Spiritual Emphasis

This past week here at CBC was spiritual emphasis week. We have a guest speaker or two come in and they preach and it's supposed to be about deepening your walk with Christ. This week we had Mark Batterson, who is just awesome and he is from around the area where my family is, preach and to say the least I was in awe of God. Several times I fought with myself about all the other days in life or in chapel, when we should be giving our all and a lot of the times we just go through the motions. I was trying to put it on the back burner of my brain, but my heart was wrestling with it the whole time. Here is the thing, we get or we want to get so deep with God on certain weeks, or days, when really we should just give Him our all, all the time. Many times I find my self struggling with just giving Him my all, because of some distraction or something that I'm struggling with, but the sooner you give it to Him the better. As humans we let our minds wonder and often it goes the whole service to the point where we didn't know, but we let the time zoom by and it's at the end of service and it's the alter call. 

God challenged me this week to just give Him my all and hold nothing back. It doesn't matter what others say or think about me, because God knows my heart and that's all that really matters. For many of us we hold back because we are scared about our reputation, or what our friends might say, but if you start pressing in, majority of times everyone around is going to too. I would just encourage you to just continue to push in and press into Him even more. God bless and good night

let me put him to the test!!

This week is spiritual emphasis week, and it is a great week to be at CBC!! Our speaker today was Mark Batterson, and what a Godly man is he! When I was going to Trinidad two summers ago, our youth pastor, Tony Sebastian, wanted us to read "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" and let me tell you what a great book it was. When I was younger I hated to read, I would often cry myself to sleep because I had a hard time pronouncing my words. It wasn't until I got to middle school when I finally grew out of that stage and was able to find books that fit my imagination. When I first started reading this book, I have to admit, I thought it was another one of those feel good books that was going to be boring. To my surprise and judgmental thoughts, I was proven wrong. God began speaking to me while I was reading that book. One of the best lines he says in that book is "If you only have good days, how are you ever going to know when you have a great day?!" So many times we pray "oh God, please let this be a good day!" but Mark is right. How are we ever going to know when we have a really good day if we don't have anything to compare them with. 

That's also how it is a lot of times in our own spiritual walk with Christ! We want good days where we hear God and that's how we want it all the time, but that's not how He works. We have to wait upon the Lord and trust in Him and know that in the quite and stillness He satisfies and He is working. Just because you can't hear Him doesn't mean that He's not there. He is the one who is walking you through the difficult times and ultimately He is the footprints in the sand that we only see one set! He is good all the time, all the time He is good!! We just need to hold stead fast and totally rely on Him for all our needs, but just know that God provides. That doesn't mean that you get yourself into a slew of trouble, but you just learn to trust more and know that when everyone else has turned their back on you, He is right there holding out a hand, helping you up! God bless!! 

Isn't It Funny...?!

Isn't it funny that when you find yourself hurting about something or when you just are down in the dumps you just think about a time in your life and just wish you could go back there and just live those memories, back when you felt complete, or when you just felt like you were on top of the world?! I sometimes find myself thinking about it! Today wasn't an easy one, but I found myself thinking about Panama, when I felt at home and just loved everything about it. I then find myself just thinking about my walk with God at that period in my life. I was tired and just confused about life and what was the next step! I wanted answers and was so demanding. I then think about my life now, I can say that I feel so close to God right now and I'm loving everything so much. Today was just a bad day with just friends and yeah it hurts, I'm not going to lie. I remind myself that there is a greater plan on my life and the devil knows it, so he is going to do everything in his power to steer you away from that plan and that purpose and just attack you. You just have to stand firm on your walk with God and know that His spirit is with you and He is with you! 

It's not easy and I can't say that it is, but what I can tell you is that God has a purpose for every one's life. We have to stay focused on Him and just know that it is going to be worth it, if we stay true to Him and let Him take all the burdens of this world! He can handle it, I promise you that much!! God bless and have a great weekend!! 

WHAT?! FROSTBITE!!

Today was the coldest that it's been here! It was a good 6 degrees here, but it said that it felt like -3.  It was so bad that when you went inside the dorm and up the stairs your jeans we so cold that you had to walk like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. It took seriously almost a half an hour to an hour for you to get heated back up to the proper temperature. I knew it was bad when I was listening to my i-Pod and the head phone wires were almost freezing. They would harden and the didn't go back to the normal flexibility until I got them heated up. I think back on Pennsylvania now and as I was looking at the temperatures, it is seriously hotter there then it is here. I mean I guess this is where they made the camping gear that is suitable for the Ozarks. 

I had this outfit picked out for tomorrow, but after taking further review at the weather, I ruling on the outfit is overturned! It is too cold and I'm not brave enough to wear it out in like -5 degrees. College life is just great and so amazing! It just amazes me how God is just continuing to pour out His spirit! I thought He was really moving back home, but when I came here and people are speaking in tongues and there are interpretations for all of them, I stand amazed by Him. I mean He is moving back home, but it just doesn't feel the same. I guess it's because it's a Bible college and that sort of thing happens all the time, but then I think of the story that my youth pastor told me. When he was a senior in college you had a new group of freshman that had just come in. The upper class man were so on fire for God, and it was like the freshman just weren't. I often think of that story, and it makes me want to press into Him that much more, so I don't end up like those freshman. I often think, well maybe it was because they were new and didn't really know how people would think, or speak about them...But then I think that what does it matter what people think because in the end words are just words and they really don't matter. The only thing that matters is what God thinks about you, but the best part is that He loves you for just you! God bless and may He continue to direct your path...

Out Of His Great Love, He Pickth Me Up...

What a beautiful day! The past couple of days here in Springfield have been awesome. It has been nice and sunny and not to cold. When the wind blows then its a little chilly, but other than that it's not bad at all! You can seriously walk outside with your sweatshirt on and be fine! It doesn't feel like winter here, which is extremely weird because it's supposed to be cold and snowy, but I'm happy with this weather. Talking to my family back home makes me laugh because since I left they have gotten an ice storm and they are supposed to get a snow storm tonight, and we haven't gotten anything here. Classes are going great as well and it just amazes me. I know that I had to stay home and I can tell you that it was definitely worth the wait, because I was waiting on the Lord. I think that if I were to come last semester I don't think I would have been too happy, and I think I would have been disobedient to the Lord. 

This semester is just going to be amazing because God is really moving here, but something always reminds me of revival. We shouldn't seek after revivals, but we should seek after God and just be desperate for Him, because if you aren't desperate for Him and just seek after a revival then it's not going to happen. You have to humble yourself before Him and just go after Him all the time and all throughout your day. Something that I learned was when something flashes across your mind and it just hits your heart, just send up a prayer for that, because most of the time it's God telling you something. I just want to encourage everyone to just always seek after Him, even when it's difficult and you don't even know who you are, because God knows who you are and is always there for you, when no one else is! God bless and have a safe weekend!

Classes

Classes started today and I think I'm going to like all of them, except my composition class. I've never been good at my writing and often times in high school, even if I worked really hard on a paper, I still just barely got a B. I have the best New Testament History and Literature teacher and everyone here seems to love him. He is a resident missionary to Belgium and is trying to get everyone to be some sort of ministers to Belgium. He is my 7:30 class and I don't think I'm going to mind getting up everyday at 7:30 for his class. Chapel today was awesome as well, Dr. Dunbow talked about the woman and the alabaster jar. Many times he referred to her as Mary Mag. but Mary Mag., was the women who had seven demons cast out of her. The woman in the story is a completely different woman. I know I'm not judging, but a lot of times people will say that it is Mary Mag. when really it was just some nameless woman in the bible, but not to Jesus. 

Everything here is just amazing and I love it so much. I can say that it was defiantly worth the wait and God knew that. I'm going to pick up another credit which is Spanish and so that leaves me with seventeen credit hours!! So I have to run and talk to my advisor...God bless and have a great day!! 

In The Beginning

Today is the start of the rest of my new life....Today is registration at college and I'm so excited and I can't wait. It's a little different, I have to say, but I'm totally ready....I'm excited to meet everyone and pick my classes. The drive out here was great, there wasn't any traffic and it was sunny, and just beautiful. Yesterday morning it was a little foggy, but it cleared up quickly. I'm so proud that I made the journey by myself and that I made great time!! I made it to both of my destinations about an hour before I was scheduled to. It was nice. 

I talked to my family and they are all excited for me and proud. I've never driven anywhere as far as I have the past two days. Well I have to finishing getting ready!! God bless and I'll keep everyone posted on my life!! Thanks