thankful reminders

Momma and I were home alone this afternoon due to the weather.  Normally, I would've been at my Biology lab and momma would've been at work. Hurricane Isaac has been making its way past us these past few days. Therefore, my classes were cancelled and momma was sent home early. Spontaneously, we went to the movie theatre. On the drive back home, the sky was amazingly beautiful. It was crazy to think a hurricane had recently made its way through. This was such a powerful reminder for me. God brings beauty out of the storms of this life. When I go through these storms of life, all I'm able to do is pray constantly and trust the Lord. I cling to the promise that He will never forsake me nor abandon me. I'm assured by God that He is bringing me to a place full of His peace and His glory. All of hope is in the Lord. Even though I am terrified and tears enter my eyes more than often wondering where He is leading me and how this will ever happen, I consider it joy to be in His will to begin with. I keep my eyes on the goal: To see Jesus. But until then, I give my life up everyday to Him. I say to Him, "Here am I. Send me, Lord." I trust Him through the dark valley. I trust Him in the hurricanes. He is faithful to His promises. There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning. 

I exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.

You refused to let my enemies 

triumph over me.

O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

and you restored my health.

You brought me up from the grave, 

O Lord.

You kept me from falling into the

pit of death.

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!

Praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime!

Weeping may last through the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

When I was prosperous, I said,

"Nothing can stop me now!"

Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure

as a mountain.

Then you turned away from me,

and I was shattered.

I cried out to you, O Lord.

I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,

"What will you gain if I die,

if I sink into the grave?

Can my dust praise you?

Can it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. 

Help me, O Lord."

You have turned my mourning into

joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of 

mourning and clothed me with

joy.

That I might sing praises to you and

not be silent,

O Lord my God, I will give you 

thanks forever!

Psalm 30

we will wait for you here

Public Speaking, Principles of Biology, Sociology, Psychology, Spanish. Classes began at Holmes Community College this Monday for me. I almost overslept for the first day! Thank You Lord for mommas that are up at the crack of dawn ready to get their college student out of bed. My Public Speaking was the first class I attended at HCC. I was super nervous because I'm not a good public speaker but my teacher really made the class feel comfortable. Something else I thought was interesting he told our class was that him and his wife lived in Honduras for awhile preaching the love of Christ. He also holds a devotion with a free lunch on Wednesdays. I admire him for sharing his faith in a public school. I'm gonna enjoy that class more that I imagined. My next class was Elementary Spanish. I haven't quite figured that teacher out yet. He treats us like we're in high school. My Biology teacher isn't from Mississippi so she has a northerner accent. She's always talking about how much she loves the magnolia state and she's never seen so much beauty here. She actually almost cried during lab one day talking about how beautiful Mississippi is. I appreciate seeing how much she loves her job and she kinda makes me proud to be a Mississippian. Overrall, classes are going swell so far. I also might have a job working at a bakery some time soon! We'll see how that goes though...

Devotions, reading scripture, journaling, and prayer is very special to me. This is also called quiet time. The time that Christians set aside everything in this crazy life to spend time to be with our Father. To read His word, to pray and talk with Him about what's going on or what we're struggling with, to seek His face in our lives, for Him to teach us more about His love, to find Him as our strength. I've been teaching high school/junior high girls at my church these past few Sundays just to fill in a gap for someone else to take over. A few Sundays ago, the lesson was about God's love. I briefly talked to the girls about our quiet time with the Lord. It always seems that when life isn't going the way we plan, we get upset and have the audacity to believe God isn't there. We believe He isn't near to us. But the truth is, WE ARE  NOT NEAR TO HIM. (James 4:8) The Lord loves His children. He proved that when He sent His Son to the cross for our punishment. He never leaves our side. Jesus said in John 14:18, "No, I will not abandon you as orphans- I will come to you." That alone gives me so much comfort and joy. Although He is always near to us, we have to remember to do our part which is prayer and diving into the Word. (Matthew 6:6) Go into a quiet place, shut the door, put your cell phone aside, grab some coffee and just seek the Lord. Know He is there with you in your pain and let Him heal and guide you. Thank Him for His grace and the privileges He gives us. Ask Him to guide you through this season of your life. (Psalms 46:10) Mornings are my favorite to quiet time. Lamentations 3:22-23 is one of my absolute favorite verses in the Bible. "The faithfulness love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." Every morning we wake up, He offers us breath. NEW breath. He is making me new. (Ephesians 2:10, Revelation 21:5) I can't emphasize how important this time with our Almighty God is until you've experienced it for yourself. 

Phil Wickham wrote a song about finding that secret place to meet with God in a crazy, loud, violent world. It's called "I Will Wait For You There". If you've never listened to Phil Wickham, you need to be slapped and then go listen to his music. He is some kinda good. 

I will wait for You there

Down on my knees where I met You. 

Give You all of my cares

Find a grace to hold onto now

I'm calling for You.

I will wait for You there

Far from the world and its violence.

It left me broken and bare

I need to hear You in the silence now. 

I'm calling for You.

And with outstretched arms

I will sing out melodies.

And my beating heart will pour out a symphony.

Hallelujah's in the morning,

Hallelujah's in the night.

I will wait for You as long as I have life.

I will wait for You there

Down on my knees where I met You.

Cause life is a war fought with tears

But You are the strength I hold onto now

I'm calling for You

And with outstretched arms

I will sing out melodies.

And my beating heart will pour out a symphony.

Hallelujah's in the morning,

Hallelujah's in the night.

I will wait for You as long as I have life.

changes

School is back! Kindergarteners are beginning their journey in the 12 years of school with the same classmates, 7th graders still in the awkward stage of school, 10th graders moving on up in the food chain of high school, and high school seniors antsy to start all the senior events, but the most anticipated event: graduation. Students fresh out of high school are becoming nervous about moving away from home or attending their first college class. Older college students are packing and getting their stuff ready to move into their first apartment with great friends. Some are bummed about this news and want to go back to the first day of summer. Some are ecstatic about getting school supplies and eager to start the fresh, new school year. And all the rest just don't care either way. 

When I went to Haiti over a month ago, I felt the presence of the Lord like I've never felt Him before. He taught me things I read and knew about but never truly practiced them. Love, patience, joy, worship, being humble, dying to myself, sacrifice. "I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him" (Romans 12:1). Before I left for Haiti, I prayed for months and months that He would open my eyes, open my heart, and open my mind to the things unseen. I never knew what it would mean. What He would open me up to. Now I see how He answered my prayer. I see that He showed me true sacrifice. He showed me that to follow Jesus, I have to be willing to sacrifice anything. 

As soon as I arrived back from Haiti, I knew without a doubt that God was calling me to missions. Last fall and spring semesters, I was a student at the University of Southern Mississippi majoring in Interior Design. I loved it there! I have a great friend I met through the BSU and we had a dorm for this coming school year together planned out. The college life had treated me well. I had been looking forward to my sophomore year in college ever since school let out for summer in May. After a few days of being back in the country from Haiti, I couldn't deny that being an Interior Design major at Southern Mississippi was no longer in my future. I began the process of withdrawing from classes at USM and enrolled at a community college near my home to continue to seek His will without spending the amount of money it takes for a 4-year university (and not having scholarships doesn't help). I questioned. "God, this doesn't make sense. Why would I have to drop everything at Southern to do this? I had so much going for me there." God has something bigger for me. Something bigger than anything I could do and all I have to do is trust. I'm still not certain what, where, how, or when. But I think that's the beauty in following the Lord. We don't always have to know every single detail. God's plan is wonderful. Beyond our imagination. This brings me joy in so many ways. He is worth giving up everything. He is worth the sacrifices I have to make. "We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

Twist and Taste with friends and making BSU cookies are some things I'll miss the most.