God blessed me so much last night. I went with my youth group to Y.E.C. in Dayton. Joe asked Hannah and I to be counselors which meant that we went back to talk to people after the invitation time. I met two incredible, amazing, beautiful girls. We talked for hours and after all that time we had barely scratched the surface. They were/are struggling with some serious issues. Please pray for them. They're beginning to turn their problems over to God. They're beginning to let Him fight for them. They're beginning to realize they don't have to listen to the lies other people are telling them. I'm going to be keeping in touch with them, so if there are any words of encouragement you'd like to pass on to these new Christians let me know.
It's incredible to me how God works in my life. Through junior high and high school I have faced battles that I did not want to face. I've experienced situations with my friends and family I wished would just go away, even if that meant I wouldn't learn from them. I've gone through times I thought I would never make it out of... I've had problems I thought God could never use for good. How naive. This is my God who conquered death to create the most beautiful life for all mankind. Last night as I was talking to my new friends God used almost every circumstance I've been ashamed of, terrified of, depressed because of, or challenged by. All things turn out for God for those who love the Lord. That can't be denied. Burdens become joys. Things we're ashamed of become the things in our life that allow us to reach out to another soul in need. Our lowest points teach us how to live in the best times and how to help other people. Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds.
Talking with these girls also made me so thankful for the people in my life. My family has ALWAYS supported me. My parents tell me they love me. In this society that's a privilege. I have a boyfriend who doesn't tell me I am stupid or treat me like I am less than he is. I'm lucky enough to have someone who honestly cares about me and treats me like a princess (even tho we all know I am not exactly a princes...ha) My sister is the best friend any person could ever ask for. She is always always always there for me and would support me and stand up for me even if I was trying to argue that gravity did not exist. That's serious commitment. My brother is an incredible listener and a very wise man. He's a force of stability in my crazy life. My grandparents, the Good family, Ms. Anna Copeland, Juli A Manning, Ashleigh, random friends.... the list could go on and on. God has blessed me through ALL of these people. I consider myself extremely lucky.
During my sophomore year we had a girl's retreat that Hannah and I helped plan at church. After all the activities of the night were over I went to the back of the sanctuary to reflect. I was reading my Bible and writing in my journal when I felt God speaking to me. He called me to reach out to junior high and high school girls. I had no idea what that meant at the time and to be honest I still don't really know what it means, but I know that I never feel more alive or closer to God than when I'm teaching, talking to, or spending time with girls who are looking for God. I felt so alive last night. I've been called. No matter what that means or where it takes me I will follow God.
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Favorite Quotes
There's only now, there's only here. Give into love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today. -No Day but Today (Rent)
Faith is what keeps you going when the road is dark and you cannot see the way. It's what you lean on when all of your plans are coming unraveled and you heart is ready to burst. Hope is what helps you survive when you are burying your dead dreams and seemingly have nothing left. Love, though, is greater than both faith and hope because it lets you know that no matter how rough life gets, you are not alone. -Shannon Kubiak Primicerio
The thing people forget is how good it can feel when you finally set secrets free. Whether good or bad, at least they're out in the open. And once your secrets are out in the open, you don't have to hide behind them anymore. The problem with secrets is even when you think you're in control, you're not. - Meredith Grey
For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
1 John 3:20
It's a place that requires a constant choice. We can choose to cling to starring roles in the little-bitty stories of us, or we can exchange our fleeting moment in the spotlight for a supporting role in the eternally beautiful epic that is the Story of God.Think of it as trading up. Abandoning the former and embracing the latter will allow our little lives to be filled with the wonder of God as we live for His fame and the unending applause of His name. And joining our small stories to His will give us what we all want most in life anyway: the assurance that our brief moments on earth count for something in a story that never ends.
-Louie Giglio "I am not, but I know I Am"
"When we insist that God should give us an answer to a prayer, we're off track. The purpose of prayer is that get ahold of God, not the answer."
-Oswald Chambers
"True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do."
-- M. Cooley
Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. -Princess Diaries
Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. -Meredith Grey
At the end of the day when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all pretend to keep our distance is usually a load of bull, so we pick and choose who we want to remain close to and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stay close by no matter how much we hurt them. The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping and sometimes close can be too close, but sometimes that invasion of personal space can be exactly what we need. -Meredith Grey
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
Faith is what keeps you going when the road is dark and you cannot see the way. It's what you lean on when all of your plans are coming unraveled and you heart is ready to burst. Hope is what helps you survive when you are burying your dead dreams and seemingly have nothing left. Love, though, is greater than both faith and hope because it lets you know that no matter how rough life gets, you are not alone. -Shannon Kubiak Primicerio
The thing people forget is how good it can feel when you finally set secrets free. Whether good or bad, at least they're out in the open. And once your secrets are out in the open, you don't have to hide behind them anymore. The problem with secrets is even when you think you're in control, you're not. - Meredith Grey
For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
1 John 3:20
It's a place that requires a constant choice. We can choose to cling to starring roles in the little-bitty stories of us, or we can exchange our fleeting moment in the spotlight for a supporting role in the eternally beautiful epic that is the Story of God.Think of it as trading up. Abandoning the former and embracing the latter will allow our little lives to be filled with the wonder of God as we live for His fame and the unending applause of His name. And joining our small stories to His will give us what we all want most in life anyway: the assurance that our brief moments on earth count for something in a story that never ends.
-Louie Giglio "I am not, but I know I Am"
"When we insist that God should give us an answer to a prayer, we're off track. The purpose of prayer is that get ahold of God, not the answer."
-Oswald Chambers
"True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do."
-- M. Cooley
Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. -Princess Diaries
Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. -Meredith Grey
At the end of the day when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all pretend to keep our distance is usually a load of bull, so we pick and choose who we want to remain close to and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stay close by no matter how much we hurt them. The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping and sometimes close can be too close, but sometimes that invasion of personal space can be exactly what we need. -Meredith Grey
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
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