Birthday Wishes

Today celebrates Katie's birthday! I'm so glad that she was born at 1:39 a.m. some years ago.

Truly her friendship holds a special place in my heart...To think that this picture was taken a year ago at Bandfest and we hardly knew each other....How things change.

The Ministry is Not All at "Church"

It's one of those nice rainy days to have every once in a while. I didn't set my alarm clock for this morning, awoke at 11:00 to a gloomy drizzle, and decided quite eagerly that it would be fun to go to Panera to write a book review and get caught up on some much needed e-mails. Sliding into a back corner of the crowded bread-focused-restaurant, I began to become immersed with an e-mail and a letter I was trying to write.

Glancing up, I saw a young woman sitting at a table in front of me. Quickly scanning the contents of her table, I was interested to see that a well worn Bible sat in front of her, along with a journal that she had been writing on. But something was unusual. Her hands were cupped around her face and tears were falling. As soon as I saw this tender scene I heard the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear. An awkward silence ensued between me and what Jesus was asking me to do. I told Jesus it would be a little weird to walk over there and sit down. The Holy Spirit won when He commented that here was a woman, I was called into women's ministry, and I was the one to minister. Hesitantly I stood up, grabbed my cup of coffee, and pulled out the chair beside her.

One look at her face and tears welled up in my eyes. God was purely at work. I opened my mouth to say something, she looked at me, and I found myself saying, "Hi, how can I pray for you?" Nothing was awkward, she just cried and began to pour her heart out to me concerning some problems she was having. Having just gone through a similar circumstance, I found myself giving her bits of wisdom, listening to her talk, and praying for my new friend. Slowly, God did something in my heart those 15 minutes. He showed me the beauty of obedience and the joy of ministering to women. My heart broke for this young woman, and God pealed back a layer of my pride and introduced me to an element of compassion and love that I had never experienced before.

Jesus I Am Resting

My eyes slowly opened this morning and through the squint between my eyelashes, I could tell that sunlight was streaming in through the window. After delaying my awakening for another 30 minutes, I crawled out of bed. Standing in the middle of my room, hair sticking out of my head in every which way, and feeling quite groggy, I suddenly felt such a comforting peace. Yesterday afternoon I had been talking with one of my dear friends about life, what kind of women we desire to become, and how content we are right now in this season of life. The words we had exchanged had stayed with me into the late hours of last night, and upon waking up, I was aware of how truly content and satisfied I am. This song came to mind, and expresses the joy He's given me.

Jesus, I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness, Of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And Thy beauty fills my soul, For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

Jesus, I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness, Of Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness, Vaster, broader than the sea! O, how marvelous Thy goodness, Lavished all on me! Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, Know what wealth of grace is Thine, Know Thy certainty of promise, And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art, And Thy love, so pure, so changeless, Satisfies my heart; Satisfies its deepest longings, Meets, supplies its every need, Compasseth me round with blessings:Thine is love indeed!

Jesus, I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness, Of Thy loving heart.

Ever lift Thy face upon me, As I work and wait for Thee; Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, Earth’s dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father’s glory, Sunshine of my Father’s face, Keep me ever trusting, resting, Fill me with Thy grace.

Heart Moments

Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? when I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Psalm 56

My heart was heavy this morning as I opened my Bible and cried out to God for some refreshment and time alone with Him to pour out some heart matters. Psalm 56 was the third Psalm I read this morning, and as each verse unfolded, relief and encouragement flooded through my heart. Specifically, verse 8 caught my heart, "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" Isn't it beautiful to glimpse back at circumstances and see how God has orchestrated our "wanderings"? What at times can appear as tears, He can end up pouring back out on us as blessings in the future. That particular verse reminded me of one of the songs Selah sings, "As I wander through this life, O Lord, be Thou near to me..."

The Way They See It is Not How I see It...

As most are already well aware of, I love to study at Starbucks. Yesterday, I was enjoying a nice tall mocha and decided to read “The Way I See It" located on the side of my coffee. Removing the holder from the cup, my eyes fell on # 94 which read, "Want to find time to read? Fall in book love. Seek out the books that fire your passions. Follow your intellect and your heart. Then time will find you." This proceeded to crack me up (a funny situation I'm sure since I was sitting by myself at a table) because I am reading and reading and reading books....It's my driving passion concerning schoolwork these days, and yet I find NO time finding me....Maybe I'm not following my intellect and heart...Which I know are not centered around books, but probably more around the ideas of chocolate.

Thunder

Thunder* over Louisville was today. (*This is an event held every year where thousands of people gather downtown and watch an air show all day and then a huge fireworks show that night.) My Dad had been visiting me this weekend and we experienced the joy of traffic in our hour commute to the airport this afternoon. Needless to say, that left me in no mood to go back downtown to watch the fireworks--So I was overjoyed when Katie called me and asked me to accompany her to the "hill" at the Seminary to watch the show. About a minute into the display of color, we realized we really couldn't see anything but trees, so off we went to the Mohler basement to sit in comfort amongst leather couches, the company of Baxter, Almond Joys, and a willing Christopher to fetch us Diet Cokes and an Izze. Pure Bliss.

Well....well

Between sunning, Starbucks, just talking, reading, studying, Italian men and their cds, Easter eggs, coffee, and staying up late, Jessica and I have spent some quality time over the past couple of days....And we know nothing about the SpongeBob balloon hiding in the bushes in the Jo-Bowl....

Autumn

One of my best friends that I grew up with, Autumn, recently moved to New Zealand with her family to do missions for 2 years. I just received an e-mail from her that related her adventure in climbing "Mt. Doom" from Lord of the Rings and recently getting to visit a museum which exhibited LOTR costumes, weapons, jewelry, and miniatures/models (Corsairs Ship, Minis Tirith, Minis Morgul, etc.) used for the movies.

...And I sit back in my chair here at college, stare at my wall in front of me, and softly mutter "phooyey" in discontentment...

What Did You Do for Easter?

After serving at my church this morning, I headed over to my "second family," the Goodyears, for lunch. As we sat around the table munching on chocolate crosses, we came up with the brilliant plan to attend the zoo with our afternoon. So off we went. And do you know what other joyous news is about to escape my lips? (Indeed you don't.) A classic Lauren fact everyone should know: I love the zoo. I hatched the perfect plan, as of today, I am an official zoo member for a year! That means one can find Lauren at the zoo all the time studying with the monkeys.

Apart from the zoo, my Easter Day was spent eating ice cream at Graters and eating dinner with J.V. at O'Charley's.

Happy Easter Day

I bought a stuffed bunny in honor of Easter. Tis a fluffy, soft ornament of cuteness. But, the neat feature about this particular ball of fluff is that it smells like chocolate.....

Do They See Jesus in Me?

May I be transparent with you? While I was in Jacksonville for Spring Break, I got to hear a convicting sermon by David Allen at my church. First Baptist was expecting their "new pastor" the next Sunday, and the message Dr. Allen brought to the congregation was that of servanthood. As I sat on the familiar red pew, conviction pounded in my heart. He spoke two things that I wrote in the margin of my Bible, and that struck the depths of my heart, "I'll serve you in the bay window, but not in the basement....and....God owns me, He doesn't owe me." I realized, how often am I willing to do a job that puts me in the "bay window" of ministry, or the spotlight of recognition-- But when I find myself in the position of doing a "basement job," just doing it with minimal joy and passion? Leaving the service, I knew that Jesus was asking more of me.

Two days after that convicting sermon, I found myself in a local LifeWay staring at the picture above. The minute I saw it in the store, I knew it was meant for me to take back to Boyce as a painful reminder of what I had become....I bought it. Gazing at Jesus bending down washing a man's feet, made any ounce of pride at what I've "accomplished" in my ministry shatter and I was gently showed by my Savior what a true servant looks like. I realized in moments that it never mattered if I had a "bay window" job, I should be completely content in doing any "basement" job He may ask of me. After all, He owes me nothing, I owe Him my very life...

Heart Matters

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

"Sometimes when I was a child my mother or father would say, 'Shut your eyes and hold out your hand.' That was the promise of some lovely surprise. I trusted them, so I shut my eyes instantly and held out my hand. Whatever they were going to give me I was ready to take. So it should be in our trust of our heavenly Father. Faith is the willingness to receive whatever He wants to give, or the willingness not to have what He does not want to give. From the greatest of all gifts, salvation in Christ, to the material blessings of any ordinary day (hot water, a pair of legs that work, a cup of coffee, a job to do, and strenth to do it), every good gift comes down from the Father of Lights. Every one of them is to be received gladly and, like gifts people give us, with thanks. Sometimes we want things we were not meant to have. Because He loves us, the Father says no. Faith trusts that no. Faith is willing not to have what God is not willing to give. Furthermore, faith does not insist upon an explanation. It is enough to know His promises to give what is good-He knows so much more about us that than we do."

Elisabeth Elliot, taken from A Gentle Spirit: Devotional Selections for Today's Christian Woman

Stress Tidbits

It's about that time in the semester for stress to be mounting. Here are a few helpful hints on relieving those inner tensions and experiencing a moment of "calm before the storm":

1. Driving to Baskin Robbins with the windows down playing your favorite hip song....(hip song?) 2. Watching SpongeBob SquarePants 3. Blowing bubbles in the Jo-Bowl 4. Adjusting to the "nature sounds" on your alarm clock and listening to the repetitious ocean noise 5. Rejoicing in the fact that it's the weekend.....oh, the list could go on, but (A. I can't think of anymore helpful hints, and (B. My stress is becoming worse because my room looks like Hurricane Lauren came through. So, dear reader, I shall retreat in cleaning my room whilst watching SpongeBob reruns.

Missing Florida

Well, I made it safely back to Louisville around 3:00 AM Monday morning....My bags are in a heap on my dorm floor, untouched, still packed. Book reviews are due, it's a bit nippy in the air, and it's suppose to rain....And my thoughts turn back to Florida--Oh, why did I leave the beautiful, sunny weather, family, and good food for such a trivial matter as school? Amidst all these thoughts, I realized I dearly miss my cat, Homer. Pictured to the left, he had managed to fit into a LifeWay bag and seemed quite content in letting me take his picture before wanting to "play" bite Lauren's hand off....

I Bring with Me Weather

I bring glad tidings. After checking weather.com, I realized that I am bringing the beautiful Florida weather back with me...
Compare:
Jacksonville: April 10 Sunny 71°/57°
Louisville: April 10 Sunny 70°/48°
Though there may be some subtle degrees of difference, I think it suffice to say that yes indeed good weather follows those named Lauren. Yay!

Tidbits

Tonight at the dinner table, my sister Shelly commented that she wanted to get all of her tooth fillings refilled because they were beginning to fill with white instead of silver-- to which I commented, "It's like lying about the cankerous tooth decay in your mouth."

On to a totally unrelated subject...
My Mom is involved in this mentorship program with our church called "Apples of Gold." To which my Dad and I have had the great pleasure in meddling with the title....Thus far we have...
Avocados of Steel
Mangos of metallic origin
Kiwis of Copper
Pears of Ruby
I prefer the Avocados of Steel and informed my Mom that they should all lift their fists in the air and declare, "Homemakers!" throughout their sessions every Thursday morning.

Lacy & Lauren

One of my bestest friends, Lacy, spent the night with me...There was fun to be had.
"Po's Scooter," The Loop, Donut Shoppe, Country Music Videos, talking, grading papers, sun...

His Plan

Wednesday night when I arrived in my sickly state in Jacksonville, Josh and I had ended our journey from Louisville at our home church. I surprised my Mom in the Middle School building where she signs in visitors who are coming to our "Extreme Connection." Feeling quite ill, I curled up on the 4th floor of the building and waited for my parents to wrap up their duties with the middle schoolers. As I pondered the dizzy state of my existence, one of the workers came up to me and explained that a counselor was needed for some middle schoolers down in the basement. Truthfully, I felt awful in my unaware state of 101.7 fever, but knew that I needed to go down and counsel.

Grabing my Bible I leaned against the side of the elevator and prayed to God telling Him I had absolutely no strength and could in no way minister or be used effectively without His intervention. Reaching the basement, I saw a group of 3 girls sitting around a table, and after positioning myself in one of the fold-up chairs, was informed that one of the girls had just prayed the prayer at the end of the lesson. I was able to share and encourage this young girl in her new walk with Christ. As I left the table after sharing with the girls, my headache returned and I felt awful again, but realized in amazement that God had taken away my feelings of sickness from the moment I sat down, to the second I stood up. My Mom shared with me today as we drove to a store that the girl I had counseled with joined the church last Sunday morning and had brought a visitor with her. Praise God for how He beautifully orchestrates every moment of His plan...

Pre-Lauren's Day Festivities

Lauren's Day is on April 10 (For the confused one, this would be a day of celebration in the Duncan home for I was officially adopted when just a wee one on April 10, 1986). Ever since that cherished moment, we celebrate on this festive day. Mom and Dad took advantage of my homecoming this week and let me go ahead and enjoy this day alittle early before going back to school. Today has consisted of a wonderful shopping spree, Starbucks, and a delicious dinner at a place that overlooks the waterfront called the Chart House.

...And the Randomness Continues...

Time with Mom, Dad, Sister, Cat, the sun, and lots of classic Lauren memories...

R.'s Randomness

A glimpse into a few moments of my past couple days of a beautiful, Florida vacation...

Profile of "R."

For a truly new, fresh outlook of me, you, dear reader, can accomplish this desire by checking out this http://smeagolisfree.blogspot.com

Day 3 of Vacation..

...And I am promptly the color of a lobster, along with my good friend Lacy. The joys of the Florida sun and a good friend to pass the afternoon with....