Single Digits

I didn't realize it has been almost 4 months since I have posted anything. It's been a crazy semester but it is finally over and summer has arrived. This is going to be a summer like I have NEVER had before. In approximately 9 days I will be boarding a plane to leave America for 9 weeks. For the past 4 months of planning this trip the word that was in my head was "excitement" but the closer it gets the "excitement" is being joined by "nervous". I am leaving the country that I have lived in all of my life to go to a place that couldn't be more unfamiliar. I am leaving comfort and my family to venture off on an experience that will change my life forever. I will be living in Bangkok, Thailand where I will be involved in a variety of ministries. I know it's ok to be nervous because I have never done anything like this before. I have been in classes for 3 years and hopefully they have adequately prepared me to live in another culture. Thankfully I have been studying, specifically the Thai people for the past year so I do know a little about the culture. I am very much of a family oriented person so this is a huge step for me. I'm not sure who needs more prayer---me or my mom. I know I can't stay with my family forever and I have learned to branch away from them a lot since my freshman year. The Lord has grown me and changed my life so much since I came to college and I know that will only continue throughout this summer. I have spent my first week home preparing and getting all the things I will need to pack. I believe after tomorrow I will officially have everything I need before I leave next Tuesday. Everything for this trip has fallen into place so perfectly it is obvious God has this all under control. I feel so blessed by all the money that has been given and the prayers that have been said. Everyone around me is so excited for me and I can't wait to come back and share all that God has done.

That's all for now...I'll try not to wait 4 months to write again.

Coffee Date

The other day I went out to coffee with my friend, Stephanie. She is also from Roanoke and we have known each other since high school. She graduated from TFC 2 years ago but her husband is still in school here. Her precious little son, Gabriel, came too but of course, he slept the whole time. We got together to catch up and such because we hadn't seen each other since before Christmas. We had a really good talk about what God was doing in our lives and things that are going on in our world. The world has almost 7 billion people living on it...7 billion!!!! That is a butt load of people!! The best part about it is that God made all 7 billion and he knows everyone's name. Sheesh!!! That in and of itself is amazing but on top of that he knows us all individually and loves us more than we will ever imagine. Technology was a big topic of conversation, how technology is, in a sense, taking over the world. I feel like the last 5 years has been revolutionary for the world of technology. Now a days you never have to be out of contact with people. You can call, text, email, skype, facebook, blog, tweet and probably a lot more than that. That is just electronically. You can fly any where in the world and be there in less than 24 hours. Sometimes I wish I lived in the 1800's or some time long ago. They lived such simple lives. I want to strive for simplicity in my life now, but I'm finding it's nearly impossible. They didn't have laptops, ipods, cell phones or any kind of technology. It just makes me so mad how people in our world cannot live 5 minutes without their cell phones or being on the internet in connection with others. Our world has so much potential to do good and be glorifying to God but I feel like we are becoming more negative than positive. If we just used the technology we have access to and try our best to communicate the gospel to all the other people in the world we could show the God's love to so many people.
Another thing we talked about today is how mean people are. All the times I have worked in retail I have seen this meanness up close and personal. Every time I go into a store or restaurant, I try to be extra nice to whoever is helping or waiting on me because they are human just like me so that doesn't make me any better than them. We treat the people God has created so poorly and by doing that Christ's love is not shown. That is one thing that gives Christians a bad name. We just need to be conscience of those around us and how we treat them. There are so many opportunities that we pass up to tell people around us how much God loves them. Who are we to think we are better than them? Just thinking that we are better brings us down. We need to strive to give God the glory in every situation. No, this isn't easy but thankfully God is so patient with us and even when we fail, he is there and he still loves us.

I actually wrote this post a few days ago but just now got around to posting it. I'm supposed to be writing a paper that's do tomorrow but finishing this was more interesting. I haven't proofed this so parts may not make sense...oh well!

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God." -1 Corinthians 10:31

Because of Your Love -Phil Wickam

Jesus you endured my pain 
Savior you bore all my shame 
All because of your love 
All because of your love 

Maker of the universe 
Broken for the sins of the earth 
All because of your love 
All because of your love 

Because of your cross my debt is paid 
Because of you blood my sins are washed away 
Now all of my life, I freely give 
Because of your love, Because of your love I live 

Innocent and Holy king 
You died to set the captive free 
All because of your love 
Lord you gave your life for me 
So I will give my life for you 
All because of your love 
All because of your love 

Because of your cross my debt is paid 
Because of your blood my sins are washed away 
Now all of my life I freely give 
Because of your love, because your love I live 

You did it for me, you did it for love 
I'ts your victory, Jesus you are enough

my dentist appointment

Today I was expecting to wake up to a blanket of snow outside. For the past few days people have been making a big deal about how much snow we were supposed to get. Anyways, I didn't think I went to bed too late last night, but I guess 1am is later than I 'm used to. When I woke up this morning I thought it was around 9:15 but when I looked at my phone it was 12:30. Not sure how that happened but it was nice to be able to sleep that late. I guess I should take advantage of it while I can. I had a dentist appointment at 2 and it was the first time I had been to the dentist in almost 2 years. Nothing special, just one of the many things I had to get done before going back to school. While I was laying there getting my teeth cleaned I started thinking about the complexity of our bodies. When we take the time to really think about every part of our body and the way it works, how is it possible to not believe someone so much greater and powerful than us created such masterpieces. We are so intricately woven together and God knows every part of us. When I was thinking about my teeth I realized how much we take our bodies for granted. We just walk around like we own the world as if we are entitled to everything we have. God deserves the praise and thankfulness for everything we are, everything we do and everything that we have. I am realizing how many days go by where I don't think or believe that I have been fearfully and wonderfully made or that I deserve absolutely nothing that I have. God has made me who I am and He has given me everything that I have. My life is blessed beyond measure but I don't take the time I should to be thankful. Even if I didn't have clothes, a place to live, a car to drive and family and friends, I still have a relationship with the King of Kings and he sacrificed his son so that I could live with him forever. Why am I not more grateful? Because I am human and that makes me selfish and greedy beyond reason. I want to remember each day how much I don't deserve to even be alive but Jesus wants me to live for him so that others may come to know him and have a relationship with him. The things God does and the way he works so that people will come to have a relationship with him are amazing. All he wants is to love us and for us to know the depth of his love. There is no way we are ever going to know that but we should still be grateful and share his love with others. My prayer is that God would open my eyes to see people that need his love and that I would be more grateful and content with what I have. I am definitely grateful for the Lord's patience with me because I fail so many times yet he still loves and wants to be close to me.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

40 days & 40 nights

I just finished my quiet time and read about Noah and the flood. Of course this is a familiar story and have read/heard it countless times in my life. Each time I read it I can't help but think about the experience on the ark. It may have only rained for 40 days and nights but they were on that ark for about a year. They had every kind of animal that was on the earth in the ark with them for a YEAR! I don't even want to imagine how that place smelled or sounded. Noah had been faithful to God and God protected him. This was God's way of starting over and He chose Noah to help him do that. This dude was 600 years old and he did what the Lord asked and didn't ask questions. I'm only 20 and if God asked me to build and ark because he was going to destroy the earth, I'm not sure if I could do that. I have realized that's not how I want to live. I want to be able to say live my life and hold nothing back. I want to live everyday for the Lord and glorify him in all that I do. That is a lot easier said than done but I want to be someone that people see a difference in. I don't want to be just another face or person that people know. I want them to see Jesus in my life. I've been thinking about this for a while but something always comes up and it slips my mind or I get distracted doing other things. I know that I will fail. Obviously I have already failed a lot in my life, but that doesn't matter. God still loves me and he is still sovereign. He is always there to pick me up and encourage me to press on. This year hasn't started out the way I had expected. But it is times like these where I want to see God work and I am so thankful that he is in control. It doesn't matter if everything in this earth fails or falls away, God is still there. Nothing can shake him and nothing can stop him from loving me. 


"The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." Genesis 8:21

2:28am

It's very early and I am trying to figure out why I am still awake. I have been updating the look of my blog all night and now that it's done, I am too tired to write anything. I can't believe that I have had a blog for 5 months and I have only posted 3 times. Hopefully this year I will become better at keeping this thing up to date. I have learned that writing (typing) out my thoughts helps me process things going on in my life. It is now 2:28am and I'm going to bed.