Quote of the Week....

"realize anew that, just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time,

we must also learn to trust God one circumstance at a time.

Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will.

I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes,

but I can choose to do so even when I don't feel like it. That act of the will, though,

must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth."

-Jerry Bridges

Thoughts from last night....

God is so amazing! Sometimes I forget that...sometimes I am stupid and try to do things on my own. But why? Last night I was feeling really stressed out and overwhelmed by the amount of things that I needed to get done! When I get like that I usually just need to take a break, so I decided to just go to bed & spend a little time with God (Always a good idea)!

I laid in bed and just spent half an hour praying to God and giving everything over to him and I could just feel the huge burden lifting off of me! I was no longer stressed out, instead I felt relief in trusting God and knowing that he would give me the strength I needed!

Then today was amazing! Don't get me wrong it was still an absolutely CRAZY day, but I wasn't overwhelmed! Somehow I felt peace in the midst of the chaos, something that obviously was a gift from God. He is so faithful he always comes through! why don't I trust my Heavenly Father more readily? Why do I still insist on trying to do everything myself?

I need to learn to surrender to God and give ALL my burdens to Him!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30]

Psalm 103

As Christians we all pray at some time or other....whether its just when we are about to eat, or when there is a crisis, or whether we spend consistent daily prayer time with God, at some point we pray.

Now I'm not going to talk about how we should pray more, because I know we ALL could be in more constant communion with God. However, let me ask you this question. When was the last time you prayed and ONLY praised and thanked God for who he is? When I heard this question I honestly couldn't think of a time. I mean when I pray I usually thank God, but then I also will ask him for things and pray for help and strength etc. Now none of those are bad things and don't get me wrong we should certainly bring those desires and needs to God and seek his help! He wants us to do that. However I feel like often times that's all we do. We pray we want God to do something or when we need help. But our God is also great and GREATLY to be praised! He is holy and majestic and faithful and loving and forgiving! He is so amazing that when we think about God's character we should be in awe and our response should be to praise and thank him for who he his! David does this in Psalm 103

"Bless the Lord O, my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives

all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that

your youth is renewed like eagle's. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all

who are oppressed. He made known his ways to moses and his acts to the people

of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding

in steadfast love. He will not always chide , nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repays us according to our

iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above earth so great is his steadfast love

towards those who fear him. as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove

our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his child, so the

Lord shows compassion to those who fear him." (v.1-13)

As you can see the whole Psalm is dedicated to praising God for who he is. His character and nature. We shouldn't need God to do anything or give us things in order to praise him, instead God's character should simply be enough to make your heart want to praise him! I want to start praising and thanking God more for his absolutely amazing character and nature!

Adventure day

I don't get to spend a lot of time with my little siblings, just cause life is crazy and school and everything keeps me busy, so every once and a while I like to take them on "adventures"

Since it's thanksgiving break and my parents are away I figured this was a good week to plan an adventure day with the kids :)

This adventure started with a gourmet lunch at Boo's favorite place: McDonalds then a dollar store errand, stopping at the mall to visit their favorite stores Claires and Game stop, and of course a mini-photoshoot on our way home and not to mention a crazy dance party in the car! I love them so much! They make me laugh and I love taking a break from the craziness to catch up with my little siblings (who by the way are growing up wayyyy too fast!) :)

They're a little crazy :P

The power of $1

A dollar bill is the smallest piece of paper money, for many of us a dollar isn't worth very much and if someone gave you a dollar for a gift, you'd probably wouldn't be too thrilled

The other day I was out with my younger siblings and we saw a homeless man walking along the side of the road, my heart immediately sank...I hate seeing people who are poor, homeless and helpless, but I obviously can't stop in the middle of the road so I kept driving, but then the light turned red. After I stopped I saw the man in the rear view mirror and I got excited I rummaged through my purse until I found a crumpled up dollar....my brother excitedly rolled down the window and started calling for him. I passed my dollar back to him and he gave it to the man and then my youngest brother reached into his pocket and said "Wait wait! I have a dollar for him too!" my heart lept with joy!

The genuine smile on the old mans face as he looked me in the eye and said "thank you, thank you so much! God bless!" was worth any dollar! I know some people don't like giving homeless people money for a variety of reasons, some being that they may not really be homeless or they may just be using the money for drugs or alcohol. But how can you judge the motives of others? I feel like it's not my place to judge whether they really are needy or will use the money on the right things, I pray and hope that they will! However, my job is simply to show them Christ's love!

In the Bible Jesus healed, loved and cared for all sorts of people even those who were deceitful and evil and hated by the world. I feel like Jesus wouldn't discriminate between drug addicts, liars etc. but would still love them all, even if he knew they'd take advantage of his blessings! :)

But besides that, the fact that my little brother was so eager to give of the little money that he has is so precious to me (a dollar is a lot for a little boy)! I pray I can learn to have his generous compassionate heart!

Proverbs 11:24-25 "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Rain....

For the past 3 days it has been raining here in Maryland!

Most people are complaining about the damp, cold dreary weather, and all the traffic that it causes and how it coops everyone up indoors....but you know what? I may be weird, but I love the rain!

I like to look out the window and

see the raindrops falling from the sky

I like fun colored umbrellas

dancing in the raindrops and splashing in puddles

falling asleep to the sound of raindrops hitting my window

the rainbows that sometimes peek out through the clouds.

Today as I was sitting in Starbucks with my cup of coffee I was thinking about the rain as I looked through the window and it reminded me of God's blessings. When it rains I think of how God is providing for us. Without the rain the plants could not grow, we wouldn't have water or colorful flowers and grass. It reminds me of how God always provides for us even in the little details of life!

‎"And my God WILL supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."
[Philippians 4:19-20]

But it got me to thinking....just like some people don't always appreciate, enjoy, or see the beauty in the rain drops, could it be that often times we don't enjoy God's blessings? Maybe he answers our prayers, but not in the way that we wanted, so we don't see His hand at work, or we forget to thank him for ALL of the amazing little blessings that he gives to each one of us every day, because there is something that we want, but haven't received yet, or we simply let his blessings be overshadowed by cares of life.

I don’t know about you, but I want to work on being more grateful for God’s blessings and seeking to enjoy all the ways that he provides for me and answers my prayers (Even if it’s not in the way that I wanted).

“Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, -a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if Thy blessings had spare days,

But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."

-George Herbert

November :)

WOW it's almost been a month since I last posted!
I've been doing such a bad job at keeping up with this blog!

(hopefully I'll start getting better)

Since I've last posted I've been busy with school, finishing my last volleyball season :(, drama, babysitting, youthgroup, college applications and visits and the highlight of the month my ministry team reunion!

Senior night!

youthgroup pumpkin carving

college-first acceptance letter!

some of the most amazing girls ever!

That's a snapshot into my life....stay tuned for what God's been so graciously teaching me :)