And the countdown continues...

Well its just around the corner.. How are you counting down--according to the Advent calendar or the ABC family Christmas shows.. well whatever way you choose, theres only 2 more days.....till.....


Till what?  What is Christmas mean to you?  Is it all about Santa and what he is going to bring, or is it all about the birth of Jesus?  


Growing up I always believed in Santa and as a matter of fact, I believed in Santa much longer than my friends and much longer than many children today do.  But I always knew about the birth of Jesus, and I understood clearly that the Christmas Eve service at church was not for Santa matters, but rather Jesus matters.    

I enjoyed this telling of the story of the birth of Jesus.  Maybe I enjoyed it because I am technology savvy and like to see what people can come up with, but also because it was very descriptive and comments similar to those are made on other peoples pages everyday.  It would be a totally different world, if that is how people found out about the birth of Jesus, but what makes the birth of Jesus special is because simple things like the star shinned over him and let people know where he had been born.

So make sure this Christmas as everyone waits upon Santa'a arrival that the birth of Jesus is also celebrated.  The birth of Jesus is the reason of the season!

What is on the weather's mind?

According to kids, parents, teachers and most everyone around the weather forecast is predicting that it is going to snow tonight.  I love seeing the snow, but sadly being in Hickory I haven't seen much this year.  


This past Sunday night, I was spending one of my last nights in the dorm before Christmas vacation, and as most college kids, I spent my time on the computer.  On my facebook news feed, almost every other one was about snow.  
Either about snow in a good way or a bad.  Some (the mountains) were along the lines of "..sigh, another snow day.." or I even saw one that said, "..boone is where you stand still for only 5 mins and you turn into a snowman..".  But then there were others (most places that weren't in the mountains) that said, "..i wish it would snow a blizzard and school would be cancelled.."  or "..please snow, i don't want to go to school..".  As I continued to read, I also saw statuses from adults and parents not wanting snow, or some even wanting it.  Now while these seems weird that I am telling you about statuses that I read off of my facebook...there is more to it.  


Snow is annoying for those that deal with so much, that it messes up school breaks and plans, but snow is also the best thing ever when you don't normally have snow days.  So like I said according to the weather man, there is bad weather coming in tonight, I hope that it is not so bad that school is cancelled, because I think everyone needs to have Friday as their last day before Christmas...but some weather would be nice, because then (Caldwell Schools) get a three hour delay..(theres not many of those).

Now moving away from the grade school mode, into the college world..

LET IT SNOW!

My Christmas break has already started, so the weather can't mess me up.. but even if it was during the school year it wouldn't matter..because LR likes to have school no matter what.  Last year we only had one snow day and that was amazing.. because all the other colleges around us were out. 

I am for sure a snow babe.  I love the snow, and still love to play in it. I may be 20 years old, but still love getting bundled up and going sledding or having a snow ball fight!  And making snow angles is a blast!  I have so many memories growing up in the snow, but those will have to wait until a snow day..so if you want to hear those..you have to want snow :D .  

As I started out this blog according to kids, another thing is it is nearing time for Santa Claus to come to town.  I volunteered my time today up at West Lenoir Elementary School working with the distribution of angel tree gifts, and you will never guess who came to visit.  Santa was in the house, bringing some goodies to the students, and then later after school my church shared some goodies with the faculty and staff.  

During this time of the year, I think about all those that are with out heat, without a bed to sleep on, without a shelter over there head...and just to think we are hoping for it to snow.

Dear Lord, You are amazing, and who knows what are forecasting for us.  I would pray that everyone think about those that are less fortunate then yourself.  I would pray that maybe you lead a hand to someone else, or share a warm cup of coffee.  Lord, you are amazing in everything you do.  Please keep everyone safe and remind us to be smart when it comes to traveling during bad weather.  Lord, I would pray that you watch over all that are freezing because of temperature, but also because you are absent from their lives.  In your holy name, I pray,  Amen.

Burlesque :D

Wow, it has been a LONG while since my last post.  But there is a good reason.  I have just my 3rd semester of college.  For all college kids, its one crazy time of the year.  But now exams are over (for me at least).  So for celebration I went last night with my friends to see a fantastic movie.  Have you heard of the movie Burlesque?


Well I went to see it last night, and I just never wanted the movie to end, but here is the trailer..hope you enjoy.

I will get back into Blogging my regular soon!

Lifted up on eagles wings

Well the year 2010 is coming to and end.  We are a year older than we were last year.   Business and schools work loads have doubled.  Some students have finals nearing.  Some businesses are requiring more hours.  Christmas is just around the corner. For me I am trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.  And there i so much that needs to be done.  There some seems to be a lot of stress during this time of the year.  So I would like to share my wealth with you (no, not money) but rather some uplifting videos, stories, pictures, and other things.

This is a song that I sing at church, I love this song. I think that it is so uplifting.  Make sure that when you listen to it, you listen to what it is saying.  All the words are important.  

I think that thinking positive is not something that you can do alone.  You have to talk to the one man, that knows everything about you.  He knows what is going on in your life, even before you know its coming.  He is waiting to hear from you.  I found these following rules, and I instantly thought about sharing them with everyone that reads my blogs.  The pictures that are with them, did not come with them, 
I added them because I thought it fit.  I hope you enjoy.

The Rules for being Human.

When you were born, you didn't come with an owner's manual; 

these guidelines make life work better.

1. You received a body.  You may like it or hate it, but it is the only thing that you are sure to keep for the rest of your life.

2. You will learn lessons.  You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "Life on Planet Earth".  Every person or incident is the Universal Teacher.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.  Growth is a process of experimentation.  "Failures" are as much a part of the process as "success."

4.  A lesson is repeated until learned. It is presented to you in various forms until you learn it -- then you go on to the next lesson 

5. If you don't learn easy lessons, they get harder.  External problems are a precise reflection of your internal state.  When you clear inner obstructions, your outside world changes.  Pain is how the universe gets your attention.

6.  You will know you've learned a lesson when your actions change.  Wisdom is practice.  A little of something is better than a lot of nothing.



7. "There" is no better than "here".  When your "there" becomes a "here" you simply obtain another "there" that again looks better than "here"






8.  Others are only mirrors of you.  You cannot love or hate something about another unless it reflects something you love or hate in yourself.

9. Your life is up to you. Life provides the canvas; you do the painting. Take charge of your life -- or someone else will.

10. You always get what you want. Your subconscious rightfully determines what energies, experiences, and people you attract -- therefore, the only foolproof way to know what you want is to see what you have. There are no victims, only students.

11. There is no right or wrong, but there are consequences. Moralizing doesn't help. Judgments only hold the patterns in place. Just do your best.





12. Your answers lie inside you. Children need guidance from others; as we mature, we trust our hearts, where the Laws of Spirit are written. You know more than you have heard or read or been told. All you need to do is to look, listen, and trust.






13. You will forget all this.

14. You can remember any time you wish.

I hope you enjoyed these rules to life, I think they are very important and many are often over looked.  No one is born with an owner manual, so this is the best we can do.

And now in case you haven't smiled, watch this video

Dear heavenly father, you are amazing.  You knew each and everyone of us, before we were even thought of.  Us as humans, sometimes struggle to remember that you gave your life for us.  I would pray that you would help us to remember that we are your children of God.  These inspirations that I shared are just a few of the things that inspire me, of course you inspire me, and I would hope that you inspire many other people.  I would also pray Lord, that you please watch over all that are in pain emotionally and physically.  I would pray that you let the homeless, unloved, cold, hungry know that you love them.  You are amazing, Lord, I love you!

We remember.

We remember.  I remember.  Memories are shared.  Tears are shed.  

November 24,1932--May 10,2003

Papa was a loving son, who was a brother to 4 girls.  On July 10, 1956 he became a loving husband to Mum.  And then was a loving father to 4 girls.  He was blessed with 8 grandchildren, with the first one being a little boy.  Papa never met a stranger and always had something nice to say to everyone.  

This is a picture from Sunset beach.  Mum and Papa loved that beach and we all still do, our family has gone to Sunset beach since 1984.  So many memories were made with Papa at the beach, and many continue to be made. I love this picture.  It is a beautiful sunset and a picture of Mum and Papa.

Papa was a strong man, he fought cancer.  But something about Papa, even when he was sick he always made sure that his grandchildren were happy.  I remember going for ice cream, and of course to the the grocery store.  My uncle Mike shared a story about Papa.  Papa had a love for grocery stores.  "Sometimes we even went 2 or 3 times a day, and got a shopping cart every time," son-in-law Mike.    Another memory that was shared on facebook was from Matthew.  Matthew was sharing,"I remember when he would leave change in his chair and then when he got up, we would race to see who would get the most of it."  Papa was a joyful individual.  "Daddy had enough kid in him that he always made things fun and he made things exciting to look forward to, his daughter Carol Ann.

I was looking through pictures on my computer and found these.  James and I were the 3rd and 4th grandchildren born.  When we were young Mum and Papa lived in Macon, GA, while Kelly, Mike and James were in Boone and then moved to Raleigh.  And Carol Ann, Jeff and Elizabeth lived in Lenoir.  I am not sure where this picture was taken, but it looks like it was chilly.  I wish I had the time to go look for other pictures of Papa with his daughters and his grandchildren, but I don't.  Papa loved each one of us, and we all have special memories.  James shared, "I remember sitting on his lap and we would play solitaire.  And I would saw, 'Papa there are no more moves we lost they are no more moves' and he would calmly reply 'just simmer down now'.  

Papa, I love you.  I have so many memories.  I remember playing card games with you, and going to the grocery stores.  I have funny memories of playing mariocart and you always running into the walls, and then when out driving normally to the store you joking that you could run into the stone walls.  I remember going out and getting fresh baked donuts and not wanting them to get cold so turning the heat all the way up in the car and then leaning on the windows to cool down.  I remember your love for cooking.  I remember you teaching me how to roll coins.  I remember the morning of your 70th birthday birthday and putting 70 balloons in your front yard.  I remember the days when I would sit with you while you were filling up your weekly medicine containers.  I remember giving me the grape juice + pineapple juice + ginger ale when I was sick.  I remember the days of going to see you at dialysis.  I remember your love of your green chair.  I remember going to Disney. I remember so much about you.  I remember you.  

This final photo fits this day well.  Happy Birthday Papa, today is your day!  You are missed, but we love you dearly and you are with the heavenly Lord Jesus now.  Heres to you, do you remember this, receiving your birthday spankings.   Papa you made such an impact in so many peoples lives.  You were an amazing man, and I love you.  

Give thanks

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year, its a time of family and being thankful for what you have.  As I was sitting at home this Thanksgiving eve, I was searching around for Thanksgiving songs.  It surprised me on how hard it was to find songs, but I found one and I want to share it with anyone that reads my blogs..I couldn't figure out how to post the video but here are the lyrics. 

Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.
From far and near we travel home,
Blessed that we are able.

Grateful for this sheltered place
With light in every window,
Saying ?welcome, welcome, share this feast
Come in away from sorrow.?

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend and friendless;
All together everyone in the gift of loving-kindness.

Grateful for what's understood,
And all that is forgiven;
We try so hard to be good,
To lead a life worth living.

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend, and friendless;
All together everyone, let grateful days be endless.

Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.

Dear heavenly father, you are amazing. And I would pray that you teach those that do not how to be thankful learn, I know that I am not always thankful as much as I should be, I am continuing to learn.  I pray to you to continue to guide me with learning how to continue to be thankful for all I have.  I love you Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Some inspiration..

Inspiration comes in many ways.  It can be through quotes that you read, uplifting comments from friends and family, seeing someone that is special to you, and of course for me reading the bible.  There are many ways and it varies from person to person, but it is important to know what is inspirational to you.  There are many things that are inspirational to me, but if I shared them all...then I would give you all of mine, and not leaving room for you to find what fits you best.Some days are not the best, but in order to have super highs and constant good days we sometimes have to travel through and over ruts.  It is not something that we want to do, but sometimes it is what needs to take place.  

Dance like no one is watching

About a year ago, I saw the following posted on facebook.  I understand that the one that posted it was the creator of it.  I enjoy finding quotes online and in books, but it is much more close to home when a friend creates something of their own.   

Live for God

Love your enemy

Listen to the silent

Pray for the pray-less

Sing like no one is listening

Dance like no one is watching

Many directions to go..

Where is my path leading me. As a child I have grown up thinking that I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but now that I am in college it doesn't look that easy anymore.  I know God has a plan for me and I am starting to see and truly understand that he is not going to show me step by step, but rather I am going to have to go down many roads, take turns that I am sure of and maybe even run into some dead ends, and maybe then not even see where I am going. God's plan for me is something I am uncontrollable of, it is not something that I know and one day may, but also I may always just be doing things that I love and will be the big picture of God's plan for me.

I love you Jesus

Dear Lord, I would pray to you that for those that are like me and struggling to want to know the path you have set for us, that we trust in you.  You know the plan that you have for us, and I would pray that you help all my brothers and sisters in Christ to see that.  I would also like to pray for all those that have worries, concerns, sickness, death and hurtful in their lives to see that one day everything is going to be different.  You are holy Lord Jesus, I love you and love praising you!  In your holy name, Amen.

Bye bye teenage years....

I think Skittles got some icing
on his nose..hehe!

Thats right, I'm growing up and moving out of the teenage years.  On November 6th, I celebrated my life here on earth and rejoiced in my 20th birthday.  I spent that evening in a way most 20-year-olds would not do.  My church hosted a Wild Women party.  There was a pajama fashion show, karaoke, yummy food, crafts and praise to the Lord our God for giving us each other.   (Oh and a yummy cake made just for me!) Momma made me and her matching winter wonderland pajamas that we wore and modeled together.  I enjoyed singing karaoke for the first time on my 20th birthday, but no way was I doing it on my own.  Thank you Melanie, Christy, Jeanie, and momma for joining me while we song "Ladies night".  It sure was a lot of fun to spend time with people that have such a special part in my heart.But this was special to me and to my church family. 

Mom and I modeling our
matching pjs!

 Though my years of growing I have had friends come and go, but my church family has always been a special part of my life. They are always there for me.  But of course my birthday continued onto the next day with another birthday cake that was given to me by mom, dad, Emma and Skittles!  Memories are important to be made in every day of our lives but very important to be made on special days and weekends like this one.  There has to be some funny pictures of November 7th evening when my friends blindfolded me and took me to another dorm for a surprise birthday celebration with cupcakes, but I have not been given those pictures yet.

Well thats all for now. 

 But I would like to share a final picture.. 

this seems to have gotten a lot of laughs on facebook

 and made a lot of people smile..

...lets see if it works on you to. 

Do I look like the pig?

Fears

 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you.  He will not leave you, nor forsake you."--Duet 31:6

 Throughout life everyone has fears and hurdles that we have to over come and jump.  Many of us just let our fears run our lives and let the fears take over our world.   I have many fears in my life, and I am starting to overcome them, but I still have a ways to go.  One of my fears as always been horses, I would never go near them or around them or be any where close to them.  A high school friend of mine, Rachel,  grew up with horses, and has two of them of her own. Over the past couple of years she has been getting me used to being around them, caring for them, feeding them which all lead up to one day.... riding them.  This summer for her birthday outing, I joined her family and loaded up the horses and the dogs.  We went to a camp ground/riding ground to ride horses.  We saddled up, and I rode. (note: I went two speeds, walk and stop!)  And that is one fear that I have overcome.  But this could be considered a simple fear, there so much more complex fears that we can all have.  The Lord our God is there for us, and wants to help us overcome any fear that we have.

These two pictures that i have shared are of the outdoors, they are ones that I took on my drive to Lenoir, Tuesday night.  It was a beautiful day, but as you can see a storm was coming.  And that sure is what happened.  Many counties in North Carolina were under a tornado watch, which leads to another fear.  I fear anything that is going to possibly take away my friends, family, pets, possessions.  And tornadoes is one of those. To be safe, I spent the night at home Tuesday so that I was not driving while tornadoes were around.   As i drove back to Hickory, Wednesday morning, we were still under a tornado watch, and I was paranoid. What if I saw one form in the sky?  What if one touched down near me?  What would I do if one was coming for me?  All these questions, but gladly I did not have to find the answers, because I made it back to Hickory with out seeing a tornado anywhere near me.

But even though we have fears, they are a part of life.  They are there and will always be, minor ones or major ones, they will always be there.  And there is someone that is there for.  He is mighty, and loves us.  The Lord Jesus, is there for us.  We can talk to him in pray about our fears and how we may either want to over come them or we want to just live with that fear, either way he is there for us.

Walking for a cure!

October 23rd, I got in the car around 630am, with my family and drove 2 hours to go walk.  Why drive so far just to walk?  Well it was not just a simple walk to exercise, it was a walk for the hydrocephalus association.  I love raising money and volunteering for good causes, but this one touches home and I would not miss this walk for anything.  I gathered with about 100 people that lives are touched by hydrocephalus..they may have it themselves, or have a children or grand child that has it, or maybe they just know someone with it, and want to raise money and awareness in honor of them. There is no cure for hydrocephalus, there is only treatment. So what in the world does Hydrocephalus even mean?  Hydro=water, and cephalus=brain, it has been known as water on the brain, or water head baby, but more scientifically it is the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain.  Everyone has 'water' on their brain, but some people may be born with to much, or later on in life accumulate too much.  Having to much 'water' is BAD, and if not taken care of fast, can lead to brain damage and other medical problems. 

Debbie and Mom

When I was 4 weeks old I went to the doctor for my month checkup, and when the doctors measured my length, weight, and head, they noticed something was wrong.  My length and weight was in the 15th percentile and my head was in the 90th percentile.  This was not normal and sent my parents with me to the hospital to have a CT scan.  (My parents had no clue what was going on ) Just a few moments later, my parents were told that their 4 wk old baby had hydrocephalus!

"What in the world is that," they asked.  What would you do, if you learned your baby had something you didn't no what it was, possibly couldn't say it along with even trying to spell it?  A week later, I under went brain surgery. Number one reason for babies to have brain surgery to hydrocephalus.   In the picture to the right, is my mom and Debbie. Mom says and believes that Debbie was a God send to her.  The doctors had all the medical things to worry about, but mom needed questions answered as to how to tend to a 5 wk old baby under going surgery, and Debbie had just been through all of it, so she was able to be there for mom.  Debbie's son is 6 months older than me, and has a shunt on the opposite side of mine.  Through surgeries in the first years of my life, Hunter and I grew up together, having our parents share stories and be support for each other.  Gladly we still live close by, and are able to get together for some special events.  

Elizabeth, Cory, Haylea

Here are 3 young adults that were diagnosed with hydrocephalus near birth.  Hunter was not able to make it to the walk, but one day we will have all 4 of us in the picture.  I met Haylea two years ago at the walk and we have stayed in touch, keeping up with each other.  Haylea and I met Cory, this year.  I love meeting people that are close to my age that deal with living their lives with hydrocephalus.  It something that is very special, because it saved all of our lives and we wouldn't be able to gather today if it wasn't for the treatments that we live with.  

Out of 1000 babies born, 2 are diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. It is more common then you think.  Sadly it is not known, and most people think that it is no big deal. ( I have even heard some people making jokes about it..makes me want to scream.) There is NO cure! I like to ask random people if they know what hydrocephalus is, and most people look at me like I am crazy or think that I am kidding and making up a word.  Thats sad.  If I walked around asking people if they knew what Spinal Bifida was, they could.. but not hydrocephalus.. and they are equally common! I hope that you have now learned something.       

In this picture, is a combination of the Hydro Walkers(my team) and Team Bryson and Team Norris.  This picture means the world to me. My team consisted of me, Debbie and Haylea.  My mom wanted to have her own team, so she and my dad (and i guess my dog Skittles).  And finally team Bryson.  Leanna and Brennan were told when Leanna was pregnant with Bryson, that he would be born with Hydrocephalus.  Through the word of mouth, they got connected with us and we shared some information with them.  Bryson was born in May, and as of now has still not undergone shunt surgery, but is being watched very closely. Bryson and I are both Caldwell County babies. :)  It made me jump for joy, when I heard they were coming.  Leanna learned that no one really knows what hydrocephalus is, and wanted to raise awareness for the cause!  These people are part of my family!  

To finish out this blog, I hope that if you didn't know what hydrocephalus was, now you do.  But even if you knew, or didn't and want to learn more, just let me know! And if you know any one with Hydrocephalus, share my name with them and tell them to get into touch with me.  I love being an advocate for hydrocephalus and want to help anyone out with learning about it, giving a shoulder, and being a friend. I love telling people about Hydrocephalus, and have given many presentations about it!  Hydrocephalus Association is in my heart, and everyday i wear it.  I wear a Hydro pin, and a Hydrocephalus bracelet! 

Homeless and Hungry

According to dictionary.com, prayers is a spiritual communion with God as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration or confession.  It is the act or practice of praying to God.  So how do we pray?  And what really is prayer? Prayer is kind of like our phone line to heaven, it is a communication process that allows us to talk to God, like a personal phone call.  Some tips that I have learned over sometime, and I have tried to remember them when I am praying, but it is tough. Make your prayer personal, like you are talking to a good friend or a family member.  Share your worries, your fears, your joys, your everything with God.  In Luke 11, "So I say to you:  Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened."  The Lord our God seeks for us to talk to him about everything, even though he already knows what we are thinking about, wanting, and wishing for, he is waiting for us to ask him and to talk to him.  


I think about many things in a day, and I pray all the time for everyone around me, those that are far away, those that do not believe, and especially for me as a believer and all other believers to share the word of God.

Whenever I am home in Lenoir, as I drive along the streets.  I see more of something than I wish to see.  Not all of them are harmful, some are just lacking money, some just want to be loved and need a place to stay.  There are homeless everywhere.  Some at one time had a home and lost their job, their home, and their family.  Some once served our country, and now when they have come home, and they are put to the streets because there is no where for them to get a job.  I understand that some of them are dangerous, but have you ever stopped one of them and simply learned their name?  


As I was looking through the pictures online of homeless people it brought tears to my eyes.  It breaks my heart, not only for the homeless people, but also because there are so many pictures that are placed online to "advertise" the homeless.


There are many things in my future, but one think is one day is to run a homeless shelter in my hometown.  Not where I will be living during that time, but to come home to Lenoir and start a homeless shelter, because sadly there is not one.   I now attend school  in Hickory, and when talking to some of my friends that from here, they say that they never see the homeless. And they are right, when out about in Hickory, you never see the homeless walking around, because they are hidden up somewhere out of site.


We take it all for granted.  We take out lives for granted.  We have a shelter over our head, a nice warm place to stay in the winter and a cool place to stay in the summer.  There is food that we have access to, a comfortable place to sleep.  Most have computers and other electronic devices, but yet we wish for other things.


Dear, heavenly father.  Please help all of your children to learn and to continue growing in knowledge of how to talk to you through prayer. Please help us all understand that not all homeless people are dangerous, and maybe just a simple act of kindness is what they need.  Lord, you are amazing, and I praise you all the time.  In your holy name, I pray. Amen

Memorizing vs. Knowing

 Yesterday, I stood beside my mother at a funeral and we sang some of our favorite songs.  (I am not saying that we like sad songs.)  The songs that were sung at the funeral, were enlightening and we were   celebrating the life that the amazing women lived.  The service started out with Amazing Grace.  My mother and I stood side-by-side, and I am not sure about her, but I sang the whole song without a hymnal.  But then I realized that I really do not know what I am singing about.  And then I quickly thought back to my Confirmation years....I was quizzed on if I had memorized the Lord's prayer, Apostles Creed, and a few others...but I now wonder why.  When you recite something from memory are we really listening and hearing what is being said.  So on the next song, Borning Cry, I decided to use a hymnal and read and sing the words instead of just reciting them.  I would like to share the words with you, of Borning Cry....

1. "I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.  I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.  I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;in a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell." 

2. "When you heard the wonder of the Word, I was there to cheer you on; you were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.  If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one, I'll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk till rising fun."

3. "In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young, I'll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I've begun.  When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes, I'll be there as I have always been, with just one more surprise."

4. "I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.  I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold."

I absolutely love this song, and when I stood and sang the song, I looked and listened to what I was singing about.  The Lord is always there for us, from the day we were baptized to the time we shut our weary eyes.  This song is a good demonstration to what our Lord does for us.  But thinking even more about memorizing vs knowing, a good example is the Lord's prayer.  As I was saying the Lord's prayer, I decided to read what I was speaking and really speak the words instead of reciting from memory what we remember. I think for me this is a good analogy to relate faith and belief.  Our faith sometimes to fall into just what we have been taught and we tend to fall into just reciting it over and over, but to really have our grow we must know what we believe and help it to grow stronger!  

Dear God, I pray to you that we will help everyone grow stronger in their faith and know what they are saying instead of simply reciting what we say in church and how we live our life for God.  I would like you to continue to watch over all the men and women that are serving our country and protecting us.  I pray to you that you continue to help me pray to you and talk to you about anything and everything in my life.  In your holy name, I praise and Love you Lord Jesus, Amen.

Widening our vision

"It is not seeing and believing, it is believing and seeing..."--Pastor Tony.  This morning I went to my home church and worshiped with my church family.  I love seeing all of them, and especially catching Pastor Tony's sermons.  Today the Gospel was Luke 17:11-19, and I loved the sermon pastor Tony shared with us, so i took some notes.  Now of course my notes are not perfect, but I hope I can share with you some wisdom that he shared with us.  Pastor shared that many members of the aging congregation are beginning to have eyesight issues.  While some are having cataract surgery, others are dealing with glaucoma--which is going to be used as an analogy to our faith--gathering to worship combines our vision, but unlike glaucoma our worshiping is not damaging to our faith.  He continued on with explaining the analogy.  This is where the analogy ends,  glaucoma that is damaging to the eye, is different from our worship which is widening to our faith. Adding worship and obedience widens our faith but it circles back to worshiping and being thankful for the gift of the grace of God that has been given to us. So the question is what do you see??  In essence it is what we believe in our faith.  Will you allow Jesus to widen your vision or are we going to settle for blindness??

Thank you Pastor Tony, for such an amazing sermon.

The Purpose of Life!

"Without God, life has no purpose, and with out purpose, life has no meaning."-Purpose Driven Life


There is so many things that happen in my daily lives and I sometimes wonder what the purpose of it was.  In the past month, I faced many things, and found a way to overcome them.  It is not possible to overcome obstacles that we, humans, are faced with daily, without talking to the Lord.  Pray is one with you can interact with him, and talk to him about whatever is bothering you. There are so many ways you can talk to the Lord, but another way is through praising him.  There is a song, that I absolutely love, and whenever I am need of talking to my Father, I blast it loud and sing proud to some Christian songs. My favorite one is to listen to My Savior My God.  The lord our God is amazing, with everything is does for us.  Here are the lyrics to the song that I love to listen to and blast wide open and loud all the time.  Not only when I am in need of talking to God, but also when I am happy and loving the world.

I am not skilled to understand

What God has willed, what God has planned

I only know at His right hand

Stands One who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed

Christ died to save me, this I read

And in my heart I find a need

Of Him to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange so once did I

Before I met my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God He was, my God He is

My God He's always gonna be

(repeat)

Yes, living, dying, let me bring

My strength, my solace from this spring

That He who lives to be my King

Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die

You count it strange so once did I

Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, my Savior lives

My Savior's always there for me

My God He was, my God He is

My God He's always gonna be

(repeat 5 times)

My Savior lives, my Savior loves

My Savior lives, my Savior loves

My Savior lives

Our Lord is amazing.  So to continue on about Life, our lives are what is the bases of ourselves.  Looking back over the past few weeks, it began to depress me a bit, so I grabbed my bible and randomly opened it.  Obviously God knew that something was going on that I needed to have comfort in, because as I flipped open the bible to Isaiah. In my Bible with a pencil mark over Is. 43:18-19.  The Lord says, "Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past.  Look at the new thing I am going to do.  It is already happening. Don't you see it?  i will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land."  I have a new century bible study bible, and I like this one so much I am going to share it.    [One of the few things that you can count on in this lifetime is change.  Just when you have everything kind of figured out, boom--it's time to go in a different direction.  So many things happen that throw us off balance--new schools every few years, best friends move away, divorce, new teachers with new expectations, Dad gets transferred and the family has to move, new stepparents with new step-siblings, the death of someone you love.  Life is continually changing.  Isaiah says not to look back and long for what used to be, that God is creating something new--new roads in the desert and rivers in the dry land.  You may be a creature of habit, and change may make you uncomfortable.  But one measure of your success will be how easily you adapt to change--to the new things God is doing in your life.  You will miss all the blessing he has for you in this day if you continue to long for the past.  Set your eyes toward the future and welcome the new paths that God is making for you.]

The Lord is amazing, and I love this devotion.  It is so true that if we continue to look back to the past, then we are going to miss out on the new that is ahead of us.  Many things such as taking a bid for Sigma Kappa and then dropping it, dating someone, working at Lowe's and then quitting, are just a few of the things in my past that will stay in the past and be moved on to the new and advanced things that are going to take place in my life.

"God has a purpose for you life on earth, but it doesn't end here. His plan involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this earth."--Purpose Driven Life.

Dear Lord, 

I pray for everyone including myself that when we are need of someone to talk to, we come to you.  You are our father and you care how we feel, you love us and do not want us to be looking down upon ourselves.  I pray that i continue to pick up your holy scriptures and continue to read them day and night.  I pray for the soldiers that are serving our country, as they are the men and women that protect our country.  I pray to you Lord Jesus that you continue to be with the believers of you to teach the non-believers about you.  In your holy name I pray, Amen.