Happiness

Today at church at The Crossing in CoMo, the sermon was mainly about wisdom. How Jesus is Wisdom and in order to have it we must know Him... but then he briefly started talking about how we want happiness and how we can get it. For some reason I felt really compelled to write what he said down. He said that in order to be happy we HAVE to put all of our life in the Lord. We must surrender all to Him and give Him our hearts and our lives in the view of eternity. People are constantly searching for happiness in worldly things (he talked about how Amy Winehouse and other young stars that have committed suicide do it because they begin getting all of these worldly things that they have always dreamed of, and before long they have "everything", but they are still not happy... they are missing God) instead of seeking the true source of happiness- God. For some reason I was just very compelled to right this down, so I'm sure there's a reason why.

Thanks for the prayers!

LJ

The Real Home

So my last post I spoke on the prompt I was given for a class about what home is...
Well, I forgot one thing.
This morning as I was doing my Bible study of Philippians, I came across Philippians 3:20- "But our home is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."
At church camp this summer I was given a chart...
Activity-->Identity-->Security. This is how most people identify themselves in life....
But what Christians do is the opposite...
Security (in Christ)-->Identity-->Activity.
In order to really feel at home anywhere away from Heaven, we have to find our security in Christ and not in anything else, that way we know who we are and we can get involved in things that reflect who we are, not who we want to be or who we WISH we were.
I can call anywhere home at this point, even if it's not "home" or Heaven, but I know that I never have anything to fear when I am walking with Jesus.

I love the big JC (Jesus Christ)!!!

LJ

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That!

I was given a prompt today in my Honors Seminar class asking me what I think "home" is. It automatically made me think of the cliche saying "home is where the heart is," for me this phrase is so true. Home to me isn't about where I am or what I'm doing; it's all about who I'm with. For me, I feel the most at home when I am with everyone who I love and hold most dear (you know who you all are!). It's hard to say that I often feel "at home" since I've left, but it's pretty close to home being in my room with Kramer. Though her and I are still in the roommate "honeymoon stage", it seems as though we've known each other for a very long time and we just get along so well. In fact, since I had to miss dinner tonight for XC practice and an all-athlete meeting, Kramer brought me home some food! I can honestly say that I am starting to warm up to the sense of Stephens being my new home... But I know its really a home-away-from-home. The idea that came to my mind of when I would feel the most at home would be around the dinner table (yes, food MUST be involved for me!) with a bunch of food, everyone I love surrounding the table passing around the different dishes, laughing, chatting, smiling, just having a good time. I can imagine this picture in my mind and it's so surreal, but at the same time I can remember times where I've felt this ecstasy.
I can honestly say that I feel so very blessed to have so many people that love me and care about me, and I appreciate everyone's prayers so much. Though this isn't my ideal "home", it is pretty darn good :) and I can honestly say I'm genuinely happy (even if I miss a lot of you like CRAZY!).

I hope everyone had a great week and I hope everyone HAS a fantastic weekend!

LJ

Jitters, Nerves and an Oatmeal Fudge Bar

It is truly remarkable when you sit down and just think, "where have I seen God today?" because honestly, I see Him in nearly EVERYTHING I do/encounter. 

Taking this new journey in life- college, I have really gotten the chance to see God's hands really work in my life. I feel so incredibly blessed. My roommate and I couldn't get along better (love you Kramer!), our suite mates are the cutest, most fun, and just completely enjoyable people to live with, despite the fact that we do not have AC and it got really hot this week, we are blessed to have MANY fans! Our floors are also hard wood so they stay pretty cool. The 4 flights of stairs may seem like a lot, but there IS a 5th floor (that is not being used)! The nights cool off a lot so we are able to sleep pretty comfortably. My professors all seem very enthusiastic and I actually ENJOY listening to them! Though I may be a little homesick (and Jordan sick!), I am genuinely happy and having a good time! All of my classes are in the same general area (in fact, two of my classes in a row are in the same room!). I have been able to Skype with my family (even Chris!) and Jordan nearly every day! Though I had tons of homework last night, I was able to get most of it done (apart from some that I am about to do right now) and still get to bed by 11! Despite the very hot weather, cross country has actually been going pretty well, and I really really like my coach and all of the girls on the team! My car is in a lovely CORNER spot in a parking lot only like 100 yards away from my dorm building. All 4 of us girls in our suite do not have the desire to partake in underage drinking/partying so we don't have to worry about that! Kramer and I both have boyfriends so we don't have to worry about either of us wanting to go "find guys" or bring guys back or any of that. 

There are so many more ways I have seen God this week, and I could honestly list them all out, but it would take me far too long (and I do have some studying to do!). I appreciate everyone's prayers and I am just so excited to be here and I am really, truly thankful. Our God is SO good.

Much love!

LJ