Hey everyone! Is it not amazing to see flowers everywhere and be able to run barefoot? I am loving the spring/summer vibe that has found itself a home where I live! Golden hour is beautiful and warm again, and it lasts for a looong time, both in the morning and at night! Looking out the window is an adventure every time!
Its kind of like the way we feel when we’re really working on our relationship with the Lord. We feel uplifted, refreshed, and we want to read the Bible and illustrate verses and sing worship songs all the time! But when it settles into a less exciting routine, we become a little less passionate, a little less committed; and of course, then the dog days set in.
I’m not saying that we should always be on the “mountain-top”! Its wonderful there, and those times are amazing and special, but they don’t always last. The thing that lasts, is the love that is steady and calm and TRUE.
I’ve been challenged by several people recently (including my amazing friend Keziah in this post ♥), that the Word of God is not a part of our day that we need to just get through. We need to treasure it, make it THE most important part of our day! No matter how busy we are, reading the Scriptures and seeking our Father’s voice in His Word is more important than any exam, job op, or get-together. And the love of the Bible and the just being there to spend time with God, is part of what it means to have that long-lasting love, instead of just the wonder of the whirlwind romance.
This is totally not something I am perfect in. I have just been realizing it, little by little. Pursuit of God through His Word, combined with prayer, is our way of connecting with the Creator, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But we all need His strength to hold us up in the spirit, keeping us from our fleshly desires to just laze through church and the motions. Being a passionate believer requires supernatural strength and wisdom, and praise the Father, He is willing to give it in abundance!
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:5-6, ESV
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:29-31, ESV
HIS STRENGTH AND HIS MERCY, EVEN IN OUR YOUTHFUL FAILINGS, IS MORE THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE.
And now, onto the May Favorites …
- coming to value the power of prayer more than ever before
- going out of my comfort zone and talking on the phone with people
- wearing shorts and not being cold! *jaw drop*
- watching The Chosen with brothers!
- babysitting and writing a book with two precious girls
- wondering why my arms hurt, and realizing that lifting heavy flower baskets was what did it!
- singing with thirty youth and young adults, voices lifted high
- commiserating with a fellow exam-taker about our nervousness
- to-do lists that take up a whole page, messy and in different colors and styles of writing, complete with varying levels of legibility.
- my crazy awesome Dad goofing off in the car and making us almost wet our pants laughing in the backseat!
- writing a song with a picture as a prompt
- staying up late, and going to bed early
- a nerve-wracking piano recital and wobbly arms
- wearing white pants at the piano recital, which made me feel like a bit of a rogue because they frequently change color based on the wearer’s care! XD
- a friend not recognizing me at an event because I curled my hair!
- the hilarity of six people eating ice cream at 9:30 at night, sharing three spoons!
- The Word of God – living and active.
And now for the June favorites …
- practicing piano like a maniac!
- hangin’ out with homeschoolers
- fireworks for some extremely belated birthdays!
- GOING TO THE BEACH!!! (Okay, it was a lake, but I liked it!)
- brunch with a couple other families, which turned into a huge unrelated project and games time!
- a girls grad party with a bunch of my sweet friends, that was such a blast!
- putting on my carpenter’s hat and building stands for said party!
- emailing people 🤗
- babysitting and playing goofy games with two-year-olds
- my first voice recital (at which I stood too close to the speaker and the mic didn’t work, but I couldn’t tell! I could see my family in the audience gesturing that they couldn’t hear, and I just kept singing! 😝😭 It went otherwise well, though. 🤣
- fencing with a friend and strategically figuring out how to fit six people on one quad!
- swimming and dying and swimming and half-dying and swimming and not-dying-any-more 😂
- learning that I aced a piano exam (despite shaky arms and the miles between heaven and earth, God worked miracles!)
- finished reading one of my teensy little books I seem to have acquired … and almost completely forgot about the rest. *facepalm*
And now …. JULY GOALS!!
- Search high and low to find a pumpkin pie recipe for my Dad!
- Spend four hours each morning on high school work.
- Lane swim at least twice a week (with my crazy lane partners, aka brother(s)!)
- Finish reading the prophetic books, Obadiah to Malachi, and read all the “writings” books, except Psalms! (That, my friends, is reserved for August, when I will be the coolest counselor you have ever met! 🤣)
- Attend Staff camp! WOOOHOOO!!
- Take my final lifeguarding course! (Hence the swim practice!)
- Get a tan. (True, I have burnt many times trying for this goal, but we shall see this summer whether new strategies will succeed or not! I just hope this doesn’t affect my outgoing personality … you know what they say, “Once burnt, twice shy.” 😝🤣
HOLD UP! MAKAYLA’S GONNA BE A COUNSELOR?!
Yes! In August I will be away from home in some beautiful gorgeous place where I go to this cool unnamed camp, and I will tell you all the deets and learning lessons when I come back! (As you should have grown to be used to by now! 😂) I am so excited for this opportunity, and so grateful to God for this blessing that He’s given me!
And that’s it! Tell me, y’all – how do you find passion in reading the Word of God? And relating to goals, what is one of the most exciting things you’re doing this coming month? Do you have any sensational summer plans? Chat with me in the comments!!
Y’all have an amazing day now, you hear?! 🤣
Yah's Girl 