the heavens declare the glory of God.

for the beauty of the earth

for the glory of the skies

for the love which from our birth

over and around us lies

Lord of all to Thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

montana sunset, august 2011

doing.

isn't it exciting to see God answer prayer?
isn't it exciting to talk to people whose hearts beat with the Lord's heart?
isn't it exciting to see what God is doing?
isn't it exciting to be part of it?

He is so good.

i fly to Europe in exactly one week.
the list of places is not yet completed or confirmed, but my first stop is Bristol, UK, and then to London. and then to Ireland. and then to Germany. and after that shall other places assuredly be added to my list.

and oh my goodness, i cannot wait to see all these dear people again!!

----
ps: an afternoon last week was spent recording a bunch of songs from church for my sweet nephews. you can listen to them and even download them on my purevolume! this album is called The Nephew Project. my nephews come to church fairly often with us, and they love to sing, but they don't hear the songs often enough to know them all by heart. so, having received a request for a cd of church songs for their sake, i chose a whole bunch of great songs and sung them as clearly as possible, so they could hear the words and learn them. and since i recorded the whole project for the boys anyway, i may as well share these songs with others! maybe they will be a blessing to you as well.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, 

teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 

singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

col 3:16

made, part 2.

i'm pretty sure my family could consume a gallon of this a day.

also, we've been devouring the most delightful crate of peaches, ever.

God bless freshness.

made.

an awkward tshirt sweater into a nice little striped skirt. cool ne?

and God made this for me to gaze at on a long drive home the other night.

He wins.

this has been going through my head all day:

oh the depths of the riches both
of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!

for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things
to Him be the glory forever!

amen.

basically..

i did not get my visa to england.
God directs the steps of the righteous.
He's much bigger than my plans!

so now it looks like:

i'm going to europe in two and a half weeks.
i am staying for at least 2 months.
i am going to visit as many missionary friends as possible.
it's my desire to be a blessing.

and so, most beloved europe of my heart..

the countdown has begun.

fellowship.

"the Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that i should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. 

He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear to hear as the learned." -isaiah 50:4

just want to put it out there that i've had a week full of incredible conversations with friends.
who says i'm alone on the prairie? i've got ten millions of sisters and brothers. and some of them even have phones.
i'll update tomorrow hopefully.
meanwhile.. walk in the Spirit. love the Lord. know Him. life gets crazy awesome when you do.
xo,a.

in short.

hey there, Miss MIA here.
sooo i have a ton of things i want to blog about, which may or may not all happen:
-retreat worship
-teen camp worship and counseling
-montana family vacation
-God redirecting my steps immensely!
-the new plan for fall ministry

but for now i need you guys to pray! [if anyone still checks this place, that is!]
i'm driving 7 hours down to SE Iowa today to visit a friend and help put on a worship seminar tomorrow evening [wednesday] for a small baptist church! i get 35 minutes to share from the Word about having the right heart in worship and giving a Biblical foundation.

PLEASE PRAY that i am led by the Spirit! i am not totally prepared yet, but the Lord has put some things on my heart. i trust that He will finish the work He's begun with this! please pray that i am a blessing and a living example of Jesus' love. please pray that God will give me His words to speak, and that i wouldn't be ashamed or discouraged from saying them.

and praise the Lord that He is giving me opportunities to GO and SEND ME to be a light and an encouragement! He is so good!
thank you for your prayers and look forward to hearing great things that the Lord has done- whether we see it soon or not until we get to heaven. pray that lasting fruit is brought forth from planting these seeds and watering. God will provide the growth.

xx! annie.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

[-Galatians 5:18,25, Romans 8:14]

He leadeth me! O blessed thought! 

O words with heavenly comfort fraught!

Whate'er I do, where-e'er I be,

Still 'tis God's hand leadeth me.

Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom,

Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,

By waters still, o'er troubled sea,

Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me!

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,

Nor ever murmur nor repine,

Content, whatever lot I see,

Since 'tis my God that leadeth me!

And when my task on earth is done,

When by Thy grace the victory's won,

E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,

Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,

By His own hand He leadeth me,

His faithful follower I would be,

For by His hand He leadeth me.

God is redirecting my path which once seemed fairly clear to my eyes.

I know not where He's leading, but I do know that I am His.
And when I cannot see from His perspective, I trust that indeed He leadeth me.

For we walk by faith and not by sight.

story of my life.

so yeah, it's been busy. i keep saying that. here are my reasons:

the first half of fourth of july weekend was spent up north with relatives; the rest was spent cleaning up trees from a huge storm that swept through our area. we have one big tree down and it's still kind of on our deck, sort of like an arbor, you know?

i've been working.

my nephews had a sleepover at our house. f-u-n for 3 days straight!

making jam.

riding bikes.

thinking about music.

reading about amy carmichael.

enjoying the new bon iver.

talking to friends in finland. germany. ireland. you know. good places like that. nbd. 

there must have been other things..?

i've also been getting ready for a busy couple of weeks:

living education retreat, speaking and leading worship

teen camp, being a cabin leader and worship leader

and one of my friends passed away this week. she was 27 and her name was jessica. she was one of the most fun people i ever knew. i'm gonna miss her. i'll be doing some music at her memorial service. please pray for her family.

and i've been applying for my visa. you can pray for that too! everything but a few papers are ready. we'll see what the Lord has in store..

ps i really went on a weekend trip with that little blue suitcase as my luggage! ha! it's time to try defying gravity..