It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday was the inaugural use of the fire pit for the season! I was pretty stinkin' proud of myself for getting the fire started...and keeping it going! Loved the impromptu cookout with Ronda and Jonathan too. I have the greatest friends ever.
* Monday I resigned from my job as a financial aid counselor at Indiana Wesleyan and accepted a position with WBCL Radio as the new Mid-Morning producer. You know. All in a day's work. Oh I cannot WAIT to unfold this story for you. I hope it encourages your faith as much as it has mine. God is amazing. And because it's not second-rate news, I also spent the evening hanging out with Faith - I've missed her! We had dinner and went shopping - the perfect end to a great day. (Took this picture when I came home from accepting my new job!)
* Tuesday was filled with the continued enjoyment of sharing my good news and the beginning of figuring out what's next. So much to think about with getting the house ready to sell...trying to figure out what I want to do about a place to live in Ft. Wayne...those sorts of things. So much to consider and absolutely no idea how much time I have to consider it all! :) And in it all, God continued to heap blessings on me...I was so overwhelmed!

* Wednesday was the first day of our registration week. (This is when the incoming freshmen come to campus to schedule their fall classes.) Everyone working with students wears red and black so we can be easily identified. That's two more minutes in bed for me - don't have to pick out an outfit! :) Wednesday was also my sweet friend Tammy's last day at IWU. (She's the one in the middle of the picture.) I'm so excited for her - a brand new life awaits her too! Even though it was her last day, this is one of my first "goodbye" pictures! (L-R: Me, Robyn - who is one of the secretaries in our office, Tammy, Sandee, and Cindy - who all work in the Business Office next door to me!)

* Thursday we had one of the best lunches ever! One of the perks of registration weeks is that the office buys lunch for all of us every day. (That way we can all be there in case it gets busy.) Thursday they ordered in from Brooks Upper Crust pizza. Uh-mazing pizza. I'm usually a pizza is pizza is pizza sort of girl - but I have to admit this is the best I've eaten. Extraordinary amounts of cheese. Extraordinary. * Friday I began the gathering process...gathering information about my house so I can prepare to sell it. So STRANGE to type those words! And Ronda invited me to stop over for some homemade strawberry shortcake. Oh. My. Word. It will be on the blog. It tastes almost like Ivanhoes....

* Saturday was the last day of freshman registration - and my last day to work a weekend at IWU! After I got home from work, Jamie Bennett came to visit - and she spent the evening praying with me. Prayer is her ministry and I had some things God had been urging me to work through. Though she's very busy with her own life transitions right now, Jamie graciously agreed to spend a few hours with me really working through my list of strongholds. What a blessing! Books I'm Reading: Didn't really have much spare time to read this week! Of course I read in Sparkling Gems from the Greek and Jesus Calling. I did read a little bit in The Hole in Our Gospel. And I FINISHED rereading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day since Olivia and I finished up our study of that book!

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I think that came on Monday when I accepted my new job. The very last part that I was concerned (not even really worried) about was the financial aspect. And God worked that out more beautifully than I could have hoped or imagined. It was an incredible faith boost as I look ahead to other "obstacles" - like selling my home and finding a new place to live.

Update on Last Week's Goals: The big decision I had to make was the job - and I made it and am confident I made the right choice. I finished the registration week and feel good about the connections I made with students and parents, even though I won't be working with them past the end of this month. And I am thrilled with the way God met Jamie and me during our prayer appointment. He is GOOD.

Goals for the Coming Week: With my writing time quickly approaching, I want to begin to center my mind on the things God might want me to write about - so I'm "in the zone" when the time arrives. I also need to make a decision this week about how to market my house...whether I want to try to do that on my own or list it...and if I list it...finding the right realtor. All this is very new to me.

30 Days of You and Me: Day Twenty-One

Today's topic? A recipe.

Well, I post recipes on here all the time, and I don't have a new one ready for you yet. So I'm going to have to modify just a bit.

I was talking to a friend of mine last week and he said, "I just want to know...you post pictures all the time of these great treats...the swirly pancakes and the cookies and everything...and you're getting skinnier. HOW do you do that?" Simple! I give it away!

I love to cook. Love it. But it's true that I have no self-control when dozens of chocolate chip cookies litter my kitchen counters. So I divide them up into bags and give them away. It's the best of both worlds. I get my cooking fix...I enjoy a sampling...and then I get the pleasure of blessing others with some yummy food. (And they can do the workout to get it off their hips!)

So. Of the things I love to make, what are my favorites?

Breakfast
Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes
Amish Breakfast Casserole
Orange Julius

(I promise to take pictures of the orange julius next time I make it. I always make it for Pancakes with the Princess and have company here while I do it...and then don't have time to take the pictures!!)

Lunch
Hot Chicken Salad
Broccoli Salad
Almost Caramel Surprise Brownies

Dinner
Baked Spaghetti
Garlic Bread (either frozen cheesy Texas toast or a loaf of garlic bread from the bakery)
Candy Shop Pizza

I'm looking for the perfect chili recipe - so if you have one, send it to me. I know it's not chili weather, but I'm still looking for it.

How about you? Any favorite recipes? If you have a link, send it!

Complete Randomness

There's no good way to tie together the things I'm about to say, so I'll resort to bullet points.

* Blog Cleanup. I'm in a cleaning mood, but frankly I'm too lazy to get up and actually CLEAN, so I'm cleaning up the blog instead. I hate deleting blogs from my blogroll, but some haven't updated in a really really long time, so I'm deleting them. If you were deleted, and you start blogging again, tell me and I'll re-add you! I've also added a few new ones I've started to read - so I don't have to keep hunting them down the long way.

* Herb Gardens. One of my birthday gifts was my very own live parsley plant. I love it. Parsley is very pretty in plant form. Having my own parsley plant has made me want to have a few other herb plants as well. I don't want to get too many because I don't cook with herbs enough to warrant owning one of everything. Plus I really don't know all that much about growing herbs. Or harvesting them. Or anything else. If you're an expert, tell me!

* Writing and Prayers. I'm about to take on a new writing project. I know the general idea God is prompting me to write about, but I don't have a clue how it's going to flesh out on the screen. I also have no idea who needs to hear its message...but for now I'm quite certain I need to hear its message. (You know how they say Sunday School teachers always get more out of their lessons by preparing them than the students ever get by hearing them? Sometimes it's that way with writing, too.) So if you think of it in the coming days, I'm accepting any prayers as I begin this journey.

* Exercise. Strange things are happening in the morphing of Bekah. Lately I've had people ask if I'm losing more weight. No idea. Don't get weighed. (I would get totally hung up on the numbers and fear I'd be ever so likely to subsequently develop an actual eating disorder, so I avoid it all by skipping the scales.) But I will admit to being very surprised when I got the summer clothes out this year and last year's skinny clothes are hanging on me quite loosely. I don't feel like I'm losing more weight. In fact, I feel like I'm eating everything in sight and my workouts aren't aggressive enough to counter that. A friend of mine was in town last week, and he hadn't seen me since Christmas. When he stopped by the house and I opened the door, his first words were "Look at you, Skinny Minnie!" I asked him if he thought I'd lost weight since Christmas and he said, "Uh YES." So apparently I have. I will admit to noticing this weird thing called definition in my upper arms. Must be from that blessed 30 Day Shred workout. And there's the tiniest (TINIEST) hint of one little ab on one side of my stomach. Just one. Tiny. So I think...I think I'm going to buy heavier weights. Try to ramp up the workout a little and see if I can make some more progress.

* God is just good. Wanted to throw that in. He deserves it. :)

8 Cows, 3 Nails

My name is Rebekah and I struggle with low self-esteem.

There. I said it.

We could hash out my childhood and my peers and everything else to get to the bottom of this but trust me - you do not have enough time in your day.

And that's not the point of this post today anyway. Last week I had a discussion with one of my co-workers...a discussion turned friendly argument...in which I tried to explain why I don't think I'm worth too much sometimes, and he tried to explain why I'm wrong.

I struggled to state my part to him and finally remembered this story. I read it years ago and thought immediately this is me. I'm the woman in that story. If you don't have time to read the whole link right now - this is the super quick synopsis: The story is of an islander named Johnny who decided he wanted to get married. Men who wanted to marry would offer the desired woman's father some cows in exchange for her hand in marriage. Five cows was a great price. Johnny chose a rather...unattractive and undesired...woman for his wife. Her father figured he'd be lucky to get one cow for her. Johnny paid eight. When someone saw her after they were married, he was floored that this woman was the one no one would even pay one cow to marry. She was gorgeous and confident. Johnny's point was that if a woman knows she's an 8 cow wife, she'll live an 8 cow life. (The unabridged version is much better. You should read it.)

I've had some 8 cow moments in my life.

Like when my college boyfriend admitted to me that he liked me.

Like when my dream crush from years and years ago kissed me.

Like when Isaac said he wanted to marry me.

Those were moments when the worth others saw in me boosted my worth in my own eyes. And honestly, those moments still boost me. When I feel really bad, I remind myself of those very times.

When I talked to Ronda about this later, she said she didn't know I struggled this deeply - but she also said this, which was so very true and needed. What did God pay for YOU? He thought you were worth a LOT more than 8 cows!

I'm ashamed that there are times when those 3 nails mean less to me than 8 cows. But I'm human. I'm a girl. I want to be an 8 cow wife. Yet right now I know...God wants me to find my worth in those 3 nails.

Hymns

I was raised on hymns. My parents sat in the third pew from the front, organ side, and every Sunday, they took me up there with them. I learned to be seen and not heard in church - and I learned the words to all the hymns.

All four verses.

Sometimes five.

When I was a little girl, the thick red hymnals were too heavy for me to pick up, so Mom found a little paperback songbook in our piano bench at home. It was red, and I declared it my hymnal. I carried it with me every Sunday, and when the song leader invited us to take out our hymnals, I pulled out my tiny red book and sang all four verses - as though those words were in front of my face.

Then I became a teenager.

I hated hymns, organs, slow beats, and everything else I'd been raised on in the world of music. I didn't understand why we sang in King James - about how great Thou art - and I had no clue about what an Ebenezer might be (other than Scrooge) and why in the world we should raise one. Why giveth when you can just plain give and save a syllable?

I wanted to listen to the edgy music. (And by that, I mean Steve Green and Sandi Patty.) And secretly, I did - starting with their hymn albums because it felt less rebellious somehow.

It was actually Bill Gaither and his Homecoming tapings that taught me to love hymns again. Bless Bill for giving those things a beat. I started tapping my toe and remembering that little known fourth verse.

And now - I love them. I love their beautiful old language with greatly underused words. I love their richness. And I won't lie - I still love a good beat and a hymn belted out as an anthem. The louder, the better.

I have one for you that you may or may not know. I wish I could find this one in a good anthem sound. This rendition is acapella, but it's still good. The song is called Day by Day.

This song became precious to me during my desert last summer, because of the line that says The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid. I loved the reminder that He chose to protect me HIMSELF. No matter what someone else might do to me - He was going to treasure and love me.

Last week, the line I quoted over and over was Help me Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, e'er to take as from a Father's hand - one by one, the days, the moments fleeting, 'til I reach the promised land. What I'm facing right now has been handed to me straight from HIS hand - and it can be trusted. And the sooner I can embrace that - the better.

Some Things are Just God-Flavored

This is a story that is longer than a blog post. So in a few days, I'll give you the full version. Because frankly...God deserves the public praise of the full version.

But I'm too excited to not give you a sneak peek of things to come!

For the last eleven years, I've been working at Indiana Wesleyan as a financial aid counselor. And in one month, I'll be leaving IWU to start a new...well...a new life, really.

I will be the new Mid-Morning producer at WBCL Radio. (You have no idea how strange it feels to type that out!! I have a huge smile on my face.)

This entire change came about in my life right at two months ago, and in that time, I've experienced (truly) the biggest "storm of peace" I've ever known. It's very unBekahlike. But it's completely Godlike.

I can't do much right now other than shake my head and wonder at what God is doing in my world. I can't believe He has seen fit to say yes to this...I can't believe the ways in which He has orchestrated it...and I can't wait to see what He has yet to do in this journey.

Until I can sit down and give proper credit to the story as it unfolded, I'll leave you with just those details and these prayer requests, should you feel led to pray about any of them.

* Selling the house. This new job is a bit of a commute and while it would work for a while, it's not at all something I want to be doing in the winter months. But in order to move, I need to sell my house, which is something that will take some God-intervention. I'm not nervous about it...because I've seen what God has done so far, and I know He can do this with no trouble! But I'd still appreciate prayers.

* Finding a new house. MUCH to think about. Rent? Buy? Apartment? House? Condo? AAHHH!! Definitely need some wisdom on this one.

* Safe travels. Until the housing is worked out, I'll commute, and while I'm not afraid of the drive, it's just a change in my routine.

* Finishing well. I still have a month left at IWU and I want to finish the job well and finish with grace. We're in a very busy season and I don't want to shortchange the students and parents in this time.

* Absorbent brain cells. While I'm very much looking forward to the new job and all it entails, there will be much to learn. I have a month with Jamie, the current producer, and I want to absorb from her all I can. This will be my opportunity for my creative juices to flow and I hope they go nuts!!

Cookout at Bekah's!

This weekend was tough. I had a lot going on in my mind, and I spent much of the weekend in solitude and prayer.

And by last night, I needed people. Bless Ronda and Jonathan's little hearts - they'd had a super busy weekend but made time to come over and have an impromptu cookout with me!

I fired up the fire pit...for the first time in two summers. (Didn't care about cookouts last year.) I had actually never successfully started a fire before. Pretty proud of this!
It was a simple cookout - just hot dogs and watermelon - and, of course, s'mores for dessert! With Jonathan there, I didn't see the need to do my own grilling. He did a fine job of manning the grill.

Ronda - who deserves about a dozen gold medals for putting up with me this weekend. What an encouragement she is!

I broke out the s'mores - and um....caught my marshmallow on fire. WOOPS.

First s'more of the season. YUM. It had two marshmallows and half a chocolate bar. I don't believe in skimping on dessert.

Little messy - but totally worth it.

Had to get Jonathan back for taking a picture of me with s'more guts everywhere.

Time for round two!!

I LOVED having them over and being able to share and laugh - and not think about everything that had consumed me all weekend. What a blessing they are to me. (And it was nice to have a day without rain so we could actually light a fire!!)

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I was still in Illinois visiting my friend Jenna and her family. Spent a lot of time Sunday in the car looking at this little bit of cuteness. Jenna told me last time I visited (which was last October), Adelaide did not care for backseat alone time after I left. So hopefully this week hasn't been too bad as she readjusted to self-entertaining back there.
* Monday I spent a good chunk of the day on the road, driving home from Jenna's. After coming home to my freshly mowed lawn (thanks, Mom and Dad!) I went to Lowe's to burn the gift cards I'd gotten for my birthday. Spent the evening planting flowers! I never did plant anything last year. My heart was too broken to care about anything...especially beautifying the yard. So I was extra thankful to have the desire to do this.
* Tuesday morning I met Olivia for coffee at Starbucks at 7 a.m. Yes, you read that right. I had something on the calendar BEFORE work! She was in town just for the weekend, and since I'd been gone the whole weekend...that's when we could meet. It was a brief time together, but I loved seeing her in person! Jenny and I rescheduled our Monday lunch date (due to the holiday), and we went to Fazolis for lunch. (My friend Judy's grandma calls it "Frazolis." I think I might start calling it that too.) Anyway. They've redecorated. And they now serve food on real dishes with real silverware. You should have seen me staring at these - as though I'd never seen them before:
* Wednesday morning when I left for work, I discovered my rosebush had exploded with blossoms - overnight!
And then I got to work and turned the page of the calendar. (He was singing He's Alive for this one. I remember.)
And then - total highlight of the day...a birthday gift from my best friend! Is this not the best sassy red purse you've ever seen? L.O.V.E.

* Thursday evening was FIX BEKAH night. After the narrow escape from nearly coloring my own hair orange on the last dye job, I went to the salon this time. She cut it, she thinned it, she colored it, and she highlighted it. And after a really long day - not only do I look way too tired for my own good, but I also couldn't capture the color correctly. But here's the attempt!
After that, I scurried over to Starbucks where I met up with a friend of mine, Abby. We've known each other for a while but haven't ever really hung out. It was great to be encouraged by her - and hopefully I sent some encouragement back her way!


* Friday was a great day at work, because Miss Gaytha bought us all Dairy Queen treats in the afternoon! I love surprises like that! I got the darling little mini blizzard - French Silk Pie. Isn't it CUTE??
* Saturday I'd been invited to go to the lake with Ronda. I so wanted to go - but my mind and heart were so overwhelmed with the "muchness" going on in my world right now that I knew I should stay home and try to process...pray...get practical things done. I started out by sleeping until 11 a.m. for the first time since Christmas break, I think. I needed that rest. I spent the rest of the day curled up in the fat chair reading, working on pictures, praying, journaling, and trying to work on trusting my Abba's perfect peace.

Books I'm Reading: I got behind a couple of days but am now caught up in both my devos: Sparkling Gems from the Greek and Jesus Calling. I've fallen so in love with Jesus Calling that I bought a copy for Ronda this week. Figured that was easier than emailing her every day with what I loved in it. Read another chapter in Entrusting Your Dreams to God. FINISHED Writing About Your Life. Excited for what I've learned and excited to apply it to my upcoming writing project.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: This week I was riddled with overwhelming fear about a particular situation. Most lunch hours found me parked by the pond, leaned back in the driver's seat, crying out in prayer. During one such prayer, God whispered to my soul that the situation wasn't at all as I viewed it and gave me its truth instead. Despite that revelation I continued to live in fear - doubting that I'd really heard Him. Friday night I received a text that said right out loud that the situation was exactly as God had whispered to my heart. What affirmation to my faith!

Update on Last Week's Goals: I did indeed clean my bedroom - so lovely to not be tripping over pillows anymore! My scrapbook is caught up, which I'm very excited about (love starting a new month caught up), and those thank you notes are DONE.

Goals for the Coming Week: This week, all my goals are matters of the heart. I have what I'm going to already label as a "divine appointment" this coming weekend to hash out some things in prayer. I want to be open and receptive to whatever work God wants to do in my heart through that time. I also have a decision to make in which I must know the heart of God - so I want to make sure I'm connected entirely. It is also the first summer registration week at work, which means long hours and high tension in the office. I want to approach that time and each family I encounter...with grace and compassion.

Weekend Road Trip: Part 3

My last full day at Jenna's was Sunday. Jenna's husband is a pastor, so I not only got to visit their church, but I got to hear him preach! (My first time to hear him.) He preached on one of my favorite passages, so I was pretty excited!

I also got to dress Miss Adelaide . She is about as much of a morning person as I am...hence the expression.
After lunch, we all went over to Jenna's parents' house for a cookout. Except...um...it was pouring. So Frog took one for the team and grilled from beneath an umbrella. (YUMMY food. He's a good griller.) Adelaide got a lot of table food that day. Her first time to try corn. (That was SUPER fun later during a diaper change...thankfully I was not on duty!) Her grandpa was having too much fun letting her try what was on his plate. (And then her uncle Neil offered her a fake carrot. NEIL!!!)

Our next stop was a graduation open house. I spent a lot of time with this sweet little thing in the car that day! (And a combo of overeating and overheating led to some NOT fun feelings for a while. Ick!)

We were POOPED after the open house. We'd been going, going, going, for two whole days. So we took some time to rest. Well - most of us took a nap. A certain someone, who shall remain nameless, but who looks blessed cute in a polka dotted onesie, did NOT nap. She did, however, scootchie up next to me for her bottle later that night!

And Jenna got to open a couple of gifts on her actual birthday. She had some help...

After the fiasco that was my trip north, I elected to try to outsmart Cal for the trip home. Unsure of how else to do this (because I'm a GPS loser) - I entered the McDonald's in a variety of towns I could remember passing through on my trip. So essentially - I McDonald's-ed my way back home. Thanks, Mickey D's! Your golden arches led the way.

The caramel frappe wasn't bad either. Please let the record show I did NOT get one at each one I passed...

I arrived home a little after four so I'd have enough time to mow before it got dark...but my parents surprised me and mowed for me! So I had the whole rest of the day to do chores. I loved it! What a great weekend road trip. Thank you so much, Frog and Jenna, for letting me stay with you and your sweet baby girl. I miss you!!!

Weekend Road Trip: Part 2

One thing I love about visiting Jenna is that I just get to melt into her world for a while and do whatever she does.

Like absorbing the cuteness that is her daughter:
Seriously. Cute.

I know next time I see her, she's going to be running all over the place! She's learning to pull herself up and experiments with wobbly walking, while holding tightly to hands, of course!

She's very serious most of the time.

Yeah we're going to have to work on that serious thing. (Again with the brillo pad hair - I'm so sorry.)

Despite being serious, she does have a lot to say. (Thatta girl!!)

And she totally digs the crawling scene. (See the bocce game going on in the background there?)

Saturday night, Frog, Jenna and I went out to run some errands. While we waited on Frog, Jenna took advantage of Adelaide's sleepiness and gave her a manicure. Shhh - don't tell her.

My one request while I was there - PLEASE take me to Sonic!

When we got home, Adelaide got her first ever pedicure. Pretty toes for the baby!!!

And that's why I love visiting Jenna!!

Weekend Road Trip: Part 1

Last weekend was ROAD TRIP TIME!!!

I left work promptly at five on Friday to go visit my friend Jenna, who lives near Chicago. Seven hours later, I arrived.

Don't ask.

Part of it is that I take the long way there because I don't do Chicago traffic. Part of it is that I have mad skills in getting lost. And this was how I felt about it: Cal, my GPS, took 237 miles (exactly) to figure out what I was trying to do. He was okay with me for the last 95 or so. Seriously, Cal?

Oh! And when I exited near her house, I had to swing through a non-attended toll booth. I had my exact change ready, but I failed to pull up close enough to the little cone thing that looked like it had been ripped from a dog's neck. So there I was, at 11 pm, chucking change at a cone - with my non-dominant hand, no less. It was comical.

Needless to say, by the time I arrived at her house, I mostly wanted to SLEEP. And I did. In a fa-a-a-bulous bed.

Saturday morning, I got up and started baking cakes for Jenna's birthday party. (Because everyone knows no girl should have to make her own birthday cake.) I was PUMPED because she owns a fancy pants Kitchen Aid mixer. I was in culinary heaven. (And my jammies. Sorry.)
I baked the cake, and Jenna's husband decorated it. He did a great job. I was impressed. It was better than I would have done!
Doesn't that look good? (It was. Trust me.)
Excuse my brillo pad hair. Humidity, you know. Anyway. Jenna and I loved the birthday food. Chili, chips and salsa, fresh fruit, and of course - the cake. Happy birthday, dear Jenna! (I elected to take pictures rather than sing.) After the eating portion of the party, Jenna's brother-in-law (he's the one with the baby strapped on) decided it was time for a good game of Bocce. I'd never played it before, but somehow found myself agreeing to try. (Wha????) So Jenna's husband, Frog, and I were a team, and then Neil and his wife, Emily,were a team. I apologized to Frog up front that he got stuck with such a loser. (Hello! Did you NOT read the game night blog post? I never made it out of the negatives in Dutch Blitz?) Remember this picture from the weekly recap? Yeah that's Neil with some pent-up aggression toward the rookie!! Turns out it was warranted. Frog and I won. Because of this winning shot...thrown by yours truly. Oh yeah baby. After that, it was ON. Neil handed the baby over to his wife, who then had to bow out of the game. Neil SAID he was going to take me as a teammate until he found out Frog's friend Will was going to play. He snatched Will up as a teammate, and I again apologized to Frog. And I played hard. I had to represent for the girls, you know!
I wasn't kidding about it being hard core playing. Turns out Neil shouldn't have been so quick to give me up as a teammate. Frog and I won the second round, too. Just sayin'. And the third round...but who's counting?

After losing three times in a row, he suddenly didn't find the game quite as appealing anymore, so we were done. That freed me up to play with the lovely Miss Adelaide:

And that's the road trip...part one.

SSMT: Verse 11

June 1 ALREADY. Can you believe it?

Time for a new verse, and I won't lie to you...this one scared me. I noticed a few weeks ago that the verses I've studied and memorized this year have carried a definite theme of my life with them this year. God has uncovered each one in perfect timing and it's so beautiful to go back and see what He's unfolded in my daily life alongside each verse I've committed to memory.

So I was particularly curious to see what He'd lead me to this time. I think it's a good one.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your love, O Lord, endures forever -

do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:8

God has been doing a work in me lately. I'm not trying to keep it a secret from you. (Don't you hate it when people get all vague on blogs and make you figure out what they're saying between the lines?) I would tell you if I knew what it was. I don't. Not yet anyway. But I believe He's moving and working and shaping...and in that, He is about to fulfill a purpose. And that is such a beautiful hope.

Here's something I love about this verse. You know how the word love has about a billion (give or take a million) definitions? This one is "to be merciful...faithful...kind." What a balm to my heart those words have become!

This week has been one in which my mind has gone every conceivable direction about every conceivable topic. I went out to run and pray the other night and finally just stopped and told God I didn't even know how to pray because my thoughts were too scattered. It was a good thing He's God because otherwise I bet even HE would have been confused.

But in my "ooh look! shiny object!" praying, I rested in the comfort of this verse. His love is merciful. It's faithful. It's kind. And I need that right now. I need that part of His character. He's got one flawed girl on His hands and yet He's choosing to promise to fulfill a purpose in her. I love that.

And I can't wait to see how He does this!