ponder.

i was sitting outside watching the sunset today, instead of wasting away time in painting.
i felt so calm. it was around 430 in the afternoon and i wish i could have sat and just talked to Jesus all day.
i started to just pray. for me, for old friends, for new ones, and for people that were walking by that i didnt even know.
and i felt the breeze, but surprisingly it wasn't cold. thats when it hit me.

God allows the leaves to wither up and fall off the trees. keep in mind the way the branches are, all the while reaching up or out. ( excluding the weeping willow... hahaha)
the leaves fall to the ground and sit, only until the wind blows.
in a way we can be like the leaves. we can wither up and fall to our knees and be completely broken, and when God moves us He moves us little by little. and He doesn't stop moving us, because the wind never ceases to blow.
now i want you to think about a tree with little to no leaves. like i said before, where do the branches reach? out? yes. up? yes.

now i want you to think about you and your life. think about yourself in light of this simile. just pretend you're the tree. Are you reaching UP to the Lord for guidance, love, wisdom, understanding, truth, forgiveness, acceptance, and most of all a relationship? are you reaching OUT to people who don't know our sweet Savior? are you reaching OUT to people who know Him but have been led astray? are you reaching OUT to people you know? your family, your best friend, your teacher, your classmates, your coworkers, your neighbor across the street, the person you see everyday that you met once but forgot their name? what about people you don't know? are you willing to make yourself uncomfortable to share God's love? Friends, God does not call us to be comfortable. in Matthew 28:19  He calls us to go into all the world and make disciples !

simple.

i can honestly say that dependence has never felt so good. 

the love of my Jesus can never be taken away from me.

In class this morning, we had to write 20 things that described us.

then we had to label the top 5 ones with #1 being the most important/describes us best.

1) I am a Christ-follower

2) I am urbane

3) I am peaceable

4) I am friendly

5) I am constantly thinking

Then we were asked to mark through number 5, as if we had that completely taken out of our lives and had no way of retrieving it. So, i guess that would make me very lifeless i suppose if i couldnt think... well we also had to explain how our life would be different after we did that. anyway, i got down to marking out my number one.

I couldn't do it. i wouldn't do it, actually. i wrote: simply impossible. This can never be taken away from me

i've never felt so much at peace. isn't that a great great GREAT thing to hear?

pure bliss.

disintegrated.

a simple question to ask. why?
WHY are you taking everybody I love away from me, God?
one by one, they've moved away, transferred, went off to college, ended a relationship, and again moving away.

i hold close to my heart that the Lord says "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33.


And again, in Hebrews 11:1, it says that Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.




The Bible is so sweet. It'll give you a peace of mind. 
Even if its only for a little while. 
Then you pick back up and dig down deeper into the Word. Amazing.

sunshine.

this room is cluttered but the sunlight it shines through so well

my heart is still where it should be

believe it.

your mind controls your heart
your heart overflows your mind.

cast.

 life never asked me what i wanted.

explorer.

For we, we are not long here.
Our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it.
And I, I was made to live, I was made to love, I was made to know you.
Hope is coming for me. 

Hope, He’s coming