Voice of God

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” –Isaiah 30:21

Do you ever have those moments where you just want to hear from God? Desperately, you have to hear His voice, because you just don’t know what to do? I do… all the time. And sometimes I don’t feel like I hear Him at all, and then I wonder - am I good Christian? I long to hear a thunderous voice, like when God opened the heavens to talk to His son (Matt. 3:17), or a still small voice, like when God passed by the cave Elijah was in and spoke to Him (1 Kings 19:9-18). But I don’t hear anything, and if there is a still small voice I don’t hear it.

Why? Why do I have trouble hearing that voice, that is so audible to others? Perhaps I don’t have a relationship with Him, after all “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:47) Mostly I think it’s because I don’t cultivate the relationship. If I want to know what God is saying, I have to listen. I have to stop talking for a second and just open my heart and ask Him to speak… then the tricky part; I have to be quiet.

But sometimes I do hear from God. I hear pretty clearly… but I turn around and stop listening. I become like Jonah, and run from what God is telling me to do. Maybe because what God is asking me to do is too tough, it will take too much of my time and my effort, or I just don’t want to do it. It doesn’t fall into my plan, and that’s really selfish. I am really selfish.

What would happen if I stopped avoiding what God was telling me and just got to know Him? If I really listened to His voice, I might be able to change the world one step at a time, I might become the aroma of Christ to others, and I might be able to spread His word boldly. God is speaking, and He wants to speak to you. All you have to do is listen.

Nadine <><

Dearest Friends,

It's over... I'm officially done with my "Call to Die" tomorrow.

And I'm kind of sad

It's not that I won't enjoy getting back on FB (because I will) and it's not that I don't want to buy a Starbucks as soon as I can (because I do) but I feel like I'm losing a piece of who I've been these past few weeks.

The last study was great. (So David Nasser if you ever read this, great job on that last day) I really felt moved, and ready to take the next step.

However there is one thing I REALLY can't wait for...

And that is to see where God takes me next!

Stay along for the ride, bloggers

Yours,

Nadine

snowed in... from a couple of days ago

Hae,

(That's how you say Hello in Icelandic)

I'm snowed in!

At least more or less, I got permission to work from home today and then rehearsal was cancelled. So... I get to stay home all day!!!

I mean besides the obvious, I've had to get some work done (It was all work I liked), and I had to help with my little siblings for a little while (which isn't bad at all) and I helped wash dishes(which is actually very relaxing for me)

Therefore I didn't do too much today, I sat in my room and did my work. Which included a lot of reading and writing! And watched out my window at the snow falling down, I also turned my Christmas lights on, and lit my candle.

Then I was distracted by a slight buzzing, so I looked up and saw...

A fly!

Just a plain ordinary house fly. And he was trying to get out of my room by way of my closed window. Why on earth that poor little house fly wanted to leave the safety of my warm room for the frozen wonderland outside, is beyond me! He kept banging his fragile body against the window and made no progress, nor did he wise up. A second later, I was distracted by the silence. I looked up hoping that the fly hadn't killed himself, but nope he was simply sitting on my Jane Austen book. And do you know what he was doing?

He was washing! He started with his front hands, then gently rubbed all over his head (I would assume he was washing his hair). After which he washed his middle legs, then his back legs. He scrubbed those little feet together, and then he gently began cleaning his wings. It was the most amazing sight! He cleaned the bottom of his wings, then holding his right wing with one foot and scrubbed the top of it with his other. Then he switched; and cleaned the other wing in the same delicate manner.

Just a reminder of the amazing detail of God's amazing earth!

There is my little friend now, he is starting the whole cleaning process again. :)

Yours, the Creation Observer

Nadine <><

Day 11- Purchased

Hi Fellow Disciples,

When you were a kid, did you ever wonder what your price tag would say? I used to... Maybe I was just a weird kid, but I used to wonder.

I used to wonder if I was for sale, how much would I cost?

Possibly just an odd idea, but I wondered and considered.

Then one day, it hit me. I did have a purchase price. And someone did buy me!

Christ. He bought me with His blood and sinless life.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."-1 Cor. 6:19-20

It makes a difference, doesn't it? To know that you were purchased.

You have incredible worth, and incredible belonging.

Take a second and let in sink in. How much must God have loved you, to sacrifice His only Son to purchase you?

Yours A Child Owned By God,

Nadine <><

Day 10- Rubbish

Dear Fellow Disciples,

When I think of rubbish I think of trash, the bottom of the heap, the stuff that you would find seeping from toxic waste bags. Dangerous, gross, disgusting, waste, rubbish.

Rubbish to me is something to be avoided, to be stepped around, and certainly not something you would eat and fill yourself with.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." ~Philippians 3:7-8

But according to Paul, that's what we do. We fill ourselves on things of this world... and compared to Christ- the things of this world are rubbish. We fill our souls, minds and hearts with rubbish-the things of this world. That we shrug off and say,

"It's not that bad." or "That kind of thing doesn't affect me."

I'm just as guilty of any of this as you all are, but what I wonder is if we all really stopped pursuing things of this world. honestly, looked at what we sought- what would our lives look like?

Did you know? That when the Bible translators came across the original language Paul used they decided that the word he used was too vulgar and they couldn't use it- so they used 'rubbish' instead?

Funny.

In Christ,

Nadine <><

Question: When compared to Christ, what becomes 'rubbish' to you?

Lights from the Fog

It's late and I'm tired. But I can't sleep... The weather is anything but warm, but lovely nonetheless. From where I am sitting I can see little light beams beckoning to me from amidst the fog. They are quietly calling my name, they call me to a chilly world of adventure. A world where one must face challenges, enemies, battles, huge problems, friendships, love and loneliness. It's the world I face from here at my desk. The world I must face tomorrow and the next day... and the next. They say to me- it's alright love, wait and love will come- which is probably a line from a movie. I can see now, that the love I am waiting for is from my King. Jesus. He is coming, and He is coming into my heart the more I prepare it for Him. When loneliness strikes it doesn't always mean that He has left me, it often means that I am not paying attention. That I am being distracted. That the shiny light of the the reflections on the snow are distracting me from the real light ... the light that shines in the darkness through the power of God.

How can I stand here and not be moved by You?

He is calling... He is coming... He is HERE! He is all around, and I don't ever have to be alone when facing the adventures of the world.

Yours Eternally,

Nadine <><

Just A Thought...

This video made me happy! :-) So I thought I would share!

Day 9- Treasure

Dear Fellow Disciples,

What is the single greatest treasure you can think of?

-money, fame, a handwritten letter, a dress, a big-screen television, a book-

If you are a Christian, I hope you said Jesus... of course that's the Sunday school answer, and you probably don't mean it... although you might. But do your actions say that Jesus is your greatest treasure? Does your life say that the Good News of Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure you could ever imagine?

I'm quite guilty of not living this way, I have to admit that I love being able to buy cute clothes, fun shoes, big earrings, and most importantly books. I can never have enough books. I also enjoy spending my time watching movies, I can say that I don't watch that many 'bad' movies, but I don't always use my time wisely or with God in the top of my mind because I spend a lot of free time reading my books and watching movies. My actions don't always match up with the fact, that I know I can look forward to living eternally with Jesus; sometimes I get worried, or stressed, or distracted.

But God is my greatest treasure, and if asked (like the rich young man) I would give up all of my earthly treasures to follow Jesus. And as I can I try to learn to give up my earthly habits and earthly ways...

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." -Matt. 13:44-46

Question: How does one get a camel through the eye of the needle?

Nadine <><

Day 8- Lies

Hi Fellow Disciples,

Satan. hmm... what do you think? It's a scary prospect how real and how close he really is. And he is out to hurt us, to drag us down, to separate us from God.

This world is hard enough, but on top of it all we have someone who tempts us, accuses us, causes confusion in our lives and throws obstacles in our way. The precious seed that has been planted in our life, he wants destroyed...

"The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." -Matthew 13:22-23

Thankfully, we have someone on our side!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" -Ephesians 6:10-13

Therefore, fix your eyes on Jesus! And prepare yourself for battle against evil, and stand.

Question: how does one prepare for battle?

Nadine <><

Day 7- God's Word

Hi Fellow Disciples,

"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sward, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything in uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." -Hebrews 4:12-13

For this day, I realized I don't spend nearly enough time in God's word... !

Funny, isn't it? How easy it is to say, 'Oh yes, the Bible is hugely important and reading it is great!' and quite another thing to take the time to actually read it... let alone memorize or spend time thinking about it.

Did you know when you hear something 10% of it stays with you? or when you read something 25% of it stays with you? or when you study something 50% of it stays with you? or when memorized 80% of something stays with you? but when you meditate on it 100% of it will stay with you? Interesting, yes? ;)

So allowing yourself to soak in God's word, spending time thinking about it and praying for God to open your mind that you may understand His word... will allow it to penetrate into your heart and change your life.

is that scary or what? change...

The question is, isn't this kind of change good?

Question: what does it mean to truly study and understand God's word?

Nadine <><

Day 5 & 6- Excuses and God's Work

hola...

hehehe... so obviously Day 5. Yes, I did make excuses as to why I couldn't write on this blog. But don't worry I will make the effort to catch you all up!

Day 5- Excuses, Excuses

This was an interesting day for me, you see I'm really good at making excuses. When I don't want to do something, I can convince myself out of it. And when I'm supposed to do something I can convince myself that I deserve a well earned break. Now so far I've been really good at waking up early in order to do Bible study taking the time to focus on what I'm doing and really dig into God's word. But I could feel sleepiness hovering right behind my eyes I knew it wouldn't be long before I would want to sleep in... I knew it wouldn't be long before my mom asked me to help with the babies earlier, forcing an even earlier wake-up time... I knew it was only a matter of time till I would start making excuses. That was when I opened the book and found my eyes meeting the word-- excuse! Imagine my surprise, who knew that David Nasser knew me?!?! But I read it, and realized that I make more excuses then I even thought I did. I make excuses about movies I go to see (well, everyone else saw it. It can't be THAT bad!); about how I spend my time (I get good grades, I can take a break right about now.); and about how I treat my spiritual life ( I'm better then those people, I don't need to spend too much time on this.) Then I knew, I wanted something above all of those excuses. I wanted to be a passionate person who didn't make excuses but instead put others above herself! After all when we are Christian, it's not about all the 'No's' we have to say it's about the one 'Yes!' we get to say! =D

The verse we focused on was Matthew 6:24 "Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay His head.' Another disciples said to Him, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' But Jesus told him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.' Question of the day: How often do we make excuses for our own comfort or what we view as the right way to do things?

Day 6- God's Work

We focused on how rules have their place but they often cause us to become hard-hearted or judgmental. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, our lives are changed and we become more like Christ. I really enjoyed the verses in this one, so let me give you several to ponder and marinate in...

-Galatians 5:19-23: The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-controlled. Against such things there is no law.

-Galatians: So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

-Psalm 116:1-2: I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

- Romans 14:4-5,19: Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

-And the day's verse, Philippians 2:12-13: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

So, open your heart and let God work in you! Imagine what you could do...

In Christ,

Nadine <><

Day 4~ Rewards

Hi :)

So today we talked about REWARDS... what is a reward? A reward is a fair return for either good or bad behavior. Fair return, meaning if you kill someone your reward should be death, if you share a cookie your reward should be a cookie! haha... Does God give us fair rewards? For me this is a difficult question to answer. If you are a Christian, you don't get a fair reward- you get a hugely generous reward! You receive

forgiveness and eternal life.

But for those who don't... you get a very fair reward... yikes! ;)

The verse we talked about today was: "Don't be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows in the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up." ~Galatians 6:7-9. I really like this verse, it's encouraging! God won't miss any good we do, so we ca

n do good unnoticed. On the flip side, we can do evil unnoticed and God will still know. But! We must never give up. I like the visual of the reaping and sowing, it feels good to think we can sow and never see the product until it is time to reap.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not give up! Let us never back down. Instead may we all sow in the Spirit that one day our rewards will be good and hugely unfair... and 100 % more then we sowed. Take encouragement from that thought.

In Christ,

Nadine <><

"We will reap what we sow, more than we sow, and after we sow." -David Nasser

Day 2 & 3 (Hard words & Ruin!)

Hi

So day 2 was good as was day 3... except that I feel tired! Oh well... not much to do about that except maybe get to sleep :)

Day 2 we looked at hard words. And how Jesus calls us to a very hard teaching. This wasn't too hard for me to think about... it makes a lot of sense. To quote some famous person... being a Christian is one of the hardest easy things to do... or was it the other way around. Either way, it makes sense doesn't it? That we have simply to believe in Christ to be saved... but then our love for Jesus calls us to do extremely hard things. What do you think? BTW, the verse is "On hearing it, many of His disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching, who can accept it?' From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him." ~John 6:60,66

Day 3 we talked about how we have to be ruined. What?!?! ( you must be saying) let me explain. Today's verse is: "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'" ~Isaiah 6:5

This is the prophet Isaiah (obviously!) talking about how he shouldn't see the Lord Almighty because of the evil in his heart coming out of his lips. We must see how truly sinful we are in order to see how truly HOLY God is!!!! How truly we need His love and forgiveness.

What do you think? Have you ever had a time in your life where you saw God's forgiveness so personally in your life?

Yours in Christ,

Nadine <><

Day 1 (Call to Die)

Today's verse: Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."


Day one. I can't tell you how excited I am! The devotion got me off to a great start this morning and I had a really nice day; filled with times where I thought and prayed and times where I wondered what on earth I've gotten myself into.


One thing I'm really questioning and if you have any ideas please share... why is it that we feed our selfish interests? You know, we go see that movie even though we know that it doesn't have any redeeming qualities (maybe we heard that it's funny...) and we don't protest that school book that has the dirty content and we listen to the music that has the language... sometimes we even seek the attention of people who aren't seeking God. huh... Why? I'm not saying that I don't do those things I'm just saying why would anyone. Why would we ever seek anything that wasn't pure and good and godly and whole and lovely and truly beautiful. What do you think? Any thoughts, I would love to talk to you about it!


Yours Forever In Christ,
Nadine <><


BTW ~ Check out this music video- think on it and listen to the words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkpaw9HQQg8

Fasting...

Hi!

So... i'm fasting! I am fasting facebook and starbucks! This is going to be hard. :) but i' m excited

I chose to do this because I'm a part of a Bible study that is doing the devotional

A CALL TO DIE

Impressive title, no? ;) Part of the commitment is to give up something for 40 days (of course since we are only doing 5 of the studies a week- it ends up being a fast for 8 weeks!) I thought carefully about what was hardest for me to live without... and before long came up with a tie. Facebook and Starbucks

Thus- the double fast! But it will be good.

Do you want to know something else? shh... i'm not sure how this part will work out. BUT I also am going to try to blog everyday, even if it's just a photo or just a small little thought I want to share this journey with whoever cares. So check back to hear how I'm doing!

Well, that's it for now. Good night my friends!

In Christ,

Nadine <><

bye :(

I hate goodbyes- so much so that I often avoid them. When I know it's coming, I will leave quickly or spend as much time as I can with the person and deny the fact that they will be leaving me soon.

It reminds of this little girl my family used to baby sit, when her parents returned and it was time for me to leave she would hide- under the couch, or in her bathroom. Wherever... as long as we couldn't find her.

When she was found and told I was leaving, she would stubbornly refuse to say good-bye. She just wouldn't say it, hoping that in the omission of the word the action of my leaving wouldn't happen.

Somedays I want to be like her, just not say good-bye and hope that because I'm not saying it they can't leave...

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that when you are older. They leave whether you say good-bye or not.

THouGHT FoR THe DaY

I sit- staring at the oncoming storm, myself and my books are outside... exposed to the elements. This little old couple walked by and laughingly informed me that I would soon be wet! I smiled, and watched them walk (holding hands) to their car. The gentleman opened his wife's door, helped her in and then proceeded to get into his own car. My heart got teary...

and then THUNDER struck I turned in my chair to make sure the Starbucks was still behind me (it was) and continued to watch the sky.

I've decided (which I do often- make decisions that is) that it was worth the risk of getting wet to continue enjoying the fresh air the amazing clouds and the outdoors of God. (And I mustn't forget the view of the mountains!) So far it is worth every risk! I must leave in a moment but THIS moment should never be cheated out of it's full worth.

Thank you for sharing it with me!

P.S. Did I mention I was listening to Frank Sinatra?

-fifty-

50. Chewing the fat with friends... we talk as though we haven't seen each other for years when really it's only been a day

49. The smell of coffee... I hate the taste but the smell is soothing

48. The worn-out pages of a beloved, and well read book

47. My soft old stuffed bear... Ragzy

46. Dead pointe shoes

45. Traveling... especially flying in airplanes all by myself!

44. Taking pictures of people that I love

43. Creating intricate pieces of jewelry! And then seeing people wear them

42. The way real fires leave the smoky smell on your clothes... I never want to wash it out

41. Sitting in Starbucks all alone and people watching... they do the weirdest things

40. Reading my Bible, but especially when God just says something really clearly

39. My little women :D

38. Watching old musicals and singing every single song (That one is for those of you, who strongly dislike musicals... you know who you are)

37. Helping people... in small ways & big ways

36. Sunflowers, I love how they always face the sun! What a great purpose to life

35. Having something you've done be appreciated by others, it feels good to be able to share your gifts

34. Tom's Shoes!

33. Singing Taylor Swift songs at the top of my lungs with my friends

32. The nervous anxious feeling that I get before shows being soothed away be people who care

31. Talking in "Secret Codes" with close friends!

30. writing something awesome that is just for you and God

29. Galveston...

28. Driving in the rain with the windows down and listening to Jack Johnson

27. Having christmas lights up in my room- all year round

26. CHAI TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!

25. susiemag.com- if you are a girl who loves God- check out this mag!

24. sketching, especially when listening to rock

23. my soft brown blanket & naps!

22. bubble baths

21. long, jangly earrings

20. dictionaries (but I'm not fond of making a fool of myself trying to spell ridiculously hard words!)

19. Michael Bublé - yep

18. the movie PENELOPE!!!!!! awesomeness

17. the word SERENDIPITY

16. talking with writers & readers

15. walking everywhere barefoot

14. Narnia

13. being melancholy... sometimes you just need to be

12. "HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE..." (if you can't finish this... your loss!)

11. a clean room!

10. completing that triple pirouette en pointe

9. Christmas time- when you get to see all the family you only see once a year!

8. My Bookshelf

7. purity ring- very important!

6. Big Sunglasses

5. late night talks with Katie

4. chatting on facebook

3. staying up late- just to write

2. Waking up Early! To spend time with God

1. God & Jesus & Holy Spirit - and the way they work in my life

that's fun... :)

Worried? Don't be

My mom said something today that struck home... she said that sometimes God lets small troubles happen so that we are prepared for the larger storms that are heading our way. It was this that saved my day! I'm not going to go into long, boring details, but the main thing is... something happened and it threw this fact- that I can not do everything perfectly on my own- right up into my face! I was heartbroken to have made a huge mistake, but I was gently reminded that everything would be okay and would work out. And nothing I could do would change what had already happened.

Remember that verse? The one about not worrying? Check out Matthew 6, the verse that stands out to me is verse 27; "Can any of you add a single day to his life by worrying?" The answer in case you are confused is No! We can't add a single day to our lives, a single inch to our height and we most definitely can not travel back in time and erase mistakes by worrying. So what good will it do us to worry? None.

I suppose what I am saying is that... I've decided not to worry. But learn my lessons, even the hard ones, and move on. After all, "tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it... yet."

Talking

This evening I had a lovely time, I got to talk to some of my friends-- guys and girls. We had a good discussion about relationships. So for those of you who have questions, ask and the answer will be given to you!

For instance when the girls were asked what they found attractive in a guy, these were some of the answers...

-Be cocky, but not arrogant. Cocky is a confidence and joking pride, arrogant is just pride. Arrogant is NOT attractive.

-Pursue the girl, but don't rush things. The girl wants you to do the pursuing, but not you throwing yourself at her feet.

-Never compare her, to anyone! I personally, find it very annoying when people compare things I do to things they have seen in others. Girls like being their own person.

-Find special ways to show that you like her, and if she does something quirky that you appreciate tell her so!

-Don't use Facebook or texting or phone calls, for important discussions. Wait till you can do it in person!

-Don't belittle women, or the girl you are talking to. It's demeaning and rude.

-Be yourself! Don't force humor, or personality, or appearance. The right girl will like you for who you are. And please don't change yourself for the girl you like, it's not being honest to yourself or the girl!

And here are some things we girls found out...

-Don't wear too much make-up. It's more attractive to wear a little bit of make-up just to enhance your natural beauty.

-Dress naturally. Wear clothes that fit the situation, dress-up sometimes and dress comfortably as well.

-Ditzy... don't do it!

-Don't have huge melt-downs in front of guys... it freaks them out. Instead just discuss things, if you have something you want to discuss... be approachable so that they feel they can talk and give you advice.

-Don't be the kind of girl that is always hanging out with all the guys. Have girl friends too!

-Be yourself! Don't fake your appearance, or your personality.

So the most important thing? BE YOURSELF!!!! It's important to be honest, to yourself and everyone else too. Also the biggest thing for me... have a relationship with Jesus that is more important then anything else. As we are creatures who long for love and relationships, I think talking about it is important! But remember our definition doesn't come from other people... it comes from Jesus. So follow Him!

'A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ

That a man should have to seek Him first to find her." -Maya Angelou

Sometimes... Most times I fail...

I am dependent.

Coming from the me-- a person who wants to and usually can do everything by myself-- this is an odd statement, to say the least.

It's hard for me to admit that I can't do it all alone... but I can't.

I don't have the strength, the courage, or even the faith to do it alone.

It's hard for me to admit that I'm not perfect. You see, I was one of those people who got good grades, rarely made a mistake and was the favorite of most. But I fail...

in life

I make devastating mistakes that rip into people I love or injure someone who was looking to me... because I am a Christian.

So here I am DECLARING I'm not perfect, I can't be independent and I can't do this alone.

I fall to me knees in the front of the One who can help me -- who is perfect-- and who won't bend when I lean dependent on Him.

Jesus, the Light of All Men

Purple

My favorite color is purple! It has been my favorite color since before I can remember.

I can't tell you EXACTLY why it's my favorite color, it just is! I love other colors too; like

blue and green,

brown and magenta,

yellow and turquoise.

But I always come back to purple.

I suppose that I prefer purple... because it symbolizes certain things for me.

First off, it's the color of the Purple Mountain Majesties. And I don't know what I would do without my mountains. Their strength, quiet and persistent, gives me a quiet peace on days when I feel anxious. After all, if the mountains have been there hundreds of years, and my God has been around even longer-- and neither of them has been shaken, then I can trust and rely on certain things.

Purple is also the color of royalty. To me it reminds me that yes I am a princess of the King, and I deserve the best! :) Corny, perhaps; but true. The robe that they wrapped around my Saviour when they were crucifying Him... was purple. The royal power in death?

Lastly, I suppose at this point in my life I feel that if I changed my favorite color I would lose a part of me. A part that I am extremely fond of-- I love the fact that my favorite color is purple. It's something of me... that hasn't changed, even as I have grown up and changed.... yep, my favorite color is purple!

What's yours?

A Taste of My Book-- that is in the works

A dark shadow was growing in the forest. The shadow seemed to have a strange heartbeat of power, which controlled its movements—long, sultry, dangerous movements. It blocked the sunlight from entering past the utmost branches of the trees, and the woods were silent and empty of all creatures. Even the flora of the forest shied from the shadow, bending in its wake and dying behind it. The shadow stemmed from a dark and domineering castle that was harbored in the midst of the forest. The castle was made of no recognizable material; it seemed to merely grow from the earth beneath it. The castle had no windows, and its shape was muffled into shadows. The strangest thing about this castle was mostly the pervading silence—pierced by blood-curdling screams and followed by vicious laughter.

The dark shadows of the forest held a terrible secret… a shadow was growing… and a horror was being created. Inside the castle, hundreds of tiny shadows shuffled from room to room. It was too dark to determine any individual features; in fact the only light in the entire building came from a central room that was two stories high. The light was tinted magenta and only lit a small sphere. Only one person stood in the room: standing in the shadow and staring at the circle of light. Breathing echoed from the corner—deep and ragged, like a wild creature. It was the breath of a witch.

A person, neither completely human nor anything else, a mystery in almost every aspect. They were never born and could not die unless killed. They were immortals and therefore claimed similar lineage of fairies. Witches were rare, and were now becoming mere stories. But one witch was left, one witch had a terrible deed yet to fulfill.

There she stood—tall and regal—staring down from her dark throne. Her features were sharp and angular, her jaw was set and her lips were pulled tight against her teeth. Her hair hung low down her back, in black loose curls. She was not beautiful, but rather imposing. Her figure was taller then most men, and square. She was hard; nothing soft or lilting melted her features. Instead her strong stance and presence intensified her person. And she was livid with anger.