The Storms of Life

Hello all you wonderful people. Well, it's me again, writing another blog update on this beautiful day God has made. After the past few days of nasty weather, it is a very nice change. Being in the middle of the most recent storms, seeing how many homes where destroyed, how many lives were lost, It made me think about our own personal "storms" we go through in our lives.  
Sometimes when situations seem so grim, we often question. "Where is God in the middle of all of this chaos?" Truth is simple. He is right there. He never left, and never will forsake us. Often times it is our own selfish spirit that has gone away from Him. I think that part of the problem, is that we are not prepared for the storms when they do come. When things are going great in our lives, and the days pass by smoothly, these are the times when we are most "prone to wander." Then when something happens, we turn to God. But our relationship with Him should be so much more than just a lifeline when times get tough and seem unbearable. If we are daily walking in His truths and staying within His will, He is going to help us be ready to fend off the devil, and the temptation to lose hope in bad situations. When someone has hurt you or done something you think is wrong, who do we usually go to first? If you're like me, you probably send a text to your best friend, or call them with the latest news of your eventful life. Well, that's what friends are for right? This is true. Which is why our relationship with God should be much like that of our best friend. He desires to have that deep, intimate relationship with you. He wants to hear what you have to say. Whether you think your problem is just too inferior for God, or that He doesn't care because He has "bigger" problems to deal with, know this. He cares about every single detail  of your life. He created you. You are His prize. He adores you, and always wants what's best for you. There is nothing you have been through, however big or small, that God Himself has not endured. He understands your hurt and pain. He wants you to pour out your heart to Him. Just make sure that it is a DAILY thing, not just something you do when things aren't going your way.
If you are going through a rough time in your life right now, know that God is waiting for you to come to Him, to rest in His arms and find true peace. If you're not, and things are great in your life at the moment, take time today to thank God for the time of peace, for the things He has blessed you with, and ask Him to continue to grow and strengthen you, so that you will be prepared when the "storm" hits. 


"What if your blessings come through raindrops.
What if Your healing comes through tears.
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near.
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise."

I'm Letting Go

Well, here I am up late/early again. I realized that it has been exactly 2 months since I've made a blog post, so I figured it's about time.

First off, I just wanted to say a few words about my TV show obsession. For those of you who know me, know that I have been an American Idol fan since season 1. It has become a family tradition of sorts. Every Wednesday and Thursday night, that's where you'll find us. Sitting in front of the tv, glued to the screen (and me trying to block out the loud ramblings from my sisters, bird chirping and dog barking so that I can actually hear the performances.) Let me just say, that this season, I will be voting for Scotty McCreery to the top. I absolutely love his Josh Turner style voice and humble personality. (If you haven't heard him, please go look him up on YouTube.) :) On the other hand, It's a tight competition this year, because everyone is just so good! BTW: I don't see what America sees in Paul. He...needs to go. I know he has a great smile and everything, but that doesn't make him "American Idol material". Just sayin.

Anyways, enough of that. :)

So lately I have had this major sweet tooth. I don't know why, but it's like everytime I see a Hershey's white chocolate bar, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, or cheesecake, It just calls my name. And it is so not healthy. SO much for all the workouts I've been doing. Blah.
I just realized that was really random and fairly unimportant, but hey, it's part of my life so, I guess that's what blog posts are for right?. :)

Referring to the title of this post, this is something that I am really trying to work on. It's only human nature to want to hold on to things and try to figure them out on your own; doing what you think is right for you. But it's just not goin to work. I have tried doing my "own thing" in the past, and it just ends up in epic failure, and me realizing I was stupid for not listening to God in the first place.
I recently heard a song on the radio that really spoke to me.
These are a few words from the song:

"Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel you near
And we doubt your goodness, We doubt your love
As if every promise from your Word is not enough."

This is exactly how I feel sometimes. Like I am in some ways doubting the Lord, and why He allows certain things to happen, when maybe I had hoped they would have taken another turn. The more I think about it, the crazier the idea becomes to me. Because truthfully, unbelief should be a foreign concept to us as Christians. God has given me no reason to doubt him. He made us, He made everything around us, and He made even the smallest wonders that continue to blow my mind every day. SO I'm pretty positive that He knows what He is doing. It's just a matter of whether or not we are willing to completely sacrifice and surrender our man-made thoughts, dreams, and desires in exchange for the amazing things He has in store for us. Something so much more incredible than what we can even imagine.
With so many things I have been thinking about lately: What classes i need to take next semester, getting through the current semester, which school God wants me to transfer to and when, and what my career might look like with my "unusual" degree. I am a worrier. But i know i shouldn't be, because in my heart I know,  that at the right time, He is going to reveal all of that to me. It's a matter of faithful prayer and listening ears on my part.
I've got to just let go of everything, and let God's heart and His desires, become my own.

Time to call it a night/early morning.

Don't forget to encourage someone today. :)

xoxo

I know that You are for me.

These are some of the lyrics from one of my favorite Kari Jobe songs. I have had it on repeat every morning in my car on the way to class. It's a great reminder for me.

..........

So faithful
So constant
So loving and so true
So powerful in all You do


You fill me
You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to You


I know that You are for me
I know that You are for me
I know that You will never
Forsake me in my weakness


And I know that You have come down
Even if to ride upon my heart
To remind me who You are

........

So have you ever had one of those really "lazy and only wanting to sleep" days that makes you feel so unproductive? Well today has been one of those for me. Besides working, I don't feel like I have done much to be considered productive at all. Of course being sick the past couple days has put a downer on everything, so that doesn't help, at all. I think I jinxed myself other day by saying that "it is really weird that I haven't really been sick yet this winter". Yeah...then the next day, I couldn't even get out of bed.

So, here I am now, procrastinating on my chapter reading for my class tomorrow. But with my head feeling like it weighs a hundred pounds, it's kind of hard to focus on a book.

The flip side to all of this. I told my mom that I wanted ice cream cause i always crave it when I'm sick. And when I got home tonight, there was a gallon of it in the fridge. :) As I am typing this, I am also eating one of my favorite flavors: cookies and cream. It is definitely yummy, and satisfies my sweet tooth..for now.

So, i think I might actually try to do something productive before I go to bed tonight, and attempt to figure out how to work the recording equipment I got for Christmas. Yes, I know it's been over a month, but I simply have not had the time to sit down and figure the hundred plus controls and functions on it. It may take a while, but I'm excited to start recording some acoustic stuff.

Anyways, I think that's about all of my random ramblings for tonight. But in case you've never hear the song I posted at the beginning, here's the link to it.

>>>>>You are For Me Music Video<<<<<

Peace, Love and Ice Cream

Yours Truly :)

A New Beginning..

So I've decided to start writing (or typing) all of my random thoughts down for those of you who happen to come by this. There is no telling from day to day what I will come up with or write on here. Some days I just feel really random, and others I just feel inspired. So who knows.
So to start off my first post, I would just like to point out the fact, that when life throws you a bunch of mess to deal with, you better have your armor ready and your heart prepared. Cause, as we all know, disappointment is not an easy to thing to just "deal with" and "get over". It hurts. Really bad sometimes. But as my current inspiration Taylor Swift says, "you have to be FEARLESS". Being able to move forward with no regrets is FEARLESS. Forgiving someone who didn't ask for it, is FEARLESS.
On another note, this is what God has been teaching me lately.
Sometimes It may not feel like God is there, but He is. He never went anywhere. If you feel distant from God, or are feeling frustrated because He won't give you an answer, it's most likely because your the one who has grown away from Him. Or maybe it's that you really haven't been listening closely to Him. Sometimes we tend to pray and ask for God's help and guideance, but with a selfish heart. What I mean by that, is that we ask for answers, but in the end, it doesn't matter what He says, we are still going to try to do things the way we think is best. This never works. And I have learned this many times, the hard way.
I was pondering last night on the things, just every day things, that make up my life everyday. From work, to college, to spending time with friends, to trying to meet appointments...it's all takes up a majority of my time. Sometimes I even feel like I am repeating the same day over and over again, therefore losing track of time and date alltogether. Then i thought about the recent struggles, heartache, etc..and wondered if maybe God is trying to tell me something. I cried out to Him, a prayer of surrender. Realizing that I have been so consumed with all these other things in my life, that I have neglected the most important part of my life. Maybe if I spent more time getting to know him on a more personal level, rather than coming to Him when times get tough, my every day "agenda" would look much different. I need to spend more time thinking about how I can use these things and events in my life to glorify God, asking for new opportunities to encourage others along the way.
So I leave you with this..

"Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."

-Aldous Huxley

 

xoxo