An Update (FINALLY!)

The past few months have been busy and my apologies for not posting in a very long time.  After I finished up the previous semester of college all I wanted was a rest from the busy schedule of life.  Me and my family flew down to Orlando, Florida and spent a week in Disney World.  It was my first time there and I loved it.  Three weeks later my sister, brother, and myself packed up suitcases once again and drove north to Brant Lake, NY where we worked for two weeks in Pilgrim Camp.  I was a counselor of eight eleven year-olds, which is not at all relaxing, especially when they never stop talking (it was a good thing and a bad thing).  Then there was the youth retreat which was a blessing and relaxing (Yes, finally!).  I was touched by a song we sang at the youth retreat called "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" written by Hillsong United.  You can find real rest and peace in Jesus alone, wherever you are or whatever you're doing.

The words to the song "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

A re-post of a some other posts...

All day I had been wondering about what to post, and then it hit me! 

I decided to make a list of some posts that I have recently read, and then share them with you.

You could read them all at once or one every day or not at all (but then there's no learning which is not cool)

1 - Why Not Pursue Him? (loved this because I believe that young men should be initiators and leaders in relationships, yep that's a lot of pressure) = http://www.truewoman.com/?id=1639

2 - Potential Boyfriend or Forever Brother?? = http://paulawrites.com/2014/03/11/potential-boyfriend-or-forever-brother/

3 - Self-esteem VS. Christ-esteem (written by lovely Leslie Ludy) = http://setapartgirl.com/leslie-ludy/blog/04-14-14/self-esteem-vs-christ-esteem 

4 - True Wisdom  = http://setapartgirl.com/devotional/04-12-14/true-wisdom

5 - How will He notice me if I Don't flirt? = http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=2225

6 - Idle Chatter VS. Godly Edification = http://setapartgirl.com/leslie-ludy/blog/04-22-14/idle-chatter-vs-godly-edification

I really hope you enjoy these posts..God Bless you all!

(I will write my own post when college classes finish..pray for me on upcoming finals)

Immense Loss, but Hope...

     I haven't written a post in quite some time and originally I thought this post would be on some really awesome athletes from the USA Olympic team, but apparently that won't happen right now. This past week something happened that I feel is way more important than any sports competition.

Sophia + Elise

     I know two of the members from the Smithe family from Google+ and so, when I started using Facebook I naturally "friended" them there. Last week there had been lots of posts from the family because of the wedding of Sophia. On Monday the much-anticipated photos started appearing. The smiles and joy from the bride and groom was contagious. I was happy for the whole event. The wedding party pictures were fun to look at, seeing the flower girls and children so excited. 

Sophia + Enoch

     But, as I was looking at those pictures on Monday night, somewhere else, the Einwechter Family was driving home and was involved in a tragic car accident (the car slipped into a pond on a farm). The only girl Elise (pictured with Sophia to the left) was killed in the accident. The youngest son Enoch (pictured with Sophia below) died in the CCU on Wednesday, who was just a few months old. 

     Even though I don't know the family personally, I felt sadness for them. I can't imagine the pain that they are going through. I believe that losing two children would be an immense loss, and even worse for such little children. My prayers continue to flow for the family and those who personally knew them. There is a website that has been started in case you'd like to help them financially or just to offer prayers or hope: http://eliseandenoch.org/. More information will be released later about the actual car accident, which I'll be posting later on, on Facebook.
   

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, 

who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

The Einwechter Family

I BELIEVE, do you?

It's a powerful song that has been playing on Klove a lot recently.
It gets right to the heart of Christianity...what we believe in.
I know the lyrics almost by-heart while singing along with the Newsboys.
Sometimes we need to be reminded about the great basis of our relationship with Jesus!
Even in the hard times we need to be reminded about what we know for a fact.
Now..do YOU believe??

Alone, Yet Not Alone.

Isn't it amazing that we have such an amazing savior.

We may think that when the hard times come God isn't there.

But, that is exactly when he holds us closest. 

God is always beside us no matter what we are going through.

Joni Erickson Tada is an amazing singer as shown by this beautiful song. 

She is a quadriplegic and has quite a story...wonderful in fact. 

A short bio: http://www.joniandfriends.org/jonis-corner/jonis-bio/

Her book is the best reference though:  Joni: An Unforgettable Story

Just some things to read...

A paragraph from "When God Writes Your Love Story"
written by Eric & Leslie Ludy.

I agreed so much with this that I posted it too.

a Marriage or a Mirage?

Marriage is the clearest way to show the gospel to people around us. It's a blessing that God gives us to show us how much he loves us (his bride).  It's a sacred bond of selflessness that should be unbreakable. But, as time goes on this bond has become a chew toy in the jaws of selfishness (divorce, affairs, etc.).  

So many times as Christians we shake our heads at how many people get divorced a year (a staggering 877,000 in 2011 according to the CDC), I know I have! But, we should not just seek to defend marriage merely for the sake of marriage, but to defend it for the sake of the gospel being shown. As I stated before marriage is a picture of Gods love toward the church, his bride.  He showed his love to her through the blood of his sacrifice.  Now, she lavishes his love on him by serving and seeking to please him.  It is a never ending show of love between the two, or that is how it should be.

But, essentially our society gratifies one thing in marriage; the desire to be loved. It's like an ad that says: IF YOU WANT TO BE LOVED, GET MARRIED! Then if you don't feel loved you can just fill out some paperwork, talk to a judge, and get a divorce. That's not how God designed marriage and I'm sure he cries for those who get caught up in "being loved."


See, the world missed the part about loving your spouse (and its even written in the marriage vows most of the time). God loved us even when we were his enemies. He poured his love out on us, even as he died on the cross for OUR sins.  True love is not just the ability to accept love, but to love NO MATTER WHAT. To love when there are disagreements or sickness or difficulties.

All around us we see people "sampling the fare" of prospective matches. You'd think that Christians would be a better example to people around us, but not really. We despise the worlds perversion of marriage, yet we make our own compromises.  You're sitting across the table from a very pretty girl from your local youth group smiling and making eyes at her.  If you were married doing this you know your commitment to your wife would be questioned.  So, what makes it right to do it now? Nothing! God comes before everyone and everything else and you know that he wants you to be a faithful person (Proverbs 3:3). Being faithful to your future spouse can start right now.  Keeping that promise can be difficult, trust me I know from experience.  Flirting and "going out" can lead you into a selfish mirage. "Treat marriage with the sacredness that you desire once you are married."

My desire, now till the day I die, is to live with loyalty to ONE man. Yes, I want to be that one-man woman no matter what people think of me. If there is something unacceptable during marriage, then it is unacceptable outside of marriage. Just as the church is loyal to one God, so Christ is loyal to one bride. "So may the saints of Christ rise up, and endeavor, by the power of his life within to showcase the glory of Christ and the Church." I want to feel the cool water of purity, not the muddy mirage of selfishness, what about you?


(all quotes are taken from Lots of Mirages, Very few Marriages
    from SetApartGirl online magazine issue Jan/Feb 2014)

A Very Happy New Year To All!

So, we have come to the start of a new year.  

To remember my journey on this blog throughout this past year made me very delighted indeed.  

God has been so faithful  and I am very thankful for everyone that has read this blog.  

As a thanks I will included the link to the most popular post that I have written in this past year. 

I love the song included in this post..its such a great inspiration.

http://jnwaldvogel.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-experience-worth-remembering.html

GOD BLESS YOU ALL IN THE NEW YEAR OF 2014!