TEXAS.... FIGHT..... TEXAS.... FIGHT!

If you know me AT ALL you will know that I am a die-hard UT Sports fan. I love the longhorns and bleed burnt orange. On Saturday, we had our much anticipated rivarly game with the evil, Oklahoma Sooners. This game is a big game every year. Texas hates OU and OU hates Texas. We meet in the middle and play at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Tx. Saturday's game was outstanding, and we came up on top of the th #1 ranked Sooners, 45-35. It was one of those games that at times I had trouble breathing, but in the end the Longhorns prevailed! I'm SOOOO stoked! When the new rankings came out on Sunday afternoon, it was the Texas Longhorns that were the new #1 :) Hook'em Horns! Up next: The Missouri Tigers come to town. This one should be just as exciting.

I'd also like to add the rankings of some of my dearest friends:

Baylor Bears- #70
Texas aTm Aggies- #87

My trip to Philly

I had the amazing opportunity to go visit my great friend, Rebecca in Philadelphia this past weekend. Rebecca and I have been good friends for the past year or so after meeting last summer interning together for Makarios. She moved to Philly the past June to do the Teach For America program. She's now a fourth grade teacher, and definitely has her hands full. It was so great to see her, her new city, get in some good laughs, and enjoy some great food. Philadelphia is one of the largest cities in the U.S. and also the poorest in the top 10 (I believe). There were some awesome, beautiful parts of this historic city, but there were also some pretty "rough" parts you could say. I think a city like Philly definitely puts in perspective the reality of the world, and that it's not all sunshine and happiness. It was cool to see another part of the U.S. that I had never seen. I definitely can't wait for another visit sometime!

Fun Things from my trip:
1) eat at PAT'S (best cheese steak of my life). I don't think I'll EVER be able to eat a cheese steak in Austin and be satisfied.
2) seeing parts of Rebecca's cute neighborhood
3) witnessing Rebecca's AWESOME parallel parking skills (wow)
4) FREE Bruce Springsteen and Amos Lee concert (but briefly having to hear liberals cheer on Obama- sick)
5) wearing burnt orange in DT Philly and hearing people say Hook'em, and even one guy yelling "Texas" and Rebecca and I yelling "Fight!"
6) Watching the Texas game in a Sports bar in DT Philly with other Texas Exes!
7) Attending Rebecca's awesome church, Epiphany Fellowship
8) Getting to go to New Jersey, just for a grade book :)
9) Eating a Hoagie from a Convenient store.
10) Last but definitely not least, getting to meet Rebecca's fourth graders. Getting to spend a morning watching my friend love and teach these challenging kids. It was awesome.

I love you, Rebecca!!!! :)

Friends.

I've had a lot of great friendships in my almost 25 (I can't believe I'm almost this old) years of life. I've known some people in my life for a long time, and some people just a few months, and I'm thankful for them all. I'm thankful that I have friends who challenge me. I'm thankful that I have friends who love me unconditionally, because let's face it, I'm not perfect. I'm thankful that I have friends who pray for me. I'm thankful that I have friends that will just sit and listen to me ramble, but then offer me love and grace. I'm thankful that I have friends who fulfill my love languages (quality time and words of affirmation). I'm thankful that I have friends who would go to the ends of the earth for me. I'm thankful that I have friends that I can be real with. I'm thankful that I have friends who always keep me laughing, smiling, and make my days so much brighter.

Most of all, I'm thankful that the Lord has bestowed this great blessing of friendship in my life. I don't have the act of being a "good" friend perfected, but the Lord has allowed me to really invest in some great people, and have some great people invest in me.

Thank you, sweet Jesus.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

My Soul Sings...

my soul sings, my soul sings, my soul sings HOW I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Christ, I'm a great sinner that was in need of a great Savior. Thank you for being that in my life. Thank you know for knowing the depths of my heart, and loving me the same. Thank you for being a God of truth. Thank you for being a God of mercy, grace, and compassion. You are the King of Glory, and I'm so thankful to be a daughter of the King who will reign forever. What a great day that will be, Christ.

My soul will forever sing how I love you.

Another quote...

This quote broke my heart.

"The reason you aren't broken over this city, the reason the lostness of Austin doesn't make you weep, the reason that you aren't desperately broken over your roommate, parents, husband, wife, family, the reason that you aren't broken for your co-workers is because at the end of the day we live ours lives like we do not believe that the wrath of God is going to abide on those who has not put their faith and trust in Jesus."- Matt Carter

A great quote from a sermon

"The bible gives one main reason for why being single is better than being married. (I Cor 7:32-34) As a single you are able to have an undivided heart towards God. You're able to have a singular passion and a singular devotion towards God. Though all of you are able to have an undivided heart towards God, many of you don't. Not because you are married and constantly thinking about your spouse but because you are constantly thinking about and worrying about getting married. You are robbing yourself and you are robbing God of the one main thing that makes it better for you to be a single than to be married."

Halim Suh
Pastor of Get Trained
Austin Stone Community Church

Amen.

I just wanna know why...

Let me preface this post with saying that these are only my opinions, read with an open mind. 

Life is interesting at times. The Lord is my constant, but some of the curve balls I'm thrown in this crazy world sometimes take me for a whirlwind and I'm not even sure what to think. As I was driving home tonight on Mopac I was thinking about something that has recently been driving me nuts. It's almost causing an ulcer (ok, I'm dramatic sometimes but you get the point). I've been worrying about it, and it's consumed my thoughts for the past couple of days. As I was driving it hit me that this situation is SO minimal on the scheme of my entire life. It shouldn't consume my thoughts the way it has. In reality this thing is something I wish I could just stop thinking about. No- I'm not worried that I'm currently homeless and still haven't found a place to live :) In fact, I have more peace in that than I ever thought possible. 

In contemplating life I realized that sometimes I feel like I'm the only person seeing a situation in a certain way and I feel like I'm waving my hands in the air trying to get everyone else's attention but no one sees me. Does that make sense? Why do the things of this world make us worry so much? One of the things that I'm tired of is the American Dream. I'm sick of living amongst it, and I'm sick of seeing people live only for it. It makes my stomach hurt. It makes me want to throw up that I live in a world that pushes me to succeed, that pushes me to make more money, that pushes me to get a promotion, that tells me that I'm only normal if I'm married, etc. etc. This list could go on and on, but quite frankly I'm so over it that it's not even funny. I'm disappointed in how we value the things that Christ has provided in our lives in so much of a lesser light than we do the things of this world. It amazes me that people go above and beyond to congratulate someone who's just engaged, but doesn't recognize at all what the Lord has done in their life the past month or even year, but that this one event surpasses anything Christ could ever do. I just DON'T GET IT. I don't understand it at all. I'm not fascinated with the idea of getting married. I'm just not. It would be nice, but let's face it, it's not anywhere in the near future. I'm so sick of seeing my friends who aren't close to this feeling less of themselves because the only reason they feel this way is because of this world. We should find our value in Christ, not in a man/woman/husband/wife. No, I'm not bitter that I'm single. If the Lord calls me to a life of singleness so be it, if he calls me to be married someday so be it. I know that he has not completed my work as a single woman, and that's why I am where I am right now. That's it. I'm not less of a person because I'm not married and I'm sick of so many people throwing it in my face as if that were true because it's not. 

I feel like the american dream has caused us to live a life of complacency. I feel like that's a life that breaks the heart of Christ too. I feel like it's so easy to blame why we strive for things on the fact that we live in America and quite frankly I'm really sick of that excuse. I'm sick of not being able to live out true community because of the busy american life. I just don't feel like Christ's dream for our lives was a dream of luxury, wealth, prosperity, etc. I believe that Christ called us hear to live out his dream of the nations knowing His name. I believe that He wants us to live our life as if He is coming back today! Why isn't His return the most significant future event in our life? Why don't we care? WHY? I just don't get it. I'm just so baffled. 

This post isn't talking about anyone specific, it's more about a general trend I see among Americans, believers and non, and in some cases even talking about myself. 

Through all of this the only thing I know to be true is that Christ is ruler of all. Christ's dream for my life is the only dream I want to live out. Are you with me?