Well, I've finished out this semester with a 3.8 GPA. That's pretty darn good. Successful semester right? From an academic standpoint, yes.
One thing I've learned from my first semester of college is that you learn so much more than just academics in college. One of the things I've learned is truly how much I need the relationship I have with Jesus Christ.
Throughout the semester he has continued to provide for me and take care of my needs especially when I broke my wrist. He provided people at just the right time to help me and get to doctors to make sure everything healed properly. However, I was not quite as faithful to Him as he was to me. Not that any human ever has been or can truly be as faithful as God is, but I did not even come close.
Long story short, I learned that singing in the choir and going to occasional Bible studies is NOT what helps you maintain a relationship with Jesus Christ. They are certainly helpful, but I must be willing to put forth the effort to seek spiritual nourishment and keep up quiet times. I've learned that without that, no matter how much fun you are having, life feels empty. I knew I needed to read my Bible more often and go to Bible studies that I can offer something to and likewise receive spiritual nourishment from but I did not. I offered the excuse of being busy and having no time, but I knew that was not true.
At the beginning of Christmas break I went on a trip to visit some friends and family in Florida one of which is my cousin Christie. Being with her was like walking with Jesus. I don't know if this was intentional, but she reminded that Jesus just wants to spend time with me and of how much He loves me. To a certain degree it tore me apart because I knew I had neglected Him, but on an incredible level I felt contentment and joy. Even though I had failed to maintain a relationship with Him this semester, He still loves me. Now, all I really want to do is honor Him. I want to live for Him like I never have before.
Even as a Christian, if you have ever felt empty at the end of the day or week or really just the end of anything, I know what you feel like. You try to fill the emptiness with more fun, more friends, and more things in general and in the short term it does relieves the emptiness. But what you truly need is time with Jesus Christ. I've been a Christian for years, but now I more understand what it means to be a Christian. I now love Jesus because of what he did for me and I want everyone to be able to know too! From my background I have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible, but now I have the heart to apply it. I pray that you can too.
I wish I had not strayed, but I pray God can use this testimony for good because I believe he CAN make all things work together for good. My priorities are straight now. God is at the top of my list - right where He needs to be and right where I want Him to be.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Change
*cringe*
Don't you hate that word? CHANGE. I do. Or at least I used to.
CHANGE. It can be such a nasty thing. It can pull you out of your comfort zone. Force you to do something hard. Or even just slightly alter what is familiar.
CHANGE. It can be such a wonderful thing. It can show you what could be if you would just take a chance and trust God. It teaches you to have endurance. And even alters our perspective on things.
For me on a normal day if you ask me what I think of CHANGE, I'll probably point you to the first definition. I'll say it's a nasty thing. However, maybe it's not. CHANGE is hard, but I'm learning it can be wonderful.
Here's a silly little example: Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not athletic by any means whatsoever. Do you know what I just did? I ran. At 6:00AM. About a mile and a half. Have I gone crazy? Yes. I absolutely have. This is a huge CHANGE for me. Although that's a silly example, stuff like that is happening a lot to me. I realize there are ways to better myself, my relationship with others and my relationship with God. I've also learned that if you trust God to take care of things, the change won't be too bad even if it's hard. Just knowing that God's got a plan for whatever CHANGE is going on is a wonderful thing.
Therefore, stay walking in God's path and rest assured that whatever CHANGE comes your way, God will bring you through. There will be a lesson to learn. And in the end you will be stronger. Yes, CHANGE can be so good.
Don't you hate that word? CHANGE. I do. Or at least I used to.
CHANGE. It can be such a nasty thing. It can pull you out of your comfort zone. Force you to do something hard. Or even just slightly alter what is familiar.
CHANGE. It can be such a wonderful thing. It can show you what could be if you would just take a chance and trust God. It teaches you to have endurance. And even alters our perspective on things.
For me on a normal day if you ask me what I think of CHANGE, I'll probably point you to the first definition. I'll say it's a nasty thing. However, maybe it's not. CHANGE is hard, but I'm learning it can be wonderful.
Here's a silly little example: Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not athletic by any means whatsoever. Do you know what I just did? I ran. At 6:00AM. About a mile and a half. Have I gone crazy? Yes. I absolutely have. This is a huge CHANGE for me. Although that's a silly example, stuff like that is happening a lot to me. I realize there are ways to better myself, my relationship with others and my relationship with God. I've also learned that if you trust God to take care of things, the change won't be too bad even if it's hard. Just knowing that God's got a plan for whatever CHANGE is going on is a wonderful thing.
Therefore, stay walking in God's path and rest assured that whatever CHANGE comes your way, God will bring you through. There will be a lesson to learn. And in the end you will be stronger. Yes, CHANGE can be so good.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Awakenings
Have you ever found yourself in a hole? You may not have actually realized you were there until after someone helped you out or you were forced out. In there, things may have seemed dark and terrifying. Maybe you wanted to get out but could not.
However, you may have decided its quite cosy in there and even though there is so much waiting for you outside, you don't care. You deny the outside's existence. You are perfectly content to be comfy. But what happens when a storm comes? Little by little you are beginning to find yourself in a flood. You know you need to get to higher ground but you don't know how because you have not left this place in a very long time. The flood waters are rising. You're half covered in water. Lost. There is no way to escape. Not to mention you don't really want to leave, but you're drowning. There are no options but to leave or die. You don't want to recognize your own helplessness to the outside world, but there are no other options. You reach up your hand and suddenly another one meets yours. All of a sudden you are being pulled out. The water is at your thighs now. Ankles. Feet. You are out! You are free. Your rescuer is no where to be seen. You look around. It's nice out here. The stars are shining bright above you. But you miss the cosiness of your old home. You begin to walk around. The sky begins to lighten. Suddenly the sun starts to appear over the trees. You see the glorious rays shining down on you. You feel the heat pierce your skin. You look down. Grass. Beautiful green grass everywhere! Suddenly, your old quaint little home doesn't seem like much of a home anymore, but a prison.
Although you cursed it at first, you are now thankful for the storm. If there had been no storm, you'd still be stuck in that hole. So bless the storm. Now, you are free. Where to go now? Search. Explore. Find your rescuer and thank Him. See what else may be out there. Maybe somebody else is stuck and needs a rescuer. Or maybe you find somebody else to join you in your new adventure.
All you know for sure is you will never go back to the life you had before. If you can call it a life. Now, you can finally LIVE!
However, you may have decided its quite cosy in there and even though there is so much waiting for you outside, you don't care. You deny the outside's existence. You are perfectly content to be comfy. But what happens when a storm comes? Little by little you are beginning to find yourself in a flood. You know you need to get to higher ground but you don't know how because you have not left this place in a very long time. The flood waters are rising. You're half covered in water. Lost. There is no way to escape. Not to mention you don't really want to leave, but you're drowning. There are no options but to leave or die. You don't want to recognize your own helplessness to the outside world, but there are no other options. You reach up your hand and suddenly another one meets yours. All of a sudden you are being pulled out. The water is at your thighs now. Ankles. Feet. You are out! You are free. Your rescuer is no where to be seen. You look around. It's nice out here. The stars are shining bright above you. But you miss the cosiness of your old home. You begin to walk around. The sky begins to lighten. Suddenly the sun starts to appear over the trees. You see the glorious rays shining down on you. You feel the heat pierce your skin. You look down. Grass. Beautiful green grass everywhere! Suddenly, your old quaint little home doesn't seem like much of a home anymore, but a prison.
Although you cursed it at first, you are now thankful for the storm. If there had been no storm, you'd still be stuck in that hole. So bless the storm. Now, you are free. Where to go now? Search. Explore. Find your rescuer and thank Him. See what else may be out there. Maybe somebody else is stuck and needs a rescuer. Or maybe you find somebody else to join you in your new adventure.
All you know for sure is you will never go back to the life you had before. If you can call it a life. Now, you can finally LIVE!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Mere Mortals
Psalm 9:20 "Strike them with terror, LORD;
let the nations know they are only mortal."
let the nations know they are only mortal."
I was reading through the Psalms this morning when I came across this verse. In context, it is about King David singing to the Lord for Him to be victorious over his enemies because He is God and is far above any mere mortal humans.
Sometimes we need to be reminded of that too. In one way, maybe we're getting too big of a head and need to cool down a bit. However, I find that more often for me I get so busy that I need a good reminder that I am only human - I can't do everything. Fortunately, I have not found myself in this spot recently, but it does happen. Sometimes I (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) I get so overwhelmed with everything going on that I feel stuck "with terror". In the long run I am glad because it brings me back to the Lord and remember that God is bigger than our business and problems. He can handle what us "mortals" can't.
So trust in the Lord. Don't be overwhelmed by life so that you have to be reminded of your weakness. Instead, trust God to handle it and take you through it.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Chapter 1: Gabriel
Mary and the Mute
Gabriel
“Gabriel!” roared the Lord of heavens. I say roared, but that is only because of His greatness. The “roaring” is always accompanied by a gentle tone of kindness. I immediately dropped what I was doing and went straight to Him.
“Yes, my Lord?” I said as I bowed before his heavenly throne.
“It is time for me to go into the world. I will send My Son and he will be the Savior of the Lord. So now, I need you, my messenger.”
He has been talking about this even before Adam and Eve gave in to Lucifer. Somehow, He knew they would turn away from Him, just as so many of the angels did. Yet, He gave them the opportunity to choose to do right which of course didn’t happen. The rest is history. So now He decides to save the humans. I used to try to object. They turned away from Him. Why should He save them? And above all why should he be tortured, endure pain and die a painful death for them? However, I have learned not to object. His love is so immense that He even loves the part of creation who, as a whole, don’t love Him. So even though I don’t understand it, it is an honor for Him to ask me to help.
“Of course. What message would you like me to carry and to whom shall I deliver it to?”
“My priest, Zechariah. I have allowed the lots to be cast on him to enter my sanctuary in the holy of holies. There he will perform the most blessed priestly duties. You will meet him in there. You will tell him that I have heard the prayer he has prayed about a child. His wife Elizabeth will bear him a son and he will name him John. He will be filled with joy because of his son and he is great in my eyes. John is to never have any sort of alcohol and will be filled with My Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring the people of Israel back to me. In addition to that, he will go before My Son like Elijah to bring parents joy in their children. He will bring the wicked to the wisdom of righteousness. He will prepare the people to receive My Son.”
I haven’t seen Him talk about a human like this since the prophet Malachi which, in human terms, is nearly 400 years ago. This is clearly who he spoke to Malachi about. It’s almost word for word. He has a tendency to quote Himself, but it only reiterates the fact that He certainly has a plan. But I wonder who will bear Christ. Surely it will be someone like Zechariah and Elizabeth- a godly priest of the Lord Most High and his godly wife.
“Now, go. I will give you your next message while you are on earth.”
I immediately took off. There is no time to lose. Lucifer is always making sure it is difficult for us messenger angels to get to earth. But as strong as he and the other fallen angels are, they are no match for the Lord of Hosts. And since I am on His side, I will prevail.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Women of Faith
Today and yesterday I attended the Women of Faith conference in Atlanta. It was fantastic to say the least.
To be honest, its audience is more directed and middle aged women, but this is one of the reasons I know God was there: I learned something too!! From every lesson, even the ones that were more for moms, I learned something. At the very least I saw this overwhelming joy on the faces of all the women who spoke and sang. It made me go, "I want that joy". You hear what they've been through and you may think, "How do they still have faith? How do they still believe and have that joy??". Well, that's the power of Christ's love right there. Amazing.
The theme was imagine from Ephesians 3:20, "Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us." (CEB)
That's so cool. I like to imagine. I like to imagine what I can accomplish in college (not just academics), what God can do through me for His glory, what heaven will be like someday. I like to think about what could be. Now, that's not to say that I don't enjoy life. I do. I enjoy everything I can in this life and try to take advantage of every opportunity. But hey a girls gotta dream a little.
So, it's amazing that God is able to do FAR BEYOND all I could ask or imagine. His plan and His will is soooo far above me. I guess this is where trust comes into play. Sometimes we are faced with situations and decisions that are terribly hard or maybe just seem plain crazy. However, he sees the bigger picture and can see far beyond what I want. I just need to listen, follow and obey. He really will take care of everything. Even in the storm.
Thank you, God for teaching me that. I'm not going to go into details, but this "trust" issue with God has been a battle. I know it's not over, but I'm not going to let myself fight God anymore. I'm just going to trust Him. For example, I couldn't decide whether I was going to blog about this tonight. I almost didn't write cause I didn't feel like it. Now, I am glad I did because what I just described, I was learning as I typed it. God is helping me piece together what he's been teaching me RIGHT NOW. Praise be to God alone.
To be honest, its audience is more directed and middle aged women, but this is one of the reasons I know God was there: I learned something too!! From every lesson, even the ones that were more for moms, I learned something. At the very least I saw this overwhelming joy on the faces of all the women who spoke and sang. It made me go, "I want that joy". You hear what they've been through and you may think, "How do they still have faith? How do they still believe and have that joy??". Well, that's the power of Christ's love right there. Amazing.
The theme was imagine from Ephesians 3:20, "Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us." (CEB)
That's so cool. I like to imagine. I like to imagine what I can accomplish in college (not just academics), what God can do through me for His glory, what heaven will be like someday. I like to think about what could be. Now, that's not to say that I don't enjoy life. I do. I enjoy everything I can in this life and try to take advantage of every opportunity. But hey a girls gotta dream a little.
So, it's amazing that God is able to do FAR BEYOND all I could ask or imagine. His plan and His will is soooo far above me. I guess this is where trust comes into play. Sometimes we are faced with situations and decisions that are terribly hard or maybe just seem plain crazy. However, he sees the bigger picture and can see far beyond what I want. I just need to listen, follow and obey. He really will take care of everything. Even in the storm.
Thank you, God for teaching me that. I'm not going to go into details, but this "trust" issue with God has been a battle. I know it's not over, but I'm not going to let myself fight God anymore. I'm just going to trust Him. For example, I couldn't decide whether I was going to blog about this tonight. I almost didn't write cause I didn't feel like it. Now, I am glad I did because what I just described, I was learning as I typed it. God is helping me piece together what he's been teaching me RIGHT NOW. Praise be to God alone.
**PS. Please comment. I want to know what you think. :)
I honestly don't care how well I know you or if I know you at all. Thanks!**
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