"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This morning I was not in good spirit when I woke up, it was Monday morning..... I hadn't gotten much sleep and had to go into work 2 and a half hours earlier than normal to fill in for a lady I work with. I checked my facebook right before getting in the shower and a lady I know was thanking God in her status that He gave her another day, even though it was Monday. Her status was sort of a slap in the face ya know? I had started my day so negative and down because it was Monday...Instead I should have been praising God for this beautiful day and the fact that He blessed me with another day.
So thank you facebook friend, thank you for speaking truth into my life today.
God is so good and if I would just start my day off with more alone time with Him then I could have some pretty amazing days.
Lord thank you for using someone's facebook status to open my eyes today and to remember to be thankful and appreciative at all times of all things because at any moment it could all be taken away from me. I love you Lord, you are the way the truth and the life and I want to walk in your light daily. Amen.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
the heart of a middle schooler.
I have forgotten how awsome middle schoolers were until recently when I began working with them at church. They have this innocent, hyper-active, sometimes awkward, kind hearted way about them.
I have been blessed to be an adult advisor of the middle school youth group at my church and I am truly thankful!
Yesterday was our church pic nic because this is 200 years for our church. Several of my youth were at the pic nic and when they saw me they just got excited and man, that really does something to me ya know? To have kids think your cool is a good feeling, haha! But seriously, I have never met more awesome kids than them. They are such a close knit group and it is so awesome to see them all together, they can have fun doing the most random things.
Today I was running late for church and as I was getting in the car to head that way my phone rang and it was one of my youth with several of the other youth around the phone, they wanted to know where I was(Once again, just makes you feel good). I reassured them I would be there soon. When I arrived I was late, of course, and found a seat by myself near the front of the church. One of the youth came over and sat with me because I was sitting alone. I mean was I that kind hearted when I was in middle school? Later, after church, at youth group we had a pretty cool Bible Study and the kids started opening up. Sometimes it is hard for them to stay on topic ad really understand what we are trying to get through to them but after a little while they start to catch on and begin asking some really awesome questions. They are really growing in their faith and it is just so cool to be a part of that and to walk beside them through this journey.
I want to start mentoring some of the young ladies but I am not exactly sure what that looks like. How do I let them know I would love to be their mentor and that I am their to pray with them and for them and there to talk whenever they want.
I have been blessed with several mentors and I want to give that back but I also know that it isn't something that can be forced.
Dear Lord thank you so very much for these young people you have placed in my life. Thank you for their rawness, energy, openess and their kind hearts. If it is your will Lord please allow me to have a menorship all or just a couple of the young ladies in this group and for the boys I pray that they could find this relationship with Joseph. Allow them to continue to open their hearts and their minds in our Bible time. Amen.
I have been blessed to be an adult advisor of the middle school youth group at my church and I am truly thankful!
Yesterday was our church pic nic because this is 200 years for our church. Several of my youth were at the pic nic and when they saw me they just got excited and man, that really does something to me ya know? To have kids think your cool is a good feeling, haha! But seriously, I have never met more awesome kids than them. They are such a close knit group and it is so awesome to see them all together, they can have fun doing the most random things.
Today I was running late for church and as I was getting in the car to head that way my phone rang and it was one of my youth with several of the other youth around the phone, they wanted to know where I was(Once again, just makes you feel good). I reassured them I would be there soon. When I arrived I was late, of course, and found a seat by myself near the front of the church. One of the youth came over and sat with me because I was sitting alone. I mean was I that kind hearted when I was in middle school? Later, after church, at youth group we had a pretty cool Bible Study and the kids started opening up. Sometimes it is hard for them to stay on topic ad really understand what we are trying to get through to them but after a little while they start to catch on and begin asking some really awesome questions. They are really growing in their faith and it is just so cool to be a part of that and to walk beside them through this journey.
I want to start mentoring some of the young ladies but I am not exactly sure what that looks like. How do I let them know I would love to be their mentor and that I am their to pray with them and for them and there to talk whenever they want.
I have been blessed with several mentors and I want to give that back but I also know that it isn't something that can be forced.
Dear Lord thank you so very much for these young people you have placed in my life. Thank you for their rawness, energy, openess and their kind hearts. If it is your will Lord please allow me to have a menorship all or just a couple of the young ladies in this group and for the boys I pray that they could find this relationship with Joseph. Allow them to continue to open their hearts and their minds in our Bible time. Amen.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
why should we apologize?....
John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments"
So for school I have to write a Christian apologetic paper..... Why should we have to apologize or defend our faith though? We haven't done anything wrong by believing in God and walking with Him daily, have we? I think the term apologetics is all wrong, why not "explanations"? Because when you really think about it we hve nothing to be sorry about. We do have things we can explain to those who don't truly understand.
For my apologetics paper I decided to write it on the fact that God does not SEND people to hell that we have free will to either choose God or not.
My school has really pushed me outside of my comfort zone in the area of learning and studying. I love being pushed in my faith to dig deeper to better understand things. Thank you Williamson Christian College. And thank you to my mentors for not letting me give up and challenging me too.
God is so amazing.
Ministry is also about understanding the history of Christianity and now that I understand that I believe God is pouring more and more into my heart and soul!
Lord, thank you for being with me through every step of the way. Thank you for making learning fun for me. And God, thank you for Sadie Morgan, today was an amazing day for that little young lady.Let us not have to apologize for our faith but instead just explain it and live it out. I love you, Amen.
So for school I have to write a Christian apologetic paper..... Why should we have to apologize or defend our faith though? We haven't done anything wrong by believing in God and walking with Him daily, have we? I think the term apologetics is all wrong, why not "explanations"? Because when you really think about it we hve nothing to be sorry about. We do have things we can explain to those who don't truly understand.
For my apologetics paper I decided to write it on the fact that God does not SEND people to hell that we have free will to either choose God or not.
My school has really pushed me outside of my comfort zone in the area of learning and studying. I love being pushed in my faith to dig deeper to better understand things. Thank you Williamson Christian College. And thank you to my mentors for not letting me give up and challenging me too.
God is so amazing.
Ministry is also about understanding the history of Christianity and now that I understand that I believe God is pouring more and more into my heart and soul!
Lord, thank you for being with me through every step of the way. Thank you for making learning fun for me. And God, thank you for Sadie Morgan, today was an amazing day for that little young lady.Let us not have to apologize for our faith but instead just explain it and live it out. I love you, Amen.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
as we remember 9/11
Today marks the 9th anniversary of the awful tragedy of September 11, 2001. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing on 9/11/01, I was a freshmen in high school. We had a fire drill that morning, I was in Coach Knox (now Brooks) 1st period History class. We were all so confused and freaked out. Some of our teachers wouldn't let us watch it on TV which was very frustrating. But all in all, I just remember it being a very depressing and emotional day for me and most people.
Today I was invited to have lunch with a very special woman in my life, Mrs. Love. Mrs. Love was my girl scout leader growing up and what an honor that was. Today she invited me to CiCis with her and her two granddaughters. At lunch I was given the chance to have some really awesome conversation time with Mrs. Love. She shared with me a story that I will forever hold close to my heart now. Well to back up for just a minute, Mrs. Love's husband passed away several months ago which was very all of a sudden and shocking. She told me about her September 11, 2001 with the love of her life. They had reservations in Arlington , VA for a few days. They got up early that morning to head to Virgina, they had amazing conversations, laughing and talking and enjoying each others company. As they got a little closer to Gatlinburg, TN they turned the radio on and started hearing about something that had happened to the World Trade Centers. Their phones started ringing, loved ones calling them to tell them to come home. They just kept driving and enjoying each others company. When they arrived at the Virginia state line they weren't allowed in the state so they just kept driving to Pennsylvania. They ended up having a spontaneous, adverturous trip together. It was so refreshing to hear a happy memory that someone has from that day, despite everything bad going on these two love birds found a way to fall deeper in love with one another. What a great thing for Mrs. Love to have this memory of her loving husband who has since passed.
I have shared this story with you because it touched me and God has just been so good to me, sending such Godly people in my life shedding light and love into me.
Tomorrow mornging I am going to the baptism of a little girl that means the absolute world to me, Miss Sadie Morgan. Her mother was my 7th and 8th grade English teacher and now my mentor and friend. Sadie is in Kindergarten this year and has accepted Christ into her heart and life and she is getting baptised tomorrow. God is so good!!
I encourage each of you reading this, find a mentor....someone you trust and who can help you through your faith walk, hold you accountable, pick you up when you stumble, tell you the truth when no one else will, dig into scripture with you and pray with you and for you. God has blessed me with so many Godly women in my life and I am truly thankful and humble.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and the blessings you placed in my pathway today. I ask that you be with those who mourn the loss of their loved ones from the tragic acts of September 11, 2001. I thank you for the Godly women and men you have placed in my life. Please be with our world leaders and politicians, also with our troops firghting for our country. Please be with the Holmes family in the loss of their loved one, Carrie. Forgive us of our sins Lord and help us to daily walk in your light. In your gracious and Holy name I pray, Amen.
Today I was invited to have lunch with a very special woman in my life, Mrs. Love. Mrs. Love was my girl scout leader growing up and what an honor that was. Today she invited me to CiCis with her and her two granddaughters. At lunch I was given the chance to have some really awesome conversation time with Mrs. Love. She shared with me a story that I will forever hold close to my heart now. Well to back up for just a minute, Mrs. Love's husband passed away several months ago which was very all of a sudden and shocking. She told me about her September 11, 2001 with the love of her life. They had reservations in Arlington , VA for a few days. They got up early that morning to head to Virgina, they had amazing conversations, laughing and talking and enjoying each others company. As they got a little closer to Gatlinburg, TN they turned the radio on and started hearing about something that had happened to the World Trade Centers. Their phones started ringing, loved ones calling them to tell them to come home. They just kept driving and enjoying each others company. When they arrived at the Virginia state line they weren't allowed in the state so they just kept driving to Pennsylvania. They ended up having a spontaneous, adverturous trip together. It was so refreshing to hear a happy memory that someone has from that day, despite everything bad going on these two love birds found a way to fall deeper in love with one another. What a great thing for Mrs. Love to have this memory of her loving husband who has since passed.
I have shared this story with you because it touched me and God has just been so good to me, sending such Godly people in my life shedding light and love into me.
Tomorrow mornging I am going to the baptism of a little girl that means the absolute world to me, Miss Sadie Morgan. Her mother was my 7th and 8th grade English teacher and now my mentor and friend. Sadie is in Kindergarten this year and has accepted Christ into her heart and life and she is getting baptised tomorrow. God is so good!!
I encourage each of you reading this, find a mentor....someone you trust and who can help you through your faith walk, hold you accountable, pick you up when you stumble, tell you the truth when no one else will, dig into scripture with you and pray with you and for you. God has blessed me with so many Godly women in my life and I am truly thankful and humble.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and the blessings you placed in my pathway today. I ask that you be with those who mourn the loss of their loved ones from the tragic acts of September 11, 2001. I thank you for the Godly women and men you have placed in my life. Please be with our world leaders and politicians, also with our troops firghting for our country. Please be with the Holmes family in the loss of their loved one, Carrie. Forgive us of our sins Lord and help us to daily walk in your light. In your gracious and Holy name I pray, Amen.
Friday, September 10, 2010
stumbling thru opened doors.
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Ephesians 4:1
A verse I have prayed since my senior year of high school, read it, talked about it but have I lived it? I would say probably not to the potential I could, should or would. Well that is up until about 2 weeks ago. Let me back up foar just a minute..... I have been called to youth ministry. I have started helping with the middle school youth at my church, chaperoning conferences, rafting trip, Sunday youth group and just establishing relationships and friendships with the youth. With that being said I haven't really stepped out of my comfort zone until recently, which brings me back to living out my life verse........
I was asked by a lady I know to be put on a rotation of youth pastors for First Priority at the high school I graduated from. At first reaction I was like YES, what an awesome experience but then the reality started setting in and I remembered how terrified I am of speaking in front of groups. I mean you're talking about the girl who took speech in college online because I was too terrified to take it like normal people. Well I decided to call someone who was a Godly person in my life and would help me with my decision. First person I called I had to leave a voicemail, second person also left a voicemail, thrid person, yep you guessed it, had to leave a voicemail but the 4th....the 4th person I called answered! Well silly me, I knew exactly what everyone I called was going to say to me, DO IT, DUH! I guess I just needed to hear it or have someone push me, someone I trusted.
So....I told the lady who asked me this big life chaning question yes, of course. But only with butterflies and knots in my stomach and probably the most terrified but yet excited expression on my face.
I soon realized that there was no way I was going to do this on my own so my only other option was to just hand it all over to God.
I was asked to give my testamony and to talk about the youth rally which was supposed to be tomorrow.
I did it. On September 9, 2010 I started living out my life verse. It is definitely not easy but that is what living for Christ is all about. I gave my testimony and spoke about the youth rally with lots of ums, trembling hands and a smile on my face.
So this blog is my faith journey through ministry. Ready or not....here we come!
God, thank you for the doors you are opening in my life and the confidence you give me to stumble through them. Without you I am nothing. Amen.
A verse I have prayed since my senior year of high school, read it, talked about it but have I lived it? I would say probably not to the potential I could, should or would. Well that is up until about 2 weeks ago. Let me back up foar just a minute..... I have been called to youth ministry. I have started helping with the middle school youth at my church, chaperoning conferences, rafting trip, Sunday youth group and just establishing relationships and friendships with the youth. With that being said I haven't really stepped out of my comfort zone until recently, which brings me back to living out my life verse........
I was asked by a lady I know to be put on a rotation of youth pastors for First Priority at the high school I graduated from. At first reaction I was like YES, what an awesome experience but then the reality started setting in and I remembered how terrified I am of speaking in front of groups. I mean you're talking about the girl who took speech in college online because I was too terrified to take it like normal people. Well I decided to call someone who was a Godly person in my life and would help me with my decision. First person I called I had to leave a voicemail, second person also left a voicemail, thrid person, yep you guessed it, had to leave a voicemail but the 4th....the 4th person I called answered! Well silly me, I knew exactly what everyone I called was going to say to me, DO IT, DUH! I guess I just needed to hear it or have someone push me, someone I trusted.
So....I told the lady who asked me this big life chaning question yes, of course. But only with butterflies and knots in my stomach and probably the most terrified but yet excited expression on my face.
I soon realized that there was no way I was going to do this on my own so my only other option was to just hand it all over to God.
I was asked to give my testamony and to talk about the youth rally which was supposed to be tomorrow.
I did it. On September 9, 2010 I started living out my life verse. It is definitely not easy but that is what living for Christ is all about. I gave my testimony and spoke about the youth rally with lots of ums, trembling hands and a smile on my face.
So this blog is my faith journey through ministry. Ready or not....here we come!
God, thank you for the doors you are opening in my life and the confidence you give me to stumble through them. Without you I am nothing. Amen.
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