hey there

well, here goes nothing..

Last year, my amazing momma wrote a blog about my crazy, crooked back.  She wanted to keep everyone at home informed on my progress as I battled spinal fusion surgery in Austin, TX.  The blog (Graysen's Backstory.. the link is in my profile if you feel like reading about a girl with a not-so-straight back..) was therapeutic for both my momma and myself.  It allowed us to face what was happening with me, the hard and the good, in an honest way and share how God was working even in a painful situation.  I was also able to go back and read my story after all the heavy-duty pain killers had worn off and know what really happened.  I also wrote one post, scars, during my recovery.  I am now a proud survivor of spine surgery and the owner of a lovely scar that tells the story.  

After facing surgery last summer and recovering as best I could, my next battle was just around the corner.  I moved to Nashville, TN last August to begin my freshman year of college at Lipscomb University.  This past year has been flooded with so many blessings, challenges, and lessons.  I met so many great people who have forever impacted my life.  I became a Young Life leader at Franklin Road Academy.  I lived with seven other girls (and two fish).  I learned to navigate Nashville's 5 o'clock traffic.  I drank delicious coffee at local shops. I found a church that encourages and inspires me every Sunday.  I have studied for hours on end and survived two finals weeks. I have heard great music in small rooms.  have explored Lipscomb roof tops and gone to Cook Out way too many times.  I have honestly not even thought about blogging over the past year, but now that I have made it through the first year, I felt led to share some of the lessons I have learned and to start documenting my walk.  

You might be wondering why on earth I decided to title my blog "a beautifully wrecked life".. allow me to explain. 

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but over the last year I started doing something I had never done before.  I ended every prayer with these words: "thank you most of all for your son, Jesus, who comes and beautifully wrecks our lives every day. In Jesus's name, Amen." 

It was one of those things that I came out of my mouth unexpected yet seamlessly, and I immediately knew it was powerful.  Christ has completely wrecked my life.  I am not the same Graysen that I was before I knew him. He has made me new. He has washed me clean.  He has wrecked the old me and turned my ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61).  And the most beautiful part is that He continues to do so everyday.  He wrecks my life over and over and over.  He knows that i am a work-in-progress and I need more of Him each and every day.  

This little phrase quickly became a theme in my life.  It has shaped how I view my life: wrecked by Christ and beautifully transformed.  I have become quite fond of my little anthem. Now my friends will make me re-do my prayer if I forget to say it. They hold me accountable and make me remember that I am new.  I am His. He has beautifully wrecked my life. 

..so here we go.  

I am not completely sure what this blog will look like or what it will hold. It could honestly be anything from gluten-free recipes, tales of being a Young Life leader, travel documentaries, random tips, testimonies, or just late night rambling. However, I do know that my life has been beautifully wrecked by Christ and I think that is worth sharing.  

"return home, and declare how much God has done for you" Luke 8:39