delight yourself in the Lord

Aren't ya glad Monday is over? 

So I feel like all I talk about nowadays is God's will. What is His will for me? What does He want me to do? Where does He want me to go? Trust trust trust trust. 

The Lord opened my eyes more to His purpose in Sunday school this past week. "We may be willing but that might not be God's will." What? So you're saying even though I am willing to be a missionary in Africa but that may not be His will? Of course, I still live as a missionary, sharing the love of Christ, and walking with Him in the place I'm at. But what I'm getting to is, God plan is perfect and that is all I want for my life. He may not send me to another country even thought I think I've made it clear, I'm willing to do just that. 

Maybe this will be my last post about God's will..... 

Another thing! I've noticed when I take delight in Him, He equips me and gives me what I need to fulfill His purpose. For instance, all of the sudden since I spoke in front of my church after Haiti, I have this weird urge and excitement to speak in front of crowds when I get the chance. I still get nervous about being in front of numbers of people. I actually like speaking in front of a people. This is so not me. I am shy, quiet, and very to myself. When I was in Haiti, we had the chance to share our testimony, a devotion, or anything that God laid on our hearts to speak in front of the Haitian church. I've already begun preparing my testimony for when I return to Haiti in the spring! I know this is not on my own because I could ask anybody that has known me if they ever thought I would enjoy public speaking, they would say heck to the no. I don't know what God is doing in me but I have a feeling it's MUCH BIGGER than me.

"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

"For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:13

Have a happy and blessed Tuesday! I am praying for my readers just to let ya know!

come to Me

I am a dog lover. I love dogs. I would probably have 10 dogs if my mom would allow me. We have two dogs and a cat. Ginger is a shih tzu we've had since I was a baby freshman in high school. Charlotte is a mutt that was dropped off at our house and we took her in. Holly is our mean, obese cat that we've had since I was 9 years old. Every day, Ginger waits on me to get home so she can go outside. As soon as I open the door and step outside, Charlotte is jumping on me. Charlotte is not a little dog. She could push me over if she wanted to. She means no harm. All she wants is love and affection. Today, she jumped on me and I told her to get off me. I felt bad for being annoyed with her because I could tell I hurt her feelings. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Omg. It's a dog." You don't understand! Charlotte is the happiest dog I've ever seen! 

I started thinking. I'm so glad God is not like me. Our flesh needs that love and attention from God. What if God was like me with Charlotte and became annoyed and told us to go away when we ran to Him? This would be a terrible, miserable, some kind of awful life. Thank goodness He isn't like me! 

"Our Master Jesus has his arms wide open for you." (1 Corinthians 16:23 The Message). 

God's arms are always open. Period. Done. No questions asked. Run to Him and you will find out for yourself. There is nothing you can do to make His arms not available to you. Jesus said so lovely in Matthew 11, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." We are His children and He is our Father. His rest and His arms are out of this world. 

He doesn't shove you to the side when you call upon Him. He is eagerly waiting, listening, and acting. 

grab a mop

How I love Sundays. My Sunday routines are usually the same. Wake up around 7:30 am, shower and put on my face, meditate in the Word, grab a cup of coffee and head to church. At church, I'll go to Sunday school and discuss how God is working in the lives of my friends. After Sunday school, I head to 'big church' where we will sing a few hymns and the pastor will preach a lovely, convicting message the Lord put on his heart. I'll go home, eat lunch, and maybe do some last minute homework. 

In my first blog post I mentioned something about Jen Hatmaker. I think she is my favorite author/blogger at the moment. She is real. I can tell by her writing she loves Jesus. She's apart of this group called Help One Now. Jen went to Haiti last week with other bloggers and photographers and directors to minister to the tent cities. She wrote a powerful blog that left me in tears while she was there. Read it and weep. Literally. 

All I gotta say is, I'm grabbing a mop.  

sovereign still

Tuesday, July 3, 2012:

The teams spent the first part of the day building the wall for the future home of the orphanage. One side of the wall was finished today! Praise Him! We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. It was tiring and hot but He gave us the strength to carry on. I thank Him for that. 

My heart was glad when we finished our work at the wall because that meant it was about the time to head to Life Is Hope where all those kids have my heart. I find myself holding different kids every time we're there. Today, it was a small boy, precious eyed boy named Jevenson. He held onto to me and when I tickled him, the sound of his laughter is something I'll never forget. The quiet boy I was with yesterday found me. When I gave him attention, Jevenson would grab my hands and place them in his lap. I couldn't just ignore him so I continued to play with the other boy. Jevenson kinda got mad at me and wouldn't allow me to tickle him or hold his hand. In those moments, I wish I had a million arms so no one would be left out. But I shared my attention with both of them the best I could. He eventually got over it and put that sweet smile on his face. When the time came to leave, this sadness just overcame me and it was hard holding back the tears welling up in my eyes. My heart hurts so much when I see those huge eyes and little hands holding mine until I reach the gate that leads to our bus. When I tell him I love him and I'll see him tomorrow, I don't know if he understands me but I can't get that image out of my head. 

God gave me one those sweet reminders today with Caroline, Carly, Stevens and I on the bus singing "None But Jesus" by Hillsong. In one of the verses it says, 'In the chaos and confusion, You're sovereign still. In the moment of my weakness, You give me grace to do Your will." I'm confused and weak because I have to leave these children in a few days but I know God is sovereign in their lives and in mine even though I won't be there to love on them and them love on me. He is giving me grace to do His will even though it hasn't lasted very long. I'm so thankful for those moments. Two more days here in the country of Haiti. I'm super happy and joyful for all the things God has taught me but I'm extremely sad because I have to leave people I've become close with. BUT... God is sovereign still. They will always have a place in my heart and I'll always pray for their little lives. 

 Quiet boy and me 

 Concrete passing at worksite

 Ellie in red shirt and Jevenson<3

Jevenson mad at me. 

cold fighting

My excitement for the new season has decreased since I caught this nasty sore throat, runny nose, and headache. I guess I forgot to mention the colds and sore throats that come with cold weather. Boo. But I have a method of fighting this cold so I can regain my enthusiasm for the fall weather! 

seasons of life

Happy October y'all! 

I am amazed how fast this year is going by. It feels like just yesterday I was a freshman in high school. Phew. I'm glad I'm not a freshman anymore. 

Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. It's not blistering hot and it's not freezing cold. It's the season when all the leaves change their colors and the pumpkin spice latte is back at Starbucks. It's the time when the Mississippi State Fair rolls into town. I love to sit in front of a bonfire, roasting s'mores, and wearing my favorite scarf. Thinking about all this fall fun is making me want to go rake leaves just to jump in them!

Like everything in life, I related the seasons changing to my walk with the Lord. Everyone of us goes through changes. We graduate high school and venture into the world, we move on from a long relationship, we get married to the man or woman God has called us to, we search for a career, and the list could go on forever. There are different seasons in our life. In the season I'm in, I'm listening to God's voice in the midst of confusion of where I'm suppose to be in His will. I've realized that I've probably put more thought into it that I should have. God is never failing, faithful, loving, strong through all of the seasons. If we seek Him wholeheartedly, we will find Him. The cliche graduation verse is Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a hope and a future." It's so sweet and astounding God has great plans for us. But sometimes I think we forget to read the rest of that passage. "In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me." (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Yes, the Lord has great plans for us. The catch is, we have to seek Him with all of our hearts. Through every high and low season of life, I trust this with all of me. I have to be honest, there are times when I feel like God has abandoned me. These are the times when He proves Himself more and more to me. In this season, I pray that you find the Lord. You see that He is working in your life and He is leading you on the pathway of righteousness. He will always love you even when it feels like He isn't there. He is who He said He is. Know that. Trust that. Seek that. 

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 
A time to be born and a time to die. 
A time to plant and a time to harvest. 
A time to kill and a time to heal. 
A time to tear down and a time to build up. 
A time to cry and a time to laugh. 
A time to grieve and a time to dance. 
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. 
A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 
A time to search and time to quit searching. 
A time to keep  and a time to throw away. 
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace....."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8


Just a few of my fall favorites: