running a marathon

ok... false advertising because I did not, in fact, run a marathon BUT now what I have your attention, let me tell you about the marathon that has been life lately :)

most people (ok, maybe just me) when they hear the word "marathon" they hear "hard, painful, rough" at the same time. but when i say that life has been like running a marathon, i mean that there is a lot of big things in a short amount of time. all of these things are so fun, but i also really enjoy the slow, refueling times in life as well!

those of you following my instagram will know that one of my sweet heart friends got married this past Saturday!!! Shana looked absolutely stunning... I loved what her sweet husband said at their rehersal dinner "Shana, your appearance is stunning & your inner beauty is matchless." It is so true. Shana is the sweetest, most loving person I know. Her heart for others has challenged me so much, and I learn a lot when spending time with her. She truly radiates Christ to everyone around her, and I am so blessed to call her sister & friend.

i have been reading one thousand gifts by ann vaskamp lately, and one of the lines last night made me stop, "I hunger for filling in a world that is starved." I had to think about this & I realized how true of a statement that is. the world tries to tell us that it is full of life & fun, and that if we would only dive in we would find happiness. but in reality, the world is completely empty, lacking. there is nothing in this world that can satisfy us in & of themselves. i often find myself believing this lie that if only i had ____ (fill in the blank), i would be happy. what is cool is seeing that God promises us abundant life in Him. only He can make us whole & give us the full life that we are searching for. He doesn't promise us a healthy, wealthy, & prosperous life, but one that is full of love & hope, one in which we are never alone, one that He carries us & holds us through the hard times, one that we will grow to be more like Him in. sorry for the book... my thoughts can ramble :) 

in 3 (count 'em) weeks, I will be taking 18 students to Dallas for a spring break mission trip. the week after that i move into a house with roommates (three fist pumps here)! the week after that i run (for real this time) a half marathon with my sweet friend Jessi (thanks for being the best running partner ever). and a month after that one of my other sweet heart friends is getting hitched!!! it's a fun marathon, but i will definitely need to be intentional about refueling along the way!

change is good

change...

it's been happening all around me lately. sometimes i love it, actually mostly it's been great change! but then there are those other times...

let me catch you up. christmas was awesome time with the fam! loved getting to hang in texas for a little over a full week *insert laughter & good times here. it even SNOWED in lucas, tx giving us a lovely white blanket for Christmas day! a lot happened Christmas day, the brohan went to Cali (where it's always beautiful weather) to meet Tiff's older brothers, my sisters & i had an epic nerts game, my sweet heart friend got engaged!!!, & the rents decided to have a bourne movie marathon. all-in-all, it was a solid Christmas. not gonna lie though, it was hard returning to arkansas after quality time with the fam & sweet friends. BUT God has been teaching me that He is faithful, even when i have no clue. how did He teach me these things? well, let me tell ya... He provided a sweet friend/accountability/running partner who had been missing the same things, a house in the absolute perfect location AND with roommates who i'm pumped to get to know better, a community group that is quickly becoming friends, and sweet new friendships popping up everywhere. what can i say? God is good.

here are a few pics from the past few months... i MUST get better about a) taking pictures & b) updating this thing...

the beautiful lucas, tx
 

mac fam tradition. Christmas Eve Target shopping day.

sweet heart friend, Julie, & her fiance Chris engaged in November

heart friend, Shana, & her fiance Jamie engaged Christmas day!

(some of my) 7th grade crazies @ chill-out this past weekend
*insert JB dancing skills here