Ah, The Beach :)

I love coming to the beach even more now than I did before I met Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it before but nowhere near as much as I do now and definitely not for the same reasons. Before it was just nice to get away from home, live in a condo for a bit and play in the ocean and pool. Now, I love it because I can appreciate the One who created it all:) The relaxing sound of the waves, the gentle but pleasant breeze, the seagulls, the sand, all beautiful things that God made for us. When I stand on the beach now, letting the water roll over my feet I feel completely overwhelmed in a way that makes me want to fall on my face and worship God. I love going out at sunset for my quite time with Him, to me sunsets are always prettier on the beach:)

My time here will be filled with prayer, journaling, reading, and relaxation. For this I couldn't be more thankful:) I may post a few times while I'm here to share with you whatever God may lay on my heart, but as the night is coming to a close I have determined to try to finish a wonderful book called The Shack, I don't think I have ever read such an amazing book. When I am done I will probably be posting about it so keep your eyes open!! =) Until then, goodnight to all, may God's favor rest graciously upon you, and may He fill you with His overwhelming peace:) 

P.S. Pray that God will open doors for me to share Him while I'm here:)

Daydreams

I allowed myself to do something today that society might frown upon. I allowed myself time to daydream. Yes, I know I could have probably been doing something productive like writing this blog (okay, so maybe a little more productive) but I didn't. I have been productive most of the day so this evening when I got home from work, ate dinner and settled in I allowed my mind to ponder the person I dream of being as a wife and mom. I imagine myself in the kitchen, with an apron (old school but I like it) cooking and cleaning for my family. I imagine myself planting and nurturing a beautiful flower garden, cutting grass, etc. Now my family might look at this and laugh but the truth is I am starting to be someone who really enjoys doing house work and yard work when no on is looking.  Shhhhh... maybe they won't read this ;) 

I thought of this because I want more than anything to be a Proverbs 31 wife. I want my life, even now, to glorify and honor God in all I say, think, and do. I don't just want to talk the talk, I want to walk the walk too. I want to be a godly wife and mother. I want to be a godly employee. I know this probably seems far fetched right now seeing as how I am neither married or a mother, and probably nowhere close, but I wouldn't say that it is a bad thing to figure this out now so that I can work hard at being that woman while I am single, and grow in these ways as time goes on. 

I want to shine brighter everyday for Jesus. I know that not everyone is going to like it but it doesn't really matter what everyone else thinks now does it? I won't stand before them one day but I WILL be standing before God, and when I stand before Him I want to be able to say that I did all I could for Him while I was here. I want God to welcome me into His Kingdom. 

I guess I should get off here now. Feel free to comment below:) May God bless you and yours with a good and restful night:)

Doctors/blog name

I have spent almost all day at doctors today. Had blood work last week that they wanted to redo today, they didn't send the order so I had to wait for that after the 40 minutes I waited to see my ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor, go get an x-ray for him, wait for the results on that. I tried to remind myself constantly throughout the day that if I want to be more like Jesus that I need to remember that Jesus would be patient. I tried my best to smile and shine brightly in the waiting room. I read some of my bible, silently talked with God and even managed to not cause a scene. I think considering the ridiculous waiting time AFTER they had already taken me back and the constant swapping from one place to another to another floor and back, my efforts can be considered accomplishments today. 

This probably all sounds pretty bad but all in all I feel like I shined through some darkness today. I feel like, finding strength in God, His light in me kept burning. Which reminds me, it occurred to me today that there is no explanation for all of you on why the link to this blog is Luke 11:36, so I thought that I could maybe clarify. 

Luke 11:36 says: "If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light." I absolutely love this verse, far more than anyone could ever imagine. I pray everyday and every night that if God is willing He will allow this to be a description of me. I pray it over the worship ministry at my church as well and probably a whole lot of other people too:) I do that because my mentor has this description. This verse is a perfect explanation of what others and myself see when we look at her. I've seen her faith and I strive to have that kind of faith.  I want to Shine Through the Darkness  like a floodlight. 

Now if you will excuse me, after my long day I am going to eat dinner with my family and spend some time watching a movie with a friend. May God bless you on this wonderful night:)

UN·CON·DI·TION·AL

I was listening to the song Unconditionally by Katy Perry and I've heard many people talk about how they think it is a Christian song and I can see (hear) why. If you don't know what I mean you should definitely get on YouTube, look it up and listen to it. As I was listening to it though I thought about how God loves us unconditionally and so I wanted to look up the exact definition. 

• Un·con·di·tion·al - 1. With no conditions or limitations: complete or guaranteed, with no conditions, limitations or agreement attached.  
• That is how God loves us. Isn't that amazing??? God has an UNCONDITIONAL love for us!! No strings attached He loves us! WOW!! (This will probably be on Great News!!!!! as a devotional tomorrow, at least part of it anyway.)

It is 11:36 PM right now, and I am too wired to sleep all because I went and looked up this definition and I mean, come on, really what about that isn't worth getting excited over? :) I can't complain though, I wouldn't even dare simply for the fact that I love this feeling when it comes to God. My heart is even burning and jumping in my chest like crazy:) I am in-love with my sweet Jesus:) I sure hope I am not the only one! 

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this random post. May God bless you in immeasurable ways even as you sleep, may He wrap you up in a blanket of His unconditional love:) Goodnight!

Pageants

Today I went with my sister to the Miss Walker County/Jasper woodlands pageant (if I messed up the name I'm sorry) but if you don't know, let me be the first to tell you that I am not a pageant person. Never have been, and probably never will be. I simply went to support my sister, who by the way, won the title of Miss Jasper Woodlands.

 But the reason I am posting this is not to brag about my sister, it is because as I was sitting there I was thinking about the girls there that have competed in just about every pageant they were allowed in since they were babies. There was even an 18 month (year and a half) old baby there who was led around by her mother!! I'm not saying that all of this is necessarily wrong, but to the girls who are in these pageants, have you checked your mind set lately? Or more importantly the moms that have instilled pageantry into their daughters have you?? Some pageant girls are raised in such a way, or have become on their own, daughters of the pageant life (yes, I did just make that up). For some it is an idol, for some it is their way of judging how beautiful or worthy they are... but... that's not right.... Now PLEASE don't misunderstand me, I know that there are plenty of girls who do it just for fun, but for some it means far more than it should. For some it determines whether or not they are beautiful, worthy, socially acceptable or just plain good enough. If they don't get a crown... they are unworthy, unloved, and a disappointment. 

This is for those girls: The pageant is NOT what determines all of these. Whether or not you have a sash that says you are, God says you are His daughter and that makes you a princess. There is a crown in heaven for you if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Your Father is the one who determines your worth and beauty, and I have great news. At your very best AND your very worst, you are worthy, acceptable, loved, beautiful, and yes you ARE good enough. What you wear does not determine that. The judges that you walked in front of do not determine that. The crown that your receive from other human beings, does not determine that. How much make up you wear, who you hang out with, what club you belong to, or who you date does NOT determine these things. Our Father in heaven determines all these things and you have royal blood of the purest form in your veins if you know Jesus. 

To the mothers and maybe even fathers who have encouraged and/or instilled this thought process: May God forgive you for it but may He also convict your heart to know that it is the wrong mind set to have. May you come to know Him as your savior and as the one who determines all of these things. And may He help you to teach your daughters that they ARE daughters of the King. 

To the girls who participated in the pageant today and won, congratulations. To those who did not, don't let mere humans determine who you are or how you see yourself because you are a beautiful daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No pageant can change that.

Hope every one has a wonderful night full of sweet dreams and rest in Jesus!!! =)

Oh and by the way, I said none of these things as a sister of someone who has been in and won all the pageants because she hasn't. In fact I think she has been in one other pageant besides this one and it was the 8th grade and she didn't win. Just thought I would go ahead and clarify. 

I love you all in Jesus!!! Goodnight! :) 

Speechless (sort of)

It's funny that I want so badly to type this out here and yet I am at a loss for words. I mentioned in a previous post of how I enjoy sitting in the old sanctuary in the church where I work. Well, today as I went in there I had the intention to be still (and quite) before God. So that's what I did. I went in, took my place in the first pew, leaned back, and asked God to speak. As I was sitting there in the stillness of God's presence I allowed my eyes to look over the sanctuary. I did this for probably somewhere around 20 minutes before feeling the need to just talk to God. So I started talking to Him about how I felt sitting there, expressing the fact that I didn't understand what it was that I enjoyed so much about that sanctuary. Then He spoke. Not audibly of coarse (though if He wanted to He could) but with a memory that explained it. 

In this moment, I was moved to tears as God took me back to a beautiful little chapel in Ecuador. If you know me then you know that I took a mission trip almost a year ago (it will be a year next month) to Ecuador with the student ministry at my church. While in Ecuador we stayed in two places, Camp Chacauco in Patate Ecuador and Camp UNPES located near Tena in the jungle. Something that Chacauco has that I love so much is this quaint little bitty chapel. It has some chairs stacked in a corner, a little podium, and sometimes there was a fold up table in there... Anyway, during my time at this camp, as the day would close I would go to the cafeteria to Skype my parents and than I would head into this little chapel turning the dim lights on and getting alone with God. 

Some of you don't understand my point behind telling you all of that so here it is. Though I loved serving in Ecuador some of my sweetest memories are of what God did while I was in that chapel, much like the sanctuary. Now you get it? While the sanctuary is big, with pews and a stage and all that, God made me realize today that He has blessed me with a little (big) piece of Ecuador. A wooden roof, just enough of a dim light, and it is quite. Just like the chapel... 

So today, as my Father showed me this gift from Him, I sat and cried, overwhelmed with love and joy:) And with that peak into my life today, I would like to end with this question. Has God given you (His child) a gift that maybe you've overlooked? If you're not sure, maybe you should ask your heavenly Father to show you:)

Time for bed, I hope you have a wonderful night, and may God bless you with sweet dreams:)

Last night I had the privilege of doing one of my favorite things, I got to go to prayer. My choir director, her husband and several members of the worship ministry get together at 7:14 on Thursday nights to pray. I enjoy this far more than anyone could ever imagine. Standing with other believers and praying to our Father. Some of you are looking at the time wondering why it's 7:14, it's because of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore the land."

Some people think that I carry my excitement too far when it comes to being at the church all the time but honestly one of the men last night put it best. He was talking to a friend earlier that day and when his friend asked where he was headed, he told him that he was going to prayer. The friend said something along the lines of man we're there all the time and he simply said well, where is there to be? (Sorry if that didn't make any since)

That's how I feel. I honestly feel like every other place that I go through out my time here (work, out with friends, and yes even home) is pointless. My mind even wandered to a verse the other day from Luke. 

"'But why did you need to search?' he asked. 'Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?'" -Luke 2:49 (NLT)

Sometimes when people ask me why I spend some much time at the church, or when they tell me that I spend too much time there, or the infamous you don't have to be there every time the doors open, I think of this verse. I want to be at my Father's house whenever I can be. So what if today's culture says I'm taking it too far, I think God is looking down smiling at my eagerness to be in His house. Some people think that I am spreading myself too thin and that I am going to ware myself out but I promise you, the less time I spend at church and the less time that I spend with God the more worn out I feel, but the more I'm at church whether it be for service, practice, or prayer, and the more time I spend with God the more ALIVE I feel, and the more rested I feel. 

Being a christian means that no matter what the people around us think about it, whether it be friends, co-workers, or even family, we will do what we feel like the Lord is leading us to do. We will risk everything. 

I guess I am done with my rant now:) I really hope that this will encourage some one today. And I hope that you all have a WONDERFUL day!! =D

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." -Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Rainy Days:)

I woke up this morning to what I consider a pleasant surprise. Cloudy skies:) Yes, I know most of you think I'm weird but I love stormy days. I love the sound of the rain pouring down on the roof, I love the cool cover of the clouds, and when God sends it I love the sound of His voice in the thunder:) While I think all days are beautiful and I know that they are all gifts from God, I really favor days like this. It's relaxing. 

One of the many reasons that I love thunderstorms is a passage in the book of Job, Chapter 37, verses 1-5. It says, "My heart pounds as I think of this. It trembles within me. Listen carefully to the thunder of God's voice as it rolls from his mouth. It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction. Then comes the roaring of the thunder    the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain it when he speaks. God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We can't even imagine the greatness of his power". 

Every time I hear a crack of thunder I smile and remember the words of the woman who I consider to be my mentor "Speak Lord speak. I'm listening". So yes, I do enjoy the stormy days better than the sunny days (most of the time anyway). I am decently sane, I don't love rain at the beach, I love to be able to see sun rises and sun sets, and yes the rain is inconvenient when it comes to getting out to go to work or really anywhere, but I don't complain because once I'm indoors I continue to enjoy it:) My kids at the daycare however... well that's a different story, they don't really agree with something that prevents them from going to the playground. 

I hope that God will fill your mind with thoughts of the scripture above as the day goes on. May you rejoice even in the stormy day today for this is the day HE has made and WE WILL rejoice and be glad in it!! (Psalm 118:24) 

Today was a special day for me. Today I made vows to Jesus. Some of you think I'm weird but really it is already changing me. You see I have a purity ring that for the longest time I have only thought of when it comes to staying physically pure before marriage. However recently I have thought more of purity in heart, mind, and spirit. So today in the dim lit, tranquil setting of my churches old sanctuary, I got on my knees and made vows to my sweet Jesus. I recommitted my purity ring, this time with a deeper understanding of what it means. My time there today was a sweet moment that will stay between Him and I unless He leads me to share the details of it later, but my heart is overwhelmed with a joy that I cannot explain.  

Some of the sweetest parts of my weekdays are when I get to go into the old sanctuary at the south campus of my church. You see, I work in the daycare there every afternoon Monday-Friday and the sanctuary is in the center of the building. When I get there the kids still have somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours left of their nap so I will spend a little while talking with co-workers and/or eating lunch, then I will slip off to the sanctuary where I am blessed to be able to spend about half an hour sometimes more, just me and Jesus:) This time, without a doubt is the sweetest prayer time I have ever had the joy of experiencing. I would encourage everyone to make sure that you have a time at some point during the day that you can be completely alone with God if at all possible. Since I started doing this almost a month ago my walk with God has become more intimate and  I find myself falling in love with Jesus more and more:)

Well I guess since today is about to become tomorrow I should get some shut eye. May God bless you exceeding abundantly:) Goodnight. 

First Post:)

This blog is going to be a look into my life as a Christian. These aren't meant to be like the posts that are on Great News!!!!! These are simply stories from my life as I walk through the darkness of the world doing my best to shine the light of Jesus. I pray that they may encourage you, and help you in your walk:)

Jesus is my savior. My healer. My redeemer. My rock. My everything. I love my sweet Jesus!! Looking back on what my life used to be like it's such a breath of fresh air to realize that I have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. My faith is growing by God's grace every day and new things are happening. I've always had a pretty bad temper that mostly remained even after I was saved. Recently, God has been working in my life to help me be some one who is quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry (James 1:19). I've always been someone that was quick to anger and could never control it but recently God has helped me to control it. Just the other day I felt my anger start to boil for a reason that wasn't even worth it, and I looked to heaven, took a deep breath and immediately the anger went away. I honestly can't wait to see what God does next. :)