Be Still

Hmm I don't know if it was the whiteboard message in my room, the playing repetition of Kari Jobe's 'Be Still' during a car ride with my boyfriend or the TWO devotionals about Being Still this week that got the message through , but ... the message got through, God. Thank you.

Whenever I've had conversations with people about "Hearing God" they usually come back with "God doesn't have an audible voice, so I've never heard Him." or "He has never spoken to me."     God doesn't have this booming voice like people portray in movies, but I know He talks to me, and He can talk to everyone. It's little things like the list posted above. He put multiple instances right in my face sending me a message, He's talking to me. I know He is.     To the people who say "He's never spoken to me."  sometimes You just have to look at things differently. Listen instead of talk , notice the things that tug at your heart , and be aware of what is repeatedly revealed to you. 

Obviously, if you haven't noticed .. lately God has been telling me to be still and wait PATIENTLY for Him.

Instant gratification is what our world wants these days. The fast food, the drive thru for banks, starbucks, snowcones you name it. Trying to get a list of things done before the timer goes off on the microwave or before your shower gets to the temperature you like. Filling a whole day's schedule with things to do.   - It's how we are, so we tend to carry it over into other parts of life. For me, the issue of uncertainty can drive me up the wall. Having conversations and thoughts lately have led me to that point and I'm kind of just like "welllll I don't know what's going to happen or how this is going to turn out or if it's going to go my way". That doesn't sit well with me, but that's where God comes in. He doesn't work according to what I want. He works according to what I need as far as the plans He has already made for me. 

"We can't hurry the Lord. He does things in His time." - Joyce Meyer

And thank God that He does because He is always on time! While we wait for the answers to our prayers or desires, we must learn to enjoy the time waiting. - That's where my big problem is. I'm an extremely anxious person. I like knowing things right then and there and if I don't, it's not pretty. So my prayer for me is to completely change that.

God's greatest desire for His children is that they experience His best in their lives

You CAN hear God, it's part of our inheritance so don't ever believe otherwise.

If you've never heard Kari Jobe or her song Be Still , PLEASE 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRfWORi4aM0

I am obsessed with this chick.

BE STILL MY SOUL BE STILL, WAIT PATIENTLY UPON THE LORD. 

Dancers Among Us

For those of you who don't know about my passion or my story ..

I've been dancing since I was about 8 years old, none of my classes were ever too serious and I still to this day have never taken classes from an actual studio. My freshman year of high school I was on pep-squad, which people are always embarrassed about but as a freshman that's your only option for dance and there's absolutely nothing wrong with pep squad. I just wanted to dance. So I did that and tried out for JV dance my sophomore year and made it. Here comes the kicker, my junior year I tried out for Varsity Dance. 7 juniors made it that year, and I was one of them. 7 is not a lot at ALL if you know the size of my high school, and all the other juniors that made it had been dancing in studios for a while. I think then was when I realized that God really did give me this ability, even if I'm not the best.

People don't know how hard I had to work to get up to that level, watching tv in a straddle, forcing myself to stretch EVERY night before bed, teaching myself skills that every other girl had already known from their studio. I taught myself everything and probably had to work twice as hard as some of these girls. I don't think I'm by any means a "good" dancer at all, but I'm proud to be where I am especially knowing that I can work hard and master almost anything. [I just have to build up the guts].
I've had experience teaching dance before I even became a legit dancer, I've been teaching since I was in 5th grade, and I was the hip hop director for American Dance Company recently.
 Your life changes being a dancer, you see things as beautiful that other people wouldn't see. You appreciate random things. You respect a person with good technique and flexibility. You don't walk nearly as much as you used to because dancing is more fun. You refer to the butterfly as a stretch more often than an insect. You have blisters on your feet permanently. You get excited when you form calusses on the balls of your foot. You don't realize how much french you know just from dance terms alone.  People play with you like a barbie because they're fascinated with the way you bend. Your toes are pointed so much that people make sure to tell you about it every chance they get. Your body cracks in abnormal places. You have multiple drawers dedicated to dance attire/shoes. You don't think it's weird for boys to wear tights.
I just think dance is beautiful, it really is a way of life.

A few days ago a girl I went to middle school with passed away from being in a tragic car accident. Now I can't say me and this girl were best buds or even friends in general in middle school. We were involved in different things so we weren't  really in the same friend circles.  I see all my friends posting stuff about her and on her facebook wall. So naturally I went and read through some of the posts to see what my friends were writing about her and I came across the post her boyfriend left and I lost it. It wasn't some long drawn out post, it was only one sentence, but it spoke so much. I felt sick to my stomach.
WE'RE SO YOUNG. Things happen to people, and they leave us. Just like that. I think I freaked because I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself if I ever lost my boyfriend (or anyone I'm close to for that matter). People are stupid if they think "oh, you're too young nothing could ever happen, you've got a while to live" or "you're too young to be in love or know what love is."  granted, there are plenty of foolish people my age when it comes to knowing what love is ..           there's so many different types of love, and I think every person has their own.     Don't get me wrong, I'd be a mess if anything happened to my family .. but this girl's boyfriend's wall post is what shook me, so that's immediately what I connected to.
I didn't even "know" these two people but their love was so simple and beautiful and I could even see that just as an onlooker and these kids are my age.      There's no such thing as overusing the words " I love you" or  publicly showing the world how much you care about another person. If anything ever happened to them it may be too late for you to do those things.
Tell your loved ones you love them today; whether it be your significant other, your best friend, or your family
Let 'em know


"I know you won't be dating any angels in Heaven and that you'll wait for Christian to get there, cause you guys are so perfect for each other. 
Please comfort Christian, his family, and your family." 
- Sweet words written by my friend Tiffany Guerra

 I'm so happy you found love while you were here,Susana Huerta.
Stay strong Christian Gonzalez.

Meet Veronica, yes I occasionally call her by first name to catch other people off guard. This is my mother. Conveniently in a few days will mark a year ago that she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, making this Mother's day one of the most treasured. About a year ago, one in my position could be uncertain if they'd be able to celebrate another Mother's day. That sounds awful. Fortunately, I didn't think about that much :) I had other things on my mind. And [also fortunately,] I have my Mother here to celebrate today .. and things are looking good for her!  I'm thankful.
The months going through surgery and chemotherapy and whatever elsemwere different, roles were reversed at times. I was the one making my mom peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because she didn't like anything else and sleeping with my door open so that if she hollered I would wake up. We had to baby her, it was inevitable.    Now for the most part, stuff is getting back to normal. She still drives me insane, but I'm glad she's here regardless ;)  
Thanks for all you've done and will continue to do Momma.

Always seeing what's wrong gives you no energy 
or time to see what's good in life.
Thinking about all of these sucky situations that seem to be heading my way, I've opened my eyes to realize it's not my surrioundings or my circumstance that is the problem. I AM THE PROBLEM. 
" I've been unhappy because I haven't faced that I am my biggest hindrance to deliverance and victory. "-Joyce Meyer
This doesn't make my problems suck any less, but I'm holding myself back when I dwell on what's wrong in my life rather than what could be going right. 
My devotional yesterday focused on the phrase "but God"   .. those two words are so powerful. Think of a not so fun situation then add the words "but God" and think of what He has done to release you from that. God's love is brought into your situation by those words and changes everything! 


I may not be having the best week, BUT GOD has overcome for me!