{someday cottage}

 as i sit here on this may morning, nickle creek playing, i am day dreaming of a porch, the creak of the screen door as i walk outside.  the cool air caresses my face as the wind gently blows.  i dream of a rocking chair with a steaming cup of coffee.  back and forth.  back and forth.  here there are no cares in the world. the birds' song fills my ears with delight.  they sing to one another.  the crickets, the tree frogs, all that's alive in nature joins in with the cottage song.  as i sit alone with my thoughts, i relish in the peace of the moment. the smell of the earth blows by and i breathe it in full.  breathing in and out, allowing the air to completely fill my lungs, reminding me i'm alive... it's a little slice of heaven.

the sheets are white and crisp in this cottage and the beds are many. life lives here. family and friends are welcome and many come.  they're happily invited to enjoy and experience the wilderness that surrounds.  the lovely creation that captivates. 

love is found in this cottage.  

there's laughter, yet sometimes tears, as life is experienced, discussed, and lived.  there are children playing here. in the tall grass.  the unseen creek.  the girls giggle with laughter and the sound of their joy is intoxicating. the boys explore in search of all the wild animals and the many, many adventures they can find.  

the bright warm sun shines in the windows by day and the stars and moon by night. when day has gone there is a warm fire burning in the fireplace. smoke slowly rises from the chimney.  chatter fills the kitchen as a delicious dinner is prepared with love and care.  games are played, words are exchanged... love is found in this cottage.  

the floor boards are worn from the many feet that have walked across them and they creak as they go.  the character of this cottage is pure joy.  if the walls could talk, oh the stories they could tell of the life that's been shared here.  stories of family, of romance, of babies snuggled, of friendship.  stories that are so full of life they overflow and become part of this cottage.

love is found in this cottage.

this is the cottage i'm dreaming of...

 

 (this beautiful painting is by katie daisy which you can buy here.  she inspires me.)

{happy.day.dreaming}

aw

{i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know you}

these words are speaking so deeply to my soul this morning.  

the words of c.s lewis from mere christianity, put so beautifully to song by brooke fraser, and then they showed up on pinterest this morning on this beautiful piece of design by baylee heart.

my heart not only connect so deeply to these words, but when they come alive through music and beautiful design, my soul connects in a way that words cannot describe.  

the Lord meets me there.  

i have seen His face.  

the face of Love.  

the face of Hope.  

for THAT i am beyond grateful.

{C.S. Lewis Song}

if i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
  i can only conclude that i was not made for here
if the flesh that i fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course i'll feel nude when to where i'm destined i'm compared

{chorus}
speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

am i lost or just less found? on the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
and avoid the impending birth of who i was born to become

{chorus}

speak to me in the light of the dawn
mercy comes with the morning
  i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for hope to come for me

{bridge}
for we, we are not long here
our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
and i, i was made to live, i was made to love, i was made to know You
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming...

{mission of hope :: haiti bound}

i am currently sitting in the charlotte airport waiting for my flight for miami.  our final destination tomorrow = haiti.  mission of hope to be exact.  to say i'm pumped to spend the week before easter, passion week, in haiti, would be a gross understatement. 

 this will be my first time in haiti, but i've been wanting to go for a long time, so when the opportunity arose a few weeks ago to tag along with my church for a vision trip to plan for a larger trip in the fall and for me to shoot some photos and video to help promote, i jumped at the chance as fast as i could.

... and i can't even begin to describe the peace and joy i have felt surrounding this trip.  the last month of my life has been full of ways that i have been floored for God's love.  i recently was bold enough to pray a prayer asking to see God's loving hand in the details of my life and the answer to that prayer has been anything BUT disappointing.  i have felt at times almost knocked down by the sheer volume of how i've been able to see God's love tangibly in my life.  i double dog DARE YOU to pray that prayer and believe it will be answered.  i have no doubt that God finds great joy in allowing us to see His love in the in's and out's, the everyday of our lives...

the opportunity of this trip to haiti is one of those blessings of seeing His love tangibly.  i've known of mission of hope since early last year when their "grow hope in haiti" tour rolled through charlotte in the beloved "tap tap"... aka bread truck turned touring van.  sort of. regardless it was beyond awesome.  i had the opportunity to sit down with some of the MOH guys at a dear family's house and hear about haiti and their hearts for the people there and the work that MOH is doing in restoring haiti.  restoring hope.  i was overwhelmed by what MOH is doing and loving the people of haiti so well.  i've been wanting to get down there ever since and here i am... headed there...  overwhelmed with gratitude.    

so for the next few days i will spend my time in port au prince.  seeing the city, seeing mission of hope, the orphanage, the school, the medical clinic, the food program, worship alongside the beautiful people of haiti, and casting vision for our team that will go later this year... AND i just happen to have brought my camera with me!  woop woop.  can't wait to show you some of haiti and share stories of my time there.

as i prepare for my time there, i can't help but think of what's coming this friday.  good friday now, but what a devastating friday in jesus' day when they didn't fully understand the depths of what was occuring.  a day i will forever live in gratitude of.  a day where my Savior bridged the gap between my desperate need and our Father's love for a fallen world.  as i travel to haiti i can't help, but feel the desperation of their need after their country has been destroyed by the earthquake.  a country that is experiencing restoration , experiencing the love of our Father, experiencing an amazing hope that one day all things will be right.  as i ponder these things during this passion week, i'm grateful that Sunday is coming...  He is risen.  He is risen indeed and one day ALL things will be right.

until that day... we love.

{happy.passion.week.friends}

aw

{inked :: walk in love :: eph 5:2}

 

(base image via pinterest :: graphic created by me via picnik (RIP picnik))

 this is my life verse.  what i strive daily to live my life by, to walk out my faith in jesus.  the reason i write this blog {live.a.life.of.love}.  daily it's a struggle. daily it's a blessing.  daily He makes me able.  daily God so lavishly spreads His grace over my life and allows me to live as His child.  His beloved.  i want love to be in every aspect of my life.  not love as our society necessarily sees it in , but love by the Author of Love's definition. 

{He is love.}

He made the ultimate sacrifice out of love for me and for you. this is what defines my life. why i was created.  to honor Him in all things... especially my love.  this is also a fabulous definition of what it means as a christian to walk out that love 

a new friend of mine recently sent me these sermons (click here) from pastor greg boyd to listen to on 1 corinthians 13.  there are 9 sermons in the whole series and i've already passed them on to multiple people, but it's the best way i've heard this christian life of love, that i choose to live, explained.  this is what the church should look like, even though we WILL fail.  we are still human in dire need of God's grace, we suffer from the fall of man, from our sinful human nature, but through Christ, we can strive daily to live in this manner... this type of passionate love to our world in need. 

so of course when i decided {finally} on what i wanted my first tattoo to be, much to my sweet mama's dismay, this was it.  i wanted a reminder for the rest of my life that this is what i want my life to be.  something to remind me, no matter where life takes me, this is the reason i live... to walk in love.

 {aw}

{love... mumford style}

a little music treasure for your ears and soul.  enjoy

{not certain the source of this image.  borrowed it from instagram}

{aw}