Blessed!!

I have to admit that about 1 hour ago I not so enthusiastic about my evening. Rather, I was extremely tired with a pounding headache and a mountain of studying to do for an upcoming Biology test. Could it get worse? Yes, it probably could, depending on my attitude. But it didn't! I took a moment to step out into the crisp, fall night and it's amazing what cold air can do for a person.

As I stood outside gazing into the heavens with its bright moon in a cloud-filled night, I thought of the beauty of the night. And as I continued to gaze into the night, something washed over me and I began to think of how blessed I am!

• Sight to see the beauty of the night
• Hearing to hear the sounds of the peaceful night or the music playing softly in the background
• Education and continuing education as God has allowed
• Warmth of a home, to escape from the cold night
• Water to refresh my physical body and the Word of God to refresh my spiritual being
• Fearfully and wonderfully made
• Healthy and alive to serve my Lord and be a witness of His Great Love

I can't even begin to make a dent into all the wonderful blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon my life. I was reminded tonight as I stopped to take a moment to count my blessings, I reflected on the promise that "He knows just what I need" 

Amidst the burden of the moment, He prompted me to look heavenward! He is always on time! I am blessed beyond human comprehension. Words cannot begin to even number my blessings!

A Little Love

I decided to post a link to a challenging post that I read today. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.

A Little Love

There is little so daunting as being a Stranger in a strange place. That's what I decided one day in mid-December as I sat in the sun with bare feet and looked across the wide, wide open space of the San Luis Valley.

For almost as long as I could remember, my Christmases were always white, and our days were filled with family and friends-as-close as family, caroling and warm, crackling fires on long Alaskan evenings. There were little traditions and good natured family banter. It was a happy time, but this year? None of that was going to happen.

Read more here......

A note from me: The Baby that came to earth loved us with an unconditional love, a love that He commands us to share with our neighbors and even enemies. Christmas is not just the time to share this love, but we are to live it out in our daily lives. I personally want to strive to be more loving not only this Christmas season, but each and every day. We have a reason to share this love. We were loved with an unconditional love.

I pray that when the Lord sends an opportunity my way, my eyes would be opened and I would see it as an opportunity to share and not as an inconvenience. Christ does not see us as an inconvenience, but as an eternal soul that needs love and a Savior.

Blessings to all in this Christmas season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 15 of GreaThings

Wishing a blessed Thanksgiving to you all! I know I will be thinking on the many blessings that are showered upon me this year. I know, way too often I take things for granted. Just tonight I read a post by a fellow blogger, who took time to post a video about poverty in other countries. We, as nation are truly blessed beyond comprehension. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all! May the Lord be with you! 

Inspired by whom...

Day 14 of GreaThings

The life of Paul...a man that before His conversion, persecuted many Christians. Following his conversion, he endured much heartache and many trials, including being persecuted. Yet amidst this he reminded us that he had learned that in whatsoever state he was, therewith to be content. (Phil 4.11) He continuously challenges me to be content with my lot in life, whether it is at work, or at home, or at school, or just wherever. We find that Paul rejoiced no matter his lot. Definitely has been a challenge for me.

Other Christians in the health field...I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with a large group of Christian  healthcare professionals. We spent the weekend studying God's word together, talked about experiences that only health professionals laugh, compared our trials and blessings of our jobs. For me, as a nursing student, it was a great opportunity to fellowship with other Christians and bless and be blessed!

Catch up...

It would have appeared that this dear college student has gone MIA in  relation to GreaThings 2012. Yes, I haven't posted for 5 days...so I will catch them up today without letting my post get too long.

Day 9: Difficult Experiences...the experience that was the biggest difficulty for me this past year was moving back to USA. I had spent the past two years living in Nicaragua, CA and I had made the decision to return to my home state at the end of my two-year commitment. After living two years in a new place, I had felt if I was was feeling comfortable with my surroundings and my accomplishment of the Spanish language (no, it wasn't perfect, but I could comfortably hold a conversation and learn new things at the same time). Moving back threw me into another culture shock, even though I was going to my home. This past year has brought me through many events and experiences that took extra grace as I tried to adjust to being home, living with my family instead of by myself, spending time with a youth group that had drastically changed in two years...But praise the Lord, He is faithful and always was by my side to give me extra strength for the moment.

Day 10: "I" is for...Inspirations...I just love the moments when I am doing school work or reading a book and I have an inspiration to do a random thing. It is amazing how that random thing can just add a boost to my day. Most times it isn't anything huge...something as simple as going for a walk, taking a moment to pat the cat or hold the puppies, or maybe to lay on the floor and play house with my siblings. It also can be taking the opportunity to bless another one's day by a text, an email, a card....

Day 11: New Experiences to learn from...for me, it was stepping into the local community college as a student. The first step was the scariest, but it is hard to believe that a year has passed since I first stepped in the door at Harrisburg Area Community College. I have made so many new friends and have learned so many things from my studies, but I also have been strengthened in my Christian life. As I began attending classes there, I was challenged to look at my life and evaluate to verify that "my talk" matched "my walk". Each semester brings another new experience and continuously I need to stop and look at my life and make sure that I am where God wants me.

Day 12: Three New Things that I have learned....I hope no one minds, but I am gonna bring in some of my Biology lessons. Did you know....

• A single drop of blood contains more than 250 million blood cells
• Humans actually have 5 different tastes on their tongue: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami
• Humans can distinguish approximately 10,000 odors

Day 13: "G" is for....great friends! My many great friends have stood by me this year and laughed and cried with me. Sometime we didn't always agree about matters, but we cared enough to believe in each other.

Well, I believe this has gotten long enough :)

"H" is for....

Day 8 of GreaThings, a day late. Some days this college student just doesn't reach around.

Heaven....
As I continue to pass the days, whether at work, at school, at home, at church, the thought is always in my mind of heaven. At times when the nature around me seems so beautiful, I just stop and wonder and imagine how much more beautiful heaven is. The beauty around us cannot even begin to emphasize the beauty that awaits. 

When I think of heaven, it thrills me to think that some day, I will be home eternally. The song below, sung by The Esh Family, often comes to mind when I think of Heaven and the Eternal Home that awaits me and all the others that are fully surrendered to Christ and His commandments.



The thought of seeing my Lord, with the nail-scarred hands, who die so that I might live. The thought of that just overwhelms me and fills me with a desire to be wholly committed to Him. I also think of all the Christians that have gone before and the glory of being gathered together around the throne, praising our Lord. 

Heaven...Oh, it makes me feel like traveling!

"T" is for...

Day 7 of GreaThings

Tea...

The ladies from church have a mother-daughter tea once a year. It was a wonderful time to get together as women and enjoy each other's company and listen to a sister share the blessings that God laid on her heart. It is always fun to see all the cute dainty tea things that each different lady brings along.

Thunderstorms...

At one time, thunderstorms were not my favorite thing. However thunderstorms were a common occurrence 6 months out of a year in Central America. With all the thunderstorms, also came the possibility of losing electricity in our homes, so I gained a new appreciation for thunderstorms. This past year we had so many storms in my home area and I just loved to sit on the porch and watch the lightning and listen to the thunder.

This is just another brief look at my many blessings!

Lyrics that have been a blessing...

Day 6 of GreaThings

All I Need

1. Jesus Christ is made to me, 

All I need, All I need,

He alone, is all my plea, 

He is all I need.

Chorus: 

Wisdom, righteousness, and pow'r,

Holiness for evermore,

My redemption full and sure,

He is all I need.

2. He redeemed me when He died,

All I need, All I need,

I with Him was crucified, 

He is all I need.

3. To my Savior will I cleave,

All I need, All I need,

He will not His Servant leave,

He is all I need.

4. He's the treasure of my soul,

All I need, all I need,

He hath cleansed and made me whole,

He is all I need.

HE IS ALL I NEED! Praise the Lord!

Answered Prayers....

Day 5 of GreaThings, also a day late

Answered prayers....my mind seemed to stop. At first thought, my past year didn't seem to bring any mountain-moving answers to prayer or miracles. However as a daughter of the King, I knew that it was not true.

The most important one that came for me was searching for God's will as I returned from 2yrs of VS work in Nicaragua. What would God have me do? Where should I go from here? Why was I called home from the place that I had come to love: a place that had so much beauty among destitution and poverty.

Or  called away from those children and adults that had overtaken my heart and held some of the many strong ties: the ones that I cried with when they loss a loved one or were suffering physically, the ones I laughed with as we cooked over open fires.
Why, oh why couldn't I stay?

But God had other plans in mind for me...I returned to the US, and started back at my previous job, where currently I still work. However in the early fall of 2011, I applied at the local community college. I was accepted and in January of 2012, I begin my General Ed classes for an Associate's Degree in Nursing. It was a dream come true and an answer to prayer about what He would have me do. I have have found so much blessing in this one answered prayer, that I can only begin to imagine about the others. 

I have made so many new friends, since I started attending college. Some of them have strengthened my Christian walk, causing me to see areas that need some brushing up. He knew just were to place me in this time of my life. How marvelous a God we serve!

I know that this is just one answered prayer, but God is faithful and neither words nor pages suffice to tell all His blessings.

"E" is for....

Day 4 of GreaThings, a day late!

Evenings....

Every evening displays its beauty in a different way. Each sunset is unique in its own way. I just love the chance to photograph the evening sky, though it hasn't happened too recently, due to school priorities. Evenings remind me of how different each of us are and how at the end of our life, our life's story will be unique. It challenges me to live my life, so that it reflects the beauty of my Savior.

Encuentro de Jovenes...

"Encuentro de Jovenes" is Spanish for a youth meeting. I was privileged to have the opportunity to fly back to Nicaragua for a week to take part in a Spanish Bible School. The blessing of going back to my "second" home, spending time with my friends, studying God's Word together.

Enchiladas...

I know they probably do not look to be the healthiest food (and probably aren't since Nicaraguans cook with oil, like Americans use water), but they were so good. I have attempted to make them several times(with a little less oil), but the natives can make them so much better.

Scriptural Blessings

Technically Day 3 of GreaThings is a day late. I currently work as a sales associate at a furniture store. I planned to take time to update the blog last night, however I came home to find that we had no internet access. So no blog was written and online college homework could not be completed...I will admit that I was a little worried about my homework and meeting the deadline. 

However I was reminded of 1 Peter 5.7: "Casting all you care upon him; for he careth for you." Even though it seemed like I might not be able to submit homework in time, God still cared about the smallest detail and we regained internet access today at noon. 

Another favorite of mine is 2 Chronicles 7.14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." I constantly remind myself of this verse and routinely stick my name in there to make it even more personal. We serve a loving God, who cares about each one of us-enough to want to forgive us and heal us, if only we ask. 

There are so many blessings in God's Word, that I cannot even begin to name them all! Blessings to each one!

The "R" Blessings

Redemption: 

I stopped to think of the "R" blessings, and the first one that came to mind was that of our redemption. 

Without Christ coming to redeem me and forgive my sins, I would be a poor lost sinner. He is the reason I am alive and singing today. Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for each of us and redeeming us from our awful life of sin

Rest: 

Being the college student that I am, rest has become a valuable part of my life. In order to be effective and receive all out of a class, I realized the need for rest. Be properly rested has made many a day much easier to go through. Whether rest is physical rest as in sleep, or mental rest as in a vacation, both have done wonders for me a college student. 

Just taking the afternoon to sit by the lake, see the clouds float by, talk to friends, catch up on the lives of others: all have a way of refreshing and relaxing the weary one.

Research:

As a future nursing student and a sibling to a brother with a genetic disorder, I am once again reminded of the blessing that we have as a nation in regards to research. 

Had it not been for medical research, all of these people would probably not have been around to for this picture. Suffering from MSUD, some of these children or adults would have been severely damaged or crippled; many would have possibly died. After spending 2 days surrounded by all these young people and listening to doctors discuss new research, I was thankful  and blessed to be surrounded by research and doctors willing to learn.

These are just some of the many blessings God has showered upon my life!

Great memories and moments!

Wow! Today is the kick-off of GreaThings 2012! I am looking forward to being blessed and blessing others as well.

To start of my collection of great moments and memories:

1. January brought forth a new experience for me; that known as college life. With much apprehension, I stepped into my first day, but time has just flown by. No, college life has not been all roses; it has had its thorns, but it has become one of my most enjoyed moments of my daily routine. Each day is filled with many new concepts and new information. My favorite classes have become my Biology classes. Not one day in classes passes by without reminding me to "parise thee; for i am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" Psalm 139.14
2. Flying out west to spend time with a dear friend, taking time to tour her home area, just have time as friends. Spent 4 days with her, took the opportunity to quilt a king-size quilt for her future home. Then spending time with her and her boyfriend when they came into the area for a weekend retreat...so many memories.
3. New friends...college friends, youth, local coffee shop owners, study buddies. Friends near, friends far, friends dear...the list goes on and on. I am blessed to have so many friends that surround me and left me up when the going gets tough, who laugh with me and cry with me. 

Just sitting down to write this has made me stop and realize how blessed I am.

GreaThings Info

One thing that I have come to enjoy about Facebook, is finding so many blogs out there that are dedicated to the inspiration of the Christian. Just this week I became aware of GreaThings. Started in 2007, it has become a tradition that happens each November for two weeks before Thanksgiving. Starting November 8th through November 22nd, I have decided to give it a whirl. For any of you who would like to know more about this challenge, check out  Great Things and Great Things 2012 Schedule.

Each day I will add the new post to the list below!

GreaThings 2012

Nov. 08 – Great memories & moments you’re thankful for this year
Nov. 09 – The "R" Blessings
Nov. 10 - Scriptural Blessings!
Nov. 11 - "E" is for...
Nov. 12 - Answered Prayers
Nov. 13 - Lyric that has been a blessing 
Nov. 14 - "L" is for...
Nov. 15-20 - Catch Up..
Nov. 21 - Inspired by whom