Philippians 4:4-7

This week, I read the book of Philippians. And what a great book it is! God really used Paul in an amazing way!
I really like what Paul said in chapter 4.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Love

This is something that has been on my heart for a while. The past few months, God has been showing me what it means to love someone. This is not just the kinda love you have for a boyfriend or husband. I'm talking about everyone... dads, moms, sisters, brothers, friends, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, along with boyfriends and husbands.

Love isn't just about being around a person, and enjoying their company, or you like who they are as a person, and they don't annoy you... and don't do anything "wrong" and are just perfect! Just a little news flash.... only one is perfect! So if you think someone is perfect, they really aren't. You are probably seeing them for who you want to see them as. God is the only one who is perfect. Love is loving someone for who they really are. Even tho they do things you don't like, or something that annoys you, you still love them. Just think of what Christ did. He came down, to be with us who hated him. He even died for us... took our place on the cross! Now don't get me wrong. I am one of the worse when it comes to loving others. If someone does something against me, or something I think is "against" me, let's just say you don't wanna be on my bad side. And I'm talking little things too. For example, if I ask my brother to fix me a drink, and he says no... well let's just say I don't show him the love he deserves. But do we deserve love after all?

No we don't, but God showed us grace by sending his only son to die in our place... loving us the way we don't deserve.

I like what it says in Matthew 5:43-48;
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rian on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

As believers we must be as Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may descern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." People in the world love one another, right? But we must love even when wrong is being done to us, pray for those who do so! If you get annoyed with some little thing someone is doing, so what! Love them anyways... extend grace to them!

1 Corinthians 13 says;"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child, I reasonded like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

This is something I really need to work on. Loving others. If you think about me, please pray that God will give me the grace I need to work on this.

In closing I'd like to leave one more verse. 1 John 4:16."So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
God is love. And what an amazing God he is?!

Hearing and Doing the Word

When we were in VA, I saw a picture GG had with James 1:22 written. My dad has thought us not to just read a verse, but read the verses around it to get the full meaning. So that's what I did.

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger: for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and a keep oneself unstained from the world."
-James 1:19-27 (ESV)
(I looked these scriptures in my dad's ESV study Bible, and orphans and widows is referring to the oppressed.)

Since I have been going thru this storm, I haven't been a doer... I haven't been extending grace to others... or loving them like I should. But this really convicted me. In the ESV study Bible, it says, "1:23-24 Looking intently at his natural face in a mirror and then forgetting what he was like demonstrates the folly of examining oneself in God's "mirror" of the "implanted word" (v.21) and then doing nothing about it (v.22). When one sees imperfections (as when looking in a mirror), common sense says something should be done about it." I want to look in God's "mirror" and do something about it, but only he can give me the grace to do it. This is definitely an EGG.

His Sovereign Will

As some of you know, I've been going thru a hard time the last few months. And I haven't been trusting God like I should. To tell the truth, I've been falling away from him. I feel beat up... mentally and physically, and even at times I feel numb, because of all that has happened really in the last year. I don't get stressed out very easily, but lately, I get stressed out about everything. Same thing that happened to me 2 years ago, when I was getting sick and they thought my appendix erupted, but then the doctors finally said it is probably stress. Well, that has been happening at night again. I haven't felt like myself at all lately.
When we were in VA, I was able to meet a friend for coffee Wednesday night and she was so encouraging! It was one of the best parts of the trip. She is such a dear friend! God really used her to get to my broken heart.
For the next few days I was able to see God at work again. I was able to pray again, and I felt like he was listing for the first time in a long time. And on Sunday, my family went to Kingsway, and how great it was to be with our church family again! It was so encouraging! And worship was amazing! God once again used the song God Moves. And when the first line was sung, I just broke down in tears. "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform." Wow! "He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. Deep in His dark and hidden mines, with never-failing skill, He fashions all His bright designs, and works His sovereign will." Never-failing. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. And he fashions all his bright designs and works his sovereign will. Isn't he amazing? For the first time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like the storm is passing. I'm not sure how long it's gonna take, but it's starting to.I love the part in the 3rd verse, "The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower." Things are gonna be hard, he allows them to be, but in the end he has a perfect plan for it all.
A new year has began, and I don't know what I'm gonna do, where I'm gonna live, who I'm gonna marry, or what 2011 alone holds. But I do know one thing... he knows. And he is going to work his sovereign will!
I use to think, God has plan A and plan B. And if plan A didn't work, he always had plan B. That is all just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. He has 1 plan, a "bright design", his sovereign will! And he has known about it since the beginning of time. In verse 2 of the song, it says, "O fearful saints new courage take, the clouds that you now dread, are big with mercy and will break, in blassings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace. Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face." A smilling face. See, he knows what's coming, and I can't wait to get there! But then again... he has his perfect timing. Let his will be done!

Happy 2011!

Happy 2011! My family had a wonderful Christmas! We made the long trip to VA on Christmas Eve, and we all vote it was one of our top Christmases. Yes, we got a lot of great stuff, like a Wii. And I got an espresso maker (finally!), NFL Cookbook, Madden 11 for the Wii, Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble cds, a Starbucks cup and coffee to go with my espresso maker, $25 of Starbucks gift cards, Yankee Candles, and so much more. But it was the time spent with family. With my grandfather falling off his deer stand and being in the hospital a few days, God really showed me I need to be greatful for the things I have at this moment. He has been showing me that a lot lately. You don't relize what you have till it's gone. So the best part of my Christmas was spending time with my grandparents, aunt and cousins! I love you all!!!

Thanksgiving #17

Today I am thankful for music. If you know me, you know that I have a very weird taste in music. I like EVERYTHING. From worship to rap... from pop to heavy rock. And my favorite of all, Josh Turner, is country. So when I say everything, I mean everything.
I tend to listen to songs that say what I'm feeling (which is not always helpful at times). For example, I was listening to P!nk's song Who Knew the other week, beacuse I felt exactly that. Or one of my favorite songs at the moment Here Without You by 3 Doors Down. If you know these songs... you know these are not very uplifting or encouraging. And when I am listening to my iPod, and I'm convicted (which is 50% of the time, but wish it was 100), I switch it over to worship music. Like the song I Have A Shelter or Out of the Depths, both by Sovereign Grace Music. I'm truly thankful for God in those moments, because most of the songs I pick like that, it seems like he is picking those songs for me... speaking to me thru them. They are so encouraging, and in those moments I sense he is with me... caring for me. And the best part... he is! What a great God he is!!!

Thanksgiving #16

Last Monday evening, my aunt Stacy picked me up to go Christmas shopping. What a night we had! God really blessed us. I am thankful for that night we had... but this thankful post is about Stacy.
She is only 15 years older than me, so we are fairly close in age... but she is not just my aunt. She is my second mother, one of my best friends, and a big sister as well. She is one of the few people I can go to with everything. I've always had a special relationship with her, and it seems to be growing every year. God has truly blessed me with giving me an aunt like her! She is one of a kind!
Our night started out at Cordova.... (I'm not gonna say where we went because it might give presents away...) but of course we went to Starbucks while we were there. And when we closed down the mall... we headed over to Target, and closed them down as well. The night was filled with a bunch of laughs, and I got all my shopping done. It was so special to spend time with just Stacy... something that does not happen very often.
Thank you Stacy for always being there! Love you very, very much!

Looking Ahead

Well, some of you know I've been going thru a difficult and changing season in my life. It's not at all where I thought I would be a month ago... but I know God has a plan for me. Isn't it funny how we'll be going on with our life, and then God will turn it totally around in just a few hours? But he does it for our good.
The day after things began to change... my cousin Kaitlin, called to comfort me. I'm very close with my cousin, and it was so good to talk to her. At the moment she is going to pharmacy school, and found out about this pharmacy tech test you can take with no college experience, and get certified. I was very interested.
After praying about it and talking to others, I am hoping to take it at the beginning of the year. Some of you know that I was thinking at different times about going to school for business, sports managment, zoology, and accounting... and I was really leaning to accounting for a long time. But this summer, after much prayer, I felt like God wasn't leading me to go to school. Yes, I was interested in accounting... but I never was excited to do it, or thought "yes, that's excatly what I want to do". But with this pharmacy tech thing, I am really excited, and I really want to do it!
Please keep me in your prayers as I'll hopefully be buying the study book soon, and studying to take the test in the beginning of 2011. (It's so weird to think it's almost the beginning of the new year!)

Penne Parmesan Alfredo

This past Thursday I made Penne Parmesan Alfredo. As always I had french bread, and I also did sauteed green beans. I've made Alfredo before, but it was the kind from a jar.

It calls for;

- 1 medium onion, minced

- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 cup hot milk

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

- 1 pound penne pasta

- 1 (8 ounce) package frozen peas, blanched in salt water

- Salt and white pepper

You have to melt the butter first, then saute onion in the melted butter. You then mix the flour, and when all is mixed in you gradually add the hot milk as it cooks on low heat. Stir in the Parmesan . I cooked the pasta while I was making the sauce, so it was ready to be mixed. After pasta is drained, mix it with the peas and the pour into the cheese sauce. When all is stired together, season with salt and white pepper.

*I did not put the peas in it because I'm not a fan of them, so that is why I did the sauteed green beans.

It had a different taste, but mom, dad, Josh and I really liked it. I think it's a do-over... but next time I will double it for our 5.



Thanksgiving #15

I know that I haven't been posting lately, and I know it's December now, but I've decided I'm going to still be posting thanksgiving post till I get to #30. (Since I missed a few days.)

So today, I am thankful for my grandparents, GG and Popa Don. A few weeks ago, I went up to VA for a week, and they were so kind to have me stay with them the whole time... feed me... take me where I wanted to go... and encourage me when I was feeling down and crying. It was so encouraging to be with them... more than they know. But it's not just then. They have always been there for me. Cheering me on when I was playing basketball... putting up with me 3 days a week when I was working on their side of town (haha ;) )... and always there to encourage me in my walk with the Lord. I love them so much, and I'm so very greatful for them.
Thank you GG and Don for everything! I love yall so much! See you Christmas Eve! <3