Embraceable love

Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful. - Colossians 4:2 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10  Grace. Jesus' unfailing love. His provision. His sovereignty. Stars shining in the night sky. Sunsets. Sunrises. Blue skies. Coffee. Friends who love coffee. Flowers. New books. Pens that write smoothly. Journals. Sweet friendships. Warm showers. Endless supply of water. Blankets. Fuzzy socks. Adventures. New friendships. Old friends. Memories. Difficult seasons. Music. Bible in my own language. Sweatpants. Sweatshirts. God's strength. People who sit and talk with me, without a time limit. Trees. Lessons learned the hard way. Intentional conversations. Brothers and sisters whom remind me of truth. The ability to run and workout. Oceans. Warm vents. Jesus and the ability to fall into his arms at night and ...

    What about your family and friends you left behind, don't you miss them?      As someone who has traveled and lived in several different countries and places in these past couple years, I get asked a lot of questions, but there is one that seems to come up more often than others and that is this: don't you miss your friends and family back home? The answer is simple, yet difficult. Yes, of course I miss everyone back home, someday's all I can think about is the day that I can finally be reunited with them again. I have an amazing community/support system back home that makes leaving them difficult. I see family and friends posting things on social media about upcoming events, babies being born (my niece being one of them), friends getting married, bible studies, school starting, and the list goes on. I smile and get excited for them, then I see that event that is coming up that I would love to go to because all my closest friends will be attending, and a...

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4      At the beginning of high school I had my future all planned out. I knew what college I wanted to attend, which career I wanted to pursue, what kind of man I wanted to marry and when, and probably even the kind of house I wanted to live in. I look back now and laugh at how different my life is now from the life I once dreamed of in my head as a child. I'm positive God was probably laughing as well as he watched me plan each step of my life, knowing already what would actually happen.    Not long after falling in love with the Lord and surrendering everything to him, I remember someone asking me what I wanted to do with my life after I completed high school and I had no answer. The plans I had once made were no longer my desires. I desired nothing more than to glorify my sweet Father whom I love more than anyone or anything else. My life is nothing like I had planned, ...

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12       My whole life I have continuously asked God "so what's next for me to do?" I tend to live in the future and past and less in the present time. When God reveals his present plan for me I often get more excited for the next plan rather than being delighted that he has plans for me right now. I anticipate each future moment that is to come and once they happen, I don't embrace them, instead I just look to the next things in life or reminiscence on past memories.     At the beginning of summer 2016 I attended a training for summer missions and while there, one of the ladies had shared Psalm 90:12 with us and gave me a new perspective of what that meant. She just simply told us to think about how we will choose to number our days that we are given. I knew I was not numbering my days so that a heart of wisdom would be gained. I began to pray that God would te...

      Lord, You remain faithful even when I am not. You are my comfort, hope and peace. You are there in the midst of the good and the midst of the bad. You have been right by my side through it all. Thank you for your unfailing love and comfort in the unknown. Thank you for your faithfulness and sacrifice. Jesus name, amen.     These past 2 weeks I have been going through a process called ground school. Going in I felt confident that it would be hard but somehow super easy for me. I knew what it was like to be away from family and put in different uncomfortable situations. This, however, was completely different. I discovered loss of comfort and loss of justice. Emotionally, it was super hard. I had an aching that wouldn't go away. I felt lonely and like I needed others back home just to survive. We had our phones taken away as well as all electronics. For two weeks I wasn't allowed to talk to my family and the people closest to me. I wasn't worried until har...

   Tomorrow I leave for a new journey in this life. I've been overwhelmed and humbled by the amazing people God has placed in my life. I realize that without them I wouldn't have made it very far and would certainly not be headed in the direction that I am. I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone in my life supporting me, caring for me, and most importantly praying for me.     As I think of the people I will be leaving for a little while, tears begin to flow and my heart begins to break. I'm filled with joy, though knowing that not only is this not goodbye forever but it will never have to be. For the ones who have accepted Christ into their lives, I am filled with peace knowing that I will never have to say a permanent goodbye because I will see them in heaven someday if not before.     My heart breaks even more knowing that there are some that I'd never see in Heaven and that is why I am choosing to continue on. I am doing what I am doing t...