times.

Hello all. Sorry I've been a bad blogger lately. It's been absolutley crazy. But, I'm back home in good ole Richmond and I'm here for the summer. Some exciting things are beginning to happen in my life, and when the time is right all will be revealed. For now, I'm relaxing and spending time with my precious friends and family.

I don't have much to say now, but I won't leave you empty handed. I wanted to share a song with you that has completely helped me the past month or so. It's called Times by Tenth Avenue North. Some of you may have already heard it, and can agree when I say it is so powerful. The first half of the song is us, and the second half is God. So in the midst of all that is around you, all the stress, worry, fear, anger.... listen to the Truth and take it all in. Sit down and close your eyes. Be still and know.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM-6rm1t9vY

so small.

I have a confession to make. A big one.


I have been in a 5 year battle with God. Yeah, I said it... God. The Almighty Creator of the universe.... yep, that one. You see, I haven't used the gift that He has given me... and lately I've been really feeling convicted about it. Actually, I've felt convicted about it for a long time now. oh bother...........

What is my gift, you ask? Singing. Yes, singing. I'm rather good at it actually. The Lord has given me a deep passion for music. I can't play any instruments, but I want to learn. I can write. I've started writing poems that can easily be made into songs. But do I do anything about it? Nope. God has been putting this on my heart for a long time, and I've been too insecure to do anything about it. I look at others using their musical gifts, or their God-given gifts in general, and it brings me so much joy. So why can I not use my gift and be filled with even more joy???? It is exceptionally hard now that I live in College Station. This city is so big and filled with awesome musicians. They are taking their gift and running with it. And I just watch them in awe. I feel so small in this town, like I couldn't do anything with my voice even if I wanted to. I feel so useless almost. I feel like this is Satan attacking me. Why can't I fight back???

Here's the Truth. Obedience brings you peace and joy. Disobedience brings conviction and discomfort. Period. Are you keeping your gift to yourself? Have you asked God to reveal what your gift is and what He wants you to do with it? You were made for the glory of God. You are on this earth to further His kingdom.

So, pray for me as I get through this obstacle, and challenge yourself to take some quiet time with God and ask where He is leading you.

Have a great week!

fear. worry. trust?

I've had this burden on my heart for the past week. And I've decided to share it...

Fear. To many of us it's just an emotion, coming and going as our lives get harder and harder. Worry. For most of us it's just an everyday feeling, consuming us without our knowledge.

Trust. Now that's a hard one..........

Lately I have been letting struggles of this world completely take over my mind. I have been convincing myself that life is just too hard, and because of this, fear and worry just seem normal and necessary. How could I convince myself of such a lie?!

We all do it. Our human nature is to worry and to be fearful of what might happen next. So many things in this world tell us we should worry and fear for the future. You can't even open a newspaper or flip to the evening news without having worry tug at your heart. It seems there is no hope and no way things can get better. But there is...

We have been given a precious gift. His name is Jesus. Because of His love for us, He died on the cross so that we might live. He gave us hope. He gave us a way. By dying, He saved us from the struggles and the lies of this world. Through His grace, we have nothing to worry about. Nothing. There is not one fear that should creep inside of our minds. Jesus is the reason for us to have peace.

Peace. That's a word we don't hear too often, huh? We fill our minds with what we are forced to hear each day- "downturn", "foreclosure", "crisis", etc. Sound familiar? What if I told you that through everything you could possibly go through- if you lost everything and everyone most precious to you- you have nothing to worry about. You have nothing to fear. Sounds impossible right? It's not. It's at your reach. It's staring you in the face. There is therefore NO condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1) Our Father in heaven loves us so much, that He took it all away from us. Every worry, every fear. Through Christ, we are alive. We are completely and unfathomably saved. Forever.

It's so easy to get lost inside our problems. It's so easy to take this gift for granted. Why do we do this to ourselves? We have been given a chance to have peace through every single struggle we go through, and we choose to do it the hard way. Ugh. What are we doing? Everytime I'm faced with a struggle, I now close my eyes and just ask God to show me His peace. I take few deep breaths, and open my eyes. You won't believe how much this helps.

Let Him in. Let Him lead. You will never be able to understand how much He loves you. Have peace of mind and heart knowing He will always provide and give you what you need. Always.

I leave you with these verses:

"I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe."-Jesus (John 14:27-29)

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ."-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Phillipians 4:6-9


Give everything to Him. Have a great week!

undressed.

I just finished this awesome book. It's called Undressed by Jason Illian. A good friend of mine recommended it to me because I had just ended a relationship, and needed to have a fresh outlook on love. It is absolutley essential to anyone and everyone. Don't let the title mislead you. No matter what your circumstance, (single, married, in a relationship, about to end a relationship, etc.) this book will speak to you. I highly recommend it. If you read it, let me know what you think! :)

Happy Sunday!

the truth

Last week at my ASC meeting (Aggie Sisters for Christ), a speaker by the name of Shannon Morton spoke about lies that we girls tend to tell ourselves. This really hit home for me because I find myself believing the lies of this world often.

Instead of keeping my focus on God's purpose for me, I look at all of the ways the world tells me I'm not good enough. "If I graduate from college single, then I've failed." "If I loose those last few pounds, I'll truly be happy." "If I don't earn a huge salary, then I'm considered not successful." "If I buy just this one pair of shoes, all my troubles will go away."

Really?????

Lord knows I'm guilty of it. I find myself looking for all kinds of ways to make myself perfect in the world's eye. I have certain empty places in my heart that I feel that I can fill with a guy, a great workout, or a fabulous (way expensive) pair of shoes. But at the end of the day, the emptiness is still there, haunting you and wanting more. So what's a girl to do?

You have a Father in heaven who knows you better than you know yourself. He made you for a specific purpose and for His glory. To him, you are priceless. You are the love of His life. All He wants is to have a deep relationship with you. Why? Because you belong to Him. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in front of the mirror putting on so many layers of make-up convincing myself that I would never be as pretty as the next girl. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME! If you want to know love, come to the Cross. If you want to know success, let God provide. If you feel empty, God is the only way to feel whole.

I leave you with a challenge:

Next time you find yourself believing a lie, challenge it. Find a verse or two in the Bible that tells you that lie is false. Replace the lie with the Truth, and act on it.

Here are some verses to think about:

"God can satisfy me so much that I sing for joy and am glad in all my days."- Psalm 90:14

"My desire to be loved has been fully met in a God who has been from everlasting to everlasting. His love is always with me and will never leave me."- Psalm 103:17

"How great is the Father's love for me. He has redeemed me called me His own!"- 1 John 3:1

...And because music is my favorite thing in the world, I leave you with these songs:

Beloved- Tenth Avenue North (speaking from God's perspective)

Lead me to the Cross- Hillsong United

Have a great week! Fight away those lies :)

faith fearlessly.

Hello all!

Yes, I have finally completed something that I've wanted to do for a looong time... make a blog! I couldn't be more excited about this! My goal for this blog is to make God known to all who read this.

A little bit about me...
I'm in college.. I go to Texas A&M University (WHOOP!) and absolutely love it! I'm majoring in special education as well as elementary education PK-4. I have the best family in the entire world, and my friends aren't too bad either ;) I love the Lord with all of my heart. Jesus is my main man. I'm so thankful for what He has done and continues to do in my life. So far, my college years have been a complete rollercoaster! This semester for me is really all about being independent through Jesus. I'm focusing only on my relationship with Him, and letting Him mold me and turn me into the woman He wants me to be. This is the main reason I chose now to start blogging. I want to encourage people through my own personal journey. I want to remind people (and myself) that He never leaves us or forsakes us in our times of need. I will try to post as often as I can. I will cover the Word, my own personal experiences and encounters, and hopefully encourage people in the process.

Stay strong in the Lord, and have faith... fearlessly. :)