Smile :)

Sometimes my mind gets so jumbled up in thoughts. My mind races everywhere and seems to run around in thousands of different interwoven circles

...and yet, what more do I really need to know than that God's love is real, and his promises of salvation are true?

Even during stresses that come with life like lost homework sheets, overlapping essays and tests, busy work schedules and misunderstandings between close friends, God's peace reigns supreme and His joy is stronger than the trials of this world.

It is well,

It is well,

With my soul!

I don't want my hope to be somewhere else, other than where it's supposed to be.
Hope in people, hope in things, hope in this world will disappear and leave you in despair.
God can use this, though, to help place your hope in Him.

Lamentations 3:19-24

 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
   the bitterness and the gall.
  I well remember them,
   and my soul is downcast within me.
 Yet this I call to mind
   and therefore I have hope:

 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
 They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

God is good. 

Thank You God,

...for giving me friends who I can talk about you with whenever I want or need to. Thank you for giving me friends who challenge the way I think, and can support their own opinions, or admit that they don't actually have one yet. Thank you for giving me friends with deep-seeded passions to glorify Your Holy name and spread your love to the people they come in contact with.
And thanks for giving them a sarcastic sense of humor :)

And... thanks for this orange juice i'm drinking. It's perfectly citrus-y.

"Aww" Moment.

Genesis 29:20

So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

...the girl in me can't help but melt. Happy late Valentine's Day :)

How Can I Stand Here With You, and Not Be Moved By You?

This is such a great illustration of our separation from God, and His perfect love for us despite everything we could ever do. Admittedly... I cry every time I watch it.

Jaynie Jones.

Today, 17 years ago, a beautiful little girl was born.
Actually, she was probably pink and wrinkly like a naked mole rat. I can imagine that it took her a few days to actually "cute-up".
About 5 years later, this little girl was sitting on the floor next to her older sister. The day was a normal one, the two had probably just thrown a birthday party for one of their stuffed teddy bears, Bobby, (he was a doodle bear. remember those?) and the older sister knew the perfect thing to do after such awesome festivities: sing a song. For some hideous reason, Old McDonald was the older sister's tune of choice. She sang it loudly and proudly, much to the horror of the younger sister. The young one asked the elder to politely stop, but did she? Well, not only did it not stop, but merely to spite her, the singing increased in volume. The younger sister asked again, but this only led to louder melodic decibels. Over and over again, the younger asked the elder to stop, and over and over again the reaction was the same. It was at this point that the younger one felt she only had one other option...
so she bit the elder on her back. How this is physically possible, I will never fully understand, but that's what happened.
Long story short, the younger one ended up in time out, but after 5 minutes of attempting to play by herself, the older sister got bored and went and sat with the younger until her punishment was over. The two have remained best friends.


Jaynie is the most talented person I know. Everything she tries she seems to excel at, but she also excels at being humble. She doesn't have to prove herself to anyone, and she has an unspoken confidence. There isn't anyone who doesn't love Jaynie :) She's not jealous, not quick to anger, and she's one of the more patient people on this planet. She's a beast at any sport she wants to play, she can rip up a guitar, and she's smart enough and dedicated enough to actually READ Moby Dick. Let me tell you... that's one WHALE of a tale! HAHAHAHA. Obviously I got all of the humor in the family.
No, realistically Jaynie is also the funniest and cutest. She doesn't get caught up in frivolous things: she dedicates herself to what she knows is important, and one of her best traits, I would say, is her honesty.
She's my best friend and my sister, and I'm so thankful that God has put her in my life for the past 17 years!

So Happy Birthday Jaynie!
I wish I could give you a hug today!
(and every other day)
I love you sistah!
:3)     <- one of her favorite smiley faces.

p.s. if you couldn't figure it out, the sisters in the beginning story were me and her. She bit me. yeah. she doesn't seem so great now, does she?!?! ;)

Hope.

Hebrews 11:1
      "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

I've always thought that hope was really just.... wishful thinking.
"I hope I get a car."
"I hope the test is canceled!"
"I hope... hope.... hope."

True biblical hope though, is different. Biblical hope is more like "confident expectation". This hope is meant to be found in God, in the faith that salvation through Him is real. Without hope, life loses it's meaning. Lamentations 3:18 says "So I say, my splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord."  But because we have place our hope in Christ, we know that God supplies our everything, and regardless of EVERYTHING we have ever done, He has great plans for all of us. (Jeremiah 29:11).

1 Corinthians 13:13
     "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."



...I have a lot of growing up to do :)

Vague.

I
am
scared...
             to reach out for what i want.
                                                         what if i can't get it?
I
am
scared...
             to make the first step to change things
                                                         what if the change isn't good?
I
am
scared...
             to recognize that i'm pushing myself down
                                            repressing myself
                                            holding back

                                     LIMITING MYSELF.

Doesn't that mean i'm limiting God too?

Addison Road.

Question for thought: Why would I ever doubt the love or existence of the savior, when He's the only thing that is TRULY reliable and good? Why would I trust other people and myself, before I trusted in Him?

This song has been on my heart a lot lately. It embodies EXACTLY what I'm going through right now. GREAT song!

I want my life 

to be a love song, 

dedicated 

to the perfect Lover 

of my soul.

Update on the Vroom Vroom Post.

Question asked: does God ever give you something you want, even though it's not something you're supposed to have?

Answer: God gives you freedom of choice. Meaning you KNOW you aren't supposed to have it, and He calls you to abandon yourself of earthly things, yet the option is still there. Refusing yourself for divine matters is a huge part of the act of loving God.

Maybe it could be deemed a "test of faith", but let's not get dramatic here.

So far I've been living a rather unimpressive life, defined by things which aren't going to mean much. When I get to heaven, I really don't want my conversations with God to be about the guys I liked/dated, the school subjects I did or did not enjoy, or the hours I spent scanning groceries at Brookshire's.

i don't want my life to be a series of complaints about mundane events.

I want a life with a story worth telling. Not necessarily anything that will get me into the history books, I don't really have a deep seeded desire for vast fame and fortune. But I want a life full of adventures and experiences which not only make me a well rounded person, but that gives me something great to talk about with God once I'm with him face to face. I want to talk to God like a best friend. I mean sure he's my savior and Father, the Righteous Judge who's wrath is something worth fearing, someone who's respectable above all measures... but a relationship with God is way more than just "fearing" Him. A relationship is something you work at, God is someone you talk to. I can't even BEGIN to emphasize the importance and the power of prayer! Through prayer, through his word, (and through any other means which he sees fit,) God can communicate with you. So yeah... I think it would be very possible to be buddy-buddy with God!

I want to get to heaven already knowing God on a personal level and being able to say "i saw you here, i saw you here, remember this? remember this? I want us to talk like we're 7th grade girls at a sleepover with thousands of inside jokes (all of which i'll remember, because hey... why wouldn't i have a perfect memory in heaven?), all of which emphasize his glory, grace, power and AWESOMENESS.

Anyway, in summary, I'm asking God of a lot of help to not define myself by the beliefs and opinions of others. I'm in a very... weird... place right now. A place i'm somewhat excited to be in because there's a lot of room for growth, but a place that I kind of had to make a lot of mistakes and miscommunications to get to. I want God to define me, I don't want to define myself anymore. I think He has a better idea than I do.....

The Drunk and the Hypocrite - Jon Foreman.

This is the second half of an article in Relevant magazine, written by Jon Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot. True to the name, I found this article to be very relevant, and addressed an important issue found within the body of Christ. It's always nice to see prominent people/Christians who aren't just living the Christian lifestyle just because it's their job, but being able to see Christ as an active role in their own personal lives: lives which they are openly allowing the world to see.

(the whole article can be found at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/23449-the-drunk-and-the-hypocrite)

"Walking the line between the clubs and the Church, I’ve been misunderstood by both sides. I’m sure you’ve felt the same thing: people throw rocks at the things they don’t understand. But it hurts worst when it comes from well-intending brothers and sisters, the folks who are purportedly filled with the love of Christ. Our knee-jerk response is to retaliate, to fight back. And the cycle begins again. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. God will take care of the speck in my neighbor’s eye. The more faith I have in Him and His strong voice, the less I have to yell. The more faith I have in Him, the freer my hands become to serve those around me.

Washing feet is not extra credit. We are called to bear each other’s burdens. Unity is a miraculous achievement, but it’s intended for this side of the grave. Unity is the transforming work of the power of the cross in our lives. In the dark, blood-stained shadow of the cross, our boasting is laughable. Our differences are minute. Take another look at the cross. Look at how much He loves you. Look at His surrender, His sacrifice. Unity comes into focus only when we realize the magnificent grace of the Savior.

Let us acknowledge our neediness, our beautiful desperation. Yes, our unanswerable, aching, longing poverty is a prerequisite for the balm of salvation. We, the people—the failures, the losers, the outsiders—we have found our King. Christ, the King of the fools; the Lord of the sick, broken souls like us. Let us remain in continual awe of the love we have been shown. And let us love! Let us celebrate the reckless love of the one who risked all that we might be loved. And let us follow in the path of a God who loves us. The tax collectors and the rabbis. The prostitutes and the Sadducees. In the bars and in the churches. Yes, God even loves Christians."

2 Corinthians 2:9&10

Sometimes Bible verses follow you around:

"But as it is written, no eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

God has a plan. It's up to me to trust Him with that.

He knows what he's doing, I don't.

...Patience.