and so it begins...

i am definitely in a blah mood. i am just rolling through life and it is not making me very happy. i feel lost and out of place 89% of the time, but i am trying to stay faithful to what my purpose in this life is. i did have a few sweet treats. today i went to my american health care systems class which normally lasts for three hours. bless the teacher for letting us out an hour later! praise the lord. i also got to eat lunch with one of my favorite people at one of my favorite places! i met mereidth for lunch at my daddy's cheescake. we always have the best discussions. we discovered we are going through the exact same thing. coincidence? i think not. i decided to join her on her quest to seek the lord in this time. she is fasting for 25 days (no not from food) and i am jumping on board. this went right along with today.

as most would know today is ash wednesday. i have grown up in a southern baptist home and we don't normally do anything for ash wednesday. i always remembered seeing the "catholic girls" walking around with "ashes" on their face. it never phased me. i knew what the day represented, but i never stopped to ponder the seriousness of it. i have been involved in a college group the last two semesters and tonight we went to the ash wednesday service at lacroix. the service was amazing! i was terrified of getting the ashes on my forehead. i am not very accustomed to that, but i promise it wasn't bad. :) brett cheek spoke, and he did a phenomenal job. praise the lord for great pastors!

my list of things that i have prayed and decided to "give up" for twenty five days is as follows:

• ice cream: sacrificing my indulgences and spending that time with god.
• secular music: surrounding myself with the a lifestyle of worship.
• facebook on my phone: keeping myself from being distracted during the day.
• dating: reminding myself that god is enough.
• buying clothes: saving my money for what matters.

i hope that by putitng these for the whole world to see, i will be encouraged to stick with it. i have strength from the God of the universe and i will prevail because he lives in me. my verse for this fasting period is:

"indeed, i count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ. for His sake i ahve suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that i may gain Christ." phillipians 3:8

I plan to keep a journal and share with everyone through this little journey. i can't wait to see what God is going to reveal through this time of sacrificing. i hope to have a little "thoughts" post tomorrow! we will see if i have time.