GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

You know what's so great about God?
Even when everything around you seems to be falling apart, He is the one thing that remains.

The truth that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever is something repeated in churches throughout the World but sometimes I wonder if everyone truely grasps the depth that statement holds. The God of miracles, wrath, love, and tenderness in the Bible is the same God we serve today. He is the same in the good times and the bad. God doesn't waiver or change, we do. This truth is the one thing that can hold us firm in times of doubt or chaos. My God is good... ALL THE TIME and ALL THE TIME, God is GOOD! (I couldn't resist)

I find so much comfort in those sayings. He is and will always be my everything, the I AM. That is something that will never change. Something that can truely make life amazing even when circumstances weigh us down.

I can't help but give my God praise and thanks for how GREAT He is!

Well... here's to a Spirit-driven life :)

Since everyone in the world is blogging now... I thought I might start writing on mine again. Only I think my thoughts are somewhat inadequate in light of the others I have been reading (aka Hopkins duo). Oh well. But I must apologize in advance for my lack of spiritualness ness on this blog in comparison to theirs... I'm just not that deep man!

But I will say this-- GOD IS SO GOOD!!! I'm finding the more I'm willing to surrender myself, the more AMAZING He becomes... the more I take time in my day to dive into His word the more I desire to read it and the more interesting it becomes... the more I take time to talk with Him the more I feel Him... And well the more I do this the more at peace I feel. Go figure, right?

But it's just amazing to me how no matter how far I allow myself to fall from God, if I continue to make the same mistakes... He's always right there waiting for me, and each time I feel like I go deeper with Him... it's hard for me to explain (since I'm just not good at this). All I know is I'm really enjoying falling in love with my Savior all over again. Starting fresh... this time not just saying Lord I want more of you and less of me... but GOD GIVE ME ALL of YOU!!! And none of me... take everything... I know it might not be revolutionary to you but it is to me. The concept of living with purpose... living intentionaly, and truely being a Spirit-driven person is new to me.
I have never seen the difference between Spirit filled and Spirit driven... now it's clear... I'm Spirit-filled... but I'm never truely experienced what it is like to be driven by the Spirit... To live a life so full of God's purpose, so full of His mission and vision, that I can not even leave my house without direction from the Holy Spirit... That's what I want... I want God's agenda, not mine.
I know I won't be perfect in this. But I'm ready to not care about anything else and lay it all down to live a Spirit-driven life.

Free to be ME

Francesca Battistelli totally captured my heart and feelings in this song... I LOVE IT!!!

At twenty years of age
I'm still looking for a dream
A war is already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can't always see, 'cause...
I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me
When I was just a girl
I thought I had it figured out
See my life will turn out right
And I'll make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt, 'cause...
I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me
And you're free to be you
Sometimes I believe
That I can do anything
Yet other times I think
I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and you tell me
That I've got all You seek
And it's easy to believe, even though...
I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me
And you're free to be you

L*I*F*Eve

Life really catches up to you sometimes... it's crazy... I feel like I just posted my last entry yesterday, maybe because the same struggle is still in the back of my mind.

I'm going to do a little Beth Moore quoting because I need it right now... "God is who He says He is, God can do what He says He can do, I am who God says I am, I can do all things through Christ, God's word is alive and active in me!"
It's one of those silly things but it actually really helps because they are all truths that I, and we as Christians, forget all the time... simple truths that are at the base of our faith in Christ, the base of who we really are in Him... created by the Beloved, in His image, for His work.... made perfect in our own weakness, covered by grace.

It's good stuff... stuff it's hard to completely comprehend because noone on Earth could ever love like our Savior...

On my own...

I'm having a harder time with this being on my own and alone thing than I thought I would...
It's rough...

I miss the community from college... always having someone nearby if needed... I have no family up here... I have friends but it's just different.
I LOVE it here, I'm not complaining... it's just a HUGE adjustment that is taking a lot longer than I thought it would and is a bit more painful than I thought it would be.

Sometimes it's just hard being alone in an apartment... working 8 hours everyday, coming back to an empty apartment and sometimes going days without real friend contact-- it's lonely.

I mean I do stay pretty busy... Mondays I get off work, do some quick shopping (because I'm in town on Mondays), make and eat dinner, then go to my friends house to watch 24... Tuesdays I get off work, eat dinner, and go to youth at the church, Wed I get off, eat dinner, go to prayer at the church, come home and relax, Thursdays work, dinner, Hopkins for The Office, and Friday is usually either hang out or alone time... Saturdays I clean the house and relax, and Sundays is church... so it's not like my life is lacking eventfullness... I just feel lonely... like I don't really have anyone here...
I do have friends here and I'm getting to know people, I am just struggling with this transition. Working full time, paying the bills, trying to make ends meet, being single, being away from family, and trying to adjust to a new place... it's hard. I'm not trying to complain, I'm just being real about life...

It's hard right now... I'm having a hard time dealing with being alone and on my own. It's great to have Jesus and I know I wouldn't survive without Him, but sometimes I just need people... I need friends and family... ya know?

First few flakes...

Yes... it's true I couldn't resist writing in the snow on my windshield... ha ha...

I LOVE watching it snow and cover the ground with a white blanket... it's beautiful...

But I do not appreciate the coldness or icky driving conditions the snow brings with it! :) ha ha...

It has only snowed a few times since I've moved up here so I still get excited and want to run around in it like a little four year old!

Here are a few of my snowy Washington pictures...

I took this one today right before I left for work... I love when my car is covered in snow instead of ice!!! (sometimes the ice is so thick I have to warm my car up before I can even scrape it off with my windshield scraper thing! ah!)

This is the apartment complex I live in here... I love it! I'm on the second floor so I don't have to use my heat as much to stay warm! Thank you gravity!

This was my a pic in my first snow here... I was soooo excited! I know, I'm a nerd!

My street... how beautiful! I love it!

And I thought why not... I'll share my nerdy videos! I made a couple videos of the snow because I was so excited! One was my first snow and the other was the day school was cancelled for the snow! wohoo! No work... that's always amazing! (well I can't upload them right now but I'll try later :))

Running Stinks!

I love it here... but I've been trying this whole getting in shape thing... I've been eating healthier and working out everyday and man I hate going for runs! And it's not because I hate running, it's because once I get past a certain point it's all fields and sometimes the smell of cow and cow patties is so disgusting it's hard to breathe! ah! So not ok with this city girl! :) ha ha

I'm used to running by a beautiful ocean in Santa Cruz and thanking God for His beauty while I do it... now I guess I'll have to thank Him for my stuffy nose when I have one :)