Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

For the first day in a few weeks I had a day completely off- no where to go, no sub calls, no work, no nothin'. Soooo what did I do but get all dressed up to run regular errands like put gas in my car and run to buy some envelopes. (come on, we all need to do it every once in awhile, it's healthy- do it.) I didn't get to see Ethan, but I did get a sweet package from him and had a nice valentine's dinner with my parents :)

Life has gotten busy lately, so busy that I forget to sit down and just soak in some God time- necessary- I know. I've started substitute teaching in a few districts in the area, I got a job with a tutoring company, I'm babysitting occasionally, and I'm still working at the childcare center. On top of that the wedding is in just 3 months (ahh!) so we're beginning to make our ideas for decorations and such a reality. The other weekend we signed a lease for our first apartment- it's tiny and super cute and I can't wait to move in and make it ours (even if it's only ours for a little while :)!

I'll leave you with this, I feel like it's fitting for life right now:

"In him alone lie our security, our confidence, our trust. A spirit of restlessness and resistance can never wait, but one who believes he is loved with an everlasting love, and knows that underneath are the everlasting arms, will find strength and peace." - Elisabeth Elliot

A much needed break in the busy

Today I have a day off, and not only is it a day off but it's a day when the entire apartment complex I live in has off and it is silent. I think I forgot what silence is like- and how much I really enjoy it. Don't get me wrong I love to be around people, but lately this has been my life: get up, rush around to get to school, teach all day, come home help make dinner and eat it, prepare for the next day or work on projects and go to bed- then repeat. It has been draining. I'm the kind of person who needs some alone time and have not been getting it as often as I like. I can honestly say yesterday afternoon was my first time of "alone" time in over a week- crazy.

Since I've been rushing around and trying to get as much done in a day as I can my time with God has been lacking. For awhile there I was only opening my bible for group bible study times or to look something up to send to someone or to talk with my roommates. I need my time with God, we all do, without it everything falls out of sync: our hearts, our minds, our attitudes. Lately I've been trying my hardest to get up without pushing the snooze button to make time to be with God- and those days have been magnificent. So today, in midst of all of my projects and assignments, and thinking about wedding plans I am going to focusing on taking the time to be still, to just be with God. This needs to happen much more often and I'm hoping that it will.

In other news: next week is the half-way point of student teaching and this week marks seven months until the wedding. This will be my third and last week teaching full-time in the math room after this week I'll move onto other subjects and even other grades- I'm pretty excited to see what all is in store! I know that I can only do all that needs to be done through His strength and I can only glorify Him if I'm making it about Him. My soul is hungry for His word, in the busyness and planning it isn't satisfied and it won't ever be.

"If we truly want to find Him, we must stay empty and hungry for God alone...we have many tasks, even responsibilities, which have come from Heaven. However, the greatest need of our soul is to be with Jesus." - Francis Frangipane

Apart from Him we can do nothing

This past week was the longest week ever. Camp everyday all day, then either vacation bible school at my church or working my first few days at my new job. After my first day I found myself exhausted, stressed out and emotionally drained- and that was just the first day (hence my last post). God clearly showed me in daily living that apart from Him I can do NOTHING.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

He showed me that when I try to do it all on my own all I get is weak, moody and defeated. The lies of the devil take over and my attitude becomes far what it should be. I've found that when I spend time each morning- no matter how long or short devoted to focusing on the Father and just BEING with Him, life is so much more focused and I'm a completely different person. It makes such a difference.

This coming week I will be taking on the role of camp bible teacher while the regular bible teacher is away on vacation. I'm so excited, and so nervous at the same time! I'm excited to be in the position for the week to share the word with these kids but nervous that my fears will take over. I'm praying that God would take over it all and give me His words. I'm also continuing to pray that the kids would be open to what He has to teach them at camp, and that His will would be done in their hearts.

This week I came across this song and it's been encouraging me all week to remember that I belong to Christ, as believers we chosen to be His children. Only through the blood of His Son we are made blameless and worthy. Each day belongs to Him and He holds us each day.

Blameless- Dara Joy Maclean

What manner of love is this that you would lay down your life?
You paid the price, the sacrifice for redemption
Now I am determined to know, Christ and Him crucified
Now alive and the power in me is You

I’m blameless
You call me holy
I’ve been forgiven, You call me righteous
I’m free
I’m spotless, You call me worthy
I am Your child
You call me chosen
I’m Yours, I am Yours

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession —to the praise of his glory." -Ephesians 1:3-14

Know that in Him you are forgiven. You are chosen, worthy, holy, blameless. You are His and apart from Him we can do nothing.

Beach break!

Hey all! I've just returned from a week of beach and relaxation with my sister, parents and wonderful fiance :). It. was. glorious. Sunshine (a few thunderstorms) campfires, s'mores, beach, ocean, good food and fun for all. I'm so grateful for them all. It was especially nice to be able to spend so much time with Ethan and for my family to get to know him a little better and vice versa. It was nice to get away and not really have any responsibilities or places to be, to leave technology, for the most part, for a few days (I will say that my phone did not leave my bunk the entire week, which is quite an accomplishment for me :)) When I get breaks away from the computer and other forms of technology I realize how overly reliant I am on communication and how unnecessary it really is to have a phone on me constantly and check my computer multiple times a day... so hopefully this will be the start of a less-technology reliant me.

This coming week will be crazy busy. I'll be back at camp again doing the arts & crafts teacher thing, it's also my church's vacation bible school which I'll be helping with, AND I'll finally be starting my second job for this summer. Welcome back to reality! At least today is a free day so rest up for the insanity that is this week!

Have a wonderful week!

It's been awhile...

So it’s been FOREVER since I’ve blogged. So sorry about that! I don’t seem to be very good at this whole keeping up with a blog thing. So many wonderful blessings have happened that I should’ve/could’ve written about on here but haven’t- whoops!

Well I suppose I’ll start with the news that (as of tomorrow) I’ll have been ENGAGED for two months! INSANE  On October 30th Ethan surprised me with a hike, and a picnic, and at sunset asked me the very exciting question of “Will you marry me?” I still can’t believe it. God’s been teaching me so much during this time about focus and remember that for how blessed and excited I am during this time it is nothing compared to when I get to see Christ face to face. I know that may sound like a silly comparison BUT shortly after writing my last post I came across a verse in Isaiah that has been playing over and over in my thoughts since I first read it:

“For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5

God is our first love, our priority. It’s so amazing to think that Christ, our redeemer and hope, is waiting for us and calling us to love him and set apart our WHOLE hearts for him. In some ways from the moment we step into His grace and choose to live for Him, we become ‘engaged’ to Him. His love is deeper, higher, wider, stronger, and truer than any earthly love we could ever be a part of! Take a minute and think about how absolutely exciting that is?! God loved us so much that he sent His son to die for us so that we someday can be with Him- AMAZING!

The second thing that has happened is that the semester has ended! The most time consuming, demanding semester I have ever completed (hence the lack of blogging) is over! I only have two semesters left of college which is bittersweet, but I won’t lie- I’m SO looking forward to being done! The business of this semester has affected so many areas of my life, many of my friendships have become much shallower than I would ever want and the time that I’ve been able to set apart to just BE with God has decreased monumentally- this break is MUCH needed. I’ve kind of found during my break so far that I think that I have forgotten to see that the time I’m given with ‘nothing’ to do is such a blessing of time to soak in who God is, and what He has to teach me. I have sadly stopped thinking about Togo quite as much and there is still so much to be processed, so over this break I have decided to read through and type up my journal from those six weeks in hopes to remember something’s and seek God in the things that I still need His guidance on figuring out.

Lastly, Christmas has come and gone and lately whenever I’ve been reading my bible I’ve ended up in Isaiah?! No matter where I start that’s where I end up- but anyway point being that when reading through the Christmas story I came across the different prophesies about Jesus coming (it’s really neat and everyone should take the time to look through them) and I’m going to finish this blog with two of the verses that I’ve been loving these past few days.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

Purpose, Plans, and Foundation

So I have far too much to do to actually sit down and write, but I wanted to share a tiny bit of what God's been putting on my heart through some of the verses that have been on my mind a lot lately.

"Unless the Lord builds the house,its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." - Psalm 127:1

Unless the Lord is my motivation and my foundation, all of my efforts are in vain.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:8-12

* Our plans and thoughts are not concrete (we need to remember that), it is the Lord's purposes and plans that prevail and that matter. His plans are far greater than anything we could plan or think of ourselves.

* We need to find joy every day in Him, even in the mundane things and the things that don't seem 'good' to us. Our joy should not be dependent on the amount of work we get done, on whether or not we get to relax, or on anything that is circumstantial. Today is a fleeting moment, that will fade. Our Creator loves us, and we can be satisfied in nothing apart from Him. How awesome is it to be a citizen of His Kingdom and know that one day all of this will fade and we will be with Him forever!

"I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." -Romans 9:17