AWEmazement

The first part of that word says it all...AWE! I am in awe of everything God has shown me in the past couple of weeks. I have just felt His presence, love, healing, and opening of my eyes in overwhelming amounts. I just can't believe everything He is doing for me! It is too much to name all of it, but just really finding out who I am in Him, sums it all up. Who I am supposed to be and how He has healed me is so wonderful. I do not want this to end because I just feel like I have hit a high of my relationship with God. I know that He has more in store for me, but to feel like this, I just can't hold it in. Our God is AMAZING! I just needed to share that! I pray that you are able to feel His presence, love, and power in your life as well. Even in the tough times He is there. Going through those times leads you to the high's in life like I am now. We are able to see our growth and rejoice with God. Don't be sad, or discouraged if you are in a hard place right now. Just remember, you will be rejoicing soon too! God takes us through those rough times to show how great He is in  the end. Maybe that is why I was meant to share this. To encourge you that if times are rough now, you will come through it! He will not leave you down, He is stretching and growing you for His purpose. I love you! Truly I do! So does God :)

I'm A Witness

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

As I have mentioned before, I am a youth leader at my church. Every summer we go to camp in the Northern Missouri (NOMO) district in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Each year the leaders and youth get a rubber wristband to keep track of who they are with and also as a memoir. Usually now the wristbands say www.nomo.com, but a couple of years ago was when we received a wristband that really made an impact on me.

The wristband was white, and in black letters are the words "I'm A Witness" next to that is "Acts 1:8". I have held onto that wristband for about three or four years now. I wore it so that I could remind myself that I have a story of my life to tell other people. A story that God wrote, and that I am excited to tell. I am a witness for Him in so many ways! A couple people have asked me what it meant and I was glad to tell them. I wish I ccould say that I had people coming up to me all the time but I can't. However I am thankful for the opportunities I did have. Plus I know there are others ways I can tell people about the amazing things God has done in my life.

This past summer while I was in Mexico on our youth mission trip I heard God telling me that it was time for me to pass on my bracelet to someone else. That it was their time to express that they were witnesses too. (You see these bracelets were specifically made for our camp. They are not sold anywhere else just like that.) I was really excited and figured that meant I should give it to someone in Mexico. I mean how cool would that have been? To give my bracelet to a brother or sister in Christ in another country? Even though I did find someone to give it too, I wasn't sure that that was who God wanted me to give it to. In really wanting to give it to the person God intended, I came back to the states with my bracelet. I was hoping I did the right thing. I would have given it away, but something didn't feel right. I was hoping it wasn't just me because I really did love the bracelet. I prayed that God would continue to show me who needed this bracelet next.

One day in December, my answey came! My mom had been diagnosed with kidney cancer in November. Thankfully the surgery was going to be in December and everything would be taken care of. Praise God!! A couple of weeks before my mom's surgery I felt God was leading me to give the bracelet to her. It just hit me like I knew it was for her. About a day before my mom's surgery I showed her my bracelet, read the verse, and explained what the bracelet meant to me. I also told her about how God had shown me that I needed to pass it to someone else. Then I proceeded to tell her that the person God told me to give it to was her. I told her that now she has an amazing story to tell of how God saved her life. I know that she also has many times she will tell you about how God has been there for her and her family, but this is a miracle too. She now wears it proudly and loves that I gave it to her. She is fearlessly sharing what God has done for her.

It was awesome to see her share her story today! We were at a furniture store and the lady helping us noticed my mom's bracelet. She asked her what it said and meant. My mom responded with "My daughter gave it to me. It was hers and now I wear it to show people what God has done in my life." She proceeded to tell the women about the diagnosis, her surgery, and how God played a major role in it all. It was just awesome for me to be there when my mom shared. I love her so much. I am glad that God lead me to give it to her. I know that is who He intended it for. I have felt at complete peace knowing it was for her, but it was like God just gave me a little extra cherry on top!:)

We are all called to be witnesses. And bracelet or not, I know you have stories of times God has helped you. Don't hold them in. Share them. They might just be what someone needs to hear. When ever someoneaccepts Jesus into their heart all of Heaven rejoices!!

Im Possible

I was at a store in the mall today and they had a lot of Audrey Hepburn stuff. My brother likes her and so I tend to look at the things with her picture on them just to tell him about them later. It seems like lately there are many items with her picture on them. Anyways I seen one today that just really made me think. There was a picture of her and next to it, it said "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says im possible" Now I know that it was just an Audrey Hepburn picture, and no where in there was a biblical meaning on purpose, but don't we all sometimes get something from God in the weirdest, unexpected ways? I just read that and thought " I have never looked at that word like that before!" It just puts a whole new perspective on things. For me I also wasn't focused on things being possible just because of me. I looked at it like "Yes, I am possible with God. I am capable to do things through His power!" The bible says that Nothing is impossible with God. This perspective just made me realize it even more. I feel I will not look at that word the same anymore. It will not bring me down and make me think something is unreachable. I can look at my obstacles and hear them calling out "im possible, you can overcome me!"

Heaven is for REAL!

If you have not read this book yet, I would highly recommend it! It is my favorite non fiction book of all time, well actually it is probably right underneath the Bible, that book is amazing!

If you have not heard of the book, it is about a 3 year old boy, Colton, (who is now 12) and his experience in Heaven. When he was 3 years old his appendix ruptured and he had to be taken into surgery immediately.  About four of months after the surgery, his family finally realized he had seen something extraordinary. None of the doctors reports had showed that Colton had died while one the operating table, yet he came back with great memories of Heaven and what it was like.

I know that there are probably some skeptics out there. Which is why I recommend you read the book. His dad, Todd, was a skeptic too, but he looked through the Bible and compared what Colton said to it. Also, he knew what Colton knew about Heaven and didn't know. I mean what 3 year old can know many things about Heaven? Except for maybe that Jesus is there. They can not give vivid descriptions on words they don't know yet. Not to mention Colton can point out his great grandpa, who died when Colton's dad was 7 years old! I do not want to give too much away. I just suggest you read they book. You may still have some questions, but we can't have all the answers. That is where faith comes in.

However, I do believe in Heaven. I know many of us do. But I would say that I am not looking forward to going there now. I want to be with Jesus someday, but right now I like my time here on Earth. I think what scares me the most is how I, or my loved ones, will get there. I do not like to think about death. It scares me. I do not want to see suffering, yet I do not want it to be an unexpected tragedy. My mind can send me into a panic thinking about it. This book has helped me see that Heaven will be a beautiful place. It is good to know that we will see people we know there, and in their prime. We will be with Jesus all time, and see many things that cannot be described in our language.

I had been wanting to read this book for a while, so I borrowed it from a doctor my sister works for. (I didn't have money to buy it at the time, and when I seen she just finished it I couldn't wait.) After reading the book I found out that Todd, Sonja (Colton's mom), and Colton were going to be at a local church to speak. I was so excited! At first the family was going to speak at Fellowship Bible Church at 5pm and 7 pm January 15th. However all the tickets were gone the first weekend they were available and people were requesting hundreds more! The event got moved to TPAC ( Topeka Performing Arts Center) and was going to be only held at one time, thinking it would fit all the people. WRONG! There were still two event times, and I know both of them were pretty packed. It was amazing! I loved seeing all the people come to listen to a child's trip to Heaven.

Todd and Sonja Burpo with a pastor from FBC

Colton doesn't like to talk in front of a crowd, so his mom and dad were able to answer questions about his trip, and how the family realized they had a miracle to share. However, Colton did come out at the end to sing "Amazing Grace", which fit perfectly for something he had personally experienced!

Colton Burpo

I am so glad that I got to experience this with my family. It was well worth it. I hope that you choose to read the book as well. You won't regret it!



Expect obstacles

I am a youth leader at my church. Part of my job is to lead the study on Wednesday nights for high school girls.  Tonight God showed me something in a new light. It was information I and many of us know, but now I have a better understanding. Like a switch came on.

We started out by reading Matthew 22:34-40. The jist of these verses talk about the greatest commandment; loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. After that comes the second part, love your neighbor as yourself. Some of the questions that corresponded with this reading were, How does loving God allow us to love other people? How does loving people help us to love God more? My girls decided that when we love God we want to do His will. He gives us the love we need for other people. Also, when we see where other people have come from and the things God has brought them through we are overjoyed and reenforced in our faith. We never cease to be amazed at the things God can do. This allows us to fall in love with Him even more! Now, it was the next question that opened my eyes. What is our part in God's plan? It is like God just painted me His strategy....Our part is partly struggles and difficult times! See its His game plan. We need to struggle and go through rough times in order to change, become better, deepen our faith, trust God fully, see His love, and witness His miracles! I looked at it from a sports perspective because that is what one of my girls talked about. When people play a sport the coach talks to the players and says "we need to run this play, then that play". If that doesn't work, the team presses forward with another play. The whole game is played one play at a time, continuously changing with the oppponents defense. Isn't that what God does? I believe that God lets us go on for a while, and then we will be hit with a tough situation. It is His perfect timing because He knows what we can handle. He also knows that it will make us stronger and benefit us. Once we go through that difficult time we have hopefully grown with God. Then maybe God allows us to live our life pretty good, and then here will come another difficult time. Some times are rougher than others, but they all work to make us better. It is like God is saying "ok the plan for your life is to have some struggles and difficult times. I know it will hurt, but it will help shape you in to who I need you to be. I will be with you that whole way. You will overcome many obstacles. By doing this you will reach many people and it will help you be able to show my love to them." You see we find help and strength not only in God but in the people around us. He puts people in our lives who will benefit us. How could we help others if we have never been through rough times? Would we tell them to suck it up and move on? Would be be too concered with ourselves to even bother thinking about someone else? I bet we would, but that is not what God tells us to do. We need to have compassion, understanding, and love for one another.

So if obstacles continue to appear in our path, why are we continually surprised and asking God, why me? God tells us that when we our faith is tested our endurance has a chance to grow. He tells us to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but to rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perserverance, perserverance, character, and character, hope. He tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. He tells us we have a hope and a future. He tells us not to fear. He tells us in this world there will be struggles, but take heart for He has overcome the world. He tells us He will never give us more than we can handle. God knows there will be hard times, yes, but He will get us through. He doesn't say He will take them away. He doesn't say, once you have one hard time you will not have another for a certain length of time. He says that the hard times will help shape who you are in Him.

I know it is uncomfortable to plan for difficult times, but if we grasp that they are always going to be there, maybe we shouldn't be surprised anymore. Maybe we can approach difficulty with a Godly attitude and think "Ok God, I must be ready to progress with you in my walk, please help me to learn what You want me to learn., and grow stronger with You." I am not saying you will not cry, be hurt, angry, sad, or anything like that. Trust me, having emotion is very healthy, but you will be stretched and molded into what God needs you to be. The part you have in His perfect plan.

Blessings in difficulty

My mom and I are very close. She is my best friend. I love that we are able to talk about anything. She has always been there for me when I need her. I know that God created her just for me :). He knew what I would need in a mother and He gave me the perfect one. I also have realized that God gave her the daughter she would need as well. God puts the people together to make a family that He designed. He knows how each one will be just what the other needs. Isn't that amazing!

Even though it was a very sad time when my mom had cancer, it was great to see God's hand at work now looking back. He makes ALL things work together for our good. That means the difficult times as well.

Today was the last full day I got to spend with my mom. She will head back to work half days for the rest of the week tomorrow and then full time next week. I was sad thinking about how I am going to miss all the time we have gotten to spend together. That is when I started looking at how much God has worked on me just this last month. God showed me He had full control when He allowed my mom's surgery and my graduation to be at the same times. I really needed Him to push me out of the way and remind me that I need to trust Him fully. He is always there. After that it was sort of a rough Christmas season, but it allowed me to talk to me mom about things I hadn't gotten and chance to say. I was also able to ask for her help in my growth and to not give up on me. I know I will grow and change more because I have the desire now. There are some things I had not been willing to let go of, and I couldn't understand why. God opened my eyes to the way I was, how it came across and now I know I need to change. More importantly I want to change. I want my family and friends to know I love them and do not take them for granted. I am truly thankful for the love God has given me through them. I don't want to hurt them anymore. Of course the biggest blessing is that my mom is cancer-free! Thanks so much Father! I can't say thank You enough for all You have brought my family through. We are very blessed.

I am so thankful for the time I have gotten to spend with my mom. I know it has been great growth for both of us and it happened in God's perfect timing. This may have been a difficult time, but I know God used it to help me grow as well. I didn't think that me and my mom could be any closer, but we are now. We are on a whole other level. God's level! I Love you Mom! I pray you have a great year growing with God more and more :)

Priceless Masterpiece

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved looking at the night sky. There was just something beautiful about the billions of stars that scattered the dark abyss above, and the moon, full or crescent with its radiant light. I can't even find words to describle how much I love the night sky. I used to live on the out skirts of town growing up and I must say that that is where it is the most glorious. (The city lights block many of the stars that we could see each night.) In my room growing up I used to have those little glow in the dark stars pinned to my ceiling. Every night I, or my mom, would turn on my light a little before I would go to sleep so the stars would be able to glow brightly. My blinds would also be open so I could see the light of the moon shine through. I just felt so comfortable falling asleep like that. One thing I wish I would have done at my old house was to crawl up on the roof and sit there to gaze at the sky. My bedroom window opened up all the way, and the screen could pop out so it would have been easy to step out on the roof. I longed to do that so many times, but I didn't get the chance.

Once somethings started happening in my life I think I started to forget how much I enjoyed looking at the stars. About a year or so ago my eyes were opened again. I realized that since my bed is under a window I am able to open the blinds and look up at the moon and stars again as I go to sleep. I don't need to tell you that just about every night I do just that. I will fall asleep with my face towards the stars or in the moonlight. It is in this moment that I am the most comfortable.

I know that my love for the night sky comes from my Lord, and Savior. Each time I look up I can feel His magnificent love all around me. It is so beautiful to me. Knowing that He created ALL of those stars, planets, and galaxies is amazing. What a gorgious work of art. I know you probably get the picture but I just can't describe enough how the night sky makes me feel.

I could stay outside for hours finding constellations, looking for shooting stars, meteor showers, looking through a telescope (one day I will own one!), and of course praying and talking with God.

I don't know how you feel about the night sky, but I hope that I was able to give you a new perspective. Our amazing Father provided us with a beautiful picture. It is there every night. What will you think about the next time you look up at it? I suggest you take some time to really marvel at this masterpiece. I pray you feel God's love, peace, and comfort as well! Goodnight :)

When one door closes.....another opens

I have been exited for 2012 for a while now. Many people know that my favorite number is 12. Even more that my birthday is 2/12...so therefore I am excited for 2012 if you catch my drift. Even with that though I know that my real blessings come from God. He has provided for me over and over again. Sometimes I don't feel like I deserve all the things He has done in my life....He SAVED me....literally!

Many of my blog posts last year were about the different ways that God has provided for me. I am extremely thankful. Towards the end of 2011 I was ending another chapter in my life when I received my bachelors degree. Although it was amazing to be done with school for a while, I was also nervous about the next step in my life. I started to pray during the beginning of the semester "Please God, show me what I am supposed to do next. I want to do your will. Please lead me in the direction You want me to go." I do want to achieve a masters degreee someday, but I wasn't sure if God wanted me to jump into that after finishing my bachelors or get into the workforce for a while. I kept on praying that prayer all throughout my last semester at school. Don't get me wrong, I had still been looking at colleges and other jobs about a year ago, but couldn't make any major decisions until my graduation time came closer. Again this semester I started looking at colleges and gathering information. I also looked at places that would allow me to use my degree and if there were any job opportunities there. I even considered moving closer to a school I wanted to attend and find a job around there. I knew God would show me what to do, but I still needed to do the work and start exploring my options.

Well wouldn't you know it, God came through, like He ALWAYS does. Exactly two nights after I graduated I was spending the night at the hospital with my mom. I decided to bring my computer to look for job opportunities. I found a couple I was interested in, but for one of them I needed a printer in order to fill out the applicaiton. I ended up filling out one application that night and actually submitted it at about 1:00 a.m. At the time I thought I would go home the next day and print the other application and fill it out as well. Interestingly enough that didn't happen. God moved in that one application. I went in for an interview 2 weeks later, and got a call a week and a half after that that said I was being offered the job. WOW GOD! I know that it was Him that lead me to fill out applications that night. I know it was Him answering my prayers in showing me what He wanted me to do next. In a funny way I feel like the problems I have had with my car, and computer were a sign. A sign that was telling me that right now I need to have a job so I can get some things I have not been able to afford while being a student. I know that God provides, but you still need to be willing to put forth the effort. It has been a blessing for God to stretch my money over these last 6 years while getting my degree, but now it's time to take another step. Another cool piece to this is that the night before I found out I got my new job I was at church and I felt God tell me I could tithe a little bit more this year. I was actually joyful like "sure God I would love to do that".Not once did it really cross my mind where that would come from. God knew.

It is a blessing that God started 2012 off with a big step. I have been praying that this year would be a year of growth, healing, and the development of a deeper relationship with Him. I am excited to see what this year is going to bring. I love You Lord!

Burnett's Mound

There are many times that I stuggle with finding fun and interesting places in Topeka, Kansas. Many different times throughout the year there are a lack of things to do for cheap or even free. The summer time is hot and it is sometimes hard to find nice cool places to be. Then in the winter it is cold and snowy and many people want to stay inside. (I however love the snow and enjoy playing in it and sledding, but I do see many other's points). In the end, no matter how much I complain, I know Topeka is my home. It is not about the things to do or lack there of, but the family and friends that I have here. I have a very good friend who would disagree with the lack of things to do. She is very creative and can continuously come up with things to do and for that I am thankful! I say all of this to introduce one of my favorite places to go in Topeka. Burnett's Mound.

I didn't get to take a picture of the actual hill this time. Usually I am just so excited to get to the view at the top. It is beautiful! Burnett's Mound, is located on the south edge of Topeka, and is said to be named after Indian Chief Abram Burnett. It is one of the highest points in the city. Here is a link for additional information if you would like to read about it .http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/abram-burnett/11999 . This Wikipedia link is about the F5 tornado that ripped through Topeka in 1966. Legend says that Burnett's Mound was supposed to protect the city. Just a bit of fun information if you would like to read about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Topeka_tornado.

 I really enjoy the different effects my camera can do!

I enjoy Burnett's mound because you get a panoramic view of Topeka. On a clear day you can see I would day about 10 miles out. It is amazing! Me and some friends went up to Burnetts Mound on New Year's Eve. I think it was a great way to end the year. I got some neat pictures and enjoyed some reflaction time. I hope to go up there more throughout the year. It is a nice walk up and a great place to talk, reflect, think, take picutres, even have a picnic!

Some of my friends on an old tree trunk

Again I was just trying to take some cool pictures. I am better with landscapes rather than people. But I am trying!

This picture looked pretty cool. I think Janae is very photogenic! (I am kind of jealous.)