Disney Vacation

I had an amazing time with some amazing people at Disney World! I thank God so much for this opportunity and fun time! It was the right mixture of relaxation and fun! I had so much fun making this video and worked very hard on it! This is just a peek into all of the things we did! I hope you enjoy, and I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

I also got the privilege to take pictures of the newly engaged couple, my sister and soon-to-be bro-in-law! 

Be Someone's Blessing

Sometimes we need to stop waiting and looking for our own blessings, and instead, be a blessing to someone else. We must die to ourselves and put others before us. God can take your feelings of tiredness, emptiness, confusion, or hopelessness and turn them into hope, joy, and comfort so that you may overflow into others lives. Don't wait for someone to overflow into you. Call out to God. Don't hog all comfort to yourself; share it. 

"Praise be to the God our Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Some dear friends of mine are in the process of adopting their second child. Adoption is expensive, but with the blessings and prayers of others, it is possible. I'd like you to pray and consider blessing my friends Shane and Jennie by donating to their adoption fund:

"Hello friends,

Jennie and I have officially begun the process to find and adopt our second child!  More accurately, we’ve completed everything to put ourselves back on the market, so to speak.  It’s up to the right birth mother to find and choose us.  The most important thing we can ask is that you keep us in prayer.  There’s another boy or girl out there who needs to make their way to us. God can orchestrate all things to bring that about!

It can be a long process, and it’s definitely expensive.  We’re cutting corners wherever we can to make this journey possible.  We wondered if any of our friends would have room in their hearts (and their wallets) to help us with the expense!

Donating is easy.  Just use the link below.  Contributions of any size will help.  Not everyone will be able to give, and we understand.  If you have friends you can share our story with, please consider passing it along.  If anyone has a website, blog, Facebook account, or skywriting business, please consider sharing the link that way." 

https://www.gofundme.com/secondadoption

Our first adopted son, Jonah, has been a tremendous blessing to us. He’s our family!  And we can’t wait to share that family with another baby in need of a home.  No matter how you help, thank you for being a part of the journey with us!"

Love always,

Shane & Jennie

Thanksgiving Break 2015

I am so unbelievably thankful for everything God has blessed me with. My family is such a huge part of my life, and I am so thankful I was able to spend thanksgiving break with them. Check out this video to see a peek of all the stuff I did with my family over thanksgiving break! I had a lot of fun filming my time back home and worked really hard to make this video! I hope you enjoy!

  

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Thank God for every and any of your circumstances. Thank God for your suffering, joy, hardships, health, sickness, prosperity, failures... In every season thank God. It is through thankfulness in every situation that God will give you true joy.

"A thankful mind-set does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems. Instead, it rejoices in Me, your Savior, in the midst of trials and tribulations.
Thanksgiving and praise put you in proper relationship with Me, opening the way for My riches to flow into you." - Jesus Calling
"As you walk with Me through this day, practice trusting and thanking Me all along the way. Thankfulness lifts you up above your circumstances. As you bring Me the sacrifice of thanksgiving, regardless of your feelings, My Spirit is able to work more freely within you. When your mind in stuck on a negative focus, you see neither Me nor the My gifts. In faith, thank Me for whatever is preoccupying your mind." - Jesus Calling 

My high school teacher once told me, "What if you woke up the next morning with only the things you thanks God for in the past week."

In addition, I am so thankful for this incredible college journey God has blessed me with! I couldn't have asked for a better roommate and overall experience!

"Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, ALWAYS giving thanks" - Philippians 4:6 

Sleep Walking

 

My prayer recently has been, "Lord, please take away my oblivion. Help me to see the opportunities you place in front of me."

(listen to Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath while watching) 

"All those people going somewhere, why have I never cared?"
"Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing."
"Give me your arms for the broken hearted; give me your heart for the ones forgotten."
"Couple of million eyes just move and pass me by; I want a second glance to see the way You've seen the people all along." - Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes

I live in the midst of a battlefield (college campus). There's thousands of people surrounding me who have never experienced the love of God. They're confused, hurting, searching, lost people.  Walking to class, passing people by, I don't want to miss the opportunity to share God's love. They need to know.

I feel partially responsible. Like, I have this wonderful knowledge that saves lives, but I'm too selfish to share it. It does no good if I keep it to myself. It's not fair to keep this unconditional, everlasting love to myself.

"I don't want to go through the motions. I don't want to go one more day without You're all consuming compassion. I don't want to spend my whole life asking what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?" - Mathew West - Motions

I don't want to sleep walk around campus, too caught up in my own busyness to miss all the strife surrounding me.

"When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need - words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you." - Ephesians 4:29

"So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature person in Christ." - Colossians 1:28

These next verses are exactly what I've been feeling/thinking! I thank God for revealing these verses to me, because I was searching for some that related to this subject! He's incredible!

"Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God. Also pray for us that God will give us an OPPORTUNITY to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret that God has made known about Christ. Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear. " Colossians 4:2-4

"Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every OPPORTUNITY. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should." - Colossians 4:5-6

Fix Your Focus

One rainy Monday morning I drove back to college, trying to make it back in time for my class. I pulled in to find no available parking spaces where I usually park. I resulted to parking in the adjacent parking lot, quickly unpacked, and made it to class.

Let There Be Light

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Mathew 5:16

"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7 

Thanks to my friend Megan for letting me film her! :D

Disappointments to Blessings

I've come to realize that God turns past disappointments into blessings. In the moment of disappointment, it's hard to see the positive. We need to see from God's perspective.

Success

Everyone is searching to find their way.
People search for success, but what is success?
How is success defined?
The world judges your success based on your riches--the amount of money you make, the number of followers you have, the brand of clothes you have, how thin you are...

An Aching Heart

When You Mess Up

We make mistakes; we're human. It's impossible to do everything right in life. It's how we react and handle our mistakes that matter.

We can be hard on ourselves when mistakes are made. We can feel like horrible people and become very ashamed of ourselves.
God didn't create us to be perfect and He didn't create us to sulk in our imperfections. 

It's from these mistakes that you learn and grow. You know the saying, "You live and you learn." If you live, you make mistakes. It's inevitable. 

Take each mistake as a learning opportunity. I think this is a big reason why the older the wiser. They've had more time to make mistakes and more mistakes to learn from. 

We must accept the unchangeable past, and we must trek on with more wisdom.
Although the past is unchangeable, it is not unforgivable.
He wants us to trust Him and hold His hand during this bump in the road. The bump in the road will pass but the wisdom you gain will last!
  

Geocaching

So if you've never heard of geocaching before, you probably have no idea what it is. Let me tell you, it's basically every adventurer's dream - a huge scavenger hunt! You download the app and make a free account. Once your logged in, you should see a map with dots. Those dots are geocaches! You can go on a hunt to find these geocaches! Once you find one, there should be a log where you can record your name! When you're done, put it back so other people can find it! If I'm not making much sense (which I'm probably not lol) check out this video!

First Eno Experience

I am so excited to share my first eno experience with y'all! I had my last day of high school on Friday, and afterwards, we adventured to our local park. My friend has an eno so we set it up between two branches and enjoyed the beautiful day. I had so much fun, and I enjoyed every bit of the eno hammock! It brought us close together and allowed us to bond and grow closer. This is our last summer together so it's important to cherish the time we have left together. I can't believe my high school experience is over, but I am excited to see what God has for me next!

A Day in the Country

My grandpa has dementia, and my mom's siblings take turns each day to take care of him. My mom's day is Thursday. Every Thursday I ride with my mom, an hour away, to visit my grandpa and enjoy the peaceful nature. Growing up, we've always called where my mom's family lives as "the country." We'd say, "We're going to the country today," and automatically know it's my aunts house. I love coming here; it connects me to the beauty of nature and God's creation. It's very mind clearing.

Homemade Hummus

My dad recently told me that there 's been a recall on Sabra Hummus because the bacteria, Listeria, was found. I LOVE hummus, and I usually eat some everyday. Our fridge rarely doesn't contain hummus. I thank God that we have not recently purchased more! Initially, my reaction was fear and to never buy hummus again, or at least the brand. As irrational and fearful as this may be, I decided to make my own hummus.

"Fear not, for I am with you." - Isaiah 41:10 

Painting on Easter

Happy resurrection day! Jesus has risen! Decided to finish my cow painting today. My school has a art show every semester, and we have the opportunity to sell our own artwork at the upcoming art show! I am trying to earn and save money for college costs. I plan on getting a job as well as opening an Etsy shop this summer! 

A Big Change: a daunting road ahead

Graduation is on the horizon, and consequently I can't stop thinking about life after high school. This is going to be a big change that will take faith, time, and strength. I'm gonna be honest, I'm terrified. It's like jumping into murky water. Unsure. Unclear. Since it's inevitable, I will jump into this unknown holding tight onto God's hand.