"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there..."

Extreme.Winter. Conference. 2010.
Oh my goodness. It was one of the best trips I've been on. No lie! It was SO much fun! From the bus ride to the concerts and speakers each day, it was awesome! Tenth Avenue North was good, but it wasn't exactly what I expected. They are still hands down my favorite though!!!! Skillet, Newsboys, and MercyMe were all really fun to watch, and I loved Unhindered! It was such an amazing experience. The speakers were awesome too! My favorite was Tony Nolan though. He was so passionate for what he's talking about and it really came across in what he was saying. He's VERY energetic and I couldn't help but pay attention to everything he said. My friend, Tate, and I split the cost of Tony Nolan's book and are going to share it. It's really good! I'm on Chapter 3 and I love it! Something one of the chapters was talking about was being a good neighbor. Most of us have all heard the story of the good Samaritan. (Luke 10: 27-35) I went back and read it while I was reading this particular chapter and the whole time I had the stupid commercial in my head "Like a good neighbor, state farm is there!" Do you know which ones I'm talking about? Like a piano falls from the sky on this dude's car and his friend says "Man, that stinks!" but the dude laughs and says "No worries! Watch this...'Like a good neighbor State Farm is there!' then a lady in a business suit pops up and begins to talk about how State Farm can fix it and you save on insurance. Then the friend is like "Cool! Let me try it! 'Like a good neighbor state farm is there...with a jacuzzi!' It's a retarded commercial, but that's what was going through my head.
They say that State Farm is "...like a good neighbor..." What is a good neighbor? Is it someone who saves you money on car insurance? Someone you can run down the street to borrow 2 eggs from? I think that a good neighbor is someone that places your needs above his or her own. Like the Samaritan. He could've passed the dude by like the two before him did, but he didn't. He went way out of the way to make sure he could help in every way that he could.
 I didn't comprehend this really until now, but Jesus was asked in Luke by the man "who exacly is my neighbor?" and Jesus (through a parable) basically said everyone.
Leviticus 19:18 says "...love your neighbor as yourself..." It didn't hit me until on this trip but if I treated my neighbors (the people surrounding me) the same way I loved Melissa Jennings then wouldn't I have a much better chance of making an impact on someone's life for Christ? If one of our goals as Christians is to bring glory to God and to spread the love of Christ couldn't we do it much better if we truly loved the people around us?
Now, that's far easier said than done. I am definitely not saying it's something easy to do. But shouldn't we at least try? I am extremely guilty of "judging books by their cover" if someone looks like they are stuck-up, mean, and a non christian person I definitely try to avoid them and do something else. People are broken and it makes me so sad to think that they are avoiding the church and don't want anything to do with it because the experiance they've had with Christians and churches have probably been bad. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm rambling, but I can't figure out how to edit it and make it sound right. lol =)
I had so much fun on this trip! =) I love Gatlinburg! It's so pretty!!! <3 I only slipped and fell on the ice once. Hahaha it didn't hurt too bad. I do have a bruise on my leg though... lol
We have a New Year's Eve lock in tonight at church!!! I'm so excited about it!!!!!!!!!!!

In 4, 3, 2, 1...

Four days until I go to Gatlinburg!!! We always do our (Mom, Dad, Brother, Me) gifts a few days before Christmas. I am so excited!!!! I got a bunch of new CDs that I can listen to on the way to G.burg and to Crossroads (I still don't really have a clue as to were it's at. It's not too far though. lol) I got a ton of new books too! I am in LOVE with the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. Seriously, it is hands down my FAVORITE!!!!!!! Robin Jones Gunn wrote a few book series kind of as a continuation of minor characters from the Christy Miller books. Does that make sense? lol Like, Christy Miller is the main character and her best friends are Katie and Sierra. There is a series called Sierra Jensen series, and then there's the Katie Weldon series. I've read the Christy and the Sierra books (12 books per series) at least twice. Anyway, I borrowed the first Katie Weldon book from my library (LOVED IT) not too long ago and got my own copy of the first and second one tonight!!!! SO excited about reading those!!!!  I also got "So over my head" which is the newest in the three book series "A Charmed Life." A few days ago I got the fourth book in the series "Gallagher Girls" and I was COMPLETELY surprised to get "The Message: New Testament" tonight also!!!! I've really wanted a copy of the Message for a while but they are really expensive. This is just the New Testament, but I'm looking forward to reading it. Sooooo much to do! =D

Oh, and get this: One CD my mom got me had a single by Tenth Ave. North I haven't heard of yet!!! I totally flipped out! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! =) TWO DAYS TO CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although it has been said many times many ways, Merry Christmas to you...

Today is December 22nd. That means that in 3 days, it will be Christmas. I feel like 2010 flew by! Seriously, I can remember the New Year's Eve party we had with our youth group and it was nearly a year ago! Now we're planning on going to this year's. =)
I am so excited about Christmas!!! It's one of my favorite times of the year! Usually we have 7 trees to put up in our house, but this year we only did two. Our Disney tree and our big tree. They both look awesome!!! The hearth room is decked out in Disney stuff, and it looks super cute!
I wish I had my mom's creative gene. She can make up crafts last minute with a bag of rocks, some rope, sharpies, foam stickers, and paint. You think I'm kidding, but I've seen her do it! lol =) She's absolutely amazing...
I am SO excited for next Monday!!!! Youth group is going to Gatlinburg! (Gatlinberg? haha)  Winter Conference!!! Three Words: Tenth. Avenue. North. AH!!!!!!!!! I am SO stinkin excited!!!!!! They are my absolute favorite!!!!!!!!! Skillet, Newsboys, MercyMe, FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI, Jeremy Camp, Newsong, and The Museum will also be there. SOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!

If you don't read anything else just read the chorus...

It's falling from the clouds
A strange and lovely sound
I hear it in the thunder and rain
It's ringing in the skies
Like cannons in the night
The music of the universe plays

You are holy great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I'm so unworthy, but still You love meForever my heart will sing of how great You are
Beautiful and free
Song of Galaxies
It's reaching far beyond the milky way
Lets join in with the sound
C'mon let's sing it loud
As the music of the universe plays

All glory, honor, power is Yours amen
All glory, honor, power is Yours amen
All glory, honor, power is Yours forever amen

Canons (Phil Wickham)

<3

Yearbook

I realized something yesterday: I absolutely adore Yearbook staff. I'm one of four sophomores and then their are thirteen upperclassmen. My responsibilities are small, make a few pages about the clubs at Arlington High, make sure I complete those pages by my deadline, take pictures for my pages, follow directions, and occasionally run a few errands. I'm definitely not a big deal, but I absolutely love this class! I love how I get to take pictures AND write! I love everybody in this class! It's absolutely amazing! <3

So on Wednesday night we had Reverb at church. It was awesome! (It always is...) We played a game where Grant would show a picture on the screen and you would pick someone to do an unknown challenge. For example, there was a picture of a crab. We had to pick two people and then they were told to "Crab walk" across the half court.
There was a picture of Mariah Carey on the screen during the round I volunteered to "compete in". (WHAT possessed me to volunteer for this one I don't know) Long story short I had to sing Feliz Navidad into a WORKING microphone in front of at least 30 people. That was one of the scariest things I've done in forever.
It was also Tacky sweater night. I WISH I had taken pictures of myself. I looked insanely stupid. I wore a HORRIBLE sweater and decorated myself in lights, wore a red nose and reindeer ears, and carried an overstuffed scottie dog wearing a santa hat. I won a new camera though! Lol =) My other one has been acting weird lately. =(
8 days to Christmas

Insert a title here...

It feels like forever since I've posted anything. This is definitely one of the busiest times of the year for the Jennings' family! It's absolutely one of my favorites though!
I've been going to the high school girl's Wed. night focus groups for a while now. It's awesome! We're currently reading this book by Francis Chan called "CrazyLove" It's insanely amazing!!!! I could sit here all day and type all of the stuff I've learned from that book, but I'll save it for another day. =)
Last night was our Christmas party! Each one of us picked a name and bought that person pajama pants! I got the most comfy pj pants EVER!!!! And they're blue!!!! =D Lol
We ate Milano's pizza, had cookies, played a few games, listened to the adorable baby Maks "talk" and just goofed off and had alot of fun. <3

10 days until Christmas!!! I'm so excited!!!!

Sounds like fun to me!

Visit The Gingerbread Shoppe on December 12th, 2:00-8:00 p.m.! 
http://angelanixon.blogspot.com/2010/11/gingerbread-shoppe_29.html

What am I thankful for?

(You will learn that I use the words "awesome" "incredible" "amazing" and "thankful" quite a lot in this post. Ha ha sorry!)

My amazing Savior Jesus Christ!

• I wouldn't be who I am today without the grace of God. He has blessed me in so many ways and I am so incredibly thankful! I'm thankful for him sending His one and only son to the cross to die for me. Have you ever stopped to think about that? I didn't until recently. We hear it all the time, but Jesus DIED for ME! Jesus DIED for YOU! Isn't it amazing?!? He loves us sooooo much!

My parents and my brother!

• I'm so blessed with an amazing family! Don't know what I'd do without them! My mom is INCREDIBLE!!! I hope I grow up to be like her one day. =)

My friends!

• I definitely couldn't go a day without them! I have the kind of friends who are always there for me, and I'm SO thankful for every one of them! I'm thankful for all the times we've sat around laughing about absolutely nothing, hanging out, crying, dancing around and being goofy, singing obnoxiously in the car, and just being together!

My CHURCH!

• Christ Church is absolutely awesome! I'm incredibly thankful that God put the people of Christ Church in my life! It's become one of my most favorite places to be at! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my church family!Which brings me to...

My Youth Minister, Sunday School teachers, and youth group!!!!!

• Grant, Angela, Mike, Ashley, Rhett, and Lauren changed my life! I'm so so so so so so so thankful God put them in my life! I really do not know where I'd be without them! I'm thankful for my AMAZING youth group! I've met some totally awesome people from both the Arlington and Bartlett campus and am so thankful for these friends! I'm thankful for the trips we've taken over the years to Destin, San Antonio, and Ocoee! I'm thankful for my girls only (plus the adorable baby Maksim!) Wednesday night study at Ana's beautiful house! I'm thankful for our youth building across the street from church! I'm thankful for the various events we've done the past couple of years! From REVERB to White Elephant gift exchanges! I'm thankful for the opportunities to hang out with my friends!

Saturday Night Service!

• I really don't know what else to say! It's AWESOME! I absolutely love it! I look forward to it every week!!! The band is AMAZING!!! Grant is a great speaker!!!! I love being able to meet new people and go out to eat afterwards every now and then! =)

"My kids"

• As silly as it may be I might as well call them that! I am soooooooooooooooooooo SO thankful for the opportunity to serve God through the Kidz Ministry! I'm thankful for the relationships I've developed with the kids at my church! I love all of them to death!!! I'm thankful that I can be extremely silly when I'm with them! I'm thankful I can put my hair in pigtails, dress in my pajamas, and have a cotton ball "snowball" fight! I'm thankful for the fact that I learn SO much from kids! I'm thankful for the kids from the nursery to the 6th graders! I love love love them! I'm thankful for the trips I've been able to take with them! I've been a CIT for the 2-4 grade kidz camp and for the 5th and 6th grade trip! I'm thankful for Jericho Junction! I'm thankful for being able to help out with the kindergarten kids every other week with the awesome Stelka family! =D

My education!

• I definitely do not always enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn to go to school. However, Arlington offers some amazing opportunities to "expand my education" lol I'm thankful for such a nice school, with some pretty cool teachers this year!

Photography and Writing!

• I've mentioned it before, but I love taking pictures and writing! I'm thankful for pictures and software to edit them! I'm thankful for pens and paper and white out! I'm thankful for Microsoft Word! I'm thankful for books to read! I'm thankful for an imagination that can make words on a page seem real! I'm thankful for cameras! I'm thankful for the little sliver of creativeness I got from my mom! =D

Yearbook!

• I'm one of four sophomores on the Arlington Yearbook Staff! I'm thankful for a two hour class that always brightens my day! I'm thankful I finally found something that let's me combine my love for photography and writing! I'm thankful for the amazing people in that class! I'm thankful for the microwave that allows me to grab a "frozen dinner" and stuff it in my lunch box on the days I'm running late for school! I'm thankful for the new friends I've made, and the laughs I've shared!

Music!

• Pretty much any kind! I could try to list all of the songs and artists I've grown to love, but that would take FOREVER! I have 1,894 songs in my iTunes! I'm thankful for my iPod! Without it I doubt I'd ever get anything done! I'm thankful that I can read music (not very well, but I can. lol) I'm thankful my little brother can play the guitar. (Even though he plays it ALL the time! It'll be nice to have at least one musically inclined person in the family) I'm thankful for amazing christian artists! I'm thankful for Keith Urban! Ha ha I'm definitely thankful for music!

Disney!

• What can I say? I am a major Disney Dork! I love watching old Disney movies! I'm thankful they've begun to release them all on DVD so I can watch them more often! I'm thankful ABC Family shows old Disney movies that I haven't watched in forever! (I watched Aladdin yesterday!!!!) I'm thankful for Mickey Mouse and the years of entertainment he has provided everyone with!

Dandelions!

• It's incredibly silly, but I LOVE these little weeds! I love the idea of making a wish and hoping it comes true! I love the memories as a little kid picking a big "bouquet" of dandelions and giving it to mom! I just love dandelions!

Sunflowers!

• That's my favorite flower! They're usually kind of expensive, but I LOVE how cheerful they look!

The Five senses!

• My sight, the ability to taste things, the ability to hear things, the ability to smell things, and the ability to feel things with all ten of my fingers!

My LIFE!!!

• Everyday is a gift from God! I'm thankful to be alive, and I am sooo blessed!!!!

I'm very thankful for everything I have! This is the most wonderful time of the year! I love the leaves falling off the trees (even if it means I have to sweep it all off my porch and rake it up!) I'm thankful for the anticipation of snow! I'm thankful that the school year is halfway over! I'm thankful for fires in the fireplace, putting up Christmas decorations, and being to gether with my family!

Just a little piece of things I'm thankful for!!!

I'm not a stalker...I'm an observant reader. ;)

For whatEVER reason I love reading blogs. Don't ask me why, I have no clue. I get excited when someone updates theirs. I just do... ANYWAY, someone recently posted something and it's awesome!!!

Peace with God Through Faith

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8 but God shows his love for us in thatwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5

I LOVE this passage! (Angela...I copied this directly off of yours, and then posted onto mine. You can make fun of me later if you want to. Lol)

Anyway, I really do like this passage!!! I especially like v. 1-2 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.Through him we have also obtained access by faith into his grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God"

I REALLY like The Message interpretation.

"By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of Jesus.2 And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise"

In case the highlighting and underlining weren't a big enough deal, I REALLY like that part of v. 2! It's like saying that God has totally been there for us WITH us, and I just think it's a really amazing verse. Lol It's 12:30 and I got up at 5:00 this morning. =) I hope I made sense. Nighty-Night!
A Little piece of something I liked and was able to learn from!

Oh How He Loves Us....

"He is jealous for me. Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind a mercy..." -How He Loves (David Crowder Band)

"If someone handed you a gift you would use it right?" "Well, yeah..." "You wouldn't say 'I am so sorry for using the gift!' You'd just use it and tell them how thankful you are for it." "Sounds right..." "So when God has given you this gift of being surrounded by so many people who love you and care about you and you say 'Sorry for annoying you but I have this question...' don't you think that's like telling God your sorry for using his gift?" "Whoa...mind is re-setting...."-Conversation between Sarah and I

Wow. I have never looked at it like that before... I have a lot of questions, I won't lie. Lol! Mostly generic "well, what does that mean?" Kind of stuff....
I don't like using Google, because so many websites are "unreliable" and I don't want to misread something or walk away more confused than I already was. (Been there. Done that.) I feel like I bother the crap out of people if I ask someone, so I try not to bother anyone by just keeping quiet. When I do ask someone, I usually start out with the phrase "I'm sorry..." or "I'm super annoying but..."
When I explained to my amazing friend Sarah why I do this (because I feel bad for bothering people) we had the conversation listed above.
Isn't it amazing how much God loves us? There's a verse (Heb. 4:16) that says "...we can approach the throne of God with confidence..." That's probably one of my favorite verses I think. It just further shows how insanely AMAZING God's love is. The fact that He WANTS our questions, and as a believer no matter what I can go to Him with anything. It's incredibly awesome.

This all being said, I forget it quite often. I am very thankful to be surrounded by so many people who are such an amazing encouragement to me! I don't know where I'd be without the totally amazingly incredibly awesome people God has brought into my life.

Anyway, that's just a little piece of something I was reminded of today. It's been a pretty long day of cleaning and such so I'm kind of tired. Hopefully this made sense and wasn't just me rambling. lol  =) <3

A Little Piece of something that blows my mind

Random thoughts I think I should share...

• I haven't been able to log into my blog account since the day I posted my last post. Not a big deal because I don't post everyday. It's a big deal because I couldn't see my dashboard and if anyone else had posted anything...so yeah. 
• I get to see MercyMe and Phil Wickham this Friday night!!!!! =D
• I'll HOPEFULLY get to see The Wiz (school play) on Monday Night
•  I get to see TenthAvenueNorth in less than 9 weeks
• I get to see them again when they come to the Grizzlies game in January
• David Crowder Band has a new music video out they made with LITE BRITES!!!! Amazing!!!!
• I FINALLY have been able to upload pictures onto Facebook
• We have a canned food drive in Bartlett on Saturday
• Mr. Randy is playing a part in Jericho Junction on Sunday Night (Homer the Gardener...)
• Tim Hawkins is HILARIOUS!!!! Look up God Bless Chick-Fil-A, and Banana Peeling whenever you get a minute. Those are my favorite ones I think...

We were in the car on the way home from Breakout this Tuesday. (I had gone to help my mom sort the copies but she ended up having to wrestle with the machine because it was being stupid. Sooo, instead I went to Breakout with the middle school kids.) Sam goes "I have been craving a big giant plate of hot spicy chicken wings." When it was dead silent. Hahahahahahahaha!
Mom started to talk about how colorful our Chinese dinner was.
Then, Jacob asked if anyone ever related art and music to God.
All were very interesting subjects, but it was a RANDOM car ride...

Anyway, these are all of the thoughts I have for now. It'll probably be awhile before I post again. Bye! =)

Little Pieces of me!

I can't even think of a title for this one...

I think it's safe to say I've been going through some stuff lately. I felt completely empty when I went to church, when I read my Bible, and when I prayed. Sure, God's there but I felt like maybe he wasn't listening. Maybe He heard me but didn't want to deal with me.
Boy, was I WRONG!!! (what else is new? lol) If you take the time to read them, these are just a few of the verses and quotes that literally seemed to be jumping off the pages and screaming in my face. I somehow finally just realized that God knew exactly what He was doing and I guess I kind of let a lot of stuff go. I wish I could really explain things more, but I honestly can't. Just know that God is absolutely amazing. Completely and totally amazing.

"Though the trials may grow harder, though your steps may grow yet darker, though the valley's shadow grows even longer, it is only, perhaps, my friend, because your faith is growing stronger and you are ready to climb a higher mountain and dive deeper into your Father's fathomless grace." -Sarah

2 Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds 3 for you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him..." James 1:2-5

6 ...but He gives us more grace! That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourself then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you..." James 4:6-8

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4: 13-15

13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.James 5:13-16

"...Don't forget all of the stuff God showed you in the light. You might feel like your in the darkness now, lost and confused, but you shouldn't give up just because of that. You feel distant from Him now, but you know He's there..." -Grant

"I'm tired of all this...so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and night on the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked. Soggy with tears." Psalm 6:6

That verse especially blew me away. It was written by David who apparently was this guy "after God's heart." I don't think you understand how comforting it was to know that here was David who was supposedly like this really good dude but he was struggling too.

I was emptying my bible case of all of the index cards, notes, handouts, pencils, pens, etc. It got a hole in it so I was getting stuff out to throw it away. Well, I was throwing it away and this little slip of paper fell LITERALLY onto my lap!!! It was from a REVERB from who knows when... and I had written like 4 or 5 different points.

• He isn't surprised or disappointed
• He will use our hurt to help us grow
• He promises to be there with us

Then in Sunday School I just so happened to be called to read Ephesians 2: 8-9

"8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. 9not by works, so that no one can boast."

I did NOT want to go to Saturday Night service this past week. But I did... It was like the 2nd song and the band starts to sing "How He Loves" and I lost it. I felt like I was about to bawl. So, I went to Mr. John's office just to find a tissue but I couldn't find the light switch. It's amazing how the smallest thing can send you completely over the edge... I didn't even get to hear Grant talk, I was in there praying with tears rolling down my face and big ugly sobs coming out of my mouth. =) But, I let it all go. All of the stuff that's been bothering me lately, I finally realized (once again) that God can handle all of it. Every single little thing. I won't lie, I'm still trying to figure some stuff out. This time though, I won't try to do it by myself because I know that I can't. I know that I definitely shouldn't be angry with God or anything like that, and I know that He loves me. I've always known that God loves me, but I don't think I ever really grasped what that meant. I mean, think about it...
God made the entire universe. Do yourself a favor, if you've never taken a second to, and Google pictures of our universe. Earth is really really really tiny. I mean we aren't even microscopic, we're smaller than that. So if earth is that small, think of how small we are? There are like 6.5 BILLION people on the planet! God loves each individual person though. It's insane!!! Hold 1 strand of your hair. Then take a few strands. Now hold a little chunk. Now hold a big chunk. Ok, now hold half of your hair into a little ponytail. Finally, hold all of your hair up into on big ponytail. There's a verse that says God knows EXACTLY how many hairs are on our head.
I went to the Chattanooga aquarium and asked our tour guide/marine biologist person if it was true that if the water that coral grows in, changes by ONE degree it could all die. The statement is true. God cares about all these plants and coral and stuff, so think about how much he loves us?!?!? It's totally and completely insanely amazing, and that's the unconditional love of God. <3

Last thing I'll type and then I'll be done. I have said it A LOT in the past few weeks but I am so unbelievably thankful for my church. I was seriously at the point where I was just like "forget all of it b/c if I can't figure it out by now then God just doesn't care..." Then I just so happened to find an AMAZING friend who had been through the same stuff as me before, and she helped me SO much. I don't know what I would do without her. My Sunday school teachers, and my youth minister, and basically just everyone in my church are such amazing people! I really don't know where I'd be without them.

Little pieces of things that are amazing!!!!

The Ultimate Fall Break! (Part 2)

We came home from the trip on Friday at 5:00 and then went straight to the Carrie Underwood concert!!! It was incredible!!!! She is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday was pretty laid back. We cleaned for a little while, and then I went to Saturday Night Service. The only word I can describe it with....wow. It is always really awesome. Always. But last night was just mind blowing. I can't even explain it! I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with my amazing friend, Sarah, just talking about the lesson! Lol! =) If you haven't come to the service b4 like seriously, go. It's awesome!
Today is Sunday! My favorite day of the week!!! We had a surprise baby shower for Ashley and it was awesome! Then we did a lesson on Ephesians 1. Oh my goodness...it was complicated. I wish I could remember the verses off the top of my head, but it talked about how life is pre-destined, and that God knows about everything in the big scheme of life. He knows who will accept him and who won't accept him and everything. My question was "If God already knows, and the Bible says everyone has a purpose, then whats the purpose of the people God created who won't believe in Him?" I learned that God gives us free will and that even the ones who don't believe in God can be used to show God's glory. Like when a non-christian persecutes you, it can be used to show your faith in God. That's the shortened version of what I learned anyway. Hopefully that made sense. Lol =)
Then after church we came home and had a lunch of crab cakes and salad. AMAZING!!!!! =D
Then at Jericho Junction while doing my puppet I said "Estha" instead of "Esther" like...twice. Haha maybe you had to be there for that.
Afterwards I got face-painted with pudding. I should probably explain. There was this competition between the kids and teenagers about who could say more Bible verses. Whatever percentage said more kids to paint the others with pudding. Well, the kids won so the teenagers that said 2 or less (which would be me) got there face painted with vanilla or chocolate pudding. hahahahahaha

All in all, it was an amazing Fall Break. One I will never ever forget! =D

The ultimate Fall Break! (Part 1)

Left at 6:00 on Monday morning to make sure I was at the Bartlett campus for the 5th and 6th grade trip to Chattanooga!!! It was amazing!!! I learned sooo much!!!! Like seriously, I learned more than some of the kids did probably. I learned that fish do not have eyelids, that the aquarium floor in Chattanooga is slanted so after you fall asleep you WILL manage to roll down to practically the other side, that parts of the TN river have eagles (yes we saw 3) ,that Camels are really cool to see but they don't do a whole lot when in a zoo, that 5th and 6th grade children and I think alike because a few of us thought that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Conductor looked just like Santa Claus, that I CAN hike both up and down a mountain to get to the bottom of a waterfall, and hike another mile along a river (about 2-3 miles total) and actually enjoy it! I learned that rocks can be slick and if I'm not careful I WILL fall into the water... That rocks are sharp and can cut your thumb if you aren't careful.
I learned why certain things bother my mother. For example: handing her all of your stuff because "you want to go do something else for just 1 second" or leaning on her in the hot hot sun because you "are tired and bored" or why it bothers her so much when I complain. Hahaha I'm telling you, I learned ALOT on this trip! I also learned how to scrub out pots and pans and things, and how to pour the box dish cleaning stuff into a dishwasher. How to make noodles for spaghetti, how to make green beans from a can, how to NOT open a giant green beans can, and how to properly kill a cockroach. (You stomp on it ALOT and then sweep it up and into the trash.)
I learned that if you compare the world to the rest of the universe, we would barely fit on the end of a pin prick. That we are unbelievably, incredibly, super super, TINY! That God loves us sooooooo much! I learned more about LAMININ!!! Go. Look. It. Up. NOW. Go on!!!! U done yet? Good! Isn't it incredible? Look up the video by Louie Giglio!!!! Crazy right?
I learned that sleep deprivation can lead to hysteric giggles!!!
I learned that when you are filling up a tub for "bobbing for apples" and the other CIT asks you to lean over to make sure it's deep enough, he just might dunk your head into the really really really cold water!!!!
I learned that I really truly do NOT miss Middle School.
I learned that I definitely, absolutely, without a doubt want to work with kids for the rest of my life. =)

It's a little late so if it doesn't make sense, work with me a little bit and cut me some slack. ;)

Leaving for Chatanooga in a few days to be a CIT for the 5th & 6th grade trip!!! VERY excited! =D
At KidzCamp this summer, (very last minute) Sarah, Kamryn and I decided to do Devos for our girls. It was AWESOME!!!!!! Like, the older ones especially really got into it but it was SO cool to see these 2nd and 3rd graders get so into what I was saying and I wasn't even saying much! I just kind of went over what my favorite Chapter in the Bible was (Psalm 139!!!) and it brought on a TON of discussion. So I guess you can't even call it devotioanls...just amazing discussion. It was so incredibly awesome though to see kids get into it like that though, and it was really inspiring to me!

"If these 9-11 year olds read their Bible enough to have AMAZING discusssion then why can't I? I'm at least 5 if not more years older, and I hardly read my Bible! Just enough to kind o generally know the 'famous' Bible stories..."

Anyway, I decided to at least try to do devotions on this trip for my girls. (I did say try...I don't know what their attention span is. lol! It may just be a time to review the day and pray before bed...who knows!)
I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to say though... I definitely want to do something with Romans 12:1-2

So here’s what I want you to do,  Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message)

It's really a funny story how I found this verse. I honestly have NO idea if I just remembered it self-conciously or if it's a total God-Thing you know? It very well could be something I'm recalling from Sunday school or Saturdaynight service...Lol! Or it could be something God wants me to talk to the girls about. Crazy right?

But Idk what else I want to do, or even how to start out talking to the girls. At Kidz Camp it was a matter of saying "do it...like now, and then we're going to bed afterwards." (JK!!!! that sounds mean. I'm not that mean of a couselor!!! I promise! LOL) I have a feeling this might be a litle harder to gain their attention. Plus, I don't want to ramble or be boring. I want to find a way to relate it to their lives. That's why I pay attention so much at my youth stuff. Sunday school and even SaturdayNight service, I can relate to the things b/c they're about things I can relate to in my lie. It's harder for me to concentrate in "Big Church" sometimes...

Now that i think more about it, I'm really not THAT much older than they are... if I can sit there and say to myself "What is God teaching Me through these verses?" I could probably find a way to talk to the girls about what God is teaching them...does that make sense? It totally makes sense in my head but it's almost midnight and I'm very tired.
This might be one of those posts I go back and edit....ALOT tomorrow morning when I'm thinking clearly.

It's definitely something to pray about and think about more.  I need to really read that part of the Bible and REALLY think about what it's saying in my life so I can understand it more.

That's one of the things we talked about last Saturday Night: THINK THINK THINK!!!!! Alot of times I just won't read my Bible or certain parts of the Bible b/c I'm too lazy and tired to THINK.

I hope this post wasn't just a bunch of gibberish...=) It's late though. So I'll just post and re read tomorrow morning. Night!!!!

Here In Your Presence....

Found in Your hands, fullness of joy
Every fear suddenly wiped away here in Your presence
All of my gains now fade away
Every crown no longer on display, here in Your presence
Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders
The kings and their kingdom are standing amazed

Chorus:
Here in Your presence, we are undone
Here in Your presence, Heaven and Earth become one
Here in Your presence, all things are new
Here in Your presence, everything bows before You

Bridge:
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way

Here in Your Presence New Life Worship

I literally sat here for 20 minutes typing and deleting and re-typing and re-deleting to try and explain how this song made me feel. I couldn't explain it. I really can't! Just look it up and listen to it because it's one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard.

 

A Picture is worth a thousand words...

It's midnight, and I'm really not sleepy. Lol. I need to get some sleep soon, so I'm hoping that maybe by writing I'll get tired...

Anyway, here's what I've been doing today:

• We're watching "Facing The Giants" in Spanish. It's really really good!!!
• I have STRAIGHT As!!!!! SOOOOO Excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Had a pizza party in Yearbook!
• Witnessed a fight between two people less than five feet away from me in Keyboarding. (Usually nothing ever happens in Keyboarding...it's a very boring class.)
• Aced a quiz in English
• Came home and deep cleaned my room. ( I couldn't believe it either...)
• Had family over for Granddaddy's birthday dinner!
• Worked for a couple of hours on a power point for something on Sunday
• and began to blog.

Not a super interesting day! Grant called earlier and asked if I wanted to put together a bunch of pictures of the Youth for him to show at a ministry showcase in Bartlett tomorrow.
(If I haven't mentioned it before, taking pictures is one of my favorite hobbies! lol)
I have a TON of pictures from different youth things so I'm collaging them all together on...*drum roll please* POWERPOINT!!!! I've never used it before, and am SUPER excited about getting to use it. Haha!

I think this feeling I have right now is one of the reasons I love to take pictures, and write so much. I love the fact that you can take a picture of something and it can last forever. That you can save the pictures for a lifetime, and you can take one look at a picture and have a thousand memories come back to you at once. I love that you can edit them and color them the way you want, and I love to look at people smile! I like how a picture can literally say a thousand words! I love how you can express how you feel (artistic, happy, sad, angry, lonely, hyper, etc.) when you take a picture. Don't believe me? Check it out:

This kind of picture makes me happy! (Just a random one off the internet) It's a happy picture of two happy people. It made me smile just a little bit when I saw it.

I love that pictures make us feel different things. I love the fact that the only thing people in the future can remember us by is by what we leave them. Whether it be writing or pictures, or both. They're really important. =)

I'm probably just rambling...I'm actually pretty tired now. =) Good Night!

Back packs, Apples, and Middle Schoolers...

So I went with my mom to Bartlett this week to help make copies while Michael was at Breakout. Well, the toner in the copy machine was wayy low so I ended up going into the room with middle schoolers ( i was feeling brave...jk jk) and listened to the lesson.
One point (The point that stuck out to me the most) was the following exapmle my youth minister, Grant, said:

"When I was in school it was 'cool' to carry your backpack in a way where you would release the straps and carry them as loose as possible. One day we realized that this was NOT the way to carry them. It killed your backs. Having our bags like this was an extra burden."

I don't remember what he said word for word about this next part, but here it is in a nutshell:

When we worry about stuff, it's like extra baggage on our hearts. We spend so much time worrying about things and about how we're going to fix it, we don't let God take control of our situations. These worries, or even our sins, come between us and God.

I find it funny that when I first walked in I was like "Guess I'm going to hang out with some 7th and 8th graders...." Haha, I'm glad I did! I was reminded of something important. Plus, I learned about apples...don't ask. It's a looooong story.

Little piece of something I was recently reminded of. =)

Poetry

For my project in English I learned that some poetry (Take Lewis Carroll for example) can be totally pointless. They don't HAVE to be about Love or Hate, they can be fun and quirky. They don't even have to rhyme all of the time! They can be dark and scary or light and happy! I chose to do a "gibberish" poem. Which is a fun, completely pointless, and quirky poem (I literally made it up off the top of my head 5 minutes ago...hahaha!) Tell me how silly you think it is, and how you would change it.

Here's what I've decided. I can't write poetry.
I can't make words rhyme and sound the same!
I don't know how to make words look fancy or cute
I just ramble on and on.
I can't make the words look like a picture,
Or make the picture out of words
I'm not creative enough, so it's just not going to happen. Sorry.
I can't spend hours talking about Old Tom Turkey
or about poor Jack and Jill
I tend to kill these silly stories by telling them wrong anyway.
Haven't you figured it out yet? I can't write poems I swear!
I can't write poetry. I should put an end mark there, but here's something I
might as well say, so
Hey! Lend me your ear!
I can make special words sound the same but only every now and again,
They say men are better at this but I'd say they'd have better luck milking a cow.
"A cow?" You say?
Well yes sweet dear a cow.
Have you ever seen a man trying to milk a cow?
It's quite entertaining if you ask me...
I'm losing my train of thought!
It left the station half past three...
Oh yes...As I was saying, there is no hope for me!
I can't write poems so I'm calling it a day...
Well, that's all I got. See ya!

Little piece of the creative part of me!!!!

5 doors

I think it's safe to say we all feel completely unworthy sometimes. "Who Am I? That the Lord of all the Earth, would care to know my name...would care to feel my hurt?" These amazing lyrics pretty much sum it up...
We don't have to "Win God's affections." I understand that. But we do not want to displease God or do anything sinful either right? So we should honor God in all we do.

I sometimes wonder though "What if I do something in life that God doesn't want me to do in life?" That probably doesn't make much sense, so here's an example: I've grown up my whole life and have wanted to be a teacher. Now, I'm not so sure. How do I know that's what God wants me to do in life? The truth is that I don't have a clue as to what God's plan for me is. He's God. He's got this. =) I just have to go with what He wants me to do. Does that make sense?

I talked to someone about it and here's what he said: If there are five doors, and three of them lead to sin, which ones will you not open? If you're following God you won't open any of those three doors. Now you just have two doors to choose. One will lead to the place you definitely need to be, and the other won't lead you somewhere displeasing to God but it will probably take you to a place God doesn't necessarily want you to be. It's cool  because sometimes in order to figure out "where God wants you to be" you have to figure out "Where God doesn't want you to be."

It made sense to me! lol. =)

         

Little piece of something I learned

It gives you something to think about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaGfNBM8o7I

FROG

"FULLY

RELY

ON

GOD"

FROG!

LOL My mom's bible study for Jericho Junction tonight. Isn't it cute? <3

Jericho Junction is a little piece of my life!!!

"Monster Juice"

So I was babysitting tonight and one of the little girls (she's 6) kept coming downstairs and would NOT go to bed. So I said "What are you so afraid of?" and she explained "The boy across the street said big scary monsters live in my closet..."
So I put her in a chair in the kitchen and let her watch me make "monster juice".
In order to make "Monster juice" One must complete the following steps:
1. Find an empty water bottle
2. Fill up halfway with water
3. Put half a scoop of sugar into the watter bottle
4. Put in a tiny scoop of Hershey's cocoa powder
5. Put in a drop or two of vanilla extract
6. Shake the bottle so you can mix it all together

I let her smell what was in the bottle.

"Ms. Melissa, that looks really gross...but it does smell good." I said, "Well, let me explain something about monsters. If any monsters live in your closet or under your bed it's because they like smelly socks and underwear. Smelly socks and underwear usually end up under your bed or in your closet right?" "Yes..."
"So, all you have to do now is rub just a tiny bit on your arm and you'll smell good! They don't like things that smell good, so you'll be fine!" 

I couldn't believe it, but it actually worked. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! =) I have to say, I was proud of myself.

The only bad thing: she might have her parents make "monster juice" for the next year or so. LOL!!!

A little piece of the more...creative side of me. =D

Short post...

We want it all, we want it now

We want life to be fair, everybody does

We lose ourselves under the faces
That we learn to wear, oh we just wanna be loved
We’re so busy tryin’ to find wonderland
We forget just what we’ve got right here in our hands

Chorus:

All I know is we gotta hold on to

The beautiful before it’s gone

Life is a sidewalk Mona Lisa

And it breaks your heart when you see her

Wash away

It’s all just chalk in the rain

"Chalk in the Rain" is a song by
Point of Grace. (A band I've grown to love!) If you haven't heard it, look it up! It's kind of twangy country, but it's still a really good song!  

A little Piece of something else that I love. <3

Television Shows...lol

Television shows!!!
I am officially addicted to Glee now. It's awesome. Absolutely love it!!!!!! Looking forward to catching up with the 1st season and then watching the 2nd season this year!



Survivor started again this past week!!! Extremely excited about it too!!! Based off of what we were shown last week, I think the "youn tribe" will win most of the challenges, and the "old tribe" will win more of the strategic things. I could be wrong though, with that football coach on the "old tribe" team they might stand a pretty good chance. The only problem is that coach didn't look too great last week.
I seriously doubt the tribe will keep him very long anyway, but I could see him being someone who gets sick and have to go home or something...



I'm really upset that I never really watched season 6 of HOUSE. I've been reading the recaps for all the episodes online and am hoping to catch most of season 7.


19 Kids and Counting started up a few weeks ago. I have it all recorded on TiVo but haven't gotten around to watching it yet... that show kind of bothers me some now. Not at first, but now it's getting weird. I had zero problem with the Duggars until this season. They said they'd be willing to have more children?!? I mean, I'm not trying to judge them or anything but come ON!!! Seriously? There's no telling what could happen to the mom or the baby if she had more kids. Lol it doesn't change the fact that I'll still watch the show...



I watched The Little Chocolatiers for the first time the day before yesterday. It's so cool! I really like shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss so this was really cool to watch. They made a POOL TABLE out of CHOCOLATE!?! How cool is that? =) lol Oh and in these pictures, that's REAL chocolate!!! CRAZY

 

And finally, one of my favorite shows I'm excited to start watching again: Extreme makeover home edition!!! I have like 12 episodes recorded and can't WAIT to start watching them!!!!!!!

Hope his post wasn't completely a waste of your time. lol

This is a little piece of things I like! =)

I'm not allowing myself to make popcorn at school anymore...

For those of you who don't know, we have a microwave in my yearbook room at school. It's my 5th period class and lunchtime! Well, I eat lunch in the classroom so I can use the microwave. (Face the facts...PB&J gets old every single day) Well, I decided to pop some popcorn for lunch.
Long story short, I burned the popcorn...BAD!!!!! You could smell it down the hall, and around the corner, you could smell it from upstairs, and one of the ADMINISTRATORS walked in saying she could smell it in her office with the door closed! omg...
I opened the microwave to get it out and smoke poured out. Not just a little steam, smoke.  Imagine how bad the classroom smelled?
Oh my goodness...
So here's a little piece of what I learned today: Do NOT put popcorn in the microwave on the 100 hallway for 3.5 minutes. Yes, it is true that is the normal setting for most microwaves but THIS microwave is high powered...lol. Oops =)

Here's a way to look at things: I make life entertaining right?

A "Melissa Moment"

So when I do things in life that some people would call a "blonde moment" I change the name to a  "Melissa Moment" Lol!!!
Well here's a "Melissa Moment" that tops all the "Melissa Moments" I've ever had...
In my church there are glass doors and windows. When it gets dark outside and the lights are on inside, you can see a reflection. I was inside talking and I PROMISE you, someone told me that Mr. John had gone home. (Come to find out he was in the back working on something) I had my face towards the windows and doors and I see Mr. John "walking towards the doors" So I go "Mr. John is back!!!" I start running towards the door to unlock it and Sarah goes "Melissa...he's behind you." It was his reflection in the door. Embaressing. Well, it was at the time. Now I can't stop laughing!!! Hahahaha I absolutely love my church!!!

Today was really an awesome day! Went to Sunday School, then went to Galloway Nursing Home. I truly didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did! I figured I'd be the one standing there because, honestly, I've never been around nursing homes before and I had NO idea what to expect. However, I actually talked to ALOT of the people there and it was FUN!!! And get this: I SANG in front of people! I promise you, I think I have one of the worst voices in the world, but then everyone was complimenting me and saying I had a really good singing voice. Lol it was awesome. And at first I thought they were just being polite, but then like a couple of the nurses there stopped me and were like "You're really good." and the people we sang for were like "You're really pretty..." It absolutely made my day! =)

Then we had Jericho Junction tonight and it went pretty well! We had "Praise Night" after the skit was over and, again, I got up in front of the kids and sang. I wasn't alone that time though. I had people with me! =)

I have NEVER sang in front of people before today! Hahaha! I've been in Chorus, but I've never really had a solo or anything. It was a fun and exciting day!

Haha, just anohter little piece of who I am! Sometimes I can be a little...slow, but I definitely have people who love me and friends to share the good times with!
A little piece of something I learned today: you hear it all the time, but if you try something new then you really can surprise yourself. =D

Who Am I to Think God can’t handle it? Part II

Yeah...2 posts in one day. Bear with me though okay? =)

I’ve still been thinking about it, so here’s something that came to my attention. I basically just said “Stop lying to God. Tell him everything. It’s perfectly fine to be open with Him.” This is absolutely true, so don’t get the wrong idea but I think there’s more.

Praying is definitely the most important thing you can do. (Something I have learned quite recently to be honest…) But it’s also important to accept help from other people. For example: If you’re crying about something (if it’s a big deal or even if it’s not a big deal…) and someone comes up to you and says “Hey, what’s wrong?” You shouldn’t say “Nothing. I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. Don't worry about it.” especially if the person who asks “what’s going on with you?”  is a Christian. One of the reasons we Christians are here is so that we can support each other.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

I am really really really really really really reallyguilty of lying to people and saying “I’m Fine. I promise! It’s nothing…no big deal!” and then changing the subject. Lol Why? Because personally, I HATE to bother people. I hate having someone worry about me or concerning themselves with me because as far as I know, my “problems” are nothing compared to theirs. The bad thing about that is that I’ll keep everything bottled up until I just explode. Believe me, I have definitely had numerous breakdowns where I cry, scream, get just generally upset, or have an actual panic attack.  Usually I just cry, which is stupid because people are trying to get me to tell them what’s wrong but I just flat out won’t tell them half of the time.

Anyway, my final point on the subject is that people have problems. I have problems, you have problems, we all have problems. But, as a Christian, we don’t have to face the problems alone. We have God on our side first of all. “And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if Our God is with us, then what could stand against” (Chris Tomlin’s Our God) As I said before, he’s big enough to handle our problems and we don’t have to hide them from Him.

But just as importantly we have each other. I’ll support you when you need me, and you’ll support me when I need you. We don’t have to hide from each other either. We can help each other! =) I hope I can remember to tell myself that the next time I need to.

I’m pretty sure that’s all I have to say about the matter currently. Lol

Just another piece of something I’ve learned. <3

Little Miss Graceful...

So we had a surprise party for our yearbook editor today in 5th period. It was awesome. I was getting Toquitos out of the freezer in the lounge so I didn't get to see him when he first walked in, but he said he was really surprised. =) Anyway, I went to get my jacket out of my backpack and I slipped on a piece of ice. Oops. I won't lie, it didn't feel that great. I definitely have a bruise on my knee. Lol At least it made the day entertaining right?
This is a little piece of the clumsy side of me....you'll hear ALOT about it I'm sure. =)

Who am I to think that God can't handle it?

One of my favorite videos...         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v99khOnLeQ

So I'm new at this whole blogging thing and am still trying to figure out how to post certain things. In this case, I'm trying to figure out how to post videos from the internet. Lol I can post links, but I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I can post videos directly form YouTube...

Anyway, the point to this post is that this song has been on my mind a lot lately. The opening lyrics to the song "Any Other Way" by Tenth Avenue North is one of my favorites off their new CD. Part of the chorus…

 

Well I want to know who you are
Even if you’re falling apart
I reach in and touch your scars
And all the shame you’ve kept in your heart

‘Cause it’s not enough, it’s not enough
Just to say that “we’re okay”
I need your hurt and I need your pain
It’s not love any other way

There was a quote underneath the video I posted on YouTube. This person took the words right out of my mouth!!!

"...It's weird how well meant phrases that Christians will use like "it's OK to bring your pain to God" can actually twist our understanding of our relationship to God. We try to hide our pain and frustration with God, but shouldn't we bring that out in the open to him? It's not like he doesn't know it already, but our relationship with him will deteriorate if we don't come to him about our weaknesses and every silly or serious flaw..."

This is so true! We really do try to hide our pain and frustration from God. Why??? He already knows! Personally, I think it's because we're afraid. We're afraid that God won't give us the answer we want; we're afraid we won't get an answer at all; we're afraid of the unknown.

Everyone deals with doubt. Everyone has their own set of problems. NO ONE has it all together.

So why do we try to run away from our problems? Why do we try to pretend they don't exist? Or better yet, why do we try to fix the problem ourselves? Why don't we ask other people to help us out? Wait...Why don't we ask GOD?

I am very guilty of trying to do it all myself. My thought process sometimes will be "God has too much to handle without me adding to it." Ummm...hello me. WHAT AM I THINKING???

Look: Isaiah 40:12 (The Message)

Who has scooped up the ocean
in his two hands,
or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger,
Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets,
weighed each mountain and hill?

He's big enough to measure the oceans with his HANDS. Think about that....how much water can you scoop up with your hands? Now picture how big the ocean is....whoa!

The point is: Even though we might forget it…a lot…God is perfectly capable of handling everything. Absolutely everything.

That’s just a little piece of something I’ve learned recently… <3

Quote of the day:

“Salt Water is the greatest component of our world, yet some people have never seen an ocean. That doesn’t change the ocean. It is constant and powerful, and like the love of God, whether we are immersed in it, standing on the shore, or a thousand miles away, it remains.” –Amy Grant (From her book Mosaic)

Hello World! =)

A few bits and pieces of me…

So this is my first official blog post! I am so excited! I have always loved to read other people’s blogs, so I hope mine is just as interesting. =)

I’m Melissa! I have the most amazing family in the world, and the best friends anyone could ever ask for! I’m a child of God and so incredibly blessed!!! I LOVE my church!!! The people there are more than just good friends and people I can say hello to once a week, they’re family. I don’t know who I would be without them!!!

I started to get really involved with my church group during the end of my 7^th grade year I think. My uncle had told me about a middle school bible study that a friend of his was doing on Sunday nights. Before I knew it, I was attending Sunday school and Wednesday night things, hanging out with people from church on the weekends, and finding myself growing closer and closer to God. =) One of the best memories I have from my youth group so far, is the Destin Trip!  It changed my life! We went the summer between my 8^th and 9^th grade year. It was so much fun! I remember pretty much everything we did! The beach, Big Kahunas, going to the Bay (where Grant and Matt wrecked the jet-skis. Lol) eating at Pompano Joe’s (I ate a crab cake sandwich which was de-lish!) and just hanging out! All of those things were absolutely awesome, but the thing that I remember the MOST was the bible studies we did every night while we were there. I still have the book we used that week in my closet. Lol! Anyway, during the trip I really turned my attention back to God. I still can somewhat remember what my youth minister told me when I asked him, “How can I know God? Not know about him?” He told me that “…God has been with me the whole time. I may have been ignoring Him, but He was still there. Now he’s just saying ‘Melissa, you can follow me now…’” I suddenly realized that THAT is what I really felt like I needed to do. Follow God. Not just know about him. Follow him and love him with everything I have. So in July of 2009, alone in the quiet bedroom in our condo, I re-dedicated myself to Christ. <3

I’m not going to lie; I’ve had a few ups and downs.  There have been people in my life who have made me stray from my relationship with God. It’s not always easy to follow God “…with everything I have…” It’s extremely easy to just get caught up in myself. That’s why I am incredibly grateful for God’s mercy! I know that even though I have strayed away from God before, He still loves me.  No one on earth right now is perfect. Thank goodness! If we were, we wouldn’t need a savior. Where would we be without the Love of Christ?

I’ve said it once already, but now I’ll say it again: I have learned a lot in the last two years or so. I want to share it! That’s kind of why I started this blog I guess:  to tell you about a few bits and pieces of my life, to share some of the amazing things I’ve learned, to share the things I’m learning, and to share the things that will happen in the future!

Quote of the day:  “See these giant bunny shaped marshmallows? We could mix them in with cheerios, pour some milk on top and have Lucky Charms on steroids.” –My dad

“I have my life before me.  I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy.  I will do everything God tells me to do.  I will follow the footsteps of God.  I will do my best!!!”           

-Brooke Bronkowski