Austin!

This weekend I had the chance to go to Austin, Texas, which is a few hours away from SAGU! It was so fun and such a sweet weekend full of walking though downtown Austin, eating delicious foods, and being with new friends. I loved going to the Capitol building and seeing the beautiful architecture of the huge buildings that make up the University of Texas campus.

It was a refreshing get away and I had an absolute blast!

My sweet friend and I sitting on a longhorn in our UT shirts!

In front of the state capitol building

Downtown Austin- UT college life :)

Receiving Love

These past two days have been spent trying to not start crying at any given moment. I thought I had been doing better with living here in Texas, but it seems that sometimes feelings of sadness creep their way back into my heart. I have been complaining to the Lord, telling Him that I miss being held and that I can't remember being hugged for more than three seconds at a time since moving here. But of course, in true Jesus fashion, He makes it hard to be angry at Him. These words I just typed have been wrestling around in my mind all day. He makes it hard to be angry at Him. My mind knows the truth, but does my heart have the courage to believe that He is always good and is always with me?
Just an hour after crying out about being untouched, a sweet guy named Alex in my English class comes over to me and asks if he can give me a hug. "Will you receive my love, Natalie?" whispers the Lord.

Yes, Jesus. I will receive your love. I pray for a heart that is completely surrendered and ready to receive whatever you want to give. You are the Giver of all good and precious things, how can I not be moved by the love that you continue to show to my faithless heart? Thank you for walking with me, and for the joy that fills my heart as I remember all of the things I have to be thankful for. I am Yours and You are mine.


For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and lightning startled me awake at 3 AM this morning. This is not uncommon, in fact, this has happened a couple of times since moving here to Texas. The first of these times, I jumped out of my bed and ran to the window to watch, but this morning I just listened and attempted to fall back asleep. The thunder echoes in the court yard that separates my dorm from the dorm across the way. Then rain begins to pound against my windows- but unlike thunder and lightning, this is nothing new to me. The rain comforts me by reminding me of home, and I fall quickly back into sleep. Several hours later, I wake up to get ready for church, and look outside to see what the weather is doing now. Clear blue skies, a beautiful sunrise, and almost dry pavements greet my tired eyes. This causes a happy sigh in my heart and I begin to get ready for church. But I can sense that the Lord has something to say about what my eyes are seeing; and I hear this, "New mercies are a little bit like Texas." I can feel my heart softening at these words. Sometimes there is pain and hard things that happen at night. I find myself too often laying awake, being fearful and upset about things that happened during the day. But Jesus offers new mercies when I awake, and I have the choice to be glad and receive them. And isn't it true that the sunshine is much more beautiful to eyes that have seen the darkness of the night?