Heroes

I just want to dedicate this song to all of my heroes.





All these heroes come and go
But you're still standing

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)
By Sanctus Real


It's time for healing, time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to 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
All I can do is surrender

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...

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

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 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 is something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly

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


I really don't know what else to add to this song. It says everything so perfectly. I know my life has seemed like completle chaos before. I mean, let's face it. At the time everything seemed completly hopeless. But the beautiful thing, the thing I always need to remember, is that God is at work even in those desolate times. We can only see how things look on the surface, but God can see below the surface. He knows the bigger picture and what is going to come out of those hard times. The song says it well: It's hard to surrender to what I can't see. I know I find it hard to surrender to what I can't see. But when I do what the next line says: But I'm giving in to something heavenly, then I'll really be able to experience peace in the chaos and see the miracle of the moment.

There's only One who knows
What's really out there waiting
In all the moments yet to be
And all we need to know
Is He's out there waiting
To Him the future's history

So breathe it in and breathe it out
Listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you
And I don't want you to miss
the miracle of the moment

God, please help me to surrender it all to You. Help me to remember that You are always in control no matter what and that You've got a bigger plan than I can imagine. I love you. Amen.

Opportunity Knocks

Today I witnessed another one of God's reminders. It was one of those moments where it hit you smack between the eyes. It's amazing how the smallest things can tell so much.
Today the school started locking all of the outside doors. At lunch, you can go just outside the doors to some soda machines to get a drink. Well, two girls went out to get sodas. One girl actually went to the machines and another stood and held the door open so they wouldn't get locked out. Now I'm not sure if she kicked the door or it slipped or what but it ended up closing on her locking her and her friend out. What happened then? People started laughing. They thought that, that girl's mistake of letting the door close was hilarious and needless to say no one was exactly jumping up to open the door for them. Now on the far side of that same wall the door is on, is where they sell Domino's pizza everyday. Now some kids from Project Life, which involves the special ed. kids, take turns every day serving the pizza. Well the young gentleman today serving pizza left his spot at the pizza table, crossed the cafeteria, and opened the door for the girls when no one else would. Isn't that just awesome?? He didn't think twice about it, he didn't care what anyone else said about him, he just got up and did it. It was such a good reminder for me of how my reaction to those situations to be.
Now, put yourself into that situation. What would your response be? Since I was in the situation I can already see what I've done. And I'll admit I'm not exactly proud of my response. I simply sat there I watched. Even worse, the thought to go open the door myself never even crossed my mind. How awful is that?? It took someone else finally stepping up to the plate and opening the door for me to even think about that! I've thought about what I was thinking at that moment, and I've realized this. It didn't cross my mind because I thought it wasn't my job, or my duty. I wasn't sitting close to the door so I figured the ball didn't land in my court. I mean, there were plenty of people close to the door capable of opening it, right? They could do it. But yet, there's my problem. I tried to put the job, the responsibility, the blame on someone else's shoulders. I figured I was "in the clear." Where I was sitting didn't matter though. I very easily could have gotten up from my chair and opened that door. But instead, I decided to let someone else do it, and just like Pilate from Bryan's story a couple of weeks ago, I washed my hands of the entire thing. I always have an opportunity. Every day there are plenty of opportunities for me to step out of my comfort zone and help someone else. But yet, how many times do I actually take those opportunities??
Being a disciple of Christ isn't just about thinking about doing the right thing or saying the right thing, its about DOING the right thing and actually living out what God has commanded us. I know I haven't exactly being living up to that lately. So, I pray tonight that God would help me show love through my actions. Like Bryan said during the Disciple series: "It won't necessarily be easy, but it will be worth it."

Stand Up, Speak Out

Alright..so here is a very short, very quick story I wrote a couple of months ago. I'm still not completely sure how I like it. So, let me know your thoughts and/or suggestions on it! Thanks and enjoy!

Stand Up, Speak Out

Her body shook, her voice trembled, and her stomach was in knots. Word after word spilled out of her mouth. Each word dripped with honesty and sincerity. Every sentence was directly from her heart. The room felt like it was spinning but she stood her ground. Frustration climbed up her throat and choked her words. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She had come too far and too long to give in now. Determination squelched the frustration and she pressed on. The people that sat in front of her listened and watched her intently. She noticed as their faces contorted into many different stares. Each facial expression matched the emotion that was carried in the different parts of her story. In the corner two teenage boys snickered and made faces. She ignored them. She was halfway home now.
Just moments before she had been backstage almost regretting her decision. Speaking in front of people was not a strong suit for her. But for the purposes of competing in the contest she had to do it. She had entered her local creative writing contest and she was one of the finalists. That meant she had to read it in front of a crowd. No exceptions. Which brought her back to that moment on stage.
As she read the last sentence she noticed tears on the faces of the others. She let the last word dance on her tongue before vocalizing it, adding a bit of a dramatic effect. Her arms fell to her sides signaling she was done. The room was still. Not a single person moved. Worry began to creep up through her bones. Maybe reading her story was a mistake. As she was about to move off the stage the crowd jumped to their feet as if zapped by an electric shock. They all started in a thunderous applause. She could feel the vibrations through the small wooden stage. Pride welled up in her. For a deaf girl who had never heard herself speak before she had done a great job. The story that ended up winning the contest? Her very own life story.

Filling in the Gap

Alright so I know my blogging has been severely lacking lately. I'm so sorry about that. Truth is..I have had absolutely no idea what to write about. Honestly I still don't, but hopefully I'll have a blog up soon! Thanks for all of your patience!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged and given an award!! Thanks Mackenzie!!

So, what I have to do is answer the following questions with 1-word answers then tag and pass along the award to 7 people!

Alright! Here we go!

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Where is your significant other? None
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Awesome

5. Your father? Silly (But I love you!!)

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? Sweet

8. Your dream/goal? Marry
9. The room you're in? Dining-Room
10. Your hobby? Writing

11. Your fear? FEAR

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? College

13. Where were you last night? Wal-Mart
14. What you're not? Decisive

15. One of your wish-list items? Laptop
16. Where you grew up? Missouri
17. The last thing you did? Danced :-p

18. What are you wearing? Clothes
19. Your TV? On
20. Your pet(s)? None

21. Your computer? Toshiba
22. Your mood? Pleasant
23. Missing someone? Yes

24. Your car? Mini-van
25. Something you're not wearing? Socks

26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Fun

28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Dunno

Okay, so I tag:

Ragen

Paige

Stepheny

Alicia

Amanda

Matt

Chase

Be Fearless

This weekend's message at MH was PHENOMENAL! It was really really great! It really had me thinking this week.
FEAR.
What a harsh four-letter word.
FEAR.
The word itself seems to haunt me. I know that I have too often let fear control my life. Its almost as if its become who I am. A fearful, worrying, anxious person. I hate that the word fear and my name could almost be synonymous. This weekend's message really seemed to kick me and say, STOP BEING SO FEARFUL! BE FEARLESS! GET OUT THERE AND DO WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO!

Here are some points that really jumped out at me:
-God sees in you what you can't see in yourself.
-The Gideon: When God uses an unsure, insecure, and fearful person to do the impossible.
-When you believe God is with you the deal is done.
-You don't have to lay awake at night tossing and turning. Replaying a situation over and over again in your mind; thinking I should have said this, I should have done that, I shouldn't have done this or that.
-Many people are paralyzed by fear.
-Its time to send fear packing.
-Rub fear against faith and let faith conquer fear once and for all!
-If God is for you, who can be against you? (My favorite!)

Those points are so powerful, so true. Another thing Bryan mentioned is that the only reason we become afraid is because we don't really truly believe God is with us. And sadly, I know exactly what he's talking about. The moment I go into a situation thinking, "I'm on my own....I'm all by myself..." then I've created a roadblock for myself. I am NOT alone. GOD IS WITH ME. What else do I need?? GOD IS WITH ME!!!

That's such an exciting thing to know, isn't it? The creator of the universe is WITH ME! He's with YOU! He's with us all!! We never have to be alone!!!

Now, I will leave you with this question that Bryan used in his message;

WHAT IS GOD TELLING YOU TO DO THAT FEAR HAS KEPT YOU FROM DOING?