Keep on truckin'

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" -Jeremiah 29:11

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight"- Proverbs 3:5-6

Hello All! Sorry it's been a little while, my last couple weeks have been nuts with school and this week is spring break which i find hasn't been a break. But it's so nice to get a break from school. I posted those two verse because 1- I love them 2- they are true and 3- I feel like some people need to hear them or i guess read them. It is absolutely crazy to me to think that before i was even born, God had a plan for me. He says before you are even in the womb, he knew you! Nuts. Have you ever been in a situation and tried to think back to the beginning and put all the events together.. for example, you really don't want to go out one night but a friend really needs some encouragement or is begging you to go and so you go- and you have so much fun! Or as I have mentioned, one day i really did not want to go to work but had to go in and i ran into my old friend. If i had not gone into work, I would have not been able to talk with the friend going through a rough time and invite her to church. I probably would have never known her situation. BUT i believe that there are no such things as accidents or coincidences, I think it's all apart of God's plan. I look back at certain things and think if i had never done this or been there- that would have never happened! Like what if i had never moved across the street from eden's grandma. I would have never met eden, never would have started going to church with her, never would have gone to falls creek, never would be been saved! It's just crazy to think about it that way. Yes, some people could say, "well maybe you would have gone to a different church or things would have happened differently" - but it was in my plan to meet eden, to go to church, to go to three different colleges, and to stumble upon a little church i had never heard of before. If you really start to look at the things that have happened in your life, you can kind of start to connect some dots and think "this happened which led to this" and so on and so on. My whole point here is that God has a plan for you. He says it over and over in the bible and not just a plan to live a mediocre life. It says in John 10:10 that he came "so that you may have life, and have it abundandtly"- not poorly or tragically or anything else bad- ABDUNDANT. God has so many wonderful things in store for every single person- but you have to be faithful and have to listen. I have found that listening is a really hard thing to do. Sometimes I get these feelings that i am supposed to say hi to this person or that i should invite that person to church or even just smile at someone- and I truly believe that's God. Once you start listening, your life will change and will be so blessed. I have had so many wonderful things happen to me lately and I really feel like it's because i stopped thinking about myself and what i wanted and started listening to God and trusting what he had planned for my life. I never thought I would be writing in a blog but i have come to really enjoy it. so many awful things happen to us in our lives - many things that we will never understand. Like my dad dying when i was twelve- i don't know if I grew stronger from that or if it was a wake up call to someone else or who knows- All i know is that everyone has to leave this earth one day and it was his time. God knows everything that is going to happen to us. Jesus came and walked on this earth to experience all that we go through. I mean think about it, he was lied to, betrayed, shunned, and even beaten to death! They cruified him, not like "oh we don't like you and think you're crazy so let's just shoot him so he won't be around anymore"- they brutally murdered him. It seems kinda silly to think that he could go through all that and we get hung up on some relationship or break up or bad grade or whatever. It's like the second verse at the top- lean not on your understanding- we will never fully understand the things that God does and we aren't supposed to. Just have faith in the Lord. I have had some really hard times in my life that i thought well this is it- i am going to be miserable for the rest of my life and you know what- I made it through them. So if you are a person who is going through a bad break up with someone or thinks they will never get into a certain school or can't seem to get a job or anything- just know that God has a plan for you! He has an abundant life planned for you! I have a girl in my graduate program who applied to UCO with all her friends and did not get in. That year, she got pregnant and had a baby. She then turned around and applied the next year (with use) and got it! If she had of gotten in the year before, the stress of pregnancy and school might have been too much! When she told me her story, it was one of those times when i was like man God really does have perfect timing! For the longest time, i wanted Aaron to ask me to marry him. We had gotten the ring like two summers ago and he had mentioned one time that he was waiting for me to graduate.. but every special occasion or holiday i was hoping it was coming. Thanksgiving came, no ring, then christmas, then new years, then valentines day, then i graduated and still no ring! Then our anniversary, then the entire summer, then both our birthdays, halloween, thanksgiving and still nothing! Then December 16th, 2011, he proposed, and it was perfect. Now all the wedding planning just fits the right time. Everything is working out really well for only having 6 months to plan. I just know that it is the right time for this to happen. I don't know why i ever doubt in God's timing because it always works out!

My message to everyone today is do not give up! God has a tremendous plan for your life!! Every single person in this world is special. God calls us his "masterpiece"- he sent his only son to die on the cross when he was innocent because he loves us so much. So whenever you feel like you can't go on anymore no matter what the reason, just know that God loves you and he does have something great in mind for you. One of my favorite verses that i heard once and really stuck with me "cast all of your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7. No matter what you are struggling with, give that thing to God. There is nothing too big or too small for him to handle and he wants to take care of it for you. Be faithful and trust in God and he will never leave your side.