Remember...

My friend sent me this, and I thought it was cute...a good reminder

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Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in
traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and
is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and
spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college
student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of
not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the
same spot every day is a slave to
addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through
the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this
moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with
those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to
us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive,
show patience, empathy and love. --Matthew 5:44

"But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you."

But if we are the Body...

As some of you can see, I get most of my inspiration for blogging from songs. As I was driving back to Gville this morning, this song came on... I think it sums up a lot right now...

It's crowded in worship today 
As she slips in 
Trying to fade into the faces 
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know 
Farther than they know 

But if we are the Body 
Why aren't His arms reaching 
Why aren't His hands healing 
Why aren't His words teaching 
And if we are the Body 
Why aren't His feet going 
Why is His love not showing them there is a way? 
There is a way 

A traveler is far away from home 
He sheds his coat 
And quietly sinks into the back row 
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances 
Are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price 
For us to pick and choose who should come 
And we are the Body of Christ 

Christians are supposed to be welcoming and inviting, not to make people feel like they don't exist anymore. We are supposed to love EVERYONE. People need to let go of whatever grudges they have and start acting like Christ Followers. Accept people. Embrace people. Love people. 

Thoughts

There you go changing my plans again 
There you go shifting my sands again 
For reasons I don't understand again 
Lately I don't have a clue 

Just when I start liking what I see 
There you go changing my scenery 
I never know where you're taking me 
But I'm trying just to follow you

It's out of my hands 
It's out of my reach 
It's over my head 
And it's out of my league 
There's too many things 
That I don't understand 
So it's into your will 
And it's out of my hands

There you go healing these scars again 
Showing me right where you are again 
I'm helpless, and that's where I start again 
I'm giving it all up to you

Move me, make me 
Choose me, change me 
Send me, shake me 
Find me, remind me 
The past is behind me 
Take it all away 
Take it all from me, I pray

Philippians 4:19

--"My God will use His Wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need."

Movin' On

So I was listening to the song “Movin’ On” by Needtobreathe and it reminded me of last night…

For those of you who weren’t there (which would be few, since everyone who reads my blog goes), last night was our final “official” time in youth group. Triple J made us cry with videos and memories, but it was still an amazing night. Just to see how far each of us have come and now to the point that were all leaving for college is incredible. I’m so proud of all of us, and I cannot wait to see how God uses us while we are away (or here) at college.

Some of us are going far away (Tori, Jessica and I) and some are going close (Alex, Kaydee, and Alyson), but no matter where we are this next week is bringing HUGE changes in our lives. We are finally realizing what it means to grow up, move out, and take on responsibilities. Kinda scary, or at least for me. I feel that I’m leaving everything behind and starting a whole new life, (which I guess I am), and I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I don’t want to leave my family, my friends, or my boyfriend. I don’t want to leave my church. But see, the key phrase there is I don’t want. God will help me adjust to the changes, and I just have to rely on Him when things are tough, and be confident that He will comfort me.

I officially leave Thursday night, and go to orientation allllll day Friday (Alex’s birthday) [SORRY! I LOVE YOU!] Then school starts on Monday. Blah. But I know this is the time to remember, and that it will be fun.

“Wise decisions aren’t always popular, but they’re always right”

Not the healthy, but the sick

So Jp and I went to a church up in Gainesville last weekend, when we were moving some of my stuff up. It's called The Rock, and we really like it. They had the Sheriff of Alachua County and the Director of Jails come in and speak. They talked to us about ministering to the people in jail. Stepping outside our comfort zone, and helping. Not just supporting, by donating money, food, or clothes, but donating time, effort, and commitment. The average reading level in the jails is 4th grade. They have over 900 inmates, when the capacity is 700. There are a lot of things they need help with, and reminded us that those are the people Jesus came for. Sinners. Not the healthy, but the sick. It was really cool to hear them speak. If you haven’t already heard this song, listen to it. "God of this city" by Chris Tomlin. It's amazing. And speaks directly to this topic. As does Robin's blog, posted on August 2nd.

Necessities

So I was listening to this song today. And it made me think. What do we want, and what do we actually need? What are our necessities? What couldn't you go one day without? God is definitely a necessity, and this song shows it. Here are the lyrics...

Something about Your love
Fills me up like an ocean, Lord
You consume me
Something about Your grace
I can’t explain why You give it to me
It’s a mystery

You’re my necessity
You quench the thirst in me

I don’t know what I’d do
I couldn’t go one day without You
You are like water to me
I can’t live, I can’t breathe
Your love is everything that I need
You are like water to me

I need to take You in
Like oxygen, every second
Just to make it through
Without Your touch
This world would be too much
I depend on You

You’re my necessity

Raining down on me forever
I need You to flood my soul


Just think about that. Don't go ONE DAY without God. We need Him to live. Remember that! Have a great day!

'Til it's gone...

God works in mysterious ways, but I'm sure you already knew that. 

How many things do we all take for granted? Waking up in the morning? Always having food? A place to live? All our loved ones still living? Recently, I've read things, such as Kaydee's blog and Robin's blog (Amazing. Homeless project. July 14 and 15--read!!!) which emphasizes just some of the things I take for granted. Also, I just had a dream about losing someone I love (in this case, Jp), due to my actions of pushing away. 

I say that God works in mysterious ways because He always reminds us of how powerful He is, especially when we try to show Him how powerful WE are. Face it, none of us are more powerful than God. Christ gives me the strength to face anything. (Philippians 4:13 CEV) The first word is also the key word: Christ. We get our strength through Him. In Jj's message a while ago, he said when life starts to become about us, that's when we have our problems. (I dont remember the exact words, sorry triple j) Lately, I think that's what I've been doing. Sadly, I haven't been putting God first, nor admiring Him for his power. God definitely reminded me of that tonight, in my dream, that He has the power to take anything away, so we better not take anything for granted.

"You never know what ya got, 'til it's gone..."

Thank You (It's that simple)

I was listening to this song this morning (one of my favorites) and I felt it necessary to share...

What if in morning when I wake up
Even before I fill my coffee cup
I said thank You
Thank You

What if I look at the day and the hours ahead
And before I move forward I bowed my head
And said thank You
Oh I said thank You

What if I looked at my life in a different way
Took a little more time to stop and pray
I know it would change all the moments in between
So here I go

Thank You for everything
Thank You for loving me
It don't even matter what tomorrow brings
Well I will sing my

Thank You for sun and rain
For what You give and take away
For all Your goodness I will always say
Thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

What if I lost everything that I had
I could smile and somehow still be glad
And say thank You
Thank you

Cause life is joy, life is pain
But the prayer on my heart will never change
I say thank You
Oh I'll say thank You

This song really makes me think because how many times do I just stop and thank God for everything He has done for me, instead of being angry with what He hasn't done? This past week I definitely gave praises to Him because He has done a lot for me just in the past week. Given me things that I worked for, shown me things that I was doing right, and other things. So let this just be a reminder to me, and to all of us, to not forget to thank Him for EVERYTHING; not just the big stuff. Its about the small stuff, too.

=] enjoy

Work it Out

So i dont have a lot of time to write, or make this long....but i just wanted to remind everyone that even though things might look like they are headed for the worst, if you rely on God, He will definitely provide =] He works it out!

That situation just happened to me =]

YAY!!!!

Rescued

I'm new to this whole thing. Bear with me =]

So lately I've been struggling a lot.
There's been so much on my plate,
and it seemed like everything was falling apart.
Could anything else go wrong?
This song is how I was feeling for a while.....


RESCUE ME

I've drifted so far
Can't even see the shore
I've been lost in the waves
But haven't been fighting
I'm sinking fast
Oh is there an end to this
I can't breathe I'm in too deep
But You can save me
I'm crying out to You

I'm drowning in my decisions
And I'm frustrated and I'm disappointed
It's my world You see and I want out

So come and rescue me
I'm here on bended knee
And I'm crying out to You
All I really, really want is to be free
So take my hand here I am
Oh come and free me
So take my hand here I am
Oh come and rescue me


Buttttttttt, this morning, God totally broke me down. I was listening to this song and I started crying. Heres part of it...


Jesus if you're really there,
I need you now cause no one cares
Is anybody even listening

God will never walk out on you
He'll be the Father that you never knew
He loves you, more than words can say
He won't leave you when you need Him the most
His love is unconditional
And you know, you put a smile upon His face


=]

I've realized why I've been the way I was...I was drifting...but the coolest thing about God is that He wants us. And He was trying to break me down so that I could see that. And it worked. I was letting other things occupy my time, and I was definitely stressed with finishing school and IB exams. I tried to do it alone, and figure things out on my own, but God showed me that I cant. I need to trust in Him, and allow Him to guide me. What JJ said a while ago: if you are close with God and stay with Him, He will make your path straight. That is extremely true. We have an awesome God, who desires to have a relationship with us; we must always remember that!!!