walking next to you...

with a new set of eyes on:) with a new mentality. with new vision. as ryan minor said, as a prisoner of hope. this year i decided to make it my year of being ok with having hope. and a few days ago, i sat down with ryan minor, for what ended up being the coolest recording session ever, and he said the words prisoner of hope and it clicked! that's what i was looking for to define the year for me. i am choosing to be a prisoner of hope. a believer in hope. i have been told that my dreams were too big in the past. there were times where i was made to feel bad or guilty for wanting to hope for and do big things. i learned quickly enough what nonsense that was and is. our God is so big and He isn't a liar. and well, who are we to think that if he wanted to move mountains with us that He couldn't? He totally could....if He wanted to:)

i'm glad that i am a visionary. some of my hopes are crazy but it is ok to hope. it is ok to want to reach things that are bigger than ourselves. and God's glory can shine so brightly when He actually takes us there and beyond! the beyond is key because somehow, His plans are so much bigger than our own and He always seems to exceed any expectations that we may have! THAT my friends, is crazy. but we serve a God that does some pretty crazy stuff....trust me, i know this for a fact:)

this year started off too crazy for words. days before it even began, things were getting so amazing and for my little mind, unbelievable. it was a trip i took just before the new year that confirmed my desire to make this a year of believing in hope. it was that same trip that made me break my rule of no new year resolutions. i don't really ever go there...because i would break them, i know:) well, this year i only made one. that i would live with hope this year. that i would believe in hoping for the big things. why? because, why not? if God is who He's says He is, and i am pretty sure He is, than i should believe that He can do big things. and have hope. and i am going to do my best to be there every day. i know this will come with challenges but it's ok. that is life in general. challenges are the things that grow us, so i'm ok with them.

on monday, i got to do something pretty great. i sat down with my friend ryan minor and recorded music for eight hours. and it was amazing. because i was able to spend time with him and his wonderful wife and my friend brittney, and their most amazing kiddos, ben and chloe:) he is a brilliant musician, lyricist, all of it. i felt so honored to be a part of it and last night i listened to some and seriously, God is awesome. because He gives us things like music. getting to know Ryan as a person, he and his sweet family, it makes sense to me that God would pour music into him. He touches people with music and that has to be one of the most amazing things. the fact that we can make such lovely sounds with objects like guitars and that our voices are capable of such sounds and that they can work together to be awesome. it was during that session that we talked about how hope is key. and how awesome it is that we can surrender ourselves and become slaves to God. which is way better than doing it on my own. because truth be known, i so suck at doing it on my own, i know this too because i have tried, we all have and do, and learn quick folks, in this case, just give up.

gotta go, lunch date:) when i get permission to post a song, i am going to. have a lovely day. this is a bit rambly, sorry! happy thursday.