A Day of Renewal

For me today truly was a day of renewal. God reminded me of so many wonderful things today, I guess I'll start with this morning around 3:30 am. I couldnt sleep so I got up to spend some time in the word. To be honest I must have been too tired to remember what was running through my mind but I ended up writing this on one of my notepads:

If as Christians our life is centered around God and God is love then in essence our lives center around love. Our speech and our actions should reflect love in the way that God intends it to be portrayed. Our priorities are often times the best way to examine what or whom we love or hold in the highest regard. Is God in that number one spot each day?

I may have been to exhausted to remember those thoughts this morning but what a challenge to myself. I need to keep God first and I need to make sure that Im setting aside that personal time to spend with him because i know that relationships dont grow unless you spend time together.

Tonight some of the students here got together for "Worship Under The Stars" my friends did a great job of putting it together. I've only known them all for 10 days some of them not even that long but i am so blessed to have them. What a wonderful gift to have friends that love God with their lives an in all they do. I was amazed and overjoyed at the number of students that showed up for the time of worship and prayer. I am so thankful that God led me to Gordon College. I can't wait to see what else he has in store.

God Bless you guys, Keep shining Gods light!

"Unanswered" Prayer

Yesterday, on a few different occasions the subject came up of "unanswered prayer". The Sermon that I heard asked why some peoples prayers get answered time and time again while others of us pray and God seems to "change the channel". As a believer I dont think that there really is such a thing as an unanswered prayer, now before you start thinking of all those times that what you prayed for didnt happen, think about this: God can say no. I think that often times we feel as though God doesn't answer our prayers because he doesn't answer them the way we want or expect. When it comes down to it Gods ways are higher than our ways and he has a reason for everything in this life. Take a second to think about this quote from Beth Moore "Trusting God doesn't mean you expect him to do what you ask it means trusting him to do whats best". Its very important as believers to realize that God always answers our prayers and also to remember that God knows best and if we're praying in accordance with his will he'll grant our request but as any good father would if we ask for something that isn't in our best interest he may not give us what we think we want. So I'll leave you all with a verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New International Version) Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Dread....and Excitement!

Yes its true. I am dreading saying goodbye to my friends, my family and my amazing boyfriend. I keep reminding myself that its not 4 years all at once that I'll be away. Its truly only 4 months away then 1 month home. Then 4 months away then 3 months home. Then repeat the process 4 times. I know I'll survive and I know that God has amazing things in store for me out there. As the dread and apprehension increase so does my excitement to experience something new. I've already started getting to know so many amazing people that will be attending Gordon with me in the fall and i know that Im going to get along with them all splendidly. In all of this God knows my heart, my emotions, my setbacks and my hopes. The things I'll long for, the things I'll miss, The people my heart will ache to see. The new things that will make me smile, laugh, the new friends I'll make, the wonderful experiences I'll have and the spiritual growth i'll experience there in a thriving community of believers. So now at the end of my rambling I'll simply say that I know Gods in control, keep living for him :) God bless you!

Crossing the Finish Line

One day. Thats all that I have left in my time at Jefferson High School. And it feels GREAT! I am so ready to be done! Im starting a new adventure and I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me! Theres so much to do though with finals, grad parties, graduation, baccalaureate, and honors night. The verse that God's been bringing to mind lately is Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." So my dear friends in all the business of wrapping up the school year take it one day at a time and remember that if its not worth praying about then its not worth worrying about :)

A huge blessing in a great opportunity

I've been asked to read and talk about a Bible verse at baccalaureate for our senior class. So what does that mean for me? It means I have maybe a minute to choose a verse that will hopefully resonate in the hearts of my fellow classmates and I have the chance to say something that will hopefully stick with them. So where to begin? There are so many verses, so many things to be said. We're leaving what we've known for almost our entire lives and setting off on an adventure that will lead us into the rest of our lives here on Earth and that is something truly exciting! But this transition in our lives also means that we will be facing all sorts of new struggles along the way. I know that whatever verse I choose Gods word will speak for itself, but if any of you have any suggestions for me I'd love to hear them. Right now Im leaning towards using Jeremiah 29:11-13...

Mothers Day in a whole new way

Wierd. Why is it that this year as I listened to the mothers day sermon, I was not only grateful for the blessing of a wonderful mother but was struck by the idea of the kind of mom i want to be when i have family of my own? I started thinking about the little things that I want to do with my kids to hopefully bring them closer to Christ. I want to be someone they can turn to with their struggles as well as their joys. Someone who listens to them, protects them, and loves them. Not overprotective but guarding, holding their best interests at heart. Its an odd thought to be struck by in a way but in the words of Mack I'm "such a girl" so maybe its not to weird. So what traditions do i want to have with my kids?

1. Blessings before bed

My mom and step dad always blessed me before i went to sleep and they still do to this day. Its one of the things i remember most. Praying for the little things that i asked them to and the things that were coming up in my life. I love that they care enough to do that each night.

2. Praying before each meal

Pretty self explanatory on this one. Pray before you eat. Thank God for his provisions and his blessings.

3. Eating meals together on a regular basis

Its a chance to catch up and find out about each others day. If you miss a day or two a week for different activities or things its not the end of the world but that time together is very important to me with my family and when i have a family of my own i want that time with them as well.

4. Daily Devotionals

When we were younger my parents always did this devotional book with us each night. It would have a story, a bible passage, and then some discussion questions. I feel like that really helped me grow in my faith. Learning the basics of applying my faith in my life with my parents by my side was a great thing for me. As we got older we started doing personal devotional books and Bibles by the Bedside and now we spend our own time in the word each night.

5. An Open Home

I want to have a house that my kids feel comfortable inviting their friends too, not to focus on material things but i want them to have fun inviting their friends over. Theres always one or two of your friends that seem to have everyone over all the time and i want my house to be that one. There's a lot of things out there that i want my kids to stay away from and if they and their friends have a house they have fun at then maybe it will help keep them out of trouble. I suppose in a way is so i can monitor what they do as well haha.

6. Love

One of the greatest things that my parents did to encourage my faith was letting me watch the way they treated each other. They loved each other they treated each other and us in a Christ-like manner and it was such a shining example to me and i want to be that to my children as well.

I guess this all fits into my dream for the future. I am so blessed to have the wonderful mother I do, I appreciate all that she does and has done for me. I hope that one day I'll be as good of a mother to my kids as she has been to me.

Prayer in School

Yup thats right. You can pray in school. I was always so worried to ask people if I could pray with them. I thought they'd be offended or just flat out refuse, we're not all that open to things like that here in America. But the stories of some friends of mine after they returned from Haiti really encouraged me to step out a little bit. Why can't I at least offer to pray with them right on the spot? Why do I always offer up a simple "I'll be praying for you"? So I decided that if I had an urge to pray for someone today that I would ask them if i could pray for them right then and there.... Today I prayed with two different people. Its a start. And ya know what? Neither of them seemed to think that was wierd or out of line and they actually thanked me. So Im just gonna throw a challenge out there for you guys. Pray with someone. Out loud. On the spot.

Have a blessed day!