A Dream Come True!

Guess what happened tonight-

Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25, 2010?

My Prince asked me to marry him.

Guess what I said?

"Yes!"

God is so good!

The story and more pics to come :) 

Numb.

Numb.

Tired.

Emotional.

Hormonal.

Sick.

Tears.

Exhaustified.

It has been one of those days.

I guess with blogging sometimes it is super

easy to just type what you want others

to know about you.

You know the things that will impress.

So sometimes it is easy to just not type when

you feel absolutely empty.

But I am.

Because even as I am sitting

here typing this I realize-

it is not about me!

I just read about

a girl and her one month

baby boy who died.

She was 15.

And here I am focusing on myself

and my "problems"?!?!

I am so thankful for a merciful heavenly Father.

Ever feel like you will never measure up?

It is ok.

Because of Jesus Christ-WE DON'T HAVE TO!

Forgiveness.

Grace.

Love.

Mercy.

I am realizing that even though I am struggling

I still need to praise Him!

So I will:

• I praise Him that tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I am so excited to be able to spend time with my family but more than that I am so so so thankful for the reason for the season-my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
• I praise Him for putting Jason into my life. He is my love, my hero, my prince, my gift straight from God! I could never have asked for anyone better. Last night we were both sick so we curled up on the couch and watched Andy Griffiths with his brother Matt. It was great. I love doing even the small things with that man. I absolutely adore him and I just...am in awe at how the Lord has worked in our relationship! Yesterday I was able to update the website (click here) and the blog (click here) for Jason the Juggler. Because of school I had been unable to spend time managing his business and now I can which I am so excited about! Prayers would be appreciated for that for sure! :)
• I am so thankful for the American Gospel Tour team! We are leaving for Florida in less that two weeks and I am so excited to see what the Lord does in the time that we are gone!
• I am so thankful for my family. Yes, we sometimes do not get a long but wow am I blessed with parents and siblings who know the real me but love me in spite of me!
• I am so blessed to have my Grandma and Grandpa Kelley. They are our guardians but have become our honory grandparents. I could adore them more. Tonight we are going to their house to decorate their tree and eat supper.
• I am so thankful for chocolate (yes I have been eating it today!)
• I am so thankful school is done! (More on that later)
• I am so thankful for the amazing friends that God has given me!
• I am so thankful for a future and hope because of my Lord Jesus Christ!
• I am so thankful for Christmas lights.
• I am so thankful for....

You know.

I am not as discouraged as I was just a few moments ago.

Wow!

Counting blessings has a way of doing that I suppose :)
Praise the Lord!

What do you have to praise Him for tonight?

Laminin?

My lovely friend Raquel

over at God's Daughter (click to visit her blog)

 posted this video

 and I thought I would share it all with you

as it is very thought provoking:

Christmas is a mere five days away.

I am so thankful for my health

 and the health of my family

 in this Christmas season-

 but what about the people who are sick?

Or who are sitting by the bedside of a sick loved one?

Or who are facing the reality that

they may not be able to have another Christmas

 with their

sister or brother,

  mother or father,

 husband or wife,

 girlfriend or boyfriend.

The Christmas holidays are

 such a wonderful, beautiful time of the year

but for some-

it is a time of sadness.

So this Christmas,

lets enjoy the blessings the Lord has given us,

 but also remember to pray for and reach out to those

 that are hurting this holiday season.



GUESS WHAT!?!?

I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL!

FREEDOM!

Oh, it is so wonderful!!!!

See the joy on our faces?

Ok, maybe it was because I wanted

a picture with my baby brother and

he was being a goofball.

Either way!

IT IS SO WONDERFUL :)

I have been incredibly productive!

I have most certainly did not

slept in till past 11 two days in a row

(psh I had 16 weeks of no sleep to make up for!).

I most certainly did not

consume unhealthy amounts of chocolate last night.

Nope. Nuh uh. Not me.

I absolutely did not

go 16 weeks without really

cleaning my room.

Because of the aforementioned thing I did not

do- I absolutely did not start cleaning my room

on Thursday but then didn't finish it.

I did get some accomplished yesterday which was SO NICE!
I even ventured in my desk!

*Gasp*

I know.

Astounding!

Just a sneak peak of the before.

I will be posting after pictures soon

(I actually don't think that I have ever posted pictures of my room!).

So that will be coming soon!

Ok, well I am off to get ready to go out with Jen

for lunch and then we are going

to sing at a nursing home.

15 DAYS TILL WE LEAVE FOR FLORIDA!

What can I be praying for YOU about?

An Investment.

Hey all you fellow bloggers out there.

So I really should be working on homework.

I really should be cleaning my room.

I really should be getting caught up on my email.

I really should be doing a lot of things.

But I was looking at these pictures and thought I would

share them with you.

It is amazing to me the people that the Lord brings into our lives.

11 years ago He brought into my life some amazing

mennonite young women that took me under

their wings and have been there for me ever since.

Every other Tuesday, for as long as I remember,

we would have Girl's Club.

As time went on and we grew older

my sisters and I as well as some dear friends

"graduated" to the older group of girls

and started to meet seperately.

The woman that mentored us was Linda.

I can honestly say that if it had not been her

and the time she invested in my life I would not be

the person that I am today.

I am really excited for what God has

for her! She got a job working at a nursing home in Virginia.

She will be overseeing the volunteers and mentoring

the girls that work there.

I am so excited for her!

But it is bittersweet at the same time.

So us girls took her out to dinner the other week.

And I taught Jacquie how to wash her hands like a nurse

(considering she is starting the nursing program in January)

And I FROZE in the parking lot but

managed to get a cute picture with Jen :)

We had so much fun!

But like I said it was bittersweet.

Seasons in life.

Seasons of change.

Investments.

Linda has invested so much in us.

I pray that I will be able to invest just as much

in those around me.

That I will be able to make a difference.

And that that difference would be Jesus Christ.

When I grow up-

I want to be just like Linda.



I have been struggling.

I really have.

It is hard to put into words all my

thoughts.

Honestly, I have so many I don't even know where to begin.

I have a lot of decisions that I have been struggling with.

A lot of fears and insecurities.

A lot of things that I have been having

to surrender to Jesus over

and over

and over again.

I want to be able to invest in others lives.

I want people to look at me and not see me

but see Jesus Christ shining through me.

I want to make a difference for Christ.

I want to bring

honor and glory to HIM in everthing

I do.

I want to be like Jesus.

Please pray for me.

What are things you need to invest in?



Grace.

"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;

 and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

 For ye see your calling

, brethren,

how that not many wise men after the flesh,

not many mighty,

 not many noble

, are called:

 But God hath chosen 
the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise;

 and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound 
the things which are mighty;

 And base things of the world,

 and things which are despised,

 hath God chosen, yea,

and things which are not,

 to bring to nought things that are:

 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,

who of God is made unto us wisdom,

 and righteousness,

and sanctification,

 and redemption:

 That, according as it is written,

He that glorieth,

let him glory in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 1:25-31
It has been a long time since I updated.
I have not been trying to neglect but with finals
coming up in school
this blog has been sadly neglected.
Thankfully though
only eight more days until freedom!
I can hardly wait!
In the meantime I am praying that I will be
a light and that the Lord will be honored and glorified
in and through me.
He is worthy!
So just thought that I would let you know I am alive.
And also share that verse with you.
What are your thoughts on it?

s

A Video Blog

Here is the long awaited video blog!
Sorry I didn't get it up sooner it has been a crazy week.
The volume may need to be turned up
if you are having a hard time hearing it:



These girls need the love of Jesus Christ.
The healing.
The forgiveness.
The freedom that can be found in HIM!
So what are we going to do about it?

Thank you for your prayers

Just a quick update.

I am actually planning on doing

a video blog post

sharing everything with you all

but because I know so many of you were

praying here is a little update.

The girl did NOT end up showing

up which is a good thing and

I believe is because of all

the prayers that were offered up on her

behalf. Thank you so much!

Please continue to pray for her.

As for the other girls.

There is not a way to express on

a mere written blog post the effect

that sitting outside an abortion clinic

for two hours had on me!

Pray so hard!

This is something that is

to important to be quiet about.

I have been quiet this long.

No longer!

I will explain more this weekend Lord

willing in my Vlog.

Keep praying!

PLEASE PRAY-It would be a matter of life or death.

Thursday, November 18, 2010.

9am.

That is tomorrow. 

Less than 24 hours away.

Please pray.

It is a matter of life or death.

For not one.

Not two.

But three lives.

See, there is a girl

who is young,

who is scared,

who is alone,

who is pregnant with twins.

Who is scheduled to have

an abortion.

Tomorrow.

At 9am.

Life.

Death.

She feels that she has no choice.

She has been given no other alternatives.

She has no hope.

Abortion.

Death.

Please pray harder 

than you ever have in your life!

She does not want to have the abortion.

She wants her babies.

But she is afraid.

And has no were else to go.

So tomorrow.

We will be heading to the clinic.

To try to find her.

And offer her hope.

Offer her a choice.

Share with her about Jesus.

Show her an alternative.

Life.

Please pray.

There are three lives at stake.

A young girls.

And two precious little 11 week old babies.

 

 

Source

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please pray.

There are so many lost people in this world.

They have no hope.

We have that hope.

Hope that is found in Jesus Christ.

What are we doing about it?

I am learning that it is not enough 

to just talk about it.

We need to start doing.

We need to start living.

We need to stop judging and 

start reaching out to others with 

the love of Jesus Christ.

I was thinking about this the other day.

There are things like picketing that we can do.

But how often does that involve judging the girls?

How often does it involve labeling

these girls as murderesses?

Instead of looking though eyes of judgment

what if we took the time to maybe look at them as a person?

A lost person?

A lost soul who without Jesus Christ is destined for an eternity in hell?

Judgement.

So often we pass it.

When instead we should start looking with eyes 

of love, care and compassion.

You know-

like Jesus loves you

and like Jesus loves me.

Instead of passing judgment

what do you think would happen 

if we offered that hope that can only

be found in Jesus Christ alone!

What a difference that would make.

It could save lives.

Please pray for these three

lives that are at stake.

Tomorrow.

9am.

Watch it if you dare. Prepare to be convicted.

Were you convicted?

I was.

Now what are we going

to do about it?

If you couldn't view here just 

follow the link below to view origional source:

"Radical Christian-Paul Washer"

So what is the American Gospel Tour? (And Multitude Monday)

So today is Multitude Monday.

 

 

One of my things I am very thankful for is the American Gospel Tour.

 

 

And yes that is the answer to my last post ;)

So I am sure that many people have heard me speak of the American Gospel Tour 

(Click to view our website)

but if you are wondering what exactly we are I thought I would share our vision with you

and also ask you to pray for us as the Lord continues to open doors.

Mission:

Our mission is to travel across the United States,  stopping along the way,  whether it be at a park,  a gas station, or a street corner, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We also believe the Lord has called us to speak to our generation  about living a totally sold-out life for Jesus. Overall, this generation of Christian young people live lives of compromise.  We go to church on Sunday and Wednesday nights, then for the rest of the week we live no different then the world. If we are going to say that we are Jesus followers, then we need to prove it by living like Him. In 1 Corinthians 9:14 it says,  “ Even so has the Lord commanded that   they which preach the gospel should live the gospel.”   God didn't suggest that we live the gospel, He commanded it.  Why aren't we obeying that command? We need to be living the gospel 24 hours a day,  7 days a week.  When you commit your life to Jesus, you can't just commit for Sundays and Wednesdays, it has to be your whole life. This is the message we want to take to the Christian teens of America. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Go therefore, and teach all nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father,  and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:  teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and lo I am with you always even to the end of the world.  Amen.”  This is the Great Commission.  It says to  go and teach  (or preach)  to all the nations,  (sharing the gospel) teaching them to observe everything that I (Jesus) have commanded you (teaching and speaking in churches).  Our desire for this trip is to both:  share the gospel on the road  and teach in churches.  My sister Jen wrote that mission statement almost two and a half years ago. God has been so gracious in opening doors since. We have grown a lot since the Lord gave Jen the vision for the American Gospel tour. One thing that we have realized is that a life lived from Christ starts here. It starts now. Being in ministry does not just been traveling across America in an RV. It means going and evangelizing at parks. It means handing a lady in walmart a tract. It means going and sharing Jesus with your neighbors. It means serving others. It starts here. It starts now. God has opened many doors since we started obeying Him in the small things. Our dream to travel across America has started right were we are at! We have been able to go to various churches in our area and share with so many people. We also are going to be traveling to Key West, FL this January and receive training as well as open  air evangelizing at Mallory square! God is so amazing!  The things He is doing are amazing! So if you want to please pray for us we would really appreciate it! Do you have a facebook?  You can like our page and get regular updates (You can follow my link on the sidebar). We also have started a team blog and you can go visit that (and follow it): The American Gospel Tour Blog.   So here are the faces of our team:

L-R: Yours truly, Jason, Nicole, and Jen

So that is the #11 thing I am thankful for this week! :) #12 A God Who remains constant even when so many other things in my life are not.  I have been  going through alot of changes these past few  weeks and have had to make a lot of   hard, humbling decisions   but the Lord was right there  with me the entire way!    And what a comfort to know that  He will continue to be! :) #13: As I was cramming for a test  I mean studying for  a test today  I got to go outside and walk. It was sunshine and blue skies!    That just lifted my spirits   (and I got some exercise which always helps lol).    #14: Gum. Yes I am addicted love it.   My jaw hurts sometimes. But it is a great stress reliever!   #15: Tortilla chips   (Ok, so a little bit stressed this week apparently lol). #16: Prayer Journals.   #17: Memories.   #18: Applebees after 9pm half off appetizers We went with a group last night and had so much fun! :) Our waitress loved us ;) #19: Hope for a future   that can only be found in Jesus Christ. #20 : Early Christmas Presents  from an amazing boyfriend  which I am sure I will tell you about in the nearish future ;)   God is so good!   What do you have to be thankful for today?      

Who are they?

So.

Who are these people?

And what do they believe the Lord has called them to do?

Super excited to see what the Lord

does in the future and I

have decided that it will soon

be time to really share it in detail with all

of you :)

(I have been giving hints all along).

So Wednesday...

So Wednesday the

American Gospel Tour Team

went out and visited various churches

in the area and also handed out tracts.

We also had a camera

and in between pictures of 

the spitball war in the car

(oh yes it happened)

during which I very maturely took the wheel

and pictures of us handing out tracts

Jen managed to snap this 

picture of Jason and I:

 So it may not be the best quality.
But see whose smiles?
I have been reminded this weekend of how blessed I am.
Jason is truly my prince
and with God as my King
how could I NOT praise my Jesus?
I found some older pictures
that I thought I would share with you
too.
God has blessed me with so many friends.
So many people who encourage me and love me.
It blows my mind!
God is so good! :)
These are some pictures that were taken the night my
sister Abby returned from a missions
trip to Mexico this past summer:

These are people from our church family.
We are so blessed to be here.
For those of you that don't know
my Dad is the pastor of a small
country church and oh we are so blessed
by the people that have been
there for us for 19 years.
God is so good!

L-R: Dad, Mom, Abby, Danny, Me, Jen

 For those of you that don't know-
this is my family.
I realized today just how long it
had been since I shared an updated family picture!
We were so happy to be together once again when
this picture was taken!
I am amazed how blessed I am!

And then...my girlfriends.
These girls have been such an amazing blessing to me!
Especially since my girls Bible study began.
It is funny.
I refer to them as "my girls"
but I really feel like the are!
So what is the point of this
random post?
I guess just to praise the Lord
for how blessed I am!
I am so thankful to my Savior!
The friends and family He has given me.
The man He has blessed me with.
I don't thank Him enough.
So there were some small snapshots from my life :)
AND I actually got some pictures uploaded!
I am content.
And....off to work on school.
Blessings :)

Multitude Monday

The Lord has been doing some really awesome 

things in my life the past few months.

I have so much to be thankful for

yet, so often, I forget to actually stop and thank

Him for them.

Anna over at Hope Road Blog has inspired

me to count my blessings and to 

actually make a list of 1,000 blessings

and post 10 of those blessings every Monday as a part of

Multitude Monday-1,000 Gifts.

I had been wanting to for months

but just hadn't had the time but now

since I have deleted facebook I will have more

time to blog and thought it would be a neat thing

to do.
Feel free to visit the link and start counting your own blessings!

So here we go:

 1.  I am so thankful for my  Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The more I learn about Him the more I desire to be like Him. He is truly worth our all!2. Texts from Jason that make me smile and then thank the Lord for my prince. 3. Stars that glisten and shine like diamonds in the sky.Truly the Heavens do declare the glory of our God.4. A  cellphone (I know weird huh) that allows me to encourage others and be encouraged in the Lord via text messaging (yes it is possible! lol).5. Prayer Journals6. The opportunities that the Lord has been opening up for the American Gospel Tour (I will be sharing more about that later but for now click above to visit the blog)  7. Cheerios with raisins mixed in=delicious.  8. Hugs.9. Laughter.10. Love. 

No way.

Ever had one of those times

 when you said:

 "No Way"

 to God?

I had one of those yesterday.

Actually, I have been having one of those for months.

So this whole weekend I have been really struggling.

I had been holding on to things.

I had been refusing to surrender.

I had been relying on my own "strength."

I had not been in the Word or in prayer.

I had allowed myself to get completely overwhelmed.

Then yesterday I got angry.

Now, I am not the type of person that tends to get really angry.

I get frustrated.

I get stressed.

But I don't often get super super angry.

Yesterday I did.

Why you ask?

Well because Jason and Danny had the audacity

to suggest that I delete my facebook.

*Insert look of shock and horror here*

Delete it?

What?

So I tried to laugh it off but then I started to get annoyed.

See, they wouldn't let me laugh it off.

They wanted to know why it was so important to me.

Why I just couldn't live without it.

So I started to think.

And steam.

And think some more.

And suprisingly I really could not think

of very good excuses I mean reasons.

"Ministry"

was the best one I could come up with.

Now, I am not in any way trying to bash facebook.

I believe that you can most definitely minister through it.

However, when it starts to consume you and your time

when do you draw the line?

So, I was just miserable.

I have realized something.

When you know that you are not doing the Lord's will

and yet you are fighting

what you know He wants you to do.

Well.

It is painful.

So this morning I woke up.

And I just felt dead.

No joy.

No peace.

Nothing.

Just spiritually dead.

So I texted Jason and asked him to pray for me.

And he called me.

As I was talking to him the Lord just put this thought in my head.

"What is an idol?"

Now, I love this definition of an idol by Leslie Ludy:

"An idol is ANYTHING

 that claims our ATTENTION

 and AFFECTION

 above Christ."

As soon as I thought about that another thought popped into my head:

"How do I know that something is an idol in my life?"

Here is another quote I think sums up the answer to that quite nicely:

"One way you can tell if

 something is an idol

or another lover in your life

 is that you are unwilling to let it go.

You can't picture living without it.

 Most of us,

 if we were honest,

 would have to admit that

we are unbelievably attached to worldly entertainment.

 Life would seem empty and bleak

 if we didn't own a TV

(or a computer, cell phone, again: fill in the blank)...

Even though we have everything we would

 ever want or need in Christ Jesus alone-

we still look to these other means

 for the peace, joy, excitement, and refreshment

 that HE HIMSELF desires to give us.

 All we have is the counterfeit version

 of peace and joy because

we aren't willing

 to let Him give us the real thing."

 (Leslie Ludy)

All the sudden I knew what I needed to do.

"Jason," I said,

"I need to delete my facebook."

As soon as I verbally spoke those words

I can not even explain the joy and peace that just flooded my soul.

It was as if I had been holding facebook up between me and God.

I would let Him have everything else except for that.

Why?

I guess just because of the status.

I mean I got to share my accomplishments with the world on there.

It was all about me.

Selfish ambition.

Pride.

Now maybe you remember this post that I wrote a few months back.

I didn't remember until just today.

I am going to share a few excerpts from it (in italics).

To view the complete post click below:

An Idol.

Do I think that facebook is bad?

NOT AT ALL!

For me personally however,

 it has become an idol

 and because of that it needs to be taken care of

 which is why instead of just deactivating it

I am completely surrendering it to the Lord

and deleting it.

 It had come between me and the Lord.

 Time spent on facebook was more

 of a priority in my life

 then time spent with my Savior.

 It is so shameful to admit that but it is true!

What about other forms of entertainment?

 Movies, internet, magazines, books, cell phones, fill in the blank.

 Are they necessarily in and of themselves wrong

 (well, within certain boundaries of course)?

 No.

What are the things in your life

 that maybe the Lord has been asking you to surrender to Him?

What do you think would happen if,

 instead of spending hours doing

*fill in the blank*

we used that time to get to know our God?

What if we treated our BIBLE

 like our cell phone

 or the internet

or the television

 or movies?

What if THE BIBLE

 was one of the first things

that we turned to in the morning?

What if we had to check THE BIBLE

 at least once every two hours a day

so as to not go through withdrawals?

What if, when we have been away from

 THE BIBLE

 for any amount of time we felt

we had to check it

and then re-check it?

What if we had been away from home

 and THE BIBLE was the first thing

we went to when we got home?

What if THE BIBLE

 was one of the last things

 we thought about at night?

What if we let go of those idols

 that have control of our lives and

instead threw ourselves at Jesus' feet?

What if?

This is something that is between each of us and God.

 No one on earth can make these decisions for you.

I want to live a 110% Surrendered life

 for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I read today in Galations 3:13:

"Christ has redeemed us

from the curse of the law, having

become a curse for us

(for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who

hangs on a tree.')"

To think that He willingly became a curse for you and for me!

He died on that tree...for you and for me!

The least I can do is live for Him.

And I want to.

Oh so desperately.

For Jesus Christ alone.

I want Him to be my everything.

I want Him to be my all.

I want people to see Jesus Christ in me.

So yeah.

Things are going to be changing on this blog.

Like, I am going to be posting a lot more.

The Lord has been teaching me so much and I

 just have so much to share with you all!

So stay tuned for some exciting things!

And to sum up:

Am I a super spiritual person just because I am deleting facebook?

No.

Do I think that people that have facebooks are sinners?

Uh no.

My challenge to you would be this:

really ponder what priorities you have in your life.

What are the things that fill up your time?

What do you turn to for refreshment, fulfillment, and satisfaction?

Is it the world?

Or is it JESUS?

Is Jesus Christ worth YOUR ALL

(even the little, seemingly "insignificant things")?