What's for dinner?

It's such a great night for soup.  I'm looking for tried and true amazing recipes, if you have such a recipe that you'd like to share-please comment below! :) 

Here's the soup recipe I made for super tonight; our family loves it! You may want to give it a try. The recipe is from Betty Crocker, but added to that recipe is chicken breast.  Annnnd, I don't use mushrooms (I still don't have that mature-taste acquired yet, I suppose).  Enjoy!

Wild Rice Soup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)

1 medium carrot, coarsely shredded (1 cup)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup

1/4 cup Original Bisquick® or Bisquick Heart Smart® mix

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, if desired

1 cup water

1 can (10 1/2 oz) condensed chicken broth

1 1/2 cups canned or frozen cooked wild rice

1 cup half-and-half

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

chicken brest

1. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and bell pepper; cook about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
2. Stir in Bisquick mix, salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in water, broth and wild rice. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in half-and-half, chicken, almonds and parsley. Heat just until hot (do not boil).

Makes 4 servings (1 1/4 cups each)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! 

I love my Nan. ;)

Anna is a diligent, hard working, tree climberin', generous, hugging, kiddo-crazy girl.  

 Me and my little sis may not see eye to eye...(ever, she's shorter than me!) but I know when we do have little fights, we will be back to normal in no time. She forgives and- forgets about disagreements quickly!

 Anner is strong willed, stubborn, and caring. But those are not bad qualities to have. Just gotta use them for good. :P  Right Nan?

"She is a very bubbly outgoing gal.. can be very hyperactive if allowed.. haha" -Ebony :) Yeah, I think so too.

She has a way with little kids she loves them to death-and they think she's amazing! I don't know how she does it. :) Anna is going to make a great nanny someday (and mom!).  *The kids in this picture are our little cousins Annabelle and AJ.  She loved hanging out with them both while they were visiting.  Anna is really considered our baby fairy; she ALWAYS is willing to hold them, and do whatever to help the mommas. 

So, here's to my littlest best friend/sister ever. I love you Anna! 

God's Grace and Wonderful Sufficiency

God has shown me I need to be ever so grateful for the people He has put in my life.  Each of you have helped me learn and grow more in Christ.  Here are some of the different types of people that influence the way I live my life, and how I think.

Some people some people in my life have different view points than mine; and you challenge me to think about why I believe what I believe-and for that matter- what I do believe. You challenge me to get into God's Holy word that is truth (John 17:17b).  You drive me find out what godly people have to say on whatever subject.  I hope I put His command's and word into action.

Some people in my life are an amazing example of following hard; I look up to you as sisters and brothers in Christ. You make me want to want God more.  You make me keep God as the love of my life.  You make me want to love God supremely.

 "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus," -1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV

Some people in my life are struggling with some the same things I am/was; and you help me get through  tough times. You understand where I come from.  I love praying with you, talking about God's amazing-ness, and talking about what God is teaching us all. It's actually amazing to come broken, realizing that we are NOT perfect and we don't have everything together, but like it says in Philippians 3, we strive to glorify God and make his name GREAT!

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  -Philippians 3:12-14 ESV

God has been teaching me so much lately; one thing being- that it is possible to be content, happy and joyful with my heart belonging and held by my Savior. I don't always have to like somebody, or really care about who likes who. I can be CONTENT. I have hope! It was not a short, snap conclusion. It took  time, prayer, reflection, writing, talking, tears, and finally realizing I have everything I truly need. Lamentations 3:21-26 has been an amazing encouragement to me lately.  I must remember these verses as well:

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." -Philippians 4:19-20 ESV

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."     -Philippians 4:11 ESV

Why do I find it so hard to share all of the great hope we ALWAYS have no matter how crappy my day or week, or month is going.  How do people who do not have God to run to with their concerns make it through the day?!  I should be sharing the hope all the time. Why don't I?  It seems like it should be the easiest task of all.

"Keep your life free from love of money [or any other people, or things are an idol], and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,    

'The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?'"
 -Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV

PRAISE GOD for bringing just the right people into life when I need them. God is so gracious in that way. Amen. And amen. :)

Be Thankful

Some things I'm thankful for...

Iowa nature-There's so much beauty to be found in a sunset. And even a buck bounding across a field is fun to see.

Books- They deliver messages from a different time, different places and multiple perspectives. The book (the Bible) preserves and delivers the TRUTH, the most important message in life. 

The color purple-Gets me into an artsy mood. It's rich, deep, warm, and sophisticated.

Water-I'm am soooo thankful for clean tasteless water!

Songs that fit my life- Don't you love it when you can totally relatet to a song? If its a reason to celebrate the song lifts your spirits higher, helps you to be thankful etc. If its a tuff thing you are going through the song about it lets you know you aren't the only one that has been through something like that. 

Fluffy pooshy pillow- So comfy. :)

Parents who are loving and understanding- I love my Daddy and Mommy!

My church-We have great, godly examples to look up to in our church. I love the family of Christ!

How could I make this list without mentioning my sisters, and amazing friends. :) All of these things make my life so much better. I praise God for them all. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dear deep-thinking and messy Brain,

You have spent enough time dabbling in nostalgic ideas. Seriously, brain you're only a little older than 16 years. Be patient. God already knows what your life will be like. Trust the God-who made you, and this designed world and everything in it-with your little tiny life. Don't be so self-concerned. Get a grip.

Your main goal MUST be to make much of your Creator. Now, why should that be a difficult thing Brain? It should seem like simple gratitude: to serve, love, and adore the God who saved your soul. How do people get through the simple everyday- and bigger events, without the ever-present comfort and peace of Jesus Christ?

Brain, you have some pretty crazy ideas; why can't you bring yourself to share your hope that is within your person? The God that holds your heart, when you think you're gonna throw up. The God who is the maker of every good and perfect gift. The God who is always a steady support-He never changes. It doesn't make sense, Brain. I think you're scared you won't know what to say; that you won't come up with the words.

Remember Brain? Moses thought the same thing-he wasn't good with words, and God wanted to use him, to deliver His messages to Pharaoh. He missed out on blessings. I am commanded to share the good news in all the world, and dear brain of mine, I require your cooperation. God sent His only Son-perfect, spotless, sinless-down to the earth, to pay for all of the sins of this corrupt and evil world; He died, was buried, and ROSE again the third day. He is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father today. It's the story that's worth retelling, and rehearing over and over again. Hallelujah!

Hallelujah, there is more to life than your little dramatic spats, getting money, and living, dying-without a purpose-more than to live the American dream. A fun job, lovely house, creative clothes, and an amazing family of your own; are perfectly good things to want and have, as long as they don't steal God's spot (#1) in Heart. Alas there in-lies the problem: my Heart has rather failed at keeping God my first priority.

Yes, Heart, you may be a little lost with all of this conferencing with Brain... Don't worry about it. Cling to your Savior, He's the ultimate. Just do it. Be stubborn in your holding to Jesus. Be determined not to let yourself drift far from your Abba-Father. When you are in a tumultuous situation; He is capable of guiding you into a peaceful harbor.

Don't deceive Brain, Heart of mine. Who really can really know you. Brain sometimes tries to understand, but really, she doesn't understand the why's behind some your favorites, Heart. Brain is a curious sort, she wants to know what makes people tick, what some people know, and what people had for dinner that day. (Stomach may, or may not have had some input on that last one.) Brain hopes to understand someday, by God reveling to her some of the God-glorifying purposes to your self-propelled actions, or from some situations. For, I know, it's ALL for HIS glory; in the end.

So, Brain and Heart; I urge you to constantly think about your loving, caring Savior. Anytime, all the time. Oh? That's like an obsession, you say? Yes, yes it is. Your new goal is to be OBSESSED. Couldn't be that hard, you know how to obsess about other things. Because your person knows you a bit more than most, I'm gonna say it shall be difficult. But logically, it shouldn't be. So, pray, communicate with God often. And trust. Trust that He knows what He's doing with your small lives.

P.S. If at all possible, could you two get off the superman kick?

Sincerely,

Your person.

~Cally Faith

A book of Purple and Swirls

This has been one of my favorite means of doing art lately. Using an art journal requires no special skill or supplies; its a great versatile means of getting your thoughts and ideas recorded... It's really nice cause it doesn't have to be perfect (and it's definitely not). I could improve pages whenever I want to. :) Art journals can be used as a notebook, schedule/planner, doodle book, major scrapbook, photo "album..." basically anything you want! I actually am going to put the scraps like receipts and random findings in my purse on a page. Anything can be used, it makes your book really unique!

I guess I'll just tell the story of my art journal with the photos of the book. If you want to share any inspirations for a page please let me know! I could always use ideas.

I say just do it. You'll be glad you did. I think it's a lot of fun. It's good for short attention-spans, because it's not like you're striving to get everything coordinated, and FINISHED. The fun is the process of the making.

|inˈspīr|verb [ trans. ]1 fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative

Photos, photos, photos!

Long-promised photos have finally made their way to my blog!

Grammy and Papa holding their second grandson- Asher Clark Johnson. He is so precious. We traveled up there on Asher's birthday-10.10.10 to greet him and be with Manda and Charlie. Praise God for this little one!

Mr. Chub cheeks Lando-man had his first sleepover at Grammie's last weekend. Spent quite a bit of time outside enjoying the lovely autumn weather, talking stroller rides, playing in the leaves, and sitting around the campfire.

Doesn't quite know what to think of the leaf pile... Looks like he enjoyed the sunset though! :) Look at the size of those cheeks-and the double chin! Isn't he suuuper cute!?

Oh, and this one I decided to randomly throw this pic. in the mix. Thank you, aunt Darlene for the very creative, artsy leg warmers! They make me pretty happy.

If you like chic flicks... I just watched Letters to Juliet last night with a couple of friends, and its really cute, I would prolly watch it again. While we watched the movie we also worked on our art journals*.

Well, more like, I attempted to work on my art journal, buuuuut it's hard for me to watch a movie I've never seen and do something else at the same time. So, I ended up glueing like four things in my book; big progress! :P But I had a lot of fun at least attempting to be creative last night!

Have an absolutely amazing weekend!

*Next post will be most of my pages from my art journal, so you can get a handle on what it is...

Teenager for 3 more years

What will I be doing in 10 years from now? I'll dream up the general idea and sketch it here for you...Jump in the time machine- the year is 2020!

I'm 26 years old. My profession is professional camera work, capturing any footage I can in photo or video for NBC news after natural disasters or anything that has unfolded on the world screen. If you think that's the cool part of my job- getting to go to cool places, and showing people what is happening back home- you'll love this part. In my spare time my husband and I get to be missionaries and help needy people world wide. It's so cool to see God work in people's lives. He is alive and our ever-present help in time of trouble.

Pretty soon I think we will turn to settling down more, I want to be a mommy sometime...But for now I love my job! We live in a beautiful home set in the wonderful mountain air of Colorado. Eventually I would like to have my own photography business here in CO; can you imagine having your Senior pictures in the Mountains of Colorado?! I think it's a great opportunity.

When we are not busy traveling, we love to enjoy the gorgeous vistas of our state, hiking, skiing at Breckenridge, and looking at the lovely snow capped Mts. from our backyard. My favorite drink is water straight from a mountain stream, so crisp! We love enjoying God's creation in many ways, and praising Him. I enjoy homer days with my husband, and watching football on Sunday afternoon, and crocheting knitting, or sewing things for the children we get to meet on our travels.

We love to have people come to our home, so be sure to stop by sometime soon! Just make sure we haven't flown off to Africa...

Well, that's a "picture perfect" for me in ten years. I don't know about all of the traveling but, some would be alright. :) Who knows, maybe corn is still in my future... I do love Iowa too- creek wading, walking in the corn rows in my backyard, and playing in the dirt. No matter what my future holds, I know God has my life all worked out and He knows it all! I'm so thankful it's not just up to us to stumble through life and that's it. We have a bigger purpose, God has a wonderful plan! Strive to seek His will for your life in the moments.

And the seasons color...

Changes; it's what fall is about. the changing of color from greens- to purple, red, orange, browns....eventually all will be padded in a soft, yet brilliant white that was gently sifted from the sky; but, not too soon please! Fall coaxes the change in fashion; from shorts and tanks, into jeans and a soft sweater. The season even brings some change in my diet--carmel seems to be floating around the kitchen some, apples seem more abundant, and soon we will be having soups, and such more. :) The changes for fall don't stop here though...

Yesterday afternoon I caved and yanked out my wintertime blankets--a "down comforter," and a cotton blanket- along with my bed spread and sheets. Only 4 layers for now, but once the temperature drops for the season; I will have a formidable addition to my lovely layered collection atop my twin mattress. That is my heating blanket... Which could be the equivalent to MULTIPLE blankets!

By this description, you should be able to tell... I am such a wimp when it comes to being cold. I like to say, I have "rainbow skin"- in the winter... You know, all of the "normal" shades: red, oddly white, positively purple, annnnd a mixture of the 3! I should take the temperature of my hands when they feel like ice; I wonder what their true temperature would be. Mmmm, I may give that a try.

This morning proved to be super warm--a scorching 32 degrees Fahrenheit; glad I decided to get out those cozy blankets. :) I'm looking forward to more fall-like happenings- campfires, hot chocolate, apple cider, hay, barn parties, Thanksgiving break (I'm ALREADY excited for it, only about 2 months to go, right!?), and super crunchy-sounding leaves... All make me happy.

Amazing Eyes...

Those of you that know me pretty well, probably know that I have a keen lookout for pretty-and all of those adjectives...- eyes. :o) Its one of my quirks. Well, When I was pursing the Bible on the iPod touch and I came across a great verse to back me up on what you can tell about a person by just their eyes!
The verses are Matthew 6:22-23 (I think I'll be adding these to my favorite verses, at least verse 22.)-
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

This little one's eyes are super intense! Whoa. haha

The eye is the lamp of the body. You can communicate so much with just a glance... I think its really neat how God designed us!

Well, finding these verses brightened up my evening, and I thought I would share what I found with ya'll. More on life later. I'll post pictures sometime...I will! Drop me a note. I would like to hear from you!

Prayer: Where two or three are gathered...

This morning at 7 a.m. my family -including my Daddy (!)- and many other individuals that have a connection with Waterloo Christian Academy, gathered around the flag pole. We assembled to pray for our nation, the school, and its teachers.

I praise the Lord that we live in the United States where it is completely legal to take a public stand, read the Bible, and pray out in the open. This morning already many people at public schools around the country have taken a step out of their comfort zone and talked to God around the flag pole.

Prayer is much needed right now in these days of moral corruptness, blindness, and evil. We should rise to the occasion and be prayer warriors; praising God profusely for the showers of blessing He has given us, and beseeching Him faithfully for the salvation of lost souls. But we cannot say, "well I did my share... it's time for someone else to step up!" we must be willing to follow God's leading and put our prayer into action. Now, I'm not saying I have this down, I'm writing this to be a reminder for myself... Ask God to assist us to have the boldness to complete the purpose of our existence: to glorify Him.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." -John Piper

Lord,

Make it "our desire to join God the Father in magnifying the supremacy of his glory through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. By grace through faith we aim to ...

• treasure all that God is
• love all whom he loves
• pray for all his purposes
• meditate on all his Word
• be sustained by all his grace."*

Please give each of us the strength and will to make You, and Your love for people known here in our daily lives. Help us to find ways to stay/be wholly satisfied in You. On any day, working on any task, whether that is playing volleyball, working at a thrift store, being a stay at home mom, or being the pilot of a huge fighter plane in the air force... Lord, make yourself glorified through our lives.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

*Excerpt from mission and vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Visit their website at hopingod.org

Surprise, surprise!

Hey guys!

I'm actually going to update my blog this week, so keep checking. :) Facebook-less for a week. (*Dun, Dun, DUUUUUN*)

Yes, it's hard but it's good to make yourself go without something for a time. Too much of a good thing...yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, I hope to be spending more time in personal devotions, and memorizing; getting back on track. I'll be taking the time to be still and meditate on the purely awesome God we should be serving with our entire being. Why is that difficult?!

I know in my life it's too easy to forget all about the One who allows us to live with a free will, and loves us tremendously, and is always with us. Just a thought, random but, for me its true.

I want to love God supremely; and have Him be the focus of my thoughts, actions, and conversation. My stupid fallen-ness gets in the way here on earth; but with God's help we can mature spiritually, and grow in Christ-likeness each day. Join me as I pursue a deeper relationship with the great Creator of the universe, the one who allows us to call Him "Abba."

Be looking for more to come shortly!

Summer Tiiiiime...

So, Olivia and I were at Target and decided to get some fun, and really obnoxiously RED lipstick. Oh my goodness. When I was putting it on we totally were cracking up, we were on the way to my house... Livi put hers on before we went in the house. We walk in the house and start absolutely loosing it. My mom walks over and she sees me on the floor, and she says something like like "are you ok? You're not ok are you." It must have looked like we were crying! Oh good times.

On Wednesday I was getting rather tired of all the rain we had been having and thought we may as well make the best of the situation and have a soap slip n' slide! Miranda, Kristine, Anna, Olivia M., April, and Livi were there. That was really soapy... At least it wasn't that muddy though! After we had our fill of the slide we all went back to my house and played Pit.

A fence running along our backyard made a great makeshift dock... :) The water in one place was over my knees; yet, we had no water in our basement. Praise the Lord!

Reflections. Yeah, this is upside down. :)

One of my FAVORITE summer time snacks are snow peas straight from our garden, it's like candy. Really. Soooo good.

Well, from here on out it might get a little crazy... 1. I may get to detassel next week. Yay for 5 AM mornings. 2. I leave for Kansas city, Kansas next Monday (July 19th) for a ministry trip with my youth team. Your prayers for people to be impacted spiritually during the week would be grand. Pray for our team that is making the haul, and for the youth group we're helping out, and for the teens we reach out to in Kansas, to have a willing heart to listen and trust God. Thank you! 3. Sr. High camp is right after I get back from the ministry trip, I have 1 day (Sunday) to relax catch up on sleep and do laundry before Sr. High. I'm SO excited for camp though! 4. Sr. High rolls right into Family Camp 4; I'll be staying in Clear Lake probably in between the two camps... :) 5. Before I know it I'll be back at volleyball, and starting the very difficult and time consuming task of slaying the dragons named Algebra 2, and Chemistry. Phew.

For now, I'm very glad it's summer; I'm totally enjoying it! Stay cool. :P

Minnesota Visiting.

For the past few days I've been hanging out with this couple, :). I've made cake, and lemon bread, (from a package -haha); I also attempted to make homemade macaroni and cheese, and carmel corn but they didn't work out so well... Let's just say- now I know what butterscotch is made of, and basically how they make it.

We had a nice outing to Lake Minnetonka on Sunday night, took pictures and watched cars and boats.

Last night Charlie took me to my first baseball game. It was mmm, ok. And I can't believe people pay SOOO much money for their beers! ;) Twins lost but it was a nice day to be at the ball park. Oh, I thought when the choir sang the national anthem it was cool that "red rockets" actually glared "boms" bursted in air-in time with the song. Pretty neat!

We have had a case of *ah-achooo* the busies!

Since last Wednesday lots of things have changed. I am now an aunt to an adorable little boy who's name (of which most of you already know) is Landon Reed Larson. He was born last Wednesday night at 8:32 pm. On Thursday after my American Lit. class the family buzzed down to see the Larson family in the hospital. He's so precious! Grammie and Grandpa, and Aunties, are thrilled to have him here. If you want to see pictures, look on facebook.

On Friday we changed the number of states that I remember visiting. We went through Indiana, and Ohio, to get to Kentucky, to get to the Creation Museum. So, that's three more states to add to my list! :) A random tid-bit: I watched Phantom of the Opera for the first time on the way to the museum; it was sad. Livi got to come with my family on the trip and that made the 8 1/2-9 hour road trip lots more fun. Anna took this photo at one of our pit stops at a rest area, it was raining that's why we have our hoods up.
The Creation museum was good, but there was lots of reading and information that you could soak up if you took the time... But about 6 hours there was good enough-for my feet, and brain! :P The landscaping at the museum was beautiful. The tulips were in full-swing, as you can see.
Watch the slide show on the side of the page for a few more pictures.

Life... A somewhat brief analogy

On my internet explorer server what-cha-ma-call-it there is the option to have many different tabs open so you can be on different sites at once. Now, this is not new news, but tonight I looked at the tabs I had open at the time; and thought this kinda describes my life lately. Let me explain.

I have a tab open that would be representing schooling right now, it's http://www.readprint.com/author-147/Martha-Finley-books, I'm interested in this right about now because I have to do research for an American Literature class assignment. Martha Finley is the American author I've chosen for the subject of the "research project." That is in quotes because for the assignment we have to do the research and bibliography and all; except we don't have to actually write the paper. :)

Next I have keeping in touch tabs- facebook.com and gmail.com. Enough said? :P

Susiemag.com comes next and this is a bit of a fuzzy analogy to my relationship with God as I grow and learn. Lately I have been learning more about trusting God with summer plans, the future... Connecting with other Christian girls has been a fun experience on susiemag.com. Two of my essays have been "published" on the site in the creative corner.

This site blogger.com that I'm writing on is next in the line-up of tabs. Yeah, I haven't updated very often...

Thttp://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMulberryButton?ga_search_query=themulberrybutton&ga_search_type=seller_usernames This is the link to the next tab creativity-ness. :P If you're in my contacts for email, you may have got an alert about this small business that a friend and I have started, about a week and a half ago. If you haven't checked us out go for it! I was making jewelry somewhat recently, it's fun to do, but I think I go in spurts. :P If you already have looked at our shop, thank you for taking the time to.

And lastly, after I had this whole relating my tabs to my life thought, I opened pandora.com. Music is also a part of my life. :) Do you have any suggestions for new CDs for me to listen to? Right now I'm listening to Captains and Cruise Ships by Owl City... My thoughts on that, Owl City has VERY random thoughts in his songs. But, apparently he's a Christian?

I've enjoyed playing the piano recently. I like the song Dream Scene for now; also, Wonderful Words of Life is quite fun. I have a cool arrangement for Wonderful Words of Life, I played for church, at a home school program, and I'm going to play it again this spring at an awards ceremony thingy...

So, generally that has been my life as of late- OH! I couldn't forget photography! But if you're my friend on facebook, you can look at pretty recent photos on my page. I might post some on here soon. I very much enjoy taking pictures. So, if you want to do a photoshoot, let me know, I'd probably be willing. :)

God’s Perfect Timing

Do you ever sit in a message at church thinking "Goodness, I’ve been hearing a lot about that lately!" God has a way of reaching his children with a message, something that is emphasized in messages, it seems, wherever a sermon is taught. It’s awesome that God orchestrates just what He wants us to hear. But how many times must He stick it in our thick heads, until we hear it and apply it? Perhaps you’ve read a devotional book and a topic has applied perfectly to your situation in life. God has perfect timing for all of his messages. He gives us reminders of His promises and symbols of His love demonstrated toward us, such as the cross and communion. He is a personal God who has done you a personal “favor” (John 3:16) and for the whole world if they would believe. He knows exactly what you need to hear, understand, and apply to your life.
Everywhere you go you are placed there for a reason; God will give you the words He wants you to say if you ask Him to help you. Don’t waste your opportunities to learn and grow, and praise God. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:15). Anything you read or listen to that comes from the Word of God has the power to change you; no matter how many times you’ve heard the passage, it should be just as powerful to you as it was the very first time you heard or read it. Ask God to show you something you haven't thought about, before you start your devotions, or go to church; be alert and look for what God is teaching you.
Devotions are a great way to see God work in his magnificent timing. Doing daily devotions keep you grounded in the Word. If you have a devotional book written by a godly example there are many everyday applications to apply to your life. Make sure the devotional also has scripture quoted; because getting into the Bible everyday is important as well. Proverbs would be great to read along with a devotional. It has instruction on guarding your heart (Proverbs 4), the importance of being obedient (Proverbs 3), and a myriad of wisdom that is scattered throughout the entire book. We need wisdom, submissiveness, and we can always learn from words of wisdom; it would be good to get these character qualities working through our brains on a regular basis.
God brings these reminders to our lives just when we need them, reminders such as the symbols of communion, the cross, and even rainbows. God uses people sometimes to communicate reminders of the ultimate showing of love, Jesus’ death on the cross, and His resurrection. There was a sermon delivered recently at Iowa Regular Baptist Camp, and the preacher, Joe Fox, gave a real and heart-wrenching description of what Jesus went through at the crucifixion, it was powerful, and needed. It was a call to praise and thank Jesus for doing that for me!
We must not get calloused to the great stories and verses of the Bible. We must not let ourselves slip into “auto mode” when we go to church or crack open a Bible. We must not forget that God uses what we are going through to grow us into a people that are more like Him. So pay attention in church on Sunday, when you have your personal devotions, and in your ordinary day to day life. Remember that-if you have trusted Christ as your savior alone-God is orchestrating your life. He will have the glory in the end, so why not praise him in what you are experiencing today?


This week is spring break! I don't really know what I'm going to be doing, but I'm sure it'll be fun. What are you all doing? I'll post again soon!