life without wings

No more student loans!!!!! Thank you, Jesus!!!! And geez, Sallie...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:52:27 -0700

No more student loans!!!!!

Thank you, Jesus!!!!

And geez, Sallie Mae— you didn’t even let me know!!

“Show Me Your Glory” Jesus Culture I long to look...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:00:13 -0700

“Show Me Your Glory” Jesus Culture

I long to look on the face of the One that I love
Long to stay in Your presence, it’s where I belong

Show me Your glory

All else fades, but Your glory remains. I can’t live without Your presence, O God!

With the prophet Isaiah, I cry out. I am of unclean lips. Without you I am wicked, my mind and heart set on sin all the day long.

Then one seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

(Isaiah 6:6-7)

Show me Your glory— I am not afraid.

You’re the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the only God who sits on the only true throne. Your robe alone is majestic, the train of which fills the temple.

Make me all about Your glory, my God. Let not the righteousness of Christ go to waste on me. Let not Your Spirit within me, and the words You have given return void.

Make me all about Your glory, O God!

When encountered with the true and living God, and then with His atoning work and His unspeakable compassion, the prophet Isaiah had only one logical response; his cry was for the Lord to send him. He gave up all rights to his life to God.

Here I am. Send me!

(Isaiah 6:8)

In the same manner, encounter me with Your glory, then send me, Lord God. To live for any purpose other than You would be pointless, senseless, suffocating. Here I am. Send me.

"Our story is not a story of fear, it is a story of faith."

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:15:46 -0700

“Our story is not a story of fear, it is a story of faith.”

- Chris Tomlin

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:01:44 -0700

“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

- Isaiah 41:10

"A marriage based not on self-denial but on self-fulfillment will require a low- or no- maintenance..."

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 23:14:32 -0700

“A marriage based not on self-denial but on self-fulfillment will require a low- or no- maintenance partner who meets your needs while making almost no claims on you. Simply put— today people are asking far too much in the marriage partner.”

- Tim Keller (The Meaning of Marriage, 35)

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that..."

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:55:04 -0700

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

- Romans 8:18

"My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and..."

Sat, 25 May 2013 03:09:17 -0700

“My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.”

- Psalm 3:1-2

I don’t PDA often, but this little boy is in Nor Cal right...

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:02:25 -0700

Mr. & Miss Pouty Pants

Birthday suit. The literal kind.

Baby bunny <3

Amazing anniversary mug!

My favorite activity...

Chris Tomling Burning Lights Tour

Cuties

I don’t PDA often, but this little boy is in Nor Cal right now, which does make me a wee bit sad.

And on a side note, ever since getting an iPhone (all pictures taken from there, thus the blurriness of some photos), it’s back to being Queen of the Camera for me. DH and I read these Meyers Briggs personality things last night, and my INFP profile encouraged me to engage my creative side, so I guess that’s a good thing!

Anyway, I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but it’s been 2+ years of being with KY! It’s crazy to think of where we started, how much we’ve grown, and how time has seemed to fly since then.

People are always asking me what’s next (and when when when!), but all I can say is we are waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing. And after a year plus of investing so much obsessive time and energy into my countless questions (is this right? and if so when? and if so how? and what if? and what if? and what if?????— all this has pretty much gotten me nowhere by the way), I think God has brought me to the place where I can finally surrender, embrace Him as Sovereign, and find peace in knowing who He is and what that means for my relationship with KY. All I have to do is stick close to the Lord, and in His time, He will reveal all things, working out all the details for His glory.

He is a good God and He wants the best for KY and He wants the best for me, and He wants to bless us and give us good things in this life (good as defined by His perfect wisdom though!).

So as of now, I am enjoying dating and enjoying this season for however long it may be.

And actually I haven’t documented my relationship with KY that much. Hopefully I will be writing more going forward! I’ve learned so much over the past two years, and there are still moments when I pause and think, wow, is this guy really dating me!? (For example, this Tuesday when he shared at BSF about revival and missions and how God works with the end in mind… I was really blown away once again by how KY always comes back to his faith as the center, focus, and driving force in his life.)

All right enough mushiness… it’s starting to get disgusting haha. But praise be to God for all He’s done in my life and in my relationship with KY! All glory be to Him, for it’s His blood that frees us and allows us to glimpse more of Him through our relationship with each other.

"After the first few steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:05:32 -0700

“After the first few steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.”

- C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:39:11 -0700

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.”

- Joseph to his brothers (Genesis 50:20)

My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech Beautiful.

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:31 -0700

My Last Days: Meet Zach Sobiech

Beautiful.

sumptuousfete: by Flora Bowley

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:11:51 -0700

sumptuousfete:

by Flora Bowley

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:10:14 -0700

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

- Colossians 3:23-24

"For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this,..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:08:17 -0700

“For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”

- 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:44:55 -0700

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

- Mark 13:31

Content Contentment: A Revelation of God's Sovereignty

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:03:00 -0700

So this probably isn’t news to anyone (I keep hearing complaints about spamming everyone on Facebook with my “I’m Hiring!” updates), but in February I made a lateral move to become a Recruiter. It’s been about three months and I think it’s safe to say I’m pretty settled and acclimated to the new position.

It’s also safe to say I’m loving it! Recruiting is a nice blend of a lot of my strengths and interests, and my supervisors are gracious to let me mold the position into something that suits me. There are still ups and downs, and sometimes it’s hard interacting with people all the time (I am SUCH an introvert now!), but overall the change has been positive and I am so thankful to God for this opportunity. (In my discipler’s words, God really knew how much I could handle!)

This new position however has led me to think a lot about my first 2.5 years with the company, 2.5 years spent in the wonderful world of Content.

Here are some disjointed reflections (I am seriously TERRIBLE at any writing apart from business writing now [*tear], so bear with me…):

1) God has the best plan for my life.

It’s no secret that I struggled greatly with being content in my last position. Like so many other new grads, I felt like the position wasn’t always the best fit and that my life was wasting away. There were times when I felt so bitter that peers seemed to be thriving and moving in their direction of choice— why had God forgotten about me and my life?

A few sub-lessons contribute to this point actually… (Warning: Monster post that doesn’t contain any additional numbered points below!)

1a) There are actually very few people that are 100% satisfied with their life!

Contrary to what I believed, I’ve found that the vast majority of people actually aren’t happy about their current circumstances. Even my friends that were moving quickly in their chosen direction faced and continue to face struggles in their career and schooling.

Therefore, contentment does not stem from your surroundings, but rather from your mindset. I find contentment when I realize that God is sovereign and that He truly desires good for me and my life. He certainly does NOT desire my life to go to waste, but He WILL, in His sovereignty, allow me to face difficult and unsavory situations to build my character and further His glory.

This applies to career, as well as the rest of my life. We will always be enticed by what we do not have.

Example: Singleness is a struggle as we desire to no longer be single. Then once we start dating, we desire marriage or a different partner or more space/time. For those who are married, the desires continue (children, a different spouse, freedom, etc.).

The vicious cycle goes on and on until we can learn the art of contentment, which stems from belief in God’s sovereignty and learning to savor each moment and season unto His glory.

1b) My attitude is a reflection of my heart, not my circumstances.

It is so easy to blame a poor attitude on my circumstances.

Some of my former favorite excuses: If I were in a more interesting job, I would work harder. If the environment weren’t so stressful, I would be nicer. If caring for others were part of my job description, I would invest in my co-workers and be loving.

I had truly tricked myself into thinking it was the environment that was making me selfish/sinful. In reality, my selfishness and sinfulness were there long before I started any position, it’s just the circumstances that drew the dross of an in-progress heart to the surface.

1c) A Christ-like heart will shine through every circumstance.

Something super convicting from this year’s Passion for the Nations, was this strong word from Epicentre’s Pastor Jon Lo: many Christians have the false belief that when they reach the mission field THEN they will start living a sold-out life for Christ.

The moment he shared this, my heart sank because this notion had my name written all over it. I was living an unintentional, selfish life at work (at least in some aspects), but all the while thinking that as soon as I got to the mission field, then I would be this super awesome, amazing Christian.

For one, there’s a chance I may never be sent to the mission field! If this is the case, then what happens? And then of course there is the truth that as much as we believe we can compartmentalize, if the love of Christ isn’t pouring out of me now, then there is no way the love of Christ will be pouring out of me in a sustained fashion if/when I reach the mission field.

If the love we are pouring out truly is the love of Christ, then that love will pour out in every circumstance and every facet. The love of Christ cannot be contained! And it extends to every person: rich or poor, Christian or non-Christian, Japanese or North Korean or Jewish or African or American!

If love only pours out of me in settings where I am EXPECTED to love, then that is works-based love, love fashioned for the fulfillment of obligations… and in that case can it really be called love at all?

1d) Whatever you do, work heartily! & 1e) Working heartily means going above and beyond to use your God-given strengths.

Around the beginning of this year, all these realizations started pulling together and my attitude began to change.

I found that my heart was growing for my colleagues and my desire to work hard started stemming from a love of God, rather than a desire for praise or fear of being found out.

Around this time, I posted the following verse under my monitor (using our oh-so-wonderful label maker):

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

Colossians 3:23

As I had shared my work struggles with many, this verse had always come up, but it was not until the start of the year that it finally began to sink into my heart and mind.

The verse says work heartily at whatever you do. Whatever you do: a short, yet broad phrase that encompasses, well, everything!

So slowly, by God’s grace, I started striving to labor for the Lord. And though my job description was still essentially the same, I realized a huge part of this was finding ways to use my strengths even if they weren’t in my normal duties.

I was never tasked with the professional development of colleagues, but as God gave me His heart, He began challenging me to train others in my department and truly care about their growth in terms of career. And of course to do this, it meant I had to work hard at my regular duties to free up time to train them.

Of course I still struggled a lot— old habits die hard. But after two years, I think I finally came to realize that my years in Content were for much more than learning about Excel, and Purchase Orders, and how to write super stellar emails, but rather God was teaching me what it means to be content, ironically through the business of Content.

Anyway, what a way to jump back into the blogging world! I guess this just shows me I need to get back to writing more.

Praise be to God that He is sovereign, and that He knows far better than me what to do with my life.

And, finally, KY, if you made it this far without skimming I commend you haha. On that note too, happy 2 years + 1 month, which really does warrant another post, now doesn’t it? ;)

Dances Only one more to go! PTL PTL PTL!!!!

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:36:24 -0700

*Dances*

Only one more to go! PTL PTL PTL!!!!

“Sovereign” Chris Tomlin Had an amazing time at the...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:08:00 -0700

“Sovereign” Chris Tomlin

Had an amazing time at the Chris Tomlin Burning Lights Tour. Also loving the new Burning Lights album.

Praying this beautiful song over a precious little boy and his family. Please partner in praying for Jeremy and the Kong family too: Jeremy Needs You.

Sovereign in the mountain air
Sovereign on the ocean floor
With me in the calm, with me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy
Sovereign in my deepest cry
With me in the dark, with me at the dawn

In Your everlasting arms
All the pieces of my life
From beginning to the end I can trust You
In Your never failing love
You work everything for good
God whatever comes my way I will trust You

All my hopes, all I need
Held in Your hands
All my life, all of me
Held in Your hands
All my fears, all my dreams
Held in Your hands

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing..."

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:04:00 -0700

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

- Romans 12:2

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:31:39 -0700

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

- Proverbs 28:13