Radiate

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them on a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:5-9

When I think of the Love I have for the Lord my God it overpowers my heart.  I am filled with great joy and happiness, but really how often to share it.  We are commanded to let EVERYONE know this great Love that fills our heart with joy, but I simply recognize in my life that I don't do that.  

When I think about the first time Derrick and I told each other we Love each other, I wanted to tell everyone.  I was so excited and I still want everyone to know about what the Lord has done in our relationship.  I then think about how often I find myself blurting out, " I Love the Lord my God! " I notice that I am very selective with the people I tell and that is not what we are commanded. 

 I recognize that for my heart to fully love him, I must profess this love and share with anyone and everyone.  I recognize that this joy that fills my heart should be felt by everyone around me and I should not be so selfish.  

So as I start a new semester of classes tomorrow...

I pray that his Love overflows in everything and that others can see this joy in my heart.  

I want his Love to radiate in my life so others may be filled with his Love too! 

Imperishable Beauty

"Do not let you adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear--but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4

The hidden beauty of your heart is something so deeply beautiful.  When your heart and relationship overflows into your daily life then the Lord takes control. These photos are from this past weekend where I had the opportunity to grow closer with these girls. (Photography By the Wonderful Katie Lewis who was there for support and encouragement)  Their heart and passion to grow deeper with Christ and focus on what really matters in life was so encouraging.  We had fun just digging into his word, focusing on our hearts instead of the mirror, and being joyful.  I am absolutely in love with Jesus Christ and long for my heart to overflow into my everyday life.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

In AWE for my AWESOME God!

"Your voice is
The voice that 
Commanded the universe to be
Your voice is
The voice that 
Is speaking words of love to me

How can it be?

Awesome God
Holy God
I worship you in wonder
Awesome God
Holy God
As you draw near I’m humbled
By your majesty
And the mystery
Of your great love for me

Your arms are
The arms that 
Hung shining stars in deepest space
Your arms are 
The arms that
Surround me in a warm embrace

Amazing grace

Awesome God
Holy God
I worship you in wonder
Awesome God
Holy God
As you draw near I’m humbled

Awesome God
Holy God
I worship you in wonder
Awesome God
Holy God
As you draw near I’m humbled
By your majesty
And the mystery
Of your great love for me"

-Vineyard "Awesome God (Your Voice)"

As I listen to this song, I am in Awe!! I am in love with my Lord!  

This weekend was simply amazing spending time and investing in the lives of four high school girls. Lauren, Allison, Elizabeth, and Mandi were so fun to be around.  Their light and joy they have for life reminded me of my best friends and I in high school. They were so goofy yet      have a love for knowing more and growing with the Lord so much. We spent the weekend       focusing on our inner beauty and building that relationship with the Lord to reflect our outer    beauty.  

I was encouraged to hear that last night before the girls went to bed they spent time reading    scripture on friendship and spent time journaling.  The girl's heart to grow more with the Lordand allowing him to be in control of their lives was so evident after this weekend.  They are so blessed to have each other and hold each other accountable.  The Lord led me to continue to be a part of their life and lead a bible study for them this summer.  I can not wait to see how we will all become more Beautiful in Christ.              

I am in AWE! I am humbled by his majesty and the mystery of his great Love for me! 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

So excited...

So I have been planning, praying, preparing, the past week for the girls to come this weekend.  The Lord has blessed 5 lovely high school girls to come and I am soooooo PUMPED!!!  God had his plan all along...for me to date the wonderful Derrick Winkler, get connected with his cousin, her encouragement to grow more with the Lord has allowed me to step up and trust the Holy Spirit to use me!!!!

I can not wait to see how the Lord uses me to share my heart and passion that the Lord has empowered me with.  I would ask that you pray for their hearts, the Lord to use me, and to go away from this weekend with a different perspective of beauty!!

I would LOVE to do this with the rest of my life.

EEEEEK!!!! As many of you may know, that is the loud high pitch girly noise I make when I get super excited. :)

The Theme for the weekend is "Discovering True Beauty as Godly Women"
Here is the plan for the weekend...


Saturday January 16, 2010
5:00 p.m. Leave Louisville
6:00 p.m. Arrive in Bowling Green (Central Time Zone)
       Get Situated, Hang Out
7:00 p.m.  Dinner
8:00 p.m. Tie-Dye T-shirts
10:00 p.m.  Get to Know you Game
Share the Gospel
(foundation for our belief as Christians)
12:00 a.m.  Movie Time- Mean Girls

Sunday January 17, 2010
10:00 a.m. Breakfast
11:00 a.m. Magazine Presentation
         Discussion Time
>>“Our Design and Inner Beauty”
Video “Set Apart Thot”      
1:00 p.m. Lunch
2:30 p.m. Explore Bowling Green/ Take Pictures
5:00 p.m. Decorate Journals
      >> Tips for a Quiet Time
7:00 p.m. Dinner
8:00 p.m. Discussion Time
       >>“Called for a Purpose”
10:00 p.m. Facials, Hot Cocoa, Dance Party!!
12:00 a.m. DOJO (The Famous Donut Shop of B.G.)

Monday January 18, 2010
9:30 a.m. Breakfast
10:30 a.m. My Challenge
11:30 a.m. Pack Up/ Clean up
12:00 p.m. Leave for Louisville
 3:00 p.m. Arrive at Lauren's House

I thank God for every single opportunity he has given me!

Less of ME, More of HIM, Fill me with the Spirit!!

Our Focus.

 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 
2 Corinthians 16-18

As I read that verse, I wonder why?

Why do we care what others think?

Why do we get caught up in what we wear?

Why do we worry about money?

Why do we plan for the future on this earth?

Why do we question God's will for our life?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

So many times I find myself getting caught up in my daily routine and forget WHY I was placed on this earth.  I get excited for worldly things, plan for my future, when in all reality...I am not guaranteed tomorrow so why don't I live like it.  

FIX your EYES on what is UNSEEN for it is ETERNAL!!! This earth that I live on is not my home.  It excites me to think that this world that we live in is only temporary and one day I will get to spend eternity with my heavenly father, so why not make the most of it while I am here?!  

I want to serve my Lord well while I am here.  I want to love him with all of my heart.  I want to seek his plan each day.  I want to be guided by his spirit.  I want this joy and burning passion to overflow into my life each day.  I want people to know who I am living for.  I don't want to leave this earth and people to wonder where I will spend eternity.

 So for all this to happen...

I must DECREASE so that he may INCREASE. John 3:30

Be Still...

"Be Still and know that I am God..."Psalm 46

I don't think I actually let that penetrate my heart til today...

At Encounter (the New Year's Conference) I attended a seminar on "Dealing with Stress in Our Busy Lives" and this whole past semester all I ever wanted a break.  I kept pushing myself, kept adding to my load and trying to handle it on my own.  At this seminar the speaker, Jason, mentioned of his past with dealing with stress and talked about how he encountered heart complications.  He had many tests done to only prove his heart was completely normal.  His story was the same as mine! This past semester I had an EKG, an echocardiogram, and wore a heart monitor for a day to only prove my heart was completely
normal. Not feeling so alone, Jason goes on to tell how he overcame this and it was the PEACE that God gives us. I felt very encouraged and at peace about everything, but was still living a hectic life.


Getting snowed in this past week had its up and downs...
I was excited to be off work and to not have anything to do, but then didn't know how to just sit. I tried to run home to Louisville where all my comfort was, but God was trying to tell me something. He was trying to tell me to acknowledge him!! Here he had provided me with wonderful time to rest in him and I was trying to run from it. He allowed for me to spend precious time with my dear friend Katie and to not do anything on a set schedule.


Here I was so selfish and yet he was providing me with my desires!!

Overwhelmed by his Great Love

"Snow Day!!! YAY!!!" 
Working for an after school program I get to rejoice in the excitement of snow days!

So my morning checklist is this:
Chai Latte...check, Bible...check, Snuggled up on the couch...check

I was so excited to wake up and not rush anywhere.  I could spend time reading and planning.  Next weekend I will be hosting a mini girls "retreat" at my apartment for 7 high school girls.  Yesterday I began to get really nervous as to what the weekend would look like and how I would be able to do it and I realized that it's not about me.

"But we impart a SECRET and HIDDEN WISDOM of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory..."What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--these things God has revealed to us through the SPIRIT.  For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God." 1 Corinthians 2:7-10

It's not in my control...God provided those 7 girls and will provide the Spirit to work through me.  It's not about me!  There is nothing I can say or do that will allow these girls to know and understand what beauty within your heart means.  I am so excited to see how the Lord will use this great opportunity!!

After to listening to Carolyn Mahaney speak on "Beauty" I was overwhelmed to see more of what the Lord wanted me to share with the girls next weekend!!
 The main passage that she spoke from was 1 Peter 3:3-4
"Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear--but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet Spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

This passage shows that a Christian woman should focus on her inner (hidden) beauty of the heart not getting caught up in things of this world.  Now Peter is not literally prohibiting all braiding of hair or all wearing of gold jewelry because if that were the case the same prohibition would apply also to wearing clothing!! He is saying to not be consumed by it.  If you follow the Lord then the rest will fall into place, you will want to Glorify him!  Peter is saying that your beauty should be that of a gentle and quiet Spirit, someone who TRUSTS God.

Beauty is about living a life completely devoted to the Lord.  I find it hard to have that gentle and quiet Spirit at times, but the peace and knowing that his LOVE is EVERLASTING is so wonderful and Beautiful!  Without him nothing would be possible...

Now for the rest of my day off...
I am going to enjoy a movie day with my dear friend Katie Lewis...
Wait for the arrival of sweet Adeline while Missing Jordan and Hannah (lame snow!)...
Begin brainstorming for Next Weekend...
Maybe Read a book in Between...

Deny YOURSELF, Take up YOUR Cross, and Follow ME (Jesus Christ)

"And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

After reading this verse, I felt quite convicted.  Jesus is making a bold statement by saying if you are going to be LIVING for me DAILY then...Deny Yourself by SURRENDERING full control of your life, Take Up Your Cross by making a commitment that will lead to rejection...not every once in a while BUT DAILY, and Follow Me (Jesus Christ- Our Lord and Savior)!!!

I simply read that and said to myself..."Yes Jesus I love you and I want to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow you..."  But do I do that daily, NO!  This morning I woke up went about my business, rushed out of the apartment, not once thinking anyone other than myself.  After everything had seemed to go wrong, I read this verse and simply laughed.  I laughed because I was trying to take control and yet I failed.

I failed because I am a sinner, but Praise God for his wonderful GRACE I can simply learn from this and be in constant prayer and submission...

True Beauty comes from deep with in...humbling yourself before the Lord and recognizing OUR flaws.

Processing Rest

Rest...what's that?

• Finals Week...study, work, study, stress...pack...
• Come Home
• Babysit...8 hours with a hyper active 8 year old
• Visit with Friends
• Day 2 Babysit...6 hours
• Christmas Shopping
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• Day After Christmas
• Wedding
• Do Laundry...pack
• Drive 8 hours to North Carolina for Winter Conference
• Jammed Packed week...Bed at 3 a.m. and Wake at 8 a.m. EVERYDAY
• Drive 8 hours for Home...

That sums up my life the last 3 weeks...BUSY and today the Lord blessed me with REST!

"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he RESTED from all the work of creating that he had done."  Genesis 2:3

On this frigid Sunday the Lord blessed me with precious time to just drink hot cocoa, bask in his greatness, prepare my things to go back to Bowling Green, spend time with my lovely parents, bum around the house, help cook dinner, and to enjoy the pleasure of not leaving the house. I was so joyous of this wonderful day of rest, and yet I am still in constant prayer about my future.  The Lord showed me this verse:
"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James 4:14
I don't know what tomorrow brings, but I am completely ok with that.  I trust that the Lord will lead me.  I am learning to give my day up to him because this life is not my own.

This Day of Rest was MUCH NEEDED!!!

A New Year's REVOLUTION

Living through two decades you sure do experience a lot. There have been so many ups and downs in my walk with Christ from just knowing and believing in him to completely falling in love with him. I have been so blessed to encounter many different experiences that have brought me to the point that I am at in my relationship with him today.

It wasn't until this time last year did I fully understand what it meant to surrender EVERYTHING to my Lord. I mean everything from school to work to family to friends to finances to boys to future plans to ANYTHING you can think of! It was because of this book I read by Leslie Ludy called "Set Apart Femininity" did I begin to comprehend what this looked like. Over this past year the Lord has stretched me beyond measure from going to Africa all alone, experiencing what a Godly relationship looked like, managing a heavy schedule, beginning to think about future plans...which has brought me to the point which I am at today.

Towards the end of the year I began to develop a passion...

As a fashion major I started to notice how completely superficial and worldly the industry really is. It is filled with nothing but falsehood. The girls you see in the magazines are fake, the pictures are completely altered, along with the unhealthy sizes of models. I began to get frustrated with my major and wondered what I could do with this in the future. After much prayer the Lord placed it on my heart to begin to share with others my heart.

On Thanksgiving I shared this with my boyfriend's mom and cousin. Honestly not thinking any more about it, Derrick's cousin, Lauren, called me around Christmas time to share with me a song she had heard.  Might I add Lauren is a freshmen in high school and I am completely blown away for her deep desire to grow more with the Lord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ks3R2BwyO0&feature=fvw

This song "More Beautiful You" By Johnny Diaz depicts a story of everything I had expressed as my frustration with this world. I think it is just so neat to see how the Lord quickly placed it on Lauren's heart to call and share this with me.

My favorite part of the song is where it says :

"There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you."

These words are so true!!

This conversation led Lauren and I to want to do something, start some where, reach out to girls, share what the Lord placed on our hearts, but we just didn't know where to begin. After spending an amazing week celebrating the New Year in North Carolina with Campus Crusade for Christ the Lord brought me back fully rejuvenated, motivated, and ready to seek his plan which leads me to today...

Lauren and I were planning to meet for lunch today and I decided to look up scripture which then led me to check out the set apart femininity blog where I found a blog called..."TRUE BEAUTY"!!! How perfect! The Lord was already beginning to work...

http://setapartgirl.com/set-apart-thots.html

This blog was beyond perfect, beyond encouraging, beyond...I'm SPEECHLESS!!! She stated everything that is on my heart and more!  She quoted from John 3:30 "He must become GREATER; I must become LESS."  Lauren and I came up with some ideas and are just praying to see how the Lord is going to work it all out.  We are hoping to start with a small group of Lauren's friends and then see how the Lord leads it.  

And my day doesn't stop there...

At church tonight, Kyle Idleman spoke about instead of having a New Year's Resolution and having a REVOLUTION!  The scripture that he used was John 3:30 " He must become GREATER; I must become LESS."  He said that when you have a Resolution you simply focus on specific habits to change, but a REVOLUTION focuses on EVERYTHING!  As Christians we are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:15) and many times I forget to be led by the Spirit.  He encouraged us to pray a simple prayer..."More of you, less of me, fill me with your Spirit."  I know that God was just telling me to trust him and the rest will fall into place.  

So....I am ready for the REVOLUTION and to see where the Lord leads me.