Today

Today was one of those days where anything but blessings seem to fade.

Your focus is altered off of your problems and troubles and instead on the simple and yet beautiful aspects of life that are so often taken for granted. Such as...

Jumbo cinnamon rolls.
Sunshine.
Sunburns. In WASHINGTON.
Singing.
Cozy sweatshirts.
Warm chocolate chip cookies.
Your dad playing with your hair and wondering where you got the color from.
Eating Chinese food.
Savoring every little moment you have left with your older sibling- every song, every car ride, every talk.
Dancing.
Blaring music like its August.
Talking with old friends you haven't spoken to since December.
The sound of your sister singing off-key.
The smell of tulips.
The feel of aloe vera.
Taste of hot tea.

Lauren Christine.

Spring :)

Valleys and Mountains

Have you ever stopped for a minute in your busy day to look around? Smell the flowers, feel the wind, hear the birds?

Count your blessings?

Most often the most beautiful things in life are missed all because we're to "busy" to do one simple act- stop.

To appreciate all you've had and all you have presently. The opportunities which opened up new doors, and the trials that made you stronger. The situations that God chose to shine his grace and mercy and, well, miracles through.

Stopping and recognizing all you have can bring on different waves of emotions. For me, it brought back a specific thought/hope that kept burning in my mind.

That although I may not feel God now as much as I have or as much as I'd like to, he's still here. Right next to me. Helping me through this valley while keeping my eyes fixed on the mountains up ahead.

Reminding me that this will indeed pass.

How thankful I am for all the mountains and the valleys and that things are never constant.

"Would you appreciate something that always felt the same? Even the air you breathe makes you go up and down. Your heartbeat goes up and down. If we were always at the same place in our relationship with God, in this world, it would be like having no relationship with Him. Like in a heartbeat, if we didn't have the ups and downs we wouldn't be alive. Yes, God wants you to feel Him. But He wants you to know, trust, and believe Him more. And you cant learn trust without risk. Without pain. Just like now."



Lauren Christine.

Empty Me

Lord, empty me of ME so that I can be filled with YOU.

Lots empty me of my selfish inside. Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride. And any foolishness that my heart holds on to.

Lord, empty me of ME so that I can be filled with YOU.




Lauren Christine.

Never Fading Flame

It's so hard when you can't see.

The big picture, I mean. The end result. The finish line to this race.

Because in reality, nothing matters here. Not the car you drive, how many medals you earn in sports, or the amount of money in your bank account.

None of it really matters.
Why?

This is not our home.
This is not our final destination.
This is not where we belong.

No matter how much pain or confusion may strike during our time on earth, it's not going to effect our future living with God eternally in heaven.

Is this not encouraging?
My goodness.

I admit, it's hard to focus on all the time, but hearing this when feeling so blinded and stuck at a dead end is PAST the word "encouraging".

It's that small sense of hope that keeps shining no matter how dark, endless and, frankly, HOPELESS something may seem. Nothing can extinguish that light.

Nothing.

Lauren Christine.

I Have A Shelter

I have a shelter in the storm
When troubles pour upon me
Though fears are rising like a flood
My soul can rest securely

O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm
When all my sins accuse me
Though justice charges me with guilt
Your grace will not refuse me

O Jesus, I will hide in You
Who bore my condemnation
I find my refuge in Your wounds
For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me

O Jesus, I will hide in You
The One who bears my burdens
With faithful hands that cannot fail
You’ll bring me home to heaven

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfect of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame..."
-Hebrews 12:2

Good Friday? Wake up call.
Lauren Christine.