Money Money Money!

Get situated....this is going to be a long one....

Money....it's a sensitive topic for some, an important topic for some, it can influence your life greatly, it can rule your life, and it can destroy your life. So what's the deal with money?

It's the Small Things that Count

When life gets stressful or the big things in life start to fall apart or seem to go wrong, sometimes you have to look for joy and goodness in the small things. God brings joy to me through small things such as these...

1. my chicken nugget was in the shape of a heart last week
2. CHIPOTLE Fridays - going to Chipotle with my coworkers every friday
3. the beauty and intricacy in detail seen when watching a spider make its web
4. a gorgeous sunset on the sound in Outerbanks, NC
5. a friend making me a CD of Christian worship music
6. receiving a post card or piece of snail mail from a long-distance friend
7. getting rid of clothes in my closet to donate to someone else who may need it
8. hope and innocence seen in a infant's eyes
9. seeing WEC magnets on cars all around town
10. creating photo albums of all my trips and adventures
11. camping under the moonlight in OBX with no electricity/technology around
12. when song lyrics match up with a sermon message all in the same week

I am Washed by the Water

"Even when the rain falls
Even when the flood starts rising
Even when the storm comes
I am washed by the water"

So let YOUR name be lifted higher!

God by Wind

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3:8

(The following pictures were taken by me in Corolla, OBX, NC in September 2011).

The Power of Prayer

Today was a really rough day emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I was extremely depressed and sad and spent most of my morning crying. However, my day was changed dramatically by THE POWER OF PRAYER.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

The following post is written by Pastor Rick Warren* and published in his Daily Hope devotional. It's quite applicable for today - the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy that took place on 9/11.

This is the crisis we're in: God's light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness ... because they were not really interested in pleasing God. John 3:19 (Msg)

The horrific mass murder of innocent Americans on 9/11 left all rational people shocked, angry, grief-stricken and numb. Our tears flowed freely and our hearts carried a deep ache.

With pain is so heartfelt and so personal, it’s only natural to ask, Why does God allow such evil to happen? If God is so great and so good, why does he allow human beings to hurt each other?

The answer lies in what is both our greatest blessing and our worst curse: our capacity to make choices. God has given us a free will. Made in God's image, he has given us the freedom to decide how we will act and the ability to make moral choices.

I Miss You

Lady in Waiting

So my college roommate Melissa Reese gave me this book she owned called Lady in Waiting: Becoming God's Best While Waiting for Mr. Right by Jackie Kendall & Debby Jones. I started reading it a few weeks ago and it's great! It uses the story of Ruth in the Bible to focus on attributes that a single woman should desire and strive for. It helps you focus on becoming a better you, instead of desperately focusing on the traits you hope to find in "Mr. Right." It describes a lady in waiting with the following poem which I love....

Here I Am

"I lay myself at Your feet
Asking You won't You meet
Won't You meet me
I cannot do it on my own
I cannot do it all alone
Here I am, oh, tonight
With my arms open wide
Won't You come inside
Won't You come inside, God
Come and fill this heart of mine
I'm in need of You
Of Your touch, of Your life, of Your love
I need You
I need You"

People Always Leave

An excerpt from Pastor Stu's sermon on Sunday that really hit home to me....

"Your destiny, God's purpose and plan for your life is not wrapped up in the people in your life who abandon you and walk away from you and distance themselves from you and give up on you. God's plan is not wrapped up in any one person or any groups of people who will leave you. Does God use people in our lives? Absolutely. Does God work through other people in our lives? 100%. Does God want you to have people in your lives? Without a doubt. But what God has in store for you is never wrapped up or contingent upon what somebody else will do who will leave you. If someone wants to walk away from you, bid them farewell. Wish them well and you keep on pressing on!"