Give thanks

So I too decided to be cliche today and write a thankfulness blog. It's too hard to pass up - I have so much to be thankful for!!!
Something I've always been thankful for..Now, more than ever I think is it real to me...
JESUS CHRIST, the one who saved little old me when I was not even worth saving! He's been my Heavenly Father forever, but really since the age of 7 when I accepted him and life has never been the same! It's been quite an exciting ride thus far and I keep seeing Him more and more in my life!

Another thing I'm thankful for...
My fantastic and loving parents! I feel so incredibly thankful to have been born an only child. Some may say spoiled, but I say blessed! It's brought me a lot closer to my parents, and I've learned a lot from them! They've always been there for me through EVERYTHING and I wouldn't trade 'em.

Another thing...This amazing little band called HAWK NELSON and these amazing girls that I've met because of them. They've become some of my best friends and I honestly don't know where I'd be in life without them!! They have been so uplifting and such an encouragement to me through some wild and crazy times. And this band Hawk Nelson loves Jesus as much as I do and are probably some of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Not to mention their music is catchy and amazing and uplifting! Who cares if we see them "too much" or spend "too much" money on them? We're making lifetime memories and it's all worth it! =)

One thing that I'm definitely thankful for that is a dream come true...
Working as a student worker with UK Athletics! It's such an AMAZING opportunity...I kinda get chills standing on the floor of Rupp Arena or in the press box at Commonwealth Stadium sometimes when a game is about to start. I guess it's hard to describe when you haven't grown up being a UK fan but it's so cool! Thinking about the tradition of UK sports and how I'd watched these teams for so long on TV...And thinking about all the opportunities I'll hopefully have later on down the road...it's really exciting! There's a lot of options though so I'm really just praying for God to lead me in the right direction...

Finally, one more big overarching thing to be thankful for...My AMAZING friends and family!!! I have some of the most fantastic friends in the entire world! I guess everyone says that but I guess it's just because God picks out all the right friends for each particular person! They all fit my personality in different ways and add to my life and bless it in such a big way =) I'm so thankful for all of them!!!

On top of all these things..there's SO much more to be thankful for. I was just hitting the highlights...Just a few to name...A warm home, cute clothes, food on my table, great health, Starbucks, football, music, fun pretty girly things like jewelry and nice-smelling things, the opportunity for an education, a new car, etc. etc. etc....I could go on forever about everything I've been blessed with. But I won't..I don't want to bore or sound conceited..But really..Even though we all get down, God picks us back up and makes us remember what He has given us! I feel like I'm letting God down if I'm not thankful for what He's given me! So I challenge everyone to make a list of what they're thankful for and give all the praise to God! I'm so thankful for everyone readings this (at least all of you that I know who read this...). Happy Thanksgiving!!!

There will be a day

So I realized I hadn't blogged in awhile...and the last one was a bit of a downer. So I wanted to have a more positive blog :)

"There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face".

If you didn't know, that's lyrics to J.Camp's latest single! (New CD "Speaking Louder Than Before" out today!!) He is AMAZING. If you don't know his story (which I'm fairly sure most people reading this do)..BUT, just in case...A few years ago his young wife got cancer and they still got married anyway. Talk about a real life "A Walk to Remember" story! She passed on to heaven and he, surely, went through alot, dealing with the pain of that loss but with the joy of her passing as well. Since then, he has remarried and has one (maybe two? I forget..) beautiful children and a lovely wife. (Doesn't hurt that he's BEAUTIFUL, too!) Check him out:
Jeremy Camp - Take You Back

Anyway...the main point of this blog is...Isn't it awesome to think about that no matter how much pain, tears, fears, stress, death, loss, sin, backstabbing, misery, agony, and so on there is on this earth...One day that will all be wiped away and we'll be aloud to spend ETERNITY with the one who saved us and knows/sees all! Amazing? The word amazing barely scratches the surface! BREATHTAKING! AWEINPSIRING! I don't think any earthly word can describe how blessed we are to even be considered to be loved by Him. And we're loved unconditionally and the ultimate sacrifice (His life) was given for us. What did we do to deserve it? Nothing! Should we be ever grateful? Of course! Throughout all the pain, if someone like Jeremy Camp who has lost everything, only (with God's help) to rebuild it all, I should certainly be able to rejoice in all things.

I just can't wait for that blessed day...

This little light of mine

The events of the past week or so makes this song I've sung at church before come to mind...

" We're living in uncertain times
And more and more I find that i'm aware
Of just how fragile life can be"

That's just a small bit of a song by Avalon called "Everything to Me"..Old school Christian group..In fact, I probably couldn't tell you a single other thing they sang..But that one I think is definitely a good one.

Within 8 days time 3 people (2 of which I know of and have met) that are all around or at my age have died in separate car wrecks (well 2 in the same one, but anyway)...When they announced that some people from a Christian campus group I attended freshman year had died in a wreck my heart sank to the floor. I just prayed that it wasn't someone I knew..Even if it wasn't, however, it was going to be someone that some person out there DID know...And they were going to be lost for words on how to get through the next few days, week, months, maybe even years..I was heartbroken to find out it was in fact someone I knew of and that was very good friends with one of my dear friends.

First of all, they will probably never read this but my heart and prayers go out to those families and friends dealing with this right now...Though I believe a couple of these guys were Christians, it doesn't make it any less shocking or make the blow any less harsh for those left behind to pick up the pieces.

This second crash confirmed how I'd already been feeling all week..that life is too short and too temporary for us to just sit idly by and do just as much as we have to to get by. Tonight's sermon also compelled me as well...We need to want to keep doing more and more to bring people into the kingdom of Jesus. We have found Him, yes, that's AMAZING. But..that's just the beginning of the journey. If we love others, we want them to know the same unconditional love that we have found. The worst thing we can do is keep it to ourselves or as the children's song says "hide it under a bushel".

Life is also entirely to short to let little decisions and little difficulties in life bother us the way we sometimes let them. Especially I think when we're young, everything that happens seems like it's absolutely the end of the world and we will never recover from it. I'm sure that certainly isn't true...I'm striving more and more everyday to be more bold with my faith and stand up for what I feel is right. I also want to make amends with those I have fallen away from and at least attempt to bring those to Jesus that God has laid on my heart to do so...On the final judgment day, if we have done nothing to share the good news with people, I just have this feeling God's not going to be too happy with us. Instead, most of all, I want him to tell me "Well done, good and faithful servant". I want to be ushered into the kingdom of heaven for all eternity and I want every single one of my friends and family to be there with me..That has what I've been called to do. And I want to be bold and say yes to this challenge..I'm grabbing onto God's hand and holding on for the ride of my life.

Letter to the President

So yesterday was obviously a historic day in our country! We have a new president after 8 years of very mixed feelings and hopefully the next 4 (or 8) years will become a positive thing, even if some don't see it at this point!

It was my first time voting for president and it was truly very exciting for me!! (Not to mention, free starbucks and free krispy kreme for voting - not too bad!!) :) But I still feel like I made the right choice in my vote no matter what.

I'm proud of our democratic system, that we have the right to choose and that have made history! I don't think alot of people ever believed they'd see the day of the first African American president. I can only imagine what great men like Martin Luther King Jr. might think.

On the opposite side of the ticket...I was really impressed with John McCain in his concession speech! Many of his supporters booed at the sheer mention of President Obama's name and he told them not to do this, in respect for our new leader. That really took courage and I thought both speeches were very moving.

Most of all, he needs our prayers and I certainly will be praying for him! I can't imagine how difficult the decisions that come along with this high office would be and he needs nothing but prayer! I can't say how disappointed I have been in several people I used to respect...They have done nothing but bash the president-elect and I think this is a terrible witness! That is not going to shine Jesus' light to the world!

So whether you were crazy for McCain or partying like a Barack star, now that the election is over, let's try to forget party lines and remember that we're all Americans and that the American dream is one of the many things that fuels our freedom in this country. I, for one, am still very proud to be an American.