fast times at the 1364.

these girls are the ones that get me through the week. some of my best friends [and one happens to be a cousin]. we do crazy things together, particularly when its rather late at night. like sliding down stairs in sleeping bags, making up songs about broadway, cooking meals together, dancing absurdly, decorating for the different seasons, having marshmallow fights and blonde moments. just a shout out to some of the best listeners and advice-givers in my life. love you both. to the moon & back. 

psalm 118: 22-24.

so valerie and i had a wonderfully Spirit-filled conversation last night. it was random to us but apparently divinely appointed, as all Spirit-filled conversations are. =] we were talking about what we have been learning lately. and she told me something very interesting about the above verses. shes been doing a beth moore study, and beth went into depth about those verses in psalm. its verses we've all read before, yet we dont know all the history behind such verses. and there is such deeper meanings behind these verses based on the time in which they were written. it still amazes me that no matter how many times i read a verse, i shall never know all there is to know. and Christ can reveal infinite things to me from one verse over a lifetime, so it means various things to me throughout my life and where i am at in my walk with Him. it is such a divine mystery, and the level of our comprehension, although it is profoundly deep to us, is only surface level to what we will come to know about our Savior on the other side of heaven. that is such a beautiful image. but i will now talk about the verses i came to talk about...


verse 22 of psalm 118 talks about the capstone being rejected. in the time that the temple was being built, the men were sent to get the rocks needed for the temple and construct them off site, only bringing them to the site to put together for the temple. this was done so that the site would stay sacred and not be disrupted by the loud noises and cumbersome labor. when they brought the capstone, it didnt seem to fit where it was supposed to in the beginning. so they set that rock aside and continued to build. when the temple was finished, it need one more piece to complete the work. they came across the stone they had rejected before, and they tried to place it where it was supposed to go again. and it fit! this is such a picture of Christ. in His first appearance on earth, man rejected im because He didnt fit their human image of what they thought should be the true Messiah, in His splendor and glory. Christ was too simple and common, He didnt seem to "fit". btu when He comes again, in His might, He will show that He fits and completes the church. 


another thing about these verses is that psalm 113-118 was read at every passover. so Christ read about Himself as being the capstone, the Rock that was to be rejected for now. He also read verse 24. He read this verse knowing what was about to come, and fully believed and obeyed anyway. He knew His Father was faithful, and so He fully rejoiced in everyday that the Lord made. 


these are things that are revealed to us by His grace so we better know Him and trust Him and love Him. these little mysteries intertwined in the beautiful tapestry that is His Word so He will be all the more glorified. it was a beautiful picure portrayed to me, and so divinely appointed. 

memories & goals.

so im back. sorry for the lack of blogging over winter break. this break was wonderful. it was diverse and full of fun memories and lots of snow and... too short. my last winter break ever. so im glad it was so enjoyable. i was able to have a wonderful weekend with my besties and run around hendersonville. i got to see some great shows in nashville and have a wonderful christmas with family and friends we consider family. i got to end the break with a memorable time on the slopes. here are some things in between that made the time in the snow unforgettable. 

before i left for break, i got to see one of my all time favorite bands in good 'ol knoxville. needtobreathe was the best show ive gone to. i hope to see them live again soon. they even came with an encore with no mics. simply their voices and instruments. it was glorious. 

when i got home, i got home, me & mom set up the christmas decorations and immediately started baking. the before and after of just one type of our wonderful creations. 

then i had some wonderful murfreesboro friends who threw a christmas party. i was dressed as a gift. literally. =] bow in the hair and all.

then i had the glorious opportunity to see my knoxville friends in nashville & go dosey doe at the wildhorse saloon. such a fun night. 

us boro kids then decided we wanted to go see lights. so we went to the best of the best and ventured to opryland hotel. we got to see lights and take fun pictures and eat amazing tiramisu gelato.

for new years, some of us decided to spend new years on the slopes. it was a crazy weekend filled with a lot of miscommunication, a dead deer, falling asleep before the stroke of midnight, and good good skiing. 

so we got to see some friends in a band called caleb. you should check them out. theyre great. and we ended up hanging with them for some game nights. good laughter came from some fun games we played and good friends to share in community with.

im back in knoxville now. ready to begin my final chapter in college. ready to be used by the Lord in whatever way He desires for this semester. i am seeking to learn how to truly trust Him and be generous of spirit. cant wait to see what journey lies ahead. 

22.

well, its official. im 22. and where id thought id be at 22 when i was 16 is severely altered. a lot has happened in between those years, and i find myself being more of an "adult" by the way im reminiscing from 16 until now. 
i cant believe im a semester away of being done with school. school is all ive known. 
i cant believe im 22. people that ive recently gotten to know at the BCM thought i was a sophomore. shows you how exceedingly mature i am. 
i cant believe that i will soon be making decisions like where i want to live and applying to find a full time job. no more internships. no more part time. 
i cant believe what my path has been in the past few years. some major life changes for sure. 
i cant believe that i will soon be someone who goes to bed at 10. there will be no more late night movies or jaunts on a whim at 1 in the morning. 
i cant believe i wont be in a place where i get to meet new people almost every week. 


but 22 is a new season. the Lord i knew in 21 will be here in a whole new way in 22. ive been blessed with friends that i know will carry their place in my lives for years to come. im excited and anxious to see it. it will bring bittersweet moments of a goodbye to a season i knew for 4 years. but it will bring new joys by letting me experience things ive never encountered before, and growth in that. so heres to you, 22. do me good. 


heres a delicious apple cupcake my cousin made from scratch. she even made homemade caramel. theyre amazing and my favorite. 

daily-sought faith.

everyday is new. thank heavens. as one of my favorite songs says, "there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning". its such a beautiful promise. another says "as surely as the sun will rise, Youll come to us. surely as Your Word endures". i love  love love these promises. i bank on these promises. and even when the day does not start off well, i am thankful that it is only a day. today was one of those. so many stresses on my mind, apathy of being a senior, fear of not being employed come may. and then life happens. and it throws off everything. but He is just and present and alive and unchanging. ive been through things much more difficult than this, so i should not worry or freak out. so, in this moment, i seek faith. i seek a strength stronger than my own that i rely far too much on. i seek love and care and a voice constantly whispering to me "let go. I am in control. I love you. I am the I AM. nothing else matters. let go". just as each day is new, i have to wake up everyday & begin once again with knowing these truths. everyday. a daily-sought faith. 






ps- happy veterans day. thank you troops. 

november.

i love november. there are multiple reasons for this. autumn is by far my favorite season. i love the colors of the leaves and their contrast with the crisp blue sky. i love the smell of campfire. i love being able to see my breath in the morning for the first time all season. i love bundling up and walking to class with a starbucks cup in my hand. this is the month of my birth and the month to be thankful. whats not to love about november? 

another thing i love is fall decor. mums and pumpkins reside outside our home tucked into the hills. it warms my heart every time i come home from school.

see what i mean about the colors?

this was where i saw my breath for the first time this season. some friends from the 615 came up and we decided it would be fun to backpack on the coldest weekend of the year. we hiked in at least 3 inches of snow. yay for max patch!

the whole time i said it felt like we were in narnia. i was expecting mr. thomnas to poke his head out any second. 

fresh snow fell the entire time we hiked on saturday. it was beyond beautiful.

how could there not be a Creator with such beauty? 

my crazy buds who were on the trip. as the harvard sailing team says, "dont you test these besties".

the view from the top of max patch. made the whole trip absolutely worth the moments of cold toes. 

faces.

first, i just want to say- happy november. fall pictures are to come soon on here. but today i decided i want to show one of my favorite things to capture- candid pictures of people. i love the interaction and the "realness" of people in their everyday lives. here are some of the people i was able to photograph over the summer. they are all uniquely different, but the common theme is the true beauty of each person. 

one day, some friends and i took our lunch to the park beneath the eiffel tower and were surrounded by children. in paris, schools give the students a couple of hours for a lunch break and most of them go to parks as a class so they get to play. here was one child playing "foot". [what they call soccer in france]. 

this couple was playing for the public in one of my favorite places in paris: sacre coeur. they were so precious that i couldnt  not take a picture. can you blame me?  

one of my favorite moments captured in paris. 

people eating lunch at an outdoor café. 

in my opinion, this is the epitome of multi-tasking. heck, its more than i can do. 

a man reading the afternoon away in venice. 

nuns at st. francis's cathedral in assisi.

classic gondola ride. complete with an opera singer and an accordion. 

a chalk artist. this quickly took me back to mary poppins. it makes me so sad to think his beautiful work would soon be washed away by the rain. 

one of many break dancers in paris. 

to be able to capture these moments is a blessing to me. people are my passion, and to be exposed to such diversity and uniqueness will be the story and ministry of my life. our God is that much more diverse and unique. perfect in every way. what a gift it is for us to not be like anyone else, yet we each perfectly reflect Christ when He is in our hearts. 

psalm 139:13-16.