Praising God for his Work

Beautiful Saturday morning here in the middle of GA!  

Have you ever been called by God to do something that you just feel honored to do? Recently I have felt the tug on my heart to pray for a few specific people in my life. A few to pray for their salvation and a couple to stand in the gap with them and pray for God's specific will in their life right now. It is a blessing and an honor to be able to do that. I am so thankful for what God is doing in my life. I feel considerably blessed to be able to use the challenges, trials, and victories God has given to me in the last couple of years to encourage someone else who may be going through similar situations, or just going through hard times. I know that my God has supplied all my needs and continues to do so everyday. There is a burning desire in my heart to share that with everyone I know, but especially those who are facing tough times. I have to stop myself from practically begging people to know God like I do. To know the awesome feeling of Him making everything right in my life. There are a few specific people in my life that do not know the Lord and do not share the faith that I do. The way I believe has been changed since Catalyst became a part of my life and I now know what it is like to have a real, personal relationship with God. I know what it's like to watch Him work in MY life and to see the things he is doing specifically and every day! I know what it is like to be a part of a family of fellow believers who believe in being REAL every DAY with each other, who truly share each others burdens, praises, needs, and life! We share the valley's that we face every day; we share the climb to the mountaintop; we share the victory when we reach the mountaintop; we carry each other when we're weak; we celebrate when we're strong; we share happy times and sad; we know that we can trust each other no matter what; we don't think anything of reaching out to help not only each other, but also those within our families, friends, and our communities (which includes perfect strangers)!! It is a blessing and a privilege to reach out to someone we've never met and enrich their life simply by being willing and faithful to do what God has called each of his children to do. 

I am so very very blessed to be surrounded by these people who truly care about me in a way that only my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ can care. To know that no matter how far away I go, and no matter what I do, no matter what life throws at me, and no matter what may happen in my life....these people love me enough to encourage me when I'm down, pray for me in everything, give me a "spiritual talking to" when I need it, and love me for who I am!!! 

(to be continued....)

Randomness

1-21-11

Wow I can't believe that January just got here and yet its almost over!  Yet that means only a little over 2 months until camp!! Woot Woot!! I'm so ready for a few nights on the "hill"; well, rather, a few nights in the valley!! Moreso I can't wait to see all my extended/adopted friends and family and spend a week with them!! I never thought I'd like camping but the very first time I went, I was hooked!! I love love love it!! I wouldn't want to do it alone, though. Not too keen about being out alone in the dark!!

So life has taken a million turns for me in just the last few months! Most recently , I have found a few friends from my past that I have always wondered whatever happened to them. Its been nice to catch up on life with them! I've always been that type of person who wanted to stay in touch with everyone I cared about, but sadly with life happening all around me, it never quite seems to work out that way. Perhaps that’s why I'm so addicted to facebook, because I can semi keep up with everyone and see all the going - on's and such.

School started back up this month. I'm taking english and history. Not terribly thrilled with my world history class. I wanted to take american history, but the class was full so I got put into world history. I don’t like it mainly b/c of the fact that it "starts" a few million years ago. I have a major problem with that. Considering christ was born 2000 yrs ago and the world didn’t' start much beyond that (a few thousand years). And then theres always the fact that the world was created from nothing and was made in 6 days. Some people would say that perhaps there were atoms here. But then if there were atoms here, where did the atoms come from? I started  a whole facebook debate about this one day. Sometimes I post status' for that matter. Other times its because I just want to share.

I'm typing this in microsoft note while driving down the interstate to GA. Well, I'm not driving, but you get my point. I worked on my history essay a little bit. I think I have enough info I can get a good start on it. I'm trying to not wait til the last minute on papers or assignments this semester. I have to bring my GPA back up. I really let everything slide last semester and I can't afford to that again ever. I'm hoping that I'm really going to enjoy my english class b/c, although I don’t necessarily get to write these things, its all on short stoires, poetry, and drama. All the things I loved writing in my creative writing class in high school (thanks Mrs Hogg!!).  Plus we get to read one of my nana's favorite poems by robert frost. She's recited that poem to me from as far back as I can remember. "Stopping by the woods on a snowy day" by Robert Frost! After all these years, I'm finally working on memorizing that poem too.

New Year, New Me, New Blog

It's a brand new year !! I'm starting a new blog !!

New Blog Coming Soon....

I blog with you long enough tonight to announce the coming of a new blog...this one will still be active but I will be moving from this log-in to the one I use all the time! I get tired of having to remember two passwords and I miss out on so much stuff from my fellow blog peeps!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone (it's almost here!)

Happy New Year 2011!!!!

(Work in progress....)

Happy New Year 2011!!!

I sit here in GA welcoming in the new year of 2011!! What a whirlwind 2010 has been!! It has been filled with lots of laughs, many tears, testy trials, joyous triumphs, new friends, exciting adventures!! I am thrilled with everything God has done in my life this year alone! What a wonderful thing to watch Him work in my life and KNOW that GOD has taken care of me and never failed, not once!!

I think that this has been a year of learning, caring, serving, and growing. The end of April 2011 will be 2 years since my ex left me and my life started on a crazy roller coaster ride. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 years!!! There are times where it seems like it was just yesterday and other times where it seems as if it were a lifetime ago!  As you know there are many times where I wanted to give up, but thanks to God he never failed me and carried me through every single trial and tribulation I have faced. I can finally say that I am happy where I am in my life. I have an awesome job that does more than pay the bills, a very cute apartment that is all mine and paid for with my own hard-earned money, a wonderful church I call family, a great family who stands behind me, awesome friends who never fail to make me laugh and cry, and just amazed at how the floodgates have opened since my divorce was final.

Yes, I am happy again!! That is not to say that the memories of days gone by don't make me wistful! I was standing on a dock at a lakehouse in GA yesterday on a beautiful mild December day, and all the memories of being on Lake Hartwell were flooding and running through my head. I do miss my "Greenville" family and wish I could see them more often....(and they will always be considered family to me...just because there is one person I don't talk to and don't want anything to do with, doesn't mean the other relationships have to suffer. A lot of people don't understand that, and it's okay.). Sometimes I feel like I'm all alone but that feeling doesn't usually last very long!

This year has definitely been a year of changes. My divorce was final in July, I turned 25 in August, I also accepted a new job the end of August and moved to a very cute 1 bedroom apartment in October. November of course brought family and Thanksgiving, and December has brought more family, Christmas, & New Years. I have been thrilled to serve in various places alongside my church this year in Miracle League and helping needy families and our own people. I have watched my sisters and the younger children in my life grow up, and I was thrilled to be a part of a wedding that was incredibly amazing!! I have thanked God often that He allowed me to go through all the crap that I have in order to help & minister to others who have been in similar situations. I have also in 2 years lost 30lbs and dropped several sizes, which has been pretty awesome!! I have dated a couple guys and become good friends with a few others. I have run into old friends from high school and made new friends along the way.

(and that is all for now....more later!)

 I know I say this all the time, but I am incredibly thankful for Joey Leviner  & Amanda Leviner for leading Catalyst in what REAL church is supposed to be!! My life has been changed because of it!! I am continuously reminded at how blessed I am to be a part of a group of people who truly believe in Christ, who truly believe in going OUT and serving instead of waiting for people to come to the church. Over and over my life has been blessed and changed by the people of Catalyst who are my family; who are people that I share everyday life with, well, everyday. I cannot imagine my life without them and I can't believe we've only been a group for 2 years...it feels like its been forever! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!

On that note, I have to once again praise GOD for all that he has done ...he literally took me through the valley of the shadow of death and led me up the mountain-side to the top, to victory!! Praise God the battle is already ultimately won for me and praise God for the comfort, peace, grace, joy, and love he showers on us if we only cling to him and walk His path during those tough & troubled times!!

As I close out this New Year's post, I leave you with the passage of Scripture that has become a huge part of my life....

 Romans 8:28-39 (NIV)

  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. More Than Conquerors What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:   “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”   No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.