10.15.2009

an obvious topic

Deciding what to write my first "real" blog entry on out of the Rolodex of ideas spinning through my head was a no-brainer. The subject surrounds, enriches and challenges my life.

Friends are people that I've been unbelievably blessed with, wrongly let them act as a god in my life, and have been forced to find a sweet balance between the two. There is something else that the Lord has blessed me with, that comes from Him and Him only. Among the long list of weaknesses, the Lord gave me a large helping of loyalty to those who I am close to. Loyalty is good. Good things only come from the Lord. This quality is not of myself.

To continue with this listing of blessings, the Lord has given me amazing friends to spill this on to and those who continue to teach me what true loyalty looks like.

I have three best friends from high school. We've been an inseparable foursome since our sophomore year, and our relationship remains today. Until we moved a total of 2,000 miles from our comfort zones to various colleges, we didn't realize that our hometown friendship was a rarity.

 Their names are Abby, Ashley and Hannah. If you've been around me for a total of five minutes, I'd bet that you've heard of them. I may have sounded something like, "Abbishlihannah." I shamelessly find various ways to work them into conversation. When you love someone as much as I love them, you can't help to talk about them. This is how I should be when it comes to talking about Jesus.
 

About a year ago, the four of us had a conversation which we all sensed in our heart-of-hearts that it needed to happen. It came naturally, late one night while the lights of Austin, TX disappeared behind us as we drove  back to Ash's apartment in Waco. We talked about the mutual realization that we were no longer the same people we were in high school, that different states, schools, life choices, majors and new friends had caused four separate changes. It was like slightly changing the edges to a four piece puzzle so that you knew where the pieces were meant to be, yet the fit was now slightly awkward, slightly forced.

Because of that conversation which was overflowing with understanding, acceptance, and desire to survive these changes, I began a new mindset. It's a mindset where I expect changes, expect disagreeing on various topics, expect different lifestyles but pledge to love unconditionally. It's a daunting task, but while my love could quickly run out, the Lord's is a bottomless, overflowing cup. I often [jokingly] tell them that they could become drug dealers or decide to be a Wiccan, but they "aren't getting rid of me." I pray that the prefix "my-best-friend" would never seem unnatural with their name. This new mindset has caused our relationships to grow and develop in great ways. We are no longer required to fit into the mold of who we were in high school. Instead of that puzzle, I now see us as four separate masterpieces that can stand alone but have an unexplainable beauty when hung side by side.

It's unbelievably to me that we have entered the school year in which we will all turn 21. I feel that it could have been last week when I got off the phone with one of them, excited about homecoming dates and drivers licenses. I was extremely fortunate to get to fly to Savannah, GA for Abs' 21st birthday this past weekend. It was amazing to see in action her life that I have only seen in pictures and heard about over the phone for more than two years. It was a weekend filled with celebrating an extraordinary person. Beyond that, I felt like I was anonymously celebrating our friendship. Not with presents and cake, but by heart-felt conversations before we fell asleep, that sweet and comfortable companionable silence, and choking back tears at airport security. It was an amazing weekend to be together. I can only imagine what it would be like if the foursome was complete.


As I sat in the Savannah airport waiting for my delayed plane and feeling sad to leave, I realized how blessed I was to have friends in Baton Rouge to come back to, to miss while I was gone, who would be waiting up that night to exchange stories from the weekend, who I couldn't wait to see while passing on campus or who I hoped to hang out with at the B. I have no doubt that the Lord loves for us to have friends and for us to glorify Him in those friendships, because I definitely do not deserve these people with my own efforts.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (ESV)

10.07.2009

A Blogging Newbie

Though the reality is that I have not a second to spare in this busy life to write on a blog, I'm doing it anyway! I believe we all need a place like this. A place to write and not be graded. A place to share and it not affect my GPA. I expect it to be a place where I can express new (and often random) thoughts, ideas and interests in an organized, thought-out fashion. Here are a few areas of interest that you can expect to see here...



Ideas on community vs. individual relationships with the Lord


































I have been beyond blessed to experience amazing, God-ordained community in high school small groups with home town friends, at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry where I have met my LSU family and at my summer home - Pine Cove Christian Camps.
Lately, God has been challenging me with the idea that while community is wonderful and necessary, in the end it will be my person and individual relationship with Him that will matter when I stand before Him at the end of my life on Earth. I am constantly reminded that I cannot use my communities as a crutch.



Crafts

 
















I absolutely LOVE anyt Do It Yourself projects, random crafts, homemade gifts, new recipes...anything! I hope for this to be a great place to share my latest project (which I always seem to find time for).



Respecting and learning from past generations

















[My Mamaw Loyce and I circa 1993]

My grandparents are my heroes and some of my favorite people on this planet. I could listen to them talk about the days when things were less complicated and when relationships were most important while posessions were not. I'm somewhat of an "old soul," and I have a desire to integrate many of their generation's values into my life today.



Weddings
















I know every girl is supposed to love weddings, but you aren't going to find a bigger fan than myself. Thankfully, I am not one of those [single] crazies that has their wedding planned before they ever meet the groom. I simply love everything that has to do with the event. I love thinking about all that goes into the planning aspect - the dress, the colors, the flowers, the food, the location. Everything. More importantly I love that it is a celebration of love and hopefully a reminder to those in attendence of the love in their life.



There it is - the starting line to this new blog of mine. These are a few topics among the millions that fly through my head on a daily basis. I hope that you'll continually check back to see what is new.