Views Around My Town(s)

My sister posted a picture of what her drive home looks like. Go check it out. So, this gave me the idea to post a couple of pictures of what my town(s) look like. Some are places that I actually live and others are pictures of places that I love. I love skyline and "over-looking the town" pictures. :-)

These are some roads in Grove Hill, Alabama.

Bryant-Denny at the University of Alabama -- Tuscaloosa
Overlooking Gatlinburg, TennesseeTohono O'Odham Reservation -- Sells, ArizonaLooking out on Arizona

What are some of your favorite places? Or places that you want to go one day?
Happy Travels!!
:-)

I Went Barefoot

Today I went barefoot, for a cause. Today I went barefoot to put myself in the place of millions of kids around the world who do not have shoes. Kids everywhere, especially in other countries, have to go without shoes everyday. They put themselves at risk for cuts and sores that can lead to diseases. Some kids are even denied education because they need shoes to attend. Here are some more facts about why I went barefoot today:

* Fact #1: In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to food, clean water and to seek medical help.
* Fact #2: Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
* Fact #3: Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
* Fact #4: In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
* Fact #5: Podoconiosis is 100% preventable by wearing shoes.

Today is not the only day that we can go barefoot for these kids. If you missed today, I hope that maybe you will go barefoot on your own time. It gives you a tiny hint at what these kids have to go through almost everyday. For more information about the event, and for more ways to support the cause, you can click here.

Hope you can go barefoot sometime and happy walking!

"Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loosen chains of injustice...to set the oppressed free...Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter...Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am." -- Isaiah 58:5-9

Wordless Wednesday

"I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints."
Psalm 52:9

The Greatest Friday in History

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." -- John 3:16

Today, over 2,000 thousand years ago, a man gave His life, so others may live. His gift, was the greatest display of love that anyone could or will ever do. He gave His LIFE, so that you and I could live eternally with Him, if we only trust and believe in Him. Now, with the world in despair and destruction, people are turning away from the One who can solve everything. They are putting their hope and trust in other things that will eventually let them down. There is only one thing, one person in this world that will ever always be there. And He is Jesus Christ. He was sent by His Father God, to live among the worst people, teaching and preaching, and saving us, so that we can be His ambassadors. So that we can spread His word to others, so they may live with the only hope that will ever save them. Today, all praise goes to Him, the One who died for me. The one that said my name, and yours, while He was on the cross. He knew all that would, and will happen, in the earth. He knows what we went through and what we will go through. I cannot say it enough, He is BIG. He knows you and me inside and out, more than we will ever know ourselves. He died for you. He died for me. He died for the ends of the earth, so that we may live, and that God may get the glory.

Thank you, Jesus, my Father for giving your life for me. There are no words that I can say besides thank you, and I love you with all my heart.

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!" -- Philippians 2:8

"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." -- Acts 2:23

Many Prayers and Lessons Learned

This week has been a trying one, and one of the hardest I think of my college career so far. I have had 4 tests and a project due, all this week. Thankfully, I only have one more of the four left, Chemistry. It will be nonstop amino acids and enzymes until tomorrow night at 6:30. So, if you remember around that time tomorrow, please say a little prayer, or say a short one right now. They are much appreciated and I thank you SO much for them!

I have learned some important life lessons these past two or three days too. I'll save what I have learned about my God for last, because it is great stuff! First, you learn a lot about someone by living with them. I live in a dorm, so I have a roommate, well three of them in fact. However, only one of them actually lives in my room with me. I know her from church, but have really gotten to know her this past semester, and I have learned a lot from her, and she from me (she says). This may not seem a lot to readers, but to me, I know a lot more of the situation. But believe me, you learn a lot by living with someone. Staying up until 3 AM leaves you with little sleep, but I will not forget some of those conversations.

Second, when you have a close group of friends that number around 12-15, you are a family. And families have problems. Oh have we learned this during the past month! It really tried all of us, because everyone felt like they were involved. But among all of the problems, we all turned to the One person that could help us, our true Father of the family, God. We all dug ourselves into the Bible looking for answers and ways to fix things. We all prayed more than we ever had, because we wanted our family to be okay again. Thankfully, the situation(s) were resolved and we are good, and closer to our Father who put our family together.

Third and last, the biggest thing I have learned this past week is that my God is big! Not just big, but HUGE, GIGANTIC, ENORMOUS! And at the same time he is LOVING, SUPPORTIVE, and HELPFUL. He is a HEALER, a FRIEND, a FATHER. God is so big. I sometimes do not know how to put it into other words. I have always known that my God is big, but it seems that every time I hear that again, I am more amazed and broken by it. He knows everything that has and will happened in my life. Before I was even born, He knew everything that was going to happen in my life, good and bad. He knew the troubles my mom and real dad would have, he knew that one day my mom would meet a wonderful man, and he would be the best earthly father I would ever know, he knew that I would flip off my bike, learn to swim, move to Alabama, go to Arizona, go to college, change my major. He knew that I would have 4 tests this week. He knows if I will actually get into Nursing School, graduate, get married, travel the world, have kids, go to Africa, move to another state. He knows ALL of this! The more that I think about how BIG my God is, and think about all that He knows. The more I want to shout praises to His name and fall on my knees at the same time! Even better, I have learned that if God did not believe I could get through all those things, and the ones to come, He would not have put them in my life. He only gives me what I can handle, and when it feels like I cannot handle something, He knows that I will learn a lesson (sometimes over and over again), and give everything to Him again. Turning things over to God is a daily thing. I cannot get out of bed every morning without knowing that God is in control of everything that happens that day. Whether it may be good or bad, rain or shine, hot or cold, God will always be in control. That is what gets me through the weeks that have been like this one.

Please, this may have been rambling, but just know that my God is BIG, and if you feel like you are missing something, He can be big for you. He WANTS to be BIG for you, He LOVES you. He already knows everything about your life, why not talk to Him more about it? He LOVES you!


My Father is BIG, and I am His daughter, whom He LOVES.

Wordless Wednesday

7 Things I Love.

1. Praising God!

He is my everything, my ultimate best friend!
And he deserves the best from me, and that is
what I try to give him everyday!




2. Taking Pictures

I love taking pictures of anything!
I never want to miss a moment, especially
if something needs to be captured!
Sadly, I am without a camera right now.



3. The Beach
Enough said, or seen.



4. My Crazy Friends
We are a giant family, and we have our
moments. But we always have a lot of fun
where ever we go. And we have a lot of love!


5. My Puppies!Koda (top) and Panola (bottom) are
my two 5 month old, energy filled puppies!


6. Music



Music is great because it can get you through
any mood, whether you are happy, sad, or angry.
I have way too many favorites to narrow
it down. So please do not ask me
to do it.


7. Alabama Football

Roll Tide Roll!
You had me at Roll Tide!
We bleed Crimson and White!
Yea, Alabama!