Christmas 2009

I must say that Christmas was very special for me this year. I had the joy of waking up to the sound of "Merry Christmas," all throughout the house from the littlest member of our family...my 2 and 1/2- year old nephew, Nathan. I could hear his footsteps growing louder as he made his way to my bedroom door. I couldn't help but smile as I saw the door swing open. There he stood as though he were 6 ft. tall. "Merry Christmas!" he shouted with enthusiasm. How could my day get any better than this?

Nathan received his first brand new drum set. He's definitely a natural :) He was counting to 8 before he started to drum. Now how many two year olds do you know who can count in beats?

I was very encouraged to see how excited Nathan was to give gifts. He was helping his mommy and daddy hand out presents and you could tell he enjoyed that. It was also fun for him to help tear open the packages.

I was blessed to have received some really nice things, but all in all, my favorite part of this Christmas was celebrating the greatest gift to mankind, Jesus Christ, with my family. It is so upsetting and sickening to see how much Christmas has become about us. A few days before Christmas, I was walking through the masses of people in the mall and I just thought to God, "Lord, why are we doing all this? Are we making a big deal about You or about ourselves?" The focus of Christmas has sadly turned on our society and commercialism.

I am so undeserving of everything I have and let this be a lesson to us all- when you think you should have more or you're dissatisfied with what you have, count your blessings, with number 1 being God's most gracious gift, Salvation, and you will be amazed.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

None But Jesus

Lord, help me not to get distracted by the criticisms and the pointed fingers, but let my eyes be ever fixed on You. Let the world and all of its desires fade away 'till all I see is You. For You are what matters in this life and nothing else.

"None But Jesus," by Hillsong

In the quiet
In the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored
When You call I won't refuse
Each new day again I'll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You're sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will
When You call I won't delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You, Lord
All of my hope
All of my strength
All my delight is in You, Lord
Forever more


Amen.

Sacrifice

I had no idea that it has been over a year since my last blog was written! I guess I still prefer the old-fashion way of journaling with pen on a fresh, blank page in a beautifully bound journal. But since these days are all about the worldwide web, I suppose it would be beneficial to me to do a little more with technology. Besides, who knows who reads these things? Maybe there is someone out there following this who finds encouragement in it. Or it is quite possible that not even a single soul reads this and that doesn't bother me one bit. :) Only God knows. I'll leave it at that.

I just recently picked up "Passion and Purity," by Elizabeth Elliot for the second time. The Lord has been teaching me a lot through that woman. She possesses so much wisdom- she's probably one of the godliest women I've never actually met. I thank the Lord for godly figures like her who have willingly opened themselves to allow Him to use them in any way He sees fit.

Here is something I gleaned from one of the chapters of the book. It hit home for me. Sacrifice. Why does that word make me feel uneasy? Why is there a struggle deep within me when I think about offering up my money or my time or my words? "When the will of God crosses the will of man," Addison Leitch said, "somebody has to die." "Life requires countless "little" deaths - occasions when we are given the chance to say no to self and yes to God." (Elizabeth Elliot) See, God gives us material for sacrifice. So often we say (and I am included), "Oh, well God gave it to me. He wants me to have this." And we get upset, even angry at God when something is taken from us or He asks us to give it up. How many times do we sacrifice the good things, the pure things of God - security, honor, self-respect, the welfare of people we love, obedience to God- all to gratify the desires of our flesh. Don't I owe it to Him to give Him my all, my everything? Although I have no idea what He will do with these offerings, He knows what to do with them. He is my Father and He knows what is best for His child. Psalm 84:11-12 says this: "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Cling to this promise if you are weary and trust that everything that is happening in your life is to refine you, to strengthen you, to build you, to shape and mold you to be more and more like Jesus and to bring you ever-so closer to His heart. Continue to offer it up, no matter how good or bad it seems. He wants it all.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" ~Romans 8:29-32~

Learning to Trust

I think we can all agree that life is made up of an infinite number of possibilities and it came be a bit overwhelming at times . We are constantly faced with decisions to make, and sometimes we reach those crossroads where we just don't know what to do. How do we know which way to go? What will be the outcome? And how do we know we made the right turn? I am kind of at that point where I am stuck and I am finding myself trying to take my life into my own hands. This is an extremely awkward time of my life, because I am getting ready to graduate and I'm about to make a huge transition from being in school to being out in the "real world." I don't know exactly what I'm going to do when I graduate and that makes me very anxious. On a lighter note, though, I believe God is calling me into ministry, specifically music, which I've always felt led by Him to do. I'm just now starting to submit and surrender completely to the Lord and let Him move and work through me. It is such an exciting time of my life, but I am nervous because of the unknown. Doors of opportunity are swinging wide open and the Lord is leading me through! Everything that has been happening lately lines up perfectly with what God has been revealing to me. I am just in awe of Him! I'm trying not to be hesitant anymore, but instead I am stepping out in confidence and faith, KNOWING that God holds all things together and WILL NEVER fail me. He is soooo good!

Prayer

God is soooo awesome! and so faithful! I joined a group of students on campus about a week ago and we have each committed to praying a specific hour of the day. It's called 24/7 prayer, and the point of it is to of course seek God, but also to pray for revival on our campus. We have it set up so that someone is praying at every hour of the day. It's pretty awesome! And it has challenged my prayer walk in so many ways! I have been praying at 3pm every day, and I will be honest with you, some days I really just don't want to pray. I get tired around 3....that's usually when I take naps. But the more I seek God at that hour, the more I want to pray throughout the day. It is incredible! One thing I have really been praying for is that God would awaken those Christians who have fallen asleep. The ones that are idle and lazy. Wow, that is me so much of the time! Last semester I really became idle and complacent. But God is pulling me out of that state and filling me with His Spirit. I have become so hungry for God that I just can't seem to get enough!

I've also been praying for a community. I feel like I let myself get really disconnected from a body of believers last semester and that's when I felt myself slipping. And God has answered my prayers! Today I encountered a whole room of believers who have the same mindset of wanting to reach our campus for the Lord! We had a prayer meeting in the prayer room at school and it was just so encouraging to talk with other believers about our struggles and our desire to live 100% for the Lord. God is looking for a generation that will rise up and stand for Him. I am ready to be a part of that generation! Are you??

"Taking captive every thought"

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete." ~2 Corinthians 10:3-6~

I love how every time you are in need of something, God always comes through and provides. The other night, I was really struggling and battling in my thoughts. I felt defeated because of my sin and felt almost paralyzed because of it. I immediately went straight to the Word of God and these were the verses that my eyes first looked upon. I began to praise the Lord and give thanks to Him, because although we are in a battle, God gives us His power to break through any stronghold that may be holding us down. We are able to destroy them, not with our own flesh and blood, but with the same power that conquered death and raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-21). It is undeniable that we are going to face trials and tribulations of all sorts, but how we handle them is the true test. Instead of letting Satan's arrows drive you away from God, embrace Jesus in that moment and seek the opportunity to gain more of Him. And when Satan is just whispering lies into your ears, remember to "take captive" the truth of God and fight with it! Keep seeking Him with all your hearts, my friends. And remember, no matter what Satan throws at you and tries to steal from you, he can never take your salvation away! Never!

This is the first one!

Hello everyone! I decided I'd try the whole blog thing...I really enjoy writing and placing my thoughts down on paper, so why not do it online? This way, I'm allowing a window for those of you who are interested to take a look inside and see where I'm going on this journey of life. I hope to enlighten you with the things that God is teaching me and how He is transforming me into a better person each day. I love you all and I look forward to hearing from some of you! :)