philippians 4:13 :)

I just got back from a night run and my mind is racing. I thought about so many little important things so I just wanted to share a few, I'm not going to really elaborate on any of them right now.. maybe later.
1. I've been using running as one of my personal times with God. It's kinda just a conversation with God for a couple miles and I swear I learn just as much on these runs as I do at church, bible study or CRU. The Lord reveals things to me that I need to work on in my life and it's amazing how clearly He shows it to me.
When I started my run tonight my focus was on God, then it shifted to myself, until I noticed it about a half mile into the run. It's not the fact that my focus strayed from God tonight on this run but the fact that I do it all the time throughout the day. I don't want to put myself on the throne in my life, Jesus bought my life when He died for me.. He needs to be on the throne in my life all the time. Last week I really struggled with this because I felt for the first time in awhile the desires of my old life came creeping back. I began to think how awesome it would be to study abroad again, live in Spain, internship in Peru, travel for months around Europe.. of course all this would be absolutely amazing IF this is what God has planned for my life. I have a very strong feeling that it is not the plan God has for my life but time will tell. I don't want to live my life according to my selfish plans, I want to live my life by serving and following Him.
2. This is kind of random but at one point in the run I was thinking about how amazing it is that God never let's go of us. Looking back at times when I wasn't following the Lord as I should have been I can reflect on that time and still see him with me. Which just blows my mind..how can He continue to love us even when we stray away and turn our backs on him? I'm in awe of His love every single day.
3. Around mile 3 my leg kind of started feeling awkward, the usual numbness in my leg set in. I stopped and almost started crying because it just scares me to think that there is a possibility that there could be something much worse wrong with me..that possibility is very slim but it's easy to think up these things when you are discouraged. Anyways, I just decided to keep going and praying for strength. Then.. I ran as fast a I could the rest of the way home and was only able to do so because God answers little prayers such as this.

I really had so many more "insights" (haaa) but i'm tired so that's all I got for tonight.

My God is mighty to save

1000 college students traveled to Panama City Beach with goals of sharing the gospel to thousands. This was the result:

People approached: 13,885
Conversations held with: 9,555
Share Gospel: 5,562
Received Christ: 674
Gospel Booklet Given: 3,621
People with whom Holy Spirit was shared: 1,031
People who prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit: 348
Holy Spirit booklet given: 1360

I'll start off my saying that God is awesome. He revealed so many things to me on this trip and I'm in awe of His love, beauty, and grace. He is my wonderful savior and my life is completely His.

I was scared out of my mind to share my faith with complete strangers. I'm awkward in normal conversations so having a conversation about Jesus with a stranger was terrifying. The first time was extremely awkward and weird, but by the end of the trip it was actually fun. I loved talking to people, finding out about their lives, sharing my testimony, and watching God work on their hearts. 674 people accepted Christ into their life on Panama City Beach... 674. How absolutely amazing is that!?! What's more amazing is God's love for us, it blows my mind. I saw God's love like I had never seen it before, I experienced compassion for every single person on the beach. I felt overwhelmed because I wanted to reach out to every single person and just tell them the beautiful plan that God has for their life and how amazing His love is, absolutely amazing.

It was awesome to see how many people trusted Christ this week and how much my personal relationship with God grew in one week. Jesus Christ, my wonderful, loving, beautiful, savior, is on the throne in my life. He is what I'm living for, the plan he has for my life is so much greater than anything I could dream up myself. He is my best friend, my counselor, my savior, my father and each day he fills the emptiness I had in my life for so long with His love. He is mighty to save; he saved me, 674 students on Panama City Beach last week, and if you haven't let him yet, He's anxiously waiting to save you. :)

the art of losing myself in bringing You praise.

I'm sitting in the most adorable coffee shop right now, getting ready to sit here for a good five hours. I have lots of studying to do, but I figured before I got started I would blog a little bit.

Last night was Sunday Night Worshipand It was absolutely amazing. The music is so loud you can't even hear yourself singing, you can feel the presence of the Lord and it's just you and Him for two wonderful hours. Worshiping through singing is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love singing in church, singing in my room, car, on a run.. anywhere. Worship through music always makes me feel so close to the Lord. I'm learning though that Worship through singing is just ONE of the MANY ways we can praise God. One thing that I've been trying to change lately is incorporating God into every aspect of my life. I'm not just a believer but I am a *follower*. When I run, I'm worshiping through my legs. I'm giving thanks for this talent that the Lord has blessed me with and I run with his strength. Running is no longer my thing, it's OURS. It's my time to talk with God and every single time I feel overwhelmed with joy and almost every time I get tears in my eyes because His love is so absolutely AMAZING. He is my beautiful savior and it's my JOY to honor him in every single thing I do. I will praise him when I walk, run, dance, sing...:) :) I am so thankful, so unbelievably thankful. I pray that the Lord will keep working in my life, morphing me into what I'm supposed to be so I can fulfill the purpose that He has for my life. He is in control of my life and I will live my life for him.

Here is a playlist of my current favorite worship songs. Please listen to them! Just turn it on as you clean house or surf the internet.
"Everlasting Your light will shine when all else fades. Never ending Your glory goes beyond all fame"

Where does my help come from?

MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, MAKER OF HEAVEN & EARTH!

such an indestructible team.

"I won't be impatient for the Lord to act! I will keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season He will honor me with very blessing" -Psalm 37:34

I've learned two valuable things this week. 1) I have very limited patience & 2) Satan tries in so many ways to lure me into the materialistic world but God is in charge and gives me strength through this "spiritual war". Last weekend was absolutely terrible for me, I felt completely defeated. In times when you are completely broken down you can so clearly hear Satan whispering lies into your ears. He wants to break us down and destroy our lives, but my hope is in Jesus. It's inevitable that Satan will tempt us but knowing I have Jesus at my side makes us an indestructible team. (I picked this picture >> for this post because this is the best illustration of me being of the verge of a break down. I had a broken umbrella, blisters on my feet and the bottoms of my pants were soaked. Miserable.)
Anyways, now onto patience. If I get anything out of this leg injury it is that it is teaching me patience. I want a quick fix, but that can't happen in this case. I need to slow down, stop running for a week or two and let this heal properly. The chiropractor has told me over and over that this injury can't be fixed in just a couple of adjustments, it will take time. Soon enough I'll be out running again, right in time for SPRING! Until then I will keep praying for healing, it's all I can do.

This weekend is going to be really busy. I'll be at home tonight, homework tomorrow, drive back to school, babysit, church, Sunday night worship. I actually really enjoy the drive. It gives me time to think, sing and pray. What better way to spend your Friday afternoon after a rough week of classes? haa..alright. Have a good weekend. :)

faith & beaches

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise. -Jeremiah 17:14

Yesterday was a struggle. All the stress I had built up inside of me finally surfaced and I had an emotional breakdown. I "hit the floor" as my step dad would call it.. hahaha! But.. today is a new day and things are looking up.

I had planned to do a 10 mile run yesterday and I was really looking forward to it because I extremely needed to de-stress. I really just needed time to talk with God without any distractions. It was my time away to just pray and worship. Well, around mile 5 my leg went numb and that caused the tears to come on even stronger. I'm just having troubles accepting this injury, I just want to run & train hard for the marathon now but I can't because of a stupid back injury that happened more than a year ago and just starting to cause problems. I believe that i'm on the road to recovery though, things must get worse before it gets better. I have faith that God will heal me, he's just that awesome. :)

So, besides having a massive breakdown this weekend, things are great. I'm so thankful that even when I feel broken the Lord is with me to put me back together. He gives me all the strength I need and His love is so powerful. :):)

I will find the Lord when I seek Him with all my heart and with all my soul!!! -Deuteronomy 4:29