Detail.

You know what astounds me? How incredibly into the details of my life my God is. He doesn't just care about the huge things, he cares about things that don't have to matter, but He lets them. He loves me enough to send me stars to say good morning because He knows i have to get up early every day. He loves me enough to put encouraging people in my life because He knows i get discouraged. He loves me enough to provide food for me in the most ingenious ways. I completely adore Him. More and more lately i have found myself longing to sit at His feet. Every chance i get for a few minutes of quiet time i sneak into a dark classroom or empty hallway to kneel before Him and just sigh. And not an exasperated sigh, but a sigh of relief at being at the feet of the one who holds my heart. It is the closest thing to heaven i have right now. We serve not just a great God, but a very personal, i want to get into the cracks of the details of your life and move kind of God. Wow.

My Lovelies.

I adore the kids in the youth group. I have been spending a lot more time with them lately and not a day goes by that one of them does not call or text me. I love hearing about their days and struggles and it is such a privilege to be a part of their lives in any way. They awaken a passion in my heart that the trials of adulthood can try to smother and i love them for that. I love to walk in and see them jumping up and down, giggling hysterically about nothing in particular and high on life. They can be quite contagious. They are what makes my heart beat with passion, they are what keeps me awake at night, and the reason i find myself on my face petitioning for them as often as they cross my mind. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for them this year. He has already been up to so much in their lives. How exciting to be a apart of this!

Church.

What the heck?! Church is getting legit lately. Every Sunday is full of salvations, testimonies or baptisms. It is awesome! God is doing some good stuff and i am in awe that He sees me fit to carry out any part of His will. I am humbled by the thought that He thinks of me. Can you believe that? The creator of the universe knows MY name and has ME on HIS mind? Wow.

Thankfulness.

It is a strange thing to be thankful for thankfulness and it is not quite what i am trying to say, but bear with me and by the end of this blog i may have explained myself better. Lately i have been overwhelmed with gratitude. I have been noticing God showing up in so many parts of my life that i have so often overlooked before. Life this morning i got called in to work very early, and at first i hesitated about saying yes. Boy, i am so glad that i didn't . I walked outside to the most spectacular star display i have seen in years. I am not sure why they were so bright this morning, but i knew God was excited enough about them to wake me up early to see them. it made my whole day.
Also, i have been so thankful for my close friendships lately. For a while i thought drama and emotions were going to tear some very precious friendships apart, but God showed that through humility, forgiveness and Agape Love friendships could be strengthened through tough times rather than destroyed. I am thankful for the painful patch we went through because we are so much stronger of friends now. God is so good. I really can't say that enough lately. He has been showing up in all of my close friends lives lately as well as my own. I am so excited to see what He is going to do next. Sorry if i didn't manage to get my point across.

Cleaning House.

God has been doing a ton of stuff lately! He has especially been active in my life. Lately He has been showing me that i have too much junk in my life. He has been providing opportunities for me to get rid of a lot of stuff that i never really needed(materialistically and emotionally) and we have been "cleaning house" together. I never realized how attached i was to material possessions that won't be going with me or negative friendships(new and old). He has also shown me how full of "junk" my heart is and we have been sweeping up a storm in there. God must have a little beaver in Him as well and we get along like sweet tea and apple pie :D Anyway i think all of this Summer cleaning is good and i will be packing very light when i travel to my brothers very soon. I am sad to be leaving my friends and my church family for so long, but i know where i am being called and i know better than to ignore that calling. I know my friends will be praying for me and encouraging me while i am away just as if i were here and i will be doing the same for them. In fact it will be like i am on a missionary journey like Paul in most of his letters and we can "remember each other constantly in our prayers) and write letters of encouragement! This is going to be so cool!

The Good Stuff.

Last night was definitely one of the favorites in my collection of favorite days with friends. Patrick, Kayla, and i went to a park and took like a billion pictures. There were a lot of good ones as well as some pretty amusing ones that kept us up all night rolling on the floor laughing at them. Last night reminded me what one of the important things is; namely spending time with people who are true friends. Last night was exactly what i needed since i am leaving soon for a while. I needed to be reminded to stick close(in heart) with the people who are my support system, positive , encouraging and fellow believers. I know we are not supposed to hide ourselves away from the world, but we are supposed to be wise about the ones we hold close. Thank you Patrick and Kayla for a awesome night! :) You guys make me smile. And Rofl.

Daddy.

How did my daddy get so wise? Just to avoid confusion i am talking about my earthly daddy right now. He called me this morning and although he has always been a very intelligent man, i am amazed lately by his wisdom. I remember before he was saved and knowing the difference in him never ceases to make me grin(not smile, grin). I love him beyond words and i am so proud to call him daddy.

Little Sister.

My little sister never ceases to amaze me in her enormous supply of compassion and encouragement. I have been struggling in many things lately and this morning i found this from her:


Hey, Callie.

I've been thinking about you a lot lately and I just want you to know that i've been praying for you and I know that you've had some difficulties with your apartment and I just want you to know that you can trust God for all things and that he's got a plan for you even when you can't hear him and you start to doubt. Sometimes he makes it like that so you have to cling to him completely.

Anyway, I just want you to know that i'm thinking about you and praying for you and that I love you.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9


I hope she doesn't mind that i shared this, but i wanted to share with others this gift that my little sister gave to me when i needed it most.

Focus.

Lately my life has been all noise. All i could hear for months was the sound of my heavy heart, tears hitting the pillow, friends giving advice or the sounds of them ducking around the corner. I have heard everyone's idea of how my future could or should go and after everything, i finally heard the sound of my knees hitting the floor. How i have missed my Daddy's company. I have missed every flower filled walk or bird song filled tree date with Him. How could i have given that up for so much less? He has finally brought me back to focus on the only thing in this world that matters and that is Him and His will. I am finally focused.

Change in Plans, Shift to God's will.

We tend to try to make our lives all about us. Like we want the cute apartments with the red doors and the shiny doorknockers. We forget that our ways are not God's ways. Sometimes God doesn't want us to have the red doors and the doorknockers, sometimes he wants us to have our brothers couch. But i am finding it is better to be in His will than on the outside feeling that deep awareness that you are missing something vital inside.

Letting Me Serve.

It was such an honor to be able to help the Ascani's move yesterday. They have been a huge part of my life and have had one of the greatest impacts in me. It was so amazing being able to serve them as they have served me for the past few years. The Ascani's truly shared life with us college students the past few years letting us into their home, family, and life, not hiding any part of it from us. We have been able to see(for some of us) the first true display of what a Christian household should look like. We have been able to be witness to the hard times where faith was produced and grown as well as some of the happiest moments. This truly what Christian fellowship is and i have loved every moment i spent with them. I am so excited to be able to follow what God is doing in their life and i a cannot wait to serve others as they have served me.

Love.

Tomorrow i will be saying see you later to my dearest friends the Ascani family. I will not be saying goodbye because it will not be goodbye. I will most definitely see them again hence only saying see you later rather than goodbye. It is one of the privaleges of being Christian. I will explain that in another post. This post is for Mrs. Traci Ascani. She was my first mentor and she has changed my life. I love her like a sister and i am so excited for this new part of their journey. Traci was the first person other than family to truly believe in me and it changed me and how i viewed myself and future. I am so excited to be able to see her tonight and to cook for her and her family and serve them as they have served us these past few years.

Doing Life Together.

Today will be my last Sunday with the beloved Ascani family. This family has had the single greatest impact on my life and i am going to miss them dearly. They have been the greatest encouragement and support to me since i arrived in Georgia as a young, afraid 17 year old. Traci Ascani is the most beautiful(inside and out) woman that i have ever known and Mark has been the greatest vision painter i have ever met. I am SO excited about this new journey they are about to embark on and i can only hope i can still be a part of it in even a small way. I am so glad there is going to be hundreds more who will be impacted by these Jesus lovers and that is the only thing that helps me to let them go and not try to keep them for myself, which is first instinct. Here is to adventure!

Memories.

I found the banner that the Spring Place kids made Mark and me at the end of our internship at their church, which i can now proudly call my own church. That was one of the best memories. The kids went all out with a cake with out picture on it, a goodbye rap song, a banner we fought over , and lots of love. It is so cool to know a lot of those kids are in college now, have jobs and are well on their way to being not only being responsible adults but Christians as well. The kids are not my youth group anymore, they are my closest friends and church family. I will keep this banner always so that i always remember where we came from and that church family is just as important as blood family.