I'm Getting Excited!

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"...
Revelation 21:1-5a (NIV)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life...And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him...There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true...
Passages taken from Revelation 22:1-6 (NIV)

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
 Revelation 22:12, 13

..."Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. 
Revelation 22:20b, 21 

Special thoughts about my family...

These aren't all super deep. I'm just working on thinking positive thoughts. ;)
I thought I'd start with thinking up little things I enjoy about each member of my family. 

Dad: Always laughs at my jokes...even if they don't make sense. :P When I need him to be serious, however, he can do that too. Shows his interest in me and his love toward me just by telling me he wants to hear about my day or what's on my mind.

Mom: Understands when I don't feel like talking (like on the way to a major piano competition), but knows I don't like quiet either. She talks to me, but graciously understands when I don't respond or comment on what she's saying.

Blake: Sings me to sleep at night! I know right? What could be better than a live concert every night?? With school he's been a little too busy to serenade me to sleep and I didn't realize how much I missed it until he did it again the other night. So amazing! :D

Grace: Very forgiving! Patient. Kind. Always looking out for people's best interests. Giving. GRACious.
I have the most amazing little sister!!

Samantha: What could be better than a four year old telling you, "You're the best!"? I think that says it all. :)

One Bright Corner

This is a great post! 

http://onebrightcorner.blogspot.com/2013/06/hackles-up.html

Music Poll

Just for fun I'm doing a "music poll" to see what the "favorite" genre of music is of the readers of my blog. :)

Vote on the top left! Poll ends on the evening of July 25th.

Father's Day

Happy Dad's Day! :)
Here are some pics of my Daddy and me! Sorry, they're all kind of "old". :P I don't have a huge store of pics on my computer, but with graduation, I had at least these.

"The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him."
- Proverbs 20:7 (NKJV)

A Father's Love

A father is respected because
He gives his children leadership...
Appreciated because
He gives his children care...
Valued because
He gives his children time...
Loved because
He gives his children the one thing
They treasure most - himself.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints on the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."

-Mary Stevenson

Thank You, Jesus, for giving me the daddy You did! Thank You for making him so wise and so caring. Thank You for causing him to stand firm in his belief of what is right, even when I don't understand. Thank You for giving me a protector and provider in my daddy. Thank You for putting in him the drive to work hard to provide for his family and thank You for giving him the strength he needs to do it! Thank You for bringing him to a saving knowledge of You. Thank You for giving him the desire to share that knowledge with his family. Thank You for making him such a good example of Your love for me.





I am so grateful to my earthly father for all he has taught me in the last few years! For the love and patience he has shown me and his desire to teach me new things so I'll be better equipped to be a wife and mother. But most importantly I'm grateful that he pointed me to my heavenly Father! Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (NKJV)

One of my favorite passages of Scripture that reminds me of God's love and care for me is Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJV)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! :D

Purified

Love these lyrics! 


PURIFIED 
by Michael W. Smith 

Where the angels see  
You are praised as You should be  
But how can I express  
My yearning for Your Holiness?  
May it be...
 
That I will open up my heart  
Search me in the deepest part  
And I will stand in cleansing fire  
By You, purified  
By You I'm purified
 
Savior of my soul  
To your strength I yield control  
Purge me from my stain  
Sin will lose it's mortal reign  
Make me free
 
And I will open up my heart  
Search me in the deepest part  
And I will stand in cleansing fire   
By You, purified  
By You I'm purified
 
You are Holy  
You are Holy  
Yes You are Holy  
You are Holy  
You are Holy
 
And I will open up my heart  
Search me in the deepest part  
And I will stand in cleansing fire  
By You, purified  
By You I'm purified I'm purified 
 
For You are Holy  
Oh You are Holy  
Yes You are Holy  
You are Holy

Contentment & Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Honor your father and mother" - which is the first commandment with a promise. Ephesians 6:2

Over the past few years I've had to learn trust (or faith) and contentment. There were certain things that I really wanted that my parents didn't want me to have or just didn't think necessary. I always knew and trusted that they were doing what was best for me, but it was still hard to be content sometimes. "Why couldn't I have a cell-phone when practically everyone I knew had one." "Why couldn't I be on Facebook or some other such social network...it's just what people do!" "Why can't I get my driver's license when I'm 16 like my brother instead of having to wait till I'm 18?" (3 more months to go! ;) These thoughts would continue for short periods of time before I would nip them in the bud. I would tell myself that my parents knew best and I shouldn't question them. It's usually about a year after I've wanted these material things "that everyone else has" that I start to see the good in not having them and quit wanting them and start being soooo thankful that I don't have them.
In my case, Facebook would take up way too much time! I like to talk and I like it when people talk to me, and I would be constantly checking in to see if anyone had said anything to me lately. It would begin many "false" relationships that aren't healthy (because you never really know what the person is like) and take time away from growing "real" relationships with my family.
A cell-phone would be helpful for some things, but in most cases that I need one I can just take Mom's. This teaches simple living and learning to work with what you have. Also, with all the technology ready at people's fingertips (no pun intended :P) I think most the world is missing out on some really cool art! Last night as we were driving home at 10:00 pm from a late night event, the sky was so beautiful. The moon was a tiny sliver of light and there were small clouds brushing the sky right under the moon. As I was gazing at this lovely scene painted by my Master, a car sped by in the "fast lane" and there was a person in it staring at some mobile device. I have no idea what they were doing. They could have been taking care of some important information, but it did cause me to think. So many people miss out on God's little blessings because they are "busy" on their mobile devices. For a fleeting moment I thought how glad I was that I didn't have to worry about a phone or an iPod. I could just enjoy the moon, 'cause it was all there was to do.
More recently I've had to have faith that God knows what He's doing in taking away my ability to play the piano comfortably. I haven't been able to play for several months due to pain in both arms. I don't know what's going on with them and I had to put off doing my Senior Recital when I was so close to being done. It's been a very hard but definitely a strengthening time for me! God has been near me through it, and I know that He is teaching me something beyond my wildest dreams.

Don't ever doubt that God knows what He's doing. Trust Him and tell Him your cares. He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall! 

The Love of God

I've been contemplating the love of God lately (as if I could even begin to grasp it). The Bible says in John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (NIV) We are loved by someone that posses the greatest love there is! This Psalm really stuck out to me as describing the things God does for us, the ways He loves us, and the praise He deserves. 

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - 
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 
but from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children' children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. 
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
(NIV) 


A song about God's love includes my favorite thoughts about the subject:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
The skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
Each man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
(The Love of God written by Fred­er­ick Leh­man)

HE'S SO AMAZING!!! :D
God's indescribable love leaves me speechless. I can never repay Him for this kind of love. 
It has helped me understand and appreciate His love more by thinking of each blessing as a gift sent specially for me. (A couple evenings ago it was a gorgeous sunset, a gentle wind blowing in my hair, and a beautiful view of His creation...and of course...a long talk! :) He always has lots of time for me! He listens to my praise, requests, pain, worry...and understands it all. Because He's been there! Let's never take the love of God for granted! He wants our love and praise and devotion back! Give Him some of "your" time. 

"And remember, He loves you very much!" ;)



 

Scents

Isn't it great God gave us noses? They lend such joy to life! I love to walk outside and breath deeply through my nose, enjoying all the wonderful fresh smells of summer. :)

I realized today as I was putting sunscreen on my poor burnt nose that I have a favorite scent for each season.

Spring

The ground outside when the sun shines on it after the rain.




Summer

Sunscreen!! ;)




  Autumn

Cinnamon



Winter

Snow, pine trees, and peppermint mixed together. :) 







What are your favorite smells of the season?