Revealing Grace

When I moved to Georgia with my GAP sweaters and my reluctance to the outdoors and/or dirt I had no idea what was waiting for me. Less than a year later I was riding on the back of a four wheeler with camouflage boots and a redneck boyfriend. I had joined the culture of the South and I loved it. Almost 7 years later I have left the South that I learned to love so much and moved to the West, quite another culturally distinct place. From hippies, to hobos, to immigrants, this place is quite the mixture!  But my favorite thing is when the South meets the West.  When the South meets the West worlds collide and sweetness tries to seep into standoffishness. When the South meets the West the Southern drawl woos the normally indifferent into being interested and kind and everything becomes more colorful.  How you know a Southerner in the West : 1. They ask complete strangers how they are doing.  When my friend Kyle was stationed here before he left fo...

I have been made this way for a purpose. I have been designed for a reason and I have given my life to an Almighty God. His plan is better than mine, His love greater than mine, and His timing more perfect than mine. I am not defective, behind, or on the wrong path. I am a beautiful daughter of the King with value, with purpose, and with substance. I cannot be discouraged.  For I can make a difference. I can make a change. I can be their voice. 

It has been busy here in Pasadena! 80 degree weather, lots of people coming in to visit and one more coming before the week is over. January has certainly been a month of change, fun, new opportunities, and challenges. The beauty of the busy days though is that in the midst of it I have had some of those I love most here to do my crazy life with me. Let's recap so I can relive the fun: Last week I was on the set of the FX show Justified with my best friend and her family. This week I adventured around LA and watched movies with my most awesome brother. Next week one of my best friends from college will be here for a four day sleepover, filled with ice cream, beaches, and quality time. Three of my most favorite people, all the way from the East Coast, have been/will be here with me and it has been the silver lining on a wintery month (ok, its super sunny in California but the start of a new year always has its bumps). So, that is the update (albeit brief) from the West Coas...

I’ve spent the last five years of my life running from the stereotypes of my generation. The thought of “prolonged adolescence” or “delayed adulthood” made me cringe. The idea of joining in “the boomerang generation” and living with my parents again made me wince. The stereotypes of my generation led me to believe that inadequacy was my biggest opponent. If I became like “the rest” of my generation I would somehow be failing. Isn’t that what the media was suggesting? By prolonging our adolescence and living at home we were failing to be what we were supposed to be at our age. With fear as my companion I naturally complied. I viewed living at home and working at an hourly wage as failure, and I ran from it, all the way across the country. No one could accuse me of boomerang-ing when I lived over 2,000 miles from my family! I was on the track to breaking the mold. With this mindset of proving the generation critics wrong I left college and haven’t stopped running in the almost two...

The other day I spent most of the hours wrapped in a cozy blue chair reading a new book. It was a precious kind of day where no one expects you to be anywhere and no tasks call your name. You can slip into the oblivion of fiction, become wrapped tightly in the storyline, melting into the characteristics of the characters. It was the kind of day where after one hundred pages you find that you half expect the characters to be right there with you, asking you what to do on the next page, how to resolve the conflict that seems impossible to fix. When I finally left the cozy walls of the apartment it was only to realize that the movements of the novel had not sprung off the pages and the world was just as I had left it, moving on as nothing has changed. I wondered how I can get so entrapped in their lives, these people that exist only on paper. I had begun to hope with them, to dream with them. Perhaps I am just a hopeless romantic, believing that the truth of novels can be the truth of ...

Well, another year has come and gone and a new one has begun. 2013 seemed to slip in rather quietly, with barely a whoop or a holler. With just a few close friends, a hymn, and a prayer, 2012 was no more and I realized just how quickly time seems to roll by. On New Year's Day, after watching the Rose Parade on Colorado Boulevard, I went with a few friends to the beach. As they wandered around I sat on a blanket, bundled up and slightly chilly, watching the sun set and listening to the ocean roll in and out of the shore. I felt so at peace being surrounded by His majesty, and I prayed that this next year would be centered around Him and Him alone. I want to trust, to love, to be kind, to be intentional, because He is all those things for me. I want to spend more time in His Word and in prayer, hoping that His characteristics will rub off on me. Hoping that I can lead a better life, a kinder life, and a life that impacts those around me. Looking back 2012 was an interesting year...