shake the dust off your feet

the sound of music is one of my favorite movies. as a family, we would watch it during every eight-hour car trip to florida, probably because my parents knew it would keep us entertained for a solid three hours. we sang all of the songs (loudly) and knew almost all of the lines.

i was reminded today of one of my favorite parts of the movie, when the reverend mother speaks with maria in her office. it's likely that maria thought she was going to get a talking-to about her singing in the abbey, but in fact, the reverend mother tells her she will be leaving them for a while. suddenly, her entire life changes. she was going to be a nun... but everything she's assumed about her future is no longer intact, and what she thought was God's will seems to no longer be His plan. the abbey is the only place she feels she belongs, yet she is essentially given no choice but to follow another route. it seems God has, out of nowhere, thrown a curveball.

as she leaves the abbey, maria looks back and says one of the famous lines in the movie, "when the Lord closes a door... somewhere He opens a window."

i think that so many people latch onto this phrase because it is, essentially, a statement of faith and of hope. maria has absolutely no idea what awaits her at the house, but still she chooses to believe that God is going to do something good, that though He has said no to the abbey for the time being, He is doing a new thing somewhere else. it doesn't necessarily mean she'll never be back there. "but for now," He seems to be saying, "I'm doing something else. I'm sending you somewhere different. I know this isn't what you expected, I know this isn't what you thought you heard Me say, but I've got it under control." though she must've felt afraid, uncertain, and disappointed, she changes her perspective. she sees the new path not as second-string plan but instead as her primary route, as the thing that God is providing for in this time. she chooses to trust that God shut the door Himself, that He is the one who is opening the window, a window she never knew was there.

it's hard to step out in faith when we have no idea what is ahead. but God is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. as my college pastor explained, this means that God is giving light to the places right in front of our feet so that we can walk in the dark. it doesn't mean he has illuminated the entire road, for years and years to come. it simply means He is providing us with what we need to walk on in the next few moments.

so onward i walk. not by sight, but by faith and by the Spirit. Jesus Himself said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life." (john 8.12)

it's officially time for pressing on.

caught up in grace

take my life,
take all that i am.
with all that i am,
i will love You.

take my heart,
take all that i have.
Jesus, how i adore You.

-hillsong united, like an avalanche

judges 6:36-40

then Gideon said to God, "if You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, behold i am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. if there is dew on the fleece alone and it is dry on all the ground, then i shall know that You will save Israel by my hand as You have said."

and it was so. when he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.

then Gideon said to God, "let not Your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. please let me test just once more with the fleece. please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew."

and God did so that night. and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

---

i love this story because though Gideon was recorded in hebrews for his faith, we see here that he was not a man of perfect faith. God called him, and Gideon questioned. i love that the Lord chooses us even in our weakness, when we lack courage and faith. so cool.

[people i love]

the word on the street is that my blog is depressing.

thus, i am making a concerted effort to make it reflect

the abundant joy that is in my life,

which i often forget to blog about in the fog of my frustration and feelings.

this post is dedicated to people that i love,

to the people who are and have been important to me at different parts along my journey.

you mean the world to me.

whether or not i've seen you recently,

whether or not we talk regularly,

you have been a part of God's work in making me who i am.

i love you, i promise.

my family: mom, dad, will, emily.

there is too much to say to say much here.

my love and support always, i love you all more than you know.

rachel:

my friend since she invited me to go bowling and sleep over at her house after the eighth grade dance, my constant car/bus companion for countless drives to smyrna which generally involved starbuck's or chick-fil-a, my thrift store shopping buddy, my source for good tunes, my second home in high school, the person who might know everything about me, my love.

elissa:

my middle school literacy friend who was nerdy alongside me, my freshman year of college roommate, my constant support, my late-night movies and sweets partner in crime, she has seen me at my best and at my worst, laughed with me and cried with me, shared her heart for Jesus with me, my love.

my ladyview loves: meredith, laura boldt, carlen, lauraline.

the beautiful women i have lived with for two years,

i can't say enough about the place i hold for them in my heart.

lora wong:

my dance friend since around the bananaphone era, my dance friend today, my sister in Christ, my love. (and i love that you call me laura elizabeth.)

gracie:

the girl i met when she first moved to marietta and thought, "i will be friends with this girl," the person i can count on to bring out the spontaneous in me, my road trip to greenville partner, she can make laugh anytime, my love.

my camp family:

the Lord has grown me so much through knowing you. i love how different you all are and yet how much we share in common.

my johnson ferry small group: jenny, carole ann, kathryn, katie, sarah, katherine, katie, courtney, jasmine, allison, hillary.

the girls i've shared hearts with for so many years, so many mission trips, and so many christmas parties. you have been such an encouragement in my walk with Jesus, and i am so thankful for each of you.

the girlie posse:

the girls who loved me during some of my weirdest moments in life. thank you for the best summer-before-high-school a girl could ask for.

my ib family:

the people i took all my classes with, ate all my lunches with, went to all the football games with, the people who were pulling all the same all-nighters i was and who were taking all the same tests as i was, the people who are part of some of my favorite memories.

i am going to stop since it feels like this post has turned into a series of yearbook entries.

but hey, a girl can be sentimental every now and then, right?

love, laura.

today's delicious lunch

turkey and extra sharp white cheddar on dark pumpernickel,

with avocado, tomato, and mayo.

blueberries, garden salsa sunchips, a pickle, and a coke.

so good!

i just want to dance to this song

wait--i'm alone
sitting on this rooftop, looking down at the town below
stop, you caught me by surprise
it's strange how Your glory can be seen in a firefly

and the night is drawing near
i dream about You as the lightning storm appears
and the more i know of You, the more it's clear that

i never know, i never know
what You're gonna to say
i could never know, i could never know
a mystery that way
You're pulsing like a steady heartbeat
rising like a flame towards the sky
You, You cut the night

what's this--this is something new
there is a deeper beauty in this quiet side of You
God, You're soft, soft to the touch
as i run my fingers through these fields that i love so much
You're an evening song, and i'm desperately in love

i try to catch You like a falling star
but what kind of God could i contain in my jar?
oh, i feel You moving, moving through this land
and i kiss the traces of Your unseen hand

...flickering and luminescent,
moving through the universe,
You're like a firefly

-firefly, audrey assad

listen to it here: http://www.myspace.com/audreyassadsings