at the top again

The chaos of a new season of life has a way of sweeping me off my feet.  It's not necessarily a frenzy of commotion, but sometimes the rhythmic waves of responsibility (the things I have to do) and sanity (the things I want to do) -- or where the two overlap... an unusually common occurrence in this season of my life.

*time to pause* *time to reflect*

I'm found at the beginning of an end, and believe me when I say that the sentimental moments of reflection have already begun.  Moody has been, and is, such a good chapter for me.  I wasn't expecting the wealth of emotion that this year has spurred, but I've been welcoming it. 

I feel weirdly alive and in a state of anticipation.  I want to "leave it all on the floor" this year.  I'm putting on my metaphorical waders, because reality is already knee-deep but I just need more.

As RAs we get to set a floor theme for the year.  I chose Psalm 142:7...

“Bring my soul out of prison,

So that I may give thanks to Your name;

The righteous will surround me,

For You will deal bountifully with me.”

It has become my anthem in all this, chaos and otherwise.

small changes from a Big God

So it's been a while...




*Insert happily-overwhelmed sigh here*

I've found myself in a bit of a whirlwind. I have arrived at the beginning of my senior year at Moody, just plain ready. I'm very much left in transition from a summer that included almost seven weeks in Ethiopia, and a plethora of other scattered events. (The Ethiopia stories will leak out on here sporadically, so be patient :), and stay tuned.) I've been in Chicago for a little over a week now, preparing to be an RA for the year. The new students are arriving today and I couldn't be more thrilled. The learning and growing has already begun for the semester and I'm eager for even the chaos ahead.



Pausing for coffee has become one of my more guarded practices over the past few months. This stems partially from my own selfishness and love of coffee, but is also perhaps a rubbing-off of Ethiopian culture. None-the-less it's a beautiful reality that I look forward to and enjoy regularly.

Along with that this semester, I've decided to include reading a chunk of the gospel(s) to my daily routine... a result of a summer that stretched me on all levels. Honestly, I just felt like I was gently being taught that God is Bigger, in all areas of life.

My last week in Ethiopia I was reading in the book of Mark. In chapter 6, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Then, in chapter 8, the disciples ask: "...How are we supposed to find enough food...?" (Mark 8:4). I literally laughed out loud in reading this. Jesus must have been thinking: 'Seriously, that whole miraculous-feeding-5,000-people-with-one-meal thing I did didn't convince you I'm bigger than the food thing? Faith, people, have faith.'

Once I was finished laughing and judging the disciples, I felt a little twinge in my conscious. I do this all the time. Now I'm blessed enough that it's never been about food, but I sometimes have irrational fear about things that God has already proved himself bigger than. I'm prone to quickly forgetting or unintentionally over-looking the truths and promises I've found.

Because I know this about myself, it's time to weed out excuses. I'm going to soak in who Christ is everyday... even if it's just a small piece. I'm going to remind myself of what He did and does, reconciling my worldview accordingly. It's my hope to become more like Him: more like the Ashley God created me to be. Therefore, you can expect to hear more about coffee and Christ.