The Stars Are Out Tonight

Maybe it's the weather.
I adore fall with it's crisp mornings, the perfect blue sky, & the inevitable smell of dried up leaves.

Maybe it's work.
If you can even call it work! When you love your job as much as I love mine, it doesn't even feel like work.
We're getting ready to go to Windy Gap, one of my favorite places in the world, & the banquet is Tuesday which means I get to wear a new dress & do some fun, classic Young Life-y stuff on stage!

Maybe it's thanks to my friends.
I have got the best friends. Old friends, newer friends, all of them. I hated school work & I hated class, but thank goodness I came to college, because my life will never be the same.
I think I waited my entire life to find people that were as quirky as me, as fun loving as me, & as capable of handling the crazy part of my brain.

Maybe it's the reminder I got this week that the West coast is waiting with open arms to make a Southern belle it's own. (cryptic, I know but I'm leaving it at that)

Maybe it's Jesus.
Who shows me daily that I am his treasure & that he loves me.

It doesn't really matter what it is.
I'm seeing stars.
=)

Prayer Talk

Y'all are going to think that I'm high while I write this because it's kind of out there, but I just thought about something I never have before.

What do prayers look like? What do they sound like? What do they feel like?
(I'm asking God)
I just wonder.
So He hears us all, he listens & comprehends, he sometimes speaks to us too...
Is there a giant switchboard in heaven?
A light for everyone that blinks when we say his name maybe.
Or do angels keep track of them?
I figure that he hears me instantaneously. (duh)
He knows what I am going to pray about before I do.
But is it some kind of energy?
If we could see the supernatural world around us (first of all would be terrifying, angels & demons at battle, no thank you) would we be able to see a prayer?
Would we glow like the people on that old TV show "Touched by an Angel"?
Does a little wisp of smoke float silently towards heaven?

I only thought of this because today is the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the twin towers.
I started thinking about the tragedy & all the people it affected.
It occurred to me that more people probably prayed that day than on a usual day.
People that never pray or rarely pray or don't even believe in praying.
And then I wonder how that makes God feel.
Because he always wants to hear  from us, he wants to talk to us, he loves us & wants to be part of our lives.
So to have people that scorn him or ignore him acknowledge him for the first time...was he glad to hear from them even though it was because of grief?
I think the answer is yes.
I know the answer is yes.

But I just wonder if heaven felt different that day.
If all the prayers from all the people sent this surge of energy flying into the atmosphere.
Even though there was a horrific event on earth, was heaven a buzz because of massive amounts of prayer?
God, all knowing & omnipotent, knew what was going to transpire.
He only had the right proportions of compassion & healing to offer to those that suffered & still suffer.
Was he glad that more people than usual turned to him for help?
It was right of them to do so.

I know this is a weird post.
I get that.
And I don't have answers.
No one alive does (but I'm pretty confident that we can rule out my 'giant switchboard' theory).
Maybe this all sounds silly & childish, but I'm putting it out here anyways.

Today I am praying for all the families who lost their loved ones on 9/11.
Never forget.

free

you will never know what it felt like to be as chained & bound up as I was,

so you will never know what it feels like to be this 

free.

Lighthearted

Sometimes I review my blog & realize that my issues of thinking too much have invaded this space.
So to change things up, here is a lighthearted post about some of the most wonderful things in my life!

YL & WL leaders spending time together at an EAST High football game.  This was during halftime while we were dancing to YMCA! 

My sweet, wonderful friend Kara. Love her so much & truly treasure her friendship!

This is me & Taylor eating some delicious Mexican food before a football game! Love her.

I got to spend an ENTIRE sunday painting pretty things.  I took all my paint stuff out to my front porch, cranked up the Black Keys pandora station, & got lost in my art.

Got to spend this past weekend in the mountains.  This cabin is owned by one of my best friends families & we come here often to escape & catch up.  We threw open the doors & talked & napped as we listened to the rain. PERFECT.

These are my roommates (minus Hannah & plus Katie). Love'um!

The YL sign got a fresh paint job!

I also went on a Young Life staff retreat to SharpTop Cove, the camp in Georgia.  This is my favorite place to sit there.  Just a deck on a hill overlooking most of camp.  This building is the dining hall.