Sunday thoughts with my coffee

[In reviewing my older posts I've decided to admit to one thing: I'm not good about consistently blogging - therefore I declare this a blog of randomosity. Who knows when the next post will be? It's a surprise to both you and me. Now that we covered that, moving on...]




Lately, I've been praying/thinking about really knowing God. Wanting to follow Him and chase after His heart. I want to serve Him and live my life in accordance with the plans He has set out for me. In doing this I tend to get a little stumped and stuck at times. Do you ever feel like God is such a huge undefinable never ending concept that is impossible to grasp and too amazing to ever fully understand or picture? I've felt that way. A number of times. We have times of understanding and revelation, and then sometimes something slips away - a piece of the never ending puzzle falls from the table onto the dinning room floor and all of the sudden you are so confused because none of these other pieces are fitting in this spot! Well, my friends. This morning I found the puzzle piece on the floor and feel like such a dummy. Sometimes we forget the simplest of things, completely miss them, or realize there is more to them than we thought! I decided to re-read a book I've had since high school, Pursuit of the Holy, by Cory Russell, and it has been such an amazing reminder of how much God wants us to know Him and how He reveals Himself to us. This little bit of morning revelation (and coffee!) came in two parts. Ready?




Part One: "He who has seen Me, has seen the Father" John 14:9.
Who is God? How does He expect me to know Him if he defies all definitions? I'm only human. How can a human understand God? See, it's not a one way street. It's not just us trying to figure out the world, trying to figure out what God wants from us. No, God is reaching out to us, too. God wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him. So much so, that he sent His son, Jesus. I love the way Cory Russell says this - "The pinnacle of God's revelation was in the person of Jesus Christ. In Christ, God unveiled His heart, His nature, His personality, His ways and His words. Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, is the very articulation and manifestation of the invisible God. He has declared the Father to us that we may known Him." Sometimes it's just all about going back to the basics. Reading about the life of Jesus, every story, is like reading the journal of our Father and creator. In knowing Jesus, we know the Lord. We get to walk along with Jesus and know God's heart, God's nature, and His personality. God made a way for us to truly know Him on a level we could never imagine. It allows us to put together a couple puzzle pieces of the invisible God... and knowing one's heart, one's nature, and personality? Well, that sounds like more than just "a god," our God wants to be our friend.




Part Two: "I am a friend of God. He calls me friend."
There has definitely been a couple times when I sang this song at church and did not realize the magnitude of what I was singing. How would we define a true friend? Someone we can trust, someone we truly know. Someone we enjoy spending time with, laughing and crying with. Someone who will push you to be a better you. Someone who believes in you, will listen to you, and you will do the same for them. Not only is God our creator and provider, but He is our friend. The most amazing friend you will ever have. Again, this isn't a one way friendship. Yes, we value the Lord's friendship, how He is always there for us in our highs and lows, how He watches over us and loves us with a never ending love and can help us become a better us - but get this. HE finds value in US. We mean the world to HIM. He finds comfort in knowing that we love Him. I mean, wow, right? Sometimes we go about our day so busy and preoccupied that we may not give God much attention. And sometimes, we realize and feel guilty. I think that's a misinterpretation of the Holy Spirit tugging on our heart strings like God knocking on our door for brunch. God does not want us to feel guilt. Guilt does not make a friendship. God is knocking to say "Hi! I've been wanting to talk to you all day. You won't believe what I have to share with you. SO much is happening right now. Oh, and I cannot wait to hear about your day!" God wants to talk with us, He wants to hear about our day (the good and the bad!). God wants us to know Him and be a true friend, everything we mentioned before and more. It's not only about chasing after the Lord, it's about walking with Him. The best thing is, He's already right by our side with his walking shoes on. "He who inhabits eternity values us because we are His friends." Friendship - another way to know God.




:) This makes me really happy.


Love,
Lauren

Be in love with your life...

I haven't posted in a while, and I apologize for that. I am going to try and post at least once every one or two weeks. This morning I woke up around 7:30 to start studying for an upcoming organic chemistry exam, but instead I spent an hour looking through my India photos and watching this video. If you need a little bit of a smile to get your day going, I suggest watching it :) Today looks like it'll be a pretty good day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-nMIT4vJLU&feature=youtu.be

I also suggest Sigur Ros. They are an ambient/post-rock band from Iceland. I love their music... just puts me in the best mood. It's also great to listen to while sitting on the deck of your house in Dharamsala enjoying a nice rain, or even at home with the windows open to enjoy the bright sun and a cool breeze (spring please get here now!) and pondering life. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video and check out their music!

Here's two little do-das I thought go hand in hand... Set out to accomplish your dream and enjoy every minute of it, even the more boring minutes (aka organic chemistry). Make the best of each day and just remind yourself that one day, you'll get somewhere amazing. Heck, make the journey there amazing too!

Have a blessed Saturday!

Lauren

Resolutions...Part Deux.

On my way to school this morning, I couldn't help but think about my most recent post. (aka yesterday...) I had started a little tangent about happiness and I feel that it is only right if I share with you what I find to be the number one road to the best and most beautiful place of happiness :)

It came to me while listening to one of my Pandora stations. (Side note: Pandora and 3G is probably two of the best inventions ever. I can listen to ANY music I want whenever I'm in the car. Sometimes I even choose to drive alone or go on a random trip just so I can blare music and daydream. I highly suggest it!) Anyway, this morning I had chosen to listen to a Matt Gilman station over the Lumineers and this song came on...

You Are My Passion- Jesus Culture (click the song title if you want to listen!)

I'm not even going to try and describe this song. Cue lyrics:

"I'm alive to bring glory to You, King.

God of victory, You are my passion.
It's in the way you are, You don't change at all.
Great and humble God, You are my passion.
My strength in life, is I am Yours.My soul delights because I am Yours.Your will on earth is all I'm living for.
Jesus I glorify.Jesus my love is Yours.You are my heart's desire.I live to know You more.
Light that breaks the darkness, showing what true love is.Always full of goodness, You are my passion.You never do me wrong, the meekest man but strong.The most perfect song, You are my passion."

A good friend of mine once said "happy" is such a shallow term, and I think she was right. There is so much more to it... so much more depth to "being happy." Knowing that the Lord is always by my side to provide me the strength to get through tough times. Knowing that when I fall or I seem to fail, He is always there to pick me back up and has already forgiven me of any wrongdoings. Knowing that He lives to bring me joy and peace. He loves me unconditionally and nothing can ever, ever, ever break that love. All I am is for and because of Him! 
I've said before that it is important to keep track of who you are and what you are living for... everything else will spring from  what you hold dear to your heart and in the center of your life. This is what I am living for and it brings me so much joy and peace to know that God has everything under control. It also makes me super excited about what lies in my future! (Med School, I hope!)
This is what makes me truly happy :)


...and the fact that the SEC once again killed it last night in the BCS Championship *wink*


Talk to you guys soon! Lauren

A New Year... A New Resolution?

While I'm not a huge fan of making "New Years Resolutions," I have found the start of a new year a great time to revisit your goals and who you strive to be. For me, I like to think of this as a reevaluation of where I am as a person and how I feel about it. Do I like who I am? Am I proud of who I am? Would I be my own friend? Darn right, I would! I'm pretty cool.... I think? I'm just kidding around....

But really. While some people set more tangible goals such as losing weight, eating right, etc, I like to implement positive thinking and try and improve my character. What you think about yourself and how you treat those around you can determine so much of who you become and what you can accomplish! A positive attitude and great energy can do so much.

For instance, lately I have been trying to love more and treat others as I would like to be treated. This could include doing things for others just because and expecting nothing in return, arguing less, the old adage "If you don't have anything positive to say, don't say it all," offering a hand (even when I'm exhausted), saying thank you, listening without needing to give another opinion (unless they ask!), flashing a smile :).... the list could go on. As elementary as these goals may sound, it really can be hard at times and I definitely don't expect to always get it right. I'm sure we can all attest to that... but once you start to put conscious effort and time into such a lifestyle, you really begin to grow, enjoy each day a little more, and happiness increases!

There are so many different things you can do and goals you can set! Last year, I wrote out some encouraging words on a few post its and placed them right near my bed. Every morning I woke up, I saw "I am blessed" along with a few encouraging bible verses and a reminder to stretch! This is especially helpful in a busy lifestyle. When you hit those mornings where you have little to no time for a workout or your usual couch-coffee session, spending a few minutes stretching out your muscles can reduce some of your busy lifestyle induced stress. At the same time, acknowledging your blessings can help you start your day off on a positive foot. (Even when things may have seemed to be exceptionally cruddy.) That sounds like some great multi tasking to me! You end up leaving your house feeling good. Body and soul!

The great thing about these "character resolutions," is they don't have a deadline and they don't have a point of completion. They're just a check point in a journey of continual growth. When you're happy and confident, things just tend to look up, you cultivate great relationships with those around you, and in turn you're even happier. It's a a great cycle, I think.

Have a blessed day :)
Lauren

A new face, a new blog!!

No, I didn't get plastic surgery, but my blog got a little bit of a face lift :)

It's time to bring this page back to life and with a new purpose. Yes, yes, I know it is New Years Day, but this isn't just some "resolution" I decided to put forth at about 1pm this afternoon, I promise. Okay, it was about 2pm when I decided to hit the blog once more. To my defense, this is something I have been thinking about for a while... let me explain...

**If you don't feel like reading this loooong post and just want to know "What the heck is this blog about??" Skip to the paragraph at the end in purple :)

2012 was quite a year. There were many exciting moments and great achievements, but there were also quite a few steep drops in my roller coaster ride. In May, I graduated college and headed out into the real world with my degree in hand and a heart full of high hopes. I finally knew what I wanted and was determined to make every bit of that dream a reality. Then, Mr. Economy and Mrs. Real World came by with some sobering news. "Sorry, but as hard as you try, your Math degree will not get you a job working in a hospital and since you can't find a full time job, you get to move back in with your family. Oh, and since you have to work all the time to pay for school, you aren't going to get to travel much." BUM-MER. Welcome to the life of a student in transition.

There are quite a few things I learned in 2012 and the biggest is that transition is definitely a hard place to be. If you aren't careful you can fall into a rut of laziness and lack of productivity or you can push yourself to work so hard that you lose sight of what you're working for. By that I mean, you may be able to write down, say, "Medical School" on a piece of paper, but if you don't keep track of why you want to get there and who you are as a person, it's easy to lose yourself under a mountain of lab reports, highlighted notes, flash cards, work schedules, and empty coffee cups. While 2012 was a year of excitement and anticipation of what the future held, it was also a year of rediscovery and trying my hardest not to fall into an almost robotic like state of mind. Wake up-coffee-breakfast-class-study-sleep-wake up-coffee-work-study-sleep- and so forth. What I loved about college was the community. You always had friends at least 5 minutes away. They were your stress relief, your support and encouragement.  They would be right there with you at 11pm trying to finish a paper or project and they'd also be with you escaping the books and running away to the beach on a sunny afternoon, grabbing a cup of coffee after class, or making time to walk to church. My friends kept me grounded, reminded me why I was working so hard, and reminded me it was okay to celebrate weekends and give myself a night off.. or two... or three.

That's one of the tough parts of graduating college. It's that first few months when you feel like half of yourself is missing because your friends have been scattered all over the country and a walk to their apartment is now a $300 round trip ticket. It's when you're working 3 part time jobs to pay for classes  you have no time to study for because you're working 3 part time jobs. It's that moment when you're living at home again, just like your former pre-teen, pre-college graduate self.

This blog is going to be for all those students in transition, whether working towards professional school or a professional career, whether you are taking classes or gaining the experience all those darn job applications keep asking for, whether you know what it is you are going for, or if you are still trying to figure it out.... this will be a blog of my thoughts on different topics and feelings that often plague the 20-something college grad and just a hodge podge mix of fun and encouraging discoveries I come upon. It might be a good song, an inspiring quote, a great book, a fun event coming up, or even a quick and easy recipe for those of us that find time to cook hard to come by. Things that keep me grounded and remind me of who I am and what I am working towards.

I hope you stay tuned :)
(And Happy New Years!)
Lauren

India!!

Hey all!

I haven't posted on here in a while because I've been traveling half way around the world and posting all about it in a separate blog I have set up just for the trip. So, if you are interested, please check out my India blog at: A Brief Indian Summer. Hope to hear from you!

:)

Namaste,

Lauren

The Power of Your Name

Hey all! Watch/listen to this Youtube video. I heard it this morning on the radio and it really spoke to me. It goes perfectly with a bible study I did this morning with my dear friend Allie. We are conduits for God's glory. We are created in His glory and for His glory. He wants to make Himself recognizable to us and through us. I pray that while I am in India my volunteer work may be for His glory alone, not mine. That He may be able to work through me and touch lives, mend hearts, and put smiles on children's faces.

"I will live to carry your compassion, to love a world that's broken, to be your hands and feet. And I will give with the life that I've been given, to go beyond religion, to see the world be changed by the power of your name."

The Power of Your Name - Lincoln Brewster and Darlene Zschech

Also, if you are interested in learning a bit more about my trip to India you can check out my India blog at http://supportlauren.blogspot.com. I just updated with my volunteer placement!

Have a blessed day,

Lauren