It was just a "God-Thing..." :-)

"...Jesus knows our loneliness, our anxiety, our frustration, our weaknesses, and even our temptations. But the good news is that in Hebrews 4:15 it says "He did not sin." He's not just another Adam. He passed the test. Because of that, He is our savior and our redeemer. You say "What does it matter if he can empathize with us? He didn't sin! What does it matter??" Here's why: In verse 16 it says "Let us then approach the throne of God with confidence." With. Confidence. When we know that when we come to Jesus and say "I am weak and broken, and I am tempted to do these things I hate to do and it's overwhelming..." We don't have to be embarrassed when we stand before God. We can come to Him and say "You. Know. I'm not saying these things to a God who is far removed. You. Know. You were weak like I am; you faced the same weaknesses and temptations. You know." So we can approach the throne of grace with our sin and things that make us feel shame about ourselves. With the things in our hearts that bring us down and hurt us to even think about! We can approach the throne of grave with confidence. Because we have a high priest who can empathize with us. Who can say "I know your weaknesses and it's okay." And what do we get when we approach the throne with confidence? Continuing in verse 16 "....approach the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" So when we come to God with confidence and we say "I am weak. I am broken. I am messed up and I am hurting..." Jesus is saying "It's Okay!" He doesn't ridicule you, he doesn't judge you, he doesn't point to you and say "I'm very disappointed in you." It says we find mercy and grace in our time of need. Jesus said to the Pharisees once that "...the healthy don't need a doctor. I came for the sick." Jesus isn't waiting for you to clean up your act. He isn't waiting for you to get a handle on your alcoholism. He isn't waiting for you to fix your marriage. He isn't waiting for you to be a better husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother. He isn't waiting for you to be employee of the month. Or to get out of debt. Or stop gambling. He isn't waiting for that..." -Grant Nixon

We used to have a service at our church on Saturday nights called "Saturday Night Service." It's goal was to get people who couldn't necessarily come to church on Sunday mornings for whatever reason to maybe come on a Saturday night. I really liked it! We always had Chick-fil-a in the lobby before it started, the worship band was awesome, and overall it was just always a highlight of my week! We don't have the Saturday Night Services anymore, but I still have a few of the sermons from it in my Itunes.
Once upon a time I lost pretty much ALL of my music, podcasts, videos, etc in iTunes because my computer crashed. There was one particular sermon I listened to quite a few times but I lost it when my computer crashed. For whatever reason I typed this one section of the sermon, printed it out, and put it in a folder in my bedroom. I put that folder in a box, the box got shoved in the top corner of my closet, I haven't seen the folder in a long time, forgot about it...you get the idea. Recently I deep cleaned my room for the first time in a while and I came across this little excerpt that I had so neatly typed up. I just think that it's really neat how God does things like that!

Who am I?

*Saw something like this on another blog I follow, really liked it, and made it fit for me!*

I am happy
I am sweet
I am passionate
I am loud
I am excited
I am creative
But I am more

I am a girl
I am a sister
I am a daughter
I am a friend
I am a leader
I am a student
But I am more

I am scared
I am worried
I am sarcastic
I am fearful
I am anxious
I am confused
But I am more

I am a shower-singer
I am a bookworm
I am a reality television enthusiast
I am a lover of Facebook and Pinterest
I am a writer
I am a amateur photographer
But I am more

I am a sinner
I make mistakes
I have imperfections
I don't always make good decisions
I struggle
I fail
But I am more

I am more than the girl who lives in the past
I am more than those few pounds I would love to lose
I am more than what others say and think about me
I am more than my mistakes
I am more than a bad batch of cupcakes...and muffins...and pasta...and other food experiments that went in the trash
I am more than my struggles

I am a daughter of the King
I am precious in His sight
I am fearfully and wonderfully made
I am special
I am loved
And I am HIS.

I speak from experiance...

What makes a bad day better?

• A good cry. You shouldn't always do this, but sometimes you need an excuse to cry and not justify the reason why.
• A good laugh. Preferably following the good cry.
• A better attitude. No matter how bad it is, it could always be worse. Trust in the fact that everything will work out the way God planned it, and keep your chin up. ;)
• Macaroni and Cheese. You simply can't beat simple comfort food. And I don't mean the fancy homemade stuff or the "Easy Mac." I'm talking about the good ole' stuff from a box.
• Pinterest. 'Nuff said.
• You can't go wrong if you throw in a couple of goofy youtube videos in the mix as well.
• Finally, realize that there's always tomorrow and think of all the possibilities it holds to make it a great day

I'm "Bwessed"

Well, here's a run down of the past few days...they have been busy and exciting to say the least!!!

Friday night-a sweet little girl I babysit spent the night with me and we mad s'mores and watched cloudy with a chance of meatballs! :)

Saturday-I went with the little girl and her parents to the chinese restraunt here in Arlington for lunch and then went home to clean

Saturday Night- We had fight night! :) The UFC fights were on, friends came over, and my friend Ashley spent the night

Sunday Morning- Church! I sang for preschool and helped in the nursery

Sunday afternoon- went to the bartlett campus at 4 to load the bus up with decorations and what not for kidzkamp! :D We pulled out about 4:45 and made it home by 11!

Sunday Night- I was crawling into bed at 1:30am after packing!

Monday Morning- Thought I set my alarm for 5:30 but set it for 4:45...don't even know how that happens! Arrived at Bartlett campus about 7:30.

Monday Afternoon- After making the drive to ReelFoot for the 3rd time we made it! :D We got there, unloaded our luggage, ate lunch, played a game, swam, had snack, hung out in the cabins, had Bible Study, ate dinner, and then by that time we were ready for bed.

THIS is where it gets scary.

Monday Night- Lights out at 10! We got all our girls to go to sleep, and then Kamryn and I stayed up talking for 30 minutes or so. After crawling into bed the last time I remember seeing was 11:00.
Fast Forward to about 11:45 or 12. One of my girls woke me up because she had gotten sick all over the floor. I don't have the strongest stomach so I went and woke up one of our adults. Emily, the little girl who had woken me up, said she felt fine and she had just gotten too hot so I gave her some water and told her to sit on the couch out in the main room. That's the last thing I remember.

Next thing I know I'm on the floor, trying to make sense of what's going on. Mrs. MaryEllen (one of the adults) is sitting beside me trying to tell me what happened, Kamryn (my best friend and fellow counselor) is on the other side saying that everything's okay, and then about this time Mrs Sharon (adult), Mrs Debbie (adult), and Brandon (a best friend, fellow counselor, and fellow diabetic) come in together. Mrs Sharon and Mrs Debbie had gone all the way to the boy's cabin to wake up Brandon to check my blood sugar because no one else knew how to do it. Lol :) My blood sugar was completely normal though! All anyone told me at this point is that I passed out.

I called my mom about 12:30 and was pretty upset. I had hit my head on the ground and that didn't feel too good, and I bit my tongue so I was having trouble talking. After getting off the phone with her, eating some peanut butter and celery, drinking LOTS of water, and laughing and talking I went back to the cabin to go to bed. Haha the adults wouldn't let me sleep in my own bed though. I had to sleep in their room! Luckily we have a fourth CIT who willingly took over my group for the evenning and pretty much all day Tuesday. Anyway, I went back to my "new" bed around 12:45 but couldn't sleep because I had a headache. :( I woke Mrs Sharon back up and asked for some ibuprofen and we stayed up another 30 minutes or so waiting for that to kick in. I FINALLY went to sleep around 1:45ish (?) and woke up on Tuesday morning around 7.

Tuesday morning- I woke up, took a shower, got dressed, and went to breakfast with the kids :) I didn't feel bad but I definitely didn't feel normal. I drank my breakfast shake instead of eating biscuits and sausage and pretty much before the kids even started eating I went back to bed. I slept for about 3 hours and when I woke up I felt very sluggish. All the kids were doing various activities and this was the first chance I had really had to ask Mrs Maryellen and Mrs Sharon "What exactly happened???" They then told me that I had had a seizure that lasted about 3 or 4 minutes and it took me about 20 minutes to "come back." I was convulsing and even foaming at the mouth a little. They said that Emily, who may I remind you was there for the whole thing because she was on the couch, ran and got Mrs Maryellen from cleaning up the throw up and that's how she found me. Convulsing on the floor. How scary is THAT?!?! But Emily said I was just walking towards the window, like I saw something, then my knees just gave out, I ran into a trash can, and fell on the floor.

I wasn't feeling very normal. I think I was exhausted more than anything. Every time I leaned over I would get nauseous and my head would hurt. SO, my dad came up around 4 or 5 and picked me up. I was extremely dissapointed but I think deep down I was almost glad. NOT glad to leave camp, but glad to be able to rest in a familiar environment and see my doctor on Wed. morning.

Wednesday Morning- I felt fine! :D I woke up today without a headache, a little sore but it wasn't unbearable, and I made up my mind that if it were up to me I'd go back to camp! Then I started talking. Apparently, during the seizure, I bit my tongue and when I talked you could tell how swollen my tongue is. LOL! I can't pronounce my -r, -s, -sh, -l, or -th sounds very well at all! Hahahaha! I seriously sound like Elmer Fudd! "It's Wabbit Sweason!!!"

Anyway, my doctor said that I seemed to be okay. No concussion from the fall (the biggest concern) and my tongue would be swollen for a day or two. His main concern is what caused the seizure. We know it wasn't my blood sugar but we think it was dehydration. Just to make sure it wasn't anything more serious, I have to go to Lebonheur on Wednesday to have an EEG done. Where they basicallly stick a bunch of wires to your head and monitor your brain waves. No needles and no shaved head so it's fine with me! Lol!

I am feeling very blessed right now. I'm concussion free and that seizure/fall could have been MUCH worse. I'm getting to go back to camp tomorrow, and I'm not even on any medicine or anything. Haha I may not be able to say the word but "bwessed" is definite;y how I'm feeling. :) Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! They mean the world to me!

11 Truths

Truth #1) No One is perfect so you can stop comparing yourself to others.
Truth #2) Lying and pretending to be someone you aren't just so be people will like you doesn't really accomplish a whole lot. Sure, someone might befriend you but if they don't like the "real you" then they aren't really your friend...
Truth #3) Acting stupid doesn't make you cute.
Truth #4) Simply going to church and doing things that are "church-y" doesn't make you a christian.
Truth #5) Acting like you have everything perfectly put together 24/7 is exhausting and can put unreal expectations on yourself
Truth #6) Too much of a good thing can truly be a bad thing.
Truth #7) Failing at something once doesn't make you a failure.
Truth #8) Admitting your weaknesses doesn't make you weak.
Truth #9) There is a difference between laughing at yourself and making fun of yourself
Truth #10) God DOES give you things you can't handle. Not because He wants to see us fall or make mistakes but because He wants us to cling to Him with everything we have in our times of trouble. It's like He reminds us that He's still here and even in the middle of our biggest storms He isn't going anywhere.

Truth #11) This was a hard post to write. :S Everything I wrote is true, but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with those things.  I compare myself to other people. sometimes I pretend to be someone I'm not just so people will like me, and sometimes I go to church and go through the motions to make myself look good. I'm not proud of that, or any of those things I struggle with, but realizing the truth and being willing to change how I act and my attitude makes things better.

"No one is perfect but we serve a perfect Savior who will always love us unconditionally."

I won't be a chef or a maid but...

If I ever open a restraunt these are the items that will be on the menu:

Cereal

Oatmeal

Scrambled Eggs

Raw Vegetables/Fruits

EasyMac

and additional microwavable items

I am not a good chef. :) I'm not the best at following recipes, and I don't always time things...hence the burnt cookies or undercooked meals. =P
If I ever open a maid service my sign will read the following:

WARNING! 1% of time will be donated to cleaning

30% of time will be donated to complaining about cleaning

and 69% of time will be donated to playing with all the stuff I found

So, it's safe to say I will probably not be opening a restraunt or a maid service in my future. :) However, I recently got a sewing machine that my great grandmother has had for about ten years, stored in a closet, that hasn't even been opened! Hopefully, I might learn a thing or two and learn to make pillowcases and such. :) You never know! I'm going to give it a try! Will try to post pictures soon.

My trip!

Got home from my youth trip to FL last night! It's hands down my favorite part of the summer!!! This is a picture of our group! :) I'm the fourth from the left in the braids. Our lessons all had to do with "Connecting With God" so our shirts say "Connect"

My Aunt Nancy and my cousin Carolyn came to visit me too! I had alot of fun while they were there! This is a picture of me and C! SO glad I was able to see her! <3

This is a picture of Me and my "big brother" Landon! It's his last summer ever before he's a college freshman! Glad we were both able to go!

There was a rainstorm on the last day. Right as the sun was starting to set the rain stopped and when we looked out the window we were able to see this. I thought it was a pretty cool way to end the trip!

We were down in FL the 1st-6th and my birthday was on the 3rd. Haha the youth group threw me a surprise party! Ashley and Nicole, two girls in my group, called me and asked if I could come down the beach and talk about the lesson from that morning with them. So I was like "ummm...okay?" I didn't think anything about it though.  Then my youth minister calls me and asked if the 3 of us could come upstairs and help fold/sort Tshirts. So we go up to our meeting room and he opened the door and "SURPRISE!" Me, being the genius that I am, say "what are ya'll doing?" and my immediate thought is "We don't need this many people to fold and sort shir- OH! It's my birthday!" haha it was one of the sweetest birthdays I've ever had!!!! Definitely one I'll remember for a long long time! This is a picture of me and my cupcake :D Not too sure what I'm looking at! LOL

We ate dinner at Harry T's! I got a grilled chicken sandwich and french fries. It was so yummy! I was also super excited because I got to wear my new dress that's actually as long as I am!!! I'm 5'10...that just doesn't ever happen.

A picture of all the girls in our room! Left to Right: Me, Molly, Ashley, Nicole, Nikkia, and Sydney

This is just one of my all time favorite pictures. LOVE our faces and I laugh our loud every time I see Brandon and Sydeny's face in the background :) Anyway, this was on the way into Big Kahuna's on my birthday! I'm not a big waterslide person, so I spent the day with the Butler's! I had an absolute Blast!!!!

I didn't take a picture but I used tanning lotion and it actually worked! SPF 8 and I am like super tan!!! :D