Thursday, May 30, 2013

Is There Room for Jesus?



I have a very busy schedule, especially during the school year. I try to fit in all 7 of my classes, chores, babysitting, church, God, ASL, friends, exercise and sleep into 24 hours. Often times, God is at the bottom of my to-do list. He gets acknowledged after I get all my schoolwork done, maybe get a little exercise and maybe text my friends for a while. I do this A LOT. God should be the first person I acknowledge in the morning and the last person I talk to at night. I often make the excuse "I don't have time to sit down and read my Bible." But time really isn't the issue, here. Its how we use it. You can choose to text a friend first thing in the morning or you can choose to read God's Word. You can choose to read a book or you can choose to talk to God. In the midst of the hectic schedule of summer and especially the school year, do you have room for God in that schedule? Do you have a time set aside just for you and God? No I-pod, no phone, no computer. Just you and God. I often have a hard time finding time for God and His Word in my busy schedule and even if a do have a certain time set aside, I tend to skip it for something more "important." But nothing is more important than spending time with Jesus. So get out your schedule and make room for Jesus to today!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Summer...



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnhOxnIFgzxhSrXNysl0StPPZZGMeE3xJE1udeM-4rfGlgdzWGJibvVuAsHsWXh_KOzoJU6nBv93ZwgUB5CtWNHKwKqFrGETCXnUC5PYCgwGUdWCpvrPt97XQ3VCLYmR-B02-2z8Tbt0F/s640/summer-goals.jpegNow that school is officially out, I have been working on some things that I have been needing to do for a long time. Getting this blog redesigned, finishing the first draft of my WIP,  and working on ASL. Remember
 I mentioned that I want to be an ASL interpreter? Well, I have been studying ASL, the deaf culture and the life of an interpreter in general. I am finding it is very fascinating and complicated. The deaf culture is so different than the hearing culture. All of us hearing people take hearing for granted, but none of us really think about what it would be like to NOT hear. It is completely fascinating to me. Things that would be considered weird or rude in the hearing culture would be considered polite and normal in the deaf world. I could go on and on about the differences and how special and unique the deaf culture is. Becoming somewhat fluent in ASL is my one of my main goals this summer. What are some of your goals this summer? What would you like to accomplish?

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Follow me with Bloglovin!!

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Scheduling Posts to Publish Automatically????


I just learned something new that will  be a huge help to me. You can schedule your post to publish automatically. I was scrolling through Blue Eyed Beauty Blog and I found that you can schedule your posts. This is so cool because now I can write a whole week's worth of post and not worry about being to busy to post or on vacation for a week!! I LOVE this about blogger and will definitely be using it a lot. To see full instructions on how to do this, click here. So if you are going away for a week or just don't have time, you can schedule them to publish on a certain day at a certain time.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Randomness

Today's post is completely random. I woke up this morning with a sudden urge to post something on my blog. Tuesday isn't normally my blog day, so I hadn't planned on posting anything today. But when I got on my computer, ready to get my schoolwork done, my blog just beckoned to me to come and post. Here is just a little encouragement for you today:)




  

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Monday, May 13, 2013

Beauty

I know I didn't post last week and I'm sorry about that. It seems like the last two weeks of school are the busiest with all the studying and trying to get your grades up a few extra points. After all, every point counts. So that is why I didn't post last week. Hopefully this week and next week will be a little slower for me.

As for beauty....

What is beauty? Beauty can be defined many different ways. One thing my mom always tells me is "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." That is so true. Some people like blue eyes, some people like brown eyes, and others like green eyes. One person thinks blonde hair is the most beautiful while others think its red. Or maybe brown or black. Everybody has their own idea of what beauty should look like. As I said before, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So if God is the beholder, what does He think of beauty? How does He define it? Is it blonde hair and green eyes? Is it brown hair blue eyes? Or is it just plain brown hair and brown eyes? Actually, it is none of these. God doesn't care what color your hair is or your eyes. In 1 Peter 3:3-4 it says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of GREAT worth in God's sight." Beauty should not come from the outside, but from the inside. God treasures someone who is beautiful on the inside and He doesn't care what they look like on the outside. 



If you serve the Lord and your heart is as white as snow before Him, your beauty and worth is above all other. That's where true beauty comes from. So when you look in the mirror, ask yourself, "I am I serving God? Is my heart right with Him?" If you can truthfully answer yes to these questions, then You are as beautiful as can be.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Somewhere Between Two Houses Continued

She found her in the living room with her head in her hands.

    "Christi." Sitting down next to her on the couch, she waited.    "Yes, mom?" Christi sat up and looked at her mother.    "You know, Andrew still loves you."    "Yeah right! He sure has a strange way of showing it."    "He really does love you, rather you believe it or not."    "If he loved me, he wouldn't have cheated. Look I don't want to talk about this. Did you come find me just to harass me or was there some other reason?"    "We need to talk about what to do next."    "What do you mean?"    "Well, since Andrew is no longer supporting this family, you'll need to find a job."    "Can we think about this later? I need to talk to Mandy."    "Fine, but we ARE going to talk about this." Erin opened to her mouth to say something else, but Christi was already out the door. Christi had no idea what kind of a mess she just created. And all because she couldn't forgive and let go of something that happened over ten years ago. Suddenly exhausted, she flopped down onto the couch. Next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake.    "Honey, honey wake up." Erin cracked an eye open and grinned.    "I was just resting my eyes Thomas, don't worry."    "Do you want to go to bed? It is pretty late."    "No, I'm awake now. Sit down; I want to talk to you." She slid over to make room for Thomas. When he had sat down, she began. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing in letting Christi do this?"    "Honey, there's really nothing you can do about it."    "I should have seen this coming. All the times she called me, why didn't I suspect something? I might have been able to talk some sense into her."    "Erin, you know how stubborn she is. If she had her mind set on this, then nobody was going to change her mind. Every marriage has problems and everyone makes mistakes. Christi just hasn't learned how to forgive yet. Remember, Andrew isn't the first to break her heart."    "I thought she was over that. Josh did some horrible things to her, but I thought she had forgiven him."    "Obviously not. I think the best way for her to learn to forgive is to just let her go through this. I really think God is trying to say something, here. Christi has always been the one to learn things the hard way. She never would listen to us until she actually experienced it. Let’s just be there for her and pray. That's all we can do."    "You're right; I shouldn't be worrying about this. You always know what to say, how to deal with things." Erin slid closer and kissed him. Thomas smiled and kissed her back.    "Let's go see if Christi needs help finishing up supper and getting movie night going."    "You go ahead. I'm going to get Mandy and see how she's doing. I left her to write, so hopefully, she's doing a little better." Erin stood up and headed toward the door. Thomas nodded and followed her out.         Mandy slid her diary out of her hiding spot and picked up a pencil from her desk. After reading the last couple of paragraphs she had written last time, she began to write. She had no idea what was going to happen in her story next, but that's how she usually wrote. Nothing was ever planned out. As things came to her, she wrote them down. Soon, she was lost in her fairy tale world. In her story, everything was Ok and her world was perfect. It seemed like just a few minutes later when there was a knock on the door. Trying to push the cobwebs aside, she sat up and called, "Come in." She pushed aside her journal and turned toward the door. "Hi Grandma, is it time for movies yet?"
     "Almost, but we're going to eat supper first. Come downstairs so we can eat." Erin turned to go but Mandy's voice stopped her.
    "Is daddy back yet?"
     She turned around and answered, "No, honey, he's not. Do you want him to come back?"
    Mandy nodded and held up her arms. Erin knelt down and wrapped her in her arms. Mandy doesn't deserve to go through this, she thought. She's only eight. Focusing on what she needed to do now, she pulled away just enough to look at her. "Why don't you tell your mother that? I don't think she knows you want him back."
    "Ok." Mandy pulled completely away and grabbed her hand. "Lets go, Grandma, we're going to be late." Erin laughed and let Mandy pull her down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen.
    When they arrived downstairs, supper was ready and the table was set. They all sat down and after Thomas had prayed, they dug in. Erin thought Mandy was going to withdraw, but it seemed as if nothing had happened. After they had finished eating, Mandy cleared off the table as quick as she could and rushed to get ready for bed. Christi put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on. After wiping everything down, she headed into the living room. Her parents had decided to go ahead and go to bed. They had just thought they were going make it until 1. Christi smiled at the thought. After all these years, her mom still thought she could conquer the world, it was her dad who was the realistic one. He knew how much Erin could take and when she had reached her limit. On her way to the living room, she stopped to pull a stack of movies out of the closet in the hallway and looked through them. There was no telling what movie she would want to watch. One day she likes Barbie, the next fairies, the next chic flicks and then cars. It just depended on what mood she was in. As she rounded the corner into the living room, Mandy came running out plowed into her.
    "Whoa! Where are going in such a hurry?"
    "I was just coming to find you. I thought you forgot that tonight was movie night."
    "No, honey, I didn't forget, I just had something that I needed to do."
    "Oh ok." Mandy backed up and grabbed Christi's hand, pulling her into the living room. Can we watch a fairy movie tonight? Please?"
    "Sure." Christi pulled the fairy one out of the stack and put it in the DVD player. After turning it on, she grabbed the remote and sat down next to Mandy.
    "You can't turn it on yet!"
    "Why not?"
    "Daddy isn't in here. Remember, we never start movie night without everybody?" Mandy looked up at Christi and rolled her eyes as if to say 'duh, Mom.'
    "Well, honey, daddy isn't coming tonight."
    "Does he have a lot of paper work to do?"
    "Not exactly."
    "Is he on a long trip, then?"
    "No. Listen, Mandy. He's never coming back. He did something very bad to Mommy, so I sent him away."
    "You sent him away?? For good? Forever and ever and ever?!" Mandy's eyes filled with tears and she stood up. "I want daddy to come home, Mommy. He doesn't need to be out there all alone."
    "I know you do honey, but I think it’s the best thing to do."
    "But he'll be lonely and hungry and cold. Can he come home?? Pleeaaassseee?? Pretty, pretty please?"
    "No, Mandy. He's not coming back." At this, Mandy burst into tears and resisted all attempts to comfort her.
    Christi sighed and slumped down on the couch. If she did the right thing then why did it feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest? Why wasn't she feeling any peace about it? She looked up as Mandy ran out of the living room and up the stairs. Shaking her head, Christi stood up and turned off the TV. There would be no movies tonight. Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't life just go on as before? Flopping back down on the couch, she put her head in her hands. Maybe she really had done the wrong thing. Maybe Andrew really was capable of changing. If that was true, she had just thrown away the chance of a lifetime.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

What is God's Will??






What is God's will for my life?  This has been my number one question lately. What does He want me to do? Where is He leading me? I have many passions and hobbies, things I hate, things I love. One of them is teaching. I love to teach, always have. Naturally, for many years, I wanted to be a teacher. I knew what I wanted to do, how to get there and how long it would take me. I had it all figured out. Until Holiday Youth Convention. In case you don't know what that is, I'll tell you. It's an Apostolic convention that usually happens right after Christmas. The youth get together, have classes, rallies and, most of all, have amazing youth services. Anyways, this is when it all changed for me. The preacher had been talking about being called to a certain ministry. When the alter call came and I began to pray, it was like God was saying "You are not to be a teacher, that is not my will for you, not my plan." I had never considered this was not God's will for me. So for several months I prayed, trying to figure out what God had planned for me. Then a deaf ministry came to our church. That Sunday is when I knew. ASL and the Deaf Culture may not be God's long term plan for me, but for now, I know this is what He wants me to do. There is a plan and a purpose for everything. And then I realized something. The deaf have NO ONE. There are VERY few interpreters out there for the deaf. So if I become an interpreter then I will be shining my light. As you probably already know, that is my number one goal- being a light in this present darkness. That is how I will shine my light, that is how I will bring hope to this world.



If you're out there, wondering what God's will is for your life, trying to find a purpose or just trying to find a way to serve God. Remember- our job is to be the light in this world. My light is doing this blog and ASL. What is yours? How will you be the light today? It doesn't have to be a permanent job or a huge commitment. It can be a simple act or word of kindness. Again I ask, how will you be the light in this present darkness?