friends are refreshing. i decided to go to onething montgomery last minute and i'm really thankful i went. the lord has beyond blessed me with amazing friends. absolutely amazing. most of them i havent even known that long. maybe 3 years, yet our spirits are so connected and i have a deep love for them all. they are truly my brothers and sisters. 

on saturday night, after spending a few hours in the park and eating a home cooked meal, i rode with jordan mahy back to the church where the conference was held. as we were driving we were talking about loving the poor. and in matthew when jesus says that if you do it for the least of these, you do it for Me. i was sharing with him two experiences ive heard from heidi baker and a girl here at ihop about how when they were holding a child in a third world country and when they looked into the child's eyes they had significant encounters with the lord. both of them said they saw jesus. 

poor, needy, broken, meek, lowly... that's jesus. 

while we were talking about this it literally felt like the holy spirit blew on us. at the same time we just started going crazy and laughing so hard! it was so great. i havent felt the presence of the holy spirit where it literally touches you and you have no control in a long time. those are the best. that little touch really refreshed me. 

and made me realize there is a lot more to loving the poor than i even know. i think jesus was in complete agreement with our conversation and wanted to testify to it by sending his spirit. 

verse i've been thinking about:

now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in christ and through us manifests the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 2 cor 2:14

christ in me, the hope of glory, literally is manifesting a smell concerning the truth of who He is from my life. that is crazzzzy awesome. 

settling in

i'm getting situated in my new residence. going from my things being spread throughout a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment to sharing a room/closet/bathroom smaller than the one i had to my own has been kinda challenging. my "necessary" belongings are jammed into my half of the room literally taking up every last inch. mostly in piles circling my new twin bed. my other less necessary things are in a corner of bev's basement. this works for now i suppose. i'm grateful to have a bed and roof over my head. and the room is green, so thats a plus. i cant help but daydream about one day having my own house though. lately i've really wanted to live on a farm. and have a rocking chair. a farm on the beach, 15 min from a big city ;)

i'm really thankful for my friends jonathan, joel and matt that live here in atl. they spent most of their day yesterday helping me move heavy stuff down three flights of stairs. and they had a smile on their face. i owe them big time. 

meagan got engaged last night! i'm excited for her and john :)

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i had a dream last night about the mark-of-the-beast...it was terrifying. for real terrifying. i dont really know what to think about it except that we really need to learn how to rest in God now. i feel sobered by it. its not a joke.

im thankful for..

1. my brother, taylor. no matter what boring/unexciting/useless piece of information i tell him he is always genuinely excited.. its awesome and makes me really happy :].

2. QT.. they have the good ice, fountain diet mt dew, good coffee, mike & ikes and icees. and the people that work there are usually very friendly. 

3. the condo i'm moving into today as a keyboard! so i can really learn and not just talk about it. 

4. moving frequently. i feel like it has kept my things on the less than more side. i like this. of course, being an american i have way more than most, but respectively speaking i dont have lots of extra "junk". i'm pretty good at throwing/giving things away.

verse for the day: 

if anyone loves me, he will keep my word; and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.-jesus [john14:23]

romance & friendship

the other day the holy spirit told me thats what it's all about... friendship & romance.

the deeper the friendship the sweeter the romance. 

friend of the bridegroom. walk with jesus. know whats on his heart. how do things make him feel? people, events, decisions really impact His heart. the perfect one. the righteous one. what is he thinking about? i want the holy spirit to be my best friend. no joke. 

i like..

(1) pure joy 

(2) finding rest for my soul

(3) chips and guacamole 

i think everyone should get aim again..

if we're going back to hs days of blogging, we might as well go all out and stay up late at night chatting on aim about random nonsense. 

Yeah? 

sandra7858... hit me up yo! 

i'm moving in 7 days.

i should start packing.

upside down kingdom

And I will walk at liberty (in a wide place),

For I seek Your precepts. Ps119:45

Your commands bring FREEDOM.

Your ways lead to LIFE.

They aren't confining--they bring about a free heart filled with life!

Narrow is the gate 

and difficult is the way 

which leads to life;

and there are few who find it. Matt 7:14

I love His leadership. Only in His kingdom does the narrow, difficult, hard way lead to a wide place filled with life! Oh, that I would long for the difficult way. I cant articulate it yet, but I know my mindset is completely wrong. I live so much as a slave to sin, but I am a slave to righteousness! Our flesh profits nothing. zero. zilch. but the Spirit gives life. actual life, the light of Jesus' face, the brightness from His being touches our soul.. there is nothing better. I want all of Psalm119 in my heart. I long for the law of the Lord to truly be my delight. 

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Chad, who teaches my class tonight, said that there was a study done on the health of the brain during contemplative prayer and the brain was at its highest cognitive activity level! 

I also saw a study one time about how speaking in tongues was really good for your brain as well. 

It made me think about fasting too. Not eating, is actually good for your body to get rid of toxins.

so three of the seemingly most foolish things...not eating, sitting in silence, and speaking a language you dont know...are incredibly good for your body, soul and spirit. God's a genius. ha!

spring/summer so far consists of..  !!!

[1] trip to kc with bev

[2] trip to cali to visit sarah and fulfill my dream of surfing

[3] being in 2 weddings...attending at least 6...wowww

i have to move out of my apartment in 11 days and i still don't have a place to go.. and the thought of packing all my stuff and moving it down three flights of stairs kinda makes me nauseous. 

i found some wedding cake classes that i'm going to start taking, so thats exciting! 

sandra-the-wedding-cake-baker-extraordinaire coming soon. 

3 things i'm thankful for: ..copying erica

[1] spell check on blogger

[2] a sweet roommmate who bought me dunkin' donuts coffee (which ps is THE BEST coffee in the world. period.), flowers and gum just because..

[3] blankets..really thankful for them. especially the electric ones.