California Dreamin'

These verses have been ringing true this week:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” ‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’”

-Lamentations 3:22-24

It made me stop and realize what a gift a new day is. How beautiful the morning is and how it wipes away any troubles of yesterday. I realized how I take for granted waking up and being able to make this day different than yesterday. What a blessing it is to see a new day because we aren’t promised tomorrow. How amazing it is that the Lord doesn’t hold our past mistakes against us and how we were made anew by the blood of Jesus. Can I also add in how wonderfully crazy it is that God’s mercy and love is never ending and new every morning? He has no limits and we don’t have a cap of how much grace and mercy we can receive (thank goodness!). Everyday is an opportunity to learn, grow, enjoy, struggle, trust, improve, and love.

love

rita

It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication

Today's title is brought to you by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Well, here we are. Let’s review highlights of the events that have taken place since my last post. 

Last weekend: On Friday, I went to the always funny Monkey Butler show. I love watching improv. It’s so much fun and the Monkey Butler groups always deliver. 

Here are some shots from the show:

Soda Jerk

Matthew Hirsch: My improv instructor

Moses Storm: Shopkeep

I then spent the weekend with my Dad and Step-mom which was a lot of fun. It was nice to just hang out and have a relaxed weekend with them. 

Last week: I worked out (whaaat?!), worked, and watched more improv. I went to an improv show at Second City to watch the Thunderdome. It was a fun show with two very funny groups.

This past weekend I went to a girls night where we made pizza and watched The Young Victoria. On Sunday, went to church and then ate a bunch of food and played Mario Kart and Halo, definitely a successful day. 

And now for some poetic relief:  

As I sit, I watch the soft sunlight graze over a gathering of clovers encompassed by a thicket of trees. The wind gently sways the leaves from side to side. Glimmering bands of sunlight dance across the shadows the trees have painted. I then realize I’m just staring at the HD, flat-screen television that sits across from my desk playing a Blu-ray of nature’s scenery. 

And that concludes my attempt at ridiculous poetry.

Los Angeles from my friend's roof

Now for some random thoughts!

Time is such an interesting thing. It is funny to me that time can “fly by” but also in turn “drag on”. I once saw a boy wearing a shirt in high school stating time is the only constant. Though it’s constant, so much of the time it feels to vary in speed (at least to me). It always seems like when you are enjoying something the time seems to speed past, but when there is not much going on the time painfully ticks on and you can feel every second slowly drudge on. 

 As I sit and think about time, I think about patience and how patience is hard. Patience is a lesson I will continually be a student of. Then, as I sit and whine about how hard patience is, I think about how incredibly patient God is. I mean, we are talking some serious patience on His end. Whenever I stray, He is patiently waiting for my return to His arms. When I am broken, He is patient as He gently puts the pieces back together. When I am frustrated, He patiently waits and offers peace. When I am struggling, He is patient and leads me back to Him. I fail daily, yet the Lord still loves me and still delights in me and for that I am eternally grateful.     

I think that's about it. Happy Monday!

-rita

They livin’ it up at the hotel California

That title is brought to you by the Eagles. Don Henley coincidentally attended the University of North Texas which is the Alma Mater of yours truly.

So here we are, my blog is officially one week old! So let’s see, what has happened in the past week. 

Work happened. I work Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., so a lot of my week is spent at work. 

But this past weekend had some fun events. I went and saw the Avengers with some friends which was amazing! It was a really good movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a great blend of comedy, drama, and is jam-packed with action. If you are on the fence about seeing, I recommend you see it.

There was a house warming lunch that happened with two of the sweetest ladies I know! And then a birthday party in Beverly Hills. There was tons of food and fellowship which is always a good time. And there was impromptu musical improv about the paintings in the house which was very entertaining. 

That brought us back to Monday, Monday. Work has been happening again. It’s been a very eventful week at work. We caught a possum and we have an elephant visiting. 

So I am coming to love the word, delight. 

Merriam Webster defines delight as:
(noun) A high degree of gratification

(verb) To take great pleasure

 Here are a few synonyms for delight:

contentment, enchantment, fruition, glee, gratification, mirth, rapture, relish.

And that concludes the English class portion of this blog.  

Though these words evoke those warm-fuzzy feelings, it cannot begin to describe how amazing God is. What a blessing it is to know that our God is so great that He cannot be described by words. We will never be able to praise Him enough which makes my heart sing with the comfort I can take in that.

Lately, when I think about the Lord, my soul just feels delighted. Not that before now I didn’t feel complete joy and adoration, but I feel as I get older, the more I delight in the Lord. 

This past Sunday, Pastor Tim talked about prayer. I really enjoy listening and learning about prayer. When I first became a believer, prayer was something I understood, but felt like I wasn’t adequate enough to partake in. I had built it up to be this weird thing that had a very specific structure with very specific “Christian” words you were supposed to say and I didn’t know them. It was like everyone knew the secret code but me. I remember being so nervous about being in a bible study and the thought of possibly praying out loud. I would sweat just thinking about other people hearing me pray. But really, I’m talking some serious nervous sweat. It wasn’t until I heard my very first bible study leader (Anna) pray for our group. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. It was so honest and humble and I was filled with the spirit. Finally, prayer was starting to make sense. There wasn’t a secret code or secret way to pray, it was just humbly coming before the Lord and pouring your heart to Him and speaking His praises. God sent His son for us. We can approach the throne boldly through the blood of Jesus. That is pretty amazing. Prayer is such a gift. God wants an intimate relationship with us, He wants us to come to Him and trust that He is accomplishing things for our good and His glory. 

There you have it!

Happy Wednesday Y’all!

-rita

Hey, you know LA is up in this!

The title is a line from the late Tupac's song California Love. I tried to be creative...

So I started two different blogs. One entitled, “Adventures in La La Land” and this one, “Delighted in Grace”. Though I will be blogging about my adventures in Los Angeles, I decided to go with a title that reflects the grace and love of the Lord more. I actually had a really hard time deciding on a title, but what can you do!

Well, I have officially been a California resident for a little over 4 months now. It is incredible how quickly the time has flown by and how much has happened. It seems like just yesterday I was walking across the stage at the University of North Texas and receiving my diploma! Though I do miss Texas on occasion, I have truly been enjoying my time in California.

It is still a little surreal that I am actually living in Los Angeles. For so long it was this distant dream that I wasn’t really sure was ever going to happen. But I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me in L.A. The last semester of college, I felt the Lord preparing my heart for this city and by December, I had complete peace and excitement for the move. The day after graduation my Dad and I hopped in my car (which was full to the brim) and I watched the Lone Star State fade in my rear view mirror. Luckily, my dad and step-mom have been living in L.A. for a few years, so I am completely blessed to be able to live with them in our cute little house on a hill (literally though, our house is on a hill)!

So the first month happened. I got to spend a lot of time with Jesus and try to figure out what my life in L.A. was going to look like. I was fervently searching for a job, church, and a community. I was praying like crazy for the Lord to give me strength and He most certainly did. Though there were many nights of me going to events alone and forcing my friendship upon people, I eventually found a wonderful community of believers. Though the first month was a drought, the Lord, with His perfect timing, provided like crazy. I found a job as a receptionist for a production, lighting, and studio rental company, an amazing church with solid, gospel teaching, and a wonderful group of believers who actually live life together.

So the past three months have just been a whirlwind of building relationships, learning and worshiping at church, and learning the ropes at my job. Currently, there is not much acting happening, but I know that will come in time. I feel affirmed in my move to L.A. The Lord wants me here and I have a heart for this city. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store over my first year here.

I have been incredibly encouraged this week by the message this past Sunday. Pastor Tim talked about Enduring in the City. Though as believers we have the city to come to look forward to, we should not be absent in the passing city. “We are not to leave the city, but function differently in it”. This message was so important to hear and definitely has me thinking and praying about how to function differently in the city of L.A. If you are interested in the message, you can check it out here: http://realityla.com/category/teachings/.

I’ll try to post pictures and fun stuff in the blogs to come!

-rita