To write love on her arms

"You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.We live in a difficult world, a broken world...We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck. We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real."
This came straight from "To write love on her arms" facebook page.

Pain is real and depression is real...I say this because I lived with it for about 5 years of my life. I was depressed; I hated the way my life was; I hated the circumstances that surrounded me. Right now there is a 15% depression rate in South Carolina and a 12.1 suicide rate. That's scary!

A saying that I heard yesterday was,

GOD IS LOVE AND LOVE IS REAL!!

The Abundant Life

John 10:10b says "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

If that verse is true, why are so many people depressed, exhausted, tired, angry and sad? I see countless facebook statuses and stories of people who are dredding waking up in the morning or are mad because they have to go to work. Jesus came that we might have an ABUNDANT or satisfying life. How many of us can say we are satisfied with our life?
If we're not satisfied it might be because we're focusing on the bad in our life and not focusing what God has done in our life and what He is still doin! Key words there, "what He is still doin." God never changes, He always stays the same...We're the ones that change.
In order for us to truely enjoy the abundant life Jesus died to give us, we need to stop worrying about what we think we want or need and start following the promptings of the Holy Spirit."

ENOUGH SAID!

wedding bells ringing!

So some of you know that I got engaged yesterday! It was awesome! It was a very fun day with lots of family and friends. Cass was real surprised! Its a funny story...that might be for a later blog though. But with marriage looming in the near future the words of the song "Love is not a fight" by Warren Barfield are hitting a lot closer to home. The words are:

"Love is not a place,to come and go as we please. It's a house we enter in, then commit to never leave. So lock the door behind you, throw away the key, we'll work it out together, let it bring us to our knees./Love is a shelter in a raging storm-Love is peace in the middle of a war-And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door. No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for./To some, love is a word, that they can fall into. But when they're falling out, keeping that word is hard to do/Love is a shelter in a raging storm-Love is peace in the middle of a war-And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door. No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for/Love will come to save us, if we'll only call. He will ask nothing from us, but demand we give our all/Love is a shelter in a raging storm-Love is peace in the middle of a war-And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door. No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for/I will fight for you-Would you fight for me? It's worth fighting for"

So true! May that be my prayer today! God may this be a Godly relationship always focused on you and falling deeper in love with eachother every single day from here on out!!

Hold Fast

So this is my first tattoo...it comes from Deut. 30:20 which says..."You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you wil live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." In other versions it says, "And that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him."

Man I love this!!! Hope you enjoy! Just a little something for the day!

Ok...Lets try this again!

Im going to try to keep up with the blog this time...

So earlier this week I was reading in Nehemiah (come to find out this is one of my favorite books in the Bible). Nehemiah 9:17 says, "They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them,"

And I read that and I kind of hardened my heart towards whoever "they" and "them" were. I mean it says that they refused to obey God, they couldnt remember everything God has done for them, they were hard headed...and I was like "dang, they need to get right". But then I started thinking...thats just like.....ME! So lets try this...everytime you see "they" write over it "I", and everytime you see "them" write over it "me", and everytime you see "their" write over it "my". And then the passage reads...

"I refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for me. Instead, I became stubborn and appointed a leader to take me back to my slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon me,"

Thank you Father that you are a God of forgiveness, grace and mercy. A God who is slow to be angry and you love me no matter what-you never abandon me! Thank you!

Unnoticed

Heb. 13:5b says, "...I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."-meaning God is always with us. He never leaves us and He is always by our side. We cant escape from His presence, He is always there. In Romans Paul says that death, life, angels, demons, fears, worries and even the powers of hell cant keep God's love away (Rom. 8:38). And in Rom. 8:10 he says "Christ lives within you" for those who have accepted Christ into their lives. How much closer can you get! He is always with you!

So how come a lot of the time He goes unnoticed?

God's presence may not always feel like the warm glow of a campfire, but he continually reveals Himself in unique and magnificent ways. But ARE YOU LOOKING? How many times does His presence go unnoticed and ignored in your daily life?

We need to constantly remind ourselves to focus our minds and hearts on Him because He is always there! Is God the one who feels distant or are you just not looking?!

Stop Faking!

"People that follow Christ out of convenience do more damage to God’s Kingdom than those who do not follow Christ at all!"
-Perry Noble

Wow! Think of the weight of that statement! People who just say their Christians, do some "Christian" things, however act however the hell (literally hell) they want to act do more damage to the Kingdom than those who don't even follow Christ at all. This is especially a huge problem here in the south. Im sorry if I offend anyone...wait...no Im not! But here in the "Bible belt" with SC being the dang Buckle of the belt, we see this more and more. Everyone claims to be a Christian and yet living however they want to live. As long as you go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and maybe throw a 5 dollar bill in the offering plate youre going to heaven and youre a Christ follower. DUDE, THATS NOT HOW IT WORKS! Being a Christ follower has to enherit every part of your life! We do so much distruction to the Kingdom of God when we claim to be a Christ follower and do exactly opposite of what Jesus Christ is all about!

So lets just say STOP FAKING IT! Either your with Him or not-Stop riding the dang fence!

This statement just really hit me...thats so true! Those that just fake it do so much more damage! Another statement that Perry makes that goes along with this is...

"There are too many Christians who are willing to wear a cross around their neck but not put one on their back and follow HIM daily!"

Lets just get REAL and MAN (or woman) UP!!

3 life lessons Ive learned from Rob and Big...

1. Do Work Son!
So many times I find myself being lazy or just not really wanting to do anything; lack of self motivation. This phrase is used frequently on almost every episode of Rob and Big when work needs to be done. Example: They went shopping for a mattress for Big and when it was all said and done, Big put on his gloves and hoisted a king size mattress ontop of the Escalade by himself! Work needed to be done and someone had to do it. As a Christ follower, work needs to be done and so many times those who call ourselves Christians, leave that work undone. We need to strap it up, put our gloves on and DO WORK, because it needs to be done. If we dont do it who will?!
2. Live Life to the Fullest!
This is a constant theme throughout all the episodes. Just to live life. And I know me and Rob dont have the same views religiously but I do know that he knows how to live life. He lives everyday like it is his last. Example: breaking world records, cleaning out his closets and giving out bags of clothes to the homeless, doing crazy, death defying stunts, and just random things that make life enjoyable. So many times we as Christians make life mundane and dare I say suckish! Just live life and have fun! God wants us to enjoy life and live it in abundance!
3. Sometimes you need to just stay away from "Drama"
Drama is Rob's cousin and Rob spends a majority of some episodes just torturing and harassing Drama. Yeah its sometimes intising to mess with drama and get involved with it, but most of the time you just need to leave it alone and stay away from it.

What are we focusing on?

So many times I find myself focusing on the troubles of this world. I watch the news and see homelessness rate sky rocketing, businesses bankrupting, job employment dropping at alarming rates and every financial situation crashing. And then after seeing all this I start to focus on how bad my life is...no money in my wallet, no job awaiting me in the future, and things like that.

The common thread here is FOCUS. What are we focusing on? Are we focusing on our problems and how bad we think the world is or are we focusing on HOW BIG OUR GOD IS?! That is something we need to ask ourselves daily. God is so big, beyond what our minds can even comprehend! How crazy is that?! More than we can even comprehend.

How comforting is it to know that our God, the only God, is that big! He isnt up there wringing his hands at our economy, thinking "I dont know what to do, the dow just dropped." He isnt up there fretting about your particular situation thinking "oh, he only has $5 in his wallet and that has to last him for a week."
HE IS ALMIGHTY GOD THAT HAS EVERYTHING IN COMPLETE CONTROL! SO LETS START LIVING LIKE HE IS GOD AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHATS GOING ON AROUND US! LIVE LIKE HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS!

Lil NBA venting

OK....Ive been watching the NBA playoffs and I just need to say something. I am sick and tired of Kobe crying ALL THE DANG TIME! After every call, after every stoppage in play, the camera pans to Kobe, and what look does he have on his face?! This one! Who does he think he is?!
Sorry, Im just having to vent a little bit about this...It's so annoying!
But you know what? I really do want the Lakers to beat the Nuggets....so when the Cavs get back the Magic, Lebron can finally shut everybody up about who is better, Kobe or Lebron. Lebron is the MVP...sorry Kobe! Not only is he a better player, he is so much more classy than Kobe! So I guess what I'm sayin is...
KOBE STOP CRYING AND JUST PLAY BALL!
(sorry just a little vent)

What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you wouldn't fail?

Question: What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you wouldn't fail?

WOW...Perry Noble posted this question on his blog a while back and I heard him talk about it one time in church and it made me think...what would I be willing to do?!

So I did a little soul searching...If I could do one thing for God and I knew I wouldn't fail at it, I would create a place where those that needed help could get help. Those that needed a place to stay, food to eat, clothes to wear, a safe haven, and more importantly Christ's love! That's what I would do if I knew I wouldn't fail. "You see…life is SHORT…our days are numbered…and God didn’t put us on this planet to screw around, but rather to make a difference by using what He has given us to advance His Kingdom and MAKE HIM FAMOUS! Too many of us are held captive by fear, but remember He is the Most High God who is in control of everything and is with you every step you take! Never let fear trump the potential God has placed in you!"
You see too many of us ( I said "us" not "you") are frozen with fear of failure, we are in fear of the unknown...but listen to this, He Knows! How amazing is it that He knows!

So I present this question to you...what would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you wouldn't fail? If the answer isn’t, “what I am doing right now” then I would say you need to do some serious soul searching, praying, and rearranging.

Out of control....

"He is our deliverer! Wait on Him to move, because He will. He is our Rock on which we stand...so stand!"
How awesome is it that in the midst of all our "self-titled" chaos and our "so-called" problems, He is our rock to which we can cling to! He is our Rock on which we can stand! 1 Samuel 2:2 says, "No one is holy like the Lord!There is no one besides you;there is no Rock like our God." He is the only thing that stands, the only thing that satisfies, the only thing that sustains. When all around us seems like it's falling apart and everything seems to be going wrong, HE NEVER CHANGES! That's amazing to think about...that He never changes, He stays the same...just like a rock! I remember a time when I thought everything was out of complete and udder control and I had nothing to cling to. I felt as if no one cared and no one was even there. I felt alone. I felt like my life was spiraling and that I had no control.
I work at a camp during the summers and we sail at this camp. Let me remind everyone...I very much dislike sailing....want to know why? Because I feel out of control...that's the way the life felt, out of control. I didn't know what to do to keep the control. When sailing, when I feel as if the wind is picking up and I feel like its getting a little crazy, I grab for whatever is in sight; a rope, the boom, the steer, anything...and that's kind of like what we do when our lives feel out of control, we grab for whatever we think might calm the storm.
I reminds me of when all the disciples were on the boat with Jesus. When the stoms hit, they didnt know what to do, they were freakin out and it was out of control. The only thing they had to do was cling to Jesus and He alone would calm the storms. Maybe thats what we need to do...Just cling to Jesus!

Help needed...

The Clemson University Outdoor Lab needs a nurse for the summer camps. Let me know if you are interested! Thanks

Be a REBEL!

When you think of the word rebel, it brings almost a negative connotation to mind. Let me help you flip that concept. A rebel rejects accepted conventions of behavior. To rebel is sometimes used with teenagers when they partake in things like doing drugs, drinking alcohol, skippin school, and all those things everyone does when their young. So if everyone does it, how is it rebellion?!
With the recent cd release of Lecrae-rebel, it has flipped my view of what a rebel really is. He says that a rebel now, is those that read their bible, go to church, and follow as close as they can to Jesus. That's a REBEL! Because they are going against what society deems to be right or accepted.

Rebel lyrics from Lecrae's CD:

Jesus was a rebel, a renegade, outlaw/ A sanctified troublemaker but He never sinned, naw/ and He lived His life by a different set of Rules/ the culture ain't approve/so you know they had they had to bruise em/ that's the way they do/ man, they swear they so gangsta but everyones the same/ everybody do the same stuff/ tattoo, piercing/ smokin' up and drinking/ money and sex plus them extravagant weekends/ if that's the high life/ I'll puff puff pass that/ you leave evaporated like you missing a gas cap/ I guess I'm passed that/ cause I am in rebellion/ I'd rather have a dollar in my pocket than a mill-ion/ I'm scared to worship money, and my wants over Elyon/ I'll remain a rebel while the rest of them just carry on/this is what I live fo/ this the hill I'm buried on/ if Jesus is the truth/ that means one of us is VERY wrong/ think about it

Wishing I could do more...

Do you ever wish you could do more? I drive through this town every day and see the same man every day...I've tried to do things for him...food, water, clothes...things like that, but I wish I could do more. I watched "Extreme Makeover:Home Edition" last night and thats what I want to do. I want to be able to give extravagantly. I want to be able to give all that I have, all that I am. I keep praying for God to break my heart for what breaks his, scary thing is is that he is doing that. He keeps breaking my heart and softening my heart for the things that tear His heart apart. I want to do more...I wish I could do more. My heart is torn every time I see someone is hurting...that's God breaking my heart. I pray that God blesses me so I can be a blessing to others.


Matt. 25:40 says "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."