Just can't contain my joy!

So I had a whole other post started and almost finished, but I decided it was too complain-y, and after my drive home, I just wanted to sing praises to God for how amazing my weekend was (too much? Well too bad 'cause that's how I felt. And please excuse the run-on nature of that sentence).

Did the weekend go exactly as planned? Of course not. They rarely do. But ladies (I assume only women are reading these rather feminine posts), I can't even explain the joy I felt as I was driving home. I had soooooo many wonderful conversations with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. I got to let out all of the things that have been eating away at me the past few weeks but also reminisce about all the great things that God has been putting in my life (e.g. all you fine women reading this :) ). I received advice on things I've been struggling with (like how to start forming a relationship with our Blessed Mother), and I basked in the gloriousness of beautiful friendships. Honestly, I don't even know what the highlight was, but one of them was definitely having the opportunity for so much prayer. I had so much time to reflect on things as they were happening (or at the very least, right after) instead of months after the fact. And I finally started coming to terms with the fact that I don't have to be 2 minutes away from my friends in order to keep up a good friendship, which was something I just couldn't seem to grasp with all this dang free time on my hands to sit and obsess about how much I miss them and how much it feels like I've been relegated to the "out of sight, out of mind" category. But that's obviously not true, and I guess it just took a wise friend to tell me so before I would believe it. Better luck next time, devil. Oh! And another big highlight was seeing two shooting stars on my way home tonight! A friend likes to think of them as winks from God ;)

I guess the point of this little post is just to express my amazement once again over how quickly God pours out His graces after just a small act of faith from us. Making time for prayer and attending mass seem like such small gestures to me (despite the fact that I still struggle to do them on a daily basis...), but this weekend has taught me (or at least re-instilled in me) how much God yearns for us and how much He desires to show us that He loves us, if we would only let Him. I'm still processing everything that's going on, so if this seems like just one big rambling, I apologize. I just needed to start the reflection process, and blogging seems to be a good outlet for me to do that. I feel so blessed to have friends who challenge me to become a better version of myself (props to Matthew Kelly for that phrase). I can't thank them enough for the constant support they give me and the changes they've caused in my life. They just have a way of getting me to think about things I normally wouldn't think about, and they invite me to do small things (like praying night prayer) that wind up having big consequences (like wanting to develop a better prayer life). And the best part about it is that everything is done over a cup of coffee. They just make having a relationship with Jesus seem so effortless and it makes me want to do everything I can to reach that point. So I ask them how they do it and find new ways to continue to grow.

Okay, I really am just rambling now because I just can't stop smiling and thinking about all the happy things this weekend contained. I hope all of you had weekends as astounding as mine! And if you didn't, that's what I'll be praying for this week. Have a great night :)

P.s. I finally got the new Mumford and Sons CD (along with some Audrey Assad and JJ Heller). AND THEY'RE ALL SO GOOD! I heart music.

Weekend Update and Beyond

A lot has been going on in my life the past few days. I spent the weekend in good ol' Champaign with one of my best friends. Everyone should have a friend like her--someone who's joyful, caring, strong, compassionate, loving, just plain amazing, and the list goes on and on. She's so wise and her ability to put others at ease is something I really admire. As I was saying... I got down there early Friday night and basically spent the whole time surrounded by people I've missed. I won't go into all the gory details because I'm sure it wouldn't be exciting for anyone, but there were definitely a couple of highlights that I'm gonna hit.

1. There were so many times throughout the weekend that I just found myself sitting back and listening to the flow of the conversation around me, and I couldn't help but think how blessed I am. I have some of the most wonderful friends who support me when I'm feeling down, challenge me to continue growing, fill my life with joy, and offer unending love. And before I get too sappy, I better wrap this point up. I'm just so thankful for the support system God has given me, and it was made very clear to me this weekend how much each of them mean to me.

2. We got to go to the farmer's market Saturday morning, and there's a couple there who make cupcakes with COOKIE DOUGH BAKED IN!! How could I turn that down??

3. Sunday night we cooked dinner for a bunch of student leaders. After everyone finished eating, a couple of them gave their testimonies. One of the speakers was a good friend of mine who talked about the importance of putting God first in your life. I wish I had had pen and paper handy while she was talking so that I could remember all of the great points she made without butchering her message, but all I've got to go off of is my memory...bear with me. Basically she was saying that we won't have the confidence to go up and talk to others about our faith unless we've spent time alone with God and allowed Him to fill our chalice. We need to empty ourselves of everything--our longings, desires, attachments, expectations--so that we can rely fully on Him to fill us with what only He knows we need. It's not until we do this and have our own chalice filled that we can expect to be able to have the trust, conviction, and ability to start those faith conversations with others. We can't give what we don't have ourselves. The message just really struck a chord with me. I've been struggling with making time for my relationship with the Lord lately, and I've been wondering why I've been feeling so down. After hearing this beautiful message, I finally felt the motivation returning.

4. I spent some time in prayer and realized how much I've missed having the opportunity to sit in a silent chapel and just talk to Jesus. I haven't been able to do that much back home because the church is only opened for mass during the week and then they lock the doors right after the closing blessing basically. I know you don't have to be in a chapel to pray, but knowing that I'm in the presence of Jesus just makes me more able to focus my prayer and open my heart. I just don't get the same feel sitting at home on my bed, so I was thankful for the time I had and for the insights I received.

I'm guessing I've almost hit the you're-about-to-lose-me-if-you-go-on-much-longer threshold, so I'll wrap things up. I realize I started this post by saying a lot has been happening, though it may not seem like much from the little bits I shared today. I promise that I'll share more of the exciting ways God's been working in my life tomorrow. Warning--it may start to get personal up in here.

Have an amazing Tuesday!

This post is (very unofficially) sponsored by C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."