Count Your Blessings...Name Them One by One...

How often we forget how incredibly blessed we are! We're always striving for the next phase, the next class, the next weekend, the next year. The Bible tells us to let tomorrow take care of itself, and to worry about today. On Friday morning, God decided to wake up for a special date with him, and as I was reading my devotions, I ran across some verses that were a fantastic kick-off to the weekend, one of them going something like this:
       "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." ~Proverbs 24:27
Maybe I took this verse completely out of context, but it really got me thinking. There are some areas in my life that I "can't wait for." I so desperately want to be a college graduate. A teacher. A wife. A mom. And I believe those are all really Godly desires, and perhaps soon I will become those. But my purpose, my calling, is not to live in the future. My responsibility is to take care of the now so that when the time comes for those other things, I can be the best I can be. With this new mindset, I entered my first weekend of my senior year of college. Honestly, it was one of the most socially jam-packed and busy/stressful weekends in a while, but you know what? It was absolute bliss. I was living in, and for, the right now. I was connecting with and appreciating people that God has allowed to be a part of my life. I even met new people! God has so much joy for his children if we choose to not only live for Him, but if we choose to simply LIVE and EMBRACE this time we have been blessed to have. So get out there and plant your fields, friends, for tomorrow will take care of itself :)

How He Loves Us....

As I was spending some much needed time with a great friend tonight, we were surfing the net and I showed her the JesusCulture version of the song "How He Loves Us." This song has the words of my heart. I had never heard it until I started working camps this summer. And I heard it at every camp and conference I attended or worked. And no matter how many times I heard it, it never failed to leave me completely in awe of my Creator. Take a moment to think about those words.....he is JEALOUS for me...For who?? For ME. Who am I to deserve such love??? Who am I that the God of creation would fight for my affections, attentions, love, and service???? The song then goes on to talk about how beautiful the Father is, yet how great his affections are for us. Wow. God created everything, yet He still reaches out to us. He doesnt want to live without US. What a great big God we serve!!!

I had always been told how big God is, but honestly the past 6 months He has proved himself 100 times over. I can't believe it has been 6 whole months since I had to say goodbye to my best friend and brother, but I have been living a miracle, which has left me in love with the Savior of this world. God has been so faithful to meet me right where I am and just let me cry, laugh, or do whatever I need to. And He has brought blessing after blessing across my path, leaving even my hardest days filled with a million little love notes from Him. My Savior LIVES, my Savior LOVES...my Savior's always there for me!! Praise the Lord, we serve a God who is alive and reigning, and ever-loving toward His children :)

Be blessed, dear friends, and keep serving our God :)