Happy Happy Monday!!

Just a little happy for the depressing Monday back from Spring Break!

Dancing In the Minefields

There is this song that I have listened to over and over again for quite a few months now. I am not sure how I came across it but it had gradually become one of my most played songs on iTunes. The song is about two young loves who get married way too young and they are relating their marriage to "dancing in a minefield". At any moment they could step on a mine and their whole relationship could be blown to pieces. They are walking on pretty dangerous grounds but they believe that it is worth it because of the life that they have found together. The whole song is a beautiful picture of commitment and dedication to another, although it must be terrifying. 

Aside from the sweet story this song tells about an obviously adorable couple, the lyrics in this song have taught me more than just a gushy story. 

All my life I have been terrified. I have been so scared to fully commit myself to the Lord. I have been going through this relationship half-heartedly. Walking around this minefield never wanting to dive fully in. God calls me to be completely embraced in Him. He wants all of me! He wants every single part of me. And until about three weeks ago, I have never given Him all of me. His love is fierce, strong and it covers me with a feeling that I have never felt before. He has brought me to life. 

"But to lose your life for another I've heard

Is a good place to begin'

Cause the only way to find your life

Is to lay your own life down

And I believe it's an easy price

For the life that we have found"

To lose my life for Him is a scary thought but its a good place to begin. The life that I have found with Him is worth Dancing in this Minefield and by golly I am going to be dancing in this minefield for the rest of my life! His promises are true and He has all of me. 

Oh and isn't this video just adorable??? THE CUTEST!!

Put Down That Textbook...

This is a "love letter" written to all college students stressing about finals from www.moreloveletters.com! A sweet friend of mine sent it to me a couple of nights ago and it has made me look at this whole week a little differently. Yay Finals! First half of Freshman year has been so so good to me! Can't believe it's almost over.  

I’ve been there.

Books piled up in a stack beside you. Nodding off to the glow of the computer screen. Neon strips of highlighter scraped across your forehead, leftover not from a raging highlighter party the night before but rather the all-nighter spent spooning Shakespeare term papers and mind-rattling interpretations of Samuel Beckett’s best works.

Some of you are halfway through. Knees sunk deep in the muds of history power points and audio projects. Stammering in the mirror before you give that final speech in class tomorrow. Still muddling through the differences between el & usted. Nosotros & Vosotros.Some of you are stocking up on caffeine fixes and 5-Hour Energy drinks before the storm hits. A storm of finals worth 60% of your grade. 12-pagers that will have you crawling into the light of the morning, turning your study guide into a white flag to wave and surrender.

You’ll make it.

I know it. I can promise that there are lights & lanterns & the promise of oh, holier nights at the end of your tunnel. Perhaps it won’t be the grace of a love letter but the grace you’ll gain from the sound of the last book shutting. The sound of the last pages shuffling out from the printer and into your professor’s mailbox.

Remember to breathe. To eat. To sleep, if you can. Curl up on the couch in the campus center if that’s what it takes. Blast Carol of the Bells while you sip a pumpkin spice latter that you so deserve. And, on the nights where 1am comes quicker than shoppers to Best Buy on Black Friday, be the one to text your friends, “Diner. 2am. I’ll drive.”

I still keep that memory.

Unearth it as I do the ugly sweaters that get pulled down from the attic this time of year and pulling off the cobwebs of a time that I didn’t know I’d ever miss. A stack of pancakes. An open laptop. Hot chocolate with whipped cream dribbling from the side. All of us laughing, not knowing at the time that yes, yes, we were going to miss it one day soon.  

It’s hard to believe that right now as you struggle to swallow every prefix in the dictionary or every literary term you’ll need to dissect that Emily D. poem tomorrow. But the closeness of friends in one place, the justified seeing of the sun coming up before you close a book and allow your bottom and top lids to mingle with one another again after a solid two weeks of Open & Awake, the 24/7 sweatpants apparel for at least two weeks… you’ll miss it when it is gone.

So pick your chin up from the computer. Stand up and stretch. Take a break to call your friend and see how studying is going. If there is someone beside you, smile… propose a coffee break… treat them.

String up holiday lights in your dorm’s lounge and claim that a study executed at 800 universities across the country proved that the ambiance of the teeny tiny bulbs increased final grades by a whopping 73% percent.

Put out a blanket in the middle of your campus center. Fake candles (cause we all know the real ones are not allowed). Make unneccessary references to Elf quotes throughout the night (Santa?! I know him!). Let Beethoven trickle through the iHome. Take a Target break. Buy reindeer ears for no good reason. Drive home the long way and let the lights catch you and hold you for a pocket of peace. Stop the car. Park it. And just sit quiet for a minute– no texts to keep you, no Instagram to push you off from the moment at hand. Forget for a moment that your vocabulary is plumped with Finals & Responsibility & Deadlines & Due Dates. Just laugh & sing & dare to miss the moments that will be gone tomorrow.

Remember: It is a book. It is a test. It is a paper. That’s it. That’s all.You’ll make it. Myself, this love letter, and anyone who has ever been there before…we are 
pulling for you.

Happy Finals!

Believe it And Be Satisfied

Believe It And Be Satisfied 

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone- 

To have a deep soul relationship with another- Be loved thoroughly, and exclusively. But God, to a Christian, says: I want you to be satisfied, fulfilled, and content With being loved by Me alone- With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me- With having an intensely personal and unique relationship With Me alone. Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, Will you be capable of the best human relationship That I have planned for you.

I want you to be united with another after you are united with Me-

Exclusive of anyone or anything else,

Exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning, stop wishing,

And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing-

One that you cannot imagine.

I want you to have the best-

Please allow Me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching Me, trusting Me-

Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.

Keep listening and learning the things I tell you.

You just wait.

That's all.

Don't be anxious.

Don't worry.

Don't look around at the things

Others have gotten or that I've given them.

Don't look at the things you think you want.

You just keep looking off and up to Me,

Or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love

Far more wonderful than any you would dream of.

You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready,

(I am working even at this moment to have both of you ready at the same time),

Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I prepared for you,

You won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with me.

And this is the perfect love.

And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love.

I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me,

And to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, perfection, and love

That I offer you with Myself.

Know that I love you utterly.

I am God.

Believe and be satisfied.

     -author and original title unknown

Always a sweet sweet reminder. Can't tell you how many times I have read this. Reaches me every time. Happy Monday!!!

Prayer for a Best Friend

Dear Jesus, you are such a great God. I want to thank you from the bottom of my truly devoted heart for bringing Hannah into my life. I get little glimpses of you every time she speaks words of wisdom to me. You have given me such a great gift by blessing me with such a rich friendship. I love that through all of the hard times you send both of our ways (there have been a lot), we always come through 10 times stronger and more in love with you.

Lord, what you are doing through Hannah by sending her to Spain is such an incredible example of how much you love us. Prepare her heart for what she is about to embark on.  It is going to be such an incredible journey of growth. I am so excited to watch from afar and hear about the way you change her life.

I love my best friend more than anything and I want to pray for her safety, patience and for her mind to be opened to all of the crazy and incredible adventures you are going to throw her way this year. When those pesky kids become more than she can handle or she begins to miss the sweet taste of an orderup cookie and the familiarity of home, I pray that you remind her of your presence in her life. Remind her that you will never leave her or forsake her. You are ALWAYS there. Never far. Always living in us. You are always our true Home.

Lord, I know that it is going to be hard for her and I know that sometimes you are going to feel so far away. When those tears start to bubble up, when her heart begins to hurt and when she feels like giving up on her job. Be there to encourage her.  You are the ultimate friend for encouragement and guidance.

Hannahs heart is so big. It is so so big. She loves you so much. You are going to do huge things through her in Spain. She is going to change so many lives. I am lucky to call such an awesome girl my best friend.

God you are so good. Safe travels for tomorrow. I know our reunion in December is going to be one filled with so much pure joy. Words can’t describe how excited I am. Wrap your holy incredible hands around her life in Spain. God, keep my best friend safe because I eventually need her back. Okay. I love you. So so much.

Amen. 

Kiss spain for me. Wish I was going with you! You are going to be awesome! Don't be nervous! Also, great song right here. God will meet you wherever you are. Love that and Love you. 

Much Needed Family Time

Woah, I am so blessed. I don't thank Jesus enough for my incredible family.

It has been 6 weeks since I had seen anyone in my family and this weekend my mom, dad and older sister traveled an endless amount of miles to indulge themselves in my new life. Auburn couldn't have been more welcoming. This weekend was filled to the brim with laughter, joy and the obvious weirdness that comes with the McIlhenny Family. I missed the way my family finds little things so funny. Our same sense of humor was so refreshing.

First Auburn football game! How exciting! War Eagle!

poor little trees..

My fathers first selfie. Momentous day.

This was a much needed weekend filled with much needed family time. I am so so blessed!

-

The Lone Star State

I was told that once I moved away from Texas I would become way more patriotic to my home state. I never thought I would miss it this much.. Here are just a few things that reside back in my home land but are lacking in the great state of Alabama.

MEXICAN FOOD. Tortilla's here are sold in the ethnic section of the grocery store...can you believe that? Pshhhh. Breakfast tacos before school with my friends is greatly missed. 

This is cliche but I miss Blue Bonnets. 

I miss people knowing what I was talking about when I mentioned HEB, Blue Bell Ice Cream or even Schliterbaun. 

And finally, I just miss the way Texas made me feel. It is my home, I am comfortable there. I miss feeling the way I feel when I watch this video. 

Miss you always Lone Star State. See you for Thanksgiving!