So everyone, I have SUPER exciting news! On Monday, I FINISHED SCHOOL!!!!! FINALLY!! Most people get out of school for the summer at the beginning of June....not me! I'm my own person-an original. I get out at the end of July! *rolls eyes* Yeeah I'm just cool like that. So anyways, I finished Monday, and now I get just over a month of summer vacation. Woohoo!!
The other exciting news is that this Friday and Saturday my dad and I are going to Bro. Streeval's anniversary services....aaaannnndddd Kristi might be going with us! I'm SOOOOO happy!!!! I love that girl TO DEATH! :-D So yeah, we might stay in a room together. It will be fun! :-D
And I left these two pieces for news so you can go have yourself a good ole' shout down in the Lord. Last Wednesday night, Josie, a cousin of a family in our church that has visited us every summer for like 3 years, was filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost! and THEN, tonight, EJ, a guy in my church has come to our church for almost 2 1/2 years received the Holy Ghost! God is SOOOOO good!! There is REVIVAL IN OUR CHURCH!!!!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
He's the Master of the Ocean
This is a quick, random post to let you all know that I absolutely LOVE the old songs!!!!! It's been a while since we've sung some of them at my church because there are just so many good ones!! A few of my favorites are "Master, the Tempest is Raging," sung by Jesse Dixon, "Leavin' on my Mind" by the Haven of Rest Quartet, and "Somebody Oughta Testify" by Dottie Peebles. I was singing both of those all day today, and then after church I looked up "Leavin on my Mind" and on the sid was "Master, the Tempest is Raging" and I clicked RIGHT AWAY!!! I looooove it! :) I was sitting there just about bawling because of the power I could feel!!! There are a few lines that stick out to me from the two hymns.
The first one, from "Master, the Tempest is Raging," says "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the sky." Something about that stuck out to me tonight. I've heard messages about having Jesus in your boat and things like that. I guess tonight I just really put the connection together. These thoughts are going to be a little bit scrambled, but please just try to get what I'm saying.
Ok, so we can compare our lives and our walks of life with the boat. Obviously, we want Jesus to not only be in the boat, but to be controlling it. For the sake of this thought, pretend that we are driving the boat, and Jesus just wants to be in the boat. Well we're going through the "sea of life" on our little boat, and we hit the storm, or the problems and trials of life. The line, "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the skies," is saying that even if it seems like Jesus is asleep in your boat, your trials can't overtake you. You might be fighting the hardest struggle you've ever faced. You feel like God isn't there, that He doesn't even give a thought to the fight that's going on, but if you have Jesus in your boat, even if it seems as though He's sleeping, you can't hear His voice, you can't feel His touch, you don't feel direction, the storms and trials of life Can. Not. Consume You.
I have this friend, and she will know I'm talking about her, (hope you don't mind Buddy!) that has been going through a trial for three years. I won't go into details, but there are times when she feels like she'll be consumed, like she can't go on. If I was going through what she's going through (essentially it SEEMS like Jesus is asleep) I don't know if I could make it. But through it all, she has kept a steady prayer life. She's faithful to church, submissive to her Pastor--she has kept her walk with God even though it seems like He's not there. She is an INCREDIBLY faithful, and good saint, although the trials of her life are HUGE! But I know and in her mind, she knows, that because Jesus is in her boat, even if it seems like He's sawing logs in the back, this trial cannot consume her. He's the Master of the ocean, the sea, and the sky. He controls the dark clouds, the waves that are crashing against her boat. He is over all of the little sharks in the water that have tried to hurt her and bring her down (♫ Lalala, he's a jerk;)♪ Inside joke) I know that in the very darkest of hours it seems like God isn't there, it seems like no one understands, the trial will never end, the wounds will be reopened over and over and never heal, but I'm telling you, THIS WILL END. There are seasons, and a season doesn't last a lifetime. There are cycles, and God knows just when you're season will come to an end. When you are through this, you'll be able to see why it happened. "Farther along we'll understand why" as the old song goes.
I really didn't mean to say any of that, but about half-way through I started crying and just felt to try to encourage someone. God is there. He really DOES have it all in control. When life seems it's craziest, God is still there, He's still walking beside you, protecting you, helping you.
The first one, from "Master, the Tempest is Raging," says "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the sky." Something about that stuck out to me tonight. I've heard messages about having Jesus in your boat and things like that. I guess tonight I just really put the connection together. These thoughts are going to be a little bit scrambled, but please just try to get what I'm saying.
Ok, so we can compare our lives and our walks of life with the boat. Obviously, we want Jesus to not only be in the boat, but to be controlling it. For the sake of this thought, pretend that we are driving the boat, and Jesus just wants to be in the boat. Well we're going through the "sea of life" on our little boat, and we hit the storm, or the problems and trials of life. The line, "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the skies," is saying that even if it seems like Jesus is asleep in your boat, your trials can't overtake you. You might be fighting the hardest struggle you've ever faced. You feel like God isn't there, that He doesn't even give a thought to the fight that's going on, but if you have Jesus in your boat, even if it seems as though He's sleeping, you can't hear His voice, you can't feel His touch, you don't feel direction, the storms and trials of life Can. Not. Consume You.
I have this friend, and she will know I'm talking about her, (hope you don't mind Buddy!) that has been going through a trial for three years. I won't go into details, but there are times when she feels like she'll be consumed, like she can't go on. If I was going through what she's going through (essentially it SEEMS like Jesus is asleep) I don't know if I could make it. But through it all, she has kept a steady prayer life. She's faithful to church, submissive to her Pastor--she has kept her walk with God even though it seems like He's not there. She is an INCREDIBLY faithful, and good saint, although the trials of her life are HUGE! But I know and in her mind, she knows, that because Jesus is in her boat, even if it seems like He's sawing logs in the back, this trial cannot consume her. He's the Master of the ocean, the sea, and the sky. He controls the dark clouds, the waves that are crashing against her boat. He is over all of the little sharks in the water that have tried to hurt her and bring her down (♫ Lalala, he's a jerk;)♪ Inside joke) I know that in the very darkest of hours it seems like God isn't there, it seems like no one understands, the trial will never end, the wounds will be reopened over and over and never heal, but I'm telling you, THIS WILL END. There are seasons, and a season doesn't last a lifetime. There are cycles, and God knows just when you're season will come to an end. When you are through this, you'll be able to see why it happened. "Farther along we'll understand why" as the old song goes.
I really didn't mean to say any of that, but about half-way through I started crying and just felt to try to encourage someone. God is there. He really DOES have it all in control. When life seems it's craziest, God is still there, He's still walking beside you, protecting you, helping you.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Ugh!!
I'll admit it right away, although I'm sure you'd figure it out by reading further---I'm annoyed!! VERY annoyed!!! I was going through the Yahoo homepage, as I usually do, because they usually have interesting stories. The other day they had an article on strange hotel rooms. There's a hotel that is underwater, and the workers scuba dive down to you and deliver you pizza for food. I thought that was pretty cool. Right now there's a story about a guy riding his bike on a lake--cool stuff. Then there's an article that just eats me up!!!! It's called "The disaster that the world forgot."
Back in September of last year, a big earthquake hit New Zealand, and there were around 180 people killed. I can't remember it extremely well, but I'm sure there were rescue funds and everything, and I'm sure an amount of awareness was raised. You can ask almost any teenager, or even adult, that you see walking down the road a simple question like, "Who's Justin Bieber?" or Or "What's the biggest movie right now?" anything to do with modern news or entertainment, and they'll be able to asnwer you correctly. You ask them about a little city of 39,000 people called Christchurch, and 99.9% won't even know what the city is. Do you know what Christchurch is?
It's a city in New Zealand that has been hit EVERY DAY SINCE SEPTEMBER with an average of 20 earthquakes a day, 7,500 total. It just made me SICK when I realized the priorities of the media!!!! On the front page of Yahoo, there are four stories displayed, in this order. "Rebecca Black Debuts New Single," "Teen's Bike Stunt Defies Logic," "Embarrassing home run trot," And then FINALLY "The Disaster the world forgot." How sickening is that? There are 36 other featured stories on Yahoo's home page, and among them are a story letting everyone know about a golf star and his girlfriend breaking up, the NFL games being even longer this year, a baseball player hitting the ball so high it broke a light, a story about two celebrities who stayed out of the limelight for years, and quite a few other ridiculous stories.
Has our country become so heartless that we care about "Is it ok for kids to sleep in the bed with their parents" or Ivanka Trump's baby girl more than we care about a city that can't live a normal life because of the disaster that strike's daily? I can't even IMAGINE having my house destroyed, but really not being able to rebuild it because I know it'll be knocked down again. Imagine you're brushing your teeth in the morning and all of the sudden the ground starts shifting. You're out for a walk with your dog through the rubble in the street and you're knocked off your feet because of an earthquake. It's terrible, yet for a town of 39,000 people, it's their every day lives.
Let's not forget what's really important! And I'm not judging, because even for myself, sometimes my priorities get messed up. BUT, personally, I don't think that the media should be allowed to get their priorities messed up...I want to know the IMPORTANT stuff!
Back in September of last year, a big earthquake hit New Zealand, and there were around 180 people killed. I can't remember it extremely well, but I'm sure there were rescue funds and everything, and I'm sure an amount of awareness was raised. You can ask almost any teenager, or even adult, that you see walking down the road a simple question like, "Who's Justin Bieber?" or Or "What's the biggest movie right now?" anything to do with modern news or entertainment, and they'll be able to asnwer you correctly. You ask them about a little city of 39,000 people called Christchurch, and 99.9% won't even know what the city is. Do you know what Christchurch is?
It's a city in New Zealand that has been hit EVERY DAY SINCE SEPTEMBER with an average of 20 earthquakes a day, 7,500 total. It just made me SICK when I realized the priorities of the media!!!! On the front page of Yahoo, there are four stories displayed, in this order. "Rebecca Black Debuts New Single," "Teen's Bike Stunt Defies Logic," "Embarrassing home run trot," And then FINALLY "The Disaster the world forgot." How sickening is that? There are 36 other featured stories on Yahoo's home page, and among them are a story letting everyone know about a golf star and his girlfriend breaking up, the NFL games being even longer this year, a baseball player hitting the ball so high it broke a light, a story about two celebrities who stayed out of the limelight for years, and quite a few other ridiculous stories.
Has our country become so heartless that we care about "Is it ok for kids to sleep in the bed with their parents" or Ivanka Trump's baby girl more than we care about a city that can't live a normal life because of the disaster that strike's daily? I can't even IMAGINE having my house destroyed, but really not being able to rebuild it because I know it'll be knocked down again. Imagine you're brushing your teeth in the morning and all of the sudden the ground starts shifting. You're out for a walk with your dog through the rubble in the street and you're knocked off your feet because of an earthquake. It's terrible, yet for a town of 39,000 people, it's their every day lives.
Let's not forget what's really important! And I'm not judging, because even for myself, sometimes my priorities get messed up. BUT, personally, I don't think that the media should be allowed to get their priorities messed up...I want to know the IMPORTANT stuff!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
My grandma
Well everyone, I just wanted to post about my grandma. I am VERY VERY blessed to have a grandmother that loves me and cares about me, but is also my pastor's wife. She isjust absolutely AMAZING!!!!!! She is a wonderful example of what every woman should strive to be like----a true and graceful lady! I just LOVE her!!! :-D She's an amazing example of a mother, wife, grandmother, and first lady of the church :)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Will of God
Hello my lovely people!! I come to you today with my head ducked in shame....it has been two months since I've written to my blog. Honestly, I've had no motivation or inspiration. Well, my inspiration came a week ago, and my motivation hit me just now.
The topic I present to you isss.....*drum roll* "THE WILL OF GOD!"
We (my dad, brother and I) attended a church camp in Albion, IN last week. I must admit, that camp is the cream of the crop! Amazing move of God and PHENOMENAL preaching! Bro. Keith Smith from Charlotte, NC preached Monday night about evangelism, and I have to tell you, God confirmed to me the reason I decided to attend public school, and it also stirred up a HUGE desire for evangelism, which is the reason I'm attending public school. All of the morning services were taught by Bro. Kevin Archer, and his thought for the week was on the Will of God. He taught four different aspects of the will of God, and I'll tell you them in a minute.
The second night, Tuesday night, there was no preaching. The children's choir sing and the Holy Ghost fell in the room! Little children everywhere had their hands raised with tears streaming down their faces, seeking the Holy Ghost. Wednesday night Bro. Bow preached "The Great Escape" and talked about breaking chains that hold you. He read where the Lord gave "some deliverance" to the children of Israel. He was talking about the man (I can't remember....it had "boam" at the end) that was in partial freedom for 17 years. He talked about how some deliverance allows you to worship and feel the Holy Ghost on Sunday night, but Monday morning you're chained down again. It was a really good message and there was a LOT accomplished that night!! Then Thursday night Bro. Bow preached about Two Women. He talked about awakening dreams that have died in your life. Again, WONDERFUL preaching! Friday night, no preaching again.
So Tuesday morning, Bro. Archer preached "What is the will of God." He talked about how misused the phrase "will of God" is, and how people just throw it around. It's hard to summarize an entire message, but his main point was "The will of God is what your pastor preaches." If your pastor preaches that you don't wear the color brown (never heard of that, but it's just an example) then the will of God for you is to not wear the color brown. If your dating standard is 18, (a relevant thing in my life there) than the will of God is that you do not date until you're 18. That message really helped me! Then Wednesday morning he preached about embracing the will of God. A lot of people feel like if you're in the will of God than you're going to be miserable and everything you hold dear will be taken away from you. That's not what the will of God is. He wants to make you happy, and He will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give you what is best for you. The will of God is something to love and embrace. You embrace things that you hold dear to you. You embrace something you love :) The will of God is something to LOVE! The will of God, or the plan of God for you life should make you happy! I tmakes me absolutely THRILLED knowing that God has a plan for my life, and if I'm sensitive to Him and stay in His plan, I will be as happy as is possible for my life. And that if I follow His will, I will have the best of everything in life! It is such an amazing feeling to submit and embrace. I don't want to have to try to figure out what I'm going to do in my life....GOD has it all in control! I don't have to worry about if I'm going to get married, because God knows, and HE has the perfect, let me say it again, THE PERFECT man for me! I don't want the responsibility of planning my life or trying to find my own mate. ~When God sends you your spouse, he/she will walk up beside you, take your hand, and you'll keep walking together~ Bro. Kevin Archer
I really cannot describe to you how much that one message changed my life. No, the will of God might not be the easiest option at the moment, but in the long run you will have a LOT less pain than if you followed your own will, and God will make you happier than you could EVER make yourself. For the first time in my life, I had to make a conscious choice to follow the will of God. I've never come face-to-face with a decision of whether or not I'll follow God or do my own thing. And I'll be completely transparent, it wasn't an easy choice for me. I had to sacrifice my own self-will on the altar....I DID have to give up my will, cry, ask God to help me, ask Him to give me strength...I DID have to tell him, "Lord I don't particularly WANT to do this, but nevertheless, Thy will not mine." Already, God has shown to me that He will bless me for it. I can't explain to you what it feels like to know I'm listening and obeying.
In the past 3 weeks, I have felt pain like never before in my life. I've hurt more than I thought possible, I've cried more than I have in years, and I've been more lonely than I've ever thought I would be. BUT, I know that God is there for me....although we can't see Him, He is there. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He cares about us more than our best friends did. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how God knows what we need, and when we need it. I VERY MUCH needed the messages about God's will at Camp. And then, Sunday night, my uncle Tim was talking after altar call and the one thing he said was "You don't have to be lonely." Even now, seeing that just makes me weep. I'm so thankful to know that God is always there for us. When friends we thought would be close to us forever turn away, when we lose ppl we thought we'd have for the rest of our lives, and when circumstances happen and we are separated from those we hold dear, GOD is there, and HE will never go away. He won't turn His back on us, He won't ever ever ever be separated from us. God is SO good! :)
~My life is not my own, to You I belong. I give myself away~
The topic I present to you isss.....*drum roll* "THE WILL OF GOD!"
We (my dad, brother and I) attended a church camp in Albion, IN last week. I must admit, that camp is the cream of the crop! Amazing move of God and PHENOMENAL preaching! Bro. Keith Smith from Charlotte, NC preached Monday night about evangelism, and I have to tell you, God confirmed to me the reason I decided to attend public school, and it also stirred up a HUGE desire for evangelism, which is the reason I'm attending public school. All of the morning services were taught by Bro. Kevin Archer, and his thought for the week was on the Will of God. He taught four different aspects of the will of God, and I'll tell you them in a minute.
The second night, Tuesday night, there was no preaching. The children's choir sing and the Holy Ghost fell in the room! Little children everywhere had their hands raised with tears streaming down their faces, seeking the Holy Ghost. Wednesday night Bro. Bow preached "The Great Escape" and talked about breaking chains that hold you. He read where the Lord gave "some deliverance" to the children of Israel. He was talking about the man (I can't remember....it had "boam" at the end) that was in partial freedom for 17 years. He talked about how some deliverance allows you to worship and feel the Holy Ghost on Sunday night, but Monday morning you're chained down again. It was a really good message and there was a LOT accomplished that night!! Then Thursday night Bro. Bow preached about Two Women. He talked about awakening dreams that have died in your life. Again, WONDERFUL preaching! Friday night, no preaching again.
So Tuesday morning, Bro. Archer preached "What is the will of God." He talked about how misused the phrase "will of God" is, and how people just throw it around. It's hard to summarize an entire message, but his main point was "The will of God is what your pastor preaches." If your pastor preaches that you don't wear the color brown (never heard of that, but it's just an example) then the will of God for you is to not wear the color brown. If your dating standard is 18, (a relevant thing in my life there) than the will of God is that you do not date until you're 18. That message really helped me! Then Wednesday morning he preached about embracing the will of God. A lot of people feel like if you're in the will of God than you're going to be miserable and everything you hold dear will be taken away from you. That's not what the will of God is. He wants to make you happy, and He will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give you what is best for you. The will of God is something to love and embrace. You embrace things that you hold dear to you. You embrace something you love :) The will of God is something to LOVE! The will of God, or the plan of God for you life should make you happy! I tmakes me absolutely THRILLED knowing that God has a plan for my life, and if I'm sensitive to Him and stay in His plan, I will be as happy as is possible for my life. And that if I follow His will, I will have the best of everything in life! It is such an amazing feeling to submit and embrace. I don't want to have to try to figure out what I'm going to do in my life....GOD has it all in control! I don't have to worry about if I'm going to get married, because God knows, and HE has the perfect, let me say it again, THE PERFECT man for me! I don't want the responsibility of planning my life or trying to find my own mate. ~When God sends you your spouse, he/she will walk up beside you, take your hand, and you'll keep walking together~ Bro. Kevin Archer
I really cannot describe to you how much that one message changed my life. No, the will of God might not be the easiest option at the moment, but in the long run you will have a LOT less pain than if you followed your own will, and God will make you happier than you could EVER make yourself. For the first time in my life, I had to make a conscious choice to follow the will of God. I've never come face-to-face with a decision of whether or not I'll follow God or do my own thing. And I'll be completely transparent, it wasn't an easy choice for me. I had to sacrifice my own self-will on the altar....I DID have to give up my will, cry, ask God to help me, ask Him to give me strength...I DID have to tell him, "Lord I don't particularly WANT to do this, but nevertheless, Thy will not mine." Already, God has shown to me that He will bless me for it. I can't explain to you what it feels like to know I'm listening and obeying.
In the past 3 weeks, I have felt pain like never before in my life. I've hurt more than I thought possible, I've cried more than I have in years, and I've been more lonely than I've ever thought I would be. BUT, I know that God is there for me....although we can't see Him, He is there. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He cares about us more than our best friends did. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how God knows what we need, and when we need it. I VERY MUCH needed the messages about God's will at Camp. And then, Sunday night, my uncle Tim was talking after altar call and the one thing he said was "You don't have to be lonely." Even now, seeing that just makes me weep. I'm so thankful to know that God is always there for us. When friends we thought would be close to us forever turn away, when we lose ppl we thought we'd have for the rest of our lives, and when circumstances happen and we are separated from those we hold dear, GOD is there, and HE will never go away. He won't turn His back on us, He won't ever ever ever be separated from us. God is SO good! :)
~My life is not my own, to You I belong. I give myself away~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)