be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay

One of my favorite Christmas songs is Away in the Manger. At first it was because of the melody, and then it was the words, and then it was because it was about baby Jesus and now because of the meaning and the 2nd verse.

I love Thee Lord Jesus, Look down from the sky, And stay by my side, til’ morning is nigh

Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, Close by me forever and love me I pray

In church this past Sunday, our pastor talked about Jesus as a baby boy; and how beautiful that was that he came to his earth as an innocent human baby. I can honestly say I have never really stopped to think about that and how amazing that is. And then as we sang Away in the Manger, the 2nd verse so stuck out to me. What a prayer we can always pray! Year round, 24-7, anytime of the day.

It’s kind of amazing how you realize and learn these things as you get older, or just how you realize it in your life at that specific time. What an awesome God we serve that was once a little baby boy; what a night that must have been!

I hope this season brings joy and love and family togetherness – but mostly a time of reflection and thanks. A time to share the love story of Christ with someone. I am so thankful for family and being brought up in a strong faith home. I can’t wait to be home in 2 days!

it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well it has truly been a while since I’ve written. The semester has literally flown by! I have 3 finals next week and I am done for the semester! 3 cheers

It is getting so cold outside, but I still love it. I love wearing scarves and heavy coats and hats. I think there’s a beauty in the bare trees. Although I still haven’t seen any snow. But I do have this say this fall time was absolutely breathtaking!

Some trees looked like they were on fire and it was so beautiful to see God’s creation!

It’s a month til the wedding and Tony and I go home next Thursday! Let the holiday and wedding festivities begin!

one of my ideas of a perfect day

Well i figured I could procrastinate just a little bit longer on hw since i haven’t written in on my blog in a while.

I don’t know why but one of my ideas of a perfect day, in the winter, is to be snuggled up with a big ol’ comfy blanket, at home, with my parents and tony, either watching “Home Alone 2″ or “The Elf” with a neverending supply of either hot cocoa or hot apple cider. It’s SO incredibly comforting, and I am completely satisfied spending my day or evening just like that. I almost can’t wait for the winter time to come, just so that may be possible. Also because I know once cold air comes through, our wedding will be just around the corner.

But don’t you just LOVE being comforted? I am so thankful that God created that, and even better, He IS comfort! He is our safe place, our refuge, the only place we can feel completely ourselves and safe.

Half the year is gone and I’m about to start my second to last full year of school! I can’t believe I’ll be getting married and graduating next year. Talking with my other friends, in disbelief that we’re all about 22 and starting our real grown up lives, it’s a bit scary. I haven’t felt that “panic” yet. I take comfort in my Lord; who is my strength. He’s real good at letting me know I can’t take care of everything by myself and that I don’t know everything, and that I don’t know the big picture. That’s a scary thought, really, but it’s kinda funny that even though God does that, He also says “Hey..you know what, you may not know what you’re doing next year, next month, next week. You may think that if you go down one path, it might be the wrong one. You might not know what kind of job you’re gonna take, or who you’re gonna marry. But stick close to me because I have all the answers. And better yet, I have all the RIGHT ones. My plan is perfect, I am perfect, and if I’m on your side..who can be against you?”

So take comfort..snuggle up with a big old blanket and rejoice in who your Father is.

summer school, such a blast..

So I honestly can’t believe its starting to be the second week of June! Half the year is gone! I went home for a few weeks in May and then will be planning to back for a few weeks in August and get some wedding stuff done. Wedding stuff..I LOVE that

Sooooo I’m taking 12 hours this summer. AH! I know, I know, I’m crazy. So far I started a computer class (Marketing of Recordings) and a MW night class (Consumer Behavior) and its too bad…yet! Although, I have to say, I wouldn’t have signed up for these classes and many hours if I knew I couldn’t do, so therefore I can and must accomplish and take on this summer.

I’m watching Home Alone 2 and I have to say, this movie never gets old. I love that it’s filmed in New York and in Christmastime! Everytime I watch this it renews my love and one day I will visit NYC during Christmas. The movie Elf does this too me also.

Well, its just about 7 months til my wedding, and 2 days past Tony and I’s 4 year anniversary. I feel like the wedding is soo far away but I know it isn’t, and people tell me that it’ll go by in a blink! And I know it will, I guess because I’m so anxious and SO excited it feels like it’s taking a little longer. I am so excited though, about the wedding and getting married but knowing that I was put on this earth to share my life with this person. Tony is someone that was hand picked by God just for ME! And to know that is just so great.

I was looking at my scrapbook, back at high school days and camp and thought wow we’ve all come so far. We really are growing up. I look at 11 and 14 year old girls I began to knew when they were like..7 and everytime I say “This makes me feel old” and he we are, graduating college, getting real jobs, getting married! I’ll come back 10 years later and say the same thing.

Anyways, I’ll probably update in a month..hopefully sooner! Be loved, be blessed!

i’m getting old!

okay not really…but I still can’t believe that I’m turning 22 this week! I remember being in elementary wondering what how I would act like or if I would look different when I graduated from junior high in 8th grade. And then I went into high school, and then I turned 18 and graduated high school and hit my big 2-1! And here I am about to turn 22, and my next biggest birthday won’t be til I’m 25 and I wont doubt that that will be here before I know it.

It’s crazy! I sometimes read my old xanga I had on here (anyone remember that?) and I laugh at some of the stuff I wrote about and am amazed at some of the stuff I wrote about. It’s great. And now I don’t know why I’m awake at 2 in the morning when I have a 9am class in the morning, Copyright Law. Let me tell ya, if you can avoid Copyright Law at 9 in the morning MWF, DO IT! But unfortunately, it was the only time I could get it. And now I could very well be failing, which completely stinks! It’s one of those classes where you study the hardest and thing you’re doing alright and you get grades and exams back and you’re like, jeez…thanks for this non-A or non-B…and to top it off, after turning in an assignment and feeling good about it I turned in the WRONG assignment, and of course my professor would be the one that does not accept late or incorrect assignments…

Nevertheless I try not to act like its the end of the world. I e-mailed her, do my best, do what I can and move on. I have always been a person to get overly upset and dwell on something when I shouldn’t. I am learning and feel I am doing better.

In other news, I survived my first tornado warning and take cover! Last friday as soon as I got to school our tornado sirens went off and the sky looked wierd!! I got to my class building and we had to be held in the hallway for about an hour and a half. Thankfully the tornados didn’t touch down in our area, but they touched down REALLY close to us. It was the scariest moments of my life, and here I thought I moved out of tornado alley! When I drive to church or work, I pass by where the tornado went through across the highway at an exit before you reach my exit to my apt and school. It’s INSAANE. To see that destruction of the trees and houses!

I’m starting to get sleepy now, which stinks because I want to continue talking about this, but I do need to get to bed. I’ll ‘blog’ later!

stir our affections for you, Jesus

I don’t truly don’t know if anyone reads this but nonetheless, oh how I love writing!

Today I visited another church here this cold dreary morning. I enjoyed it! I’m catching the last part of the series the church is doing based on the “Love Dare” from the movie “Fireproof”. Too bad, and too bad Tony isn’t here to listen with me, it would have been good for our upcoming marriage! But oh how good our Lord is! Here it is, almost April!! Not counting this upcoming week, I have 3 full weeks of school left before finals! I prayed this semester would go by fast, and it surely is flying by.

God has been so good to me, this weekend I’ve enjoyed his earthly creations with amazing weather, a couple of storms, and listening to Shane and Shane and Phil Wickham who have the blessed ability to be able to write about it with such beautiful words! I’m listening to a live worship version for “It Is Well” (which happens to be my favorite hymn) that Shane and Shane are leading, and in his opening his prayer he prays that the “stir our affections for you, Jesus”.

Stir our affections for you, Jesus

I love that! Because so many times we become sucked into a day-to-day rut, and once a week find our affection and our praise for God, and really it should be an every minute, daily, plea! I’m writing this and smile because I feel the guilt coming on of not accomplishing this either, but we are human, but we are human that serves a good and gracious and forgiving Father. The creator of the EARTH, the Lord of the NATIONS, who sits on his throne in Heaven and has made us a room in that most perfect place, wants a relationship with ME, with YOU, with US, His children.

So I continue to encourage you, everyday, stir your affection for our most amazing God, and let Him love you with that most perfect love.

halfway point!

oh my goodness! it’s already the middle of the semester and I have only 6 weeks left of actual school left before finals and the end of the semester! I started this year wondering if it would go as fast as 2008 went and I am starting to believe that it will be. It’s already March and just less than 10 months til my wedding! I can not wait to be a wife! To be able to share my life and exciting things with Tony, including graduating from college and internships and starting a new job and to come home and share that with him and for him to do the same.

For my spring break I pretty much slept as much as I could, and we’re talking about sleeping in til 10 or 11 and still taking naps. I didn’t get any homework done pretty much, but that’s what the weekend is for. But really, I am grateful for the sleep, it’s always a good week when all you can do is just catch up on sleep!

This past weekend was a wierd feeling, and a good weird feeling. Sheeva and Brenton came and visited us in Nashville. Sheeva stayed with me and Brenton stayed with Sam and Sam ending up being a pretty good tour guide and showing us all around downtown Nashville and the great eatery’s. And it was wierd because of the fact that I even had visitors! I live here now, and it was wierd that I wasn’t driving back with them to go back to Texas but that I drove back to my apartment here in TN. Oooh the chapters of life..

forgiveness, is more than saying sorry

it makes me laugh whenever i sing that, from the movie Just Friends! but in a way, its kinda the truth.

we serve a MERCIFUL and FORGIVING Father, and thank the Lord for that! We can continue to say “I’m sorry” whenever we do or say something or think something we shouldn’t, but it’s more than saying sorry on our part. It is to completely stop, to completely cut ourselves off of what is causing us to stumble.

In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be so hard! But it is, but thank the Lord for his unfailing love. And when we do mess up, do not centralize on the negative and beat yourself up; let God bring your strength back up to fight against Satan next time. We must focus on not on putting ourselves down, but to continue to get over it and begin the journey upward.

That’s hard for me, I feel like whenever I do something or say something or say I’ll do something and I don’t, I feel like I go back on my word with God, and that breaks my heart that I break His heart and let him down. It’s a learning process, but I learn to realize the amazing love God still has for me. Strive to live for Him, in His likeness! Praise the Lord, for who He is!!

And on another note…

I can’t help it, I love watching Hannah Montana and would think it’d be fabulous to have friends like Lily and Oliver..especially Oliver, he’s hilarious!

one of THOSE days..

I think when people say “It’s been one of those days..” I automatically thought that it was because it was gloomy and rainy outside, and you’re not super excited about the day but your not exactly wishing you could craw under a rock..It’s like you just feel bored and lazy don’t feel like doing anything.

Well I’m having one of those days..except in addition to all that, I feel like I have just one day of like sinking sadness, and not like a horrible tradegy sadness, it’s just I worry about things that I probably could worry about but I shouldn’t, and that I feel lonely, so I feel like one of those people on the commercial for depression and they start off being sad and all alone and then they take abilify and YAY they’re all better…

I blame it on the fact that I’m still not used to being away from home and moving away from and living on my own and not having any family here or close friends. My husband to be will be moving to Tennessee this summer, and I feel like I have an excuse to be happy about that, haha. I mean I know I should be and I am but I don’t want people to think “Well just because someone you know moves there doesn’t mean you don’t have to try and make other friends and that you should still branch out” Well, he’ll be my husband, so our connection is stronger and therefore I feel like I should be like I just want to hang out with him sometimes, most of the times.

But don’t worry, I still am branching out and still intend on making friends, I mean a girl has to have girlfriends right?! And double dating?? For sure! (Hah I sound like I’m trying to convince myself)

But it’s just been one of those days, and I pray Satan won’t be able to hold me to this, I want to break free.

BTW, I am also super excited, Tony and I moved up our wedding day to January  9th 2010! 11 months til our wedding!

Joshua 1:9!!!!

I’m getting married!!

Tony proposed on Thanksgiving Day 2008 and I threw up my hands and said yes!

Okay, so I didn’t literally throw up my hands but I probably would if I could even control what I was feeling haha. I DEFINITELY had a lot to be thankful that day! Not only the proposal and Tony, but how God has just been so good to me through moving to TN and this past year. God is an amazing God.

But now its finals, where we all need to buckle down and focus getting through 1 or 2 more weeks of school, and for some of us the finals extremely extremely count, like as in I am hanging on by a thread and a final could change my life.

But also, through this all, I encourage you to pray for our nation, a nation that struggles and is getting ready to go into a new year, with a new leader and new threats and new changes. God is our strength.

So recycle, pray, and give free hugs.