growing apart...

my friends, may you grow in grace
and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
my friends, may you grow in grace
and the knowledge of Jesus Christ

Spending time with old friends is always exciting. It's been three years since my internship with TeenPact, and I actually worked with less than half of those twelve people during our season. Time has changed all of us, but because we love Jesus, that change is absolutely and completely good. I am thrilled to count as my closest friends a group of people who are scattered across the states and only see each other in small groups a couple times per year. It's hard, but I think it makes our hours together all the more precious. It was especially cool to see how God is calling us individually to go into all the world and share His love. [we're becoming quite the well-traveled family!] We live far apart, but are growing and moving on parallel lines.

i pray tonight, as we learn from one another
may we glorify Him, and if the Lord
should bring us back together,
may we be in His arms til then


dani and me

cruising the highways of life with three amazing women
[that's the corner of jeni's pink shirt]

dani and i spent a day with a tired but lovely lydia

dani and lily, two girls more dear to me than i can say

Lil, D, and I had many late night discussions [in the hot tub, laying around eating ice cream, etc] trying to discover what it means to live the Abundant Life that Jesus came to give us. It's sobering to realize how often my conversations are about things which don't matter. I want to have more tough conversations!

One night, Dani and I stayed up most of the night talking about college and how God has used education in our lives to spark an excitement for the world, studying, and a complete revision of our thought patterns in pretty much every subject. I'm excited to have friends at other schools who are enjoying their studies as much as I am. We shared lists of our favorite and most challenging books and swapped stories about our most quirky [but dearest] professors.

I'm realizing more and more that maybe your closest friends aren't necessarily the ones you live with every day [though i'm jealous of you who get to] or who you always agree with, but those people who will talk through life and faith with you: listening, conversing, and challenging you with their lives. I have a lot to process still, so this is a poor representation of my thoughts, but I just wanted to say that I am so glad to have each of you in my life, dear friends across the country [and now, around the world!].

to God be the glory
now and forever
now and forever
amen