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"I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this would have happened."-Frodo

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decided is what you'll do with the time that is given to you."-Gandalf

What are you doing with your time-whether you want this time or not? Are you continuously aiming for the 'goal'? Or are you wishing away the time God has given you to do His works? 

(Lord of the Rings, a great movie. If you've managed to never see it, watch all three.)

Sell it ALL!!

"Sell all that you have..." (Luke 18:22-read the story here). IN other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before HIm, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought--in the realm of your willbefore God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh ad unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult--it is only easy when it is heard  by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the harsh words of Jesus Christ.

This is another devo from My Utmost for His Highest. Sell all that you have. You'd think it be easy. Are you holding on to anything other than Jesus Himself?

Final Days

These are my best friends. I've talked about them a lot, but I just wanted you to know this is our last official weekend before we become college students. Can you believe it? I just thought I'd share a little bit about them in this post.

Chris--he's been my best friend this past year, and he's grown so much. He's taking classes at OCCC this fall (I'm so proud of him, I can't even begin to tell you). He's been very patient with me and always has my back.

Hannah--we've been friends for as long as I can remember, and she's grown up a lot this year. She's made decisions in her life I would never have the guts to do and has reaped so many benefits. I'm really proud of her too! She'll still be in high school, but that doesn't matter.

Elie--she's gone to Cali until Christmas break. She has one incredible story and it's so different from mine. She and I really balance each other out! I can't wait to hear what God is gonna do with you in Cali.

Taylor--we've walked in and out of each other's lives over the past year, but we always manage to become great friends again. He's my logic buddy. We can sit and talk about stuff forever and never reach an end as we over-analyze everything on the planet. :) He'll be with me at UCO!

Caroline--another person who has stood by me in everything. We'll be at UCO too! She's so creative, more than I'll ever be! 

Lori--I'm so proud of you for going to OBU. Leaving home is such a big deal, but it's worth it. God will give you so many experiences to grow you, you'll be thankful you left. Don't worry on missing out on things, I don't think much will happen in any of our lives. :)

And I'll close with a poem a friend of mine wrote:

"Beautiful beginnings start with an end, 

a faded dream or loss of a friend."

God's going to do great things with us~just look at our lives already~~

Here we go...the next chapter is here. 

"Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be."

This is from an incredible devotional, which this person gave me, titled My Utmost for His Highest. 

Are you attached to anything that hurts God? Will you let go, or will God have to hurt it?

In my life, God usually has to hurt it. 

Who am I?

Here's a great post on Swerve today. Really made me think. Who has God created me to be? 

Let me know what you think!

Happy Birthday Aubs!!

One of my girls has a birthday today!

Aubrey (striped shirt) has a special birthday today and I'm so excited! We're going to Chili's tonight to celebrate! She was one of the girls I nannied last summer and I just love the girl. She's incredible and this summer she just started an email she sends out weekly to all her friends! It's so fun to read and she amazes me everyday! 

I love you Aubs!!

I Caved

So my computer finally died, and I gave into the bandwagon and I now am a proud owner of a.......

MAC BOOK!!!

Isn't it pretty?!?

Have you entered the Apple world?

Another Song. They're just so good right now.

Sticking with You by Addison Road

Come on, it's me you're talking to
There's something going on inside of you
Don't have to say it, but I wish you would
Cause it would be much easier

You always hide behind yourself
You walk a lonely road with no one's help
I hate to break the news
You're headed for a fall

And if I have to jump
Then I'll jump
And I won't look down
You can cry, you can fight, we can scream and shout

I'll push and pull
Until your walls come down
And you understand I'm gonna be around
I'm sticking with you
(I'm stinking with you)

Even if you try and shut me out
I'm staying here cause that's what love's about
I might let you down, but I won't let you go

So lean into me, I want to know
Everything about the fear you hold inside
Cause you and I are better than just one,

If that's what it means to love you
If that's what it means to have your back
If that's what it takes to show you
Then I'm in, I'm in

This is a shortened version of the song (I deleted all the choruses). I just want you to know, I will do my best to stick with you. I was challenged to "love them anyway" and I'm going to. No more playing around. I'm sticking by you.

Go listen to this song. It'll make you wanna jump :)

Courageous Leadership

Here's a quote from Bill Hybels, the pastor as Willow Creek Church in Chicago from his book Courageous Leadership.

"Because the Church, the Bride of Christ, upon which the eternal destiny of the world depends, will flourish or falter largely on the basis of how we lead."

What a responsibility. It all depends on how we lead...

Definitions

Integrity. What is it?

Authenticity. How do you show it?

Leadership. Can it be learned?

Song Sense

Here's a song that hit me really hard today...

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out


Thought you'd appreciate this.

Camp Memory 2

I'm back! So my next memory is also at Switch camp. I had to opportunity to answer a complex question one of my girls had about God--"How do you hear God?" It came up every night in our small group time, and I finally found a way to answer it on the last night. I told her to look around her. God doesn't always talk in an audible voice, but he speaks through the things around us. Sometime God speaks through others, and sometimes he even speaks through His word. You have to really train yourself to hear Him. After this talk, she told me she had been stuck on this for years and it was the one thing keeping her from committing her life to Christ (which was something she had done earlier that night).

How would you have answered? Have you ever heard God?