Stress.

Stress. We wonder why it happens. We wonder why God allows certain things to happen. We always wonder.

In James chapter 1, James tells us to "consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that we can be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

This does not mean that we should jump up and down and get all excited and happy as soon as we break our leg. What James is saying here is that we need to have a good attitude when trials come our way, and we need to trust God. We try to get through things on our own. Does it ever work? God desires for us to come to Him with our needs, and wants to help us get through them. He cares so much for us.

When you're stressed, try not to wallow and weep. And don't try to fix things alone. Run to Jesus; he's there for you!

Romans 5:1-11

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Hug from Jesus :)

"Oh, I'm running to your arms. I'm running to your arms. The richness of your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to your embrace."

God is good...all the time.

The fundraiser on Saturday went pretty well! With the lack of busy-ness there was, it went extremely well. I did not get that many customers, but the people who did come spent really well. We made about $700! God is so good. :)

Fundraisers...

This week has been CRAZY busy. I have been planning a fundraiser garage sale/bake sale/barbeque that I'm holding this Saturday. Been baking a LOT. And today I went to my grandparents' place to start setting up the sale (that's where I'm having it), and to put signs up all over town, and to price a whole bunch more things, and..... Wow. It's just been busy. But I do believe that all this work will be worth it in the end.

Oh! I guess I should mention what I'm fundraising for! I'm going on a mission trip to Thailand for 3 weeks with a group from the college I go to. We'll be working in a couple of orphanges, working with a church-planter, and a lot of other things. I'm really excited to see how God will provide for this trip, and how he's gonna use us while we're there!

It's time to have Faith!

I was really encouraged by my devotions last night. Here's a quote from it:

"If we're going to be good receivers, we cannot give up and stop believeing God's Word when circumstances put us under pressure...We have everything we need to walk by faith. It just takes some effort. We have to press in and refuse to quit. It takes time in some cases to see God's goodness become a reality in the midst of dark circumstances, but if we do not quit we will see God come shining through." (Copeland)

We need to keep on pressing on. God wants to help us out, but his timing is perfect! We need to keep our faith in him at all times. He really does want the best for us, and will give us that if we have faith to let him!

Time is in His Hands. :)

The splendor of a King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
It trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age, He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father, Spirit, Son
Lion and the Lamb
Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
(How great is our God and all will see)
Worthy of our praise
(How great, how great is our God)
My heart will sing
How great is our God

God is so good!! Time is in HIS hands. We just really need to trust him, and believe that what he is doing is all because he loves US and wants what's best for us. I have been reminded of that a lot lately. Thank you, God, for all you have done for me!

Friends

My friends are wonderful; each and every one of them. I really have no idea what I would do without them!!

Today, I finally got to see one of my college friends whom I haven't seen since we came home from tour. When you see somebody you love every single day for a year, it sucks a LOT when they move back home! Well, that's if they don't live anywhere near you. I was so happy that I finally had a chance to see her again. :) Woohoo!!!

May Long Weekend

A lot of people go camping for May long weekend, don't they? Or just do something to get away? Well, my May long weekends are a bit different! I get to go babysit a family every May long weekend! Their parents go away, so I get some of there kids...usually 4 out of 5, but this time I just got the three girls. Had a really great weekend!! Some parts were definitely challenging, but it really was worth it. We had fun doing nails, watching movies, having a picnic, going to McD's, grocery shopping, playing with some more little girls, and a lot more! I really enjoyed my time there, and I think the girls did too. I'm excited for next year to do the same thing!

Ignite

I miss singing with our school's Ignite team! I kept listening to our recordings yesterday morning and early afternoon over and over again, just wishing that we could all play and sing together again. I think my mom was a little bit annoyed just hearing the same songs over again, but I was just in that mood! :) I miss you guys like crazy.

Ignite was changed this last year to a kind of worship ensemble. We were made up of seven instrument-less singers, and a band (most of which sang as well). We had 14 members on our team (this includes the sound guy, the lights/ppt guy, the director, the band members, and the singers). We were a team that would go to a different church almost every sunday, to lead the worship service. We practiced for three hours one evening each week, and we ended the year off on a tour to Southern Ontario.

Tour was a really great time. We had a lot of laughs (we do a lot of laughing together), and did a lot of singing. We sang three times one of the days! We met many many families too, and got to stay in many different homes. I'm not super comfortable with strangers or crowds all the time, but I managed. :) There were a couple of times that I got homesick, but all in all, it was a great time.

My highlight of our trip was at the banquet night we had in Leamington. My friend and I sat with a family that had two little girls (one was 3, the other just turned 2). The two year old LOVES music. While we were singing, she was pretty much conducting us. She was bouncing to the exact beat we were singing, and waving her hands in the air. When we went back to our tables, she sat on my lap. For the first few minutes, she was a bit shy, but after that, she kept looking at my face and laughing at me. :D It was so funny!!

On our way back, we stopped in Wisconsinn Dells for the night....Some of my friends made me go on the "howling tornado" ride. NEVER again. Hahaha. I can now say I went on it, but it was the scariest ride I have ever been on. :P

What a crazy week!

I do have another blog somewhere, but I kept forgetting about it...so I decided to make a new one! I plan to keep up with it...hopefully I follow through with that! :)

This last week has been a bit of a crazy and rough week. I've been looking for a job, but I'm so limited at this point because of the ankle issues I have. I am trying to find a secretary job. It's so hard to get called for an interview when one has no experience!

I got the MRI results back on Tuesday, telling me everything that is wrong with my ankle. I really have a messed up ankle! There is a fracture from back in September that was never able to heal properly, and I have some torn ligaments, and everything that goes with that. Lots of pain, it's not fun.

I am thankful to God, though, that I was finally able to find out everything that's been going on in my ankle. I'm trying very hard to be patient with the pain and finding a job, and God is definitely helping me out with that. :) I am trying to still be joyful in my trials. However, it is a hard thing to do.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

Today was a fun day though, despite the pain! Spent the morning and a bit of the afternoon with my little cousin. Took her to an appointment, and to McDonald's, and just hung around the mall with her. We got lots of laughs together. :) This evening I went to a Mary Kay party, which was also a lot of fun! Got to try out a bunch of products, and bought a couple of things. I'm excited to try them out too.