prayer.

things i have learned about prayer:
- whether it feels like you're talking to the ceiling or not...pray. pray without ceasing. be honest with the Lord. it won't always feel like someone is listening, but cling to the truth that your Father is listening.
- pray big prayers, for nothing is impossible with the Lord. 
- writing down prayers works really well. it keeps you focused on what you're talking about and you can look back and see what was important to your heart years from now.
- keeping a prayer journal is a difficult discipline, but one with much blessing. seeing how the Lord has answered prayers in your life is concrete proof of His faithfulness.


things i am learning about prayer:
- the fall has made prayer difficult. it is not easy, and don't believe Satan's lies when he tries to convince you that something is wrong with you because you struggle with prayer. it's a discipline.
- when praying, don't focus on prayer....focus on God. 
- prayer isn't about feelings and experience. it is about getting to know God....learning about His character and heart.
- if God is wise, He won't always give us what we pray for because we don't know what is best for us.
- prayer is a great way to love someone. the Lord is the changer of hearts and lives, and with this knowledge, we should pray for those around us. and when you promise to pray, you have to follow through.
- prayer is the only way to make ourselves better in a way that really matters.
- pray with a willingness for God to work in your life.
- listen when you pray. be still.
- praying for something keeps it in your mind & heart. 
- get out of your room. get out of your house. get out of your places of comfort. have a place that is yours and the Lord's alone. 
- when you don't feel like taking time for the Lord in your day, that is when you need it most. and when you do make the sacrifice on those days, the Lord is faithful to bless your time with Him.



"prayer is not something you always feel. it's not a voice you always hear with these ears. it's not always an insight that suddenly comes to you in your little mind. God's heart is greater than the human heart. God's mind is greater than the human mind. God's light is so great that it might blind you and make you feel like you're in the night."
[thank you, Lord.]

some sweet graphics.

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their courage compels me.

i see the long, quiet walk along the underground railroad 
i see the slave awakening to the value of her soul 

i see the young missionary and the angry spear
i see his family returning with no trace of fear 

i see the long, hard shadows of calcutta nights
i see the sister standing by the dying man's side

i see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
i see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door 

i see the man of sorrows and his long, troubled road
i see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

and when the saints go marching in
i want to be one of them


[when the saints. sara groves.]

my God is just.

i've missed writing. a lot. so i've been praying that the Lord give me passion for something to write about and share. and He did more than just give me a topic....He moved my heart in big ways. i hope He moves yours too...

injustice. we see it all over our world. we see it in genocides, trafficking, and world hunger. we know these issues exist, but we usually try to push them to the back of our minds. because they make us sick to think about. but when we do that, we're missing the point. these issues should disgust us. they should break our hearts. our hearts need to be broken. because until our hearts are broken, these injustices will remain. they will thrive because no one is brave enough to let these problems affect them. be brave. do what's not easiest. fight for something. because when we push these issues to the side to sustain our comfort, we ourselves are being unjust.

"He has told you, o man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of your but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" [micah six:eight].

andrew wyeth.

this is one of my favorite paintings i have learned about in my art class. it's by one of my art professor's favorite artists. it's called love in the afternoon. 

beautiful.

one hundred thousand children.

[abc news: teen girls' stories of sex trafficking in the u.s.]

these stories changed my heart. i hope they change yours, too.

smile.

[source].

let the healing begin.

[fragile.ten shekel shirt].

hey....

remember the night we danced in the rain?

me too.

i don't wanna miss a single thing you do

[thanks for the beautiful picture, caroline!]

so yesterday, my best friend katie and i started a 365 project blog together. we will each post one picture a day from our lives for a year. we're pretty excited about it and hope you all enjoy it! check it out at:

http://meganandkatie.blogspot.com/

freedom.

she decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. and birds fluttered around her, writing "yes" in the sky.

[source].

a reminder.

SO WHY DO I WORRY? WHY DO I FREAK OUT? GOD KNOWS WHAT I NEED. YOU KNOW WHAT I NEED.

[thanks jon].

finally!

After years of increasing criticism for their facilitation of child sex trafficking, Craigslist has unceremoniously put a black "censored" bar over what used to be their adult services section. But is this just a brief hiatus? Is it a political statement? Or is Craigslist listening to the nearly 10,000 Change.org readers who have asked for real and tangible reform?

On Friday before the holiday weekend and without an explanation on their normally loquacious blog, Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster replaced the live link to their "adult services" section with a black bar reading "Censored". With no official explanation from the company as to why the change was instituted, what it means, and how they will operate moving forward, we are left to to the sad wilderness of conjecture. The move has come, however, shortly after 17 states' attorneys general wrote aletter to Craig asking him to cease and desist and after almost 10,000 Change.org readers petitioned Craig and Jim for change.

The exact motives and strategy behind the move, though, remain unclear. Was blocking the link (which, notably, is still active outside the U.S.) the fastest way to stop people accessing a section they intend to keep permanently closed? Is the block to give the company time to reform, after which they intend to re-open "adult services?" Or is the sudden, silent posting of the single word "censored" a politicalstatement? Do they hope the use of the word "censored" will cause the public to forget all the stories of children being bought and sold on their site? Or do they realize that self-censorship without warning will disorient both human traffickers and men who buy sex with kids, sending them scrambling for a new place to go?

Regardless of the company's intentions, children and human trafficking victims that were sold on Craigslist surely saw a drop in business this weekend. And when that business was rape, a decline in demand is a wonderful thing. But even if Craigslist makes permanent changes, other websites like Backpage.com will continue to advertise for sex with minors and people in the industry against their will. Until, of course, they agree to make changes as well.

The campaign against Craigslist, whether for reform or abolition, has been and continues to be about protecting children and other vulnerable people from sexual exploitation. It's about the 11-year-old girl, forced to advertise for her own rape on Craigslist, who courageously wrote its founder an open letterasking him for change. And it's about the countless other children like her, whose stories of exploitation on Craigslist may not be published, but after today may end for good.

[source].

quiet alone 
saturday's nothing again till you're home
i miss the sound you make 
when i blush and stare at the ground
i'm so in love that i can't understand 
how the world's in demand 
when you shine like a star to me


i'm still singing for summer 
where we had found one another
please hurry back to me


calm me down
wait until i feel loss abound
i'm so afraid that the life that i've made 
is the long road to losing the love that i crave 


i cannot wait till the month of december
i've been alone
please say we'll be together 
and hurry back to me

[bella.stay].