Living the Unknown

There are two worlds out there: Known and the Unknown. The Known is our place of safety, our comfort zone, it's where we live our normal lives and stick to our normal routine. The Unknown is a place of dangers, adventure, uncertainty, fear, new things, trial and error, the excitement of being different, and the fear of being mocked. Living in the Known is obviously the most comfortable, but if we didn't venture out we wouldn't know what we were capable of. The Known keeps you wishing and dreaming, the Unknown opens up the door to make those wishes and dreams reality.

No one likes to be rejected. We all want to feel needed; to be missed when we're gone, but if we worry about what other people think of us, then we will never do anything. Fear is a powerful master, and if we let it, it can control everything we do or say. Honestly though, what is there to be afraid of? Who cares if they laugh, for we will have been the adventurous ones, the ones who dared to be different.  Normal is overrated anyways.  I mean, think about what would happen if we took risks, if we laughed in the face of our critics, and if we really were different.

For me, I tend to so quickly try and blend it. I put on a mask and hope that others will accept me, but I've come to see that's not the way my Savior intended for me to live. He gently reminds me that as a Christian, I will be different, and I won't live like the world around me, not because I'm perfect or anything, but because I have been made new, and now I desire to live a life that's pleasing to my Lord and Savior. All too often I forget this, and I hastily attempt to put that mask on my face once again. Sometimes I'll stand against the wall, unwilling to give up the security the wall behind gives me, yet the Lord shows me what could be, and I long to change and be different. I want to give up my mask and the facade I hide behind. No longer do I wish to lie and to bury my thoughts and feelings. I want to be open and honest and real. 

The Unknown can be a scary place, but it's where I would rather be.

College life

It's funny, as a college student you start to think you know a lot of stuff, and that you have most everything figured out. Come to find out, I really don't. I feel like every semester there is something new that's thrown at me, and I actually start realizing how much I don't know. But that's why I'm there: to learn, and to grow. Just because I made it through freshman year doesn't mean I'm going to know everything. The professors are different, the materials are different, and, to be honest, things get harder. What's weird about this semester, is I am actually more nervous than the previous ones. Hmm. Go figure. I guess I can't help but thinking, will I be good enough? When I started out, sure, I was uncertain, but I also felt kind of invincible. I had made it to college, and it was exciting. Now that I've been through things though, I have seen that it can be tough, and it definitely requires physical and mental strength. A couple times I thought my papers might push me over the edge, but I see that those papers were nothing compared to some I will have this semester. I'm not trying to scare anybody away from college. By all means, go for it! You won't regret it. Just keep your head held high, and your chin up. Don't let anyone discourage you. College is another part of life, full of ups and downs. There will be mean professors, nice professors, new friends, hard homework, and new memories.

So I thought I had posted this already, but looking back, I guess not. Oh well. Here it is now.

Here I Am Alive

I realize we all go through periods of time where we are completely obsessed with this one song, and so we play it over and over and over and over and, well, over again. When you do that though, you sometimes end up getting sick of the song. That being said, my new favorite song is off of Yellowcard's new album and it is amazing. I seriously listened to Here I Am Alive so much, and liked it so much, that I just bought the album today! I just thought I'd share it with everybody since it's pretty much amazing. It's the perfect song for driving along in 70 degree weather, windows down, skinny jeans, and your arm out the window.

Open air evenings

It's starting to rain here. The air is moist and the raindrops patter against the leaves outside my window. I can still hear the crickets chirping their little hearts out, and the air smells clean. It's a beautiful night. There are few things I like more, than spending the night with my windows open, my music playing, and only a little bit of light. I especially enjoy having the windows open now that the temperatures have gone down. And it has rained! The air smells so fresh and clean. Mmmmm, truly one of my favorite things. During late nights like this, I usually end up listening to all kinds of foreign music. Artists like Sigur Ros, Nobuo Uematsu, Yann Perreau, Coeur De Pirate, and, well, the list goes on. Here are a few of my favorites this evening.

I love the piano in this.


One of my most favorite artists to listen to at night.


He has a beautiful voice.


Yes. I like gaming music.


It's not foreign, but absolutely beautiful nonetheless!

Forgetting

With the summer being so hot this year, I haven't been running as much as I should. It's so easy to put it off and think, "Oh, I'll do it later." But so often that "later" never happens, and soon I have gone two weeks without running. Sad, I know. Tonight I couldn't help but think that my physical running compares to how I'm running spiritual. I've been working a lot, yet the days seem to drag, and to be honest I haven't been close in my walk with the Lord. I haven't been in the Word, and I can feel it. Just like the ground, parched with drought, eagerly drinks up the fresh rain, so is my dry heart when I encounter the Bible. The Word of God is like water for my thirsty soul, and still I find myself spiritually dehydrating myself. I tell myself I read the Bible "later" and like my running, later doesn't happen, and before I know it, two weeks have gone by. There's a verse in Jeremiah that goes like this,

 "My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn for themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that hold no water." --Jeremiah 2:13

I am those people. I pursue the things that can't satisfy me, and abandon the Living Water. It frustrates me that I do this time and time again, and I tell myself "Why can't you remember?". I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord knows my shortcomings, and He is ever gracious if I confess my sin. Again I am left in awe that the Lord would be merciful to me, a sinner. 

To go along with my running note, I recently watched Chariots of Fire. I love that movie! I wrote down several quotes that challenge and inspire me in my physical and spiritual running, and I thought I would share them (:

"When I run, I feel His pleasure."

"Run for God, and watch the world stand back and wonder."

"You can't put in what God has left out."

"Where does the power come from, to see the race to the end? It comes from within."

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." --Isaiah 40:28-31

Another Cover

I already really liked this song, and then I found this cover. I think his voice fits perfectly with it, and he does such a good job!

Wishful thinking

One of my best friends recently requested to get my birthday list from me super early, and so now I'm scrolling the web, and finding all sorts of fun things!

Oh yes. It has a hood.

I just think he's  cute....

How comfy.

I would wear this every day.

Too adorable!

Genius idea.

Loving the length!

I am in love with this color!

A photographer must have.


Okay, well that's it for now! Most of this is wishful thinking, but I wouldn't mind owning them some day. Anyways, here's a song for your evening (:

The real world

I apologize for being a bit of a delinquent on writing lately. I just got back from a long weekend with the family on the coast, and it was amazing! And very much needed too. We had lazy days on the beach, late nights watching the Olympics in our hotel room, and even some hiking and small town shopping. I always appreciate taking a little break from reality, but now it's time to head back into the real world.

And speaking of the real world.....


On another note, I find the ocean to be an absolutely beautiful thing. I can't help but be amazed at the power and incredible design that God displays in his creation. Here's one of my favorite views of the weekend. Every time I look at it I can't help but think, "I want to go back!"

Running the race

I want more in life than this world has to offer. I see the Olympians receive their medals and honor as most of the world watches in awe, and I know that there is something far better than that. Life is a race of it's own, but it's a marathon and not a sprint. It's not something that can be done in so many minutes flat, but it's something that takes time, patience, and endurance. The gold medalists receive a crown, but it won't last forever. I run this race of life for Christ. He is the finish line, Heaven is the ultimate goal, and instead of keeping my crowns for myself, I will happily cast them at the feet of Jesus, because if it wasn't for Him, I would be lost. In Him, I have eternal life. In the Bible, Paul talks so much about "running the race" and "fight the good fight." There's a battle between good and evil that rages on this world, and even though we can't always see it, it's going on as I write this. In the hearts and minds of all mankind, on desert plains, and in thick, humid jungles. I don't want to be satisfied by what the world has to offer, but rather I long to realize fully that Jesus truly is the only one who can satisfy my thirst. I need to know Him more. While the runners of a marathon have the finish line to look forward to, we have a different focus. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."  --Hebrews 12:1-2--

So there is it. I have a race to run, and an end to look forward to. Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith, and I run for Him. My greatest desire is to hear, when I finish my race, those words "Well done, my good and faithful servant."