Passionate Pursuit

" Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”  ―  L.M. Montgomery      Friendship is integral to our lives, I would even say to our survival. We were created to live in community, and from a very young age we are all searching for ours. We long to find where we fit in this world, and who we fit with. We are always on the search for our tribe, squad, circle, community, clique, chosen family, etc.; whatever you call it, you are looking for it. Those people that see and experience the real, authentic you, and in response to the real you they surround, support, and choose you and you do the same for them in return. Friendship is not easy; it takes work, it's messy because humans are messy, and sometimes friendship hurts, but real and true friendship is always worth it.      Some people are blessed enough to have their forever friend group from childhood, and that's amazing, but I would

     Exactly, eighty-four days ago I started 100 Days To Brave by Annie F. Downs, a devotional gifted to me by an incredibly sweet friend. I know it's been eighty-four days because each day is numbered. which is super nifty, and each day has been so so good. This blog post comes from day fifty-seven in the devotional. It's one of the many days I find myself going back to time and time again. rereading the phrases I highlighted and underlined, looking up the passages of scripture Annie references and the ones I scribbled into the margins myself. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV) "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."       Man, sometimes I read this verse and I'm like, "Yes Jesus! Everything is temporary and better things ar

             As a Christian female in my 20s I know my Meyers-Briggs personality type (INFP), my enneagram (4w3), my love languages, and I've probably taken a spiritual gifts test. I probably take all of these tests every few months just in case my results have changed. Why? Why are we so obsessed with personality types and love languages? They so important to us that we will literally plan and center out entire lives around these results (which is rather unhealthy, but that's a post for another time). Why do we put such an emphasis on these things and purpose to weave them into our lives as tightly as possible? I would suggest that it's because we want to be known. We have a deep desire to be truly by known; to be known by our friends, our family, our co-workers, and even by ourselves. These tests give us the ability to have snippets of ourselves and our personality written out in front of us. It's something tangible that we can present to other people and say hey

     Fear...fear is something we all face at some time or another. It can be small or it can be crippling. Some may face it every once in a great while and others face it every day of their lives. Fear can be brought on by accidents, people, wars, disease, governments, media consumption, and by simply being alive. I would venture to say that fear is interwoven into the fall of man, therefore it is interwoven into being human. However, to say that it's interwoven into the human experience doesn't mean that it should be; I truly believe that when God created humanity he never intended for us to be fearful creatures, in fact time and time again the Bible tells us not to fear. This is something that we did to ourselves. The second Adam and Eve messed up and everything came crashing down around them fear entered the picture and it came to stay.       Fear doesn't affect and interact with everyone the same way. Some people merely brush up against it time and again while

     Growing up in the church, especially with parents in ministry, you get a unique perspective of many things. The ins and out of how a church is run, all of the billions of different types of casseroles and the exact function of each one (funerals, surgeries, potlucks, etc.), how the body of Christ should look at it's best, and the downfall of what happens when we as Christians live according to our flesh. I've seen it all, I have experienced it all. I have even borne witness to the things that church does that it doesn't even realize it does, good and bad. The church is great at many things without even realizing it, and yet there are still areas where the church needs improvement.      One of the areas I've noticed, especially lately, where the church has room to grow is sin. Specifically how we categorize sin. We all have gotten up and said at one point or another that all sin is equal in God's eyes, but the reality is we don't actually believe that. W

     I have been thinking about restarting this blog for a while now, I have several topics I want to discuss and cover. The purpose of this blog was never supposed be just Thailand and reentry and yet that's what it has become. It became a memorial to a small snippet of my life. I don't want it to stay that way, I want it to become active and engaging again. I want it to matter. While there are a list of things I want to write about; serious things, impertinent things, things that I believe in and I'm passionate about. However, for a small relaunch I wanted to do a little re-get to know me. I got these "Meet the Blogger" questions from  The Tully Tales , so let's go. What’s your Favorite Book?  This is a tough one because I am an avid reader and I read so many different genres and authors. I'm going to go with Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer. It has been one of my favorites since I was in elementary school and reread it every year. I also love Anne of Gree