of the words of a prayer/hymn attributed to St. Patrick:

...I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude....

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Daylight Savings Gone Wrong

As you know this past weekend was daylight savings. I made sure on Saturday night before I went to bed my phone was set an hour ahead, so proud that I didn't forget about it. I went to bed got up on Sunday, went about my day, went to church and enjoyed the prolonged hours of sunlight. Sunday night I set my alarm for 7:15 am to go to work and went to bed.

7:15, sure enough, my alarm went off. I laid there for a minute, then dragged my self out of bed, to get ready for the day. At about 7:30 I got a text from my friend, Brandi, at work "Are you still sleeping?" My reply, "No....wait what time is it? 7:30 or 8:30" As I texted her it occurred to me that when I went into the kitchen to get my coffee the clock said 7:17 and I didn't remember setting it ahead to the right time. I didn't think too much of it cause after all my phone couldn't be wrong, I definitely set the time on it.

I continued getting ready for work, not too concerned cause I knew I had reset my phone and it said it was 7:30. There's no way it could be wrong...but then she replied. "It's 8:37" My response "Nooooo...my clock says 7:38 and I changed it Saturday night!"

When I got to work, Tim informed me, "This is why you should listen to National Public Radio." Apparently they were talking on NPR about the iPhone daylight savings bug. It causes some iPhones to fall back instead of spring forward or reset the time after it had already been changed. Sure enough, I was struck by the daylight savings time bug.

All that to say, I was an hour late to work this morning. Not because I forgot to change my clock, but because my phone reset itself. Lesson learned: I need to get a real alarm clock.

Lemon-Raspberry Macaroons

After I spent last Sunday making chocolate macaroons with Laura, I decided to make a new variety this week. Maybe this will become a tradition....Sunday Afternoon Macaroons

Lemon-Raspberry Macaroons

This was kind of my own concoction. I saw these lemon macaroons and was so excited cause I really wanted to make some lemon-raspberry ones after we had such success with our chocolate ones. I used the zest of one lemon and added it to the Martha Stewart recipe. Then I used seedless raspberry jam as the filling. These are a new favorite!

As I noted in my previous post from last weekend's macaroon adventure, parchment paper and a pastry bag are a must. So I made sure I had both when I made them this time. They turned out much better looking than our first attempt (i.e. They didn't stick and crumble when I took them off the parchment paper). They still don't look as perfect as Martha Stewart's but I'm gonna keep trying...I'll be a macaroon making pro before I know it! :]

Spring Break Blues

It's officially been spring break for a day now and good grief, I'm doing my very best to keep my head up. I'm so bummed because unfortunately there are no big travel plans and no exciting adventures planned for this break. All I'm gonna do is work for 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday -- that should be fun right!? Maybe...!?

So here are 11 things I'm gonna do to keep my head held high this Spring Break:

1. Begin packing up my room (to move all unnecessary things to storage when my daddy comes home in April, because I'm moving OFF CAMPUS IN MAY!!!)

2. Make an extra effort to spend some extra time in the Word and Praying.

3. Try to make a new variety of Macaroons

4. Finish my photo album/scrapbook of China

5. Spend next weekend in Charlotte with my wonderful Grandma and visit my Uncles, Aunts and cousins up there

6. Write 3 Ancient Israel reading installments

7. Begin research for at least one of my two research papers due the beginning of April (Yes, these two are related to school and therefore are not going to be fun, but I will feel a bit better knowing they won't be hanging over my head when I get back to school)

8. Finally finish The Voyage of the Dawn Treador by C.S. Lewis

9. Read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis on my lunch breaks (I'm not a C.S. Lewis fan or anything)

10. Use the extra time at work to get to know the ladies I work with a little better

11. Find some shoes to go with my bridesmaid dress for Laura's wedding in June, as well as some new sandals for the summer time...and maybe some new clothes as well :]

So it looks like my spring break won't be so bad after all!! I guess it's all in how you look at it. I've got plenty to do and with a good attitude, I can have a just as good of a spring break here in Savannah as I could anywhere else.

I will leave you with this:

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!...The Lord is near." (NIV)

"Celebrate God all day, everyday. I mean, revel in him!" (The Message)

-- Philippians 4:4

All Things for His Glory

I woke up this morning to the news of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan this morning. Here are some pictures (the pictures below are from the same website) and a video of the devastation this has caused. After watching and looking at these images, my heart is broken for these people. Their lives have been turned upside down, in a matter of minutes, and there was nothing they could do to stop it or change it.

After watching the video footage of the tsunami race across the land, devastating everything in it's path, I was amazed at the power of nature; though then it occurred to me, my God is so much bigger and so much more powerful. He controls the wind, the waves, the storms; They obey at the sound of his voice. He is in control of what is happening in Japan right now. He is God over it all. The devastation that has occurred in Japan is not in vain; God works all things together for his glory. Praise Him!

I pray that people will have peace in the midst of this chaos and God will work in a mighty way! I pray that through this disaster the wonderful name of Jesus will be made known and many will come to know him as their Savior!

My Declaration!

I have hope. It's because of the Lords great love I have not been consumed. Great your faithfulness! I say to myself: "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3:22-26

Macaroons!!

Today was a perfect day! First of all because I got to spend it with my best friend, Laura.

Second of all because we made MACAROONS!! Ever since Laura and I tried them a couple of weekends ago at the adorable French café, Papillote, we've wanted to try and make them ourselves and today was the day!

Here is the recipe we followed (we made the chocolate variation with chocolate ganache as the filling).

A few tips we learned from our experience making macaroons:

1. Almond Flour is super expensive (i.e. $12 for one bag) so substitute finely ground almonds instead. We got a small bag of almonds and used my coffee grinder to create our substitute. This was a cheap and easy solution!

2. Make sure you use a sifter with the flour mixture. Ours were not lumpy by any means but a sifter would have gotten rid of the small clumps of the flour mixture as we mixed it with the egg whites.

3. A pastry bag. We used a zip-lock bag with the tip cut off, which was not a complete fail, though a pastry bag would have been much less messy and probably would have resulted in a nicer shape.

4. Parchment paper is a must. Unfortunately we forgot to get parchment paper when we were at the store, so we used cooking spray to keep them from sticking (which didn't really work either).

Pictures :

Whipping the egg whites until peaks are stiff...

Fresh out of the oven...now to let them cool!

Laura put the filling in while I worked on getting the last of them off the cookie sheet.

The final product!

Hooray, we did it!! Now to enjoy our homemade chocolate macaroons!

Now that we've made them once I think we are both confident enough in our macaroon making skills to try some other variations! I'm thinking lemon with raspberry filling might be next! :]

This weekend...

This weekend I will...

1. Clean my room

2. Do laundry (including my sheets)

3. Begin putting all my winter sweaters away because SPRING is on it's way!! :]

4. Reading report for Ancient Israel class.

5. Babysit

6. See my bestest friend, Laura.

7. Some cooking/baking. Possibly some french macaroons and something I can eat through out the week for lunch/or dinner? Any ideas?

A few weeks have past...

Goodness gracious the past few weeks have been so ridiculously busy. So here are some of the highlights of the past couple of weeks...

1. I went to China February 15-22 and it was so amazing. I loved it. The food, the culture, the people, even the language was interesting to listen to, though I didn’t understand a single word of it. It was all so very interesting to me and I would love to go back to teach english one day in the future. I met my mom, sister and a family friend, Ms. Renee there in China for a week of site seeing. The real reason we went though was because my amazing sister got into the AMIS Women’s Honor Choir and the festival was held at the International School of Beijing. The choir was fantastic! I am so very grateful for the opportunity to go and visit this unique culture. God has blessed me more that I could have ever imagined with opportunities to see the world and explore other cultures. He continues to expand my world and I can’t wait to see where he will take me next!

2. God has been so very good to me in planning this China trip. I missed a whole week of school. i was a little nervous about making up the work that I missed and learning the material that I missed in the lectures. It turned out that I only missed one French class and that was a test. Class was canceled two of the three days I missed. As for the test I don’t have to make it up because we can drop one test grade at the end of the semester. My room mate is in my Civ 2 class so I can get the notes that I missed from her. My other two classes, History of the Ancient Near East class and Introduction to Historical Methods/Ancient Israel class, I missed the midterms. Dr.Tatlock allowed me to make them up on my own time (both of which I have finished as of last night!). Also I will not be tested on any of the material I missed from lectures in both classes. I seriously can’t believe how perfect it has all worked out!! God is so good and he has proven to be at work in every single detail of my life!!!

3. Things are coming together for me to get an apartment in the summer!! My friend Lauren and I have been talking for a while about this and it turns out that we have found a third room mate. This is another huge God thing. We were hoping to have a third roommate but just didn’t know anyone that was interested. I was praying about it on the way to Bible Study on Monday and there was a new girl there this week. We got to talking and it turns out she goes to Armstrong and is looking to move close to campus next year! So I got her number and we’ve been talking, so it sounds like we might have a third!! Praise the Lord!

So now that things are starting to settle back down a little bit after traveling, I don’t have any more make up work hanging over my head and I’m almost fully recovered from jet lag, hopefully I’ll be a little more consistent with my blog... but we’ll see :)