Woo Me

 Lord, I confess that I am easily distractible. I lose sight of you, and feign indifference. Or maybe I have grown complacent and comfortable with living a distracted life. Lord, I pray that the things of this world would continue to fall short, continue to fail to meet my expectations and dreams and desires. I pray that nothing would satisfy me aside from you and your presence. Woo me once again. I ask that you would open the eyes of my heart, that I would seek you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Fill me with a passion for your name, that you would be lifted high in my life.

 

9/7 Thankful List

 -Teretha came over on Sunday and we ended up talking for like 4 hours. I was so encouraged by her; like, I don't see her often but when we do get a chance to connect, wowza we go in! I'm so thankful that she is my spiritual mom - she spurs me on to love the Lord deeper and her life and posture towards the Lord is a reminder that the Lord wants not just bits and pieces of me, but all of me. 

-For Labor Day, a group of us (Ale/Eyob/Julian/Rolando/John) went up to Skokie Lagoons and spent the day kayaking. We had lunch on the lagoon and even though there were some unexpected events (John couldn't find his car keys when we turned our kayaks in) that transpired, it was one of the most fun/joyful days I've had in a while. Everyone had such a good/fun attitude and not only were we able to meet John's roommate to get his house keys, but the kayak rental place actually found his keys so we didn't have to drive back and forth from the city back to Skokie. Most of the day was captured via photos/live footage and I'm so glad because I can look back and laugh at all of the silly moments we experienced throughout the day. Seriously so thankful for these friends - my heart is super full and I don't take their presence in my life for granted.

-Being creatively inspired by the friends in my life and creating art for them. 

-The marathon is officially a month away! This past Saturday, I ran 18 miles with World Vision and I felt GOOD! I'm feeling more and more confident about this upcoming marathon. I'm trying to take it one day at a time; overall, I'm super thankful that the Lord pushed me to sign-up for this race. It's definitely been a transformative season for me. 

These Dreams

I don't usually dream, but when I do, they're pretty vivid and emotional. I woke up early this morning in a state of semi-consciousness only to fall back asleep quickly thereafter. My dad was in my dream, and I remember him asking me, "Grace, what do you want to do?" While it was a simple enough dream, the emotions that colored that moment in dreamtime remain with me and probably are manifestations of what I've always desired: a father that is reachable/present. Whenever these desires surface, I'm caught-off guard and something in me just breaks. And I can't help but run to the Lord, broken and desperate.