Merry Christmas

To everyone! Hopefuly all of your last minute shopping is done and you are contently staring at wrapped gifts just waiting to be handed out - I'm not, but I hope you are! (well I'm done shopping, I'm just not done wrapping.) Hopefully you're staying warm and loved. Hopefully you're dreaming sweet dreams of sugar plums and nutcrackers :) Hopefully you're all happy and healthy and most importantly with people who love you! And even if your not any of those things, remember the holiday is about a perfect man who came to this earth just so he could die to save you, so you are loved by someone, even though you can't see Him!

Merry Christmas!!

Psalm 63

I was watching the Hillsong Conference on the Hillsong app last night and Louie Giglio was speaking. (amazing message by the way) He used this scripture at one point... I love it!

Psalm 63 (NKJV)

63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

³ Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
⁴ Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

⁶ When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
⁷ Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
⁸ My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.

¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Great night!

First off, I wanna say how GREAT it was to see my bestest friend in the world, Riah, yesterday! She is so sweet :) She brought me a pair of new earrings without a reason to! :) Love you Ri!

Anyway, so I've been watching Passion live on my computer for the last 2 days (today being the 3rd) and WOW is it good!!!
Hillsong United played last night at a little after 11:30 and I didn't get to bed until 2:30 :)
God is so good!!!
more later (hopefully) :)

A new song from my church :)

Lyrics!

"With Everything" Hillsong - CD: "This Is Our God"

Words & Music by Joel Houston

VERSE I:
Open our eyes
To see the things that make Your heart cry
To be the church that You would desire
Your light to be seen

VERSE II:
Break down our pride
And all the walls we've built up inside
Our earthly crowns and all our desires
We lay at Your feet

PRE-CHORUS:
Let hope rise And darkness tremble
In Your holy light That every eye will see
Jesus our God Great and mighty to be praised

VERSE III:
God of all days
Glorious in all of Your ways
Oh the majesty the wonder and grace
In the light of Your Name

CHORUS I:
With everything With everything
We will shout for Your glory
With everything With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

CHORUS II:
Our hearts they cry
Be glorified
Be lifted high above all names
For You our King
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

God is so wonderful. He puts in us this life that fills us with indescribable joy. When we stumble or fall, He is there picking us up. His love is so pure.
I can't wait to see what He has planned for this year. It's going to be great!

Lyrics.

I am desperate for Your touch

a glimpse of heaven through the glory of Your Son

In a moment You can turn a life around

forever to be found in You

And I am reaching out to find

there's nothing greater than Your Love that holds my life

Your Grace and Mercy that has saved me by Your Love

and swept away my shame, Oh Lord

Your Love is like fire

it burns for all to see

my only desire is to worship at Your feet

so let this Fire consume my life!

Let Your Love take me deeper

draw me closer to where you are

cause all I want is more of You

When You call I will follow

at the Cross I surrender all

Jesus I belong to You!

and I surrender to Your Love

forever humbled by the message of the Cross.

I stand abandoned in You presence and embrace

I'll never be the same, Oh God.

Let Your love take me deeper,
draw me closer to where You are,
cause all I want is more of You

When You call I will follow,
at the cross I surrender all,
Jesus I belong to You!

A Change.

In the last week and a half, I've found that I've not been reading at all! Odd, I know - normally I have already knocked out four books, but not this week.
I have also found that in place of reading my fiction novels, and being on the computer (sorry about not posting pics everyday - I'll try to post yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's pics after work), I have mostly been spending my free time with God. Hillsong praise and worship has been playing constantly wherever I am (except work).
There have been a couple of times this week that I have gotten irritated or just plain grumpy (tonight being one of those times), and I can't even explain why! So, I stopped what I was doing and played one of my Hillsong DVD's. I closed my eyes and just let God do the work.
After, I felt so much better, and it was like I could breathe again!
God is in complete and full control.
He isn't going to leave us in the dark, and He isn't going to turn His back on us - He is a loving Father!
Here is one of my favorite scriptures - it is sooo awesome!

Romans 8:28
²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Basically, the point of this post is this:
When you are grumpy, sad, angry, hurt, annoyed, irritated, or whatever - give it to God - lay it down at His feet. Don't let yourself get caught up in those things - it only serves to weigh you down. Trust me, I do that sometimes...!
Our God is Love,

I just saw...

...a night time rainbow -  IT WAS AWESOME!
I have never seen one like it before - sure, we've all seen faint rainbows around the moon, but this one was farther out and was huge! ...sorta huge...
God's promise still remains even in the darkest night! It's a good reminder for all of us - even when something is going wrong in your life, God is never going to walk away from you. His promise still remains.
And now a quote from a song that is in one of my favorite Super Kid Academy (Kenneth Copeland Ministries kids section) movie:
"...And even when it seems there's no way out, we know You'll see us through! I'll trust You Jesus, put my whole life in Your hands - I'll trust You Jesus, on Your Word I'm gonna stand...!!!
And with that, I'm off to catch some zzzzzzz's - tomorrow I'll be cleaning my room intensely. If I don't post for a couple of days, you may want to send a rescue team in to find me.
Just sayin'.

Love. Love. Love.

Love:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 & 13
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
-
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is taken lightly by many people, as I have seen over time. There are so many divorces in the world today. There are so many things that just shows that love is conditional for many. We should all love with unconditional love. It doesn't matter what someone does, you should never stop loving them for a mistake or simply because you are tired are them. No, love endures all things -

When I think of love, I think of how God loves us. It doesn't matter if we mess up because He will always love us through it all!  God is love.

1 John 4: 7-21

Knowing God Through Love

   ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

   ¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The Consummation of Love

   ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

   ²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹ And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

The Bible even says to love our enemies and bless those who curse us - That goes to show even more so that love should not be taken lightly in any sense.

There has been a lot going on around me lately, and this subject has been heavy on my heart - I could write down so much more and add many more scriptures, but I'm going to leave off here for now.
Much to ponder.

Love,

Sometimes...

Sometimes in life we look at all the bad things from the past or present and completely ignore the good things.
We often look at every flaw and never look past it to the beauty.
There are times when we think that no one is on our side, when, in all actuality, God is always there even if the people around us aren't.
We are all known to try to fix things that are out of our hands.
The way we think can completely change our attitudes.
If we stopped focusing on the bad things and look at the good, if we stopped looking at the flaws and look at the beauty, and if we stopped telling ourselves that no one is on our side, and believe that God is there, then, I do believe, the general attitude of most people would be a little bit better...especially if we stopped trying to fix things we have no control over.
Just one of my random thoughts,

An email to me from Hillsong.

"What do you need to accomplish something extraordinary? Ambition? Money? Power? Or perhaps... supernatural power?


Do you realise that you have supernatural power at your disposal every time you connect with God in prayer? In fact, when you begin to pray, heaven begins to stir in response.

I really believe that.

I don't know about you, but there have been plenty of times that I haven't felt very extraordinary. There have been times that I have prayed, "God, this is too big for me. This is more than I can handle." But it's comforting to know that when we do that, when we confess our utter dependence on the Lord, when our God hears one of His children relying totally on His power, He responds.

The truth is, when ordinary people like you and me connect to the power of God through prayer Extraordinary Things Happen.

I want to share with you a glimpse of how you can trust and rely totally on God for your future. As you begin to place more of your trust and hope in the Lord you will start seeing amazing things happen in your life.

So, how do we pray with extraordinary power?

First , get real. If you want to be effective in your prayers, just be open and transparent. You don't have to hide your feelings from God. I love King David. Listen to part of his prayer from Psalm 13. ‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?' Do you see what David is doing? He is telling God exactly how he feels. David is praying honestly. That's exactly what we need to do. After all, God already knows everything that is going on in our lives, so come before Him every day, just the way you are. Be real!

Second, think outside the box. So many people pray safe. They're afraid to ask God for the big dreams and desires of their heart. Do you remember when God offered to give Solomon anything he wanted? With the en-tire world before him, Solomon prayed for wisdom to guide God's people! And what did God do? He granted him wisdom, but He also added riches beyond our imagination! When we pray unselfishly, God will do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever ask, think or imagine.

Finally, get your words right. Our words don't have to be high and lofty. The Word is Jesus. You don't need to pray, "I most humbly beseech Thee that Thou may truly impart Thy blessing..." Let me encourage you, just be yourself. The words you use are not as important as the heart behind them. Pray from your heart and pray in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the authority through whom all prayers are answered. Prayer is simply a conversation with God. You don't need eloquent speech, just an open and tender heart.

Friend, the only thing we need in order to do something extraordinary is to connect with God in prayer. The Bible tells us, "with God all things are possible."

The Lord's desire is that you live an overcoming, extraordinary life.

With love and appreciation,

Brian Houston"

 

???

I've noticed something about myself lately. I've noticed that I have been impatient. I'm not just talking about little things like waiting for dinner or waiting for someone to answer a question I ask, I'm talking about the big things. Things like deciding on if I want to go to a local college for a History major, or when I will find a job, or even for the year to go by quickly so my big trip will be here. I have been so consumed with my many thought and questions that I don't think I've really been giving God the chance to speak very clearly to me. I just need to be quiet long enough to listen.
Today, I was very angry. It was something small with Bee. Not a fight really. Just a change in plans. I was so angry! I went to the barn to get some things done before the show tomorrow, and I was grumbling to myself about how everything seems to be in a jumble. There was no one there except for my dad, and he was mowing. I finally paused in what I was doing and said, "God! I just want to know what to do! Why is everything so complicated?!" I went back to work, not as angry anymore, just impatient. I felt a small tug at my heart.
Patience.
I didn't really want to hear that, but I knew He was right, of course. He always is. I sighed deeply.
It still didn't change the fact that I wanted clear answers about what to do and when I'd finally find a job.

I continued to help my dad with different things on the property. Praying silently most of the time.

I'm still thinking and wondering. I'm still trying to be patient. There are so many things all of us would like to have clarity on when we want it, but we just need to have some patience...

Love,

Lyrics.

verse 1/ You were near though I was distant / Disillusioned I was lost and insecure / Still mercy fought for my attention / You were waiting at the door / Then I let you in / verse 2 / Trading Your life for my offenses / for my redemption You carried all the blame / Breaking the curse of our condition / Perfection took our place / chorus / When only Love could make a way / You gave Your life in a beautiful exchange / When only Love could break these chains / You gave Your life in a beautiful exchange / verse 3 / My burden erased my life forgiven / there is nothing that can take this Love away / And my only desire and sole ambition / is to love you just the same / bridge / Holy are You God / Holy is Your Name / With everything I've got / My heart will sing / how I love You

*Hillsong Live 2010 - Album: A Beautiful Exchange / Song: Beautiful Exchange.

This is a new favorite!!

I just saw a very beautiful sunset.

And I like to think that God made this one just for me! :)

A wild day in the life of me.

Whew. Today is a kind of day that makes you very thankful for relaxation and quiet. From the moment I got to work this morning it was non-stop. We were rushing to get stuff done. There were some issues we had to work on for a little while. Things to sort and package.
There was constant noise. People talking. Computers humming. Clicking of mouses. Typing of keys. Paper shuffling. Phone ringing. Doors opening and closing. Beeping from various machines. Timers going off.
It was wild. But I'm getting used to it. I can block it out if I am really focused on something.
Sometime this morning (closer to noon) I closed my eyes and silently prayed for God to calm my nerves...to calm me. A second later I smiled and almost laughed at myself. I didn't need to being feeling stressed in the first place. Yes, there was a ton to do. Yes, it was noisy. Yes, there is an annoying co-worker who gets on my nerves, and YES there was still the whole day ahead that was full of work, but that didn't mean I had to let it get to me. What's the point in letting stuff get to you? It only serves to make us stressed out...
After I prayed for God to calm me down I was fine. There was a moment that I could feel the stress coming on again, but I ignored it and was fine the rest of the day.
Isn't God so wonderful?! He made my day! Literally... :)
This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Monday Night Short Post.

There is a beginning and an end to everything. God is at both ends. He has everything planned. We all just have to trust Him. :)
Spending some time with God before I fall asleep,

Godly Love

I can't really think of anything to blog about, as per usual, so I'll just share some scripture and wisdom with y'all that a lady at church shared with me.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8&13 (KJV) - verses in ESV below for easier understanding

She was talking about how God had showed her that this (the above verses) was love after having been hurt by people who had said they loved her.  Her testimony really touched me, she said that although it seems like certain emotions we are feeling are love, it isn't real love unless these verses are practiced.  If you don't treat the people you say you love with kindness and and patience; if you are rude, boastful, insist on having your own way and act badly; if you envy what is theirs or envy them; if you are happy when something goes wrong for them, then you don't love them truly and perfectly.  And this is applicable both ways, if a person says they love you, but they treat you badly, or seem to show signs of acting contrary to how the Bible says a person who loves should act, then they may very well not know how to really love.  She told me that the gushy romantic feelings are not really necessary - nice, but you don't have to have them.  If you recognize this godly love in someone else you don't have to have any of the "oh my gosh, he/she is so amazing" emotions to commit.  I must say that she gave me quite a bit to think about, and I really appreciate her sharing her story with me.  Hopefully this bit of wisdom helps you as much as it helped me.

-Riah

*4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful: 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but  rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8&13 (ESV)

Mid-week life.

Today was super busy. I was glad though, because yesterday we had nothing going on at work. And I mean nothing!
Today, however, from the moment I got to work (at 7:40ish) to the end of the day (at 4:30) there was work to be done. I actually worked over time by a little over ten minutes (that made the end of the day 4:40ish). I got in the car with my mom and had to take some deep breaths and try to calm myself because I was feeling stressed. I don't like feeling stressed. :( No one does though, I guess.
This evening was great! I listened to my new CD (Hillsong "Saviour King [live]"). I made banana bread and watched IHOPU Student Awakening, and then American Idol. Needless to say that I am no longer stressed. Far from it actually. :)
I do have something sad to share...
Riah and I have hardly talked for a few weeks. We have texted each other, and maybe talked on the phone a few times. We used to talk every day for an hour or more. We are both so busy now that we just don't have time to talk. It's sad. I don't wanna think about it.

I have been trying to remember to spend time with God too. It is amazing how sometimes we can let our lives get in the way of spending time with Him. We don't even realize it at first, but it doesn't take long to notice a difference. During the days when I am working on one thing or another I find myself praying softly. You don't have to pray loudly, or even out loud at all for God to hear your prayers. He knows our thoughts, so don't you think He can hear silent prayers too?! Something else to think about...

I will try to blog again tomorrow, but if not, I will ask Ri if she can! I sure that will be a very special treat!

I am off to sleep now. Got a busy couple of days ahead!


Serving God is not a job, it's an adventure! (a quote off of a t-shirt I have).

Love,

Another one of my thoughts. :)

Even the smallest, less important moments are special. Treasure every moment.

It's kinda like how God hears even the smallest, simplest prayer... and He treasures every word we say to Him. :)

Thoughtfully,

Encouraging.

Oh, this has been an interesting week. Well, more like an interesting two days. But ya know what?! God is in control! No matter how odd things get; He has a plan.
I have been keeping in mind still:
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.


and...


James 1:19
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

Those scriptures are great to keep in mind even if a situation is simply odd. As I've said before, it is something I have to work on...daily!
I guess the point of this post is this: Don't ever think a situation is too bad or too odd. God is God yesterday, today, and forever. He can handle anything. The Bible says to cast our cares upon the Lord. That means everything. Ya know how people say "take care" when parting ways, or hanging up the phone. My question is: Why would I want to "take care" when all my cares go to God?! Just another "something" to think about! :)

I re-discovered a song a few days ago. It's the second one on my playlist on this blog. It is so wonderful! The first song on this playlist is also a favorite, though newly discovered!
Listen to the lyrics to the second song... they are so encouraging. I keep replaying it. Over. And over. lol.

Last night, feeling rather bored with my background screen picture, I decided to do something with one of my photos. Here is what I did:

I, as you can see, wrote out some of the lyrics to the two songs I just mentioned. I gave it enough room so that all the other stuff on the screen wouldn't block the words. It's great! My mom and sister are currently thinking about what they would want on a background for their computers.

No doubt that I will be changing the photo or what is written (or both) for it soon. haha.

Well, I am off to sleep. I am very, very tired. The tooth picks holding my eyes open aren't holding very well. :)

**Disclaimer: I do not mean literal tooth picks...it is a figure of speech! Thought I'd make sure you knew that.**

Ready and waiting,