Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, we made it to 2012!
It's funny. The start of a New Year to me is one of the best times. We all get a fresh start. New chances to start over. The hope of "doing better", and of making more of ourselves than we did last year. Kind of like we get to bid all our imperfections and failures goodbye, and nothing but hope and fresh beginnings are on the horizon. I love and disagree with this all at the same time. I love new beginnings, don't get me wrong. Yet I also would encourage any of you who read this blog to remember something...
God's grace doesn't "restart" with the change of a year. His grace is always there. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. It's a new year, a new season, but the same Jesus. Just a little tidbit I found encouraging. :)

So, have you come up with your lists for the New Year? I have. I don't know why I do it, I mean I honestly make up stuff to stick to for the year just to say I did. Hahah anybody feeling me right now?

But no, my thoughts for the New Year have been very encouraging actually. I don't have many things that I am trying to accomplish that I haven't already started (except for reading through the Bible in a year...I did start that.) But rather, I have been doing alot of reflecting. Just thinking about my life and where it's going. This Christmas Break was one of the best of my life, and one of the most encouraging. I was able to receive alot of encouragement from people I love so much, and I have been so filled with hope regarding what the Lord might have for my future. So many plans. So many dreams. So many hopes. I don't ever want to lose the fire and drive that I am feeling right now. I have no idea what God has in store for me this year, but that's okay. I don't want to. Okay that's a lie. I would love to know God's plans. But I don't. So I gotta just keep trusting. Keep walking. Keep living.

My goal for this year is simple, and I wrapped it up into 4 simple yet profound words that I know the Lord gave me...
Love. Laugh. Listen. Live.

4 things. Those are my goals. I want to love God and people like never before this year. I want my life to reflect the beautiful love of Jesus that He daily and graciously bestows on me. I want to laugh more this year. There is so much joy to be found in life. Joy in the simple things. Life is too short not to laugh. The joy of the Lord is my strength! i want to listen to the voice of the Lord this year. I am so tempted to get caught up in all the noise and distractions of this life, that i often  shut out God's still, small, encouraging voice. But no more. I commit to listen this year, and the rest of my life. His voice is a voice I can trust. I can depend on. I can always count on. I want that voice to guide me always. And finally, I want to simply live. Live each day to the fullest. One day at a time. Not always looking ahead, but focusing on what the Lord has set directly before me.

"Our main business is not to see what dimly lies ahead but to do what directly lies at hand." -Thomas Carlile

That is what I plan to do. Will you join me? Just live.

On another note...
Christmas this year was just amazing. We reconnected with our oldest friends, and had the best Christmas. It was by far my favorite. Words cannot describe how much our families love each other, and it was just so timely that we reconnected with them this year. My family and I have been very lonely, and it has been a very hard year. God was SO kind to bring our dear friends back into out lives. I got to reconnect with my lifelong friend, Pierce,  and it was so wonderful getting to spend time with him, and the rest of his family. I love them all so much. The plan is for me to go to Arkansas on my Spring Break to visit....I CANNOT WAIT :) God is so good!!

Have a wonderful year friends! Go in the grace of our God and don't be afraid to love more, laugh more, listen more, and live more! Just lift your eyes to Him!

All of us at the Wright Brother's Memorial

Me

Christmas Eve Sunrise at the OBX!

Our beautiful beach house tree :)

Haha Pierce being his usual silly self :)

Christmas mornin'

The guys playin' Washers

One of my favorite presents: an adorable apron!

Me and Nanny...love her so much

Naomi and I

Pierce giving Aunt Tami the beautiful bracelet he and I picked out for her :)

The boys opening their presents

Our gentle giant, Saxon

Little Brother! Love him!

Our Izzy!

Me

Kitchen= Always busy!

Love the sisters :)

Thank you Lord for family, for beach houses, and for Christmas! :)

Rest.

I am here!

Ahhhh, I can't tell you the bliss of opening my eyes early this morning, only to smile and close them again for another hour. Christmas Break has come at LAST! I have been workin so hard, and I am just so thankful for a breather and some rest.  God is good.

Resting is hard for me believe it or not. I am a very go go go person, and yeah, just the type to work super hard and fast because I want to get things done. But I can get so caught up in the whirlwind of life that I quickly lose sight of why i am doing what I am doing in the first place. I confess I struggle with feeling guilty when I rest, because I know there is always something better I could be doing than "waste my time relaxing". This year has been no exception sadly. However, now that I have two seconds to reflect, I see how God has been with me all throughout.

He has provided me with little pockets of rest here and there, and how refreshing they have been. I have been learning lately the importance of recognizing that I need to take a little time for myself each day, or I will quickly burn out. The past few crazy months I have been having to stick to the raw, straight basics of life: Nursing school, working out, eating, working, and sleeping. That is is folks. Nothing fancy about it. But i am so thankful for the fact that the Lord has been allowing me to focus and just put my head down and run my heart out. I have been waiting for this Christmas vacation for a long time.

I went on a long walk yesterday around my neighborhood. yes, a walk. Hahah which is huge for me. Another weird thing about me is i apply my passion for life to well, everything...including exercise. I have a hard time just walking for exercise. i always feel this unbelievable urge to run or sprint. but today, God told me to walk. So I did. How refreshing it was. yes, it's almost Christmas, but we have 70 degree weather here in Chesapeake. I was walking and just thinking all about a bunch of things, praying. And all I heard God say was this:

" I love you. I am so proud of you."

That's it. That's all I heard. But oh friends, how my heart needed that. I have felt so "far" from the Lord lately. With school, working, and church drama, it has been a real; struggle for me to seek the lord. I have not been to church in almost 3 months, and reading my Bible has been hard too. yet when I have opened it, I have gotten this insatiable desire to read even more. Oh, the power of God's word!! My thirsty soul so desperately needs to be watered with the truth of the Bible. My spirit is weak, and I really feel like a lost little girl in the mall who's been separated from her Mama. But faith. Oh sweet, sweet faith. The Lord grants it to those who ask. i want faith in Jesus. I want to believe that even in dry and hard times like this, he will never abandon me. Even when I turn my back on Him and walk away, he hotly pursues me. Like a persistent lover. He seeks after me, he finds me, and he loves me. I am cherished. Cherished. I love that word.

Well, I have no idea what the point of this post was supposed to be, hahha but that is okay :) Enjoy your Christmas everyone!! Never lose sight of the simple, miraculous point of the season: Unto us, a child is born, to us a Son is given!!

This is my favorite verse of Hark the Herald. To me, it is the Gospel. Listen to Carrie Underwood's version! So powerful!

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

                                




More posts about the BEACH HOUSE coming soon!! Our friends arrive tomorrow from Arkansas, and then we will be heading to Nags Head on the 23rd! I am BEYOND EXCITED!

a psalm, a faithful God, and a note :)

I know it's kind of long, but I'd encourage you to just take a minute and let this passage seep in. I was so encouraged when I read it. It reminded me one again of how faithful the Lord has been not only to me, but also all throughout history to those who love Him and have put their trust in Him. Be encouraged!!

Psalm 89

A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1" I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known

through all generations.

2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,

that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

I have sworn to David my servant,

4 ‘I will establish your line forever

and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[c]

5 The heavens praise your wonders, LORD,

your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.

6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD?

Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?

7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;

he is more awesome than all who surround him.

8 Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?

You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You rule over the surging sea;

when its waves mount up, you still them.

10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;

you founded the world and all that is in it.

12 You created the north and the south;

Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

13 Your arm is endowed with power;

your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

love and faithfulness go before you.

15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.

16 They rejoice in your name all day long;

they celebrate your righteousness.

17 For you are their glory and strength,

and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d]

18 Indeed, our shield[e] belongs to the LORD,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,

to your faithful people you said:

“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;

I have raised up a young man from among the people.

20 I have found David my servant;

with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

21 My hand will sustain him;

surely my arm will strengthen him.

22 The enemy will not get the better of him;

the wicked will not oppress him.

23 I will crush his foes before him

and strike down his adversaries.

24 My faithful love will be with him,

and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted.

25 I will set his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers.

26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, the Rock my Savior.’

27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,

the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

28 I will maintain my love to him forever,

and my covenant with him will never fail.

29 I will establish his line forever,

his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30 “If his sons forsake my law

and do not follow my statutes,

31 if they violate my decrees

and fail to keep my commands,

32 I will punish their sin with the rod,

their iniquity with flogging;

33 but I will not take my love from him,

nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

34 I will not violate my covenant

or alter what my lips have uttered.

35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—

and I will not lie to David—

36 that his line will continue forever

and his throne endure before me like the sun;

37 it will be established forever like the moon,

the faithful witness in the sky.”

Amen!!

*Only 1 1/2 more weeks until Christmas break!! I have been so terribly busy the past few weeks. Every day I either have 12 hour clinicals, or I have school and work all day. I MISS BLOGGING. But I am definitely planning on bringing my computer to the beach house with me, and hopefully I will be able to catch up and fill y'all in a bit. In the meantime, I will be praying for all of you! Remember, I do pray for every single one of my readers. I mean that truly. May the joy of the season and of Jesus' birth continue to reign in your hearts! Love you all.

change.

Life is funny sometimes. How quickly it changes. How my opinions of it change. How my outlook and attitude towards circumstances changes. Makes me dizzy to think of quick and easy I am to change my mind.
Life is forever changing. But God never does. His faithfulness to  me never wavers. The seasons come and go, my interests, my passions they all change. But His love never will.

So even when I haven't been to church in almost two months, and really am not interested? Even when I would rather sleep than wake up 30 minutes early to read my Bible and exercise? Even when I hibernate in my room just to  be away from my family because I have no interest in being social or dealing with them? When I want to just sit around and feel sorry for myself cuz I am a broke, stressed out, exhausted nursing student?



Yes. Yes. Yes.

No matter what season you are in, friend...He never changes. Do not fear, do not be dismayed. Your Jesus is your Jesus, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never gives up on you, even when you have given up on yourself. So go ahead. Climb in His lap. Cry into His chest. Share your heart with Him. And let Him restore your weary soul.

growing up.

What a whirl of life it's been lately! I cannot describe how busy I am these days. I love and hate it all at the same time. I like being busy all the time because it has really forced me to make better use of my time and manage it well, but on the other hand I just don't have any time for like hanging out or having a whole lot of fun. I wake up early, work out, go to school, come home for 30 minutes, then go to work until sometimes 11 at night. Its really insane. But hey, it's all apart of growing up I guess.

Growing  up...

Been having to do alot of that recently. Just things that are popping up in my life that are forvcing me to face the fact that yes, my time here in my parents home is not going to probably last much longer, and sooner or later, whether I like it or not, I am going to have to be on my own soon. It's so exciting. But I am scared out of my mind. Just talk of college, my own house, my own schedule, my own family...that is about to stop being just talk. I have been telling my family for awhile now that I really and truly am planning on leaving Chesapeake after April. Not because I don't love ny family. Believe me, I am the most home-loving, familky-loving, Daddy's girl kinda person. I love home. But I have been so restless here. So eager to get out and start doing things outside of this small city of Chesapeake. I am ready for new landscapes, new people, new relationships, new environments...again, part of growing up. I never thought the words, "I just want to get out of here!!" would ever cross my lips. But they have. Many times.

I am so eager for anything that God may have for me. Even if it is here in Chesapeake. If he called me to stay here for forever, I would. BUT I have a feeling He has some amazing things for this girl to see. I am praying big. Like HUGE. Like Lord send me to Africa and Europe and the West Coast and just ANYWHERE. Life is such an adventure, and I am more than ready to get going. In this season of just being a young, passionate, energetic and single girl...I know there is SO much I can do for God right now. Things that I just won't be able to do once I am settled in a carreer, get married, and have a family (if that's the Lord's will). I just want to do big things for Jesus. That's all that matters to me. To see His kingdom come and His Gospel preached to all. the. nations.

Please keep praying for me! I am desperate for Jesus right now. I so am in need of direction and guidance because I seriously have no idea what I am supposed to do anymore. I have tried to figure it out, believe me. But once again, I got nothin'. But that's okay. He knows. He has a plan. He is leadin me. And He loves me.

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

p.s. For Thanksgiving, me and my family got to go to the farm!! My dad and I got ot go hunting for most of the trip. He got a buck, and I didin't get anything :( Oh well. Next time! How I have missed that place. Every time I go up there, I fall in love with it all over again. I just know that the country life is for me. I feel so close to God walking through those hay fields, surrounded by mountains, animals, long winding roads, farms and beautiful rolling hills. My sister Naomi said I was talking in my sleep the other night, and all I was talking about was how I just was praying for God to bring me a country boy who would love me with all his heart and who would love God. Then he would take me home to our huge farm out in the country with a huge white house and big red barn, and I would be so happy. Hahaha our dreams sure do say alot! We will see what God has. :))

checking in

I am here, still alive, and sad I havn't d had ANY time to blog. I just started working on top of being in school, so my life is literally go. go. go all the time. But Thanksgiving Break is this week and I am hoping to catch up on some long over-due posts.

But yeah...God is good, He is so faithiful, and I am so greatful for his love. Hope you all are doing well!

Blessings to you :)

early bird's heart.

Okay so I woke up this morning to all three of my alarms going off at 4:55, 5:00, and 5:05 am. Haha
I have been having alot of trouble sleeping the past few months, so in order to fall asleep, I drink two cups of nighttime tea, and take 2 Melatonin tablets each night (it's a natural "sleep hormone" that your body makes, but apparently I'm deficient!) I am so paranoid I will not wake up out of my asleep coma in time to get ready for clinical!!  Anyways, yes I have clinical this morning, and normally I am supposed to be on my way to the hospital right now but I looked at my schedule and of  course, I don't have to be there until 8:30am today. SO i have a little down time.

Well let's see.


I have really been doing okay this past week. God is teaching me so much. Lots of things are screaming for my attention these days like school, work, church and a million others. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling overwhelmed. But I have been learning to take life one day at a time. Seriously. I know that sounds so simple, but for someone like me who wants to have everything planned and wants to know her whole future today, that can be challenging to do. But when you reach a certain point where you are just in over your head and you know it, it is nothing but the strength and grace of God that gets you through. Anyone relating right now?
I just am so thankful to be learning this now while I am still young. Learning how to handle life. By no means will I ever understand it all. But I am coming to realize that life is an adventure, and God likes to surprise His children...so am I gonna' let Him do that? I have a rough idea of what I want my future to look like, and I have somewhat planned how I will get there...and that's good don't get me wrong, but at the same time I am reminded of the verse in Provers: In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. The Lord is leading me and guiding me. And I pray you know the same is true for you too, dear friend! The Lord is guiding YOU. The Lord will reveal His ways to you, in big or small increments. SO do not fear.

So there's that.

Also, I am wondering if any of you all have any input for me. I have been having a hard time with church for the past few months...just lots of drama and heartache there, yet just up and leaving is proving to be extremely difficult, simply because I have gone there my entire life. So anyways, I have not been going for awhile now. I have visited a few other churches, but again am just having a really difficult time connecting with people, which I know is what I need. Really other than my mom, I do not have anyone investing into me spiritually or encouraging me right now, and it is definitely beginning to take it's tole. But while I am in the process of looking around for a new church family, do any of y'all have any recommendations on online sermons, or things like that that I can be listening to or reading? I have heard of a few, but was just wondering if any of you knew of any others. Please feel free to comment or email me! I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you thank you :)

Well, I better scoot now...time to do Wednesday!! May the grace of our God go with each of you as you embark on another new day. Celebrate His faithfulness! For He is good.