Light vs. Darkness throughout Advent

With Advent starting this past weekend extremely close to Thanksgiving, which kinda sorta threw my internal clock off, it got my heart and mind ready and anxious to spend the next 3 and a half weekend patiently awaiting His arrival. 

I'm reading a devotional throughout this season that highlights the major ideas around Advent and the Christmas story. The verse today was from John 1: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Well DANG y'all. That's some crazy, heavy stuff. He's got it all. The entire world, the stars, the trashcan sitting across my room and the iPhone sittin' in my lap. Only He holds this light - this light that can free me from my past and my fear - and it fearlessly and relentlessly goes up against darkness, darkness I create. 

“Inside all of us is a light, but some beacons are darker than others, and some are so dark they never realize they are a form of light at all.”
― Courtney M. Privett, Mayfly Requiem 

All my love, Ash xoxo

Fast Paced

JEEZ. Life has been moving incredibly fast lately and I don't know how big of a fan I am of it considering Thanksgiving was 4 days ago and Christmas is in 25 days..

Last weekend, I got to have some fun and travel down to Tuscaloosa to take a visit around the University of Alabama and lemme tell you.. I LOVED IT. It was a beautiful campus that instantly felt like home! I could picture myself fitting right into the life down there. I also got to experience my first Alabama football game and that was just crazy compared to Commonwealth and UK (sorry Cats!). Overall, I think I'm just in love with the idea of college at the moment but we'll just have to wait & see :)

 I also just printed off my GSP application (like 2 minutes ago) which is SO EXCITING. It's finally real! Now I just can't wait to get it off my hands tomorrow and let the panels of reviewers do their magic :) 

All my love and Christmas cheer, Ash xoxo

Perfect Timing

Wow. His timing really is perfect. I sat down to read my devotional for the day (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) and I was immediately struck by how perfect it was for my crazy life lately.

Leave outcomes up to Me. Follow Me wherever I lead, without worrying about how it will all turn out. Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your Guide and Companion. Live in the now, concentrating on staying in step with Me. When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with My help. When we come to a resting place, take time to be refreshed in My Presence. Enjoy the rhythm of life lived close to me.
You already know the ultimate destination of your journey: your entrance into heaven. So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me.
Psalm 27:13-14; Exodus 15:13

Fall semester of junior year has FLOWN by.. Jeez I can't believe it. I have been so busy trying to keep up with all the classes, clubs and service I do, that it has all just passed me by so quickly. I have been so focused on the finish line (graduation and college) that I have forgotten that this is a journey. A journey filled with really great memories and hard choices to be made. But when I make these choices in the comfort of His love, I am able to be confident in my choices knowing that I will not be forsaken. 

Lord: 
Thank you for putting great reminders like this one in my path right when I need it. You are so great and sovereign. You are relentlessly after my heart and I'm so grateful for that. I pray that I can live more consciously in this rest You're offering me. Amen.  

Carrots

It's taken about 24 hours to fully decompress from Happening #51, and after each minute I become more and more aware of what happened this weekend and how uniquely special it is. I never expected this past weekend to end up the way it did. 
I hadn't taken the time lately to realize just how far I had wandered from the path set out for me and how that was slowly hardening my heart to love. This weekend sure did the trick; I have never felt to surrounded and uplifted with genuine, complete love in my entire life. 
Having the chance to basically wash feet all weekend was beautiful. I got to wake up in the morning and wash feet over and over again for 15 straight hours; I got to share, expand and talk about God's kingdom for 15 straight hours. I have never felt more blessed and thrilled to have walked beside so many faithful and beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ. 
These moments are unique and exclusive to that mountain and that family that was there this past weekend. It can never be duplicated or reenacted. 
I will never be able to thank the staff, steering committee and happeners enough for who they are and what they did for me this weekend. I so beautifully saw God through every smile, hug and laugh.
This weekend I'm thankful for I Won't Give Up, roadtrips, comfy chairs, butterfly wings, brown paper bags, silent hypes, Unashamed Love and journeys. 

We came as strangers and left as a family.

I think I got what a taste of Heaven was like this past weekend. And I can't wait to share it with you. All my love and carrots, Ash. Xoxo.

1 Year Makes All The Difference

1 year ago today, I left my sweet home to go to my home away from home, the Cathedral Domain. I sometimes get lazy and forget how important this weekend was to me and how close I will hold it to my heart. I forget how this weekend was the starting point for my mom's battle with breast cancer and how I coped for the months following. 

I forget how thankful I am for Abbey Vogel. How thankful I am for how gracefully she led us and how clearly Christ worked through her. During the weekend she taught us that we were a part of a family, a family that would love us for the rest of our lives. 

I came home from this amazing weekend to immediately hear the news that my mom would have to battle breast cancer. I was devastated.

I am so thankful for a year's time. I look back on this year fondly, through all the peaks and valleys and tears and laughter. I have grown and learned to take life as it comes. I've learned to appreciate the time we've got because sooner or later, things will change, people will change and we will never forget how those moments and people made us feel. Sometimes I get too caught up in the insignificant moments of high school or weight of my looming college choices that I forget that I have a family; I have a family that will love me if I go to that party or not; I have a family that will love me wherever I go to college. I forget too quickly that I have a family. 

Xoxo, Ashleigh
 

"Someone once told me that this is the place where everything's better and everything's safe." One Tree Hill

 

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

Here I am, apologizing, yet again, for letting this blog get away from me.. It's a hard thing to keep up with when life starts to get out of hand (and when you have a super uninteresting life and can't really find anything earth-shattering to write about).

It has been a crazy couple weeks though; everything that has happened has put everything in perspective in the best kinds of ways. 

A week ago today, I had some really bad health issues at school and had to be taken to this hospital by EMS - boy, am I not used to that! The tests took all day and I was exhausted. But, at the end of the day, I was thrilled to know I was on the right track to feeling like myself again. On Halloween, I was very thankful for my health and the EMS teams, nurses and doctors that took care of me so wonderfully that day. 

I've also gotten wrapped up in finishing out the last 6 weeks of this semester (I'm so not ready for finals yet..) and all the busy, but exciting things I get to do in the next couple weeks. 

I've really been thinking about 1 Timothy 6:12 lately and it's really starting to hit home.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Wow. I have been called by my Creator to fight this battle against those who call me by my sin. I have been called to confess my testimony over and over again to those around me. I have been called to take hold of the eternal life to which I have been called to.

As I continue to grow and learn through the Episcopal Church, I understand this calling more and more and feel more equipped and empowered to take it on, day by day. Although it may seem looming, scary and a heavy burden, I understand that the Lord is working through me. And that is one exciting thing. 

All my love, Ashleigh 

I also had a little bit of fun hanging out with some TriDelts at UK last weekend!

And celebrating one of my favorite's 17th birthday, Siobhan/Chevron/Sio!

Fall Fun

Oh, what a weekend. It's been a crazy one but so fun and so worth it. It was nice to finally get the ACT out of the way; that's one more thing that's out of my hands and off my schedule :)

But the highlight of my weekend was getting to see and participate in Mary Thompson's confirmation into the Episcopal Church. It was such an amazing reminder of the great friends we have and how important it is to be there for them when you get to celebrate their stories. It always is fun to be around Domain friends; it makes you feel like you're home, even if it's only for a little while. 

Mary's confirmation also reminded me of how dearly I love the Episcopal Church already. I'm still new at this whole thing but even when I came to Trinity this morning, I felt apart of a family that had open arms. I felt apart of something bigger than myself, and I'm so grateful for that.

As each week passes, I get closer and closer to Happening, my Alabama visit and Thanksgiving (aka days off of school, finally!) This semester is getting close to its end so quickly.. I feel like I just started this silly blog a few days ago!

I hope you all have had a wonderful fall weekend and enjoy some company today. 

All my love, Ash