Restoration.

Today... Today I just want to brag on one of my favorite girls in this whole wide world. This girl has been on my heart so much lately, and I just want to share a little bit about my life, her life, and our friendship.

Mel.

Oh, Mel. This girl and I have been friends for a LONG time. I can hardly remember life before first grade when we met. Or even sixth grade, when she moved into a house right up the street from mine. When we would get on the same walkie talkie channel every Wednesday night at 9 o' clock just because we could and we thought it was cool. Who knows what we talked about those nights on our walkie talkies. Basketball, school, I don't really know.

Mel and I continued to be friends for the rest of our school years. We weren't always close, we were often bitter, and we were frequently jealous. There were times when Mel and I probably didn't like each other very much. But that's what is so cool about this story.

After leaving Ash Grove and coming to Mizzou, I found God. He was always there, but I couldn't see Him. I had been looking for happiness in all the wrong places and never felt fulfilled by anything. I had been searching harder to find proof of His inexistence than I was for His existence.

One pretty awesome thing about that, is that while I have been here in Columbia and while I was in Colorado growing in my faith and really learning about God, Mel also accepted Christ and was baptized.

Over Thanksgiving break, I saw Mel for the first time since all of that happened in her life. I had the opportunity to talk to her and spend time with her (and the rest of my Ash Grove girls). We, meaning Mel, Morgan, and Brodie for good portion of it, talked for hours until it was WAY TOO LATE. We sat there and talked about things I never imagined talking with her about. And in that moment, I felt so vividly the restoration and healing that God was bringing to our friendship. Ahh, I can't even explain it. I see so much change in her it's unreal. Between the two of us, it was like a new friendship forming, and it made me so excited.

We both decided that probably for the first time, we were actually excited to be friends. I am excited to spend time with her and to keep growing with her. The best part is, she is only one of my friends who has recently decided to start following Christ. I am so stinking pumped to see all of the work the Lord has been and is doing at home.

I am thankful for my time spent with these girls and the ones not pictured this past week.

So for now, that is all.

Love,
Anna.

Unbelievably thankful.

I have to tell you guys something. A conversation between Brooke and I the other day went something like this:

Brooke: Did you know that it is peanut butter lovers month?

Me: It's my month!

Brooke: I know!! It's perfect especially because you love November

Guys, I LOVE NOVEMBER.

[Here's more proof]

What a great month. But I must admit that I am a little disappointed in myself. I really don't think I have been loving it as much as I should have been. This semester has been pretty emotionally draining. My hardest yet, that's no question. And as hard as I have been trying to find joy in the midst of it all [see my last post], it has been... Difficult. 

But here's the thing. Garrett gave a sermon Sunday that was AMAZING. As I sat there in Middlebush Auditorium listening to him, I could hear God speaking to me. He focused on 2 Corinthians 4, which is just phenomenal. Specifically, 2 Corinthians 4: 13-18 says this:

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

If you have time, you should listen to his sermon. Here is the link.

Goodness guys. I have so much to be thankful for. I am the daughter of a loving Father who does not allow me to be put through trials for no reason. He has a purpose everything He does, and He does it for my benefit. So this semester has been hard, but I have so much to be thankful for. So much to thank my God for. 

So today, I want to give thanks for a few things:

• Patient roommates who show me grace every day of my life.
• Friends and family who love me, and constantly show me that.
• A job that I enjoy.
• The opportunity to receive an education in a place that I love. (I OFTEN don't appreciate that like I should)
• A few amazing women who choose to listen to me and speak so much truth into my life.
• The opportunity to try (and sometimes fail) to do that for others.
• A home to return to for Thanksgiving.
• The reminder that my sight is to be set on what is unseen, what is eternal.

I only have one class, one shift, Catching Fire, packing, a night's sleep, and a drive home standing in my way of being in Ash Grove. I haven't spent more than three nights at home since May, so I am happy to say that I will be in town for an entire week. 

Happy early Thanksgiving, guys.

Love, 

Anna

Be joyful always.

This semester, and I'm sure many of you can relate, has been stinking hard. There have been smiles, there have been tears (a lot of them, actually) and a whole lot of rushing around like a madman trying to get everything done. I have felt happy, stressed, sad, anxious, hopeful (gets out making peace emotions chart), insecure, stagnant, lonely, uptight... The list goes on. Basically, the last couple of months have been an emotional roller coaster in the midst of a very demanding school, work and ministry schedule.

As many emotions as I have experienced this semester, there has been a pretty vital one that I feel like I haven't truly experienced. That emotion is joy. I have completely neglected the opportunity to feel joyful. About anything! I have had positive emotions, sure. But mostly I have been consumed in my own selfishness and joy has been something I can honestly say I haven't been experiencing.

So, Sunday I was thinking about something Aimee said last year at one of our canvas group meetings. She said (this is paraphrased) that for her, joy is something she has to wake up every morning and choose to feel. I have no idea what made me think of this, but the Lord knew I needed to. God calls us to be joyful! He calls us to be free.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Side note: Galatians 5 is also awesome, you should read it. 

Yesterday, I woke up at 6:30am and went running with The Pace Makers & Heartbreakers, previously known as "The Rock Running Club." I don't like running. Like, I REALLY don't like running. But I went, and I found myself actually having a good time throughout it, all because of my mindset. I made the decision that I was going to choose joy.

It's not always that easy. I will probably forget by next week, honestly. With that being said, my intentions of this post are not to be prideful in the least. Life can be hard, but this week I have challenged myself, and I really want to challenge all of you. Choose joy.

Choose carrots, too. They're good for you.

If you want to read more on this topic, Aimee has wrote some posts on it as well, and she is awesome. You should take a look.


P.S. Heres some good music. Brand new, folks!
1. Austin Stone Worship
2. Avett Brothers (who I'm officially seeing on February 14, 2014, thanks to one stinking awesome boyfriend)

Well this is just cute.

Some of you have probably seen this, but if you haven't, you need to. So awesome.

The kid in the video has a website, which his brother-in-law wrote the "Who We Are!" section on his website. Heres a little tidbit of what he wrote, just to give you an idea of just how awesome this kid is:

Robby, age 9, is my little brother-in-law. He's full of life and ideas. Robby has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) a brittle bone condition which has resulted in him having over 70 breaks since birth. What's inspiring about Robby isn't his condition, but the fact that his condition doesn't define who he is. In spite of all he's been through he not only keeps going - he dances.

Now, if that doesn't make you smile, you should probably go to a doctor and have them check for a heart.

Happy Tuesday :)

Back in Action.

It has been so long, and so much has happened. There are a million things I could talk about, but I'm going to choose one good thing. Then, at the end, I will probably add one more thing. You're confused by everything I just said, so just keep scrolling.

I don't want this to sound all "feel bad for me" and angsty, but life has been busy lately. I like busy-ness, but the last thing I want is to feel like I'm not taking time to truly enjoy the things that are happening around me. Lately, it has felt like that.

I have had a lot of conversations with friends centered around this idea: Why are we even going to school? And really, why are we getting these college degrees that we may or may not even use? That's a tough one for me to wrap my mind around.

Every Tuesday, I take time out of my busy schedule and I get the honor of visiting... Wait for it... The one and only, West Middle School. I'm just kidding about "the one and only" part... What a generic name right? Whatever, it makes sense if you look at a map.

Anyway, every Tuesday I get to go help in a 6th grade social studies classroom filled with lots of little 11 and 12 year olds. Then I remember. THIS, my friends, is why I am shortening the length of my life and turning my hair gray. I am doing these things to get my degree so I can spend more than just an afternoon every Tuesday with some hormonal pre-teens. Ten years from now I will probably be complaining that these students are the ones turning my hair gray... Funny how that works right?

So that's my good thing. That's just one thing I wanted to share that has been really awesome in the last month and a half. Speaking of the last month and a half, my social media fast in September was awesome. I won't get into it too much, but it was really good to take that break.

ONE MORE GOOD THING. Kind of.

We had the fall retreat last weekend. What a good time to get away and spend with God and my awesome community. I was sick, which is why it was only kind of awesome. I came home with a fever and I'm still recovering, but regardless, it was awesome. Plus, Tyler brought me soup and put up with all of my coughing and sneezing. What a good guy right? To show off how good of a weekend it was, here are some pictures. Credit to Casey Batezel, Margaret Bedwell, and Sarah Bell. I'm not really sure who took which pictures.