It's the little things...

Listening to: LIGHTS' new album, Siberia
Definitely didn't realize that this was released yesterday. It's okay, but I think I prefer The Listening. Either way, thank you, Spotify, for letting me listen without having to spend money I don't have.

Photo Credit: Unknown

Today, I can't stop smiling.

Nothing particularly special has happened. It's been a pretty average Wednesday, really. This week, though, I've started seeing God everywhere, and I can't get over how amazing that is. It's never anything huge or spectacular; it's the little things. And somehow, those tend to be so much more special to me.

For my Human Sexuality class, I'm reading Sex God by Rob Bell. Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of his, but this book is actually really good...especially the fourth chapter. I usually don't highlight or underline my books, but this chapter is just too good and relevant not to. Interestingly enough, it's about lust, but as I'm figuring out (and if you read it, you'll understand), lust isn't always about sex. It can be about anything. Adam and Eve in the Garden?

"In most cases, there's nothing wrong with [the things we lust for] inherently.... The problem for Adam and Eve is what the fruit has come to represent. Rebellion against God." (Sex God, p. 72)

He talks about contentment and why that's so important--

"When we're not at peace, when we aren't content, when we aren't in a good place, our radar gets turned on. We're looking.... There's a hole, a space, a gap, and we're on the search. And we may not even realize it. When we are in the right place, the right space--content and at peace--we aren't on the search and our radar gets turned off." (Sex God, p. 73)

I could go way into what I've learned about peace and contentment and what that means, but I'll save that for another time. Basically though, it's finding my satisfaction in God alone. Wherever He has me in life is enough because He put me there. It's true joy.

"It's easy for our thoughts to be dominated by a craving.... It takes ahold of us. We are not free. Lust is slavery. If I want something to the point that I can't conceive of being content without it, then it owns me.... What started out as freedom can quickly become slavery.... Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it." (Sex God, p. 74-75)

He hits the nail on the head with that one. I can't even elaborate. Because when I read that, something clicked. I finally got it.

And that brings me to my main point.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about being thankful. This is another thing Bell talks about in this chapter:

"Gratitude is so central to the life God made us for. Until we can center ourselves on what we do have, on what God has given us, on the life we do get to live, we'll constantly be looking for another life." (Sex God, p. 74)

Over the past several days, I feel like God has been trying to teach me that. Be content. Be at peace. Be thankful. Like I said before, I like the little things in life. At the same time, sometimes I forget to look for them, and with the little things, looking is essential. If I'm caught up in all of the problems with my life, I'm never going to notice everything around me that God has given me. I'll never notice the little things.

That being said, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to be thankful. When I'm bombarded with thoughts of everything that's going wrong, I want to be able to redirect my thoughts and think about the good things...even when there are no major things in my life that are going right. That's where the little things come in.

* * *

Perfect sunny days. The way the wind blows through the trees. Randomly waking up at 7am and looking out my window to see hints of color from the sunrise. Spontaneous trips to Chattanooga. Ridiculous chapel services that I don't get at all, but hey, at least they make me laugh:

"A lot of Lee students are literally frozen and unable to do what God has called them to do." Literally, huh? I guess that ice gets pretty inconvenient.

"We've gotta sing this song. We have to or I'm gonna blow up." Uhhh...yeah... Calm down.

Finally being able to smile at someone I've had trouble forgiving for 2 years. Opportunities (and extra time) to reconnect with friends I love but don't get to see as often as I'd like. When classes are relevant to my personal life. Having time to read for fun. Iced coffee between classes. Stopping to make small talk about soccer and the weather with a sweet elderly man I regularly see on campus. The everyday conversations with friends that aren't particularly memorable but make life happier.

Photo Credit: im-on-tambourine

"Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NCV)

End of the semester adventures!

Sorry for my lack of updates...life kinda picked up after break, I guess. Just in time, too--I was starting to lose hope for the semester altogether! The last month of it ended up being really great though, at least for the most part. :) Get ready for a picture overload.

I've done a lot of random fun stuff, but two of the biggest: Thunder and the Owl City show!

A few weeks ago, a group of about 11 of us went to Mike's house for Thunder Over Louisville (a big fireworks/air show to kick off the Derby). That was definitely fun, even if it was a little chilly at times...

Kristi, Mike, Will, Jon, Jaynese, and I walked around downtown Louisville for most of the day, doing exciting things (or not) like visiting Fourth Street Live...

We found a bookstore somewhere along the way, so we spent awhile in there (Kristi and I found Boyfriend Training Flashcards, so we decided to test the guys' knowledge. Fortunately, they're doing well enough). We eventually made our way back to where Mike's parents were holding down the fort to watch some of the air show.

We met up with the rest of the crew (aka Christy, Courtney, Pookie, Jesse, and Emily) at Panera for dinner, after which we proceeded to take a million pictures by the fountains outside.

Girls:

Guys (this picture is proof of why I love them):

After dark (and a little bit of a delay...), we got to watch some awesome fireworks!

After church the next day, Kristi and I decided to reunite with the tire swing in the backyard.

Sooo much fun (especially when the guys helped us out by pushing us)! All in all--definitely a great weekend!

Next up was the Owl City/LIGHTS/Paper Route show in Atlanta! In a word: amazing. For real. After making it to ATL, we found a place to park and discovered the adventure that is an Atlanta parking garage:

We then found a semi-sketch-looking deli where we got some surprisingly great food that we ate while waiting in line at the Tabernacle:

First up was Paper Route. I'm not really a fan in general, but they're really good live!

Next: LIGHTS! I love her, and she is just as amazing in concert as she is on her album. Not to mention that she's one of the cutest people ever.

And finally...Owl City! Adam Young is just awesome. Even more awesome? Throwing Matt Thiessen into the mix!

And, of course, Breanne Düren (the girl whose voice makes "The Saltwater Room" one of the best songs ever), who is quite possibly the most adorable person alive:

So yeah--definitely a good time! I am so glad I decided to go. It was definitely worth the money!

The rest of the time, I've done fun stuff like hiking (twice) with some of my favorite people:

We ended up going past the marked trail to climb up to see two other waterfalls. The second time around, this involved Kristi, Will, and I climbing rocks and hacking our way through the forest. Gooooood times!

And now I'm home for the summer. Sort of. In about 4 weeks, I'm off to Europe, and after that, I'm probably going to be working something called Camp JOY. I'll definitely have to update you all on that one! It'll be a good summer, I think. It's entirely possible that I won't go crazy this year. Let's hope so, at least.

"I'm a bit of a manic when it's not as I plan it."

This song has been stuck in my head all. Day. Long. (It's fun to sing when you're stuck in traffic!)

By the way, she's going to be performing with Owl City at the Atlanta concert in April... :)