Good morning... This is Lauren.

The end of the semester was very full and a lot busy... Emotionally, I think I am still catching up with myself. It's quite a change to go from a Crash-&-Burn week of finals and To Do lists to -- TIME, unburdened by academic responsibility, full of leisurely possibilities. I'm searching for rest first, then balance. :)

But even in the midst of all that craziness, God has been doing some great things in my life these past couple months. A couple weeks ago, I was reading a book for a class that talked about waiting for God... I started to think about this concept and what it looked like, or didn't look like, in my life. And He started to stir my heart.

Perhaps I've learned this before, maybe I've even shared it with you. But since I do such a good job of forgetting, maybe you do too. God has begun to show me the importance of savoring life.

So often I find myself looking to the next thing to make life truly great. If only I had _______, then I would really be set, and I'd have nothing else to want. It's a deceptive little game we play with ourselves. Because until we find the value and blessing and challenge in our lives NOW, we will never be happy. We will always be looking ahead, always living life too fast to absorb the truly wonderful things that are happening in our lives every day.

But that everyday... THAT is life. Not the next thing, not even anticipating the next thing. Life is happening now, and we will wish it away and miss all the good things if we are so focused on what might be next to pay attention to what actually IS!

God has given me several specific dreams for my life, others more vague. And they are good. But what He has shown me is this: without Him and His timing, they are not the dreams I really want. Without Him, they mean nothing. And so I do not want to manipulate my circumstances to get what "I want" prematurely. God knows me better than that, and He's working out a better plan.

I still have choices. But the biggest one I have chosen right now is to bask in my life NOW, enjoy the blessings and even the challenges of what God is doing in me here and now.

These things will prepare me for later. But they also make life so interesting!


LOVE! Lauren
(You'll get to hear from Whit tomorrow!)