20 before 20

i keep promising my friend i'll do one of these. since i can't sleep, it might as well be now. :)

20 before 20

1.) learn basic Italian

2.) draw… draw like i never have before

3.) find out how to really let go

4.) become a musical aficionado

5.) apply for an internship at an art museum

6.) have some fun … live life abundantly

7.) find something i’m good at and be genuinely proud of it

8.) learn to take a compliment

9.) find a way each day to make someone else’s life better

10.) stay out all night stargazing

11.) learn how to make a latte

12.) finish two art projects

13.) read a book on byzantine history

14.) make to-do lists … get stuff done

15.) run a half marathon

16.) ace a math class

17.) read a Russian novel

18.) forget to be angry

19.) love unselfishly

20.) document important moments … finish an entire journal

so, here you are! not lofty goals, but certainly something to work on.

prompting by: claire

if there be one thing, let it be thankfulness

i feel like since it's the beginning of a new year i should do one of those reminisce-and-feel-wiser kind of posts. of course, i really don't feel any wiser, and i would really like to forget a vast majority of this year, but i think that a look backward is warranted. so here are 12 things i've learned this year, in chronological order.

january, 2010 -

to live life is to experience it. locking yourself up and trying to shut out the badness of the world also isolates you from the incredible and wonderful things that you might discover.

february, 2010 -

some days, it's really tough to get out of bed and face the idea of another dreary day. thankfully, God doesn't let the dreariness last forever. as bad as things may seem, there is always something to be happy about.

march, 2010 -

high school is overrated. it is so not like an 80s teen movie. thanks, john hughes, for giving me false hope. (p.s. - i still love your wonderful imagination)

april, 2010 -

the months between spring break and the end of school are the longest in the entire year.

may, 2010 -

graduation is a big deal. but it really doesn't feel like it. decisions, on the other hand, are a very, VERY big deal. and they always feel like it.

june, 2010 -

there is nothing in the world that can give you an appreciation for hard work like working hard can.

july, 2010 -

it is possible to not only survive a broken heart, but to never let on that you've been hurt. life goes on, regardless of how awful you feel.

august, 2010 -

a little bit of distance can be the best medicine.

september, 2010 -

life is a mess sometimes. it's easy to lose focus on what's really important.

october, 2010 -

people are hypocrites. it's ok to be angry, and crying doesn't make you weak -- it makes you human.

november, 2010 -

God always provides what you need: friends, faith, family, love. hope springs eternal.

december, 2010 -

forgiveness is sometimes easy. but most of the time, it really isn't. the best things in life, though, aren't always easy. sometimes the struggle is part of the blessing.

the overarching lesson that i've learned this year, though, is that God is sovereign. no matter how hard you try to screw up your own life, He brings about good. you don't always see that good, though. you have to look for it.

i've been through a lot this year, especially in the past two months. i'm not the same person i was in high school. God, in His grace, has changed me. every day i see His hand in my life, guiding me and teaching me to seek after His plans, and to surrender my own. i can't say that i'm very good at this yet, but my resolution for this year (oh yes, couldn't end without one) is to walk daily in such a way that i allow God to lead me. i want to give up my stubbornness and arrogance, and completely surrender to His will.

"In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.

I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.

Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.

Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great."

(Psalm 25:1-11)

something i wrote

this is something i wrote a while ago, that i think deserves a second look.

ever have a moment where you realize you've lost a piece of truth that you used to have? yeah, i just had one of those moments. so, read. enjoy. please listen to the music. it is truly inspiring.

i was browsing through classical music earlier today, and came across what might be the most despondent sounding piece of art i have ever heard. you know something is truly art when you feel what the artist must have felt. hopeless, fear-ridden, like he was drowning in a pain that would never end. for a brief moment, you feel the promise of hope -- the emotion evolves and you feel... free. and then it's back. the haunting sorrow. the anguish. what a perfect picture of the human condition without the knowledge, the conviction of grace. for the knowledge itself is not enough. a person needs to feel something before it seems real. go listen, and see if you understand:

had chopin been a poet instead of a composer, perhaps he might have written something like this?

burn, icy hand upon my heart

and cut my soul to pieces

leave not one whole part

that would feel again

sing, haunting melody of spite

triumph in your brief hour

set all breath in me to flight

erase the memory of what i could have been

leave no trace of soul

keep my heart bleeding

always broken, never whole

until i forget my needing

why do we let ourselves forget that we are loved, redeemed; that our price has been paid, that we cannot do a single thing that would cause us to be forsaken? how can we not feel infinitely overwhelmed by the fact that, despite what lowly, putrid, worms we are, God chose to love us anyway. why do we not just sit and revel in that fact? that glorious, consuming, rapturous love. that we don't deserve. that we will never deserve. why do we keep trying so hard? why can't we accept the gift our father has given us? why can't i? why don't i feel it as i ought?

a final first college experience post

well, i've done it. or, after 1:45 today i will have. finals will be over, and so will my first semester of college. i didn't expect going back home to be such a bittersweet experience. while i'm excited to be back with my family and my old friends, i'll miss the new ones so very much. they've helped me grow and become more of who i am, and they're some of the most awesome people i've ever met. i've been through some really rough times since the beginning of the semester, and while others have abandoned me, these girls have stuck by me. they care. they don't judge. they simply love. i think if more people were like them, the world would be a much happier (and waaay more awesome) place.

so farewell, dear friends. i'll see you in a month.

goodbye, college. i'll miss you.

homework... haha, who am i kidding?

sometimes i get my verbs mixed up...

have you ever noticed that sometimes we mix up the verbs "get" and "use" when we pray? i don't know exactly what brought on this thought, but i think it's worth exploring. maybe i should explain what i mean, first. there are times when i've found myself on my knees, in fervent prayer, thinking to myself "wow, i really am praying for what i ought," and "gosh darn, i'm so humble today," because i haven't asked for anything for myself. example: "dear lord, thank you for thus-and-so. i am so thankful to be blessed in this way. i fall so short of your standard, etc., etc., lord, please use me to glorify you in some way..."
now, on the surface, this seems pretty benign. in all actuality, it's one of the most selfish things i find myself doing. look at the first part of the prayer: "i am so thankful to be blessed in this way." how incredibly shallow. if you were able to see my heart at the moment those words escaped my lips, you'd find something pretty ugly. you would see the fact that deep down i think that i deserve this blessing somehow, or that i did something to "win a prize." i don't have to tell you how absurd that idea is. at some time or another, though, we've all thought the same thing. often this mode of thought defines the very way i respond to life, relationships, spirituality, etc. i forget to see the rest of the world because i stand in my own line of vision.

this leads to what i mean when i say i get my verbs mixed up. just because i didn't use the word "ask," or the phrase, "please may i have," doesn't mean that i've achieved some state of humility. in reality, i'm just as selfish as the person who says, "please, God, i've been really really good. may i please have a puppy?" okay, yeah, odd example, but whatever. you get the point. look again at the end of the example: "lord, please use me to glorify you in some way." again, how misguided and selfish can i possibly get? extra points if i sugar coat it and disguise what i'm really thinking, which is "God, i'm just so great and all... isn't there some place you need my help??"

if what i really want to do is glorify God, why do i sit on my knees asking for him to bring things to me? why am i not actively looking? the answer is grim. i think if i sound pious enough, that it counts for actually doing what i'm supposed to do. i've decided that this isn't how i want to live anymore. i want to be an active follower of Christ. instead of cowering in a corner and saying, "please, God, do the work for me," i'm going to get up and do something about it. Jesus, after all, didn't sit around on his rear waiting for the deaf and the blind to come to him with their problems. he found them. who am i to assume that i'm going to get off easier than the son of God himself?

all this to say, i'm tired of being selfish. i'm ready to let myself be used. i'm ready to really live my faith. i'm ready to stop asking, and start giving without expecting a tangible reward.

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." - James 2:18