I will delight myself in Your commandments

I know "coffee and the Word" has become a vastly overused, typical "Christian girl" phrase. But, when it comes down to it, is there really anything sweeter?
It's a delightfully slow summer morning here at home. The locusts, crickets, and birds hum their morning tunes outside my window, creating a summer symphony. As I sit in my room with a warm red mug of, yes, coffee in my hand and the living Word of God in my lap, I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving.
Who am I to hold the words of the living, powerful Creator and Sustainer and Ruler of all things?
Yet He has chosen to give these words to men--to us--to me.
Why? I don't know, except that He has chosen to do so. All we can do is read and live. In light of this living Word, how shall we then live?

Psalm 119 is full of thanks to God for the gift of His words and commandments. The Psalmist writes in Psalm verses 10-11:

"With my whole heart I have sought You;

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You."

In verses 47-48:

"And I will delight myself in Your commandments,

Which I love.

My hands also will lift up to Your commandments,

Which I love,

And I will meditate on Your statutes."

And again in verses 103-105:

"How sweet are Your words to my taste,

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through Your precepts I get understanding;

Therefore I hate every false way.

Your word is a lamp to my feet 

And a light to my path."

You can either choose to neglect or delight yourself in the Word of God today. Which will it be? 

The Psalmist cries out,"My soul faints for Your salvation, but I hope in Your word. My eyes fail from searching Your word." He was so much in the word that his eyes literally began to grow weak from searching it! Do yours?

About the Scriptures J. C. Ryle says,

"I want people to fill their minds with passages of Scripture while they are well and strong, that they may have sure help in the day of need. I want them to be diligent in studying their Bibles, and becoming familiar with their contents, in order that the grand old Book may stand by them and talk with them when all earthly friends fail. From the bottom of my heart, I pity that person who never reads their Bible. I wonder how they expect to draw their consolation in their time of need."

Little happenings

Today my alarm went off. Silently. And when my eyes finally popped open, I jumped out of bed. 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave my house.
Once I scrambled out of the door, I scraped the ice off of my car and opened the door. Only it didn't open.
As I shivered in the cold, I realized: I locked my keys in the car (again).

Today I walked across West Main Street to eat at Subway. Crossing a "busy" street in a small town may seem like a small feat to you, but to me it was quite the adventure.

Today a man in his eighties tried to convince me to get a Big Mac from McDonald's with him.

Today I learned a new word. In Spurgeon's Morning + Evening, he says, "Let your conversation be redolent of heaven."

red·o·lent  

/ˈredl-ənt/

Adjective Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something): "names redolent of history and tradition". Strongly smelling of something: "the church was old, dark, and redolent of incense".

Synonyms fragrant - odoriferous - odorous - aromatic - scented

Today the whole family gathered in the living room for lovely music, laughter, and conversation.

Today I learned once again that Romans 8:28 is absolutely and completely and wonderfully true.

Sunday afternoon musings

One of the most steadfast Crampton traditions is the Sunday afternoon nap. Almost every Sunday without fail, if you're a Crampton, you're either asleep or bound to be as quiet as a mouse by 3 PM.
Today happens to be one of those rare Sunday afternoons when I can't actually fall asleep. So I decided to be productive and pick up my room, listen to a sermon Conrad Mbewe preached a couple of weeks ago at Christ Church, and write on this sadly neglected blog of mine. (I'd give you the link to his sermon, but sadly, our website is being renovated at the moment.)
Lately, life has been consumed by thesis research and writing, moot court prep (the court was a whole lot of fun to this lawyerly-inclined girl, by the way), reading the Aeneid, preparation for graduation, etc. Graduating actually involves more than I thought - pictures for yearbook, pictures for the slideshow, general information for yearbook, making/sending invitations, and more. And all of this requires a bit more time and effort than I had imagined.
But I don't care as long as I graduate. And I plan to.

I know the general senior mindset is: I'm a senior. I'm so cool. Look at those freshmen. Ha, ha. They're freshmen. I can't wait to graduate and get out of this town. I'm so cool.
Yes, I'll admit that I've experienced some of those feelings. Yes, I'm excited about graduating.
As happy as I am to finally finish not only these four years of high school, but twelve years of education. Twelve years. When I actually write it out, it's mind boggling.
We seniors want to get out of here and move on with our lives. It's in the script.

But honestly, I'm gonna miss this.

I'm so thankful for my education. Yes, I've been homsechooled all my life. No, I haven't just sat in my pj's, watched TV, and gotten all A's from my mom. Granted, there have been many pj days. And I loved every one of them. But my education has not been a walk in the park, by any means. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for the challenges, the struggles, and the learning experiences. I'm thankful for Dr. Grant, for Gileskirk, for Aristotle's rhetoric, for Dr. Hill's logic, for Doc Mo's biology, for Mrs. Tate's lit, for Mrs. Rachel's art/music, for Mrs. Culp's speech, and so, so much more!
Dr. Grant has reminded us many times - and rightly so - that education does not end when we graduate high school or college. If we ever think we're truly educated, it's a good indication that our education has never begun.

I plan on taking the next year off; a "gap year," of sorts. Although, this "off" year will not be "off." I don't plan on this being a lazy year while I sit at home on the couch and watch my friends move out and attend various colleges across the country. I plan on working and saving money for next year (of course, finding a job comes first), making a dent in and perhaps completing my fast growing reading list, painting, crafting so many things I've pinned on Pinterest, practicing piano and learning daunting pieces I never would have even glanced at two years ago, soaking in the Word at Christ Church, and doing so many other things I probably won't have the chance to do at any other point in my life.
This hasn't been an easy decision and it certainly was not my first choice. However, I believe this is where God would have me for now and I have no idea what doors may be opened this coming year.

Thy will, not mine, be done.

On life and hobbits

Christmas break is finally here. I'm reveling in doing absolutely nothing in the coming weeks.
Well, nothing as in, no homework to work, no papers to write, no tests to take, no lectures to listen to, and no Latin quizzes to grade! I do have a few projects I'd like to complete and books I'd like to read. But it makes all the difference in  the world simply because I want to and no is telling me to do it.
Isn't it funny how that makes a difference? We're stubborn creatures. Or at least I am.

Within the last couple of weeks, I've successfully taken the ACT (and am still anxiously awaiting my score), turned in my first college application (and barely made the early deadline), and completed my last midterm (my very last ever big test for that class). Sleep is a sweet, sweet thing, friends.

Although he's been my brother from the moment he stepped through that door, Jeremiah's adoption was officially finalized on Friday! And despite a "minor" incident that sent Jamie to the ER - he stepped on a pitchfork while playing hide-and-seek outside in the dark . . . barefoot - all is well at the Crampton house.  The whole family - all nine of us! - are finally under one roof. Joseph got in around 3:00 AM last night. The house is loud full again.

My house is filled to the brim with people, laughter, homemade goodies, and Christmas everything! There are so many reasons to be thankful.

As you hear/sing carols this Christmas season, it's easy to simply skip and skim over the words. Don't. There's a reason these old hymns are still being sung. Read the last verse of Hark the Herald Angels Sing:

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

And on an entirely different note, The Hobbit comes out in December of next year and they just released the trailer!!! This makes me one excited fan girl.

Out with the old, in with the new

 

Goodbye, 12-year-old tastes, stripes, and crazy daisies.

My sweet Jeremiah

After vacationing in the Tennessee mountains, 

 We brought this guy home.

 He helped celebrate my birthday.

 And there was laughter.

 And much dancing.

Life without Jeremiah? I don't even want to think of it.

The fruit of the spirit's not a coconut.

I pulled into the driveway after 10:00 last night. The feeling of coming home, home to stay, home for good - this turned out (rather unsurprisingly) to be a delightful one indeed.  And for a girl who over the course of 9 weeks, spent a few weekends at home for less than 24 hours, this is an incredible joy. For the first time, I'm not in a rush to sort through laundry, pack up, and go right back down to Jackson again. For the first time, I can slow down, rest, and enjoy everything around me at my own pace. After a whole summer of rushing exhaustion and excitement, I have a deep, new-found appreciation for this happy home, dear family, God-glorifying church, and slow pace of  the remaining summer in Woodside Circle.
I am blessed. How could it have taken even a whole summer to realize the richness of His abundant mercy, grace, and loving kindness on me, even me, a wretched sinner; a sinner wholly undeserving of the goodness of God? Yet He continues to pour out His love. He is good, He is faithful, even when I am not. I pray He would teach me to live a life of gratitude, to live with my eyes fixed on the cross, "looking unto Jesus."

Yes, I've missed out on plenty of events (thanks for the constant reminder, Facebook), but I've gained so much this summer. So much more that I would have never done, seen, heard, learned had I not gone to work at Twin Lakes this summer. I've had so many wonderful experiences, and some not-so-wonderful. I've learned so much. I've been stretched - physically, spiritually, mentally. I've had crazy fun times. I've made lifelong friends - leadership staff, other counselors, and even my sweet campers. I've had the opportunity to minister to children, to pour out myself for them, to teach them the gospel, and to live it out (however imperfectly).

It's funny how you imagine life at home to simply stand still while you're away. But life doesn't cope with your demands. Life went on as usual at home - yes, even without me. (Crazy, right?) We even met my new little brother, Ermias, and had a grand old visit. I only got to be a part of just two days of this visit. Once again, life goes on without you - whether you like it or not. A hard, but oh-so-true lesson to learn.

I don't regret spending my summer there. Not one bit. I wouldn't take it back for all the world. Praise be to God for the opportunity He has given me this summer. I pray that He would use these experiences to mold me more into His image, to make my life look more like His.

P.S. This doesn't even scratch the surface of describing my time at Twin Lakes. Perhaps another post complete with pictures and stories will suffice. And of course, pictures of Ermias, as well. :)

Effervescent is an understatement.

12 days until Joseph graces us with his presence once again.


13 days until the last Friday of my Sophomore year.

25 days until dear Katie comes back to the States, to Tupelo, home.