Mackenzie Standing

In a quest to be intentional this advent, I'm starting a series on Christ's birth. If you missed the first week's post, you can find it  here . If you missed the second week's post, it's posted  here.  Sadly, I completely forgot to post the third week, and for that I give my deepest apologies. "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us')." -Matthew 1:23 Immanuel. It's always been such a special name of God to me. This Christmas, however, it's striking me anew. This Christmas, I find it particularly precious. Immanuel. God with us. There's something so awe-inspiring about that concept. We have a God that wasn't content to merely watch our pain and distance himself from us; no, instead he chose to come down and meet us in the moment. We have a God humble enough to show up in the most unexpected circumstances: a simple manger in a dinky town, born to some average p...

If you'd like to read the first part of this blog post, click  here . I'm growing to love the Gallatin Valley. I love walking around campus when it's late at night and all is quiet. I love running down to the first floor of my hall and seeing all the 1D girls hanging out in their lounge. I love attempting to fit eight people around one of the tiny tables in Harrison dining hall. I love debating literature with my Texts and Critics class. I love praising God at InterVarsity. I love swing dancing in the barn on Fridays and heading out to watch movies afterwards. But mostly I just love all of the great people I've met and friends I've made over the past few months. My first semester of my college career is officially behind me. I honestly cannot believe that it went by that fast. It's been a semester of tests, paper, presentations, and lots and lots of reading. It's been a semester of late night movie-watching, sledding, 5Ks, dancing, terrific meals (wit...

In a quest to be intentional this advent (and to find a healthy distraction from the pre-finals stress) I'm starting a series on Christ's birth. If you missed the first week's post, you can find it here . I've learned a lot about anticipation over the past year. There have been moments over the past few months where I lie awake longing for the familiar. There were days before Thanksgiving break where I was literally bouncing with the excitement of seeing my family and friends (I'm not that excited now... But I also don't think it's kicked in that I will be home in less than 48 hours!). I now know the heart-pounding, knee-knocking, I-can-hardly-walk-up-these-stairs-I'm-so-excited feeling that comes when I'm mere seconds away from returning to open houses and open arms that have always spelled home in my heart. I like anticipation. It fills me with excitement, and longing, and joy. This advent I've been thinking of what part this sense of antic...

In a quest to be intentional this advent (and to find a healthy distraction from the pre-finals stress) I'm starting a series on Christ's birth. First up: His mom.  If you'd like to view the Bible passage I'll be talking about in this post, click here. For years Mary has been one of my role models in Scripture. She's a very young woman (probably around 13 or so, according to many scholars) engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. While I can't pretend to know how she felt about that, the fact remains: This girl had plans for her life, and one conversation changes all of that.  I wonder just what Mary was thinking as the angel Gabriel came to tell her that God had chosen her to bear His son. Is she frightened? Thinking he's crazy? Questioning why she'd been chosen for this role? She lives in a period of history where this task she's been handed is highly dangerous. There were no "Sixteen and Pregnant" shows in her era. Joseph...