'Tis So Sweet

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Psalm 42:8

"Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life."

Meditate on These Things

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

God's kind of love

I've been thinking recently about God's kind of love. About showing His kind of love to my family. My family is awesome. We get along very well together. However, sometimes there are those moments when God's love is required in a situation. I read 1 Cor 13 in my qt (quiet time) this morning. Here is God's kind of love.

4 Love suffers long
and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself,
is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
8 Love never fails.

Wow. Now that's love. God's kind of love. Unselfish, self-sacrificing, giving love. I want to have that kind of love for others. For God first, then my family, and then others. I was also thinking about loving God. "We love Him because He first loved us." When I am told "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength" what does it mean? It's interesting and convicting to think about.

Am I loving God with all my heart? Does God have my heart? Is my heart to love and serve Him only? Am I loving God with all my soul? With my will and emotions? Am I loving Him with all my mind? What kind of thoughts are running through my head? What about all my strength? What am I using my strength and energy for?
I was thinking specifically about my mind. What do I think about others? Am I loving God by loving others with my thoughts? Do I think of them as God does?

God, thank You so much for Your love! Thank You for loving me first and giving everything for me! Help me to love You and others with Your kind of love. In Your name I pray, amen.

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." ~George Sand

100 days! :D

I'm getting married in 100 days! It'll be here before I know it. I am so blessed. I have a sweet, thoughtful, amazing, wonderful man! God is so good. He's so good to me! :)

Psalm 91

Josh and I are currently memorizing this Psalm. It's a real blessing. It's an encouragement to trust the Lord no matter what happens in life. I like verse 7 "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee." All around things may be going wrong, but God is going to protect me and keep me safe. If I just trust God and call upon Him, He will bless me and keep me. The Scriptures are so comforting and reassuring. Thank You God, for Your Word! :)

Psalm 91

¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

⁷A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

⁸Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

⁹Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

¹⁰There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

¹²They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹³Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

¹⁴Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

¹⁵He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

I was reading in Psalm 23 and 143 yesterday and some of the verses spoke to my heart. In Psalm 23 it says "He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake." I thought about how God leads us in paths of righteousness so that we can give Him a good name. A good reputation. We as His creation, and even more as His children, are a reflection on Him. People should see Him when they see us because He is living in us!
Then the verse "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." How wonderful :) Even though I don't deserve it, God is always merciful and good to me.

In Psalm 143 I really liked verses 1, 8 & 10.
1. "Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in Thy faithfulness answer me, and in Thy righteousness."
8. "Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee."
10. "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."

Thank you God for your everlasting faithfulness!

Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art,
and make me love thee as I ought to love.

Has thou not bid me love thee, God and King?
All, all thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind.
I see thy cross; there teach my heart to cling.
O let me seek thee, and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh;
teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,
teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love thee as thine angels love,
one holy passion filling all my frame;
the kindling of the heaven-descended Dove,
my heart an altar, and thy love the flame.

Grate Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
BLESSINGS ALL MINE WITH TEN THOUSAND BESIDE!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he heareth us.

weekend at the V pt. 2

Sunday we went to our beloved Southeast church. The message was so good. Pastor Ray talked about loving God. How do we show God our love? He preached on Mary, the sinful woman who came and anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. He asked us, "when was the last time we brought Jesus and expensive gift?" and it made everyone think. When was the last time I really sacrificed something for Jesus? I mean really? I have my quiet times w/ Him just about every day, and I love it. But when was the last time I brought Him an expensive gift, something that cost me alot of time or resources? Christ has sacrificed everything for me. I want to give something of value back to Him...

Sunday afternoon Josh and I played foosball with Daniel and Hannah Witten. They're so cute :) Afterwards we went and played Dutch Blitz w/ 6 others. That was alot of fun. That evening we had prayer & praise. We sang and worshiped the Lord and prayed together. It was a wonderful time of worship and fellowship.
After prayer & praise, I met one of the '11 students. She said she assumed the guy I was with was my brother. I was like, well, not exactly. lol. I told her Josh was my fiance. She said that we looked alike, which I took as a very nice compliment :)

Before we knew it, it was time for the super bowl party. They had awesome food there! All kinds of goodies. "Adam and the Chipmunks" (Josh, SamJo, Peter & Adam) sang Brighten the Corner during half time. It was awesome! Everyone loved it and I was so proud of Josh ;)
After the surprising turn out of the game, everyone milled about and chatted for a while. Then the '09ers gathered in the lobby and reminisced and talked for a couple hours. We finally went to bed around 2:45am.

Monday morning we all got up to see Darren and Nathan off. Then we got some coffee and went to chapel. That was fun. We talked in the hallway for a while after that while all the students had their accountability groups. Then we packed up, said goodbye to our dear friends and headed out.
A little ways down the road we decided to go to breakfast and called Rhett and Sarah and had them come join us. It was great just chilling and talking. Then we got on the road at 11 and headed south.

We weren't too far into the trip when something went wrong w/ the car. :P We stopped for gas and noticed the car was smoking. We had noticed this the day before and checked it out, but couldn't locate the problem. After a bit the smoke died down so Josh decided to drive to the next exit and look at it again. This time he found the problem. The upper hose by the radiator was leaking. It was so good. We saw God at work the whole time. We had stopped at a diner, and right across the street was a little shop where this nice old guy repaired and sold used cars. He tried to fix the hose, but it was old and really needed to be replaced. His name was John White. John drove us all over town and we went to 3 different stores before we found the right part. It was only $10 :) As we drove around town we were able to talk to John and share the gospel. He said he believed what the Bible said, but that he believed that he was a good person and was hoping he'd get into heaven some day. We shared with him that he could be sure of his salvation, but he only replied that he hoped our God was the right god. :( He needs prayer. We believe we were sent to share that with him, and are praying that God brings someone else along his path to continue to point him to the Savior. John drove back to our car which we had left at the shop, and put the new hose on. All in all, it took an hr of our time and cost $10 for the part. We gave John a track and something for his trouble. God was definitely with us and worked everything out for good. It could have been alot more complicated and we were really grateful to the Lord and to John.

The rest of the trip home went pretty well. We stopped to get the car washed (from all the salt and snow and slush that was caked on it) and we stopped for dinner. We got home at 11pm. It was a great trip and our friends made it so worth it! We love you guys! Hope to see you again soon!

weekend at the V pt. 1

Crazy weekend! :) Here is my stream-of-consciousness post about this weekend...
Friday was busy. Josh was at work and I was busy w/ things at home. We randomly decided to go visit Verity and surprise our friends there over the weekend. We heard that several of our friends were going to be there for the super bowl. It was going to be a 9ish hr. drive. We needed to leave in the middle of the night Sat morning so we could be there by brunch Sat. We were going to eat dinner Fri night and take a nap before getting up to drive. Josh is assistant coach of the basketball team and we had a game Fri night.

Around dinner time, Josh called me and said that we were going to leave right after dinner, head to the game, and get on the road to Indy right after that. So I scurried around packing our stuff and getting a good supply of snacks. Josh came home and we ate and ran to the game.
The game went really well in the first 1/2. But the other team dominated the second 1/2. :/

After the game we ran back to school, tied up some loose ends, and hit the road to Indy around 10:30. I drove the first few hours while Josh slept. It was rainy/snowy and very foggy. The mountain roads I was driving on were very curvy and windy. It was definitely an experience. :) Josh took over around 2am and drove the rest of the way.
The trip took way longer than it was supposed to because of the weather. After Cincinnati we got on to highway 74 and the roads were terrible. We were going 30mph and even stopped dead and turned the car off and sat for 20 min on the road!

We finally pulled into the V around 11:45 - 13 hours later. We were really tired, but stopped by a McDonald's and freshened up before getting to the V. We were excited about seeing our friends and surprising them. The timing was perfect. We called Darren to wish him happy birthday and he put Josh on speakerphone so he could say hi to everyone. Josh acted like it was no fair that Darren was at the V and Darren said "you guys should be here right now!" Then we walked in the door. It was priceless. It was so worth the long drive the night before. They were all shocked to see us. They said the weekend just got that much more amazing when we walked in :)

It was SUCH a good weekend. Josh and I hung out w/ Rhett and Sarah and had a blast w/ them. We did all the Verity things. Ultimate frisbee, rook, Dutch Blitz, and foosball. It was awesome. Josh and I owned at foosball ;)
After brunch we hung around greeting all our old friends and chatting. Josh played a few rounds of ping-pong then we headed out in the snow and played Ultimate. Then we came in and relaxed w/ some hot chocolate and a game of rook.

For Darren's birthday Saturday night we went to a Mongolian restaurant. It was awesome.We experimented with different foods and I had duck for the first time (tastes like chicken). I also ate little octopus legs. It was kind of gross. Too chewy! lol :P It was an awesome time. Great food and great friends! We played rook while waiting to get our food, and SamJo came and hung out w/ us too. :)
We got back to the V around 10 and wanted to hang out, but Josh and I were exhausted from the night before. So we went to bed and got 11 hrs of much needed sleep. I got to stay w/ my awesome roommate Bethany and Josh stayed w/ our good friend SamJo. :) It was a great day!

Awesome week :)

Visiting Josh this week! :) I had a fun ride down to SC last Wednesday. :) It was fun hanging out w/ my brother and cousins. We stopped by my uncle's house in NC on the way and then met Josh in SC. My cousin Ryan graduated from the marines on Friday the 29th. We're very proud of him. He did very well and graduated one of the top marines in his platoon. He also grew alot closer to the Lord while he was down there. That was the best part of it. :)

On Friday we got snow :) It was really cute. I was at school w/ Josh and all the kids were freaking out because of the snow. hehe. It was nothing to me, having lived in up north my whole life. But everyone here was really excited about it. It was enough to snowboard down the hill in the front yard anyway!

The roads were very icy on Saturday. So icy that it was dangerous to go out. So we had a fun day at home sleeping in, cleaning up, playing games, eating hot soup and homemade bread, sipping coffee and watching movies :)

Sunday, church was moved to 3pm so the ice on the roads had time to melt. We got to sleep in again and go snowboarding down the hill :) Josh, Ben, Joel and I had a great time. Ben and Joel made a little jump. We videoed everyone trying out the jump and caught some funny moments on tape :)
The service really good, and choir was fun. We sang selections from The Majesty and Glory. Good stuff. We had Pizza Hut for dinner. Good stuff. Hadn't had that in a long time. after dinner we played Mario on the wii. :) Then went and hung out at a friend's house and played Sequence and watched a movie.

Yesterday was a snow day so everyone was off of school. The snow is all gone now and it's raining outside. But it's gonna be a good day :)

This week Josh and I memorized Isaiah 9:1-6. I like verse 6. I prayed that God will be all of that to me. He is my Wonderful, my Counselor, my Mighty God, my Everlasting Father, and my Prince of Peace. :) Whether or not I deserve it, He is always faithful.

Thank you God for Your love. You are Amazing God! :)

another good day :)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in me. My body and spirit are God's. I belong to Him, so everything I say and do is a reflection on Him. I want Him to be pleased and proud of me. My words and actions should reflect my love for and devotion to Him.

I had piano lessons today. I enjoyed it. :) Tomorrow I'm going on a road trip w/ Norman and my cousins. My aunt, uncle and grandfather, 5 guys, my cousin's girlfriend and me in a 12 passenger van for 8-9 hrs. It promises to be a fun trip! ;)

long day...

whew! long day today...I went and looked at bridesmaids dresses. That was good cause I found a bunch that I liked :) think I found my colors too. That took a little time, but it was fun trying the dresses on and finding different styles :) man, some dresses are beautiful, and some are just ugly! lol.

after the dresses was piano lessons. I enjoy teaching. the kids are so cute! one little girl in particular. she's a natural at it, but she always tries to get me to play the songs for her first. :P sometimes I will, if they're new to her. I like playing w/ her. she's fun :)

after piano, I came home and we had a late dinner. we needed a few things at the store, so my brother Norman went w/ me and gave me some practice driving stick in his car. it's fun :)

it's mine and Norman's week to clean up after dinner, so we did that late, and I finished up the day by sewing Brandon's ski pants so he can go boarding tomorrow. (I love being the oldest ;)

it was a good productive day. gonna have a great ending too, cause now I get to go talk to Josh! ;) cya!

life is good :)

sometimes it's good to just kick back and have a little fun! I went and hung out w/ some good friends last night, had good food, played cards and Dutch Blitz. fun times :) chilling, catching up on each other's busy, exciting lives, talking and laughing. =)

I've been helping my 7 yr old brother with his school work. It's fun. (for me ;) He's very motivated to get his work done so he can run and play outside :)
I heard a story recently... A little kid in a Christian school asks his teacher if Jesus is the answer to everything. She replies "yes" He is. The kid is satisfied, smiles, and returns to his work. Later, he turns his test paper in, with all the answers marked "Jesus." The teacher gives him an "A." :)

Such a simple, wonderful truth. Jesus IS the answer to everything. The more I get to know Him, the more I want to know Him.

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!
For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen"
Romans 11:33, 36

Psalm 18:25-26
With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful; with an upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright; with the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward.

17:15
As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.

Psalm 16:8-9, 11

I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Lord, keep my in Your presence so that I may have fullness of joy!

thoughts...

Good quote from a book I'm currently reading: "Your reactions define who you really are inside and what you really believe at your core level." -Pearl

What are my views on life? How do I react when those views are challenged? Matthew 12:34 says “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The thoughts of my heart are going to come out at some point, whether I want them to or not. If my mouth is going to speak out of the abundance of my heart, I want to make sure I fill my heart with good things. I am responsible for what I put or allow into it. I can control what I watch, read, and listen to. All of this is will show up in my reactions and everyday conversations.

If I have a favorite TV show I watch every day, I will probably think about it and talk about it. Whatever is on this show is going to come up in my conversation. I will think about the views, thoughts, and actions portrayed there. However, if I am constantly memorizing and meditating on Scripture, chances are, Scripture is what will come up often in my thoughts and conversation.

What happens when my views are challenged? If I have been watching a lot of TV, I may react to this challenge how I have seen others on TV react, probably w/o even consciously thinking about it. If I have been filling my heart with Scripture, that is most likely what will come to my mind and be spoken when my views are challenged.

Proverbs 23:7 states, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Another quote from the book I’m reading states “The way you think determines how you will feel, and how you feel influences the way you will act.” Statistics say that people think approximately 40,000 thoughts a day. How many of my thoughts are for good, pleasing to the Lord? Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” How many of my thoughts are for evil or selfish? Romans 12:2 says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. My actions come from my thoughts. So if I change my thoughts, my actions and reactions will change.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The thoughts in this post, that make up a few of my 40,000 for today, have been challenging to me. I hope God’s truths have challenged you too, and inspire you to greater thoughts and actions. :)

Beauty Tips

Beauty Tips
(by Audrey Hepburn)

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness..
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone..
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed,
revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
-Audrey Hepburn (read at her funeral years later)

May the Mind of Christ Dwell in Me

May the mind of Christ my savior
Live in me from day to day
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say

May the word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea
Him exalting, self abasing
This is victory

May I run the race before me
Strong and brave to face the foe
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go