"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men."
-C.S. Lewis

Can I just say, that I could not agree with this statement more?
Last night I had the immense blessing of being able to go see Hillsong United in concert with some dear friends as well as my brother, (you can listen to one of my favorites here) and I just gotta say, the Lord was there. He was bringing healing to hearts that had been broken, bringing peace to minds that were not at rest, and giving joy to those who had been in sadness. He was moving hearts to follow His leading, and teaching others of His crazy love. He did all these things and more. 
And you know what I love?
I love that I don't have to be in a stadium filled with people to experience God's presence through worship, in fact, I've had some of the most memorable worship experiences with little to no people at all and with little to no music at all. Whether that was standing with brothers and sisters in a heat-filled gym singing "How He Loves" after a long day of ministry in Detroit, or the time I laid on an ice-filled road looking up at thousands of stars and felt so, so small, or the time I sat on a lifeguard stand at 6 in the morning watching the sun come up across the Jersey shore, and sang "You're Beautiful," His presence was there. It was all over. 
And it didn't matter that the guitarist wasn't great, or that the voices were off, or that no one was singing at all...it was worship, and God's presence was there, just like it was last night...when the guitarist was perfect, and the voices were never off, and I was surrounded by more people than ever before singing praises to a God who was doing so many good things in so many hearts. When we worship the Savior King, He shows up, His presence is there. 
Another thing I've been learning, He is worth our praise. He is worth our time. He is worth all that we could possibly try to give. 
Now, I've always been taught this, always "known" it, but sometimes you just have to be reminded, and for me, that means being reminded more than once, and these past couple weeks I have been reminded again and again that He in fact is worth it.
He is worth the sacrifice, worth the pain, worth the time, worth the persecution, He is worth it all!
I amaze myself at how many times I find myself wondering if this life with Christ is worth it, and the thing I discovered is that it's not worth it without Him. 
I need Him every moment. I need His grace and love, I need His presence every single moment. And if the quote by C.S. Lewis is true, that means that my every moment must be a state of worship in order to have his presence communicated to me. I want to be in worship, no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, I want to be in awe of His love and sacrifice and grace, because he is worth it. And maybe you know that, but maybe (like me) you need to be reminded. Guys, He is worth it all. He's worth the time spent in His word, worth the sacrifice of obeying His voice, worth the pain that sometimes (oftentimes) comes with obedience. He is so worth it. Live as though that were true, because it is true. 

"You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
-Revelation 4:11

A couple things I'm thankful for today:

1.) I got a gym membership. So, I put it to good use by going with my mom this morning. I felt like a loser with the lack of weight I was lifting, but it was grand to be back in a gym, sore, but grand. 

2.) I got to spend some much needed time with Jesus this morning. I sat on a bench by the river and He showed me 1 Samuel 7:12. "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us." Now, that may not seem like some life-changing verse, but I had heard it explained before as Samuel set up that rock so that he could remember that God had been faithful and helped him all along up until that point, and He wasn't going to stop. For me, it reminded me that today, June 7, 2013 the Lord has been faithful to me till now, and you guys, I don't think...no, I know He's not going to stop. There's more to come. More love to Him, more hope and more joy! 

3.) My grandpa's face when he laughs. It's so cute. His blue eyes start to water, and he just can't stop. Love him.
4.) All things green in this summer weather. It makes me happy.
5.) A good cup of coffee and good friends to laugh with.
6.) Today I got to go to the mall (which never happens) with some pretty fun people. We played really expensive guitars (and I tried really hard not to scratch them in any way), had lunch, and went into all these funny little shops that only the mall could possibly have. My personal favorite- Furry Babies. Guys, my new obsession just might be puppies.





Gahh, they were so cute. Not that my dog isn't cute, but this is an everyday face for Scout.

Ya I know, he's funny. 

7.)  The fam made s'mores around a campfire tonight. This of course showed how impatient I am, since I burn the marshmallows right away just so I can have chocolate, but "c'est la vie." I like em' burnt.  

8.) I played my own guitar tonight (totally scratch-able), and well...I'm still not anywhere close to being good, but I gotta say that playing guitar is one of the nicer things in life.

And last but not least...

9.) Jesus also showed me this on that bench by the river- 1 Peter 2:9

   

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 

...I am chosen, royal, holy, and I belong to God because of His work of calling me out of the filth I was in so that I could stand in His crazy love and grace and be filled with the fullness of all He is... 

I'd say that's certainly something to be thankful for.

Ok, I have a new obsession.
Gilmore Girls.
I am such a sucker for sarcasm and wittiness, and that show is jam-packed with it.
This obsession is almost as bad as my obsession with Downton Abbey last summer. Seriously, I watched the first season (7 hours) in one day. It was bad. Real bad.
Despite my laziness, I kind of like how summer is going right now. I have found myself spending time at home, working, running errands for my mom, going on random coffee dates to Starbucks, going on morning runs and of course watching Gilmore Girls through it all. Honestly, this summer has been really great, and honestly I'm really surprised that I have enjoyed these past couple weeks as much as I have. I like the randomness and spontaneity of everything, and the fact that I wake up every morning without a "set" schedule, besides of course watching an episode or two of Gilmore Girls and going to work. I was a little (ok, more than a little) nervous about this summer and what it was going to look like, and at times I still am, but so far it has been really nice, and for that I am so grateful.

I swear that I am running. I just get...sidetracked.

The newest find from the neighbors trash can. What nice people. 

Scout's a big fan of carrots apparently. 

It really is a great place to work, no lie.

One last thing...
Oy with the poodles already!

If you don't watch Gilmore Girls you wouldn't understand. 

Welcome, summer.