Maybe a Little Overdue.

So, if you follow my blog regularly, you're like, "Man Anna, you've been slacking." That or you are now thinking, "Ha, yeah Anna that's a little narcissistic of you. I didn't even notice." Either way, well, that's okay because you're reading now, aren't you? :)

Well, if you are a regular follower, you know that I tend to post when exciting things happen in my life. I tend not to post when I am having a hard time or dealing with anything even halfway difficult. No one wants to read about that, and quite frankly, I don't want to write about it.

So the last couple of weeks have been rough. I have been homesick and really missing Missouri summers. Every summer up until now has been roughly the same for me. They have consisted of the lake, swimming, softball, family, friends, etc. BUT, don't feel bad. These last couple of days have been so reassuring. Why? Well, because God is good, that's why.

Last week my mom got a random ride to Colorado with two of my former high school teachers, also my mom's co-workers, also my brother's friends. Kind of funny how that all works. The Houps so graciously gave my mom a ride to Colorado Springs where I picked her up and brought her back to Estes with me. She stayed until Monday evening when she flew home to Missouri. I felt a little bad because I work 8 hours a day, which meant she had to find things to do from 10:00-6:30 all four days besides Monday when I was off work. We spent a lot of good, quality time together in the evenings though, and that was pretty great. I just want to give a big thanks to the Houps for driving her out here, my momma for coming on such short notice, and my daddy for being so supportive of my mom's adventurous decisions.

So between that visit from my mom, my LT workshop that started Sunday, and Project Group yesterday, I have had an attitude change. I am feeling much better about my summer here. I have been reminded that God really does provide. Learning to surrender to Him and trust Him with my whole life is a challenge. There's no doubt about that. I feel though, like I am learning more and more on how to do that every day that I am out here. No one ever promised me that it would be easy here. But it will be rewarding, and (I think) worth every second.

Love you guys.

Anna

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:33-34

My Best Friend.

I have a lot of good relationships with a lot of people. I have a lot of people in my life who I consider to be really good friends of mine. I don't say this to boast, because it definitely has not always been that way. I have struggled a lot with friendships in the past, but God has recently been teaching me a lot about healthy friendships and relationships with people. These lessons have honestly changed my life.

A good example of one of the amazing people in my life is Miss Tori Vaughan. I have no doubt that God has placed Tori in my life to encourage me, to talk with me about hard things, and to constantly remind me of and point me to my Savior in any obstacle I face.

Last night I called Tori in tears to talk about some hard things I have been dealing with. I have a lot of friends that I could have called at that moment. I think all of them would have done a good job of listening to me blabber on about the things I have been experiencing and what I feel like God has been telling me this last week. But I really felt like the Lord was telling me to call Tori, and after the conversation ended, I knew for sure that He had been. 

We talked for an hour and a half about our recent conversations with God and what he has been doing in both of our lives. I told her that God had talked to me that day. I heard Him more clearly than ever before and it was the coolest experience of my life. I am surprised she heard anything I was saying; I was crying throughout the entire conversation. She did hear me though, and she spent the remainder of our conversation pointing me to God. I felt so blessed in that moment, and still now, that I have someone like that, people like that, who I am walking through life with in God centered friendships.

Later last night before going to sleep, I got online to look for audio sermons that I could listen to in my free time. I was on the Austin Stone website and clicked on the first one I saw. It was the most recent sermon, titled, "Exposing Our Hearts." The pastor of this particular sermon started talking about our relationships with our best friends who know us extremely well; the friends that force us to get past our surface level problems and talk about what is really going on in our lives and the problems of our heart. I thought of my phone conversation with Tori.

Then he talked about our relationship with Jesus. No matter how good my relationships are with my best friends that I feel like I can go to about anything, they can never amount to my relationship with Jesus. Jesus knows the things about me before I tell Him. He knows the things that I am ashamed of, he knows the things that I don't even talk about with my closest friends. He uses this knowledge to expose my heart, and to help me work through the hard things. He does this not to shame me, but to save me. He does this because my relationship with God is the most important thing in my life and should always remain my number one priority.

I don't think I stumbled upon this sermon by accident.

God put Tori in my life for a reason. He put all of my friends in my life for a reason. But how humbling to think that no matter how much these friends of mine know about me, no matter how good of friends they are to me, Jesus will always be my best friend. He knows more, and he loves me more that anyone ever could. 

It's going to be a good summer. A challenging, but good summer.

Love you guys.

Anna

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:12-15