retreat

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." - jeremiah 31:25

where am i now in my life? that's the question of the hour. right now it seems as if i am completely wiped. of course, not in the physical sense. it's more so that my mental capacity has been drained down to zero and my spiritual one has been there for sometime now. it is frustrating beyond all belief. this is summer. the time to rest, relax, have some laughs, and get rejuvenated and ready for the next school year, or at least that is what i was making it out to be at the beginning. it seems as God had different plans. things have gone haywire. everything is turning crazy, and the best part is that i have absolutely no control of anything. try being a control freak with nothing to control. needless to say, it is more than ironic.

so this weekend, the weekend of father's day, i am heading home to see my family. and more so, to get away from all of this, a retreat. but here is the catch, i cannot run from what God is doing. not that i want to, i just want answers which i am not getting. so much for planning ahead. so aside from the fact that i will be with my parents, i will be able to take time alone in my room without anyone else around me and be still, a rare occurrence in my life at this moment. this will be my retreat, away from the world, yet so close to God. i could say more right now, but i have to leave, leave work, leave church, leave town and get away. thank goodness for i-10 and its bored. the two and one-half hour drive is a welcomed break from having to rush somewhere next, just to land at home at one in the morning. i cannot wait to take this drive and use it to worship the Living God, my Creator, my Redeemer, and right now, most importantly to me, my Sustainer, through times of struggle and stress.

"come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - matthew 11:28

in & for HIM,
ashleigh

the beginning

so here it begins, the start of a bloggifed journey. in truth, the beginning started in february of my freshman year of high school. an evangelist came rolling into town and the Spirit of God moved in me like no other time before. it was the sunday night of his series where God called me out of my sin and brokenness to be set apart, to live for Him and through Him. that is when my relationship with Jesus started.

as for the time between, it's been crazy, sometimes great, not always worthy of noting, but my life nonetheless. but now it is time. it's time to forget who i am, and become who He wants me to be. to be honest, i'm going to screw up. but sometimes, i'm going to do it right, right in His eyes. it's going to be a journey of working my salvation out on my knees. a life lived in devotion to the one true God. so the day that i go to join Him, He will say to me "well done, good and faithful servant."

so here i go, chasing madly after my Creator, following the path He laid out for me. come run along side of me, help me, pray with me, but most of all, worship our incredible God with me by living your life for HIS renown, not your own.

"therefore, i urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." - romans 12:1-2

in & for HIM
ashleigh