the next picasso?

So, after talking about it for weeks, my friend Malorie and I made drove to Hobby Lobby to get our utensils for our fun night in. We stood in front of the blank canvases for a while. I finally grabbed a rectangular shaped piece that was screaming at me to become artwork. Haha - little did it know that I had never done such a thing. I have always talked about wanting to paint, and there I was finally following through with my desire. It's always been in me, I was just too scared to try it out, too scared to fail. Here I was, finally getting past my fear of making a fool of myself, and just doing it (kinda like nike, but in a more artistic sense than sporty). Next, we got our paint (30% off, by the way, the Lord knew I am on a budget), which took longer than the canvas choosing. Malorie and I discussed together what we would paint and helped each other as we looked at all of the different yellows (canary, sunshine, buttercup) and greens (forest, apple, grass). Finally selecting the colors and the rest of our tools, we made our way to Malorie's house for a night of food and artistic thought. It was so much fun! I never knew that painting would be so fun. We popped in the movie "Devil Wears Prada" and laid all of it out, ready for us to dive on in. I started to paint the night sky with a big moon, reminding me of the season of life that I am going through. It was so much more than a painting to me. It was me, facing the giant of failure. I finally surrendered to thoughts of painting badly, and just painted because I wanted to and I loved it. It was more fun than I thought. My brush stroked my feelings of what it is like to be in the night sky, but even in that darkness of unknown there is light. It was so much fun. I finished very pleased with where I had taken the painting. 

Still have much left to do with it, but so far, i am pleased. It was my first official painting. Congratulations to me. 

T.S. Eliot

"I said to my soul, be still and wait...

So the darkness shall be the light,

and the stillness the dancing."

it's cold outside!

 Top 5 reasons why I love the cold...

5. Coffee, Coffee, Coffee - I can now have my coffee without having to make it frozen and iced. Instead, I can say "extra hot" without them looking at me like I'm a freak. 

4. The leaves. Let's be honest, when you live in the south, the leaves do not truly start turning until late October. I love seeing the leaves change. The colors make me so happy. red, gold, brown, purple... beautiful...

3. Red noses and cheeks. I love watching people walk inside after being out in the cold. Their faces, along with my own are cold and flushed. So adorable. I don't know how someone could disagree with me here. 

2. Fires. YES! Now it is acceptable to have fires. The conversations that are had around a bonfire and around the fireplace are irreplaceable. Everyone is snuggled up in blankets and place themselves as close as possible to the fire without getting burned. The best is when you watch people rotate around like rotisserie chickens. ha!

1. Scarves! I LOVE wearing scarves. Whoever invented scarves, let this be my thank you. They make so much sense. They keep the wind out of your face if you pull it up around your nose. They always keep your neck warm. They also serve to accessorize when all you have on is a big coat. I love it. 

Please do the same and think of reasons why you love the weather. It makes you appreciate the small things. Thanks for listening...

"nay hoh" means hello in Cantonese :)

Already I am learning Cantonese! On my way to being fluent. Well, not really. Hello is the only phrase I really remember. Hong Kong... what can I say? Each day was filled with the knowledge that the Lord has something huge planned for this city. Every day I sat and listened to the song "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin. He truly is the God of Hong Kong, the King of the people of Hong Kong. They are so desperate to hear truth. They are a free nation until 2047, so it makes so much sense to scream and shout the name of Jesus with urgency! 

Not only did we see the need for ministry there, but we laughed a whole lot. We became closer as a staff and we enjoyed one another every second. It's crazy that the Lord has let me be a part of a team so incredible. I am humbled that He has given me six new best friends. In all honesty, it has a whole lot to do with our leader, Matt Dean. He has taught us so much and lead us to look for the best in one another and to fight for one another. I'm not sure we'd be like this if it wasn't for him. Thanks, Matt. 

Top 10 Hong Kong Moments:

10. Eating BBQ tasting spaghetti and a Portuguese? restaurant in China while playing truth or   dare with some high school students

9. Riding on the LONGEST outside escalator in the world. No exaggeration here, literally seemed never-ending. 

8. Taking "Sticky Pictures" at the photo booths with the students... one word - HILARIOUS

7. The two benches in Kowloon Tsai Park where we sat and processed and took communion together.

6. Peeing in my first Squatty Potty. Haha!

5. Smelling the most disgusting smell ever - stinky tofu. (they soak the tofu in old vegetable juice for months, then fry it and serve it on a stick with ketchup)

4. Praying at the top of the Peek where you have the best view of the whole city. 

3. Eating squid. YUCK! At least I can say I did it!

2. Watching the taxi drivers spit openly on the sidewalk. 

1. Being able to experience Passion Hong Kong and see the hearts of desperation in the small fraction of college students who attended. 

Thank you to all of you who prayed for me!

i'm back

I'm back from 10 days in Hong Kong. All I can say right now is He is so good. He is huge. He's got huge plans for that city. Just give me a few more days to "process". Then, I'll get my thoughts together. Until then, here are some pictures for you!

sister lindsey

If you have never met my sister, than I feel really sorry for you. Seriously. She may be the most amazing person I have ever met. She is my best friend, my wise counselor, laughing partner, crying partner, words of truth, all knowing of my faults and still loves me... This past weekend was a time to celebrate her commitment to the Lord and just to celebrate her as a person. I love her. I love that the Lord has given me someone so amazing to look up to. She is to be married in almost two months. I am so happy for her. I am so excited that she is about to enter into a time of new revelations from the Lord. He has new things that He wants to bring her through and therefore, have her reflecting even more of His goodness and grace. Ah - I can't wait. She is bringing me a brother. And for that, I am grateful. I could not see my life without him. Their wedding is going to be the most precious day. I cannot wait. 

(above is some pictures of all of us)

Staff

Pretty much, I'm obsessed with this staff team. Every single person on this team has challenged me to run faster and more passionately towards the cross. There is no explanation other than Christ. He has fastened this team specifically to further advance His kingdom. Pretty much, they're the bomb. I love them so much. They are my home away from home. Just thought I'd let you see the faces that I see everyday. 

(from left to right: Scott Littlepage, Jason Orme, Katie Bartlett, Me, John Pritchard, and Mary Reading Overstreet)

waiting.

Last night I received a phone call from a very dear friend of mine, Jill. She is one of those friends that speaks truth to you all of the the time. She is my defender. She stands behind me, fighting for me and making sure that my back is covered in battle. I love her. I'm blessed by her. Thanks, God. :)

During this phone conversation she tells me to read Isaiah 30:18 "Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you..." Here is her response, which I asked her to email me, to this verse - 

"Then Jon Courson (a pastor out in Oregon), in his commentary refers also to the story in 1 Samuel, of Hannah crying out to God for a son. Then he explains, 'Hannah wanted a son because she was embarrassed. God, however, wanted a man through whom He could speak to His people. Therefore, in reality, it wasn't so much Hannah waiting for God all those years, but God waiting for Hannah to be in a place where she could say, 'If you bless me with a son, I'll give him to you.'

He also says, 'Wait on me because in reality, I'm waiting on you. there things I want to do for you, in you and through you that are much greater than you can even imagine. I want you to wait on me because I'm waiting for you to see what I want to do in, through, and for your life. I'm waiting for you to get to the place where I can open doors for you and pour out blessing upon you so great that your arms can't even hold it.'"

All I have to say is wow. Who would've ever thought that waiting for the Lord meant that HE was waiting on us. Puts more urgency on my daily surrender...