Rejoice Always!

What The Lord's teaching me....

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4-8

He's in The Details...

I do. I really love how The Lord works and just how sweet He can be to us sometimes. You know what I'm talking about don't you? Those precious reminders He sends our way just to show that He cares and & hasn't forgotten about us. This morning during my time with Him I was reminded just of how He brings things around. You see I filled up my second prayer journal and thought it would be fun to flip through the first one I started. Of course I opened it to page one and guess what the date read....January 15, 2009. And what did I journal about that very morning a year ago....the EXACT story I studied this morning...no lie....the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel.

He did.

This morning He met me right where He knew I needed to be met. It was a sweet reminder to me that He knows all the details and is working for the good in my life. That I need to allow Him to continue to mold and shape me into the woman He wants me to be...to be better for Him. He holds the world in His hands & He is a God who loves and cares about me & the details of my life & waiting on Him is not such a terrible place to be at all. In fact, as much as I hate to say it I think it's often sometimes the best place to be because it causes you to really have faith and trust that He is in control and knows what's best. Did you catch that...He knows what's best. My precious Savior who holds the entire world in His hands is orchestrating every step, twist and turn of my life. Today's page is not blank in fact it's already written...nothing comes as a suprise to Him. He's in the details y'all...the big and the small....and for me that is enough to rest in today.

"The Lord is my strengh & sheild; my heart trusts in Him, & I am helped. My heart leaps for joy & I will give thanks to Him in song!" Psalm 28:7

Resolutions...

Well 2010 is off to a great start. I have never been very good at keeping resolutions. I've stopped making them because honestly I wouldn't write them down or just forget about them all together. I was talking with a good friend about resolutions the other night and something about our conversation really struck a chord & got me thinking. Most of the time we set resolutions to make ourselves better. You know the token ones...work out more, loose weight, read more, be more organized, the list goes on and on. We as a society tend to get so focused on how I can make myself better before we even stop and ask God how we can be better for Him in the upcoming year. We forget to ask Him how can I serve You more, glorify You more, or better yet love You more this year. That is what I so desperately want my life to show in 2010...my sweet Jesus and His unfailing love & that is what I'm resolving to do.

Congratulations Mark & Britt!

My roommate and good friend Brittiany got engaged over the Christmas break! I am so excited for her and Mark. They have such a precious story and it has been so neat to watch The Lord work in their lives as they waited on His perfect timing for them. Here are some pictures from their surprise engagement party the other night!

The girls..

Being silly!

The Happy Couple!

His best in 2010....

Well, today is the last day of 2009. Wow. It's crazy how quickly a year can pass you by. I'm finding as I get older the years seem to slip by faster and faster. This year was filled with sweet memories that I will cherish forever, and hard times too that only molded and shaped me more into the woman Christ wants me to be. Refinement is hard but is something I will always be thankful for. I am very excited about 2010 and the things that will be waiting for me this year. Who knows what The Lord has in store but isn't that what makes it exciting? And better yet to know & trust that He has His best waiting for us in 2010. Not what I think is best, not His second best, but His VERY best. I was reminded of this sweet promise this morning during my quiet time. That His best may not look like my best but it is going to be something even better. Something that will blow my mind and I will be oh so thankful for. As I sat before Him this morning I was reminded that He has never failed me yet & sometimes it takes letting go of what I think is best to only wait on His very best. 2009 will be a year that I hold very close to my heart for I feel as though I've learnt and grown the most this year. However, as I leave 2009 behind I simply can't wait for The Lord to unfold what His best is for me in 2010.

Kids Crazy Christmas Show!

Kids Crazy Christmas Show has come and gone! We participated in the pre-show and were the GiGL Band...kind of looked like the doodle bops. I literally had a little girl come up to me after one of the shows and tell me she watches me on TV every day! Ha! I had so much fun spending time, hanging out, & loving on the students in the pictures below! They were amazing and so much fun to be with! The Lord also taught me some tough lessons about myself during the show that I am working on and changing. I am so blessed to get to do what I do every day....what a fun way to get to tell people about the birth of our precious Savior. I have heard so many fun stories about how The Lord has used KCCS this season in the lives of the people who came. I am so humbled that He gives me the opportunity to get to show others His love with the gifts He has blessed me with on a daily basis.

His Sweet Grace...

Yesterday I got to attend the 11:11 service at our Woodway campus because there was no GiGL. Let me just share with you how blessed I was through the time of prayer and praise we had. You know my sweet Jesus must have just known that was so needed in my life. Being in ministry I don't get to attend a service that often and yesterday was just what I had needed. You see I've really been wrestling with The Lord lately and we all know that can be really, really tiring. I don't think I realized just how tired I was until I sat down in our worship center yesterday & came to the conclusion that I am utterly exhausted. Don't get me wrong I have been spending time with Him, praying, seeking His face I have just been frustrated with where He has me right now in life. Why? because it's not where I want to be...I'm just being real. There is that sentence again...where "I" want to be. I'm going to be completely honest the month of December has been a tough one for me.

Yesterday as I started to pray & get still He reminded me of something I so desperately needed. The sweet promise that He gives us. He doesn't promise us a life that is free of hurt, pain, sickness, or anything else but He does promise to give us His grace to walk us through those times. His sweet grace. Isn't that what keeps us running back into His arms, what keeps us leaning on Him, what leads us back to the cross every single time. What a sweet promise...His grace is sufficient to meet all of our needs. Not some of them... but all of them. And that precious promise alone is enough for me to rest in and get me through the day.