A.P. English is going to be the death of me, so I'm at least requesting proper grammar on my tombstone, since that will be my cause of death after all. The work load is absolutely ridiculous, and I'm not one to mind working a lot. I just keep reminding myself there is more to life than English. But anyways...
Since being 16, I've gotten to be all cute with Ems. For our first celebratory cute date, we settled on the Egg and I.
The Egg and I is a regional brunch restaurant chain that I just love. You sit on wooden benches and they give you a whole pot of coffee, which is always a selling point for me. Our cute little brunch date consisted of ordering the same meal (and taking pictures of it), drinking an entire thermos of coffee, and solving all of life's problems. After years of not liking eggs, something in me has changed, and I've recently started to love omelets and scrambled eggs. Emma and I actually both ended up ordering the Egg Byte Omelet (mine without the mushrooms) with hazelnut coffee.
Twas a good morning.
One of my favorite aspects of God is his faithfulness. He is exactly who He says He is, and He does exactly what He says He will do, which makes my heart rest at peace and reassures me of my future daily. Over the past few weeks, She Reads Truth has done a study through Daniel, chapter by chapter from the lions to the dreams and prophecies.
Daniel is a story of faithfulness on both ends. Daniel remains faithful to God and more importantly, God remains faithful to Daniel. I finished this study on Friday, and looking back, Daniel 10-12 ended up being my favorite. Though I love Daniel's attitude in Daniel 3 ("And if not, He is still good"- Daniel 3:18), Daniel 10-12 impacted me the most.
You should totally read it for yourself, but in short..
After years of praying for God to let him and his people return to Jerusalem, a decree is issued that allows that, but at this point, Daniel is too old and frail to travel. He knows those who are going will face hardship and he mourns those hardships, so he prays. He prays night and day and fasts for 3 weeks straight for wisdom for the new nation. After 3 weeks, He finally hears back from God in the form of an angel.
Much like us, Daniel had to have been discouraged because he did not hear God. The angel tells Daniel that his prayers were heard on the first day, but the angel was caught in battle against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a spiritual demon, for 3 weeks.
It is such a literal depiction of the war going on all around us, but it is also a example of how God allows suffering for greater good. Daniel's persistence until he heard God serves as an example for us, but there was probably also spiritual growth for Daniel, drawing him much closer than ever before. The angel continued on explaining a prophecy so grand that the only One who knows it is the One who holds it in His hands.
"When evil forces work hard to thwart God's purposes, we can only be sure that something significant is at stake."
-Missy Fuller, She Reads Truth
I take so much from seeing this example in Daniel. When it feels like there is no answer and you are diligently praying and seeking God, just know that He hears you and He is coming!
She Reads Truth is just starting a new plan, and it's never too late to join! Sign up here to join an amazing community of sisters.
This week has also been full of good music. Maddie and Tae came out with a new album, Thomas Rhett released new singles for his album that is coming soon, Brett Eldredge released "Wanna Be That Song," Ben Rector did too...and he was really the selling point.
I used to say "if it ain't country, it ain't music," but in recent years, I have learned that's not true. Believe it or not, Ben Rector is the one who really made me believe that. I was actually obsessed with "The Walking in Between" for a while, and it is still in the my top 10 favorite albums ever.
He has so much control on his wide range and the right amount of elegance and ease when he belts that is is impossible to not love listening to him. His true lyrics, minimal editing effects, and soothing voice won me over in a heart beat. I'm not too sure what to call his genre...most of his songs are also what I would call "easy listening" or "feel goods." Some are upbeat, cruise worthy songs but some are also slower, bluegrassy love songs. They are also clean and real and pure and cute and I just love him. I also think that personally, he is also a good person. If you ever have a chance to go look through his twitter, check out #BenOnAPlane. Or even just go through his regular tweets. He's funny. He's real. He just seems like a solid guy, you know? (His wife is also a VERY talented writer, this is her latest writing and my current favorite)
"Brand New" is his fifth studio album, sixth released album if 2014's Live in Denver counts, too, but eighth if all of his EP's are included. All of his albums have done exceedingly well on the charts, and he has gone on tour with big names like Dave Barnes and Five for Fighting. I have no doubt that 2015 and "Brand New" will be any different.
You can get "Brand New" through iTunes or Amazon. You can also listen to some of my favorite BR songs through Spotify as you finish reading this post.
This week has also been full of good music. Maddie and Tae came out with a new album, Thomas Rhett released new singles for his album that is coming soon, Brett Eldredge released "Wanna Be That Song," Ben Rector did too...and he was really the selling point.
I used to say "if it ain't country, it ain't music," but in recent years, I have learned that's not true. Believe it or not, Ben Rector is the one who really made me believe that. I was actually obsessed with "The Walking in Between" for a while, and it is still in the my top 10 favorite albums ever.
He has so much control on his wide range and the right amount of elegance and ease when he belts that is is impossible to not love listening to him. His true lyrics, minimal editing effects, and soothing voice won me over in a heart beat. I'm not too sure what to call his genre...most of his songs are also what I would call "easy listening" or "feel goods." Some are upbeat, cruise worthy songs but some are also slower, bluegrassy love songs. They are also clean and real and pure and cute and I just love him. I also think that personally, he is also a good person. If you ever have a chance to go look through his twitter, check out #BenOnAPlane. Or even just go through his regular tweets. He's funny. He's real. He just seems like a solid guy, you know? (His wife is also a VERY talented writer, this is her latest writing and my current favorite)"Brand New" is his fifth studio album, sixth released album if 2014's Live in Denver counts, too, but eighth if all of his EP's are included. All of his albums have done exceedingly well on the charts, and he has gone on tour with big names like Dave Barnes and Five for Fighting. I have no doubt that 2015 and "Brand New" will be any different.
You can get "Brand New" through iTunes or Amazon. You can also listen to some of my favorite BR songs through Spotify as you finish reading this post.
My aunt moved to a new apartment this summer, and on Friday, I went down there for the first time since moving all of her boxes. It looks very nice..very Pinterest, if you ask me, but I got to spend some bonding time with her and her roommate. We ate dinner, and I learned to play a new game..It's called Ticket to Ride.
Your board looks like a map with trains going all directions, from city to city. Basically, your goal is to complete the most/longest routes and to block your opponents' path to complete their routes. I am totally obsessed. I loved it, and I'm buying it as soon as I can. Stephanie said it used to only be sold at Barnes and Noble, but it's available at Amazon, too. (Honestly, what isn't available on Amazon?)
If you even sort of know me, you probably know how excited I was on Saturday, considering college football came back. I got to watch my boys do my favorite thing and sing my favorite song with my favorite people, and I couldn't have been happier. It may have had a 90 minute delay, but rain or shine, it's great to be a Tennessee Vol,
xoxo and gbo,
Lauren
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