unfailing Soveriegnty

the past few months i've been learning and challenged with God's Sovereignty as a whole, not just in the big events and changes in my life or the world but every single activity, event, thought, etc that occurs 24/7 and then my responsibility and need to wholeheartedly trust in Him because of His Sovereignty...i don't have a lot of time to expand on this thought(i'll save it for another post) but i read this devotional this morning that absolutely touches on this subject and wanted to share:

God’s Sovereign Hand

The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
—Isaiah 50:4 niv

God is sovereign, and he has a sovereign design for each of our lives. But knowing, believing, and having faith in God’s sovereign design does not necessarily mean we like the design. We may actually hate the design.

Do we dare tell God we aren’t crazy about his plan? Of course. He already knows our feelings anyway. He knew what we would be feeling long before we had the experience that produced those feelings. He knows the beginning from the end, including our emotions. So go ahead and boldly tell him what he already knows. And don’t worry, he will receive your emotions.

How do I know? The Bible tells me he knows that humans “are as frail as breath” (Isaiah 2:22). It also tells me, “All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

A part of experiencing his shelter is trusting the one who provides that shelter. We can settle into the comfort of that sheltering promise. We can trust him and have faith in his character of love that a higher good is in the making and that one day, we will look back and say, “Ah, yes . . . God’s hand was in that.”

—Marilyn Meberg (God at Your Wits’ End)

coming soon: braving a northeast winter

in the morning, i'm heading on a little vacation to visit my friend jennifer & her husband andrew...in western massachusetts. while most folks vacation to warmer places in the middle of winter, i'm being daring and braving the weather to go visit the northeast (plus, southwest suckered me into an incredible deal for this time of year...i guess they know the northeast in the middle of winter isn't everyone's ideal vacation destination)

don't worry, i've got plenty of warm clothes and yes, i'm actually going to remember my camera and to seriously use it so be on the lookout for a post detailing my winter adventures.

roll tide roll

college football season is over and now my ultimate favorite sport gets the spotlight in the college sports world...hello basketball! january to april provide some incredible games especially once march madness kicks in. let's just say tide basketball hasn't been the most stellar in the past few years but thank goodness for coach grant making some strides to get bama bball back where it has been...how bout that victory last night over caltucky?!! wasn't the prettiest especially the 2nd half but hey, we're young, inexperienced and not the most talented team out there but in the end we can all sing some rammer jammer!

i'm excited for the future of bama bball not only as we finish out conference play but as the anthony grant process continues to work.

enjoy the next few months of college hoops because i know i will

new year, new resolutions?!

or just stick w/ the old ones from 2010...

i'm not much of a fan of creating 5-yr/10-yr/2-yr plans or goals mainly because when i have the Lord laughs & reminds me that He's the planner. i do think setting goals can be beneficial so i'm not totally against starting the new year w/ resolutions i've just been reminded repeatedly over the past few years that it's all a matter of where i'm placing my trust: the Sovereign Lord or the plans/expectations/goals i create & expect Him to fulfill.

when i think of any new year's resolutions as the calendar turns into 2011, the main one that sticks out to me is actively pursuing any and all job opportunities/options He places/has already placed in my path. or as i said on new year's eve: "find/get a new job" (Lord willing & planned of course) i was challenged in the month of december with how i approach trusting vs obeying Him and i'm pretty sure that challenge didn't stop once the calendar changed from 2010.

so here's to resolving to continue w/ the challenges & goals of 2010 in a new year

december in a nutshell

as i sit here in my bed on january 2, 2011, it seems like yesterday the calendar was turning from november to december rather than 2010 to 2011. i did get to enjoy some events that occurred during the past month that i'll take a moment to give a brief recap:

*Behold the Lamb of God concert w/ friends in Huntsville. if you're unaware of Behold the Lamb, please do yourself a favor and check it out: www.andrew-peterson.com. our friend erin's brother works for the church that hosted the concert so we attended the post-concert after party w/ church members, friends, the band. such a super fun night and totally worth getting home at 3am

* GAP vs Yak Christmas party: over the summer a group of older(or as they like to be called seasoned w/ age) ladies in the church decided to invest in our sunday school class. throughout the fall, a different lady hosted us and we enjoyed good food and fellowship. the december gathering was no different as we spent time making blankets for various hospitals to give out to low-income mothers & their newborns. it was such a refreshing night for me...every lady i talked to showed they cared a/b my life & provided such encouraging words especially regarding my job search/situation.

*getting to spend a day w/ my dear friend natalie & her sweet daughter eliza

* since my job title has switched from the merchandising side to the customer experience side at work, i've had to work almost every monday night which is when a group of my friends hang out/cook dinner. we wanted to have a Christmas hang out/ornament swap & it basically depended on my work schedule then what worked best for everyone else. luckily the tuesday night before Christmas fit in everyone's schedules and we had a breakfast for dinner potluck. i'm so thankful for these girls & how they've embraced/befriended me since moving to bham...they make me feel special w/ their hatred of my having to miss 90% of monday nights now.

*3 days in memphis w/ the family...nothing better! the days flew by but i'm grateful for the days i got

*can't write up december w/out discussing the crazy thing that is retail during this season. i'm pretty sure work is what made the month go by so fast especially this past week. thankfully, a pay raise & new job title came at the end of what was a busy, busy month at the BR.

thankful for the celebration of the baby in a manger who came to rescue a dead world right in the middle of it all.