Take a Moment To Listen and Reflect

What do you want?

This was a great inspiring message from our Young Adults Pastor at church. This quote that is shown above really hit home for me. The majority of people spend their lives following the written path of life that is before them. They think that because this is what their friends are doing, their family is doing, or society as a whole is doing- that this must be the way for them; however as shown by many great examples of history in our global world- it is true that the people who do the unexpected, the extraordinary, life-changing history makers- don't stick in the same spawn stream they were born into- they make their own path- they go a different way. 

Now there is a way- that looks good- but the end thereof is death. 

As stated by this verse from the Bible: 

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12)

That is why- it is extremely important that we ground our ways and our steps in the word of God. If we walk completely alone- with no guidance at all- of course we will fail. 

However; this post isn't about failing or succeeding- it's about living our life in a way that God has called us to-

We all have a different part and role to play in the body of Christ- God's will for each of us is to love Him and serve Him and do the same to others- but the way we do that is going to be found differently in each one of our lives. God has created us each unique and individual. 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

The way we live out our calling is to use our gifts and personality that God has given us as a uniquely special gift and share the love of Christ through ourselves and through what He has called us to do. 

I believe that deep inside - everyone has a great dream- and a great potential- 

yet- somehow we lose sight of our dreams because of our following and our "don't want to rock the boat" syndrome. I pray that with God's help- we as uniquely special creatures made by the Lord our God- will help us reach each dream and desire for His kingdom.

Crash & Live

Blogs are great! 
Why?
Well, sometimes your heart just fills up with great joy- and you want to talk about how wonderful and grateful you are for life! I'm so thankful for the great love of Jesus that fills my heart up with joy and love and expectation. 

Today, I want to tell you about an experience I experienced in August of this past year (August 2015). 

In August of 2015, I went to Brookfield to take an exam for my teaching certification. The exam was called Praxis II. I was fairly confident that I would pass the exam. After all, I've never had a problem passing tests or doing well in school. After the end of the two hour test, I walked out and my eyes looked down onto the white and black printed paper. I stared at the score on the paper. 

-I failed-

In disappointment, I began to travel home. That evening was a women's event that my cousin, my mom and I were attending in Milwaukee. The conference was called Living Proof Live (lproof.org) by Beth Moore. I had to make sure I got home on time for the conference. In the summer heat, I began to feel thirsty and tired and considered getting off the road for a drink, however, because of the time frame- I decided to skip it and keep on driving. A choice now, I look back on and wish I would have followed through with. I strongly believe God has a reason for everything and so I trust God through my experiences in life. As I approached the interstate exit, I was thankful to be almost home. My car swirled around the ramp and stopped at the stop sign. I got off the interstate and continued to drive straight- finally- almost home. That's when it all happened- 

I look to my right and I see a car fastly approaching where my car would be in just a few split seconds. Mentally I stream through the possibilities of what I could do- should I speed up? Should I slow down? ...But then I reached a conclusion- whatever I do- isn't going to work- She's going to hit me. When I came to this quick conclusion- there was only time for one thing. I said to God, "God, please help us be okay." 

And just like that- our cars crashed- 

I'll never forget the feeling after that moment when I remembered my prayer to God. I said, "I'm okay""- Thank you so much God" - and then I ran over to the other car to make sure she was okay. She was okay- so I felt relieved in some kind of way. 

The next moments were stressful- waiting for the police officer to come- there was a random person trying to tell me to move my car (which I refused because of insurance/accident issues)- and some random guys whistling/"cat-calling" at me which made me feel so helpless and uncomfortable. 

Sometimes we have to go through some things alone- 

but with God

We are never alone.

Through the whole experience, I know that God's hand was over my life. Even though this experience happened I felt so blessed to be alive- and I felt so thankful more than ever for my great Lord and Savior. 

--So I got home--

And I didn't want to go anywhere- I didn't want to get back into the car- I didn't want to get back on to the interstate- I didn't want to go to the city- I didn't want to go to the conference-

But thanks and "non-thanks" to my mother and cousin- I did go. And it was something that I now look back on and am really grateful that I did. I needed the refreshment from the Lord. I'll never forget walking into the big auditorium for the conference and they were playing this song:


:The message spoken was about Peter seeing Jesus walk on water- and at first Peter noticed it was Jesus and he went out to him walking on the water- but then Peter feared because the wind and waves were all around him. Peter let the fear of what was around Him make him begin to sink- but then of course Jesus reached out and caught him. Hearing this message, made me think back on my situation that had literally just occured and it encouraged me to believe in the truth. Honestly, I wasn't afraid at the time because I felt covered by the love of God- but it was the events and the surroundings that occured afterwards that made me afraid. It encouraged me to have faith in the knowledge of what God had revealed to me about the situation. For some reason, though the circumstances seemed bad around, I had peace on the inside- and I needed to keep that. Jesus is always faithful to us- we need to keep our faith in His promises. He will open our eyes so we can see the situation from His eyes instead of our own. 

Worship While You Work

Close Your Eyes- Pick a Random Picture and Write About It Post *haha*

Sammi with a Chicken at the fair

Sammi was the lucky winner of this random picture clicking contest! Congratulations Sammi! 

This is my cousin Sammi- she's very fun and awesome! She really loves animals and going on adventures. She likes to go thrift shopping and collect cool items. She likes to make cool memory books and collages from things she obtains over the years! She loves to laugh and have fun. She has recently started small stream fishing with some great success. She is currently building up her fishing collection! 

Sammi is a very helpful person. She will help anyone with their projects. This makes sense why she chose to become a nurse. Sammi is currently a CNA- she's so good at it! She has so many funny stories to tell from all her residents. She does a great job and always works so hard! Soon, she will have her Nursing degree! She's an all-star!

Sammi's best friend is Arizona! I've met her once- she's very nice also! 

Thanks for being our star today Sammi!

Life is GREAT!

When I think back on life, there are many things that inspire me.

A day when a few of us got together to play Disc Golf

God

Nature

Coffee

Culture

Love

Friendship

Cows

Tea

Books about Calendars

Books about Diary Entries

Beaches

Events

Dancing

Concentration

There once was a kid's game that went like this:

Concentration, now in session, keep the rhythm- I'll start- colors- red-blue-green etc; 

and the game would continue until someone breaks the rhythm. 

Well, I'm here to tell you today that Concentration game is not relative to real life. I've been sitting here in front of the computer screen for more than two hours trying to watch tutorial after tutorial for a new school system- I've been trying to use my concentration powers- but they just fade away as I'm listening to a boring robotic voice tell me the commands I need to follow- without of course, participating in the system- and then followed by the mundane lecture- comes a beautiful quiz that has nothing to do of course with the main things they focused on in the lecture- you know the practical application. 

Sounds like life- right? People making things more complicated than they have to, and me trying to make things how they should be. 

Doesn't match up- 

Well, thanks to the brother for buying me a Starbucks coffee to get me going again- 

He also said it wouldn't keep me up at night- 

Well I hope he is right! ^_^

Peace Out 

Clouds Within 30 Minutes Due to a Nearby Thunderstorm

It's so amazing how clouds can quickly change color and shape due to the weather patterns. I decided to snap some pictures with my phone because the view was just so beautiful. 

I hope you enjoy the many wonders of clouds that occured on July 13, 2016.

Time Lapse

Flashback to Wonderful Times

Dec 25, 2016

Christmas Day

This past Christmas I was very fortunate to spend it with my lovely family including my Aunt Kyle and Estu. It was a very exciting Christmas. My brother had just returned only 15 days prior from serving in the Peace Corps in Uganda, Africa for over 2 years.  

It was such a wonderful time together. 

One of the funny moments that happened when the four of us were together was a few days after Christmas. Estu, Kyle, my mother, and I decided to go to the mall and get a pedicure (Estu was just a great company; he didn't get his nails done, haha) . Of course, we chose the most snowy day of the whole year to go to the mall. In fact, all of the stores in the mall were already closed, but because my mother had called up the nail salon, the sweet owner decided they would stay up so we could get our nails done. So, here we go, we go out into the blistery, cold snowy evening packed in our car. Driving slowy and slipping and sliding, we arrive at the mall. We drive into the parking lot where we see people who are stuck in the snow, but that didn't stop my mom. She drives right through the middle of the parking lot as snow packs between her tires and there we are stuck. A man in a vehicle was driving around plowing people out of their car by using his rope and truck- so of course my mom summons him to get us unstuck from the snow. The man pulls us out and we are thankful! And so what do you think my mom does? She drives right through the snow again to the closest parking spot to the mall entrance and parks the car! There the four of us pile out of the car and continue our adventure into the mall. 

Here we are getting our nails done. The owner was pretty funny; do you notice the money inside our rolled up jeans? He told us, "That is their tip, if they don't do well, then you don't give it to them."! He had some great humor and business etiquette, but overall he was just funny! 

As you can see, Estu is not in the picture because he decided he would walk around the mall and look at stores while we were getting our nails done, but of course, all of the other stores were closed so he had a very dull view of items around the mall! Haha! :) 

-Thank you for reading- 

I will continue this series in the future since all of my events do not get written about until its months past the actual date! Christmas was almost 7 months ago, haha! :)

***Thanks to Aunt Kyle for the pedicure ***

God Knows My Needs

It's so amazing knowing that I serve and worship and love a God that cares for each and every one of my needs. Even the small things that make you embarrassed to admit or talk about in front of other people, Jesus is there- listening without judgement and ready to act when we call on his name. I was sitting here this evening, just thinking about how I really wanted to go to church- but I didn't want to sit alone. So, as I sat here, I prayed to God and said, "God, if you want me to go to church, then have someone text me, and then I'll know I should go" and within seconds after finishing that prayer- my phone lit up with a text and it was one of my friend's asking if I was going to church because she wanted someone to sit next to. It's amazing. Time and time again, I see my individual needs answered by God. I know God could do things much greater than I ask for, what I ask for, I even consider small, but in God's eyes he loves us so much that He does whatever He can to show us how great he loves us. That's what is truly amazing about our God. I've really learned to ask bold requests, because God answers them. I just have to get to the point where I can trust Him for bigger things- I know He's ready to give them- but I have to be ready to receive them. 

The Power of a Great Friend

I am perfectly normal- one says to their family members who shake their heads in denial. 
The truth is they just don't get it- 

but your best friend- gets it.

Why? 
Because they are experiencing the same hormonal imbalances as you- 

And even though- 
no one else understands

Your best friend does:
and that's all that matters. 

Freedom