Its the Little Things...

So lately, I've been really burnt out. I've just gotten to a point where I'm worn out in all areas. nt And I want a change, or to just get away... It's been really frustrating because I feel like no matter what I do it continues to worsen rather than get better. They other day as I was killing time on Facebook. I came across a post that totally encouraged me and was exactly what I needed to hear. Its funny how God can encourage us and reassure us that everything is going to work out through the smallest things. I just wanted to share this with you in hopes that it encourages you as much as it did me.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Life is hard and it sucks sometimes, but we have to remember that we are in God's hand, and if we don't give up and continue to trust He will use us for His glory.

I included a few pictures that I took on our camping trip last weekend to remind you of our God's creativity and beauty that He has created!

Childlike Innocence

Lately life has really been dragging me down. I just feel like its been one thing after another and I can't catch a break. All I've wanted to do is run away and take a loooooong relaxing vacation. I've been leading Children's Church at my church for almost three months now. While this has been a tiring, trying job I've learned so much. Here I am to teach the kids, and they are the ones teaching me. Their innocence is so incredible. The way that they see the world is so uplifting. I love how I can talk to them about how they need to be Jesus to the kids in the their schools and they surprise me with stories of how they are already doing that and so much more.

These kids are so loving and accepting. I never have to worry about a new kid being left out. They take it upon themselves to invite someone to play with them. I can tell that these kids love Jesus. And while they still have a lot to learn and sometimes they drive me crazy because I can't get them to settle down and listen, they are such an inspriration to me. Have you ever seen a three year old worship God during music? Not only is it absolutely adorable, but it is so encouraging that someone so young can sing and praise Jesus.

Kids have such a unique innocence about them. If we could all have the faith of a child and undoubtly believe that God can and will do it. Life would be so much easier. I am so blessed to be able to teach and grow alongside of these kids. They have taught me so much about our Master's love in such a short period of time!

And to remind you of this innocence here is a picture of my adorable nephew at the wedding. :)























And some of my little children's church girls on the dance floor. : D

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

So I've decided that I'm going to copy recent posts by some of my friends. I thought it was a cool idea :) (Thanks Bethany and Danae!)

Five things God has been teaching me lately:
-Don't sweat the small stuff
-God is bigger than any problem that may come my way
-God shows us His love in unexpected ways
-Trust in Him (this one may seem obvious...but it's a lot easier said than done) He is in control
-Stepping out of my comfort zone is definitely worth the effort in the end.


Four wedding day events I'm looking forward to:
- Walking Down the aisle with my dad
- Saying "I Do"
-Our first dance as husband and wife (we've been practicing!)
-The obvious. :P

Three things to look forward to this week:
-Seeing my dress almost perfectly fitted to my body for the first time. (fingers crossed)
-Getting ahead in my homework and getting closer to finishing up the semester
-Spring Break!

Two places I want to go before I have kids:
-ENGLAND!!
-Hawaii

One thing I can't wait to do:
-Cuddle up next to my husband after a long day.

Have a great Spring Break everyone!

All you need is love

Love seems to be surrounding me lately. I know most of you think that thats because I'm getting married in less than forty days (but who's counting right?) but thats not all.

I feel God's love in my daily life. Simply getting bombarded with happy birthday wall posts meant so much. All of these people who I rarely talk to, took two seconds out of their day to tell me happy birthday. My birthday was a day full of disappointments, but also a lot of fun. My family really stepped up and went out of their way to make sure that my day ended in a special way, to help make up for the disappointment that I faced early on.

Going to a fancy dinner and coming home to a fresh baked cake is a a sign of love. Having your mom offer to teach your Sunday school class of 10 unruley three year olds is love. Your high school friend letting you know that she is praying for you and your upcoming marriage is love. Mark making an effort to do things that I had been longing to do, and forcing himself to enjoy it is love. Coworkers telling you how much they appreciate you is love.

I have been so blessed lately and God has really shown me the power and extent of his love. And I admit I'm sort of on "cloud nine" right now as I prepare and dream about getting married. But I'm realizing how important it is to love. I'm praying that God will give me opprotunities to love, and not only give them to me (as I am given these opprotunities to love on a regular basis) but that I would recognize these opportunities and act upon them.

As I've been shown there are multiple ways to show love. Love is not limited to simply saying "I love you" or giving someone a hug or whatever. Love can be shown in every situation in our everyday lives.

Look for a chance to love. You may never know what effect it will have on someone else!

200 days and counting

Wow. I am getting married in 200 days. Now, that seems like it is still a really long ways off, but at the same time I know that its going to go by so quickly and will be here before I know it.

I am so ready to be married. I am excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with the one I love, and go through all of life's ups and downs by his side. But at the same time I wonder if I'm truly ready to be a wife. That is such a large responsibility. I mean just look at all of the numerous passages in scripture that dictate a wife's responsibilities. Reading these passages sometimes gets me discouraged. I feel as if I often fall short of these images. And somedays it seems as if I'll never get there.

It is my heart's desire to be the kind of wife that the Bible talks about. I long to be that for Mark, and to be able to be the kind of love and support system that he needs. Sometimes I just don't feel like I'm ready. I know that our love is strong and that we will be able to work through anything that comes our way. But at the same the time I feel as if I have a long way to go until I can get to this Biblical picture of "the perfect wife". Sometimes I feel as if my own selfish desires and my great amount of stubbornness gets in the way of me achieving this. Sometimes it seems like I will never be the perfect wife, because lets face it. I'm human and I make A LOT of mistakes. Despite all of these feelings, I still long to be the best wife that I possibly can be.

It will take work, and lots of dedication. But I am ready to devote myself to him, he is my everything and he deserves that kind of attention from me. I know that I am not going to automatically be the perfect wife. But I'm committed to becoming as close to that Biblical image as I possibly can be.

Love is not just a feeling, it takes work. And marriage is not always going to be a walk in the park, its a committment that takes dedication. But we have God on our side, and I know that with Him all things are possible. And He will help me become this wife that we hear so much about throughout the scriptures.

Who knew a cell phone banner could mean so much?

So last night, I opened up my phone to discover that someone had changed my banner. While this may not seem like an important event, it really got me thinking. It simply said “be thoughtful : )”. While this is extremely simply it really got me thinking. I need to be thoughtful; I need to think of those around me, those I love and the ones that are closest to me. And I need to think of God and how I should be living my life for him, all of the time. As I let the meaning of the those words soak in I began to think of Philippians 2, which I have been reading and meditating on for the past couple of weeks alongside the rest of the young adult group. This passage talks a lot about having the mind of Christ, and doing nothing out of selfish ambition. It seemed to coincide directly with the message on my phone, be thoughtful. I’m starting to realize that many times I let my own selfish desires get in the way of really serving and loving those around me. If I am to be like Christ then I have to learn to be selfless. While that is an enormous task in itself, I can start simply by being thoughtful. If I spent a little bit more time throughout my day thinking about others and their needs over my own I feel as if my attitude towards life would start to be drastically changed. I feel that once I start to be thoughtful I will really start learning what it means to love. I know that being thoughtful can go a lot of different ways, but these words are really challenging me to live out the words of Philippians 2:3-5. I want to be more like Christ and have the same attitudes as He does. However, that is not an easy task to accomplish. So to put it in literal terms, I am striving to be thoughtful and really try to put others before myself. And start thinking of their wants and needs above my own. Even if this means I have to give up something once and awhile. Even if it means I don’t get my way. This is not going to be easy, and I’m not expecting a complete transformation where I no longer think of my own needs ever again. However, I am stepping out in faith and taking a small step closer to becoming more like my Savior.

While I feel as if the mystery person who posted this to my phone did not mean for it to be so deep and full of meaning, I’m really glad they did. Because of their simple words I feel as if I have stumbled upon a great revelation, a truth that has been waiting to smack me in the face. These simple words have changed my thinking and are transforming the way I want to act around and towards the people I encounter and interact with on a daily basis.

Be thoughtful.