It's the little things...

Wow! I have not blogged in a long time! I should be better about this. A quick update on my life...I am in a new place and absolutely LOVE it! I feel so at home and cozy and most of all safe. The job at the salon is going well and business is picking up. God has been so faithful with my dad's cancer and he has continued to be healed! I am patiently awaiting my precious nephew Beckett, who could be here anyday now. Brady, my nephew who is now 3, is growing up so fast and is such a sweet boy. Then in June I will have my first niece, Maci. Needless to say the Lord has blessed me with more than I could ask for!! So onto what I want to share...I have been looking for a car now since November, yes November. It has been very hard since I don't really have much credit established. Thankfully I still have my car now and it is still getting me where I need to go! After months of frustration and countless let downs, I was sure that today I was going to finally have a car. Well, not so much! I was dealing with two different people on two different cars. One of them being a private owner and the other a dealership. The private owner one was taken to my mechanic today and long story short it had too many problems. The second was at the dealership and I had been speaking with a man over the phone about it and awaiting the financial side of it. I got a text back from him saying that it was not going to work out. I was devastated!! Once again I got my hopes up and got let down. This man that I have never even met texted me back and said, "Don't give up! God has a plan for you!" As I was driving, I pulled over and began to cry. Tears pouring down my face, I thought to myself, this man does not know me from Adam, but God is using Him to remind me that HE is mindful of me and that HE has the perfect plan with all of this! I think sometimes we get so caught up in our daily lives and try to control it ourselves and do what WE want, we often forget that GOD is in control ALWAYS! He holds every single situation in HIS hands. I do not understand why this process is taking so long and why I do not have a car yet, but God does, and I can rest in knowing that. I have full trust in Him with this situation and everything else in my life. Sometimes it's the little things that pick us back up... Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in ALL your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

A Reminder to Remember...

This was a blog I wrote a few months back but feel like I should post again. A great reminder to remember always...

Grace Upon Grace
I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens.
Philippians 4:11
Test this question: What if God's only gift to you were His grace to save you. Would you be content? You beg Him to save the life of your child. You plead with Him to keep your business afloat. You implore Him to remove the cancer from your body. What if His answer is, "My grace is enough." Would you be content? You see from heaven's perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain? Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we bemoan earthly poverty? This is very hard to grasp. Our life here on earth is like a vapor, but heaven is for eternity! That is something our minds cannot even begin to fathom..I mean eternity people..that is forever!! God is the only one who knows us front and back. He knows the desires of our hearts. He knows our needs and when we are hurting. He knows how many more days/months/years we will live. His infinite grace is supposed to be enough and we are to put our trust in Him with everything we have and never lean on ourselves. No matter what we face in this life we have to know that one day there will be no more pain and suffering, tears and heartache, sickness and wars, stress and loss because we will be with the one who died for ALL of those things and who died for us!! GOD'S GRACE IS ENOUGH!!

It's a C.S. Lewis kinda night...

This is what the Lord says to us..."Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

"The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go God's LOVE for us does not." People will always disappoint us in this world, but God does not. He loves us no matter what!! He forgives and forgets, throwing our sins as far as the east is from the west. Love that I have a heavenly Father that LOVES ME THAT MUCH!! There is nothing like His presence. I find so much comfort in Him!

Remember He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can't see it. So quietly submit to be painted---i.e., keep fulfilling all the obvious duties of your station (you really know quite well enough what they are!), asking forgiveness for each failure and then leaving it alone. You are in the right way. Walk---don't keep on looking at it.

"In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that-and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison-you do not know God at all. "
— C.S. Lewis

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

Need to be reminded daily that my home is not here on earth..but rather a place I will spend eternity in!

Life is a Vapor...

When I look back on how fast this year went by it makes me realize that life is not slowing down. It will continue to go by in the blink of an eye. Our life is a vapor here on earth, but you see we have eternity to spend in heaven! God created the earth is 6 days and look how beautiful it is. He has been creating our mansion in heaven for thousands of years now. Can you imagine?!! Streets paved with gold...crazy!! James 4:13-14 says 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.” 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. WOW! That speaks to me in more ways than one. We do not know what tomorrow holds only the Lord does. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself, each day has enough trouble of its own. I have a HUGE journey ahead of me. I am about to start a new chapter in my life and could not be more excited! The relationships that I have made this past year have been such a blessing to me and I am so so thankful. God places certain people in your life at the perfect time, He knows our every need! I can honestly say this has been one of the best years of my life. I have grown so much and learned so many things about myself as a person. I learned and am still learning to perservere and NEVER give up! Hebrews 12:1-3 1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Praying everyday in this new journey that I fix my eyes more on HIM!

Be Still...

I get so carried away and caught up in the busyness of my life sometimes that I don't take enough time to just be still and listen to the Lord. I know so many times He is wanting to tell me things and show me things and I don't let Him. I was driving home the other night and really just thinking about the past year and how much the Lord has blessed me. All of the friendships, opportunities, and blessings have been more than I could ever ask for. This time last year I thought I was on the right path for Nursing and was working at Children's in the NICU. I really liked my job, but that was the problem I didn't LOVE it. I knew there was something missing in my life and that I wasn't using talents that the Lord has blessed me with. Starting Aveda last July has been by far the BEST decision! I am SO thankful for this journey! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE what I do! Hair, makeup and beauty has always been a huge passion of mine. I get to not only make people feel beautiful about themselves on the outside, but on the inside as well. What I do is so much more than hair and makeup and beauty, it's a ministry and that is probably my favorite part. I have had the honor in many different situations with different women to be a light in their lives and share the Lord with them. How stinkin cool:) I have gone back and fourth about where I want to start my career. I have prayed and prayed and prayed and as I have read a book called Just Do Something, I have learned that no matter where I am, as long as I am walking with the Lord and being obedient to Him that I am in His will. I got offered a job here in Birmingham about 2 months ago and it is a GREAT opportunity! I am truly blessed to be where I am. I still have a huge heart for Nashville and feel deep down a great peace that the Lord has a plan for me there one day, but as for now I will be here in Birmingham awaiting what He has planned. You see if we obey the Lord, in return He blesses us! I cannot believe I have a little less than 2 months left at Aveda. I am making it a goal to be still more and focus on what the Lord wants to show me and teach me as I continue to grow with Him! He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Grace Upon Grace

I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens.
Philippians 4:11
Test this question: What if God's only gift to you were His grace to save you. Would you be content? You beg Him to save the life of your child. You plead with Him to keep your business afloat. You implore Him to remove the cancer from your body. What if His answer is, "My grace is enough." Would you be content? You see from heaven's perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain? Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we bemoan earthly poverty? This is s very hard to grasp. Our life here on earth is like a vapor, but heaven is for eternity! That is something our minds cannot even begin to fathom..I mean eternity people..that is forever!! God is the only one who knows us front and back. He knows the desires of our hearts. He knows our needs and when we are hurting. He knows how many more days/months/years we will live. His infinite grace is supposed to be enough and we are to put our trust in Him with everything we have and never lean on ourselves. No matter what we face in this life we have to know that one day there will be no more pain and suffering, tears and heartache, sickness and wars, stress and loss because we will be with the one who died for ALL of those things and who died for us!! GOD'S GRACE IS ENOUGH!!

New Year New Me

Looking back on 2010, I am almost speechless. So many things occured from once in a life time opportunites to things I would never wish upon anyone. I remember in January I was preparing for a mission trip to South Africa that I knew would change my life forever. At the time I had no idea why the Lord wanted me to go, but I knew I was to obey Him. As January and February passed, I then realized it was March and I was only a month away from leaving. I will never forget on Monday, March 29, 2010, we received the news that my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma cancer. My world came crashing down that day. I thought why our family, this cannot be real, I am going to wake up and it all be a dream, why MY dad? After it all set in, I thought there is no way I can go to Africa after this. I knew dad was going to start chemo around the time I was leaving and I just could not miss that. I needed to be here for him. It was when I was driving in my car a few days later that the Lord reminded He knew this was going to happen even before He told me to go to South Africa, so I knew at that moment that all my trust was to be in the Lord and that He would take care of everything! The trip completely changed my life. I could go on and on and tell stories for days. God revealed Himself to me in so manys while I was there and did things to let me know He IS mindful of me and that He is faithful in every situation. During my journey there I was informed that my dad while in Atlanta, was told he only had stage 1 and not stage 2 or 3. Tears began to pour and I remember feeling overwhelmed with God's love in that very moment. When I returned home it was hard..very hard, emotionally physically and spiritually. I remember when we first landed in the Atlanta airport back in the U.S. for the first time since leaving SA, feeling like I was going to be sick, literally. Looking around at just the airport and all the food places and shops was enough to not even have to look at the people and what all they have in their possession. In months after God just continued to show His grace and love for me and my family. It is crazy to say that we are thankful for this journey with my dad's cancer. It has made us draw so much deeper and closer to God and our relationship with Him. I have seen the infinite grace be poured out over and over again from the ultimate healer and great physician who is our Lord. In our weaknesses, God is our strength. I have become so much stronger through all of this, my trust in the Lord has grown tremendously, and my faith in Him is so great! In June I went and had lunch with a dear friend who has always been so inspiring to me with her walk with the Lord. We ate at Panera and just talked and talked and caught up on each other's lives. She began to tell me that she was about to start the Aveda Institute at the end of July. Well there I was working at Children's Hospital in the NICU thinking that Nursing was for me. Well, I was wrong. I had been having some doubts the last few months I was at Children's, but just continued to pray. When I left from having lunch with my friend that day, I just started praying that God would show me what I was supposed to do. I went and toured Aveda a few days later and FELL IN LOVE! I cannot explain the total peace that came over me that day the whole time I was there. Long story short, I filled out the paperwork, turned in my two weeks at Children's, found out that the financial aspect of it was over half covered and the rest in loans, and started two weeks later. Hair and makeup has always been my passion. There are SO many things to do in the beauty industry that I just did not realize until starting Aveda. My journey there thus far has been amazing! Words cannot even describe how happy I am every single day going in there to do what I love! I love making people feel beautiful not just on the outside but on the inside as well. I am using my talents and gift that God has given me to glorify Him daily! I have met some of the most incredible friends ever who are always encouraging me and lifting me up and giving amazing words of wisdom. God has blessed me far beyond what I could imagine. As months went by it was then time for Christmas, which was a little different this year. My grandpa started getting really sick and so on Christmas Eve morning we all packed up and drove to Sarasota, FL. This was the first year ever that we were away from home on Christmas Day. My grandpa ended up passing the night before New Years Eve. It was hard, especially for my dad, but God is a God of peace and comfort and things have been much better. I ended the year with a great trip to Fort Lauderdale, FL, yes I went back to Florida! Maybe I should move there:)I am praying that in this new year God continues to show me His will for my life. I have huge goals and dreams I want to achieve after finishing at Aveda. I am SO excited about this journey I am now and each day I want to grow closer to Him meditating on His word. I want to be a light in so many people's lives around me daily in showing them God's unconditional love. I know this year is going to be great and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me!! Here's to 2011...

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD,you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,and everlasting joy will be yours. “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.