Life...in all its messiness.

Life has been crazy complicated yet totally joyous lately. I've really been appreciating the concept of community and have been constantly reminded of the beautiful people that the Lord has blessed me with. Recently, some things have come up where there are some complicated situations that really are not that big of a deal, but in my current mental state everything is blown out of proportion. This song has really been blessing me lately...maybe the words in it are what you need to be reminded of, too.

1. Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
   Jesus, I come to Thee;
   Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
   Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
   Out of my sin and into Thyself,
   Jesus, I come to Thee.
2. Out of my shameful failure and loss,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
   Jesus, I come to Thee;
   Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
   Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
   Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
   Jesus, I come to Thee.
3. Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into Thy blessed will to abide,
   Jesus, I come to Thee;
   Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
   Out of despair, into raptures above,
   Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
   Jesus, I come to Thee.
4. Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into the joy and light of Thy home,
   Jesus, I come to Thee;
   Out of the depths of ruin untold,
   Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
   Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
   Jesus, I come to Thee.

Blessings

So, lately God has been reminding me of how He blesses me on a daily basis. The little things, the big things, and everything in between. A couple of specifics:

• People! People who encourage, keep me on track, love, make me laugh, listen, talk, etc etc etc. Relationships are central to life for me, and I'm so thankful that my Jesus knows that and has provided such great people to live my life with.
• Finally getting be part of a worship band again. Music is one of my favorite ways to communicate with the Lord and so it's really great to be part of that again!
• Living with my brother has been wonderful. Granted, we don't see each other as much as we'd like, but those nights where we're both just goofy or get to talk about our days are always fun.
• Schhhooool! Yes, I know, I just said that. I really used to dread going to class, feeling like I was wasting my time/money. Now, I love it! For the most part, I have great classes with subjects that I really enjoy. What a blessing!
• Annnddd. dun dun dun dun! Jesus has really been helping me continually be filled with Him. I'm not advertising in any means, but I finally feel like I'm at the point in my life where I'm not closing the door on relationship opportunities that arise. There is obviously still going to be lots of prayer and petition before going into anything, but it's not not an option anymore. As I've opened this door, I feel like there were a few days where I was wanting a relationship so badly that being fulfilled in Jesus didn't even really mean much. Buttt, in His grace he gave me some time to spend with Him and reminded me that He is my first love. All in all, I'm really happy and comfortable with where I'm at now. :)

How has Jesus been working with you, lately?

Love you all, so much!

Brit

Swamp Caaabbaaaaaggeeee!

Alright ladies, we have quite the task before us.

Find everything fun/quirky about Swamp Cabbage and participate in all the festivities.

There will probably be quite a few people from UCF coming down, so I want to offer up the most authentic, countrified experience ever.

Love,

Brit

PS. should we do the mudhole? haha...

The first step to overcoming an addiction...

...is to recognize that you have a problem. There, I said it.

I am addicted to board games!

I guess I've always held a certain fascination with them. There are just so many great aspects! For instance...

1. FREE! Once you buy them of course.

2. Unlike watching movies (which I also thoroughly enjoy), there is actually interaction between people.

3. It's a great way to break the ice and get conversation started with people that you don't know.

4. They never get old. A game is different every time, depending on how things play out and who is playing.

Not really sure why I wanted to write about this, but alas, I wrote. I guess it was because I wanted to share my weekend with everyone, and board games encompassed much of it. I also studied for my math test that is happening in a couple hours. Kind of nervous! Especially since like a ding-dong, I read all of every chapter whereas if I would have reviewed my notes first, I would have seen that only parts of some chapters were necessary. Lesson: READ YOUR NOTES FIRST!

So, what's your favorite way to spend time with people? Or some favorite board games?

My current favorites: Quelf!, Rummikub, Taboo, Catch Phrase, Apples to Appples...

Love,

Brit

Rallying in prayer...

Alright, guys. I came across the story of a sweet little girl named Kate, and thought I'd do my part to spread the word.

Kate was diagnosed with a brain tumor in late June 2009, and now is fighting the battle for her life. Her parents are grounded in their faith and are asking for prayer support through this stage in their lives. I cannot even imagine going through what Kate and her family are experiencing now. The least and the best thing we can do is pray for them. I'll post the website in case any of you want to follow her story.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Love,

Brit

2009...The great, good, bad, and ugly.

Woah. I cannot believe how awful I've been at keeping up with this! It's certainly not that I've forgotten about blogging, but rather that I feel like so much has gone on that I'm having a hard time finding all the words to explain it all...

Hopefully this will teach me to just be more consistent. Probably....not.

I was hoping that maybe I would be able to share the overall themes of what I feel like 2009 has taught me. We'll see where this ends up!

If I had to name one word that I've learned the most about this year it would be settling. I think I wrote a while back about how seeing other people settle for less than God has for them was so upsetting to me, but this year God has been showing me how I can settle in my own life in so many different ways.

This year has been full of super fun, happy, fulfilling moments for sure, but there has been an underlying sense of knowing that there can be more. Remembering to be satisfied with life and appreciate all that God has blessed me with but also to never ever stop pursuing Him with fervor and seeking to go deeper in all areas of life. I've learned to go deeper in my friendship and actually live out loving people with words and actions. I've begun the journey of living for the Lord first and letting other people's dreams/opinions of who I should be fall below the most important dreams my Jesus has for me.

At Wesley, we worked through a four week series titled "Stripped" that totally turned me upside down in good, but sometimes painful ways. The series was based on really letting Jesus pull the layers off our hearts and get us to a place where he could put the broken pieces of our lives back together. I asked God to speak into issues of my life (past and present) that I needed to finally face and work through, instead of just walking under or over them. Boy, did He answer that prayer. I am nowhere near finished, but it's been an exciting and exhausting process of discovering healthy and not so healthy patterns that I have developed and figuring out how to work through those not so good ones. Good times! It may not always be a fun thing to do, but believe me when I say, it's so beyond worth it with the help of our gentle Savior.

All in all, it's been a whirlwind of a year with all sorts of changes and fun adventures. If I had to name a few that have been particularly exciting they would be....

• Living in TN! Man oh man, this summer was so incredibly crazy! I've always loved the artists at Inpop Records and thought of how cool it would be to work there. I remember freaking out and thinking how awesome it would be to get an internship there after receiving an email a couple of years ago from Shara about different opportunities. Low and behold, that's exactly what happened this past summer! The three months I spent there involved lots of awesome concerts, sending oodles of packages, getting to meet some artists that have been inspirations to me over my lifetime, lots of time doing databases on the computer, adventures with my roommate and precious friend Breezy, building friendships with others in my church and small group (miss you, Britt), and an incredible experience of truly living on my own pretty far from home. I will always cherish the time I was able to spend in Franklin and am so thankful for the opportunity.

• A major change in college! After interning at Inpop Records, I realized that working in the music industry may not be the best long-term deal for me. I still absolutely love it and want to work in it for a period of time, but discovered that a degree in the field is not necessary to accomplish those goals. So now...dun dun dun...I'm majoring in Elementary Education! After much prayer and consideration, I feel like education is where my gifts can be best used and that this is where God wants me. I'm trading my dreams for the better, bigger ones of the One who knows so much more than me. Sure to be an adventure!
• Roommate adventures. Living with people who I didn't always see eye to eye with (but still enjoyed spending time with for the most part) was such a great experience. I have such a problem with avoiding conflict and wanting people to like me. I am the absolute perfect example of a people-pleaser. This past semester has forced me to face my fear of not being accepted by everyone. Jesus is slowly teaching me that I am who I am and that most importantly, He designed me just the way he wanted me. It's totally okay if not everyone appreciates that, because the One who matters most (and a wonderful group of friends) does.

Wow....that was obnoxiously long. If any of you troopers made it through that whole thing, you deserve a ribbon. Or a hug, or something. Love you guys, and praying for a wonderful end to the 2009 and a fantastic 2010!

-Brit

Finally making time to breathe....

Hello, my long lost blog! I have opened windows to write a new blog several times over the past week but I kept getting interrupted. Today I'm determined to just get it out....

So much has been going on lately so I guess I'll just do bullet points about what I consider to be the most important stuff!

• I moved back from Franklin, TN in early August. It was such a great experience but I'm so glad to be home. Never knew how much of a Florida girl I am at heart. I think it was more of the fact that most of the people I love are here....definitely had an effect. Overall it was a great summer. Learned a lot not only in the music business but also about myself and how to truly live independently.
• I had a little time at home between the transition of Franklin and Orlando. It was so great to just rest and enjoy spending a little bit of time at home. LaBelle has turned into this odd haven of relaxation for me. Time just seems to move at a slower pace for me there which is so not a bad thing.
• Moved into UCF! My life since moving in has been nothing short of crazy with occasional times to rest/sleep. Although I'm just waiting to get sick (but hoping and praying that I'll somehow avoid that) I wouldn't have life any other way. I so love being in community and not having much time to sit around and be un-productive. I'm working on the team for Freshmen Group with Wesley this year so that's super fun. We have such an incredible group of students and I cannot wait to see what God has for them this year!
• Night of Joy was great as usual. We saw lots of different groups (Leeland, Chris Tomlin, POD, Francessa Bat....., Newsboys, Chris Tomlin again, and that might be it) and it was just so great to have hang out time. Sleeping arrangements were much easier than last year and it was a great time all around.
• There are some things going on for which I'd love some help in prayer. Jaclyn and I are having a bit of a hard time adjusting with our new roommates. They are great girls, but we are just so different and lead very different lifestyles. I want so badly to be a Christ-like influence and to love these girls, but I also need to learn to have boundaries. We all live in this place together and we all have to practice some give and take. So, prayer for that would be wonderful. Also...I prayed a few weeks ago for a hunger for the Word and God (as always) was faithful in delivering that. Prayer that I would learn to better study and continue to have structured time to read would be fabulous!

So there it is...the condensed version of the past month. I hope all of you are doing well and can't wait to see you soon!

Love,

Brit