Am I crazy to dream?

Well today was my first day off from work in quite awhile. Can't believe how many hours they've been giving me! I mean I'm super happy because wow God just answered my prayer by providing this means of income for me, but boy, does it get some getting used to!
Took my senior pictures with Miss Shelly Bokmiller at Botanical Gardens today...that was an adventure. We had so much fun. So seems like a pretty chill day right? Kinda normal, nothing too, too amazing...feeling pretty sad about Lib though. Get's harder as time goes by and it starts to sink in more. 
However, God did meet me in ways I couldn't have imagined. He showed me something today that has changed me. Changed my outlook on life. Changed my perspective. Given me a new fire that I can't even describe.

He told me to dream.

Dream. Okay Hannah, what is that supposed to mean? Hehe to be perfectly honest, i have a feeling that I have alot more of this to figure out. But somehow it just hit me like a ton of bricks, and now I know something new inside is beginning to grow.
I was supposed to mow the grass when I got home from pictures. Haha yeah right I thought. Its freakin 100 degrees, the sun is beating down, and I am exhausted. All I honestly want to do is shower, make an iced coffee, curl up on the couch, and watch LOST. Frankly, nothing sounds more delightful.
But like I said, God had different plans for me. For some crazy reason, I went out to that shed, pulled out the mower, and began to cut the grass. And about half way through, in the hottest, brightest part of the yard, He met me.
He showed me that I was MADE to work hard! He showed me that this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing: wroking hard, listening to my country music, and sweating liek crazy. And you know what else? He opened my eyes to see that I LOVE it! In that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than sweat, feel my arms burning from raking all the dead grass afterwards, and getting all gross and filthy. I loved it!!!
So okay, you're probably wondering what in the world all this has to do with dreaming? Let me explain :)
My whole life I have wanted to live on a farm. I cannot put into words the joy I find in the peace of the countryside, the rolling hills, the rustic red barns, the sounds of the animals (working on appreciating their smells still lol), the fulfillment you find in harvesting your own food and crops, the endless tasks that can always give you an occupation...and the wonderful, God-given simplicity of it all. And I have wanted that for as long as I can remember.
But of course, what kind of hope can a 17 year- old girl, living in Chesapeake, getting ready for her senior year, about to become a nurse, a Young Life leader, and so many other things, cling to that her dream would actually come true?

Until today friends....I had none.

Yet like I said, working hard out there today showed me that this was the kind of life I was meant for. God has not given me an easy road. I have walked through many valleys, many dark forests, and forded many rushing rivers. But now I see that this is because God is preparing me to be a strong vessel in His kingdom. A great christian can't expect to not be greatly tested. And I have come to love these difficulties, these struggles, and these hardships...for He is making me stronger!!!
And i have never been so so excited for my future! What if by some crazy miracle, He is preparing me for my dream life? Farm life is no cakewalk my friends, let me tell you. Yet wouldn't it be something if my Jesus actually gave me this desire of my heart? I have never dared to dream or to pray for this to become a reality so hard before. We will see what He has in store for me!

So I encourage you, dear friend. Dare to dream big. Bigger than you think possible. Pray for the insane, the immpractical, the "silly". Jesus doesn't take our dreams or our prayers lightly. Why not ask Him? You'll be shocked at what He'll do. And if He doesn't give you precicely what you want, it's only because He has something SO MUCH BETTER WAITING FOR YOU!

So let's give Him our dreams.
He is just waiting to hear them!

Crazy what a day will bring...

Some of you may know of our dear, dear friends Justin and Libby Ryder. They are the area directors of Young Life Chesapeake, the ministry our family has come to know and love this past year. From the moment we met them, we pretty much adopted them. Needless to say, we have grown very close to them as a family and they mean so much to us.
While I just love Justin and Ava to death,  I have especially come to cherish Libby. As many of you know, Libby Wratten Griswold and I were extreamly close. She was my big sissie, my role model and my friend. And when she died 6 years ago, I swore nobody would ever fill that space again. My heart was broken, I didn't understand why God took her from me, and have never felt so alone. Even though I have my family, there is nothing like a big sister....

So when I met Libby Ryder, I couldn't believe how much I gravitated towards her, despite her having the same name as my dear Libby Griswold. She was a complete stranger to me, yet for some reason I felt so attatched to her. All I wanted to do was serve her, be with her, and love on her. Six years after my sweet Libby Griswold went to be with the Lord, I now see that God brought me another big sister! I never expected it to happen, but it did. Since then,we have had so many wonderful afternoons together!  I come to help her clean, she counseles me and encourages me in areas of life, and our tradition has become getting those yummy peanut butter shakes from Sonic....we both LOVE peanut butter ;)
So, when I found out last week that now my sweet sis has lymphoma (cancer in her lymph nodes) I went numb, and couldn't believe what I had just heard.
My first thought was, "God, don't take her from me please! I can't go through this again!"

Dear friends, God hears our prayers. While we are still unsure about the exact details of Lib's cancer, I have never felt so much peace. I am not anxious for her, for I know that she is resting in the hands of our Almighty God and that He is so faithful!!! I believe with my whole heart that my Savior Jesus is the most faithful God and that no matter what, He is carrying me and my loved ones through everything...
The verse I have been clinging to throughout this trial has been 1 Kings 8:56-

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses..."

I am daily reminded of the faithfulness of God, that never, ever, ever changes. He has never failed even a single word of al His promises, and He certainly won't start now! I can't even tell you how much peace and comfort this has brought me amidst the sadness and pain that I'm also experiencing. He is so good!

Thank you so so much for your prayers. God bless you all!

The Great Exchange

Ever since I returned from YoungLife camp at Lake Champion, I have been encouraged to know God more. I can't tell you the last time I longed to know him deeper and to be more imtimate with Him. That hunger for His Word, that thirst for His encouragement, and that longing for His nearness....they all have been renewed. But how?

I believe part of the answer is found in something I've been reading about and studying in this book called A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George (which is a must read by the way!)....and it's called

The Great Exchange.

I challange you to think, pray, and mediatate on what I'm about to share with you. Let it be the testimony you share with those around you. Let it be the song of your heart, the prayer of your morning, and the ever-present cry to your loving heavenly Father. He WANTS you to have these things in Him, and He promises that you will receive all you ask for in prayer.

So are you ready? I am!

Away from the world and hidden from public view, I exchange...

my weariness for His strength,

my weakness for His power,

my darkness for His light,

my problems for His solutions,

my burdens for His freedon,

my frustrations for His peace,

my turmoil for His calm,

my hopes for His promises,

my afflictions for His balm of comfort,

my questions for His answers,

my confusion for His knowledge,

my doubt for His assurance,

my nothingness for His awesomeness,

the temporal for the eternal, and

the impossible for the possible!!

So be encouraged dear friends. This can be true for each and every one of us today, this week, and for the rest of our lives. He is just waiting to make this great exchange!

Lift Your Eyes!

A thought for our week....

Happy Sunday friends!

Well, as far as thinking of something deep and intellectual to share for this week, I got nothin'! :)

However, I am reminded that simple truths are often way more profitable to dwell on. So I want to encourage you on one thing for this week. I want to challenge each and everyone of you to think on this, to dwell on it, and to let it be your driving force, the one thing you strive after and ask God for...

Rest in Him.

I'm sure for many of us, this is easier said than done. For me especially, resting in the Lord is such a struggle. I am the kind of person that always feels the need to be doing something profitable. It is very difficult for me to admit that I am indeed a mere human and that I do need rest!Even these few weeks of summer have been hard for me because I am not at all used to the concept that I don't have any deadlines or things pressing so hard for my every moment. So God has been speaking to me about this.

Be encouraged dear friends. There is rest to be found for you! Will you surrender? Will you acknowledge that your weakness is His strength? Will you be at peace? Give yourselves permission to be refreshed this week. You will see such a difference I promise.

So stop and rest in Him this week!

The Lord God: My Helper

I thought I would share with all of you what I read in my devotions this morning. I can't even tell you how much the Lord just spoke to me through it. I have been strengthened and have once again been able to see my Savior as He truly is...my Savior, my Strength, my Hope, and my Help. Enjoy!

"Help Lord..."

Psalm 12:1

The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious, and suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in supplication; when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the same time he intended honestly to exert himself for the cause of truth, for the word "help" is inapplicable where we ourselves do nothing. There is much of directness, clearness of perception, and distinctness of utterance in this petition of these two words; much more, indeed than in the long rambling outpourings of certain professors. The Psalmist runs straight forward to his God, with a well-considered prayer; he knows what he is seeking, and where to seek it. Lord, teach us to pray in the same blessed manner!

The occasions for the use of this prayer are frequent. In providential afflictions, how suitable it is for tried believers who find all helpers failing them. Students, in doctrinal difficulties, may often obtain aid by lifting up this cry of "Help Lord", to the Holy Spirit, the Great Teacher. Spiritual warriors in inward conflicts may send to the throne for reinforcements, and this will be a model for their request. Workers in heavenly labor may thus obtain grace in time of need. Seeking sinners, in doubts and alarms, may offer up the same weighty supplication; in fact, in all these cases, times and places, this will serve the turn of needy souls. "Help, Lord," will suit us in living and dying, suffering or labouring, rejoicing or sorrowing. In HIM our help is found, let us not be slack to cry to Him!.

The answer to the prayer is certain, if it be sincerely offered through Jesus, The Lord's character assures us that He will not leave His people; His relationship as Father and Husband guarantees us his aid; His gift of Jesus is a pledge of every good thing; and His sure promise stands:

"Fear not, I WILL HELP THEE."

-Morning and Evening-

Charles Spurgeon

So what does it really mean....this thing called "Endurance"?

Hello friends!

Well, its around 9:30 pm on a lovely Sunday night, the 13th of June, to be exact. I am listening to Brandi Carlile (my new favorite artist) and am in deep thought.

Tomorrow is my last Monday morning as a Junior in high school....wow!! Can't honestly say that the time flew by, but now that it's finally here, I can't help but chuckle. Monday mornings.....ugggggghhhhhh!!!! I don't know about you, but those are the worst mornings for me. Actually, I think the Sunday nights are the worst, because all I can do is dread the upcoming morning.

Yet God is so faithful, and really has been showing me something:

E-N-D-U-R-A-N-C-E

Yes, oh that lovely little word. Why oh why reveal this Jesus? I mean geeesh! Can't you just give me something EASY to work on?! Endurance! C'mon!

But as He always does, God always gets His way with me despite my grumblings and childish questioning.

So friends, needless to say, God HAS been teaching me so much about enduring. Here I am, needing to endure one last Monday morning. Here I am , needing to endure one final week of school. Here I am, needing to endure the trials and struggles that never fail to present themselves to me. Here I am, needing to endure the pain of waiting for the ONE boy the Lord has waiting for me.

And here I am, standing with arms wide open, waiting for my Savior's strength to just overflow and spill out on His servant; I stand on my tip-toes to see the mere edges of His ways. For none of us can see or even imagine what our Loving Father is doing behind the scenes in our everyday lives. We cannot even comprehend the gifts He is storing up for us.

I felt so strongly that I was to share this with y'all. Be encouraged in our mighty Savior. He is right next to you, whispering in your ear, coaching you on. He is calling us to endure in whatever your season of life may be. Maybe you moms are just so weary form your sweet little ones never falling asleep. Maybe you young men are fed up with being in the same boring place for so long. Maybe you Dads are needing to be encouraged to keep providing for your family. Perhaps you are waiting on the Lord for something, like healing or an answer to a prayer? Or maybe you single guys and gals are just plain discouraged because you are tired of waiting for God to bring you that one special person. Whatever your struggles may be, just remember that our Father has not given us anything we cannot bear, and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness!! And no matter how hard the race course, HE WILL NEVER ABANDON US!!!! He has not, and will not ever leave or forsake us.

So lift your eyes!!

Pressing Onward,

Hannah

Oh Father....HELP ME MAKE IT!

Hello friends!

So yeah... I am finally back on. This whole concept of actually having time to blog is still quite foreign! But at last, I have conquered the top of the hill, and it's just a matter of endurance to the end of the school year.... just what...11 more days?? Yay!!

Needless to say, I've been pretty discouraged just because it feels like I still have SUCH a long way to go yet...but the Lord knows about that too :) He has never once failed to be faithful to me, and even through this grit and grime, I know He will continue to sustain me.

Some exciting news! I am officially enrolled in an LPN Nursing program! This fall, I will start my nursing career! I am so excited, so stressed and so hopeful for what God has. It sounds like it is going to ba an exreamly difficult and rigorous course... so much for an easy, carefree senior year! lol

Yet I know this is just another small sacrafice compared to the rewards that will follow. After 3 semesters, I will be able to get a job anywhere as an LPN. What a blessing!! No more borrowing money from the little sissies for Starbucks!! ;) I know THEY'RE excited about that too!!

So all that to say, please keep me in your prayers. I am weary and so in need of a renewal. Trusting that it is already on it's way...

Have a wonderful week friends! Remember to lift your eyes!! So much more is hapening than what we see with our human eyes...Our King of Kings is on the move!

Pressing Onward,

Hannah

Aslan is on the move!