Summertime Update

Hey all!
So, summer has come and hit full stride. I know this because I'm sitting in bed in my PJs with no make-up, drinking coffee with the covers over me at 11:30 a.m. Hah! Laziness is my best and worst friend...I've covered this already on this blog, right? Great! I don't need to again. ;)
Graduation has come and gone. That's right...13 (THIRTEEN!) years of home-schooling has come to a close. This is bittersweet. I LOVE being home-schooled. I love the flexibility of it, the independence and self-motivation I've learned (though I'll admit that's not my strongest point.....), the freedom from bad influences of peers (don't get me wrong, please...I AM socialized!) and the biblical worldview you get from Christian curriculum. But at the same time, I'm ready to move on to a new stage of life. College! It would be more dramatic if I were leaving home, but I'm not. It's community college for this girl. And that's just fine with me.

Before I graduated, I got my Senior Pictures done. I love them! My photographer did an awesome job. If you're in the Chicagoland area and need a good, creative, and well-priced photographer, check him out at http://danielsather.com/. You won't be disappointed!

In other news, well this isn't really "news," but I welcomed a new addition back in April. This is Briar, my rabbit. He made an appearance in my Senior photos because he's that precious to me. :-)

Isn't he a cutie? He's pretty feisty, though. But it gives him personality. I like it better than a dull, lifeless thing that sits in his cage all day chewing hay. Well, that is Briar a chunk of the time, but he sure has a punch to him!! He likes to cuddle, for only for a while, ADORES sweet potatoes, and likes to wake Mom up at 6 a.m. loudly scratching on the bottom of his cage. I really love him. My Mom says I'm ridiculous the way I talk to him and she's probably right. Just wait until I have a more "advanced" pet, like a DOG...much less an actual human BABY! ;)

That's all that's new with me. A shower, a real breakfast, and the need for a clean bunny cage calls.

Have an amazing weekend!!

Romans 8:32

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Today in my quiet time, I read a really great commentary on this verse by John Piper that I wanted to share. He talked about how this is the foundation that nothing can shake. He said it is "so strong and so solid and so secure that there is absolutely no possibility that the promise could ever be broken. This is what makes it an ever-present strength in times of great turmoil. Whatever else gives way, whatever else disappoints, whatever else fails, this all-encompassing promise of future grace can never fail."

This got to me. I struggle with triviality a lot. I look for shallow entertainment. Why? Because it's mindless, and I can just forget about the world and all of my problems. It's a very bad habit. But then, there are those times when only God's truth matters to me, and nothing else, period. Just last weekend, my parents and I went out to Evan's college in Iowa to watch his graduation ceremony. (On a side note: great job, bro!! So proud of you!) The weather was beautiful, but suddenly, the sky turned VERY dark and it started to rain hard. We were in a mall when the tornado sirens went blaring. We were corralled into a back room and had to sit and wait for the sirens to go off. I wasn't too scared, considering I've heard many tornado sirens in my life that turned out to be false alarms. But then, I heard the wind, even from the cement-covered room. And I could swear I heard something crashing and crumbling. Everyone in the room got very quiet. My stomach churned at first, but then I thought, "It's okay. If I die, I know where I'm going. And my parents are here, too - how perfect! They're the ones I worry about leaving behind the most. They say there is nothing worse than losing a child. But they'd just come along with me! And so would Evan! Oh, but what about Laura, Anna and Jeremy? And my friends? And..." Well, anyway, the point is, I didn't care about trivial things like clothes or make-up at that moment. All that mattered was life and death. The small things, piled on top of the foundation that Piper talks about, were swept away. All that mattered was the cross and what had been accomplished for me.

Of course, this tornado never reached us. It DID touch down, only a few miles from where we are, actually. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I spent the rest of that day feeling fulfilled. No, I didn't have everything my heart desired - far from it. But I had Jesus. I realized, very acutely, that when it really comes down to it, I have all I need. I have my strong foundation. And everything else just...doesn't matter.

Just something I felt like sharing. God is good. :)

Happy Belated New Year!

ALMOST FIVE MONTHS!! Wow, Emma! Way to fail at blogging. ;) I wish I could come up with some great excuse, like I've been diagnosed with some ultra-rare blood disease and I've been in and out of the hospital since October. (Okay, maybe I don't wish that.) But truth is, I've been bit by the L-bug. No, not lust, the other one. ;) Since October, I have been struggling a lot with the senioritis bug. I just want to be done. My teacher told me the other day that Seniors who decide who just have fun during their last year in High School do much worse in their college freshman year. And she's right. Still, it's hard.

In happy news, I'm now (well, have been for some time...) an official member of Grace Covenant Church! Yay!! I really love my church family. They are so sweet and encouraging, but love each other enough to point out sins, too. My pastor and his wife adopted an adorable baby in Nov. He is so precious!! Sometimes, it's hard for me to wait for motherhood (if that is God's plan of course), but I know that I need to be satisfied with God in each and every stage of life. It can be tempting, especially when people ask me, "you're almost 18. Don't you want a boyfriend?!" Yes and no. Really, it should be just no. But God is with me still. :)

I got a new iPod for Christmas, and we got wireless internet in our house. Okay people, this is dangerous. I don't mean that in an "I'm-tempted-to-look-at-bad-stuff" way, but in an "I-never-get-work-done-when-I-should-because-Angry-Birds-is-so-addicting" way. Ah!

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, and my Mom suggested I take a nap before I get really sick. So I'd better sign off for now. I'll end this extremely random post with a piccie of me and my sweet "niece," Lulu. I love her!!

My Prayer

“Bad company corrupts good character.” - 1st Corinthians 15:33

Sometimes, the weight of the world presses on me
so hard that I can hardly breathe -
Only short breaths pulse through my lungs,
I cannot breathe deeply.
Just as it is with bad company
they tighten us, strain us
Only shallow thoughts flick through our mind,
we make ourselves content with the trivial.

Our character begins to decay with time
the influence of those we know
chipping away at our passion, our desire
for our one and only true God.
This is my prayer -
that we would turn away from anything
that threatens to minimize our desire for Christ
and maximize our tolerance - no, even our love -
for things that He abhors.
That we would shake our heads and defend
the truths we hold in our hearts
from His word.

This is my prayer.

Bloggy Makeover!

 

Welcome to my new and improved blog! :) Joy, for me, is not usually something I struggle to have. But in my sophomore and junior year, I experienced some pretty hard "down-yos." Thus, Joy in the Morning was perfect for my life at that moment in time. God has mercifully taken away much of the sadness and discontentment that I experienced during that time...but as you may have guessed from my last post, discontentment still lingers and I know in my heart of hearts that it's because of my irrational doubt about God's true fullness and the satisfaction He brings merely by being in our lives. May I constantly be reminding myself that His love is truly unfailing...as precious and edifying as our relationships here on earth may be, they will inevitably fail us from time to time just as we fail others, being the fallen beings we are. 

My favorite singer, Chris Tomlin, wrote this song...just as Sovereign Grace's song "Joy in the Morning" was sort of my "bloggy theme song" before I changed it, this song, "Unfailing Love," will be fulfilling the same purpose. Enjoy. :)

A Follow-Up from my Last Post

I wanted to add this quote from one of my favorite authors, Leslie Ludy. I think it fits in perfectly with what I was trying to convey the other night, and it's been a huge challenge & encouragement for me lately.

"Even a beautiful God-scripted love story can never satisfy the way Jesus does. Even the most heroic and Christlike man on earth can never fulfill the longings of our heart like the true Prince and lover of our soul (Jesus Christ). And until we are able to truly make Him our first love, until we are willing to give up our dream of an earthly love story for His sake, we will never know the fullness of Him who fills us all in all. We will always be looking to a mere man to meet the desires of our heart, rather than to the One who created us, who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who gave His very life's blood to rescue us."

Beautiful, true words.

Right Now.

Right now, I am walking and holding Jesus' left hand.
On His right, I notice that there is a young man walking steadily
holding His right hand, I can't see who that person is, nor do I know
when he will be mine.
Jesus is standing in my way.
At first, I am anxious and I feel unrest in my heart; I want to let go
of Jesus' hand and grab the young man's hand instead.
But Jesus whispers to me, "Keep holding on."
Then I realize that the more I look at Jesus
the less I worry about the person on the other side.
Jesus is enough to satisfy me...His strong hand in
mine is all I need right now.
Years pass, and the three of us tread onward.
While I cannot deny my longing to see and touch
the grown man holding Jesus' right hand,
the strong, perfect hand in my own right grips me tightly
and does not let go, and my longing for that man is calmed.
My curiosity grows - but it never overcomes my deep love for Jesus.
Then one day, I feel Jesus squeeze my hand lightly, and I turn to gaze
into His precious eyes...they gaze back at me and He smiles.
Then he whispers..."It is time."
He brings the man's hand and places it gently in mine.
Then He releases our hands, only to walk behind us,
with two hands placed firmly
on our shoulders.
I revel deeply in the joy that the hand holding mine brings me,
but even more so,
I rejoice in the hands that are on our shoulders,
guiding us,
protecting us,
holding us up.

Lately, God has been convicting me of some serious idolatry. I am putting all of my confidence and finding all my hope and joy into the created rather than the Creator. I won't deny that, even though I'm only 17 (as my family members are quick to point out...I am grateful for their accountability!) I'm experiencing some fierce longings for an earthly romance, a pure and innocent wedding, and a sweet family to call my own. All good things in and of themselves...but to let go of Jesus' hand, running after these things that will only happen in this life? 

I hope this analogy can encourage anyone going through the same thing...the discontentment, the impatience (at my age, I know, I KNOW!), the pressure from all of the guys and girls who bounce from one boyfriend/girlfriend to the other, seemingly content and joyful with all of the attention and comfort that that brings. (As if.)

For those who long to sing this:

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." - Psalm 16:11

Fullness of joy...FULL. Complete. In HIS presence. At HIS right hand.

Forevermore.