Fifteen For Friday

 I was going to make this Five for Friday, but I have too much to say (Or rather, too many photos to display), so Fifteen it is.

1. I returned to Arkadelphia this week and school began. It was a wonderful mix of emotions leaving and returning. I didn't really want to leave, but am glad to be here now.

2. I've been sick all week. This makes for starting class rather dreary.

3. It's great to be back with my roommates and dorm-family and other friends. Apparently I missed them. (:

4. God is Great. His greatness has overwhelmed me this week. And for that I'm thankful. More thankful than I could say.

5. I saw the loveliest rosebuds with dew drops on them today. Splendid!

6. We are using Pinterest in one of my Psychology classes for assignments. That's brilliant and a huge temptation all at the same time!

7. All of my classes are wonderful this semester! All of them. Usually there is that one that is not the best, but this semester (or at least so far) I am enjoying all of them.  It will be a lot of work, but I'll learn lots and have fun doing it. Excitement!

8. The newest David Crowder*Band album, "Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]) has been on repeat all week long. If you haven't gotten it yet, please do so as of ten minutes ago, that's how urgent and wonderful it is.

9. Highlight of the week was probably being back at Refuge. It is so wonderful to worship as a campus and to study God's Word together with peers leading us.  We began a series on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8) with the Beatitudes.  I was challenged to began to pray that my life matches up with these blessings.

10. It took me until today to fully unload every one of my suitcases... (I got here Monday night, and had four so that's not too bad, right?)

11. This week began my first semester of not being in a Spanish class. Oh, how I missed it!

12. My brother proudly plays epic-conquer-the-world computer games in his free time. Actually, both of them do. They are who I aspire to be. (Not really in the computer game attribute...so only part of that was sarcastic.) :)

13. Highlights of my Christmas break included: Speaking Spanish with both brothers in Oklahoma, Raw, barely-planned worship on Christmas morning, Seeing God's presence and movement at Passion2012, driving my grandparents to Downtown Dallas to look at a library, and bountiful family-time including baking and movies and laughs.

14. None of the pictures taken below were taken in a moving vehicle. They were taken in a vehicle, but I promise (Mom) that the car was not moving. (:

15. I decided to take a drive and I couldn't help but take my camera. I woke up to tremendous amounts of fog this morning but the sky cleared and left the earth moist and saturated in color. I simply had to attempt to capture it with my camera.  I found a lovely dirt road and blared some ABBA (which was a little strange to be listening to in the country, Blake Shelton or Tim McGraw should have been blaring...oops) and snapped a few shots on the side of the road. These were my 15 favorites. (:

Happy weekend! May it be relaxing and productive.

InJoy,
Brittany

Give Us Rest...In the Presence of God (or DavidCrowder*Band's Last.)

I just returned from #Passion2012 Friday at 4 a.m. It was phenomenal. God did so much and His presence was so tangible.  I hope to fill in about the time there and some of what I've learned in the days following.
The DavidCrowder*Band played their last concert on Monday night, and it was amazing! (Hillsong was in concert the following night and was awesome, as well.)  I wrote a few thoughts that God was speaking to me down in my journal at a moment in the DC*B concert. I decided I should share it with you all.
     "Sitting, Standing, Being at the last David Crowder*Band concert. "How He loves" is playing, and what a warm, beautiful picture of what it will be like when the Kingdom of Heaven comes.  The love of God is felt like a warm embrace.  Purifying, satisfying, and holy.
     God is with us always. We will be in His presence fully in the "forever," but He is still with us presently.
    Do we live like that?  Do we live as if we are in the presence of the Almighty, Holy God every minute? In all situations?
     Do we live like we are completely saved and set free; alive; now? Here?
              Why not..........?"
Each situation puts us in the presence of God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Whether we are in a musical worship service, writing a book, reading a book, being with friends, or sleeping. Oh, Lord, make us holy, wholly in your presence.

A Return.

I've been a bit MIA lately, and for that I do apologize. (It seems that I start every post like that, so maybe I should start apologizing and start expecting that I'm bad at blogging.) So much has gone on in life and my last semester was so full that this blog shifted to the bottom of the list, and trust me, it was a long list.  So maybe I'll do better this next year. I begin my last semester as a college student in about a week and a half and it would be good to chronicle this adventure. I am highly looking forward to this next phase and then the next. But currently, I'm enjoying living in the now and living out the plan God has for me.

So I return to this blog, very different than when I last wrote, but still the same small-town-girl.  There's much I've learned since my last visit, but I do not have space or time to eloquently describe it. So may this return be one of newness.  May we start fresh from here and grow and walk together this journey that God has laid out for us.