I hope everyone is doing just lovely. The weather is delightfully sunny and the perfect temperature this week, which always seems to instantly cheer everyone up. I love when it seems that every person you pass walking to class is enjoying their day and happy to share a smile. One of my favorite things is kind, friendly strangers.

I'm in a picture mood today so I will share a few things that caught my eye.

J Crew: I want my kids to be this adorable.. and dressed in J Crew.

Oh my.... no words.

New favorite snack. Delicious.

And... a few for a belated Valentine's Day. Everyone needs a little cheesiness ;)

"I don’t pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you." — Author Unknown

 

Also, seeing this awesome couple (Drew and Ellie Holcomb) and Marc Broussard tonight in M-town with sweet friends... So exciting!

 

 

 

 

much love to you all

Song of my Heart

It is way too late considering I have an eight o'clock class in the morning, but I have been dying to blog for forever (lame- sorry!) and haven't found the time. Sooo here I am at 2 in the morn. There is still the slight chance of it being too icy for school tomorrow, and honestly, I wouldn't mind sleeping in alllll day so my fingers are crossed. I love winter when it gives me the excuse to lay in bed and watch movies as long as I so desire but not so much when I have to walk to class with a frozen face. Anyways....

I cannot believe how quickly this semester is going by... it's already February, folks! After this semester, I will be approaching my junior year of college. That. Is. Crazy. But this semester has already been so wonderful and eye opening. I have really experienced the Lord's love, blessings, grace, and wisdom in this past month alone. He has been oh so good to me.

Grace is a word I use very, very often. It's in the title of my blog, it's written a hundred times in my journal, it's underlined all over the place in my Bible... The Lord's grace for me has been very heavy on my heart lately. I have always known that I am saved by grace and that His grace covers my sins but what I am truly beginning to learn is that that overused word in my vocabulary is what sets me free. It is the reason I have a purpose and a plan that I am not yet sure of and it is why I am at peace with that. It is why the best thing I can ever do is as filthy rags and why I can rest in my failures. It is the freedom I am given to replace my shame and guilt with joy. Grace allows me to be who I am and to be seen as righteous in His sight. How beautiful is that.

I was thinking about it the other day and happened to remember that my name means grace. I also remember that I used to think of it in the context of being graceful and not clumsy (which I've always been), but now it holds much more meaning when I see it through a different light, realizing that the simple word is the song of my heart.

Sorry for a bit of a serious post, but I just wanted to share with you all what has been on my heart since I last wrote to you. On the other hand, as you may have noticed I changed up the blog a good bit! I felt that it needed a good sprucing up and tried to match my style a little more. I probably had a little too much fun searching for just the right changes, but that's okay :)

On behalf of Valentine's Day coming shortly and all you single people reading this, I will leave you with a verse that a friend sent me the other day:

"When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate simply on the Master. The time and energy that married people spend on caring and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God." 

-1 Corinthians 7:32,34 (The Message)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and putting up with my spastic writing! I am hoping this week is treating you well :)

Much love, Anna

Psalm 86

A prayer of David

Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.

You are my God;

save your servant who trusts in you.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

You are forgiving and good, O Lord,

abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.

In the day of my trouble I will call to you,

for you will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you,

O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

and I will walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me;

you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

The arrogant are attacking me, O God;

a band of ruthless men seeks my life --

men without regard for you.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me;

grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.

Give me a sign of your goodness,

that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

May this be the prayer of my heart. My desire for this new year is to seek after God with my whole heart and to not stray from Him. I need to fully trust that He knows what is best for me much more than I do. I am a worrier and a planner and tend to think I can make my own decisions and often desire for my plans to be what may actually happen. I am learning to trust His plan for me more every day while also learning to let go. Learning that I may not truly need things that I want now and that my future may not go as I am mapping it out. But that is okay; for I am His, and He is mine. He is all I need. I pray for the strength to live by what I believe every day.

-Anna

Merry Christmas!

Merry merry, all you special people.

It seems strange that Christmas is already here and even more so that 2010 is soon to be ending. It has been a year of joy, change, growth, learning, loss, and blessings. The Lord has worked more in my life this past year than I've ever allowed him to and for that I am happy.

As most of us do, I have once again allowed myself to get caught up in the hustle and bustle/gift-giving/shopping/enjoyment of Christmas rather than truly focusing my attention on the gift of Christ that this season celebrates. He is the single most important element of the Christmas season, and I am so grateful for His unending love and grace.

I did get the chance to support a Salvation Army Angel Tree child again this year, which always proves to be a blessing for me. I am grateful for the chance to help a family give their little one an exciting Christmas morning like the ones I have had for the past 20 years. Oh and yes, I said twenty years. I am still a little surprised each time I say that I'm twenty now. I'm no longer a teenager, and it's a bit strange. Anyways...

Sending my love to you all on this Christmas Day along with the challenge of enjoying the greatness of the Lord even more than the greatness of presents. Also, be thankful for the things you have and remember those who are less fortunate or hurting this season. My prayer is for a change of heart and attitude about this wonderful time of year.


"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."
Luke 2: 10

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2: 14

Joyful

I'm not a writer so I can't technically say I have a case of writer's block, but I will say that I have the non writer's equivalent of it. I have been wanting to write a new post for a while now but just haven't been able to come up with what to write.


So.... Christmas break has been really great so far. Tori, Charlotte, and Daltria all traveled to Tupelo with me on Thursday, and Tori and Daltria stayed until Sunday. It was great to have them here. We were extremely lazy and watched movies for the majority of the time but also went ice skating and to Fenly's birthday party! Ice skating was exciting.. a little painful but definitely worth it. All in all it was a fun few days with wonderful friends!


Anna Kathryn and I have continued in our laziness and have started a Harry Potter movie marathon since we've never seen them. We are still on the first one so we have a long way to go... we will make the sacrifice though ha ha. I love their accents in this movie so much (right, right, right - shout out). If only I could have an awesome British accent. Guess I'll have to settle for my Southern one though.


Side note: If anyone has any good book suggestions, I would be glad to have some!


I am soon to be traveling to Nashville as well. I am so excited! I'll be going to two concerts in three days so I can't complain. We're also going to the Opryland Hotel, which is absolutely beautiful around Christmastime. The decorations are unbelievable.

Opryland Hotel

One concert that AK and I are going to is Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and Dave Barnes. One of my friends introduced me to them, and I love them so much. Can't wait. Go here to see Drew and Ellie :) They're great.

Be joyful -- 'tis the season :)

-Anna

The truth of Christ

Right now I am completely overwhelmed with a certain organization and a girl led to start it all. Somehow a few weeks ago as I was blog searching/stalking I came across this blog about a girl who had left her Brentwood, TN home to move to Africa after her high school graduation and ended up staying and creating an organization for orphaned children there called Amazima (means "the truth of Christ"). I really encourage you to go to her blog and read the countless stories that brought tears to my eyes. It truly blows me away the way the Lord works and the courageous, passionate people he sends to these places engulfed in hurt, loss, danger, sadness, hopelessness, and hunger.
She ended up adopting fourteen girls as her own, and it is remarkable to read about their lives each day. The stories are mostly devastating but also rejuvenating to be reminded of the fact that God is alive and well and performing miracles every day. I am so stirred by this ministry and feel as if I need to do something but not exactly sure what that is. For now I will just pray for this ministry and this family that has touched and broken my heart and for all the others they are helping and coming into contact with daily.

What a beautiful reminder of the relentless God who loves me despite all the evil in my heart and of the many, many blessings I have been given of which I must ask, Why me? Who am I to live so comfortably with all I could ask for when children are starving and dying everyday? It makes my heart ache.

Please check them out and pray for these precious people miles and miles away from our cozy homes.

Love, Anna

Happy December!

Sorry that it's been a few days... and that I didn't quite finish my week of thanks. I told you I was inconsistent so give me a break! Ha. But my Thanksgiving was great. It was a much needed break, and I definitely took advantage of being lazy every chance I could - no shock there! I'm already planning my Christmas break laziness and movie/book line-up as we speak! I can't wait.

As some may know, a couple of nights ago we had some really bad weather in Starkville, and it turns out that a small tornado occurred. Tori and I were driving around yesterday and the area that got the most damage was a mobile home neighborhood, The Pines. We drove by this area, and it was worse than I thought. Most of the homes looked to have some damage and one of the homes was completely turned over on its side. It was so sad to see everyone out in the fifty degree weather gathering their jumbled up belongings. My heart has been aching for these people ever since. Luckily, they found no one with injuries or anything. Please pray for these individuals and families who may have lost most of their possessions along with their homes.

Well tonight as our friends are off to their fraternity formals, Tori, Charlotte, Katherine and I will be treating ourselves to dinner and a movie. Can't wait. It shall be a fun, relaxing night :)

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
Kahlil Gibran

Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic. Rosalind Russell

Happy December!
Love, Anna