B-Stud

This is another night I want to document answered prayer and God going above and beyond in doing so. I am omitting details except that Anna and I had planned a special night, spent a full week praying for it and God once again blew me away with how He was at work in the room.

My women: Morgan, Colleen, Katelyn, Lindsey, Pang, Yoyin, Sarah, Beth, Valerie, Sharon, and Brenna. I am so thankful for each and everyone of them, how I have seen God working in their lives, transforming them into greater and greater women after God and His will in their lives. It truely is a huge blessing leading such an amazing bunch :)

PTL!

so for about the past week the weather has been beautiful outside, sunny and getting dangerously close to 40 degrees! though this is not my favorite weather at all.. (i prefer rainy cloudy days).. but it still has been a smile from God because it has allowed me extended time outside, this has just added to a wonderful week! PTL! :)

Best Day Ever :)

So today (Saturday Feb. 27th) was an all day women's retreat that I helped plan with my friend Sara. It was hands down a HUGE answer to prayer! We cast a vision for the day, choosing the theme of having an 'undivided heart for the Lord'.

We prayed for a big turnout (40 women) and we got at least 65! Amen to that :)

We prayed for the speakers and the lessons. Our friend Amelia gave one of the talks, our friend Rachael shared a personal story and our bible study leaders friend Melissa gave the other talk. Each lesson flowed perfectly from one to the next. Melissa started off the day talking about lies we believe rather than patiently waiting on God. Rach openly shared a personal struggle that had divided her heart from God and how once she started listening to God, He drew her out of it and closer to Himself. Then Amelia dove into the subject of sin and how that is the root of everything that keeps us from our Lord. Though none of these women knew what the others were exactly teaching, we could not have planned it to go together as perfectly as they did. Praise the Lord! :)

To top it off, all the women came with open minds to learn and all had the greatest attitudes. There was no complaining, no drama, no problems of any sort. God was able to work in the lives of the women who came, and now I pray for life application. There was a ton of encouragement throughout this day and I pray that would not stop now that the day is over. Same with the women loving each other, being open with each other, and the healing and learning that springs from that. It was so beautiful to hear the voices of Christian women singing praises to God!!

Ladies, lets not forget the lessons that were learned today.. lets be there for each other in order for us all to grow closer to God :)

Life right now

So I am sitting here just thinking about life. I can tell I have fallen into a rut which is never a good thing. I have my daily routines, not much changes from day to day. I am content. Not joyful not sorrowful not searching for excitement not changing peoples lives.. being content really isn't good enough. God has so much more in store for me then just coasting but I have to be open, actively looking, and ready for those opportunities. He brings so much love and joy to my life, its dangerous to lose sight of that. I don't want to be a lukewarm follower of Christ, that brings absolutely no glory to God..

now my number one prayer is against this rut of being content, that I would seek God first in all that I do, that I would bring Him glory in all that I do, that I would constantly desire more of Him in my life, more of His love and joy so that it would overflow to every person that crosses my path, that my faith would be hotter than fire and consume any thoughts or feelings that my life is just fine as is. I NEED God in my life, I NEED Jesus as my Savior, I NEED the Holy Spirit to guide me, comfort me, intercede for me, reveal truths to me.. and I am so thankful that I do.

~The Day of Love~

Well we are heading right into Valentine's Day, the day of love. Here are a few, brief thoughts on the topic, starting with a few verses from the love chapter in the Bible:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." ~I Corinthians 13: 4-8a

This describes the perfect, unconditional love that God gives us. It never ceases to amaze me that God loves us in this way.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" ~John 15:13

This is exactly what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross to pay for our sins, He literally layed down His life for each and everyone of us, demonstrating the greatest love that exists.

Set aside some time today, first read Luke 10:25-37, write out how you see love demonstrated in this passage and how this should translate into your own life, then read and meditate on I John. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the day of love :)

Prayer

There are many things that come directly to my mind on this topic.

My thought today is how prayer is an act of faith. When we pray we are actively showing our belief in God, that He hears us, that He will answer us, that He cares for us, that we do have an intimate relationship with Him with open communictaion. It is a direct form of praise and worship. It has a way of revealing part of God's character to us.

What are you praying for? What are you believing God to do in your life, through your life, in the life of the people around you? Our prayers really are endless and that is a beautiful and powerful thing.