You’re an Overcomer!

Absolutely love this song from Mandisa! “Overcomer.” It seems to come on the radio at just the right time.  Sometimes when you feel things are getting too tough and it’s circumstances are rough, it’s time to remember that, “you’re and overcomer!” With God on your side you can make it through anything that comes your way.  Sometimes it’s hard to –let go— and give God the control of the boat you’re in, but when we do let go of the paddle and quit trying to stir our own direction the waves don’t seem to rough and the water feels a lot smoother and nicer to be on.


Psalm 27:1 -The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? 

When we let Christ in our lives we no longer have to be afraid anymore.  There is always someone there to listen to us and to help us.  Although we are human and though we don’t always see the amazing opportunity we have to come to Jesus with our overwhelming issues, and we attempt to figure things out on our own.  Then when we do realize that we can’t do it by ourselves, we sometimes wonder what took us so long to figure out we can’t do it alone. He is always standing there with open arms just waiting for us, ready to embrace us, when we need it the most.

I love music!  The words to a song can change your mood/spirit in a split second.  I guess that’s why I love listening to positive and encouraging Christian radio stations.  Whether it’s K-Love, Air1 or our local KAMB station.  I know that I can turn on anyone of these station at anytime and hear something uplifting and encouraging. The music just gives my day that extra boost of enthusiasm to get me through and another reason to smile.

     

Blessings to you,

Britt Nicole | Watch and Win!

An AMAZING video!  I just had to share it here on my blog as well!!! Check it out!

"Gold" (Britt Nicole)


Britt Nicole | Watch and Win!

Let my life be the Proof of Your Love!

Well, I think it’s here! What you may ask?  Winter…finally!  Yay!  After a long warm, summer….it’s finally starting to cool off, and yes…even rain a bit.  I have been waiting for this as the Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Brulee latte’s have come back at Starbucks and and everyone talking about being able to wear their “Fall” and “Winter” outfits (sweaters, boots, hats, scarves, etc).  While I’m sitting here in California just waiting for the next season to arrive, since it seems like it has hit everywhere else but right here.  Let’s just say 100 degree days in the early Autumn made it seem like Winter would never come. Really made me want to take that short escape back to Indiana for the amazing ‘cooler’ weather they had from what I can remember from living back there.  But now as the new year has come upon us the upper 20 degree weather has come upon us. 
As I am sitting here thinking about what I wanted to write this afternoon…I was thinking about the title of this blog.  Listening to the radio at the same time, I started thinking about the song, Proof of Your Love, from the band For King and Country.  In the past couple months the song that has been playing on the radio several times.  I mean just the chorus of this song is simply awesome and amazing and has me singing along all the time!  I was so blessed to be able to attend a for King and Country concert a couple months ago at a local concert. They were amazing!!! From their awesome stage presence and singing with a passion in their soul to being able to share the wonderful message that God had laid on their hearts that night!  They are as incredible live as they are on the radio, and so on fire for Christ during their concerts.
Which brings me to what you may be asking, what is the proof of your love?  It’s living for God, but it’s so much more than that as well.  It’s living fully devoted and sold out to Christ.  There’s a saying that says generally speaking, to live your life so on fire for God that anytime someone were to speak bad about you, nobody would believe them. Isn’t that completely the truth though?  We’ve all been hurt by people we’ve trusted and we learn to forgive them. If we stand for what we believe in and lead pure lives, even though we may slip we know we can get right back up again, forgiving those who hurt us and living the PROOF OF GOD’S LOVE!!! Being love and showing love!!!  Be the light that shines to everyone.   You never know, you may be the only Jesus that some people see, so live for Him in everything you do.

"…let my life be the proof, the proof of your love
let my life look like you and what you’re made of
how you lived
how you died
love is a sacrifice
so let my life be the proof, the proof of your love…” (4 King and Country)
We were blessed again by being able to hear the amazing song styling’s of Jason Castro.  Another amazing concert piece and message from him. 
Just being able to listen to the stories of their life, whether they are at home or on the road, they can relate to so many people who may have similar issues.
“…This is only a mountain, You don’t have to find your way around it, Tell it to move, it’ll move, Tell it to fall, it’ll fall
This is only a moment, You don’t have to let your fear control it, Tell it to move, it’ll move, Tell it to fall, it’ll fall…” (Jason Castro)
I remember traveling with my drama team in college and we would always save a portion of our time we had to share for a personal testimony by one of our team members.  There were times we weren’t totally sure who was going to speak until we actually got to where we were going to be and God told us who needed to be addressing the crowd that night. Even our dramatic pieces were changed a lot just because of where we felt we were being led once we got there.  But, ultimately, where ever we went we wanted those watching us to see Christ in our lives while we were with them.  We wanted our lives to show the proof of God’s love in what we were sharing.  So many times we left those “performances” completely changed and humbled after sharing with people, praying with people and just listening to their stories as well.
Acts 20:24 - But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Shelli and Me after the concert that night!!!

It is well....

Women of Faith...part 1 -- it's okay not to be okay

This past weekend I was able to attend a Women of Faith conference.  I've been able to attend a few of them before in the past and they have always been amazing and worth so much for all that I can take away from the conference.  The speakers are so full of life and their love for God shines all over that stage!  This conference was a one-day event, as the two-day event will take place later on this year.   The one-day is a great addition to Women of Faith if you can't make the two-day one, but I think this event just made me more excited to see, hear and attend the event again in October in Sacramento!  :-)  


There is so much to tell about this event because it was all so amazing!  So I think I'll break it up into a couple parts in this blog, so here is Part 1 of the conference...


Worship - They always have an awesome worship experience at these events.  With this being a smaller event, there were probably near 1,000 women singing their hearts out -- praising and worshiping an amazing God!  Especially when the music stops and it's just 1,000 voices praising the Lord.


We were then introduced to the main speaker Sheila Walsh, who was accompanied by David Pendleton -- ventriloquist and Scott Macintyre -- musician/singer, once on the American Idol stage -- more to come about his story later. :)
David Pendleton shared his message through comedy through ventriloquism. While Scott Macintyre shared his heart through music and how he "walks by faith, not by sight."

A Mosaic Stone --
 I don't have the one she was talking
about, but this one was pretty :)

Then, of course, there was Sheila Walsh who shares her heart every times she steps on the stage.


Sharing - It's okay not to be okay!


Sheila opened up with  Isaiah 61:1.  The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
Sheila told a story about her how things aren't always how they seem and how we may think we're getting one thing but we end up with something else.  She told a story about how her son (when he was younger) and how he saw this really amazing Mosaic Stone that was beautiful put together and written on.  He decided that would be a great gift for his mom.  Well, after ordering it and when it finally arrived, it was all in tiny little pieces that had to be pieced together.  She said he spent his time assembling the pieces and writing 'I love you, mom' on the stone, in time to give it as a gift, (which, I think it was for Mother's day one year).     If you could just imagine how delicately this stone was crafted together by a pair of hands and how much love was put into it.  It's how God forms His children, taking his time and giving each one of us special gifts to be able to use as we serve him in our life. 


Isn't that how we come to God though?  We come in our brokenness, struggles, fears and tears, only to find how much he can restore us to be whole again.  God gives us new life and pulls all of our broken pieces together when we can't do it by ourselves, just like the mosaic stone.   Even when our hearts are restless and we feel we can't go on anymore...God is there!  In the midst of it all, He's there for us!  He picks us up when we're broken, dusts us off, cleans us up and puts us together, because we our His Children.  We are Children of God!
We are here to become more like Christ as we enter into a relationship with Him.  He helps us whether the changes that lie ahead of us in our lives.  Through Christ's nail-scarred hands he stops our bleeding and heals our wounds.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
We can come with all of our baggage and lay them at the foot of the cross.  


If you saw all of your baggage laid down in front of you, would you take it home with you?  OR Would you lay it all down?

I'm with You

You were meant for more.  I live my life for God.  It's not about me, it's all about Him!  Just some of the statements we hear and talk about during our 
walk with Christ and our relationship with Him.
When you put your faith and trust in the creator of the universe, when you surrender everything; ultimately, to the one who knows you from the inside out, every part of you, including your future.  
We hear these words so often, but sometimes they're just hard to fathom.  We want to surrender everything. We want to trust that God has a plan for us.  But, sometimes are question back is...When God? When is it going to happen, for me?  
I mean, I know it's your timing but when?  We are constantly being little impatient children, it's part of our human nature.  We're like that child you see in the candy store, tugging at our parents side begging for that piece of candy we are so desperately wanting and we just have to have.  We want things now or in the time we think we deserve something.  It's not until something might finally happen to us when we finally realize why God has had us wait so long.  As He is preparing each and everyone of us for our own journey, and though we may not fully understand why, we ultimately know that our wonderfully Father has nothing but the best prepared and designed for his children.


As I listen to K-Love through out the day the song, I'm with you by Amy Grant and Nichole Nordeman has played several times now.  I love the words of this song and the way that the song describes the relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi.  It really just made me want to read this wonderful story, that I know I've read/heard so many times before, again to be able to recapture it again.

(Ruth 1-4)

I just love the relationship that was told about between Ruth and Naomi.  The story of the young woman who stayed by her mother-in-laws' side even after the death of her husband.  
Sometimes we don't understand what God is calling us to do, and we don't even know where to begin sometimes, but it's our devout faith in our God and King that gets us though some of the hardest times; because, we know that He has something better planned for us in the future.
Ruth loved her Heavenly Father so much that she was willing to devote her life to serving Him as well as standing by her mother-in-law, Naomi side.  She was willing to stay with Naomi's for the rest of her life. 
Ruth found so much in Noami.  She found this older, yet wiser woman.  She found a mentor. Someone whom she would be able to talk to, to confide in, to be a friend to and to learn from.
Again, this is another woman that God had more plans for.  It was then, while Ruth was working in the fields, harvesting the grain, she met Boaz.  This would be the man who had showed her kindness and ultimately being the man she will marry.  The story is an amazing story of faith, hope, love, commitment and devotion.


It's so amazing to be able to have a wonderful mentor in your life.  Someone you can look up to, ask question to, someone who has possibly been where you are/have been and can give you advice on how to deal with life as you grow in Christ.  It must have been an amazing learning experience for Ruth to have spend this time with Naomi as she grew in the time they were spending together.  
Take joy in those women who you can get advice from and can learn from.  I, for one, can think of several wonderful women that have had an amazing influence on me, in every place that I have lived from California to Indiana.  I am grateful for the woman that I have become because of their influence and I am so thankful for everyone that has been involved in my life in these place.  What mentors have you had in your lives that have given you a positive outlook on life? Have they increased you walk with Christ?  

I'm with you

Love is a hurricane in a blue sky,
I didn't see it coming, never knew why.
All the laughter and the dreams,
All the memories in between,
Washed away in a steady stream.

Love is a hunger, a famine in your soul.
I thought I planted beauty, but it would never grow.
Now I'm on my hands and knees,
Trying to gather up my dreams,
Trying to hold on to anything.
We could shake a fist in times like this
When we don't understand or we could just hold hands.

You and me, me and you,
Where you go, I'll go too,
I'm with you, I'm with you.
Till your heart finds a home,
I won't let you feel alone,
I'm with you, I'm with you, with you.

You do your best to build a higher wall.
To keep love safe from any wrecking ball.
When the dust has cleared, we will
See the house that love rebuilds,
Guarding beauty that lives here still.

Who can say I'm left with nothing?
When I have all of you, all of you, yeah.
In the way you've always loved me.
I remember, He does too.

"I'm With You"

This Is The Stuff Lyric Video

Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

Well, it’s that time again!  It’s Christmas time and time to start a brand new year!  As we say good-bye to another year gone by we said a warm wintery Hello to the new year 2011!  Wow! To think about everything that has happened in this century so far and how much we have learned in the past 10 years! 
The memories we have made with old friends and even new ones that we may have just met this year.  We’ve accomplished goals and maybe even created new ones.  We’ve started new careers and made new plans for ourselves.  I’ve had many friends who have become engaged and have been recently married and some who have had their first child.
Though being approximatly 2,000 miles away from those college and post college friends  that I left behind in Indiana, it’s great knowing that I can stay in contact with them over the phone/Facebook/email.  Even though looking at pictures of everyone sometimes brings me to tears as I think about all the good times we’ve had, and how much I miss them!
Even thinking about the new friendships I have made with the friends that I’ve been blessed with working on this new church planting ministry.  We’ve been able to reach so many different people through music and drama and just by being able to create relationships around us and spread the good news about how wonderful a relationship with Christ is!  I look forward to the many adventures we have together through what God has plan for our lives.  It’s going to be such a great adventure!
Starting new career paths is always a scary thing to do.  But starting a business with MaryKay has been a huge challenge for me!  But it as been extremely worthwhile for me every step of the day.  It’s allowing me to get out there and meet new people and try new things.  I’ve met so many new friends that I have been blessed to work with through this new business endeavor.  They have helped me overcome my fears and accomplish my goals.  I am so blessed to be about to work with these wonderful people that I can call friends! 
I could not have accomplished anything with out the love of God with me!  He is always there in my good days and my bad ones.  When I am feeling lonely, I can run to his arms and just feel comforted.  Whether I am in my quiet time or worshiping in our Sunday service.  For as Philippians 4:13 says, for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.  And God gives me daily strength to make it through each and everyday.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  And as I look at this verse over and over again I am reminded that God knows what is best for me, he knows where my career path leads and he knows who that “future husband” is for me.  So as I continue to study God’s word and dig deeper into the scriptures and live out the word of God by telling people, performing dramas or maybe just by helping people.  I can be assured that I am still growing and learning more day by day.

I am Free!

Freedom By:  Tami Gregor

“So if the Son has set you free, you will be free indeed.”  (John 8:36)

We have the free rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but we also have the freedom to choose Christ as our Savior.  Choosing Christ is a different kind of free; that can never be taken from you!

We have the choice to get up on Sunday mornings and evenings to attend a worship service, or attend a worship service or Bible Study during the week and the freedom to read God’s word without being thrown into jail!

If you get up out of a warm bed and a good nights sleep.  If you ate breakfast or even just had a cup of coffee in the morning.  If you got up and walked out to your car and drove to church, work or to a friends house.  You’re not only luckier than over half the population in America, but you are considered rich to millions of people in other countries!

We have the freedom to choose Christ as our Savior.  We have the freedom to tell the world that “I Choose You.”  I choose today to live for God and I choose today to do something about my faith.

Some show their faith through singing, some through acting.  Some write their feelings on paper, in a novel, in a poem, in a song or maybe even in a script.  Others preach the gospel; whether it is in a small church or a heavily populated seminar. Some lend a helping hand to those in need and some are gifted through prayer.  How are you showing your faith?Are you putting your faith into action?What can you do to help that person on your mind?|How do you want to show your love for Christ and show that you choose Him?

 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

“for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:13)

Life, Liberty, Speech, Press, and Religion, we have all of these freedoms and rights in this country, but the freedom to choose Jesus Christ as our Savior and to worship God through out our lives, is the best kind of freedom that is ever given to us because no one can ever take it from you, no matter what.

Christ died over 2000 years ago for our sins to that we could spend eternity in Heaven with Him; all we have to do is ask for forgiveness.  Christ died for all of us so we might be free and live for Him. 

LOVE
my
Indiana FRIENDS!!! :)

Called to Worship

I was reading my daily devotion from a Rebecca St. James book one day and it was just an amazing way of stating how we are called into worshiping God.  She states, "that God does not call us to be robots.  He gave us a choice."  God wants us to be joyful as we worship Him.  He wants to see smiles upon our faces and loving hearts.  Every time we worship God we are in awe of everything that he has done in our lives, he gives us the desire to raise our hands and praise his name!  When we focus on God, and take our eyes off of  ourselves we can truly worship our Wonderful maker! :)  Rebecca St. James puts it an amazing way, she says that whether we "lead or participate in worship, none of us are called to be a star -- God has called us to be servants." 

                                         

As we worship God with all our hearts we are desiring that personal relationship with Him.  We want to be able to give him everything we have and will be, because "he is all I want, he is everything," I love that way the song "Everything" states that Christ is all that we desire! :)  We want to be able to feel the extravagant love of Christ and be able to share his love with everyone around us. 

I've done a skit, titled 'Best Friends' about two little girls one of them a shy new girl, Mallory, and the other a hyperactive girl, Tami.  When the Mallory is sitting by herself talking to nobody, Tami, who has lived in the town her whole life comes up to talk to her.  She talks about how she does so much playing and reading her Children's Bible everyday! Her excitement is so high and full of joy that her new friend, Mallory, is now very intriged by this excitement, and now wants to know more about this sudden joy and burst of energy, that comes from this hyperactive new friend of hers.  When we share Christ with those around us, he is with us, in a smile, touch or voice, he is there to help us meet those needs of others. 

"Your love is extravagant, Your friendship, it is intimate, I feel I'm moving to the rhythm of Your grace, Your fragrance is intoxicating in the secret place, Cause Your love is extravagant..."  (Your Love is Extrabagant by Casting Crowns)