Faithful Heart.

This Christmas was the most heartbreaking Christmas of my life.

Even still.

This Christmas, I was so thankful

For the birth of a healer.

For "Immanuel"--God with us.

For love.

For a Savior who gets on his knees,

holds my muddied face in his hands,

and calls me Dear One.

For a Lover who wraps His arms around me

in times when I feel most alone.

For a God who is always constant, always true.

For faithful friends who aren't afraid to listen.

Amen.

Lead me to Your heart.

Take root in mine.

Help me to bloom according to the roots you plant there.

Just, please, don't let me stop growing.

Best Movie.

So, call me a sucker for cartoons who fall in love, but I really liked "Tangled."

I felt a little weird surrounded by children 5 and under, but I loved it anyways.

(PS-Ange, I love that your dad went with you to see it).

If you only knew.

If you knew me now...

...you would like who I have become.

Recently...

I've learned about forgiveness.

Something I've always struggled with is the past. My past, his past, your past. They all scare me. More than any other semester, I've come to grips with the fact that no one is perfect. No one is without scars. No one can cast the first stone.

I've been thinking about my past. I've been wondering the dangerous question, "what if." And I've tried over and over to trust God and believe in His redemption and His plan.

And He's been coming through for me.

Some really exciting things have happened just in the past few weeks.

Encouraging words have been spoken that have strengthened me.

Here's a quote from Beth Moore. (Who else would it be from?)

"Yes, we can do something about our pasts.

We can take them to Jesus!

We can't forget them or ignore them.

We need Him to take full authority over them

where they are no longer a playground for the enemy.

He longs to reframe our pasts and let us see them against the backdrop of His glory.

Never ever forget that our God is a redeemer."

Kiss Dating Goodbye?

Not Judgement, Just an excerpt from I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

These are the shortcomings of dating according to Joshua Harris:

1. Dating leads to intimacy, but not necessarily to commitment.

2. Dating tends to skip friendship, which should be the foundation of a stable relationship.

3. Dating focuses on romantic attraction, so it lasts only as long as the romanic feelings remain.

4. Dating focuses on enjoying love and romance solely for their recreational value.

5. Dating often mistakes a physical relationship for love.

6. Dating takes a lot of time and energy, which can distract young adults from their primary responsibility of preparing for the future.

7. Dating creates an artificial environment for evaluating another person's character.

In my experiences, though:

1. Unless guarded, dating leads to emotional intimacy that results in sadness and pain once the relationship is over.

2. Relationships built on friendships can be very successful. Dating someone you've known for only a few weeks usually isn't the best idea.

3. There needs to be a balance between dating for fun and carelessly giving your heart away to the person you're dating just because you think you'll end up marrying them.

4. Love is the thing that is still there when you're angry and annoyed and fighting with the person--something that can't be proven until you've been dating the person for a while (longer than 6 months).

5. Dating is done best when it's done amongst friends and family. Don't be too exclusive.

6. It's important to keep loving the activities you love outside of dating this person, don't change who you are for anyone.

7. If you let yourself, you can learn a lot about yourself through dating--even through dating someone you end up breaking up with.

Just thoughts...

Joy joy joy

In the season of Holly and Jolly...

"Write it on your heart that everyday is the best day of the year."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Choose to live a life of faith and joy.

It will become a mindset.

You can choose to be joyful.

In the same way that love is a choice, so is joy.

Surprisingly, I learned this today at a women's brunch.

From a woman who is dying from cancer.

She has lost her strength and her hair. But not her joy.

I want to be like that.