I spent my Thanksgiving weekend in Washington D.C. with my family! Honestly, I'm not always the biggest fan of the East Coast due to weather and having to adjust to a completely different culture, but I do love spending at least some part of the holidays there! Thanksgiving was wonderful as always. It's my favorite holiday, but I've already blogged about that, so I'll just stick to saying that I love Thanksgiving so much! One of the best parts of this Thanksgiving break was welcoming the Christmas season. Honestly, I am a Grinch until midnight on Thanksgiving. I want to give Thanksgiving its due and therefore refuse to listen to any Christmas music, watch any Christmas movies, or decorate in the Christmas style until after Thanksgiving. To me, this makes the holiday season extra special and I was so excited to start the holidays off, East Coast style!
I've been to most of the major cities in America-Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, etc. The one city I had yet to visit, though, was Chicago, until last week! I went to visit my little sister, Amanda, who goes to college in Wheaton-a suburb of Chicago. I got my first real taste of fall, something I haven't experienced in several years while living in San Diego. The city of Chicago is lovely, and I'm so glad I finally got to visit!
You can't really see it, but we're standing in front of the Bean!
I've been on a huge Brooke Fraser kick recently. All of her songs are wonderful, but this is the song I keep coming back to. I'm not really sure why, as the song itself speaks of a dry, desolate season, a season I'm not really walking through yet. But the imagery that she uses is lovely in a desperate sort of way. This song speaks for itself, so I'll include the lyrics, then let the song do the rest.
It was the year
The crows and the locusts came The fields drained dry the rain The fields are bleeding "Daddy don't cry, it'll be alright" She puts some water on the wound And hums a little tune While her courage puddles on the ground Pooling, pooling See the murder and the swarm descend And the night is getting thick The moon telling her tricks She'd betray her every time It was the year The crows and the locusts came The fields drained dry the rain The fields are bleeding It was the age The foxes came for the fields We were bleeding as we bowed to kneel And prayed for mercy, prayed for mercy The rumble is low and the heat is high Got a feeling that there's rain out in the oil black sky Gonna chase away the devil when that sun does rise Gonna plead the blood Gonna plead the blood It was the year The crows and the locusts came The fields drained dry the rain The fields are bleeding It was the age The foxes came for the fields We were bleeding as we bowed to kneel And prayed for mercy, prayed for mercy She limps on up to the top of a mount Looks at the faltered harvest Feels her sweat in the ground and the burn in her nose And the knowing in her guts Something's still gonna grow She ain't leaving 'till it does. What can wash away my sin Nothing but the blood... What can make me whole again Nothing but the blood...
Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time and He has set eternity in the hearts of men but they cannot see what He has done from beginning to end."
Psalm 42:7, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and breakers have swept over me."
These two verses, one of which I've blogged about so many times that I don't need to elaborate on any more, are profoundly impacting me right now.
Like so many others of my generation, The Lion King is one of the first memories I think of when I think back on my childhood. It's the first movie I remember seeing in theaters. I remember listening to my sister singing the famous opening line over and over again for years. I remember driving around, running errands with my mother and sisters and listening to The Lion King Broadway soundtrack on repeat. And I know that almost every other member of my generation has similar feelings and memories towards this movie. It has come to define our generation. It was re-released three weeks ago for a short time in theaters and quickly became number one at the box office. Of course I saw it in all of its 3D glory. I cried, laughed, and pondered all over again. What is it about this movie that touches our hearts so deeply? This movie above all others is the one that my generation claims as its own. It's almost eerie how much this story echoes sentiments of our generation. My generation is the most prayed over and anointed generation thus far. We have been born into and raised up in centuries of accumulated prayer and intercession. We are also the most fatherless. We have been raised inheriting incredible anointing and callings upon our lives. We have also inherited the devastating repercussions that have followed several generations worth of divorce, and we have seen the effects of the total destruction of the family as the Lord appointed it. I know so many who were raised without a father. And I have seen a newer, sadder epidemic. So many of my friends were actually raised by their fathers and mothers. They have never been victims of divorce. But their fathers are not the leaders of their households. They are checked out, absent, emotionally unavailable. Their mothers are the spiritual leaders. Or their fathers are too present and are either physically, emotionally, or verbally abusive. These men have forgotten who they are and left a devastating impact on their wives and children. Thus my generation has forgotten who we are. We know distantly that we are children of the King. But we don't walk in that knowledge. We prefer a "Hakuna Matata" existence-simply breezing through life, not upsetting any balances or fighting the social injustices we witness. And the Kingdom has suffered. But the Lord is faithful! He is calling on us to remember who we are! It is only by accepting and walking in our true identities as children of the King that we can bring His Kingdom to earth and restore all to how it should be-much like Simba restored Pride Rock to its normal, beautiful self by accepting the fact that he is the son of the one, true king. Hope is not lost. Our Daddy has not forsaken us. He is calling on us to Remember Who We Are.
My favorite verse of all time is Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Hey, I even named this blog after that verse! I love the promise and the potential that this verse holds. Everything will be made beautiful in His time! So, needless to say, I'm totally hooked on this song right now. It's Rebecca St. James singing her version of Ecclesiastes 3:11. Would it be a little too obvious to say I find this song totally beautiful?
This is the promo video for the ministry I'm involved in on campus. Our vision is centered around helping girls to find their beauty and value in God. Our first event is tonight and I'm so excited for all the Lord is going to accomplish this year!
And so begins another year. I'm beginning my Junior year of college (where did the time go!?). My classes are fine and my course load is a lot easier than it was last semester (which is not saying much as last semester kicked my butt). I'm excited for all that God has in store for this year for me. Yet as I sat in my room today contemplating all that is in store for this year, I began stressing about all that I have to do, both in this week and in this coming semester. It wasn't until my iPod "randomly" shuffled onto a certain song that I began to calm down. God has a way of breaking through right when I'm at my most vulnerable and He certainly came through today! As I listened to the lyrics of this song, I was struck by the simple truth of it, and was faced with what God wants me to focus on completely this semester: HIM. My heart is so prone to wander and to focus on the fleeting, unimportant stuff of today. Jesus was calling me in that moment to focus only on Him this coming semester. This may seem much more trite than it really was. All I need to do this semester is fall deeper in love with my God! Instantly a load was taken off my shoulders. As I contemplated the last verse of this song, the Lord brought to mind a promise that He had made me at the beginning of last year: that He would guard my heart if I just obeyed Him and followed where He led me. He reminded me not only of that promise today, but also of His faithfulness in keeping it. Here is the song that will be echoing in my heart this coming year. I'm so excited to experience God in a much deeper way.
The more I come to know myself, the more I realize how much I love stories. It doesn't really matter if it's fiction or not, because I believe that all great stories come from some basis of truth. We write from what we know. So while the story in the book and movie The Help may not have actually happened, it's still quite inspiring. The story centers around Jackson, Mississippi right before the Civil Rights Movement. To see how divided our country used to be over the issue of race was beyond words. I'd like to think we've come so far, especially now that we have a black President. The movie itself was incredible, but something I witnessed in the theater itself helped convince me that this country is not beyond hope, no matter how discouraged I may get sometimes. I volunteer at pregnancy crisis center in the South Capital district of Washington D.C., but I sometimes feel like I'm in a completely different country. The stories I hear are so beyond anything I've ever even imagined that I can't help but get discouraged. The women I serve are wonderful, brave women who never really had a chance. Some of the situations I hear about are so heartbreaking, it makes me wonder if we've even come that far at all. But while I was sitting in the theater today waiting for the movie to start, two women walked in and sat right in front of me. One was white, the other was black. All during the movie, they laughed and cried together and as I was pulling out of the theater parking lot I saw them embracing each other before getting into their cars and leaving. That simple gesture reminded me that we have come so far, and though our society is not perfect, we're not hopeless. The movie itself was incredible and I highly recommend it. We all need these simple reminders from time to time, to show us that we really are witnessing the unfolding of an incredible story. It's not perfect, not yet anyways. But it's not without hope either.
This may have been the best Fourth of July EVER. For one reason, I got to spend it on the National Mall (which means the best fireworks show ever!!). Even better, I got to spend it with some of my best friends! Three of my friends were able to fly out and visit me, which was absolutely wonderful. I already had three friends out here interning in D.C., so this was really a great time of laughter and memories. These pictures explain more than my words ever could. I'm so blessed by all these amazing friendships!
On the metro. You know you've been in show choir for too long when...
The National Cathedral!
The steps of the Capital.
Nothing more patriotic than seeing the Declaration of Independence on Independence Day!
We got yelled at for taking this picture.
I have no idea what either of us are doing in this picture...
We all realized we were rocking the high bun look.
The owner of We, The Pizza. Becca insulted his food to his face. BEST STORY EVER.
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." - John Lubbock
I crossed one off my bucket list! I SAW U2 IN CONCERT!! Seriously, people. It was INCREDIBLE. The lights, the music, the performance-it was all what I could have wished for and more. There was one part particularly that left me in tears. U2 is incredibly flashy, with lots of lights and spectacle. At one point toward the end of the concert though, it got quieter. The lights got dimmer, the music faded and Bono was standing by himself. He started singing "Amazing Grace". The whole stadium joined in-80,000 people singing "Amazing Grace". It took my breath away. This must be what Heaven is like, but better. Then, the band segued into one of my all-time favorite songs, "Where the Streets Have No Name". By the way, that song is written about Heaven. It was truly incredible. God is so incredible, and He makes Himself known even at a rock concert with 80,000 people watching. The rest of the night was wonderful as well. This was an experience that I will cherish and look back on for the rest of my life.
Ecclesiastes 3:11, He has made everything beautiful in its time and He has set eternity in the hearts of men, but they cannot see what He has done from beginning to end.
