busy bee

I haven't updated in forever & plan for this one to be a quickie. Things have been so crazy lately. My life has consisted of leaving my apartment at 6:45 am to work at the post office, then heading straight to Books That Matter or class, working on Crusade stuff & finally returning to my apartment around 11 pm. I will be so glad when things settle down! The past two weeks have been horrible, yet they have tought me to not depend on my own strength to get everything done. I can only survive with my God's power.

I am loving living in UP with Kristi, Sarah, & Kendall. I couldn't ask for better roomies.

I'm speaking for our first Crusade meeting this Thursday night! And Rique is doing praise & worship. So you all better come out to Dinkins Auditorium at 8 pm on Thursday!

That's it for now. I've got to get some more stuff crossed off my neverending to do list.

excitement!

Today is August 7th, 2004 and that means Matthew is coming home! It's 11:50 am and he will be here in a little over 5 hours! Rock & roll (as Mikey & Joce would say)!

Being a grasshopper

It's been about two weeks since I have updated.  Things have been busy and stressful.  But all the while, I'm learning to trust in my Savior more and more.  Last weekend I went to a Beth Moore conference with my mom & her best friend.  We learned about bitterness and about how God is our kinsmen-redeemer--how He redeems ALL of us.  We are a shattered plate that the Lord sweeps up every single piece of.  There may be extra pieces of dirt or dust that is swept up with our pieces of glass.  The Lord picks that out--he seperates the good from the bad and makes us whole again.  How awesome it is to know that our Redeemer lives!
 
Things definitely haven't been smooth sailing these past couple weeks.  Things with my family seem to keep going downhill.  My dad still hasn't found a job and tensions are rising in our house.  Through all of this, I have spent more and more time in the Word and seeking out My Savior.  In the past few days, I have been reminded that no matter the situation, God is always there.  No matter how down and out I feel, He is right by my side, even if I can't "feel" Him.  Life is not always going to be easy, but that's when we need to cling to our Lord the most. 
 
Our theme verse for our Bible Study this summer is Isaiah 40:22...

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and it's people are like grasshoppers.  He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." 

This verse has been such a reminder to me of how big my God is.  He will take care of me.  Last week at BS we were talking about this verse and then I came home and started reading this new book I got, Attributes of God by Arthur Pink (thanks to Marion).  I was reading the first chapter and it was all about how great God is and how He doesn't need us to glorify Him--He chose to create us, out of His love.  Then the author quoted Isaiah 40:22.  That was exciting in itself because I have never come across that verse before this summer.  So I go to sleep thinking about how huge my God is and how He is perfect in all that He does.  When I woke up yesterday morning, there was a grasshopper on my floor.  Mind you, it was dead, but I didn't care.  It was the principle of it all.  It was one of those "that's so God" moments that you want to share with everyone.  It was just exciting to me because I have been so drained emotionally and then God placed His little reminder that He's in control of it all.  Good stuff.

 

Yesterday after work, I drove to Columbia to hang out with my Mom, Cameron, & Devin (my mom is keeping the boys this week).  It was so nice just to spend time with those kids--I will always have a special attachment to them.  I just love how spending time with kids refreshes you & makes you look at life in a different way.  We went to Chuck E. Cheese and had a blast.  Cameron wanted me to spend the night, but of course I had to come home and come back to the reality of working at the post office this morning.  Some days I just miss spending time with kids so much.  Then this afternoon I got a call from the nursery director at Westminster because I signed Matt & I up to work in the fall.  That was exciting.  I can't wait to meet more kids & spend time with more people at Westminster.  I am looking forward to getting involved there. 

 

Joce moved in with KAD on Sunday.  It's so nice having her back in the Thrill.  I've been spending lots of time with her & Kelly this week.  How nice it is to have wonderful friends who live around the corner--even if they do burn the brownies!  I love my girls in the Pink Palace!

 

Matt comes home in 9 days.  Wow!  How freakin' excited is Mackey?!?!  REAL EXCITED!!!

 

Sorry this is such a long post.  I've just been thinking and learning a lot lately. 

It's Friday!

It's finally Friday!  I wish you all could see me & Darlene do the "Friday dance" at work. 
 
I have been extremely busy lately, that's my excuse for my lack of updating.  I've been working, hanging out with Kelly, doing BS, spending time with my family, & working on some stuff for CRU this semester.  Yesterday Kelly & I hit the road & headed to Spartanburg to visit Joce.  It was nice to spend some time with her.  Kelly & I had some major laughs, even though I did annoy her by talking about Matt and Jessica & Ashlee Simpson the whole time. 
 
I tell ya, I am so spoiled at work.  These ladies treat me so wonderfully--especially Darlene.  She treats me like I'm her daughter.  She gave me her car (and said I didn't have to pay her for it, although I am), brings me presents, & treats me to meals.  She is the most generous person I have ever met in my life.  I'm learning a lot from her.
 
22 days until Matthew comes home.  I'm really excited, but this time apart has been wonderful for both of us.  We have learned how to focus our relationship on God & not eachother.  It is so wonderful to have a boyfriend that wants to pray with you & for you every time you talk.  I am so blessed. 
 
Guess that's it for now, hopefully I'll update again soon.  Sorry I'm such a slacker. 

An eventful week

Wow--lots has happened this week! Thursday was a crazy day. First of all, it was mine and Matt's 2 month anniversary! Yay! So, Darlene from work decided she was going to get a new truck and wanted to sell me her old car. It was such a random decision, but I have a car now! Holler! It's a 2-door bright red Plymouth Sundance. And that wasn't all the excitement for the day. Thursday afternoon, I put some Hartz flea treatment on my baby Baxter, not knowing the treatment is toxic and can kill cats. A few hours later Bethany (who was staying with me for a couple days) noticed he was acting really sluggish and he threw up. I went to go check on him and he was shaking really bad. My mom told me to take him to the vet. By this time it was after 8 pm and we could only find one vet in Rock Hill that was open. So we took Baxter there and they rushed him in and gave him two shots of Valium. It was pretty scary! The vet said they see this all the time though, that they should take this medication off the market because it kills cats. Well, they don't have overnight staff at that vet and they were worried that he needed special care, so they referred us to the emergency animal hospital in Charlotte. We drove to Charlotte and dropped my baby off and they gave him an IV and all kinds of medicine and monitored him overnight. The doctor called me in the morning and said he was doing so well I could take him home. Now Baxter is home and back to normal bouncing around the house. He definitely gave me a scare though!

I was going through some old journals and notebooks and found this quote from my favorite author, Brennan Manning...

"Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace."

I was just thinking about that and realizing how grateful I am that Jesus came for me--a sin-scarred girl who continues to mess up every single day. Sometimes I feel so unworthy of God's grace, but that's the whole point to Christ. None of us is worthy to receive His grace, that's what makes Christ's death so amazing. Anyway, that's just my little thought.

Do not fear

I've been helping out with VBS at Stough Memorial (Lori's church) this week. Lots of kids=lots of fun! I'm helping out with the kindergarteners (of which we had 33 last night) and they are definitely wild. But, we get to sing lots of fun songs about Jesus, do silly hand movements and lots of fun crafts. Holler for being a kid again!

I'm heading to Columbia on Friday to meet up with Erin, KAD, and Russell for the Warren Barfield concert at CIU. Then KAD & I are going to spend the night at Erin's new pad! And on Saturday I am going to go visit my sweet Reaser kids--Matthew, Megan, & Patrick.

I'm going to leave you with the words of one of the songs we've been singing at VBS, which is so simple, yet so refreshing to hear...

Do not fear for I am with you
Do not be afraid
Do not fear for I am with you
Believe in the promise I made

Trusting my Savior

So, you know how it goes...you have a wonderful week & then something really bad happens and smacks you back into reality. That's just how life is. Well, last week was a great week for me--just really good spiritually & emotionally. Then, on Monday, my dad was laid off. Let me explain. When my dad got the job at the Children's Attention Home, it was planned that he was going to start in January, but then when the director left this summer (she was resigning), he would take her place. Now, the director has decided not to resign and they don't have enough money in their budget to pay both her and my dad. So, they had to let my dad go. Yeah, it's pretty crazy and I was a little bitter at first. Now I am trusting that God has another perfect plan in store for my family. My dad is looking for a job around here, being that my family just moved here and they love the area. There is always the possibility that my family will have to move again though. That could be really hard. So, once again, we are relying on God to provide for our family. I found this verse today...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." ~Romans 15:13

It was pretty cool though because I was doing my Experiencing God study yesterday and it was all about God being our Provider. He definitely knows what we need when we need it! I'm glad my God is a God full of hope!

Turning over a new leaf

So, this summer is one of turning over a new leaf for me and lots of changes. Therefore, I decided to start a new journal...well, a blog .So, here goes the rambling...

God has been doing amazing things in my life lately. Matt left for Santa Cruz last Monday, which was difficult. But, I was pretty excited because I knew that God is going to do amazing things in each of our lives this summer & our relationship will grow because of this time. God's already proven me right. This week has been one of hardcore depending on my Savior for comfort and encouragement. On Wednesday, I bought an NIV study Bible, which I'd been wanting for a while and Experiencing God. I love the excitement of a new Bible & Bible study! It's so cool to know that God is going to work in me. I'm so ready for Him to renew my heart & spirit. Lately, I have been so consumed by living life itself that I have just settled for pushing God aside. The past few days I have just been falling on my face & realizing that I desperately need my Savior even when things seem to be going great.

I spent this weekend hanging out with KAD & Erroneous. We had lots of good talk time and stuff. Gotta love that. Last night we went to see Bethany Dillon, Casting Crowns, Mark Shultz, & FFH. It was amazing--especially Bethany Dillon & Casting Crowns. Bethany Dillon is such an inspiration. She's only 15 and has such a heart for God. I look at her and wish I was like that when I was 15, and even now. She wrote this song, All I Need, and while she was singing it last night I was just like "whoa...He is all I need." Nothing more, nothing less. Anyway, here are the lyrics for ya...and if you wanna check out any of her other stuff (which you should because it's all amazing) you can go to her website at www.bethanydillon.com.

All I Need

When the day is done
And there’s no one else around
While I’m lying here in bed
You’re in my heart, You’re in my head
You’re all I need, You’re all I need
There are a million voices
Calling out my name
But You’re the One I want to hear
So make the others disappear
You’re all I need, You’re all I need

You are all I need when I’m surrounded
You are all I need if I’m by myself
You fill me when I’m empty
There is nothing else
You’re all I need

When the morning comes
And Your mercy is renewed
There’s a fire in my bones
I’m not afraid to go alone
You’re all I need, You’re all I need
The sun on my face
I hear You whisper loud
You’re still the God that opens seas
Every flower, even me
You’re all I need, You’re all I need

I’m drawn to everything that You do
Nothing compares with You

And another cool thing. Joce shared this quote with me the other day and it smacked me in the face!

"You have not been sprinkled with forgiveness. You have not been spattered with grace. You have not been dusted with kindness. You have been immersed in it. You are submerged in mercy. You are a minnow in the ocean of his mercy. Let it change you!" ~Max Lucado

I just thought that was cool because so many times I sin & just sit there and dwell in that failure. But I should let Christ's forgiveness change my life. His forgiveness should make a difference in how I live every single minute of every day!