Once

I saw a good movie today. Its called Once. Its about 2 ordinary musicians who meet and its magic. The music in this movie is amazing, if you like indie acoustic stuff you'll love this. Its not a traditional love story but its really beautiful. I was surprised at how much I liked it. I don't want to give anything away but I just loved how real the characters were. They really captured the awkwardness, hesitancy, and imperfection that come along with love. Anyways, go see it.

Hometown Stompdown

You guessed it I've finally made my way to Marietta, GA. I've got two weeks off so I'm going to definitely spend a week here and I might spend a week in Birmingham too, I'm not sure yet. Yesterday I slept in till noon- I seriously haven't done that for like a year and it felt dang good. I want to rest but I've got so much to do and I'm scared (as usual) that I'm not going to get it all done and I'm going to singlehandedly screw up my own life. Being back home makes me want to be a kid again. My parents are so great about taking care of me. I pulled into the driveway on Saturday night and it was pouring rain outside. The minute I turned my car off my dad opened the garage door and started taking bags out of my car- sweet man. When I got into the house my mom had a million things she wanted to talk to me about and show me. They want me here, I don't have to try - it feels nice. I really want to know my dad better and I don't know how. He's this quiet, hardworking guy who's always been there for me as far as being an incredible provider but emotionally we've never quite connected but I know he loves me... Anyways, the great thing about being a kid was that your parents took care of all the important stuff. As an adult I've got to admit that I struggle with thinking of everything. My work is pretty all-consuming so I suck at keeping up relationships outside of the students I hang with in Montevallo, I'm not good at raising support, or making sure all my ducks are in a row as far as insurance, oil changes, doctor's appointments. I feel like I'm always running to stay on top of things at the last minute. Life is trial and error right? Oh my gosh, my sweet friend Kat is randomly home from her life in Nashville this week too! I'm so excited - I love her!!!!!

Its been a crazy summer. It climaxed for me last Thursday night as I found myself alone and crying uncontrollably (the silent kind, thankfully) in Panera Bread. You know you're a homeless gypsy when the only place you feel comfortable enough to cry in is the couch of a public eatery. What can I say- the world is my living room. Anyways, we've been studying the book of Mark the whole summer and its been really good for me. I 've been looking at the life of Christ and feeling really bad about myself. Jesus pushes through the pain and hangs out with people even when He's tired, He manages to go to bed late and get up at the butt-crack of dawn to spend time with God, He always knows what to say and how to say it. I've been trying to follow His example for so long but a couple of days ago as I was reading Mark I felt like I heard God say, (not audibly of course) " Renee, you're not Jesus, you NEED Jesus." Wow! I know that's pretty elementary but I've been living like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. If I don't save the world, its not going to get done. I sit down to pray and I almost don't want to because there are so many people that I know who need prayer. I feel guilty because I can't seem to be best friends with every girl on Beach Project. I keep racking my brain trying to fix people, and Jesus keeps saying, "Renee- just love me, just follow me and I'll do what needs to get done through you." I'm living like I have to make myself perfect and I can't do it anymore. Hallelujah!