Challenge!:D

I was nominated to do this questionnaire by Lizzie, from Lizzie's Place to do this... so here ya go!:D

11 random facts about me:

1. I'm the 2nd of 9 kids

2. I can gleek (spit from the saliva gland underneath my tongue) gross, but a great way to fend off my brothers;)

3. I do ballet (10 years!)

4. I suck at poetry

5. I have a wild side only like 2 people know about ;)

6. I got my permit the day after I turned 15, and my license 2 months after I turned 16.

7. I'm a photographer! Check out my Photography Blog!

8. I'm a Christian, but I hope you already knew that!

9. I think big families are amazing, and I wanna have one!

10. I think getting married young would be the coolest thing ever.

11. I get bored really easily:P

Annnnndddd The answers to Lizzie's 11 questions!!

1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I'd go to Ghana and visit my sponsor child Ebenezer. I've been sponsoring him since he was 3, now he's 7 and I'd love to meet him!

2. What is your favorite book and why?

The Bible. Hands down! I love it because it's God's inspired word to us! He left us amazing promises in it and I feel so encouraged talking to Him while I read His word!

3. What is your favorite Disney movie?

I dont even know!!!:P lol. I can only pick one???

4. Prepared of unprepared?

It depends... if you're talking about my history final.. then no... not prepared;)

5. Favorite time of the year?

Summer:)

6. Greatest role model?

My best friend, Jed, he's taught me so much (unintentionally) about following God, he always has a word of encouragement for me, and always tells me when I'm doing something wrong, he isn't afraid to tell me the truth. An amazing person, with an amazing heart for God!

7. What kind of music to do you listen to?

Christian Rock, and Country:)))

8. If you could fast forward your life to see your future and then rewind to present day again, would you say yes?

No, God gives us different seasons in our lives and I think its important to enjoy the moment He's given us:)

9. Who is your favorite superhero?

Jed;) 

10. What is your dream?

Thats a secret! 

11. If you could meet anyone in  the world who would it be?

Anyone currently living??? currently living.. I have no clue... dead...still... no clue:P 

By Your Side

Given the title of this blog, I thought this was a appropriate song to put on here.

By Your Side Lyrics

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away 

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching
As if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

'Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands at my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life 
I want to give you life

And I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Here at my side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you 

'Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, yeah I'll love you
I'll never let you go, no, no

And I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Here at my side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you 
Here at my side, my hands are holding you
Ohhh...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is one of those songs that I can listen to again, and again, and again, and again. It is so beautiful, challenging, and healing. 

Listen to the message, please. God is waiting for your with open arms; will you run to Him?

God is here for you, whether you've accepted Him into your heart, or you're unsaved. He wants to be the foundation of your life in either case. 

As a believer myself, I know how easy it is to forget even this simple truth. God's love is not conditional: He wants YOU and ME. 

Lose yourself in the strength of His embrace!

~Bekah

Time...

    As I'm writing this post I'm sitting across from my baby brother as he smashes bananas on his face and shoves them up his nose. Lately I've been thinking alot about time... how time flies soooo fast. Just 11 months ago this little guy wasnt even born yet. I cant even begin to tell you how special he is to me, lets flashback to a little over a year ago...
    In October of 2012 I was very upset to be having another sibling. I remember sitting in my room angry that my mom was pregnant AGAIN. I didnt want another sibling! There was hardly enough time for me to do what I wanted now, and there was going to be ANOTHER kid!?! Were my parents nuts!?
In November I went to the Above Rubies Retreat... I'd been going for years, but this time, it was so extremely different. During testimony time I heard so many moms' sharing their testimonies, testimonies of how they just wished they could have a baby, or how they wished they could have another baby... and there I sat, listening to these mothers, with their hearts open and bursting with love for children and babies and they couldnt have them... and I sat there, thinking of the baby growing inside my mother... the baby I'd rejected, the baby I never wanted... and it hit me. That baby, that baby was a very, very special blessing from God. A blessing He didnt give everyone. He gave this baby to our family, and I was trying to deny one of God's precious gifts!! How selfish of me!! It was at that retreat that God turned my heart towards that precious baby inside my mom. I was filled with this special joy, suddenly excited for that baby to come into the world! I suddenly wanted to help prepare for the baby to be born and to help pick a name, one night I remember saying the name I thought he should have...
    A few months later, on April 17th, 2013 my precious baby brother, Eli Noble was born at 3:07pm. His name was the name I'd suggested months beforehand. I was so privileged to be there to see him enter this world, and to be the first of all his siblings to hold him. Eli and I share initials, which is also very special because my parents have tried to make sure all their kids have different initials.
   Here it is, less than a month before Eli's first birthday. I cannot believe how much of a blessing this baby truly is. He has changed me so much in such an amazing way! I share a room with him, and he is constantly waking up in the middle of the night... and every night, I have to climb down off of my loft to get him. If Eli isnt with mom, you'll almost always find him with me. Because of that, I'm his favorite (second to mom) he'll even lean to me over dad. He's my buddy. I do chores with him on my back in the ergo. I have him on my hip while I cook, I cuddle him to sleep at night, I feed him snacks and babysit him when mom is gone. I love spending time with him!
   But I've learned.... no matter how much love I show him now... he wont remember those things I did for him when he's 5, or 6, or 18! He'll remember feeling loved, and taken care of as a baby... but he wont remember a specific time I held him when he was sick, or when I fed him... But just because he wont remember, doesnt mean I shouldnt show that special love to him, when I show love to him it makes a special impact on him, he remembers I love him, he knows I take care of him. I'm a comfort to him, and its soooo amazing to be that to him, the baby I said I didnt want will choose me over any one of his other siblings, we have a special bond that I hope will never change. He is so extremely special to me and I love him dearly. Lately I've caught myself just smiling at him, he giggles and laughs, he's a happy baby, he's wonderful, he's a blessing from God. He's the baby that made me decide that babies are blessings. He holds such a special place in my heart above all of my other siblings. But he doesnt know that. He may never know that. He may never know the impact he made on my life. The impact he never tried to make on my life.
   As I sit and smile at him I keep thinking "these moments are so precious. I never want to lose this" I never want to lose the ability to sit and smile at this precious baby, I never want to lose that special bond between me and Eli.
   Dont take for granted the little people in your life, (or the big ones!) Remember that time moves soooo quickly, cherish the time you have now. Build memories, even just for yourself to remember. Dont take anyone for granted. Make someone smile, make someone laugh. It wont be long before those around you grow up, or pass away, try your very best to make an impact on someone! You never know what you might do! Eli didnt even try to make an impact on me, but he did. How many people can you make a positive impact on?!

Some of my favorite verses:)

Ya know what is really fun??? Thumbing through your Bible and finding all the verse you've highlighted and reading them, and truly thinking about them. It's funny how when I do this, I come across verses I have highlighted and have absolutely no clue why I highlighted them! Today, they happened to be the perfect verse of encouragement to me! Here's some of my favorite verses that I discovered highlighted this morning! I hope they're as much of an encouragement to you, as they were to me:)

John 14:27 KJV

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 31:14

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say 'You are my God' My times are in Your hand.

Daniel 4:3

How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation, to generation.

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things, sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 9:13b

For I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance. 

Matthew 10:39

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 19:26

With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!

Romans 10:13

For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved"

To Love

Have you ever had those days where you just feel like you  mess "everything" up?? Where you feel like you just cant get something right? Where you wonder why anyone takes the time to listen to you, to care about you? I know I have. Not too long ago in fact! I was on the phone with a friend of mine and felt like I just couldn't figure things out, I felt like I'd messed everything up and was quite the failure. He told me I was wrong, that I was far from a failure, and that it was okay to 'not have everything figured out'. But for some reason, those words didn't comfort me, I wanted to have things figured out, I didn't want to mess up, and I certainly didn't want anyone to know about those failures! To add to my frustration, he told me that he cared about me soooo much, he told me how much he valued me, and my friendship, and that made me frustrated because honestly, I can't see why anyone would value me so highly, and care about me in such a way, because, well, I suck! After I hung up the phone with him I climbed into bed and fell asleep, thinking about how stupid I was and how I just "couldn't get things right". I woke up the next morning to a text from him... sent at 3am.. all it was, was a youtube link. Curious, right? I followed the link and sat quietly and listened to the song that played, "Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets. If you haven't heard this song before, I'd encourage you to listen to it, but if you cant listen to it, I'm going to quote the main part of the song. The song is about someone who cant sleep at 3am, because they're thinking about a friend who is hurting, but because its so late they cant call them, so they write what they would say if they could...

"I'd tell you just what you mean to me 

Tell you these simple truths 

Be strong in the Lord and 

Never give up hope. 

You're gonna do great things 

I already know 

God's got His hand on you so, 

don't live life in fear 

forgive and forget

 but don't forget why you're here 

Take your time and pray

 These are the words I would say"

As I listened to that song, tears filled my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, how could someone care for me so much? The words of that song were an amazing encouragement to me and I wasn't crying because I was sad, but because I was so happy, and so surprised and I felt so loved. I cannot begin to describe what an amazing feeling it is to realize YOU ARE LOVED. Now I don't mean the mushy-gushy romantic sappy love, I mean a simple (yet not simple at all) kind of love, a love that puts others before itself, a love that cares for your best interest, a love that values you as a person, a love that doesn't give up. That's the kind of love I felt. Even now, I listen to that song and it can bring tears to my eyes, because I remember the loving, caring friend that sent it to me when I was hurting. I would encourage each and every one of you, find someone to encourage today, make them your project, get them to smile, to laugh, to feel truly loved, maybe its the annoying kid at school that no one likes, maybe its a sibling, your parent, maybe even one of your best friends, but no matter who it is, everyone deserves to feel truly loved, no matter who they are, or what their past has been, and it is our job as Christians to show them that love, just like Christ would have. In the Bible we read in Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love" that's God speaking! He loves us with an everlasting love, the kind of love we can only dream to love with. Also, notice that verse doesn't give a specific person, no, you. No matter who 'you' are, when 'you' read that verse, substitute your own name, that's who God loves, and not just you, everyone, there is not a single person on this earth that God does not love. Now, if God loves everyone, shouldn't we do the same? Shouldn't we try to show that love to those around us?

-Emma

As I'm re-reading this post before publishing I'm noticing something very interesting... I wrote about love, the day after Valentines day, I did not intend to write a Valentine's day post, but I suppose I have. Valentines day isn't only about the mushy-gushy type of love, Valentines day is a special day for us to remember, and acknowledge, once again, those that we hold dear and love.

I'M BACKKKKKK :)

HEY EVERYONE! 

I apologize for not writing for so long, to be quite honest, I forgot entirely about the existence of this blog until a conversation about blogs came up with a friend of mine! I am COMPLETELY shocked and astounded to see that this blog has over 3,000 views!! I never would've imagined reaching that many people through this blog!

I'm going to try to start writing again!:) So stay tuned!

Letting God In On The Little Things

John 13:4-8
"4He [Jesus] riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself. 5After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 6Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, 'Lord, dost thou wash my feet?'. 7Jesus answered and said unto him, 'What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter'. 8Peter saith unto him, 'Thou shalt never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'If I wash thee not, thou has no part with me.'"

Generally, when looking at this particular passage, what is addressed is Jesus' servant like behavior, despite the fact He was the Son of the living God. That is a beautiful truth, that cannot be overstated, but that is not what I'm planning to talk about. Rather, I'm going to look at Peter's response to Jesus doing this small, and rather demeaning, task. No other disciple is recorded to have said anything about the Lord's actions, but Peter is, what seems to me, horrified that Jesus would lower Himself to such a minuscule task, after all, He was the Christ! Peter doesn't want to let Jesus wash his feet, it's too personal, and just not a thing that Jesus should be doing. I see Peter's words as and indicator that he thinks that Jesus should not be wasting His time on the lowly disciples who serve Him, but rather on the "big" things that matter more. On first thought, I totally agree with Peter, what is the HOLY Son of God, doing washing His disciples feet? It's totally out of the sphere of what someone of His station should be doing. Waaiiiitttt. What did I just do there? I just put God into a box. Peter did the same thing when he didn't want to let Jesus wash his feet. It was too personal, not something that the creator of the universe should be doing. The Messiah, washing HIS feet?! Peter didn't want Jesus getting to "comfortable" you might say. He had put Jesus into the "only for big important things" box, like so many of us have done! Peter wanted to keep Jesus from lowering Himself to the minuscule, humiliating, gross even, job of washing the feet of the disciples. Sometimes I put God into that box to, and I've seen many other Christians who have as well. We seem to think that God should only care about that BIG things in life, not the little ones, like help finding directions, His hand in helping kids behave, help when you're trying to find the keys, or navigating through traffic, patience when someone is getting on your nerves, the list could go on forever. But the truth is, we miss out on so much when we have this attitude, because it means we can't have a truly intimate, personal relationship with God, that He wants to have with you! Putting God in the "Only when I really need it" box puts your relationship with Him on a much more stiff, un-personal basis, and that is not at all the way it should be. This passage itself is proof of the fact God wants to be intimate with you, He wants to help you in everything, including cleaning your dirtiness.

1 Corinthians 6:16-18
"16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people'. 17'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,' saith the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you' 18 'and will be a father unto you, , and ye shall be my sons and daughters', saith the Lord Almighty."

Let's start with verse 16: it says that we are the temple of God, that God dwells within us. Not only does God dwell inside us, but He says that we are His people, and that He is our God. That can't just be talk, when God possess someone, you can't just ignore it and think  can keep God at a distance. If you're a born again believer, than you have the God of the entire universe dwelling inside you, He knows EVERYTHING about you, better than you even know! This means that even if you don't think God should be bothered with all the little things that bother you, you can't help Him knowing about them, He's living all your experiences with you. What's up to you is if you're going to let Him help with the little things you are going through.
Verse 17 doesn't have much to do with the topic I'm covering, but I'll touch on it briefly. God calls us to be separate from the world, not to touch the uncleanness that is all around us. Do you think that we could do such a thing without the constant help of God? Yet another proof that we need God in everything.
And finally verse 18: What can be more obvious of God's want to be near to his people, than declaring that they are His children? His sons, His daughters, that is what those who have believed on Jesus are to Him, His children. A father, at least a good father, wants to be part of their children's lives, not to be there just to be asked for things when they're absolutely desperate. Not to be the last resort, no, this father wants to be the first resort to everything we face in life. Not just the big things, in all the little things in life too. Not just the things that are a burden to you either! God want to share in your joy as well was your sorrow. He wants to be told about your happy moments, the times when your contented, the times you're lifted, up, He wants to share in your appreciations of the world around you, and the people that He sends your way. God wants to be sharing every moment with you! There is no better companion to have, because God loves you like no one else can. He loves us, and wants only the very best for us! That is why you should let Him into your daily life. God shouldn't be a one-day-a-week person, He should be a everyday person, who you talk to. God isn't just a good father, He's the best friend that you've ever had, or ever will have, you just have to let Him be! He died for you so that you could be with Him, not so that you could hold Him at arms length and only ask for things when you really need something.

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Think about that. We are to think of things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, things of virtue and praise, and only those! All of those (and more!) are summed up in one person: Jesus Christ. In these verses, we are basically commanded to think only of God, and things of Him. That literally is saying "God should be your every thought, breath, action, everything". That means EVERYTHING! Even the little things, like your thoughts.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
"16Rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning you. 19Quench not the spirit."

Verse 16: Rejoice evermore. Short and sweet. Rejoice evermore. What are we to be rejoicing in? The Lord Jesus and all His wonders. Rejoicing means to be glad, to be joyful, to dwell in happiness, to worship in thanksgiving. Websters 1828 dictionary defines rejoice as this: To experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to exult. Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me. To experience gladness in a high degree. To be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations. To exult. I don't know about you, but I think rejoicing seems like a pretty awesome thing, to be so filled with joy that you're just exhilarated? Wow! Now for the second word in the verse: evermore. Again from Websters 1828 dictionary: Always; eternally. Well, that's just as short and sweet as this verse itself! Rejoice, be happy, be exhilarated, always! Forever, eternally, never stop rejoicing. That's what this verse is saying! This is pretty clear to me, worship God, praise Him, rejoice for every moment, in everything.

Verse 17: Pray without ceasing. Pray, keep praying. Remember, praying isn't just about asking for things from God either, it's a form of worship to God, pray and rejoice without ceasing. The words "without ceasing" mean without stopping, with no end, keep going! Always be praying and rejoicing in the Lord.

Verse 18: In everything give thanks. In everything. Be thankful to God for everything. Not just the big important things, in everything. Whether you perceive it as good or bad, thank God for everything: for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning you. God wants you to be rejoicing, praying, and being thankful to Him for everything always, for evermore, without ceasing.

Verse 19: Quench not the spirit: Quench not, do not stop the spirit from working on you, do not stop the Holy Spirit from helping you in everything. Do not put the spirit into the box of "only when I need it", do NOT quench the spirit! Putting God in the "only for the really bad times" box is in direct conflict with what this verse is saying: don't quench the spirit! Let Him strive with you, instead of you suppressing Him. Quenching the spirit will disable you from becoming the person God meant you to be, it will disable you from fulling the other things we have talked about. We could never rejoice, pray, or be thankful for very long if we're shoving away the one thing inside us that could help us do so! By ourselves we could never even come close to completing the commandments in these verses, but the Spirit of God can help us do that. Though we often will fail, we never will succeed at all if we are disallowing God from helping us!

All these verses point to what I'm trying to say: God wants to be involved your everything. Not just the "big things" but everything. He wants to be thanked for what He's doing in you, He wants you to rejoice with Him, He wants you to pray to Him for strength, for comfort, about things that bring you joy, talk to Him! Always, evermore, we are expected to do these things. Now, don't think of this as some kind of "you're a horrible person if you don't do this 'religious' thing every day", because that's not at all what it is. I by no means want to imply that anything WE do could ever would make God want to just let us into Heaven. The only way that we can get to Heaven is by accepting Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. But if you've done that, than God wants you to be happy, and the only way any of us can be truly happy in this life is by following God's will for our lives. Now I don't pretend to understand what God's plan is for my life, but I know that a start would be to follow some of the basic things that He asks us to do. And the thing is, it's not a chore! God commands us to be happy! Not to be sad and in the dumps because He's asking us to do something hard, but to rejoice in the things of Himself! It's not a bad thing in the least, it's amazing, liberating, and you can't be happier any other way.


So, don't shut God out. Don't put God into the "only for big important things" box, talk to Him about everything, and I mean everything! It may seem odd that God would care about the little things, but He sent His only Son to die for YOU, so that He could have a deep personal relationship with you, not so that you could hold Him at arms length and only talk to Him when you really want something. So let Him into the little things, the big things, in every moment, every circumstance, in everything. He'll be there for you when no one else is!