ok I forgot about this picture and it made me laugh so this one's for you BECCA!!!

"The chief end of man is to Glorify God...."

So my mind is in a constant state of moving in circles right now...what do I mean, well f you have ever picked up John Pipers book called, "Desiring God" you too might have been in this crazy state of mind as well. With every chapter I am left hungry and challenged for God and God alone.

You see I am doing this Bible study with about 6 other students from my school and we are going through Pipers book and boy is it going to be a good study. I have only read the introduction and the first chapter and I have learned so much already, I can not wait to see what’s to come. Last night was our first meeting it went very well; it triggered a lot of things in my head that I have yet to truly contemplate upon. God's been doing some wondrous things in my life. I am also doing a personal study through Romans right now, which is my favorite book in the Bible by the way, and it's like reading it for the first time. Every time I pick up the Bible that is my prayer that God would teach me and show me things that my over simplifying little mind seems to pass over. But back to the book "Desiring God" the books theme is in short about becoming a hedonist for God, the pursuit of pleasure in God and in God alone.

Last night my roommate Jessica and I had a very in depth discussion about happiness and joy. you see what my mind can not seem to grasp is this whole idea of God giving me joy, not so that I am happy but so that he is glorified.....I mean I know that God does not care if I am "happy" he wants me to have joy and the joy that he wants me to have is in him and in him alone! Ok so I guess I kind of get that, but then I think about things that I do in my own life and how I can either lean very far to the left or even farther to the right. I do not want to be a legalistic by no means but then in order for that not to happen I seem to try and walk this fine line. I guess to put it down simply, I would have to ask the question how does one live in this world and do everything for the glory of God. If I call my self a Christian and want to live like Christ, then why do I watch the things I watch or listen to things I listen too, don't get me wrong it's not real "bad" stuff, but it's not bringing glory to God. But on the other had I could quit all that I do that has no glorification to God and I can be in a bubble and become overly legalistic. So where's the fine line and is there one? I know that in the end I will have one thing that really matters and that is that I will stand in front of God's throne and I will have to answer to all that I have done, so with all this I am still left puzzled but I am also so excited that all this is only making me do one thing and that is hunger for truth and stirring a want and passion for God that is done only by his hand and his hand alone! To be continued.....

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Can we go here someday?

"What piece of work is a man"

Well its hump day, the day in between Happy Monday and Happy Friday! Can I do it? Get through the day that is....I am sure I will find a way. I have been learning a lot of things in school recently, I am taking this Humanities class that combines, literature, history, music, and art. I know a lot about history, not enough by any means, but I don't know much about literature, art and music. I love all of it though I am definitely a left brain thinker. I love learning about our past and where we have come from. I know that it's sad, but I have never read anything by Shakespeare, well besides watching the movie Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet of course. Right now we are going through Hamlet, and I just have to say that I feel like such an ignorant person for not having read any Shakespeare before. I can see why he is do renown and just an amazing writer! I love the language he uses in the play and the way he captivates the audience, we just don't here anything like that anymore, it's like we have lost something in the arts. But who am I to say anything I don't know anything about this stuff! But it's all quite intriguing I learn so many new things in every class and the cool thing is I am going to Italy in March and I will be able to see a lot of the art that we are discussing about in class, I will not look at the Last Supper the same way anymore.

ok here’s a bit of randomness, I was watching the Today Show and this month they are doing this really neat serious on cleanliness, and if you know anything about me you will know how I am a big germ phobic, anyways they did these tests to see how many microbes (germs) were on different sorts of things we touch everyday. They went to the gym, the mall escalator, the subway, the work place, public restrooms, and a cab. They found the most disgusting things on them, like even fecies! Yuck! So now that I am even more aware of what’s out there I am even more paranoid! But not really my boy friend made a good comment, he said that people lived for 1800 plus years without Purell! no joke I think, that if I am super clean I won't get sick but life takes a toll and I still do, so I am making this vow right now to live and let go of the whole "don't touch my face" problem!

Side note, Brandon made Valentines Day truly perfect. He treated me like a queen he took me to this really nice restaurant called Texas de Brazil, no joke it is the classiest restaurant in Memphis! And to top it off he gave me the most beautiful diamond studded cross necklace! He's definitely a keeper, and I got him a plane ticket to California so all you who actually read my blog get ready to meet him, we have to sale him California so that he will want to live there with me one day. I am sure that it will sale it self anything is better then Memphis, no offence Memphis buds:)