Standing in Awe

So I talk about the sunrise a lot. Sorry I'm not sorry...I think it is one of the most amazing things we have the opportunity to see daily. However I hope this time around I can shed light (pun intended) on the subject of hope. On Friday some good friends of mine invited me over to stay the night. They also love the beach and so Friday we swam and then watched the sunset. On Saturday we got up at 5:30am to watch the sunrise and as I sat on a piece of drift wood I couldn't help but be in awe. Before the sun had even broken the horizon colors danced across the sky painting the clouds beautiful shades of soft purple and pink. At the first peak over the ocean the sun was a brilliant burning orange that caused the sky around it to glow a delicate pink.  Now normally I would talk about all the possibility in a sunrise but this time all I could think of was heaven.  I was almost in tears at the beauty that was before me and this is nothing compared to heaven.  I was...

A few weeks before Christmas I was shopping at a fair trade store in downtown Ann Arbor with a good friend.  We were looking for Christmas presents for friends and family and as we were headed to the check out there was a box of rings.  I was instantly drawn to one that was a simple twisted piece of metal and says "live simple."  This past year I felt as though God was teaching me to trust him not only for my needs, but also to allow him to delight in me.  I have often denied myself wants or things I know I don't need, and even denied others the opportunity to serve me.  I realized that by doing so it actually doesn't allow others to live as God has called them because we are all called to serve others.  So back to the ring.  I felt God delighting in me in that moment and bought it as a Christmas present from Jesus to me.  It is a great reminder of how God calls me to live, and the life that is truly filling. It is funny how God prepares things...

Are you a person that likes to make new year resolutions?  We are surrounded by advertisements and social media telling us to improve ourselves. "New year new you!"  This might be one of my least favorite phrases.  Maybe you've resolved to workout more, eat less sweets, read more books, quit smoking, make more money, the list goes on and on.   I just finished reading a book called The Circle Maker , by Mark Batterson and I was really inspired by this passage: "Make a resolution not to defile yourself.  Then circle it [in prayer] again tomorrow.  And the next day.  And the day after that.  Some of us don't start fighting the battle because we're not sure we can win the war, but the war has already been won nearly two thousand years ago at Calvary.  All you have to worry about is winning the battle today.  God can take care of tomorrow.  Can you keep the resolution for a day? Sure you can.  That defining decision will le...