Count it all Joy

whovians-and-sherlockians: readalfa: The greatest scene in...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:15:54 -0400

whovians-and-sherlockians:

readalfa:

The greatest scene in all animated movie history.

I may or may not recite this when I’m looking for things.

I wonder how long people have been waiting for these gifs

probably just as long as they’ve been waiting for Incredibles 2

"I’m tired, I’m worn My heart is heavy From the work it takes To keep on..."

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:07:00 -0400

“I’m tired, I’m worn
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes
To keep on breathing
I’ve made mistakes
I’ve let my hope fail
My soul feels crushed
By the weight of this world
And I know that You can give me rest”

The past couple of weeks… or months… have been crazy… but such a blessing. Spring...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:14:00 -0400

The past couple of weeks… or months… have been crazy… but such a blessing.

Spring semester=valentines day, Dnow, spring break missions, YEC, internship searching, more Dnow, and a whole bunch of homework/projects on top of that.

I feel like my schedule is so chaotic… something’s gotta give. Sadly things get pushed to the back burner… like my time with God. Last week was just what I needed- spring break trip to Alamo, TX- where I was last summer. It was really cool to go back and to see all the wonderful people I love. They are such an encouragement to me and I loved getting to introduce them to some of my friends. I really got to see God’s faithfulness last week and it was awesome. I can’t wait to go back again… which will hopefully be in about 8 months.

On that note… My heart has been really stirred lately, desire wise. I’m passionate about so many things- youth ministry/discipling girls, bcm, Mexico, accounting, serving/ministering to my family- and it’s really hard when I’m thinking about the future and where God is leading. I can’t do it all. that’s really refreshing to say generally, but also sad when referring to what I hold dear. I know where God has me now, and that’s all I can do. God has blessed me with a summer internship at Lifeway as a Fuge Financial Intern. It’s really a dream come true and I can’t wait.

I love my kitty

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:29:36 -0500

I love my kitty

Top moments in 2012

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:26:59 -0500

1. The right one came along… :)

Earlier this year the Lord blessed me with one of the most wonderful guys I have ever met. He is so patient and relaxed, which balances us out perfectly. His love for the Lord shines through him and it’s encouraging to watch his relationship with God grow. I’m so glad I have someone who inspires me, respects me, and prays with me.

2. Mission trip in Mexico

I had one of the greatest opportunities this past summer- serving on the tex-mex border! I worked at an orphanage with the coolest kids and missionaries. I can’t sum up my summer in a paragraph, but it was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had and I will never forget it. I met so many people who have beautiful hearts and love serving others. I will forever wish I could go back to….days with nonstop laughter with four other amazing girl interns, kids with smiling faces, daily being out of my comfort zone, and a special intimate time with Christ. It was an incredible season in my life that I could not be more thankful for.

3. Weddings

Some of the most important women in my life got married this past year! I was privileged to be in my cousin Heather’s wedding as well as my mentor Hannah. They both were beautiful brides whom I could not be happier for!

4. Family group

This past year I have had the opportunity to be a family group mom for two different groups. Both of them have been wonderful and allowed me to make new friendships. I love that I have been able to share the same love for Christ as these beautiful ladies.

5. MILE

I applied to be in a leadership program at the Fogelman college of Business, and I was accepted! It has been a great experience so far that has allowed me to learn a lot more about how to be a leader and gain insight to the business world. My mentor Gwen has been a great influence and I have had the opportunity to meet so many other businessmen.

6. Sunday School

I’ve been blessed to have another year teaching 8th grade girls with Kayla. Each week is eventful and fun with about ten teenage girls! They are goofy and make my heart happy! I love encouraging the girls in their walk with Christ and being able to share life with them.

There’s so many more wonderful things that have happened, but this sums up my top moments in 2012. Thank the Lord for life’s happy moments, health, friends, love, family, and the opportunity to serve Him.

Think Good Thoughts...

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:37:29 -0500

Negativity has a way of creeping into my life and messing with my mind. A lot of times it’s hard to forget all the ways people have wronged me, even if I have already forgiven them. I loove the new song that came out a few months ago by tenth avenue north- “Father won’t you forgive them, they don’t know what they’ve been doing; Father give me grace to forgive them, cause I feel like the one losing… but still I wrestle with it- to lose the pain that’s mine 70x7 times.”

I struggle with worrying about what other people think of me. If someone is upset with me or says hurtful things, I can’t help but think of it and worry if they were right. I’m slowly learning & trying to be content in Christ and the way He has created me. I hate knowing that someone isn’t happy with me, but as someone recently reminded me… at the end of the day… most people really don’t care all that much about you. We all have our priorities, and sadly one of mine has been (for a part of my life) pleasing others.

Something the Lord is continually teaching me, especially right now, is that not everyone is blessed with the same gifts, and we can’t judge others because of it. Sometimes I’m like… why don’t they have a heart for [blank]? But the Lord has created us all so uniquely and given us different passions for our world or how to serve our world.

Sometimes I just don’t understand others. And I’m glad. Because I don’t need to know exactly what they’re thinking or how they feel about me. The only approval I need is from the Lord.

So… instead of filling my mind with the things above, I’m striving to think good thoughts about others. :)

Photo

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:43:02 -0400

Photo

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:24:34 -0400

This is Bro. Ben Mandrell, Pastor of Englewood Baptist Church -...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:51:44 -0400

This is Bro. Ben Mandrell, Pastor of Englewood Baptist Church - where my mom attends. I was home a few weeks ago for fall break and had the privilege of hearing this sermon- To Marry or Not to Marry. It’s an awesome sermon about how to live for Christ in singleness or in a marriage! Hope this blesses you as much as it did me!

The Road Less Traveled: Hello Tumblr

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 11:53:38 -0400

The Road Less Traveled: Hello Tumblr:

twithlemons:

Well…this is my first time to grace the presence of a tumblr blog piece. I must say, It’s been a long time since I have tried to format my thoughts in this way. Nevertheless…I’ll give it a shot. I guess I’ll start with a little about myself. I am a Jesus-living,music loving, sociology major…

My man got a tumblr! go check it out!

so one of my cats just left to live with my boyfriend in...

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:40:09 -0400

so one of my cats just left to live with my boyfriend in memphis… the other one, pumpkin, is left at home alone. pretty sure this song describes her life right now….

The Case for Early Marriage

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 19:19:49 -0400

The Case for Early Marriage:

Very intersting article about marrying young! It makes a lot of good points, like how pressured we are to remain pure, yet to take our time in life and to marry later. We humans have a tough time being patient, though. Sadly a lot of people lose their purity early on, even the ones with Christian values. Yes marriage is not easy; but if you are mature, know that it will be work and that you are in it for life, it is less likely for divorce. “Weddings may be beautiful, but marriages become beautiful.” It’s definitely different for each person and what they want out of life, but why discourage early marriage when you know it’s fo real?

Defining Belief

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:20:38 -0400

I had to write a paper this summer about one of our main focuses, defining belief. We asked the main questions: what do you have to do/believe to be a Christian and as a Christian? We researched together and individually wrote about our findings. Here’s mine, hope you enjoy it!

What does it mean to be a Christian? This question has countless replies, all depending on who you ask. A Christian would answer: someone who goes to church, reads the bible, does good deeds, and loves others. Sadly, some outsiders would answer differently based off of how Christians act. Furthermore, the question still remains. What does it mean to be a Christian, in this day and age? There are three key points that apply to this question: what you have to believe and do to become a Christian; what your role is as a Christian; and how Christians should apply it to their daily life in the real world.

There are a few things that you should believe to become a Christian. First off, you must know that we all fall short of God’s glory, human’s nature is sin, and God is our Judge. God has acted in Christ to save us, by sending His one and only son to bear the punishment for us. Three days later Christ was raised from the dead, and through Him we are made right with God. In addition to all of these, there are a few actions that a person must take in order to become a believer. Ephesians 4:22-24 states, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception, instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes, put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” According to God’s word, we must turn from the ways of the world, our flesh, and have faith in Jesus. Furthermore, we must take hold of salvation through repentance from sin and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. Through these actions people will see that part of having faith in Jesus is surrendering our lives to Him, living for Him alone.

Taking the steps to become a Christian is not always easy, but it is a lot simpler than our role and duties as a Christian. Our main purpose for existence is to bring God glory. We are His creatures, designed to serve Him in the will that He has for us. To best accomplish this, we must maintain a relationship with our Creator. This includes spending time with Him continually by praying, reading the word, serving others, worshiping, and more. Through this we will learn more about Him and how to be imitators of Him and His love. Mark 12:30-31 states, “’and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ the second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” According to these verses, love is a crucial part of our role as a Christian, and we are supposed to let God’s love flow through us to others. When this love flows out of us it is only natural for us to want to help others. This is where missions and proclaiming the good news comes in. Matthew 28:19, one of the most direct orders to us Christians, states “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We are commanded to go and share Christ to the ends of the Earth. While all of us are not called to be missionaries in Africa or India, we are called to be Christ to those around us at our workplace, school, etc. Christ calls us to be in community with other believers and keep each other accountable. It is because of the encouragement of other believers that we can, with the grace and strength of God, make it through our hard times. For me personally, I can see how God placed certain people in my life to help me through certain situations He wanted me to go through to make me stronger. With this in mind, as a Christian, struggles are going to come, sometimes a lot more than we want. It’s important to have Christ as our refuge and shelter so that we can withstand the storms of life. For example, “it is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock; When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built” (Luke 6:48). As humans we make mistakes and fall, but the Lord is full of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. No one’s mistakes are too bad to be forgiven!

In the real world, we are bound to mess up a few times. Honestly, we can talk all day about what it means to be a believer but what really matters is how you put that into action. It is important for us to live our lives like Christ because it effects nonbelievers. We are constantly being watched by Christians and non-Christians alike, because they want to see if what we preach from the Bible matches up with our daily life. Even people who already have a different religion are curious to see how we act in addition to what we believe. The Bible states in 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” We need to be up-to-date on other religions in the world, like Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and Baha’i. Some of these have similar views, so it is important to get our facts straight. For example, Baha’i and Christianity are both monotheistic and ethical; but Baha’i is more about works than a personal relationship. According to Billy Graham, “The reason certain false philosophies and religions are making such inroads in the world today is that somewhere along the line the people who were supposed to live Christian lives failed.” One Christian can turn away many unbelievers just by his actions and the way he does or doesn’t talk about his faith.

Being a Christian is different for every believer, but there are sound principles that need to be the foundation for every person. Some of these have been discussed throughout this paper, and others are more personal to each believer. We as Christians have freedom in Christ! We as humans strive for peace in our lives and this can come through Jesus. If we believe and do the steps in this paper, we are saved; however the real journey starts after this when we form a relationship with God and where we go with it. We must battle the flesh and commit to serve the Lord by loving and serving others. Also we must have a defense for others in order to back up what we believe when the time comes. Storms of this life are going to come, but with Christ and the help of other believers we can make it through. Belief in God makes all things possible, but not always easy. As Christians, we are set a part when we take a leap of faith to trust in Him.

WHEN YOU GET THAT FLASHING YELLOW LIGHT ALL THE WAY DOWN POPLAR

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:53:55 -0400

whatshouldwecallmemphis:

SUBMITTED BY WILL

My new fav blog :) tons of funny stuff about memphis!

This morning we were at church in Reynosa and during the service they had a time of greeting...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:57:20 -0400

This morning we were at church in Reynosa and during the service they had a time of greeting others. During that time one girl came up to me to give me a hug, but then wouldn’t let go. She just stood there, holding me and resting her head against me. I held her close and gently rubbed her back. Other people would come up to greet me, and I would do so while also holding her close. After a while she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and had just so much joy. She just looked at me for a moment with silence. It’s amazing how much can come out of no words. I looked back at her lovingly and just simply wanted to cry. She stole my heart and I just wanted to sit there and hold her as long as she needed to be held. Soon after that she asked me something in spanish that I could not comprehend, sadly. I tried to tell her in spanish that I didn’t understand her, but that normally causes even more confusion haha. It’s amazing what the Lord can do through silence. I’ve seen that so much this summer! Even though there is a language barrier there is still a connection with people. This is one of the few God moments that I have been blessed with. I love when something happens and you just know… that was God.

Photo

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:53:25 -0400

love this song!

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:30:15 -0400

love this song!

4 weeks.

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 14:53:04 -0400

Hard to believe I’ve already been here four weeks! I’m almost half way through with the summer- 5.5 weeks to go! It’s been going by so fast. Last week we had a youth group from Missouri here, they were awesome! I had so much fun bonding and serving with them. We had a VBS in Mexico and we also painted a church. It was their first mission trip, so it was really cool to be a part of that and see how God worked in their lives. Here are some pictures from that week!!

This past week we had an older group from Missouri and we worked at the orphanage. This group had a lot of cool ideas for the kids like making shirts, giving them pedicures and flip flops, and having a cookout for them. It was a really fun week! We played with the kids a lot and also cleaned buildings. We have one more one-week team to go, and they’re coming next week. After that we have our big event Day of Hope, and that’s really all I know about July. I’m excited to see what’s in store, though.

This is Diego. He is 3 and at the orphanage in Reynosa. He will steal your heart in about two seconds with his big brown eyes and joyful smile. All of us think he is one of the most precious kids there and wish we could take him home. I got to play ball with him last week and I loved every second of it.

And this is Edward. He’s goofy and very friendly!

I love love the staff here and the other intern girls. They are all so encouraging and silly! There are many many moments filled with laughter and joy. We all are getting along so well and have the best time together! They each have such a beautiful heart and I’m so grateful the Lord put us together to work this summer. They feel like family and it’s going to be super hard saying goodbye in a few weeks.

This next week we are going to be at the orphanage painting outside. It’s supposed to be super hot (106) so please keep us and the team in your prayers!

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:30:59 -0400

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
(Revelation 2:2-4 ESV)

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Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:26:08 -0400

VBS in Reynosa