Distractions and Intimacy

I haven't written on here in a while; the other blog has been a bit of a fun distraction.

Bailey and I have had so much fun taking the pictures and getting feedback from others about it. It makes us both so happy when friends come up to us and say, "We love your pictures!" or, "You haven't posted anything in a few days." I'm no photographer as I've said in the past, just a girl who loves taking pictures and being creative with a camera, so to those of you keep up with the blog, thanks for your encouragement!

Recently a friend opened a new outlet for picture-taking for me: worship. She put together a women's worship night called Intimacy where hundreds of college girls came just to sing and dance in the name of the Lord, it was so sweet of her allow me to worship him in my own way as well. However, I'm going to be honest: as beautiful and amazing as it is to witness so many young women intimately worshiping God, I wasn't (and may never be) comfortable with taking pictures of them individually and interrupting their moment in His presence. You'll notice as I share some of the pictures I took, there are very few individual shots of girls. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time learning more about picture taking and lighting, playing with my tripod, and watching girls gather in the name of our God and King. Enjoy :)

These Clothes Will Never Go Out of Style

As I opened the doors of the Blocker building on campus today, I was greeted by one of the first fall breezes of the year. There's something so exhilarating about this change of season, especially after the summer's draining heat. It's so fun to observe the corresponding changes in fashion as well. I saw girls prancing today in their best scarves, fitted jackets, and skinny jeans, as if they meticulously picked out their new fall attire after yesterday's unexpected drop in temperature. Many girls and guys got to sport their rain jackets and fleeces embroidered with the letters and symbols representing their various organizations. Some people looked as if they walked outside in shorts and a t-shirt and, realized this attire was no longer appropriate, and quickly grabbed last year's sweatpants and winter formal long sleeve... both wrinkled from being crammed in the back of their dresser. Other girls merely added tights under those oh-so-trendy Nike wind shorts... does that really serve a purpose?

My mind of course began to wander and I started thinking about how our clothes are so important to us and how they really do say a lot about our personalities. We may dress to impress others or maybe to blend in. Maybe we go to painstaking lengths to look our best while others may care less.
Think about your favorite shirt or outfit.
Why is it your favorite?
Does it make you look thinner?
Does it bring out the color of your eyes?
Do you just feel prettier wearing it?
It's amazing how a favorite clothing article can change your attitude; you feel more confident, more poised, ready to take on the world... well, at least that's how it works for me.
But you know what I read today?
There's something you can wear that will transform you and make you RADIANT; more so than that perfect dress, super cute cardigan, or worn jeans.

Colossians 3:12-14 says:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

By turning to God and clothing ourselves with these virtues, we can be transformed into the likeness of Christ. So tomorrow, put on your favorite pair of jeans and shirt and think about how they make you feel. Then, as you zip your fly and pull your shirt over your head, wrap yourself in compassion, slip on kindess and humility, cover yourself in gentleness and patience, and tie it all together with love. I promise you'll glow :)

Photo courtesy of anthropologie.com :)

My Favorite Non-Disney Princess

Many of us who were little girls of the nineties were some of the first pretending to be Belle, Ariel, or Jasmine. Let me tell you, I WAS Ariel whenever in a swimming pool. And I WAS Belle when reading a book or in a library. I WAS Jasmine when I played with my Aladdin Barbie dolls. But there was one princess that was able to sneak into my list of "I am ______", without the actually Disney label attached to her.

Anybody remember The Swan Princess?

I went through an Odette phase as well, and even had the Swan Princess Soundtrack. Last week I was babysitting for a little girl and we popped this in the VHS. (yes we kicked it old school even with how we watched this non-Disney classic.) Boy, I reverted back to my six year old existence, instantly filled with an immense sense of gratitude for my mother who put up with my near obsessive interests in such movies and their merchandise.

I thought I'd leave you with my favorite clip from the movie. Hope you enjoy this wonderfully cheesy, almost-as-good-as-Alan-Menken's-masterpieces, song by Derek and Odette... I give them an A for effort, haha.

Mugwalls

On a whim, my super cool sister, Jill, decided to come visit me in College Station for the evening. After dinner with Anna and her friend, Ring Dunk Party 1, and Ring Dunk Party 2, we finally got to spend one-on-one time together and catch up on life at this hip, new coffee shop in town called Mugwalls. Hope you like it!

Agape

There have been so many thoughts and emotions, teaching and notions in my head the past few weeks, yet none of them are cohesive enough to post online. I'm learning about discipline, self talk, self control, the sufficiency of God's Word and so much more. Today I was burdened by a conversation I had with a friend. At first I was praying about her relationship with God, that she would let go of all of her past issues and just find peace in Him. I kept asking that she would do this or stop doing something else... that she would seek God and find him. And then I thought of a quote from the movie Forrest Gump.

Leuitenant Dan is on the S.S. Jenny with Forrest and he asks, "Forrest, have you found God?" Forrest in his glorious innocence, replies, "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him."

Wow.

In the midst of our searching, we have to realized we've already been found. I can pray for my friend to choose God, but that's not how it works: He extends his love and grace to us. We can search high and low within ourselves to find satisfaction, but true grace is given, not discovered.

In this book I'm reading, The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World, David Wells says, "The movement of Eros (the greek word for lustful love) spirituality is upward. The movement of Agape, (the greek word for divine love) by contrast, is downward. It is all about God finding the sinner." Salvation is not forged but given.

I'm not saying that those who earnestly seek the Lord won't find him. But I find peace in knowing that God found me, and that I have no power over the salvation of others and that I get no credit for His work. He alone has the power to change hearts and transform lives. There are so many things I've yet to understand about the mystery of God; so many theological questions I have. But for now I trust the Lord to carry these burdens until I'm strong enough to carry them myself.
I refuse to give up on my friend, however I must be patient in the Lord's perfect timing and trust that He alone sews eternal hope into the fabric of human life. And I am no seamstress :)

365 Days of Jessie and Bailey

It all started with this photo back in March and the expression of an creative idea. Now, a few months later and roommates, Bailey and I have started a year long photo project called 365 Days of Jessie and Bailey. As part of the memory making process, we've created a blog to keep track and expound upon the pictures and the stories behind them.

To see our photos and the heart behind Project 365 , click on this post's title above.
Enjoy and feel free to comment!
Jessie

Nothing Withheld

So I was talking to Jill the other night about applying for colleges and I could tell she was pretty stressed out. Who wouldn't be? I quoted Jeremiah 29:11, ("'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'") but I also half way quoted her another one... not sure of where it was in the Bible, I looked it up the next morning and sent her a message with the verse and my own interpretation of it. For some reason, I felt like y'all might like the encouragement as well.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows grace and glory;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 84:11

I love how God can be our sun, which gives life, and our shield, which protects life. He gives us grace for our sins, yet takes it a step further and allows us to reflect his glory. He doesn't promise to give us everything we think is good, but He doesn't withhold His goodness from us. If we think something good is being withheld in our life, it's only because He has something better for us right now and we're not paying attention to it.

Also; when it says "whose walk is blameless," I don't think it's saying that God will only bless you if you are perfect or if you've got it all figured out... Remember Christ died for you, and that God sees you as a righteous and blameless person through Jesus' blood.

So today, think about all of the goodness He's bestowed on you through His love. It could be something He's done for you this week at school/work or just the fact that He sent his son to die for you and sees you as blameless, pure, and lovely through the blood of Christ. That alone is something to rejoice and delight in, isn't it?!

God bless,
Jessie