for all my sisters...

This... has taken a long time for me to write! It's hard to talk about some of these topics, but I tried to do it as carefully as I could because it all means a lot to me. It took a lot of tweaking & a lot of asking God for the right words to use. But low & behold here is a lot of words regarding a whole plethora of things I'm passionate about. It's long, so get ready.

I'm writing this specifically geared toward a potpourri of lovely high school girls in my life that are a part of Woodside Student Ministry, but it can relate to any female really no matter her age, including myself. So read this as if I was sitting across from you at Starbucks over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate....

If you & I were sitting down at a Starbucks, Caribou, Panera, your house, my house, at church, wherever, to chat about life, love, & other mysteries right now, I would as gently & as lovingly as I could scream this into your heart, because I love YOU. Do me a favor & read this slowly. Soak it up. Drink up some truth for a minute {or two} sister. {I'm screaming it all right into my own heart too..}

{YOU are beautiful no matter what.}
You my sweet friend, are a beauty. Your freckles, your eyes, your eye lashes, your mouth, your smile, your teeth; straight, crooked, with braces, with spaces, white or yellow.. are beautiful. Your eye brows; skinny, bushy, plucked, waxed, untouched... are beautiful. Your ears, your nose, your blemishes, your acne, everything on your face that your make-up hides.. is beautiful. Your height, your weight, your skin color, your toes, your fingers, your arms, your tummy, everything about YOU.. is beautiful. And are exactly how & where a very crafty Creator perfectly intended. Before time began God was sketching a picture of YOU & deciding where each freckle, birth mark, & mole would be on your body. Do not FOR ONE SECOND let ANYONE {your mom, sister, brother, dad, uncle, aunt, grandma, grandpa, friend, BEST friend, or the reflection in your mirror} tell you otherwise.

{YOU are worth more than YOU could ever imagine.}
Sister, do you know how much you're REALLY worth? Do you know that a King gave His WHOLE life for just YOU? Do you know that He saved YOU? Do you know YOU mean more than anything in the world to HIM? Did you know He chose YOU to be His? He wants YOU. Do you know YOU are desired by an all-knowing, all-loving, mysterious, wondrous God? Did you know YOU are written on HIS heart? Did you know YOU are worth more than any precious jewels, diamonds, or rubies to Him? Did you know He craves time with just YOU? Did you know He longs for YOU? Did you know HE wants what's best for YOU? Did you know He knows what YOUR heart needs? Did you know He is the author of YOUR story? This Man, is your Beloved & He is YOURS, YOU are His. If you let Him be. Even if you don't right now.. He'll be waiting patiently for YOU to come running into His arms. Even if you can't accept His love for YOU, you are STILL worth more than anyone or anything to HIM & that He'll always be there just for YOU. Sister, no man, husband, boyfriend, friend, anyone or anything.. can ever love you as much as He does.

{are YOU talking to God?}
Do you talk to our God? Like really, REALLY talk to Him? Do you talk to Him about the desires of your heart? Do you ask Him to do God-sized things in your life? Do you believe He can do God-sized things in your life? Do you get on your face before Him pleading for direction, guidance, or wisdom for your journey? Don't be scared, ashamed, embarrassed, or feeling unworthy when it comes to talking to God about the the biggest, craziest, or teeny-tiniest desires of your heart! He already knows ALL of them, and the desires of your heart ten years from now, and fifty years from now. He desires to hear all about it from YOU. Let Him know when you have a good, great, horrible, exciting, horrific, sad, or happy day. Let Him know when you're frustrated with Him, let go of your pride & let Him know you really don't have it all together & you NEED Him to hold your hand & guide YOU.

*{the future husband prayer.}
Story time, I remember sitting in my seventh grade English class (at a Christian school) with Mrs. Smith & her telling us about her & her husband. She told us that she had started praying for her husband when she was young, I guess it never really crossed my mind until she mentioned that, but I liked it & it caught my attention. Since then I've pretty much done the same. The prayer has changed a bit over the years but has stayed pretty constant: "God, I don't know who HE is, where HE is, or what HE's doing right now..." you get the gist of it right? I believe in a big God. I believe in a God who listens to His children when they call on Him. You talk, He listens, even if you're talking about someone you can only dream about right now. You can even use my prayer for Prince Charming if you want!

{hold high standards for YOURSELF}
As a twenty-one year old, college student, there are a whole lot of OTHER things I could be doing with my life right now that people my age, younger, or older are involved with. I could be a smoker, I could be an alcoholic, I could be sleeping with a different guy every weekend, I could be out all night making bad decisions & doing a lot of things I would regret later on. As a pretty sensitive person with an overly guilty conscience, I'm not anywhere near involved with any of that. I hold pretty high standards for myself & want to be a good example to YOU, to be someone YOU can look up to. I'M NOT PERFECT (by any stretch of the imagination), but I want to be there for YOU. I want to be here to encourage YOU. I want to be a voice in YOUR head to remind you that you DON'T have to do this or that to look "cool" or to "fit in", that it's OK to stand out & be different. As Christians we're supposed look different from the world, don't let the garbage of this world tempt YOU! Decide what you want people's view of you to look like. Do you want to be different? To look like a little Christ? I survived high school without going to homecoming, any house parties, prom, without drinking, doing drugs, or having sex, and I still had a very fun & pleasant high school experience that left me feeling blessed.

{If you're a female, YOU are captivating.}
The word captivate is a verb that simply means to hold the attraction of a noun (in this case, YOU as a woman, girl, lady, she, her, sister, daughter, all around female; are captivating to the male species.) You catch their attention, catch his attention the right way though. Be captivating by being who YOU are. Don't try to be someone or something you're not to catch his attention.. Sister you're captivating the way you are, being yourself. Don't be a chameleon. PLEASE, don't be. Don't change who you are to win the attention of a GUY! If that's the case.. then he is NOT worth your while. He should be interested in who YOU are, not who you pretend to be!

{survive high school/college without a boyfriend!?}
Crazy I know, but SISTER, I'm just going to say it, and you can argue with me about it if you want but dating in high school is a waste of time. *Any guy reading this can hear this too because it's the truth, I have two younger brothers, one in high school, guys in high school are not looking for a serious relationship, a wife, a soul-mate. You are not ready to get married or to be someone's wife. (dating in my book is for marriage, not a recreational sport, you & I can talk about this another time..) The chances of your high school relationship(s) lasting after graduation is slim to none. Have guy friends! Have fun with them! Hang out with them! Get to know them! Sister, graduate from high school, go to college, get a degree, travel, start a revolution, experience your late teen-twenties-days, AND if God brings a potential-God-fearing-handsome-man into your story in the midst of your college-travel-degree-getting-revolution-making-days, then let it be. I've done it, I'm doing it right now. I've survived. I am about as single as one can be, I've never had a boyfriend, I've never been in a relationship, and guess what? I have friends that are my age or younger that are married, engaged, or in serious relationships, & I'm still confused, learning, & trying to understand the whole male-species as a twenty-one year old. That's all I can say about this..

{YOU deserve nothing less than better, than the best.}
When/if a guy wanders into your life, he should respect you for who YOU are & the standards YOU hold for yourself. He should be encouraging & building you up, not discouraging you or tearing you down (physically, verbally, or emotionally). He should be friends with your friends. You deserve a guy who loves the Lord & likes to talk about what God is doing in both of your lives. You deserve a guy who challenges you spiritually & encourages you in your walk with God. He should be knowledgeable of the Bible. He should have a band of brothers who challenge him. He should have another guy in his life that challenges him spiritually & keeps him accountable. You also deserve a man who prays for you & with you. That's just some of what you deserve in a man. Don't settle for anything less or anything convenient.

{THEY need US to help them.}
As girls we like to look nice, we like to feel attractive, we like positive attention right? As daughters of the King, it's our responsibility to help our BROTHERS. What we wear, how we look, the way we move, the way we act, the things we say, can all alter how a guy views us. We're responsible for helping guard their purity & helping them by not being a stumbling block in their lives. There is a way to look nice & feel attractive without putting a negative light on ourselves as women. It builds character & helps us feel good about ourselves when we know we're not causing one of our brothers to stumble. And on the contrary.. I have no tolerance for MEN of any age talking disrespectfully about any girl, whether I know her or not. So let's save all of ourselves some trouble & protect our brothers eyes & help them to not have to talk in a demeaning way to us because of our appearance or how we carry ourselves, carry yourself like the Princess you are.

{Be productive in the waiting for Prince Charming..}
As women we long to be pursued. Our heart desires that special attention from a male, we like that special attention. While we wait for him to come into our stories we can't be wishing our lives away, we can't be sitting back & wallowing in self-pity because Prince Charming hasn't come along yet! We need to be spending time with our God. We need to be hanging out with our SISTERS. We need to be growing & learning things along the way & experiencing the life God has given to us. It's OK to be the wedding-dreaming-baby-name-list-making-sappy-Matt-Wertz-love-song-listening girl.. like myself, as long as you are growing in your relationship with God. Let Him show YOU what He wants for your story. Where He wants you to be. All of our stories are different. All of us experience life in different ways, just let God continue orchestrating it while you wait ever-so patiently for Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet. So when Prince Charming comes to sweep you off your feet, sweet sister of mine, your heart is so in tune with your FIRST LOVE's heart that He allows a new man in your life.. it will be a beautiful thing.


You made it. You read these words, do some soaking up, write some things down, process it however you chose fit, but I'd really like to hear from YOU sister. I don't give out my phone number very freely, but I have e-mail, facebook, & do enjoy sitting at coffee shops for chats.
{lefillmore@comcast.net --this goes to my phone or lindsayefillmore@gmail.com}

I left a part of me in Detroit..

I don't know the total count of students & leaders that we had on this trip but I would say roughly 120 all together slept, lived, ate, worked, & worshiped together for a week at the Warren campus & in four different locations around downtown Detroit doing various projects, VBS, day camps, block parties, yard work, painting, garbage picking, relationship building, & anything else under the sun that we could find to do to spread the love and we called it: CitiWeek.
The whole week in general was beyond my expectations. To be honest I went into the whole trip kind of nervous & feeling very unprepared. I think because I wasn't going more than 30 minutes from home I let my procrastination & laziness get to me the week/end before the trip get to me & I waited until the very last minute to do everything. I also felt like I was going into it not knowing any of the students in my group! The week before we left I was switched form one group to another, but God showed me again & again all week how He makes every little detail work out, even if it's not how we intended it to! It was sweet to get to know a whole slew of high schoolers who I didn't know or know very well when the week started! {Faygo for life.}{THIS is just how I organize my thoughts by day, so it's kind of long.. :)}

{Day One} Youth for Christ & Heidelberg...
We traveled into the city of Detroit and made our way to Youth for Christ to do some work projects. Despite the outrageous humidity our group worked SO hard sweaty & hot all day & did so great getting so much done on just the first day. We worked for a few hours in the morning organizing things inside the YfC building, doing yard work outside, & pulling debris out of a huge mass from an ancient garage that had collapsed in on itself, then we headed to Heidleberg for a break/lunch.
{My sister Brittany met up with us there, and we found it interesting that every time we go there it is always kind of gloomy & cloudy outside...}
Post lunch we worked more on getting rid of the mass of rotted wood, a few walls, glass, other random treasures that we found amongst the rumble. It was a hot & sweaty day for sure but the little drops of rain in the afternoon helped cool things off & being able to take a shower before dinner wasn't bad either! We had a sweet time of worship at the church that night & got to share about our first day in the city, it was a good way to end the first day of work!

{Day Two} The day that I think brought the most JOY to my heart..
We started the morning off a little later than the others & went over to the train station to explore, talk about Nehemiah & eat some lunch before we went over to Open Door Rescue Mission. I had always heard good things about Open Door so I was excited to go serve there but didn't really know what to expect. They gave us a little tour & history of the mission, and we helped get things ready for the Forgotten Harvest truck to arrive.

{A woman who volunteers a lot of her time at ODRM is a member at the Warren campus & suggested to Matt that we have the students mingle with the people waiting outside to get in & take down prayer requests & pray with them. Honestly I was expecting the worst, that we would have to force our team to go for it... but I was definitely expecting the wrong thing because even though it may have been totally out of their comfort zone, they ALL went for it! And eagerly met and prayed with so many of the people waiting outside, it was awesome! It was just the beginning of joy that started to fill me up while we were there!}

Then it all happened quickly that we had to jump into action & get organized to start serving, so it was for sure all hands on deck & once again I just had to smile to myself seeing how hard everyone on our team worked! Everyone was doing this or that helping to get things ready to roll! Once everything was ready & sorted a line of people started to form to start coming through the line of tables filled with all sorts of food. We had some of us standing behind the tables explaining how much of what was to be taken and kind of directing traffic, some of the students were handing out bagels on the way out, some students were playing some music, & it was just a sight to see.
Another aspect of the joy that I felt during this afternoon was that my dad, older sister, & youngest brother were all there with me! At some points I felt like I was going to start chocking up & fighting back tears because of how I blessed I felt to have the chance to serve less fortunate people with my family around me helping too. Not every 10 year old joyfully helps serve the people of Detroit everyday.

All in all the whole scene just made me smile.

Later that night we all headed back into the city after dinner to hand out free water & pop around Comerica Park before the Tigers game & then had a good time hanging out at the game, even thought the Tigs lost..

...and we all had these "Hope for Detroit" shirts on.. some people at the game agreed with our shirts, some didn't. It makes me sad that people that live in the city don't even believe there is hope for their city. That's why we have to take baby steps to spread the hope for a broken city.

{Day Three}

We headed back to YFC to finish moving all the debris from the old garage into a dumpster & finish clearing the area. Since the team we had was amazing & the hardest workers from the whole trip we got that done pretty quickly & again had nothing but sweat & dirt dripping off our bodies & dirt under out nails when we were done.
Then we had lunch on Belle Isle & used the afternoon to explore & see a new part of the city for a lot of our team which was kind of cool. We just ate & relaxed for a while looking over at the city..
That night we got to go visit Brittany's Palace over on Second & have dinner & hang out with each other for a few hours for dinner!
It included fajitas, eating outside, enjoying each others company, & a large game of tag.

Then we all went over to Metro Church where one of the other CItiWeek groups was working all week for a Wednesday night church service. It was cool to see what the other group had been doing all week with a block party earlier that day & getting to sing crazy songs & meet some cute kids! It was fun to hear my brother talk about Nehemiah in front of everyone too. Love that kid. Love seeing him serve other people too.

The crazy night ended with a couple trips to Meijer, McDonalds, & Speedway & most of the group being awake until 3AM. (It has to happen on a missions trip...)

{Day Four}
Our group went on a tour of the Renaissance Center downtown in the morning. I've never been inside before but am always intrigued by the building when I'm downtown! So it was cool to see this city inside a city but a little weird to feel like a tourist only 30 minutes from my house. It was fun though & cool to see the city from the sky.

We stayed there for most of the morning & then headed to YFC to put the finishing touches on the work we had been doing. All while clearing out weeds, cement blocks, bricks, & some old lawn mowers from a side yard, & getting some minor cuts & scraps we left that place looking pretty great & clean.
It was sad in a way to me that our group really only worked with other people once during the week & were just by ourselves the rest of the time working at YfC and that we didn't really get to form any relationships with new people in the city, but I just had to keep reminding myself that even if we couldn't physically see the outcome of our labor now, that the work we did at YFC is just a step closer to helping them progress in their ministry!

{STORY: A way that God totally was protecting us while we were downtown was that on Tuesday while we were at Open Door, and not at YFC some of the people from YFC & two of their students that come there were jumped two blocks from the YFC building where we had been working... it's crazy that we just happened to be at Open Door that day. God was for sure watching over us while we were down there & thankfully none of the people involved were hurt or anything, AND the dirt bikes that they had been using that were stolen were found & returned by the end of the week!}

So that was what my few days in the city looked like.. we spent the last day of our trip at a conference center in Ohio with worship time, some down time, & a night of reflecting on the week & sharing highlights & lows of our week. And topped it off with feet washing. The whole idea of feet washing makes me feel blessed to be a part of such a sweet ministry to high school students. I had the opportunity to wash the feet of the sweet girls in my group after a long week or working hard & being sweaty & dirty & pray over them & speak truth into them. It made me feel so blessed to have that opportunity to share that with them. It was humbling for sure.
On Friday morning we had some more debriefing time & then had an hour solo-time to journal, read Isaiah 58, & just reflect on the past few days. And we ended it all with singing God of the City & Our God..

All in all it felt like the longest week of my life, but left me speechless at so many points. I feel blessed to be a part of a ministry that has so many awesome students wiling to give up their week at the end of a long busy summer to go on a half hour from home & get their hands dirty spreading the hope for Detroit.

The words I kept writing down in my journal were BLESSED & HONORED. That's all I have.

. . . . .

{I took a majority of the pictures but borrowed some from my mum & some of the awesome people on my team!}

Detroit.

...I have to brag about a trip I took downtown sometime. It kind of blew my mind & left me speechless, so it might take a while to put into words. Soon. Soon. Soon, I will share the goodness though, until then prayers of hope for the city of Detroit are more than welcome.


{Then I gave them my report: "Face it: we're in a bad way here. DETROIT is a wreck; its gates are burned up. Come—let's build the wall of DETROIT and not live with this disgrace any longer." I told them how God was supporting me and how the king was backing me up. They said, "We're with you. Let's get started." They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work.}
NEHEMIAH TWO

What is on my mind at 12:09am...

1. I just went to see Where the Wild Things Are. I was pretty excited when I heard in the spring about it becoming a movie and was even more excited when it finally came out in October, but I was just now getting around to seeing it...

• its NOT a kids movie
• its sad
• its scary at some points
• it has good music in it

2. The other day I drove past the house I grew up in & lived in for 18 years of my life. Its weird to see someone else living in "my" house. The four bedroom, ranch style, house with large windows in the front, brick front walk, huge backyard, covered with four-five story high trees that shade the sun during the day...

• its weird seeing someone else's cars in the driveway
• the yard doesn't look as well kept as my dad used to keep it
• there's 20+ years of Fillmore memories in that house
• even though its on a main street, it still felt cozy & homey

3. I saw The i-Heart-Revolution film/documentary.

• it needs to be viewed again, to take down notes
  
• its definitely mind blowing all the good + bad things that go & do go on in the world around us
• its comforting to know that there's only ONE love & hope for all man kind
• it makes me sad to hear people talk poorly about the whole idea/concept, their blindness, & being OK with the comfortable lives they lead..

4. Over the weekend roughly 190+ leaders, students, & myself encountered God at the Thirsty retreat. At least two students that I've heard of accepted Christ as their Savior! (So exciting!) We learned what it meant to be thirsty for freedom, authenticity, purpose, & identity.

• its ok to be open with people, not hide behind all of your accomplishments or good things in your life, but let people see & know your hurts & struggles
• we don't have it all together, so let's not pretend to.
• when we are stripped down & raw & exposed, then we realize that only His grace is sufficient for us.
• He is right in the middle of every single aspect of my life with me.
• He "likes" us, He wants to spend time with us.
• He desires us.
• He quiets us with his love. The "leaves me speechless" kind of love.
• He (Yahweh), rejoices over ME with singing.

*here i stand r e s o l v e d.

i so badly want to sit down & write about this past weekend at the WSM retreat. (Resolved). but i only have time to give a quick version of all that went down. God is so good & moved in so many hearts from the youngest sixth grader to the oldest volunteer that came to help out!! in the past week or so God has even done so much in me, just taking my burnt out, stressed out heart, and then putting me on that retreat, and taking my bad attitude & changing it to a heart ready to serve & a heart softened to the word of God. it was so just so refreshing & just let me throw all these things that don't even matter aside & see how amazing my God is & how much He can move in the lives of almost 400 people in just the matter of a few days. :)

*My God, My God, thank YOU for such a wonderful weekend. Not that it was about us, but that it was about YOU. Thank YOU for stirring in the hearts of everyone who heard Jason speak or heard Eric & company lead worship, thank YOU for those times. Just be with everyone who was on that retreat that what they took away from camp, they will always remember & hold YOU close to them when they need courage to do something huge for YOU. Give them courage & a willingness to do what YOU are calling them to resolve in their lives. YOU are so good to us, YOU love us so much, YOU deserve everything & more.

-amen

*hey 2 0 0 9!

Well it has been two-thousand-and-nine for a week now, and I've been thinking a lot since. I've been trying to simplify where I was this time last year and think about changes or differences that have taken place since this time last year.

In January of 2008, I was just under six months away from graduating from high school, I worked, a lot, I was at church a lot, I had a car, I lived in a different house. Reading in my personal journal from this time last year, I had just accepted the idea that I would most likely be staying home for college, I wanted to be a business major or a psychology major, I was deciding if I wanted to go to Camp Barnabas or West Virginia with WSM, and my top three goals for the year were the same as they always and still are.

1. Get to really know God more, fall more & more in love with Him

2. Take better care of my diabetes

3. Be more healthy all in all.

*For the first goal, I think that I did pretty good with really getting to know my Jesus more and really fell in love with Him during the year. Until about September-ish of 2008, I felt like I was at a stand still in my relationship with my Jesus, and I really do not know why. I definitely have come out of that season with Him though! Which I am so thankful for. With a combo or Lighthouse, being involved with Kairos, being a leader for WSM this year, and just all around digging deeper into God's word and relying more and more on Him, I have just found comfort, joy, peace, and satisfaction with my Father, my Creator, my God. And just that, makes me smile.

*My second goal for 2008, I am still trying to do in 2009. I have come to the conclusion that since I have had diabetes for almost eleven years now, that I have become what I call a "lazy diabetic". I have found ways to become lazy with taking care of my diabetes. And since I take care of it on my own and do not really have someone telling me when to check my blood sugar or when to take my shot, I just kind of do my own thing. That has to stop. This year. For good. I guess it just really hit me since the fall time that as a result of me not taking the best care of my diabetes as I can, that I am hurting myself for the long run. The effects of constant high blood sugar is anywhere from major kidney problems, eye problems and in some cases blindness, bad circulation to my feet, and a slew of other things, and I would love to have a family of my own someday and if I don't take care of myself now, then how will I except to have my own kids, if I have problems like that. So it was definitely a wake up call for me this last fall, and it is not the most fun thing to do, but I do have a chronic illness, that is manageable, so its up to me to manage it.

*This last one, I would say I did alright with. All I do pretty much to keep myself healthy is run and attempt to eat healthy, but typically the running is the only thing that stays consistent. Not saying that I ran near as much as I could have during this past year, I did go running more than I thought I would. I enjoy it, I enjoy how I feel when I run, and I do love the feeling I get after I run. If only I could make myself get out there and do it more, then I'd be doing good. So we'll also be working on that again this year :)

*Since January 2008, I indeed did graduate from High School!! I went to West Virginia with WSM for a week to serve the people down there. My car and my phone died in 2008. I finally got a MacBook in 2008, and a new iPod, but lost the iPod...sad day. I technically "graduated" from WSM, but I have had the opportunity to continue to work as a co-leader for a fabulous group of junior girls, I love it! And I am pretty sure I do not want to be a business major anymore, which is still shocking to me, because that was something I wanted to do, to work in the music business scene and whatnot, but now I am 99% sure I am going into early elementary education, and possibly getting a child psychology type degree as well!

Pretty much, those are still my top three things I would like to develop and pursue more in this next new year. I want to continue to see God in everything, continue to pursue Him, continue to be in His word, and continue to seek Him everyday. I also just want to continue to let God open doors for me, show me where He wants me to go, and do. Conquer this disease called Juvinille Diabestes, and run more :). And I want to LOVE people more. Be there for people who need me. Be a better daughter, sister, and friend to the people in my life. And I want to just all around look more like Christ....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, enough of the new year. Check out this passage from Lighthouse on Sunday....

PSAML 37:3-4

"TRUST THE LORD AND DO GOOD; DWELL IN THE LAND AND ENJOY SAFE PASTURE.

DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART."

mmm, I just love the comfort from these two verses. Although so many times I think "God, I am trusting in You and doing good, I am not getting the desires of my heart". I have learned a lot since the summer that God's timing is all that matters, not mine. God will bless me in His own time, as long as I am trusting in Him, and seeking Him always, then He indeed will give me the desires of my heart, in His own time. And I love that.

Also I do love music, worship music especially. And at Lighthouse on Sunday we sang a song called "Your Love Never Fails", by a group called Jesus Culture, its a conference I guess, I do not know that much about it (but it totally just came on & it made me very excited). The words in the song are crazy. Here are the lyrics, I think that the bridge at the end is my favorite line of the whole song. YOU MAKE ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR MY GOOD. How amazing is a God that wants the BEST for ME!?

"Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes, but
You have new mercy for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
But joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don’t have to be afraid
Because I know that you love me
And your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water’s deep, but
I’m not alone here in these open seas
Cause your love never fails

The chasm was far too wide
I never thought I’d reach the other side
But your love never fails

You make all things, work together for my good"

*the rest of the album is equally great. You should check it out.

*so long n o v e m b e r...

i simply love this time of the year.

i don't want to sound cliche, but i do have a lot to be thankful for.

in michigan fall doesn't last long enough.

"autumn fallin' from trees, the snow is up to our knees..."

(random snow-fall, while there are still leaves on the ground waiting to be raked!?)

thanksgiving came & went.

christmas music should NOT start on november first.

it makes me smile when all seven fillmore's are in the same house.

my sister had a birthday.

i do love downtown detroit.

detroit urban art makes me smile.

the weather isn't too cold, yet.

christmas lights, trees, & decorations are up.

music is still one of my favorite things.

iTunes 'genius bar' playlists are/is(?) the best invention.

apple is amazing because they replace broken iPods.

hearing my sister describe 'hippsters' makes me laugh.

i adore boots & fun-cute coats.

aaron's toe is semi-healed completely.

"HE MUST BECOME GREATER; i must become less" john three:thirty.

i am blessed with an amazing church/community that i love.

being a co-small-group leader for an amazing group of junior girls at wsm makes my heart happy.

hillsong's 'i heart the revolution: hearts as one' dvd makes me dream of doing what they do/are doing.

i wish i took pictures/edited them more often.

i still love the city of nashville. (and really would move there any day!)

i think that black friday shopping is ridiculous.

this time next year i want to be getting ready to go to south africa.

the push for 'woodside world-wide' makes me want to go to a million different places!

november flew by terribly fast...

so long n o v e m b e r.

hello d e c e m b e r.

twenty-five days until christmas :)