1 John 4:10

to end wedding season:

♥

A post for Shannon

I really feel God pushing me to help Shannon raise the remaining

money for her support. 

If you feel led to give, comment on this post or email me 

at lmkelley88@gmail.com for more information

Thank you :)

love,

Lauren Kelley Mack

hope chapel.

a graphic i made for the church i attend.

 Hope Chapel Greensboro 

"be like GOD in true righteousness and holiness."

[Ephesians 4:21-24]

21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

our old way of life, before we believed in christ is completely in the past. we should put it behind us. aKa -- "BURN YOUR BRIDGES" --

this week i started stressing out a little -- why you ask? -- hmm... the list goes on and on...

[when will i be graduating?] [isnt iArc over yet?] [summer classes?] [summer mission trip?] [when will i start photography school] [where will i live?] [will i get a job?] [i need an internship] [don't even get me started on a resume and portfolio]

"Be still, and know that I am God" psalm 46:10 -- WORDS OF WISDOM -- THANK YOU MOTHER!

what would i do without you?!

--by worrying i have underestimated the power of God and the plan he has for me. so long story short. although this task isnt easy, i am feeling better about the various topics listed above. =]

divine.romance

For [YOU] I sing I dance

Rejoice in this divine romance

Lift my heart and my hands

To show my love.

.sunrise.sunlight.sunset.

[SunSet Days]today was a sunset day for me. it was gorgeous outside, too bad i had to be stuck inside taking midterms all day =[ all i honestly wanted to do was sit outside all day and look up at the blue sky. after the stressful week that is exactly what i needed... i cant wait for fall break to come to my rescue...

at the beginning of the week i was dreading all the work i had ahead of me and was ready for the week to be over with before monday was even a thought. stevie gave me the verse james 1:2-4, which was just what i needed at the time. with that in mind, this is what i just dont understand. why do we always think "poor me" when hard things come our way? i know it is human nature, but i feel like we want our lives to be so simple and perfect. [wouldnt that be nice, right?] i mean seriously think about it for a minute. -- would you ever learn anything? would you ever need to strive for something more? God is there for us to need him, if we were perfect we would never need his amazing grace. hmmm...i have been on this topic of God's grace lately and the idea of how powerful his grace truly is. its so much bigger than we perceive it to be...

wall explosion.

[romans 7:15-23]

¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law;²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

woah. thats alot to chew on! i am still working on it...but, after reading it over and over, even in different translation ive come to a stopping point for the night, considering it is 330am and i should have been studying for my two midterms. [owell] i have concluded that these verses are dealing with a christians struggle against sin. we underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it with our own strength and thats just what satan wants us to do. hmm.. what a crafty character he is. instead of trying to overcome our sins with our own strength, we should take hold of God's vision for victory over sin. we are vulnerable to sin. we have a conflict within ourselves because we want to do God's commands, but we will never be able to fully accomplish them. i become overwhelmed with this spiritual battle, i think of all the commands i need to be following, and i feel as though i need to become a better person. which ,ofcourse, i should strive for and do strive for, but i know sometimes its satan trying to tear me down and trick me into thinking that i have the strength to fight this battle alone. mm...not even close, my friend -- this is when i need to keep remembering how we are freed from sin by Jesus Christ...

rain...

today i was listening to a natalie grant song, part of the song said "its like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down. it made me think [james 1:2-4] this verse has been in my head this past week, i have really kept it close to me while ive been trying to figure out what God's reasoning is for the trials he puts us through. it got me thinking, even when things SEEM to be going wrong, they aren't. its God's plan. he wants to teach us something from the trials he has brought to us. it is there for us to fight for, it is there for us to learn from, it is there for us to grow closer to Him. so we may think our world is raining down but no matter what God is shining through, you just have to look for him.

i have been forced to take more pictures lately, through my photography class. although i tend to complain about it, dont let me fool you, i am thoroughly enjoying it. i feel like iam closer to God when i take pictures of his creation. its such an amazing thing and i feel like more people should stop and appreciate it. i find little ways to feel connected with God and nature is the biggest way for me. i can be all alone, but surrounded by God's creation and feel more comfort than being in a room of my closest friends. there something about silence and sunset i cannot quite grasp...