I STARTED THIS POST COMPLAINING ・ TAYLOR READS TRUTH 1

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I did. I started it out complaining. But then I remembered all the goodness that God has given me this past week and I wanted nothing more than to erase everything I had typed. It's been such an interesting weekend. I say that because a lot has happened and a lot has changed.

I guess my weekend actually started on Thursday when I went to dinner with my best friend named Josh.

We've known each other since my family started going to church when I was twelve, but it wasn't until I moved away that we began to grow into close, and eventually the best of, friends. He came into town six months after I moved and kept coming up until a month before I came back - the only person that consistently visited me. Over the course of our friendship we have both grown tremendously. We went from getting drunk and dancing all night in December, to spending our mornings in cafes and laying on the beach in June. He rededicated his life the January after he first came to Charleston and he hasn't been the same since - and it's a great transformation. I won't go into all the details because it's not my story to tell, but I know that God has done such a great work in him so far and I'm always thrilled to see him. He's a workaholic, so this rarely happens.

As we sat across the table from each other at our traditional Josh-Taylor-Dinner Mexican restaurant, we went over the small details of what had happened since we last saw each other (January 1 to be exact) and then delved into the good stuff. The God stuff. We talked about our faults, our struggles, our triumphs, and excitement. Me about my happiness from finding a place to worship and grow with God that actually feels like it could be my home, and him growing closer with some wonderful spiritual leaders at the church I left behind. We talked for over two hours and it felt like fifteen minutes.

Friday came with the plans to go to a mutual friend of ours and watch a movie with a small group of people I hadn't seen in months. They were as welcoming as ever, thrilled I was there and equally thrilled that I was attending a great church. We laughed and gave snapchat tips. Ate cookies and snuggled under blankets. I made some really cool new friends that night. I left there and headed to Brooke and Lexie's place and didn't leave until almost 3 a.m.

Saturday I went to dinner with my family and made my way to B&L's again because, well, duh. I pretty much spend every weekend with them these days. We watched Sherlock and drank hot chocolate and had great conversation that led me to almost peeing in my pants at least three times. Another late night for me and I was wiped, but ready for church the next day.

We're studying about being "Fruitful", a thing I haven't exactly been in years. My vine has been laying on and relying on others' vines for support for such a long time. I'm so thankful that through these messages, and with the guidance of good people in my life, I'm starting to get my life on track again. I started the She Reads Truth study on John today since it's going along with a lot of things we're learning in church.

Some favorite verses I read today include:

・John 1:16・
"From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another."

・John 1:23・
"John replied […], 'I am a voice shouting in the wilderness "Clear the way for the Lord's coming!"'"

I want to be that. A voice shouting the praises and promises of God into the wilderness. Into the face of everyone I love and don't know. A shining light and an example of everything good and wondrous about the Lord of everything. The one that saves me daily. That fights for me. That grants me "one gracious blessing after another".

So today starts a new chapter on the Taylor in her Twenties blog - "Taylor Reads Truth", because I'm obviously not as creative as I think I am, and because I am physically reading truth. I'll be posting highlights of my journey with John at least once, if not more times, a week.

I encourage you to follow along and read this study with me and let it change and shape your life as much as I hope it does mine.