T-Minus 6 days

Tonight is my going away party! Pretty excited. One of my good friends from Arkansas is driving down to Texas just to visit me before I leave. (I have truly been blessed with great friends) So that will be extremely exciting! I can't believe I will be boarding a plane in a few short days! This time will either fly by or move unbearably slow. I'm unsure of which I'd rather.

I recently found out that while I'm in Fiji there wont be any hot water. This is one of the worst things that I can imagine since I love taking scorching hot showers. I tried to take a shower today with cold water and wanted to cry. I think normal people would consider it "luke warm" but to me it was freezing. This truly will be an adventure.

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to blogging during my trip and wanted to get it started off with a bang!

Love.

It's only going to get worse.

2 Weeks until Study Abroad!

Am I ready? Absolutely not. Am I packed? No way. Am I excited. You bet.

I can't decided if I want to have a different blog for my Australian adventures or just continue to blog on this. I'll probably do that but completely change the layout and title. Let me know what you think.

I can't believe that in 2 weeks and a few short hours I will be on a plane to LA. Then on a plane to Fiji. I've heard some crazy things about Fiji so it will definitely be interesting. We can't drink the water there (which was kind of obvious) but I never thought about brushing my teeth. We have to use bottled water to brush!

Needless to say, the countdown has begun...

At His Feet

If I haven't beaten this horse enough, I have a photo blog. I try to update it daily but usually every couple of days I update for the past few days. I'm planning I will continue to update it while I'm in Australia to give pleasure to your eyes. (No telling about Fiji though due to living with a family and internet access..but I will update for the days I miss once I get internet access!) Anyways, so along with the photo I try to put a little blurb from the devotional I'm reading, Chris Tiegreen's "At His Feet" and todays blew me away. Easily my favorite one. Since I only put a small part from the devotional on the photoblog I thought I'd write out the whole devotional on my regular blog. Sound like a good idea? Perfect. (Also, has anyone noticed how good I am getting at keeping up with my blog!?) Here it goes!

"January 14th-Luke 10:38-42

"Martha,...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." Luke 10:41-42

IN WORD: We are called to serve God. There is no dispute among believers about this; the Bible is very clear. He has made us for Himself, and Jesus frequently calls us to obedience and service. So Jesus' words to Martha may seem strange to us. Why does someone who has called us to obedience tell His servant to stop working, sit down, and listen?

The answer lies in God's priority for us. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to serve Him at the expense of knowing Him. Having made us for Himself, He does not at first fashion us for usefulness. He fashions us for knowing Him.

This is far removed from utilitarian thinking. When we make something, we usually make it for a practical purpose. Our only occasion to make something for the sake of its own beauty is when we are being creative and artistic. Parents can relate; few of us have children in order to have more help around the house. We have children to know them and enjoy them. So it is with God. He is first and foremost an Artist, a Craftsman, and a Father who enjoys His children. He is not a factory worker manufacturing a product.

Is this hard to grasp? We often see our Creator as a utilitarian God looking for an end result-- a practical end result. We view Him in terms of obedience and service. It's easier for us--that's how we would look at things if we were in His place. We are great fans of usefulness; when things are no longer useful, we usually throw them away.

IN DEED: What is God's view toward you? Is He only after your usefulness? No, the Artist wants to enjoy His work. He seeks satisfaction in His technique and creativity--processes which continue on in your life every day. He will use you well, but not before He has enjoyed your company. What is God's will for you? Jesus' words to Martha give us deep insight into His heart. He first wants us at His feet. Above all, He wants us to learn from Him."

P.S. Here's the link to my photoblog!

http://adayinthelifeofrlmccall.blogspot.com

If you'd like to subscribe to it click this link! Subscribe!

I like to Pray, Pray, Pray, Prapples and Prananas

As if I haven't spoken of it enough, I am leaving for Australia in less then 3 weeks. What started as a idea and motivated by an obsession with outback steakhouse commercials will soon be a reality.

A few moments after I got the email notifying me of my acceptance I spent a good amount of time with the Lord in prayer and praise. A few of you have asked me what you can be praying for and so I thought I might share a few of my prayer requests for this journey so they can be lifted up by my (favorite) brothers and sisters.

-God to be glorified during this 5 month trip
-Comfort for my family (especially my mom!!)
-My flight to LA and then Fiji
-The family I am staying with in Fiji for 10 days during my Environmental Studies class
-The other study abroad student I am staying with in Fiji with the host family
-My classes in Fiji
-My flight from Fiji to Sydney
-My roommates in Sydney
-That I will find/have a support system in Australia
-My flight to Cairns & The Great Barrier Reef/My flight from Cairns back to Sydney
-Safety in the Great Barrier Reef
-My classes in Sydney
-Friends I meet in Sydney and in Fiji to see the love of Christ poured out through my actions
-General safety
-Hopefully being able to go to New Zealand during one of the school breaks
-Remaining in constant prayer during the entire trip
-Encouragement to continue reading daily
-Not getting sick or needing to go to the hospital in a foreign country
-Flight back to US
-Great memories and friends
-God's Kingdom to grow

Thanks so much. Prayer is so important and I would feel so blessed to have you praying for me. Please let me know if there is anything I can be praying about for you.

P.S. if you are wondering what that picture is, it's a fish I had last year that I named Cairns so that every time I thought of him or fed him or cleaned out his bowl I would remember to pray for Australia and this trip. It ended with me being obsessed with him...over feeding him and finding him dead. RIP. Also, the background is a picture I drew of Australia. College rocks.

Current location: Engulfed in Snow

Whose idea was it to travel to the north via car during the winter?!

For the past 13 days I have been a traveling machine!
6 different beds.
8 times moving luggage in.
8 times moving luggage out.
927 miles + 2,481 miles (3,408)

This trip was suppose to be over today but because the snow wanted to "teach me a lesson" I'm "stuck" (but really, having a great time) at the Morrison's house in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

By the grace of the Lord I haven't gotten too lost, and I always seem to find my way back. The first few days of my trip were awesome, but I soon started to feel homesick. I kept looking at the date and realizing it'd be another week or so before I was back in my own bed and I felt slightly discouraged. I guess most people can see where this is going...

I can't even imagine being lost for 40 years like the Israelites. I'm not even "lost"...I've just hit a small "detour" and home feels so far away (probably because it's 10 hours). I've had to depend on God to remain grounded, not just once at the beginning of the trip but every day. While reading my devotional the other day (you can read a snip of it here) Chris Tiegreen spoke of the days when the Israelites walked and walked... and walked. And depended on the Lord for their bread. Daily. The bread that the Lord provided for them wouldn't last more then one day so they had to continue to trust that God would give them bread. How neat is that picture. God knew that if He gave them bread monthly they wouldn't rely on Him daily. Tiegreen talks about how this principle applies to so many different things. If one day of prayer covered the whole week, we wouldn't need a real relationship. If one day of repentance covered the whole month we wouldn't need a real relationship.

I'm thankful the Lord showed me this before I declare my independence and journey off to Australia to live on my own. And I hope that encourages other people as well, and reminds them that we can't just eat once a week (Sunday) and expect to be full for the next 7 days.

Good one God.

Party in the USA

This last year has been travel-city and now that my travels are coming to an end I thought I'd jot down the places I've been in the past year.

Alabama 

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Florida

Georgia 

Kansas 

Louisiana
Massachusetts 

Mississippi

Missouri 

New Mexico

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania 

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia
West Virginia

Wyoming

That's a whopping 21 states!

Remodeling

Cue the typical New Year's blog post:

For the new year I decided to change some things around!

New name!
New layout!
More blogging?

Only time will tell.

I am also going to update my daily photo blog every day with a photo and a little quote from the daily devotional I am doing this year, "At His Feet"

Someone hold me accountable!!!