Just found this in another blog and thought it was  cute -

 A boy was sitting on a park bench with one hand resting on an open Bible. He was loudly exclaiming his praise to God. “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God is great!” he yelled without worrying whether anyone heard him or not.

Shortly after, along came a man who had recently completed some studies at a local university. Feeling himself very enlightened in the ways of truth and very eager to show this enlightenment, he asked the boy about the source of his joy.

“Hey” asked the boy in return with a bright laugh, “Don’t you have any idea what God is able to do? I just read that God opened up the waves of the Red Sea and led the whole nation of Israel right through the middle.”

The enlightened man laughed lightly, sat down next to the boy and began to try to open his eyes to the “realities” of the miracles of the Bible. “That can all be very easily explained. Modern scholarship has shown that the Red Sea in that area was only 10 inches deep at that time. It was no problem for the Israelites to wade across.”

The boy was stumped. His eyes wandered from the man back to the Bible laying open in his lap. The man, content that he had enlightened a poor, naive young person to the finer points of scientific insight, turned to go. Scarcely had he taken two steps when the boy began to rejoice and praise louder than before. The man turned to ask the reason for this resumed jubilation.

“Wow!” exclaimed the boy happily, “God is greater than I thought! Not only did He lead the whole nation of Israel through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!”

Love is in the air...

So that time of year is here once again - Valentines Day (well almost anyways). The time of year where you show the person you love how much you love them. Truth be told to many it seems to be a holiday that is over commercialized so companies can make money. And in this day in age it may very well be ... but I say who cares. What is wrong with having a day dedicated solely to showing someone how much you love them? Yes you should them all year around ... but it's nice to make the one you love feel special. So why not do it on a day like Valentine's Day?

And for those of you who sit around pouting because you don't have "someone" to spend Valentine's Day with , you aren't doing yourself any favors. As a girl I can sympathize about wanting to share it was that special someone ... but if you don't have that special "someone" to spend it with what good does pouting do?  Do you have friends? Do you have a family? Why not spend time with them? Yes, Valentines Day is more of a romantic holiday. But I think it's the "romance" of Valentine's Day that is overplayed at times. Truth be told it's more of a day about showing, sharing, and receiving love.

As for me. I shall be spending my Valentine's Day at college and later that evening at the IBC Valentine's Banquet. Since I surround myself with people I love and who love me in return anyways, looks like I'm set for this day of "love". No, I will not have that special "someone" to spend it with I will , however, have amazing friends and a great banquet date (one of my good guy friends) to spend it with. What more could a girl ask for?

The Great Physician

   Okay, so the other day at church (Sunday morning to be exact) they had prayer for the sick and asked those who needed prayer for their bodies to come to the front to be prayed for. I didn't feel like I needed to go up considering nothing was really wrong with me , that is except for the fact that I had a cold.

  
   But it's just a cold no biggy, right? That's what I've always thought.I don't remember a time or age where I didn't have a cold . Now I don't catch major things like the flu that easily , but colds are easy to the extreme for me to catch (even in the middle of summer with perfect weather). Since I've always been able to catch colds like a fisherman catches fish. It's just been a way of life for me.

  
   I also came to the realization that I was tired and this seems to be a reoccurring thing with me. It doesn't matter how much rest I do or don't get. I never seem to get enough sleep.

    
   Suddenly it hit me! I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Since it had become a way of life for me I never really thought about asking for healing for it. Not that I didn't think God couldn't/wouldn't do it but since I've been "sickly" for as long as I can remember it was just something that never occurred to me. Now don't ask me why it took 23 years for me to figure this out, but it did.

    
   I walked up to the front to get prayed for and I myself prayed for healing like I never had before. I felt God's presence surround me. Now I wasn't miraculously healed in that moment and though that would've been great I learned something very powerful in that moment.

    
   While I was praying I found myself speaking the words "God, even if you don't heal me you are still a healer and I thank you for being a healer just the same." These were words I didn't even know were within me to say. And then suddenly I found my mind flooded with how powerful that was as well as how amazing of a sermon it would make.
    
    I have since been trying to write the thought down and I think I've finally came up with a good enough rough draft of it. LOL sadly it came to me during Gospel's today , so needless to say I wasn't really paying attention during class (Sorry Bro. Brown haha). But anywho ... here's my thought :

      God is always God no matter what he does or doesn't do.

      If God doesn't heal you for whatever reason doesn't mean he's not a healer. Just because doesn't do something for us doesn't mean he's incapable of doing it and yet we feel like if he doesn't meet our needs he isn't capable of doing it. We find ourselves saying " God, you didn't provide for me when I was in need, you aren't who you really say you are."

     Why do we seem to put God on a lower standard than humans themselves ? God's ways are higher than ours. If he chooses not to do something doesn't mean he has forsaken us but indeed has greater plans beyond our knowledge and/or belief.

    If a doctor cannot cure a disease does that mean he isn't a doctor? No!

   If a bank doesn't give you money does that mean it isn't a bank? No!

   If a Mechanic cannot fix your car does that mean he isn't a mechanic? No!

   If a parent tells their child " no " or punishes them for something they did wrong does that mean they don't love their child or that they're bad parents? No!

   So why would you assume God isn't who and what he says he is ?

   Why hold humans; who aren't capable of fully doing everything within their field; to a higher standard?

    God has a choice of what he does. We serve a God of choice not possibilities (meaning He chooses to do what he does). It's not just something that he is capable of doing but something he chooses to do.

     Even if God never chose to love us, take care of us, or even forgive us - guess what ? He'd still be God.

    We don't define God ; God defines us.

2011, twentyeleven, 20eleven, twenty11, two thousand-eleven, 2,000 + 11

   I am currently sitting on my floor looking at how messy my room really is (shocker i know lol) listening to Dave Barnes and though I HAVE to pick up this mess and find my floor I am enjoying the break from cleaning (been cleaning random things around IBC off and on the past few days). So what better time than to write a blog then... right?

 As all of you know it is the beginning of a new year which means new beginnings; fresh starts; resolutions; and change. I don't know if I have ever been more determined about the change that I want to and is going to take place this year. I refuse to have resolutions; but determinations instead.

    Bible reading being one of them. You would think this would be a no-brainer for a PK in Bible College. But the truth is it's a struggle just the same. It's not that I don't want to read it nor that I won't read it, but sometimes it feels like I never have time to. Don't crucify me for being honest , because many of you feel like that from time to time. I know, I know I'm in Bible College I shouldn't have to "make" time it should just happen. Truth is even in Bible college you get in the same rut as you would in any other college. You have classes and schedules, homework assignments, and your Bible is your txt book that you skim through just to find the answer you're looking for. But I no longer want my bible to be just a text book that I read for an assignment but purely for the fact that I want to get closer to God and have a better understanding of him (and of even myself). So my plan is to have the whole bible read come this time next year. I'm excited :)

     I also want to start praying more (which goes hand in hand with bible reading). I don't want my prayers just to consists of praying right before bed (which is normally short and sweet), during church/chapel, and when something is wrong. Though those are all great times to pray I want to be able to say that I talk daily to God. I don't want my prayers to be just a one way street of my wants, cares, and fears. Though I do want to share my wants, cares, and fears with him, however,  I also want to be able to hear him and his words; listen for his directions and guidance.

     I want to be able to work on my friendships. I have come to learn that the older you get the more you learn to truly cherish friendships. Growing up I had many, many, many friends (that's what happens when you're a social butterfly as a kid and move around/travel a lot) . Now that I'm 23 though I can probably count on 1 hand how many friends that I grew up with that I still keep in contact w/ no matter what's going on. I guess you learn what friendships were truly strong...and sometimes you're surprised by which ones really do last. 

     Anyone who truly knows me knows friendships are extremely important to me, because I've come to realize true friends are hard to come by and even harder to keep. Friends and family are what keep me going (aside from God). Though I'm often told how good of a friend I am I don't ever want to hear how horrible of a friend I was. I always want to my friends to know that I have 2 shoulders to cry on incase one isn't enough ; I'm almost always willing to listen  ; I can and will be blunt when I feel the need to be (but always have good intentions) ; they're always, always, ALWAYS in my prayers. I'm of the belief that if you want true friends then you yourself have to be a true friend.

    Getting healthier would be nice to do. All I seem to eat is fast food, cafeteria food, and the occasional salad when I don't like what they're serving in the caf. All I ever seem to drink is soda , even though I like juice and tea more. I should start drinking more water ! I also what to start exercising and getting into shape. NO! I do not think I'm fat and am not trying to lose weight, however, I do know I am out of shape and don't like the way it makes me feel. I wont have a good metabolism my whole life so I better get healthy now before it gets ahead of me.

     I want to work on my relationship with my family. Growing up many times they were all I had. No matter how mad we were at each other, no matter where we went, no matter what we went through we were ALWAYS there for each other. I want to work on relationships with  family members I never talk to anymore. I would also like to work on my relationship with my brother. 

     It's no secret that even though we truly love each other neither of us is as close to the other as we are our sister Rene (she's the baby). It's not as easy for us to talk to each other. I want to be able to sit down with him one on one and have a good heart to heat. Even if it's just over the phone.

     I also need to try to talk to my Grandma and Grandpa Horne (Daddy's parents) more. They're getting older and I don't want to say what I said when Grandpa Ridgeway (Momma's daddy) passed away which was "I wished I had talked to him more and formed more of a relationship." (and I am crying typing this... *sigh*)

 I wouldn't mind dating either. No I'm not husband hunting, and no I'm not desperate . I'm just being honest. I am aware that I decided that this year I was having "determinations" instead of "resolutions" . So before the thought gets in your head (if it hasn't already) no, I am not determined to date. But I am determined to be okay with dating. It was never that I didn't want to date, it was just that I was always scared to for various reasons. So I'm going to be more open to the idea. Who knows what'll happen .

     I have to work on my schooling too. I've been slacking way too much and because of that I"m receiving grades that should be better than they are. It's all my own fault and I often seem to let things get away from me; but I don't want that to be the case anymore. I am capable of being a good student and getting my work done I just have to make myself be more studious. Work and social life can no longer be an excuse !

     I need to start doing the things I enjoy again. Going back to the small things in life that make me happy. Like swinging, photography (real photography and not snap shots), coloring, taking walks, visiting a graveyard or 2 (yes I love going to graveyards), things like that . I don't know when it was the last time I did any of these... whether it be with someone else or by myself I need to start doing these things again. 

     And lastly I am determined to have a better self-esteem. My self-esteem isn't horrible but there are a few areas that could use some work. And honestly I feel like if I do the things above most (if not all) the kinks will be worked out :) .

So here's to a new year -

    Aundreya :)