Let Me Break It Down for You

My reasons for starting the blog:
1. I like to write. I am a journalism major. It just makes sense.
2. I understand blogs are trendy right now, but I do not consider myself a hipster, so I'm okay with doing something that is somewhat trendy.
3. I would not like to use this blog as way for my opinions to be heard or to express the injustices that oppress me, such as not being treated as special because I'm white middle class or stubbing my toe on the bottom corner of my bed.
4. I would like to challenge the ideas, perspectives, and thinking of those who read this.
5. I would also like to have better grammar and writing skills than many bloggers. I seriously cannot stand to see the letter "i" not capitalized (this leads us back to reason #1). However (speaking to the grammar Nazis here), I will need grace because my grammar is not flawless, and I do not have my journalism degree yet. After I graduate, I give you permission to be merciless with my grammar.

A warning for the faint of heart:
I am not one to sugar coat the truth, especially when I write (it's easier to be more bold when you're not face to face with someone). I know you just read that, and you're totally on board with it, but the truth can be incredibly offensive.

Content:
I honestly do not know. I do not know what tomorrow will look like, so how am I supposed to know what I will write about. It could range from advice on planting to theology to nutrition to college life. I can say for sure that I will talk about God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit because He is so worth talking about, and He has radically changed my life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. You talk about things you love, so naturally (because I am now a new creation with the Holy Spirit inside of me) I will talk about Him the most. If this subject bores you or you don't believe in God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit then I encourage you to read this blog because maybe I can adequately show you the mystery of why He is so astonishingly fascinating to me.

The significance of the blog title:
The title is a quote from the song "House of God" by Jon Foreman, but primarily it is from Psalm 23, which is my favorite Psalm.
      "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
            want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
   He restores my soul." (Psalm 23:1-2, ESV)

I was once as dead as Jesus's body that lay in the tomb. But just as Jesus was raised from death to life so too was my soul restored, set free, made alive.

Away from all the noise and distractions - in the still and in the quiet - is where I find Him. This is where I am able to retreat with Him and seek Him. By the figurative (or literal) green pastures and still waters, he makes my soul satisfied in Him. I have found this idea of being still for long periods of time so rarely taught on, but it is in the retreat with Christ where the Lord reveals Himself in new ways and molds me to look more like His Son. He reminds me how he dearly loves and cherishes and adores me as His daughter. No human love has ever come close enough to brush the surface of how great His love is for me - and this is only the love that I have come to know and experience; there is so much more to it than my finite mind could ever comprehend.

God has recently been showing me the importance of listening to Him and sitting still in His presence (see Ecclesiastes 5:1-3). There is nothing too spiritual or complicated about it - I just sit there, recognizing His presence is with me. I read some of His word and speak to Him and ask Him things. Sometimes my mind starts to wander off and think too much and sometimes I get bored, but oh how I cherish and long for those times when I just know without a doubt that He is there with me, and I am in awe of His beauty, grace, love, kindness, tenderness, justness, faithfulness, mercy, and holiness.