We visited my favorite place in the world last night.

At least, my favorite place in the world right now. Because I plan to see a whole lot more of this gorgeous globe, and I'm sure I'll find a new favorite. But I digress...  :)

My favorite place in the world is an outcropping of rocks.

Ooh. Rocks. Fabulous, right?

It's called Dripping Rock, which is quite appropriate since the massive grey slabs of stone seem to trickle all the way down the face of the mountain. To access it, you have to hike about 15 minutes through the forest. The path is rocky and hilly, and if you're not careful, you'll twist an ankle in no time.

But right as you run out of breath and start to wonder if you missed the turn, you turn the corner and feel a rush of something I can't even explain.

The view literally takes my breath away. You can see for miles, and everywhere you look there's something beautiful...

The town that I call home, and the ones that surround it.
The twinkle of a million lights as the world goes to sleep but not the people.
The mountains off in the distance, and the ones wrapped around you.
The clouds so close you can almost touch them.
The fields and lakes and forests and hills in our beautiful valley.
The moon and stars, just starting to shine for their nightly parade.

I could spend hours up there, and when I have more time on my hands, I plan to. :) I especially enjoy the view at sunset, when everything is bathed in a soft pink and orange glow. That's when we visited last night, and we stayed up there until the sun was out of sight. Then it was time to hike back to the car.

The forest was almost pitch black, with no moonlight. I slipped on my headlamp, pointed it at the ground, and started walking.

All I could see was the step ahead. And then the next. And the next. And the next. As I carefully picked my way along the path, trying not to kill myself, I was struck by the comparison to my own "walk" through this life.

Every day of our lives, we stumble along our paths, unable to see beyond the next second. We just have to trust the Lord and take the next step...and the next, and the next. When you're a 17-year old girl in her senior year, you feel like those steps are more like a sprint; look up to catch your breath, and you'll land flat on your face. :P

There are so many unknowns ahead (college, relationships, money, family, occupation, place of living, marriage, what I'm going to eat tomorrow, I mean, seriously?!?!...), and the control freak in me absolutely HATES that. I want to look down the path, see the obstacles ahead, and make a detailed, 40-page, illustrated guide on how to best navigate around them.

Sadly, life doesn't work like that. *sigh*

But you know what? It's OK. This is what God has called us to. Leaving the future in His perfectly capable hands. Trusting Him in all our "next steps," both big and small. Following the advice of this verse, so we all remain relatively sane humans:

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

Truer words were never written. :) I forget this verse so often, but last night was a fantastic reminder.

Life gets hard, but God will always light the way.
One step at a time.

~ Riley

Goodbye, my beautiful plaid vest. Goodbye, my perky little bow tie.

I'll miss you so very much. SVCC just won't be the same without wearing you for every concert. I don't think I'll feel quite as professional without you wrapped around me as I sing.

I've learned many lessons from you. You were a faithful companion as I grew from a shy middle schooler to a confident senior...

You taught me to always be professional, whether on stage or off.

You taught me to make new friends, but always keep the old.

You taught me to branch out, and try things that scare you.

You taught me to appreciate all kinds of music.

You taught me to work hard, especially when I don't feel like it.

You taught me to appreciate my fellow choristers, and help them grow.

I'll always remember you.

*deep breath*

Hello, new red vests. Hello, little floppy ties.

Welcome to SVCC. Welcome to a stage of beautiful singing children. I hope you're ready to work hard, and make us look spiffy.

You have some pretty big shoes to fill, but I think you can do it. I'm excited for the lessons you'll teach me in my last year of choir. I have some requests, if you don't mind...

Please teach me to sing like never before.

Please teach me to reach out and welcome new choristers.

Please teach me to be a leader, both in my music and my choir friendships.

Please teach me to be a chorister that people can look up to.

Please teach me to bless those around me with my music.

I can't wait to meet you.

~Riley

Do you ever have those moments when God pulls back the curtain of glory just a teensy bit, and allows you to glimpse His ENORMOUS power? Those moments are incredible, and I got to be a part of one last night.

And He did it using a broken family, me on headset, and a LOT of lemonade.

I work at Chick-fil-A, and one of the things I love about my job is our outreach to the community. Not only do we provide great food in a safe, family-centered environment, we go outside of our four walls to bring hope and healing to all kinds of people and organizations. And our current focus is a family that truly needs hope.

Steven Short was in a tragic mountain biking accident about a month ago, and after seven days in intensive care, passed away. He was a husband and father, and leaves behind three very young kiddos. My heart just breaks every time I think about what they must be feeling right now...to lose a father, husband, friend, brother, and son. I can't even imagine.

So our store is trying to help ease the burden just a little, and during the month of June, part of the proceeds from every Frosted Lemonade we sell goes straight towards the Short family. But that means I have to get out of my comfort zone (gasp!) and ask each customer at the end of their order. But God says that He uses our weaknesses to show His strength, and I saw that SO vividly last night.

I started out tentatively, asking in rather awkward times, and feeling horribly inadequate. But then people started to say YES. And that was pretty awesome. Sometimes they'd even ask who the Short family was, and I would get to explain what the family was going through.

Our goal for the evening was 85, and the deadline for the shift was 8:00, when I was scheduled to leave. It was about 7:00, and we only needed about 20 more to reach the goal. I was still shocked that I'd managed to sell ANY, but I was praying in between orders that people would continue to say yes, and love on this family.

Now here was the seriously amazing, totally unexpected God moment.

We were down to the last few, and I was getting excited. But the cars were becoming more sparse by the minute. Someone ordered an extra Frosted Lemonade, and then decided they didn't want it, so it was quickly melting. AND it was a diet. And nobody orders the diet ones (I mean, who would want to? :) More sugar, or less sugar? Easy choice there...). I knew it needed to get sold, and fast. As I'm sending up a prayer, the next car pulls up.

"Hi, can I please get a number two, with a Sprite?"

Oh well. Not this car.

"...oh, and a Frosted Lemonade? And go ahead and make it a diet. Thanks!"

*jaw drops*

Guys, we serve a powerful God! He sees our needs, big AND small, and blesses us beyond our wildest imagination. 

"Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" (Psalm 116:2) 

I was privileged to see that verse in action last night, and was inspired to reevaluate my prayer life. Do I pray about all things, regardless of their size? Do I trust that He will answer in His own way, not my own? Do I trust Him with all my hopes, fears, and crazy dreams?

Nope. I stumble in this area again and again. But thankfully, His mercy is right there to pick me up. He simply calls me to pray as long as I have breath, and leave the rest to Him.

So I shall call this the "Lesson of the Lemonade" (don't judge...names help me remember things) and will never look at a Frosted Lemonade the same way again. Which is probably what God intended all along.  :)

~Riley

I really love nail polish. The myriad of colors, the pungent smell, and the way it shimmers after a fresh coat. *happy feeling* It's just a fun, girly thing that I enjoy. However, there is one rule: I only wear it on my toes.

Yup, I hate wearing nail polish on my fingers. This fact was recently confirmed when I had to wear bright coral nails for our play production. After having it on for about a week, I started to realize some of the reasons I dislike it on my fingers so much.

#1 - It feels so weird. I think I have pretty sensitive hands, so the extra millimeter of weight and texture just really bothers me. I thought the feeling might go away after a day or two, but it still felt peculiar. Thankfully, I never feel it on my toes. :)

#2 - I can't ever get the two hands to look the same. And being a symmetrical perfectionist, that bothers me. It probably shouldn't...

#3 - And this one is the most significant. When I have nail polish on my hands, I become too focused on MY hands. The flash of color constantly draws my eyes down. I become focused on ME. "Oh dear, they don't look perfect. Oh no, there's another scratch I need to cover. Darn it, I chipped the corner off..." And on and on it goes. I become more obsessed with how my hands look than what my hands are doing. I hesitate to reach for things, clean dishes, untie pesky knots, haul boxes, play with the dog, etc.  All kinds of normal things that take a split second longer to do, because I'm too worried about messing up my hands. And I don't want to be that kind of person. (Side note: Please don't think I'm bashing people who wear nail polish...it's just something that trips ME up personally!)

As I finally scrubbed off the bright pink at the end of the week, I thought about what a week in nail polish had taught me. God uses the funniest things to get our attention, doesn't He? :)

I began to see a correlation between my hesitations to work with my hands, and my hesitations to work with my heart. Just like I was afraid to scuff up my nails, I tend to be afraid of scuffing up my 'image'.

- I don't reach out to certain people, because I'm afraid of what others will think.
- I refuse to ask for help, because I don't want to seem weak or incapable.
- I shy away from new opportunities, because I'm afraid to fail.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. So often, I look down at myself and forget to look up at Him! He alone will give me the strength, the courage, the humility, and the grace that I can never supply myself. All I have to do is ask.  :)

Who knew that nail polish could be so thought-provoking? I certainly didn't. :) So this week, I pray that I will reach out more, love more, get messy more, and grow closer to the one who gave me my hands and feet to bless others. But for now, please excuse me while I go paint my toenails... :)

~Riley

College Plus: My UNBOUND Story

Aubry’s post flashed across my screen: “UNBOUND! Tell YOUR story!” I ignored it and continued scrolling. There really wasn’t any story to tell, I convinced myself.

My unbound story isn’t flashy. It doesn’t have a creative title, or an exciting backstory. I’m not studying in a foreign country, interning with politicians, or helping film a movie.

It’s just me, little Riley Maas, who sings in the choir, loves math, and is the “advanced learner” with 63 credits in her junior year of high school. What story could I possibly have to tell? A little voice inside whispered, “Everything.”

UNBOUND means that even if I’m not doing anything flamboyant, I’m slowly but surely knocking out my credits. UNBOUND means that I’m done with high school a year early, ready to tackle my remaining CP courses head on. UNBOUND means that I am learning how to learn, so I can explore any topic imaginable! But most importantly, UNBOUND means that I will be ready for whatever God does with my life! I will be UNBOUND from a campus, UNBOUND from debt, and UNBOUND from society’s view of what truly living life means.

So really, my UNBOUND story is just beginning. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.

~Riley

I love names.

Really, ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you: I name everything.

Snowbear the polar bear, Tetsi the brown bear, King Louis the small bear, Mr. Bingley the monkey, Ipodicus the iPod, Mika the MacBook, Ruby Grayce the Honda Odyssey, Ivy Pearl the Honda CRV...and on and on and on. (Did I mention that we just bought a new dishwasher? I'm thinking either Victoria or Silva...)

Why do I love names so much? I don't really know. I think it's just something I notice about people (and objects) right off the bat. To me, a name isn't just a label. It's a whole personality. For example, let's look at my name:

Riley Joy.

Hmm. Sounds loud. Maybe bold? And the joyful part isn't too hard to figure out.

Bam. Right on target. My name means "valiant" and of course "joyful".

I LOVE my name. Really, I do. I can't thank my parents enough for giving me these beautiful words that describe me. But ultimately, I thank God, who had these names picked out for me an eternity ago. Now that's a humbling thought...

So what does any of this have to do with anything? (By the way, you will quickly learn that I ramble quite a bit, so I probably won't ever get to the point until a page or two down. You've been warned.)

Well, I wanted to tell you about the name of this blog: Wandering Heart.

The description kind of gives it away, but after about a week of thinking and testing and scrapping names, I finally stumbled on the answer while in church.

Lately, "Come Thou Fount" has really just cemented itself as my favorite song. A simple melody with simple words. But oh, what a powerful message! It's a combination of praise, adoration, thankfulness, and confession.

I especially love the third verse:

"Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above."

Isn't this what our prayer should be every day? Acknowledging the fact that no matter how hard we try, our sinful hearts still wander away from His presence?

When I vow to have a good attitude at work, then grumble in front of my coworkers.
When I try to be kind to my siblings, then snap because of a petty argument.
When I promise to be diligent in school, then fall prey to laziness.

Thank goodness for His grace. Let HIS goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Him. Grace for today, grace for tomorrow, and grace for every day after that!

"Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise."

So. That is why this lovely little blog has been christened Wandering Heart. As part of my feeble attempt at "songs of loudest praise." Thanks for joining me on the journey. :)

~ Riley

Beginnings.

New, fresh, crisp, clean.

Free from yesterday's mistakes. Ready for today's dreams.

Beginning the blog that I always wanted.
Beginning my junior year of college while finishing my junior year of high school.
Beginning to drive with a new license.
Beginning the softball season of warm, buggy nights sitting on the bleachers, cheering.
Beginning new friendships.
Beginning preparation to teach choir again next fall.
Beginning my favorite season of spring.
Beginning to see each piece of God's plan falling into place.

There are a lot of beginnings in my life right now. Sometimes I talk about them; other times I feel the need to write them down, to see them in front of me in neat black lines. That's what I hope this blog will be.

But this blog isn't just for me. I hope it can be for you, too. I'm (definitely!) not a perfect person, and I don't expect my words to be either. But just like the namesake of this blog, I hope that I will continue to "tune my heart" to sing His grace. And in that process, I pray that my rambling thoughts might just be an encouragement to you. I believe that God gives each of us a voice, and I hope that mine will have a chance to be heard; a chance to make a small difference in this crazy world.

Maybe I'll make you think. Hopefully, I'll make you laugh. I'll try not to make you cry.  :)

For today, I'll leave you with the words of a beloved hymn.

"Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy Grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the name! I'm fixed upon it, name of Thy redeeming love."

~ Riley