Family Visits and New Series!

Any moment now, the highlight of my weekend is about to happen! This girl and her husband are going to be pulling up in my driveway. :-)

I am so excited to see my sister and brother-in-law. It has been forever! Literally since last Christmas, which is when we usually see them. But, their trip before had to get reschelduled. And now, they will be pulling in any minute! :-)

Also, I have a new "series" I guess you can call it that will be making its way to the pages of my blog. I have just started going through the book of Acts in my quiet time. And each time I go through, I journel. I'm hoping to share with you some of the things that I learn through my quiet time. Join with me as I read through Acts.

 It is a great book of the Bible that gives a great example of who the church is and what we should look like as a band of believers. The first post of this "series" will be posted later today! So, come back and read it. Read with your Bible handy in case the Lord leads you on a journey and so that you can check me. :-)

I hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving Week. Enjoy those leftovers!

:-) 

Patiently Waiting

"I am sure
God keeps no one waiting
unless He sees
that it is good
for him to wait."
-- C.S. Lewis

Did you catch that? Unless it is good for him to wait. That him, is a general us. God wouldn't keep us waiting unless it is good for us to wait.

Good for us to wait? Ha. God has a sense of humor doesn't He? If anyone knows about my lack of patience, it is God. He knows my every thought, my every move of every day. He created me.

"O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord...For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
-- Psalm 139:1-4,13-14

However, the Word also says that God will not grant me,or put me through, anything that I could not handle.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what You can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
-- 1 Corinthians 10:13

Yet, patience seems like such a trivial accomplishment compared to some other things. However, finally achieving patience can bring peace to many other situations. When you rest in the peace of Christ, you rest in His will. He is Peace!

Mainly, what I am wanting to say is that if God has us in a waiting period, we can only imagine what the outcome of that period will be.

A period of waiting to graduate college or even choosing a major. God can reveal to you where He wants you to be. And once He leads you to that decision, that path will allow you to train and equip yourself to serve and glorify Him.

It's the same with a time of singleness. Oh, what the Lord can reveal to you in a time of singleness. You can learn so much about yourself and fall deeper into a relationship with the true Lover of your soul! You can set standards for yourself, not be cheated out of what you truly deserve, and spend more time serving and glorifying the Lord!

And when you do enter into a dating relationship, you can both strengthen each other into a deeper relationship with your Creator. The Creator who should and wants to be the center of your relationship. You can encourage one another and serve and glorify the Lord together. 

And when you get married, you get to represent our Groom marrying His Bride, the Church. 

Then, when you have kids, you can dedicate them to the Lord and introduce them to their Creator and show them His glorious. In the hope and prayer that one day, they will accept Him as their Lord and answer the call to serve and glorify the Lord.

It is such a complex state of mind. Waiting. But out of the waiting can come so much good and revelations. Every day of our life, the Lord is pursuing us. To draw us closer to Him, closer to the eternal life that He says is ours if we trust and believe in Him.

Waiting seems like such a hard thing, one that takes patience. But we have to see waiting as a good thing. A time of service to the Lord. When we focus on it as an honor to serve the Lord God Almighty, we will no longer see it as a burden or as a curse. During our wait we learn so much and God may grant us the desires we long for. But we have to remember that we need to trust Him and commit all we have to Him.

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust Him and He will do this...Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..." -- Psalm 37:3-5,7

Patience and waiting.

They can be good things.

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

He Does Hear and Respond

Psalm 142 and 143 give us examples of what the Lord does in response to us when we reach out to Him. This provides me with peace and comfort and I hope it does to You as well.

What we do or need to do:

•We cry aloud and lift up our voices - Psalm 142:1

•We pour out our complaints and tell of our troubles - Psalm 142:2

•We cry and proclaim that The Lord is our refuge - Psalm 142:5

•We remember, meditate, and consider all that He has done - Psalm 143:5

•We spread out our hands as our souls thirst for Him -Psalm 143:6

•We put our trust in Him and lift our souls up to the Lord - Psalm 143:8

•We hide ourselves in Him - Psalm 143:9

What the Lord does in response:

•He listens to our cries and rescues us - Psalm 142:6

•He sets us free - Psalm 142:7

•He hears our prayers and listens to our cries - Psalm 143:1

•He answers us and doesn't hide His face from us - Psalm 143:7

•He shows us the way - Psalm 143:8

•He rescues us - Psalm 143:9

•He teaches and leads us - Psalm 143:10

For every time we turn to the Lord, He reaches out and responds. He will never leave us in any place alone. We are His children and He is pursuing us. He pursues us no matter where we are in life because He wants nothing more and desires nothing more than a relationship, intimate and pure, with us. And you know what, He deserves nothing less.

Who doesn't want to be pursued and loved? We have a desire that can only be satisfied by Christ Himself. He is our Groom and we are His Bride. As filthy and undeserving as we are, He still desires us. His love is so deep and wide that we cannot fathom. We will never fully be able to understand a desire or love like that. We aren't supposed to, instead we are called to trust in it.

His arms are open. All we need to do is fall into them.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." -- Ephesians 3:17-19

Bye Bye Hair

So, I don't know if I ever mentioned it or not. 

But, I grew my hair out for donation to Locks of Love. 

One day, my roommate asked if I had measured it lately and I told her that I hadn't. 

I thought that I still had some to go. 

Well, we measured and it turns out that it was long enough for me to cut!! 

So, that night, spur of the moment, we cut my hair off! 

12 inches! 

Here are some pics! 

Enjoy! 

:-) 

Thank you to my awesome roommate (who you see in the pictures) for cutting my hair! 

:-) 

My Wish Right Now

I have no desire right now to do school. None at all.

I don't want to go to class. 

I don't want to read. 

I don't want to study. 

I don't want to take tests. 

I don't want to write papers or take notes.

None of it.

My desire right now is to hop on a plane and fly.

Fly to some place that I've never been before.

And stay there for awhile.

I want to get away from school for awhile.

But, I can't right now. 

I have to stay here for now and be a good student.

Because right now, this is where God wants me.

And I have to go through classes everyday knowing that it is all for His glory.

This is where He wants me right now and 

I have to rest in that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I hope you have an amazing day!

I'm glad that I was able to be home this weekend and share it with you!

Thank you for everything that you have given me.

For always being there

and listening when it was needed.

You are funny,

creative,

talented,

lovable,

pretty

and

the best mom ever!

I hope you enjoy your day!

I love you!!

:-)

Fall Break Is Finally Here!

Yessssssss.

I finally made it to Fall Break!

I get to spend four days at home.

(There will be a little homework, but I'm home!)

I can't wait to carve pumpkins,

play with puppies,

take pictures,

enjoy the Trick or Treaters,

and

celebrate my Mom's birthday!

It's going to be a great weekend!

On another note. My sister and brother-in-law were not able to make it this weekend.

My brother-in-law, Matt had to have surgery early this morning. It was an outpatient, but
the recovery is going to be a couple of weeks.
Please keep them in your prayers and for the fast healing of Matt and that the pain he is in will go away.
Also, pray for Jennifer as she takes care of him.

We were all disappointed that they weren't able to join us this weekend, but
we want Matt to be all better
and
we know that there will be other weekends when they will be able to come down.
Those plans are already being made.
:-)

Hope you have a great Friday!
Enjoy your weekends!

:-)