joy has come!

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 150

Today has been filled with my favorite thing in this entire world: music.

I just got back from the Virginia Symphony and as always, i left inspired, motivated and challenged. Sometimes I really wonder if I'm in the right place. sometimes i wonder what would have happened if i had stayed with piano and my amazing Russian teacher, Galena Epleman. sometimes i wonder what would have happened had i accepted that scholarship at the  Music and Arts Academy and continued my lessons.

i just wonder.

days like today make me wish i had. what i wouldn't give to be in that stage. the spotlight, the hush over the crowd, the applause, and the music that leaks through from the heavens above. i wish it could be me. i really do.

ahhh well. we shall see i suppose.

But something ELSE happened today which encouraged me beyond words!!! for the first time in the history of Sovereign Grace Church, we had our first string section of the worship team today! Me and 8 other friends joined the band with our violins.

the Holy Spirit was there today friends. and for those who may not know, that has not been the case in our church sadly for a very long time. the devil has just snuck in like the snake that he is and stolen many of our congregation's freedoms and joy during Sunday morning worship.

BUT NOT TODAY!!!! :D

now im not saying that there was like any magic in the violins or anything. i know God works in ways we can never imagine. but today was different. today we danced. today we shouted and yelled. today we cried. and today, we praised our Savior.

Glory to God! He is moving! He is answering the cries of His children! He is revealing Himself to us!

Oh Father! I WANT TO ENCOUNTER YOU MORE!

I am so happy right now, friends. really happy. wait...correction: i am

overflowing with joy!

Webster defines joy as: The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good.

Whoa!! I'm expecting good from my Savior! I have joy in Him!

But wait....Can that be me? Hannah? The Eeyore if her family? The biggest grumpo of the morning (caffeine not accounted for hahah)? Yes! That IS me!Why?I believe it's because HE is changing me! Answering prayers once again! Leading me on this beautiful journey called life. Helping me to LIFT MY EYES!



So praise the Lord with me today, dear friends! Praise Him tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, and the rest of your life....it is just the beginning of the glorious eternity that awaits us!! :)



p.s. follow the link of the title of this post...i think this song is perfect for this season of life im in :) enjoy!

This is Where the Healing Begins...

Rainy Sundays.....how I love you.
Rain gets me thinking alot. Just the concept I guess. When it rains, it's like there is a new start, a new beginning. Its a reminder that no matter what, God is still faithful. I was kind of a dork and actually looked up a definition of rain. It made me smile.

great number or flow: a great number of small individual things coming in a steady flow or anything else flowing or falling like rain

God's love, His goodness, His mercy, and His faithfulness-They cover us in a steady flow, a constant downpour, an overwhelming deluge! What a God! Dear friends, I pray you come to know this wonderful Savior. "He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills." I don't know about you, but I find great comfort in the fact that the God I love and serve cares about even the rain.


Do you need rain today, dear friend? Are you thirsty and parched? I know I was struggling for a long time with feeling distant from God, and didn't even believe He could or even wanted to send me rain. But HE DOES! Don't be afraid to just ask Him to pour down His blessings and His mercies upon you today! He is waiting for you!

Looks like tonight, the sky is heavy

Feels like the winds are gonna change

Beneath my feet, the earth is ready

I know its time for heaven's rain, it's gonna rain

Yeah, yeah

Cos it's living water we desire

To flood our hearts with holy fire

Rain down all around the world we're singing

Rain down can you hear the earth is singing

Rain down my heart is dry but still I'm singing

Rain down, rain it down on me.

Back to the start, my heart is heavy

Feels like it's time, to dream again

I see the clouds, and yes I'm ready

To dance upon this barren land

Hope in my hands

Yeah,yeah

Give me strength to cross this water

Keep my feet don’t let me falter

Rain down
Do not shut the heavens

But open up our hearts, open up our hearts

 

Here we go!

Here we are! Tomorrow I go back to work! My mission field, my school, my calling.
I am SO excited to jump back in and see all that my wonderful Savior has in store for me! As I was driving to the store today, I was just praying, asking God to give me a verse for my senior year, and this one came to mind- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race...
This year marks the end of my mission at Great Bridge High school. God chose me, drew me, called me, and sent me into that place sophomore year because He had a plan and a purpose in store for me. I confess at times, I questioned, "Why me, Lord?" Yet now I see the glorious calling He has indeed placed on my life. I am an evangelist! I was made to share the Gospel! Praise be to God!
And I get one more wonderful, exciting, grace-filled year to do the work He has for me.
Pray for me friends! Even as I write, I feel tired, already stressed about the major workload, and yes...the anxiety of all the embarrassment I know I am going to be feeling when I get on that bus because my car caught fire and I just don't have the money for a new one right now. Ahhh well....what are cars and stress and schoolwork to God? I've decided I'm just gonna laugh about the whole car thing when all my friends ask. I've heard laughing at yourself makes things a lot lighter. He made these things for goodness sakes. He ordained them and strategically placed them in my life to cause me to trust Him. It's so hard to trust Him. I'm very bad at that. Yet I have to cling to that promise that  "I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living..." Let it be Lord! Let it be.

Here is that beautiful passage He gave me in answer to my prayer...

"Preach the Word!  Be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith!!! Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. "

2 Timothy 4:1-8

So here's to one more year!! Let Your Kingdom come, O God!
Father, help me to go forward tomorrow and for the rest of my life, always living in hopeful and joyful anticipation for those beautiful words you are going to say to me one day...

'Well done, my good and faithful servant! Come and share your master's happiness!'

The Beginning of the End

6 days left till school!! Woohooooo!
I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to start this new year! Friends, the schedule of everyday life, and the end in sight...THAT is something to get excited about!

So what are my goals this year? What are my hopes? What are my visions?

I'll share a couple of them with y'all so you can be praying and can keep me accountable throughout the year ;)

1.) I want the Word of God to just flow from me this year as I finish this specific chapter in my life. His Word is my constant. It is the one and only thing that will remain the same all throughout this crazy life. I am committed to memorizing scripture, writing worship songs, and reading as much as I can.

 2.) I want to charge my high school with the Gospel. I want to share the wonderful truth with kids and teachers alike, knowing that this could very well be the only time they hear the good news of Christ. This will include investing as much as I can into the younger girls, whether they be in Young Life, at Sovereign Grace, or sitting alone in the cafeteria. SO many kids are crying out to feel loved and accepted...and I know I am the  answer to someones prayer.

3.) I want to start off my nursing career in a wonderful way. This means throwing everything I have into my work, even if it means sacrificing things i want to to. I have to just trust that the Lord will reward that one

4.) I want to have fun. I know this kinda contradicts my last one, but I believe I have missed out on so much joy because I have willingly decided to not participate in things because I'm tired or have stuff to do. I honestly forget I'm only 18 and that teenagers are kinda supposed to have fun sometimes.

5.) I am going to start my garden this year :) I know visibly having that in my yard, along with little things like making keifer and grinding my own flour for bread etc. will help keep my dream alive. I want to have a farm one day. I think God has put that desire in my heart, and I believe with all my being that it's going to be a reality someday. Call me silly, but I'm soooo excited!

So there they are friends! I'm sure there will be many more to come, but that's all I got right now :)

Thank you for praying and joining with me as I start this last leg of the race. There's a glorious finish line, and at last IT IS IN SIGHT!!