my cup overfloweth

well, i was inspired last night to start this up again when i saw that my good friend Bracken at home had created her own blog. however, i decided to start totally over because i think that has been the theme of my life for this year already. i am trying as best i can to let myself be changed in every circumstance. and that is that.

there is absolutely no way that i could even begin to express all the things that God has already taught me this year, so i'm not even going to try that. i'll just try to hit some of the high points, and i'm sure that all of it will come up in the future, especially since it's all really interconnected anyway.

the most important thing that i have learned in the past semester is that the process of truly letting Christ be the center of your life is really reprogramming everything about your human nature. as sinful creatures, the way we think is innately sinful, and therefore we must purge ourselves of everything that we already think and "let our minds be transformed." basically, we have been brainwashed by the world. what an amazing thing to recognize.

and as any good therapist would say, "the first step to recovery is recognizing you have a problem."

with that said, i will tell you about my day today.

this morning, i had the opportunity to see ginny owens in concert during CUW. she's definitely not your typical Christian artist, but especially because she has been blind since the ago of 2. she has always been one of my very favorite artists, because her songs are very specific to different periods in her life, and therefore to mine as well. one of my favorite songs is called "free" which goes a little something like this:

"turning molehills into mountains, making big deals out of small ones,

bearing gifts as if they're burdens, this is how it's been.

fear of coming out of my shell, too many things i can't do too well,

'fraid i'll try real hard and i'll fail, this is how it's been.

'till the day You pounded on my heart's door,

and You shouted joyfully,"You're not a slave anymore."

(just wanted to share that because i love it & she played it today)

what is really interesting is that just yesterday, i read John 9:1-3 which says,

"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,

'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'

'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus,

'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.' "

it was really cool that i read that yesterday, because God was able to illustrate that to me today through ginny's ministry. and after the concert kt beck, melanie, and i took a picture with her and i also got a chance to sit down and tell ginny how God used her to illustrate that verse to me and how much that meant to me, especially since there are many times when i myself wonder if there is a purpose to my own disability. in fact, here's a picture of ginny and i talking:



i have learned this year that so many times, we pray without expecting answers, and especially without looking for those answers. all you have to do is pray for God to reveal Himself to you through everything you do on a daily basis and then keep your eyes open -- it can seriously be so overwhelming at times, but such an incredible blessing. on a daily basis, i find myself in tears with the overwhelming sense of God even in small parts of my day. what a different way to experience "normal, everday" life....life abundantly.

lindsay, julie, and i went to a women's event tonight at Grace where Lysa TurKeurst spoke. she's the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, which i found out tonight, is actually a ministry out of the town i live in!! i hear it on the radio all the time, but i wasn't aware it was right down the road. it was so awesome to hear the stories she told and the insight she had from her experiences. i even discovered some really cool opportunities i might have in this ministry. i can't even begin to explain it all tonight, but don't worry friends, i will at some point. :)

anyway, i guess that's a pretty long opening to my new blog, but i'm glad i will be able to get all my thoughts out again and hopefully get some feedback too, because i always enjoy learn a lot from other people's insights.

anyway, happy fall break everyone!!