proceed and be bold

wow. so i've totally blown off my [almost] daily blogging sessions for a week as a result of being swamped in the office (things have been overwhelmingly busy-in a positive way) but mostly i've needed some time for myself- on tuesday, i said goodbye to blake for 34 days and it was emotional to say the least. it feels as though half my heart left with him- and is now resting somewhere across the world.
there is one thing that gets me through each day- that's the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father. there is an overwhelming amount of peace that has overcome me ever since blake left. i know, in this season of our life right now, he is exactly where he needs to be- learning/teaching/growing in Christ, and I am exactly where I am supposed to be- learning/teaching/growing in Christ as well, in Jackson. the Lord is already teaching me things about myself that are a lot harder-yet more forced to deal with now that blake is gone- that i probably wouldn't have had the chance to learn while being together everyday. before blake left, the Lord revealed how important this time apart is for our relationship and the worst most dangerous thing that could happen is for me to waste it- waste it by filling up my time with nothing- cause it's possible.
i desire to be the best friend-girlfriend- possible future wife for blake. and the only way i can be the best is by growing independently in my walk with the Lord- and loving on blake through an out pouring of the Father's lavished love on me. It's a beautiful picture- it's Crazy Love. i cannot be filled up with the Sprit in doing nothing- as i've already mentioned; my point is, i need to get off my butt [spiritually] and be proactive in my walk with the Lord. so- i've gone all 'blog' and stuff on this post and titled it the action-based theme for this month of blake and i being apart. quoted by a guy named Amos Kennedy, this powerful quote has no spiritual connection in anyway- but how cool is it that it just so happens to go hand in hand to the things we're both doing and going through this entire month?

Proceed and Be Bold. Proceed and Be Bold my darling.

That's it. My prayer for blake this month is that he will encounter the Lord in ways he's never encountered him before- I pray that he would be bold- and create opportunities for himself as he wanders in territory- where the enemy may have a stronghold. i pray he goes with confidence in the Lord and that the confidence is merely translated into a reflection of Christ through his leadership- his teaching- his conversing- and his ministering to whomever in China. Blake- be bold in your faith- claim Christ- deny the enemy. walk uprightly- and allow your spirit to give off the sweet aroma of our Father.

friends and family, of me and blake, we ask that you please pray for us during this time- as its the first time we have ever been apart from eachother for this length of time- and though it may only be a month- it most definately can be pressing and hard at times- as it already has been for me. please pray for strength and willingness to accept things the Lord wants to teach and show us as we diligently seek Him out and desire spiritual growth and maturity, not only to be carried out in the way we live our day to day lives, but also to be carried out in our relationship with eachother.

phew. this has been a long exhausting day. im off to bed. thankful, cherishing, and hungry for the Lord's wisdom. have a safe and blessed weekend. i'll leave you with a picture from my office's annual 4th of july party we throw on our front lawn. blessings.