patience

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." Psalm 37:5-7

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:5-8

I am constantly reminded that I am not in control. I so strongly desire to serve the Lord, but often find myself frustrated that things aren't happening as quickly as I would like them to. Of course they're not. As long as my will is not aligned with His it will never seem to happen according to my will, which is a good thing if that is the case. I need Him to show me the plans that He has for me. I need Him to come first, because he has everything figured out. I need to trust that he knows what he is doing and that things will happen...on His time. Patience......

one of those days

These last two days have not been the best days ever. Last week I took a math test, which I know I aced, only to find that my Professor lost my test. It's not the worst thing in the world. I'm definitely frustrated with the situation, but there isn't anything I can do about it. I thought that he found it, but apparently there are more than one "Brittany" in the class so I still have to retake it. The most frustrating part is how a small problem has seemed to be drawn out so much. I was supposed to take it today but when I went in to take it my Professor wasn't there. After waiting for over 30 min someone informed me that he was in the library (later I found out he forgot). Hopefully I can take it tomorrow and get it over with.

Today I woke up with a sore throat. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into strep, since that's been going around lately. In addition I've had a screaming headache all day. I tried to take a nap thinking that might help, but didn't feel rested at all, and if anything felt worse off. So the past couple days have  just been off.  If anything it has pushed me closer to the Lord. I've felt a distance these past couple days and I've been struggling to keep my focus on Him. The times when I feel loneliest are usually the times when I pursue the Lord even harder, but these two days have really been hard. With the test situation, and feeling sick, plus just being perpetually exhausted and busy, it all has just hit me hard. I keep reminding myself that the Lord will never give me more than I can handle. He knows me and He knows my heart better than even I know myself. I trust Him, but I feel like I've been under spiritual warfare this week. 

I'm sure the days will get better, it's just been one of those days...twice in a row.

Fall Festival

So Last night was the XA fall festival. It was pretty exciting. There was a costume contest (the winners were dressed as King David and Bathsheba), bobbing for apples, a pumpkin pie eating contest, pumpkin carving contest, and roughly 8-10 crock pots, 1 giant pan, 2 pots, and a cooler full of tortilla soup. I know because I hand washed the dishes for the entire duration of the party. 

Oddly enough I hadn't planned on going at all. I got off work and Kelli and I rode down to the XA house because we heard there was free food there and on my budget free food is a good excuse to go anywhere! Somehow or another I ended up behind the counter, although I'm pretty sure it was of my own volition. 

So as dishes began piling in the sink I thought I would start washing them...and then I kept washing them, cleaned some tables, picked up trash, etc. And with the help of some others had everything cleaned and put away by the end of the party. YAY! I'm not saying this to boast of my own servitude, but there is a point to this.

As Christians we have a perfect example of humility, of service, of love for others in Christ Jesus. I had a lot of fun cleaning those dishes and laughing with all those behind that counter serving alongside me. It made me realize just how much joy can be had through service alone. We tend to groan at the thought of helping out, of going out of our own way, our comforts to serve those who need it, but how often do we allow ourselves to be joyful in our serving? It isn't always easy, and sometimes it is extremely taxing, but most of the time our poor attitudes are what keep it from being enjoyable. Colossians 3:23-24 says, "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." 

Beannachtai ort!

Hello All,

This is the first of I hope many entries to come. I set this up as a way for friends and family to keep track of what's going on: things I've read, developments from day to day in my spiritual walk, etc.

Currently I'm in the process of applying for a summer missionary internship to Dublin, Ireland. I've sent in the application but am now awaiting the next step, which is a phone interview. The Lord is really teaching me patience while I wait for each stage of the application process, but each step is just one step closer to Dublin, God willing. It's well worth the wait.

That's all for now.

God Bless!