Trying something new.

So last week I was constantly sitting down to blog, inevitably I would think of something else I should be doing, get up to go do 'that' and find myself later with half a blog idea gone. 

That cycle repeated itself all the way until I left this past weekend to go out of town and celebrate the bridal shower of a dear friend. During my driving time over the weekend I thought of many ideas for blogging (yay!) and was driving so none of them got written down (boo!). 

I have been sitting at my kitchen table on and off for the last 20 minutes or so trying to re-create some of my brainstorming which has gone (thankfully) surprising well! 

If you follow any other blogs, you know that my blog does not have cute DIY projects or fabulous foodie recipes, those are not my gifts to share. If you follow this blog, you also know that I mainly share what is going on in our lives since many of our close friends and family are not geographically so close. But lately I have been praying + brainstorming in general about topics I wanted to write about here - beyond daily life for Adam and I. 

I don't have it all figured out yet, I will keep you posted, but what I DO have so far is that I want to start each week of blogging, the same way I start each week of life - in God's word. An idea so simple and basic, but yet easy to overlook. 

Today I am going to share a Psalm with you. Last night, Adam + I read Psalm 139 as part of our devotions together. This Psalm contains several verses about how God has 'fearfully + wonderfully' made us and 'knit us together in our mother's womb', which are probably familiar sounding passages to you, even if you didn't know where in the Bible they were from. 

What struck me as we read through the whole Psalm was how powerful all the other verses were that I wasn't personally as familiar with. I was especially drawn to verses 23-24, the very last words of the Psalm, as a personal prayer this week.

This morning I was excited that a quick Pinterest search on this Psalm produced hundreds of images highlighting the great words found within. So today, I am encouraging you to read through Psalm 139 below - what verses are you drawn to? What challenges you? What gives you hope?

My personal prayer this week. 

Something to consider today.

I think that everyone usually has one day in their week that is make or break. What I mean by this, is that all it can take to ruin your week or turn it into a great week is a single moment going bad or well. Which, at least for me, can be kinda frustrating when that moment turns my week into what feels like a disaster. Thankfully, this week, I my moment happened last night and turned my week into a beautiful place to be.

Every Tuesday night, I am blessed to share in faith conversations with a Young Adult community at my church. Last night, one of the things we discussed was how we would describe the hands of God - which turned into a really cool, Spirit-filled conversation.

What we talked about though, is not as important or memorable as the experience of literally hearing God work through conversation and shared stories & ideas. It occurred to me this morning that those weeks or days that seem to turn sour come more as a result of my sinfulness and lack of willingness to acknowledge how holy and amazing the work of God in my life is. What a challenge to consider that right?!

I listen to music on Spotify a lot at work - today I am listening to Artist Radio based on Gungor (look them up if you have never heard of them before, they are one of my favorites!) - anyways - Matt Redman songs have been playing almost every other song on this channel. On his most recent album he has a song called "Holy". Every word of this song was so perfect to hear today. I looked up the story behind the song and in this story he makes this statement: "As christians we need to live with the whole picture in mind!"


Personally, I don't think anyone can hear those words enough. Considering the holiness of God, the power, the love, the promise of His return...we won't ever be able to truly grasp how great those things all are, but we can know that His holiness seeps into our lives. Every day.

I pray you seek to recognize that your days and weeks are beautiful reflections of His holiness.

Love,
Kyla

Trust God.

Once upon a time, Mary Schmich a Columnist for the Chicago Tribune, wrote a column now known as the "Wear Sunscreen Speech". Given by an author, Kurt Vonnegut, as a commencement speech for MIT, the words have been shared with many college students as guidance and advice for their future. The words to the original speech can be found here: Wear Suncreen.

The following is my own parody on those words: 

Trust God.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, trusting God would be it.

The long-term benefits of trusting God reach far beyond anything I can write about here. This is the one piece of advice I can give, that has stood the test of time, more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the gift and power of your youth. 

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You may not understand now the gift and power of your youth. But trust me, God has made you so unique and amazing, that in 20 years you'll think back to what you experienced and accomplished at your age right now, and be in awe of who He created you to be.

You are not as un-loved as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but remember that faith ends where worry begins, and worry ends where faith starts.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day to help someone else.

Pray.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. 

Love people anyways who may be reckless with yours.

Read your Bible. Seriously.

Don't waste your time on jealously.

Sometimes you will feel ahead, sometimes you will feel behind.

The race is long, but God has already won the race for us. 

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.

To succeed in doing this, know that God made you & He doesn't make junk.

Keep your old journals, or favorite cards of encouragement.

Through away your old research papers.

Worship.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.

The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year olds still don't. Instead, ask God, He already has a plan.

Spend time listening to other people.

Be kind to those around you. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll dance the Cupid Shuffle on your 75th wedding anniversary. May whatever your family ends up being, love God wholeheartedly and love each other. 

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your steps are planned by God. So are everybody else's. Praise Him above all.

Enjoy your body. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. Take care of it. God has made you in His image, and He loves when you use your body to honor Him.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the Bible, even if you end up not following the directions.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Do not creep too much on Facebook. You will only feel too self-centered & unproductive.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Forget High school fights with them, and thank them everyday for loving you anyways. Even loving you all the way through finishing college. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Plus its fun to tell "remember when..." stories. Don't miss out on that.

Tell remember when stories.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in location and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. They will always help keep in perspective that if you can make it through bad freshman decisions, you can make it through just about anything. They will laugh with you and at you, but never will you feel so loved.

Live somewhere new at least once, but don't forget to call your Mom. Travel.

Accept certain truths. People aren't perfect. Prices will rise. You too will get old. And when you do, you'll remember that when you were young, people seemed nicer, pricers were reasonable, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect to not work hard to support yourself. Maybe you have a job or call. Maybe you'll have an inheritance. But maybe you'll go through a tough storm or some hard years. The value in hard work and planning is priceless.

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Don't mess to much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85. Don't drink too much either or by the time you're 40 you will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you trust, and be patient with those who supply it. Seek counsel from those with experience and love in their hearts. The heart of a teacher is irreplaceable. The heart of learner is even more valuable. Sometimes people make mistakes, sometimes you will make mistakes, I can't tell you what those will be or how to fix them.

But believe me - TRUST GOD. 

Congratulations to all my friends who have graduated this semester & to those moving onto internships as well. Love you all!