Live for His glory...

Surrender, You whisper gentle....

2006-06-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, you know the sign that i haven't posted in a while is probably the fact that i almost forgot my username and password. I thought i would set aside a time to do the whole blog-posting thing, but i opened my little computer and God tugged on my heart to post something. Not for you. For Him. It doesn't matter to me if I get 0 or 10 comments. Father wanted me to do this. What have I been doing? Just started my work at Ware Jewelers in downtown Auburn. Where am I going? Hopefully Nashville, or at least that's the plan for right now. What am I wanting? To completely surrender to the most capable, beautiful God in the world. To learn more about my Savior, not for my sake so that He will bless me, but that He will use me to get the most glory for Himself. He is opening up doors in my heart right now and showing me that He is so detailed. I want Him to be my every thought. There is so much of Him to marvel at...how do we have time to let our mind wander with silly earthly things? I know I am so guilty of it, but I know the Father will be persistent with me. I want to feel His presence more intimately, and to recognize Him all along the landscape. He is in every crevice, nook and cranny of this universe. We just have to wake up to His majestic beauty. Don't you just love that the One who is so constant changes us every second? He changes us to further make us like Him. He is drawing us closer. WAKE UP TO IT!
I was driving my grandmother up to Auburn a couple of months ago to move her here. Watch out Auburn, the Rican has come to town. Anyways, I was driving her car, what the grandchildren commonly refer to as the townhouse. Its a lincoln towncar, and it is a hoopty. If i ever had to live in a car, that would be my choice place of residence. All lincolns come equipped with a piece of metal on the front of the hood that is the lincoln symbol. I don't know the technical term for said part, but give me a break. As we were driving along, I glanced down at the logo and realized its similarity to a cross. The wheels starting turning (in my head, the cars were in full circle), and I came to this realization: God goes before us and we have to trust Him in whichever way He turns our life. It was cool to see that in a visual form. When we stray off His path, He always brings us back to Himself. Praise Him for that!!!! "Sometimes praise comes face to the ground, unable to move because we are so aware that this holy, terrifying God has busied Himself bringing us back to Him."-David Crowder
O, and I also see our Lord and Savior as an overflowing cup. "My cup runneth over...." He is life...abundant, overflowing life. Draw from His love and that cup will never run dry. If we attempt to draw life from any other cup, you will find yourself very thirsty. Things of this world are fleeting and do not last. He is the only satisfaction. Do I mean cup as in alcohol? Sure. Do I mean drawing our life from our friends, families, boyfriends, girlfriends, a cause, our work or activity instead of drawing from the endless supply of the love Jesus Christ has for us? Yeah, that too. Drink from His abundant cup. "Taste and see that the Lord is good". Ask God to increase your hunger and thirst for His life in yours. Ask Him to rub away you. Nothing left of me to see. All You, Father. Only You. I love You.
Surrender to the Holiest of Holies. Have a great week.

His fame, His renown….

2006-01-24T17:20:00.000-06:00

Lord, spread the glory of Your Name today! That was Mr. Giglio’s prayer, and that should be our constant prayer. Today I watched on iTunes as the Passion ’06 bundle went from #39 at 8:00 AM, to #7 at 12:30, to where it sits now at #4, and it is still rising. I know that Passion is not about the music and their sales, but I pray that this bundle is used as a channel for His glory. I pray that it sparks curiosity in those who don’t know Him. Let it catch the eye of those who are looking around on the iTunes homepage. I pray it has the regular iTunes users wondering, “What is the Passion, and what have they got to sing about?” And if you have the bundle, you would know that He is our joy, and that salvation is here. Let these songs and Louie’s talk spring new life in us as well, so we can be in constant recognition of His sovereignty, and so that we can do our part in spreading the love of the Father that stirs us so much everyday that it should just come pouring out of us.

What does it take?

2006-01-10T20:18:00.000-06:00

Surrender. Surrender to Him. Father used the Passion Conference this year to draw me closer to Him. It took surrender. I am going to try to explain this, but it might be confusing, so bear with me.

The Lord is bringing me to a place where I desire nothing but Him and what He wants for my life for His glory. It feels great! It is such release. No matter what you want out of life, decide to surrender, and let the best decision maker choose your path. And He will bring the most glory to Himself by increasing your satisfaction of Him. The more and more you look at Him, the more breathtaking He becomes. The more and more you fix your eyes on His love, the more He proves to you that He loves you, and you see more and more just what He has done for little, insignificant you and me. The Lord is teaching me more and more each day. Dialogue with Him all day. Talk to the Father and keep your thoughts on Him all day long. He is the best person to talk to.

Sorry, a little off subject, a conversational pigtrail as I like to call it. Ok, back to what I came to say.

Over the past couple of months, I have been on a journey to find true, authentic worship. Not the kind of worship that arises from emotions or the kind of worship that gets you raising your hands because your favorite Crowder song came on or your neighbor is raising their hands, but the kind of worship that is all out for the Father's glory. The kind of worship that has us raising our hands and dancing before the Lord in appreciation of all that He has done for us, all that He is doing, and all that He will do. And because we truly love Him.

At the worship panel at the conference in Nashville, during the Q & A segment, this question was asked: With all of the technological advancements (the LED screens, sounds systems, lights, colors, etc.), is it hard not to get wrapped up in it and lose focus? (Those weren't the exact words, but close enough.) Louie Giglio proceded to ask of us, the audience, if we would show up to Passion if none of those technological advancements were present. Of course, we all replied yes. But then I began to wonder, what does it take? What does it take for true, authentic worship? Does it take all the lights, screens, etc.? And then I thought, what if we showed up to our respective worship meetings and walked in to find that there was no musical equipment, no amplification or magnification of any kind. What if what we found when we walked in was a cross lifted high and nothing else? Would that be enough? Would we still fall to our faces in reverence of The Holiest of Holies? He moves us. He stirs our affections. Without the show. Without any of the lights, screens, movies, songs, sermons, etc. So what does it take to have true, authentic worship? Just Him.

mr. darcy

2005-12-08T21:25:00.000-06:00

Let me take this opportunity to indulge to you how quite pleased I was with the movie "Pride & Prejudice". I've seen it twice already. What I'm about to tell you will probably be in some form of British dialect since I am rather fond of the way they converse. Having said that, go see this movie. It is truly an amazing love story.

My thoughts after viewing this picture show...
Warning: my girly side is about to come forth.
Above all, I walked out of this movie desiring a husband that would be foolish for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm in the stage that Matt likes to call, "single and satisfied", but the male characters in this movie found their weakness in these women. They could hardly get a word out, and I found it adoringly precious. They were stupid silly for these women. These men made their intentions known. They carried no fear of rejection. They pursued.
As much as I desire a man who is all these things to me, I want him to be all these things multiplied for our Heavenly Father. I want him to seek after my Lord and Savior, and be extremely foolish, silly, stupid in love with Him. I want him to delight in his weaknesses, so that God may do amazing things through him. I want the Father's love to quiet him, so that he can hear what our Creator has for him. I want his intention to be to run hard after the cross and to seek His Kingdom FIRST. And I want him to pursue the heart of the Father.
Mr. Darcy's world was not right until Elizabeth Bennett was in it. Our world is nothing without our Father.

Cheerio!

More Quotes...and a few pics

2005-12-05T16:56:00.000-06:00

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-2 Corinthians 5:21

Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been wakened by the touch of God within them.
-A.W. Tozer

I'd rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special at all.
~Julia Roberts

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
-Matthew 17:20

Keep on loving each other. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
-Hebrews 13:1-2

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let everyone say:
"His love endures forever."
I will give you thanks...
you have become my salvation.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
~from Psalm 118

One day you will ask me, 'which is more important, my life or yours?' and I will respond 'My life.' And you will walk away without ever knowing that you are my life.

When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear
a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
~Isaiah 30:21

the holidays are here!!!

2005-11-28T09:12:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

When I was a little girl, and even to this day, I always helped out putting up Christmas decorations. Usually I am in charge of setting up all the nativity scenes we have. We have over 10. Jesus is born a lot in our house. Growing up I knew where everything went because my mom showed me. Now I see that every little figurine is in it's place for the divine will of God. Setting up these mangers is a joy knowing that this little child is the Lord Jesus Christ. This little baby changes my life every second. Every second of that night, and every second of my life, is for His glory, His name, and His renown.

How much do I love this time of year? It's the best! We have already decked the halls over at our little house with stockings, a tree, lots of mistletoe, and....introducing the newest member of our family.....Mr. Darcy. Named after the character in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy has proven to be a true gentleman, dressed up as an adorable penguin! Enjoy the Holidays! Drink hot cocoa with tons of marshmellows, watch old time Christmas movies, listen to the *Nsync Christmas CD(cuz it's hands down the best), and remember why we celebrate this holiday!

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!

our language

2005-11-28T08:56:00.000-06:00

Just trying to put what I am learning into action...

Matthew 13:10-17
These verses talks about our understanding, our gracious understanding of the Word of the Lord. Those who do not know Him can never grasp what the Lord says, and can never see the miraculous things he does. We are aliens to this world. Our language is unrecognizable because God speaks to our hearts in ways those of the world cannot fathom. How amazing is that? This holy, amazing, grand God busies Himself with us. He speaks to us, He speaks through us, and all we have to do is listen and receive. I am constantly amazed at God's constant presence in every detail of my life. We sometimes do not recognize Him, or refuse to, but there is not a moment in history that has alluded His gaze.

Nov. 28 My Utmost for His Highest...read it.
Winning. You can't win with God. You must receive it as a gift or live without it. Winning is of this world. Winning is trying to accomplish what God has way more control over. When someone thinks of winning, it usually has to do with sports. But there are all sorts of winning. "Little Victories", as I like to call them, will remain little. These are the victories of self-effort, selfish motives.

"He can do nothing for us if we think we are sufficient of ourselves"...how true! And I am often so guilty of saying "Your grace is sufficient for me", but living in a totally different way. Depend on Him and receive the riches of His glory. "We have to enter into His Kingdom through the door of destitution." Nobody deserves glory except for the One who created it. Amen.

best week ever

2005-11-28T08:31:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to share some crazy things that ha-happened over the break. Well, there's just 2, but they are the best.

So while shopping in Publix in Seagrove, FL, who does my dad run into? None other than Karl Rove. Yeah right! I was stoked. I admit that at first I didn't quite know who he was. But once I got the full biography of him, I admit, I was quite impressed.

Second thing that happened was one of the highlights of my holiday. While shopping as the awful, huge, tacky Christmas store in Destin (and by huge and tacky I mean amazing), I ran into Santa. Not just any Santa, but a life-size Santa figurine that had a microphone to go with it. So I did what anyone would do. I picked up the microphone. Once I started talking/singing/bring on the grammy, Santa's lips started to move. Freak! It was flippin awesome, and I am forever changed by him. Haha.

Here's the lesson in my blog...find joy in the smallest and silliest things. And...don't hassle celebrites.

much thanks and giving

2005-11-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

My thanksgiving thus far...

Has been filled with laughter. I have really truly enjoyed this time with my family. I have gotten some great catch up time with my G-ma who I do not get to see very often. My mom and I have walked every day on the beach, painted some Christmas goodie bags, and prepared for my upcoming graduation party. I just wanted to share some funny things that I know brought a smile to my face...

Let's just say my adorable mother (who is one of the smartest people I know), is not the most technolically advanced person out there. She can hardly work her cell phone or anything with buttons for that matter. She had over 40 blank pictures on her cell phone. How? The world will never know. On one occasion today she asked me to rewind the movie we had been watching. It was a DVD. O, and p.s., it was Casablanca...LOVED IT! She informed me the other day that she was so thrilled when the Auburn football players made an eagle symbol when they scored. She was extremely disappointed to find out that these players were making the omega symbol.

Nonetheless, she is as precious as they come.

Sachie is my homegirl

2005-11-16T11:04:00.000-06:00

This is my ode to the one and only Sach. She is the most deserving of a post. A warrant is out for her arrest for the continued heckling to change my blog. Sachie, this one is for you. Enjoy the vintage montage. I love you Sachie!

More Quotes....

2005-11-16T10:53:00.000-06:00

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
-2 Peter 3:9

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
-Psalm 63:3-5

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
~C.S. Lewis

One mentor, one person, can change a life forever and I urge you to be that one person. ~President G.W. Bush

The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor in prayer.

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 18:2-4

We get to make a living;
We give to make a life.
-Winston Churchill

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
-Colossians 3:23

To be alive is to be broken. And to be broken is to stand in need of grace.
-Brennan Manning

“Dear lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Delight me to see how your Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his, to the father through the features of men’s faces. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all.
-Joshua Abraham heschel

Georgia Game!!

2005-11-16T10:47:00.000-06:00

31-30! Yeah baby! That was one of the best games! Check out the hats we found in the Atlanta Wallie for $5. We were totally styling! John Vaughn is my hero!!!! That 4th down pass was amazing! BEAT BAMA!!!!!

Thanksgiving

2005-11-16T10:33:00.000-06:00

Let's just say that I am pretty stoked about spending a week with the family for Thanksgiving! We are headed to the beach, also known as my favorite place in the world!!!! My family and I will be spending Thanksgiving day in Panama City with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and the one and only G-ma!!! My mom and I are planning on walking on the beach every morning (got to work off that holiday food), and catching up with some good "us" time. It's going to be a blast.

Since my parents deprived me as a child, we will also be using this week to watch some classics I have never seen before.

They are:
Casablanca
It's a Wonderful Life
White Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street

I know you are gawking at the computer at this point because you can hardly believe I have lived a 22 year existence and never seen any of those. I share the same feelings.

I am also wanting to see two movies. I confess right now that I am a Harry Potter addict. The movie comes out this Friday, and I can hardly wait. I also can't wait to see Pride and Prejudice. Which reminds me, if your in our neighborhood, come check out our new holiday decorations, which include a 5 ft. tall blow up penquin who is known as Mr. Darcy. He's the best. And we will probably be hence known as "the kissie house" b/c our house will be decorated with about 7 mistletoes. Get ready for dat. Anyways, I think my randomness has come to an end.

Go around the table and say what your thankful for. Tell your family why you love them.

HAVE A MARVELOUS THANKSGIVING!

the infamous update

2005-11-16T10:16:00.001-06:00

After the hate mail I have received for not updating this thing, I am proud to announce that I am back with a vengeance. I am still in the learning process with this whole blog thing, but it will all come with time.

I am happy to report that all is going great right now. The Lord is teaching me amazing things, and I wait eagerly to see what else is in store. The theme of my life is consistency (or constantness as my small group likes to point out). We have to be intentional with our faith and be in constant recognition that He is Lord and that He is in control, and that He is sovereign and reigns over our lives. I have come to enjoy talking to God throughout my entire day. He is the best friend to talk to while your getting ready, on your way to class, etc. There is nothing you can't bring to him. He already knows our thoughts.

My friend Zach Yelton and I were talking last night, and we were laughing about the fact that we have all been praying and left out some things b/c we didn't want to talk about it, or we didn't want to bring it to the Father. How silly is that?! He already knows!!! Bring EVERYTHING to Him. Regardless of what I want or don't want, God will bring the most glory to Himself through every situation in our live.

Quotes

2005-10-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. More to come...

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say “I used everything you gave me”.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself the other for helping others.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows. And the beauty of a woman with passing years- only grows! -Audrey Hepburn

Good, yet crazy week

2005-10-16T18:10:00.000-05:00

I have really seen how God is so amazing this week, and how He can calm any storm. After a huge test and the upcoming GRE (tomorrow!), God has really laid on my heart a sense of peace. I've been sick this week on top of my studying, but the Lord's grace is so sufficient. I'm nervous concerning the path of my future, which I hope will be graduate school, but He has allowed me to trust in Him, and let everything else worry about itself. Who am I to take the plans under my wing, when I know I would much rather have the Lord dictate my future? I know He can handle my life a whole lot better than I can. Isn't He AMAZING?! Don't try to live your life without Him. I love you!

2005-10-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

My First Comment

2005-10-16T17:32:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys! Not really sure how to work this, but here goes nothing! I love all of you guys! Love Jesus! He is so Holy and Amazing! Nothing compares to standing in the presence of the I AM. We are not! Have a wonderful day!