A Truth Universally Acknowledged

My semester is at the close….literally….I have a little over a week to go, and while I should be going to bed so that I can be well rested for a long and miserable day of studying tomorrow, my thoughts simply won’t allow it. In the midst of trying to find the motivation to finish well, I feel as if the Lord has been battering on the doors of my heart over the last few days. What exactly He is attempting to teach me, I really can’t say, but His whispering presence is undeniable. Whether it comes at the finish of a great novel (that I honestly didn’t have time to begin in the first place), reveling in the victory of a favorite football team, or on an unfamiliar road in an unfriendly rainstorm, I simply cannot escape Him tugging on the strings of my weak and deplorable heart. But why would I want to? What is more precious than coming face to face with my Father and attempting to grasp the beauty and grace that He is speaking to my very soul? I am simply overwhelmed by His grace and majesty, that He would desire me, chase after me, and refuse to let me remain as I am!

The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions: joy, tears, heartache, amazement, and it all culminated last night while I was sitting through the most beautiful Christmas concert I have ever experienced. A week ago I would have cried for joy if someone told my I would be sitting in the second row of Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God Christmas concert...it simply wasn’t possible…or so I thought! But there I was, and it was simply overwhelming. After Ben Shive played his second number Jason Gray got up to sing, but before he did he said something that hit me hard enough that I had to write it down. Roughly quoted he said, “It is so wonderful to listen to someone doing exactly what God created them to do…” That is exactly what I witnessed last night, a group of men and women who have embraced the talents that God has gifted them with, and are actively working them out for the glory of His name! However, while I was pondering this, my thoughts led me back to my own life. I have no idea where God is leading me, where He wants to take me after graduation, or what mission field He will have me working out all that I have learned in nursing school. But this I do know, when people see me my life I want them to say, “ How wonderful it is to see her doing exactly what God created her to do!” God has given me compassion for those in physical need; may I never lose that, and may I never fail to act upon that. By the grace of God I am what I am, and by His grace I have so many opportunities before me. May I never balk under the pressure, or turn back in fear, but rather may I stand firm on the Rock that is my God and learn to trust Him with every aspect of my existence. So my prayer, as I walk into the future, comes from the worlds of K. De Haan,

“Lord, when I learn that someone is hurting,

Help me to know what to do and to say;

Speak to my heart and give me compassion,

Let your great love flow through me today.”

1. The Scarlet Pimpernel-1/2
2. The Elusive Pimpernel-1/4
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns
4. North or Be Eaten
5. The Dragon Princess
6. Dragon Kiss
7. A Prince Among Frogs
8. The Wide Awake Princess
9. Wings
10. Clockwork Angel
11. City of Fallen Angels
12. A Northern Light
13. Suit Scarlet
14. An Abundance of Katherines
15. Paper Towns
16. Looking for Alaska
17. River Secrets
18. Forest Born
19. The Shape of Mercy
20. Cassandra's Sister
21. The Prophet of Yonwood
22. The Diamond of Darkhold
23. Blue Like Jazz
24. A Wrinkle in Time
25. A Wind in the Door
26. An Acceptable Time
27. A Sword in the Stone
28. Emma Watson
29. The Princess and the Snowbird
30. An Interview with a Vampire
31. This Present Darkness
32. Piercing the Darkness
33. Gregor and the Marks of Secret
34. Gregor and the Code of the Claw
35. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe-
36. Prince Caspian-
37. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader-
38. The Silver Chair
39. A Horse and His Boy-
40. The Magicians Nephew-
41. The Last Battle
42. Cloaked
43. A Tale of Two Castles
44. Anne of Green Gables
45. Anne of Avonlea
46. The Secret Garden-
47. A  Tale of Two Cities
48. Northanger Abbey-1/18
49. The Lovely Bones-2/9*
50. The Thirteenth Tale-2/10
51. The Two Princesses of Bamarre-2/11
52. Ella Enchanted-2/12 I realized that I hadn't read this since 2007....I was shocked!
53. The Thief Lord-2/17
54. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac-2/18 (Umm, predictable and rather insulting to my literary intelligence....FIGHT BS!!!)
55. Fairest-2/18
56. A Voice in the Wind-2/24-hadn't read this for over a year, that never happens! 
57. One Blood-3/16
58. To Kill a Mockingbird-5/10
59. The Count of Monte Cristo-5/14
60. So Long Insecurity-
61. The Seven Checkpoints-
62. Divergent-8/10
63. The Dark Divine-8/11
64. The Lost Saint-8/14
65. Wicked Lovely-8/18

1. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-1/4....terrible book
2. The Book Seller of Kabul-1/5
3. Bud, Not Buddy-1/12
4. Prada and Prejudice-2/9
5. Not Even a Hint: Guarding Your Heart Against Lust-2/15
6. To Kill a Mockingbird-2/27*
7. The HIstorian-3/3
8. A Little Princess-3/6
9. The People of Sparks-3/17
10. The Count of Monte Cristo-4/6
11. Twilight-4/6*
12. The Lovely Bones-4/8
13. Persuasion-3/13*
14. Desiring God-4/8
15. City of Bones-4/13*
16. City of Ashes-4/15*
17. City of Glass-4/20*
18. The Hunger Games-4/21*
19. Catching FIre-4/23*
20. Chains-4/27
21. The Children of Hurin-4/29
22. The Phantom of the Opera-5/1
23. Gregor the Overlander-5/2
24. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane-5/3
25. The Tale of Despereaux-5/7
26. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods-5/8
27. Ballet Shoes-5/10
28. Going Bovine-5/18...Should not be a YA book, I will never let my 14 yr old read this.
29. Artemis Fowl-5/21
30. Forgotten God-5/27
31. The Kite Runner-6/11
32. The Great Gatsby-6/26
33. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner-6/29
34. Believing God-7/30
35. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone*
36. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*
37. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*
38. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*
39. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*
40. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*
41. Mockingjay....Disappointing, Suzanne and I are no longer friends:-(
42. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-11/13*
43. The Great Divorce-11/19
44. The Historian**
    
45. The Hobbit*
46. Perchance to Dream-12/23....My friendship with Lisa is hanging on only by a thread, it all depends on the results of book 3!
47. Persuasion-12/26**