Tonight's prayer.

Apart from You I can do nothing. Without You I am nothing. Oh, God, if only I could put into words what I am feeling. I am so thankful for You. For your grace and faithfulness to me. God, thank you for giving me faith. For tugging at my heart every second of every moment of every day. There are people that don’t have faith. Of any kind. They live for selfish gain because it is all they know. My heart just aches for them. God, help me to reach out to people who don’t know you. Remove any fear and fill me with courage. My life would seriously be nothing if it were not for Your influence. The way I carry myself, the way I talk, the way I work; all would be different without You. God open their hearts. May those who have little faith encounter Your grace and accept your gift of life. Provide them with hope, oh God. Show them what real faith is. What real love is, eternal love. Jesus touch their hearts. Thank you for this burden, this opportunity to see what others are truly missing. You are a good, good God.

Pensacola, Polly, Cheese Lunch, and Snookie

I recently returned from a relaxing and adventurous trip to Pensacola, FL! I went with Justin [my cool new boyfriend, yes, blogging world, I am dating. Who thought that would happen? Not me. It's wonderful, you should ask me to tell the story sometime] to visit his family and spend some time away from Virginia Beach. We both have been living in Virginia Beach for at least three years, for him it's been four! It was nice getting away and experiencing a new culture.

Let us remember. I am from the North. New Jersey in fact. The Jersey Shore to be even more specific. I am now dating a boy from the South. There's a big difference. A lot of his family asked if I knew Snookie, if I was related to Snookie, and wondered why I didn't have the Snookie "poof." Of course, the joking was all in good fun [I hope?].

While in Florida, I experience what it's like to live on a dirt road and have a pond in the backyard. I went to "cheese lunch" with Justin's family, stepped foot on the softest, whitest sand I have ever seen, and went kayaking in the sound of Pensacola Beach. Oh, and I pet a sweet greyhound named Polly for the first time.

I went to Alabama for the first time! Justin's aunt and uncle have a farm out there. We took lots of pictures and met lots of family.

Now I am back in the swing of things, but am so thankful to the restful time I had in Florida.

Here are some pictures from the trip!

Sunset at the beach!

Justin and I at Fort Pickens! Also, please note that I am all SOARed out in Summer Orientation gear! [Gotta put in a plug for my office]

This is Polly. She just wants you to love her.

Justin and I in the Pensacola Lighthouse.

Justin and I kayaking through the sound.

Justin and I at the farm.

The view from the lighthouse. Also, the order of these pictures really didn't make sense, but we're just gonna roll with it.

He will not abandon.

God is at work. Always. He consistently uses our circumstances for the good of His kingdom. He has called us according to His purpose to give glory to Him and to spread the word of His love. Sometimes I miss that memo. My mind tends to cling to the worst possible scenario when things do not work out my way.

In an attempt to seek peace after dealing with some recent news, I stumbled upon Psalm 138.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.



The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. He has not abandoned me and will never abandon me. His work is not complete. Today I experienced God's love in the exact capacity I needed. It was a great reminder that He is using every minute of my time and my family's time to direct people to Him. Right now His purpose is not clear to me. However, I have found comfort in the fact that it is all part of His sovereign plan. I can roll with that.

-Jersey

Use me!

I am currently praying for God to use me. I want to go on a missions trip. Or something. I want to serve. In what capacity? I'm not sure. Being an RA is an awesome ministry but I want to reach outside of the Regent bubble.

Right now I am just waiting for the right opportunity. But I am preparing myself while I wait. I am reading through Acts again. I am reading about amazing leaders whose unashamed love for Christ saved the souls of many.

Please pray for opportunities and continued joy. Pray that God will use me!

I'm getting my art on!

I love to create. I am a filmmaker, broadcaster, journalist, graphic designer musician, Resident Assistant [yes, we make lots of bulletin boards]- all of which fall under the title of “artist.”

I have always loved art. I like to cut, paint, color, draw, paper mache, sculpt, finger paint- all of it. As of late, I have abandoned my more rudimentary means of artistry in exchange for the life of a film student. Typically, directors or directors of photography get the luxury of being more “artistic” on film shoots. I, on the other hand, Miss “Producer Lady” or “Talking Clock” 1st Assistant Director, tend to show my art and creativity through detail oriented call sheets and beautifully organized stripboards [for you non-filmmakers, that’s a fancy word for the schedule]. Admittedly, turning in perfect call sheets is exhilirating, but my inner artist is calling for revival!

On my latest film, ALONE, the crew shot at the house of Joy, an animator and overall artist extraordinare. I came across her art blog and was instantly inspired. First by zentangles, then by all the other potential projects I can get my hands on.

I create a new blog, and purchased a new sketchbook, which will be used to document my new journey as a revived artist.

So please follow me, give me advice, criticism, ideas, prompts, sushi, etc. as I take a step forward in my art endeavors.

My art blog is jerseyowlart.tumblr.com

This is my "Producer Lady" picture.

This is me on set of ALONE. I kind of like the pic, thought I'd share! :]

I've been zentangling.

Thanks to Joy, I have been introduced/addicted to zentangling, or what I like to call "glorified doodling." Either way, it is super fun, relaxing, and for real, addicting. I am loving art! I also did some paintings this week- to be posted later. For now, here are my first two zentangles!