time with the fam (bram fam, bramly, family bram...you name it.) this weekend was so good. for those of you that don't know i have a brother- yep i do. it was so fun to have hiim around a lot. he's basically a big engineering (not enginerd) stud who is going to move to north carolina (come on and raise up?) this summer. and well, it's weird. as i suppose growing up has always been and will always be.

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hoping in anything that is not Christ is not a big enough hope. summer, school being over, the next best thing--none of those are big enough because

"He has set eternity in the human heart..." (ecclesiastes 3:11)

Currently Listening Room Noises By Eisley telescope eyes see related

today:  happy birthday to chyla ann!

tomorrow: happy birthday to allison renee!

tuesday: happy (21st...yikes) birthday to ang face!

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this year God has brought me to a new level of broken-ness (that doesnt look right any which way) that i always was praying for, and i think i've found out a few things about it

-being broken is hard in so many ways

-it's when you are broken that you realize how much you really really need Jesus. hardcore.

-he is faithful. he wants to fight for us. he wants to be strong when we are weak. and my fave...he wants to hold our hand.

"for i am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear, i will help you." -isaiah 41:13

"God never uses anyone greatly until He tests them deeply." -a dub. (tozer, not pickel)

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i want to live each day that i have right now, but seriously. summer. stop tempting me! hurry up already.

"listen, daughter and pay careful attention. 

                                    forget your people and your father's house. 

let the King be enthralled by  your beauty.  honor him for he is your Lord." 

-psalm 45:10-11

God's love for his people, his own creation and beloved, is unfathomably passionate, unvelievably wild, and more fulfilling than we can even imagine...

He yearns to lavish this love on us...if we would just let him.

i used to think that there was something i could say, add, elaborate on to make God's words to us pop out more, mean something more, have more clarity.  (man we humans really think we're all of that and a bag of chips, huh? i wonder how many times a day God elbows someone up there and is like, look at Libby, she is so silly. thinking she can just figure it all out on her own...so silly)

but now so much of the time when God reveals to me the riches and treasures in the Bible, i'm just speechless. how can i add more to that? what could i possibly say in response to that?

i'm going to be studying 1 thessalonians with some amazing girls (yeah tangent lines!) and already there is just so much to unpack. i encourage you to take a peek for yourselves.

some highlights...

"because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." -1 thess 2:8

"he died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." -1 thess 5:10-11

"God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful- as beautiful on the inside as the outside." -1 thess 4:7 wicka wicka REMIX

"get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part.  our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on.  gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhauasted, pulling them to their feet.  be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.  and be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other.  look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.  be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.  this is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live." -1 thess 5:13-18, the message

"may God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together- spirit, soul, and body- and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.  the One who called you is completely dependable.  if he said it, he'll do it!" - 1 thess 5:23-24, message

on another note...

jack bauer is the man and i am officially hooked to 24. it's freakin sweet action.

have an incredible week!

-silly libby

note to self:

don't wear mascara if you are going to a funeral and know you'll just cry it off.

don't compare onions to minions. you just sound stupid.

as david burchfield says in his stellar song..."there is no secret agenda. to love, to love God and others. that is the plan." i might have mussed that up, but you get the idea.

"...if i have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, i am nothing." -1 cor 13:2

and in case you haven't gotten the memo (about sending out too many memos...wait, no), love is more than a feeling, more than a state of mind, more than an emotion. it's an action. so go DO it.

"in hime the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  and in him you too are being build together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." ...ephesians 2:21-22

Jesus wants to live with you. He wants to take all the crap that you are willing to give him and re-make your heart, gently shaping it and molding it to him. and then live there. let's think about how sweet that is...but then thinking is never enough. go do it.

much love,

libby.

p.s. colorado then manhappenin...get ready for me!