rest

the gap between blog posts has been a bit longer than i generally prefer, but i have good reasons.

i've been doing more reading than writing lately. when my semester finally wrapped up (so very cleanly) on thursday, i had this sense of rest that i had been waiting for since...well, basically since the semester began in september. this has indeed been an abnormally long semester since i took a 3-week theology class in august, and since i chose to do my internship over the summer as well. i have basically been in learning mode since the summer of 2010, but even then i was living amidst a very active community.

i have failed at sabbath these past 18 months. a professor whom i have come to admire very much spoke a few words about his own story, words that further challenged me to take rest more seriously. i, like most people i'm sure, like to think that i am somehow exempt from such a need. but don't worry...i know that i'm not.

i wonder if part of my problem is that i'm afraid to be left alone with my thoughts for too long. for a little while my bible reading was minimal as was any extrabiblical encouragement. in the last couple of weeks though God has brought about some joy-giving times for which i am so very grateful. some conversations with k&e that get a little fired up at times, those run-ins at the ever-popular starbucks location and the conversations that ensue, and, well, i could go on for quite a while with a smattering of thoughts and joys, but i want this blog to be what i created it to be.

a testimony to Jesus, my everything.

and so, tomorrow i set out on a much-needed adventure down to st. louis. i'm slightly nervous about 8 hours in the car by myself. yet, the joy set before me, a dear friend and a testimony of God's constant grace and presence, is what keeps me wide-eyed and excited.

i expect to rest as well, finally. a little reading, some more writing. new faces and inspiration. stories, smiles, laughs. eyes that sparkle with something that makes people wonder who our Jesus is.

and in chelsea fashion, i want to express my gratitude
for aleece and chels and these four walls
for men that encourage
for books and words and dialogue
for Christmas and the reality of the phrase immanuel
for kristi's little bump and impatiently waiting until june...