Truly He taught us to love one another.

His law is LOVE.

  Oh man. This past Sunday I had so much going on, I was contemplating whether or not I should just stay at home and get caught up on some things or go to church. I decided to go to church and I think it was more of I was lead to make the decision to go to church. Within minutes of the service starting I was convicted. Like a lot.
  The series we started this past week was The Gift of Forgiveness. After hearing that, my immediate thought was "crap." There had been a lot of internal stuff going on that past week and I knew God was trying to address how to handle it. "If there is anyone who should be quick to forgive, it should be us who have received the ultimate forgiveness". BOOM we're getting right down to business and not wasting any time. Isn't that so true though? Like we are all such horrible imperfect human beings and Jesus died so that we could be forgiven of all of that. Who are we to not forgive those who have wronged us? IT'S HARD! I know it is. I battle with it constantly. Sometimes you literally have to give things/ people up to God repeatedly so that you're free of them and the flood of emotions they bring.
  
  1 Samuel 24:12-13
May the LORD judge between you and me. May He punish you for your actions against me, but MY hand will not be against you. The saying says "out of the sinful comes sin". 

  1 Peter 3:8-9
All of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate and modest in your opinion of yourselves. Don't pay back evil with evil or insult for insult. Instead, give BLESSING in return. You were called to do this so you might inherit a blessing.

God calls us to bless those who curse us.. SO not our natural instinct, or at least not mine! Love your brother or sister who wronged you and let God handle the rest. I'm still learning how to perfect this tactic.

  Psalm 103:10-12
  He does not repay us according to our sins or repay us according to our wrongdoing because as high as heaven is above the earth, that's how large God's faithful love is for those honor Him. As far as the east is from the west -- that is how far God has removed our sin from us.

  Isaiah 43:24-25
  You did not buy Me gifts with your money or satisfy Me with your sacrifices, instead you have burdened Me with your sins and wearied Me with your evil actions. I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for My sake. I won't remember your sin anymore.

Thank You GOD! Those were so personal to me. I'm always so hard on myself. Sometimes I forget God doesn't love me any less if I screw some things up. -- though that doesn't give us the excuse to live in ways that are against how we're taught to live through the Bible, but if we accidentally get lost .. God is still going to be the same loving Father He always is. His love never changes. I know I need to stop beating myself up about some things AND we need to do the same for other people too!  

  Colossians 3:12-13
So as God's chosen one, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Be tolerant with each other and if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, also forgive each other.

DANG, hurts so good.

  Luke 17:3-4
 Watch yourselves! If your brother or sister sins, warn them to stop. If they change their hearts, forgive them. Even if someone sins against you 7 times in one day and returns to you 7 times and says "I am changing my ways" you must forgive that person.

God also commands us to forgive repeatedly. Another toughie. Yikes.


Basically it was a GREAT sermon at the Austin Stone by Matt Carter.


I know I'm giving the gift of forgiveness to some people this Christmas.
God has so generously helped me restore some friendships in my life that He didn't have to. Redemption is just the coolest thing. Seeing something completely broken turn into something beautiful and filled with glory that points to the Lord.

When I come back in the new year I want to start trying out different churches. Not because anything is wrong with Austin Stone, I love that place. I'll probably be there often regardless if I find another church to go to. That was my plan in the beginning but I didn't get to do as much of that as I would have liked because of football season. I just don't want to pass something by that could also be great for me. If there are any churches in the New Braunfels/ Austin area that you've been to and suggest I try, let me know! Also, FRIENDS if you want to tag along on any of my weekend adventures to try these new places in the spring, I would love to have you!

My Miracle On 34 Street

Hello world! I bet some of you are anxious to hear how the New York trip went. For those of you who don't know, my dance team, the Texas State University Strutters had the privilege of "Kickin' in the Macy's Parade" this Thanksgiving.
Surprisingly there was a lot of stuff throughout the trip that tried to get me down, like it was really weird how "off" the week was for me. I always try to be aware of what the enemy is trying to ruffle me up over. I seemed pretty alert, so most of the weeks events I just shook off and moved on. It's so hard to not be grateful to God in the midst of everything when you're in New York and dancing on national television.

So from the top. After already experiencing some roughness that morning, we packed up a bus and then flew out of the Austin airport. Then we arrived in New York! We got picked up by another bus and before we even got off at our hotel we saw Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel. A day in the life. We had dinner in Times Square and then had some team meetings before bed. -- which we never really slept that week. Like at all. Like we got back to Texas almost a week ago and I'm still dragging because of New York week. But anyways, got up SUPER early then went to the Statue of Liberty! That was a fun day. I did my first street bargain for a designer bag that day. -- a proud moment for me.

That night we had rehearsal with NBC for the parade. This was when we all discovered the texture of the floor we were dancing on and the (lack of) friction with our dance boots. I actually bruised my tailbone this night. Kind of comical, kind of embarrassing and kind of disastrous considering I had to dance for tv just a few days after. Almost a week later it still hurts, but God is good and when Thanksgiving day came I ran off adrenaline and ignored it. On the plus side, when I got hurt the NBC camera people asked me if I was ok. I can't tell if that makes me cool because they talked to me or a loser because they saw my little slip up. Whatever.
The next morning the team went to Radio City Music Hall for their Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes. I am like obsessed with the Rockettes. They're beautiful. And talented. The whole show was so inspiring, and they had the nativity story as part of the show and that just really made me love it even more. It was the 85th celebration for the Rockettes and I'm super glad I got to be there for it.

After the show we were let loose to go shopping and explore the concrete jungle that is New York. I went to FAO Schwarz-- a really neat toy and candy store, H&M along with a billion other stores on 5th avenue then I ventured into Rockefeller Plaza where I got to see the big tree! Fun times for sure.

The morning after that Strutters performed for Spirit of America dance & cheer. Another side note, my little sister got to be a part of the parade too through Spirit of America. So she got to see me perform, and my high school dance director was there too! I had so many people I loved with me in New York.
After our performance we went and shopped at Macy's! What a blessing to be able to dance for that huge company. I obviously purchased some new clothing while I was there :) we also walked around and visited some other stores, but Macy's was just so festive.

That night we went to Mamma Mia on broadway! It was the night before parade day and we didn't get back from the show until 11 that night, but it was worth it. The show was so fun, and because of my obsession with the A*Teens back in the day I knew all of the ABBA songs.

Then after a few hours of no sleep.. IT'S PARADE DAY! So much excitement throughout our hotel with all of the performers getting amped up so early in the morning. We took the subway to the parade route and began warming up. -- During this time Jimmy Fallon took a picture of the Strutters. Yup.
I also ran into sista. We got to feel like celebs that morning. We had people recording us and taking pictures of us because everyone thought it was insane that two sisters were in this parade with two completely different organizations. Saying we are blessed doesn't cover it. I'm so thankful to the Lord that we both got this opportunity. To Him be all of the glory. We worked our tails off to get there, but we still wouldn't have made it if God didn't do such mighty things for us. We missed our family that day, but they did such a great job cheering us on from Texas and South Carolina.
THANK YOU to everyone else who helped us live out this dream, your contributions and prayers and support all had an impact. So grateful for the kind hearts of those around me. All of the text messages after really made me realize what a great support system I have. Your sweet notes made my day and made me miss being home. But I had an incredible Thanksgiving in New York. After the parade (which was FREEZING by the way) the team piled up and we went and got some barbecue for our Thanksgiving meal and we watched our performance along with some footage of us throughout parade day -- so much went on that morning that national television didn't get to see. We spent Thanksgiving day basically laughing at ourselves. OH! We ran by Carly Rae Jepsen that morning. Can't forget that little detail.

I'm sure I left some parts out. Everything was so fast paced in New York -- now I know why God gave me some down time the day before I flew out. It was all kind of like a blur, all of the days meshed together because of the lack of sleep and we were ALWAYS doing something. You see the pictures of all the fun stuff we got to do, but there was also work being done every day we were there. We had rehearsals and meetings that took up time to. I'm so happy to be back home, but my trip to New York was a blast. Thanks again to everyone who supported me last week! Much love to all of you.

"I'll take you to my quiet waters. I'll restore your soul. Come rest in me and be made whole."

HELLO EVERYONE! Hope I am finding you all well on this wonderful day.
I had an extremely bizarre morning/ afternoon. I woke up and God was like "Let's go on an adventure!" So I literally woke up, put on some shoes and a sweatshirt and walked out the door with no clue what the day's plans consisted of. He was taking me on a date, it was exciting. We started out our day together getting some carrot cake pancakes (with a cream cheese topping of course). I'm addicted to all sorts of pancakes, even my Heavenly Daddy knows that. Then I took the pancakes and ate/ had quiet time at this cute little place by the lake. (Please keep in mind this adventure has led me out of my cute little town at this point. We weren't holding back!). From my point of view, I'm soaking up every sacred moment with my Heavenly Father. To the average onlooker I'm this weird chick who's eating pancakes by herself. Story of my life.
I thought my time and view of the lake was nice from where I was sitting up top. After I had quiet time I felt led to go on a walk. Also keep in mind that I'm still not in a place that I'm familiar with. I also am known for getting lost. Not sure what I was thinking. I've found myself to be a little more adventurous and brave lately. Part of it was this wasn't exactly my agenda to begin with, so I sort of rolled with it.
ANYWAYS, so I start to go on a jog in this foreign area and I'm like ok.. why did You bring me all the way here just to go on a jog. Like I do that at home all the time?

                                                So I walk and then I find this secret place under a bridge.

First I see this. I kind of have a nack for that artsy kind of stuff. So I was like ok, cool. Then I keep walking down and then I see..

THIS.

Except I was a lot closer. I went up top to get a better view so yall could get a better feel of the whole picture. I was like OH HOW NEAT! I was so excited, I wasn't expecting that.. at all. So after playing around there for a bit I kept walking into this unknown land. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better I found another place. Completely tucked away. I didn't get a very good picture of it because I couldn't get a wide shot of it, but I sat there, laid my head back and relaxed on a big rock and just soaked up God's awesomness. It was incredible. Absolutely incredible. He LITERALLY led me beside still waters. (Psalm 23:2)  God still gets cray in 2012 ya'll. Don't underestimate Him.

After THAT, I found a trail. 

(Like.. what? I don't know where I am.. how the heck did I just find a trail..)

During my first quiet time I had read part of Isaiah "The Lord will guide you always."..weird"He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

And then He led me to a trail which took me to places like this.

This past week I had a day where I was sort of in panic mode wondering if needs would be met etc. It really freaked me out there for a little bit. Then today happened. I was completely filled. THE LORD WILL SATISFY YOUR NEEDS IN A SUN-SCORCHED LAND -- YES!

He has and He will!

The views just kept getting better and better as the day progressed. It was crazy.

I went through a period of about two years where I felt like every huge monumental breaking point in a person's life happened. I know I still have a lot more of those to go, it's a part of growing up. Life is slowly getting to a better place each day. It's like He was telling me .. "Hey, keep on going.. things get better!"  Like, my life is great right now. It truly is. Is it perfect and do I still wish I could change some things? Of course. No matter how great your life is, life is hard! But God has great things waiting on the other side. "Greater things have yet to come" is my mindset these days. 

I was just having so much fun on this adventure with the Lover Of My Soul. I couldn't get enough. I had finally realized after being taken to random places that day that even when things got hard during those different difficult seasons, Jesus  had never stopped pursuing me. Once I finally opened my eyes, I didn't want our date to end. Like I left at 11:00 that morning and didn't get back until almost 5:00 . But that was THE best way I could have spent my last day in TX for the next week. I fly out to New York tomorrow! Such a different life than the one I was living today in peace and quiet, but I am so excited! Eek!

Kickin' In The Macy's Parade

http://www.txstate.edu/news/news_releases/news_archive/2012/November-2012/StrutParade111512.html

We are in the single digits ya'll! I will be flying to New York in THREE days! I can't believe it.
Posted above is the link of an article the school posted about us. Basically lays out the logistics of everything and who we are as a team if you don't know those little pieces of our history.
We are the largest dance team in the nation. -- No wonder Macy's wanted us, eh?
So cool to be a part of something so historic. Over the summer at our camp we learned all about our history and foundations, it's so much more than what I knew I was getting into. So glad some of our school mates get to be exposed to who we are.

Prayers for safe flights to and from as well as while we're in NY are much appreciated.
I don't know if I'll be able to blog during the week that I'm there but I'm sure I will catch yall up when I get back!

For those of you who will be watching/ recording --
If for some reason we get air time while we are just walking down the parade route.. you won't be able to miss me. I stick out like a sore thumb because I'm in a row by myself. Yep, 103 of us and somehow I'm the lucky girl to walk solo style hahaha. Embarrassing, but hey you roll it.
During our performance in the parade I am in the front row of girls in maroon skirts on the far left! No clue what camera angles are going to be like, so just be alert I suppose.

I think that's all I have for now!
Love you all !

All The Single Ladies (and fellas)

This morning was a little cray here at Texas State. We had a bomb threat (shocking), but honestly these are becoming so common it didn't phase me too much haha. -- thank you to all the sweet people who texted and checked up on me! In the midst of all that I came home between classes and had quiet time with the Lord. I really soaked it up today so I felt like I should write since I haven't in a while. I know this really gave me such a revelation and I know it applies to most single (and some not single) chicks (and dudes) out there.

I read the book of Esther. -- what a story! Ladies, and even you boys, if you haven't read Esther.. I would say it's a pretty neat read. Looking back you see that Esther and Xerxes fell in love at just the right time and it was no coincidence. Esther met King Xerxes right when Haman was planning to kill the Jews (which she just so happened to be). Also not a coincidence, Esther was raised by her cousin Mordecai. He had saved King Xerxes a while back which benefited him and the rest of the Jews greatly down the road. He is also responsible for encouraging Esther to approach the King about stopping Haman from wiping out their people. He was her only support system and without this encouragement, Esther never would have approached the King about this issue.
Esther was so brave and did just what her cousin told her to do.. turns out she was "Queen for such a time as this!" AHHHHHHH! In case you didn't get that through my excited yelling, God's perfect plan/ timing was revealed when the King gave her anything she wanted because she was his Queen and she respected him and he was crazy about her (what mutual love!). He also owed Mordecai a favor for saving his life, thus resulting in Haman being killed and her people being saved! ALL BECAUSE OF GOD'S TIMING. None of this would have worked out the way it did if it wasn't precisely set up in that order and fashion. God is so neaaaaaat.

All this to say that this "precise plan" thing is going on in you and me at this very moment.
"See your singleness as a gift and solitude as your time of preparation for a good relationship. It's all about positioning. During her time of preparation, Esther did everything she was taught to do in order to win the eye, admiration and affection of a man she had never met. God positioned her right where she needed to be to win Xerxes heart and save her people. Singlehood is not a death sentence, it's a time of preparation and positioning."

So many people think singleness is such a suckfest, and at times.. yeah, it's just that. I don't think any season of life is going to be all sunshine and rainbows, whether you're single or not, but singleness is also something that is supposed to be used for your benefit and for God's glory. Press into Him. For all of us who claim to be followers of Christ, there is such a distinction between the label "Christian" and having a relationship with the god you claim to follow. He wants a relationship with you.
Modern language talk -- If you're in a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend you don't just hit them up whenever you need something from them. You want to be with/ talk to this person all the time! You really like this person. That's just how Jesus longs for your relationship to be with Him, boy or girl. No He's not your boyfriend.. but as His child you are in a relationship with Him.

If you claim to love Him, wouldn't you want to spend time with Him?
There's no better time to start than now! He's waitin for ya :)

It's a great day to be a bobcat

Last night was our first home game, which means the first time for the Texas State University Strutters to take the field this football season. We played against Texas Tech in a sold out (new!) stadium--  literally thank God I don't get scared dancing in front of huge crowds anymore, growing up dancing for CBC prepared me for most crowds I'd dance for in my life and now I'm just comfortable. Well, most of the time;)      
 Pre-game the Texas State Strutters and members of our ROTC had the privilege of unfurling the American flag from goal post to goal post. Walking past the crowd you could hear everyone screaming for whatever school they were supporting, but soon all of those chants changed to "USA! USA!" and being able to carry that flag and watch as members of our armed forces flew overhead has never made me feel more patriotic. Strutting out of the tunnel for the first time AND with one of my best friends Taylor was so fun. This was our first time to dance together after years of dancing in the same district!
Right when I made the team everyone would always ask me if I was excited to be a Strutter and I would usually honestly reply with a neutral answer. Most of these people asked me this question during the two weeks of Strutter camp which probably isn't the best time to ask haha. We lost last night, but I came home and was just so happy. Not that we lost, but because I looked back and remembered telling myself in the past that I told myself I didn't want to go to Texas State, I wanted to go to a private school and move somewhere out of Texas. And I remember telling myself that I would probably never try out for Strutters because I didn't want to go through the whole team experience again just because I did it during high school and could check it off my list, but God orchestrated my life and I ended up doing both of those things despite what I had intended to do. So last night after the game I came home and just thought about that and became overwhelmed because I'm exactly where the Lord wants me for such a time as this. This was all His doing and I'm having the time of my life.

We Are

Today is the last day of Summer. Usually I'd be dreading it, but this time I'm actually anxious for school. My life is about to get rolling!

I started off my last day of Summer at church. I met some new people and enjoyed worship. Most of the time worship is where I feel the Lord speak to me the most in a church service. I just love music and I think He knows that. Don't get me wrong, sermons have such a powerful purpose too. Speaking of sermons.. haha in the one I listened to today we read through Matthew 5. At two completely different points of the message, relating to two completely different things, Matthew 5:14 was brought up. "You are the light of the world" // that's talking about us ya'll! 

If you know me you know that I love Kari Jobe so immediately this song started playing in my crazy little head. 

But even more than that, tomorrow is the first day of school (for most of us anyway). For those of us who are in Christ, we are called to be just that.. a light! We hear it all the time but this morning my eyes were opened to a little different perspective. What good is it to be a light in an area that's already lit up? We are called to go out into the world into the areas of darkness so that we can shine that light we've been given. I don't know about ya'll but I am SO excited to get this year rolling and to start things in my new surroundings with new people.

We had a pep rally tonight and now I am relaxing because tomorrow things are going to start to get CRAZY. I have stuff pretty much every day/night of the week. We'll see what the weekend holds..

But anyways, I'm praying for everyone who will be starting school this week. 

I'd love to hear how everyone's first week goes! And to all of the people who have been wanting to hear how my first days go feel free to call me! I love phone calls. And it will probably be easier for me to share with you haha. Tomorrow my only class is Strutters but Tuesday and Thursdays are rough so call me anytime after my classes on Tuesday to get an update.

This is all a little strange starting over as an upperclassmen when most people get that chance as a freshman. It was such a crazy ride up until this point, but I'm extremely thankful all that craziness made me end up where I am now. 

But the Lord says do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. -- watch all the new things He is going to do! Isaiah 43:19 

Harder said than done, but I'm ready Lord!